“Maybe it’s true.”
Morrigan repeatedly warned others to not touch Neo.
Did she do that because she was worried Neo, a weak demigod, would die if hundreds of demigod attacked him at once?
“No, that’s not possible.”
Morrigan wasn’t so kind.
But…
“This injury.”
Neo traced the wound on his stomach.
It nearly split his torso in half and somehow the injury wasn’t lethal.
The attack missed his vital points.
“If she didn’t do this on purpose, it has to be a crazy coincidence.”
Neo found it hard to believe Morrigan would make a mistake like this.
It had to be intentional.
“Dammit…”
Morrigan had to punish Neo.
He insulted the Zeus Clan by trying to take the first rank.
She tried to find a way to punish him on the live broadcast while her true intentions were different.
She didn’t want to kill him.
In return, Neo nearly ended her life.
“I’m just imagining nonsense.”
The wound could be a coincidence, or maybe she had other intentions.
He shouldn’t come to a conclusion without hearing her side.
Neo turned away from Morrigan.
He trained his Darkness affinity to pass time.
The shadows stretched and spread out.
It was difficult to sustain the domain of darkness for a long period of time.
The longer he maintained darkness the harder it got to control.
The shadows slithered and tried to devour him.
Strange noises spoke to him.
He cancelled the domain of darkness when he reached his limit.
The darkness and the noises disappeared.
“Why are you using that element?” Morrigan spoke to him.
Her complexion improved.
It seemed hours went by while he was immersed in training.
“I have an affinity for it.”
“That’s your only reason?”
Morrigan looked like she had a lot to say.
“Don’t use it too much.” She pursed her lips. “When you devour others, the darkness devours you.
“Stop while you still can.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
Neo had no intention of stopping.
The two went silent.
Before Neo could return to the training, Morrigan spoke,
“I’m hungry.”
“…?”
“Go, get me something to eat.”
Neo didn’t move.
“I’m hurt because of you. Take responsibility.”
She stared at him with silent hate.
Neo was about to tell her off when suddenly his stomach rumbled.
“…”
He sighed.
‘I lost my sword when I fell. Guess I’ll go and search for it while looking for something to eat.’
He left the cave under Morrigan’s watchful eyes.
It was night.
He went around collecting fruits from the trees.
There was no clue about Obitus.
“I can’t call it back since our connection isn’t strong yet.”
He wanted to curse at himself.
“I lost a god slayer weapon.”
Neo could only wait for the tournament to end to get his sword.
While outside, Neo made sure to not leave tracks, or engage in battles.
His Divine Energy was far from sufficient.
He stood in front of a tree.
“Can I recover the Divine Energy if I devour it?”
Neo used the Darkness.
The ground turned pitch-black and the tree sunk into it at a slow pace.
He could feel himself reaching his limit when he tried to eat something as big as a tree.
It tasted like a dry bark.
“Wow, fuck.”
The tree didn’t restore his stamina or Divine Energy.
If anything, he felt more tired.
His mental energy took a huge hit after he devoured a living being.
“Note to self, don’t eat trees.”
Neo returned with the fruits he collected.
He gave a few to Morrigan.
She started meditation after eating her fill.
Neo trained his Darkness element.
Their routines were simple.
They would train and recover all day.
Neo would leave at night to collect fruit and return before sunrise. He did it to reduce his chances of encountering students.
After all, he was in no condition to fight.
Consuming only fruits barely recovered any Divine Energy.
Moreover, he did not sleep a wink.
He couldn’t trust his back to Morrigan.
There was no guarantee she wouldn’t try to take his rank token when he let his guard down.
Similarly, Morrigan, wary of him, never slept.
The two rarely talked.
They only trained.
Living inside the closed cave and being forced to sneak around at night was burdening Neo.
His mental state was worsening.
Neo had not seen the sun in days.
He was slowly beginning to lose his sense of time.
Every day it was the same dark cave, same dark night, and same dark forest.
His physical condition took a turn for worse.
“Cough! Cough!”
He began to puke blood every few hours.
While the wound on his stomach was not lethal, he had being moving around without receiving any medication.
Morrigan was not any better.
Her internal injuries were a lot worse than she let him know.
As days went by, she started to have trouble breathing and a fever came over her.
“Hey, just sleep,” he said to her.
“I… don’t trust…. you.”
She spoke with a barely audible voice.
Her injuries worsened over time and she lost a lot of energy.
“Cough! Cough! Fair enough,” Neo spoke. “I don’t trust you either.”
No matter how nice or kind she was, she would still want the first rank.
Neo could not sleep in front of her and risk the reward he was about to get.
During past days, he tried to find another cave or a hiding location.
But he failed.
“Wake up. Let’s eat.”
Neo brought fruits from outside.
Morrigan didn’t respond.
He got closer to her and noticed she was barely conscious.
Her body was burning from fever.
“Well… I’m not any better…. myself…”
Neo was already physically weak.
The tournament pushed him beyond his limits.
He laid Morrigan in a better position and sat beside her.
“On the bright side…. I can finally sleep— Cough! Cough!”
Neo wanted to sleep.
He dug his nails into his arm to keep himself from falling unconscious.
Or else, he might wake up in the Underworld.
Morrigan groaned in her sleep.
“Wake up, sleeping princess.”
He talked to her.
“You lost quite easily for someone who is the strongest of our generations.”
“S-shut… up…”
She mumbled in her sleep.
“I suppose it’s normal. There is no way I would lose.”
“I didn’t l-lose…”
Her expression twisted and she showed her signature frown.