Chapter 796

Chapter 796

[He still has a long ways to go.]

Sword God Ares muttered, clicking his tongue as he watched the close battle between Davey and Eclipse from a distance. He observed as Illyna seized an opportunity to restrict her movements and ensure Davey's safety.

[You said it yourself, Davey—too much is just as bad as too little.]

It was truly impressive to see Davey manifest his Predatory Assimilation characteristic. In fact, the potential of his characteristic was on par with that of Hercules, the greatest hero in the hall—when considering the potential alone, it was hard to say which was superior. But at least based on the current situation, Davey's power seemed to be even more efficient than Hercules’s.

However, unlike the fully developed Hercules, Davey was still like a wet chick that had just hatched from its egg.

[What could a fledgling chick like you possibly pull off?]

Davey’s ability of complete absorption and conversion was limited to his mana, currently. It was still difficult for him to consume and transform both divine power and the power of taboos, and ultimately make them fully his own. He knew he’d likely face significant challenges, and that rashly making an attempt would bring obviously disastrous results in this fight.

[Then I guess it’s time for me to do my part.]

Ares spoke calmly, light gathering in his hands, the entity that had been with him for so long being embodied by the light.

[Caldeiras.]

[Is it my turn?]

Of course, the fake Calediras didn’t have an ego. Well... It did, but it was just a fake ego that mimicked the personality of the original Caldeiras as Ares remembered it. That was all.

A strange rift appeared in the clear, empty sky.

[I can’t present Davey to you just yet.]

Ares spoke calmly, smiling at the yellow eyes beyond the black rift.

[I can’t kill you either.]

But he knew that at the very least, he could kick them out.

With a leisurely smile, Ares stepped lightly into the air.

Thump...

At the same time, an intangible shock wave spread out, and in an instant, an enormous number of sword energies cut through both the sky and the ground.

***

As his Predatory Assimilation characteristic ate away his power of taboo and merged together, Davey felt a new sensation. Until now, he had used the power of taboo sparingly. It wasn’t originally his; he had it transferred to him, so there were limits to how effectively he could use it.

The unique feature of the power of taboo he possessed was just something distorted, something he hadn’t fully mastered yet. But now, things would be different. By consuming this power and making it into his own...

“Gaa?!”

The Predatory Assimilation that had been consuming the power of taboo suddenly lost control out of nowhere.

Madness didn’t occur if Davey completely absorbed and made the power his own. But now, even though he had extracted the power of taboo and transformed it, madness surged within him.

“Cough!”

He rolled on the ground, coughing up blood as he opened his eyes.

‘Ah... I guess I can’t eat it and completely transform it yet...’ he thought.

It made sense. This was the power of taboo that even superseded the authority of a god. He figured it wasn’t something he could easily make into his own.

Davey felt an intense sense of intimidation pouring from Eclipse, who was now furiously rushing toward him. He had taken a severe blow after giving Eclipse a slight opening. If he hadn’t covered himself with divine power, he knew he wouldn’t have only been going through excruciating pain—he would’ve been preparing for resurrection.

“Davey!” Illyna shouted. Realizing he was in bad shape as he struggled to his feet, she quickly moved to distract Eclipse’s attention.

- Get lost, puny one.

A cold voice echoed directly in her mind, and she was thrown back as if struck by an invisible force.

‘She has a will?’ Davey thought.

He couldn’t believe it. The Eclipse he had faced so far was nothing more than a demonic dragon that had lost her mind since her power had been restricted to extremes. But now, the fact that she was speaking meant...

‘He raised the difficulty level. Damn it!’

Forcing himself to suppress and seal the rampaging power of taboo again, he slapped his cheeks to get himself together. He had no intention of enduring that terrible pain again.

Taking a deep breath, Davey locked eyes with Eclipse, who was approaching like a predator toying with its prey. He opened his mouth to speak.

[Absolute Dragontongue]

[Stop.]

Thud!!

- Dragontongue?!

As Eclipse was stunned by the ancient dragon’s power, Davey didn’t hesitate. He quickly scooped up the bleeding and groaning Illyna, getting them out of there.

Normally, when an opponent was weakened, one would fight them a bit longer than increase the difficulty. But here, the difficulty had been forcibly raised without warning. Davey figured Ares was just trying to mess with him—he’d been through something similar before. But this time, it felt different. He suspected it might be a sign that time was running out.

Since Eclipse was an illusion, once he was out of her range, she would flail around a bit before going back to her dormant state. With that in mind, Davey quickly moved out of range to check on Illyna.

Illyna tried to get up but her leg was broken, making it impossible for her to stand. Her bones were fractured in several places, and blood stained her pale skin, making her look awful.

“You really pushed yourself too far,” Davey muttered.

“Ouch... It hurts so much...” Illyna said as Davey carried her back to the cave.

He gritted his teeth as he realized that completely consuming his divine power or power of taboo and making it his own was still out of reach.

***

Davey still had some resulting insights. He realized that he needed more absorbed power to transform the power of taboo, and that he could speak Dragontongue. He could also use holy power just as he used Eclipse’s mana—at his disposal.

“Ouch! Can’t you just heal it by making it disappear?” Illyna whined as she was receiving treatment on a rock.

“Don’t be a baby. Holy magic is effective, but your body’s natural healing will slow down if I use it,” Davey replied.

Illyna pouted at his response. She was wearing only tattered pants, covering her chest with her hands facing away from Davey.

It was a miracle she’d survived Eclipse’s attack, especially considering that she had regained over half her strength and had manifested a will.

The fact that Davey had to account for not just her physical abilities and breath attacks now but also Eclipse’s Dragontongue and magic made him not want to think about the training that awaited him.

“Aaaah!! It hurts!” Illyna cried as Davey cast healing magic on her deeper wounds and carefully applied medicine to her other injuries.

“It’s unfortunate I can’t just treat myself and save the trouble.”

Illyna had learned some medicine from Davey in her spare time, but treating oneself was always difficult even with the knowledge of how to treat others.

“Eclipse’s restrictions have been lifted,” Davey informed her.

“Lifted?”

“Didn’t you notice? She regained her reason. Unlike before when she was out of control, she’s fully aware now.”

“...”

“So, before I get married...” Her voice wavered. He could tell she was nervous—she was smiling, but he knew she was feeling anxious inside.

Just then, the Sword God Ares appeared out of nowhere, intruding on the moment.

[Davey, there’s a saying of biting off more than you can chew. You’re fearless, trying to consume the power of Hercules. I brought in experts to... Oh, bad timing.]

Ares had appeared out of nowhere, interrupting their moment. But he quickly turned around and floated away.

[You do you. By the way, aren’t you my son-in-law? My daughter’s husband... That means you’re definitely my son-in-law... but you’re the husband of my descendant... You’ll be my son-in-law through my descendant too? Hm, what should I call you? Hey, c’mon, don’t let my intrusion ruin the vibe! I’ll just come back in a few days, so no need to mind me!]

Illyna and Davey stared blankly at the cave entrance as Ares left, momentarily stunned by the odd interruption. But then, Illyna pushed Davey back down as he tried to get up.

“Davey.”

“Hey, stop messing around.”

“I have a favor to ask,” she said softly.

“I’m not going to listen,” Davey replied firmly, sensing her desperation. He knew she wasn’t thinking straight at the moment.

After a pause, Illyna finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper. “Please at least just give me a hug, just this once.”

“...”

“It’s okay if it ends as a one-night stand. I won’t hold you responsible, and I won’t make any excuses,” she pleaded, her smile weak and trembling.

“I won’t tell anyone about what happens here. I’ll keep it a secret to myself until I die.”

Despite the smile on her face, her words felt like a cry for help. Without saying a word, he slowly reached out and flicked a button on her dress shirt. Well, he supposed it was his dress shirt anyway.

“Kya?!” Illyna shrieked, instinctively backing away and covering her chest with her hands.

“Stop messing around when you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Just as Perserque had promised him that she would commit to one person, he knew it was only right that he would do the same. He also knew that he had already broken that promise after meeting Aeria.

“...”

He then asked as he saw Illyna just look down helplessly.

“Why would a noble princess like you want this?”

“Do I need a reason to like someone?”

“...”

Davey couldn’t find the words to respond.

“Do you not like me because I’m small?”

She was indeed small, but that wasn’t the issue he was having.

“How about you calm down for now and we can think about this later,” Davey said, trying to defuse the situation.

[Are you done yet?]

“When did you come back?” Davey asked.

[I was giving you space, but you’re being a fool.]

“Your daughter is my wife. Why are you doing this?”

[I need to respect your decisions. But here, take this.]

Ares handed Davey a large gourd canteen.

“What is this?”

[It’s a new drink Dokgo Jun made after you left.]

Davey could feel the strong scent.

[For the next week, I’m not letting you fight against Eclipse.]

“What?”

[You don’t seem to realize how unstable the mana inside you is right now. If you push too hard, you’ll end up dying, you idiot. The more urgent things feel, the more you need to slow down.]

Davey fell silent, recognizing the truth in his words.

[That alcohol is medicinal. It’ll help stabilize your body.]

Without flinching, Davey took a gulp of the alcohol.

Thump!!

In an instant, half of his mind slipped away, and he collapsed.

‘What kind of alcohol is this...’

The drink was insanely strong. He’d tried strong alcohol before, but this... This was something else entirely. Poison usually didn’t work on him, but this was intoxicating in a way that felt beneficial to his body, unlike poison.

‘Holy shit... This is pretty strong...’

As Davey was trying and failing to keep himself together, his cloudy mind heard Ares hand the gourd to Illyna.

[My descendant. Drink up too.]

Illyna hesitated but eventually took a sip.

And then,

Thump.

“Hehehe... Davey... I like you...”

She also became drunk and stretched out beside him.

Afterward, Ares approached Davey again, waving his hand in front of his face.

[You two are gone. Ugh, how strong is this stuff? I told him to just add a moderate amount of recovery effects, but he made some firewater. What to do now. It’s not like I can carry them elsewhere.]

His voice faded as Davey completely lost consciousness. When he finally woke up, feeling surprisingly refreshed, he found a little blonde girl sleeping soundly in his arms.

“...”

Davey’s eyes widened in shock as he realized that he was looking at her pure white skin.

“Ouch... My head...” Illyna groaned as she woke up, clutching her head. As she slowly came to her senses, she looked around with a dazed expression.

When her eyes finally met Davey’s, her usual cold expression turned into embarrassment, but her eyes were fixed on his body.