Chapter 232

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The family subjugation battle ended successfully, and before I knew it, a month had passed.

It wasn’t a short amount of time, but the Celestial Corps was still busy with the aftermath.

Although he was one of the key participants in the most important battle, Eugene wasn’t particularly interested in the follow-up measures.

To be more precise, it would be more accurate to say he didn’t have the luxury to care.

Eugene accepted the Commander’s offer without refusal. Learning from the strongest man in the world—there was no reason to refuse.

Eugene became the God of War’s disciple.

Although the God of War was too busy to focus solely on Eugene’s training, he took every opportunity to train him whenever he had time.

Even those brief training sessions left Eugene completely exhausted, rolling on the ground.

“Super regeneration? Oh, that’s a good ability. Truly useful. No need to hold back. Do you know? To fight well, you must also know how to take a hit. What? Sounds like nonsense? Haha, you’ll understand once you experience it.”

Eugene was beaten. One-sidedly. Bare-handed. He was beaten so hard that even falling down felt slow.

He borrowed Leo’s supernatural ability to accelerate. He couldn’t see anything. It was hard enough just to keep up with the afterimages.

He borrowed Arin’s supernatural ability to sense danger. But it was always too late. By the time he sensed danger, fists were already raining down on his body.

He borrowed Frey’s supernatural ability to harden his body. It was just pierced through. What even is the use of hardening? The outside looked fine, but the inside was shattered.

The God of War truly showed no mercy. He struck as if trying to kill.

Maybe he really was trying to kill? Getting hit like that made his mind go hazy.

Without super regeneration, he would have died for real. Thanks to that, his regeneration speed improved significantly, but Eugene wasn’t happy about it at all.

Whenever he had a moment to spare, Eugene reflected on the God of War’s teachings. He analyzed the movements he had been shown and tried to land at least one hit next time.

Of course, Eugene’s attacks never reached the strongest man. Well, there was one time. He grazed him.

The God of War smiled with satisfaction. And then Eugene ended up flattened like gum stuck to asphalt.

‘He’s so kind to Alice. Couldn’t he spare even a fraction of that kindness for me?’ Eugene swallowed his tears internally.

Still, there were results.

The sweat he shed didn’t betray him.

In just a month, Eugene had grown unrecognizably stronger.

He had become proficient in handling his previously clumsy supernatural abilities.

Unlike a month ago, when he was still half a step behind the captains even when using all his abilities, he had now reached a level where he could confidently declare himself on par with them.

While his “realm” still lagged behind the captains, in terms of pure “combat power”, he had reached their level.

He had suffered so much that his breath smelled bitter, but Eugene never once complained.

His perseverance was something even the God of War admired. Most people would have run away under such harsh training.

The glory of being the God of War’s disciple wasn’t enough to endure the hellish intensity of the training.

Most disciples couldn’t last more than a month and would surrender and run away. The reason Kaen became the God of War’s top disciple was simple: she didn’t run away from the training.

Unlike Alice, whom he couldn’t bring himself to treat harshly, the God of War showed no mercy to Eugene.

Yet, Eugene endured it all. He steadily moved forward.

Ever since he lost Yui, Eugene’s obsession with strength had bordered on madness.

That madness became the driving force behind his achievements, which surpassed those of his peers.

After entering the academy and making friends, it had mellowed significantly, but a series of unfortunate events had reignited his past madness.

Eugene’s icy blue eyes burned coldly. There was a goal in front of him. The God of War. The strongest, invincible man.

All he had to do was stubbornly move forward. Until he could reach that strength someday.

‘If I push my body to the limit… at least I can forget my worries.’

He pushed his body until he couldn’t think of anything else.

When he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his mind went blank.

In those moments, he could forget about Lucia.

It had been a day since Lucia lost consciousness.

One day quickly became two, and two became a week.

A week turned into two, and before he knew it, a month had passed.

She remained deep in sleep.

There was no sign of her waking up.

Occasionally, she would let out a pained groan.

Eugene squeezed out every spare moment to visit Lucia’s hospital room whenever he had time.

Each time he opened the door, imagining her greeting him with a smile, he was always disappointed. Lucia’s eyes never opened.

As this repeated, his expectations gradually diminished.

‘What is the Commander’s relationship with Lucia?’

Eugene walked through the hospital corridor again today. The now-familiar scenery came into view.

He usually came with Alice, and today was no different, except for one additional member. They hadn’t come together from the start but had coincidentally run into each other at the hospital.

The God of War often visited the hospital. It was to check on Lucia’s condition.

The devil god Belial, who had taken over her body, still resided within her. To ensure the devil god didn’t awaken again, the War God periodically checked on Lucia.

But Eugene sensed that wasn’t the only reason.

Even Eugene, who was usually oblivious, had some intuition.

He had noticed the God of War occasionally asking about Lucia’s school life during training.

‘He said they had a past connection, but…’

The God of War walked ahead with a deeply contemplative expression. Was it really just a past connection?

Eugene had never heard Lucia mention knowing the Commander of the Celestial Corps.

No, given Lucia’s personality, even if she had a connection with the God of War, she wouldn’t have boasted about it.

“…”

Alice silently followed behind the two. The doubts Eugene harbored were the same ones Alice felt. The difference was that Alice had come up with her own plausible theory.

The God of War’s attitude toward the two was starkly different.

In everyday situations, it might not be noticeable, but during training, the difference was clear. Eugene was beaten one-sidedly.

The God of War preferred to teach through physical blows rather than explanations. It was crude but surprisingly effective.

In contrast, he was kind to Alice. Instead of the simple, brutal method of violence, he taught her step by step.

At first, Eugene thought it was because he had super regeneration, but over the course of a month, he had picked up information here and there.

The God of War didn’t discriminate based on gender.

Whether you had super regeneration or not, whether you were male or female, he treated everyone equally harshly.

The fact that Kaen was the only one to have completed all the training spoke volumes about its intensity.

Even Johan, praised as the Knight of Light, had retired midway.

So Eugene wasn’t special.

The one receiving special treatment was Alice.

Alice found the situation quite awkward.

Why couldn’t the God of War bring himself to treat her harshly?

Although the God of War had never explicitly mentioned it, Alice (Frey) was quick to pick up on things. The clues were already there. Alice quickly realized who the God of War was seeing through her.

He had been married before he was called the God of War. Had he not been able to forget even after over 100 years since her passing?

Honestly, aside from feeling burdened, Alice felt a little sorry for him.

‘Is Lucia… like me and Eugene, a descendant of the Commander?’

Or perhaps the descendant of an acquaintance.

150 years had passed. Countless connections had been made and broken over that time. If one of those many connections had continued all the way to Lucia…

Alice shook her head. It was just speculation. The truth was still unknown.

Even when asked, the God of War evaded the question.

Let’s ask Lucia directly when she wakes up.

Yes, if only Lucia would wake up…

“…”

Alice slumped her shoulders. Her blue hair swayed weakly. When would she wake up?

The God of War had said there was no threat to her life and that she would wake up soon… but it had already been a month.

Now, even his words were being doubted. Extreme thoughts crossed her mind—what if it was just a well-meaning lie to reassure them?

She pictured Lucia from that day.

A familiar face with an unfamiliar smile.

It was her, but it wasn’t her.

Even now, thinking about that time made her body tremble.

It was terrifying. Alice was afraid. She was scared of Lucia, who wouldn’t open her eyes, and she was scared that when she did wake up, it might not be her.

Before she knew it, they had arrived at their destination. A single-patient room at the end of the hallway. It was the room where Lucia had been hospitalized.

Although they had visited this room countless times over the past month, standing in front of the door always made them hesitate.

Would they be disappointed again when they opened this door? The experience of hope turning into disappointment always left a bitter taste.

“…Sigh.”

The God of War let out a faint sigh. He knocked on the door twice. As always, there was no response. As if expecting this, he placed his hand on the doorknob.

Click.

The doorknob turned. But before the God of War could push the door open, a soft voice greeted them.

“Oh, are you all here to visit me?”

It was a familiar voice.

A voice as clear and refreshing as a jade bead rolling on a silver tray.

The God of War—no, Yoo-seong’s head turned toward the direction of the voice.

Not just Yoo-seong, but Eugene and Alice also turned their gazes in the same direction.

The hallway they had just passed through.

A girl with golden hair, as if dipped in honey, was waving her hand.

Her damp hair clung to her slightly flushed face. Her pink hospital gown was quite disheveled.

Slightly wet, the loose gown clung to her body, outlining her chest, waist, and thighs. Adjusting the damp towel around her neck, Lucia hurried her steps.

“Hehe, you came at just the right time. If you’d come any earlier, it would’ve been awkward.”

That smile, that voice, even the small gestures.

All the things they had longed to see but couldn’t for the past month.

“So, I’ve been asleep for a whole month, huh? A whole month. I couldn’t even wash properly during that time, so I was worried I might smell. Luckily, I was able to use the shower and freshen up.”

The distance wasn’t far, so by the time her chattering voice trailed off, Lucia had reached them. The fresh scent of shampoo tickled their noses.

“Everyone, it’s good to see you again.”

“Hehe, did you miss me?”

Her sly smile as she asked that was.

As mischievous as a fox.

And as adorable as one.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Yoo-seong has the teaching method of a Spartan.

Because everyone else isn’t that great by his standards.

“It’s hard? Really? Why can’t you do this? Just do this.”

A genius doesn’t understand the mind of ordinary people.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Come to think of it, yeah, did Eugene inherit Super Regeneration or Immortality?