Chapter 543

Heavenly Barrier.

According to Rotholandus’s explanation, it was originally a massive barrier that divided the Heavenly Realm and the Mortal World, reinforced with the power of six gods.

It was a grand plan to prevent the beings of the Heavenly Realm from interfering with the Mortal World and to weaken the power of creatures strengthened by divine blessings.

“If completed, it would have perfectly separated the two worlds, forever blocking any interference. In a world where no god could intervene, all races would have been weakened to the point where even the strongest among them couldn’t stand against a hundred soldiers.”

In other words, it wasn’t completed. The world Elpinel and Carolus envisioned was one where even master-level combat power couldn’t exist.

“Was there some kind of problem?”

“The power of six Holy Grails alone wasn’t enough to complete the Heavenly Barrier. So, His Majesty planned to perform a ritual at the highest peak of the Sky Mountain Range to create a seventh Holy Grail. He intended to use the divinity within the Holy Sword and his own soul as a sacrifice to create a new divine artifact.”

After finishing his explanation, Rotholandus narrowed his eyes and looked at me. His gaze was almost glaring, filled with an inexplicable intensity.

“The Heavenly Barrier plan was one of the Empire’s highest-level secrets. Cutting off the connection between the gods and the Mortal World would have provoked outrage among all races, and even among humans, many would have opposed it.”

“Why?”

“Because the world most of the weak desired and the world a few of the strong desired were different. The blessings of feats were also divine gifts, so if the connection to the Heavenly Realm were severed, they too would become ordinary people.”

Right. If the power of feats disappeared, that would have been the case.

Even with the experience and skills of a knight, without the power of feats, they would have been stronger than others, but facing hundreds or thousands alone would have been a dream.

“Those who pursued their desires over the greater good wouldn’t have been pleased. That’s why fewer than twenty people, including us, knew about the Heavenly Barrier.”

Well, back when we were all slaves, it might have been different, but by the time the six Holy Grails were recovered, humanity’s dominance was already established.

With no risk of becoming a slave race, it was only natural that more people would seek personal advancement.

What Carolus and the Twelve Knights were trying to do was essentially taking away everything from them for the sake of the future.

“However, how they found out remains a mystery… When we reached the highest peak of the Sky Mountain Range, there were already visitors hiding there. We had only anticipated the movements of the Empire and other races, but not the black-haired ambushers from the distant eastern tundra.”

…Wait a minute.

Black-haired visitors from the east? Could it be…?

“Yes. They called themselves Ka`har. Savages from the eastern continent, a wasteland inhabited by rock giants and earth dragons. Each of them was a warrior comparable to the Realm of Heroes and also a magician with strange and mysterious spells.”

…It’s Ka`har. It’s a bit unusual that they were both warriors and sorcerers.

Did Ka`har not have a culture that despised sorcerers back then?

“We didn’t notice them and began the sacrificial ritual… We were ambushed during the ritual. An unexpected attack. The Holy Sword fell into the valley below the Sky Mountain Range, and we had to face the enemy while wounded.”

Rotholandus let out a short sigh.

“Moreover, their numbers were more than five times ours, and their leader was a truly transcendent warrior. A man who called himself ‘Death of the Sky.’ A warrior and magician with such a fearsome aura that he might as well have been a demon in human form.”

Death of the Sky. That’s quite a grand name.

Comparable to Hersela, who was called a Heavenly Demon.

‘Wasn’t that your ancestor?’

[ ……Surely not. If Ai-shan Gi-or’s ancestor had been a sorcerer, they would have been wiped out long ago. ]

Even Hersela herself seemed unsure. Her tone, usually confident, lacked conviction this time. Yeah, you think so too, huh?

“After a fierce battle, we managed to defeat them… but His Majesty was severely wounded, and with the Holy Sword lost, creating a seventh Holy Grail became impossible. With enemies still coming, we had no choice but to retreat to the capital, carrying our wounded comrades.”

So that’s why the Holy Sword is beyond the Sky Mountain Range. It was lost that day. One of the mysteries from the original work has been solved.

“Our dream ended there. His Majesty gradually weakened from wounds that even the Miracle of the Saintess couldn’t heal, and we too began to age. The Heavenly Barrier, which should have been completed with the power of seven Holy Grails, remained unfinished.”

…Now I understand why he was glaring at me. Back then, Ka`har wasn’t just plunderers; they were the ones who ruined humanity’s grand plan.

—

Overwhelmed by emotion, Rotholandus fell silent for a while.

Respecting his feelings, I didn’t press for more and just puffed on my cigarette smoke. Knowing the truth, I could understand how gentlemanly he had been towards me.

If something like that had happened, his resentment towards Ka`har would have been bone-deep. It must have been absurd for a Ka`har mixed-blood descendant to show up.

It wouldn’t have been strange if he had cursed and berated me on sight.

But Rotholandus’s reaction was only slight confusion and rejection. Far from lashing out in anger, he even acknowledged me as his successor.

Apart from the dark history carved on the tomb walls, his attitude was so noble that he could be called a model knight.

After a while, when about a third of the cigarette had burned, Rotholandus, having composed himself, began the rest of the story with a deep sigh.

—

After returning to the capital, Carolus and the Twelve Knights performed the Ritual of the Heavenly Barrier with only six Holy Grails.

Though they didn’t achieve their ideal, once the barrier was fully established, it would become difficult for the gods to intervene in the Mortal World, and the existing strong would also be significantly weakened, solidifying humanity’s dominance.

“Olivier calculated that it would take about a hundred years for the Heavenly Barrier to fully envelop the world. Whether his calculations were correct, we couldn’t know, as we died before then.”

So, after Carolus and the Twelve Knights passed away, the Heavenly Barrier completed, and the world’s limit was fixed at the master level. Hundreds of years have passed since then, so now humans believe that the master level is the human limit. Valenstein’s words were true.

He once had a fit, saying that despite decades of training, he couldn’t reach the Realm of Heroes because of Elpinel. Strictly speaking, Elpinel, Carolus, and the Twelve Knights were all accomplices.

Anyway, after completing the ritual, Carolus and the Twelve Knights sealed the empty Holy Grails deep within Alhebron and built this tomb to warn future descendants who might reach this place.

“What kind of warning?”

“If the Holy Grails were used to create the Heavenly Barrier, they could also be used to destroy it. Elpinel left a final revelation that the Heavenly Barrier would be broken before the Empire’s history reached a thousand years. Your arrival here is proof of that.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Destroying the Colossus alone is impossible without reaching the Realm of Heroes. The fact that you are here facing me means the Heavenly Barrier’s power has weakened to the point where it can no longer prevent the birth of heroes. As we feared, someone has started using the Holy Grails to break the Heavenly Barrier.”

…So the lifting of the level cap wasn’t a natural phenomenon.

Considering the principles and significance of the Heavenly Barrier as explained by Rotholandus, the ones who benefit the most from this are the Empire’s enemies.

Which means… if we find the one misusing the Holy Grails and recover them, we can prevent powerful monsters like dragons from appearing in this world?

“Then find them. Find the enemy of humanity who stole the Holy Grails, destroy them, and recover the Holy Grails. As the Knight of the Oath.”

Rotholandus solemnly advised. The Heavenly Barrier has already started to break, but we must do everything to prevent it from breaking further.

“If you can’t find them, prepare. Prepare for the flames of dragons that will scorch the earth. The return of monsters that will shatter mountains and freeze rivers. The armies of other races seeking to reclaim their former glory. The voices of gods hostile to humanity.”

The second warning was almost a prophecy of the latter half of the original work.

A future where heroes alone cannot stand against the powerful enemies that will appear one after another, and death in the tens of thousands becomes routine.

“That is the warning Knight of the Oath Rotholandus leaves for you.”

With a quiet conclusion, Rotholandus’s spirit began to fade.

Like a burnt-out candle, his disappearance was near.