What is order?
Order is forming a line to purchase goods, obeying the law, paying taxes on earnings, and not coveting others’ possessions.
But the "order" we think of is merely a human perception.
If you dig deep enough into the concept of order, all that remains are the laws of physics. Ideals and emotions are meaningless—they, too, ultimately conform to physical laws.
So Fangryphon thought:
If the order the goddess cherishes is humans living orderly lives, wouldn’t disrupting something far more microscopic render it all meaningless?
By creating his order to prove the goddess’s order flawed, wouldn’t that be the greatest chaos of all?
And yet, Fangryphon lacked the power to execute this near-delusional plan.
So, he decided to "use" the existing order of the world to turn the goddess’s power against her.
“If order is truly so magnificent, then what better way to exploit it than to steal the goddess’s power from within her own order? He intended to use that power to reshape the world into what he believed to be a beautiful era,” the Emperor explained, his tone light, as though he genuinely found joy in the idea.
The Pope’s chair was gone now. Overturned by a rising "machine," its ornate decoration now seemed trivial and insignificant.
The machine itself was devoid of any embellishment, but the colorful components, glinting in the light, shone brilliantly.
It was a complex network of gears, both large and small, intertwined like the mechanisms of an oversized luxury watch. It reminded me of the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient Greek artifact I’d seen online once.
The intricate movements of the machine, so meticulously precise, made it hard to believe it had been constructed for something so profoundly blasphemous.
“Ah... ah...”
Sophia's voice trembled as she stared at the machine.
According to the Emperor, this device, created by Fangryphon, served no purpose other than to oppose the goddess.
No grander ideal. No higher cause. Pure, unadulterated vandalism.
And the result of that vandalism—
“Do you also seek to plunge this world into chaos?” I asked.
“No.”
The Emperor stepped back with a faint smile.
“A world mired in chaos cannot sustain an empire. An empire, by its very nature, is built on the delicate foundation of human order. However,” he continued, “I do desire the goddess’s power. With it, I can bring the world under the order I desire.”
Indeed, the Emperor's ultimate goal was to create a world thoroughly equal under his rule.
An absurd ambition by any standard—
Clang!
The sound of clashing steel interrupted my thoughts.
“Ugh!”
The one sent staggering backward was Sophia.
The squeal of boots scraping against polished stone echoed as she struggled to regain her footing, though she managed not to fall entirely.
“Well, well, it’s rude to interrupt His Majesty while he’s speaking, isn’t it?”
The slithering blade of Bella’s weapon, which had been extended like a whip, coiled back into its standard rapier form with a sharp click.
“Bella.”
“Our little sisters are all here now,” Bella said, waving at us with a smirk.
But Bella wasn’t the only one.
Despite the city being nearly empty when we entered—as if the Emperor had truly sacrificed all its inhabitants—there were now others filling the room.
Their eyes were unfocused, and though their faces were unfamiliar, it was clear they were originally citizens of the Holy Nation.
They weren’t dead—there was color in their cheeks.
But they weren’t truly alive, either.
“...Why?” Sophia’s voice was hollow.
“Hmm, why indeed?” Bella shrugged, feigning indifference.
“I don’t fully understand it myself, but given what Father has said, isn’t this just another form of ‘order’?”
“...Does that mean it’s already succeeded?”
“Not perfectly, but close. It seems the final piece is still required,” the Emperor said, pulling something from within his robe.
In his hand was a completed component—a gear slightly larger than an adult man’s palm.
“I received help from my future self,” he said, smiling at the look on my face.
“If I could use a part sent from the future, there’d be no need to scavenge for components here, would there?”
The future?
Ah.
Instinctively, I turned to look at Alice. She seemed startled by my sudden glance.
No, no, no.
Sure, the masked woman was suspicious. I understood that. Her presence had rendered my abilities useless. It wouldn’t have been strange for her to possess a piece of the relic.
But if that piece was a completed component sent from the "future"—
Has causality been completely thrown out the window?
Even in a world without established quantum mechanics or multiverse theories, wasn’t assembling something like this too reckless? Or was his confidence in himself just that unshakable?
But that wasn’t the real issue here.
I turned back to the Emperor, who held the completed component.
...There was no time to wonder if the relic was secretly two separate entities.
“When this part was completed, the goddess had no choice but to contradict her own words. The promise of freedom under order was broken, and she had to shatter this relic. It’s a natural reaction. No matter how great or broad-minded a ruler is, they won’t tolerate a challenge to their sovereignty. And so Fangryphon was satisfied.”
He had broken the goddess’s "order" with his own power.
“The most crucial aspect of order is preserving it. Without that, it becomes chaos. At that moment, the goddess’s power became an impurity within order itself.”
The Emperor stepped toward the machine.
“For all the years since, no one has seen the blue light again. Divine energy lingers, proving that the goddess still watches us from somewhere. But nothing more. Whether due to shame for breaking her own rules or because this machine’s single activation dealt a fatal blow, we don’t know. That story wasn’t passed down. But I suspect the latter.”
He stood before the intricate device.
Among its many components, one space remained—exactly the size of the gear in his hand.
“And one thing is certain.”
The Emperor inserted the gear into the machine.
“The goddess will never abandon this world. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
The Emperor turned, meeting my gaze.
“If the goddess retains any influence over this world, she would send her most vital presence at the most critical moment.”
...The Emperor had fathered countless children with many women.
In the original story, there was no child born of the Emperor and the goddess. This was still speculation, but perhaps Claire, with her strongly inherited imperial bloodline, had been born by chance, and the Emperor sought to use her for this device. Given that the machine was created by Fangryphon, it made sense.
I deliberately avoided glancing at Claire. The Emperor mistook me for a being born of the goddess and himself.
That misconception needed to persist until the end.
Only then would the Emperor fail, regardless of whether I won or lost.
“But I won’t simply wait to be defeated. The goddess’s power isn’t perfect, after all. Even she couldn’t completely destroy this machine,” the Emperor said, his gaze fixed on me.
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“Tell me, would you consider joining forces with me? Unlike Fangryphon, I plan to establish a new order and strive to create a great world.”
Of course.
That was the Emperor’s plan, his personal ideology.
And devising and executing strategies was his greatest passion.
“...What if I refuse?”
“Then I will take your power by force. Do you know? This machine has space for that. Normally, Fangryphon’s bloodline would suffice, but a being who possesses the blood of both sides would be even better. Don’t you think it’s worth testing?”
So, he intended to use me as a component.
...If the Emperor had known Claire was such a being, he would have already tried to use her for this.
Silently, I raised my gun.
“Is that your answer? Very well.”
The Emperor nodded.
“In that case, it seems we have no choice but to speak through strength.”