“How many people know about this operation?”
Hio let out a soft laugh at Irina’s cautious attitude and waved his hand dismissively.
“Just act like before. Don’t be so awkward.”
The current Irina was treating him far too carefully.
And for good reason. He was her savior who had rescued her multiple times, and now he was her direct superior… if that was the right term.
Anyway, they had become a God and an Apostle.
Even so, Hio didn’t want to appear mysterious and dignified in front of Irina.
He wasn’t particularly short on Divinity Points, and more than that, he longed to return to their previous relationship.
Not the relationship between a God carrying the heavy burden of the Continent’s future and the Continent’s only Apostle.
But rather the bond between a boastful Magician filled with lies and an innocent girl who knew nothing.
A relationship that was close without barriers, allowing them to genuinely laugh freely together.
“Hmm…”
Irina pondered for a moment whether it was really okay to do as Hio said.
“Fine!”
Only then did she return to the bright and cheerful girl that Hio remembered. Irina herself, having cast off the masks of Holy Maiden and Apostle. Just a person.
Though if there was one thing different from before…
“Anyway, how many people know this important information?”
…it was that she wasn’t just smiling foolishly.
She was still the girl who wanted to be a simple girl, but she was also a Holy Maiden and an Apostle.
Seeing her ask with such seriousness, Hio replied with a similar expression.
“You and me. Airlights… and I plan to inform all the Expeditionary Force members.”
“Even those former Bingija?”
“…I intend to reveal a certain degree of the plan to Antipus. I won’t take him on the final assault, but he should know.”
“Is it because you don’t trust them?”
“No, the opposite. It’s because we’ve placed such a heavy burden on Antipus…”
This was the plan originally conceived by Hio, Sylvia, and Airlights together.
The so-called Final Assault.
Finding the Passage, organizing the Allied Forces—everything was for this one last strike.
So for those who would be left behind, they were actually entrusting them with an even heavier burden.
“While we carry out the operation, please protect the remaining forces. And…”
If we fail, take care of the aftermath.
Well, that kind of heavy burden.
It was a request that could only be made because it was Antipus.
It was also something Hio could be certain of, having watched him for years.
“I understand, but… is it really okay with just that few people?”
“It’s not enough. That’s why I plan to thoroughly test the effects of Dimension Transfer and select as many personnel as possible within the allowable range.”
This was before they had even experimented with Dimension Transfer.
Meaning this was an operation that had already been conceived and planned from that point.
“Then… I’ll also select High Priests who are strong in Holy Power.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“But if I and many other priests are absent, the main force…”
He intended to throw all the High Priests, including Irina, into the operation.
If that happened, the burden the Allied Forces would have to bear would increase even further.
“Then we absolutely must succeed.”
Irina nodded with resolute eyes.
“I’ll make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut.”
It was an operation that began with such determination.
That’s why they were always mentally prepared.
They knew the probability was higher that it would happen at night.
And even amidst the chaos of battle against the Strange Entities, they kept their minds focused.
On the signal flare that would soar high through the dark sky.
“Block them!”
“We can’t be pushed back to the Passage!”
So, even in the noise of the battlefield, several key figures kept glancing at the sky.
For the signal that would one day appear.
“Protect the priests!”
“If we just hold out, victory is ours!”
They couldn’t tell anyone in the Allied Forces.
Because if even a single word leaked about the Abyssal Depths, they couldn’t know what consequences it would bring.
Everything could fall apart.
“They’re coming! Over there…”
And then.
CRAAAAAACK
A deafening roar as if the sky itself was splitting apart.
A violet line shooting upward.
“…It’s here.”
It was the signal they had been waiting for.
Irina and the High Priests.
And those who had awakened skills that amplified their power and weakened their opponents.
Their bodies too were enveloped in the same violet light as the sky above.
Irina tried to leave behind some final words.
[Transcendent Skill – ‘Dimension Transfer’ begins.]
But before she could, her body was sucked away as if vanishing.
“…Kreutzvalt.”
The moment they seemed to have been transported somewhere, Irina, without even confirming her field of vision, began pouring all her Holy Power toward the ground beneath her feet.
[Target – ‘Hio Pavlenko’ and 99 others begin Dimension Transfer.]
This was the most critical moment.
Not a single misstep could be allowed.
So, right before crossing dimensions…
[Divine Authority ‘Drisella’s Breath of Origin’ is activated.]
What activated first was Drisella’s Divine Authority.
There was a limit of just over five minutes.
After that, Hio would be as good as excluded from the battle.
Everything had to be finished within five minutes.
CRAAAAAACK
The sky split apart, and his body and soul were sucked in.
A dimensional rift seen through eyes tinged with violet radiance.
The power of Magic Power distantly located within it.
He understood all of it, but there was no time to be in awe.
Because he had to be the first to start things off.
So, without blinking, he watched the fleeting moment of piercing through dimensions entirely.
The skill he activated in perfect synchronization with arrival.
[Chronomancy – ‘Temporal Rift’ is activated.]
Time freeze magic.
The time beneath his feet froze.
The familiar face of Kreutzvalt looking up at this place.
The ash, dust, time, space—everything around him came to a halt, a miracle-like magic.
But it was only for one second.
CRRRRRK—
It was laughable to call it freezing; it had only held Kreutzvalt in place for about a single second.
The thousand-year-old monster had instantly broken through even the Chronomancy activated using Drisella’s Divine Authority.
Of course, this was somewhat expected.
This one second now was not an ordinary second to be easily let pass, but a second more precious than gold.
[Chronomancy – ‘Manipulation’ is activated.]
He struck Kreutzvalt, who had escaped the temporal break, with Manipulation.
Kreutzvalt’s movements drastically slowed.
It would probably break free in less than a second this time too, but that didn’t matter.
Because in that brief moment, the final Expeditionary Force was pouring everything they had toward the ground below.
Irina, spreading her wings of light wide, poured forth vast Holy Power.
Not just Irina, but the masters of Holy Power she had carefully selected, those possessing immense Holy Power.
Thanks to their desperate efforts, as if vomiting out everything they had, a bright and holy light—so intense it would not be an exaggeration to call it a Sanctuary rather than the Abyssal Depths—concentrated toward Kreutzvalt.
All kinds of hindrance skills accompanied that Holy Power.
Binding his body with wind and grass.
Skills that blinded his eyes and confused his senses rained down.
[Skill – ‘Earth Bound Shackle’ is activated.]
A 7th Circle magic, the shackles of the earth, manifested as a skill, restraining Kreutzvalt’s body.
Using Drisella’s Breath of Origin, they stole all the Magic Power around Kreutzvalt.
As long as the Divine Authority persisted, he would not be able to use Magic Power.
But it didn’t end there.
The moment his movement was sealed, Vitalianus and Gale shot forward like light.
Originally, Regarda was supposed to throw himself in Gale’s place, sacrificing his body, but he was in a state where he couldn’t even move, so Gale took his place.
Even so, it was enough.
Gale too, though not perfectly, was one who had awakened Ideation to a certain extent.
He would be able to inflict sufficient damage on Kreutzvalt’s body, which was the Abyssal Depths itself.
SWISH— The sound of slicing rang out loudly.
Vitalianus’s strike cut through Kreutzvalt’s neck, and Gale’s following sword severed both arms.
BOOOOOOM—!
Claire and Melissa’s skills, imbued with even a small amount of Ideation, blazed on Kreutzvalt’s body, and into the torn openings of his tattered body, the bright Holy Power mercilessly penetrated.
HIIISS— Black smoke leaked out instead of blood, then was burned away without a trace by the immense baptism of Holy Power.
And then, the second Divine Authority activated in that state.
[Divine Authority ‘Perseverance of Splendor’ is activated.]
Above Hio’s head, all kinds of splendor burst forth like an explosion.
Energy that adorned the sky, settling like stars.
It was named Splendor.
The splendor he had been tirelessly accumulating since emerging from the World’s End.
Whenever he had a chance, he had activated his Divine Authority and accumulated it for this very moment.
And now, all those kinds of splendor were being emitted at once.
The energy of splendor piled up and gathered, creating a miracle in a single moment.
Such was this Divine Authority.
[Consumes accumulated splendor.]
Compared to Drisella’s Breath of Origin, Perseverance of Splendor—which could be considered Hio’s unique Divine Authority—didn’t have much impact.
However, since it was already his own, he knew it well.
The power of persevering and persevering until it all burst at once.
Just once.
Like blooming a skill after persevering and persevering until the end, this was a Divine Authority that existed for that one final moment.
A miracle created in reality with that accumulated energy.
[Wishes for the target’s annihilation.]
The miracle Hio wished to create was the eternal annihilation of Kreutzvalt.
The bastard wasn’t dead.
Because he wasn’t human.
Because he was the Abyssal Depths themselves.
Even if his neck was cut off, his limbs were gone, and his body was tattered.
The damage would certainly be great, but complete annihilation could not be achieved.
Hio was certain of this.
So the Divine Authority that understood his will headed toward Kreutzvalt in splendor.
The dark and dreary Abyssal Depths.
Bright yet desperate Holy Power.
And between them, an out-of-place splendor.
[Proceeding with the complete annihilation of target – ‘Kreutzvalt’.]
Hio’s Ideation was imbued in the Divine Authority.
A red Calendula that had persevered its entire life.
A splendid flower that blooms at the end of perseverance.
WHOOOOSH—!
The accumulated energy turned into flames and disappeared rapidly.
Though it was energy diligently gathered, was it insufficient?
It was visibly disappearing quickly.
But in return, Kreutzvalt’s body, unable to move an inch, was also gradually fading.
The extremely dense body of the Abyssal Depths grew lighter.
It became so faint that it seemed it would disappear like smoke.
“More… pour more Holy Power!”
“Kugh…”
“This is the end!”
Irina and the other priests scraped out every last drop of their remaining Holy Power and poured it out.
“KYAAAAAAH!”
A scream finally burst from Kreutzvalt’s severed neck.
An extremely unfamiliar and awkward scream.
Though he was in tatters, paradoxically, among all the forms of Kreutzvalt they had observed, with his neck and both arms severed and his body torn, this was the most human-like appearance he had shown.
“Just a little… just a little more…”
But in the end, was the time insufficient?
[All accumulated splendor has been consumed.]
[Divine Authority – ‘Perseverance of Splendor’ has been canceled.]
[Divine Authority – ‘Drisella’s Breath of Origin’ has been canceled.]
The omnipotence that had dwelt in Hio’s body vanished in an instant.