Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Variable (3)
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[Ho—now this is an unexpected windfall.]
The inheritance wasn't some material wealth or magical artifact.
The first Immortal King had turned half the continent into a land of death, and the second had wiped out an entire empire.
Those were feats no one could accomplish alone, no matter how strong they were.
'Of course he had subordinates following him.'
It was impossible to scheme over the continent with just one's own power from the start.
It had only been possible because there were high-level thinkers with advanced intellect assisting him, not just mindless undead obeying orders.
'The Immortal King's undying army, at the forefront of his continental conquest.'
They were the ones who had once turned half the continent into a land of death—the true legacy the Immortal King left for posterity.
Due to their nature, their forces only grew stronger the longer the war dragged on.
The endless hordes of corpses and the valiant soldiers who fought them bravely eventually became part of their ranks upon falling.
Naturally, the continent's leadership, including the Church of the Main God, formed suicide squads targeting the head directly, and after countless sacrifices, their strategy succeeded.
This was true in both cases when the Immortal Kings rampaged.
'That shows just how resilient the continent is. Even the second one, who was cautious about his safety to avoid repeating his predecessor's mistakes, still fell.'
Though the overall damage to the continent was less under the second Immortal King, far more powerhouses were lost breaching the executives guarding him.
'In the end, the Immortal King's forces scattered.'
What mattered now was where they had gone.
Most were purged by the enraged continentals, but quite a few escaped at the discretion of their unit commanders.
Some hid in remote wildernesses, while others holed up in newly created dungeons.
And a significant number chose this method...
'Sealing themselves at the boundary with the Abyss.'
Somewhere along that border between the surface and the Abyss.
A rift in dimensions, drifting meaninglessly through unobservable time.
With dimensional walls weakened by countless rifts across the world back then, and only possible because they were undead, it was the safest yet most uncertain method.
They could evade the continentals, but there was no telling when they might awaken.
They would have slumbered eternally until the next Immortal King arose to free them.
'But conveniently, someone just ripped open the Abyss.'
Not just weakening the wall, but punching a outright hole through it.
[Ahh—I can feel them. Those slumbering at the boundary. Quite a few remain on the surface as well...]
What the previous Immortal King's lingering thoughts left behind wasn't mere information.
If anything, it was akin to handing over the original contract document.
Had he fully absorbed the heart and merged with them from the start, he would have realized it naturally, but blocking that had delayed his awareness until now.
'Better late than never. Even if I'd known earlier, there was nothing I could do until the Abyss opened anyway.'
The Abyss opening was unfortunate, but now that it had, he might as well gather everything he could.
[...That said, the delay might mean they're no longer around.]
A grand spell impacting the continent this much wouldn't have gone unnoticed by others.
The perpetrators knew best, so they likely fled immediately after achieving their goal.
'But I still have to check.'
Hans needed to investigate the scene personally.
Concentrating there, he traced the energy flow once more.
The turbulence had subsided as if the ritual were complete, but...
It was irrelevant to him.
Whoooong—
Vast black magic densely compressed and arrayed at Hans's will in an instant.
The mystery thus formed enveloped his body in thick darkness.
[I hope something's still left behind.]
With that, Immortal King Hans headed south.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the underground chamber of the Pikaol Cathedral where the holy sword had been sealed.
Sizzle—
Crackle—!
'Why is this still going on? Shouldn't it end once the holy sword is pulled out?'
For some reason, the pain scorching his palms and the sparks racing across his body showed no sign of stopping.
He firmly gripped the holy sword still searing his hands and silently watched the churning Abyss.
Anyone else unable to gauge the outside situation would have panicked at this sudden turn, but he had already assessed it and was pondering countermeasures.
'Seems affected by this newly opened Abyss.'
The seal had weakened precisely because he'd removed the holy sword.
The Saintess's words that "the cathedral alone is sufficient" likely didn't account for an open Abyss.
The simplest fix would be shoving the holy sword back into it.
Siiiizzle...
Then, the sizzling from his palms began to fade.
The holy sword's energy rampaging through his body had also calmed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and attained enlightenment. Acquired Special Skill 「Blessing: Holy Sword」. Opening his hands that had gripped the hilt, he saw the Church of the Main God's emblem seared into his palms like a stigmata.
'The energy that entered my body has settled stably too. So it wasn't just a test—it was the process of fully accepting the holy sword?'
Heinz continued monitoring the Abyss warily while examining Blessing: Holy Sword.
'Not only does it enhance attack power and physique with the holy sword's energy, it allows free form changes, and the palm stigmata even has a sub-space function?'
No need to mention its quality as a weapon or its holy power amplification.
It was truly the finest weapon obtainable, unmatched by any magical artifact.
You couldn't buy something like this anywhere.
And he wasn't about to abandon the holy sword over some minor Abyss rift!
'No way. What's in my hands is already mine.'
He had come to retrieve the holy sword on the Saintess's orders in the first place.
Abandoning it was never an option.
Besides, with the cathedral's barriers, that rift couldn't cause much trouble...
Gurgle gurgle~!
Suddenly, the Abyss churned violently.
Despite the surrounding barriers flashing repeatedly, its size had grown slightly larger than before.
And finally...
Splurt—!
Something burst out of the Abyss.
Crackle—!
Pure white lightning erupted from the encircling barriers, striking it.
Numerous holy barriers then activated simultaneously.
'As expected of the Church of the Main God—they're not that sloppy. Everything was prepared. But what is that...?'
Amid the surging white flashes, an arm protruded from the Abyss, writhing under the onslaught.
[Kugh— what the hell is this? Of all places!]
A grating, metal-scraping sound echoed from the Abyss's hole.
'Hm?'
It felt familiar.
[Ku... filthy church bastards. But I can't give up like this!]
Splurt!
The opposite hand tore through the hole.
The attacks intensified, but it pressed on, arms trembling.
[Huu... Now that I'm back...]
Slowly, its upper body emerged.
The appearance was extremely familiar to Heinz.
They had been trading blows just moments ago, after all.
'The archlich from the third trial?'
Though clad in ragged robes with only bones visible, you recognize what you recognize.
Moreover, he now had new intel from the unexpected incident.
Hans's analysis based on Heinz's observations popped up immediately.
'Dwell McCain, one of the Immortal King's personal guard.'
He was one of the elites the previous Immortal King had stationed nearby against suicide squads.
Ranked around 50th, he excelled more at commanding units than personal combat, directing hordes of undead to check armies rather than fighting himself.
[Somehow escape this place... Hm?]
Then, as the crawling archlich Dwell emerged and locked eyes with Heinz.
"......"
[......]
A moment of silence.
Dwell slowly turned, surveying the surroundings, then scanned Heinz up and down.
The chamber filled with the Church of the Main God's emblems and prayers, radiating pious energy.
The holy barriers relentlessly pounding his body...
And right before him, the hero calmly gripping the holy sword and looking down.
He couldn't fail to recognize that sword, symbolic of heroes.
How many comrades had it felled? Even the Immortal King he served had fallen to it, forced to seal himself away.
To bide time for the future.
Yet here he was, finally escaping the boundary after eons, only to face what appeared to be the current hero.
[...Damn it, what rotten luck...]
He couldn't help cursing.
As Dwell froze in indecision, Heinz silently observed and organized his thoughts.
'Drifted through the boundary and got sucked out by the Abyss opening? Its appearance in the trial must've been the holy sword reading info from a nearby phase.'
Its plight was also pitiable.
Fine, it escaped naturally, but right into the heart of the cathedral sealing the holy sword.
Even if it luckily escaped here, it wouldn't take one step outside before disintegrating.
That was the nature of the cathedral.
[Kuh... damn! Why won't it let me back in...]
Catching Heinz's eye, Dwell tried darting back but let out a dismayed sigh.
Judging the situation dire, he'd opted for resealing, but even that failed.
The force dragging him up had turned his exit into a one-way street.
Now he was truly trapped.
'Pity, but I have to deal with it here.'
It could've served Hans, making this a waste, but circumstances left no choice.
Even if he let it go, it wouldn't escape anyway, so better to end it himself.
'Hm? What's that?'
As Heinz gripped the holy sword to finish it, something familiar peeked from the archlich's ragged robes.
Something he'd seen before.
The core he'd once destroyed.
'Of course—he summoned and took his core before hiding in the boundary. Otherwise, no point in hiding. ...Wait, if that's there...'
Seeing it sparked a great idea.
With a meaningful smile, Heinz approached, slowly raising his sword.
Holy power like a torrent flooded the blade via Amplification's blessing, and Light Sword and Holy Sword intertwined, cloaking it in radiant gold.
And.
He charged Dwell, swinging.
[Cursed slave of the Main God...! You think I'll go down this easily?!]
Thick black magic erupted from the undying foe, but the situation differed vastly from the trial.
Crackle—!
At the cathedral's core, it couldn't summon undead, and holy barrier energies swarmed, gnawing relentlessly.
Freshly freed and not fully recovered, Heinz—with the holy sword—sliced through black magic like butter...
[...Kuhak! Dam...n—!]
Unable to resist much, it burned to holy flames, crumbling to ash.
Leaving only its core behind.
"Let's see..."
Heinz stepped forward, picking up the smoking core from the floor.
Left alone, it would disintegrate naturally here, let alone revive.
Hummm...
But that wasn't his goal.
Recalling his new knowledge, he drew holy power.
Applying techniques from Logia Sacred Combat Method, he invoked Auterica Sacred Rite—
'...Done. As expected of the predecessors.'
He successfully 'sealed' the archlich core.
Thanks to Logia Sacred Combat Method's know-how for foes too tough to kill outright.
Examining the crystallized core, leaking no black magic, he slipped it into his palm's stigmata.
'Not too bulky, and the sub-space isn't just for the holy sword. It'll make a fine gift for Hans.'
Gifts build bonds.
Heinz nodded with a pleased smile.
That they were both him was beside the point.
It was about the sentiment.