Ch.158Closed-Door Training Is Dangerous (1)

After that, there was nothing difficult.

I steadily chipped away at Bargante’s power without summoning undead, and in the end, Bargante couldn’t even put up much resistance against me.

“How amusing. You call yourself a warrior?”

A true warrior is one who always straddles the boundary between life and death.

Given such characteristics, I thought he would surely be a threatening opponent to me, but surprisingly, Bargante showed no signs of putting up a fight.

And after pondering deeply, I soon realized the reason.

“You’ve lived quite comfortably until now, haven’t you?”

Being too strong was the problem. That’s why he lacked experience in facing devastating defeat and confronting death.

If that was the case, there was no way he could inflict a fatal wound on me.

Despite calling himself a war god, he was merely a half-baked warrior.

“Well, I suppose they sent someone like him just to test the waters.”

“…Are you mocking my honor!”

“That’s just the reality.”

At this point, there was no need to maintain a defensive stance.

With an expression full of annoyance, I waved my hand and began to push Bargante to end this match.

Whoosh.

Slash!

“This will be over in 10 seconds.”

“Kugh…!”

Bargante’s face contorted with frustration, but that changed nothing.

Eventually, the match was decided, and my hand pierced through Bargante’s heart, engraving complete death into it.

Squelch!

Splash—!

Splattered blood and divine power losing its form lifelessly.

Standing in the middle of it all, Bargante finally froze with a blank expression, unable to move.

“……”

Right after that, Bargante’s previously calm atmosphere began to change.

Not just the atmosphere, but his very nature was completely different from before.

“What’s going on?”

“…I have been disrespectful. But it’s already too late.”

The situation changed in an instant, as if he had recovered lost memories.

Despite coughing blood, Bargante looked at me with a much calmer gaze and took his stance.

Crack.

Whoosh.

“Your opponent is a fearsome and dangerous being. And those who will come in the future are the same. Remember this strike.”

In his eyes, there was no longer any trace of the awkward and arrogant god. Only a true warrior who had experienced countless battles was staring at his enemy.

Bang!

Finally, Bargante’s fist extended once. And with that final act, he seemed to have used all his strength as he embraced death.

In the midst of this incomprehensible situation, I glanced at my arm where pain was beginning to surge.

“…It’s broken.”

And that wasn’t all.

My regenerative power, which normally heals even moderate wounds immediately, wasn’t functioning, and other healing techniques weren’t working either.

It meant that at least that final strike had definitely reached my core.

“Master!”

When the battle ended, Song Hayeon and Camilla, who had been watching, approached me.

I retrieved Bargante’s body and moved toward the portal that had formed.

Thinking about the message Bargante had tried to convey, and its meaning.

#

“So, in the end, this guy was a victim too?”

“Looking at the situation, it’s clear. He must have been defeated and had both his power and memories stolen by that being.”

I thought it was strangely sloppy for someone boasting to be a 3rd-tier god, and sure enough, Bargante wasn’t in his normal state.

It meant that he too was a victim who had lost everything after being defeated in war.

“So they’re divided into two groups on their side as well?”

Gods like Tindalus who follow him willingly with their tails between their legs, and gods who have had their power and memories completely stolen and are treated like pawns.

Looking at how things were unfolding, that was the only conclusion I could draw.

Shin Doyun nodded at my words and spoke again with a somewhat darkened face.

“This confirms that he is at least a 1st-tier deity,”

“You’re 100% sure?”

“It’s impossible for a 2nd-tier. Only they can do something like this.”

It meant that the worst assumption had proven true.

Shin Doyun sighed and continued.

“We need to move quickly. So, what did you think of facing a 3rd-tier deity directly?”

“It wasn’t much, but since his power was stolen anyway, it’s not really a fair comparison, is it?”

“I’m talking about his final strike.”

If it was that, it was certainly worth evaluating. And I had already analyzed Bargante’s strike—the one he delivered after regaining his senses—countless times in my head.

“As I expected, 2nd-tier gods will be dangerous.”

The difference between Tindalus and Bargante is already this significant.

Inevitably, 2nd-tier gods will possess a gap much larger than the one between those two.

“I’ll fight if they cross over, but I can’t guarantee the result.”

“…I thought as much.”

In truth, both Shin Doyun and I knew well that wanting more than this was just greed.

However, facing this reality still left a bitter taste in our mouths.

“How many deities of that caliber do you think they have on their side?”

“I don’t know. But considering they used a 3rd-tier as a throwaway card, optimistic estimates are difficult.”

At this point, the reality was clear.

The enemy didn’t specifically send Tindalus and Bargante to deal with Shin Doyun and me.

They simply used them as sacrifices to raise the energy concentration on Earth because they couldn’t yet dispatch stronger opponents.

They used beings who had reached godhood as mere sacrifices. The overwhelming confidence contained in that single fact made my brow furrow involuntarily.

“…How much leeway do they have to be able to do something like that?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps even at this very moment, their territory is expanding somewhere in another dimension, and their forces are growing as well.”

“When you put it that way, it really seems like there’s no answer.”

Shin Doyun had said he would complete the vessels for hunters and grant them powerful abilities using divine beings as materials, but that only makes sense if both sides have roughly equal forces.

If the enemy possessed overwhelming power, all that awaited us was a devastating defeat.

Having crossed the line between life and death numerous times and overcome death, I felt a strong intuition in this moment.

“…This won’t do. We need something more.”

“But there’s no suitable method, is there?”

“That’s what we need to figure out from now on.”

Excluding the hunters who would be completed as vessels for divinity, and excluding Shin Doyun who was the god of Earth. We had to find possibilities somewhere beyond that.

After thinking for a long time, there was only one conclusion I could draw.

“I have to do it.”

“…What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?”

“When I think about it, if we exclude all of them, only I remain, right?”

Regardless of whether it was feasible, this was the only method that came to mind.

I need to become stronger than I am now.

And, inevitably, I must.

“Next time someone crosses over, you handle it.”

“As I’ve said many times, I have other things to…”

“I understand. Don’t contact me for a while.”

I left immediately and went to find Serejia who was at home.

“Come with me for a bit.”

“Where are we going?”

“Never mind that, just hurry.”

After all is said and done, among everyone, Serejia knows me best and has the knowledge to match.

So I took Serejia with me and created a training space using the seal of the netherworld in a remote mountain area.

Having seen it before in Thebes, Serejia tilted her head and asked me.

“Are you planning to train? But why me?”

“Even a blank sheet of paper is easier to lift with help.”

“I think it’s ‘blank sheet’ not ‘blank sheet of paper’.”

“…You’ve really become a local. Is that important right now?”

This was what people commonly call secluded training.

I imposed a restriction on myself not to leave this place until I found a clue to growth, no matter what.

Of course, the same applied to Serejia.

“No, why me of all people!”

“Solutions usually come when you’re desperate. So help me think.”

“This is madness. You’ve already reached such a level—there’s no way an answer will just pop out easily.”

Facing such a Serejia, I changed my expression to a serious one and spoke.

“I know that too, but if we can’t do this, it’s all over.”

“…Is the situation that serious?”

Seeming to finally notice the gravity of the situation, Serejia also adopted a serious attitude and changed her gaze.

“In the end, whatever it takes, we have to succeed, right?”

“That’s right.”

“…Well, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve faced something like this.”

Serejia wore an expression that somehow seemed nostalgic as she sat down across from me, resting her chin on her hand and falling into thought.

That’s right.

I had gone through similar agonizing processes several times before.

And it was always because I found answers through those processes that I am who I am today.

‘…It’s not an impossible task.’

Just once. Finding just one clue from now on would be enough.

Surely that would change the tide of war, and new possibilities would unfold before us.

I glanced at Serejia’s concentrated expression, then quietly closed my eyes and sank into countless thoughts.