Chapter 311: World's Enemy (3) |
A brilliant light erupted from Heinrich’s back.
Flash—
Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, a pair of radiant wings slowly took shape, their form shimmering and ethereal.
And then, as the newly formed wings unfurled, flapping gently amidst the swirling halo of light,
The surrounding energy surged towards him, drawn in by their radiance, and the concentration of holy power within his body increased dramatically.
‘This is…’
Heinrich’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
But he couldn’t afford to be distracted.
He had a job to do.
Wooong—
…and channeled his holy power through its gleaming blade.
It surged forward, like a venomous toxin, invading the target’s body and relentlessly destroying everything in its path.
“Cough…!”
It was a brutal and violent display, a stark contrast to the usual gentle and benevolent nature of holy power.
But the energy, responding to its wielder’s will, showed no mercy, tearing into the opposing divine power with savage intensity.
After all, it wasn’t uncommon for wars to be fought over differences in faith.
And the victor of this particular battle was already decided.
“Khehehe… This is… ridiculous.”
The Master of Heaven's Turn Society chuckled, blood trickling from his lips, his chest pierced by the holy blade.
Unlike the white blood flowing from his severed wing, the blood from his other wounds was still crimson.
“How long have you been preparing for this? I never thought I’d end up like this.”
Had he given up?
His expression, once contorted in rage, was now calm and indifferent, his eyes devoid of emotion as they met Heinrich’s gaze.
‘What is he planning?’
Heinrich didn’t reply,
He simply twisted his sword, channeling even more holy power through it.
He could feel the Master’s life force dwindling, rapidly approaching its limit.
‘I should make sure of it.’
The other avatars’ attacks and the Church’s holy spells followed in quick succession.
“Khaha! One wing isn’t enough! Give me the other one, friend!”
“Hmm, this tastes… strange. But not bad.”
Harley, his mouth smeared with white blood and feathers, and Heinz the Second, appearing like a ghost, lunged forward.
And Harris’s long-range attack, a silent arrow, pierced through the barrage of holy light, striking its target.
A relentless onslaught, a storm of attacks, threatening to overwhelm him.
“…It can’t be helped.”
A faint voice, barely audible, escaped the Master’s lips, reaching only Heinrich, who was closest to him.
“······!”
And then,
Whirr—
…Everything stopped.
The swirling energies, frozen mid-air, the avatars and the crowd, their movements stilled, their expressions locked in place.
Like a photograph, capturing a single, dynamic moment in time, everything was frozen, even the flow of energy particles.
‘Time Stop?’
Heinrich, momentarily disoriented by the spectacular and surreal sight, quickly regained his composure as his thoughts accelerated.
No, it wasn’t a world-altering time stop.
[“Impressive. To think you could even follow me here.”]
It was just a momentary pause, a brief respite in a rapidly accelerating consciousness.
[“Hmm, is it because of the holy power connected to this sword? This is… unprecedented. But it doesn’t matter.”]
The other avatars were also present, but only Heinrich, directly connected to the Master through his holy sword, could perceive this brief moment.
As the Master had said, it was probably thanks to the holy sword embedded in his chest.
[“This is… a significant loss. I haven't failed this early in a long time.”]
The Master’s thoughts, unbidden, flowed into his mind.
They were facing each other, their gazes locked, their bodies immobile.
He wanted to retort, to point out the absurdity of his complaints, but his own thoughts couldn’t be transmitted. Perhaps he wasn’t used to this yet.
[“…It seems my time is up. Let’s end this here.”]
It seemed he hadn’t wasted his time.
As his final thoughts reached Heinrich, a change began to occur in the frozen world.
‘What’s this…?’
The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, his body mangled and his chest pierced by the holy sword,
…began to rewind.
Swish—
The life force that had been draining away through the holy blade began to return, his wounds closing and vanishing without a trace.
And then, as if reversing time, he pulled himself free from the impaling sword, and a pair of pristine wings, fully restored, unfurled from his back.
‘He can manipulate time…? I thought his unique skill was spatial manipulation?’
A temporal rewind, a rollback.
But Heinrich quickly noticed that the reversal wasn’t complete.
‘He can’t restore the wing Harley tore off or the blood Heinz drained. He can’t affect body parts that are no longer connected to him.’
That was a relief.
He had lost a significant amount of power with his missing wing, considering the immense energy it contained.
[“I’ll remember this, Champion of Auterica. I won’t be defeated so easily next time.”]
And then, the Master, fully restored to his original state, sent his final message.
He was already far away, beyond Heinrich’s limited field of vision in this frozen moment, but he could still sense his presence.
‘…This is frustrating.’
And when the Master’s presence finally vanished,
And he was finally able to move,
The Master was already gone from the holy land.
Only a single, half-eaten wing and a small amount of blood, collected by Heinz, remained.
“The heretic has vanished! Remain vigilant…”
“Teams 3 and 4, activate the detection barriers! The rest, defensive formation…!”
Heinrich, ignoring the Church officials who were frantically searching for the vanished target, turned his head.
Yes, he wasn't here.
Not here.
______________________
The surrounding scenery blurred as his body rewound through time.
The Master closed his eyes, focusing his mind.
‘I didn’t want to use my time manipulation.’
He had severely overexerted himself in the past, pushing it beyond its limits, and even now, having acquired a near-divine level, he had to be cautious when using it.
Its effectiveness had decreased, and the burden on his body had increased…
‘But it couldn’t be helped.’
He had no other choice.
If he had died there, not only would his divine power have been severely damaged, but he would have also incurred additional penalties for breaching his contract with the abyssal god.
‘This is troublesome. I’m not sure if it’s worth continuing to invest in this world.’
He had told the Main God’s champion that he would return… but it seemed inefficient to waste any more time here.
He had made a mistake by confronting them before fully adapting to this dimension’s environment.
Perhaps it would be better to break the contract and move on to another world.
Of course, there would be consequences for unilaterally breaking a contract… but considering the presence of a prophet and the overall difficulty of this dimension, it was a viable option.
‘I don’t want to give up… I’ll have to observe the situation and decide later.’
As long as he succeeded in the end, he could afford some losses.
As he was pondering his next move,
The rewind finally ended.
He had returned to the place where he had first arrived in this world.
And as he slowly opened his eyes—.
[“Kkuk kuk— Fancy meeting you here. It’s been a while.”]
…He met a pair of burning eyes, set within a grinning skull.
A chilling voice, familiar from countless encounters.
“…Damn it…”
He cursed inwardly.
And then.
Thud—!
A cold hand pierced his chest, gripping his heart.
His limbs were already bound by black thorns and chains, materializing from the surroundings, preventing him from moving.
‘He even predicted this?’
His mind raced, trying to comprehend the situation.
But it didn’t matter.
Deathly energy, invading his weakened body through the hand that gripped his heart, spread rapidly, contaminating his divine power.
‘This is dangerous.’
An alarm blared in his mind.
This wasn't like before.
This could damage the very foundation of his godhood…
‘I don’t have time.’
There was only one thing he could do.
Cut his losses and escape.
“…I’m breaking the contract.”
He gritted his teeth, his heart constricting painfully under the crushing grip, and muttered the words.
And then.
Koooo—
A massive explosion, a blinding flash of light, erupted from the mountains in the northeast.
____________________
After the storm subsided,
[“Kuh— That was… aggressive. And this is…?”]
Hans, unleashing his magic power, dispersed the dust and debris.
He regenerated his damaged body, a consequence of the explosion, and looked at the black energy swirling in his hand, tilting his head slightly.
He had been gripping the Master’s heart… but what he held now was a writhing mass of energy, resisting his control.
And it felt… strangely familiar.
‘Nothing else remains? Thorough, isn't he?’
His encounter with the Master had been purely coincidental.
He had come here to investigate the abyssal rift after switching with Heinrich and the others, when the Master had suddenly appeared.
‘I wanted to examine the remnants of the rift and figure out how he crossed over…’
He had been slightly surprised, but he wasn't foolish enough to miss such an opportunity.
And he had been somewhat taken aback by the Master’s sudden self-destruction attempt.
‘I guess Hans gets the last hit.’
He watched Heinrich dealing with the aftermath at the holy land, then turned his attention back to the energy in his hand.
He had been forcibly restraining it, so he couldn’t ignore it any longer.
‘This is…’
He instinctively knew what it was.
‘Connected to the god imprisoned in the abyss.’
It felt… similar to his own 「Immortal Heart」, as if they shared a common origin.
The Master must have received it somehow.
And it seemed to contain a significant amount of the Master’s own energy, as if he had absorbed a part of him during his self-destruction.
It must have severely damaged his divine power.
‘What a generous gift.’
He hadn't expected any compensation for his involvement in this incident.
‘Now then…’
He couldn't keep holding it. He didn’t know what kind of problems it might cause.
He had to deal with it immediately.
He instinctively knew how.
Hans inserted the writhing energy into the subspace connected to his heart, beneath his tattered robe.
After all, they shared a common origin…
Thump—
His heart, which had been dormant, pounded violently.
The energy resisted, as if it had a will of its own, but the intertwined abyssal energy couldn't be separated.
It was a battle for dominance.
And it ended quickly.
After all, it was no match for pure, concentrated death.
[“Kkuk kuk— The abyss churns.”]
He couldn't feel any immediate changes, but he instinctively knew.
That he had closed the gap between him and the Master.
‘No, he’s actually fallen behind, so it’s more like two steps.’
And at that moment.
『Divine Fragment of the XXed XXX (20,600,000)』
…The price of an item in the Karma Shop changed once again.
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