Chapter 417
Chapter 417
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 417
Chapter Title: Demon Realm War (4)
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Shhh—
The power, densely concentrated in one spot to take form, began to slowly disperse.
Hella, still intoxicated by its afterglow, quietly gazed down at her own hand.
The hand that, just moments ago, had gripped and wielded this entire world—the Demon Realm—itself.
‘This... is truly incredible.’
Having wielded the ability firsthand, she could tell.
This power stemmed from her position as the Demon Realm's representative, intertwined with her subordinates, and the vast web of karmic ties linking them all, spreading like a net to blanket the entire Demon Realm.
It was nothing short of a divine authority granted only to gods.
‘...Of course, it's only possible because demons are mana-based lifeforms akin to spirits.’
Perhaps the Demon Realm's overall level exceeded that of typical continental lifeforms precisely to sustain this system.
With free rein over this power, ruling like a god of the Demon Realm wouldn't be so difficult.
‘Of course, that's just wishful thinking.’
A scoff escaped her lips.
Naturally, not even a Demon King could wield such power at will.
It was power delegated in place of the Demon God, specifically to manage the Demon Realm smoothly.
‘No way they'd allow unrestricted use of something like that.’
In simple terms, it was an absolute authority within the Demon Realm once activated, but riddled with all sorts of constraints and limitations.
Crusayer hadn't just been excluded because he violated those very criteria—both he and the entity descending through him.
"Ugh, my whole body aches. The strain on it is no joke."
Muttering softly, Hella pouted and rolled her shoulders.
Considering the caliber of her body, one could guess just how immense the burden had been.
Of course, the sight before her made it seem like mere whining.
The barren wasteland, once desolate, now bore massive craters everywhere, as if bombed.
...In fact, it had been bombarded with photon blasts, but that wasn't the point.
"Hmm, maybe I overdid it a bit?"
From one point on the ground stretched a thin line straight to the horizon.
And continuing upward from that line, a scar crossing the sky. Seeing it, Hella awkwardly rubbed her chin.
‘But it was my first time, so I had no room to control the power...’
Besides, it was right as the descent was nearly complete—questionable if control was even feasible.
A slight misstep might have let the moment slip, complicating things further.
‘...Well, it looks prettier now, so whatever.’
Thus, after blankly admiring the cross-shaped scar etched into the violet sky, Hella shrugged with a refreshing grin.
It wasn't an empty boast.
The new mark had widened the existing scar, making the glittering galaxy within far more visible—and creating an even grander spectacle than before.
Even she, who often gazed at the sky, lost herself in its beauty for a moment.
‘Now, time for cleanup.’
Scanning her surroundings, she smacked her lips.
In truth, there was nothing to clean.
This was an abandoned wasteland to begin with, devoid of anything, and her prey, Crusayer, had been cleanly vaporized by the final sky-slicing strike.
‘Even if a corpse remained after he sacrificed everything, there'd be nothing worth salvaging.’
Her gaze turned to those who had aided her.
The black mage in ebony robes, the vampire in an opera mask, the three-headed hound scratching its nape with a hind leg, the blonde kid coughing and blowing his nose.
And the man in the metal suit still hovering high above, peering down.
"Still..."
As they began vanishing one by one after the deed was done, Hella slowly licked her lips.
Though they had come to the Demon Realm, she focused on the perspective of the one who hadn't joined the fight.
"Isn't it common sense that if your pet causes damage, the owner compensates?"
They could leave, but not without paying for the mess.
Did they think they could just wipe their mouths and pretend ignorance?
Raising her head again, she eyed a particularly bright star amid the galaxy, smirked, and spun on her heel.
The remaining balance would be collected by another friend.
For now, her task was to return to her seat as quickly as possible.
From here on, she'd be busier than ever.
As the sole ruler of this Demon Realm.
As the 16th Demon King.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...Found you."
Heinrich muttered softly, his wings of glory fluttering.
Whoosh—
His body radiated a holy aura, shining like a lantern in the dark—repelling the Demon Realm's energies, drawing all eyes, yet he paid it no mind.
His location was inaccessible to most, hard to even observe without exceptional ability.
"Hiding it in a place like this, huh."
This was far higher than where Hesferon had unleashed his aerial barrage—several times over.
The end of this world, with the galaxy right before his eyes.
‘Without 「Great Blessing: Wings of Glory」, piercing the mana storms to reach here would’ve been impossible.’
The Demon Realm was a mere offshoot dimension derived from Outerica.
A world where stars and galaxies couldn't exist from the start.
‘...Up close, it's even more astonishing. All that...’
This was the boundary of the Demon Realm's allotted domain.
Beyond the impassable veil, the galaxy gleamed—traces of the Main God scattered during creation.
Obscured by turbulent mana flows overhead, they appeared as mere stars from the ground.
"Gotta give credit for the cunning. If not for me, they'd never have found it no matter how long they scoured the surface."
And at that world's boundary sat ‘it’.
The door to the sealed god's temple, vanished from the Dark Nest's underground ritual chamber.
‘Of course. How could they invade the Demon Realm and just give up easily?’
Right after joining the hunt for Crusayer's location.
Heinrich had forgone the kill, focusing instead on searching.
Unlike the others, he'd sensed a unique reaction.
Besides, the others had more than enough firepower without him.
‘Wondered if it vanished with Crusayer.’
The Demon Realm was under another god's jurisdiction.
Installing a door linked to their temple there wouldn't be easy!
Likely required some heavy price—even now, after their Demon Realm plot failed, too valuable to abandon.
Hence, tucked away where no one would look.
‘Well then.’
Approaching the firmly shut door, Heinrich gripped the handle tightly.
Crackle—
The door resisted fiercely, but...
It couldn't stop him now.
Bang!
He wrenched it open almost violently and flew inside naturally.
Had the temple's relocation reshuffled its internal space? The coordinates he'd marked underground were all reset.
Move it again, and these new ones would be useless too.
But now that he'd entered personally, no escape.
———!
Through the rippling internal flows, he felt the temple's fury.
As if demanding how he dared enter with those filthy feet.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll finish quick, so behave."
Heinrich ignored it, flying deeper casually.
‘Intense reaction. My whole body's tingling.’
A temple was special even to gods.
No matter how fallen, sensing intruders was trivial.
That's why he'd hesitated to summon inside—to avoid exposing full-power Hans.
"...Found it. The temple's core."
But what if it was a champion of the Main God, clearly superior?
The creator of this world, the judge who sealed its current occupant in the abyss, father of all gods—Heinrich, champion of the Main God?
‘My power's foundation is the blessings bestowed by the Main God, after all.’
Moreover, the owner had just been expelled with Crusayer.
Even in their domain, striking back immediately post-expulsion would be tough.
In other words, unlike before, this temple was now an unguarded fortress.
Crackle! Zap!
Screeech—
The door he'd failed to open before now yielded forcibly.
Beyond, in a hall too vast for humans—fit for giants.
A damaged sacred emblem stood on the altar of the worship hall.
"There it is—the nucleus sustaining this temple."
———!
The internal flows rippled violently in affirmation of his mutter.
As if cursing him out if it could speak.
But curses from foes were praise.
Cheered, he flapped his wings to land before the massive emblem befitting the temple's scale.
‘Their symbol, huh?’
A colossal structure, too ruined to discern its original form.
Charred as if burned, melted, twisted—like a screaming face contorted in agony.
‘...A fragment of divinity resides here too. Makes sense—if they've schemed for millennia, this investment is natural. Seems to relay to the Demon Realm as well.’
He should've examined it closer initially.
His leisurely approach had let it slip once; now, he'd end it for good.
Well, he'd halted then because he couldn't open this worship hall anyway.
‘Can't absorb the divinity fragment like the other avatars... but I'm a cleric too. Got a better way.’
Clerics had set ways to grow stronger, didn't they?
Gazing at the emblem briefly, Heinrich placed both hands on the structure several times his height.
Ignoring the ominous aura from his palms, he closed his eyes.
Hummm—
Channeling holy power, he began praying to the Main God.
Offering this symbol of blasphemy that dared defy the Main God's will as tribute.
Roar!
Immediately after.
Holy power blazed like fierce flames, engulfing Heinrich's body and the emblem entirely.
———!
The temple screamed.
Unlike the unstable state when shattering the Dragon Duke's barrier—this was orders of magnitude worse.
As if the world itself were ending, the massive temple warped, twisted, and began dissolving.
Sizzle—!
"Ngh!"
Smoke rose from Heinrich's stigmata-marked hands touching the emblem, as if burning.
The holy light from his spread wings far exceeded normal output.
The conduit to the Main God swelled, flooding in immense holy power.
Then, at some point.
All ambient noise cut off.
Not just sound vanished.
A space of nothingness, where even reality or illusion was indiscernible—
Devoid of all existence.
In the chaos, his mind soared upward.
And there.
He confronted it.
The great and holy being he'd only glimpsed in fragments before.
‘This... might be trouble...!’
The vast will composing and sustaining this world.
Not even a proper encounter—just vague awareness—and the load on 「Mind Hub」 and 「Soul Firewall」 spiked to limits from its overwhelming presence.
As that existence—the Main God's gaze—turned to Heinrich...
"Hup!"
A sensation of endless freefall snapped his eyes open.
Whoooosh—
...No illusion.
Fierce wind whipping his ears, chill air cooling his cold sweat, strong gusts battering his face.
He was truly plummeting.
From the world's edge, high in the sky, toward the distant ground.
The galaxy beyond the cross-shaped scar in the violet sky receded.
"Ugh, this one's rough..."
Even past audiences with the Main God hadn't been this intense.
Body in freefall, yet limp flesh wouldn't twitch a finger.
‘As expected of the creator god... leagues beyond the others I've met.’
Heinrich sighed deeply.
Who'd have thought skydiving like this—parachuteless, fully paralyzed!
"No helping it..."
But he understood, somewhat.
After all...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity's race value has been changed to ‘Angel’. Acquired special skill 「Herald of God」. Through facing the sublime existence, enlightenment was gained. Acquired special skill 「Great Spirit」. His race itself had changed; staying unscathed would've been odder.
He hadn't expected to actually become an angel.
And soon after.
The figure of the newbie angel plummeting from the Demon Realm's sky vanished cleanly.
As if it had never existed in this world to begin with.