Chapter 191 – Heavenly War

Meanwhile, the giants in the Sky Island arena, startled by the sudden gathering of angels, stopped their ongoing duels and watched with excited expressions, as if they were mere spectators.

“Ooh! A war between the Darkness Constellation’s Apostle and the angel legion?”

“This should be fun.”

Indeed, the angels had positioned themselves just outside the arena’s domain, so there was no need to respond to a domain violation.

Crucially, a spectacle of this scale was a rare sight even for them, who spent almost every day dueling.

Among them, some giants, too restless to just watch, shrugged their shoulders as if wanting to join the fight.

However, it was just a thought; not a single giant actually stepped forward.

That was because the heroes belonging to the Sky Island arena had a principle: they could not participate in any fight without compensation.

Knowing this, one of the angels flew toward the giants in the arena.

―We have a request. Please help us subdue the Dark Apostle!

“What’s the reward?”

―As always, we will provide divine power sufficient to fill one Orichalcum Plate.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been a sufficient reward to accept the request, but the giants shook their heads with indifferent expressions.

“Insufficient.”

―You say this is insufficient? I cannot understand. Your help was merely insurance anyway; we alone are enough to deal with the Dark Apostle. If you refuse the request, please do not consider helping the other side either.

“Even so… After seeing that?”

Where one of the giants pointed, Dice was wildly swinging his Black Thunder Sword, pushing back the Nephilim led by the Archangels.

This was happening even though the overall level of the Nephilim and Archangels, connected as one through the Ring of Light, was close to Apostle Rank.

Countless Nephilim filling the field of vision were being struck by black lightning and falling like charred black pigeons with each swing of Dice’s sword.

Of course, those fallen Nephilim were resurrected and restored by the miracles of the angels forming the encirclement, rejoining the ranks without directly fighting Dice.

But even if it became a war of attrition, the angels had no chance of winning.

―Is that… the power of gold?

Dice, who had reversed the Dark Age to realize the Golden Age using the Authority of [Darkness], maintained his peak condition no matter how much he wielded his Authority.

It was a state more deserving of the name “Limitless” than the [Limitless Ten Thousand Thunder Sword], which combined the Sun Divine Domain and the Ten Thousand Thunder Sword.

“To think one could reach gold by reversing darkness.”

“Judging by appearances, that fellow was originally a knight of the Sun path. He reached darkness by reversing the sun, and from there, reversed it again to extend his hand to gold.”

“An eye-opener.”

The giants, jaded from dueling as their daily routine, muttered aloud the facts they had discerned, as if showing off their insight.

The angel who had come to deliver the request felt as if veins were bulging on his forehead at the giants’ nonchalant attitude, as if watching someone else’s affair, but since he needed their help, he forced himself not to show it and spoke.

―We misjudged. This must also be due to the Dark Apostle distorting the revelation. Haah, fine. How much do you need to accept the request?

“Now we’re talking. Make it the equivalent of four Orichalcum Plates.”

―Four times the amount at once…

The angel’s face darkened at the price named by the giant.

The reward they mentioned was an amount that would require sweeping up all the miracle reserves stockpiled by the Celestial Church of Radiance.

Precisely the limit of what they could accept.

After sharing this information through the Ring of Light Net of the Halo and a brief moment later, as if an answer had been reached, the angel nodded.

―Understood.

“Good. Then the contract is sealed.”

With the request accepted, the hundreds of giants watching from the arena began to rise one by one and head outside.

Most were 7-Star giants, but some were 8-Star Mithril giants, and the last one was the 9-Star Adamantium giant, the person in charge of the Sky Island arena.

Not giants who evolved through tricks like becoming the tree giant ‘Ent’ by gaining the power of the Sun path or evolving into Nephilim by gaining the power of the Radiance path, but pure Gold path giants who evolved alongside their Hero’s Plate promotions.

Their joining was enough to become a variable in Dice’s fight.

If only considering simple Grade, it wouldn’t be a problem, but the issue was that they were of the Gold path.

Originally, it was an established theory that spirits of the Golden Constellation were basically considered one rank above spirits of other constellations of the same level.

But when hundreds of such Transcendent Species of the Gold path simultaneously entered battle, the calculation changed.

The repeated Resonance of the Golden Constellation’s Blessing allowed them to temporarily deploy the Golden Divine Realm.

Ooom!

If they joined the fight, the Golden Age Dice was unfolding could lose its power.

“That’s a bit troublesome.”

Thus, Duren stepped forward and blocked the path of the giants who had accepted the angels’ request.

“Hero of the Golden Medal, why would you join the fight without any compensation?”

“They are my comrades.”

“Even if you are a Hero of the Golden Medal, if you break the principle, you will no longer be able to participate in duels. Will you still block us?”

The Adamantium giant tried to persuade Duren by citing the principle of the Sky Island arena.

“You have a duel scheduled with the Giant Emperor, don’t you? Just pretend you didn’t see this.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then we have no choice but to do our utmost to fulfill the request.”

“Do so.”

However, Duren did not back down.

The fact that he could no longer duel in the arena didn’t matter to him.

If he had followed a pure Gold path, it might have been different.

But the Great Sun Tathagata, with whom he had determined his Identity, was an existence that mixed the Sun and Gold paths.

A duel format wasn’t strictly necessary.

‘Processing the Seed of Void is possible through means other than a duel.’

“You really intend to fight. Then we will also do our best. Attack!”

Finally, realizing the fight was unavoidable, at the shout of the Adamantium giant, the giants who had accepted the request all charged at Duren simultaneously.

And the next moment.

Flash. Thud!

All the giants who tried to confront Duren were crushed to the ground by light pouring down like sunlight.

“……!”

The sight was like monkeys crushed under the Buddha’s palm.

It was the result of unleashing the Tathagata’s Great Hand Seal, one of the ultimate techniques of the Vairocana Divine Art, along with the Stigma of Great Sun Radiance.

“Don’t waste your energy; just stay still and watch.”

He considered testing the reversal of the Stigma since he had used it, but only thought about it.

In fact, unlike other spirits, Duren’s Stigma didn’t really have a reversal.

The same went for the Single Heaven Star Track, the Binding Rope Golden Core and Absolute Fate Asura, the predecessors of Great Sun Radiance and Immovable Wisdom King.

Weren’t they created from the start in a way that the Awakening Skill and its corresponding reversed Awakening Skill formed a Synthesis of Opposites?

If there was any reversal, it would likely be 《Vairocana Divine Art》 and 《”Above Heaven, Under Heaven, I Alone Am the Honored One”》.

Since the Stigma had already undergone the process of Synthesis of Opposites once when it became a Stigma, he hadn’t particularly conceived a reversal of the Stigma itself, but seeing Dice gave him an inspiration.

‘The sun was reversed to darkness, and darkness was reversed again to gold.’

A fact he could see thanks to being of the Gold path while encompassing the Sun path.

Through this, the Vairocana Divine Art was inverted, Darkening into the 《Dark Vairocana Divine Art》.

“Dark Tathagata’s Great Hand Seal.”

Creep, creep.

Following that change, the Tathagata’s Great Hand Seal that had subdued the giants also dyed from brilliant golden light to pitch black like a black hole.

Whoooosh—!

When it was the Tathagata’s Great Hand Seal, the force only pressed downward, but now the direction reversed, and the giants were pulled in by the suction force emanating from the palm-shaped Black Radiance.

The form of the martial art changed, not merely binding them with gravitational force but also sucking in their power, eliminating any chance of resistance.

And one step further.

Finally, the Stigma of “Above Heaven, Under Heaven, I Alone Am the Honored One,” which evolved into the Universe Sword by combining the Natural Sword and Heart Language Sword, also underwent reversal to achieve All Things Are Impermanent.

The myth that was Lee Hanseong’s first Myth Skill and also influenced the completion of the Great Sun Tathagata Sword unfolded from Duren’s hand.

No, it surpassed mere reproduction.

“All Things Are Impermanent, All Dharmas Are Without Self.”

Just as the Stigma of “I Alone Am the Honored One” expanded to “Above Heaven, Under Heaven, I Alone Am the Honored One” through the Identity of the Great Sun Tathagata.

Its reversal, All Things Are Impermanent, also expanded to include “All Dharmas Are Without Self,” meaning there is no fixed, unchanging entity as ‘self.’

What changed through this?

Originally, “Above Heaven, Under Heaven, I Alone Am the Honored One” was a method of imposing one’s will upon the energy of the entire world and dominating it as if it were part of oneself.

If the existing <All Things Are Impermanent> was a sword that connected and severed all causality in the world.

Then 《All Things Are Impermanent, All Dharmas Are Without Self》, with the addition of “All Dharmas Are Without Self,” was a sword where the boundary between self and others disappeared, allowing one to freely wield even others’ power as their own.

“I pronounce judgment. You cannot interfere in that fight.”

Sssssss!

The power and minds of the giants subdued by the Dark Tathagata’s Great Hand Seal escaped their will and suppressed themselves so they could not resist.

A state of perfect incapacitation where neither the power nor the will to resist arises.

Having handled the variable of the Golden Holy War giants like this, Duren likely had no more reason to step forward.

The remaining Archangels and Nephilim would ultimately be unable to defeat Dice and retreat.

* * *

As for Beatus and Hanna Bright, who faced the angels including the former Pope.

Unlike Dice’s side, they were at a disadvantage.

―Has your mind still not changed?!

“Kuh! I believe I have said all I need to say.”

This was because Beatus and Hanna, being angels themselves, were vulnerable to interference through the Ring of Light Net.

Since angels’ Halos easily connect, when fellow angels became enemies, the hostile thoughts of the enemies were directly shoved into their minds through the Ring of Light.

Moreover, even though only some of the 7-Star angels not dealing with Dice were targeting them, their numbers were not small.

A situation where nearly dozens of angels were swarming from all sides.

But Beatus, Hanna’s only ally, was busy dealing with just the former Pope.

So facing the remaining angels fell entirely on Hanna.

“Sanctuary! Reflection! Punishment! Guardian Angel!”

Inside the Sanctuary imbued with the Stigmata of Reflection, Punishment, and Guardian Angel.

Light reflecting the enemy’s attacks, light of heavenly punishment falling from the sky, and the Illusory Forms of Guardian Angels flashed incessantly, blocking attacks targeting Beatus’s blind spots or Hanna, but.

It was difficult to block ten hands with one.

Although the Stigma of Guardian Angel, which materialized the Illusory Forms of angels solely for allies, increased the number of allies slightly, the numerical difference was still large.

‘A little more… We need those who will help us…’

That situation and necessity awakened the reversal of the Stigma Hanna possessed.

Guardian Angel reversal, 《Punishing Angel》.

Unlike the Guardian Angel clad in heavy armor and holding a shield, the Punishing Angel clad in light armor and holding a flaming longsword revealed itself within the Sanctuary.

Pabababat—Chwachwachwachwachwachwa!

Unlike the Guardian Angel, specialized in defense and thus forced on the defensive, the Punishing Angel, which moved actively to annihilate enemies, caused the angels’ offensive to falter.

Moreover, it was significant that the Rings of Light possessed by the Guardian Angel and Punishing Angel resonated with Hanna’s Ring of Light, forming a minimal-scale Ring of Light Net composed of three Rings of Light.

Thanks to this, they could erect a firewall to block the mental interference sent by the hostile angels’ Ring of Light Net.

Oooom!

But this was merely an additional factor.

What was important was that Hanna simultaneously controlled the Guardian Angel and Punishing Angel, forming a Trinity that encompassed both and herself.

A single thought flashing through Hanna’s mind amidst that resonance.

“The opposite of an angel was neither a fallen angel nor a demon.”

That completed the reversal of Angelification.

Seras, another spirit possessing Angelification, realized its reversal as Fallen Angelification.

And demons possessing Demonification often realized its reversal as Angelification.

But Hanna’s Angelification achieved reversal in a completely different way from those two.

“Heavenly Kingification.”

An ability that reverses the concept of an angel as one who is commanded to become a Heavenly King who commands angels.

Fwaaat!

Power amplified as if added onto the existing Angelification once again elevated Hanna’s species from a 7-Star angel to an 8-Star Heavenly King.

Perhaps due to the authority of the Heavenly King who commands angels dominating even the angels attacking her.

Hesitate. Hesitate.

The angels who approached her stopped their attacks and trembled.

Due to the Order from the Ring of Light Net that included Archangels, they didn’t completely come under Hanna’s command, but they likely couldn’t attack her immediately either.

“It seems we’ve split the dominion over angels in half. With this…”

Naturally, the power of the angels she half-dominated also began to flow into Hanna’s Ring of Light Net, gradually expanding her own Ring of Light Net.

Hanna didn’t stop and even realized the reversal of Punishment.

“…Submission: Namaste.”

A higher miracle of salvation that embraces even the opponent’s sins and leads them to submission, instead of punishing with heavenly punishment.

After such a reversal was realized, the speed at which she wrested angels from the opponent’s Ring of Light Net became much faster.

Thus, it was only a matter of time before Hanna evolved once more from an 8-Star Heavenly King to a 9-Star Heavenly Emperor.

Zzzt.

But perhaps this manner of transferring dominion over the angels became a problem.

Kugugugugugugugu!

From the main base of the Celestial Church of Radiance in the Heavenly Realm above the Holy Land Lumen, an enormous light erupted as if exploding, taking the form of a giant tree.

Judging by its form, similar to the Sephirot, the Authority of Adam Kadmon.

“Tetragrammaton…!”

It seemed the former Radiance Apostle of this era would personally step forward.