"Cheering on the invasion of the 'Alien God,' and yet pursuing something beyond even the 'Alien God's' own intentions… what do you think that is?"
Koyanskaya's words were easy to misread, but she did not pause. Instead, she offered another hint, guiding them toward the answer.
"You want humanity to go extinct," Shiomi said calmly, one hand on his hip, stating it as a simple fact. "Your Reality Marble is, at its core, a non-primates' living sphere. It denies the existence of primates. And the clearest proof is that you elevate other life here to something close to the status of primates, isn't it?"
Koyanskaya smiled, sly and satisfied.
"You're completely right, God of New Chaldea."
"And beyond that, what you want is just the outcome, 'human extinction.' Whether it's you who carries it out doesn't matter to you in the slightest." Shiomi raised a finger and pointed at her, the gesture faintly provocative. "What the 'Alien God' is doing is, to you, a pillow appearing the moment you feel like sleeping."
"Mm-hm. Proper Human History, Lostbelt, I don't care which. I just want to watch, and enjoy it." Koyanskaya's smile widened. "That tiny, insignificant, yet unbearably arrogant species, screaming, wailing, struggling, dying off helplessly, until the very last one dies in tears. Seeing that with my own eyes is my wish… my aesthetic."
Shiomi snorted.
"So you've decided you're the one who gets to deliver the final verdict on human civilization… no, on human history itself, Koyanskaya?"
"Why not? Or do you want to take up that duty yourself, Divine One?" Koyanskaya's smile took on a sharp, bloody edge. "How empty, small, and ugly the last scraps of humanity are. A life-form that built impressive technology and knowledge, only to meet its end in a mere few tens of thousands of years. They did not heal the land, they did not pity their own kind, and they split themselves apart. In the end, the strong without awareness trample the weak without awareness inside their living sphere. To record that final stage, and hold an auction for the rest of the universe…"
"I see. So you want to interrogate human civilization that way, to put the value of all human history on trial," Shiomi said, understanding at last, yet still unmoved.
What Koyanskaya was saying was nothing more than warped logic from her own standpoint. Shiomi had no need to refute it line by line.
"Don't you think it's interesting? Aren't you curious what it'll sell for in the end?" Koyanskaya asked. "Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of millions? Or maybe not even worth a single coin?"
"All life has value simply by existing," Shiomi said coolly. "And all life, by instinct, harms other life in order to survive. There's even something like self-destruction buried in the subconscious." He looked at her without a trace of admiration. "You can create life within your Reality Marble, yet you casually belittle the value of life and treat it as merchandise. How different are you from the humans you condemn?"
Morgan, arms folded, spoke quietly.
"The only difference is the amount of power. To other life, humans are the strong. To humans, Koyanskaya is the strong. In the end, what's being done is exactly the same."
"Heh…" Koyanskaya let out a laugh with no clear meaning.
"Did you laugh because you realized how arrogant you are?" Shiomi asked, his gaze edged with ridicule.
"No. I was thinking about something else." Koyanskaya's smile faded, and her expression turned serious as she asked, "Even after you've identified the true cause of the planet's bleaching, even after you've become a god, you still stubbornly cling to the human side. So tell me… who is more arrogant?"
Her meaning was unmistakable.
Everything Shiomi was doing right now was, in her eyes, nothing more than playing at a little game called "protecting human history" after becoming a god.
The destruction of the world would not reach him. He could have taken this chance to sweep away both the Beast and the 'Alien God,' and then create a new world of his own.
"Ah… so in your eyes, that's all there is to see? An unhatched Beast?" Taigong Wang let out a rare sigh.
Shiomi raised a hand to stop him.
"There's no need for you to speak on my behalf, Taigong Wang-dono. What Koyanskaya said is simply the inevitable conclusion from her own standpoint."
"Whatever the Divine One says," Koyanskaya replied with a wounded expression, as though she were some helpless girl besieged by a crowd.
"Then let me ask you this," Shiomi continued, pointing at her. "You, who wish to watch humanity's extinction and savor its outcome. What is it you're seeking right now? You even tried to devour me and turn me into one of your tails."
"Isn't it obvious? The power of creation," Koyanskaya answered without hesitation. "The moment I sensed your Authority, I understood. That power ultimately points toward sustaining a world… or creating one."
She paused, studying him thoughtfully.
"Don't you have any doubts at all, Divine One? Is this world, as it stands now, truly reasonable?"
"Of course it is. Including the sacrifices you mentioned. The sacrifices made by humanity, and the sacrifices forced upon other life so that humanity could prosper to this point." Shiomi's tone was steady. "In the Atlantic Lostbelt, the goddess of abundance Demeter once said that everything that exists in this world rests upon unavoidable sacrifice. Precisely because of that, we must respect those sacrifices and offer our gratitude. As those who harvest later, that is the mindset we must hold."
"Just as predictable as I thought," Koyanskaya said, clearly disappointed. "It was foolish of me to expect anything else from a god who was once human."
"Back to the point, Koyanskaya." Shiomi began pacing slowly along the edge of the hall. "You say you don't want to fight. But it's not that you don't want to. It's that you know you're incomplete. You haven't gathered enough power. You haven't finished your metamorphosis."
"Correct. My original plan was to devour the unique life-forms of the seven Lostbelts and turn them into my tails. After all, I was born as an imitation of the golden-haired, fair-faced nine-tailed fox." Koyanskaya explained calmly. "As for the remaining two tails, they were already decided: the 'Alien God'… and you."
Seven Lostbelts to provide the records of life. The 'Alien God' and Shiomi to provide Authority.
Nine tails in total.
If she had completed that collection and successfully undergone her metamorphosis, the planet's ecology would have been rewritten, giving rise to the entirely new living sphere she desired.
Compared to Tiamat's 'Nega-Genesis,' it was an unnecessarily elaborate method.
"And yet, for someone with such grand ambitions, you still fear death."
Nikitich's voice suddenly cut in.