Chapter 273: Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster 『 Part Fourteen 』
「 "Alright, the shielding is complete. You may resume your exchange with Aha. However, I suspect He has already vanished, so you must wait right where you are." Herta chuckled with a sharp, sibilant sound. "If you could manage to smile a bit more, perhaps you'd find it easier to catch Their attention."
Smile? Stelle attempted to squeeze out a smile—but it resembled a dead fish turning belly-up, possessing a sort of half-dead, farcical quality.
Finally, just as Stelle's eyes were about to roll back into her skull, They—finally arrived! The moment They appeared, a colossal storm of fabricated data whipped up, enveloping Stelle within it.
"Hi, Akivili! You played with that ball quite nicely~" Aha initiated praise mode. "You are a master of ball-playing; can you tell me who made this ball? Oh… wait, They is coming. Let us first make way for the great Them—applaud, salute!"
"They is coming? What does that mean?" Stelle was momentarily baffled by Aha, but Herta made a hushing gesture from the sidelines. "Quiet! Stelle, something big is coming!"
A beam of light pierced into the world that was originally pitch black.
Stelle felt her vision decomposing—not shattering, but rather being deconstructed like a chord, with every bundle of her optic nerves beginning to receive a different spectrum. She saw the air split into iridescent veins; what poured from those fissures was not light, but the materialization of a more fundamental "concept of harmony."
"It is the 『 Harmony 』… Xipe!" Herta could not help but let out a voice of pleasant surprise.
His body seemed to be pieced together from the silhouettes of countless civilizations: one moment, it was millions of lips singing in chorus, the next, it transformed into a matrix of synchronously swinging pendulums. They fingertips smeared rainbow-colored ripples, and a myriad of concordant rhythms turned into flowing glaze upon the torso of the Star God of Harmony.
"Akivili/Trailblaze, is that you? We thought you had died/disappeared. Thousands upon thousands of fates/histories have shaped the universe's growth/trajectory. We almost believed/judged that you had become its footnote/nutriment."
"Xipe…! You really have/multiple faces!"
"Oh, Mother of the Cluster of Stars!" Aha began His praise, Aha words making Stelle uncomfortable all over. "As long as the thing you want to do is fun enough—even a relay race game! The situation changes in the blink of an eye; last time we were negotiating, and the next time, Ena became you. A pity… my old friend! But They makes you look 'better'."
"Fine… pause for a moment. 『 Order 』 being assimilated by the 『 Harmony 』, that doesn't surprise me," Herta said, spreading her hands. "I just don't know when it happened. Could it be that the disappearance of 『 Order 』 is also related to the War of the Star Gods? Sigh, The Family never mentions a word about this… I actually kind of wanted to see Ena again, even if They was a bit stiff. In any case, Xipe and Aha, and you, have all become entangled for the sake of Tayzzyronth!" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Demon Slayer World〜
Moonlight filtered through the pillars of the Infinity Castle, slicing the long corridor into a cage of alternating light and shadow. Doma walked with a brisk, lighthearted gait toward Akaza; since that person had departed, the two Upper Ranks had not spoken for decades.
"Lord Akaza~"
Doma's voice was as sticky as honey.
"The true Supreme has appeared. That person chose the 『 Abundance 』—but judging by the results presented in this War of the Star Gods, it seems there are existences even more compatible with us than the 『 Abundance 』, no?"
Akaza had his back to him, his azure tattoos glowing faintly in the darkness. He did not turn his head, merely saying coldly:
"Get lost."
Doma paid it no mind; his golden fans unfurled with a shwaa, and he leaped lightly to Akaza's side, his eyes filled with unprecedented fanaticism and excitement:
"The 『 Harmony 』… Lord Akaza, this Path suits us very well too, doesn't it?"
He looked up at the sky, his pupils dilating to their limit—when his gaze made contact with that sacred "Them," iridescent vortices began to swirl within Doma's irises, and his fingertips began to spasm uncontrollably… It was the purest madness of a believer.
"Do you see it? Lord Akaza!"
Doma began to excitedly scratch at his own cheeks, his sharp nails carving bloody streaks across his pale face, only for them to heal in the next second.
"This is the ultimate harmony! All voices will eventually return to a single melody! Even the ancient 『 Order 』 was assimilated by Them… returning to true eternity."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Akaza finally turned around, his icy gaze looking at Doma as if he were a pile of trash.
"In what way are we compatible with the 『 Harmony 』?"
"Of course~"
Doma cheerfully circled to Akaza's front.
"The 『 Harmony 』 eating the 『 Order 』 is regarded as assimilation, and us eating humans—is that not also a form of assimilation? We merge frail humans into our bodies, returning them to a stanza of harmonious music; does this not count as a kind of… Harmony?"
"…Boring."
Akaza looked at him askance.
"You worship the 『 Harmony 』 and dare to run counter to that person's ideas? I could right now—"
"Oh my~ Lord Akaza, don't be in such a rush to pass judgment."
Doma maintained that innocent yet nauseating smile.
"This time, I have reported to that person. I intend to start a new cult in the name of the 『 Harmony 』, to attract people to join in the name of the 『 Harmony 』. If Lord Akaza is interested, you can come to my place too, you know~"
"I know Lord Akaza doesn't like to eat women and children, so I will yield all the adult males to you, my lord. How about it?"
Akaza's fist pierced through Doma's jaw in an instant.
The sound of shattering bone was exceptionally crisp in the silent corridor. Doma's head was knocked back at an impossible angle, his shattered mandible hanging by bloody shreds of flesh. Yet his laughter did not change in the slightest; it was even more excited than before.
"Ara~"
Doma's voice squeezed out from his severed throat cartilage, carrying a bubbly tremolo.
"You are still so passionate…"
Akaza retracted his fist, staring at Doma's broken yet still smiling face, his eyes full of disgust:
"Don't lump your perverted hobbies in with me."
Doma's wound began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. He tilted his head, a trace of regret flashing briefly in his eyes:
"Well then~ I'll invite you again, my lord, when a suitable opportunity arises next time."
—
「 "The fight hasn't even started yet, and 『 Order 』 Ena is gone?" Stelle's eyes widened.
"Yes. Not only 『 Order 』, but also 『 Voracity 』 went missing during this period. The reason is unknown, but in short, They departed from this war of the gods." Herta shook her head. "That is also an unsolved riddle within this segment of history."
"Leaving just after eating Their fill—They really got off easy."
"After the disappearance of 『 Order 』, several worlds under Qlipoth's protection hold records: their suns once vanished, and a sculpture twisted into the shape of twins manifested from the sky, appearing as an omen of the long night…" 」
「 ..... 」