Chapter 10
The sixth Avatar of "Avatara" - Parashurama, the Rishi who had reached the limits of divinity for whom the concept of gender no longer existed.
Perhaps this being had even transcended the context of life itself. Its human body had long since perished leaving behind an essence that would manifest as the Avatar whenever the elites of society became too drunk with self-interest.
Then, Parashurama would annihilate all the aggression of that era.
As she was called the "Hero Slayer," it would be almost impossible for anyone other than Avatars of Gods, or Demigods, related to the sun to defeat her. Therefore, now that she had manifested in this decadent age, the only way to defeat the Decayer was for the representative of the Heavenly Army to descend into the outer world.
Because of that, she had even hoped for an unintended reunion.
In the distant past... when the Decayer was still a human. There was a person she took up as a disciple for fun.
The only person to whom she had passed down the supreme rituals out of her own will.
Someone who, even if only for a while, had made her feel at peace amidst her vengeful life.
A grand liar who let her forget a bit of her resentment with their sun-like warmth.
When she heard that her disciple had joined the "Twelve Devas," Parashurama couldn't help but laugh at the irony of fate. After all, when she had taught them, they had shown a strong sense of duty.
Deep in her heart, a faint feeling of hope still lingered that... if her disciple Surya came to destroy her one day...
However, seeing the face of the Mother Goddess, she laughed in self-deprecation, thinking that there was no way she would be that fortunate.
Perhaps this too is a revelation of God telling me to fulfil my karma, thought the Decayer, giving up on that silly hope. However...
...she could not believe what she was seeing right now.
"......What...!!?"
She threw the Blood Spear without any mercy.
And yet, it had been stopped by a dazzling Divine Spear.
Izayoi, with that Divine Spear in hand, called out its name.
"Kh......Stop it, "Brahmastra Replica"......!!!"
He resisted being pushed back by the Blood Spear with all he had.
The white hot Blood Spear and the Divine Spear clashed, turning earth below into lava. This was a complete gamble, Izayoi didn’t know whether he could match the attack. However, he had judged that, given how similar the Gift was, there was a glimmer of hope to bet on.
This divine spear was one of his trump cards entrusted to him by Kuro Usagi in order to win the Sun Authority War.
Its name was "Brahmastra Replica".
Along with "Chandra Mahal", it was a symbol of devotion, one of the Divine Arms that the "Moon Rabbits" had received.
This spear had defeated "Black Percher" and "Azi Dakaha" with Izayoi and his comrades… A legendary Divine Spear that Parashurama's disciple was given in exchange for the Sun Armor.
"Impossible......!!? Why do you possess such a thing, boy!?" demanded Parashurama in dismay.
Seeing the spear of her disciple, a weapon that could overturn the destiny, her eyes were wide open from shock. Quite a natural reaction for someone who had no knowledge of the circumstances.
Prith standing in watch behind him thought about Kuro Usagi, the current owner of that spear.
(They really did something crazy there......! If you tear off a divine level Gift and give it to someone else, it might cause the owner's Spirituality to weaken, and yet...)
Prith smiled nervously while protecting the Albino girl.
In reality, Kuro Usagi's Spirituality was carried by a piece of descriptive poetry. That spear was originally summoned by using that piece as a medium and now she was keeping it in a continuously summoned state and lending it to Izayoi. This was why Kuro Usagi had turned into a loli to preserve her Spirituality.
That said, this Divine Spear was not something that you could simply make full use of just because it was summoned.
(Fuck......!!! I really can't handle it after all, huh......!!?)
Raising its output itself was not a problem, but when it came to holding down opponents, there was a problem with its application.
Additionally, even though Izayoi had the Gift of Impenetrability, that did not offer heat resistance.
Because they didn't have legends connected to the Sun, he could not draw out any other Gifts. Izayoi desperately endured the burning pain from the heat of the Earth's core, but he realized he could not hold the spear back any longer.
Judging that to be the case, he gripped the blazing Blood Spear with his right hand… and threw it towards the heavens as if to pierce them straight through.
"Don't...fucking use this kind of weapon of annihilation in the world of others───!!!"
The blazing Blood Spear cut through the heavy rain clouds, and punctured the firmament. The moment it did, leaden-gray curtain was wiped off the sky.
It left behind a trail of heat haze and its residual heat continued to oxidize the atmosphere.
Had it been released not there but on the surface, the damage caused would have been unprecedented. Perhaps it would have affected the fate of the country.
Izayoi leaned on the Divine Spear that ceased to shine and glared angrily at Parashurama.
"Hah......you've done it now, Decayer. Just because it's the middle of the Authority War, you have some nerve to start Indian-style nuclear warfare here......!!!"
Izayoi breathed heavily, almost completely out of stamina. The heat he had faced was originally more than enough to destroy its target just by proximity. However, rather than succumbing to fatigue or pain, he was driven by his anger.
Who knew just how much damage it would have caused had he not changed its trajectory.
Since this was the half-ruined slums by the beach, everything was still fine, but had it been launched in a slightly different direction, the consequences would be irreversible.
Tens of thousands of lives had been put into danger because of a private grudge. Izayoi hadn't been living such an insincere life that he could forgive something so unreasonable.
However, Parashurama paid no heed to his anger and merely laughed with her arms folded.
"Well then. I thought this would have been just the right stimulus for the lot living in this peaceful age. After all, while they are spending their days in peace, there are people like this girl here that are going through hell in the dark corners of the world."
"That has nothing to do with this. The people living in this age, this town, have obtained their peace through the rules of this world. The war simply changed, people now fight within society, not between tribes."
Unconditionally calling the present situation “peace” was the gravest of insults to the winners.
When the era changed, so did the morals. If you went to another world, even laws would change.
The Avatar was just looking down on this present age where the form of war and the format of competitions had changed.
Everyone in this world and age was fighting a war, winning their way forward through this proxy conflict. It was completely unforgivable that a person of another world and age had appeared and tried to annihilate everything.
"Decayer Parashurama. If you are going to force your fucking ancient values and judge everything with your own sense of good or bad..."
Izayoi pushed his fist above, filled with righteous indignation that did not lose to the fury of the Decayer.
"Then even I… will show no mercy. I will stop viewing you as the Decayer of Aggression, but as a mere fiend, a ghost of the past. I will get rid of you here."
He had not been serious in the previous fight. For his true trump card lied elsewhere.
He simply refrained from using it as it was simply too powerful and he did not know what would happen if he used it in the outer world. However, this opponent didn't allow him such leeway.
He did not use it with Bull Demon King because of his sworn brother, but if the opponent was a fiend, there was no reason to hesitate.
As the foremost hero, Izayoi would destroy the Decayer.
The bloody Decayer, being on the receiving end of his indignation, narrowed her eyes and stared at him.
"......Hmph. Rules of this age, you said. Indeed, the rules seem to have developed quite a bit compared to my age, and human ethics, too, seem to have improved. However, are you aware that on the other side of the coin the abyss is also steadily becoming deeper?"
"Who knows. But go ahead and say what you want. If my ears rot and you feel better, go back to heaven and return that body to its owner. And if you can't do that, then just surrender."
───Aah.
Aah, I see. So that is why he did not use that Divine Spear of Victory from before.
Though she understood it, she still wholeheartedly laughed at Izayoi's indignation.
She actually wanted to roll around in laughter, but she found something more enjoyable now.
What her host has seen, what kind of environment she was raised in, and what kind of despair had summoned her, the Decayer. She now wanted to have them listen to all that.
Would that boy be able to endure the truth?
What kind of face would the Mother Goddess who opened up the planet make?
She could not wait to see what would happen.
"So be it. Then I shall tell you one. Listen and be prepared."
She put her hand on the bloody clothes of her chest and, full of fury, spoke of a singular tragedy.
"You see, this girl... She is a black Albino."
Shouldering her bloody axe, she started speaking of that tragedy with a malicious smile. But Prith standing behind them did not understand the meaning and knit her brows.
She could not see what part of that was supposed to be a tragedy.
It was indeed quite unique to be born with a lack of pigment as a black person. But that was the limit of what Prith knew, as she was not too familiar with the circumstances of the present age.
But then, just as she tried to call out to Izayoi to see if he understood it───
She saw Izayoi recoil in pure shock and swallowed her words.
His former burning fighting spirit was nowhere to be seen, and he merely repeated her words with a half-open mouth.
"......Black......Albino......?"
"Indeed. They were being consumed here. And not simply consumed either. They were robbed of their dignity as humans, forced to breed before they were eaten. Compared to that, it would have been better to get killed by a monster and die as a human. ───Now then. Have you solved this puzzle, boy?"
She folded her arms as if playing a guessing game.
Izayoi stood blankly and started to tremble, shaking stronger and stronger, and eventually roared like a volcano.
"Don't......Don't fucking mess with me with that bullshit!!!"
The earth trembled from his roar that came from the depths of his soul.
The atmosphere visibly shook from that vibration.
Izayoi glared with trembling fists at the pure white Decayer, as if he was seeing something impossible.
"Impossible! That alone is impossible! That a big organization that turned black Albinos into food still remains should not-"
"No, it is the truth. This girl was being raised on these lands! They kidnapped her along with her fellow Albino patients and forced them to breed and multiply. ───Haha. They even took the time to engrave the shipping number on her chest, you know! After seeing this, do you still plan to feign ignorance, oh hero of the present age!!!"
The Decayer roared in anger and ripped off the clothes on her chest. Displaying her white skin that had a number branded with a hot iron, she wailed in place of her host.
───What she was ridiculing was sorcery that utilized black Albino patients and had continued to remain even in the present age.
That sorcery had slowly twisted its significance to arrive to the present age and was often used as a way for the influential people to enjoy their hobbies together. For that reason, black Albinos fetched a high price.
One of their kind was cheaper than a cow but pricier than a pig. In a highly civilized society, perhaps because it was a highly civilized society, the brutality that was happening behind the scenes could be covered up.
Saying that they were falling deeper into abyss was not a metaphor of any kind.
And she had now bared her copious resentment against the cruel libertines of the elite.
"This girl, too, is someone they took from a certain town. Just how many times she was betrayed, just how many atrocities she went through… just how much despair she withstood, do you have any idea!!!"
The Decayer of Aggression and Injustice was truly enraged now.
She was burning with fury for this girl who was disregarded by everyone.
She lay bare her resentment for this tragedy of a single girl that unfolded here.
"I can understand her!!! I can understand this pain, this despair and this fury because I'm the Decayer!!! Thus I must express my anger!!! If not me, then who would condemn this tragedy!!? If the Avatar of God does not rage......then who in the world will respond to her tears────!!!"
Gently......
A drop of tear flowed down from the Decayer's eye as she roared in rage.
The bloodstains soaking the battleaxe burst into flames that enveloped the Avatar. Those flames turned into an attack filled with the scorching fury and assaulted Izayoi.
Izayoi came to his senses, grabbed the spear next to him and received that blow.
However, the furious Parashurama did not stop. No one was allowed to stop her resentment. She did not stop even after destroying three deserted houses with the force of her charge.
───She was the Decayer of all aggression and injustice of the world. The Avatar of resentment who heard the laments behind the peaceful times.
She, the member of the kings of salvation, could not settle down unless she condemned the goddess that opened up the planet's placenta and the present-day hero.
The tears spilling from one of her eyes was for this girl who had seen the present-day hell.
Parashurama addressed the foremost hero, her eyes filled with copious lament and fury.
"The result of moral progress───was that not what you said, boy!!! Was this girl, this hell, that result!!? Are you saying that sacrificing this girl was needed for mankind to carry on!!?"
"......Kh!"
There was always something to fall to the wayside in the life of mankind.
As long as winners and losers existed, the scales could never be perfectly balanced.
Izayoi understood that, and had no objections, for as long as there was life, that was unavoidable. That was the original sin that burdened not just mankind but every living thing in the world. Only a fool would object to that fact.
However, saying it in other way───any lives that were consumed beyond that were nothing but victims. The lives like this black albino that had simply been consumed had no fault in them.
Izayoi was pushed down by the battleaxe of fury without finding any words to return.
The Decayer thrust her battleaxe and asked the final question.
"Ghost of the past......you did say that as well, boy. Then let me ask again. Let me ask you, who fight at the forefront, as someone who lived in the past, as one of those who laid the foundation for mankind."
To the darkness deeper than her own age.
To the sin more sinful than her own age.
To someone living in the present age, the Avatar of God told as if wishing for a confession.
"You who are close to "Kali Yuga". Just what have you achieved───until you arrived at this age?"
＊
The tranquil moonlight illuminated the three. The heavy rain had been blown away by the wailing and the Blood Spear.
An enchanting amount of silent starlight dominated the place.
The girl who raged with so much anger that it reduced her lifespan, laughed in a cynical manner while breathing heavily.
"......Are you unable to answer?"
"...───"
"Fine then, I shall forgive that. A hero is someone who opens up a path, not someone who builds up achievements. The similarities between the two are a lie. That's why it should not be you but someone else who should answer that."
The Decayer smiled in disappointment.
Seeing that lonely smile, Izayoi understood what her karma was.
She was someone who would awaken for those that experienced a tragedy, condemn the act, rage and then simply disappear. However to end her condemnation, one had to provide the answer.
Someone who would bear the responsibility for this victim. Someone who would give meaning to this victim.
The Decayer had branded Sakamaki Izayoi as Unqualified.
"......Now then, next is my personal question. Boy. Why do you possess that Divine Spear? Is that not the spear that my Disciple received?"
"No......No, wait, answer my question before that! Does the organization that was selling her still remain in this world!?"
Aah? Parashurama knit her brown in dissatisfaction.
"I do not mind answering that, but there is an order to things. Answer my question first."
"No, mine comes first!!!"
"So fussy! There is an order to things! After seeing that failure of a thrust, I, the originator, cannot stay quiet! Depending on the circumstances, it could affect my good name! In the first place, that should be something that could not be put into motion without knowing the mantra that was lost in the Indo-European world!"
Parashurama puffed her chest and said proudly. But Izayoi disregarded her question and continued muttering something with a hand to his mouth.
"No......But, that organization shouldn't remain......After all......Didn't I and Canaria destroy it before......!!!"
What? Parashurama and Prith said at the same time.
"Izayoi. What do you..."
"Hahaah. I can now see the general picture."
Parashurama laughed mirthlessly.
"That boy seems to have the same thing as this girl lurking inside. It seems this girl's internal organs had been tampered with while she was alive and had received some kind of improvement before shipment."
"Wha......!?"
Prith looked at Izayoi and the Albino girls in turns.
There was no doubt that the researchers in this establishment were researching the Star Particle Bodies and used the black Albinos for it. She also understood that the way their lives were consumed was extremely blasphemous. Perhaps they were trying to achieve some results by feeding on the flesh that contained the Star Particle Bodies.
Experimenting and fundraising. It was certain that they did both.
But for the same Star Particle Bodies to be present in Izayoi's body meant───
(I see......So that's the reason why Sakamaki Izayoi is the hero of this era......!)
She did not know just how many were aware of this fact but Tokuteru, at least, should have known of this.
After all, he was the one who delivered the "Origin" Particle Bodies to "Everything Company". There was no way that the instigator did not know the full story.
Parashurama, as wise as she was, had more or less seen through the circumstances and bared her fangs.
"In other words, you are related to this matter, is it? ......But to think that the libertines were not entrepreneurs but sources of money and laboratory animals. Kuku, I feel that Kali Yuga is drawing ever so closer."
Parashurama readied her bloody battleaxe and prepared for combat as she gazed at Izayoi. But as if to stop her, someone suddenly called.
"───That's enough, sixth Avatar. That guy is my prey. I won't allow you to steal him from me even if you are a fellow member of "Avatara". Make haste and fulfil our agreement."
What? Parashurama asked apprehensively.
At this point, she did not think this could be called stealing their prey. Now that she had become so worked up, she could no longer back down. Moreover, to call this stealing, there was a limit to how biased one could be.
Just as she was about to complain about their nonsense───three invitations suddenly fell from the sky, ignoring her intentions.
"Little Garden invitations......!? Just who would───!!?"
The invitations opened up by themselves without a touch from their recipients.
Thereupon, it burst with the summoning light. Izayoi came to his senses and yelled.
"Wait! I'm not done-"
───with this talk. Those words ironically disappeared without the world to hear it. The battle in the southern country's slums had finally concluded, and the silence gently covered the town.
The only one that remained on the silent coastal slums was the sender of those invitations.
"......I suppose forestalled this time. After all, it would have been intolerable if even the sixth Avatar was stolen."
It was a youth with white hair and golden eyes. That youth who possessed unearthly features and a noble aura looked up at the now tranquil night sky and laughed quietly.
"It is about to begin, huh? But I still can't act. I'll be leaving the Authority War to you for a bit longer, Jin."
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Stolen? Avatars are most likely Avataras chosen warriors to fight under their side. So the stolen one was referring to Arjuna probably... Also... Izayoi, you just revealed something interesting...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!!
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