Chapter 310: Enemy of the World (2)

< Enemy of the World (2) >

A brilliant aura momentarily suppressed him.

The sunset-colored divine power enveloping the Heavenly Wealth Society Master flickered, and his outstretched wings crumpled.

'How?'

There was no time to react. As if anticipating his arrival, the ritual was already complete the moment he materialized. He struggled against the oppressive force and quickly scanned his surroundings. The gazes of those staring at him, chanting prayers, were filled with undisguised hostility.

-[Uninvited outsider. Invader of a world that will never welcome you. Remember this.]

Why?

Hahoe Mask's parting words echoed in his mind.

-[There's no place for you in this land.]

The collective will of the orderly crowd coalesced into a tangible force. His body, which had felt light after breaking free from the abyss, was now shackled by an even greater restriction, his movements sluggish.

'This is bad.'

Something was wrong. But there was no time to analyze the situation. A sharp sense of danger spurred him to action.

'Break free before the restraints tighten.'

He acted instantly. Quickly deciphering the structure of the divine formation amidst the oppressive force, he identified the focal points of the ritual and swung his right arm.

Rumble—

The power of space, activated by his Unique Skill, separate from the sunset-colored divine power he wielded, erupted. Gravity intensified around the targets, and their faces paled. While the barrier protecting the participants prevented them from being crushed, it wouldn't hold forever.

Crack—

Spatial distortion seeped through the weakened barrier, reaching the high priests at the core of the divine formation—

Boom!

"Not so fast!"

"By the Main God!"

—but before it could reach its target, paladins appeared and neutralized it. The Society Master frowned. Even with his power diminished by the divine formation, blocking his spatial manipulation wasn't something just anyone could do. And this had been a carefully planned attack.

His gaze fixated on the seven paladins who had blocked his attack. As they stepped forward, their bodies blazed with a burning aura.

"Be wary. The heretic is stronger than we anticipated."

"To think he's this powerful even within the divine formation… We could lose our heads in an instant."

"Indeed, just as Saint-nim said."

Tusk of the Silver Wing Paladin Order, which had brought Saint Heinrich to the Holy Land; members of the Black Crescent, specializing in eliminating black mages and demon worshippers; and the captain of the Radiant Guardian Paladin Order, protectors of the Grand Temple of Roselia.

They were the peak of the Main God's Church's military might.

'…This is troublesome.'

The Society Master frowned, assessing their power. Individually, they weren't a threat. Paladins were Master-class warriors and high priests, but they were merely a nuisance to him, a being of near-divine power.

But that only applied under normal circumstances. In this special situation, he couldn't underestimate them. Their bodies, strengthened by rigorous training and imbued with dense divine power, were perfect vessels for channeling the immense divine power permeating this space. While the power was temporary and detrimental to their lifespans, it wasn't a concern for the paladins, who were always ready to sacrifice themselves for the Main God.

Whoosh—!

The air grew heavy, and the surroundings were bathed in a brilliant, divine light. The Main God's Church, having recently lost face against the Immortal King due to an unexpected internal spy, was still one of the most powerful factions in Auterica and the center of all religions.

"Tsk, this…"

The Church's Holy Land, located at the center of the world. Tens of thousands of devout followers chanting prayers in unison. High priests leading the ritual, and paladins, their bodies brimming with divine power, standing in his way. And at the center of the divine formation, the Cardinals, staring at him.

'It's over.'

The Society Master quickly assessed the situation and decided to give up. He couldn't do anything against such thorough preparations. If he forced his way through and the Main God intervened, it would be disastrous.

'I'll retreat for now. They can't maintain this level of preparedness indefinitely. I'll wait for an opening…'

He had plenty of time. It was a shame he had already used his 'down payment', but he had learned a lot.

'There's a prophet. One with considerable influence.'

Hahoe Mask, appearing at his arrival point with an army. Then the Peak Masters and their allies, arriving as if taking turns. And the massive divine formation, prepared in advance, along with the ritual.

It was a series of events that couldn't be explained without the existence of a prophet.

'To make such accurate predictions against me…'

Prophecies became unstable even with the involvement of Transcendents, who defied the natural order. He valued Oracle because she was practically the only one who could overcome that limitation.

But to accurately predict his actions, a near-deity… The prophet was more dangerous than he had imagined.

'I have to eliminate him first.'

The revelation the Saintess received was only about the existence of an 'invader from another dimension'. He had no choice but to assume it was about him, since he didn't know who else could possess such information and abilities.

'I have to exploit the loopholes in the prophecy. Somehow…'

But before he could finish his thought…

Flash—

As he was breaking free from the divine formation's restraints, repelling his attackers…

"In the name of the Main God. There's no place for you in this world, heretic."

…he frowned at the champion of the Main God, appearing in a flash of light, his holy sword pointed at him.

But his appearance was just the beginning.

"Damn it! Where do you think you're going? Not without giving me those wings! Pahahaha!"

"Hmm, such dense divine power. My skin is burning."

"The forest around here is quite small… Well, the northern mountain range was dense, but…"

The three others appeared one after another, as if they had been there all along, right behind Heinrich. The Society Master's expression contorted in annoyance at the sight of the persistent pests.

When he learned of the Society Master's invasion, he had considered the possible targets.

'I was lucky. I would have missed him if he had gone somewhere else.'

He had identified two most likely locations: the Church's Holy Land at the center of the Ion continent, and the World Tree at the heart of the Enamel continent. And having anticipated this, he had made preparations…

[This is Harris. The Apostle of the Outer God is heading towards the Holy Land of the Main God's Church.]

[I see. Should I be relieved…?]

[What a shame! I made thorough preparations here too!]

[It… It's better that nothing major happened! There would have been casualties, no matter how much we prepared. I hope the Main God's Church is safe…]

Not only the Holy Land, but also Drasha, the capital of the Elven Kingdom, was prepared to deploy a large-scale barrier using the World Tree. To activate it the moment they received a signal from Harris. While it required considerable effort and resources, no one dared to ignore the words of the current strongest being in the Elven Kingdom, who was also deeply favored by the World Tree.

[Just in case, please stay alert. I'll contact you immediately if anything happens.]

[Understood, Harris-nim. Please be careful.]

[Don't get hurt! And don't push yourself too hard.]

Harris ended the World Tree network connection after hearing Cecily's worried words from Drasha. Normally, even High Elves needed to utilize the forest's energy for long-distance communication, but for him, who had transcended limits, this was nothing.

'Now…'

He sighed and nocked another arrow. He narrowed his eyes, observing the ongoing battle in the distance.

Kaboom—!

A shockwave. But it was significantly weaker than what he had felt in the mountain range earlier. It was mainly due to the Church's divine barrier absorbing the impact, but…

'He's definitely weakened. I even sent a warning to the Imperial Palace and the Republic's Congress, but it seems it wasn't necessary.'

He had sent warnings to all important locations, just in case. He had also mobilized intelligence networks across the continent, including Banshee Queen Olivia, to track the Society Master if he escaped to other locations.

'I'll finish him here.'

But judging by the situation, he didn't have to worry about other locations anymore. His instructions to the Main God's Church, given as a precaution, had proven to be more effective than he'd anticipated. This was the perfect time and place to finish him off.

Clang!

"Grrr! You pests! How did you even get here?!"

The Society Master, sensing the danger, roared in frustration, no longer holding back. He was being ganged up on even after escaping the previous ambush. Heinrich, clashing swords with him, didn't care.

"It is the will of this world! Begone, heretic!"

The holy sword, enveloped in 「Blessing: Light Blade」, became a pillar of light, cleaving the air. The invisible barrier in front of him shattered, and the surrounding, unstable energy dispersed.

'This is amazing.'

Heinrich gripped his sword tighter, inwardly impressed. This environment allowed even ordinary paladins to transcend their limits. And he, the Hero, was utilizing it fully, his entire body radiating a brilliant light, like a divine avatar descending upon the earth.

Crack!

And thanks to this advantage…

"Kahahaha! I'll take this!"

"Gah! You monster!"

…Harley finally achieved his goal.

The monstrous, humanoid creature grabbed the Society Master's crumpled wing and tore off a large chunk—

Rip—!

—a sickening tearing sound echoing through the air.

Before the Society Master could react, Heinz II appeared, collecting the scattering white blood and stabbing a sharp blood spike into the wound.

"You insignificant creatures…!"

The winged angel, now with one wing missing, gritted his teeth, pushed back by the relentless attacks.

It was worth the repeated use of 「Individual Convergence」, even with the microtransactions.

'It doesn't apply to perks like 「Interdimensional Travel Gate Summon」 or 「Hero's Footsteps」, so I haven't been using it much, but it's surprisingly useful.'

The 『Skill Cooldown Reset』 from the VIP Market was pricey, but it was a good option for crucial moments like this. Although the only skills with long enough cooldowns to warrant its use were 「Individual Convergence」 and 「Avatar Projection」.

'Let's finish this.'

Heinrich's holy sword flashed as he thrust it forward. He didn't think everything would be resolved by defeating him here. He would probably appear before him again, somehow. His sharpened intuition told him it was fate.

But the important thing was…

…he had finally stopped the monster who had been devouring the possibilities of countless worlds…

…and…

Stab—!

…he had successfully protected Auterica.

"Begone, heretic."

Heinrich plunged his holy sword into the Society Master's chest, glaring at him and growling.

"The individual has achieved enlightenment. Acquired Special Skill 「Grand Blessing: Wings of Radiance」."

It seemed his patron was pleased.