Ch.511The Celestial Barrier

It began.

We gripped our weapons and sprang to our feet, staring with trembling eyes at the crack etched in the sky.

The harbinger of the descent that had finally begun.

– Keeeeek!

As if someone were forcibly pulling it open, the crack in the void grew larger and larger. Like a giant made of black glass opening its eyes, the widening crack began to reveal what lay within.

An emptiness as endlessly deep and endlessly vast as an abyss filled with dark mana. Inside the torn sky, there was only a bottomless darkness.

And from that darkness.

– Kuguuguung!

Eight fingers slowly emerged and seized the crack.

White as bone, thick as tree trunks, with black veins protruding like a web of vessels—eight pillars.

What the hell is that…!

My brain refused to understand. Even though I was seeing it clearly with my own eyes, I couldn’t comprehend what I was looking at.

Fingers…?

So those are… fingers? Invidius’s?

My lungs stopped breathing under the crushing pressure. A suffocating sensation just from looking. My heated heart pounded violently, feeling like it might burst.

– Kwararararung!

As the evil god’s fingertips touched the crack, a storm of lightning flashed brilliant white and swept through.

As if this world were rejecting his touch, thousands of lightning bolts pierced the fingers gripping the crack.

Thunder pounded heaven and earth. Windows throughout the city shattered simultaneously from the aftershock.

– Kadududuk!

The void gradually widened. Black flames and pure white lightning collided and scattered.

Invidius’s fingers blocked the lightning storm with dark mana drawn from the void, slowly tearing open the sky. It was a sight that made my hair stand on end.

And then.

【 F҉͍̳̩̠̆̀̀͂̄̎o҉̦̳͔̲̮̝̬̰̳̆͊̅͗̀̀͐̃̍͊̆̀͌̚u҉̖͓̠͇͍̣̰̟̜̈́̄̓̽n҉̘̩͚͖̩̳̠̠͙̬̣̆̏͗̉́̃d҉̦̳͔̲̮̝̬̰̳͖̆͊̅͗̀̀͐̃̍͊̆̀͌̚ 】

From the darkness-filled void, eyes like molten lava slowly revealed themselves.

Massive. Eyes from an abyss like dead stars, too enormous to even look away from.

【 W҉̗͎͖͙͔̪͇̭̫͛̆̾͑̍̽̍́̚ͅo҉̰̰̭͖̥͚͔̙̙͎̱́̿̿̔̏l҉̗͉͙̲̜͗̓̀̎̑̆̃̓́̚̚f҉̥̣̭̘̱̞̤͍͇̲̰̘̖̲̦̀̈̓̀̒͒̀͂̌̎ of P҉̬̜̭̫͉̲̪͍̩̬͉͔́́̀͒̌͐̉̚r҉̳̫͕͚̦͇͖͓̾͋́̎͊̈́̿̉͋̈́̾̈́̾͂͑̚ͅe҉̞̰̞͚̞̦̦̦͇͙̬̳͖̜͒̾̈́̋̒͂̐͆͌͆̑̚y҉̟͙̬͍̤̣̤̒̽̓̿ 】

The evil god’s eyes looked down at me.

They gazed at me.

He is gazing at me.

His eyes. At me.

【 T҉̳̫͕͚̦͇͖͓̾͋́̎͊̈́̿̉͋̈́̾̈́̾͂͑̚ͅh҉̞̰̞͚̞̦̦̦͇͙̬̳͖̜͒̾̈́̋̒͂̐͆͌͆̑̚a҉̟͙̬͍̤̣̤̒̽̓̿t҈̮͍͚̣̤͕̪̯̖̦͊͌̈́̉̓̍̀̾ p҉̫̭͍̣̙̮͖͓͔͇̘̥̱͓̘̖͐̃̈̃̄́̓͒͑̒̚o҉̰̱͚̟̱̱̟̘͓͚͔̪̰̫̂̒̍́̎͆̊́͆̑͑̈̈́̾̈́́w҉̙̜͇̮͇͉̘̫̮͖͗́͆́̈́͆̇̀̅̒̚̚e҉̥̳͓̗̯̱͓̪̟̞̯̳̳̜̿̐̉̓̿̾͐̈́́̀̽̆͛r҉̳̫͕͚̦͇͖͓̾͋́̎͊̈́̿̉͋̈́̾̈́̾͂͑̚ͅ. M҉̞̰̞͚̞̦̦̦͇͙̬̳͖̜͒̾̈́̋̒͂̐͆͌͆̑̚i҉̟͙̬͍̤̣̤̒̽̓̿n҈̮͍͚̣̤͕̪̯̖̦͊͌̈́̉̓̍̀̾e҉̫̭͍̣̙̮͖͓͔͇̘̥̱͓̘̖͐̃̈̃̄́̓͒͑̒̚. 】

Ah. At last, our god descends toward the earth.

Opening the seams of the world, the right arm of envy that craves what it cannot possess approaches.

Prepare the feast.

We are the food of the gods.

Cut out your heart in worship and offer it to the incarnation of desire that steals everything.

Endless pleasure and eternal rest await us.

Offer your soul to Him.

Hurry, hurry…!

“…worship…offer sacrifice…with our souls…”

Just as I muttered blankly, drawing my dagger and aiming it at my chest,

– Kwagwagwagwagwang!

A roar that seemed to collapse the entire sky shook the whole world.

—-

…What was I just thinking?

My consciousness, which had been twisting and distorting like melting mud, returned to reality, startled by the roar.

The stigmata on my left chest throbbed with heat. I looked down at my aching chest.

A drop of blood trickled down my chest. The black iron dagger I held in reverse grip had slightly penetrated my chest, tearing the skin.

Yes. I had been trying to cut out my heart and kill myself, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without a shred of doubt!

“Haak…! Haaak…!”

As if I’d been hit hard in the head, dizziness, headache, and nausea colored my mind.

I dropped the dagger and planted my hands on the ground, exhaling violently.

Damn it, is this a mental attack?

I knew it would be dangerous, but to this extent…?

The miracle of mental protection that Lacy had prepared in advance was already gone without a trace. If not for the timely roar, I would have surely lost my life without any resistance.

[ Snap out of it! To be entranced by a monster and attempt suicide. I was holding back your arm, otherwise you would have…! ]

Hersella shouted as if she’d aged ten years. Her voice, higher than usual, was mixed with worry, reproach, and relief.

‘…Yeah, thanks.’

I muttered, wiping the saliva from the corner of my mouth.

A mental attack inducing suicide—I almost died before I could do anything. If Hersella hadn’t held out, I’d probably be digging out my heart with a dagger by now.

No, wait. If I survived thanks to Hersella… then what about the others?

I hurriedly turned my head to check on my companions, hoping that the worst scenario I’d imagined hadn’t become reality.

“This is…!”

“What in the…!?”

Fortunately, they were in much better shape than I was.

Judging by how they were kneeling with their weapons held upside down, they must have been brainwashed like me… but no one had been injured by their own weapon.

Whether I was specifically targeted from the beginning, or whether my reaction speed was the fastest among the group, making my self-harm the quickest as well, I couldn’t tell.

—-

– Kwagwagwagwagwang!

The roar echoed again.

The entire city trembled and shook with a sound like hundreds of meteors striking the earth.

After Lacy and Ceylon cast a new miracle of mental protection, reinforced with divine power and holy water to more thoroughly guard against mental attacks, we all looked up at the sky again.

And everyone’s eyes widened.

“By Elpinel…!”

Lacy groaned, covering her mouth.

While we had lost our senses, Invidius’s fingers had already extended to the forearm.

A massive right arm with black currents swirling around it. It seemed certain that when the monster’s arm reached the ground, a city like this would disappear in an instant.

However, far from approaching the ground, the evil god’s arm was actually retreating.

“What is that…?”

I moved my lips blankly, as if entranced.

– Kwararararung!

Chains of light roared and whirled in a vortex.

An unbelievable sight. We stared at the sky with gaping mouths, doubting our eyes.

Six streams of colored light swirling around the void’s crack, crushing the evil god’s arm and pulling it back into the darkness.

Elpinel’s pure white. Saulite’s crimson. Astraea’s gold. Menes’s pale blue. Ceres’s indigo. Imela’s pink.

It was the light of the gods.

A chill ran down my spine. Cold sweat soaked my entire body. The overwhelming and thrilling sight, the presence of the gods felt more vividly than ever before, etched astonishment and terror into me.

【 Y҈̣͚̲̳͍̣̱̟̈͂̋͆̈́́̈́̀̇̍̀o҉̖̖̳͓͎͔̝̞̮̌́̇͂̓͒͊̎u҉͓͎̰͈̤̣̟̊̒̉͂, s҈̲̩͕͙͇̌̓̆͌̾̇̑͆̆̏̍́̓̀́t҉̮̯̖̩̣̫̘̝̙̳̖̲̍̀͌̑̃́̏͊̆͂i҈̲̠̥̟̥͇̞̠̤͇͖̘͕̲͌͑̌̀̊̆̊̿͗͑̋̑̊͛̽̿ͅͅl҈͇̞͖̬̪̗̍̐̐͌̍̓͗̉̏͐̌̅̄̚̚ͅͅl҉͇͈̦̜̤̭̤̖͖̤͔͕̳̞̞̠̌̅̍̌̽̈̈̔͌͒, i҈̲̩͕͙͇̌̓̆͌̾̇̑͆̆̏̍́̓̀́n҉̮̯̖̩̣̫̘̝̙̳̖̲̍̀͌̑̃́̏͊̆͂t҈̲̠̥̟̥͇̞̠̤͇͖̘͕̲͌͑̌̀̊̆̊̿͗͑̋̑̊͛̽̿ͅͅe҈͇̞͖̬̪̗̍̐̐͌̍̓͗̉̏͐̌̅̄̚̚ͅͅr҈͇͈̦̜̤̭̤̖͖̤͔͕̳̞̞̠̌̅̍̌̽̈̈̔͌͒f҈̲̩͕͙͇̌̓̆͌̾̇̑͆̆̏̍́̓̀́e҉̫̭͍̣̙̮͖͓͔͇̘̥̱͓̘̖͐̃̈̃̄́̓͒͑̒̚r҉̙̜͇̮͇͉̘̫̮͖͗́͆́̈́͆̇̀̅̒̚̚e҉̥̳͓̗̯̱͓̪̟̞̯̳̳̜̿̐̉̓̿̾͐̈́́̀̽̆͛…!̴͇͈̦̜̤̭̤̖͖̤͔͕̳̞̞̠̌̅̍̌̽̈̈̔͌͒ 】

With an incomprehensible roar, Invidius’s arm began to crumble bit by bit, spewing black mist.

“By Elpinel…!”

“By Astraea! Goddess of Justice! This humble servant offers you worship!”

Lacy and Ceylon made the sign of the holy cross and prayed to the gods. Even Nigel and Leonore, who weren’t particularly devout, unconsciously made the sign of the cross.

While it was a chilling sight to me, to others it seemed to appear as a majestic and sublime miracle.

—-

– Kaduk! Kaduduk! Kadududuk!

Each time the evil god’s arm retreated, the celestial crack narrowed slightly. Like a drowned man’s hand emerging above the water’s surface, sinking back into the depths.

– Kwaduk!

Finally, the evil god’s hand, unable to withstand the torrent of light, was torn away. Leaving only below the elbow, the evil god’s arm disappeared as if sucked into the void.

【Grrrrrrrrrrrr!】

A roar like a dragon’s fury echoed throughout the world.

Then, the six streams of holy light that had driven the monster’s arm back into the abyss began to fade, stitching the crack in the sky closed.

The celestial crack gradually narrowed, and the sky slowly regained its blue color.

The overwhelming scene that had seemed like a page from mythology disappeared like an illusion, and the world returned to its original form.

As if nothing had happened, everything was returning to normal.

Except for the evil god’s arm that had begun falling toward the ground.

“Arm…?”

I stared blankly at the massive hand casting a shadow over my head, then suddenly realized with horror and gaped.

A massive chunk that looked about the size of a mansion was falling right over our heads—this was no time to be leisurely praying!

“Everyone, fall back!”

This was no time to be lost in contemplation. If that thing fell, this area would surely be annihilated!

We jumped in shock like wet cats and ran with all our might away from the skull tower.

The evil god’s arm struck Arvil about thirty seconds later.

– Kwaaaaaaang!

An impact like a meteor collision. The earth screamed and shook. The moment the evil god’s arm touched the city center, everything on the ground shattered and scattered.

Building fragments erupted like a volcano, and dust surged like a tsunami, creating a massive cloud.

The shockwave swept through the city.