Chapter 352
The advantage Taesan had against the Immortal was its lack of will.
A Word of Command exerted near-absolute power over an opponent without will.
Clunk!
As expected, the moment the Word of Command activated, the Immortal stopped moving. The frenzied mechanical devices came to an abrupt halt.
Taesan was about to push off and strike.
Kiiiing!
A tremendous force erupted from the Immortal.
It forcibly broke free from Taesan’s command and unleashed dozens of beams.
Kugugugung!
Barely dodging, Taesan clicked his tongue.
‘Even without will, an Immortal is still an Immortal.’
To think it could break a Word of Command with sheer force.
Taesan activated Declaration of Stopping once more. The Immortal again spread its power, breaking free.
This time, it was even faster than before.
A restriction strong enough to halt an opponent’s actions entirely could be broken through raw strength.
In that case—
“Slow down.”
[You have activated Declaration of Slowness.]
The Word of Command enveloped the Immortal. The moving machinery visibly slowed.
Kiiing!
Beams poured down again, but this time, Taesan could evade them with ease.
And unlike Declaration of Stopping, the Immortal couldn’t break free from Declaration of Slowness.
‘As expected.’
A restriction strong enough to halt movement entirely could be overcome. But a partial restriction that merely affected movement speed seemed impossible to dispel.
Kiiing!
Beams rained down. Missiles streaked through the sky, homing in on Taesan.
Taesan clenched his fist.
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
He layered three Starlight Arrows and unleashed them.
[You have activated Magic Explosion.]
The Starlight Arrows detonated near the missiles, turning the sky white.
Kiiing.
A red dot appeared on Taesan’s chest.
At the same time, something shot toward him at a speed his eyes couldn’t track. Before activating Declaration of Slowness, he hadn’t even noticed this attack.
Taesan quickly spread his wings. The red-marked spot exploded, and the shockwave reached him even as he moved.
But having fought before, he had already gauged the explosion’s range and gathered Magi in preparation.
[You have activated Marbas’s Pitch-Black Wave.]
A wave of darkness swallowed the explosion.
The Immortal swung its arm. The machinery in its arm expanded, releasing countless tiny particles.
Focusing his vision, Taesan identified them immediately.
Kiiing!
The particles moved freely, surging toward him. Like airborne drones, they swarmed and attacked. Their numbers exceeded thousands.
Taesan swiftly pulled out his arrows. The Willed Arrows shot forward, colliding with the swarming particles.
Kuuung!
The Immortal’s chest opened, releasing a massive wave of metallic fragments.
Taesan used Restricted Blink to dodge the all-consuming attack.
The moment he landed, a red mark immediately appeared on his chest again.
There was no time to evade. He tried to block, but it was impossible.
Kuuuung!
[Your Second Absolute Attack Nullification has been activated.]
Taesan continued to fight fiercely.
With Declaration of Slowness active, he used every means to deflect the Immortal’s attacks.
But that was all he could do.
The difference in power between them remained insurmountable.
And the Immortal’s strength showed no sign of depletion.
Beams capable of incinerating the world surged toward Taesan, erasing everything in their path.
The relentless onslaught forced him to take another hit.
[Your Third Absolute Attack Nullification has been activated.]
[Ugh…]
The Ghost groaned.
All of Taesan’s Attack Nullifications had been exhausted. His Mana and Magi were also depleting rapidly.
Meanwhile, the Immortal’s power still seemed bottomless. Taesan had yet to even get close.
The situation was undeniably bad.
Yet, Taesan’s expression remained ice-cold.
‘I’ve got it figured out.’
The Immortal had no will of its own. It was merely a puppet following The Old gods’s inputs.
In essence, its behavioral pattern was not much different from Malakos on the 73rd floor.
Which meant he could analyze and predict its movements. And now, he had done just that.
He only needed to land a single decisive blow.
It was time to carve a path for it.
Taesan took the prepared materials and placed them into his wrist guard.
[You have activated Partial World Alteration.]
A set area shifted into Taesan’s domain.
As the barrage of beams rained down, Taesan unleashed his power.
[You have activated Naberius’s Golden Sword.]
Kaaang!
The golden sword clashed against the beams.
Until now, he had been unable to block them, only dodge.
But not anymore.
Taesan held his ground, tightening his grip on his sword, and stepped forward.
Kaaang!
The beams split into dozens of fragments. Taesan kicked off the ground.
Kiiing!
The Immortal responded. A torrent of unimaginable power erupted.
Partial World Alteration collided with the Immortal’s power, distorting.
It wouldn’t last long. The overwhelming force was pushing him to his mental limit.
This was it—he had to finish it now.
[You have activated Greed of Destruction.]
[You have activated Call of Ruin.]
The forces of Destruction clashed against the beams.
Both sides tried to consume each other, creating a narrow window for Taesan to charge.
The Immortal didn’t remain idle. It poured all its power into crushing Taesan.
Taesan evaded and blocked as he closed the distance.
The closer he got, the faster and stronger the Immortal became.
But he had already analyzed its patterns.
Thus, he reached the Immortal’s vicinity without taking a single hit.
Kiiiiiiing!
As he reached a certain distance, the Immortal’s machinery accelerated wildly.
It overheated, releasing thick smoke.
A force capable of distorting space concentrated in its chest.
Taesan instinctively knew—this was the moment.
He launched himself forward, abandoning all defense, flying straight at the Immortal.
A beam of light was fired.
A light that cleaved through the world.
A force so overwhelming it pierced the sky and extended its influence into space.
A light of death that could neither be dodged, countered, nor blocked engulfed Taesan.
[You have taken 1,323,241 damage.]
[Your Endurance has activated. A fatal attack has been nullified. All damage is reduced to 0 for 1 second.]
And the moment it touched Taesan, the light vanished.
Chi-i-i-ik
As the overheated Immortal’s body began to cool, Taesan rushed forward.
By the time his Endurance was about to expire, only a single step remained between him and the Immortal.
Now that he was within reach, he could feel the Immortal’s power directly. The sheer density of it made it hard to breathe. The pressure alone could melt space, threatening to crush Taesan’s mind.
[You have activated Adventurer’s Will.]
With his will reinforced, he overcame the mental strain and channeled power into resisting the beams.
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
He stacked three layers of Guardian’s Shield to protect his body. The overlapping shields collided with the beams.
Crack!
And then, they shattered.
The Immortal’s power pressed against Taesan.
[You have activated Distortion.]
He twisted the trajectory of the beams, even if only slightly.
Taesan raised his sword.
[You have activated Naberius’s Golden Sword.]
[You have activated Blade of Fighting Spirit.]
[You have activated Replication.]
He infused his sword with all his power and slashed downward.
The blade screamed as it clashed with the light, the edge fracturing.
But it endured.
Through the countless skills Taesan had used, the Immortal’s beams had weakened.
He poured everything into the sword, doubling its force through Replication.
With all his strength, he stepped forward.
Kwaaaaaang!
The beams scattered into dozens of fragments, shattering the surroundings.
The Immortal concentrated its power again. A wave without damage.
[You have activated Boundary Recoil.]
The moment the wave touched the Black Energy, it vanished.
Taesan disrupted the Boundary Recoil’s balance. The swirling forces turned gray and merged into his sword.
Crack.
The Boundary Line pierced the remains of the Immortal.
At the same moment, the power of The Old gods embedded within the Immortal surged into Taesan.
You are mine.
It was a power imbued with that intent.
“Get lost.”
Taesan forcibly shattered the Boundary Line.
The invading power of The Old gods was erased, turning the world into an ashen void.
Taesan threw his sword aside.
It had contained the Boundary Line to its very limit, and as a result, the sword had broken.
“I need a new sword again.”
Clicking his tongue, Taesan stowed away the remains of his weapon.
At the same time, he forcibly suppressed the tremors in his mind.
With shaking hands, he pulled out a potion and drank it.
Only then did his condition stabilize.
He took a deep breath and opened the system window.
[Your proficiency in Twisted Spiritual Coordination has increased by 5%.]
[Your proficiency in Word of Command has increased by 4%.]
[Your proficiency in ??? has increased by 3%.]
[Your proficiency in Black Energy has increased by @##%.]
[Your proficiency in Boundary Recoil has increased by [system protected]#@!%.]
[Your proficiency in Boundary Line has increased by [system protected]@%.]
Half of the system messages were unreadable.
Taesan let out a wry chuckle and continued reading.
[You have achieved victory against an Immortal as a mortal without a will of its own. You have accomplished an unparalleled feat.]
[You have obtained the special activation skill Adversary of the Immortal.]
[You have obtained the title One Who Has Achieved the Impossible.]
[Your Soul Rank Ascension has activated. You have acquired the Soul Skill: King of Machinery.]
[Your existence now stands at the Boundary. Whether you cross it or not is entirely your choice. You have obtained the special activation skill Beyond the Boundary.]
[You actually won. Against an Immortal…]
The Ghost groaned.
Its voice was filled with sheer disbelief.
The Immortal had already died. It was only moving because The Old gods had forcibly reanimated it as a puppet.
And Taesan had wielded the Boundary Line, his trump card.
Yet, an Immortal was still an Immortal. And Taesan was a mortal.
Even Transcendents would struggle to accept what Taesan had accomplished.
Beyond the sky, Taesan felt countless gazes upon him.
Their emotions ranged from shock to curiosity.
[The gods outside the labyrinth have taken an interest in you.]
“For now, let’s head back.”
Taesan waved his hand, and his body moved back into the labyrinth.
“See you.”
[…You…]
Balbamaba spoke quietly.
But then, it closed its mouth again.
A gaze filled with complex emotions was directed at Taesan.
[I thought you would flee into the labyrinth.]
From Balbamaba’s perspective, Taesan was more than capable of escaping the broken Immortal.
It had no doubt that Taesan would create enough distance to avoid interference and then summon it to return to the labyrinth.
But instead, Taesan had defeated the Immortal.
[Unbelievable.]
In the end, that was all Balbamaba could say.
[Even if you are on the Boundary, this is remarkable.]
Calming its astonishment, Balbamaba continued.
[Impressive, but… this is for the Magician to handle. As the labyrinth’s administrator, I will do my part.]
All quests had been completed.
Taesan had finished the 74th floor perfectly.
And there was no predetermined reward for clearing the 74th floor.
The reward would be determined based on what Taesan had achieved.
And he had completed the quest flawlessly.
It was time to grant an appropriate reward.
