Chapter 129. Constructing Alaya, Enveloping the Planet's History!!
Everyone in reality was dumbfounded.
Just one second ago, they thought this match was already over.
And then — stabbed in the back?
All that could be said was — truly worthy of Kaguya-sama, the supreme ruler of the planet, calculating all of existence.
All beings were merely puppets dancing at her ten fingertips.
But...
"…So cruel… just at the moment of reaching hope… she crushed it…"
In a desolate alley.
Kazuma shuddered.
This cycle of reincarnation was clearly designed by Kaguya specifically targeting Raku Sou; even their meeting might have been orchestrated…
...
Britain.
Wharton Building, top-secret Level 1 meeting room.
The atmosphere was solemn, everyone silent.
For a long moment.
An elderly general with white hair and glasses lit a cigar and took a light puff: "This is clearly a scheme aimed at that Eternal King."
Hmph.
As expected of someone who loved humanity so much that she became Beast Kaguya, studying humanity down to its core.
"If there is no hope, and no light can be seen in desperate situations, it will instead force humans to erupt with unbelievable miracles."
Beside him, a blond middle-aged man smiled and added, "But humans are also lazy creatures, like vines, always clinging to whatever they can rely on."
"That's why the meeting between that Bodhisattva and the Eternal King happened…"
"Then the Eternal King won't…?" A beautiful middle-aged woman beside them asked anxiously.
"He won't."
The old general firmly cut her off.
"Why?"
"Because he is the Eternal King, he is Raku Sou."
The old general's words were unwavering.
That is the Eternal King.
That is our sovereign.
That is the one who buried the Gods, who single-handedly opened the era of mankind.
...
"Yukino, Raku Sou this time won't…"
Yuigahama Yui clasped her hands, asking anxiously.
Yukino glanced over Yui, and because of that movement, Yui cleavage appeared even deeper. She said irritably, "No way, that guy wouldn't lose. Besides — that's not Raku Sou, at least not the one we know."
...
Shiinomiya Residence.
"Ugh, how did it turn out like this…"
Kaguya collapsed onto the eight-million-yen bed, groaning in shame and anger: "Now he'll think I'm a despicable woman… what do I do, Hayasaka!"
The maid with perfect etiquette could only respond a little helplessly: "Kaguya-sama, please be clear… that person is not you."
Honestly, she wanted to say — Ojou-sama, don't you know what you're like?
Turning epic heroes into puppets beneath ten fingers… and this clingy version right now, how could it compare?
In the end, Hayasaka simply couldn't imagine — just what must have happened to make Kaguya become like this.
"Then Raku-san will be okay, right?"
The troublesome Ojou-sama now looked like a child, asking blankly.
"He'll be fine, Kaguya-sama. Because that person is…"
"Eternal King."
Hayasaka looked up at the Celestial Curtain, her eyes filled with admiration.
Though she was Kaguya's close confidante, she was actually a spy sent by Kaguya's older brother to keep watch over her.
She had endured countless struggles and pain.
But compared to that person, what did it matter?
...
In a dimension unreachable by mankind.
Raku Sou looked at the skyrocketing Divine Authority Jade, smiling and nodding with satisfaction.
Umu! That's exactly it!
No matter the Eternal King ever truly existed in the real history of this world, or was merely a fictional legend—
But in the future…
Looking at the light before him — it was like endless radiance, containing boundless epics, countless heroes forging great feats, endless cycles of love and hate.
Raku Sou, content, reached out his hand to feel it.
This is [The Color Out of Space].
Not the one from Cthulhu Mythos.
This was a byproduct born from him absorbing divine power — divine might, the convergence of all mankind's faith, in other words, the embryo of [The Collective Unconscious Will of Mankind – Alaya].
Of course, for now, it could only barely be considered to have some connection.
But with the massive amount of Divine Authority Jade he continuously poured in to calibrate it, becoming something akin to Alaya was only a matter of time.
When that time comes, he will sink it into the planet, replacing the planet's consciousness, and enveloping the entire history of the planet.
All the lies he once made up… would become actual past, irrefutable history.
Even if someone truly possessed a Clairvoyance EX-rank Skill, the past they see — would still be a past he had crafted.
"Almost there, almost there…"
Raku Sou gently caressed the Color Out of Space, his gaze distant as he looked up toward the sky.
...
Celestial Curtain.
Within a gray and sorrowful melody.
[Mental Corridor.]
[Following the actions of the Empress, countless powerful races tore off their false smiles, revealing their savage faces.]
[In the skies, on land, in the oceans — they chased, hunted, and pursued humanity, that frail species like reeds in the wind.]
[All the rage and fear they felt toward the Empress — was poured onto this weak humanity.]
[And the Saint who created it all became the greatest sinner.]
[Once revered so highly, now met with scorn and hatred.]
[After all, to the Empress reigning over the planet, how could they dare to hate her?]
[This is humanity — and also the shared disease of all sentient life.]
[In the wilderness.]
[Sensing humanity plunging completely into a desperate situation within the Mental Corridor, suffering heavy casualties.]
[From the nine heavens above, the Bodhisattva, merciful to the point of madness, flicked her fingers and unleashed a Heavenly Wheel, destroying billions of Crystal Dragons, and smiled gently.]
[Is that all, Onii-chan?]
[They're only humans, after all, trapped in fragile mortal shells — how could they ever comprehend the planet's magnificence?]
[She never expected the lazy nature of humanity to defeat Raku Sou.]
[Mental Corridor is a clash of wills.]
[Hatred, admiration, pain, despair, desire… all of these, for the ones experiencing them, are absolute truths.]
[But compared to emotional blows, the collapse of ideals is the true fatal strike.]
[She understood her brother's thoughts very well.]
[Compared to herself — one who believes human nature is evil — Raku Sou believes that human nature is chaotic, neither good nor evil, and must be educated afterward.]
[Therefore…]
[I'll give you a chance to change me, Onii-chan.]
[Mental Corridor is absolute.]
[Even when placed in infinite parallel worlds, it remains one of the Absolute Forces.]
[Even she — the one who created it — has only the right to construct it, not to alter it.]
[So Onii-chan is the same. What he faces is the most complete version of her.]
[And the truth proves——]
["I'm the one who's right————!"]
[In the wilderness.]
[Kaguya's massive Bodhisattva form thunderously stood up, behind her thousands of gigantic arms like skyscrapers extended outward like illusions, covering the entire sky and earth, as though ready to crush Raku Sou and the entire world.]
["Humanity's nature is inherently evil. They must be endlessly whipped, pushed into one desperate situation after another to be forced forward."]
["How could simple teaching possibly change the vile essence of humanity, which is so deeply rooted?"]
[Each of the massive arms came crashing down like a raging storm.]
[The pressure from the wind alone shattered the ground, tectonic plates rising and sinking like drifting ice.]
[Atop the head of a magnificent dragon, Raku Sou merely let out a soft sigh.]
["Kaguya, do you still not understand?"]
["Hmph~"]
[Kaguya only smiled faintly, the thousands of arms behind her once again condensed, slowly drawing back to gather strength: "Onii-chan, this boring game should also…"]
[In the next instant, her smile froze…]
...
[Mental Corridor.]
[The betrayal of loved ones, the contempt of her kin — not even the fall from heaven to hell could defeat this steadfast man.]
[Raku Sou calmly faced the hatred of his people, opening one after another of the shelters he had long prepared to receive them.]
[Far beyond what the Outsiders could have predicted.]
[Clearly, Raku Sou had never intentionally hidden Kaguya's existence, yet the army under the Imperial Court currently hunting down humanity seemed completely unaware of it.]
Within Celestial Curtain, the weathered man standing atop a hill smiled, then slowly stepped down into the earth.
[Humans are very complicated…]
[This has long been known.]
[A Demon King steeped in sin can also be as gentle as falling snow.]
[A hero with noble ideals can also be cold and merciless.]
[Those five years of living alongside the tiny lifeform named Raku Sou — for Kaguya, now towering amidst the heavens — were no doubt a deeply cherished memory.]
[But in the face of ideals, of her great vow, even if it meant father and mother, even if it meant…]
[Raku Sou — the one most important to her — if he stood in the way, she would tear him apart in the most brutal and ruthless way.]
[Raku Sou understood that.]
[It's not that he wasn't important — but there exist certain wish so great that one must fulfill them even at the cost of everything, even love.]
[Perhaps… for people like them, emotion is already a luxury.]
[But!]
[Even for someone like Kaguya — a Fallen Flügel of extreme evil, utterly opposite of a typical Flügel — she still developed a trace of softness she herself never noticed.]
...
…Huh?
On the rooftop, Hiratsuka Shizuka stood dumbfounded.
"So Kaguya is a Flügel?"
A mutant?
"This isn't obvious already? Otherwise why would the War God take her as a disciple? And that grown-up form she revealed… isn't that clearly a black Flügel? Just added a pair of horns, and you couldn't tell? Still called yourself a teacher?"
Kakeru Tobe spoke.
All the teachers had rushed up to the rooftop to watch the Celestial Curtain — of course the students weren't stupid enough to stay seated in class.
Hiratsuka Shizuka glanced around.
Sure enough, most of the students had already figured it out. She couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
Truly, she was old now. Her way of thinking felt like it had been sealed in steel.
Unlike these young minds that soared freely, unrestrained.
How annoying.
Suddenly, a wave of frustration welled up inside her.
Sweeping her gaze once more, she instantly locked onto Kakeru Tobe, who was spinning circles around Ebina Hina.
Iron fist! Retribution!
...
"Well said. Human nature truly is hard to define — inherently chaotic, neither good nor evil."
The old general took a sip of his instant coffee and sighed with emotion.
"Indeed, though there are still those born inherently wicked — as mere mortals, we can't change own nature."
"Mortals can't change?" someone asked.
The old general laughed, raising his wine glass toward the Celestial Curtain where Raku Sou stood:
"Then just bring him to meet Eternal King, problem solved."
In a quiet corner, a few youths exchanged glances.
So in the minds of these old folks, the Eternal King and God were on the same level now?
No one says "meet God" anymore, it's "meet the Eternal King."
"Now that you mention it, how is the Eternal King planning to break this deadlock?"
"Jeez~ no matter how you think about it, it's a dead end. Ugh, gives me a headache."
"Look at me, I've barely got any hair left, and Jerry kicked the bucket yesterday too."
"Jerry?"
"The name I gave to the hair next to Tom."
"…My condolences."
...
The world.
Russia, Japan, the United States…
Countless people were wondering:
How will the Eternal King break this deadlock?
Waiting with hope.
At last—
[A mountain-sized Demon let out a wailing cry before collapsing, sending dust flying dozens of meters high.]
[A human figure cloaked in black stood slightly askew atop the Demon's corpse.]
[All around, countless men and women, young and old — either weeping with joy, staggering in madness, screaming until their voices broke, or crying endlessly.]
[How many years had it been? Just how many years? He had finally found it — the vitality of humankind, the future of humanity, their… hope.]
[It had been too long.]
[So long that, at some point, the faces etched deep in his memory had grown blurry.]
[So long that even the soul-deep tear marks had begun to fade.]
[Only the unyielding cries of the ancestors remained, their howls of rage… the soul-shaking roars still echoing within his heart.]
[Finally, they had grasped power.]
[Power that truly belonged to humanity.]
[The figure under the black cloak gazed at the people rejoicing, crying, and screaming themselves hoarse.]
[Once again, he extended that steel-structured arm — long since incapable of shedding tears.]
[Perhaps because steel has no eyes with which to weep.]
[Flesh worn thin, machinery ascendant… how could there not be a price to pay?]
[And yet…]
[An aged man now, with silvered temples — Raku Sou, the one who fundamentally changed the fate of humanity — looked at the tiny blades of grass, resiliently pushing through cracks in the rock, steadily spreading.]
[He turned and stepped into the limestone cave.]
[From this day forth, offense and defense have reversed.]
[Behind him, countless people cried and wailed as they followed, prostrating themselves upon every inch of ground he tread.]
[Regret. Shame. Overflowing in their hearts.]
...
Not just humanity in that world — even in the real one, countless people were moved to tears.
They had suffered too much.
So many times torn apart by life and death, so many times screaming in despair, so many moments of helpless agony.
The disparity was just too great.
In that world, the distance humanity had to face was unbearably vast.
So vast that only after paying in blood and tears for tens of thousands of years could they finally take the very first step.
But that step — was a transformation in essence.
Just like humanity on Earth in Raku Sou's world: after millions of years, they barely gained intelligence — yet in just a few tens of thousands of years, they conquered highlands, oceans, frozen tundras, forests, and mountains…
It was the same in the Celestial Curtain.
...
[No one knew when it began, but behind Raku Sou, figures of steel began to appear — possessing learning capabilities surpassing even the EX-Machina.]
[They possessed creative power beyond even the Flügel.]
[They had no blood, no tears.]
[They slaughtered other races, hunted Dragon Kings, felled gods, and rampaged across the lands.][No one knew when it happened, but they had acquired a name.]
[Divine-like Species!!]
[One of the three races in the world to achieve the great undertaking of god-slaying.]
[And finally…]
[All eyes turned skyward——]
[The Empress.]
[The absolute ruler of heaven and earth, the one who governs all things.]