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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 351: Peace (2)
"Ooh, is this finally the Celestial Realm?"
Ketal's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
He had guessed that he would be invited to the Celestial Realm after defeating the Demon King.
He was curious when it would happen, but it came sooner than expected.
"There’s no time to descend to the surface, but the gods have said they can invite you to the Celestial Realm and host you there,"
Helia explained calmly.
"How do I get there? Do I have to fly directly toward the lofty heavens myself?"
"That won't be necessary. Everything is already prepared,"
Helia replied nonchalantly.
Helia was the bearer of divine blood, the only being on Earth who carried the lineage of the gods.
Her divinity allowed her to create a path to the Celestial Realm, though such an act was a profound blasphemy, and no one on Earth was deemed worthy of setting foot there.
"But for you, there shouldn’t be any problem."
Ketal, who had remained unharmed even after receiving the power of the Pantheon, would surely be fine in the Celestial Realm.
Helia asked,
"What do you wish to do?"
"Are you asking for my answer?"
"...No. That was foolish of me."
Ketal's eyes shone like a child’s; there was no chance he would refuse.
Helia shook her head, realizing her question was unnecessary.
"Then let’s prepare right away. Please wait a moment."
"Understood,"
Ketal replied, laughing heartily as he stepped back.
Serena, who had been quietly listening beside them, murmured,
"The Celestial Realm… So Master is going there."
"Indeed. Would you like to follow?"
"No,"
Serena replied, shaking her head in alarm.
"I like it here. I have no desire to go to the Celestial Realm and risk being captured and reclaimed by the gods."
"I doubt that would happen, but suit yourself."
A little later, Helia called for him, and they headed to the sacred church.
"From here, we’ll send you to the Celestial Realm."
"Is it alright for you, a saintess of the Sun God, to handle matters in another god's church?"
"The gods aren’t that petty,"
Helia replied lightly, kneeling and folding her hands in prayer.
"Then, let’s begin."
"Alright."
Helia began her prayer slowly.
Kiiiiing!
Intense divinity gathered, so powerful that those outside restoring the sanctuary paused in awe.
The divinity took shape, encircling Ketal.
"Creating a path to the Celestial Realm, for a being of Earth to ascend,"
Helia intoned softly.
With her words, the divine power formed a pillar, piercing through the church’s ceiling and ascending to the sky.
Kiiiiiiing!
The heavens were breached.
Beyond the opening, a dimension entirely different from Earth came into view.
"Ah…"
Earthly beings realized what it was—the Celestial Realm.
Instinctively, they bowed, their foreheads touching the ground, assuming a posture of absolute reverence toward the gods.
"Oho! It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a sight,"
Ketal remarked, entirely unaffected, laughing as he looked at the Celestial Realm.
Helia, slightly fatigued, spoke.
"I said I would send you there, but achieving this is beyond my power. The rest is up to you."
"Understood,"
Ketal replied, planting his foot firmly.
Crunch!
The ground beneath him cracked and twisted.
Boom!
Ketal launched himself skyward, shattering the carefully restored church.
Using the pillar of light as his foothold, he climbed higher toward the opening in the heavens.
Finally, he grasped the edges of the breach and forced his body through.
At the end of his climb, Ketal arrived.
The dwelling of the great gods.
The Celestial Realm.
"So, this is the Celestial Realm,"
Ketal murmured, unable to suppress his amazement.
The Celestial Realm was a space of mirrored dimensions, a world cloaked in shimmering reflections.
Something akin to clouds illuminated the realm, but it did not obstruct visibility.
Everything shimmered and yet did not, a chaotic mix of light and rainbows, yet each object remained distinctly visible.
"Fascinating,"
Ketal remarked, finding it difficult to describe in words.
If hell was akin to an inferior version of a white snowfield, then the Celestial Realm felt like an entirely different existence.
One thing was certain.
"It’s magnificent,"
Ketal declared, utterly satisfied.
As he reveled in the splendor, a voice called out to him.
[Is that your impression of the Celestial Realm?]
"To think you’ve kept such a beautiful sight all to yourselves. How selfish."
[That’s a first. The monster within you cursed this place, calling it a garish, chaotic mess.]
[Gaudy, vulgar, and irritatingly bright. If this isn’t chaos, what is?]
The monstrosity within him mocked.
Ketal laughed, looking toward the source of the voice.
It radiated an overwhelming brightness.
The Celestial Realm was already brilliant, but this being outshone everything.
It was like the sun itself.
To gaze directly upon it would mean blindness—a sensory overload upon the world.
Of course, none of this affected Ketal.
[You already know who I am, I presume.]
"Naturally,"
Ketal replied, smiling.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sun God."
* * *
The mighty and exalted Sun God.
The most dominant deity on Earth.
Ketal had encountered his influence more than once.
The Sun God spoke softly.
[This is not our first meeting.]
"Now that you mention it, that’s true."
The Sun God had first observed him in the Barkan territory when his inquisitor, Aquaz, sought to confirm Ketal’s identity.
Back then, the Sun God’s feelings toward Ketal had been a mix of curiosity and bewilderment.
[Back then, I contemplated whether to destroy your existence or not. To seal and confine you, ensuring you'd never interfere with this world again.]
"Is that what it was?"
[But in the end, I chose not to interfere. You were acting as if you were merely a human in disguise. I decided to observe instead.]
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"And? How did that turn out?"
Ketal asked with a beaming smile.
[It was the right decision. It was the best judgment I’ve made since my inception.]
"Thank you for saying so."
[I’ve come to see you to express my gratitude. Thank you for helping my child. As a god, I offer my respect.]
With those words, the Sun God withdrew.
[That concludes my business. The rest is up to Kalosia. I’m counting on you moving forward.]
"I’ll do my best as well."
Ketal replied lightly.
The presence of the Sun God receded, while Kalosia’s presence drew near.
[You’ve arrived.]
"Nice to see you. So, it’s you again? Aren’t the other gods coming?"
[It’d only cause confusion if too many of us showed up. Since I’ve spoken with you the most, I’ve been chosen to represent the heavens in this matter.]
"I see."
Ketal clicked his tongue in disappointment.
He had hoped to see a variety of gods, but learning that wouldn’t happen left him feeling a bit let down.
[Well, to be honest, they just shoved the responsibility onto me.]
"Shoved it onto you?"
[Even the gods are unsure how to handle someone like you. Normally, something as ancient as you would be excluded, sealed, and cast into a Forrbidden land. But you’re different.]
"So they dumped it on the one who has met with me the most."
[I’ll be collecting a steep price for this favor.]
Kalosia chuckled.
Ketal matched his laughter and glanced toward the heavens.
"So this is the celestial realm."
[You said it was marvelous, but from our perspective, it’s nothing special. Just a dazzlingly shiny place, and that’s all.]
"Aren’t there angelic beings here?"
[There were such beings in the past, but they all perished during the war of Gods and Demons. The only ones left here now are the gods.]
"Then how do you handle things like meals?"
[We don’t. Our sole duty is to watch over the world.]
Ketal was surprised by that response.
It implied that the gods did nothing other than observing the mortal realm.
"That’s quite a devotion."
[It’s the reason we exist in this world.]
Kalosia spoke calmly.
[Protecting the world, maintaining order, and excluding demons—nothing more, nothing less.]
The gods were akin to a set of universal laws, existing eternally in the heavens with that sense of duty.
[That’s why we’re all grateful to you.]
Without Ketal, they wouldn’t have been able to fulfill their responsibilities.
[I told them to thank you personally, but aside from the Sun God, no one wanted to move. Those who know you said they’d thank you later. They’re an irritating bunch.]
"Shy individuals, I see."
Ketal chuckled softly and asked,
"What do you plan to do now?"
[First, we need to recover our strength.]
The gods had lost much of their power protecting the world and aiding Ketal.
They needed to restore it.
[Once we regain enough strength, we’ll seal the hell that descended upon the world. There shouldn’t be any major issues.]
The Demon King was dead.
The lords and hierarchical demons were also all gone.
What remained were, at best, named demons of superhuman level.
They couldn’t hope to stop the gods.
Ketal muttered in wonder,
"You’re not going to annihilate them?"
[We’d like to, but we can’t. They, too, are part of the world’s order.]
"Order?"
Kalosia began to explain,
[The heavens and hell were born simultaneously with the establishment of the universe's order, in perfect balance. They each represent their own order and concept. While one side can be weakened significantly, they must never be completely annihilated.]
"Like how light cannot exist without darkness. That kind of story."
[Something like that. Even if the Demon King had won the war, he wouldn’t have exterminated us completely. He would’ve left at least one or two gods alive.]
Weakened significantly, perhaps, but even a trace was enough to maintain the order.
The gods planned to push hell to the brink of extinction during this opportunity.
[Hell won’t be able to do anything for as long as the universe has existed up to now and beyond. It’s a very good outcome.]
Speaking cheerfully, Kalosia suddenly seemed to recall something and opened his mouth.
[As I said earlier, gods and demons were born equal after the universe's order was established. Thus, they can’t destroy each other entirely. However, there are beings that fall outside this order.]
Beings that contributed nothing to the world’s balance.
Those that existed before the concept of order.
Ketal nodded in understanding.
"The Forbbiden Lands."
[That’s right.]
The beings of the Forbbiden Lands were the oldest of the old.
Born before the establishment of order, they offered nothing to the current universe and only caused harm.
[They must be erased. Their existence needs to be wiped from this world. That’s why, in the distant past, we joined forces to expel them.]
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