Chapter 390
A god descended upon the earth.
Players from the Three Eastern Nations, who had experienced it before, didn’t panic. They kneeled and bowed in reverence toward the deity.
But Russia and India couldn’t accept it so readily.
“O-oh…”
“God…!”
They stared at Maria in awe. The colossal woman emanated a presence as if she existed in a completely different dimension.
Trembling with reverence and fear, they bowed their heads.
Maria spoke to them with a lazy drawl.
[Do not be afraid. I haven’t come to harm you, but to protect you.]
Maria’s power enveloped the people.
The gaze of death that had caused instant demise was blocked by her power and vanished.
“Thank you.”
Taesan gave a quiet word of gratitude.
The gaze of death hadn’t affected him, but it was troublesome for the other players. Maria had resolved that issue.
[They’ve gone all in. To send that thing down this early.]
“Do you know what it is?”
[Very well.]
Maria turned her gaze to the unidentifiable creature and spoke.
[The Old Gods can’t easily interfere with the world directly. So instead, they created apostles—beings to destroy the world on their behalf. That thing is one of those apostles.]
“Apostle…”
Lee Taeyeon, listening nearby, muttered softly. Maria’s voice could only be heard by Taesan and Lee Taeyeon.
Maria continued.
[That one, in particular, has survived for quite a long time among the apostles. While its raw power may not be the highest, its abilities are extremely troublesome. That’s why we hadn’t been able to deal with it. It’s been a thorn in our side.]
She sent a displeased look toward the apostle but soon smiled softly.
[But that ends today. Like the others, I won’t interfere in the fight.]
Maria stepped back and addressed Taesan in a voice full of anticipation.
[Now then. Show me your power.]
“I intend to.”
Taesan stepped forward.
Everyone held their breath and watched.
Grrrrrk.
The apostle silently observed Taesan as he approached.
The system alert that had warned of its lethal gaze shut off.
“I knew a day like this would come eventually… just didn’t think it’d come this soon.”
This was the monster that had killed Lee Taeyeon and led to Taesan’s own death.
It had played a decisive role in bringing the world to ruin.
Taesan bared his teeth. The spirit beside him flinched—it was the first time it had seen such intense emotion from him.
“I don’t know if you remember me… but it doesn’t matter. This is my revenge.”
Taesan had turned back time.
In some ways, his fury might have been misplaced—this hadn’t yet happened in this world.
But that didn’t matter. This was his revenge.
He drew upon his power.
This was the monster that had defeated him. He wouldn’t let his guard down.
From the start—he would go all out.
[You face an enemy you have little chance of defeating.]
[You engage in a life-or-death battle with the one who killed you. You have acquired the special passive skill [Avenger].]
[Your skill Avenger has activated.]
[Your skill Nemesis of Ruin has activated.]
[Your skill Demigod’s Doctrine has activated.]
[You have activated Adversary of the Immortal.]
System messages poured down in a flood.
His body and his [Rank] ascended to levels far beyond before.
[You have activated Avatar of Nature.]
[You have activated King’s Vessel.]
[You have activated Apostle Transformation: [Chaos Stained in Black].]
With that, his elevated form and strength amplified even further.
He stood just one step away from reaching the realm of the Immortal.
“Alright then… let’s do this.”
Taesan stomped the ground.
The apostle responded, its body trembling.
As their powers clashed, the earth and sky began to collapse.
—
“Oooohhh…!”
“Lord Taesan…!”
People trembled and began praying.
Everything was being destroyed.
The sky tore open, and mountains disintegrated. The earth cracked, forming enormous craters.
It felt like a force capable of destroying the world itself.
The Three Eastern Nations offered prayers to Taesan.
Russia and India watched in horror.
And Lee Taeyeon, awkward and unsure, glanced over at Maria.
Maria silently looked down at her.
The god’s attention made Lee Taeyeon extremely nervous.
[Time’s flow truly is a wondrous thing.]
“Y-yes?”
[No, never mind. Let’s just watch. The rest will come later.]
“Ah, yes…”
Lee Taeyeon turned her gaze to the battle before her.
Maria did the same.
What mattered now was Taesan versus the Apostle of the Old Gods.
[Hmmm.]
Amid the thunderous destruction, Maria observed silently.
Their power itself wasn’t overwhelming. It was strength that could reach the immortal—but still far from Maria’s own.
Yet the type and nature of that power was the issue.
Taesan was incredibly unique.
He was an existence with his own domain, one who saw the world from above—something even gods who had lived for ages had never seen before.
[How could such an existence be possible…?]
Her question was drowned out by the sounds of destruction.
Boom!
Taesan’s sword swung. The apostle’s form shook violently from the impact.
Taesan was overwhelming it.
Unable to respond, the apostle began to transform.
It could change its appearance into that of enemies it had defeated.
Now the real fight would begin.
Gloop.
The apostle’s form shifted into a reaper-like figure wielding a scythe.
The scythe swung—and Taesan’s entire space began to sever.
Spatial Severance.
In his previous life, Taesan hadn’t been able to respond in time, and had been forced to expend all of his [Absolute Attack Nullifications].
But this time was different. Taesan gathered his [Mana].
[You have activated Distortion.]
KaAAAAANG!
Distortion collided with the Spatial Severance, and both collapsed. Taesan withdrew, then swung his hand.
[You have activated Arrow of the Storm of Unthought.]
A line of black storm shot toward the apostle.
A single arrow that pierced through anything in its path. The apostle shifted into the form of a massive warrior with a towering shield. The shield clashed with the arrow.
KAAAAANG!
With a thunderous crash, the apostle staggered back. It pushed with strength, and the shield cracked—then the arrow exploded.
But by that time, Taesan had already moved behind the apostle.
The apostle changed again, this time into a barbarian wielding twin axes.
Sword and axe collided.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Strong Strike.]
KA-KAGAK!
Sparks flew as metal clashed. Taesan didn’t get pushed back by the apostle’s attack. He met it head-on.
In his previous life, he had been outmatched by this transformed version—both in strength and speed. He had no choice but to dodge with his life on the line.
But not anymore. Now, he could go toe to toe.
Taesan’s sword gleamed golden.
He struck down the axe with a blade saturated in [Divine Power]. Cracks began to appear in the axe.
KAAAANG!
The apostle was flung backward. Taesan dashed in without pause.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
The apostle transformed again.
Now a mage with a staff and a robe.
Taesan responded immediately.
[You have activated Magic Stacking.]
[You have activated Frozen World.]
[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]
[You have activated Undying Firebird.]
Ice, light, and flame converged into a single mass.
Taesan detonated it all.
[You have activated Magic Liberation.]
[You have activated Magic Focus.]
The condensed magic exploded toward the apostle.
The apostle’s staff moved, unleashing a torrent of [Mana]. Their powers collided, and the space itself began to collapse.
[You have activated Restricted Blink.]
Taesan teleported above the apostle’s head and descended rapidly.
[You have activated Landing.]
The apostle tried to shift into a form that could block Taesan’s strike, but it was too late.
The sword was already closing in. The apostle barely raised its staff—but it was cleaved in half.
[!#$!# receives @ damage.]
Grrrrk.
A wave of pain pulsed outward.
The apostle’s body expanded suddenly.
Power began to condense, ready to explode.
And then it burst, sweeping across everything—but Taesan was already gone.
[You have activated Designated Mark Acceleration.]
He moved outside the blast radius.
As if he knew exactly how far the attack would reach.
He did.
“Sorry, but this makes the third time.”
Once in his past life.
Once during the trial of the God of Despair.
Taesan had already fought the apostle several times. He remembered every part of those encounters.
He knew exactly what powers the apostle would use, and how.
Gloop.
The apostle transformed.
It became something grotesque—so hideous that merely looking at it twisted the mind.
Mental debuffs were cast on Taesan from all sides.
“Not gonna work.”
Taesan shrugged them off and charged again.
[You have activated Gaf’s Massive Boulder.]
The sky split, and a massive stone fell like a meteor onto the apostle.
The apostle morphed into a female archer holding a bow as large as her body.
She drew the string tight and fired at the boulder.
CRACKKK!
The arrow shattered the falling stone.
Amid the raining debris, Taesan closed in.
The apostle fired another arrow at him.
Taesan planted his feet and charged straight at the arrow.
[You have activated Forced Expulsion.]
KIIIIIIIING!
[Forced Mana Expulsion] pushed the arrow back.
It fought back, thrashing with resistance—but couldn’t last long. It was deflected.
Taesan, now at close range, slashed his sword.
He no longer needed [True Damage].
Even without it, he could damage the apostle now.
CRACK.
[!#$!# receives %@#! damage.]
The apostle staggered.
Taesan bared his teeth.
He was sure of it.
He could defeat the apostle now.
He could overcome the being that had killed him in his past life.
He had grown strong enough to do it.
Taesan gripped his sword tight and went for an opening.
And then—
The apostle transformed again.
Transformation itself wasn’t surprising anymore.
But Taesan froze for a moment.
This form was different.
Blue skin. A disturbingly serene smile that held no humanity. Four arms.
It couldn’t be called human anymore.
A form Taesan had no memory of.
And that wasn’t all.
From this transformed apostle came a different [Rank] entirely.
Something beyond what had come before.
“A-ah…”
The faces of India’s players turned white.
They collapsed to their knees in despair.
“Tch.”
Taesan clicked his tongue.
“Of course. That wasn’t its full power.”
Maria had said it—this apostle had destroyed many worlds.
It had survived longer than any, a thorn in the side of the gods.
But Taesan had not yet become an Immortal.
He had a way to reach it temporarily—but hadn’t used it.
Such an apostle couldn’t possibly be losing to someone who hadn’t reached [Immortality].
“In my past life… it didn’t use this because it didn’t need to.”
Even if past Taesan was strong, he hadn’t reached Immortality.
The apostle had no reason to show this.
The [Trial of the God of Despair] had been based on his memory, so that version hadn’t appeared either.
The apostle could take on the form of beings it had defeated.
And since it destroyed worlds—
Among its victims were Immortals.
Now, the apostle had taken on the form of an Immortal it had once killed in the course of destroying a world.
[You are now facing an enemy that cannot be defeated.]
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(T/N: I’m alive! 😂 Just dropping in with a quick update. Still not back to a regular upload schedule, but I’ll be uploading at least 5 chapters per series every week, in order based on the most recent series I picked up. No fixed days yet, but I’ll keep the bulk uploads coming as best as I can!)
