Chapter 212: The Garden of Sinners Episode 5: Paradox Spiral! (Part 10)
Upon witnessing the contents of the film and the intricate, ingenious design connecting the west and east towers of the apartment complex, most viewers were left in utter shock after hearing Ryougi Shiki's explanation.
But before they could even begin to digest the full implications of that revelation, the brutal scene inside Tomoe Enjou's real home brought a chilling silence over everyone's expressions.
The corpses, left untouched for half a year, were far too horrifying to process. Just seeing the scene made one instinctively want to vomit.
In that moment, just as the viewers' nerves were finally starting to relax—
A bizarre figure suddenly lunged forth from the shadows, attacking the unprepared Tomoe Enjou.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Aaaahhhhh!!!"
On screen, just as both Enjou and many viewers felt their hearts nearly stop, Ryougi Shiki swiftly drew a dagger from her waist—and in a single, fluid motion, eliminated the creature.
Only then did everyone see it clearly: it was a human-shaped monster with grotesque features. But after Shiki's clean kill, there wasn't a single drop of blood.
In the next instant, staring at the split body, Tomoe Enjou gasped:
"Ryougi… you…"
"Don't just stand there! These things aren't human. They're just puppets—mannequins obsessed with dying. Absolutely repulsive."
With that, Shiki strode out of the room, and although Enjou had no idea what was happening, he quickly followed after her.
Once outside, an even more terrifying sight awaited them.
A swarm of those strange, humanoid monsters emerged from the distance, slowly filling the narrow corridor wall to wall.
Before Enjou could even react, Ryougi Shiki had already dashed into the crowd!
One strike. Two. Three. Four—
Against the endless tide of grotesque residents, she cut through them like a dancer on a killing stage—every move perfectly economical, every blow fatal and clean.
"Ryougi, you—!"
"Don't get confused. These things aren't people anymore. They're just undead dolls—things that have probably died countless times already."
Without pausing, Shiki kept moving. Monster after monster fell at her feet. Her overwhelming combat ability made the battle feel less like a fight and more like an art performance, saturated with deadly beauty.
However, just as Enjou began to believe it was all under control, an inexplicable chill crept up his spine.
Ryougi felt it too.
She suddenly turned to the end of the hallway.
There, a man wearing a black coat stood quietly.
"What a cruel irony," he said. "Originally, this was supposed to happen after everything else was over."
With that, the man in black began walking forward—one step at a time.
Shiki's eyes, in that moment, filled with indescribable alarm.
Because her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—which could see the lines of mortality on all things—saw nothing on him.
No death lines.
No dots.
There was nothing on his body she could cut.
In response, she immediately pushed her brain to its absolute limits, exerting a degree of mental effort unlike anything she'd ever experienced, just to focus on the man.
And at the edge of near-overheated consciousness, just as her vision blurred, she finally saw it—
A black void in his chest.
No… not a void.
It was a tangled cluster—a mass of death lines woven together into something like a core.
"You remember me, don't you? Two years ago."
"Two years… it was you?"
"That's right. I'm Araya Souren, the magus who killed you, Shiki."
"..."
Though Araya's cryptic words confused many of the viewers, Shiki herself seemed to understand completely.
She slowly gripped the dagger in her hand.
But before engaging in battle, she couldn't help but ask:
"What's the point of this apartment building?"
"On a general level? None. It's merely the manifestation of my will."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I constructed a world destined to end in a single day. I used their corpses as 'yin', their lives as 'yang', and built the duality of life and death—the spiral of mortality and resurrection—all as an offering… to you."
"Does any of that have meaning?" Shiki asked.
"None whatsoever. And yet…"
Araya Souren glanced over at Tomoe Enjou, who was trembling in the shadows, then continued:
"Humans can't possess dual attributes. The dead and the living cannot coexist. But even so, I wanted to see if humanity could reach a death that was different from simple termination."
"Under the influence of the Akashic Record, human death is inevitable, and its form is equally predetermined. A person fated to die in a fire will always die by fire, regardless of circumstance. One killed by family will always die at a loved one's hand. Even if you escape death once, it merely sets the stage for the second… the third. Such limited death is what we call a 'lifespan'."
"But I thought—if the method of death is fixed, then what if we repeat the same process thousands of times? Wouldn't that spiral of life and death eventually develop an error, a deviation in the pattern? Unfortunately, after 200 continuous loops… all I've proven is that human fate cannot be altered."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The weight of Araya's words sent shockwaves through the viewers.
Those watching from the tavern, the Imperial Mage Academy—even the aristocrats who had become deeply immersed in the unfolding narrative—were struck speechless.
"So this whole apartment… was built for that reason?"
"Araya Souren… he appeared in those earlier previews, didn't he? Who the hell is he?"
"Whatever his motives, this man is extremely dangerous. Just for the sake of an experiment, he cast countless innocent lives into the fire, watching them suffer and die again and again. He's completely inhuman!"
"Yeah, this guy's even worse than those fallen mages who've strayed into dark arts. At least they still have lines they won't cross… but this man, he's a monster, plain and simple!"
"Still, his logic kinda… makes sense. I mean, doesn't everyone have a fixed fate?"
"Wow, have you been reading too many Church doctrine scrolls? Don't tell me you believe that stuff?"
"Better to believe than not. You never know."
"Wait, what's with Araya and Ryougi Shiki? They're acting like they've met before. Did that happen earlier?"
"I don't remember them meeting. Did we miss an episode?"
"This is so confusing—I feel like I've missed several episodes! So much isn't explained!"
"Shut up already, my brain's fried. I'm lost too."
"…"
As the audience continued to debate in a flurry of reactions, confusion, and speculation, there was one thing everyone shared:
A growing anticipation—an instinctive thrill at the clash that was about to unfold between Ryougi Shiki and Araya Souren.
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/162522?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/creating-anime-140083067
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/138667623?collection=162522
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/162522?view=condensed