Chapter 311: Enemy of the World (3)

< Enemy of the World (3) >

A dazzling light erupted from Heinrich's back.

Fwoosh—

A beautiful halo of light, like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, slowly formed into a pair of wings. As the completed wings unfurled with a shimmering radiance and gently flapped…

…the surrounding energy surged into him, and the concentration of divine power within him skyrocketed.

'This is…'

Heinrich's eyes widened slightly. But now wasn't the time to be distracted. He could examine the new ability later. For now…

He tightened his grip on his sword.

Hum—

Dense divine power surged along the blade of the brilliantly shining holy sword. It pierced the target's body like a toxin, destroying everything in its path.

"Cough…!"

A violent phenomenon, considering the usually gentle and healing nature of divine power. But the energy, responding to its wielder's will, reacted aggressively to the conflicting divine power within the target, tearing into it fiercely. It wasn't unusual, considering wars were often fought over differences in faith.

And the victor of this war was already decided.

"Heh… This is absurd."

The Heavenly Wealth Society Master chuckled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his chest pierced by the holy sword. The blood flowing from his body was still red, unlike the white blood flowing from his wings.

"Just when did you start preparing? I never imagined I'd end up like this."

Had he given up? His expression, previously contorted in rage, was now calm and indifferent. His emotionless eyes stared directly at Heinrich.

'What trick is he planning now?'

Heinrich didn't answer. He just twisted his sword, pouring more divine power into it. He could feel the target's life force rapidly dwindling.

'Better be safe than sorry.'

The other avatars and the Main God's Church's divine spells followed.

"Kahaha! One wing isn't enough! Give me the other one too, buddy!"

"Ugh, this feels… unsettling. But not bad."

Harley, his mouth smeared with white blood and feathers, and Heinz II, appearing like a ghost, lunged forward. Harris's long-range sniper shot, mixed with the divine light raining down from the sky, pierced through the chaos. A relentless barrage of attacks, determined to finish him off.

Amidst the storm…

"…It can't be helped."

…a faint voice, barely audible even to Heinrich, who was close by, escaped the Society Master's lips.

"······!"

And as soon as he finished speaking…

Kiiiing—

…all the attacks…

…no, the entire surrounding space…

…froze, as if time had stopped.

'Time stop?'

The energy projectiles frozen mid-air, the avatars and the crowd frozen in their dynamic poses. Every breath, every particle of energy, fixed in place, like a photograph capturing a single moment.

'No, wait. This is…'

Heinrich was momentarily confused by the spectacular sight, but his rapidly accelerating thoughts quickly grasped the situation. This wasn't a miracle that stopped the world's time.

[Impressive. To think you would follow me even here.]

It was merely a brief pause within an infinitely extended moment, achieved by accelerating his thoughts. Maintaining such a perfect state of stillness wasn't possible with mere mental strength.

[Hmm, is it because of the divine power connected to this sword? This is a first… Well, it doesn't matter.]

While other avatars were present, only Heinrich could perceive this moment. Perhaps because he was directly connected to the Society Master through the holy sword embedded in his chest.

[This is quite a loss. I haven't failed like this in a long time.]

The Society Master's will reached him as they stared into each other's eyes. Fortunately, the Society Master seemed unable to move in this state, the holy sword still embedded in his chest. His life force remained at a critical level.

[Even though I couldn't use my full power due to the restrictions, I have to admit defeat. It seems this world wasn't worth the effort.]

Was he making excuses for his defeat? He wanted to retort, but his will couldn't reach the Society Master, perhaps because he wasn't yet used to this state.

[…Time's up. I'll end it here.]

It seemed the Society Master hadn't been wasting time.

And right after his last thought reached Heinrich, an anomaly occurred in the frozen world.

'This is…?'

A change within the frozen time. The change originated from the Society Master, his body mangled, the holy sword still in his chest.

Sss—

The life force he felt through the sword began to recover, and the wounds on the Society Master's body closed, vanishing without a trace. He moved in reverse, pulling himself free from the holy sword, and a pair of pristine wings reappeared on his back.

'Manipulating time…? I thought it was just a space-related Unique Skill?'

A rollback, reversing time. But Heinrich quickly realized it wasn't a complete reversal.

'He couldn't restore the wing Harley tore off or the blood Heinz took. He can't affect body parts that are no longer under his control.'

That was a relief. He had lost a significant amount of power along with his wing. Considering the energy contained within it, the loss wasn't insignificant.

[I'll remember this, champion of Auterica. I won't be defeated so easily next time.]

The Society Master, now restored to his original state, delivered his final message. He was already out of sight, having moved in reverse, but Heinrich, unable to turn his head, sensed his movements through his presence alone.

'…This is frustrating.'

And when the Society Master's presence completely vanished…

…when he could finally move again…

…the Society Master was gone from the Holy Land. All that remained was the half-eaten wing and the blood Heinz had collected.

"The heretic is gone! Everyone, be on alert…"

"Third and Fourth Unit, activate the detection barrier! The rest, defensive formation…!"

Heinrich, ignoring the Church members who were on high alert, turned his head. He wasn't here. Not here.

The surrounding scenery blurred as his body's time reversed.

The Society Master closed his eyes, surrendering to the flow.

'I didn't want to use the power of time.'

After the severe overload from pushing it past its limits long ago, it was a power he had to use cautiously, even now, having reached near-deity status. The effects were weaker, and the burden greater…

'But I had no choice.'

Dying there would have severely damaged his divinity and incurred additional penalties for breaching the contract with the abyssal deity.

'Troublesome. Should I continue investing in this world?'

He had told the champion of the Main God that he would be back, but it was inefficient to waste more time here. He had made a bad start by clashing with them before fully adapting to this dimension. It might be better to break the contract and move on to another world. It would cost him, but considering the challenges here, including the prophet, it was worth considering.

'I don't want to give up… I'll observe the situation a bit longer and decide.'

He could accept some losses as long as he ultimately succeeded.

As he pondered his next move…

…the rollback was complete.

He was back where he had first arrived. And as he slowly opened his eyes—

[Heh heh— Fancy meeting you here again.]

—he met the gaze of a skull with two flickering will-o'-the-wisps. Accompanied by the chillingly familiar voice.

"…D… Damn it…"

Just as a curse slipped past his lips…

Stab—!

…a cold hand pierced his weakened body, grasping his heart. His limbs were already bound by dark thorns and chains, rendering him completely immobile.

'He predicted even this?'

His mind raced. But that wasn't important now. The power of death, invading his weakened heart, quickly spread throughout his body. His divinity, corrupted by the opposing force, began to crumble.

'Dangerous.'

Alarm bells rang in his mind. This was different from before. This could shatter the very foundation of his godhood…

'No time to hesitate.'

He had to minimize the damage, even if it meant sacrificing something.

"…Contract termination."

He gritted his teeth and muttered, his heart throbbing in the deathly grip.

And then…

Kuoooo—

…a massive flash of light erupted from the mountains in the northeast, where the battle had taken place.

After the storm subsided…

[Keh— Violent, isn't he? And this is…]

Hans dispelled the dust cloud with a wave of his hand, his body regenerating from the explosion. He tilted his head, looking at the writhing, black mass he held in his hand. He should have been holding a heart, but this was something different. Something… familiar.

'Nothing else remains… Thorough, isn't he?'

His encounter with the Society Master had been purely coincidental. He had come to investigate the abyssal fissure after recovering and switching places with the other avatars, including Heinrich. He hadn't expected the Society Master to reappear right in front of him.

'I wanted to examine the fissure before the traces disappeared, to see how he crossed over.'

While surprised by his sudden appearance after vanishing from the Holy Land, he wasn't foolish enough to miss this opportunity. Although he had been quite surprised by the Society Master's immediate self-destruction.

'I guess Hans ended up getting the last hit.'

He watched Heinrich handling the situation at the Holy Land, then turned his attention back to the mass in his hand. He couldn't ignore it any longer, as it had been struggling to escape back into the fissure. Even he, the Immortal King, felt like he might lose it if he wasn't careful.

'This is…'

He knew what it was.

'Connected to the god imprisoned in the abyss.'

He instinctively felt it. This and his 「Heart of Immortality」 shared the same origin. The Society Master must have received it somehow. And it was mixed with the Society Master's energy, seemingly absorbing a part of his power during the self-destruction. This much… must have significantly damaged his divinity.

'I feel like I've received an unexpected gift.'

It seemed good deeds were rewarded. He had been prepared to work pro bono, but he had been rewarded!

'Then, right away…'

He couldn't risk holding onto this dangerous object, so he quickly placed it within the subspace connected to his heart, beneath his tattered robe. Since his heart and this shared the same origin…

Thump—

His dormant heart pounded. The mass resisted violently, but the intertwined abyssal energy couldn't be separated. All that remained was a struggle for dominance.

And the struggle ended surprisingly quickly. It was a substantial amount of energy, but it was no match for the pure essence of death.

[Heh heh, the abyss churns.]

While he couldn't fully grasp the change yet, he instinctively knew. This had closed the gap between him and the Society Master.

'No, he's probably weakened, so it's more like two steps.'

And right then…

『Divine Fragment of the XXed XXX (20,900,000)』

…an entry in the Karma Shop changed once again.