Chapter 84: Gods’ Bar, Valhalla

“……”

Golden eyes, filled with light, lock onto me but it’s different.

Just a moment ago, that gaze had been as intense as the sun itself, but now, all that intensity has vanished.

All that remains is emptiness.

“…What swordsmanship is this?” Lost in that emptiness, he asks me.

And I answer him simply, “Slash.” 

“Slash?” His eyes widened in disbelief.

The emotions in those eyes are distrust—and rage.

“How could a mere slash…”

“That’s exactly why you lost.”

“……”

A mere slash.

Most people would think so.

A slash is something anyone can do as long as they get into the right stance.

It’s nothing more than a fundamental technique anyone can perform but that’s where they’re wrong.

‘Rather than a person who has practiced a thousand techniques once, fear the one who has practiced one technique ten thousand times.’

That was the teaching of my master, who played a decisive role in my understanding of the secret behind the slash—its true essence.

I met him in the early days, right after I was dimensionally transferred to the Gritia Continent.

He was nothing more than a lowly mercenary who hadn’t even become a Knight.

Born with a body that could not control aura, he could never have reached the realm of a Knight, even if the opportunity had come.

Yet, he was a top-tier mercenary, a rank only those who could wield aura could achieve—and he had even defeated Knights in battle.

How?

It was all due to the weight of his accumulated experience.

Unable to handle aura, he relentlessly honed his skills.

Ten thousand times, a hundred thousand, a million, ten million times.

He practiced the slash every day without rest, perfecting his technique until he could perform the most flawless slash.

Even without aura, his slash exuded a murderous energy, as if it could cut down a mountain.

That’s how he managed to defeat Knights, who scorned him for being unable to use aura, calling him a cripple.

‘Imbue your will into the slash. No matter what it takes, create inevitability—the certainty that you will cut down your foe!’

The inevitability of slashing down the opponent, no matter the means.

That inevitability was embedded in my master’s slash.

The slash I just performed was a secret technique born from his teachings.

A sword of inevitability, transcending the realm of mere slashing.

A secret art that even my master had not perfected, now manifested—and it cut through the waist of the First Hero.

“You didn’t even grasp the true essence of the slash, you half-wit.”

Talent?

What’s terrifying about me isn’t some inborn talent.

It’s the intent and killing will that can even crush such talent.

Those crushed by talent will never understand the gap between us.

“This can’t be…”

Still unable to accept that he was defeated by a mere slash.

His body turns into dust of light, scattering into the air.

And then—

– Flash!

An overwhelming light, the same as when he first appeared, fills the hall.

When I open my eyes again—

“….”

There was nothing.

The sky, which had once embodied the will of the gods in the wake of Velator’s betrayal, had cleared up, returning to a bright and cloudless day.

And then—

‘I’ve grown stronger.’

I could feel it.

The influence of the Goddess of Light—her power had diminished significantly.

It was inevitable.

‘She forcibly intervened in the world. The descent of a being like the First Hero must have put a huge strain on her.’

Summoning the First Hero, who had been staying in the Palace of Light, was an action that greatly disturbed causality. 

Even on the Gritia Continent, such interference in causality always came at a steep price but to do that here, on Earth, where a god’s influence was still weak—the price was a tremendous loss of divinity.

Of course, if she’d managed to eliminate me, her main goal would have been achieved but she failed even at that. 

Not only did the Goddess of Light lose the First Hero, she lost a huge portion of her divinity as well, and despite paying such a price, she still failed to get rid of me.

It was nothing but a huge loss for her but for me, I had achieved my intended goal.

I’d faced the current age’s Hero and the First Hero, and I’d even gained a useful subordinate in Manuvia.

However—

Something felt off.

The reason was what I learned from this encounter with the Hero.

‘He was clearly intent on eradicating the Demon Clan. No matter how I look at it, he didn’t seem to have anything to do with Salmora.’

Until just a moment ago, I’d thought Salmora had resurrected the Hero.

After all, Salmora possessed the knowledge to bring back the dead, and the ability to put all that knowledge into practice but from the Hero’s attitude just now—

‘He clearly had no idea. His intent to eradicate the Demon Clan was real, too.’

If he were working with Salmora, he would’ve obviously cooperated with the Demon Clan.

Yet, even when faced with the onslaught of the Demon King’s Legion, he didn’t hesitate to move against them.

That proved that what I knew was not the truth.

‘What is really going on here?’

The direction I’d been so sure of suddenly feels lost but I soon pushed the thought aside.

Direction?

Sure, there are things I can’t predict—but so what?

Anyone who challenges me.

Anyone who holds enmity toward me.

Anyone who shows me killing intent—I’ll eliminate them all.

If I do that, then, just as in the past, I’ll be able to raise the banner of my will, my intent.

If I focus on what I need to do right now, eventually, I’ll reach the end.

So what do I need to do now?

***

‘Retribution for the foolish Goddess of Light.’

A human daring to punish a god.

Some might call it arrogant, but not at all.

I’ve already done such a thing in the past.

I brought about the Twilight of the Gods, completely erasing their influence from the continent and it would be no different here, on Earth.

There is only one way to break the cycle of Hero and Demon King of Light and Darkness.

Destroy the source of it all: the gods of Light and Darkness.

Once, I thought that was impossible.

It made sense—after all, how could a mere creation (and the God of Light, at that, was the creator of mankind) destroy its own god? 

It was a taboo, an unfathomable act but I didn’t give up.

After killing the Hero, I became their target.

If I couldn’t succeed at slaying a god, I would surely die, so I desperately searched for a way and what I found was as mentioned before—the loss of faith and belief, and—

‘The appearance of a divinity greater than theirs.’

For a mere human to kill a god, the process and the requirements are nearly impossible.

But what if it’s another god?

Gods are no different from humans.

They, too, have a history of bloodshed.

A divinity kills another divinity and seizes that glory.

A former chief god falls and becomes a common deity, or a god of storm and thunder suddenly turns into a demon.

That’s the war of the gods, the history of their victories and defeats.

A mortal must prepare enormously to slay a god—but a god does not.

Gods can destroy each other whenever they wish but is there any god who could kill the Goddess of Light, the supreme deity since the beginning of time?

The God of Darkness, who stands on the opposite side, might be able to—but he’s in cahoots with the Goddess of Light.

In fact, among all the divinities, none possess the power or influence to kill the Goddess of Light.

Even in this current situation, where her influence has waned from summoning the First Hero, it’s the same.

But if none exist—

‘Then I’ll create one.’

Just as I once did, to destroy the gods of Light and Darkness.

To that end, I was now moving busily.

“Whoosh!”

Flying across South Korea like a bird, searching for something.

I couldn’t be certain they were here but the odds were high.

The world was already dominated by the Demon Clan.

The rest of the world had been duped by the Hero’s honeyed words into worshiping the Light (of course, once they learn the Hero is dead, they’ll scatter again).

That’s why the only place untouched by the influence of Light and Darkness was South Korea.

This was the realm of those who denied both Light and Darkness.

Thus, if there was anywhere to set up a base, it had to be here in South Korea, beyond the reach of their power.

So I spent a long time searching, stretching my senses wide to detect any trace of them, and finally—

“…Found it!”

I had located my target.

I didn’t know where exactly it was.

A signboard visible between deserted alleys.

A sign adorned with several overlapping circles, reminiscent of the Olympic rings.

Only a handful would know what that symbol represented and I was among that handful.

Passing through the filth pooled on the ground, I finally stood before the door beneath the sign.

But—

“Ssshhk!”

It was a bizarre domain.

Space distorted, as if viewed underwater.

‘Barrier.’

A barrier and a powerful one at that.

It might seem to be the work of an Awakened with a unique trait—but no it was the kind that could not be formed by an ordinary trait, only by divinity itself.

It was an area permitted only to those allowed access by a divinity, only to a select few.

“A weak will, nothing more.”

Even a barrier has its own grade.

Unless the one who created it is a supreme deity like the gods of Light or Darkness, there’s no stopping my intent to enter.

Just like now.

“Riiip—”

I stretched both arms wide and tore apart the barrier blocking my path.

“Crackle, crackle-crack!”

Sparks flew in all directions as the collision of will and divinity left residual power in the air, but I paid it no mind.

“Craack!”

My intent ripped apart the restrictive divinity and its domain.

“Shshshshshsh!”

At last, the truth was revealed.

A brown wooden door—rarely seen these days—appeared before me.

I crossed the threshold and stepped inside.

With the sensation of crossing dimensions, I arrived in a completely different space.

A dimly lit bar, soft music playing in the background.

The figures occupying the gently lit space were bizarre in the extreme.

A fairy radiating light.

“Clip-clop.”

A centaur, half-horse and half-human.

“Sssss.”

And even a spider-human, sitting and spinning silk.

At first glance, one might think it a den of the Demon Clan—but no.

‘Just as I thought!’

They were the ones I sought—the gods themselves.

The gods of Light and Darkness were on the rise.

It meant the direct intervention of the gods had begun but what about gods other than Light and Darkness?

Surely the world was not comprised of only Light and Darkness—shouldn’t there be other gods?

Of course, now that divinity had emerged on Earth, other gods existed as well but unlike the gods of Light and Darkness, who held sway, the other gods, unable to exercise their power, had banded together just to maintain their existence.

This was that place—the gods’ bar, Valhalla.

Naturally, everyone who set foot in here was a god.

Of course, not ones with such exalted rank as the gods of Light or Darkness, who possessed their own realms and mysterious palaces—these were, in a way, half-gods.

“……”

“…….”

The gods’ gazes turned to me as I entered Valhalla.

And soon—

“…A human?”

“How could a human…?”

Their eyes went wide, as if instantly realizing my true nature.

It was only natural.

No matter how weak a divinity had cast it, breaking through a barrier formed by dozens—no, hundreds—of combined divinities was unthinkable to them but I pay no heed to their shock and confusion.

I simply said, “I’m looking for a god who can put those arrogant gods of Light and Darkness in their place.”

Words that would be indelibly etched into their minds.