Chapter 227: Darkness Creating a Black World (2)

The Old God was targeting his world and himself.

For Taesan, who sought the power and stature of a god, he would inevitably clash with the Old Gods if he continued along his path.

He considered this moment to be a rehearsal for that eventual confrontation. Taesan distanced himself from the shadows that slowly spread toward him.

The darkness consuming Hasak was undoubtedly alien. He had faced numerous monsters, but this was distinctly different.

It wasn’t just strong—it was fundamentally something else.

The shadow swallowed the earth and the space around it.

The wind and light drawn into that engulfed area would never return.

The entire area around the sphere was covered in shadow.

“Varkaza. Stay back. Or return.”

[This is damaging to my pride, but… I have no choice. Don’t die, master. It’d be a waste if you died after finally getting a contractor.]

As Varkaza withdrew, Hasak’s twisted smile widened.

“Kaak!”

With a harsh sound, darkness surged from the shadow. The thorn-like projections aimed for Taesan.

Taesan swiftly twisted his body. Narrowly dodging the spikes aimed at his head, he swung his sword to fend off the attack trying to pierce his entire body.

Clang!

The darkness struck his sword, distorting its trajectory.

The sword began to be swallowed by the darkness, turning black as it was consumed.

Taesan infused his sword with his spiritual force. The darkness retreated under the pressure of his energy.

Feeling the strain of controlling his spiritual force, Taesan clicked his tongue.

‘Even blocking it is dangerous.’

Wherever the shadow touched became part of the Old God’s domain. Using Hasak’s body as a medium, it expanded its domain into the world, rejecting harmony and defying the laws of nature.

Just blocking the attack was enough to cause Taesan’s sword to be tainted by the Old God’s power.

Although he could push it back by infusing his sword with spiritual force, using that energy for every minor attack would put him at a disadvantage.

Darkness once again rose from the shadow.

As the black wave surged toward him like a tidal wave, Taesan raised his hand.

[You have activated Frozen World.]

Crack!

An extreme cold spread in all directions. It froze everything in its path, stopping time around it.

But the shadow didn’t care. It devoured the cold. In an instant, the ice was consumed, and the shadow lunged at Taesan.

Tsk.

Taesan kicked off the ground. He barely evaded the advancing shadow and widened the distance between them.

The shadow only grew wilder, reaching out further.

It expanded its reach, covering Taesan’s escape routes completely.

There was nowhere left to run. So, he would have to break through.

Taesan focused his strength and dashed toward the edge where the shadow hadn’t spread yet.

The moment his foot touched the shadow, he leaped and summoned his shield.

[You have activated Aegis Shield.]

The shield’s power enveloped Taesan.

For one second, the shield made him immune to all damage. The downside was that he couldn’t move during that time.

But although he couldn’t move voluntarily, the shield didn’t stop the laws of inertia. Since Taesan had already kicked off the ground before activating the shield, his body flew out of the shadow’s reach.

The shadow rose again, trying to envelop Taesan’s body.

It turned his body black as it tried to consume him.

The shield’s effect granted him immunity to damage. The shadow’s attack should have been nullified.

‘What?’

But Taesan’s eyebrows twitched as he flew through the air.

The shadow covering his body was pressing down on him.

Crack.

The power of the shield surrounding him began to crack.

[W-What the…?]

The shield wouldn’t last long enough to get him out of the shadow. Realizing this quickly, Taesan gathered all his spiritual force around his body.

Boom!

The shield shattered before its duration had even expired.

The shadow lunged at Taesan’s body. Feeling the foreign sensation of the darkness creeping up from his feet, Taesan pushed it back with his spiritual force and activated another skill.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Taesan’s body teleported far away. He kicked the ground, shaking off the lingering darkness.

[This… this is…]

The ghost was at a loss for words. Taesan held his sword expressionlessly.

“As expected.”

There was nothing surprising about this. The power of the Old Gods distorted the laws of this world and interfered with the power of the gods.

And the labyrinth was a place created by a wizard who had combined their power with a god’s.

It wasn’t surprising that the labyrinth’s items were affected by the Old God’s power.

“If my skills are activating, then it’s only the items being interfered with. Spiritual force seems to provide some degree of defense.”

Spikes of darkness shot out from the shadow, aiming to pierce Taesan. He kicked off the ground and dodged them.

“Hahahaha!”

Luckily, Hasak wasn’t paying any attention to the sphere. He was solely focused on killing Taesan, gathering all his power for that purpose. Taesan didn’t need to worry about protecting the sphere for now.

So, he could concentrate entirely on defeating the enemy before him.

Taesan began to move.

Clang!

Simply dodging wouldn’t let him win. He had to find a way to approach Hasak.

Stepping on the ground and closing the distance was impossible. Everything around Hasak was now the Old God’s domain. The moment he set foot there, the power would overwhelm him.

So, he took to the air.

[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

Rainbow-colored wings sprouted from Taesan’s back.

With a burst of speed, he shot into the sky.

“Hahaha!”

Whoosh!

The shadow rose to cover the sky. Taesan moved his wings, dodging the oncoming black force.

Boom!

In a straight line, he darted forward, dodging the shadow that painted the sky like a brushstroke.

“Hahahaha!”

Hasak continued to laugh.

The man who had once severed his contract with ease was now doing nothing but dodging. The thought thrilled Hasak. He could barely contain his glee.

“The labyrinth is nothing! Before this great power!”

It meant nothing.

Hasak shouted, drunk on his power.

“Die where you are, insect!”

Taesan didn’t reply.

There was no point in paying attention to a being that had lost even its sense of self, consumed by power and madness.

Taesan focused solely on evading the shadow and reading its trajectory. Once he had memorized most of its movements, he made his decision.

“It’s about time.”

“Yes! It’s time for you to die…”

Hasak’s mockery was cut short as Taesan suddenly flew toward him.

Startled, Hasak hurriedly gathered the shadow and launched spikes at him.

Taesan easily twisted his body.

The spikes flew past him, just grazing him.

Crunch.

Taesan’s sword pierced Hasak’s blackened chest.

[$#@! takes 23 damage.]

“You, you!”

Hasak’s face twisted in rage at the sudden attack.

Power burst out of him, and the shadow surged up to engulf Taesan.

But Taesan moved his wings, twisting his body away.

The shadow harmlessly sliced through empty air.

Hasak waved his hand. The shadow rippled like waves and spread in all directions, but Taesan evaded them again and pierced Hasak’s neck.

[$#@! takes 26 damage.]

“Kaak!”

Hasak screamed and staggered back. The darkness covered his pierced neck, leaving no visible wound.

“Tch.”

Taesan clicked his tongue and moved again.

“How dare you thrust your sword into my great body!”

Hasak gritted his teeth and swung the shadow.

The storm-like darkness aimed for Taesan’s entire body.

The wings moved. Taesan’s sword slashed across Hasak’s chest.

But once again, the wound was immediately covered in darkness.

“Hahahaha!”

Hasak laughed.

At first, he had been shocked by the attacks, but then he realized it.

Taesan’s attacks couldn’t harm him at all.

“You can’t hurt me with such pitiful strength!”

Hasak was now empowered by the Old God’s strength. The Old God’s power was literally the power of a god.

Even if it was just a fragment, it was still beyond the reach of mortals.

Due to the difference in power, Taesan’s attacks couldn’t fully reach him.

Thus, Taesan couldn’t kill him.

Hasak, convinced of this, gathered even more power.

His remaining emotions were completely buried under the overwhelming force, which surged around him in all directions.

“Die!”

Crash!

The shadow shattered into fragments and scattered everywhere. It devoured everything in its path, reducing everything to ruins.

It was literally a storm.

And after the dark storm, nothing remained.

Hasak cackled.

“It’s over! I am the strongest!”

Crunch.

In the midst of Hasak’s triumphant shout, his chest was pierced once again.

Emerging from the consuming darkness, Taesan appeared, unscathed.

“H-how…”

“How indeed?”

Taesan moved. His sword slashed through Hasak’s entire body.

“You…!”

Hasak’s face twisted in rage as he swung the shadow again.

“You might’ve survived by sheer luck, but that’s all!”

There was no way Taesan could deal a proper blow.

His overwhelming superiority remained unchanged.

Hasak continued to wield his power, and Taesan kept planting his sword in him.

Hasak stomped his foot. The shadow surged up in an instant, attempting to engulf Taesan.

Taesan swung his sword.

The spiritual force gathered at the tip of the sword clashed with the shadow. Through the small gap created, Taesan slipped out and slashed Hasak’s abdomen.

“…It’s pointless!”

His superiority hadn’t changed.

Hasak continued to manipulate his power.

And Taesan continued to respond.

[You have activated Marbas’s Pitch-black Wave.]

A black wave surged toward Hasak.

Of course, the wave disappeared before it could reach him due to the difference in power, but it was enough to obscure his vision. In that moment of hesitation, Taesan landed another successful attack.

Hasak continued to wield his power.

And everything shattered, broke, and vanished. Taesan did not allow a single attack to land on him, while his attacks kept landing on Hasak.

“A… Aah?”

Hasak finally realized.

The battle had gone on for over ten minutes, and he hadn’t hit Taesan even once.

Instead, only he had been continuously hit.

“…Don’t make me laugh!”

The difference in power was obvious. He should be the one winning.

The shadow rose from the earth once again.

It was an attack that left nowhere to escape, but Taesan moved his wings without changing his expression.

Boom!

He quickly identified the area where the density of the shadows was thinnest. Then, as the shadow lunged toward him, he swung his sword.

[You have activated Deflection.]

Clang!

The trajectory of the shadow was distorted. As the redirected shadows collided with each other, they created an opening.

Taesan shook off the shadow that clung to his sword and escaped.

Without suffering any losses, Taesan blocked the attack and drove his sword into Hasak once again.

“What the hell…”

Hasak cursed as he continued to wield his power, but the result didn’t change.

Taesan dodged Hasak’s attacks effortlessly.

‘It’s certainly threatening.’

The alien power of the Old God, which corroded everything it touched, turning anything black just from contact.

If someone who wielded the power properly was using it, even Taesan would be in danger.

But the one wielding that power was Hasak, so there was no threat at all.

Hasak had only ever wielded the power of spirits. Every battle had been handled by the high spirits, so this was likely the first time he had personally manipulated power in a fight.

As a result, his movements were completely obvious. There was no need to even read his intentions—just by watching his eyes and the flow of power, Taesan could tell what kind of attack was coming.

He wasn’t making proper use of the alien power of the Old God. He was wielding it like it was the power of an ordinary spirit.

Simply possessing power meant nothing.

It was only dangerous in the hands of someone qualified to wield it.

Taesan cut off his thoughts and continued the fight.

The battle was one-sided. But that didn’t mean the situation was good.

Taesan’s attacks still weren’t dealing proper damage.

It was simply a matter of lacking the right level of power.

He was dealing small amounts of damage, but the apostolic transformation would end before he could finish Hasak off.

Hasak, having regained his composure, shouted angrily.

“It’s useless! You can’t beat me!”

“Not yet.”

Taesan smiled faintly.

“But that goes for you too.”

Taesan’s body swayed.

The spikes from the shadow pierced through the empty air.

As the battle dragged on, Taesan was growing increasingly familiar with Hasak’s attack patterns.

Even if his apostolic transformation ended, Hasak wouldn’t be able to kill him with his current power.

“And time is on my side.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Hasak scoffed. His power was endless. Meanwhile, Taesan’s strength would dwindle, and his stamina would eventually run out.

But Taesan was sure of it. With time, he would win.

The battle continued.

Taesan evaded every single attack.

“Grr!”

Hasak desperately gathered his power. With a violent backlash, his energy exploded.

It was at that moment, just as Taesan was about to dodge.

Crack.

The sphere shattered.

A wind flowed out from it.

A soft, refreshing breeze began to push away the darkness that had covered the earth. The rushing shadow was blocked by the wind and dissipated.

Feeling the presence from the breaking sphere, Hasak’s face stiffened.

Taesan sheathed his sword.

“I thought it would take another day, but it’s faster than I expected.”

“I couldn’t keep you waiting too long.”

With the mature voice of a woman, Minerva’s form emerged from the cracked sphere.