Chapter 351
The Guides of Sin were divided.
Should they fight Taesan? Or should they hide and wait for him to pass? Countless emotions clashed.
After a debate that even involved physical force, a decision was made.
“You want to summon the Demon God and speak to her directly?”
“Yes.”
A young man with platinum blonde hair and an arrogant expression nodded.
“Escaping from that so-called Taesan descending upon this place isn’t difficult. That’s not the issue.”
They could use the secret key to leap between floors or simply hide in the vast expanse of the floor. Concealing themselves from Taesan wasn’t particularly difficult.
“But my pride won’t allow it.”
The young man was of a royal lineage that, according to legend, had inherited divine blood from the outside world. Though no divine power flowed in his veins, his pride had been ingrained through an education that was almost brainwashing.
“I cannot flee from a lowly being. But realistically speaking, I cannot defeat him.”
“Does your pride allow overwhelming him with numbers?”
“There’s no need to take a lowly one seriously in a fight. Numerical advantage is still a valid advantage.”
The young man spoke confidently.
“So we’ll summon the Demon God to remove the restriction.”
Only those permitted by the Demon God could fight Taesan. Removing that restriction was their goal.
Hearing this, the Lion King wore an ambiguous expression.
“Do you think the Demon God will accommodate us?”
“You won’t know until you try.”
The young man spoke.
“Even a Demon God cannot kill us. We are adventurers descending through the labyrinth they created. There’s no harm in verifying our chances.”
He wasn’t wrong. Despite the gods’ dislike for them, they could descend through the labyrinth unimpeded because they were adventurers.
“Do as you please. The majority has sided with you anyway.”
More than half agreed with the young man’s proposal. Their pride as deep-floor adventurers clashed with the reality that they couldn’t defeat Taesan one-on-one.
They began preparing to summon the Demon God.
Offering many tributes and artifacts, the young man shouted toward the void.
“Come forth! O Great One! We offer these tributes to you!”
Crack.
Space collapsed. A mighty presence descended, drawn by the proper offerings and summons.
The Guides prostrated themselves.
“We greet the great Demon God!”
A voice echoed. The Demon God, appearing, waved a hand lazily.
[Enough. I already know why you summoned me. Get to the point.]
“…I see.”
The young man swallowed nervously before speaking slowly.
“Demon God, you placed restrictions between us and Taesan—the adventurer you favor.”
If they weren’t at a level where they could kill each other, combat wasn’t permitted.
Because of that restriction, they had been forced to fight Taesan one by one.
“But we can no longer face him alone. Demon God, you have given him many advantages with these restrictions. So we beg of you, please grant our request.”
[You speak well. Continue.]
The Demon God spoke lazily. The young man took a deep breath and made his request.
“Please lift the restriction between us and him. Demon God.”
[Hmm.]
The Demon God stared at the young man in silence.
His chest tightened with tension.
Then, the Demon God spoke.
[Very well.]
“You… you will grant it?”
The young man lifted his head in shock. Though he had made the request, he hadn’t expected it to be accepted so easily. He thought he would need countless offerings and desperate pleas.
[It’s not that important of a matter. It’s no longer something I particularly care about. Do as you wish.]
With those words, the Demon God disappeared.
Relief washed over the young man, and he collapsed to the ground before twisting his lips into a grin.
“…It’s done.”
The restriction was lifted.
He leapt to his feet.
“It’s over. Now, all that’s left is to kill him.”
Some Guides gleamed with anticipation at his words.
But there were also those who refused.
“I have no intention of fighting him.”
It was the same man who had previously clashed with the Lion King.
Although the majority wanted to battle Taesan, a significant number still rejected the fight and chose to flee.
“He is a force of nature, like a tidal wave. There’s no need to stand in its way. We can hide and continue exploring the labyrinth after it passes.”
“Do as you please, cowards.”
The young man sneered at them.
“And what about you?”
He turned to the Lion King. The Lion King frowned.
“…Something is off. The Demon God agreed too easily.”
The Demon God favored Taesan.
If Taesan were to die in a desperate battle, that would be one thing, but being crushed under overwhelming numbers wasn’t something the Demon God would desire.
Yet, she had agreed.
Which meant that, as Taesan was now, even without restrictions, he had nothing to fear.
“Who knows? Perhaps she has lost interest in him. Gods are fickle beings.”
“We’ll see.”
The Lion King stepped back.
“I won’t be involved in this fight.”
“Do as you like. We will be victorious anyway.”
The young man’s expression held not a trace of doubt.
This was a coordinated assault by multiple deep-floor adventurers. No matter how strong Taesan was, the young man believed victory was assured.
The Lion King looked toward Sociét.
“What about you? Will you aid them?”
“I’m the same as you.”
She spoke flatly.
“I will prepare in my own way.”
She smiled quietly. It was the first smile she had shown since the Hero had died.
“So, we’ve finally reached this point.”
Muttering in an excited voice, she turned to the Lion King.
“And you?”
“I, too, will find my own path.”
The Lion King answered, gripping a gemstone in his hand.
Ambresia watched them with a contemplative expression.
* * *
The broken mechanical devices activated, and the remains of the Immortal began to move.
[Why is that thing moving?]
Even the Ghost was shocked. The Immortal had undoubtedly died long ago. Taesan calmly observed the Immortal.
‘The black pillar that fell from the sky.’
The moment it touched the Immortal, the Immortal opened its eyes.
An unnatural force emanated from the Immortal before him.
“It’s The Old gods.”
In the process of reclaiming power, The Old gods had intervened, turning the Immortal’s corpse into its puppet.
Taesan looked up. Beyond the sky, Transcendents and The Old gods had begun to clash. They seemed too preoccupied to care about this side.
The Immortal, now awake, locked its gaze onto Taesan.
Yet, there was no will behind its movements.
[Uh…]
The Ghost groaned. The Immortal was an opponent that Taesan, as he was now, could not defeat.
[We need to find an opening and escape into the labyrinth!]
It was a reasonable suggestion. But Taesan did not back down.
He silently watched the Immortal rise.
“There’s no will.”
It was already a dead being. The Old gods had merely forced power into it, making it a puppet to capture Taesan.
“And it’s broken.”
The remains of the Immortal were in ruins.
Finding an intact section was difficult, and the energy leaking from it was highly unstable.
Though Taesan’s Boundary Recoil trembled slightly, it did not shatter.
An opponent at this level—he could win.
“I won’t turn my back on cowards who only aim for openings.”
[You have activated Apostle Transformation [Darkness and Chaos].]
Taesan activated every buff skill he had.
He erased the Boundary Recoil surrounding his body. In a direct confrontation with the Immortal, he lacked the mastery to handle it.
As soon as the Boundary Recoil vanished, immense pressure sought to consume him.
Though the fragments of the Immortal spread across the world had been retrieved by the Transcendents, the Immortal before him was still suppressing Taesan. He could endure it, but a prolonged battle would be difficult.
He needed to end this quickly.
Tsk.
Taesan charged toward the Immortal.
The connection binding the broken Immortal to The Old gods was unstable. A single well-placed strike could bring it down.
Of course, an ordinary attack would not harm an Immortal.
Only Divine Power, Black Energy, or Boundary-level attacks would be effective.
Kiiiiiing!
The power of the Immortal, which had been in a dormant state, activated all at once to suppress Taesan.
The The Old gods’s command engraved in the Immortal’s remains was simple.
Eliminate the enemy before you.
The power erupted.
Dozens of beams obliterated the ground and erased space itself.
The speed was overwhelming—even Taesan, reacting instantly, couldn’t fully dodge. He threw himself to the side, but one of the beams pierced his leg.
[Your First Absolute Attack Nullification has been activated.]
“So that’s how fast it is.”
Though he had lost his first Attack Nullification, he had now gauged the Immortal’s speed.
‘It’s razor-thin.’
Even if he reacted the moment he sensed its power, he couldn’t be certain of dodging.
More beams rained down, and Taesan spread his wings.
[You have activated Selfish Choice.]
[You have activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
Taesan accelerated. His speed reached a level even the Guides of Sin couldn’t follow.
But his opponent was the Immortal.
Power poured directly toward Taesan. The earth roared, turning into tidal waves that blocked his path, while iridescent beams rained down.
[You have activated Distortion.]
Space twisted. The beams’ trajectories were redirected.
Creak.
The Immortal’s power pierced even the distorted space. The Distortion shattered, and the beams surged toward Taesan.
He had known Distortion wouldn’t fully block it. He just needed a brief moment.
[You have activated Restricted Blink.]
[You have activated Aerial Leap.]
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
Taesan shot toward the Immortal at an extreme speed.
The Immortal flinched slightly.
Waves of force rippled outward from its internal power, sweeping the surroundings.
[You have activated Aegis Shield, the Child Blessed by Divinity.
You are immune to all damage for 1 second, but you cannot act.]
The Aegis Shield. A skill that granted total damage immunity. Taesan planned to ignore the Immortal’s power and close the distance.
But the moment he touched the wave, his body was flung far away.
“Ugh!”
He hastily dispelled the shield and swung his sword downward. A burst of sword energy collided with the wave.
Landing on the ground, Taesan frowned.
“It’s just a repelling wave.”
Absolute protection, attack nullification, and the Aegis Shield—all were skills that activated when he received an attack.
In other words, a simple repelling force without damage wouldn’t trigger them.
Kiiiiiing!
Beams rained down again.
Taesan flapped his wings, swiftly dodging.
There was no opportunity to approach. He had to devote all his strength just to evading.
The Immortal’s body glowed.
Dozens of missiles shot forth. Even as Taesan moved to evade, they locked onto him with precision.
Taesan gathered his power. Since the Transcendents had retrieved the scattered fragments of the Immortal, there was no issue in manifesting his strength.
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
He combined Frozen World and Starlight Arrow before releasing them.
Frost and light collided with the missiles.
Light erupted, dyeing the world.
Within the clash of powers, a red dot appeared on Taesan’s chest.
He instinctively activated a skill.
[You have activated Random Blink.]
As Taesan’s body teleported, an explosion erupted where the red mark had been.
The blast was immense—even having teleported away, its shockwave nearly engulfed him.
[You have activated Embers of Calamity.]
A firestorm of annihilation erupted, clashing with the explosion. The two forces devoured each other and vanished.
Kiiiiiing!
Once more, beams rained down. Taesan gritted his teeth and moved.
Everything burned. Space itself began to distort.
A pure force beyond reach. He was struggling just to evade—counterattacking seemed impossible.
The Immortal showed no will. It merely moved according to the commands embedded within it.
Even so, it was still an Immortal. A being beyond mortality.
But—
‘I can win.’
Only one Attack Nullification had been consumed.
His Magi and Mana were still plentiful.
He had more than enough chances.
Taesan spoke.
“Stop.”
[You have activated Declaration of Stopping.]
