Duke Yuma sat down, focusing on the consecutive introductions of the three survivors from the Skyworld continent.
Next to him was Bell, sitting blankly against a massive tree.
“…Feels like something just happened, doesn’t it?”
Bell pondered the fleeting events that had just taken place.
After the introduction of Kiryev, the Join Tribe Half-God, the next to introduce herself was Kesylvia, the Lycanthrope. With a blend of fear and awe, Kesylvia stared at Yuma.
“I am Kesylvia! A Lycanthrope! Half-God… um, maybe just barely!”
Even with the wolf’s head on her and speaking so cheerily, it just wasn’t cute enough.
The Elf, Seiavern, slowly opened her mouth.
“High Elf… Seiavern. I use a sword.”
Yuma looked at Seiavern, the Elf warrior. She had her eyes closed, but strangely, he felt a distinct gaze upon him.
The Mystic Eye.
Seiavern’s Mystic Eye, having reached the level of a Half-God, was akin to clear sight, as she could sense everything through ‘aura perception’ and ‘transcendent senses’ as if her eyes were wide open.
Yuma pointed at Seiavern with his chin.
“Do you know me?”
Seiavern slowly shook her head.
“You don’t know, but the one you killed does.”
Yuma, with a blank expression, asked back.
“Who is it?”
While doing so, he was having another thought internally.
“Am I going to have to fight again?”
So annoying.
Seiavern’s voice reached his ears.
“The Sword God, Chronos. He’s someone I’ve exchanged blows with before.”
Sword God Chronos.
Yuma instantly recalled; he was the first opponent from whom he received a reward for achieving an accomplishment.
The previous Ten Champions recognized as powerful by the system.
Yuma questioned again.
“Were you friends?”
Yuma’s inquiry about whether he was friends with a human seemed a bit unrealistic, but Seiavern didn’t question that point.
Seiavern spoke up again.
“No, it was just a duel… and I haven’t met him since. A brief connection.”
Yuma sighed in relief that he probably wouldn’t have to deal with troublesome matters.
“So why are you guys here? To become gods or something?”
Kiryef, the Join Tribe Half-God, answered Yuma’s question firmly.
“Well, not really. I’m fully aware that I can’t become a god.”
Kiryef scratched his head.
“A Half-God can’t become a god. The line between being a Half-God is really vague, you know. No one acknowledges you as a god. You’re just stronger than the average mortal, that’s about it…”
Yuma surveyed the three living beings again.
“Are all Half-Gods gathered here? Seems like there’s something unique to this Skyworld continent.”
“Looks like something’s going on.”
Seiavern nodded at Yuma’s words.
“The total amount of energy floating in the air is more than in the Intermediate World. It’s probably comparable to the amount in the Divine Realm where the Celestial Beings are said to live.”
Kesylvia shook her wolf head and spoke loudly.
“There’s enough strength here for everyone to give each other a good thrashing, so it’s a pretty decent environment for honing our skills!”
Yuma understood why so many demigods had gathered here. And why, despite roaming the continent considerably, he only encountered demigods who were like minions of the gods.
“Minions.”
Yuma thought of a way to utilize the ones beside him who were clearly stronger than Bell.
“When the time comes to enter the Divine Realm, I thought it’d be possible to gather everyone.”
His gaze lingered on Bell.
“Bell and Cloney.”
Cloney was currently at a level insufficient to be appointed as a minion, but Yuma was convinced that she would one day stand beside him when entering the Divine Realm.
Only those two. He was sure that those were the people he could gather.
But now there was a possibility to increase that number right before his eyes.
Yuma immediately got to the point.
“Are you willing to repay your life debt?”
Join Tribe Kiryev blinked in surprise.
“Life… debt?”
Seiavern gazed intently at Yuma.
“Are you saying that because you saved us from the god you just killed, we should repay it?”
Yuma took a step forward.
“That’s right.”
“Ugh….”
Seiavern let out a light sigh and then spoke again.
“What kind of repayment do you want?”
Yuma candidly stated his intentions.
“I’m going to kill a god. I’m going to the Divine Realm.”
A chilling silence fell.
No one spoke. The three of them were tight-lipped. They needed time to mull over what Yuma had just said.
Yuma continued.
“So, I need some useful subordinates.”
Kiryev mumbled again, still dazed.
“Useful subordinates… Are you talking about us?”
“Yep.”
With Yuma’s firm answer, silence returned once more.
This time, it was Kesylvia who broke the stillness.
“W-what happens if we refuse? Y-you’ll kill us?”
“That’s right.”
Yuma, who had spoken first, continued.
“I hadn’t really thought about the possibility of refusal.”
Seiavern narrowed her eyes.
“Indeed. You hadn’t even considered the chance of refusal, since it’s obvious that one should naturally not refuse if they want to keep breathing.”
But even that level of thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
I’ve never really thought about that.
Instead of clearing up the misunderstanding, Duke Yuma decided to say something that might sound sweet to them.
“Isn’t the reason you continue your training in this continent floating in the sky to break the limits of mortals? Isn’t that your ultimate goal?”
Ssss…
Yuma gathered divine power in his right hand.
He wasn’t quite sure how to use it offensively, but it was definitely possible to show it as a formality.
Yuma shifted his gaze to Bell, who was sitting with her back against the massive tree.
“My apostle, Bell, has become stronger with divine power.”
Bell suddenly widened her pink eyes and stared at Yuma when he mentioned her name.
“So, if you all become my apostles, I believe you can step towards a higher state.”
Seiavern sighed.
With her eyes closed, she said, “I clearly desire a higher state, but it’s not something I wish to obtain through others. A warrior of your caliber should know that.”
A question mark floated in Yuma’s head.
He had never pursued such a thing. But as a god of war, he couldn’t just say that honestly.
The history of worshipping the strong.
That’s how he earned the name of a god.
Yuma continued speaking with a dry expression.
“After all, you all are here to break the limits of mortals, right? Yet, you must all be aware that you have already reached the limits you can achieve by your own power.”
Kesylvia’s eyes went wide. The fierce eyes of the wolf bore into Yuma.
“That’s true, but I’m not convinced! I’m not sure that becoming your apostle would really help me break through the wall in front of me!”
Suddenly, Bell, who had been sitting next to Yuma, shot up.
“I’ll show you how strong you can become as an apostle!”
Blue flames erupted from Bell’s sword.
Yuma looked at Bell, who had suddenly decided to help him.
Bell, standing up for him. But it would be problematic if she randomly challenged someone to combat. Even with the power of an apostle, she could still be defeated.
‘That elf or Join Tribe member is a bit concerning.’
[Lv.389] Seiavern
Race: Elf
Class: Swordsman
State: Demigod
The only suitable opponent would be the lycanthrope, Kesylvia, who hadn’t fully reached the demigod level.
Yuma sent a mental message to Bell, a power he could use as a god for his apostle.
[Aim for the lycanthrope, not the elf or Join Tribe.]
Bell understood what Yuma’s mental message meant without difficulty.
‘So, that wolf is the one I’m supposed to aim for!’
With a grin, Bell aimed her sword at the lycanthrope, Kesylvia.
“Bring it on! Gray wolf!”
Kesylvia’s wolf head trembled.
“Uh, g-gray wolf?”
Clearly in shock, she even started shaking her legs.
Kesylvia’s eyes transformed into that of a predator hunting its prey.
“I am the bloodline of the great Lycanthrope Lord and a being who has completely surpassed the limits of my species… To think you would dare associate me with such a lowly creature just because of this head!”
Kesylvia was genuinely furious!
Bell muttered blankly at her anger.
“Uh, you’re quite smart.”
Bell and the demigods, including Yuma, found it even more fascinating that Kesylvia could objectively understand why she was linked to a mere wolf.
KABOOM!
Kesylvia stopped talking. She stomped the ground hard and charged forward like a storm.
A white light of divine power spread across Bell’s entire body.
It was the divine power granted to her by Duke Yuma.
“Ugh…!”
Kesylvia’s brow furrowed intensely.
Pressure.
A strange fear that she hadn’t felt at all before Bell’s divine power sprouted flooded her.
Kesylvia grimaced and forced that fear away.
Red energy gathered in her hands. It looked as if two suns were born in each of her hands.
‘I must show a clear gap in power…!’
With that thought in her head, she had no choice but to strike with heavy attacks.
The red energy kept growing and surged towards Bell.
A white heat flowed into Bell’s eyes.
It was an opening that she wouldn’t have seen had she only relied on her own strength.
A blue blade of energy pierced through the space between the two suns.
Kesylvia’s heart sank as she faced the oncoming attack.
‘If I get hit directly—’
She didn’t know what would happen.
She yanked her charging body back. The two red orbs in her hands were twisted from close-range attacks to long-range ones.
WHOOSH!
Two gigantic flames flew toward Bell, who was firmly planted on the ground.
The shadow cast at Bell’s feet curved like a crescent moon.
Bell’s divine form scattered like a ghost.
BOOM!
The red energy attacks merely smashed into the unfortunate ground and vanished.
CRUNCH!
Bell clenched her teeth and soared into the air.
KABOOM!
At the targeted spot was Kesylvia.
The two collided in mid-air.
Kesylvia’s right fist clashed with Bell’s sword.
Once.
Twice.
The exchanges continued, and with each moment of that fierce battle, the heavens screamed as if they were being torn apart.
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