The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 389

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Chapter 389

Left alone, Radiant Star Revolt Calibra clutched his secondary weapons tightly in both hands, cold sweat pouring down his body as waves of pain surged through him.

He muttered in disbelief,

“What the hell is this…? Where did that bastard go now? Hey! Hey, you bastard!! Get back here, damn it!!”

Looking back, it was foolish—but the feeling of being ignored grated on his nerves in a strange way.

He had steeled himself for death and confronted the monster head-on.

Yet now, not only the boss of the rift but even the roaming underlings had all vanished somewhere.

That unpleasant feeling only intensified.

“Fine. If it’s backing off, that’s good enough.”

He stowed his weapons, pressed down on his aching wounds, and chased after the comrades who had moved ahead.

He was slow, but he hadn’t earned the title of Star for nothing.

Before his overwhelming willpower, simple movement posed no obstacle.

Revolt soon spotted the rest of the group standing before an enormous door.

“You idiots! What are you doing just standing around here?! Still dawdling?!”

“Revolt!”

“Oh my god! You’re alive!”

“We don’t know what happened, but when the world shook, the monster took its subordinates and disappeared again.”

At Revolt’s appearance, relief clearly washed over the others’ faces.

No one could feel comfortable abandoning a comrade as a shield and fleeing.

Though the world believed the Stars constantly checked and opposed one another, in truth they often acted together under a shared purpose.

Nationality or faction mattered little—many of them were close.

“With a rift this unstable, anything could happen.”

“Hey now. The important thing is that you’re alive.”

The Sword Saint lightly patted Revolt’s shoulder and smiled faintly.

“So. What about the investigation?”

“No good. It won’t open at all.”

“Damn it. Once you enter, you can’t leave until the problem’s solved?”

“If only we knew how long this curse lasts…”

They all stared at the colossal door before them—well over ten meters tall.

It looked like something from a grand temple: majestic, sacred, beautiful.

Amid the twisted world, it alone radiated dignified light.

At a glance, it clearly wasn’t ordinary.

Since entering this space, nothing they’d found was more alien than this door.

“I don’t know if it’s just a feeling, but… that door… it feels like something we shouldn’t open…”

Bow Star Yuhav shivered as she spoke.

Her small frame and youthful appearance—barely early teens—might make her look like a frightened child to an outsider.

But no one here thought that.

Yuhav had long been famous for her intuition.

If she felt this way, then opening the door could be dangerous.

“But we don’t really have another option—”

Before the sentence could finish, starting with Spear Star Bellion, everyone turned their gaze in the same direction.

“Show yourself. Who are you?”

A chilling killing intent pressed down on the surroundings.

It was faint—but unmistakably a presence.

Different from the roaming monsters or the giant being of light.

Led by the Sword Saint, everyone drew their weapons and guarded the area.

The entry limit had already been filled.

Which meant—

That wasn’t an ally.

Just as they reached that conclusion—

Tzzzt… Buuurk!!

Sparks flew as space rippled, and two figures appeared.

One was Isna, cloaked in black robes and wearing a mask.

And—

“Leon… how did you get here…?”

The one who dispelled Invisibility and revealed himself was none other than Leon.

“It seems leaving undead behind wasn’t completely pointless. Thanks to that, I was able to find you quickly in this disorienting space.”

* * *

The Stars couldn’t hide their confusion.

They had assumed an enemy—yet it was Leon Cascadia?

How had he even entered this place?

The entry limit was five.

But now there were two more people.

They could understand if two Stars had died—but that wasn’t the case.

“Get a grip! That’s probably an illusion!”

Yuhav shouted, trembling.

“He’s just a kid! And that kind of killing intent?! Does that look normal to you?!”

Radiant Star and Battle Star seemed to agree, maintaining their guard.

But—

Spear Star and Sword Saint were different.

“Leon. It really is you. No one else could possess such absurd killing intent.”

“Thank you for trusting me. Is there only one injured person?”

“There is.”

“Sir Osberg!”

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t make sense, but the person in front of us really is Lord Leon.”

“What nonsense—!”

At Leon’s gesture, a wraith wolf emerged from the Sword Saint’s shadow and merged into Leon.

“How is it?”

Isna’s distorted voice asked as Leon checked the undead he’d retrieved.

“No wonder it couldn’t send any signals. The necromantic mana structure forming its body is completely shattered.”

“Of course. The Gatekeeper’s power affects everything around it. Even hiding in shadows, a weak entity couldn’t endure.”

Once restored in the shadows, it would move again.

“But… this person here—”

“Osberg!! Step back!”

Battle Star’s massive fist flew toward Isna.

“Why?”

“Leon Cascadia, was it? Answer me this. What is your relationship with the leader of the Watchers?”

Leon replied flatly,

“We’re allies.”

“What?”

“The Watchers are currently controlled by another lunatic. The one here is the original leader—abandoned by her own organization.”

“That doesn’t erase the infamy of the Moon Watchers.”

His voice was cold.

“Do you even know how many died at their hands—”

“We can discuss that later. For now, the reason I noticed your danger and came here is thanks to her.”

Battle Star frowned.

“What are you talking about…”

“If she hadn’t known about the Despair Rift, I wouldn’t be here.”

Leon took out a small vial.

“This accelerates regeneration. It’s enchanted with recovery—very effective.”

Osberg poured the potion into Revolt’s mouth.

Multicolored light swirled and seeped into his body, his wounds rapidly healing.

“Alright. Treatment’s done. Let’s leave.”

“We can’t. The exit is gone. We’re trapped. How did you even get in?”

Leon looked to Isna.

“Meet the conditions, and you can enter. That’s all.”

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She didn’t seem keen on revealing her identity to her grandfather.

“That’s what she says. Then do you know how to get out?”

“We kill the enemy.”

Everyone knew who that meant.

“Impossible! We appreciate you coming, but that thing isn’t something we can handle right now!”

Yuhav spoke gently, like soothing a child.

Leon showed no reaction.

“If we don’t kill it, we can’t leave anyway, right?”

“That door—”

“No. If that opens, we don’t know what’ll happen.”

“What?”

Isna sent Leon a telepathic message.

[Remember? You escaped drenched in blood.]

‘I do.’

[If it were just the Gatekeeper, that wouldn’t have happened. The door opened by accident, and everything went wrong. I don’t know what’s inside—but we don’t need to stir up what can stay buried.]

Leon decided.

“Leave the door. We kill the monster first.”

“Watcher leader. You seem to know that thing well.”

Battle Star’s voice was icy.

“I do. We once prevented the Despair Rift from opening.”

“You stopped it?”

“That was our purpose. Did you think we killed people for fun?”

Don’t insult the dead.

Isna snapped coldly.

“Enough. Fighting among ourselves is pointless. Do you know the monster?”

“…Not in detail.”

She almost used honorifics—then corrected herself.

“I know its name is Gatekeeper. And that its sword grants a specific authority to its target.”

“Authority?”

“Pure Passion. It weighs a target’s talent and effort. If talent outweighs effort, the heavier side is sealed.”

“…In short, the more of a genius you are, the weaker you become.”

Faces drained of color.

“So effort alone… How absurd.”

“Don’t misunderstand. You’re still strong because you worked hard. Do you think a human could reach your level by effort alone in such a short lifespan?”

Silence followed.

They all knew it.

Their strength was the synergy of effort and overwhelming talent.

“Then what about the opposite case?”

“There’s no penalty.”

Which meant no one relying purely on effort could possibly be strong enough to kill it.

“Then… there’s no way?”

BOOM!!

A four-meter-tall giant of light descended, staring at Leon.

It raised its sword.

“No—! It’s activating its ability!!”

Light wrapped around Leon and Isna.

Isna staggered—but didn’t collapse.

“You must’ve worked hard.”

“…I told you. I’m not a good match either. I’m no different from them.”

Most of her power—her authorities—were sealed.

But—

Leon calmly stepped forward.

“So. That means it doesn’t work on someone without talent, right?”

He stood before the Gatekeeper.

The giant struck again.

Nothing happened.

“You use mana.”

Leon grinned.

“With this density… colliding magic should work beautifully.”

Lightning crackled as mana manifested around him.

“Why is he fine?!”

“That mana… it’s absurd…”

Leon chuckled.

“Effort, huh…”

He had died thousands of times just learning to sense aura.

Millions of deaths.

Countless ages endured with one thought—escape.

For Leon, adapting was merely applying repetition.

If a trace of talent tried to outweigh that—

He’d laugh at it.

The giant swung.

CLANG!!

Interlocking translucent mana shards blocked the blow.

Leon pulled out two vials.

He drank them.

A mana storm erupted.

“…Sir Osberg.”

He tossed vials.

“An improved version. Once I disable its authority, take it and clean up.”

“…This medicine…”

“Drink it. It’s good for you. You’ll crave it later.”

“…Hah.”

Leon smiled coldly and gestured.

Lightning obliterated the giant.

The Gatekeeper was overwhelmed.

Battle Star whispered,

“Yuhav.”

“What?”

“If talent weakens you… then does that mean this boy surpassed us through pure effort?”

“…Guess so.”

“How is that possible?”

“How would I know, you lunatic old man.”

No one disagreed.

“Drink up. Its authority is breaking.”

Isna’s voice echoed.

The Stars surged forward.

Strength returned.

“This feeling… at last.”

Yuhav giggled.

“I’m buying years’ worth of this potion.”

“Charge!”

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