Evading the Hero’s Party with Full Effort

Chapter 199

Ch.199 Huh? What’s wrong?  

The blue light faded, revealing only a vast wasteland.  

“Huh? The Demon King’s fortress is nearby, right?”  

At my question, Leah nodded.  

“Yes, but it probably won’t be visible to the eye. We teleported a bit away to avoid getting swept up by that reckless magic.”  

True—given that spell’s power, keeping distance made sense…  

“But if we can’t even see it… can we really hit it?”  

The biggest issue: without sight of the fortress, accuracy was doubtful.  

“Ah, don’t worry! I’ll use Fly spell. But wait—if that attack destroys the Demon King’s fortress and the Heaven Gate doesn’t appear, what then? What if the whole gate gets obliterated?”  

Caught off guard by Leah’s unexpected concern, I stammered.  

“Huh?”  

“If it’s portal-based, such strong magic could tear it apart! Or is it actually a physical door, like the Gates of Hell?”  

“It’s a door.”  

Defeating the Demon King on his floor always spawned a door atop his corpse, along with his horn.  

Unlike the Gates of Hell—carved with countless fragments—this Heaven Gate was pure white, as I recalled.  

“Hmm…”  

What now? Do we really have to go inside and kill every single demon one by one?  

The Demon King’s fortress was enormous—scouring it thoroughly with just the Hero Party, Nephert, and Selena would be wildly inefficient.  

Plus, sticking together was necessary in case powerful demons appeared.  

Finding the Heaven Gate could be difficult.  

Then—a flash of inspiration struck.  

Wait… if destroying the Heaven Gate also breaks the Gates of Hell…  

Why not shoot first? If the Heaven Gate doesn’t open, just destroy the Gates of Hell too!  

The more I thought, the more worthwhile it seemed.  

No real downside to trying.  

Even if the Heaven Gate shatters, great—and if we accidentally stumble upon it, even better.  

“Alright. Let’s try it.”  

At my words, everyone around me looked worried.  

“But what if the Heaven Gate gets destroyed?”  

“Father Hans… are you sure? If the Heaven Gate breaks, we can’t close the Gates of Hell…”  

“Is that really true?”  

Though deeply concerned, I shook my head firmly.  

“If the Heaven Gate’s destruction means we can also break the Gates of Hell, that’s not bad at all.”  

Destroy both gates, then wipe out any demons in the human world with Equality—problem solved.  

“If the Heaven Gate doesn’t appear, we’ll head straight to the human world, destroy the Gates of Hell, and eliminate the demons. They’ll try returning here, but without the gate, they can’t go back to their original world.”  

I’d heard demons had only recently entered the human world—  

before they’d spread across the entire Old Continent, wiping them out would be trivial.  

If the gate remains intact, we just use it to ascend to Heaven.  

Either way, there’s no downside for me.  

“R-really?”  

“Hans?”  

Everyone looked incredulous, but time was critical.  

“We won’t lose much by trying—after all, we have divine powers.”  

I raised Equality as proof. Mia asked cautiously:  

“If the Heaven Gate breaks but the Gates of Hell don’t… what then?”  

I shrugged.  

“Then… it’s over.”  

“Eeek! Master! Isn’t that too irresponsible?!”  

“Yeah! Hans, that doesn’t sound right!”  

Even Selena, sweating nervously, tried to stop me.  

“No—this is our only option. Scouring the fortress will take too long, worsening the situation. I’m certain about this.”  

Logically—why do both Heaven and Hell Gates exist?  

Because they can’t be destroyed.  

Even the gods couldn’t break them, so they merely sealed them.  

In this world, the gods cherished the human realm above all.  

If they truly loved humanity, why leave the Gates of Hell intact—allowing demons to slaughter humans and seize the world?  

Knowing how monstrously powerful those demons were, sealing the gate was insufficient.  

I was certain: for some reason, the gods cannot destroy the gates.  

My companions exchanged uneasy glances.  

I urged Leah:  

“Go on—use Fly spell.”  

Leah’s eyes narrowed, as if wanting to argue—  

but she sighed.  

“Sigh… fine. I’ll trust you again.”  

“Right? Trusting me never backfires.”  

“I guess I have to. If we fail, we’re all done for… Ugh… I thought we just had to stop the God of Death’s seal from breaking… What is this now? Fly!”  

She waved Vallien’s Staff—our bodies slowly rose.  

“I’ll ascend quickly.”  

No sooner had she spoken than we shot skyward at high speed.  

Soon, the group below became indistinct specks.  

She pointed.  

“There—it’s that tiny dot.”  

Following her gaze, I spotted a small structure on the vast plain.  

“Ugh… that’s too small to hit! No way.”  

I pulled a scope for Equality from my Spatial Bag and attached it.  

—Click!  

At the sharp metallic snap, I signaled Leah.  

“Ready to start?”  

“Go ahead.”  

I opened Equality’s cylinder, set it, cast a minor Fire spell, then canceled it.  

Watching the fleeting flame vanish, I immediately removed the Sage’s Pendant—  

now my body held no magic.  

Wearing the Goddess’s Wedding Ring, only divine power remained.  

I aimed the scope at the Demon King’s fortress.  

Much clearer now—  

though still small, at least it wasn’t just a dot.  

I pulled Equality’s trigger.  

A beam of light shot from Equality, piercing the earth.  

I fired repeatedly—  

to ensure total destruction.  

Multiple beams struck the ground, erupting in blinding radiance that lit Hell’s dark sky.  

Then…  

—BOOOOM!  

A thunderous explosion rocked the land—  

a massive shockwave and dust cloud blasted outward.  

Dust and wind swirled into a colossal mushroom cloud soaring skyward.  

Someone tapped my armor.  

“Huh?”  

Leah’s lips moved, but her voice was drowned out by the continuous booms.  

She kept mouthing words—inaudible.  

Then, a fierce gale and thick dust slammed into us.  

Ah… is this what she meant?  

I urgently grabbed Leah, shielding her—  

worried she’d plummet from the wind’s force.  

“Kyaaaah!”  

Only after the explosion settled did her voice finally carry:  

We were hurtling toward the ground, swept by wind and gravity.  

“Fly! Fly!”  

Leah cast Fly, but the gale was too strong—our fall didn’t slow.  

Ah…  

I quickly wrapped my arms around her, turning my back to the ground.  

Then…  

—THUD!  

We hit the earth.  

Unharmed, I checked on Leah.  

“Leah? You okay?”  

“Ugh… my head hurts. I’m gonna be sick…”  

Dizzy from spinning in the wind, she retched.  

Then…  

“Blegh!”  

Leah vomited onto my armor.  

***  

The Succubus Queen infiltrated the Papal Palace, gathering intel on the Ark of the Covenant.  

It took time, but by slipping into the dreams of cardinals and high paladins, she pieced together its location.  

“Hidden underground… no wonder it was hard to find.”  

Learning the First Papal Palace had concealed the Ark in deep subterranean chambers during its construction, she headed to the cathedral’s basement.  

Paladins stood guard at the stairs descending underground.  

They tried to stop her.  

“Sister… only authorized personnel may…”  

But they never finished.  

—Squelch!  

A chilling sound echoed.  

—Thud… thud…  

Their heads rolled to the floor.  

“Now… let’s begin.”  

The Queen lifted her voluminous nun’s habit—  

hundreds of stunning women poured out.  

Each breathtakingly beautiful, yet dressed in scandalously revealing outfits.  

Hundreds emerged from beneath a single dress—impossible to believe—slipping into the shadows of the stairwell.  

“Hmph… better find it quickly.”  

Humming, she strode down the stairs, hoping her minions would locate the Ark swiftly.  

Endless stairs…  

Finally, at the bottom, a massive labyrinth appeared.  

A path through the maze known only to cardinals and high paladins.  

Since she’d only glimpsed fragments of the route in dreams, she clicked her tongue in frustration.  

“Tch… still not found?”  

She advanced into the maze.  

***  

“Wow? Cleanly destroyed, huh?”  

The Demon King’s fortress—now rubble.  

The once-towering structure lay in shattered ruins.  

Mia examined the debris coldly.  

“But… how do we find the Heaven Gate? It’s probably destroyed at this point.”  

“It shouldn’t be. It must be here somewhere.”  

Everyone scanned the ruins.  

“How do we even search this?”  

Selena stared blankly at the wreckage.  

Given the fortress’s immense size, the debris field was staggering.  

“You didn’t seriously think the gate might be buried under rubble, did you?”  

At her reproach, I shrugged.  

“I didn’t think—but we have options. Leah?”  

She grumbled at my call.  

“Always me! Fly.”  

As her incantation ended, debris floated into the air.  

Using Vallien’s Staff, she began clearing the Demon King’s ruins.  

This should reveal the Heaven Gate.  

Vallien’s Staff truly is broken—  

normally, clearing debris this vast would be impossible due to its sheer weight.  

But since the staff uses no magic, she could effortlessly lift it all.  

While clearing debris…  

—BOOM…!  

—BOOM…!  

A rumbling echoed from underground.  

“Huh? Earthquake?”  

Do earthquakes even happen in Hell?  

As I wondered…  

—KABOOOM!  

The earth split open—  

a monstrous beast emerged.  

“The Demon King?!”  

“You! Adversary!”  

Seeing me, the Demon King’s eyes burned with murderous intent.  

I yanked out Equality.  

“Keep it down—your voice is annoying.”  

Aiming Equality nonchalantly made him flinch.  

“You…!”  

“Long time no see. But what to do? Guess I have to kill you the second I see you.”  

My taunt twisted his beastly face.  

“I’ll resurrect endlessly—and so will my army! Did you think you’d remain victor forever?”  

“Dunno… seems like I will.”  

I pulled Equality’s trigger without emotion.  

—Click.  

Huh? What’s wrong?  

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