Chapter 228

Chapter 228
## Chapter 228

Immortal King vs Hero Party (3)

Heinrich—or more accurately, Han Seong-hyeon—harbored feelings that were mostly a mix of deep pity and shared understanding toward Geos.

Their predicaments were remarkably alike.

Furthermore, he had silently held a profound respect for the man, though he kept it strictly to himself.

In stark contrast to his own journey, which demanded two full years and the intervention of “Avatar” to pick up the pieces, Geos had risen immediately, pressing forward by the sheer force of his internal resolve.

Naturally, the specifics of their plights diverged, considering their disparity in raw combat strength and the presence of a distinct target for vengeance. Yet, when faced with such an unyielding spirit…

Crack—

…those distinctions felt entirely inconsequential.

Heinrich, having uncovered the core restrictions of the Refraction Spear while perfecting his own “Space Slash”, had harbored low expectations for Geos’s contribution from the outset.

[What is the meaning of this?!]

Consequently, even he was taken completely by surprise when a sudden rift in reality manifested directly over the Immortal King’s chest.

‘Now is my moment!’

Banishing all secondary concerns, Heinrich—fully locked into the flow of combat—swung his sacred blade, capitalizing on the fleeting vulnerability.

His holy blade expanded with radiant energy, unleashing a full-power “Space Slash” that carried the absolute peak of his martial comprehension.

[Ugh… As if a strike like that could ever bring me down?!]

Rumble—

The dark, bottomless reserves of the Immortal King erupted in a violent surge to deflect the incoming trajectory…

Slash! Whoosh—!

[You miserable wretch—!]

…yet the edge of Heinrich’s weapon still tore across him, carving a searing laceration from his shoulder down to his hip. The dark monarch had only just managed to evade a lethal strike.

“Cough—!”

Meanwhile, a short distance away,

Geos spat a spray of crimson onto the ground after thrusting his weapon forward, whispering softly as he observed Heinrich being driven backward.

“…Was my execution too superficial?”

This marked his very first attempt at deploying this specific capability in a live scenario.

Possessing only the foundational theory meant that practical execution was bound to introduce miscalculations.

‘Still, the sensation is becoming clearer. Provided I am granted another opening… ’

Propitiously, a fraction of his stamina remained intact.

He felt capable of delivering an even more precise strike on his next attempt…

[Insolent creature! You absolute insect—!]

Regrettably, the environment was not going to permit a second venture.

[Perish!]

The Immortal King, who had maintained an eerie composure throughout the engagement, bellowed in unbridled rage and extended his hand toward the offender.

Having sustained successive injuries, with sacred flames currently eating away at his flesh, he chose to prioritize the total elimination of Geos over his own immediate defense.

“Hold on…!”

“Sir Geos!”

Whoosh—!

Long before the remaining comrades could shift into motion,

Spikes formed of pure abyss tore upward from the earth, impaling Geos’s entirely unprotected frame.

—

‘…An incredibly narrow escape. To think such a deceptive parlor trick would manifest!’

He had only just managed to preserve himself, relying on his cosmic awareness and rapid instincts to reinforce the localized dimensional pocket surrounding his cardiac core.

Had that strike possessed even a fraction more weight, his defense against Heinrich’s subsequent assault would have crumbled, forcing an immediate withdrawal.

‘All because of that utterly worthless worm! I…!’

Naturally, he possessed full knowledge regarding Geos.

While unique methodologies granted him some utility, in the grand scheme of power, he barely qualified as a master-level combatant.

He fell drastically short of Heinrich, Harley, the Saintess, and the remaining pair of fighters.

The Immortal King had just taken a direct hit from a background figure he hadn’t even deemed worthy of his attention.

‘You actively court your own demise!… Though, none of you were leaving this place alive regardless.’

Indeed, his intentions from the very beginning involved wiping out everyone present, saving only Heinrich and Harley for last.

The sheer volume of Karma waiting to be harvested from executing the Saintess of the Main God Church, a High Elf of the Elven Kingdom, and an Archmage closely allied with the imperial heir was staggering!

The resulting terror and geopolitical shockwaves would yield an astronomical bounty of resources!

‘Alliances? Combined strategies? Utterly useless concepts! I will simply amass a fortune of Karma that eclipses their collective worth!’

His fracturing consciousness was veering toward extreme instability ever since he severed the ties binding him to his alternate manifestations.

The fundamental objective of accumulating dominance via Karma remained intact, yet every secondary thought had warped into a manic, self-centered obsession.

[Kihihihik— Indeed, a victory devoid of friction offers no amusement.]

The Immortal King swept aside the incoming arrows of spirit energy along with Isea’s spellcraft, using the raw essence of the abyss to smother the sacred fire devouring his physical form.

He had initially assumed he could control the battlefield unassisted, but given the current escalation, maintaining such pride was counterproductive.

‘I require only a minimal presence.’

While the bulk of his military assets were preoccupied with finalizing the upcoming invasion, a mere handful of high-ranking officers remained to oversee the Immortal Fortress.

However, he possessed a magnificent beast available for instantaneous summoning.

[Manifest, Heratos.]

The command had barely left his lips when a sound tore through the air.

[Kyaaaaagh—!]

An immense, terrifying Bone Dragon fractured the very fabric of reality and entered the battlefield.

—

Owing to the prompt intervention of Liesta, Geos was successfully dragged away from the immediate jaws of death.

Nevertheless, he remained in a highly precarious state, his flesh torn by abyssal barbs and deeply corrupted by dark energy.

Worse still, they lacked the luxury to dedicate themselves to his recovery in this chaotic moment.

[Kyaaaaaah—!]

A torrent of pure, unadulterated annihilation erupted from the jaws of the airborne Bone Dragon, Heratos.

“Intensive Barrier!”

“Main God!”

Kaboom—!

Isea’s sorcery, which she managed to stabilize the moment the Immortal King faltered, combined with Liesta’s defensive warding—maintained while simultaneously keeping Geos anchored to life—absorbed the brunt of the cataclysmic breath.

“Horia, Equistin, Meiru, Dimanta!”

Lydia’s projectile, infused with the elemental quartet of flame, gale, tide, and stone, streaked directly toward the hovering silhouette of Heratos.

The tactical landscape, already incredibly precarious, had deteriorated significantly upon the arrival of the draconic undead.

Simultaneously, the Immortal King’s offensive pressure persisted without a single moment of reprieve.

[Kihihihik— Why do you hesitate, Hero Heinrich? If the survival of your comrades concerns you, then step forward and strike me down!]

“You absolute monster…!”

It was in this moment that Heinrich truly comprehended the situation.

Hans… or rather, the Immortal King Hannibal Strauss, was operating with the genuine intent to slaughter every last one of them.

“What drove you to…!”

He clenched his jaw so tightly the sentence died in his throat.

He was fully aware that Hans had lost his mental stability… yet trying to appeal to his reason now was an exercise in futility.

‘Harley… ’

Harley remained heavily engaged against an immense horde of fiends outside the perimeter of the barrier.

Though he had successfully thinned out the low-level threats and even brought down a Great Warrior, the remaining opposition was dense enough to prevent him from breaking away to offer reinforcement.

Given these circumstances, what options were left?

‘There is… absolutely nothing.’

He bit down on his lip until the skin broke and blood welled up.

A suffocating wave of hopelessness coursed through his veins as the reality of his own inadequacy settled in.

‘…What value does the status of a Saint or a Chosen Hero possess? I remain entirely helpless without his intervention!’

The image of Geos, broken and skewered by dark spikes, flashed through his mind.

His decision to integrate Geos into the collective group wasn’t merely a calculating move to secure his specialized spear techniques; it stemmed from seeing how shattered and vulnerable the man had become.

He desired for him to survive, even if that survival was sustained by the raw fuel of resentment.

He had deliberately orchestrated events so Geos could personally exact vengeance upon the dark spellcasters responsible for the annihilation of his kindred—the perpetrators tied to the continent-wide sacrificial plot.

The only figures remaining on that list were likely Baltheon, who personally breached the southern rift, and the shadowy Revolutionary pulling strings from the background…

‘…My intention was to help him find peace before he ever crossed paths with the Immortal King… ’

Heinrich lowered his eyelids, entirely consumed by a dark sense of futility.

[Have you surrendered, Hero? Hehehe— A delightful development in its own right. Let us observe the demise of your companions together. As my primary rival, Heinrich, I shall grant you the luxury of watching.]

The danger extended far beyond Geos; the entire party stood on the precipice of ruin.

Liesta, the dedicated Saintess he crossed paths with during his initial arrival at the Roselia Cathedral, long before he ever donned the mantle of a holy knight.

Isea, a fellow traveler from his original world and a founding pillar of their journey, who also served as Hesperon’s mentor.

Lydia, who had stepped forward to offer her bow to their cause despite their brief acquaintance.

Yet, despite everything, he could offer no salvation.

‘Main God… ’

His fingers clamped harder around the grip of his blade…

As he slowly raised his gaze, a sudden, profound realization began to take shape in his consciousness.

The celestial artifact in his hands had elevated him to the absolute apex of mortal capability, even though his actual progression level had never crossed into true transcendence.

Indeed…

He had not yet undergone breakthrough.

While he recognized his limitations as a frontline combatant,

He was also fundamentally a man of the cloth.

Not merely a common acolyte, but a designated ‘Saint’, the absolute pinnacle of spiritual authority, endowed with a Grand Blessing.

Why, then, had he been unable to shatter the glass ceiling separating him from true transcendence?

‘The foundational element for any spiritual channeler, the absolute bedrock of sacred energy.’

Pure devotion to the Divine.

‘Does my personal devotion warrant a transcendent awakening?’

The manufactured piety anchored within him via “Mind Hub” and “Persona”, the divine energy bestowed solely through the benevolence of the Creator…

Could he genuinely call himself a Saint?

‘…The very moniker of ‘Saint’ is merely a title dropped into my lap through divine favor.’

It functioned as a superficial designation.

Under normal circumstances, an individual blessed with a Grand Blessing would naturally possess a mountain of faith to match it… but his path was an anomaly.

‘…Main God.’

Heinrich locked his fingers onto the sacred weapon.

With a hardened resolve, he initiated the desperate, reckless breakthrough attempt that had resulted in failure more times than he could count.

[…Oh? You still possess the will to raise your weapon? Admirable. Haha! Let me see you writhe and struggle, Hero!]

Paying no heed to the mockery and condescension pouring from the Immortal King, he blinked across the spatial divide, bringing his blade down in a swift arc.

Yet his strike was deflected with minimal effort, and the gap he had fought to close was instantaneously re-established.

‘It is incredibly self-serving of me to seek this path only now, but… ’

He lunged forward once more, though the unrelenting barrage of corruption and negative energy began to leave its mark, his flesh accumulating deep, crimson gashes.

‘True devotion is not an attribute engineered overnight.’

Liesta’s divine energy washed over him, anchoring his strength.

Even while anchored to the spot to maintain the defensive perimeter and stitch together the wounded, she continuously redirected supportive enhancements to him while monitoring the battlefield.

A melancholic smile touched his features at the sight of her unwavering, pious devotion.

‘And yet, I hold onto belief.’

Regardless of how much Heinrich operated as a vessel of conviction, he remained fundamentally compromised in his purity.

Even so, he had been trusted with an ocean of divine energy through the sheer benevolence of the Sovereign Deity.

What allowed such a phenomenon to occur?

‘I believe that I can serve a purpose in this reality, for the sake of this Auterica that You hold dear.’

The reasoning behind it was absolute. It was enabled because the Main God willed it to be so.

Then for what purpose had the Deity bestowed such unparalleled favor upon him?

‘I believe. I believe that I am capable of executing Your divine will.’

That aspect was equally straightforward.

He was a unique entity pulled from an alternate realm, one capable of establishing contact with the Divine even through unconventional channels… meaning there was a specific role expected of him.

And that role undoubtedly pertained to the eradication of the abyss.

‘I place my faith in my own identity… in what I can become. And I place my faith in You, who chose to place Your faith in me.’

It was a rationalized, transactional form of devotion, entirely divorced from unblemished reverence…

But it comprised the absolute entirety of what he could muster in this final hour.

‘You placed your trust in my hands and delivered this authority to me, did You not?’

A sudden detonation of dark energy shattered the defenses at his flank.

The pristine white plating of “Glory’s Guardian”—the sacred vestment presented to him upon his ascension to sainthood—was no longer merely scuffed; it was torn open and riddled with fractures.

‘Therefore!’

The grueling cycle played out repeatedly.

He sustained an immense tally of physical trauma simply to close the distance, yet the strategic outlook only darkened.

The residual corruption pooling within his physical form was beginning to actively disrupt the circulation of his sacred energy.

‘If faith is the key, then I shall invest it completely! Given our long-standing connection, perhaps You could grant an advance on that power?!’

He threw his plea toward the heavens, forcing his broken frame forward through sheer stubbornness, swinging his weapon without a single thought of self-preservation.

His every movement signaled a refusal to halt so long as a shred of conviction remained.

[Hahahaha— You resemble a fragile insect rushing headlong into a consuming pyre, Hero… Wait, what is this?]

Yet, the initial entity to respond to his unyielding intent…

…was a volatile anomaly he had crossed paths with once before in his journey.

Crack—

A fracture rippled through the spatial coordinates directly ahead of the Immortal King’s chest.

Geos, mangled and on the verge of collapse, had dragged himself back to his feet in open defiance of his allies’ protests, unleashing his absolute final gambit—a specialized strike designed to tear reality apart.

However…

[Ugh! You absolute dunce! Did you genuinely believe the identical strategy would yield success a second time?!]

The Immortal King was an entity that defied conventional limitations.

An ultimate, desperate maneuver of that nature might find purchase as an initial gambit, but now that he possessed firsthand experience with its mechanics…

Utilizing his heightened cosmic awareness and deep comprehension of dimensional laws, he systematically neutralized the distortion, forcefully binding the fracturing space back together.

‘The refinement here far exceeds his initial attempt. Had I been caught off guard by this execution… ’

He would have found himself completely destabilized, left entirely vulnerable to the subsequent strike of the holy sword.

But that scenario belonged to an unfulfilled timeline.

He had successfully neutralized the incoming threat, leaving absolutely no window of vulnerability for Heinrich to exploit within his heightened awareness…

“I gave you my word, Hans.”

Yet again, his calculations failed to align with reality.

Heinrich, who had spent the entire engagement looking like a helpless plaything, stepped effortlessly into his personal domain of ‘time’—.

Thud—

“I will ensure this sacred blade finds a permanent home inside your chest.”

[Gah?! You… by what means…?!]

And Heinrich’s divine weapon, radiating a brilliance that eclipsed all prior manifestations…

…drove directly through the heart of the Immortal King, Hannibal Strauss.

—

Swoosh—

I bolted upright in my bedding.

My manifestation was fundamentally an extension of myself.

Regardless of the fact that the breakthrough transpired within an entirely separate physical vessel, an ascension of that magnitude would invariably ripple back to affect my primary consciousness.

To have this occur three times in consecutive succession was unprecedented.

It was entirely logical that my consciousness returned to reality far ahead of schedule.

“Ha…”

Yet, the only sound I could produce was a heavy breath.

“…Things have become an absolute disaster.”

Simultaneously,

My scattered fragments of consciousness pulled together, locking into a single, unified awareness.