Chapter 32: A World Without Lies

"You've finally shown your true colors. The irregularity outside the scenario."

The bullet I fired struck Kanon's chest.

However, instead of piercing her body, the bullet simply ricocheted off.

Kanon didn't even seem to care that she'd been shot.

I had expected an attack of this caliber to be ineffective the moment I saw her eyes turn red, but her durability was even greater than I'd anticipated.

At the very least, I had wanted to stop her from absorbing the Calamity God, but the Kannon statue had already completely swallowed its massive body.

"Raika, what is that!?"

"Stay alert! Kanon is dangerous!"

The hypothesis in my mind had become certain.

Kanon was plotting something. She had gained power, and she intended to use it to accomplish something.

I'd been suspicious of her from the beginning.

And not simply because she was an existence outside the scenario.

Her behavior was far too perfect.

What could have been seen as a virtue instead struck me as deeply suspicious.

The way she seemed almost saintly, as though she never experienced a single negative emotion, was not something I'd expect from a girl in her teens.

I remembered how I'd observed Kanon on the way here.

Everything about the way she carried herself was perfect.

She was quick-witted and decisive.

She mediated between people to prevent conflicts from escalating.

She treated everyone with kindness and equality.

She never became emotional and always remained calm.

People like that usually have something hidden up their sleeve.

That was the conclusion I'd reached through my fairly long experience as a working adult.

No matter how capable a person was, under normal circumstances, the movement of their emotions would reveal itself through the smallest subtleties.

The movement of their eyes. Their breathing. Even where they placed their hands and how they moved their fingers.

Human emotions reveal themselves in places we're not consciously controlling. Even I, a born liar, was probably no exception.

And from that perspective, there was almost nothing I could read from Kanon.

She was too perfect.

Her breathing remained steady, her eyes stared straight ahead, her posture was impeccable, and her fists rested on her knees.

Perhaps someone who had spent more than thirty years observing people and had developed the composure of a mature adult could behave that way.

But Salvation Kanon was a child who had lived for little more than ten years.

If you were simply watching her from outside the screen, there was no way you could have noticed something so abnormal.

"Anyone who's injured, keep your distance from Kanon. Treat her the same way you would 'Invasion of Fiction.'"

Salvation Kanon was a survivor of Ascension Flyout.

Her reddened eyes. Her abnormally high output of power.

And the abnormality of her ability to absorb "Invasion of Fiction."

Even if she was capable of doing it, absorbing "Invasion of Fiction" was something an ordinary mind could never endure.

Taking in someone else's fiction was poison.

Other people's lies would become mixed together with your own, until eventually, you wouldn't even know who you were anymore.

Bluffers who survived Ascension often developed extreme ways of thinking.

"Humans themselves are the cancer of this world."

"Eliminating the incompetent would be better for the world."

There had been several reported cases of Bluffers who reached such conclusions and went on to commit murder.

The adults of the Fiction Countermeasures Committee had authorized killing Bluffers who underwent Ascension as an act of self-defense.

That was how dangerous these beings were.

"Kanon. Why did you absorb the Calamity God? What are you trying to accomplish by gaining this power?"

Even so, that wasn't a reason to give up on talking to her.

When I asked, she answered with the same gentle smile she always wore.

"Everything is for salvation. ...With my power, I can save this world."

Her eyes were serious. Her words sounded like the dream of an innocent child.

But the passion contained within them was anything but ordinary.

I carefully chose my words as I attempted to continue the conversation.

"When you say you'll save the world, what exactly does that mean?"

"──This world is filled with suffering. The damage caused by 'Invasion of Fiction' has been immense. The number of people directly killed or injured has already far exceeded one hundred thousand. Even an unprecedented natural disaster has never caused this much damage. Furthermore, the loss of the metropolitan area, where so much of the population was concentrated, has created friction throughout Japan and left countless sparks waiting to ignite. Anxiety has fueled prejudice and discrimination, which have led to exclusion. Hibari-san and Victoria-san should know this better than anyone."

Hibari, who had exhausted her strength fighting the Calamity God, gave a slight nod at her words.

"Then there is the distorted existence known as the 'Bluffer.' The abnormality of giving power to girls who should be protected. Humanity chose to place teenage girls on the front lines. ...It was this distortion that gave birth to so many tragedies."

Something seemed to be reflected in her red eyes—a scene from somewhere far away from here.

She was probably remembering something that I knew nothing about.

I couldn't bring myself to interrupt her, so I remained silent for a moment.

"That is precisely why I will save them. ──I will paint over this world with my ideal."

She raised both hands toward the empty sky.

At that moment, a light like an aurora enveloped her.

The divine sight of it captivated me despite myself.

After completely absorbing the Calamity God, she had already become an existence that I could no longer stop on my own. The presence of the Kannon statue had grown even stronger, to the point that it seemed almost divine.

"I don't wish to hurt any of you. Would you please quietly watch until my salvation is realized?"

"We can't exactly do that. It's an adult's job to watch over young people and make sure they don't make a mistake. Especially when they're trying to do something this big."

Kanon tilted her head as though she couldn't understand what I meant.

When a kid makes up their mind about something without consulting anyone, things generally don't go very well.

Everyone else was also looking uneasy at Kanon's words. Apparently, even the Sugar Squad hadn't been informed about Kanon's plan.

Seeing their expressions, I continued.

"It's true that your power is tremendous right now. You might even be able to defeat 'Invasion of Fiction' all by yourself. ...But would that really save the world? What happens to the Bluffers if their enemy suddenly disappears? What happens to Kanon, the person with the greatest power in this world? What happens if a conflict breaks out over the territories that were taken from us? ...Solving a problem and achieving salvation may look similar, but they're two different things."

"It seems you are underestimating me somewhat, Raika-san."

Kanon smiled sweetly before speaking at length.

"What I intend to do isn't simply a symptomatic treatment of defeating 'Invasion of Fiction.' It is a definitive cure at the root. ──I will create a 'world without lies.'"

Impossible.

Maybe I thought that because I was a born liar.

And yet, I couldn't immediately bring myself to deny her.

The words "a world without lies" sounded almost suspiciously sweet.

"'Invasion of Fiction' is fiction—in other words, it is born from human lies. The same is true of the power of the Bluffers. If no human lied, created fiction, or put on a bluff, the distortions of this world would disappear. That is the fundamental cure I seek."

"──That's impossible."

My tone had probably become harsher because my own emotions had gotten involved.

"As long as they're alive, humans will lie. Politics, business, social interactions, student life, romance. Lies are woven into every aspect of human existence. Getting rid of lies is nothing more than a child's dream."

"It would be impossible if humans remained as they are. Therefore, with my power, I will lead every person to enlightenment."

Enlightenment.

The goal of Buddhism. It was said that those who reached that state could sever themselves from all worldly desires.

"Enlightenment isn't something just anyone can achieve."

"In the world I remake, humans will become more perfect beings. They will be able to reach enlightenment whenever they desire, and people will cease to commit every form of evil."

Her red eyes were far too earnest for me to simply laugh it off as though she were dreaming.

Remake the world. Change the laws governing the world. Change humanity.

Seeing the tremendous power she was wielding before me, she almost made me believe that perhaps it really was possible.

But...

"What will you do if someone rejects it and says they don't want to live in such a world?"

"──If they interfere with my ideal, then I have no choice but to kill them."

She used the word "kill" so casually.

Ah.

So she really was already broken.

I thought that as I looked into those red eyes staring straight at me.

"...What exactly are you worried about, Raika-san? People will be freed from suffering, and 'Invasion of Fiction' will never be born again. Is accepting my ideal really so difficult?"

"Yeah. Humans aren't as pure as you think, Kanon. And they're weak. By your standards, a liar like me would be killed, right?"

"...I see. It seems this won't be resolved peacefully."

As Kanon said this, she brought her palms together, and the Kannon statue emitted a brilliant flash of light.

Something spherical began to envelop Kanon.

A cocoon of light, perhaps.

Its formidable defenses were obvious at a glance. In our exhausted state, it didn't seem like something we could break through easily.

"Would you please retreat to the school? In your exhausted state, fighting me would be difficult enough, but dealing with the 'Invasion of Fiction' still lingering around you should be even more difficult. ──Three days from now, I will begin my salvation. I hope that by then, you will have changed your minds."

"...Kanon is right. Let's go back."

Both the Fox Squad and Sugar Squad were running on fumes. Victoria's injuries had yet to heal, either.

Just as Kanon said, if we tried to settle things here, we might be defeated by the unrelated threats still lingering around us before we even got the chance to fight her.

In the center of the Special Zone, now abandoned by its master, Kanon shut herself inside the cocoon of light.

If she intended to keep her word, she would emerge from that cocoon three days later and begin her salvation.

And so, faced with the irregularity known as Kanon, we were forced to retreat for the time being.

▶ CHAPTER II COMPLETED!

To be continued in the Extra Chapter: The Salvation Arc