〈 Enemy of the World (3) 〉
A dazzling light emanated from Heinrich’s back.
Paaaat—
a beautiful cluster of light that gradually takes the shape of a pair of wings, like a fable of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.
Finally, the completed wings flap lightly with a shimmering glow.
Accordingly, all the energy around him was instantly absorbed, and the concentration of divine power within his body began to rapidly soar again.
‘This is…’
Naturally, Heinrich’s eyes widened slightly.
But now was not the time to be preoccupied with other things.
You can take a closer look at additional features later.
For now…
he gripped the sword handle in both hands even more tightly.
Wooung—
A dense sacred power was released along the brilliantly shining blade of the holy sword.
Like a toxin, it penetrates the target’s body without hesitation and destroys everything that resists it one by one.
“Cough…!”
Considering the normally warm and gentle nature of divine power, this phenomenon is so extreme that it is violent.
However, the energy that responded to the user’s will only reacted sensitively to the object’s conflicting divinity and viciously bit it, as if it had never been so calm.
In the first place, it was not particularly strange since it was common for wars to break out due to differences in religious beliefs.
And the winner of this war was already decided.
“Hehehe… This is ridiculous.”
Beoncheonhoeju, who had a sword blade stuck in his chest, laughed out loud with blood streaming from the corner of his mouth.
Unlike the pure white blood flowing from his wings, the blood flowing from his body was still red.
“When on earth did you start preparing? “I never thought I would end up like this.”
Have I given up now?
His expression, which had been contorted in anger just a moment ago, now calmed down.
Suddenly, emotionless eyes appeared, as if they had been liberated, and looked straight at Heinrich.
‘What kind of trick are you planning to pull again?’
Heinrich did not answer the question.
He simply twisted the handle of the sword in his hand and poured out divine power even more vigorously.
Through the tip of the sword, it was reported that the opponent’s vitality was being sharply reduced and he was hitting the floor.
‘Still, it would be better to be sure.’
Next, attacks from other avatars and sacred spells from the main church exploded one after another.
“Khaha! I guess one pair isn’t enough, right? “Please give me the rest of what I’m giving you!”
“Hmm, I feel a little uncomfortable. Still, it’s not that bad.”
Harley, with pure white blood and a few feathers around his mouth, and Heinz II, who appeared like a ghost, quickly rushed in.
Harris’ long-distance sniping shot from far away was mixed in with the holy light flying in from all directions.
The attacks are pouring in fiercely as if they are determined to put an end to it this time.
In a wave-like flow sweeping the area.
“…I can’t help it.”
A small voice, loud enough to be heard only by Heinrich who was nearby, came from the Buncheonhoeju.
“…!”
And as soon as those words are over.
Kiiiiing—
all those attacks.
No, the entire area.
It seemed as if time had stopped.
‘Time stop?’
Avatars and crowds standing still with a mass of energy and ferocious force embroidering the air like a painting.
As if a dynamic moment had been captured in a photograph, everything from breathing to every single energy particle was fixed in place in the stuffed time.
‘No, no. This…’
Heinrich was momentarily taken aback by the majestic sight, as if time had been forcibly stopped, but thanks to the accident quickly accelerating, he was able to quickly grasp the situation.
Yes, this was not a miracle that stopped time in the world itself.
[That’s amazing. I never thought it would follow me here.]
All I can do is accelerate my thoughts infinitely and stay for a moment in an infinitely long moment.
Of course, maintaining this state of complete stillness was not possible simply because of strong mental power.
[Hmm, is it because of the divine power connected to this sword? Anyway, this is the first time something like this has happened… Well, it doesn’t matter.]
There were other avatars here now, but Heinrich was the only one who could properly perceive this moment.
I don’t know if it’s because of the direct contact I made by inserting the holy sword into his body, as the Beoncheonhoeju said.
[This is not only a lot of damage. How long has it been since I failed before even trying to do something like this?]
The other person’s will was conveyed as they looked directly into each other’s eyes.
Fortunately, the holy sword was still stuck in his chest, as he could not move in this state.
The vitality felt through him was still at its lowest point.
[No matter how much I couldn’t do my best due to restrictions, I can’t help but admit that the situation has come to this point. It looks like this world was a failure.]
Did he want to make an excuse for his defeat?
I wanted to scold the guy who was talking one-sidedly as if he was complaining, but perhaps because he wasn’t used to it yet, his intentions didn’t seem to be conveyed.
[…Is time running out? Well then, let’s stop here.]
It looks like he wasn’t wasting his time for nothing.
Shortly after that final will was delivered, an abnormal phenomenon finally occurred in the still world.
‘This…?’
A change that occurred in the time when everything stopped.
The subject was Beoncheonhoeju, whose entire body was completely disfigured with a holy sword stuck in his chest.
Susseu—
The life force felt at the tip of the sword slowly began to replenish, and the wounds in various places were sutured and disappeared without a trace.
He moved as if rewinding backwards, freeing himself from the holy sword that pierced his body, and before he knew it, a pair of intact wings were attached to his back.
‘Interfering with time…? Wasn’t it simply a unique skill that deals with space?’
Roll back against time.
However, Heinrich was able to quickly realize that the retrograde was not complete.
‘It seems like Harley’s torn wings and Heinz’s blood can’t be touched. ‘Can’t it even affect parts of the body that are already out of control?’
If so, it was fortunate.
In any case, it is true that the absolute amount of strength was reduced by losing the wings.
Considering that the energy contained within it was unusual, the loss it suffered would not have been small.
[I will remember you as the champion of Outerica. Next time, I won’t be defeated this easily.]
At that time, the final message was delivered from Beoncheonhoeju, who had finally returned to the way he was when he first came to the Holy Land.
He had already moved as if in rewind and was out of sight for a long time, but Heinrich, who could not turn his head, could only guess his situation based on his presence.
‘…This is frustrating.’
And after all traces of Beoncheonhoeju disappeared.
When I was finally able to move my body, I could no longer find him in the sacred place.
All that was left was Harley’s half-eaten wing and some blood that Heinz had packed away.
“Heresy is gone! Everyone is on alert….”
“The 3rd and 4th groups activate the detection barrier! The rest are in a defensive posture…!”
Heinrich turned his head to one side, leaving behind the members of the church who were wary of the target that had suddenly disappeared.
Yeah, definitely not here.
Not here.
***
The surrounding scenery passes by dizzyingly as the body’s time rewinds.
Beoncheonhoeju surrendered himself to the flow and gently closed his eyes.
‘In any case, I didn’t want to waste my time.’
It was a power that had to be used with caution even now that it had reached the level of a semi-god, as it had not yet fully recovered after being seriously overloaded by using it beyond its limits a long time ago.
Because of that, the effect has become weaker than in the past and the burden has actually increased…
‘I can’t help it.’
But this time, there was no other way than this.
If he were to die on the spot, not only would he suffer enormous damage to his divinity, but he would also incur additional losses due to non-compliance with the contract made with the divinity of the Abyss.
‘It’s difficult. ‘Is it really a good idea to continue investing in this world?’
I said I would wait and see with the main champion, but no matter how I looked at it, wasting more time here was inefficient.
I crashed before I could properly adapt to the environment of the dimension, and the first button was pressed wrong. In this case, it might be better to cancel the contract, give up on this dimension, and move on to another place.
If you unilaterally cancel the contract, you will have to pay a high price, but it was worth serious consideration considering the various difficulties such as the prophets that exist in this world.
‘I don’t want to give up… but I guess I’ll have to watch the situation a little more first and make a decision.’
No matter what the process was, if it was ultimately successful, a certain amount of loss could be tolerated.
The moment he made up his mind and was thinking about his future.
The retrograde is finally over.
Beoncheonhoeju could tell that he had arrived at the place where he first arrived on earth.
And then he slowly opened his eyes—.
[Keukeuuu—I can’t believe I see you here again. Nice to see this.]
Right after that.
A pair of ghost fires made direct eye contact with the glowing skull.
With a gloomy voice that I have heard so many times that it now feels familiar.
“…Hah, damn it….”
Just as a vulgar curse word came out without my knowledge.
Fuuuuk—!
A cold hand penetrated his body, weakened by the backlash of time control, and grabbed his heart.
My limbs were already tangled with black thorns and chains sprouting from all directions, so I couldn’t even move, let alone react.
‘Surely you’ve read this far?’
In an instant, all kinds of thoughts came to mind, confusing his mind.
But that wasn’t what mattered now.
With his resistance greatly weakened, the power of death that penetrated his heart instantly spread throughout his entire body.
As the opposing forces struck directly, the divinity that had been built up so far began to be polluted little by little.
‘Dangerous.’
An urgent alarm bell rang in my head.
The situation is different from before.
In this case, it does not just end with a part of divinity being chipped away.
If things continue like this, even the foundation that has been built for Shinwi may be distorted…
‘I don’t even have time to watch the situation.’
In the end, what had to be done to minimize the damage was decided.
Right now, even if I have to take a loss, all I have to give is to give up and save myself.
“…the contract is terminated.”
He frowned at the hand that was squeezing his heart as if it was going to burst, and muttered as if he were chewing.
Right after that.
Kuoooo—
A huge flash of light erupted again from the mountains of the northeastern region where the commotion was at its peak.
***
After a storm passed.
[Hehe—he’s a radical guy. Anyway, this is…]
Hans radiated magical power and blew away the dust flying around him.
And as he repaired the body damaged by the huge explosion, he looked at the pitch-black air current held in his hand and tilted his head.
He must have been holding a heart, but what was in his hand was something ominously writhing and resisting.
Somehow, it feels very familiar.
‘Is there anything left besides this…? ‘That’s a thorough guy.’
In fact, meeting Buncheonhoeju this time was purely coincidental.
Who would have guessed that right after changing hands with other avatars, including Heinrich, to cool off and investigate the abyss crack where Buncheonhoeju first appeared, this guy would suddenly jump out right in front of us?
‘I was trying to find out how he got over it before the traces left in the crack completely disappeared.’
Of course, he was a little surprised by the sudden appearance of the person who had disappeared from the sacred place, but he was not so foolish as to miss the opportunity that came his way.
Although I was quite taken aback by the guy’s subsequent self-destruction without hesitation.
‘How did Hans end up hitting the last hit?’
He watched Heinrich adjust the situation in the Holy Land and then turned his attention to the air current in his hand.
In fact, it was even harder to ignore it because I had been holding on to it as it struggled to fall through the crack.
It seemed like even he, the immortal king, would miss it at any moment if he let his guard down even a little.
‘As expected, this is…’
At that point, I naturally figured out what this was.
‘Is it related to the god imprisoned in the abyss?’
It felt instinctive.
This and the “Immortal Heart,” which is the basis of Hans, have the same origin.
Perhaps it was taken over by the Beoncheonhoeju for some reason.
In addition, strangely, a considerable amount of the guy’s energy seemed to have been mixed in, robbing him of some of that power along with his self-destruction.
With this amount… wouldn’t it have taken a significant toll on the divinity he had built up?
‘It feels like I received a gift out of nowhere.’
It seemed like good luck would come to living a good life.
I was prepared to be unpaid for this job, but I never thought he would take care of me like this!
‘Then right away…’
I didn’t know what would happen if I kept holding on to this dangerous object, so it would be better to hurry and take care of it without wasting any more time.
I knew the method instinctively.
Hans reached his hand through the gap in his robe, which had been punctured by the explosion, and plunged it into the subordinate subspace of the heart.
After all, my heart and this one had the same origin…. My heart
was pounding –
my heart, which had been quiet until now, was beating wildly.
At the same time, the air currents resisted violently, as if they were self-conscious, but the energy of the abyss that was already tangled together could no longer be separated.
All that remains is a fight for dominance.
And the competition ended unexpectedly easily.
It was quite a strong energy, but it was not comparable to the pure condensation of death.
[The abyss is overflowing.]
I couldn’t clearly feel the change yet, but I felt it intuitively.
This incident may have brought the gap between them and Beoncheonhoeju one step closer.
‘No, he would have come down, so I guess it’s two steps.’
And right after that.
『XXXX Divine Fragment (20900000)』
A change occurred once again in one item of the Karma Store.