Yayoistartedtofeelthepressurefromthemightyswordweighdownonher,andtriedtorevivethedormantspellinKagamiwhichpreviouslyhadenabledYayoitoassumefulltrolami。However,withKagami’sphysicalbodytransformed,andlaterdisied,thenresembled,Yayoi’sspelldisappearedalongtheprocess。
Kasumialsofoundherselfhavingdifficultybreathing--herchestwasbeingcrushedbythesheerstrengthembodiedbytheswordoflight。
Ryōstoodonthesidewithmildi。Beingtheonewhohadfoughtthemostbattles,herphysicalstrengthheldupwellunderpressure。
Midoristoodmotionless,butslightmovementsofherhandsgavehintthatshehadcastspellstoalleviateherselfofthecrushiradiatedfromtheswordoflight。
Arashifelttheweightofthepoweraswell。Fearingthatherlungswouldcollapseagain,sheleanedonherswordtoaskittolendherceandstrength。SeeingthatKasumiwashavingtroublebreathing,Arashibecameworriedabouttheretstressfracturesonherribcagethathadonlystartedtohealwiththehelpofalchemy。Thissoonprovedunnecessary,however,asArashifelttheenergyradiatedfromtheimmenseswordsuppherfromtheinside。EventhoughArashihadnotmetthisswordbefore,shefeltasiftheykneweachother。
Akishilookedupfromthecrowdaswell。Thejewelami’sshouldercalledoutwarmlytoher,sendingherfeelingsofwarmthandkindness,andmadeherwanttohugthestudentsofKageyama,andreassurethemthatallshallbewell。ThejewelfilledAkishi’sheartwithgentleloveformorepeoplethanAkishicouldimagine。(“ThisworldISagoodworld”),Akishithought。(“Everythinghasaplace,andbirdssing,andtreesbearfruit。Ilovethisworld,andthisall-enpassingkindnesssustainstheworld。”)
KagamisawdesireinYukari’seyes,“Yhness,isthispowerworthytobepursuedandpossessed?”
“Yes。”Yukarispoke。Herwordsweresoft,likeawhispermeantforalover。Powerandauthorityshallbeherbride,asnomortalhadproventhemselvesworthytostandbesideherdominatingpresence。
YukarifelttheimmensepowerthatKagamihadsummoned,andshewasdetermioassumetroloverit。
16
ThespiritofKagamigazedatYukari,andspoke。“Yhness,theImperialPrincessofHimeyama,whatvirtuedoyoupossessthatshallvihispowertoresideinyou?Forthisworldisfuningwellwithoutasupremeruler。Whatbewillytotheworld?”
“Itakenopleasureinthemiseryofothers,andIjudgeeveryohequality,givingnoprefereothosearoundme。Iamsuitabletobetherulerwithsuchvirtues,andfortherulertohaveunparalleledstrength,ordershallthenbekeptfortheworld,whichisthebe。”
Yukariseemedfidentandtookprideinheranswers。Kagami,however,seemedlessimpressed。
“ThepowerthatIwieldwithinme,alongwithmyself,areofanotherrealm。It’saworldwithnomagic,butplentyinstatesandnationsandgovers。Theso-calledvirtuesofyoursarebutthebareminimumthatonersinmyrealmexpectfromtheleadersoftheland。”
Kagami’sspiritstartedspeakingsharpwords。“Withpower,esresponsibility。Andgreaterpowerdemandsgreaterresponsibility。Intherealmwherethispowerinated,leadersoftheland,withnomagicpowerordivinepower,whichiswhatyoubeholdinfrontofyou,takeoerresponsibilityfortheonpeoplethanwhatyou,withunrivaledpower,areittedtodo。”
Kagamitinued。
“Thereareleadersandgoverswhostrivetoprovideadequateandaffordablehousingforeveryone。”[Finland]
“Therearenationswhogotogreatlengthstoservetheneedsoftheelderly,andprovideampleschoolingfortheyoung。”[Japan]
“Therearegoverswhoareittedtofighteverywildfireandeveryflood,andsendintensofthousandsofknightsandguardstotransferpeopletosafety。”[a]
“Therearetrieswhoprovidemooassistthelivesoftheyoungandtheold。”[ada]
“Thereareleaderswhoplanidetailsoeverypersonhaveaccesstowork。”[Singapore]
“Thereareplaceswhereworkersareguaranteedsuffitrestduringthenoonhourssopeoplehavesuffitenergytotackletheirworkload。”[Greece]
“Therearetriesthatputinenormousefforttopromotetheirfarmingproductssogoodswillbesoldatagoodpriceforthefarmers。”[Italy]
“Thereareplacesthathaveaeworkofpubliccarriagessoonerstravelinease。”[NorthernIreland]
“Therearetriesthateagerlybringinfoteachtheirchildrenafnlanguage,sotheywillgrowupandfinditeasiertobeeaffluentmertsorsuccessfulworkersiniialguilds。”[SouthKorea]
“Therearealsoleaderswho,uoeffitlyremedythedifficultyfacedintheiracademies,bringinamultitudeofteachersfromfarersoftheworld,sothattheyseekoutthemosteffectivemethodtofostersuccessintheirchildren’sacademicgrowth。”[UK]
“Therearealsoleaderswhorisktheirownlivestoimprovethefinancialandpoliticalstructureoftheirstates,anddietrying。”[USA]
“Allofthesenationsandleadersandgoversstrivetoservetheonerswhilehavingnomagicpowertohelpthemestablishsuperiority。Yukari,whydoyouseektopossessthispowerwhichiscalledthediviowhatendshallyouuseit?”
Yukari’seyeslookedblankandfusedforthefirsttimeinherlife。Shecouldnotthinkoftheanswer,andifshespokenothingiurn,itwouldreflectpoorlyintheeyesofothers。“IwillbeabletoahemonceIbeethesolesnofthisworld。AndIwillitmyselftousethepowercorrectly。”
“Inthatcase,whyshouldthepowerbeentrustedtoyounow?”
Yukarilookedfidentagain--sheknewwhattosayastheanswerhadbeenabidinginhersinceherbirth。
“Iandmagicpowerthatisunmatchedinthisworld;itsstrengthisinahigherrealmparedtoanyoneelse。Mymightislikethesky,overlookingthepeopleofthisworld。TheonlyreasonforthistohappentomemustbethatIamdestihisworld。Theuniversehaschosenmesihedayofmybirth。”
“Thatischildish,Yukari。Adifferentuniversehasachildren’sbook,whereitsays‘theonlyreasonfortheretobebees,istomakehoney,andtheonlyreasonfortheretobehoney,issothatIeatit。’。”
Kagamisoundeddepressedanddisappointed。
“Yukari,itisimmaturetoseetheworldasifeverythingisaboutyou。Noitisnot,andtheworldwillfunfihoutyouasdingthethrone。Whydidn’tyouthinkthattheuniversegaveyougreatpowersothatyousavepeople,animals,andplantsfromfiresandfloods?Fromearthquakesandvoloeruptions?Sothatyoupacifytheragingelementswithyoursupremamagic?Sothatwhenpeopleenterseeminglyirrecilableflict,theywilllistentoyourarbitrationbecauseallnationsrevereyreatness?”
“Thosearereasonsformetobethemonarch,aretheynot,Kagami?”