Chapter 94

Chapter 94
Chapter 94
The Abyss Opens (1)

The moment the invocation to unseal the chasm concluded,

The Church, acting on the urgent revelations of the Saintess, responded without a moment’s delay.

“Move out! Finalize your gear and gather immediately!”

The elite forces of the faith, stationed at the Roselia Cathedral, mobilized the instant the Saintess pinpointed the exact location of the disturbance.

“A heavy sigh… It appears the Immortal King has commenced his grand design at last.”

“I anticipated he would plot something during his disappearance, but this surpasses all expectations. A ritual of such magnitude…”

“This must be a scheme he orchestrated over countless years alongside his loyalists.”

“The sheer duration of their preparation is beyond comprehension.”

Archbishop Latiaus offered a grim nod, sharing the Saintess’s profound dread.

The very nightmare they had anticipated during the Immortal King’s period of concealment had manifested.

Indeed, the reality of the situation far exceeded their worst projections.

“The site of the incantation lies deep within the desolate wastes of the southern continent. No sanctuary exists anywhere near that region, meaning by the time we arrive, the event will have already concluded.”

“Even so, we cannot remain idle. Given our advance preparations, our deployment will be swift. We may yet uncover critical remnants.”

The primary obstacle was reaching that isolated, barren wilderness.

Under normal circumstances, such a trek would demand no less than a full month of travel.

However, the Main God Church possessed means to overcome such distances.

“Utilizing the gateway to reach Weira, the Empire’s southernmost settlement, leaves us closest to the site… From there, a hard march should take roughly twelve hours.”

They had anticipated diverse contingencies, ensuring individuals blessed with swift-travel capabilities were integrated into the vanguard.

This ensured an immediate reaction to any crisis.

Consequently, the entire vanguard assembled within the gateway chamber less than an hour after the sudden cataclysm.

“Our forces are arrayed. I shall take my leave, Saintess.”

“…May the heavens guide you, Archbishop Latiaus. I must urgently contact the allied factions… Our current negotiations remain unresolved, and I doubt I shall find any rest tonight.”

The Saintess offered a weary, self-deprecating smile as she bid the Archbishop farewell.

“Haha, I shall assist you with those burdens upon my return. You will at least secure time for a brief rest.”

“…Is that a vow? You will return safely to assist me?”

Naturally, the personnel chosen for this excursion were the most formidable elites of the Church, seasoned in navigating extreme perils.

Yet, confronting adversaries capable of manifesting a ritual of this scale meant facing entirely unknown hazards.

Ambushes and traps could easily await them.

“Without a doubt. I must depart now.”

Archbishop Latiaus offered gentle reassurances to the anxious Saintess before turning resolutely toward the portal.

She harbored a perpetual remorse for remaining in safety while sending others into jeopardy, yet her security was paramount, leaving no alternative.

With that, Archbishop Latiaus and his contingent of Paladins stepped forward, leading the vanguard into the light.

Emerging at the sanctuary closest to their destination, they paused briefly to coordinate…

“…It is prepared. Let us proceed.”

They re-entered the spatial rift from which they had just emerged.

This technique allowed them to project a simulated exit toward their ultimate destination, using the gateway’s inherent ‘Movement’ blessing as a conduit.

Though constrained by distance limitations and the size of the company, this method successfully truncated their remaining journey.

“…The ambient mana is churning wildly from the residual effects of the ritual. We must accelerate our pace.”

Stepping into the heart of the southern wilderness, the vanguard grew tense as the chaotic energy became palpably denser with every step.

Just as the holy knights prepared to invoke the blessing of ‘Haste’ to speed their approach,

Rumble—!

In the distance, directly along their path…

A column of absolute darkness erupted, linking the earth to the heavens.

Despite the vast distance separating them, the obsidian fissure seemed to cleave the horizon, branding itself into their vision.

“…Ah.”

“Archbishop, could that truly be…”

“The Pillar of the Abyss…”

It was the unmistakable omen of the chasm’s awakening, a phenomenon preserved only in ancient lore.

“…Forward.”

Forcing down their dread, they accelerated into a sprint toward the rising darkness.

Even if they arrived too late to prevent the opening, standing idle was not an option.

Following a grueling half-day trek, they finally reached the epicenter.

The exact ground where the ritual to tear open the chasm had transpired.

The towering obsidian column had already dissolved, its violent energy spent, but they pressed onward until they overshook the final ridge.

—

Woooosh—

[Just as I foresaw, they have vacated the premises.]

Hans observed the desolate terrain as he drifted gently downward through the air.

An immense rupture in the cavern roof allowed him an unobstructed descent into the subterranean ritual chamber.

‘Did they vanish the moment the spell concluded… Several hours have passed, after all. No rational schemer would linger at the focal point after drawing the gaze of the entire world.’

The chaotic fluctuations of ambient energy had forced him to manifest some distance away due to unstable spatial coordinates.

He had flown to the site with all possible speed, yet the ruins were entirely devoid of life.

Nothing remained but the sprawling arrays etched into the stone and the crimson stains of those sacrificed to fuel the magic.

The perpetrators had executed their design with flawless precision, leaving no other indicators behind.

‘What is that?’

Save for a solitary exception.

A minor anomaly caught Hans’s attention, registering clearly against his heightened spatial awareness.

Zip—

A small object wedged between the fractured stones rose at his command, flying directly into his waiting palm.

‘A metallic shard?’

It was a fragment of iron, resembling a shattered link from a slender chain.

The sole piece of debris left within a chamber otherwise scrubbed clean of evidence.

Though its significance was uncertain, he pocketed the fragment as his only tangible lead.

‘Tracing their escape route through this distorted mana will be nearly impossible.’

The lingering miasma of the void, combined with the violent displacement of whatever had been summoned, rendered standard tracking useless.

[This sensation… it is ‘madness’. The incomplete nature of the gateway prevented its full manifestation.]

This particular development was unexpected, leaving him unable to project how this spreading madness would reshape the continent.

Regardless, a profound shift was coming to the world.

Surveying the chamber to analyze the layout, his attention was drawn to the central chasm, which pulsed with a suffocating weight.

A dense, undulating shadow clung to the massive array below, writhing like a living entity.

The natural laws of the world were gradually forcing the rift closed, yet it continued to discharge a foul, unsettling essence.

[Ah, this specific resonance…]

It was a suffocating, viscous power that threatened to fracture the sanity of anyone gazing upon it—the exact resonance he detected within himself via the “Immortal Heart”.

‘Is this the raw essence escaping from the deep?’

The moment Hans activated “Abyssal Eye” to pierce the gloom…

A deeper comprehension of the energy washed over him.

‘…This is the fountainhead of the dark mana sealed within my chest.’

The dark energy that continuously welled from the Immortal King’s Heart was merely a diluted echo of the concentrated power swirling in this pit.

‘The heart’s energy pale in comparison to this source. The disparity in purity is staggering.’

If common dark mana was akin to a toxic vapor, this was the unadulterated, lethal concentrate.

A malevolent force far more perilous than dark magic, which was already feared for its volatile nature.

However…

‘…I can master this directly.’

An innate familiarity bound him to it, likely because it shared an origin with his own core.

It stood to reason; he was the Immortal King who had risen from that very void, possessing both the “Abyssal Eye” and the “Immortal Heart”.

It would be illogical if he could not command it.

‘Let us begin.’

Hans raised a hand, tracing a slow arc through the empty air.

The ambient void energy hovering nearby responded instantly, swirling around his fingers in a highly concentrated stream.

A normal mortal would perish simply by inhaling the atmosphere of this chamber, yet to him, it felt like the climate of his birthplace.

‘Though I have no need for breath.’

Amused by the idle thought, he recognized his growing affinity for the power, systematically siphoning the essence and sealing it within his heart.

The void energy carried the hazard of toxic waste, but such a rare resource was far too valuable to abandon.

[Hehehe… This should prove to be quite a formidable asset if utilized correctly.]

The greater the danger in wielding it, the more devastating its application would be.

Having gathered a satisfactory amount of the essence, Hans surveyed the chamber once more with an expression of gratification.

Examining the intricate layers of magic encircling the closing rift, he appreciated the sheer scale of the endeavor.

‘This required a minimum of a decade to construct. Likely longer, given the coordinated sacrifices across the continent… ’

To execute a plot spanning the entire land mass, to maintain total anonymity over years of subversion, and to command the logistics required for such a feat.

The Oath of Heaven’s Defiance wielded far greater authority than he had initially estimated.

They were arguably the most entrenched clandestine organization on the continent.

Which implied…

‘They are precisely what I require.’

They represented the ideal antagonists to challenge Hans, the central figure of this world.

Their presence was vital for the proper unfolding of the narrative.

‘Locating their central apparatus must be my primary objective. I can disregard minor factions for now.’

His initial step would be tracking the escapees from this site; failing that, he could locate the mentor of the novice dark practitioner who oversaw the regional sacrifice.

Unraveling that thread would inevitably guide him to the leadership.

[Hmm?]

As Hans charted his upcoming course,

A sudden vibration rippled through the violently churning rift.

[Ah, another fortuitous occurrence.]

Though he had never encountered this entity firsthand, the inherited ‘memories’ provided to him as lore made its identity clear.

‘An additional inheritance.’

He sensed an entity far grander than the Arch-Lich Dwell encountered by Heinrich rising from the depths.

It had failed to break free initially, held back by its profound tether to the deep void, but the waning of that power was now drawing it upward into the mortal realm.

The chasm contorted violently as the entity’s presence solidified.

Ripple—

At last,

A portion of the creature broke through the shimmering boundary.

Crash!

Yet that portion alone was colossal.

[Kraaaagh—!]

The cavern trembled as the massive entity shifted its weight, making the immense aperture appear restrictive.

Gleaming obsidian bone, a massive shaking cranium, and blazing amethyst eyes.

That entity was none other than…

‘The Bone Dragon, Entracio.’

A skeletal dragon of mythic proportions was ascending from the depths of the chasm.