Eps 192
Infinite Mage
Eps 192 Nors Shelter (7)
After 30 seconds, a signal appeared indicating that the save was complete.
The drone searched the left and right eyeballs and sent a signal to the left eyeball.
Tess was astonished. The landscape she saw with her eyes was overlaid with what the drone was seeing.
This ability alone was worth a Schema.
Tess, who took the drone and mounted it as a gauntlet, nodded repeatedly while listening to the explanation.
Canya informed her of the language decryption function and the feature that could track and automatically locate a target by storing specific brainwaves.
While Shirone's group was excited about the enhancement of their combat capabilities, Clove looked around uneasily.
The word Nephilim was strong even for heretics.
The fear felt towards a powerful enemy was different. Nephilim represented an unknown fear, unrelated to the degree of force.
Thinking back on the attitude he had shown towards them so far, he hoped that Shirone would not throw any strange curses at him.
Sure enough, Shirone approached.
Contrary to Clove's expectation of being defeated, Shirone handed him a yellow elixir.
It was the commission.
Clove hesitated for a while and then put it in her pocket.
"Th- Thank you. You didn't have to give me so much."
"It's okay. Can't split an elixir anyway."
"You… Are you really Nephilim?”
"I don't know. I'm just a magic academy student. No matter what people here call me, that fact won't change."
“I’m sorry for being harsh. I thought you were a person of Earth..."
"Even if I were a person of Earth, you shouldn't treat anyone like that."
“Tha- That’s right. Sorry."
Shirone didn't want to say any more.
Lecturing someone who has succumbed to fear is pointless. If you tell a cockroach to bow, it would, after all.
Shirone ignored Clove and went where the Nors were gathered. Since this place is also part of the community, he thought he would at least ask.
“Hey, by any chance… Do you know a woman named Miro?"
The Nors reacted in confusion.
Just when Shirone gave up and was about to turn around, an old man with a cane walked up.
“Miro, did you just say Miro?”
"Yes. Do you know?”
“I heard the name when my parents were alive. Isn’t she also a Nephilim?”
"Yes? Ah, yes."
People in this world regard Unlocker as Nephilim. Miro's origin was unclear, but since she was an Unlocker, it was safe to affirm.
"She denied Ra's laws."
"That’s… What does that mean?"
"I don't know. Just that much I heard. But my mother didn't hate her, even though she was a devout subject of Ra. It was shocking to me as a child."
A woman who denied Ra's laws. The information was simple, but on reflection, it conveyed much.
First of all, it was clear that Miro had been to Heaven. And she would have gone back knowing much more about this world than Shirone did.
She denied Ra.
What decision would she make at the end of this journey? Would he understand Miro, or deny her?
While he was lost in thought, Amy approached him.
"Shirone, it looks like the sun will set soon. We've decided to stay here for the night, what do you think?"
"Hm? I'm fine too. We’ve fighting since morning so I’m tired. Let's rest now."
"That…..”
Canya approached to speak. Amy could tell from her expression alone. From the way she stepped behind him, it was clear that she cared about her relationship with Shirone.
"What's the matter? Do you have anything to say to me?”
"I taught Tess how to use the drone."
"Oh, right. Thanks."
"Me and Lena will stay here tonight too. The guides are off at this hour. Looks like we'll depart tomorrow morning."
"Ah... I see."
Shirone ended his sentence with a lingering thought.
If Canya is leaving tomorrow morning, they must follow then. However, the lack of agreement was the problem.
Canya said after glancing at Amy for a moment.
"You said you're entering Heaven, right? Would it be okay to stop by my house for just one day?"
Although they planned to go to Heaven, staying at Canya's house was a different matter.
It might be because of her mother, who didn't have much time left. She may have been tempted to introduce a Nephilim to her parents, who were ardent divine subjects.
Anyway, there was no reason to refuse. They were grateful for her goodwill.
When Shirone agreed, Canya blushed.
Amy didn't like that part, but too timid to argue, she snorted and went off to Tess.
While winding down the day, the outskirts of Nors Shelter became chaotic. A group ran towards them, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"It's a patrol! Hide! Lie down on the ground!"
There was no time to ask what was happening as the Nors scattered in all directions.
Shirone grabbed Canya's hand and ran to where Godlock was. His friends seemed to have made the same decision, gathering in same direction.
Lying in the bushes, Shirone listened to Godlock explain.
It is said that on days when the moon is at its full, angels patrol the area around Purgatory.
Although the reason and purpose are unclear, it was a prophecy passed down among heretics for thousands of years.
A sound that filled the world came from the sky. The air around was vibrating as if tens of thousands of locusts had gathered.
As each sound layered, the dissonance disappeared, leaving a melody that pierced through the ears.
Was it the most beautiful sound produced by a string instrument in the world?
Shirone was lost and mesmerized.
Shirone was pulled back to reality by Godlock.
"Snap out of it! Don't get lost in the sound! We can endure it because we're mages, but other races would've passed out by now."
Shirone checked on Tess and Lena. They were sitting, knees bent, crying. They hadn't lost consciousness, but they were already in another world.
What on earth is this sound? Is it possible to shake a person's spirit like this with just one note?
"Where is this sound coming from?"
“Each angel has their own unique vibration. It's the vibration that their very existence emits."
"The vibration of their very existence? How is that possible?"
"In Heaven, angels are called the Tuners of the Law, as the first entities of causality, it precede all laws. Vibrations are oscillations that prove an angel's unique domain."
Shirone looked up at the sky. Judging by the frequency of the vibration, it seemed likely to cross over Nors Shelter's airspace soon.
Despite having created a veil with light magic, unease was hard to shake off.
"Can angels see us?"
"It's possible, but also not."
"What do you mean? Can it see us or not?"
“Have you checked your finger prints today?”
"No."
"It's a similar situation. If they wish, they can project through the veil of light anytime. However, it don't fly around in such a manner in the vast Purgatory. As long as it don’t act on a whim today, nothing much will happen.”
From the bushes on the outskirts, someone shouts 'Coming!' .
Shirone raised his head. He saw four figures speeding across the sky above.
He couldn't even blink.
An angel in a white robe was flying in the lead. It had wings of light that were 10 times larger than its body and was holding a golden iron piece in its hands. What captured his attention most strongly was the sphere of light floating above its head.
The figures forming a triangle formation around the angel were creatures Shirone had never seen before.
Those guarding the left and right sides resembled humans, but its skin colors were red and blue.
It was followed by a monster that was a combination of all kinds of creatures.
Above their heads were long red triangles like horns, each numbered from one to three. Even though it was not a cone, it maintained the same shape at any angle.
"What are those monsters at the end? I saw tentacles of an octopus and faces of snakes."
"Those are Maras, the second entities of causality. They are also known as the Upholder of Law."
“Upholder of Law?”
"As I said, angels are the Tuners of the Law. It is the first individual personalities created by God, with the freedom to interpret god’s will. Do you know what this means? It means that it can manipulate the law as it please. It's on a different level from giants. They are on a different level than giants. While angels tune the law, Mara act. That's why Mara are called Upholder of Law."
Shirone realized that he had met the highest echelon in this world.
If god was law, then angels were judges.
Perhaps Mara serve as aides executing the judges' orders?
"What's floating above their heads? Angels have spheres, but Mara have something like horns..."
"Right, those are horns. But not actual horns, they're thought-forms. The more horns they have, the higher their rank among Mara. They are given unique abilities from birth. The source of that power is the horn.”
"And the thing above the angel's head?"
"That’s called Holy Light Body (성광체). It is no exaggeration to say that the power of an angel lies in its holy light body. I don’t know the principle in detail. Even when I was a divine subject, I only saw angels a handful of times."
Clove said with his chin trembling.
"In fact, we see them more often here."
Shirone was caught in a strange feeling.
If angels really exist, were Unlockers really Nephilim? Is the power to freely cross dimensions and Miro's scale magic is the powers of an angel?
His head began to ache.
From the first day of arrival in Heaven, he had gathered numerous pieces of information, but the puzzle was too vast to guess the whole picture.
Not long after the angel left, the moon rose.
The moon was so huge that if there was a mountain, one could touch it from the top. It was bizarre.
As the angel's patrol ended, the day for the Nors came to a close.
Shirone, who rented a 12-person barracks in the tent village, lay down next to his friends.
Perhaps because they were tired, he could hear refreshing breathing coming from all over the place. He wanted to think more, but he could feel my body functions deteriorating.
Shirone fell asleep without realizing it and met Miro in his dream. It wasn't a nightmare.
Elixir of Ilhwa (1)
Shirone and his party, following Godlock, arrived at the Valley of the Whirlwind Serpent.
Since the laws had been broken, it could no longer be called the Valley of the Whirlwind Serpent, but a name maintained for thousands of years wouldn't disappear easily.
Godlock mentioned that guides could no longer be found here.
With the Whirlwind Serpent gone, new laws might come into place. Whatever the law, it wasn't likely to be friendly towards them.
“I guess I’ll see you someday. Laws are finite, but humans are infinite. Even if Heaven were to fall, Nors Shelter would remain.”
Godlock said before disappearing.
The idea that humans are infinite resonated with Shirone. Even in this place, light-years away, humans lived.
The group launched three drones into the sky.
The importance of reconnaissance grew even more after experiencing Kerugo's heretics hunt.
As Shirone inquired about Heaven, Canya, unlike when they first met, kindly explained.
“Heaven is made up of seven heavens. From the seventh Araboth to the first Shamain. The place where divine subjects reside is the first heaven Shamain. The three races, Meca, Nors, and Kerugo, follow the law and perform their given roles. If Kerugo produces, Meca processes, and Nor supplies.”
"But isn't that unfair? Being predetermined what to do from birth."
"We have been doing this for hundreds of thousands of years. It's just following the laws of Anke Ra."
As far as Shirone knows, civilization was born in the original world about 10,000 years ago at most. If Heaven had existed for hundreds of thousands of years, it would have been normal for it to be overpopulated, regardless of social issues.
When Shirone expressed such inner thoughts, Canya was rather puzzled.
"Having such doubts is blasphemous. Anke Ra governs the world. There has never been a decrease or increase in Shamain's population. The population always remains the same."
“How can that be? Is there some kind of birth control policy?"
"Those who follow and abide by the law gain eternal life. They can enter the third heaven, Shehakim, and live forever."
"So, those who don't gain eternal life die?"
|Note
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