Chapter 93

Chapter 93
## Chapter 93

Variable (3)

[Ah— This truly is a windfall.]

It was not a tangible reward such as physical riches or enchanted instruments.

The initial Sovereign of Death converted half of the landmass into a realm of demise, while the successor annihilated an entire kingdom.

Such a monumental feat was impossible to accomplish through solitary strength, regardless of one’s individual might.

‘He undoubtedly possessed loyal followers.’

Naturally, he could not have attempted to subjugate the entire world completely unassisted.

This grand conquest was achievable because he was backed by entities capable of sophisticated strategic thought, rather than a mindless legion of ghouls merely obeying basic directives.

‘A relentless legion of the dead that marched at the absolute vanguard of the global conquest, executing the Sovereign of Death’s decrees.’

The ones who once turned half the world into a desolate graveyard served as the inheritance left behind for those who would inherit his legacy.

Their military might swelled inevitably as the conflict endured.

The boundless hordes of reanimated remains, alongside the very warriors who perished fighting them with valor, were subsumed into their ranks upon death.

Predictably, the continent’s rulers, spearheaded by the Holy Church, organized a massive strike force aimed squarely at eliminating the leader, a strategy that eventually triumphed after immense losses.

This sequence of events played out identically during both eras of the Sovereign of Death.

‘That demonstrates the sheer resilience of this world’s defenders. Even the second ruler fell in battle, despite being exceedingly protective of his own life after studying the failures of his predecessor.’

Consequently, the physical devastation inflicted upon the world was less severe during the second Sovereign’s campaign, though the toll on elite champions who died breaching the high-ranking officers guarding the dark monarch was drastically greater.

‘Regardless, the forces of the Sovereign of Death were ultimately scattered across the lands.’

The critical detail lay in where they had gone.

While a significant portion was hunted down by the furious inhabitants of the world, a notable number managed to flee under the guidance of tactical commanders.

They retreated into desolate, uncharted territories, and some went so far as to construct labyrinths to entrench themselves.

Furthermore, the path selected by a vast majority was…

‘Plunging themselves into a dormant state at the threshold of the void.’

A location resting on the very boundary separating reality and the abyss, existing neither in one nor the other.

It was a fracture within dimensions, drifting endlessly in a region untouched by time, entirely hidden from mortal sight.

This represented the most secure yet unpredictable course of action, made achievable because the spatial barriers were compromised by the widespread trauma inflicted upon the realm during that era, and because of their nature as unliving beings.

They successfully evaded the vengeful factions of the world, yet there was no determining when they might awaken.

They were meant to remain in that eternal slumber until a new Sovereign of Death emerged to break their bindings.

‘Yet, someone has breached the void just now?’

And this was not a mere fraying of the barrier; they had physically torn open a gateway.

[Ah— I can perceive them. The ones slumbering along the threshold. And there remain… quite a few lingering on the surface as well.]

The echo left behind by the thoughts of the previous Sovereign of Death offered far more than basic details.

It closely resembled transferring the actual deed of a pledge.

Had he been overtaken by the core from the very beginning and merged with them, this realization would have dawned on him naturally, but he was only uncovering it now because he had severed the connection at its origin.

‘It is preferable to learn this now rather than never. I could have done nothing with this knowledge beforehand anyway, not until the void was breached.’

The opening of the void was hardly a positive occurrence, but now that the event had transpired, he needed to seize every available advantage.

[…Yet, I have delayed for so long, I cannot be certain if they linger at the site.]

He would hardly be the sole entity to notice a ritual of such magnitude that it shook the entire landmass.

The perpetrators behind the spell would be keenly aware of this, meaning they likely vanished the instant their objectives were fulfilled.

‘Even so, I cannot neglect to investigate.’

Hans required personal verification of the location.

Fixing his attention on that precise coordinates, he traced the currents of arcane energy once more.

The ceremony appeared concluded, as the tempestuous disruptions he felt earlier had quieted down, yet…

That factor altered nothing for him.

*Whoosh—*

A colossal manifestation of dark energy converged within an instant, shaping itself to match his intent.

The woven spell manifested as a dense, impenetrable shadow, completely cloaking his form.

[I can only hope some remnants persist.]

Sovereign of Death Hans departed, charting a course toward the southern reaches of the continent.

—

The underground vault of the Picaol Cathedral, the resting place where the sacred blade had been bound.

*Sizzle—*

*Crackle—!*

‘Yet this phenomenon persists. Ought it not to cease once the sacred blade was drawn from its rest?’

For reasons unknown, the searing agony scorching his palm and the electrical currents racing across his physical form showed no signs of stopping.

He maintained a tight grasp on the sacred blade, which continued to brand his flesh, while silently monitoring the churning void before him.

Any bystander unaware of external events would have panicked from this abrupt development, but he had already deduced the true situation and was evaluating his choices.

‘It appears to be reacting to the recently breached void.’

The degradation of the binding spell when he pulled the sacred blade free undoubtedly played a role as well.

The declaration by the Saintess that ‘the sanctuary’s defenses alone will suffice’ must have been uttered without anticipating this current dilemma where the void stands wide open.

Therefore, the most straightforward remedy would be to plunge the sacred blade back into the dark threshold.

*Sizzle…*

In that very instant, the burning sensation radiating from his hand began to diminish.

The wild energy of the sacred blade, which had been storming through his internal pathways, grew tranquil.

《The participant satisfies the criteria and achieves realization. You have unlocked the unique trait “Blessing: Sacred Blade”.》

He uncoiled his fingers slightly from their tight grip on the handle, discovering an emblem matching the Holy Church’s crest burned into his flesh like a permanent mark.

‘The power that flooded my system has transitioned into a harmonious state. Was this entire ordeal not a mere trial, but the necessary path to fully harmonize with the sacred blade?’

Heinrich scrutinized the details of “Blessing: Sacred Blade”, maintaining his vigilance toward the void.

‘Not only am I capable of amplifying my martial strikes and physical form using the sacred blade’s power, but it can also alter its shape at will, and the emblem on my hands even functions as an isolated pocket dimension?’

It went without saying that its attributes as a martial instrument and its capacity to multiply holy energy were extraordinary.

It stood as the premier armament he could ever hope to claim, completely eclipsing any standard enchanted tool.

An artifact of this caliber was impossible to discover elsewhere.

Yet there was absolutely no scenario where he would abandon the sacred blade and retreat simply due to this minor rift!

‘Out of the question. What enters my grasp remains mine.’

He had journeyed to this vault precisely to claim the sacred blade under directives from the Saintess.

The notion of yielding had never even crossed his mind.

Furthermore, given the protection of the sanctuary’s defensive field, a rift of these proportions should not cause any catastrophic trouble…

*Gulp, gulp~!*

Right then, the dark threshold began to churn with sudden violence.

Its dimensions expanded slightly beyond its prior state, even as the protective runes encompassing it flared with brilliant light.

And at last…

*Splat—!*

An entity tore through the rift.

*Crackle—!*

Simultaneously, streams of radiant white electricity discharged from the surrounding defenses, striking the intruder.

A multitude of sacred protective fields flared into action all at once.

‘Predictably, the Holy Church is not so easily caught off guard. They had contingencies. But that creature… ’

A skeletal arm, which had abruptly forced its way out of the rift amidst the flashes of bursting holy light, was twitching violently under the unrelenting bombardment.

[Argh— What madness is this? To emerge in this specific location!]

A grating, scraping utterance reverberated from the tear in the threshold.

‘What?’

The sensation felt distinctly familiar.

[Ugh… Those insufferable Church zealots. Yet I refuse to falter at the finish line!]

*Splat!*

A second skeletal hand forced its way out, widening the tear in space.

The defensive strikes grew more intense, yet the entity persisted, even as its limbs shuddered under the strain.

[Huu… Now that my return is secured…]

The upper skeletal torso began to emerge into the chamber.

The visage was one that Heinrich recognized instantly.

They had been engaged in mortal combat a mere moment ago.

‘The Arch-Lich encountered during the third challenge?’

Granted, the figure wore tattered vestments and consisted entirely of bare bones, but the distinct aura was unmistakable.

Furthermore, he now possessed fresh insights gained from an unforeseen turn of events.

The analytical deductions of Hans, operating through Heinrich’s observations, immediately provided an answer.

‘Dwell McCain, he served as a member of the Sovereign of Death’s Elite Vanguard.’

He was part of the specialized protection detail that the previous dark monarch had assembled around his person in anticipation of the grand campaign.

Positioned around the fiftieth rank, his true expertise lay in tactical leadership over battalions rather than personal dueling, meaning he historically deployed vast throngs of ghouls to bog down rival legions instead of engaging on the front lines.

[I must find a path out of this chamber… Wait?]

At that juncture, Arch-Lich Dwell, who was scrambling to pull his weight out of the spatial tear, locked eyes directly with Heinrich.

“…”

[………]

A temporary stillness settled over the room.

Dwell, freezing under the stare, slowly shifted his skeletal head to take in his surroundings, then proceeded to evaluate Heinrich from head to toe.

The subterranean vault, saturated with the iconography and invocations of the Holy Church, radiating an atmosphere of pure piety.

The crushing weight of the sacred defensive fields continuously battering his form…

And the champion positioned directly in his path, wielding the sacred blade.

There was zero possibility he would fail to identify the weapon that served as the defining mark of the champion.

How could such an instrument slip his memory, when a great number of his brothers-in-arms had been severed by its edge?

Even the Sovereign of Death he pledged his life to had fallen before that very weapon, forcing him to undergo dormancy to survive.

To bide his time for a future age.

However…

The exact instant he managed to break free from the spatial threshold, seizing the precise moment he had awaited for eons, he collided with the individual who appeared to be the champion of the current era.

[…This is an absolute farce…]

He was unable to suppress a bitter curse.

While Dwell remained paralyzed, utterly helpless to alter his fate, Heinrich watched him in silence, sorting through his options.

‘Was he caught in the gravitational pull of the boundary while drifting through space and hauled upward due to the rift tearing open? The reason he manifested in the trial was because the sacred blade intercepted the essence of the entity floating within an adjacent dimension?’

And his current predicament was truly miserable.

He had successfully broken free from his spatial exile, only to materialise directly within the heart of the sanctuary where the sacred blade was bound.

Even if he somehow contrived to flee this subterranean chamber, he would fail to take a single step past the cathedral grounds before being purged.

Such was the absolute nature of this holy ground.

[Ugh… Confound it! Why will the rift not allow me back…]

At that instant, Dwell, keeping his sockets fixed on Heinrich, rapidly attempted to retreat back into the tear, letting out an exasperated snarl.

He concluded that his prospects were dire and opted to return to his slumber, yet even that path was barred.

The gateway he had used to emerge had transitioned into a single-direction current due to the immense force pulling him upward from the depths.

He was completely cornered now.

‘There is no alternative, I must eliminate him on this spot.’

It was a pity to destroy him under these circumstances, given he could have functioned as an excellent servant for Hans, but this environment left no choice.

Even if he permitted the creature to leave, it would remain incapable of bypassing the sanctuary’s outer wards and would perish regardless, making it preferable to collect the kill himself.

‘Oh? What is that item?’

Just as Heinrich tightened his grip on the sacred blade to deliver the final strike, his gaze caught a familiar object nestled within the folds of the Arch-Lich’s tattered vestments.

An object he had observed once before.

The core essence of the Arch-Lich that he had shattered previously.

‘Ah, he must have gathered and claimed his core before entering his slumber within the threshold. Otherwise, entering exile would serve no purpose… Hold on, if that item is in his possession… ’

An ingenious concept formed in his mind upon making this observation.

Heinrich smirked significantly and closed the distance between them, gradually elevating his weapon.

Holy energy, resembling a bursting dam, flooded into the sacred blade enhanced by the trait “Capacity Increase”, while the magical benefits of “Holy Blade” and “Sacred Blade” wove together, casting a radiant golden illumination across the steel.

And then…

He lunged toward Dwell, bringing the weapon down.

[Accursed puppet of the Divine…! Do you believe I will perish without a struggle?!]

A dense wave of dark energy erupted from the adversary, who refused to simply remain passive and accept his demise, yet the conditions here were vastly altered from those within the challenge.

*Crackle—!*

He was powerless to raise an army of ghouls due to standing in the inner sanctum of the cathedral, and sacred light converged from every corner of the room, tearing into him without mercy.

He had only just broken his long confinement, leaving his physical vessel brittle, while Heinrich, now empowered by the sacred blade, sliced through his dark protections as though they were nothing…

[…Argh! Blast… you—!]

Ultimately, his resistance proved brief, and he dissolved into a pile of drifting ash, consumed by sacred flames.

Leaving nothing behind save for his core essence.

“Let us examine this…”

Heinrich crossed the floor toward the core essence, which rested upon the stones, releasing thin trails of vapor.

The item would naturally dissolve under the cleansing aura of this chamber, stripping away any hope of restoration, if left unattended, but…

*Wooong—*

That outcome contradicted Heinrich’s intentions.

He summoned the insights he had recently mastered and summoned his holy energy.

Following the application of the energy molding methods found within “Logia Holy Combat” and executing “Auterica Holy Magic”…

‘…It is complete. Truly, my predecessors possessed remarkable ingenuity.’

He succeeded in placing a ‘seal’ upon the Arch-Lich’s core essence.

This was achieved through the specific applications derived from “Logia Holy Combat”, designed for managing entities that defied standard destruction.

Heinrich inspected the core essence, which was now securely trapped within a crystal form, preventing even a single speck of dark energy from escaping, and then deposited it within the ‘emblem’ on his palm.

‘The space is somewhat restricted, yet I can store objects distinct from the sacred blade within this pocket dimension. This will serve as an excellent token for Hans.’

Rapport naturally strengthens when tokens are shared.

Heinrich smiled with genuine pleasure and offered a slight nod of approval.

It changed nothing that both individuals were fundamentally himself.

It was entirely a matter of personal satisfaction.