58 Chapter 58

With a superior physique honed from decades of gravity training and a technique that allows him to move dozens of metres in moments, the blonde was an absolute thrasher that slaughtered his way through the elite armoured warriors with his fists.

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|DxD|

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Shiva watched indifferently as Igor made his way through the armed warriors. Tensions were running high with how the warriors were losing so terribly.

Nandi noticed this and chose to offer his input.

"My lord. Army morale is decreasing rapidly. I suggest we-"

But Shiva waved him off.

"No, Nandi. There will be no need. Let this child be the fire that ignites the fire of my men for the next battle. Let's retreat."

The words of Shiva were heard by all the Buddhas and other fighters hovering in the sky with him. His words took all of them by surprise. Retreating now would be the first time the army would suffer such a fatal and embarrassing loss. While some were ready to unquestionably follow Shiva's orders and retreat, some already wanted to dispute.

The most notable of them was Mahabali. He was a handsome man with long black hair, pale skin, and wore a sari dress. He was muscular, his temperament fierce, but calm. Mahabali was one of the few people who genuinely hated Indra to the core. The War God was responsible for killing his father during the Asura war, resulting in an unforgivable grudge that he would hold until the end of time. It was understandable why he was one of the few people who were extremely unsatisfied with Shiva's decision.

So gritting his teeth in determination, Mahabali flew over to Shiva and bowed his head.

"Lord Shiva. Please allow me to suggest that we continue pressing on. We may not hold the advantage now, but I am confident our generals can quell the threat our men are facing below."

As much as Mahabali wanted to descend himself and handle the blonde, he knew that someone from Indra's side would immediately stop him. It was already sort of an unspoken rule between the two armies that anyone in the supreme-god class cannot interfere in a battle of god-class entities and lower. 

It was why Mahabali could only relay the responsibility of quelling the blonde towards the generals. But Shiva remained stalwart. He had already made his decision and did not want to be questioned on it.

And he let that be shown through his aura, something which caused Mahabali to tense up and lower his head even further.

Sometimes, people would forget how powerful Shiva was. With his appearance of a handsome middle-school boy, his luscious blue-black hair would make him seem like a target of underestimation. This was further enhanced by how he was laid back in nature, the representation of a polite and well-spoken person.

But that was when his authority wasn't questioned.

"What did I say?"

A cold sweat covered Mahabali's head.

"F-forgive me, my lord. We will retreat at once."

Mahabali went away and immediately relayed the order to retreat. As for Nandi, he smiled kindly at Shiva, amusement written on his face.

[Once again, my lord has taken the opportunity to retreat, not for the noble reasons he stated, but because he wants to sleep.]

Nandi had served Shiva for countless years. He was already clear with his lord's antics. Although he appeared rather eloquent on the outside, he was very lazy when he was within the confines of his own home. It was fairly understandable given that Shiva was already an entity that already had the power to destroy the universe. With no one to challenge him anymore, his rate of gaining strength had decreased and sleep had become his favourite pastime.

But beneath all of that, Shiva was a warrior through and through. Having come from the bottom as well, he valued genuine hard work. Having been born a mortal, he put in his all into becoming stronger. And when he was selected as a candidate for the title of 'Destroyer', he put in even more hard work, surpassing all the candidates chosen along with him. Even when he succeeded and became a god, he continued to work hard to surpass his limits and eventually reached his current level of power. It was why Shiva appreciated people who sought personal strength and abhorred politics and schemes. A person with a strong body and a strong heart was someone he would always have a good impression of. And right now, he had a good impression of Igor.

Nandi watched from the corner of his eye at Shiva's slight grin. It made him more curious at the object of his lord's positive mood.

Scrutinising the berserk blonde in detail, Nandi silently pondered.

[Will he become a person my lord can finally fight?]

Very few people knew this, but Shiva's strength far surpassed the supreme class. Even conceptional beings like Ophis and Great Red could barely compare to him. Shiva was so powerful that should he wish to, he could destroy the entire universe. Yet, it was only publically known that he could destroy Earth. It was why that gods like Indra dared to challenge him and why Shiva always appeared bored. To him, Indra was so weak that he could erase his entire existence with a single finger.

The only reason why he hid his power, why he tolerated the war with Indra, was to preserve his life. As powerful as he was, his other fellow gods, Brahma and Vishnu weren't as powerful. That would not be a problem, except that his life was linked to theirs. Shiva was part of the Trimurti and in that trio existed Brahma The Creator, Vishnu The Preserver, and he, Shiva The Destroyer. As a destroyer god, his power needed to far surpass any possible threat in order to preserve the sanctity of the universe from major threats that could serve to completely destroy all life. It was why even after receiving his title, he continued to train under Nandi, breaking through his limits and finally becoming a universe class entity.

Yet in order to keep him in check, his life would be linked to two of his fellow gods. Should they die in anyway, he will die as well. It as an insurance reason to prevent him from becoming a tyrant that ruled the universe like an overlord. Shiva had no problem with the arrangement except for the fact that his fellow gods were much weaker than the threats he was supposed to destroy.

It was why if his true power was known, then it would only be a matter of time before his weakness would be discovered as well. That was why he hid his power, to not make people completely afraid of him. Because the first thing they would do is scour every possible way to defeat him and who better to get that information than from his fellow gods. If several supreme class entities teamed up, they could overwhelm Vishnu and Brahma and with how wide the supernatural world was, numerous methods of extracting information existed.

Shiva was by no means benevolent. He did not seek the approval of people or cared for their opinions. But he had a job to prioritise and he cared not for fame. If people severely underestimated his power, then so be it. None of them were stronger than even his presumed power and should they become a threat, he can destroy them in an instant. Rather than have the entire supernatural world wary of his power, he would rather spend time with his family, sleep, and occasionally train every once in a while.

As for fighting Indra, it was a combination of boredom, expectations, and keeping up appearances. Hundreds upon thousands of years ago, Indra approached him looking for a fight. Out of boredom, he fought Indra and eventually saw potential in the fledgling War God. He believed that given a few thousand years, Indra could become an opponent on equal footing with him. Yet his disappointment surged with each passing millennium. Indra had completely stagnated, his strength no longer increasing due to the god no longer trying to increase his power. The War God believed that with his power having reached the point of being able to obliterate an entire planet out of existence, it was enough to rival the God of Destruction.

But while Shiva was disappointed in Indra, it also sparked an idea within him. Using Indra as a premise, he began recruiting warriors while the War God did the same. While the latter assumed it would be a simple competition between each other, Shiva's intentions stretched further. He would look for a talent, someone with an absolute thirst for power, and someone who adored battle.

And today, he found a potential candidate. With the appearance of the blonde, he took an interest. But that was all it was- an interest. There were many, many people who came before the blonde. All of them had talent and the capability to reach for the peak, yet none of them satisfied his requirements. They all softened as they advanced in years, none of them holding that thirst for battle that they had in their youth. Shiva had observed in the likes of Sun Wukong, but was eventually disappointed when the Great Sage also stopped advancing. Although his requirements were harsh, he did not need another Indra to waste his time.

Holding on to Nandi's hand, Shiva thought to himself.

[Since he spent over six decades in that little chamber of his, if he reaches supreme class within the next hundred years, I will consider nurturing him.]

It was an impossible goal, even if the blonde was an Aryan. But that was precisely the results Shiva expected at this point. He believed that if Igor truly had the conviction, the drive, and the singular mind to reach that goal, he could become a supreme class entity within a century.

The blonde already had the foundation. His physique was already one of the best Shiva had seen in his years of life. He had the time chamber artifact, meaning he had a private place to fully train without consequence. 

With all this in place, if Igor cannot reach the supreme class within a hundred-year timeframe, then Shiva will ignore him like the rest.

[I hope you have the necessary conviction.]

He then grabbed Nandi's arm, his eyes not leaving Igor's form.

"It's about time I retire."

With that little sentence, both he and Nandi vanished in a pillar of blue light.

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AN

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