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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 336: All-Out War (1)
Crash!
They plummeted to the ground, almost as if collapsing.
Their landing site was the Elves' sacred ground.
Those who had been waiting with tense expressions recoiled in shock and grabbed their weapons.
“W-Who are you?!”
“It’s the demons! The demons have invaded!”
“I’d appreciate it if you calmed down.”
The ones who were panicking and shouting soon recognized Ketal’s face.
Then, they started making a fuss for a different reason.
“They’ve returned from hell!”
“A-Are you all right?!”
“…We are not.”
Helia’s face was pale, devoid of any color.
Her hands trembled like a child’s, and she seemed unable to even lift herself properly.
The Tower Master was no different.
His bones were crushed and shattered to the point where they could no longer form the structure of a skeleton.
Their condition was dire.
The Tower Master’s life vessel was on the verge of breaking under immense strain, and Helia had shattered three holy relics.
They had only survived because Ketal held out.
If the power of hell had concentrated on them even a little more, the two would surely have died.
Realizing the grave condition of Helia and the Tower Master, the people once again started to panic.
“Oh my god!”
“The injuries are severe! Take them to the infirmary immediately!”
“M-Master of the Tower! Are you all right?!”
Karin and the worshippers hurried over to support them and guided them to the infirmary.
After managing to get them there, Karin looked at Ketal.
“Ketal, are you okay?”
“I don’t need treatment. I’ll be fine with a little rest.”
“Is that so…?”
Karin mumbled, still unsettled.
She was a mighty hero, one of the strongest in the world.
But even she couldn’t hold a candle to the Tower Master and Helia.
They were the absolute pinnacle of power.
Yet, even they had returned with such critical injuries, while Ketal didn’t seem harmed at all.
Karin muttered in disbelief.
“…Truly, you have monstrous strength. It’s a relief you’re on our side.”
“If that’s how you feel, you should treat Arkamis better. Her contributions are significant as well.”
“I’ll have to pay a high price to buy her the catalyst she wants later.”
Karin joked, but her face quickly turned serious as she asked,
“What happened in hell?”
Ketal explained what had happened in hell.
The more she listened, the more Karin’s face twisted.
By the end, her face had gone beyond pale, turning an ashen blue.
“…You’re saying Goddess Mesereka was dead? And one of the demon lords, Caliste? And beyond that, hell itself attacked you?”
“Yes.”
Ketal nodded lightly.
Karin nearly fainted from dizziness, staggering as she held her forehead.
“…It’s a miracle you made it back alive.”
“It was quite dangerous. Since leaving the outside world, that was the first time I’d faced such a crisis.”
Ketal laughed heartily, as if amused.
Seeing his expression, Karin let out a dry chuckle.
She shook her head vigorously to snap herself out of the shock.
“So hell laid a trap and waited for you. That’s why there was no movement.”
“That was the case for now. But it’s strange to think it’s just that simple.”
“…You mean because the other two lords didn’t act, aside from Caliste.”
Ketal nodded.
The Mother of All Demons, Materia.
The First Tool of the Demon King, Abyss.
Neither of them had shown themselves.
“If they had truly intended to kill us, the other two lords should have moved as well. But they didn’t.”
Hell was plotting something.
“I have my suspicions about what it could be.”
But he wasn’t certain.
Karin, who had been deep in thought, spoke up.
“…Could it be connected to the silence from the heavens?”
“It’s a strong possibility. But we’re not certain yet.”
They would ultimately need to hear directly from the gods.
“We can’t exactly go back to hell again. We’ll have to find a way to communicate with the heavens.”
Ketal narrowed his eyes.
The next day, Ketal visited the infirmary to check on the Tower Master and Helia.
Serena was treating the two of them there.
“Ah, Ketal! You’re here! I’ve been working hard on their treatment!”
“Good. Well done.”
Ketal praised Serena, and she smiled brightly.
As he patted her head, he asked,
“How are you feeling?”
“We’re better now.”
[Not bad. Though not good, either.]
Their condition was much improved compared to when they had just returned from hell.
Helia lifted her upper body from the bed and bowed deeply.
“Thank you. Without you, I would have been tormented by those fiends.”
[I also owe you thanks. In my hundreds of years of life, I never thought I would face death, but it came close.]
“We’re comrades, so don’t worry about it.”
Ketal spoke lightly and turned to Helia.
“By the way, it’s unfortunate we couldn’t retrieve Mesereka’s sacred body.”
“…There was no helping it.”
Helia smiled bitterly.
Mesereka’s sacred body.
It was buried deep in hell.
As a follower of the gods, leaving a divine body in hell was a grave sin, but they had no choice.
“So, what do we do now?”
“…For now, we can’t go back to hell.”
The demons had prepared a trap in hell and waited for them.
They had managed to escape this time, but there was no telling what would happen if they returned.
There was no reason to take such a risk.
They had to find another way.
And they all knew what that way was.
“The heavens.”
“If the great gods know what hell is plotting, we must hear it directly from them to decide our next move.”
But there was a problem.
They couldn’t establish a connection with the heavens.
That was the very reason they had ventured into hell in the first place.
“Is it still blocked?”
“I’ve been praying constantly during the treatment, but no answers have come.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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“It’s still sealed, then.”
“What should we do?”
Helia muttered in frustration, to which Ketal raised a puzzled eyebrow.
“What do you mean, what should we do? There’s only one option.”
“What?”
[There’s a way, you say?]
“The heavens aren’t responding. That means there’s a problem with the connection. Isn’t the solution simple, then?”
[…Ah.]
The Tower Master realized what Ketal was suggesting.
Ketal spoke lightly.
“We just need to go to the heavens ourselves.”
* * *
A moment of silence.
Helia spoke with a shaken expression.
“…That’s—”
“It’s not impossible. Serena said when she met the Tower Master, he had touched the gate of the heavens.”
“Oh, uh, yes… That’s true, isn’t it?”
“Could you explain that?”
[…It’s not as impressive as it sounds. It was a magician’s personal curiosity.]
What exists up in the heavens?
Can beings of the earth even reach such a place?
The Tower Master had been consumed by these questions.
And magicians, by nature, are creatures who cannot let their curiosity go unanswered.
The Tower Master spent decades locked away, searching for a way to reach the heavens, and eventually succeeded in touching the heavenly gate.
[But I couldn’t enter the heavens.]
“Why not?”
[They didn’t allow me in. It seemed to be a matter of qualification—only those who are worthy can enter.]
The Tower Master hadn’t met those qualifications and had no choice but to give up at the heavenly gate.
Serena replied as if it were obvious.
“The heavens are different from hell. The heavens are where the gods reside. It’s not a place anyone can enter. You must truly worship the gods, possessing a high degree of divine affinity, or have a status comparable to that of a god. If there’s anyone on earth who could reach the heavens… it would probably be you, Helia. Though you’d need more training before it’s possible.”
Serena glanced at Helia.
Helia didn’t seem happy about the idea that she could reach the heavens but didn’t argue.
Ketal opened his mouth.
“Then what about me?”
“…What?”
“Could I enter the heavens?”
He asked with a sly smile.
Serena stuttered for a moment.
“Uh… your divine affinity isn’t very high. It’s close to nonexistent. But… hmm…”
Ketal’s status was undoubtedly high enough to touch the realm of gods.
It was almost strange that he was still living as a mortal on earth.
After some hesitation, Serena answered.
“…Perhaps it’s possible.”
“Well, that simplifies things.”
Ketal clapped his hands lightly.
“Tower Master. Can you open the heavenly gate once again?”
[…It’s not impossible, but it will take some time to prepare. Are you truly planning to go?]
The Tower Master spoke reluctantly.
The heavens were not like hell.
The gods were the saviors of the earth, revered for countless generations.
Even the Tower Master, who had once approached the heavenly gate, hadn’t dared to enter.
But Ketal was a modern man.
He held no reverence for the gods.
Ketal nodded casually.
“I already went to hell, so why wouldn’t I be able to go to the heavens?”
[…Hmm…]
The Tower Master hesitated but had no better answer.
After all, they needed to speak to the gods directly.
[Fine. Once I’m fully recovered, I’ll give it a try.]
“Then I’ll count on you.”
Ketal smiled brightly.
But, unfortunately for Ketal, his wish would not come true.
Because, one week after returning from hell—
Kalosia appeared on earth.
* * *
Kalosia, having descended into Shadrenes’ body, spoke.
[It’s been a while.]
“…Yeah. It has.”
[You don’t look pleased. You seem disappointed. Is something wrong?]
“No. It’s nothing.”
Ketal quickly pulled himself together.
Though it was disappointing that he wouldn’t be able to visit the heavens, wasn’t it fortunate that a god had appeared on earth once again?
He quickly composed his emotions and spoke.
“It’s been a long time since you showed yourself on earth. What happened?”
[It was because of that cursed interference from hell.]
Kalosia spoke irritably.
[The lord of hell. The first instrument of demons—Abyss. That bastard blocked the connection to the heavens.]
“So that’s why the others, except Caliste, couldn’t appear. He must have been interfering over there.”
Ketal muttered as if understanding.
Then he asked with a puzzled look.
“Could Abyss alone block access to the heavens?”
[It’s not that he interfered with the heavens directly. He tampered with the connection network.]
Directly attacking the capital of a nation was no simple feat.
The city would have defenses and soldiers prepared, requiring considerable force.
However, blocking the trade routes for goods required far less effort.
[It wasn’t a direct interference, which made it difficult to track. Even now, it’s hard to fully descend onto earth.]
“Even so, it’s hard to believe.”
The gods were numerous.
While their power may fall short compared to the lords of hell, the difference shouldn’t be so great.
It was difficult to accept that a single lord could block them.
Kalosia answered.
[He’s consuming his very status to maintain the interference.]
“Ah.”
Ketal nodded as if he understood.
“He’s betting his life on it.”
[Abyss is breaking apart. Soon, his existence will disappear entirely.]
He was prepared to die to ensure that information from the heavens didn’t reach the earth.
Ketal asked.
“What is hell planning?”
“You already have a guess, don’t you?”
“It would be a lie to say I don’t.”
Why was hell moving?
Why was hell so desperately blocking the heavens, even at the cost of a lord’s life?
There was only one possibility.
Ketal murmured.
“The Demon King.”
[Correct.]
Kalosia said.
[Hell is preparing for the Demon King’s descent.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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