Chapter 521
Chapter 521
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 521
Chapter Title: New World Plan (3)
Clank— Hiss!
> Swish—
With a sound like air escaping, the cables connecting to the master AI disengaged and retracted into the Titan.
Hesperon, having silently completed all the cleanup, let out a small sigh laced with regret.
"Is this the limit of what I can uncover like this?"
He had revealed the true intent behind the New World Plan, but what he'd discovered was merely a rough outline.
Even mobilizing all his abilities, including Deus ex Machina and the auxiliary personality Habis within the Titan, it had been impossible to grasp finer details. The information hadn't been systematically organized from the start.
'Still, learning this much for now is a huge gain. There are plenty of unresolved questions, but what can you do.'
Even establishing a single company involved endless tasks. Creating an entire world from scratch? The challenges were mountainous—from finding a way to escape the presumed higher Akasha System, to what kind of world they intended to build, to how they planned to atone for the karma piled up from rampaging across countless dimensions.
'...No helping it. Aside from the Chairman, hardly anyone in the Return to Heaven Society even knows about this—probably just a handful.'
Being able to glean even this much information could be considered fortunate.
It was all thanks to Doctor, who blindly trusted the security of his secret lab and slacked on info management.
Hesperon had benefited from the man's careless personality, indifferent to anything outside his pet research topics.
"Whatever schemes that Chairman bastard has, it won't change my path."
Learning the Return to Heaven Society's goals didn't mean he'd alter the course he'd steadfastly followed.
No matter what excuses they made, they were still the enemies who had targeted him and his family. He had no intention of meekly going along with the Chairman's plot.
'This is probably the only way he could think of.'
The sole breakthrough after countless regressions and failures.
By repeatedly turning back time, he must have realized he couldn't achieve anything without sacrifice.
It was absurd that his chosen scapegoat was the entire Earth, but he must have felt bone-deep that without it, annihilation was inevitable.
"But..."
Hesperon murmured softly, clenching his fist tightly.
He and the Return to Heaven Chairman were polar opposites in every way—from their abilities to their philosophies and values.
He acknowledged the man's efforts so far, but he had zero intention of accepting or justifying them.
"Even if everything went according to the Return to Heaven Society's scheme, that's a problem. For the 'greater good,' he'd sacrifice most of humanity without a second thought. No way a world created by someone like that turns out fine."
In the end, his task remained unchanged.
Eliminate his arch-nemesis, the Return to Heaven Chairman, and stop the outer god that would cause Earth's destruction.
To do that, he first needed to clarify the conditions laid out so far.
'He kept regressing to avert the outer god's destruction, only to be thwarted each time by the system's chosen adversary.'
So, did that mean the outer god destroying humanity and the system were on the same side?
'No, they should be treated as entirely separate incidents.'
The system had merely enforced its fixed laws to restrain those who twisted providence. There was no evidence it colluded with the outer god to destroy the world.
After all, hadn't the system been responsible for awakening him and the other Awakened on Earth in the first place? And for sending them to other worlds to return with immense power?
'What he couldn't do, I can.'
A regressor who, under the guise of saving the world, tried to sacrifice Earth—and inevitably faced the world's opposition no matter what.
Vs. himself, designated as that adversary, receiving the system's covert support and aids, advancing triumphantly to this point.
It was never a fair matchup from the start.
Sensing what felt like a colossal current of fate orchestrated from the beginning, Hesperon took a deep breath and turned around.
'...Of course, no matter what comes next, priority one is resolving the divinity issue.'
He had long prepared a plan for that.
Travel as many worlds as possible, gather divinity to complete his own godhood.
It wouldn't be easy.
Even the Return to Heaven Chairman had barely reached that realm after endless toil and suffering alone over vast ages.
"But."
As always.
He wasn't alone.
'If I can elevate all my Avatars to godhood.'
And not just that—if every single one fully attained true divinity.
How far could his main body, Han Seonghyeon, ascend?
'Who knows, but at least...'
An absolute being commanding legions of lesser gods under his banner.
A creator who forged gods to manage the world in his stead.
'...Enough to crush that Return to Heaven Chairman bastard effortlessly.'
In other worlds, such entities were commonly called "Main Gods."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A spacious training ground paved with neatly packed earth.
Normally, it could accommodate hundreds honing their martial arts together, but now only one figure stood at its center.
Ruuuumble—
A subtle shift stirred the once-still air, devoid of even a breeze.
A faint noise accompanied an unknown flow beginning to warp.
Swirling around the being at the center, it gradually expanded, tracing a spiral pattern across the entire ground.
"Hoo."
The man at the epicenter exhaled softly.
Clad in pristine white armor radiating unyielding aura, wielding a holy sword of sublime beauty, silver hair flowing like liquid light, and golden eyes like the sun itself.
He was the saint and hero of the Church of the Main God—the dominant religion of the Outerica dimension—and also an angel of the Main God.
The Knight of Light, Heinrich Saint Landgard.
Ruuuuumble—
The intensifying flow soon swelled into a storm engulfing the entire training ground.
Not stopping there, the vortex expanded further, straining the surrounding holy formation, which creaked in protest.
At that moment, Heinrich slowly raised his holy sword.
Closing his eyes, he recalled a sword path etched vividly in his memory, then swung it down.
Slaaash—
The next instant.
Everything froze.
Or so it felt.
The raging vortex halted abruptly and vanished.
As if nothing had happened from the start.
Only the drifting dust hinted at the prior tumult.
Even if the whirlwind had grown to typhoon scale engulfing the grounds, the result likely wouldn't have differed.
"Finally."
In the sudden silence.
Heinrich opened his eyes, golden gaze flashing as he curved his lips upward.
"Success."
A sword strike severing cause and effect themselves, unbound by sequence—like the Black Knight's.
By stealing and reinterpreting that sword intent in his own way, he had finally obtained a means to interfere with the flow of space-time.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has gained enlightenment through repeated training. Skill 「Space Slash」 has evolved into special skill 「Spacetime Slash」. It began as mimicry of the Black Knight's sword, but the end result was utterly different.
Which made perfect sense.
His firmly established realm was long past the point of being swayed by another's sword intent.
'Honestly, I prefer this version anyway.'
「Spacetime Slash」!
The name alone screamed "made to counter the Return to Heaven Chairman," didn't it?
Beyond the explicit skill gain, the repeated training had greatly elevated his sword realm itself—a satisfying bonus.
As Heinrich basked inwardly in satisfaction, a bright smile—rare for him—blossomed on his face.
"...Ah!"
A soft exclamation erupted from the training ground's edge.
"Riesta?"
He stored his holy sword in the stigmata on his palm and turned toward her with puzzled eyes.
There stood a striking silver-haired, golden-eyed beauty in pure white robes—the Church of the Main God's Saintess, Riesta—staring at him with wide eyes.
Her face unusually flushed.
"What brings you all the way here without notice?"
"I-I heard you've been holed up in the training grounds for days without eating...!"
"Ah! Has it been that long already? Sorry to worry you. I was on the verge of a breakthrough and lost track of everything else."
"Ahem! Ahem! Don't mind it. Heinrich growing stronger benefits the whole world, after all. B-But that thing just now... was it...?"
Coughing awkwardly, she approached cautiously, then gasped again while surveying the grounds.
Having received the god's choice and gained special "eyes," she could tell.
How absurdly elevated Heinrich's sword strike had been.
'For an instant, the world along the sword's path was severed. I knew his growth was steep, but I never imagined he'd reached this level already.'
The more she learned, the more astonishing it was.
When they first met, he was merely a holy knight.
At some point, he'd stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her—now, he soared far beyond reach.
...Utterly out of even her grasp.
'Leaving me behind all alone...'
She bit her lip unconsciously at the thought, shuddering without realizing.
Raised as a saintess from childhood, this emotion felt utterly foreign.
'No, I can't think like that. Heinrich trains for everyone's sake, and here I am, the Saintess, not supporting him wholeheartedly.'
She was the vessel transmitting the Main God's will to the world.
Personal feelings unrelated to faith only hindered pure devotion.
No matter that he was the sole peer—arguably her only equal—who had appeared beside her after long solitude.
Quickly composing herself with a light breath, she donned her usual serene smile.
It was familiar routine, not difficult.
'Haven't visited the flower garden lately—stress must be building. Should go soon. Robin seemed to lay an egg recently...'
Recalling her hobby that always soothed her, she regained calm and looked at Heinrich again.
His pure face glistening with sweat from training.
Thump— Thump—
Whether triggered by her earlier thoughts, or ripples from his rare bright smile.
Today, her heart pounded uncontrollably.
"Riesta? You alright?"
His pleasant baritone calling her name.
She squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to steady her fraying mind with deep breaths.
'Wait, why is this happening all of a sudden?'
Panicking at the abrupt reaction, she pressed a hand to her chest.
Since becoming the Church of the Main God's Saintess and strengthening her god-link, she'd never felt this—purely personal, slightly embarrassing emotion asserting itself gently.
...Actually, that was a lie.
This wasn't the first time.
Honestly, it had happened often lately.
She'd managed before, but seeing him after so long must have caught her off-guard.
As she reinforced her mental defenses and steeled herself.
Swish—
A fatal blow shattered her resolve instantly.
"No fever, it seems. Still, better check the infirmary just in case."
"......!"
A large palm touched Riesta's small forehead.
Roughened by training yet impossibly warm.
Simultaneously, his approaching body wafted a scent of sweat-mingled natural musk.
"You've been swamped with duties lately. No need for you to oversee every little thing, Riesta. You'll never finish that way."
"...Yes."
"The grand temple has plenty of reliable, capable people, doesn't it? If something urgently needs your check, they'll inform you. As the Church's symbol, maintaining your condition is part of the job."
"...Yes."
"For now, let me apply some healing holy arts. Not my specialty, but these things always work better when someone else does them."
"...Yes."
"Hm? Riesta?"
"...Yes."
Saintess Riesta had glitched out.
Once a teenage girl when they met, time had matured her into a woman of twenty-something, body and mind alike.
'Meanwhile, Heinrich essentially holds a lesser divinity of Outerica's Main God. Can't he borrow some flexibility on the divinity front from the Church?'
Unlike the man lost in side-thoughts amid this situation, she now harbored a spring breeze in her heart.
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