“…You’re sure about this?”
“I am.”
On the floor of the large room in the deepest portion of the Base was a massive magic circle. A woman stood in its center with her hands together as though in prayer. It was just the two of us here. I asked yet again if she was certain, not because I doubted her will, but because there would be no going back once it was done. Perhaps I simply wanted to absolve myself of the guilt I felt. At any rate, she returned a faultless smile and said, “Our battle against the demons grows worse by the day. Humanity may be winning now, but it won’t be long before that changes. Not unless someone does something.”
“Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean you need to be the one to sacrifice yourself,” I said, still lacking the resolve to go through with the plan.
She looked at me softly. “I’m sorry for giving you the more difficult role. But you’re the only one who can do this for me.”
“…Still.” Out of the many alchemists, I alone specialized in transmutation between matter and energy. What we were about to attempt—basically channeling the divine—fell within those bounds. “You may be the best of us, but we’re working with an unfathomable, great power here—essentially God itself. There’s no way you’ll come out of this unscathed.”
“I’m sure. But if not me, then who?”
I couldn’t answer. I knew there was nobody else who had a shot.
“Come on, let’s start. The two of us will manage it. Who knows, maybe it won’t be that bad.” She made herself sound as cheerful as possible for me. I was left with no other choice.
“All right. I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.”
The two of us began our plan to call down the great power of the Akashic Record, of God itself, in our fight against the demons. Though I wasn’t without hesitation, we were both certain this was necessary. We believed this would bless humanity.
This was the moment everything started to go wrong.