Ch.764Heavenly Karma

======[ Feirius ]======

Dark underground temple.

Feirius, leaning back on the throne beside the altar, placed his left hand on the crystal orb that had begun to emit a blue mana light.

“Is everyone listening?”

To share what he had learned with the other apostles.

“Indeed.”

“Yes.”

“…I cannot talk for long.”

“Keep it brief.”

“Hmm.”

The apostles, who like Feirius were holding crystal orbs, all responded at once.

The second and fourth, seventh and eighth. The fifth and…

“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered like this. Though the third apostle has cut off contact, and the eighth has completely changed to a different person.”

And even the sixth apostle.

Though it was only their voices, still, all apostles except the third had gathered together.

“So, what’s the matter?”

The fourth apostle, who was in charge of Baryachrus, the werebeast nation beyond the Sky Mountains in the northern snowfields, asked why the apostles had been summoned.

Perhaps finding it difficult to endure the cold of the northern snowfields even with magical power, his voice trembled slightly.

“The incompletely resurrected dragon, Nidhogg, has been subjugated. I hear the Dragonic Kingdom and Alvheim suffered massive damage because of it.”

Feirius explained the details of the incident in a low tone.

The dragon remains buried under the islands, Isabella’s use of insects for resurrection, the Extrashafel partial destruction incident, and the escape to the Sky Mountains.

And finally, the story of how Nidhogg was ultimately subjugated after a fierce battle where elite forces from three races gathered together.

“Alvheim lost six guardians, and the Dragonic Kingdom—no, the factions of the Dragonic Kingdom also suffered tremendous damage. For us, this could be called an ideal outcome.”

“…The Heavenly Horse of the Dragonic Kingdom is raging with anger.”

The fifth apostle, who served as both a parasite and advisor under the Heavenly Horse, muttered in a disgruntled tone.

One of the Five Dragon People, Spear Horse Beherikes had died in battle and Claw Horse Makaoros had surrendered, and of the Dragonborn they had led, fewer than five had returned to the Dragonic Kingdom.

For the Heavenly Horse, who had invested considerable forces to seize the dragon remains, it was an outcome that could only make them burst with rage.

“What can they do even if they’re angry? Having lost that much power in an instant, they’ll have their hands full just maintaining their influence for the time being.”

“Six guardians… I heard many died in the war with the Dwarves too. At this rate, wouldn’t it be fine to destroy the fourth chalice soon? Ah, is that why you called us together?”

The fourth apostle asked once more.

After the third chalice was destroyed, the Empire and Ka’har engaged in all-out war, thousands of Danes were caught up in it and massacred, and countless other deaths followed… surely enough souls had been collected to peel away one layer of Heaven’s Wall.

Until now, they had delayed destroying the chalice out of concern that the elves would become too powerful, but with Alvheim having lost many of their core guardians, there was no reason to delay the destruction of the barrier anymore. That was the meaning of his question.

“It’s true I called you together about the chalice. However… the reason is a bit different. I gathered you not to announce the destruction of Heaven’s Wall, but to inform you that it has been further delayed.”

“Delayed? Why?”

“Is there a reason for that?”

“Hmm… I don’t doubt you, but isn’t that making progress too slow?”

The apostles all expressed their doubts. Everyone seemed to find it difficult to accept.

Until the destruction of the first chalice, Feirius had declared with an ambitious tone that true freedom would soon come, but lately, he had been constantly delaying the progress of the plan.

“…It’s not what I intended.”

Feirius sighed lightly and explained why it had to be this way.

“I failed. Despite collecting enough souls to break Heaven’s Wall according to calculations, I couldn’t achieve its destruction. Do you understand what that means? Heaven’s Wall has been strengthened. It cannot be destroyed without collecting even more souls.”

Feirius hadn’t delayed the destruction of the fourth barrier because he wanted to.

Perhaps in the past it would have been different, but now with more than ten guardians having lost their lives, there was no need to fear Alvheim’s advancement.

The problem was that even when trying to destroy Heaven’s Wall, the rune formula for destruction wouldn’t work.

The implication was clear. If you want to break it, input more souls. That’s what the chalice altar was saying.

“…Did the false gods intervene?”

“One could say yes, and one could say no.”

After failing to destroy Heaven’s Wall, Feirius verified his calculations dozens of times to see if he had made an error, and ultimately became convinced that there was no error in the calculation itself.

If there was no error in the calculation, what was the reason for the failure of the fourth barrier’s destruction, which should have happened?

Feirius spent several sleepless nights pondering and reasoning about the cause, and finally reached an answer.

The straightforward conclusion that Heaven’s Wall itself had been strengthened beyond the calculation point, and the fundamental reason why the barrier had been strengthened.

He had summoned the apostles to teach them this reason. It was information they should know as well.

“…Why don’t you stop beating around the bush and get to the point? The seventh and I aren’t in a situation where we can leisurely chat.”

The eighth apostle, once known as Werner Valenstein, snapped in a prickly tone.

She harbored anger bordering on hatred toward Feirius. He was the culprit who had deceived her with a fraudulent contract and trapped her in a girl’s body.

Although she had gained a second chance instead of dying by Haschal’s blade when she was on the verge of reaching the realm of heroes, it was such a humiliating experience that she might have preferred death rather than living as a teenage girl when she had been a man approaching seventy.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Feirius, however, remained completely calm as he deflected her anger. Having formed a soul contract, Valenstein could not harm him no matter what means she employed.

If Feirius so desired, he could stop her heart or pull her soul from her body with just a thought.

Valenstein knew this too, which is why she displayed anger whenever she spoke with Feirius but couldn’t even swing a blade at him.

In fact, she had tried once, right after awakening in the girl’s body… but that memory remained a shameful nightmare for Valenstein.

Since Feirius could control her breathing, blood flow, and even her sensations and movements according to his will, she had no choice but to roll around, shedding tears, snot, saliva, and even urine, let alone resist.

“The point when Heaven’s Wall was strengthened beyond the measured value coincided almost exactly with the death of the previous eighth apostle, according to my analysis. After that, it was strengthened once more when the war with Ka’har ended. Coincidentally, both incidents involved the ‘Variable.'”

“Is this also due to the Variable’s influence?”

“No, it’s a bit different. Heaven’s Wall was strengthened not because she twisted predetermined fate according to her role as the Variable… but because she herself became too powerful.”

What caused the strengthening of Heaven’s Wall wasn’t because she was the Variable.

Even if it hadn’t been her, if there had been a human who reached the power limit permitted by Heaven’s Wall, the same result would have occurred.

“Because she became powerful?”

“That’s right.”

Feirius nodded and continued his explanation.

—-

In an era when the Empire’s first emperor, Carlos the Great, had not yet been born.

There was a being who pitied humans who suffered as toys of other races, and admired their will to never cease resistance despite their suffering.

Ausrine of the Stars and Dawn.

The Goddess of Sacrifice.

She sacrificed herself to give humans the power to fight.

Her body as a deity, the divinity she had built up. She shattered all of it and distributed it to all humans on earth.

Tiny fragments of divinity, scattered, took root in all of humanity.

The power to guide those who continue walking in darkness, leading them toward a new morning.

Humanity, having received Ausrine’s fragments, was able to move forward through struggle. Toward the path of ascension they had lost long ago.

That was the origin of Karma.

—-

“However, as long as Heaven’s Wall exists, the accumulation of Karma cannot exceed the limit permitted by the barrier. From the moment one reaches that limit, no matter how many great deeds one accomplishes, none of it becomes one’s own power—it simply disappears. You know this best, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

The eighth apostle, Valenstein, reluctantly answered.

The limit blocked by Heaven’s Wall. Wasn’t that precisely why he had cooperated with the apostles, even betraying the Empire?

Because after reaching the extreme of mastery, no matter how many enemies he cut down, he couldn’t achieve even the slightest progress.

“But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Have you never thought about it? Where did the Karma that couldn’t accumulate within you and disappeared go after you reached your limit?”

“…Don’t tell me?”

Feirius nodded and answered with a confident tone.

“Yes, that’s exactly it. Karma is ultimately fragments of Ausrine’s divinity. It’s qualitatively similar to the divine power that forms Heaven’s Wall. The Karma that couldn’t accumulate in your soul and disappeared was being drawn up toward heaven, used to strengthen the barrier.”

Karma that humans who reached their limit couldn’t obtain and let slip away is absorbed by Heaven’s Wall, strengthening the barrier. That was the conclusion Feirius had reached after much deliberation.

“There’s no doubt the Variable reached the barrier’s limit—you can tell just by looking at her prowess. Timing-wise, it was probably right before she defeated Ragnar Lokan. Even after that, that woman continued to accumulate countless military achievements by cutting down many powerful beings, including Ragnar. All that wasted Karma was undoubtedly absorbed into the fourth Heaven’s Wall.”

Although it was merely his conjecture, there was no other way to explain why the barrier had been strengthened.