Chapter 272: 270
The moment Genichi pushed open the door to the second computer room, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
That throbbing sensation had begun building the instant he entered the school. It came in waves, growing stronger the closer he drew to this room.
His pace had unconsciously quickened as he crossed the hallways until he was practically running.
Kanade and Yuri followed silently behind him, watching his back flicker in and out of the gray-white light.
The door opened.
The room was not especially large, though it could accommodate nearly a hundred people.
Computer screens were packed across the walls, arranged over the desks, and even mounted on the ceiling.
Some were lit while others remained dark. The active screens displayed data Genichi could not understand: pulsing waveforms, scrolling code, and constantly changing numbers.
Someone sat at the center of the room.
No, not someone.
Genichi recognized it immediately.
It was a vengeful spirit, one that had likely been hiding here for countless years.
The old man sat in a battered swivel chair with his hands resting upon his knees. His posture was calm, as though he had always known someone would eventually arrive.
"You've come."
His voice was hoarse and burdened with the exhaustion of someone who had endured far too much.
Genichi studied him, a dark glint passing through his eyes.
"You knew I would come?"
"No. But I suspected that someone would find this place eventually."
The old man shifted his gaze from Genichi to Kanade and Yuri. A faint light appeared in his clouded eyes.
"I never expected that person to be someone still alive."
Genichi had no patience for idle conversation.
His gaze swept over the computer screens and the shifting data before settling on the largest mainframe at the far end of the room.
He could feel that the mainframe was connected to something.
Not a network or a server, but the entire World of the Dead.
Every vengeful spirit, every frenzied spirit, every native inhabitant, and every law governing this realm flowed from that mainframe like water from the source of a river.
"Hand over the Authority."
Genichi's voice was cold, carrying the weight of an unquestionable command.
The old man looked at him in silence for a moment, then smiled.
The smile held traces of bitterness, relief, and the helpless liberation of someone who had finally reached the end of a long ordeal.
"Everything you want is here. Whether you can find it will depend entirely on you."
Genichi's expression immediately darkened.
That answer was as good as saying nothing.
The old man was telling him that the Authority existed somewhere within this room, but he would not willingly surrender it. Genichi would have to discover, obtain, and conquer it himself.
"In that case, let's see whether you have any reason to keep existing."
Genichi raised a hand.
Crimson Power of Destruction gathered in his palm before erupting into a beam that instantly engulfed the old man.
His body melted within the crimson light like snow before a raging fire.
He did not struggle or scream. He merely watched Genichi in silence, and something resembling gratitude even appeared in his clouded eyes.
Ash scattered through the room, settling briefly upon the computer screens before fading away.
Silence descended once more.
Kanade and Yuri stood in the doorway and exchanged glances.
They did not know who that old man had been, how long he had waited here, or why he had willingly accepted his death.
But they understood that from this moment forward, Genichi was the master of this room, provided he could claim its Authority.
Genichi approached the largest mainframe and sat in the swivel chair the old man had occupied.
The seat still retained the lingering warmth of the old man's body, making him slightly uncomfortable.
He reached out and gently ran his hand over the mainframe's casing.
The metal was cold and spotless.
Yet beyond that outer shell, he could sense something sleeping inside it. It resembled a heart, a soul, or some other living and conscious existence.
He attempted to sense it with demonic power, explore it with his mind, and touch it with his soul.
Nothing happened.
The mainframe remained motionless, no different from an ordinary, outdated machine on the verge of breaking down.
Genichi frowned.
He could feel the Authority directly before him, yet he could neither grasp nor touch it.
Kanade stepped forward and examined the computer screens before looking at him.
"I might be able to help."
Genichi raised his head.
Conflict flickered in his eyes.
He did not trust her. He did not trust anyone.
In this world, trust was a weakness, an opening, and something others could exploit.
Yet an entire mountain of treasure stood before him, and he remained locked outside. That realization only made his frustration worse.
He needed Kanade, her abilities, and her understanding of this world.
Besides, he trusted in his own strength. Even if Kanade attempted something, he could easily eliminate her.
That was the true foundation of his confidence.
"Try it."
Genichi rose and moved aside.
Kanade sat in the swivel chair and placed both hands on the keyboard.
Her long, pale fingers moved rapidly across the keys, producing a crisp series of clicks.
The data on the screens began to change.
The pulsing waveforms settled into regular patterns. The scrolling code became orderly, and the constantly fluctuating numbers gradually stabilized.
Then every screen went black simultaneously.
The room instantly grew dark. Only a few emergency lights remained, casting a faint glow from the corners.
Kanade's fingers stopped moving.
The clicking of the keyboard ceased, and the entire room sank into deathly silence.
Genichi's heart suddenly pounded.
He could feel something happening.
Something was changing.
Then the room disappeared.
The walls, ceiling, floor, computer screens, and mainframe all vanished.
Genichi found himself standing within an empty void. Endless darkness surrounded him in every direction. There was no sense of direction or distance, nor any point of reference.
Kanade and Yuri were gone.
He was alone.
No, not entirely alone.
A sphere of light floated before him.
It was only the size of a fist and radiated a soft, silver-white glow.
The sphere hovered silently in the darkness, rotating slowly like a miniature planet.
Genichi stared at it, his emotions surging.
He could feel it.
This was the Authority.
This was the core of the World of the Dead, the object he had been searching for all this time.
If he could seize it, he would control this world and ascend to Satan-Class.
Genichi extended his hand toward the sphere.
His fingers passed straight through it.
It was like reaching through a cloud. There was no resistance or sensation.
Nothing at all.
His hand froze in midair as excitement gave way to confusion, then dark suspicion.
"What's happening?"
His voice was icy, carrying a trace of suppressed anger.
He turned toward Kanade, who had somehow reappeared beside him. His eyes were filled with scrutiny and suspicion.
Kanade met his gaze with her usual calm expression.
"Perhaps it's because you're alive."
Her quiet voice merely stated a fact.
"This world belongs to the dead. Its Authority was created for the dead. Someone who is still alive cannot touch it."
Genichi's expression darkened.
A living person could not touch it?
Then what was he supposed to do?
Give up?
Impossible.
He had come too far. He could not give up or allow himself to stop here.
Kanade and Yuri stood nearby, silently watching him.
They did not know what to do or how to help. All they could do was wait.
Genichi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Anger would not solve the problem. Anxiety would not solve it, and surrender certainly would not.
He needed to think.
He needed to find a way to break this stalemate.
Then an answer occurred to him.
Ghost Tamers.
Ghost Tamers were neither truly alive nor completely dead. They existed somewhere between the two.
They lived, yet vengeful spirits were sealed inside their bodies. They had crossed into death, yet their souls remained within their flesh.
They existed along the boundary between life and death, serving as bridges between this shore and the next.
Perhaps a Ghost Tamer could touch the sphere.
Genichi opened his eyes and looked at Kanade and Yuri.
His gaze made both girls uncomfortable, and they instinctively took half a step backward.
"I need your help with something."
His voice was calm, yet carried an authority that permitted no refusal.
"I need to temporarily seal one of you inside my body so I can become a Ghost Tamer. If I do that, I may be able to touch the sphere."
Yuri's face instantly went pale.
She thought Genichi intended to silence them. She thought he no longer needed them now that he had found the Authority and was preparing to dispose of them.
"You…"
Before she could continue, Kanade stepped forward.
"Send Yuri back first."
Kanade's voice remained calm, without the slightest tremor.
"I'll help you."
Yuri's eyes widened.
"Kanade! Have you lost your mind? Do you understand how dangerous that is? You could die!"
Kanade looked at her, and a hint of gentleness appeared in her hollow eyes.
"Yuri, you still have a reason to return. I don't have anything holding me back."
She paused briefly.
"Besides, I trust him."
Tears welled in Yuri's eyes.
She wanted to say something, to stop Kanade and prevent the ritual from proceeding.
But Genichi had already raised his hand.
Crimson light enveloped Yuri, and an instant later, she vanished from the void.
Genichi looked at Kanade, a complicated glint passing through his eyes.
"Are you certain?"
Kanade nodded.
"I am."
Genichi said nothing more.
He extended a hand and gripped Kanade's shoulder.
Her body felt cold and insubstantial, like a mass of mist without warmth.
He closed his eyes, mobilized the power within him, and began sealing Kanade inside his body.
The sensation was strange.
It felt like something was merging with his soul. It was not being devoured or assimilated. Instead, the two of them were beginning to coexist.
He could sense Kanade's consciousness, memories, and emotions.
They surged into him like a tide, but his soul quickly absorbed, processed, and integrated them.
There was no pain, rejection, or backlash.
Genichi opened his eyes.
Kanade had disappeared, but her presence remained inside him like a lamp illuminating a previously dark corner of his soul.
He raised his hand and reached toward the sphere once more.
This time, his hand did not pass through it.
His fingertips touched its surface.
It was warm and soft, carrying the aura of something alive.
The sphere trembled slightly beneath his palm, seemingly responding to his call.
Then it merged into his body.
At that moment, Genichi felt everything.
He sensed the entire World of the Dead.
Every vengeful spirit, every frenzied spirit, every native inhabitant, every inch of land, and every stone appeared within his perception, spreading out like an immense web.
He could feel the fear of the vengeful spirits, the madness of the frenzied spirits, and the despair of the native inhabitants.
He could perceive the laws of this world: the boundary between life and death, the final destination of souls, and the circulation of power.
He could also sense the throne.
It was not a physical chair, but a state of existence. It was the sensation of becoming one with the world itself.
At last, Genichi understood what was required to ascend to Satan-Class.
It was not the accumulation of power or the growth of demonic energy.
It was the acquisition of Authority.
The Authority of a world.
Recognition from its laws.
Coronation by its throne.
The bottleneck shattered like glass, breaking into countless points of light that dissolved inside him.
The shackles restraining him disappeared.
His demonic power surged wildly, his soul expanded, and his entire existence began to ascend.
He crossed from an Ultimate-Class Devil into Satan-Class.
This was not a matter of accumulating greater quantity.
It was a qualitative transformation.
Genichi closed his eyes and felt his bloodline evolve.
His body began to glow as silver-white light erupted from within, enveloping him completely.
The radiance grew brighter and more intense until it drove away all the surrounding darkness.
The void began to tremble, distort, and collapse.
Fragments scattered in every direction, transforming into countless motes of light that converged upon him.
Genichi opened his eyes.
A faint smile rose to his lips.
From this day forward, he was the king of this world.
(End of Chapter)
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