Chapter 409
Episode 409: I Need Information
Arthur's trump card—Unification.
Based on Reto’s combat instincts, it granted overwhelming physical prowess and near-immortal regenerative power. It had saved his life multiple times in dire situations.
But as powerful as it was, Unification came with fatal weaknesses.
First, its short duration.
Second, the severe aftereffects that followed immediately after its end—specifically, Reto’s absence.
When Reto fell asleep, the heart's power couldn’t be fully drawn out, and Arthur couldn’t use spiritual techniques.
His combat strength would drop significantly. If any enemy targeted him, this period would be his most vulnerable.
Thump— Thump—
As Reto awoke, Arthur's heart began to throb vigorously, asserting its presence.
The heart of Retonicalus, once curled in dormancy, had regained its power.
It was after their clash with the Flame Demon, Melkor, that Reto had regained consciousness.
Arthur recalled how long Reto had been unconscious and spoke.
“It’s been nearly fifteen days.”
[Fifteen days... Longer than expected. Compared to the last unification.]
The last time?
He must be referring to the battle with the King of Greed, Makibeldor.
Hearing that it took longer than back then, Arthur furrowed his brow slightly and asked,
“Wait… Does the recovery period get longer with each use of Unification?”
[*No, it’s unrelated to the number of times. The issue is the assimilation rate.]
“Assimilation rate?”
Arthur rubbed his chest, recalling the details of his divine name list:
[Arthur Clayton – Divine Name: Hunter (Order)]
[Third Mental Barrier]
[Siren’s Hymn (Ancient Glyph)]
[Heart of Retonicalus (Assimilation Rate: 85%)]
[Commander of the World Tree Union]
[Ring of Desire (Survival)]
[Leader of Hunt (5)]
[Benefactor of the Witch]
[Reto’s Spiritual Arts]
[Blessing of the World Tree]
[Blessing of Enchant (Sacred Power, Penetration, Steel)]
[Protector]
After becoming [Protector] by defeating Makibeldor and rising as the leader of the Union, his assimilation rate had reached 85%.
However, whether it was still at 85% now remained to be confirmed.
I’ve been through a lot since then.
Arthur had fought the Flame Demon Melkor inside the World Tree and discovered the existence of the Branch of Illusion.
Recently, he had absorbed the entire Black Market.
If those events altered his divine name list, then his assimilation rate might have risen as well.
He decided to ask Lily to recheck it later.
The real problem was—what would happen if the assimilation rate increased?
Reto had once said the higher the rate, the more violent the shock upon separating from Unification.
“So... are you alright now? I mean, your condition.”
[*Right now? I wouldn’t call it ‘alright’.]
“You haven’t fully recovered?”
[The shock was severe. I’ll need about three more days to recover completely.]
“…Three days, huh. That’s an unexpected setback.”
[*The higher the assimilation rate, the more exponentially painful the shock becomes. It affects presence.]
“Presence?”
[You and I—our merged existence—gets forcefully torn apart. It’s incredibly painful.]
For Reto, who endured even divine curses without complaint, to call it painful—the shock must’ve been beyond imagining.
“That’s strange. I didn’t feel any pain at all.”
[Because the ‘wall’ protects your existence.]
“You mean... I can’t resist the wall? Then maybe I could extend Unification time if we could?”
[Your mental barrier is special. I can’t oppose it.]
Arthur had always thought the [Third Mental Barrier] was exceptional, but it truly was something else.
“Still, you’re amazing. You held up despite taking damage to your very presence.”
[Who do you think I am?]
“The Undying One, obviously. That’s the only reason you’re still alive. But if the assimilation rate keeps rising, you might end up unconscious for even longer next time.”
[Let’s hope it never comes to that.]
Nodding, Arthur left his room.
On the way to Lily’s quarters, he continued discussing Unification with Reto.
By the time he reached the long hallway on the second floor, a certain theory had formed in his mind.
If the assimilation rate ever reached 100%, would Reto be free from the wall?
Reto’s answer was firm.
[As long as the wall remains, Unification cannot be sustained permanently.]
“So we’re back to square one.”
Arthur sighed.
The very wall that had always protected him was now shackling him. He’d have to start making preparations.
A test would clarify a lot…
The problem was, if he tried Unification now, Jess Milo might detect it.
As that thought crossed his mind—
“W-Wait…”
Arthur stopped mid-hallway and cautiously checked his surroundings.
He’d been so focused on talking with Reto, he’d forgotten something crucial.
Reto, is it really okay to talk like this? We’re not far from Azonne’s study…
Specifically, Jess Milo, the King of the Dead. She was reportedly lingering near that very study.
[If her presence were here, you wouldn’t have been able to speak to me.]
“So… she’s not in the castle?”
[Not at the moment. But we don’t know when she might return—be careful.]
“She’s a nerve-wracking presence—whether she’s around or not.”
Arthur smiled wryly and stopped in front of Lily’s door.
Even so, knowing Jess Milo wasn’t in the castle gave him some peace of mind.
Creak—
As Arthur entered, Keros pricked up his ears from where he lay flopped on the floor. He looked at Arthur, then let his ears droop and collapsed again.
Arthur glanced toward the bed by the window—Lily was still sound asleep.
“Another waiting game.”
She should’ve been waking soon, free from the Curse of Sloth. But there was no sign yet.
Arthur straightened her disheveled shirt and gently poked her cheek.
“Hey, sleepyhead. I need you to wake up and answer a few things.”
Lily was the only witch capable of identifying Arthur’s divine names.
Since the party had changed so much lately, he figured it was time to have her check everyone’s divine names again soon.
She smiled in her sleep, as if dreaming something sweet.
Watching her, Arthur turned to Keros and tilted his head.
“What happened to you? Why do you look so drained?”
Normally, the dog would’ve bounded up demanding meat. But today, he had no energy at all. He just lay there, limp and lifeless.
Arthur even waved meat in front of his nose, but Keros barely lowered his head.
He found the dog’s odd behavior strange, but only for a moment.
Clunk—
The door opened, and Lochter entered. At that moment, Keros perked up, growled viciously, and took a defensive stance—his eyes blazing.
But—
“What are you doing?”
He looked like a fierce beast, but his legs trembled as he backed away, and his tail was tucked tightly under his belly.
He was clearly terrified.
Lochter sighed as he looked at him.
“My fault.”
“What did you do?”
“A spar.”
“A spar?”
“I wanted to test a new ability. Didn’t have a sparring partner, so I asked him.”
“You sparred with Keros?”
“I heard he was a special beast.”
Apparently, Keros was lured in by a few pieces of meat and agreed to be Lochter’s sparring partner.
His recent two-headed evolution had made him a bit cocky—but unfortunately, the opponent was Lochter.
Arthur thought of Lochter’s brutal training and gently patted Keros on the head.
“Didn’t I tell you not to take food from strangers? That’s how you get sick.”
“Stay by Lily’s side. Don’t wander off.”
At Arthur’s gesture, Keros jumped onto the bed and curled up beside her.
Having been crushed by both the Sword Demon and now Lochter, his confidence was clearly shot.
“I’ll get revenge for you, so cheer up.”
Facing Lochter, Arthur lightly tapped his fists together.
Since both Samuel and Lily needed more time, he had been wondering how to spend the remaining time.
Then a thought struck him.
I should check my condition before heading to Prime Root.
“Lochter, are you done training?”
He looked disheveled, as if he’d just finished, but when Arthur asked, Lochter smiled faintly and shook his head.
“Of course not. I was just about to start.”
Of course. A training maniac.
As soon as Arthur and Lochter stepped into the training yard, there was no signal or warning.
The moment their eyes met, Arthur’s hand was already gripping a blood-red bow—
Twuung—!
The Blood Ring of Vampirism unleashed a barrage of massive red arrows toward Lochter, charged with Burst Strike.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
Boom—!
In an instant, his figure vanished midair. All his muscles screamed as compressed explosive power surged through him.
His vision streaked by at a blinding speed.
Second Burst Activated.
[Trust me. Go all out.]
Lochter’s only instruction before entering the arena: give it your all. He didn’t speak lightly—so Arthur went full power from the start.
“I want to know for myself—why he’s so confident.”
KWAANG—!
As Lochter blocked the arrow with crossed swords, a massive explosion erupted.
Arthur’s eyes gleamed through the aftermath.
In a flash, he closed the distance and grabbed Lochter’s back, clenching his fist.
Whumm—
Arthur’s body turned deep gray.
Enchant: Steel.
He drove his fist at Lochter’s back with Giant Tribe martial art—Quanru.
A flawless, devastating surprise attack.
In that instant—
Shing—!
A flash of crimson blades cut through the air. No ambush would succeed here. The twin swords Belin and Reina sliced through the dust to meet Arthur’s steel fist.
KWA-KWANG! BANG!
The air shrieked with pressure.
Arthur gritted his teeth, planting his feet and launching a third Burst.
He infused Quanru’s spinning motion with destructive force, swinging to sweep Lochter off his feet.
A chaotic strike, impossible to predict.
But Lochter’s expression remained unchanged.
Hunched down, he swung his twin swords with supernatural precision, flawlessly intercepting the blow.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
Sparks flew as the blades deflected Arthur’s strike.
Solid. No openings.
As the twin swords pressed forward like an unbreakable wall, Arthur bit down hard.
KRAAAGH!
With a yell, a fourth Burst erupted.
Arthur closed the gap until he could feel Lochter’s breath.
The blades sliced at his body, but he didn’t care.
Give flesh, take bone.
Close-quarters Quanru.
Arthur withstood the blows with enchanted steel and charged like a raging rhino.
A twisting strike using shoulder, fist, elbow—an erratic, impossible-to-read combo rained down on Lochter.
Arthur was sure no one could follow the trajectory.
But instead of panicking, Lochter calmly closed his eyes and raised his swords.
Wooooom—
Belin and Reina let out a hum.
In that moment, Lochter and his swords became one. His domain expanded, and Arthur’s attack paths were etched into his mind like a picture.
Lochter’s Absolute Domain.
Flash—
As his eyes opened, his body moved purely by instinct. The twin blades followed perfectly timed counter-movements.
WHACK! BOOM! CLANG!
Damn it, seriously?!
Arthur’s every spinning strike was deflected by gleaming blade and hilt.
He couldn’t believe it.
And then—
The twin blades gleamed blood-red. Arthur’s eyes widened, and he reflexively crossed his arms.
A counter technique—absorbing all the impact and releasing it in one explosive strike.
KWAANG!!!
Arthur was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
Bloodied, he looked up at Lochter, more dumbfounded than in pain.
Blocking all those attacks was ridiculous—but countering after that?
“You’ve become a complete monster.”
“Withstand that and still be standing? You’re hardly in a position to talk.”
Arthur had suspected that Lochter had developed an Absolute Domain.
But facing it in person—it felt like going up against a towering wall of steel.
Every move was read.
So how was he supposed to break through it?
With the tools Arthur currently had, no answer came to mind.
“Reto, find me Lochter’s weakness.”
[I need information.]
“You make it sound so easy.”
Grumbling, Arthur got to his feet.
Then immediately readied his stance, eyes locked on Lochter.
As long as he had the Ring of Desire, healing wasn’t an issue.
Seeing this, Lochter bared his teeth in a grin.
Finally, a real opponent.