Chapter 248

"Parvati. Your methods have been too soft."

He grabbed Igor by the scruff of his neck.

"Since he refuses to cross this hurdle, I will force him to."

Su!

And just like that, Shiva vanished along with Igor. Less than ten seconds passed between his arrival and departure.

"..."

Parvati was concerned, but she would let her husband sort it out.

[Perhaps only another warrior can get through to him.]

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|DxD|

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"Get up."

"..."

Slowly, Igor got up and wiped the trickle of blood off his lips. It has been a while since Shiva begun a brutal sparring session that had him knocked down several times.

They were in a wide clearing on the mountain. Surrounding the field were rows of tall trees with very thick trunks. The god of destruction stood with his hands behind his back while Igor was now bare-chested.

His breaths were slightly heavy while Shiva was calm. If he had the words, Igor would've cursed his darned luck. After waking up from being knocked out, the first thing he saw was a fist covering his vision.

From there, things have descended into their current state. The blonde was forced to endure this sudden beating without reason or explanation.

Still, that didn't mean he would lie flat on the ground and accept it.

Su!

The grass beneath his sandals was torn apart by his rapid acceleration. He charged towards Shiva with a calm-filled gaze. He brought his leg down for an overhead quick before…

Tswii!

…he appeared behind Shiva with a rising horsekick that would hit the god right at the back of his neck.

Shiva dodged the kick without even needing to see it. He stepped to the side and raised his am to…

Tswii!

*Grab!*

…block a side kick from Igor that would've caved his face in.

"Your instantaneous movement technique is worthy of commendment, but your perception cannot follow your speed of movement."

BOOM!

There was no sign of movement, no sign of transition. One moment, Igor was caught in midair. The next, he was instantly slammed into the ground. The earth broke like shattered glass. The booming sound shook the mountain for a moment…such was the power of the slam.

"Puargh!"

For all his durability, Igor coughed out a mouthful of blood. He was slammed into the ground so hard that he could swear his back was broken. Everything happened so quickly that he would swear he was teleported into his current state.

His vision was fuzzy, but he tiredly opened his eyes after nearly falling unconscious.

"..."

His leg was bent at an odd angle and the one responsible for it hovered in midair without a care in the world. It hurt. Igor was sure this simple strike from Shiva could make it into the top ten worst attacks he suffered.

Suuuuu…

His injuries slowly began to recover at a visible rate. Black mist surrounded his body and accompanying it after was the cracking sound of bones resetting themselves.

He was not put down by the pain for long. As soon as his bones reset themselves, he stood up and looked at Shiva.

"..."

Since Shiva said his perception was lacking, then he would fix it. Gradually, marks began spreading throughout his body with his forehead as the origin. Igor did not know what Shiva's intentions were, but he would listen to his arrangements.

Suuuu

Golden energy slowly cloaked his body like a thin film of water. It was so comfortable that it revitalized him instantly.

Tswii!

He charged forward and readied a strike once more. His perception had risen dramatically. The power he felt from Shiva almost made him give up his pointless endeavour, but he pressed on.

"Ha!"

Shiva dodged his punch and idly commented on it.

"Your technique is good, but the force is too dispersed."

Gu!

A finger-flick to his forehead pushed him back by a few metres. He felt an ocean of curses well up in his throat, but Shiva silenced him with a command.

"Again."

"..."

Igor suppressed his dissatisfaction and charged forward once more with his fist outstretched.

BOOM!

The impact thundered in the region. The power of his fist caused a powerful shockwave, something Shiva didn't like. A few of his precious trees had their branches torn off.

"You don't listen."

Shiva held Igor's fist firmly in his grasp.

"You focus too much on power instead of control. When you punch, your power must be concentrated into one area. Like this."

Gu!

"Argh!"

When Igor looked down, Shiva's fist had buried itself in his stomach. His organs were scrambled as if a tornado had gone through them. He instantly lost strength in his body and keeled over Shiva's fist. He wasn't unconscious, but he wished he was.

Shiva's blow shocked his whole system.

"This is what a proper punch is like. I emulated your current power-level and struck with the same force you will be capable of once you learn this technique."

If he had the strength, Igor would've widened his eyes. This was a punch he could achieve? Shiva's punch was simple. There was no explosion or fanfare, but the power behind it was phenomenal.

[Is this what he meant by…control?]

His vision was gradually darkening, but this simple punch would persist in his memory.

"Recover slowly. You and I have much to talk about."

Shiva let go and let him fall to the ground like a ragdoll.

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|DxD|

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Time passed and evening came. Shiva continued to administer punishment to Igor under the guise of teaching him. The amount of momentum-ending punches Igor suffered made him contemplate life multiple times.

The punches weren't just powerful, the force contained in them disrupted his spine which in turn affected his nerves. The good side? His sense of pain was numbed for a moment. The bad side? He was reduced to a ragdoll without combat capability.

It was only when Parvati brought refreshments that the duo finally noticed the setting sun. She carried a tray filled with a plate of biscuits, two glasses and a jug of juice.

"I've brought food."

Her voice was soft, but their keen senses allowed them to hear her clearly. Shiva was the first to walk towards her with Igor following slowly behind. The blonde didn't have the energy to utter a grievance against Shiva. His stomach hurt so much that he just wanted to lie down.

Shiva took the tray and uttered a "thank you" to his wife before turning around. Parvati could only offer a comforting smile to Igor who looked close to dying.

The tattoos on his body had faded a long time ago, leaving him looking like a blonde vagrant.

"Dimori. Come and eat. My wife's baking will surprise you."

"..."

If the massive power difference between them didn't exist, he would've pummeled Shiva into the ground for treating him like a toy.

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|DxD|

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Time passed slowly. The duo enjoyed the snack under the shade. The tray was placed between them as they ate in complete silence.

They ate the biscuits and finished the juice. Surprisingly, Igor felt satiated. One biscuit made him feel as if he had eaten ten large bowls of meat. He had no idea what Parvati did, but it didn't matter.

The remaining pain in his body and the "lag" he felt from his limbs faded with each sip of his juice. Shiva really struck it lucky marrying a woman like her.

"Dimori."

Now that they finished eating, Shiva decided to talk to the boy.

"Can you guess why I sparred with you today?"

[Because you're a sadist.]

Those were his thoughts, but he was aware Shiva wasn't one for jokes.

"Because I was down in the dumps and you wanted to pull me out."

It was an idle comment said without much thought. Igor had enough self-awareness to know he was a threat when he was…the way he was.

"That's part of the reason."

Shiva adjusted his posture before leaning against his tree once more.

"What I wanted to see was if you were still worth teaching."

"..."

Igor didn't speak. He didn't care if Shiva taught him or not-

"So…?"

It was a lie. He was short of begging Shiva to teach him. The unique insight to something as simple as punching made Igor willing to acknowledge him as his grandfather. Who knew what other things Shiva could teach him?

"..."

Shiva gave the blonde a glance. Igor was sitting cross-legged in front of him like an obedient child.

"You accepted the loss of an important figure in your life. You have accepted that nothing can be done to get her back."

Shiva looked at Igor right in the eye.

"From my observations, many become driven by the concept of reviving their loved ones. I know men who risked everything in exchange for the soul of their loved one, unaware that their departure from the mortal realm has changed them- a case that happened with the Himejima woman."

The only sign Igor showed that he was affected was an involuntary twitch of his mouth. He still had some trouble getting through Shuri's loss, but the time to grieve had long since passed. His stony face made Shiva's approval of him rise a bit further.

"Most men are broken by such a case. You were never the first one nor shall you be the last. My assessment of you today was to see if you still had the same drive, or if your path would end there."

"..."

Igor didn't reply. Rather, he was irked that Shiva had the gall to question his drive. So discomforted was he that whether he knew it or not, his eyes turned red.

"Lord Shiva. My goal has always been to become the strongest in the universe. Don't question my drive."

"..."

Shiva did not take Igor's display of killing intent as disrespect. Rather, he was impressed.

[As expected of the one I've chosen.]

If he were to borrow Igor's terminology, he did not want a pansy as an heir. Only those who could overcome their losses were worthy of his cuirass.

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AN

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Thank you for reading. Things show promise of escalating and I sincerely hope the Nekomata massacre doesn't occur.