"Is it my turn now?" A familiar greeting echoed, indicating that this God Master was inside the hall. I let out a sigh of relief, waiting for the gate to open. "Anyone who wishes to enter must pass a test. Let this god gauge your worth!" Well, it seems this deity has a personality similar to Emperor Ba's—probably not easy to invite either, I thought to myself. "Still the same old trickster," Suōshā sighed.Suddenly, a vortex-like entrance appeared in front of the gate, pitch-black and unfathomably deep. "Come in and face the test if you wish to meet this god!" "Then I shall accept the challenge," I said, leading Enis and Suōshā as we stepped inside.After passing through a dark tunnel, we arrived at a hill that resembled a scene from hell, with even the sky shrouded in darkness. "Where are we? Where are we supposed to go?" I asked, puzzled. "Look over there," Suōshā pointed to a glowing spot on the right. At the peak of a steep mountain, there was what seemed to be a radiant exit. That must be our destination. "Got it. Let's head out and clear this as quickly as possible!" The three of us moved toward the light.We hadn't walked far when we suddenly heard the roars of ferocious beasts echoing around us. It seemed we'd walked into an ambush. The three of us huddled together, ready to face these uninvited guests. The growls grew closer, and from the surrounding dark rocks emerged several sharp-fanged, dragon-like beasts charging toward us. But we remained composed—after all, a few beasts were no match for us. I prepared to unleash divine magic for a one-hit kill, only to find I couldn't summon it. It was as if I'd become an ordinary person, all my power gone. Enis and Suōshā tried to attack as well, but they faced the same issue. "What's going on? Why has The power of the universe vanished?" I panicked. "It must be this barrier's doing. Right now, the three of us are as powerless as mortals. This is bad…" Suōshā tensed up. The beasts didn't give us time to think. The first one lunged at us in an instant. "Watch out!" Without thinking, I grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at its head. The beast seemed enraged by my action and turned to charge at me. Unarmed and without divine or even basic magic, I was no match for it. If we didn't find a way to deal with these creatures, we might not make it out alive."Catch, honey!" Enis suddenly tossed me a sharp sword. "What's this? How did you make it?" I asked, catching the sword. "I forged it with my own blood. Focus on the front!" Enis warned. Before I could fully grasp her words, I turned to face the attacking beast. Though my magic was gone, the swordsmanship I'd painstakingly learned from Enis remained. I deflected several waves of the beast's bites and struck back, wounding it with my sword skills. Enis forged another sword for herself and joined the fight, while Suōshā, unfamiliar with swordsmanship, could only stand by.With weapons in hand, the four beasts became much easier to handle. Together, Enis and I used our coordinated couple's swordplay to take down each beast one by one. The sudden battle finally ended, and I sat on the ground, panting. "Looks like this journey won't be easy. Honey, what did you mean about forging the sword with your blood?" I asked, gripping the sword."It's one of the demon clan's secret techniques. When magic is depleted, you can consume your own lifeblood to cast spells. Forging these two swords took a lot out of me," Enis replied, sounding weak. "I see. Then don't use it lightly again—it's draining your life force!" I urged her, concerned.
