Treasure of a Thief

Darino could sense that Shui no longer saw him as a threat, and that angered him. However, he was still calm enough to realize that Shui wasn't merely bluffing, so he quickly prepared for his next attack. Although it was a bit ironic, it was his quick-wittedness that made Shui glad to have him as an opponent. Confident in his strength, Shui trusted his instincts and comprehension of martial arts, and allowed all tactics and strategies to leave his mind. As Shui embraced his divinity, fear towards a higher being was born in Darino's heart, but he immediately suppressed it.

"I, won't lose!"

Darino's desperation didn't reach Shui as he made his first move. Without taking the usual stance, he used the only attack of the Ethereal Blade Method, Instant with a thrust. Once the thrust made contact with Darino's chest, Shui then unleashed two slashes on the same region before moving to Darino's right and swinging across Darino's arm. Shui followed up with another Instant to reach Darino's left and then a slash to his knees. Shui continued to land another thirty slashes with Darino unaware that he was being attacked until the very end. While short of light speed, Shui's attack had been so fast that even lightning would lag behind him, with each attack heavier than the last. 

"Ethereal Blade Method, Speed Form, First Stance: Instant - Multi."

Once Shui was finished attacking, he began walking away from Darino and withdrew Sui. Darino had no idea what had happened, but he wouldn't let a chance like this go. He tried to take out an artifact to attack Shui's back, but the moment he moved, his body fell apart.

'Huh?'

He had more life-preserving items than fingers, but few of them could stop even one of Shui's attacks, and even those couldn't prevent the damage to his internals. In truth, he had been dead before the 20th slash, but he would never know that. His body disintegrated, but Shui didn't feel bad this time as he verified with his eyes that his soul was spared from conversion. Though he was an enemy, Shui wanted him to die with at least some dignity as thanks for an enjoyable fight. 

With Darino done for, Shui opened the two doors on the sides of the corridor. Inside them, he found more people, but they didn't seem to be adept at fighting. They appeared to be administrative helpers along with different types of crafters.

"Please spare us! We have no loyalty to the Darino Gang, we just -"

"Sleep."

As they didn't harbour much ill intent, Shui simply forced them to sleep with a spell. He also used 'Seal' on their minds so they didn't wake up until he came back for them. Although he had taken care of Darino, he knew that the true danger was still ahead. He was relieved that Darino didn't seem to have grasped the true secret behind this inviolable domain, but also a little disappointed that he didn't know what to expect. With the Sage God Eyes there shouldn't be anything that could hide from him, but that was only if he was strong enough to use his eyes to the extent required.

Shui used the wind to check for any other people once more, and after confirming that he was the only one conscious, he started checking the rooms. The side rooms that the non-combatants were drawn out of seemed to be used for a mixture of research and paperwork. By knocking on different spots and listening, Shui found a few suspicious areas behind the walls and floor, but his eyes found them to be empty. Still, Shui didn't have much expectation for these rooms so he wasn't surprised. 

Once he was done searching the side rooms, only the room at the end of the corridor was left. After a deep breath, Shui reached out and pushed the door open. Many possibilities had come to mind, but what he found was surprisingly surreal. There was no furniture in the room, only a pile of artifacts and materials on the floor that led Shui to wonder if Darino had been a forge master, and across the room was the real surprise. What stood there was a ostentatious golden door with a sign above it that read, 'Treasury', in the first language of mortals dating back to the Age of Gods. 

It wouldn't be wrong to call this a vulgar display of wealth, but Shui was even more sure that this was made by one of the divine so he didn't know what to say about it. 

"Maybe I should have read Darino's memory first."

It looked too obvious to be real, but Shui's instincts assured him that this was what he was looking for. Shui hesitated before eventually heading towards the door. The door was made of real gold, but the divine aura clinging to it was more valuable than the door itself. Shui considered using the Sage God Eyes to figure out what god was responsible for this, but unless it was a god familiar to him he would have to draw on too much of his eyes' power to get a glimpse. He wasn't crazy about heading in without information, but after taking out his necklace to look at its rapidly blinking glow, he built up enough courage to put his hand on the door. With just that, all faded to darkness.

It was in the blink of an eye. Nothing seemed strange before, and after a moment of darkness, he found himself in a new space. It was like the times when he entered the Primordial Library, but he was still surprised as he hadn't expected it. However, before he had any time to question the experience, a voice echoed throughout the hallway he found himself in, which featured a big treasure chest at the very end of it. 

"Ahem, I'm not aware if you come as one or many, but my esteemed self welcomes you nonetheless. An excellent show of hospitality if this one does say so. After all, even among my numerous legendary tales, there were few occasions where my victims happily invited me in despite knowing my identity. Of course, they all thought their precious treasures would be safe from my hands, a belief I'm sure you know was quite mistaken. 

Oh? Did I forget to introduce myself? Even so, did you really come all the way without realizing whose treasury you were meddling with? A rather reckless one, aren't you? Oh well, I suppose I can still deign you with an introduction, though you will unfortunately be without a portrait to match. 

It is I! The elusive fisherman, the phantom hand, the wind that slips past guards, the scavenger of the secular stars! All these titles can only refer to me, the Angel of Shadows, the God of Plunder, Calus!"

Although he had obtained the partial inheritance of the Sage God, there hadn't been any direct messages from him, so this was the first time Shui got an idea of what one of the gods acted like, even though he wasn't an origin god. However, once he found out which god this was, it became much harder for him to feel any genuine respect for him. Shui still admired his strength, but since he had read many stories about him, his character seemed to leave much to be desired. 

Although he introduced himself as the God of Plunder, the title that was left next to his name the most was the God of Thieves.