Chapter 16:
When the Dreams of Spirals Come to an End
“HUYGHE WAS THE ONE responsible for creating Origin…” Unlike the king, pope, cardinals, and so on, Huyghe did not seem to be manipulated by anything and didn’t seem to be under the influence of an Origin core, yet he was concerned about Origin. If he were the creator, then that would make sense.
“Technically, the correct answer would be that he was one of the key members of the team that did.” Chatani made that addendum. “I suppose you just thought that, given this day and age, no one would actually break into the system. Even though you built such an impressive fortress, the security was full of holes.”
“Brown. Were you also born in this era with memories of your past life, like me?”
“No, not quite. I copied my personality before the world was destroyed by Origin. In other words, I wasn’t reborn. I am a copy of the Chatani Haruki who lived in that era.”
“So you transplanted part of your brain cells into a computing device…and then you gave the divided parts to the heroes.”
“Yes, because even if it were just a stopgap measure, it would’ve been difficult for me to hack in if you put up a ‘wall.’ I disguised them as communication devices so they wouldn’t be noticed and rigged them only to activate their processing power when everyone was gathered together.”
Linus had a slightly disgusted look on his face as he examined the silver cube in his hand. “Does this mean that this thing’s got old man Chatani’s brains in it…?”
Meanwhile, Echidna listened to the conversation with deep admiration. “So that technology was also used to appropriate my cute little Chimeras cores to power the fortress. How very interesting.”
“I fell right into your trap…” Huyghe was bitterly frustrated, but the other people in the room were unable to understand and went without explanation.
“There were too many words I’ve never heard before and my head’s totally spinning…”
Eterna gave an easier-to-digest explanation to the confused Sara. “In order for Chatani to take over this fortress, he needed all of us to gather here. Huyghe had ways of preventing that from happening, but he was unaware of Chatani’s existence, so he was unprepared for that.” While Flum and Huyghe had been fighting in this room, the communication devices emitted a light and guided the other heroes. That was done in order to fulfill the conditions for cracking the system, but at the same time, there was a risk that Huyghe would’ve realized they weren’t just communication devices, if he had found out. It was a measure that could only have been taken precisely because Huyghe was focused on the battle.
“So how did he end up creating Origin, anyway?” When Tsyon asked that question, Chatani, in good spirits, began to speak loquaciously.
“This man…well, no, at that time, he was a woman named Hirashiki… Anyway, this person belonged to the same research institute as me and was conducting research on generating next-generation energy.” Flum then vaguely recalled dreams about her past life.
“In the past, various countries fought wars over control of energy, didn’t they?”
“That’s right. The development of new technology was needed urgently in order to stop wars, and among those technologies, Origin, which didn’t even require fuel, was truly a dream technology. Even the others had high expectations, while Hirashiki and her team where getting carried away, overly excited.”
“That is your jealousy speaking.” Huyghe said that with warped resentment, but Chatani didn’t pay any attention.
“Hirashiki was acting as though she worshipped Origin, which she and her team created. On the other hand, my colleagues and I were concerned about the dangers of Origin and appealed directly to our superiors. We told them of the possibility that it could be harmful to people.”
“You tried to have me and Him kicked out, out of jealousy, Brown. As a result, everything fell to ruin, and my friend was killed.”
“You’re really the one who killed your friend, Hirashiki, aren’t you? The Reverse Spiral idea was crushed by that dead guy!” It seemed it wasn’t just Origin that Huyghe and Chatani shared; there were also some personal grudges between them. Chatani, who was usually so laid-back and aloof, was unusually emotional, laying his feelings bare.
“Hirashiki, who felt like we were in her way, faked her suicide and killed her colleague. Then she pinned the blame on me. In the end, I wasn’t arrested, but I lost my place in the research center and had to leave. Once there was no longer anyone left to stop them, the plan to build Origin proceeded smoothly, without a hitch… The rest, as you know, is history.” As a result of a few people allowing their desires to run wild, the world was contaminated by Origin and destroyed.
“Which was why you kidnapped my past self, who seemed to be resistant to Origin, and took me to the laboratory.”
“I…know that I did something inexcusable.”
“I know that was what triggered the creation of the power of Reversal. And since she would have died anyway, I don’t think ‘she’ resented you, Chatani. I don’t feel anything about it.”
“Well, she was saved.” Chatani seemed to feel sorry for twisting and killing her, as she was innocent. “Now then, that’s enough reminiscing. Hirashiki, I’m going to send you to Hell.”
“You intend to make Tokyo fall, then.” Since Chatani had already seized control of this fortress, it was up to him what happened, whether that was to crash it or drop it into the sea. Which was why he had no intention of ending it with such half-hearted methods.
“No, I’m going to wipe it out without a trace.” A smile appeared on Chatani’s face. Huyghe’s face suddenly turned pale and a warning message sounded throughout the room.