Ch.865This Is Going Too Far, Even for You

# Sahalan

‘This is a disaster…’

Right after Haschal set fire to the imperial palace hall and fled with Demian, Sahalan hurriedly escaped the hall and headed toward the mouth of the Barun River.

That was the last place where he had felt the power of his birth mother, Meiharin, who for some reason could not be contacted.

‘I wonder if she’s still alive.’

Haschal’s appearance in the palace hall meant that Meiharin had been defeated. That was Sahalan’s assessment. That’s why he rushed toward the river.

If by chance she was still breathing, he would somehow rescue her and escape Ordos. And if, as he pessimistically expected, she had been killed by Haschal, he planned to at least find her body and flee with it.

‘This time, we have lost.’

The reasons for defeat were overwhelming.

– Our preparations were insufficient.

– The enemy attacked too suddenly.

– They brought an absurd thing called a flying ship.

– From the start, they deployed sorcery, causing most of our forces to abandon the fight and retreat.

– We were only wary of Haschal, but among the enemies was someone equally powerful.

– We couldn’t even properly use our last resort, the ginseng spirit prepared to summon the Celestial Horse.

‘…These are all just excuses.’

Sahalan shook his head with a bitter smile. Making excuses wouldn’t change anything.

They were weaker than the enemy, and that’s why they lost.

That was the cold, harsh truth that summarized the current situation in a single sentence.

‘Yes. I must admit it. You won this battle, Haschal. You’ve truly become monstrously strong.’

So Sahalan humbly accepted defeat.

‘However, next time won’t end like today.’

Of course, that didn’t mean he would prostrate himself before the enemy and offer his neck.

‘Both victory and defeat are ultimately just part of war. As long as one survives, there will be plenty of opportunities to rise again. So, for now, I need to retreat…’

It was at that moment. His mental technique “Combat Foresight,” which showed him several seconds into the future, bade him farewell.

“……”

The future clearly appeared in his mind.

“Ha.”

Sahalan stopped running and let out a dejected smile.

There was no point in running further. The call of fate, with no means of escape, was announcing his end.

“…This is too much, isn’t it?”

Perhaps because he had already seen his death, a premature life review filled his mind.

Looking up at the sky, the pristinely clear blue was turning into a murky black.

Death was falling down upon him.

In the form of an explosion of flame and metal that could never be avoided.

# Haschal

Strategic bombing.

It was a devastating attack even for 21st-century humans who had steel tanks rolling across battlefields, planes cutting through the air, and bullets and shells raining down.

Now such an attack was pouring down on the Ka’har, who at best only employed cavalry. How shocking must it have been?

– KWAAANG! KWAAANG!

– KRRRRRR!

– KWAOOOOO…!

Screams couldn’t even be heard beneath the explosions.

Dozens, hundreds of pillars of fire collided and merged, becoming a storm that raged while ash-gray dust clouds soared upward.

Trees scattered like dust, rocks melted, and human-like chunks of meat became black masses dancing in the air.

The city’s houses burst from the pressure, sweeping the surroundings with waves of debris. Entire hills collapsed, burying screaming warriors beneath them.

And all of these things burned away in extreme heat.

It was literally a scene reminiscent of Muspelheim, the hell of fire and lava from ancient mythology.

—-

“This is… this is amazing. I never imagined it would be like this…!”

“My goodness…!”

Everyone in the group wore equally dumbfounded expressions.

Was it because of the terrifying aerial bombardment they were witnessing for the first time?

“Ahahahaha! Elpinel, are you watching? The hymn we offer to you!”

Or was it because of Lacy, who was standing in front of the deck railing with arms spread wide, laughing with a voice like rolling jade beads?

In my opinion, it was probably the latter. At least it was for me.

Since the affairs of the Holy State were more or less resolved, Lacy had been strangely focused solely on her duties as Archbishop General.

With a gentle, merciful, and dignified manner—about a hundred thousand times more saintly than me.

But had the strategic bombing below awakened something within her?

The current Lacy showed not even a fragment of the saintly dignity she had when sitting modestly in the cathedral’s office.

Here was only a xenophobic extremist captivated by the strategic value of aerial bombardment.

“This is just the beginning! More, even more! From the Werebeasts of Baryachrus to the fairies of Alvheim! We’ll use them all as instruments to play the music of praise! Just as you wished for us!”

Her words made a mockery of the public assessment that she had become much more stable than before.

Looking down at the bombing site, Lacy revealed her religious fanaticism that she had been suppressing, with a truly bright smile.

Should I call her Lacist Adolf? Once the reins were loosened, she was truly an unparalleled madwoman.

“Lady Elmaine… seems quite different… no, significantly different from the rumors I’ve heard.”

Even Adamante, the Inquisitor of the Church of Astraea who was no stranger to fanaticism, seemed disgusted as she slightly backed away.

“Isn’t she exactly like the rumors?”

Frider burst out with a hollow laugh.

“If anything, she’s been unusually well-behaved lately. I don’t know how she was in the Holy State, but the Elpinel Church’s saint candidate I knew from school days was always like this.”

She spread groundless slander as she always did.

“…No, she wasn’t this bad, okay?”

I corrected Frider’s statement, lowering my voice so Lacy wouldn’t hear.

Even back then, her mindset was similar, but she only talked that way—she didn’t openly laugh and enjoy a sea of fire.

Compared to that, now…

It was as if an idealist with only eloquence had been given the means to turn her ideals into reality.

It truly felt like watching the mustachioed uncle who had risen to the position of Führer.

“Until the day we use the World Tree as firewood and melt all the permafrost of the northern snowfields!”

Yes, it had finally been born.

A being more dangerous than Carlos the Great for non-humans, a calamity for those who weren’t human.

—-

Since there was a limit to the number of mana bombs that could be loaded onto the airship, the bombing itself didn’t last very long.

– KWANG! KWAAANG!

Unlike the aerial bombing that dropped many bombs at once, the mana cannons had to fire one shot, reload, and fire again, so they were still spitting fire.

“…Is it over?”

Jahan, who had been repeatedly tapping his earlobes as if his ears were ringing, cautiously asked. It seemed like a question that deserved an answer, like “there is no eternal empress.”

“Well…”

However, unfortunately, I couldn’t give one.

I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized Ordos, which had become a hell of fire.

Specifically, near the imperial palace gate where Rotholandus would have been positioned, and near the mouth of the Barun River where Hersella and Meiharin had fought fiercely.

I didn’t need to worry about the others. A hell of fire that would be difficult for even a hero who had transcended walls to survive had unfolded below.

They must have all burned to death, right?

So, for me, I only needed to confirm the status of Rotholandus and Meiharin.

I hoped they couldn’t withstand it and died…

“GRAAAAAAAH-!”

…Of course not. He was still alive.

His left arm seemed to have been left in a new era, and only his right arm remained on his completely naked body.

He must have deployed a blade curtain with the power of spatial cutting to block the heat and impact.

Even then, he couldn’t block everything, which is why he lost an arm.

Well, I had anticipated his survival even before pouring down the bombardment.

The fact that one arm had been blown off was a satisfactory enough result.

“A person?! Still alive?! In there?”

“Impossible. What is he…?”

The others must have heard the ginseng spirit’s shout too, as they were startled and peered down at the deck below.

And then, shocked again at the strangely familiar appearance of the enemy, they turned to look at me.

“Lady Haschal? No, something’s a bit different…”

“Two Haschals? Isn’t this a sign of the world ending?”

That’s harsh. If the world would end because of something like that, it would have ended long ago.

[Damn it, if it weren’t for your companions, I would have gouged out all their eyes…!]

Hersella growled, grinding her teeth.

Looking at the result, she had ended up publicly exposing her mother’s naked body, so she couldn’t contain her rising anger.

If it had been shown to enemies, she could at least kill them…

But since the witnesses were all my subordinates or friends, she had ended up just getting angry, unable to do anything about it.

“…Empress Imelia?”

Jahan, the only one among the group who knew Imelia’s appearance, mumbled blankly with a confused face, his mouth wide open. His tone suggested he wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real.

“It’s not Imel… ahem, not my mother. Just a monster created from my mother’s remains.”

I informed Jahan of the ginseng spirit’s identity in fluent Eastern language. One person knowing the truth was enough. There was no need to explain it to everyone in the group, as that would only make the explanation longer.

I would have to tell them about Amin’s situation, the whereabouts of Imelia’s remains, Meiharin’s intentions, and the identity of the soul dwelling within—all of which would easily take several minutes.

Unless the fight was completely over, I didn’t want to waste time on explanations in this situation.

Nigel and Joshua seemed to understand what I meant since they had learned the Eastern language, but they just nodded silently without saying anything.

They probably understood my intention in explaining in Eastern language.

So then—

“Lacy, stop laughing and look at that. Can you dispel the sorcery cast on it?”

“Huh? Oh my. I’ve shown an unseemly side. How embarrassing. This feeling is the first since I received the stigmata…”

Lacy, who smiled awkwardly as if embarrassed, soon turned her head slightly to look down at Rotholandus.

“…What is that?”

Lacy murmured, slightly furrowing her eyebrows.

“Half-soul technique…? No. It seems a bit different… and that body…”

As expected of a saint. Just by glancing at the ginseng spirit, she seemed to immediately recognize that it was an abnormal being.

“Let’s set aside the appearance for now. So, can you dispel it?”

If that were possible, I wouldn’t need to worry about Rotholandus anymore.

Was it a primitive regression sorcery? If that were dispelled, it would immediately revert back to Amin with just a good body.

“Hmm… I think I can, but it’s such an unfamiliar technique that it might take some time. About two minutes?”

That’s simple enough.

“Good. I’ll go down again, so Millia and Adamante, help me from the ship. The rest of you, see that riverbank? Capture that woman who’s lying there, barely breathing.”

I nodded and gave my final orders.

As the saying goes, one cannot save the world alone. If I encountered an opponent difficult to defeat by myself, there would be no problem if I borrowed the strength of my companions and beat them together.

Behold the power of friendship.

Let’s see how well you can withstand the four of us in your current state, having lost an arm and most of your tremendous karma.

Well, in any case, after these two minutes, you’ll inevitably have to return to heaven.

I was confident in victory.

That confidence was not misplaced.