Ch.154Shadow Duel Is Dangerous (4)

“Hup.”

In the seawater that engulfed everything around us, I waved my hand to summon several abyssal maws.

The seemingly endless seawater was quickly absorbed, allowing us to regain our freedom.

‘It definitely seems strong, but…’

Upon closer inspection, the feeling was quite different from before.

A formidable opponent, but not one I couldn’t defeat. Tindalus was likely just a subordinate rather than the mastermind behind this situation.

“I’ll hold them back, so focus on attacking.”

At my confident instruction, Serejia and the other two calmly gathered their strength.

The opponent clearly possessed divine status, but I too wielded power of that caliber.

“Seal of the Netherworld.”

Without holding back, I drew out all my power, causing dark blue mist to engulf the surroundings as a massive gate appeared.

From there, Charon the Ferryman of the Netherworld and Cerberus the Guardian Hound emerged one after another.

“As I’ve heard, you wield quite powerful death energy.”

“I’d say it’s more than just ‘quite powerful’.”

As I waved my hand, the dark blue death energy gradually consumed the surroundings.

This was Domain Declaration, one of the abilities of the Seal of the Netherworld.

“Undead call.”

Swish.

Puhwak!

Puhwahak!

With just one spell, undead in dozens of different forms began to emerge from places touched by the death energy.

Their numbers exceeded hundreds, then thousands, filling every direction.

Faced with the imposing sight of the frenzied undead army, Tindalus let out a sigh.

“To think a human possesses such power… it’s hard to believe.”

Then, his eyes gleamed as he began to draw out explosive power.

“Authority, Sea God Palace.”

“…Ugh.”

A tingling energy pierced my body. It was the same sensation I felt when I first encountered Tindalus.

And now, I could clearly understand what this sensation was.

‘Divine power.’

My instincts had been warning me because it was fundamentally a different type of power.

As Tindalus used his authority, various creatures emerged from the underwater palace, forming a magnificent army.

From trident-wielding naga tribes to massive sea dragons—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every monster that could inhabit the ocean depths was present.

The undead army and the sea monsters facing each other soon began what could only be described as a war.

‘…I’ve never experienced a battle like this, even in Thebes.’

I’ve used undead armies countless times, but I’ve never experienced a war of attrition on this scale.

Tindalus chanted various spells while wielding a trident imbued with power worthy of being called a divine artifact, and I, not to be outdone, drew out Kurdalia to strengthen my undead.

The clash between the two forces was essentially evenly matched.

“You look scrawny, but you’ve got some power, huh?”

“…Not yet.”

As Tindalus slammed his trident down, the sea creatures’ skin turned red as they entered a state of frenzy.

An extreme measure, thinking only of defeating my army without considering the consequences.

I smirked and asked him:

“What, will you get punished by someone if you don’t catch me here?”

“……”

“Pathetic for someone who calls himself a god.”

Whether he was a god in the past or not, he’s now just a dog with its tail between its legs.

And I will never lose to such a half-baked being.

“Open the path.”

At my command, Charon, who had been slaughtering sea creatures, stirred his oar and released an explosive burst of dark blue mist.

Toward the multiple paths created, Cerberus spewed hellfire.

Puhwahak!

Hwararururuk─!

Whether they possessed a hydra’s regeneration or a dragon’s skin, everything turned to ash equally before those flames.

Indeed, Tindalus’s army, despite being in a frenzied state, was burning without even having a chance to use their strength.

“…Such unbelievable power!”

As the carefully arranged battle situation collapsed, Tindalus frowned and unleashed his divine power at me.

“No more respect. From now on, I acknowledge you as an enemy and will strike you down by any means necessary.”

“…What?”

Ignoring my incredulous response, Tindalus swung his trident.

“Accept your eternal rest!”

Immense divine power erupted, sending surging waves and intense lightning bolts rushing toward me.

The scale was so vast that it felt like witnessing the end of the world.

Kwarurung!

Jjeojeojeojek─!

However, it wasn’t enough to capture me.

Volkenus and Nox, summoned through the Book of Death, released heat that evaporated the water, while Serejia and the other two redirected the lightning.

And amidst all this, I smirked and raised my finger.

“I can do something similar.”

“What…?”

“Authority, Death Sentence.”

Pasasasak─!

In truth, I just added the word—it wasn’t an authority or anything of the sort.

However, I could confidently say it had power no less than Tindalus’s authority.

“Heueoeoek…!”

Struck directly by my curse, which drew upon the power of the Netherworld, Tindalus’s large body trembled as he let out a pained groan.

His eyes were already bloodshot like those of a sick person, and his skin was cracking, losing its original form.

“This is your home turf. Can’t you use more power?”

“Kueuuk! Authority, Triampephitalanus!”

Tindalus filled his trident with his last divine power, transforming it into a massive chariot that charged forward, but it no longer had the momentum of before.

In the end, I easily devoured it by summoning the grasp of the dead, then slowly walked toward Tindalus.

“How frustrating. If only I could have used my full power…”

“So, I’d like you to tell me who your master is.”

“…That is impossible.”

“Then we have nothing more to discuss.”

Seogeoek!

Charon swung his oar, and Tindalus’s head flew into the air.

It was a pathetic end for the Sea God who had proudly announced his name.

“Well, now there’s only one left.”

Hudson, who had been hiding and watching the battle between Tindalus and me, began to back away with a shocked expression.

“How, how could this happen? They assured me it would be enough…”

“I don’t know. Maybe if they had prepared one or two more at a similar level, it might have been different.”

Of course, even then, I had no intention of going down easily.

“Can’t you talk either, like this guy? If not, I’m just going to kill you.”

“Keuut. Don’t make me laugh! I didn’t come all this way to be defeated by the likes of you. I must return to their side…”

“Another disposable piece.”

Seogeoek!

Cheolpeok─!

With another gesture from Charon, Hudson’s head rolled on the ground.

In truth, I had already examined his soul while talking to him, and he was already prepared to cut ties.

He was truly a cautious one.

‘Still, eliminating their pawns isn’t a bad thing.’

As the battle concluded perfectly, I sent back the Seal of the Netherworld and gathered all my power.

Then the pain in my shoulder that I had been ignoring began to irritate my nerves.

“…Ugh.”

“Teacher! Are you alright?”

“Just a scratch.”

Though I didn’t show it during the battle, Tindalus’s lightning was not an attack I could easily ignore.

While it’s true that I won without much difficulty, it could have been dangerous if I had made a mistake.

‘He was stronger than I expected.’

Honestly, this was my first direct confrontation with gods, so I’m not sure, but Tindalus was certainly not an easy opponent.

If there exists an enemy with even stronger divine status, it might not be as easy to achieve victory as it was this time.

‘They can already send opponents of this caliber?’

Shin Doyun said it wasn’t yet at a level to worry about, but the situation seems concerning.

They might have gone to extraordinary lengths to capture me, but that’s too optimistic an assumption.

“…Let’s go back.”

For now, I needed time to recover and regroup.

Meeting with Shin Doyun to establish a precise strategy would come after that.

‘There must be a way somehow.’

Still, being able to perform well against an enemy of this caliber was a tangible achievement.

I’ve definitely become stronger than before.

The anguish and joy I experienced while rebuilding my power from scratch, and the battle with Gildeon, gave me insight.

Even beings with divine status are no longer opponents I cannot face.

‘I’ll just sweep them all away.’

Thus, I will restore Earth to its former state and continue my new life.

That was the clearest goal I had right now.