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Chapter 796

[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.”

“But then… it’s going to be even harder.”

“Not just harder. We’re in for a whole new level of suffering,” Davey said grimly.

He knew all too well, considering he still hadn’t been able to fully consume things like mana, devil mana, or spirit mana. He was aware that it would take time to adapt divine power to himself after consuming it. It was a different process from when he dealt with Eclipse’s power.”

“You’ll need about two days to recover. You would come back to normal if you died and revived though.”

“Ahh!” Illyna winced as Davey pinched her cheek. She turned her head and looked up at him with teary eyes. Then, remembering she wasn’t wearing a top, she quickly turned her back to him again, embarrassed.

“Focus on staying alive if you really don’t want to regret it later. The pain you’re feeling now is nothing compared to what could happen.”

“It’s… that bad?”

“Terrifyingly bad,” Davey replied calmly as he finished wrapping her bandages and turned around.

“I need to consume some mana before the next fight,” he muttered, thinking about how his holy power transformation was almost complete. But he knew it would take time to get used to it. For now, he could only work on converting elemental mana.

[Operation Field]

Standing in a wide-open space, Davey began forming a mana field. As he did, Illyna called out to him.

“Hey, Davey.”

“What?”

“Are you happy? I mean… with your life now,” she asked, her voice filled with insecurity.

“What are you talking about? Why would I be happy when I’m fighting for my life?”

‘Well, no one likes getting beat up—unless you\'re some kind of masochist, I guess,’ he thought.

"That\'s not what I meant," Illyna replied, hesitating before asking again. "I mean… being married to Perserque.”

Davey answered indifferently to her cautious attitude. "It\'s good. I\'m happy, really."

He wasn’t lying. Despite having to do a full circle when they had to deal with the damn Abyss and Destruction, the quiet moments he spent with Perserque as a couple were more enjoyable than he had ever imagined.

"Good,” Illyna answered bitterly.

"You can get married too," Davey said with a smile. "Find someone you like."

"I got a letter from the imperial family," she said, turning her back to him as she pulled one of his large dress shirts over her head. The shirt was oversized, covering her hands and most of her thighs. She had originally worn a suit while on Earth, but it was now in tatters.

"Letter?"

"Yeah, about an engagement with a duke on the outskirts of the Lyndis Empire."

Davey didn’t say anything. It was natural for the royal family and high-ranking nobles to exchange such things.

"They say he\'s a decent man. His wife died early from an illness, and now he\'s remarrying by order of the Emperor of Lyndis. It looks like there was some deal made with my brother Sullivan,” she said with a bitter smile.

"Probably. If it helps the Pallan Empire, an arranged marriage isn’t exactly surprising.”

Davey knew that was just how things were. As royalty, it was their duty to make those sacrifices in exchange for the privileges they enjoyed. Men had their roles, and women had theirs. As a princess, Illyna couldn’t stay in the empire forever—when the time came, she would have to marry and leave.

"You said you were happy, right?"

"Yeah.”

"You got to marry the person you love and stay by their side."

"Uh-huh.”

"To be honest, I have no intention of refusing the engagement," she said, lifting her head to stare at the sky. "I’m… just a bit jealous. Hehe."

She let out a helpless, small laugh and then crouched down again, playing with the oversized sleeves of the dress shirt by rubbing the fabric between her fingers.

"Marrying someone you love. Being with them. Growing old together."

"Feeling sentimental, huh? Should I get you something to drink or something?" Davey teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Right now, I’m here to help you. But when I go back to Tionis in a few months, I’ll be officially engaged. I’m of age now, after all."

"Is it confirmed? Congratulations."

"Congratulations? Hah.”

She forced a smile, but Davey just acted indifferent and returned to focusing on his mana.

‘Alright, transform for me.’

The reason madness flowed through him was because the power he gained hadn’t properly adapted to his needs. He knew that if his holy power could already blend well with Eclipse\'s mana, elemental mana had the potential to do so as well.

He planned to challenge Eclipse again to see if he could gradually and successfully convert both elemental mana and devil mana. He would use the three powers along with her own mana against her.

If that wasn’t enough, he’d draw on spirit mana. And if that still wasn’t enough, he had the power of a mythical beast summoner, sorcery, and even demonic force to use.

He still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

And once all the power of taboo and divine power was under his control, and knew he would be capable of doing so, he could use the Absolute Gem for something more than just closing the abyss.

If she didn’t abandon her levels of divinity willingly, he’d have to force her down.

As Davey saved his holy power and was in the middle of filling the space with elemental mana, trying to manifest his characteristic…

Thud!!

Illyna suddenly burst in, spun him around, and knocked him down swiftly with her leg. Surprised, Davey found himself on his back, looking up at her.

Sitting on his stomach, pinning him down, she asked, "Davey."

"Hey, you\'re heavy. Get off me.”

He could see her bare skin peeking through the oversized dress shirt. Not only that, but he could feel her warmth pressing against him—she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

“Davey,” she said again. Davey sensed something off about her vibe.

“What do you want?”

“I almost died a little while ago, and it got me thinking. I’ll live in regret anyway, but I think I\'ll be even more frustrated if I never try.”

Empathy sure was a scary thing. Davey could feel the fear and vulnerability in her eyes as she looked down at him. Before he could say anything in response, Illyna leaned down and kissed him. The softness of her lips caught him off guard, as he never thought she would initiate a kiss between them.

“Hrmph?!”

But Davey quickly pushed her away. He knew that a relationship gone wrong was worse than one that never began. He had accepted Aeria, but that didn’t mean he could just accept Illyna.

“Ha… It’s not like it’s the first time that we’ve kissed before, right?”

Davey frowned, trying to remember when that could have happened. In response, she just smiled slightly.

“Davey, I’m getting married.”

“…”

“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.