Chapter 34: The Preparations for Salvation Are Complete

The northern part of the capital was shrouded in an eerie silence.

The main "Invasion of Fiction," the Calamity God that embodied the pathology itself, had disappeared, and the miasma had completely vanished from "Haited, the Land of Defilement"—commonly known as the "Special Zone."

The unnatural iron bars that had covered the buildings and the walls surrounding the area were gone as well.

In their place stood a pure white sphere.

What Kanon had deployed inside the Special Zone was something akin to a cocoon for an insect. An armor that protected her while she waited to become an adult.

Inside it, Salvation Kanon sat in meditation.

The only sound reaching her ears was her own breathing.

She controlled every movement of her emotions, sinking her thoughts deeper and deeper.

Kanon's five senses rejected every external stimulus, gradually merging with the outside world.

What resulted was the omnipresence of consciousness.

Her consciousness, or perhaps her soul, had become so faint that it drifted through space, causing "Salvation Kanon" herself to spread outward. In an instant, it permeated the entirety of the cocoon.

It was physically impossible for a physical self that existed in reality to disperse and become omnipresent throughout space.

However, Kanon had already absorbed the power of a god and stepped into the realm of Buddha.

Something that could be called a network of consciousness continued to spread throughout the cocoon.

A god, a hand of salvation, had to be able to reach every place.

The ideal Kanon had envisioned had become reality.

"...Phew. I think I've got the hang of it."

All that remained was to weave these threads throughout the entire world.

Without giving it much thought, she continued contemplating.

A radiant statue of Kannon had manifested behind Kanon, already activating its ability.

『Pure Land of This World』

That was the name of the ability that had protected the Bluffers from the miasma during the previous battle against the Calamity God.

Under normal circumstances, it was something resembling a field that covered an area of roughly three meters around Kanon.

Its power was the elimination of the "evil things" around Kanon and within her vicinity.

It kept the miasma away, and when fully deployed, it could even repel the Calamity God's breath. The definition of what constituted an "evil thing" was determined by Kanon's perception.

However, the greater the range of interference, the greater the burden placed on Kanon, meaning that her former self could not eliminate every "evil thing."

If she could perfect this power, it could truly become salvation. Kanon was certain of that.

She would apply a complete 『Pure Land of This World』 to everyone, completely erasing all "evil things"—in other words, all "earthly desires"—and elevating everyone to the state of enlightenment.

As a result, she would create a "world without lies."

That was salvation.

If all suffering were eliminated, people would have no reason to lie.

Lies were the pathology born from the suffering of this world, and the cause of the suffering that plagued it.

Kanon believed that without the slightest doubt.

『──There's no way that's true!』

Ever since hearing those words, Kanon had held onto that belief without question.

"All things are impermanent. All phenomena are without self."

Feeling her own spirit waver, Kanon murmured the words as though reminding herself.

The enlightenment she had reached was not something immutable. It was incomplete, something that could only be maintained through constant effort.

She mocked herself for that.

She was nowhere near the saints who had built religions around themselves in the past, nor could she compare to the great figures who had been worshiped as Buddhas. Salvation Kanon had failed to become a superhuman.

But that had nothing to do with whether she could save the world.

"I will create, without fail, a 'world without lies.'"

A world where everyone could be happy.

For that purpose, Salvation Kanon continued preparing for salvation, wishing for nothing more than that.

〈TIPS〉 Salvation Kanon's skill 『Pure Land of This World』 grants a defensive buff to allies within two squares of her. While active, it also increases Salvation Kanon's own attack power.

One day remained until the Day of Salvation—the deadline Kanon had announced.

It was rare for all the Bluffers to gather in one place.

They normally operated in squads of around five, and each squad often carried out missions at different times.

But today, a large number of Bluffers had gathered inside the classroom.

I had gathered as many Bluffers and Anchors as I could.

Once again, I had to make sure everyone was willing to go through with this.

The Salvation Kanon Rescue Operation.

Calling it an operation made it sound more elaborate than it really was. There was no grand strategy. We would gather as much fighting strength as possible, fight Kanon, and neutralize her. When you boiled it down, that was all there was to it.

"──That's the outline of the operation. However, participation is by no means mandatory. The operation to eliminate Salvation Kanon will be carried out after ours. If you intend to follow the committee's orders, then I want you to devote yourselves to that operation."

There was no point in lying here. I continued speaking as honestly as I could.

"If, after hearing all of this, there are still people who want to save Kanon, then I want you to help me."

I bowed my head. I had no idea whether I'd be able to get their cooperation.

This battle wasn't one being fought under the same righteous cause as our previous battles.

If we were thinking about world peace, then the adults who wanted to kill Kanon were probably right.

That's why this wasn't an order.

It was a request.

I raised my head.

I looked straight ahead, steeling myself.

The first people to speak up were the Fox Squad, who had fought alongside me all this time.

Hadzuki opened her mouth.

"──Raika. I was uncertain at first, but I've made my decision. I will stop Kanon. A 'world without lies.' Before I met you, I might have agreed with that without giving it much thought. ──But I was saved by your lies. That's why I reject Kanon's ideal. It isn't a utopia. It's simply a bland, flavorless, boring world."

Hadzuki had become surprisingly more open-minded.

She hadn't lost the core of who she was, but she'd gained the room to accept the thoughts of others on top of that.

Watching her grow made me feel proud, almost like a father watching his beloved daughter grow up.

I gave a small nod, and Hadzuki smiled happily.

Mana was the next to speak.

"I reject Kanon's hypothesis. Not through logic, but because I cannot accept it emotionally. Lies are part of human life. They are the foundation of society. Watching you, a liar who somehow manages to handle things so well, made me certain of that."

Mana had stopped clinging solely to theory and had come to understand that the world did not operate on logic alone.

Now that her stubbornness had faded, perhaps she could even handle the interpersonal relationships she'd always struggled with more smoothly.

I gave a small nod, and Mana nodded back at me.

This time, Victoria spoke.

"I reject the ideal of the Savior. I can tell that her ideal is strong, noble, and unwavering. But an ideal is an ideal, and it is different from reality. The saint who could save humanity died long ago. Precisely because we are Bluffers who wear bluffing as our armor, we must clearly distinguish fiction from reality."

Victoria's resolute tone was filled with her strong will.

Having overcome Ascension Flyout, she would no longer be trapped by fiction. She understood both the fantasy world she loved and this ugly yet beautiful world. Even after understanding both, she still defined herself as a princess. She had gained an unshakable will.

I gave a small nod, and Victoria smiled proudly.

Then Hibari declared her stance.

"I'm going to stop Kanon-chan. No matter how amazing her ideal is, an ideal that hurts so many people to make it a reality is wrong. I don't think you should seize happiness by making someone else unhappy."

Hibari had come to understand the ugliness and emptiness of reality, yet she had made her strength—the strength to continue pursuing hope with a pure heart—even more firmly her own. What had initially been a bluff now existed at the very core of who she was.

I gave a small nod, and she smiled brightly.

Finally, he spoke.

"I want to talk to Kanon. Not force our ideals onto each other, and not fight to the death. I want to understand her. All I can do as an ordinary person is stand beside other ordinary people."

The protagonist──no, Shota had come to clearly understand his role.

Precisely because he had grown up as an ordinary person, he could empathize with the weaker sides of the Bluffers. He could earnestly face their struggles no matter how difficult they were and pull them out of the mire of their anguish.

I gave a small nod, and he looked into my eyes and nodded deeply.

Then he asked me a question.

"What about you, Raika? Why are you trying to stop Kanon?"

"Me? ...Yeah. Maybe I should put it into words again."

After thinking it over carefully, I opened my mouth.

"If Kanon rejects lies, then I reject Kanon's ideology. Lies are an expression of human ugliness. Vanity. Bluffing. Jealousy. But they're not only that. A lie might save someone. It might give someone courage. I don't approve of lies. But Kanon's ideal—the 'world without lies'—is wrong."

I hate lies. I hate liars.

But I can't reject all of them.

A lie is how we compromise with reality. Everyone lies a little, resisting this ugly reality in their own way. I can never accept a world where that disappears.

At my words, everyone in the Fox Squad nodded.

At the very least, I'd confirmed that my comrades shared my resolve.

Next, I looked toward the Sugar Squad, now without Kanon.

"Seika."

"Yeah. We, the Sugar Squad, are going to bring our captain home. There are still so many things left for us to talk about. We blindly revered her, kept our distance, and missed our chance to learn how she really felt. That's precisely why we won't run away this time. We'll face her head-on."

When Seika made her declaration with conviction, the other three members of the Sugar Squad nodded firmly.

The Sugar Squad had been formed temporarily, but it seemed that even so, a genuine bond had begun to grow between them.

"Senpai! I'll help too!"

A voice came from a little farther away, and I turned toward it.

The voice belonged to Ennai Yukari, whom I'd once had the opportunity to show around the school.

Wearing her usual friendly smile, she declared without hesitation:

"I want to help you, Senpai! It might be dangerous, but I want to help my friend, Raika-senpai!"

"Yukari..."

She was still a straight-arrow girl to her very core.

Normally, that straightforwardness could even be a little overwhelming, but right now, it was reassuring.

"I'll do it too!"

The one who shouted out bravely was Kurumizawa Ami, the girl I'd once had a mock battle with.

"If it's a request from Raika, who taught me how to see the world, I'll follow you through fire, water, and even hell!"

"No, I have no intention of sending you somewhere where you're going to die..."

She's way too fired up. She's not a bad kid, but she really does take things to extremes sometimes...

"Leave it to me!"

She thumped her chest with complete confidence.

After that, many more Bluffers volunteered. Most of them were Bluffers I'd had some connection with in the past.

"Raika, you're pretty popular."

He teased me, so I bluntly shot back.

"Shut up. It's only because I happened to have a womanizer in my inner circle. It has nothing to do with me."

I turned away to hide my reddening cheeks from him as he tilted his head in confusion.

"?"