Ch.765Finally killed it.

Karma that has not been fully accumulated returns to the heavens, strengthening Heaven’s Wall.

The apostles who understood Feirius’s explanation couldn’t hide their dismay. Especially the eighth apostle, Berneisia Valenstein, who was trembling from shock.

“All those things I’ve done… were actually hindering my own path…?”

“Ah, don’t be so shocked, it’s not that bad. The karma you’ve wasted over twenty years wouldn’t even amount to half of what the Variable has discarded in just two months.”

Whether it was meant as comfort or mockery was unclear… but it was the undeniable truth.

When Valenstein was at her prime, the world wasn’t overrun with monsters as it is now. Even the strongest were merely Masters who had never reached the realm of Heroes by crossing the wall.

In a world filled with mediocre individuals, how much could the Heaven’s Wall have been strengthened by twenty years of wasted effort?

Considering that the first and second walls were successfully destroyed, it was clear that Valenstein’s efforts had contributed little more than a margin of error to strengthening the barrier.

*Crunch…*

Of course, to Valenstein, this sounded like nothing but mockery. It meant that decades of her efforts to cross the wall were worth less than half a year of some young girl’s.

“Grr…”

Since it was the truth based on results, she could only grind her teeth in frustration without offering any rebuttal.

“If the activities of those who have reached their peak cause the Heaven’s Wall to strengthen… then what we must do is clear.”

“…Are you suggesting we eliminate her?”

“What are you talking about? Has spending time with the Dragonborn turned your brain into a lizard’s too?”

The Fifth Apostle’s question was met with a contemptuous retort from the Fourth Apostle.

“The forces gathered at the Sky Mountains could destroy an entire nation and still have power to spare. How could we possibly eliminate a woman who defeated all that, even with the Crusaders’ help? Moreover, if we failed, the Heaven’s Wall would only grow thicker.”

“I agree. While the Fourth Apostle’s words are excessively aggressive… as he said, there are too many risk factors in attempting elimination.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

Feirius, who had been listening to the apostles’ conversation, responded to the Seventh Apostle’s question.

“It’s simple. There’s no need to attempt to eliminate the Variable while taking on such massive risks. In short, it’s enough to simply prevent her from achieving any further accomplishments until enough souls are gathered to destroy the fourth wall.”

Attempting to assassinate Haschal would be the worst strategy. To destroy the Heaven’s Wall, it was sufficient to keep her restrained from taking action. That’s what Feirius was saying.

“But how exactly are you planning to hinder her—”

“That’s where you’ll have to help us, Seventh Apostle.”

“…Pardon?”

The color drained from the face of the seventh apostle, Eleonora.

“Didn’t you report to me? That the Variable plans to establish a country independent from the Empire, and that you would be directly involved in this matter.”

“That’s… well… yes. That’s correct.”

The Seventh Apostle reluctantly confirmed. It was true, after all.

“Founding a new dynasty isn’t as simple as it sounds. There will surely be countless obstacles. The duty of you, the Seventh Apostle, is to use these to keep her bound to the throne.”

Keep Haschal excluded from battle until the fourth Heaven’s Wall is stripped away. It was a reasonable and safe measure.

“Have her delegate tasks requiring force to her subordinates, while she herself remains quietly confined to the palace, wasting time dealing with the flood of administrative work.”

“…I don’t think she’ll move according to my wishes. If I push too hard and arouse her suspicion…”

The Seventh Apostle, Eleonora Wittelsbach, replied with reluctance. For her, it was both a burdensome and perplexing order.

‘You want me to control that woman…? The one who was openly suspicious of us?’

To control a woman with such beast-like intuition that she suspected their true identities after just a few conversations. What if her suspicions turned into certainty?

Considering that she was someone who hated evil enough to receive the Stigmata of Astraea, she would likely throw Eleonora into a torture chamber regardless of her status as the Emperor’s sister.

‘I should have kept it hidden. Reporting that I was appointed as that woman’s advisor has resulted in an order to put a leash on a tiger’s neck.’

Eleonora sighed deeply.

She never imagined that her plea for help, fearing she might be discovered and killed by Haschal, would lead to such a result. Far from providing a solution, she had been pushed into an even more dangerous situation. Her gratitude for being freed from being the King of Panam’s plaything momentarily dimmed.

“There’s no need for such concern.”

Feirius, reading the anxiety and reluctance in Eleonora’s sigh, offered optimistic words to reassure her.

“The fact we’ve discovered… that the karma she’s discarded is being used to strengthen the Heaven’s Wall, is something she doesn’t know. All she likely knows is that she has reached the limit of her strength.”

“…And so?”

“Slaying enemies won’t make her any stronger. If she thinks that way, wouldn’t it be natural for her to consider personally taking the field to cut down enemies a waste?”

Though it was merely Feirius’s conjecture, it sounded quite plausible to the other apostles.

While the apostles couldn’t know, Haschal actually did think this way, which is why she had recently been delegating most enemies to her companions.

“Unless it’s a powerful enemy that cannot be subjugated without her… for enemies that can be defeated by others’ strength alone… well, I think she would dispatch her subordinates instead of going herself, giving them opportunities to accumulate karma. Don’t you agree?”

“That’s… certainly… possible, I suppose.”

After pondering briefly, Eleonora had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Feirius’s reasoning was sufficiently rational, whereas her objection was merely a self-preserving complaint about the danger. The other apostles wouldn’t support her.

“Then, what we need to do is…”

“Control the movements of each country to prevent situations that would require her direct intervention. It shouldn’t be particularly difficult. In the past half year, all races—Ka’har, humans, and others—have suffered massive losses. Even if they wanted war, they wouldn’t have the capacity for it.”

The elite forces of each country had been reduced by half, while monster appearances were only increasing. In such a situation, waging war against the Empire would be impossible unless one was insane.

Even if they were fortunate enough to win, they would lose what little military power they had left in the process, effectively becoming a weak nation on the brink of collapse.

So, peace would return to the world for the time being. That’s what Feirius thought.

The other apostles thought the same.

======[ Haschal, dozens of hours earlier ]======

Thanks to the Crusaders joining the battle, the catastrophic subjugation of the Charging Dragon finally came to an end.

“No… this can’t… be…!”

Eirnesia fought valiantly until the end, but ultimately collapsed, unable to withstand the disadvantage.

“Ah, may I cut off her ears? I’ve always wanted to try it.”

“By all means.”

Asha, who had subdued Eirnesia along with the high-ranking Paladins, drew a dagger and approached the unconscious Eirnesia, cutting off her ear.

*Slice.*

The moment her long earlobe was severed, Eirnesia, despite being unconscious, jerked up like a fish out of water.

After putting the severed ear in her pocket, Asha carved out the tendons in her limbs and placed restraints on her.

She explained that while cutting off the limbs entirely would be safer, such a measure in her current state might cause her to die from shock.

“I, Beherikes, you think I would die to the likes of you? To you scaleless vermin? Rather than that…!”

Beherikes chose a different path instead of being killed by the Paladins and Demian. Accepting the loss of both arms, he broke through their encirclement with his body and charged toward Nidhogg.

He understood that he was going to die, but he simply couldn’t accept being killed by weak, scaleless beings. Judging by Jin’s choice to become dragon food rather than die by a greatsword.

【 K…rrrrr…! 】

The battle with the Charging Dragon ended as expected.

Nidhogg desperately tried to break free from the chains of holy light that constricted it, rampaging until the priests’ strength was exhausted… but by the time it finally regained its freedom, its body was already covered with too many wounds to recover from.

Its waist, severed again by Demian’s greatsword. Wings reduced to mere traces by Ceylon’s bombardment of judgment. Front legs blown away by Asha’s charge. Lower jaw torn off by Durandal’s slash.

Even in that state, it continued to rampage without losing its ferocity, but it was nothing more than the struggle of a dying patient.

With its lungs-filled torso severed, it could no longer breathe fire as before. Having lost its lower jaw, it couldn’t bite anything. Having lost both front legs and wings, the only resistance it could offer was to swing its neck like a broom to sweep away its surroundings.

Who could be defeated by such an attack?

Even ordinary Paladins could barely avoid death if they weren’t hit directly without a shield. No matter how exhausted Demian and I were, we weren’t so tired that we couldn’t dodge even that kind of attack.

“I’ll send you to meet your father in hell!”

“Product of sin, face the judgment of the scales!”

“This is the end!”

“My money. My workshop. The worm that carved out my heart! I’ll never forgive you!”

The Oath Sword illuminated its engraving and drew a blue arc, while the Thornwood Sword poured down a golden shower of holy light. Demian’s Jin greatsword traced trajectories like a child’s scribble, and Asha’s spear repeatedly emitted explosive sounds.

After ten minutes of hunting like this…

【 Kyhaaaaaaaaak…. 】

Nidhogg let out its final death cry and planted its severed head on the ground.

“Phew… is it finally over? Tough bastard.”

I exhaled a breath so hot it seemed like flames might erupt, and pulled my arms out of the dragon’s skull.

Frosting and Durandal, covered in Nidhogg’s brain matter, came out with a squelching sound.