Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume13 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 10===

And…

“Qliphah Puzzle 545?”

At first, she had completely forgotten who that was.

Or so Great Demon Coronzon’s expression suggested.

The result was obvious even before they fought. Unlike humans, angels and demons were not physical beings. Which meant they could directly sense the Telesma energy from which they were formed. That was an overwhelming disadvantage for Qliphah Puzzle 545. Frankly, it was amazing she had made it this far without being killed by the scouts Coronzon created by cutting off her own hair.

“Now that you mention it…yes, I remember now. You’re that imitation demon I created. And a creation opposing its creator isn’t even worth a laugh. What can a puny disposable pawn hope to accomplish against me?”

“''Leviathan''.”

She said one word.

Just one little word.

Yet as soon as Qliphah Puzzle 545 recited that incantation, Great Demon Coronzon fell silent.

“See? This will work against you.”

“Damn…you. That…”

“Is fatal for you.”

Qliphah Puzzle 545 was also a demon.

So when she smiled, it split wide across her face.

“Great Demon Coronzon. You are the one who lurks in the Abyss hidden within the great Sephiroth tree and monopolizes the wisdom found there. You are the only wicked being who, as a demon, has managed to remain hidden in the holy realm guarded by angels. And in the end, you are no more than Crowley magic applied to the illicit technique to secretly devour and acquire the tree’s fruit and sap despite being its guardian.”

“Don’t you get that this power is too great for you? If an artificial imitation like you reaches to that place, all you will accomplish is destroying yourself.”

“A demon who is tangled around the very Sephiroth which makes you special, devours it, infects it, and consumes its functions would be your greatest enemy. …And there is one, isn’t there? A demon who appeared from the Qliphoth, the inverted tree which gathers all the world’s injustice and vice, broke the seal when Adam and Eve were driven out, and finally managed to bite at the Sephiroth! A demon so powerful he was reduced to an imperfect form in the current world!!”

Space exploded.

Orange sparks became visible.

Did the clashing of the two demons’ wills contain enough power to distort the phase?

“I create an atmosphere of war, disturb the regulated order, and inspire conflict between people. I may be an imitation, artificial, and false, but on a more basic level…I am still the kind of demon who devours the tree that is this world.”

“…”

Coronzon glanced down at her fingertips.

She wasn’t even scratched.

There was no problem.

…And yet she was trembling?

“How strange. Your structure obviously isn’t human, but it isn’t that of a normal demon either?”

“Just take a look at my name: Qliphah Puzzle 545. I too am a demon who lurks in the colossal tree. Although for me it’s the inverted tree that gathers all the unclean symbols. So I already contain the same traits and value as the serpent of the multiplying heads. I have it all!”

“Hidden in one of the great trees that acts as a diagram of the world, a supernatural being, a usurper of knowledge, and a demon… Why? Why are you so much like me!?”

“''I dunno, maybe cause you created me''?”

Qliphah Puzzle 545 attempted a wicked smile, but she was pretty sure she failed.

This wasn’t about challenging or surpassing.

This was a child killing her parent.

That was the lowest and wickedest sin, but perhaps that was what made it so appropriate for a demon.

So she spoke.

“Picture it. Summon within yourself the Beast of Revelation, the monster gnawing on the great tree. Beast and serpent and dragon and demon are one and the same, thus there is no boundary between you and he.”

With each word spoken, the girl-shaped demon could feel it.

Something was straining inside her and pulsing in a disturbing way.

Coronzon spread her wings wide and tangled together countless long blonde hairs like a spiderweb to form a complex magic circle…and then stopped. She had been in such a hurry that the spell she formed ''was too powerful.'' This would cause Adikalika to burst and return to nothing.

(Damn, I wasted 1.5 seconds on this!!)

So while holding herself back with wings spread, Coronzon whispered to her opponent.

And just like a demon, this whisper was meant to guide her in the wrong direction.

“You must be aware your very being is ''unraveling''.”

Qliphah Puzzle 545 had been created by Coronzon in order to cover the United Kingdom in a war atmosphere to drive it toward ruin. Since she had been meant as a temporary thing, not much care had gone into the structure of her girl form.

“You might be able to activate the spell, but you can never endure the recoil. Your form will break down permanently. And it will go beyond your appearance. You will lose your memories, your personalty – everything. And you’re still going to go through with it!?”

By focusing on the primary functions, it would at least blow her away without a trace.

All that would remain would be, well, a twisted form worthy of the demon title. More than just her outer appearance, she would lose everything down to the depths of her mind and become nothing more than a hideous monster.

“7, 10, 8, 11, and 666. Extract the necessary numbers from within yourself while expanding them to their greatest form.”

But she didn’t care.

She wasn’t listening.

That foolish, weak, and filthy demon was intent on expanding the partial knowledge she had after incompletely performing an incomplete copy.



Because of what she had seen.



Inside that prison cell, that boy was working all alone to atone for his crimes and had still managed to find hope in the world outside, but she had seen his face when he found that world was being destroyed. She had seen his expression, which he probably hadn’t meant for anyone to see, when he had learned the boy he considered a comrade in arms was dead.

That’s why she needed to do this.

The people who were running here were a necessary part of the scenery he wanted to protect.

She wouldn’t let it end here. She wouldn’t let them be slaughtered from afar.

…No matter what she had to do.

“Here, I reflect the same number with a different meaning. By letting it engulf me, I gain a different self.”

She would protect the world – the dream – that boy was trying to create.

So Artificial Demon Qliphah Puzzle 545 roared with all her might.

Shaking free of the chill she felt as she unraveled.

(Farewell, master.)



“Transform me in body and soul, ''Leviathan''!!!”