Passing through the door—
Pitch-black darkness greeted him.
But soon, the darkness began to fade.
Light gradually appeared.
What Rei saw was the dying crimson of a sunset.
And beyond it—
An endless field of bones stretching as far as the eye could see.
Atop a mountain of corpses stood a man with a rugged face, piercing eyes, and messy shoulder-length hair.
He held a massive battle-axe in one hand.
His upper body was bare, wearing only shorts stitched together from monster hides.
Every line of muscle on his body was perfectly defined—without a single ounce of excess.
"War God — Kaiga."
The moment their eyes met, a crushing thought surged into Rei's mind—
I cannot win.
But in the very next instant—
Battle intent erupted within his heart.
The defeatist thought shattered instantly and vanished like smoke.
No words were needed.
Just one exchanged glance was enough to understand the content of this trial.
You crave a battle, don't you?
Kaiga.
And you crave a defeat, don't you?
Rei slowly exhaled.
His gaze instantly sharpened with deadly seriousness.
If his life were in danger, his instinct would always be to ensure his survival first.
But if…
A battle was absolutely unavoidable—
Then he would fight with everything he had.
Layer after layer of shields rose around Rei, completely enveloping him.
After experiencing "The Secret History of Combat", Rei now possessed a far deeper understanding of the War God than before.
The enemy before him was no longer unknown.
But his strength was undeniable.
With his current level of spirituality, Rei could sense the aura of a Level 3 Warrior emanating from the other man.
The War God disdained winning through level suppression.
If he wanted to crush someone through raw hierarchy, using divine authority would have been far simpler.
Rei let out a cold laugh and spoke:
"So you want to prove that you've been invincible since the beginning of time?"
As the words left his mouth—
Rei's own aura began to rise.
Normally, Rei disliked wasting words in battle.
But the War God's presence was overwhelmingly oppressive.
Just speaking those words helped him release a breath he'd been holding.
He felt better.
The War God said nothing.
Standing atop the mountain of corpses, he simply looked down at Rei and crooked a finger.
Come.
Tch.
Arrogant bastard.
Fine.
If I defeat you—
Then it proves that I am the strongest.
I've been needing a benchmark anyway.
Something to confirm whether I'm truly invincible within the same tier.
Rei glanced around.
This battlefield—
It was the exact final scene he had seen within "The Secret History of Combat".
A sea of blood and mountains of corpses.
Conveniently enough—
It was also his home field.
Cracks split open in the air.
"Awaken the Void."
Void creatures descended!
Tier-4 Nation-Destroying summons surrounded the War God from multiple angles.
Rei moved!
Source · Instant White Flash
Whoosh—
A streak of light flashed across the battlefield!
Yet this time—
The Instant White Flash, which had never once been dodged before—
Was avoided.
Swish!
The War God appeared beside Rei almost as if teleporting!
He didn't even use his axe.
Instead—
His leg swept horizontally in a brutal kick!
Rei recognized the move immediately.
Sunbreaker Style — Third Form: Sundering Solar Sweep
During his resonance with the War God in "The Secret History of Combat", Rei had become familiar with most of his techniques.
"Come!"
Source · True Protective Barrier
Four layers of Source-empowered shields formed instantly!
Along with the fifty-six layers of shields already surrounding him!
Rei wanted to see—
Both of them were Level 3.
Just how powerful could this kick from the War God be?
Could it break through sixty layers of shields?
BOOM!
The kick swept through.
The four layers of True Protective Barrier shattered instantly upon contact!
Then the leg continued forward like unstoppable devastation—
Breaking shield after shield as easily as a hammer smashing through paper windows!
BOOM!
The final shield shattered like thin parchment.
You've got to be kidding.
He's actually this strong?
BANG!
Blood exploded into the air!
A corpse shattered into pieces.
At the same instant—
Deep Frost Bloom detonated.
Rei reappeared far away.
Every shield on his body had already been fully restored.
Yet—
None of them gave him even the slightest sense of safety.
Death Exchange.
Thankfully, the ground was covered in corpses…
Otherwise he would've needed to secretly bury a few bodies before the fight even started.
…
The dense fog had already spread.
Although Rei knew the War God possessed a Combat Ultimate, making the fog essentially useless against him—
He still expanded it.
The fog could block vision.
But more importantly, it served as an excellent conductor for water-element magic, assisting with ice spells.
Swish!
Without any warning—
The War God suddenly closed the distance again!
Instant Burst Gale (Tier-3)Water Barrier Ring (Tier-3)Great Wall Push (Tier-3)
In an instant—
Thirty-six repulsion spells erupted simultaneously!
They attempted to push the War God away!
Yet when the thirty-six spells slammed into his body—
He didn't move even an inch.
Unshakable.
Like an immovable fortress.
Weak point?
Rei scanned the man's body.
There wasn't a single flaw to exploit.
And the War God's attack had already arrived.
BOOM!
Another corpse was consumed.
Rei reappeared in the distance again.
The nearby corpses were instantly pulled into his storage space.
At the moment of the swap—
Hundreds of spells burst out simultaneously, their dazzling colors sweeping toward the War God!
But a blur of motion rushed straight through them.
While approaching, he casually smashed every spell blocking his path.
Rei could see the speed clearly.
But it was simply too fast.
He could see it—
Yet his spells couldn't keep up.
Only his casting speed allowed him to react.
BOOM!
Another close-range clash!
Barriers and shields shattered again.
Rei swapped corpses once more!
But this time—
The War God arrived almost the instant the swap finished.
His pursuit speed perfectly matched Rei's corpse exchange.
So this—
Is the Undefeated Warrior.
I really underestimated him.
But…
I'm not just a punching bag for you to beat on.
BANG!
Another corpse exploded!
Source · Dark Void Zone (Tier-4) (LV: 301)
Swish!
At the moment the corpse shattered—
The War God was trapped inside a four-sided cube of swirling black and color.
Dark Void Zone — Sensory Deprivation / Imprisonment / Cage / Perception Block
This spell had originally been Dark Vision, a Tier-3 spell Rei bought from the magic shop.
Your senses are sharp?
Then I'll take them away.
And then—
Source · Convergent Detonation — Sacrifice: 500,000 Souls
The Dark Void Zone instantly transformed!
It became a Convergent Explosion completely enclosing the War God!
Let's see—
If you're truly that indestructible.
BOOM!!!
The explosion detonated!
The entire sequence happened in one seamless chain.
The War God kicked Rei into a substitute corpse—
Then was instantly trapped in the Dark Void Zone—
Which immediately detonated.
As for when the Convergent Explosion formed?
The process was essentially instantaneous.
You're fast.
But I'm not slow either.
As souls surged—
A figure appeared before Rei once again.
Damn it…
He ate a 500,000-soul explosion and not only survived—
His attack momentum didn't decrease at all!
Swish!
The Buzzing Hunters also chased after him.
But the battle speed between the two was simply too fast.
Even these Nation-Destroying summons had no chance to intervene!
Fortunately—
The battlefield was filled with corpses.
Now that Death Exchange had reached Tier 2, it was no longer limited to corpses Rei himself prepared.
Every corpse on this battlefield—
Could be used.
This spell was truly incredible.
The real difficulty in casting it was the cost.
It required consuming souls equal to or greater than Rei's own spirituality.
Those kinds of souls were incredibly difficult to obtain.
Without Rei's Noble Soul talent—
He wouldn't even be able to cast it once.
Where would he find someone with higher spirituality to kill?
Even if he wanted to kill them—
He probably couldn't even find such a target.
Rei darted across the battlefield, repeatedly swapping corpses to avoid attacks.
At the same time—
He planted small tricks inside the corpses.
Mostly erosion and weakening effects, supported by Convergent Explosions.
Yet even a 500,000-soul detonation failed to inflict any noticeable damage.
If Rei hadn't awakened a Combat Ultimate, he might not have even detected the changes.
Yes—
The War God was injured.
But the damage was barely more than a scratch.
With the destructive power of Convergent Explosion—
A 500,000 soul detonation could instantly kill a Tier-5 Monarch-class monster if it hit a vital point.
Actually—
Even without hitting a vital point, it should still kill it outright.
Are physical attacks ineffective?
Soul Tear Devour (Tier-4)
Rei attempted to rip out the War God's soul to inflict spiritual damage.
But the man's soul seemed completely fused with his body.
It didn't move at all.
Rei swapped to the location of four Buzzing Hunters.
All four attacked the War God simultaneously!
Yet—
The War God swept his battle-axe.
BOOM!
Before they could even approach—
All four Buzzing Hunters exploded into fragments!
Tch…
Sure, I'm strong.
I have high spirituality, gain God-tier talents every level, obtain countless opportunities, train tirelessly, and receive guidance from the Iz Church.
It makes sense for me to be strong.
But you—
Why the hell are you so strong?
Rei couldn't understand.
This world had far too many terrifyingly powerful figures.
No.
Don't deny it.
If it exists—
There must be a reason.
If he's strong—
There must be a reason behind that strength.
Observe.
BOOM—BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Countless corpses exploded into blood mist.
Within a single breath—
Rei and the War God exchanged dozens of clashes, pursuits, and corpse swaps.
Rei couldn't defeat him quickly.
But the War God also couldn't kill Rei.
Rei found the War God irritating.
But from the War God's perspective—
Rei was an equally strange and slippery opponent.
BANG!
The War God drove a knee toward Rei's chest!
At the same instant—
Hundreds of spells condensed along the attack's path!
BOOM!
Magic collided with martial technique!
This time—
Rei's shields did not break.
And he did not swap corpses.
My magic…
Is not inferior to his combat techniques.
Rei confirmed this.
Previously, his spells had been too scattered.
Pure shields alone truly couldn't withstand the War God's attacks.
But if he integrated his offensive magic into the defense—
He could block a strike.
It sounded ridiculous.
Hundreds of spells stacked together just to block one attack.
But in reality—
This was already an incredible achievement.
Only someone who had personally experienced it could understand how overwhelmingly unstoppable the War God's attacks were.
Which meant—
My spells aren't condensed enough.
They're too scattered.
If I could use magic…
The way warriors use combat techniques…
Combat techniques were the ultimate expression of skill.
They gathered all of a warrior's blood, energy, physical power, and even battle intent—
And unleashed them through refined technique to produce devastating force.
The same horizontal kick—
Performed as a combat technique versus a casual kick—
Could differ in destructive power by hundreds or even thousands of times.
Rei was deep in thought.
Then the man before him suddenly spoke:
"The essence of a warrior!!!"
"Is pushing the body to its absolute limits!!!"
"Every attack!!! Must explode with full power!!!"
Before Rei could respond—
After the blocked knee strike, the War God instantly snapped his leg upward in a rising kick!
BOOM!
A corpse exploded.
Rei appeared in the distance again.
BANG!
Brilliant magic blocked the War God's straight punch—
But immediately afterward, the battle-axe arrived!
"You have absolutely no technique!!!"
BOOM!
Another corpse exploded!
A Dark Void Zone formed—
But the War God swung his axe and shattered the dark prison instantly.
This time—
He did not pursue.
Instead, he pointed the axe at Rei.
"With attacks this soft!!!"
"You think you can defeat me!!!?"
"Before you kill me!!! I'll chop every corpse on this battlefield into pieces!!!"
"And then I'll chop you apart!!!"
Rei slowly exhaled.
His eyes were calm and cold.
He ignored the provocation.
At long range, the War God could dodge almost every spell.
Should he simply use Convergent Explosion — Sacrifice: 300 million souls?
Pure overwhelming force.
Simple and brutal.
If sacrificing 300 million souls still couldn't kill him—
Rei doubted he had any other method capable of harming him.
But—
That was the final trump card.
Fighting this man had already given Rei many insights.
In fact…
It was enjoyable.
Why was he strong?
Was Rei truly so inferior as a mage?
Could magic alone truly not defeat him?
Had Rei missed some special path to strengthening himself?
A path he should have experienced—but didn't?
My talent isn't inferior to anyone.
My spirituality shouldn't be inferior either.
So where exactly am I lacking?
If Izparut fought this man—
What would he do?
Would he lose?
No.
It was hard to imagine that man losing so easily.
He would definitely find a way to win through intelligence.
So…
Am I weaker than him?
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the two clashed again!
This time—
Rei blocked two consecutive attacks with magic.
He was struck by the third.
…
Two blocks now.
If he detonated spells like Ice Sting, Earth Spike, Fire Burst, Thunder Shock the moment they clashed—
He could stop the War God.
If it were Iz—
How would he fight an enemy like this?
With Iz's magical mastery—
Could he defeat the War God head-on?
Rei continued analyzing the battle.
At the same time, he imagined fighting from Iz's perspective.
Kaiga was an incredibly troublesome opponent.
Yet Rei felt a strange excitement.
He could defeat him.
And he would do it through his own thinking.
Perhaps he'd need to use some souls.
But not too many.
"I see."
Swish!
Rei swapped with a corpse—
Appearing behind the War God.
This time—
Instead of being attacked—
Rei launched the attack first.
After all, the War God kept closing into melee range anyway.
So whether it was close combat or not—
Didn't matter anymore.
Source · Black Weakness Curse
Source · Piercing Body Thunderburst Rend