The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 351

One step.

Two steps.

The man slowly walking towards the Valhalla Temple captured everyone’s attention.

He looked tidier than you’d expect.

He was well-groomed, like a nobleman who had grown old with grace, not like the wild warriors of Valhalla.

However, the Claymore roughly fastened to his shoulder with a leather strap proved who he was.

Even at a glance, it seemed heavy and hard to use, something that ordinary people couldn’t handle easily.

Thud.

He stopped walking.

Caesar smiled at Ares, who was standing some distance away.

“At first, I thought I heard wrong. You, who I taught before, are challenging me now?”

Ares and Caesar knew each other.

Ten years ago.

Ares, already quite famous then, had the chance to learn from Caesar, known as Valhalla’s best swordsman.

They weren’t really teacher and student.

Even though it was just for a few days, Ares respected Caesar and listened to what he taught.

That meant…

There was a big skill difference between them.

No matter how good Ares was, Caesar was someone he couldn’t even try to reach.

Ten years ago, and now.

That hadn’t changed.

“I feel sorry for you. Ten years ago, if you had become my student, you would have learned everything I know and become better than you are now. Ares, you are really foolish. Some people say Alvarez and I are just one level apart in skill. But that’s a silly idea from people who don’t know what real strength is.”

Sliiiide.

Caesar lifted the sword with one hand, a sword that most men would need two hands to lift.

“You know this better than anyone, yet you dare to challenge me, excited about beating Alvarez. Kneel now and beg for forgiveness for being wrong. Ask me to let you live and serve the Emperor of Valhalla. If you do, maybe I will let you live, for Valhalla’s sake.”

From the moment he held the sword…

You could feel the tension in the air.

Ares smiled and said.

“Yes, I learned from you ten years ago. I have always done that. As a swordsman, as a warrior, I learned from anyone who could help me improve. But every time, I thought about something.”

Swish.

He drew his sword.

He was clearly ready to fight and had no plans to back down.

“Whether it was a few hours or a few days, when I thought I could beat the other person, I left without waiting. It’s the same with you. People call you Valhalla’s best swordsman, but I only had something to learn from you for a few days. And what’s really interesting is.”

His smile got bigger.

The past week…

It was a very intense memory for him.

“Now that I’ve left Valhalla and settled in Dmitrie. Even after months in Dmitrie, I don’t want to leave.”

After coming back from Arcadia.

He met Sanchez.

One week since then.

There wasn’t much time to get ready for the Valhalla civil war, and Ares had a hard job because one week wasn’t enough.

Alvarez and Caesar.

He had to beat two strong people.

Ares wanted to do it himself, but Roman Dmitrie called him to the training ground before sunset.

Ares noticed the weapon Roman Dmitrie was holding.

It wasn’t the Disaster he usually used, but normal-looking twin swords.

He knew right away.

That weapon…

It reminded him of Alvarez.

Roman Dmitrie said.

“Draw your sword. From now on, I will be your opponent.”

Ares’s job.

It was dangerous.

Even though he planned to use his Valhalla rank, he needed a lot of strength to succeed and come back alive.

That’s what the training was for.

Roman Dmitrie wasn’t just trying to push Ares hard and watch. He wanted to train Ares properly so he could do the plan perfectly.

His heart was pounding.

This was what Ares had wanted.

He wanted to use all his strength against Roman Dmitrie and see how good he was.

The result…

Thwack.

Crash!

He fell to the floor.

His face was a mess.

People said Ares was a swordsmanship genius, but in many fights, Ares never won even once.

He was more surprised than impressed.

Ares, who had fought hundreds, thousands of duels to become a Valhalla ranker, thought he knew a lot, but when he fought Roman Dmitrie, it was like seeing a whole new world.

He was embarrassed.

Two swords.

Roman Dmitrie showed how good you could be with twin swords.

He only chose the moves that Ares couldn’t stop, and he kept beating him with overwhelming strength.

‘…I can’t think of a way to win.’

It was funny.

Ten years ago.

He learned from Caesar.

He wasn’t as good as he is now, but Ares left Caesar after only a few days of learning.

Caesar acted like he didn’t understand.

He tried to stop Ares, saying he would have a great future if he became his student, but why did Ares want to leave?

At that time.

Why did he choose to leave?

It was simple.

The reason he couldn’t beat Caesar back then was that he hadn’t lived as long as Caesar.

It didn’t mean Caesar was weak.

Caesar beat Ares many times with his strong presence, but Ares was sure he could beat him someday.

He didn’t know if it would take 10 or 20 years.

But the important thing was that he could beat him eventually.

Roman Dmitrie was different.

He felt hopeless.

He felt like there was a wall in front of him.

He hadn’t thought much about his relationship with Dmitrie, so he had to admit that he would be there for many years.

“Alvarez is enough with this.”

He put his sword away.

This time it was a Claymore.

Ares was already tired, and he laughed weakly at what Roman Dmitrie said next.

“From now on, I will make it a little harder and fight you like Caesar would.”

That day.

Ares saw a world beyond what he knew.

The conversation stopped.

Ares’s words made Caesar, who was usually calm, look angry.

Without another word.

It was time to show who was better.

A Valhalla priest, who looked nervous, finally announced that the duel everyone was waiting for would begin.

Flutter.

Thud.

Rumble!

Caesar attacked first.

When Ares saw him rushing forward with a burst of power, he thought about his fight with Roman Dmitrie.

“Caesar was once called a wild warrior. I heard that he beats his opponents by attacking them non-stop and using force to defeat them. The way to beat someone who attacks like that is simple: while he’s attacking, show him how strong you are with one strong move.”

Clang!

Rumble!

They crashed into each other hard.

Ares blocked the attack, but Caesar kept pushing forward like he wouldn’t stop.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

The world flashed.

Caesar’s power exploded around him, hitting Ares hard from all sides.

Unlike with Alvarez, this time he used a 6-star aura from the start.

But Caesar’s aura, which had been at the 6-star level for over a decade, was still shocking, even when using Dmitrie’s method.

But.

He didn’t feel scared.

It was strange, but fighting Roman Dmitrie, who used the same weapon, made him feel more confident.

“Huff, huff.” Ares breathed hard.

*Rumble!* He jumped back. The attack was slow. *Too* slow, he thought. It was even slower than Roman Dmitry’s attacks.

Thanks to this, Ares felt a sense of ease even amidst the fierce back-and-forth.

He calmly watched and blocked each of his opponent’s attacks, and he didn’t miss the moment when Cesar showed an opening between attacks, exploiting it.

Flash!

Thwack!

A strand of hair fluttered.

Cesar barely moved his head back, just enough to miss the sword. His face twisted in anger, his eyes burning.

“How dare you!”

It was a moment of bewilderment.

Ares’s reaction, as if he didn’t feel any sense of crisis, severely damaged Cesar’s pride.

He charged once more.

He didn’t allow any distance between himself and his opponent, and people’s eyes widened at the swordsmanship that proved his reputation as a barbarian warrior.

Goosebumps rose all over their bodies.

Among those watching the duel were Valhalla’s rankers, but they felt they wouldn’t be able to withstand Cesar’s attacks even ten times.

*Wham!* Cesar’s sword slammed into Ares’s, sending a shock through his arms. *Rumble!* Ares stumbled back, his feet sliding on the dusty ground.

“Ptooey.” He spat out blood after parrying his opponent.

He was strong.

Cesar was much stronger.

Although he hadn’t been active externally recently, he proved with force the reason why he had been at the top of Valhalla for so long.

Whoosh. A sword soaring into the sky.

Clang!

Rumble!

It plunged straight down.

Even though he could die, Ares barely managed to block it, yet he didn’t lose his smile.

‘My choice was right.’

Fast attacks.

Powerful attacks.

None of it was threatening.

Roman Dmitry, who used a claymore, showed only the worst-case scenarios, and that’s why he could remain calm while facing Cesar.

No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t show attacks comparable to Roman Dmitry.

No, they were on completely different levels, incomparable.

Above the sky called Cesar.

There was another sky called Roman Dmitry.

If he hadn’t experienced the world beyond the heavens, he wouldn’t be able to defeat Cesar even if he gave it his all.

“You cocky bastard.”

Whoosh. The wind swirled.

The enraged Cesar instantly gathered his mana and attempted a sure-kill strike against Ares, who had been driven into a corner.

The challengers who had aimed for his position until now had never experienced a situation like this.

He had always defeated his opponents before it even got to this point, and he was enraged by Ares’s persistence in holding out until the end.

Clang!

Rumble!

It was a chilling scene.

Black and red energy swirled around the sword, making the air flash red and black.

“This ends now!”

Wham!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A sure-kill strike.

Ares raised his head.

Faced with the destructive energy that dyed the world, he recalled the time he had spent in Dmitry in his mind.

He stirred his mana with the Asura Mind Method.

He recalled the Heavenly Demon Sword Art.

It was an absolute technique that couldn’t be imitated, but it presented Ares with the ideal he should strive for.

Flash!

He extended his sword.

10%?

5%?

No, he couldn’t even imitate 1% of the real Heavenly Demon Sword Art.

Even knowing that fact, Ares admired Roman Dmitry and tried to follow in his footsteps no matter what.

He was a genius.

He invented his own style.

Ignoring Alexandr’s system and creating his own world.

When he learned from Roman Dmitry’s perfect fighting style, he achieved rapid development in a short period of time.

“……?!”

Cesar’s eyes widened.

Ares’s attack.

His aura split apart.

Before his attack could even reach his opponent, he witnessed Ares’s sword striking right in front of him.

And that was.

Snikt-

Cesar’s last memory.

Thud.

Roll roll.

Cesar’s head rolled across the floor.

People lost their words.

In that moment, when people couldn’t accept the reality of the shocking sight, Valhalla’s priest spoke in a trembling voice.

“He… he did it! Lord Ares won! He beat Lord Cesar! Ares is number one in Valhalla!”

It was shocking.

Ares supported himself with his sword, breathing roughly.

It was his limit.

If Cesar had pushed him just a little bit more, the person whose head was rolling on the floor might have been him.

He suppressed the churning in his stomach.

He wanted to spill blood on the floor right away, but there was still something he had to do.

Stagger.

He rose from his spot.

Meeting the gazes of the people who were dyed with shock, Ares raised his voice.

“I hereby renounce my top rank in Valhalla as of this moment.”

“Gasp.”

“…W, what does that mean.”

People were flustered.

Rank 1.

To ascend to that glorious position and then renounce the top rank.

It was incomprehensible.

As the people who had flocked to the Valhalla temple showed eyes seeking an answer, Ares spoke his thoughts.

“10 years ago. The Cesar I experienced was a stronger swordsman than anyone else. But now, 10 years later, Cesar hasn’t changed much from then. Why is that? Why didn’t Cesar crave a higher realm? Cesar got caught in the trap of being powerful. In a country that has lost its romance, political elements were more important than strength, and Cesar, who clung to those in power and gained strength, lived a life without rivals even if he didn’t try hard. Considering that the last challenger who challenged him was Alvarez ten years ago, you can see the reality of Valhalla. That’s how Cesar became stagnant. A warrior who doesn’t know the sense of crisis became obsolete, and Valhalla had gone too far in the wrong direction.”

Valhalla Ranking.

Its meaning had faded.

Chronos had large rank fluctuations every year, but as Cesar did, most of Valhalla’s rankers stayed in their positions.

It was bleak.

It was despairing.

If Cesar from 10 years ago had craved development, the current Ares would never have been able to defeat him.

“You can criticize me. You can call me a traitor. But I was born as a warrior, and I will die as a warrior. Dmitry is the country that will allow me to live that way. In Dmitry, I feel that I am alive.”

It was over.

Putting away his sword, he said one last thing.

“Remember. We are beings born with the blood of warriors.”

He moved his steps.

He staggered and showed a difficult appearance, but no one blocked his path.

Ares is a traitor.

He abandoned the country.

But they couldn’t touch him, nor did they want to.

It was then.

Count Gomes, who was watching the situation with a dazed face, received news from the north through the magic communication device.

“[Urgent!] T-the gate… broken! They’re in! We need help! Fast! We can’t hold them… not even a day! Ten days? Impossible!”

A sudden report.

In that moment, Count Gomes felt a dizzying sensation.