Infinite Mage [Remake]-Chapter 179: The Day of Rebirth (Part 3)

Kanya: "Peope, please forgive us! Combined, my sister and I are losing 80 years. I forced my sister into this, so please reduce her punishment!"

Peope: "What's wrong with 40 years? You will only live up to sixty anyway. Five years is enough to do what you want, isn't it?"

Biological traits are determined by lifespan. Fairies, though rational like humans, had vastly unusual ways of thinking due to their long lives.

Fairies had enough time to recover from mistakes. Thus, they were free from stubbornness and honesty, but they could not understand the feelings of humans with limited lifespans.

Just as no human knows how precious an hour is to a mayfly.

Especially for Peope, who was only a year old, death was a word she would not think about for a thousand years.

Kanya's mother prostrated herself on the floor. She knew the new administrator was inexperienced, but she never expected such a harsh judgment.

Mother: "Peope, you are the enforcer of the law. But no fairy in history has ever issued such severe punishment. I only lost 20 years. Please reconsider."

Peope: "What? Are you saying I am just a one-year-old and do not know anything? I know everything! The law enforcer has the authority to reduce lifespans by up to 50 years. Are you challenging my authority?"

Mother: "If you truly made that judgment, please explain your reasoning."

Peope: "Hmph, fine! Then I will tell you this! Kanya and Rena's unauthorized departure from Heaven is a 20-year reduction! The remaining 20 years are for bringing in heretics! Are you satisfied now?"

Peope pointed at Shirone's party. She had not received a report about heretics entering, but since she had seen it with her own eyes, there was no issue in passing judgment.

Kanya: "Peope! These people are not heretics! The boy here is a Nephilim!"

Peope: "A Nephilim?"

Peope stared intently at Shirone.

Was he really a Nephilim?

The descendant of an angel. One free from the law. The innate knowledge she was born with flashed through her mind.

Fairies were not law tuners, so they could only enforce predetermined laws. Thus, they could not punish a Nephilim.

Yet, Peope did not back down.

As the youngest of the seventy-two ranks of fairies, out of 48,000, she recalled the verbal abuse she endured daily from her senior sisters. If she returned without establishing her authority, she would be a laughingstock until the next youngest was born.

Peope: "Even so, the crime remains the same! I'll let the Nephilim go! But not everyone here is a Nephilim! So, the crime of bringing in heretics stands!"

Kanya's mother raised her head and argued.

Mother: "They may not be Nephilim, but they are his companions. Labeling them as heretics goes against the law."

Peope: "Silence! How dare a mere divine person argue law with the enforcer! I am conducting Ra's will. Opposing me is opposing God!"

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Shirone: "Wait a moment."

As Shirone stood up from kneeling, Peope crossed her arms and looked at him.

Fighting a Nephilim wasn't a clever idea, but even a Nephilim had no authority to interfere with law enforcement.

Peope: "What? If you're trying to obstruct the execution, I won't forgive you."

Shirone: "No, I'm correcting a misunderstanding. Those girls did not bring us here. We just followed them. So, you can't hold them responsible."

Peope: "What are you talking about? Followed them?"

Shirone: "I found them outside Heaven. We went in because the gate was open. I am free from the law, so I can go anywhere. I came here for dinner. Therefore, the sisters have done nothing wrong."

Peope: "Who would believe such a lie?"

Shirone: "Then prove it. Show me evidence that I'm lying."

The Mecha system in Heaven could detect even the smallest variables, but it could not read emotions.

The situation of Shirone's party entering with Kanya was verified by countless pieces of information, but understanding their relationship was impossible. All of this happened because Shirone was a Nephilim.

Peope rolled her eyes.

She had to find another way. If word spread that humans had outsmarted her, she would be a laughingstock for a thousand years.

Peope: "Fine. Then I will restore 20 years to Kanya and Rena's lifespans. And I will permit the Nephilim's entry. But the rest are clearly heretics who defy the law, so their lifespans will be reduced. You, tell me your name."

Peope pointed at Arin.

Of course, Arin did not answer.

Though the exact causality was unknown, the ability to grant lifespans seemed to require a name. Arin was not foolish enough to let her name be written in the book of life and death.

Arin: "No. Why should I tell you my name?"

Peope: "You're really something! Such vulgar heretics do not know the fear of fairies!"

Shirone spoke with a displeased expression.

Shirone: "What do you think human life is? You'll die someday too."

Peope: "I'm a spirit! Human lives cannot compare to mine! Besides, I have only lived for a year! I have a very, very long time before my lifespan ends."

Shirone scoffed.

The future is the future because it eventually arrives. That is why we honor those who came before us and mourn those who have passed.

Peope did not seem to understand that the concept of the future was immutable.

No, she had not even thought about it.

She was only a year old. Comparing her to a one-year-old human, it was clear how immature she was.

Peope placed her hands onto her hips and spoke.

Peope: "Alright, so this is how it is going to be, huh? For the crime of not revealing your names, you will be judged by those higher than me. And Kanya and Rena, for the crime of sheltering blasphemous heretics, will have an additional 30 years added to their sentence, resulting in a total of 50 years being deducted from their lifespans!"

Kanya's family was devastated.

50 years—if the law were to be enforced immediately, Kanya would die on the spot.

Although the actual enforcement of lifespan reduction is conducted by the highest-ranking fairies of the 72 Orders, meaning death would not be instantaneous, it was obvious that once the report was submitted, the process would be completed within a few hours.

Peope, who had been evaluating their own judgment, turned her body as if she had completed another challenging task for the day.

Peope: "With this, the judgment is over. I will take my leave now."

Peope's flight toward the door came to a halt.

Rian and Tess were blocking the door. Shirone and Amy had surrounded her from both sides.

Peope: "Hmm, are you planning to subdue me by force? Me, a fairy?"

Rian: "Why not? It is like catching a little sparrow."

Peope: "Oh? Then try it."

Peope's eyes widened.

At that moment, Rian, who was gripping the hilt of his great sword, grimaced. A strange force was twisting his arm. Tess, who did not understand what was happening, grabbed Rian's shoulder, and immediately felt the same pain.

Peope: "Hoho! If you do not move aside quickly, your arms might break."

The abilities of a fairy, a single-concept entity, are similar to those of an irregular. They expand their concept and use it like magic.

Peope was born from a spiral, and thus, she could control everything related to twisting. Even Rian, who possessed strength comparable to a Schema user, was struggling to withstand her power.

However, as his body began to fully obey his brain's commands, his movements gradually returned. He swung his great sword, and Peope staggered as the spiral's power was shattered.

Tess seized the opportunity and thrust her saber.

Peope, who had flown into the air to evade, looked at her in disbelief.

Schema. It was the technique of the giants.

Fairies and giants are the two pillars that maintain this world. While they are equal under the law, each secretly believes themselves to be superior. Thus, being overpowered by a giant's technique in any situation was a blow to her pride.

Peope: "You're really something!"

Peope moved so fast that she could have drawn a picture with her afterimages.

Rian and Tess's movements overlapped, creating a gap in their coordination.

Seizing the moment, Peope unleashed the power of the spiral on the door. The center of the iron door twisted clockwise, and with a loud crack, the door shattered and fell apart.

Peope: "Hohoho! Fools! Well then, goodbye!"

As Peope rushed toward the exit, she felt something strange. For some reason, her speed was decreasing.

Shirone approached her from the front, and Peope flew up toward the ceiling, but even that felt slow.

By the time she realized that time was flowing slower, she was already in Shirone's grasp.

Shirone released the slow effect and held Peope up to his face. The captured fairy's expression was dazed.

Peope: "How are you controlling time?"

Controlling time is a light-based magic. But there was no light in the room that could be amplified by magic.

A piece of primordial knowledge flashed through Peope's mind. The Nephilim are descendants of angels. And angels... are the rulers of light.

Peope (thinking): 'Oh no...!'

Peope's face twisted in despair. She struggled to break free, but Shirone's physical strength was overwhelming.

No, it wasn't that Shirone was strong—it was that fairies were physically weak.

Fairies, who specialize in mental power, have the lowest physical strength among all beings governed by the law.

Peope: "Let me go! I said let me go!"

Peope's struggles didn't even tickle him.

Then, gritting her teeth, she cast a spell. The moment the spiral's power surged, Shirone tightened his grip.

Peope's eyes widened, and the air in her stomach burst out of her mouth.

Peope: "Gahhh! Stop! My stomach is going to burst!"

Shirone: "Restore my family's lifespans to their original state."

Peope's tear-streaked face turned cold.

Peope: "Hmph! Trying to threaten me? But it is useless. I may submit the report, but I am not the one who conducts the enforcement. Since you have attacked an enforcer of the law, even if you are a Nephilim, you will not get away with it. You had better let me go now."

Shirone: "Threaten you? I could kill you."

If Peope did not change her mind, Kanya would die. Shirone could not deny that he bore some responsibility for that.

As he tightened his grip, Peope's complexion turned pale. Yet, she refused to abandon her pride as an enforcer.

Peope: "G-go ahead. I am not scared at all."

The more Shirone pressed, the stronger he felt her pulse.

She was a fragile creature. It felt like he could crush her as easily as a toy.

She was terrified.

Shirone: "Not scared? Then why are you trembling?"

Mocked, Peope glared at him fiercely.

Peope: "The annihilation of existence is terrifying to anyone! Even knowing that, I choose death! Do not compare me to you foolish humans!"

Shirone: "Then die."

Peope: "Kill me! I said kill me! I can die as many times as you want!"

Shirone lifted Peope up. If he slammed her to the ground, she would die instantly.

Peope's trembling intensified. Just imagining her small body bursting open, her insides spilling out, made her feel sick.

Peope burst into tears.

She had only lived for a year. Her dream of becoming the top-ranked fairy of the 72 Orders had ended today.

As Peope's tears flowed down Shirone's hand, he frowned.

How could he accept a world where even the fundamental value of life was controlled?

Shirone: "You are scared, yet you choose death? Why? Why can't you think of any other way?"

Peope: "Hmph! A human like you would not understand! But I will not say anything more! As an enforcer of the law, I will not bow to a human!"

Shirone: "Fine. If you have given up on life, then you are already dead. I will take your life without hesitation."

Peope's face was drenched in tears.

She wanted to be spared. But what could she say when faced with someone who held the power of life and death over her?

Should she kneel and beg? It was unthinkable for an enforcer of the law to submit to a mortal.

Peope: "Fine! Kill me! Just kill me already!"

Shirone: "But if you ask me to spare you, I will."