Ch.892I’m a Bit Late.

Using the power of Defying Fate, I unleashed the compressed spatial cutting technique all at once—the ultimate slash that could cleave even the sky itself: Sky Cutter.

Star Splitter—the art of destruction that shatters frozen space with extreme cold, breaking space itself into fragments.

Both were sword techniques that could be described, without exaggeration, as the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

The collision of these two techniques caused transcendent destruction, like a mountain exploding and collapsing.

――――――!

A thunderous roar as if the earth itself was crumbling. Everything within hundreds of meters turned to dust and scattered.

The star-filled night sky twisted and distorted, and shockwaves like a storm swept through and destroyed half of the small forest.

“Aaaaargh!”

“What—what is this—!”

Amid this sudden natural disaster, the Dragonborn who had been locked in fierce battle—regardless of whether they belonged to the righteous or evil faction—screamed and leaped away, trying to distance themselves from the epicenter of the explosion.

It was a divine strike of massive destruction.

Even the Dragonborn’s characteristic toughness would be useless—anyone caught in it would surely perish in this enormous catastrophe.

And then.

At the epicenter of the blast, where shockwaves that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth continued to emanate.

Inside the deeply carved crater, within the mushroom cloud torn apart by turbulent air.

“Ha…! You, you damn half-lizard…!”

“Grrrgh…!”

I was crossing swords with Persiella.

My upper garments had been blown away by the aftermath, my lower clothes hanging in tatters like rags.

In a state of near nakedness, my body was soaked in blood.

– Crackle! Crackle-crackle!

From the point where Durandal and the dragon-scale sword met, something like black lightning spread in all directions, shattering the atmosphere and breaking the ground.

It was the aftermath of the collision between two space-destroying powers.

What appeared to be lightning was actually a gap created by the world itself breaking apart—a portion of the void where not even a speck of light existed.

– Whoooosh!

To fill that empty space, the dust-filled air rushed in continuously, creating a fierce wind.

Like dust being sucked into a vacuum cleaner.

“As expected of a Heavenly Demon descendant of Hosoin. Even your secret technique is just a poor imitation of mine…!”

In the middle of this spatial distortion, I glared at Persiella and applied more strength to my sword grip.

– Crack!

Durandal emitted a fierce energy as it dug into Persiella’s sword.

The dragon-scale sword was gradually cracking and breaking. Persiella gritted her teeth and growled.

“Who’s… imitating the likes of you…! Kuhuk!”

Persiella coughed up blood mid-sentence. Fresh blood trickled between her sharp fangs. She clenched her teeth.

“Kyaeu, grrrgh…!”

Her appearance was even more miserable than mine.

Her clothes had been almost completely blown away, leaving only traces. Her scaled body was covered with wounds so deep that bones were visible.

Her right wing had been torn off in the aftermath, and one of the horns on her head was broken.

She looked clearly on the losing side.

The collision of spatial cutting and spatial collapse—techniques similar in principle—had resulted in an outcome close to my victory.

It was the expected result.

Unlike me, who could protect my body with the power of Murder Karma and the blessing of the Fire God, she had to endure the impact of the collision with only her bare scales.

Moreover, the dragon-scale sword she wielded was no match for Durandal’s strength, and I also had the advantage in terms of remaining power.

“I’m… not yet…!”

Though she was still struggling desperately—

“Just die already…!”

– Crack…!

Seeing the crossed blades slowly giving way, it seemed I could cut her down if I kept pushing.

“Kuh, kihaeuuk…!”

I smiled, pulling the corners of my mouth up to my ears, and pressed down on her sword with Durandal.

Just one step away from victory.

The certainty of winning filled my chest with heat.

Yes, it was harder than expected, but with this—

Crack!

“…Huh?”

A strange rupturing sound, as if transmitted directly into my head from high in the sky.

I reflexively looked up.

Wondering if my Sky Cutter had been too powerful and was actually causing the sky to collapse.

Of course, that wasn’t it.

– Ruuuuuumble!

The air and ground began to shake violently. The entire world convulsed like an epileptic patient and emitted a massive resonance.

It was an inexplicable phenomenon.

“What is this…? Is this your doing? What the hell did you…?”

I asked while glaring at Persiella, wondering if she had another secret technique.

“What… are you looking at…! I didn’t do anything…!”

Then what is this?

It was bewildering. Neither I nor she had done anything, yet why was the world going crazy….

That’s when it happened.

– Fwaaak!

A sensation like a hot iron pressed against my left chest. The stigmata engraved there emitted a brilliant golden light and radiated heat.

And then.

【 The fourth one has broken. 】

A strange, truly strange resonance invaded my mind.

A woman’s voice, filled with static, echoing yet as close as a whisper.

【 Two remain ahead. 】

Divine oracle.

It was the voice of the goddess.

—-

The fourth one has broken.

Two remain ahead.

The meaning of this oracle was obvious enough without much contemplation.

The destruction of the fourth Heaven’s Wall.

It meant that what I had tried to prevent, even if it meant killing Persiella and Bernard, had ultimately come to pass.

– Ruuuuuumble!

This vibration must be the aftermath.

“Ha….”

A bitter laugh escaped me. I felt like I had completely missed the mark.

Since Persiella’s attack on the small forest, the number of dead Dragonborn was still less than three hundred.

Yet the Heaven’s Wall was destroyed—what could this possibly mean?

‘So this was a pointless battle from the beginning…!’

There was only one answer.

The Apostles had a means to break the Heaven’s Wall without killing large numbers of righteous Dragonborn.

It was utterly deflating.

– Crack…!

Enough to make Durandal, which I had been pushing forward, get pushed back slightly.

“Your killing intent has dulled a bit… You must be tired too, aren’t you?”

Persiella smiled with her blood-stained face.

I didn’t even feel like responding to her words.

“Hey, where is Failer?”

Instead of answering, I asked a question, sharpening my killing intent that had been sinking into a sense of futility.

“Failer…? You mean Bernard.”

“Yeah, that damn Apostle bastard.”

“Apostle…?”

What, she doesn’t know?

Well, of course she wouldn’t. His identity would have been confidential even to his allies.

“What, did you think he was your loyal servant?”

I twisted the corner of my mouth and revealed Bernard’s identity to her.

“The fifth Apostle of the Ancient God Church… those vermin who are actively ruining the world. That’s the true identity of the Failer you’ve been cherishing as your Demon Tamer or whatever.”

“Fifth… Apostle….”

“You and all the Dragonborn under you were just being used. Used as sacrifices to further distort the world.”

I glossed over the explanation about the Heaven’s Wall’s destruction.

The weakening of the world’s constraints was a catastrophe for humans and me, but for someone like her who pursued strength, it might actually be desirable.

“He might have pledged loyalty to you with words, but in reality, he viewed you all as less than pigs in a slaughterhouse.”

“……”

“Look at the result of rampaging around without knowing any of this. As soon as your usefulness disappeared, you were discarded, and now you’re facing death!”

I shouted fiercely and thrust my right foot forward, aiming to cut her half-dragon waist in two.

“…So that’s how it was.”

A thudding sound of flesh. Persiella’s body was pushed back. She had blocked my kick by swinging her tail forward.

“I see… I thought it strange that he recommended methods that caused such extensive damage… so that was the reason.”

Persiella bent her waist as if staggering, then coughed up blood and muttered.

“Yes, do you understand now? That you were used quite spectacularly? Now tell me. Where is Bernard Failer? Just tell me, and I’ll go find him and tear him in half.”

Of course, I’d have to tear Persiella apart first. As long as she lived, the war between the righteous and evil factions would never stop.

The fourth wall had already been destroyed… but I needed to somehow prevent her from filling the fifth chalice with Dragonborn blood.

So, once I heard Bernard’s location from her, I wouldn’t need to ask anything more.

I would cut off the head of Persiella, who was already as good as dead, and then slowly recover my strength while tracking down Bernard to tear him apart.

“…I will not allow such a thing.”

“What…?”

However, Persiella rejected my proposal. With an extremely resolute tone.

“No, I’m telling you that you were used?”

“…It doesn’t matter. What I was curious about was his identity, not his loyalty.”

It was an unexpected answer.

It made me wonder if she was only outwardly composed but actually being controlled like in the original story.

“Besides, why should I believe the words of someone as deceitful as you?”

“…Ah, I see.”

I clicked my tongue, cracked my neck to one side, and rested Durandal on my shoulder.

Things had gotten seriously complicated, so I had tried to make it a little easier… but that wasn’t going to work.

“Then just die.”

Irritation welled up inside me.