Chapter 17
"Come back to life, hi-yah!"
Like a scene from some classic anime, Rubedo touched both index fingers to her forehead and shouted at Mijeong's corpse, which lay on the floor.
"……."
"……It's not working?"
"As if that would work."
Ramirez wondered if this really was the same person who'd once been an adult man.
……No, wait. No one knew what this guy's identity had been before he became a girl, right? Even he himself had lost his memories.
Then did that mean he wasn't simply a woman……?
The thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Oh. It's alive."
"?"
"It actually worked—eek!"
The second Mijeong to be resurrected in such an absurd way
sent a third life wave rippling across the universe, then launched itself toward a host,
"Get it off meeeee! Aaaah! Ah, my eye!"
and burrowed into Rubedo's eye.
A fourth life wave rang out across the universe.
…….
…….
…….
A high-level emergency in-person meeting was
a full-scale battle of words convened by the Federation's highest-ranking officials, such as the Director of the Human Security Bureau and the Commander-in-Chief, who summoned senior Federation officials from across the universe and wielded the highest authority.
This highest-level summons exerted its force on those summoned through their brain chips,
making refusal absolutely impossible.
If they couldn't attend in person, they had to join by video under any circumstances.
Video attendance was permitted in only two cases.
First.
When they were physically unable to move because of old age, or had abandoned their bodies and uploaded their minds to the virtual world.
Second.
When their rank was higher than that of the person issuing the summons.
And now.
The Director of the Human Security Bureau, one of the Federation's highest-ranking authorities alongside the Senate President of the Martian Senate and the Commander-in-Chief, had knelt.
Before an unidentified participant in the video conference.
"The eternal glory of humanity, the Golden Age. It is an honor to meet Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Earth Empire."
Identification code: John Doe.
Meaning: unidentified.
"Have the 150 years since humanity was exiled been to your satisfaction?"
-…….
In response to that barbed question, the other party gave no answer.
"Hahaha, I'm joking. A subject shouldn't dare question His Majesty's intentions. Please forgive my rudeness."
Yamashita gave a small laugh, stood up, and returned to the podium.
"The second purpose of this high-level summons: an order from His Majesty."
The conference hall was instantly in an uproar.
For the most part…… the senators were generally unfriendly toward the Emperor,
while those over 150 years old secretly harbored hopes, even if they pretended otherwise,
and everyone else waited to hear what Yamashita would say next.
"This is the first order issued in 150 years. It came before the order to protect Rubedo, the girl who is Mijeong's host."
The conditions for the Emperor's order to convene a high-level emergency in-person meeting.
First.
Mijeong would be resurrected.
Second.
An Elder-class Nkhilakarn would die.
The Emperor had given Yamashita the order before Rubedo appeared.
Back then, she had thought the Emperor was mad, even though she knew it was irreverent to think so.
Now, she felt nothing but awe and fear.
"Task Force 42 followed His Majesty's orders as they traveled, striving to protect the host from outside pressure."
The most notable example was the attack by the space pirates of Sigma.
Other incidents included the Nkhilakarn invasion of Bahati and the Elder-class terrorist attack.
Of course, the truth behind those events differed from what Yamashita and the others knew.
"Though they faced the disaster that was an Elder-class Nkhilakarn, Task Force 42 succeeded in killing it. She is currently resting safely aboard the Razangriff."
Yamashita deliberately concealed the fact that Rubedo had lost consciousness.
If that got out, it could give the Senate ammunition.
After all, she was the one who had formed Task Force 42.
"With her deep loyalty to the Federation, she sacrificed herself to understand the cost and limits of Mijeong's abilities. When Mijeong uses its power, it consumes its host's memories. The Technology Development Bureau is currently researching memory restoration for her."
Yamashita crafted an image of Rubedo.
An unfortunate girl who had become Mijeong's host through no fault of her own.
A noble person who sacrificed herself out of boundless love for humanity.
Only Yamashita and Commander-in-Chief Karyan knew that Rubedo had tried to falsify her identity and annihilated a city on Mars.
They had spun the city's destruction as Mijeong's doing, with Rubedo merely having taken Mijeong into her body.
There was nothing to lose by giving the Federation's leaders a favorable impression of her.
"Furthermore, Task Force 42 killed and captured Nkhilakarn who had been rampaging through Federation territory, giving the Federation grounds to declare war."
With those words, she briefly glanced at Senate President Constantine.
His expression remained composed,
but when she lowered her gaze, she saw his tightly clenched hand, red with tension.
"Brigadier General Ramirez doesn't know, and never will, but all of this happened just as His Majesty said. Sigma's attack on the Razangriff, the betrayal of Fettuccine and Bahati, and the death of the Elder-class Nkhilakarn. And……"
-When the Elder-class Nkhilakarn died, I told Director Luna to convene a high-level meeting.
……!
The person presumed to be the Emperor cut off Director Yamashita and spoke.
It had been a full 150 years.
Even in the sixth year after humanity's exile, when the Martian Senate had been formed and protests and attempts to infiltrate Earth were frequent, the Emperor had shown no response.
Even when he had recently issued orders to the Human Security Bureau, he had sent them in writing rather than speaking.
Now, after a full 150 years, he had spoken.
The old-timers who remembered the Emperor's voice wept tears of emotion.
They were mostly senators from the Martian Senate, with some leaders of the Federation's autonomous territories among them.
In that moment, they were united by a single emotion, transcending ideology and affiliation.
-Not a single day. Not a single moment has passed in peace.
"That doesn't absolve you of your sins, Emperor."
-But it was a sacrifice that had to be endured, an unavoidable one for the sake of humanity.
Senate President Constantine snapped at him, but the Emperor ignored him and continued speaking.
Anger clouded Constantine's face.
-Although a few traitors are mixed in among you……
"Are you referring to me?"
-……It is well known that you are humanity's finest. So I will make it clear here. I……
"You bastard, Emperor!"
The Emperor paid no heed to Constantine's shout.
-……I know the future.
Another commotion swept through the hall.
The future.
Time.
A law of the universe that even the Earth Empire, which had conquered space, could not conquer.
-And if things continue as they are, human civilization will be destroyed along with the universe, without a single speck left behind.
The destruction of human civilization.
It had been a widely discussed subject since before the days of the Earth Empire.
The usual causes people kept a close eye on were wars between nations, planetary pollution, and resource depletion.
But once the Emperor unified Earth and established the Earth Empire, the threat of wars between nations disappeared.
And as humanity ventured into space and encountered alien civilizations, the threat of civil war arising from peace disappeared.
The infinite universe and its infinite galaxies made people forget their worries about planetary pollution and resource depletion.
Even the Nkhilakarn, humanity's greatest threat, had been all but defeated by the Earth Empire, making them seem a long way from bringing about extinction.
And yet, the destruction of human civilization?
The undisputed species holding dominion over the current universe.
Was that not humanity?
And the destruction of the universe
was a story set so far in the future that it seemed beyond the reach of modern humanity.
"Setting aside whether your words are true…… what on earth could lead to the destruction of humanity's brilliant civilization? Even if the Federation's technology has declined since the days of the Earth Empire, there is no doubt that it still shines among the brightest in the universe, alongside the Nkhilakarn."
"Considering who truly betrayed humanity, I can only think this is a blatant lie meant to throw the Federation into turmoil."
Taken aback by a revelation she was hearing for the first time, Director Yamashita steadied herself and addressed the Emperor.
Senate President Constantine also chimed in.
-……Do you know why the Nkhilakarn worship the World Tree?
"Pardon? That's……"
-The Nkhilakarn gather the universe's resources and offer them as nourishment to the World Tree.
The Nkhilakarn and the World Tree.
The Nkhilakarn make ultra-long-range jumps across the universe in search of planets rich in resources.
The resources they mine become nourishment for the World Tree.
The World Tree absorbs the resources, growing thicker and longer.
The Nkhilakarn had continued this practice for at least several thousand years, and by the time of the Space War, the World Tree they had grown was said to be as large as Aldebaran.
-The World Tree grows through the Nkhilakarn's devotion. Their goal in nurturing it is to make it reach the ceiling of the universe.
The ceiling of the universe.
……?
There was a ceiling to the universe?
In an infinite space that expanded without end?
No one understood what the Emperor meant, but the most shocking part was yet to come.
-Is reaching the ceiling the end? No. The World Tree will keep growing after it reaches the ceiling, and……
"Wait, surely you don't mean……"
Director Yamashita gasped.
-It will break through the ceiling of the universe. The collapse of the universe. That is the name of the end.
"……This isn't worth listening to. To think the Emperor who once led the Golden Age would spout such absurdities. I'm leaving, Director Yamashita."
When the Senate President left the conference hall, the senators who had been watching one another followed, one by one.
Even those over 150 who remembered the days of the Earth Empire eventually left.
Silence settled over the room.
…….
-……The traitors have all left. Now we can finally talk about Mijeong, the only path to preventing the end.
The Emperor had exposed Constantine in an utterly casual tone.
Everyone doubted their own ears, but Yamashita had long since expected this, so she wasn't shaken.
Instead, she was more interested in the means of overcoming the end.
"You mean that bug His Majesty drove to extinction?"
-That's right. The World Tree, which even an artificial star couldn't affect. Only the potential of Mijeong can bring it down.
She couldn't understand.
If Mijeong was that important, then why……
"If Mijeong's power is necessary, why did Your Majesty drive it to extinction?"
-Because every Mijeong had to be brought under humanity's control. It was the only way to recover the bugs that had fallen into the Nkhilakarn's hands.
"Then why are the Nkhilakarn trying to destroy the universe?"
-I can't say. But……
The Emperor paused for a moment, then
-The game of chicken has already begun. We need Mijeong's power to stop the end, yet, paradoxically, the more Mijeong we resurrect, the closer we get to it.
He announced that the countdown to the end had already begun.
"What? What does that mean?"
-What do you think the life waves Mijeong emits are? They are exactly what they sound like: powerful life force. A pure life force that has become difficult to find. The World Tree absorbed four life waves and grew, bringing it even closer to the ceiling of the universe.
"F-four? Not two?"
-…….
Click.
John Doe's signal went dark.
At the same time, Yamashita's communicator rang.
-Director! We've detected two life waves in the First Sindalot Multistar System!
"What?"
It was the resurrection of the second Mijeong.
…….
…….
…….
"Come on, you can do it. Believe in yourself."
"Fweh, y-you c-can d-do it. B-believe in y-yourself."
"Oh, just shut up already."
At that moment, Rubedo and Ramirez were……
"……What are you two doing?"
And Kang Chanwoo was……
"Treating Yangyang."
The plan was to treat Second Lieutenant Yangyang, who had lost her lower body in the attack by the Elder-class Nkhilakarn.