A day had passed since the god of nets and the three hundred followers they commanded vanished into thin air.
Bell continued to swing her sword. The sensation in her grip dulled to the point of numbness.
Her blue hair became drenched in sweat.
Brushing her hair back, Bell wiped her sweat with a towel.
A dark shadow loomed over Bell’s head.
She lifted her gaze.
“….”
She saw Duke Yuma looking down at her.
He had become a god, yet to her, he looked just the same as before. He must have been hiding his powers to appear that way.
Thinking this, Bell opened her mouth.
“You’re late, quite a bit this time.”
Six months.
Yuma knew Bell was referring to the long absence.
He delayed responding to her words and sat down beside her.
It was a bench set up for breaks in the training area.
“It’s okay. Cloney, Hestia, and Empress Brigitte… they all believed in you and waited.”
Bell spoke in a calm tone, as if it were nothing.
“So did I.”
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she said this.
Her pink eyes stared intently at Yuma.
Of course, while she said this, there were countless things she wanted to pour out.
A terrible sense of defeat washed over her.
The force Yuma had displayed yesterday.
That power made her distrustful of the sword she had wielded just moments ago— no, the sword she had wielded for a lifetime.
Worthless.
Powerlessness.
Yuma had a vague sense that Bell was beginning to doubt herself.
He felt the need to alleviate that anxiety.
“Your path wasn’t wrong, Bell.”
It couldn’t have been wrong from the start.
There was little chance that Bell could be mistaken about her sword.
She was the greatest talent Yuma had ever seen.
As Yuma became a god, that power became closer to reality rather than mere illusion, yet he still believed that in the end, the power needed at the last moment wasn’t his, but that of Bell, Cloney, and his other companions.
Yuma slowly raised his right hand.
He directed it towards Bell.
A red light flowed from Yuma’s hand.
[‘Bel’ receives [God of War’s Blessing].]
The same red light that manifested from Yuma’s right hand blossomed into the shape of a crimson flower behind Bell.
[Blessing—Godly Powers Granted]
It was a power that drastically enhanced the strength and speed—essentially, the overall physical abilities—of the being granted the divine power.
It was a power that sharply increased abilities.
The blessing bestowed by the gods.
It was more fitting to say ‘authority’ than ‘ability.’
Bel felt a surge of overwhelming sensation rising from her toes.
It was a power greater than when she received the blessing of Princess Brigitte’s [Royal Family].
A sensation from another dimension.
It felt as if she could do anything, an omnipotent feeling washed over her.
A red aura rose like a mirage from all over Bel’s body.
Yuma slowly began to speak.
“I’ve granted you my divine power. I believe in you, and you believe in me, which makes this blessing possible.”
Yuma raised his right hand and caressed Bel’s cheek.
There was no hint of falsehood in Yuma’s words.
‘Blessing’ requires mutual faith.
Other gods grant their divine blessings through the faith of humans or non-humans who believe in them.
In contrast, the [Blessing of the God of War] now granted to Bel, based on mutual faith, was inevitably powerful.
And the fact that Yuma’s divine name was the God of War was a great advantage for Bel.
The name.
In a way, a divine name has more influence on this world than the essence of the god itself.
God of War.
Granting blessings in the name of the God of War that Yuma had awakened was bound to have a powerful effect on martial artists who punch, swing swords, and thrust spears.
Yuma was drawing out the divine quality to the maximum extent.
As much as Bel’s body, forged into that of a Grand Sword Master, could handle.
“Try moving once.”
The red aura rippled all over Bel’s body.
Yuma continued to speak.
“I mean, show me your swordsmanship.”
Bel moved according to Yuma’s words. An immense flame erupted from her entire body.
She drew her sword from her waist.
Swish—
She swung the drawn sword.
Bel’s sword dance unfolded in the outdoor training ground.
Slice. Stab. Swing.
That series of actions repeated. A strange yet powerful, cold as a blade yet warm force swirled around her physical body, wrapped in red flames.
The [Blessing of the God of War] granted by Yuma led Bel’s body and spirit beyond.
Crash!
She stomped the ground.
Continuing to thrust her sword. The blue sword waves cut horizontally were layered with the red aura of divine power granted by Yuma.
What surprised Bel wasn’t the sharpened blade, but the overwhelming sense of physical elevation.
It felt intensely like shedding the limits of a human body, an experience that enveloped her mind.
Transcendence, a realm beyond.
It was what Bel hoped for and yearned to reach, yet she could never surpass it. The limitations inherent to the human race always held her back.
The inevitable limit that one must bear had always held Bell back.
But this time was different. The [Blessing of the God of War] bestowed by Yuma allowed her to transcend her physical form.
In a state of total immersion, Bell swung her sword, and before her eyes, she saw an apparition of familiar red currents swirling around.
‘No…’
Bell slowly shook her head internally. The figure extending the sword in front of her, surpassing her own reach, was a reflection of herself.
It was as if it showcased a more efficient sword path ahead of time. A sword path extended in a rhythm just a breath ahead.
The apparition continued to spar with Bell, stepping into the flow of motion a beat faster than Bell.
Bell could easily conclude what this apparition was trying to convey.
Find the best sword path.
If you can’t do that, then follow this path.
‘The essence of the apparition is me.’
A judgment Bell should have made.
Pulling that judgment from her mind and presenting it before her eyes.
Bell instantly pierced through the mechanism of the red apparition.
This [Blessing of the God of War] not only granted Bell immense power while maintained, but also bestowed numerous additional effects. Like showcasing the choices of sword paths ahead of time, or detecting enemies approaching from afar.
It was literally a blessing that maximized her potential as a martial artist.
For a moment, Bell beheld this new world.
‘With this kind of power…’
She could have possibly dispatched the demigod’s minions they’d previously fought tooth and nail against in a swift manner.
Bell made such an objective judgment.
Soon, the [Blessing of the God of War] completely faded from Bell’s body, much like a blazing campfire flickering out.
“…I’m sorry.”
Bell suddenly blurted out an apology.
“If only we… I had been a little stronger, we wouldn’t have even needed to become gods, right?”
Yuma was left speechless by Bell’s words.
Gods.
Indeed, why had they ascended beyond humanity to become gods?
Especially a god as brazen as the God of War.
Looking at the actions of the otherworldly beings who likely brought him here, it was probable they would eventually turn him into a god as long as he fulfilled his role properly.
To survive here, Yuma would have also chosen the path to becoming a god.
To protect Bell and Cloney.
Brigitte and Hestia.
And for all the other members as well; in the end, they would have become gods.
It was an inevitable outcome.
Yuma took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat-soaked face of Bell. Her pink eyes bore deeply into Yuma.
“Well, if I’m going to protect you all and drive those guys away, I might as well become a god.”
Bell raised her right index finger and poked Yuma’s cheek.
Poke… Poke…
“The idea of Yuma being a god… my lord becoming a god? Is this really happening? Seriously… Hah. But still, your cheeks look human enough.”
“Yeah, there’s no need to worship me unnecessarily.”
Bell slowly lowered her finger, gently grabbing Yuma’s chin.
She fixed her gaze and leaned in closer.
The mixed scent of Bell’s sweat and body fragrance hit Yuma all at once.
Yuma didn’t show any reaction to that effort-filled scent.
Bell’s pink eyes drilled into Yuma.
She slowly opened her lips.
“No, you’ve done enough to deserve some worship.”
Bell continued,
“Isn’t that better for you… as a god?”
Bell’s words weren’t wrong. One of the ways to increase the mythic power of the Intermediate World, as the deity had mentioned, was to multiply the faith in Yuma as the deity.
Bell thought while looking at Yuma, who was quietly listening to her words.
‘Should I take one step further here?’
Maybe kissing… would be excusable in my current messed-up state of mind.
Thinking that, she took another step forward.
She moved her face in quickly.
Poke…
Literally a kiss.
A very clumsy contact.
“Hah, whoops! I tripped!”
Despite that, Bell exaggeratedly waved her right arm, acknowledging how sudden her action had been.
In the middle of that awkwardness, a voice interrupted from the side.
“Yuma-nim, Bell unni.”
The black-haired, golden-eyed girl, Cloney, appeared.
Bell instantly made a blank expression and opened her mouth just a tiny bit.
“Did you see that?”
Cloney tilted her head, her black hair swishing.
“What?”
Her eyes were smiling brightly.
“I just felt a sudden powerful aura coming here. It seemed like Yuma-nim’s power.”
Yuma nodded slowly.
“…That’s right. Ah, Cloney, you should also receive my blessing.”
Cloney looked at Yuma with a bashful smile.
“I understand, Yuma-nim.”
Bell watched Cloney’s back as she approached Yuma.
The situation was so chaotic that she couldn’t even tell who was around when that happened.
She couldn’t even grasp Cloney’s intentions behind those smiling eyes.
‘W-well, maybe she really didn’t see it?’
Bell thought, sitting on the bench and letting out a small sigh.
