Shirone: "The law? Does your law include murder?"
Executor: "Of course. Mortals can never harm other mortals. If someone commits murder, they will be severely punished according to the internal bureau's judgment."
Shirone: "Then what is this? If your law includes murder, why are you proceeding with the Day of Rebirth?"
Executor: "I don't understand what you're saying. Are you really a Nephilim? You sound like a heretic."
Shirone: "It doesn't matter whether I'm a Nephilim or not. I am someone who doesn't know my lifespan. That's why I live each day to the fullest. But look at them. They're alive, but they're not living. How is that different from murder?"
No voices of condemnation or agreement came from the mortals. But the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.
It was a contradiction every mortal had felt at least once.
The Day of Rebirth clearly seemed unreasonable. But no one rejected it because of the inertia built over hundreds of thousands of years.
Countless people had become giants through the Day of Rebirth. Everyone had done it, and everyone would continue to do so. That fact clouded the mortals' judgment.
Executor: "You who deny Ra's law, we were born from giants. The Day of Rebirth is God's arrangement to revive our lives. Do you wish to be eternally annihilated? If there is anyone among the mortals who desires that, step forward. I will personally petition for it."
No one stepped forward. According to the mortals' long-held beliefs, giants created through the Day of Rebirth traveled through purgatory and returned, decomposing back into individual beings.
It was better to live forever than to die. If they had to die, they wanted to leave a chance to return.
That was life.
Ra controlled life in that way.
The executor, satisfied with the mortals' silence, pointed at Shirone, and shouted.
Executor: "You are a heretic! No, even if you are a Nephilim, you have no right to interfere with the law! Everyone, arrest him! Make him pay for blaspheming Ra's sanctity!"
Amy: "Shirone, things are getting complicated! We need to retreat now."
Amy grabbed Shirone's hand. But Shirone shook her off and stood his ground.
Shirone: "No, I'm not leaving. I have to save Kanya's mother. I have to save her."
From the front, a dozen Kergoins drew their swords and charged. Their speed, enhanced by the giants' techniques, was as fast as a cheetah's.
Shirone charged into their midst. The lead Kergoin raised his sword. The others surrounded Shirone, swinging their blades.
At that moment, Shirone's fury erupted.
A curtain of light struck the Kergoins. The mass contained within the photons was negligible at first, but when it struck twenty times per second, the recoil felt like it would tear their bodies apart.
The Kergoins surrounding Shirone were all flung away.
Dragging their buttocks, they slid across the ground, all staring at Shirone in shock.
Kergoin: "A Nephilim? He's really a Nephilim?"
Light magic was psychologically effective. It was a phenomenon only angels could manifest, and it engraved the fact that Shirone was a Nephilim.
Seizing the momentum, Shirone focused on his Photon Cannon.
As the executor, sensing danger, moved to block the bronze statue, a flash of light burst from Shirone.
The executor twisted his body with animalistic reflexes. The flash grazed his side, and he felt the crushing pain of his organs being compressed.
But the pain was a secondary concern.
When the Photon Cannon struck the giant's statue, a majestic resonance spread like the tolling of a bell.
The sound waves vibrating through the area forced the mortals to cover their ears and retreat.
They were shouting something loudly, but the ringing in their ears drowned out their voices.
Yet, the giant's statue remained intact.
The Photon Cannon's power was enough to crumble iron gates, but the statue showed no signs of damage.
The mortals' eyes filled with joy.
Mortals: "Ohh! Anke Ra! Save us!"
"Do not abandon us! Eternal life, eternal life!"
As the situation grew dire, Amy stepped forward. She had to get Shirone out of there somehow.
At that moment, Rian grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.
Rian: "Wait. Shirone isn't finished yet."
Amy: "That's not the problem. If we don't run now, we'll have to fight them."
Rian: "Then we'll fight, won't we?"
Amy finally turned her head. Regardless of the friendship they had shared, Rian was now solely Shirone's knight.
Amy: "What's wrong, Rian? Do you have something to say?"
Rian: "Yes. You're acting strange. What do you plan to do by stopping Shirone?"
Amy: "We need to run, of course. If we become enemies in heaven, no one will help us."
Rian: "What about Kanya's mother?"
Amy's heart sank. She realized she hadn't truly felt the reality of someone's death.
Rian: "Shirone is trying to save Kanya's mother. Just like he did for Marsha, just like he did for the magic school students. So why aren't you helping him? Do you think we have no responsibility for the deaths here just because this isn't our world?"
Amy: "Ah…"
Rian's analysis was spot on. She thought that since different rules and laws applied here, they had no reason to take responsibility for the deaths the mortals had chosen.
Rian: "Amy, whether this is heaven or not, what's happening is right in front of us. Shirone said he can save Kanya's mother. That's why I'll fight alongside him."
Amy looked around the plaza. Mechas armed with Signas and X-Draws, and Noor's wielding ancient magic, surrounded Shirone.
The human spirit was no trivial thing. Even if this were heaven, the truth of life couldn't be different.
The conflict faded from Amy's face.
Amy: "I trust Shirone too. Let's go, Rian."
As Amy leapt into action, her friends followed immediately.
A flash of light erupted where the mortals had surrounded Shirone, scattering a dozen people outward. As Shirone revealed himself after casting his light magic, Amy leaned against his back and asked.
Amy: "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Shirone: "Yeah. Signas and X-Draws are weak at long range, and most of the ancient magic is wind-based. It's weak too. They seem less skilled than Clove."
From heaven's perspective, purgatory was hell.
No matter how mediocre Clove's skills were, she was a mage who navigated the harsh purgatory, so she was undoubtedly more skilled than the people here.
Shirone and his companions defended against the mortals' attacks from their respective positions.
The problem was that counterattacking was difficult. In a situation where they needed to persuade the mortals, causing casualties would only worsen the situation.
Canis: "Tch! What a nuisance."
Canis placed his hand on the ground and cast Shadow Wall.
Sharp spikes erupted from the surface of the shadowy wall that rose like a fortress.
The Mechas blocked with their X-Draws, but they had no tangible way to attack.
Canis (through mental channel): "Shirone, we can't hold out forever. We need to make a decision."
Shirone's thoughts grew complicated. There was one way to end the fight without further conflict.
The Shining spell.
By emitting an intense flash of light to blind the enemies, the momentum of the battle would rapidly dissipate.
Shirone (thinking): 'But can Shining alone do it?'
The biggest problem was that it was broad daylight. No matter how much he amplified the light, it couldn't surpass sunlight.
The difficulty in creating light is stronger than the sun lay in the vibrating nature of light.
To maximize the number of photons in a single area, the vibrating light had a compression limit.
Shirone (thinking): 'How can I increase the light's intensity?'
At that moment, Shirone's eyes lit up.
He couldn't stop light from vibrating, but he might be able to create light stronger than the sun.
Shirone (through mental channel): "Close your eyes! I'm casting Shining!"
Shirone stopped moving and entered his Spirit Zone. Photons began gathering rapidly.
His friends closed their eyes, but Canis, who was maintaining a defensive barrier, looked back at Shirone.
Canis (thinking): 'What's that? Why is the light like that?'
The light gathering around Shirone was much dimmer than the usual Shining. A weaker light meant reduced luminosity, implying that the vibrations were being suppressed in some way.
Canis (thinking): 'He unified the polarization direction.'
Some particles vibrated vertically, while others vibrated horizontally. Shirone had applied gravity to the photons, unifying their vibration direction.
The result was astonishing. An impossible number of photons gathered at a single point. Stabilized more than ordinary photons, the light's hue was closer to gray. When Shining began emitting white light, it boasted a density dozens of times higher than normal.
Shirone (through mental channel): "Casting now!"
Shirone tightly closed his eyes and released control of the photons. The light particles scattered in all directions like a freed foal.
The brightness of the white light swallowing the world reached a staggering 300,000 lumens. It was more than twice as intense as staring directly at the midday sun.
Shirone knew the spell had succeeded even without seeing it.
The light was so intense that he could vaguely distinguish shadows even with his eyes closed.
Shirone (thinking): 'It worked! It really worked!'
The divine particles were the core principle of Shirone's magic.
The mass of the Photon Cannon, the energy of the Laser, and now, compressing photons to create a flash explosion—Shining Impact.
It was a non-lethal spell that could incapacitate living beings regardless of time or place, surpassing the intensity of natural light.
Even after the light faded, the mortals kept their eyes closed. They leaned back, afraid of being attacked, and covered their faces with their arms.
Silence fell.
Shirone and his companions opened their eyes first, followed by the mortals, who blinked and looked around.
Mortals: "A Nephilim… A Nephilim."
As someone muttered, the Mechas began dropping their weapons one by one.
Shining Impact had an effect beyond stopping the battle.
Light spirits, even if contracted, couldn't produce light stronger than the sun.
If such a being existed, it would undoubtedly be an angel wielding the power of light.
Tess wiped the sweat dripping down her chin.
Tess: "Whew. Shirone, what kind of magic was that? I thought I'd go blind for a second."
Though she said it jokingly, she meant it. She had never been exposed to such intense light in her life.
Rian sheathed his great sword and approached.
Rian: "Anyway, we've incapacitated the enemies. Now we just need to stop the Day of Rebirth, right?"
Shirone: "It won't be easy. Unlike the other mortals, the Kergoins aren't shaken."
As Amy said, the ritual officials, led by the executor, were glaring fiercely at Shirone.
Of course, they were also intimidated by Shining Impact's power.
But if they thought it was the power of a Nephilim, there was no reason for them to be mentally defeated.
For those who solely followed Ra, the lower laws held no fear.
Executor: "Do you think you can get away with this, Nephilim? You have defiled Ra's sacred law. If the Internal Bureau moves, your lifespan ends today."
Shirone: "Do it if you can. You can't control a lifespan even I don't know."
The executor's nostrils flared.
He wanted to behead Shirone on the spot, but honestly, he had no desire to fight.
He had devoted his life to earning 187 years. With eternal life within reach, he couldn't end his life here.
A red aura flickered in Shirone's palm.
Now, while the mortals were frightened, was the last chance. Rather than provoking them with a clumsy Photon Cannon, the strategy was to decisively destroy them with a Laser.
As the crimson beam extended toward the statue, the mortals recoiled in fear.
But no one charged forward anymore. If Shirone was a Nephilim, he was beyond the mortals' ability to handle.