Chapter: 111. Infinite Truth (3k8)
“Do you think light is a wave or a particle?”
“What?”
Accompanying the infinite words were countless particles of light.
Is it because He is finally serious?
Each tiny particle was accelerated to a speed infinitely close to that of light, a stark contrast to the speed He had shown when attacking Nagi just moments ago.
The moment Kanade saw these particles of light, his body was pierced by a massive amount of energy from them.
These light particles penetrated the outer layer of fabric and skin on Kanade’s body, directly attacking the flesh and blood beneath.
The scorching feeling brought by the energy filled Kanade’s entire body.
Fortunately, the black flames wrapping around Kanade protected him from a portion of the targeted attacks aimed at vital points.
After a round of light particle attacks concluded, Kanade half-knelt on the ground, emitting wisps of black smoke.
“So weak~ Truly just a small fry~” “Is this all you can do?” “Small fry, small fry~”…..
The mocking laughter of the infinite echoed once again.
In just this brief clash, Kanade understood that the illusionary monster before him was far more powerful than he, an existence that could not be defeated by common sense.
— At this point, can he only rewrite the script?
Kanade’s hollow, burned eyes slowly lit with golden light.
But in that very moment, a thought flashed through Kanade’s mind—
What must he become to defeat the opponent?
In that future, will he still retain the form of a human?
This thought caused a slight delay in the emergence of Kanade’s abilities.
Noticing the abnormality, the infinite reacted at incredible speed.
“Ah, I almost forgot, priority goes to business—” “Yes, yes~”……
Endless beams of light suddenly rose from the ground, centering around Kanade.
“What—” Before Kanade could react, he was engulfed by them.
“Low-speed light domain, enjoy~” The last words echoing in his ears were the mocking voice of the infinite.
In the next moment, he was enveloped in boundless darkness.
The surroundings were as quiet as an abyss.
Though Kanade didn’t know exactly what had happened, he understood he could not remain here even for half a second.
Nagi and Yukino were in danger.
【Rewrite——】
Ignoring the fear in his heart, Kanade abruptly stood up and decisively activated his powers—
“What!? This—how is this possible?” But in the next instant, the astonished voice of Shizuka resounded in Kanade’s ears.
The dark space had vanished, and the world around him regained its color.
Time began to flow normally.
However, the astonished expressions of those nearby made it seem as though they were still frozen in place.
— What happened?
Kanade looked towards Nagi and Yukino with a mix of confusion and concern.
The two were still seated, appearing unchanged, only Nagi’s face had slightly reddened as she stared at him.
All the talk of illusionary monsters, halos, and infinity felt like a dream he had just experienced.
At that moment, Kanade noticed that he was maintaining his beastly state with black flames fully activated.
In this state, he had instinctively dodged Shizuka’s full-force attack, and even had both blades positioned against Shizuka’s throat, the sharp edges pressed tightly against his jugular.
The magical barrier on Shizuka’s body immediately fell to zero upon contact with the black flames.
And the reclamation function of the white pillars in the training area did not kick in under the black flames.
Thus, Shizuka remained in a kneeling position before Kanade, meeting a sudden death.
All of this took place in the instant Shizuka attacked.
To the audience below, it seemed Shizuka had unleashed his full power, but the next second the situation completely reversed, and no one could see how he had lost.
Adding to the tension was the faintly suffocating feeling emanating from Kanade, intensified by the black flames, causing unease among the onlookers.
The scene was silent as a grave until Kurokawa was the first to react and announced:
“The victor is determined, the winner is Tsukimi Kanade. Please, both contestants withdraw their powers and illusionary gear.”
Kurokawa’s voice brought Kanade back to his senses as he exited his beast form, and the black flames dissipated.
At that moment, scattered applause began to emerge.
It was Yukino who clapped first.
Soon, others joined in, responding to her.
Beside Yukino, Nagi displayed a look of great concern.
“Tsk…” Shizuka, defeated, did not look back at Kanade, leaving the scene in anger.
Kanade watched Shizuka’s departing figure, unable to shake the confusion in his heart:
“What just happened?”
————————————-
“The response from the illusionary monsters was remarkably swift.”
Nagi sighed lightly, feeling the wondrous sensation of the connection fading from her hand.
“Tsk… Did He really escape?”
The illusionary monster—Infinity—was one of the powerful foes that only appeared in the later stages of the original “Star Draw 2,” possessing the “Power of Light,” proving to be quite a troublesome enemy.
Infinity is significantly different from the illusionary monsters appearing in the original “Star Draw 1.”
He is not born from myth or legend; he emerged from humanity’s incomplete understanding of physical laws—specifically the wave-particle duality of light.
The wave-particle duality of light refers to its dual nature, embodying qualities of both particles and waves, a law of physics involving quantum mechanics.
Due to the overuse of quantum mechanics in modern literary works and the fact that most people fail to truly understand its principles and significance, these theories have circulated like mythology, ultimately becoming the illusionary monster—Infinity.
Infinity’s “Power of Light” not only grants Him the attribute of “light” but also provides the effect of time control derived from quantum mechanics. He can freely switch between wave and particle forms, even isolating individual moments of Himself from the wave-like river of time, as long as time is continuously subdivided, making Him an existence that is infinite and immortal.
This arises from humanity’s incomplete understanding of quantum mechanics, creating biases and preconceived notions that allow him to defy established physical laws.
It is a supernatural force born from science yet paradoxically anti-science.
However, targeting Him is quite straightforward; rather, some of the powers that Nagi has collected were specifically designed to deal with “Infinity.”
As a player of the dark arts, Nagi had considered potential enemies while formulating her contracts. Thus, she maximized general versatility and devised countermeasures for some uniquely capable opponents.
For instance, “Infinity.” Since He can indefinitely split into new versions of Himself within the time river, by creating an independent space “Mirror Flower” that isolates from the external space, time would reset to zero within that space. Then, using “Storm” to sever His connection with time would isolate Him into individual light particles, allowing her to lock onto what is referred to as the “True Body.”
Once she locates the true body of the illusionary monster, the outcome would be clear for Nagi.
Just as Infinity had confined Kanade to the low-speed light domain, Nagi simultaneously launched an attack against Him.
Though her contracted beasts were sleeping, Nagi could still employ their abilities and powers through her own will, though every detail had to be executed manually.
As her opponent was “light,” Nagi utilized her full strength right from the start.
In the brief moment before Infinity could respond, she locked one of the halos within the Mirror Flower.
Then, she used her contracted beasts’ powers to eliminate all halos outside of the Mirror Flower in one go.
“As long as one halo exists, the remaining halos will not automatically split into new entities when eliminated.” Nagi, being an expert who had fully completed the Star Draw series, was well aware of Infinity’s weaknesses.
This entire process felt as if it was a surgery, and Nagi was a seasoned doctor. The next step would be to use “Storm” to operate on the halo within the “Mirror Flower,” and upon acquiring the “True Body,” she could execute a “Forced Contract.”
All of this transpired in under ten seconds, and Nagi was confident the opponent had not even realized who initiated the attack.
If everything went smoothly, in less than ten seconds, Nagi would have acquired a new contracted beast—
Unfortunately.
The opponent seemed to have prepared a backup plan, placing one halo in another space; the one locked by the “Mirror Flower” was not the only existence.
Before Nagi could perform the forced contract, the halo within the Mirror Flower trembled as if it sensed it was about to face dire consequences, prompting it to commit suicide on the spot.
With the disappearance of the halo, time around resumed its flow.
“Sigh, what a good opportunity…” Nagi felt a sense of loss.
—If only she could obtain Infinity’s power…… perhaps she could effortlessly perform an “Infinite Death” for Kanade.
—Thus, the flaw of the illusionary monsters in “Star Draw 2” is their late arrival; had they come twenty years earlier, she would have undoubtedly brought them under her command.
————————————-
“I messed up.”
After today’s health check and match segment concluded, Kanade was called to the backstage area of the training hall.
Kurokawa had been waiting there for some time.
By “messing up,” he naturally referred to Kanade showcasing his powerful abilities before all the special class students in the school and achieving victory in a manner that was hard to comprehend.
Since the match ended, Kanade had been pondering what had happened during that time.
But he still could not figure it out.
What was the reason for the sudden appearance of that illusionary monster, and why did it vanish without a trace?
Had it not been for the pain reminding him of the wounds on his body, Kanade might very well have dismissed all that had occurred as a dream.
But if it had been real, why then did it abruptly disappear without a trace? It seemed as if nothing had been lost at the scene and everyone was safe.
“What happened?” Kurokawa asked straightforwardly.
Having spent a week together, he understood Kanade’s personality, realizing he was not one to seek the limelight.
Moreover, the scene where Kanade had defeated Shizuka was extremely bizarre; whether it was the timing of entering beast mode or the moment he summoned the black flames, Kurokawa had not caught it. It was as if that process had been cut from reality.
“…. The monsters, they just invaded the Ark Academy.”
“What?” Kurokawa initially displayed great surprise but quickly showed an understanding expression: “That makes sense.”
“One that seems capable of pausing time, with an appearance resembling overlapping halos…”
“Pausing time…” Kurokawa sharply picked up on a key phrase, parroting it back before asking, “Did I or any of the ACE ability users present react at that time?”
“….. No, everyone seemed oblivious to its presence.”
“I see.” Understanding dawned on Kurokawa, and he now held a certain recognition of that halo-like illusionary monster’s power—enough to easily kill himself and everyone present.
“Threat level 11….. No, it might even be 12……” Kurokawa thought while also asking a question that concerned him: “Tsukimi Kanade, are you not affected?”
“….. Yes, I don’t know why.” Yes, why was I unaffected? Countless experienced ACE-level ability users present… Kanade couldn’t help but think.
Simultaneously, another thought resurfaced—protagonist.
—No, I am not some protagonist…..
—I just want to be with Nagi.
Kanade shook his head vigorously, as if to deny that possibility.
“Did you defeat him, Tsukimi Kanade? What was the opponent’s goal?” Kurokawa, now in work mode, posed a series of routine questions.
His words reminded Kanade of what the halo had said at that time—protagonist.
—Could it be that I really am….. No, I must uncover the truth behind the protagonist’s plan.
“Regarding today’s cover plan, although it failed, don’t worry, I will find a way to cover it up and arrange a new cover for you as soon as possible—” Kurokawa misread Kanade’s despondence and unwittingly offered comfort.
“—No, that won’t be necessary.” But Kanade’s next response surprised Kurokawa, who jerked his head up.
“What?”
“This kind of thing…. is completely pointless. Thank you for your concern.” Kanade did not look at Kurokawa but instead turned to leave.
Simply avoiding the issue held no meaning.
Since the illusionary monster could come once, it would surely appear a second and third time.
Nagi and the others around him could be pulled into danger because of him.
The only thing he could do now was to urgently figure out why he was considered the so-called “protagonist” and what “fate” associated with the protagonist truly represented—
Kanade, with his back to Kurokawa, stated in a calm tone:
“I intend to participate in the upcoming academy league.”
In the academy league, as long as he became the champion, he could take the opportunity to approach the higher-ups of the special ring SEMA. According to Ayako, they were the initiators of the “protagonist plan.”
The truth was right there—
