Chapter 464

Chapter 464
“Ah, I purposefully kept my power in check, accumulating all our assets to obliterate them definitively in case a calamity of this magnitude unfolded…”
The leader governing the Pantheon’s 12-member council restlessly tugged at his facial hair, releasing a heavy, despondent breath.
Having endured an endless barrage of conflicts and catastrophes, he was acutely aware that mankind, when pushed into a corner, abandoned all reason and restraint.
For that exact reason, he had patiently waited, organizing a flawless strategy to execute a final blow without offering the adversary a single sliver of opportunity…
“Leader! The leftover fragments of the malevolent deity are beginning to multiply once more!”
“We haven’t finished moving the local population out of danger. If this continues…”
“Mercy, what kind of person could have triggered such a ghastly catastrophe?!”
Even a veteran like himself had never envisioned a crisis of this nature.
To comprehend that a mere reflection of a divinity belonging to an alternate reality had been successfully manifested on Earth.
Who could have ever anticipated that such an impossible phenomenon could actually take place?
‘Sigh, yet I lack the luxury of standing around lost in dark thoughts.’
As panic rippled through the ranks due to the abrupt cataclysm,
he—as one of the ultimate holy executives of the Pantheon—could not justify remaining in safety to merely delegate tasks when every single soldier was desperately required.

Shaaaaaa-
An absolute celestial jurisdiction that paralyzed everything in existence, freezing all movement.
Though its current intensity failed to reach even fifty percent of its capability in that alternate realm, the intrinsic nature of cosmic energy—which stands paramount over all lesser forces—prevented it from being disregarded.
Wriggle, wriggle-
Yet even that supreme pressure proved utterly inadequate to restrain the malevolent deity’s reflection.
The shapeless abomination contorted frantically, fighting back against the celestial grip anchoring it down.
Its appendages, currently stretching outward from a mass resembling a massive mound, tore through every piece of terrain, swallowing everything they contacted.
“Gah.”
“Urgh, what in the world is this monstrosity?!”
It wasn’t just the leader—the remaining council representatives and highly esteemed holy figures from various denominations threw themselves into the fray, yet achieved nothing.
Stemming the rapid progression of the disaster and purchasing a fleeting moment of relief was the absolute pinnacle of their achievements.
… This tactical engagement is a total nightmare.
The failure did not stem from a deficiency in the holy jurisdictions borrowed by the holy figures or a lack of personal prowess.
The core issue lay in the fact that, unlike the malevolent deity’s reflection—which naturally possessed the intrinsic majesty of an immortal—
the mortals were forced to extract holy energy across vast dimensional divides to anchor it onto Earth.
‘It represents an entirely different tier of existence. It is completely disregarding the majority of the combined might we have desperately gathered. We are barely surviving solely through our sheer quantity, but…’
Without possessing an equivalent to the fractured immortal essence dwelling inside that entity, their actions amounted to nothing more than a temporary patch.
At this moment, their capabilities were restricted to curbing casualties and enduring until additional forces made it to the scene.
“Even if backup makes it here, completely obliterating that entity will be an uphill battle. Nonetheless, it remains our solitary path forward. If we can simply secure a bit of time, we can pool our wisdom and figure out a method to banish it back to its origin.”
It was perfectly logical for the leader to view the situation through that lens.
Regrettably, in his objective analysis during this sudden emergency, he had failed to account for a single variable.
“Huh?! W-What is that object…?”
“Descending from above…!”
An entirely separate entity was on the battlefield, one who completely defied his conventional logic.

A tempestuous gale and a blinding beam of radiance materialized at the exact same moment.
Accompanied by an intense, instinctive warning that caused their flesh to prickle.
The onlookers closed their eyelids by reflex to block the glare, yet the individuals blessed with extensive warfare familiarity refused to look away, witnessing the transformation that culminated at that very instant.
An immense blade constructed of pure luminescence dropped from the heavens, skewering and dispersing the writhing dark-purple entity on the terrain in a single slash.
The leader’s eyelids parted wide as he observed the violent collision of the two contrasting immortal energies.
And he was far from the only individual experiencing such deep astonishment.
“Improbable… What did my eyes just behold?”
“Contending on equal terms? Even taking into account its fractured state, that remains the reflection of a true immortal!”
Disregarding the witnesses’ bewilderment, the silver luminescence and dark-purple vapor tore into one another in a sequence of unyielding, cataclysmic impacts.
Mound-sized appendages erupting from the vapor were cleanly severed by individual streaks resembling thunderbolts, only for the surrounding haze to instantly consume the combatant and the underlying terrain.
Kwaaang-!
Clashes of this magnitude erupted dozens of times within the span of a single heartbeat.
The engagement was so entirely beyond mortal understanding that it forced observers to doubt whether it was truly unfolding within the physical realm.
Were it not for the holy ward the holy figures had collectively maintained, the collateral damage would have rippled outward—and the entire region would have been pulverized into dust long ago.
‘Oh no!’
The leader broke out of his stunned state as he gazed upon the spectacle with reverence.
By any metric, wasn’t this the miraculous window of opportunity he had been desperately seeking?
He could not allow it to escape while acting as a passive spectator.
“All forces, regain your focus!”
He reorganized the holy figures, who had finally managed to catch their breath, and reconstructed their line of battle.
All the while, he cast astonished glances toward the legendary conflict, completely unable to mask his profound awe. Naturally,

Surrounded by a reality where everything appeared to decelerate into absolute stillness,
he severed an appendage hurtling toward him at an incomprehensible velocity using his consecrated blade, entirely unfazed by the distorted passage of time.
The celestial core throbbing rhythmically within his chest unceasingly circulated vitality throughout his entire form.
In contrast to the ordinary holy figures who required a channel to extract holy energy from immortals residing in alternate planes to activate their authorities, he maintained his own autonomous internal fuel source, enabling him to operate with superior velocity, enhanced conservation, and greater devastating power.
An infinite sequence of luminous lacerations governed every path, carving through the vapor that unceasingly sought his location.
It manifested as a spectacle of supreme magnificence.
Yet internally, he felt no satisfaction whatsoever.
“This entity possesses no boundaries.”
How many times had he swung his edge since dropping from the heavens and impaling the malevolent deity’s reflection with his opening gambit?
He had deployed maximum-output strikes from the very beginning to conclude the matter swiftly, but anticipating the destruction of an immortal’s reflection with a solitary strike had been an act of pure impatience.
At the very least, he could find comfort in having eradicated a massive portion of the heavily expanded vapor.
Even so, this haze was merely a physical byproduct of the underlying event.
To achieve true eradication, he was required to obliterate the central nucleus….
Nevertheless, even with his perception amplified to its absolute peak and unleashing sequential area-of-effect assaults to tear the vapor to ribbons, no substantial advancement materialized.
Subsequently, filaments of force—creeping forward so subtly that it was impossible to discern when they had neared—ensnared his form like cobwebs.
They expanded exponentially within a microsecond, binding his entire being in woven lines.
Not even his peak perception, nor the fundamental causality and restrictions of reality, could offer protection against such a treacherous infiltration.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION [“Kuhahaha! Ignorant insect! To presume you can oppose the jurisdiction of an immortal using a fragile mortal shell! I shall convert you into a mindless puppet of the supreme Luseni!”] Completely unlike his own situation, the opposing party appeared entirely unhindered by the haze obstructing environmental vision, as the cackling amusement of Joker reverberated from an indeterminate location.
His opening assault and subsequent rapid-fire successions had all been focused directly on that target, yet the vocalization remained completely vibrant—proving his actions had achieved nothing.
‘…The jurisdiction of an immortal. That clarifies the reason my offenses failed to connect properly. The culprit was this specific phenomenon.’

Ultimately, the exact instant it made contact with his form, his consciousness had begun to warp drastically.
‘The capacity to manipulate awareness… Fabrication and trickery, correct? A highly appropriate jurisdiction for a malevolent deity.’
and contorted the nearby fundamental principles to protect
Aided by the celestial essence embedded inside him, Heinrich’s personal tier was by no means insignificant, meaning the effect was incapable of overriding him completely—yet even that partial connection unlocked limitless options.
Had it not successfully breached his defenses to this extent?
“To deploy such monumental force only to finish by capturing and altering my allegiance? Your creativity is far more restricted than I anticipated.”
In all likelihood, it was a question of personal aptitude rather than a lack of vision.
Heinrich temporarily ceased his movements as he prepared to manifest his full might and shatter the constraints.
Following a brief calculation, he chose to abandon all forms of defense, completely untensing his physical frame.
“This particular development might bear fruit.”
This particular immortal’s reflection harbored no actual consciousness of the entity Luseni.
Joker was the sole individual utilizing this specific jurisdiction after pulling it into reality.
However, a basic mortal, who had not even cultivated a celestial essence, was fundamentally incapable of governing an immortal’s power flawlessly.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION [“So you have finally surrendered, have you? A prudent resolution. A specimen of your caliber will undoubtedly receive the admiration of the immortal. Merge once more into the embrace of Luseni…”] The continuous chanting rattled within his consciousness, but he offered no verbal reply.
There was simply no purpose.
‘If it were my desire, I could endure this assault indefinitely. Yet doing so would merely squander valuable time with zero personal compensation.’
Persevering in this fashion would mathematically devolve into a grueling war of attrition upon the surface of Earth.
He would secure a path to victory eventually, but achieving it through that method would completely drain the anchor that had pulled this malevolent deity’s reflection to Earth.
What a waste.
‘I cannot permit that outcome. This represents energy capable of pulling an extra-dimensional immortal’s reflection to Earth—an asset the Reverse Heaven Society meticulously assembled over the preceding two decades.
Why should I decline the opportunity to absorb it entirely?’
To manifest that result, he first required the adversary to lower their guard out of pure overconfidence.
Heinrich offered zero friction to the energy restructuring his awareness.
Even as his Mighty Spirit vibrated violently and his logical processing warped under the immortal’s jurisdiction, he anchored his attention on a solitary objective.
‘It is inconsequential. Provided I manage it properly so it avoids migrating backward…’

Provided it refrained from migrating backward toward the primary entity existing past his current vessel, supervising the entirety of the situation—
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION [“Kuhahaha! It succeeded! To think it actually bore fruit! From this moment on, you shall serve as the premier blade of the Luseni Church…”] —distorted awareness be utterly damned.
Parting his eyelids amidst a faint sensation of cognitive misalignment, Heinrich unhurriedly scrutinized his environment.
The physical realm, contorted by the influence of Luseni, perceptible solely through a fractured awareness, materialized before his gaze.
‘Precisely as I calculated. No wonder my previous actions yielded no progression.
An isolated dimension, completely severed from the external world’s principles, causality, and foundational laws.’
The structural lacerations marring the environment were unquestionably the product of his own execution.
However, observing the dimension mend its own wounds and expand dynamically in perpetuity, he could not predict how many additional hours would have been squandered had he continued standard combat.
‘Located it.’
And at that exact position,
there it remained.
A localized sphere equivalent to the dimensions of a clenched hand nestled within the sternum of Jason—or Joker—who was currently approaching with a arrogant sneer, radiating a subtle luminosity.
Heinrich observed the object in complete quietude, then locked gazes with the individual and offered a reciprocal smirk.
“…So that was the true nature of the device?”
“Huh?”
“It appears quite appetizing.”
“…What?”
Joker froze in his tracks upon hearing the statement.
His expression shifted into deep distrust, and he prepared to violently manifest his internal reserves—
Puuk!
Regrettably, the window for such maneuvers had closed permanently.
With the physical divide minimized to this degree, the critical juncture had elapsed long ago.
“Gah! P-How…? I verified with absolute certainty that the jurisdiction had anchored flawlessly…!”
“Who can truly say?”
Heinrich peered dispassionately at Joker, whose sternum his limb had completely transfixed, then unhurriedly contracted his fingers.

“N-No… That object is…!”
The individual collapsed onto the earth, frantically channeling holy energy into the cavernous rupture in his chest, yet his physical state exhibited zero signs of recovery.
In truth, the reality was far grimmer.
As the seconds ticked away, his physical form shriveled and warped, dissolving into particles of soot starting from his outermost limbs.
“R-Return it! Urgh! Instantly, deliver the ‘Fruit of Myth’ back to my possession…!”
Such was the consequence of attempting to channel an immortal’s magnitude while possessing an inadequate mortal vessel.
Heinrich observed him fade out of existence—annihilating both physical form and spiritual essence simultaneously—for a brief interval, then redirected his concentration toward the mineral resting within his palm.
Not even Hans, the Immortal King, possessed the capability to utilize it effectively, let alone the dying man.
Barring its restoration to its source—an action he maintained absolutely zero desire to execute.
‘For what purpose should I surrender this prize to anyone else?’
The Fruit of Myth, was that its designation?
Regardless of its formal title, now that it rested within his personal grasp, it belonged strictly to him.
It would be particularly unfortunate given the expenditures suffered throughout the engagement up to this point…
Crack-
As though reacting with hostility to his self-centered internal monologue,
a localized fracture instantly rippled across the surface of the sphere nestled within Heinrich’s palm.
“Huh? What is the meaning of this?”
He had not even deciphered the functional application of this Fruit of Myth yet!
He rapidly scanned the terrain where Joker had previously stood, but nothing survived save for his liturgical garments and assorted minor personal belongings strewn across the dirt.
‘Hold on, did the destruction of the physical anchor trigger this collapse?’
The hypothesis flickered through his consciousness,
and prior to his ability to formulate a response, the environment shifted with extreme velocity.
Crack!
Accompanied by the reverberation of total disintegration, the ‘Fruit of Myth’ shattered into a multitude of splinters,
and a blinding luminescence radiated outward toward every horizon.
On the periphery of the Pantheon.

One of the holy figures frantically maintaining the defensive line to intercept the contorting dark-purple vapor’s progression bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Yet not a single person redirected their focus toward his voice.
The transformation unfolding was far too explicit—every eyewitness stood transfixed by the unnatural event.
A dawn-like illumination began weeping through the pulsating vapor,
amplifying in a fraction of a second and branching outward like a spider’s web.
Fwaaah-!
Ultimately bursting from the interior, the force tore the encircling fog into microscopic remnants.
An utterly trivial conclusion that completely invalidated the determination of the soldiers gathered to purchase even a fleeting second of time, entirely powerless to affect the outcome.
“W-What is happening…?”
“Hold on, that is an impossibility…”
And at the absolute epicenter of the event stood he,
enclosed within the vibrating, fading luminescence.
A solitary figure towering over the landscape, eyelids softly aligned, countenance oriented toward the cosmos above.
A profound, incomprehensible density hovered around his form, radiating a subtle weight upon every individual who cast their eyes upon him.
“Heinrich Saint Landgard…”
The Pantheon leader, managing the holy figures, spoke the designation in an involuntary whisper.
A silver-maned celestial messenger positioned beneath twinkling particles of illumination and cascading morning rays.
His appearance was completely indistinguishable from a holy entity pulled straight from ancient mythology.
He fulfilled that role flawlessly as the solitary protector who had crushed the cataclysm.
Subsequently, the celestial messenger’s closed eyelids parted,
revealing twin golden spheres resembling cosmic suns that pierced through the very souls of all who dared to look.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ Heinrich blankly scanned the surrounding terrain.
Regaining his orientation, he perceived multitudes of individuals tracking his movements with countenances overflowing with profound wonder and religious devotion.
Nevertheless, he possessed absolutely zero attention to dedicate to their reactions at this specific moment.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Accompanying that solitary phrase,
the prospective destiny of this Earth.