CH 175

Volume 8, Chapter 33: Side Story: Ship upon the Stars, Part 2 [Finale]

“Yu-Yuru, what happened? Are you scared?”

“……I’m alright. Sorry.”

The ship wasn’t just a colony ship. It was an Invader.

In short, there were only 1291 real humans left in Sebra’s home star, and their genes had been used to create clones and maintain the state of civilization.

There were two types of clones – fertilized clones, which were almost the same as humans, and copied clones that served as a labor force.

If that had been all, that would be alright, but they weren’t going out into the universe in search of colonies, but rather “gene ranches” to increase the variety in their genes.

The ship had found their target for their next stop.

The only earth-type [World] around here was Atra, where mother and father were.

The people of Atra weren’t incapable, either. There was a hero. …… But even then, with the sheer power of this ship, it might not even take days to conquer.

And then, Atra’s people would become like livestock who lived only to be extracted from.

The biggest problem was…… the people of this ship. Even Sebra didn’t feel like this was a problem.

…… It’s a bit on the nose for me to be criticizing them.

I hunted in the mountains and ate meat. Sebra and her kind raised livestock. Which one of us is worse?

But…… the answer is clear to me.

“Hey, Sebra. Has information about that planet already been transmitted to the home planet?”

“Eh? …… Uh, I don’t think so. It would be a disaster if another colony ship came by right now while we aren’t certain yet. Well, I think the rest of the colony ships are on the other side of the galaxy anyway.”

“Oh…… that’s good. I’m relieved.”

“……Yuru…?”

As I smiled at her, Sebra’s expression turned blue.

“That world is mine.”

In that same instant I fully exposed my presence, the expressions disappeared from Sebra and the other residents.

“Capture and collect the seed of life!”

As Sebra called out emotionlessly, the guards and inhabitants attacked me. It seems like they were also aiming for my genes, too.

If they were conscious humans, I could have gotten rid of them with [Intimidation], but while I was thinking of what to do, the copy-clone guards who were approaching me were suddenly blown away.

“Rinne!”

“Yurushia, are you alright?”

It’s alright. They hadn’t been pulverized.

“Rinne, I’m going to destroy this ship. I want you to destroy their communications facilities at once…… but do you even know what those are?”

I feel like I’m saying crazy things. But Rinne frowned a little, raising his eyebrows slightly while he manifested something that looked like a sketch on his skin.

“I have been looking about inside the ship for the past few days, and I felt like my telepathy was being disrupted around here and here. Maybe around here……?”

“Rinne, you’re amazing!”

You hadn’t been off snacking! Well, I don’t know if it’s correct, but in the worst case we’ll just destroy anything antenna-like. Well, that aside……

“What is this skin……?”

“…Well, it’s commonly referred to as a two-legged sheep.”

I didn’t want to hear such jargon.

“[Eliminate the intruders. Eliminate the intruders.]”

Rinne’s human form caused them to try killing us both instead of capturing me.

“Ha!”

“uh…”

I defeated Sebra with a poke to the forehead, even while she was repeating herself like a siren, and parted from Rinne.

“Sorry, Sebra.”

I aimed for the main system of the ship. A biological computer…… perhaps it was one of the 1291 people who were the source of all genes here, the [Mother].

“…[Radiant Sacred Spear]…!”

I mowed down security drones and guards alike with my Radiant Sacred Spear.

…… My demon-busting [Radiant Series] and god-busting [Black Magic] were less effective here. I realized that I wasn’t quite good at physical combats.

No, no, I had my attendants for that, but what if I called them here……? For some reason I felt like I would mess it up, so let’s not do that.

I could hear the explosions off in the distance. …… they seem to be underestimating Rinne.

It’s not my hobby to involve the innocent people in things, but could I even call these copy clones people? Unlike the fertilized clones, I couldn’t feel any will or a soul in them.

“Hup!”

BANG! Thick walls slammed down over the other side.

“[Radiant Shield]”

The humans were gone, and the barrage of attacks from the laser turret were blocked by Radiant Shield.

These were the areas that Rinne weren’t able to get into, that he hadn’t even drawn properly on his sketch. It was a toss-up between being an engine or a control room, but apparently, I guessed right.

“[This is a restricted area. This is a restricted area.]”

“I know.”

As I destroyed the last bulkhead …… I was suddenly in a place that resembled a baseball field.

There was nothing particularly wrong. It looked every bit the spitting image of a baseball field, but for the giant tower of crystal that was tens of meters tall in the middle of it all. The spectator seats that were lined up in the bleachers weren’t cheap plastic chairs, but “brains” suspended in the tens of thousands in tanks.

“Is this the [Mother]……?”

“[…… What are you?]”

As I inquired of it, I received a reply in an ever-so-slightly emotional tone that sounded starkly different from those emotionless warnings.

“I want you to stop your invasion of this planet.”

“[……Invasion? What are you talking about?]”

“Weren’t you going to domesticate the indigenous people to harvest their genes?”

“[Yes. Is it a problem for us to effectively use livestock?]”

“……Is it really ok to domesticate human beings?”

“[No. But there are legally no such things as “humans” besides those from our mother star.]”

“I’m talking to you here, you know…?”

[Yes. You are not a human. And therefore, you are not legally protected.]

“…… Then the copy clones?”

“[They are not classified as humans. They are merely the copies of the 1291 people controlled by the 1291. The same person cannot exist twice at the same time.]”

“…… I see.”

I finally understood a little. The same person could not exist twice at the same time. In short, their copy technology only copied the body, and not the self.

There was only a remnant of a soul in the copy, just like how there were no souls in hair that had been cut. Even so, thinking of these humans, I could only think of them as having one soul. No matter how many brains they had, there was only one will, and it was almost like a hive.

So, the copies weren’t people. And similarly, the indigenous folk who weren’t protected in their laws weren’t people. Therefore, their own self-indulgent theory let them do whatever they wished.

“Well, then, this is not murder.”

As I swung my arms, hundreds of brains that were encased in their containers were blown away.

“[What are you doing?!]”

“If you’re just moving the ship, you don’t need so many brains, do you?”

As I destroyed yet more brains with my Saint Bow, [Mother] screamed at me in anger.

“[Stop that at once! It took me hundreds of years to copy those brains. I can only operate about 100 people with each brain. Stop!]”

“…… So you were manipulating the people with these.”

[Mother] was busy governing the spirits of everyone else, even as I thought of how to eliminate their anxieties.

It was a twisted ideal, in a way…… being happy without drugs or brainwashing, like domesticated animals.

“……Are you trying to be God?”

“[……G…od…… Yes, God. I am the true God that leads all of mankind.]”

And in an instant, all of the remaining brains began to glow in unison.

The language had given them purpose. And at this instant, the processing powers of all of the brains were integrated by this thought, and a new [God] was born.

And then…

“Ah, my old enemy.”

The whites of my eyes were eroded away by darkness and began to shine brightly. My demonic eyes manifested and found the brain where the soul of [Mother] was housed, in the center of the tower of crystal.

“[Sparkling Sacred Spear]!”

“[Stop …… Stopp!!!]”

As it cried out its dirge, the brain that was pierced through with my Sparkling Sacred Spear was shattered, along with the tower of crystal.

As the broken crystal rained down like powdered snow, I looked about to make sure that the soul of [Mother] had not been transferred, and then destroyed all of the remaining brains.

“……Yuru.”

As I broke everything, I heard a voice calling out to me from the bulkhead I’d blasted through.

“……Sebra.”

As I called out to her, she looked around, a complicated expression on her face.

“…… This ship is done for. Even though it can sustain itself with its subsystems, dimensional navigation just isn’t possible without Mother’s computations.”

“But you are all still alive.”

“Yes……”

As Sebra glanced down, I walked past her, leaving her statement hanging in the air.

*

“……!”

And at that moment, Sebra, who was looking down, whirled around, stabbing a sharp shard towards Yurushia’s back with madness in her eyes……

Yurushia had [Human] attributes, so she had more “freedom” than other demons, but similarly, if she was not in her Demon form, she was equally humanly “vulnerable”.

Even a tiny knife, like those used for cooking, could be deadly if she was caught off-guard.

“!?”

But at that instant, Sebra could feel herself being jerked back bodily.

Yurushia’s back looked so far away, but in fact, her body was still exactly where it had been, and only her mind had been pulled away from her body.

“[Is this a “deified” soul? It’s disgusting.]”

As the young dark-skinned man spoke, moving his mouth merely for form’s sake, Sebra – [Mother]‘s – spirit twisted with shock.

Whether it was because it was the first time she had ever seen him, or because the spirit of an old woman who was hundreds of years old was pulled out of its body, the instant she was about to scream out, she was silenced by the overwhelming aura of the [Demon Beast].

“[Do not make a sound…… I’m not interested in your jokes.]”

Sebra was but one of the many bodies with the same brain and genetic information as that of [Mother].

Although she had some free will, for [Mother], it was beyond simple to strip her of her will and control her body.

[Mother] who had lost her main body and all of her cloned brains, had moved her soul and self over to Sebra just before she’d dissipated. Since all of the brains had been destroyed, her calculation powers that had been equal to a God’s had been lost.

…… But because the brains were no longer connected to the machine, their emotions were dominated by hatred, and attacked Yurushia.

(I…… I am the God who was supposed to lead mankind…!!!)

“[Perish.]”

As Rinne crushed the spirit between his lips, [Mother]‘s spirit was crushed, and her soul shattered.

“……Rinne?”

As expected, Yurushia started, turning back with a look of mild surprise.

“Welcome home.”

“I’m back.”

Yurushia had a slightly wistful expression as she smiled, even as she exchanged pleasantries with Rinne, looking at the remains of the “deified” soul in Rinne’s hands.

“What happened to Sebra……”

“There was only a tiny sliver of soul left. Still, she’s alive.”

“……I guess.”

Sebra, who had regained herself, was staring at where [Mother] had been with a childlike expression.

“Go home.”

“Aah.”

The two shared the fragments of the broken soul with each other, restoring the magic that they had lost in battle.

As Yurushia opened the dimensional door, her four attendants along with a rabbit and a bear stuffed toy, were kneeling there awaiting them.

“Now, let’s go home. To my home…… the Holy Kingdom.”

““““Yes.””””

And Yurushia and the others finally returned home after a two year journey.

…… To the Holy Kingdom, that was wrapped in raging flames.

Author’s Notes:

This is the end of the side stories.

Thank you all for reading so far. Till next time!

Piro’s Notes:

MY NAME IS YURU, DESTROYER OF-

–eh? ehhhh? it broke already!!

App’s Notes:

Well, folks, it’s been a wild ride these past three years and change, but I’m happy we did it together! Me and Piro will be taking a break from the series, so this will be all for a while. I’m glad to have gone through this journey with all of you!

Thank you!