Chapter 431
“Ooooooh!”
The man roared and swung his greatsword. Just the motion alone created dozens of storms.
Taesan did not back down.
He grounded his feet and pushed forward. Compared to the greatsword, his weapon was like a toothpick, yet he swung it.
Kwaaaang!
With a thunderous crash, shockwaves swept in all directions.
The man’s face contorted.
Unlike before, Taesan wasn’t sent flying. He may have been pushed back, but he planted his feet and endured. The man, clearly displeased, moved his hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The greatsword moved to crush Taesan. Taesan pushed his muscles to their limits.
Kuuung!
A series of impacts followed.
And at some point, Taesan stopped being pushed back.
He was now fighting with everything he had.
[Rakiratas’s Blessing, Wailing Lord of Struggle has been activated.]
His speed and strength increased exponentially.
Kuung!
Taesan stomped the ground. He swung upward at the descending sword.
Kwaaaang!
“Guh!”
The man’s body was pushed back. Regaining his posture quickly, he gritted his teeth.
“Damn divine blessing!”
[You have activated Forced Fall.]
[Forced Fall]—when triggered through [Ability Sword], increased the weight of the opponent’s weapon upon contact.
“Mm!”
After several clashes, the man quickly realized something was wrong. His greatsword was getting heavier.
“Don’t be ridiculous! This isn’t some ordinary sword! It’s my authority! That kind of trick won’t work!”
“It’s still in the form of a sword, right? Then it’ll work.”
The greatsword’s movements slowed, if only slightly. Taesan surrounded himself with magi.
[You have activated Baal’s Surge of the Sevenfold Black Space.]
The surge was powerful, but due to lack of mastery, its true strength couldn’t be drawn out.
But this time was different.
With the [Demon God’s Blessing: Beloved Child of Darkness], he gained control over all black magic.
Zzeojeojeojeong!
A space steeped in darkness surged forward. It crushed everything in its path and interfered with concepts themselves.
The man tried to trample it with his greatsword, but the black magic didn’t yield easily. Standing firm against the weapon, it threw the man off balance.
Taesan seized the opening. In an instant, he lunged in and stabbed deeply into the man’s side.
There was not a trace of hesitation in his actions. He moved with certainty, exploiting the opening.
[Maria’s Blessing has been activated.]
Divine power infused Taesan’s sword.
Kaaaang!
“Guh!”
The man barely blocked with the hilt of his sword but was pushed back.
‘This is divine blessing.’
Each one had the power to shift the tides of battle. Even the god’s incarnate no longer seemed so terrifying.
“…Don’t mock me!”
The man let out a furious roar.
Lifting his greatsword high, the wind surged upward, collapsing the atmosphere.
“Damn Transcendents! You’re unfair! You lavish your favorites with gifts while ignoring the rest like ants! You toy with lives like they’re your playthings! You’re no gods! Just overpowered degenerates!”
He gnashed his teeth.
“I will never accept your existence! Beings like you shouldn’t exist in this world!”
He declared, like a man shouting defiance at the universe.
Taesan, with an uninterested expression, moved his body.
“So what?”
“W-What?”
“Gods are unfair. I know that too. But it’s not just the gods.”
Taesan was a Solo mode player.
No matter how strong he became, there were clear limits, and he was forced to grow only through skills—an unfair system.
But he never gave up.
The world itself was unfair. The man’s words did nothing to move him.
“And you’re the last person who should be talking about unfairness. You said it yourself. You’ve killed countless immortals across many worlds—using the power you got from the Old gods. You are proof of unfairness.”
“To oppose a massive being, sacrifices are inevitable. They were necessary sacrifices.”
“In the end, you just acted on your own desires. So how are you any different from the Transcendents?”
The man’s face turned red, but he couldn’t respond.
“Besides, the Transcendents weren’t born to protect mortals. They were once mortal beings who rose to that position themselves. You shouldn’t demand absolute goodness from them.”
“Shut up!”
The man swung his sword. It was an attack fueled by emotion, devoid of reason. He spat the words like venom.
“So what?”
“You’re no different than the Transcendents, acting on your desires.”
At his core, the man was simple.
He just wanted revenge against the Transcendents who ignored him and treated him like a toy.
“Don’t dress it up in grandeur when it’s just that.”
“Die!”
Denied of his values, the man screamed. His greatsword lashed out wildly, radiating pure killing intent. Space distorted under the overwhelming physical force.
Taesan didn’t retreat. With countless blessings, he now possessed transcendental power.
But while he wasn’t being pushed back, he wasn’t overpowering either.
The greatsword’s range meant Taesan couldn’t claim the first move, making head-on confrontation difficult.
His strategy had to be the same as he first imagined—close the distance. Having made up his mind, Taesan drew in mana.
[You have activated Great Collapse [Negation].]
[Magic of Negation]—a spell that could only be cast if one raised control over mana through [Partial World Alteration].
But with [Zervand’s Blessing], the condition was met. The spell, blended with darkness, materialized.
The greatsword clashed with the Great Collapse.
With a deafening roar, space crumbled. Neither side gave ground.
Taesan was the one who broke the stalemate.
[You have activated Magic Explosion.]
The Great Collapse exploded, engulfing the surroundings.
The man quickly shielded himself with his sword. A black sphere swallowed everything, cutting off vision.
‘He’s trying to block my sight!’
Laughable. He was an immortal. A high-ranking one at that. Vision wasn’t that important to him.
[You have activated Baal’s Layered Darkness.]
But Taesan’s body became one with darkness.
The man’s pupils shook.
He couldn’t sense Taesan anywhere.
‘…Even so!’
He lifted his greatsword wildly, spinning like a windmill to sweep the area.
If the enemy couldn’t be detected, then destroy everything nearby. A sound tactic.
But Taesan had a skill for this.
The greatsword didn’t touch him. Not even the aftermath.
The force that shook the surroundings missed Taesan completely.
Without resistance, Taesan reached the man’s back.
The man, realizing too late, hastily moved his hilt.
The posture was the same as before, but the situation had changed. Close combat no longer favored the man.
[You have activated Blade of Fighting Spirit.]
Kaaaang!
“Guh!”
[Blade of Fighting Spirit]—its [Ability Sword] effect tripled the impact contained in the blade.
The man staggered. Taesan pushed in further.
[You have activated Raging Gale Dash.]
He violently swung both swords. Like a storm, the flurry of strikes covered the man’s body in slashes.
“Damn it!”
The man tried to regain posture, but [Forced Fall] had significantly increased his sword’s weight. Recovering swiftly was hard, and Taesan didn’t allow it.
He stepped forward and shoulder-checked the man, knocking him off balance.
At point-blank range, he cast [Great Collapse].
Kuuuuung!
Struck directly, the man crashed deep into the earth.
Taesan stomped on the hand holding the sword. The man coughed up blood.
“H-Hahaha! Fine! I admit it! You, blessed as you are, are stronger than me!”
But there was no defeat in the man’s face.
“But I am the incarnate of the Empty Abomination! I call upon the authority to empty all from your proxy! Descend upon me now!”
Something massive began to inhabit the man. A sense of omnipotence appeared on his face.
“No.”
[You have activated Choice Exclusion.]
The descending power vanished, as if the choice had never been made.
“I came prepared for your trump card too.”
The man was the god’s incarnate.
Taesan had already expected he might borrow the power of the Old gods by some means.
He chose to block the activation itself.
Taesan stabbed the man in the chest.
[You have activated Collapse.]
[Collapse]—a skill that destroys anything the weapon touches.
The man’s body trembled.
[You have activated Fall of All Things.]
Then he brought everything crashing down. The man’s rank dropped instantly.
[You have activated Forced Duel.]
[Forced Duel]—if both wield swords, nothing but swords can be used. Even darkness was sealed.
“O-Empty Abomination… I…”
[You have activated Sanctuary Creation.]
Kiiiiing!
Golden light blanketed the world. The Transcendents’ blessings greatly empowered divinity. Even in a world twisted by the Old gods’ domain, a [Sanctuary] could be created.
The authority trying to descend on the man was blocked by the divine power.
An environment was forged where the Old gods could not interfere.
“A-Ah…”
The man’s face turned pale.
Taesan imbued his sword with divinity—and struck. Light consumed the god’s incarnate.
—
Taesan gathered his strength.
“It worked.”
He had tested something this time.
The Old gods often interfered in battles.
It irritated Taesan greatly.
Could he not block the interference entirely?
While he couldn’t deal with already-descended power, there might be room to intervene in the process itself.
Having made a quick judgment, Taesan acted.
He collapsed the opponent’s rank with [Fall of All Things] and [Collapse], then used [Forced Duel] to block other powers, and finally created a [Sanctuary] using divine power to expel the Old gods.
His assessment—that the interference could be blocked with divinity after sufficiently weakening the opponent—was proven correct.
Taesan looked down at his feet.
“You’re still alive, huh.”
The man, missing all limbs, was still breathing.
But he was no longer a threat. There was nothing left of him. Even Taesan’s divine power was enough to block the Old god’s interference.
“…So you can even block divine descent itself. Good thing I learned that. Next time, I’ll block it from the start.”
The man muttered calmly. There was no sign of rage at his defeat, no fear of death.
“Finish it. This time, you’ve won. But next time, I’ll definitely kill you.”
“You speak as if there’ll be a next time.”
“You can’t kill me.”
His voice was full of certainty.
“I am the incarnate of the Empty Abomination. My essence is mixed with my master’s. Even a Transcendent can only banish me, not kill me.”
Indeed, the man’s interior was hollow.
His essence was not here.
“Time is infinite anyway. Our goal isn’t to kill you. It’s to make you ours.”
The man grinned.
“We won’t give up on you. Defeat one, and another will come. Defeat two, and a third will rise. We’ll keep coming. We’ll draw out and dismantle every weapon you have. Let’s see how long you can last.”
He taunted Taesan.
“Do your best. See you next time. Things won’t go like they did today.”
“There better not be a next time.”
Taesan raised his sword. The man waited proudly.
Flicker.
Divinity coated Taesan’s sword.
The man sneered.
“That crude divinity might block a descent, but it can’t sever my essence.”
“They called me the key, remember? I think this is why. I’d like you to confirm it.”
Divinity merged with darkness.
A gray aura. The boundary was embedded in the blade.
The man’s face stiffened.
“…Oh?”
“Bingo.”
Taesan was sure of it based on the man’s reaction.
“W-What is that?”
The man panicked. He didn’t know much about Taesan.
He was only guarding Levinenov’s World because his master had ordered him to.
He thought the gods were targeting Taesan because he had their favor and could wield darkness.
That alone was bizarre and made him valuable.
But this…
The man was terrified.
What he saw was beyond the realm of law, beyond the Old gods.
It could separate his essence, which was intertwined with the Old gods.
The long-forgotten fear of death resurfaced.
“S-Spare me…”
“You’ve killed plenty, haven’t you? Then you should’ve been ready to die too.”
The gray aura pierced the man. He screamed.
What was contained within exploded and seeped into Taesan.