Chapter 310
Chapter 310
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 310
Chapter Title: Enemy of the World (2)
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A brilliant radiance instantly suppressed his entire body.
The sunset-hued holy power enveloping the Bancheon Lord's form faded powerlessly, and his long-extended wings began to crumple pathetically.
'How?'
There hadn't even been time to resist.
As if he'd known from the start exactly when and where he would appear, transcending space to reach his destination—the ritual was already complete the moment he arrived.
Rebelling against the pressure bearing down on his body, he whipped his gaze around, quickly scanning his surroundings.
Even as they chanted their prayers, clear hostility radiated from those staring straight at him.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Uninvited outsider. Invader of a world that will never welcome you. Remember this. Why was this happening?
At that moment, the words Hwayeotal had left behind just before departing flashed through the Bancheon Lord's mind.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ There is no place for you in this land. The unified intent of the countless orderly ranks coalesced into a tangible form.
His body, which had felt light as if freed from shackles, was now bound by even greater constraints, growing as cumbersome to move as if sinking into the deep ocean.
'This won't do.'
Something was wrong.
But there was no time to ponder the details.
A sharp sense of crisis pierced his mind, spurring him to urgently devise countermeasures.
'Shatter it before the bindings strengthen further.'
He acted on his split-second decision almost immediately.
Amid the pressure squeezing his entire body, he swiftly analyzed the holy formation's structure, pinpointing the central nodes of the ritual everywhere.
And soon, targeting those points, he swung his right hand in a long arc.
Kuuung—
A power of space, activated purely through his unique skill—distinct from the sunset holy power he wielded.
Gravity surged dramatically around the target areas, and the faces of those standing there paled in unison.
Thanks to the protective barriers shielding the ritual participants, they avoided being flattened like rats, but such defenses naturally had their limits.
Kwaduduk—
The force of spatial collapse seeped through the cracks weakened by gravitational pressure.
And it bared its fangs straight at the high priests stationed at the formation's key points—
Kwang!
"Not a chance!"
"Lord of the Main God!"
Before it could succeed, it was thoroughly thwarted by Holy Knights who appeared out of nowhere.
The space between the Bancheon Lord's brows twitched.
No matter how much this holy formation diminished its power, blocking an attack that directly interfered with space was no mean feat.
Moreover, this had been a carefully crafted strike on his part.
His irritated gaze turned toward the seven Holy Knights who had blocked his attack.
As they slowly stepped forward, auras flickered around their bodies like flames scorching their flesh.
"Stay vigilant. This heretic's level is higher than expected."
"To pull that off even within this holy formation... One slip, and our heads could fly in an instant."
"Just as Saint Heinrich predicted."
Tuskin of the Silver Wing Holy Knight Order, who had escorted Saint Heinrich to the holy land; the Black New Moon, tasked mainly with purging black mages, devil worshippers, and the like; and the Radiant Guardian Holy Knight Order Commander, protector of the Roselia Grand Cathedral.
They were the pinnacle of the Church of the Main God's military might—paladins at the apex.
'...This is getting troublesome.'
The Bancheon Lord's expression soured as he gauged the auras emanating from them.
Truth be told, none of them were particularly impressive on their own.
Paladins were master-level warriors and high priests simultaneously, but to him, at the demigod level, they were merely a slight annoyance.
However, that assessment applied only in normal circumstances—not in this special situation, where he couldn't afford to underestimate them.
Their bodies, honed to steel-like toughness and attuned to dense holy power, would serve as excellent conduits for the immense holy power filling this space.
Though temporary and detrimental to their lifespans, it was no great issue for paladins ever ready to martyr themselves for the divine will.
Hwaaak—!
The air grew heavy as the heavens and earth alike were dyed in brilliant holy power.
The Church of the Main God had lost face in several ways against the Immortal King due to the unforeseen 'internal spy,' but they were undeniably one of Aouterica's greatest powers—the center of all faiths.
"Tch, this is..."
The church's holy land, at the world's center.
Tens of thousands of fervent believers chanting prayers in unison.
High priests leading the ritual, paladins blocking the way while absorbing ambient energy to their limits.
And even the cardinals standing at the formation's heart, silently staring in his direction.
'It's over.'
Quickly assessing the situation, the Bancheon Lord promptly decided to withdraw.
With preparations this thorough, even he couldn't do much for now.
Forcing his way into such a setup might truly draw divine intervention—and that would be the worst outcome.
'I'll pull back for now. They can't maintain this level of readiness indefinitely. When a gap opens in the long term...'
He had plenty of time left, after all.
It was a shame to lose the advance payment after aiming for a quick resolution, but he'd gleaned quite a bit of valuable intel, so it wasn't a total loss.
'They have a prophet. One with influence over the entire world.'
Hwayeotal, leading forces as if waiting at his emergence point.
Then top-tier dimensional powerhouses and their allies appearing in shifts.
Even a colossal holy formation prepared in advance at his predicted destination, complete with the ritual.
It was a chain of events inexplicable without a prophet.
'To prophesy this precisely against me.'
Prophecy grew unstable even around transcendent beings who defied norms—not to mention demigods like him.
Wasn't that why he favored oracles, as one of the few to overcome those limits?
For someone to read his movements in such detail meant that existence posed an unimaginable threat.
'I need to deal with that one first.'
In truth, the Saintess's revelation had only been about an 'intruder from another dimension,' but unaware of who held such intel and ability, he could only assume as much.
'I'll exploit the weaknesses in their prophecies. Somehow, I'll...'
But before he could finish the thought.
Paaat—
As he probed his annoyingly persistent foes to gradually slip free of the holy formation's bindings.
"In the name of the Main God. There is no place for you to set foot in this world, heretic."
He couldn't help furrowing his brow at the sudden light heralding the Main God's Champion, who once more aimed his holy sword at him.
Yet his arrival was merely the beginning.
"Damn right! Where do you think you're going? You ain't leaving till we take those wings! Pfahahat!"
"Mm, the holy power here's thick. Feels like my skin's burning."
"The forest around here is surprisingly small... Well, the northern mountains are lush, I suppose..."
One by one, the trio emerged behind Heinrich as if they'd been there from the start.
At the sight of those tenacious leeches, the Bancheon Lord's face finally twisted into a savage scowl.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ When he'd learned of the Bancheon Lord's intrusion, he'd already considered likely targets.
'Lucky. If he'd gone somewhere else first, we might've missed him.'
The two most probable spots at the time: the church's holy land at the heart of the Ion Continent, and the World Tree smack in the middle of the Enamel Continent.
Naturally, having predicted as much, he'd prepared contingencies for what might come next...
[Harris here. The Outer God's Apostle is heading to the Church of the Main God's holy land.] [I see. Not sure if that's fortunate...] [A bit disappointing! We'd prepared thoroughly here too!] [S-Still, better no major incidents! No matter how prepared, sacrifices are inevitable. Hope the church takes minimal damage...] Accordingly, not only the church's holy land but also Drasha, capital of the Elven Kingdom, was on full alert with a massive barrier ready via the World Tree.
So they could activate it the instant Harris signaled.
Of course, it took no small effort and resources, but as the Elven Kingdom's strongest and the World Tree's beloved, no one dared ignore his words—making it straightforward to arrange.
[Still, stay vigilant to the end, just in case. If anything odd happens while facing him, I'll contact you immediately.] [Understood, Lord Harris. Please take care.] [Don't get hurt! Don't push yourself too hard!] Harris ended the World Tree network after Cecily's worried words from Drasha.
Normally, even a high elf would need forest essence for such distances, but after ascending to transcendence and vastly growing his abilities, this was trivial for him now.
'Alright then...'
Letting out a light sigh, he nocked an arrow to the string of his raised bow.
And narrowing his eyes, he gazed intently at the fierce clash unfolding a short distance away.
Kwaaang—!
A shockwave accompanied the explosion.
But compared to what he'd felt recently in the mountains, its power was markedly diminished.
Of course, the church's holy barrier absorbing the aftermath to minimize damage was the main reason...
'He's definitely weakened. I tipped off the imperial palace and republican council just in case, but looks like it wasn't necessary.'
Beyond that, he'd sent warnings to all key locations as precautions.
And mobilized intelligence networks everywhere, including Banshee Queen Olivia, to track him if he vanished elsewhere.
'We'll finish him here for good.'
But the situation suggested no need to worry about other places now.
His instructions to the Church of the Main God, given with prior preparation in mind, had exceeded expectations in effect.
No need to nitpick—this moment, this place, was the perfect chance to end him.
Kagang!
"Grraaah! You persistent pests! How did you follow me all the way here?!"
The Bancheon Lord himself, sensing the crisis, finally bellowed after tentatively fending them off while surveying the scene.
Having fled a horde only to face an even worse beating here, his frustration was understandable.
Of course, Heinrich, clashing swords with him, couldn't care less.
"This is the will of this world! Begone, heretic!"
The holy sword, wrapped in Blessing: Radiant Sword, cleaved the air like a pillar of light.
The intangible barrier blocking his Space Slash tore to shreds, and the lurking collapse energy nearby scattered harmlessly, deprived of direction.
'Impressive.'
Impressed inwardly, Heinrich gripped his sword hilt tightly.
This environment forced even ordinary paladins beyond their limits.
As the Hero, actively leveraging it, holy light poured from his body, making him look like a divine incarnation descended to earth.
Kwak!
And capitalizing on that advantage.
"Kahaha! Thanks for the meal!"
"Kuh! You monster!"
Harley finally achieved his goal.
The humanoid abomination yanked his crumpled wing forcibly and bit deeply into its root—
Kwajik—!
With a gruesome crunch of tearing flesh, one wing was finally ripped free.
Before the Bancheon Lord could react, Heinz 2nd slyly appeared, collecting the spraying pure white blood and stabbing sharp blood spikes into the wound.
"You lowly vermin...!"
The wingless angel ground his teeth, pushed into a defensive spiral by the chain of attacks.
It had been worth repeatedly using Entity Assembly, even burning cash for it.
'Didn't pay it much mind since perks like Otherworld Teleportation Circle or Hero's Footsteps don't apply, but surprisingly useful.'
The item he'd used, Skill Cooldown Reset, was pricey as befitting a VIP market good, but a fine option for crucial moments like this.
Though among skills with long cooldowns needing it, only Entity Assembly and Entity Projection qualified.
'Time to wrap this up.'
Heinrich's holy sword gleamed sharply as it thrust through the air.
He didn't think felling the foe here would solve everything.
He'd likely appear before them again somehow.
His sharpened instincts post-breakthrough whispered it was fate.
But the key point now was...
They'd finally halted the one who endlessly devoured possibilities from myriad worlds to swell his power.
Puk—!
And that he'd succeeded in protecting Aouterica.
"Begone, heretic."
Gripping the holy sword with both hands plunged into the Bancheon Lord's chest, Heinrich snarled directly into his contorted glare.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has fulfilled the conditions and attained enlightenment. Acquired special skill 「Great Blessing: Wings of Radiance」. Evidently, the sponsor was quite satisfied as well.