Chapter 456

The place where the energy was gathering was Montana, in the northwestern United States.

“Get as far away as you can.”

“Y-yes.”

People frantically fled as far as possible from Montana. Kang Taesan arrived in Montana in an instant.

There, a concentrated black energy was forming a passageway.

That alone was enough to kill all living things and distort space. The compressed and condensed black energy expanded significantly.

A pitch-black passageway descended at the center of Montana.

From beyond it, multiple gazes could be felt.

Beings whose very existence rejected perception.

They were the Old gods.

They were staring at Kang Taesan.

[Ugh.]

Bardray let out a groan and quickly escaped from Taesan’s hand. Akasha also writhed in pain. Their minds screamed and their bodies tried to submit just from being looked at.

But Taesan did not back down.

He held onto his sanity and met the gaze of the Old gods.

[…]

For a moment, the stares directed at Taesan disappeared. Then, something crossed through the passageway.

[The seventh fragment of the World Destroyer has appeared.]

It was a droplet of blood.

A crimson droplet—so red it looked almost unreal.

But it was far too massive to be just a drop of blood. It was large enough to fill a small lake.

Soon, the blood began to distort.

Craack!

A massive arm pierced through the blood and shot high into the sky. The arm slowly descended and planted itself on the ground.

Boom!

The ground collapsed from just that. The destruction in Montana reached all the way into Canada. Clicking his tongue, Taesan launched his body.

Boom!

The being within the droplet of blood revealed itself.

It was a giant.

A giant drenched entirely in pitch-black, standing tall and trampling the earth.

“Ah…”

Even those who had fled to the far edges of America went pale. From the opposite coast, they could see the entire form of the giant.

Its head was obscured by clouds.

Its overwhelming size defied perception and logic.

Ruuumble…

The giant lowered its head. That simple movement twisted the sky and stirred storms. As the clouds were blown away, the giant’s face was revealed.

Its face was smooth like an egg.

No nose, no mouth, no ears—nothing.

Only a single blood-red eye sat in the center.

“Oh.”

People stopped breathing.

That blood-red eye, staring toward Earth.

With just that gaze, Earth began to slowly die. People collapsed to their knees.

And at that moment, the pillars across America activated.

[Zervand’s Absolute Defense activated. Zervand’s sphere of interference has shrunk.]

The pillars resonated, amplifying their power. People barely managed to breathe again. Earth, dying under the influence of the Old god, was being protected.

And the pillars didn’t stop there—they fiercely suppressed the giant.

They reduced its influence and constrained its movement.

The giant lifted its foot as if annoyed. Taesan quickly widened the distance.

The foot came crashing down.

That single step gouged deep into the earth.

Like a meteor strike, it created a massive crater. A tsunami of earth surged.

The world shook. The atmosphere surrounding the planet distorted. If the pillars hadn’t suppressed the shockwave, Earth would’ve perished.

People screamed. The battles they’d faced until now had already defied understanding, but this went beyond even that.

[You have activated [Greed of Destruction].]

Taesan scoffed as he erased the incoming shockwave with a skill.

Just one stomp had caused fractures in several of the pillars.

“So we have to bring it down before all the pillars break, huh.”

[…Is that possible?]

Bardray, now back in Taesan’s hand, let out a pained groan.

[That’s an Old god.]

This wasn’t one of their incarnations or apostles.

It was the Old god itself, descended upon Earth to kill transcendents and bring about destruction.

Taesan raised his sword.

“It’s not the real Old god. It’s just a fragment.”

[Even so, it’s a being of unfathomable rank. Can it even be defeated?]

“I can win.”

If he couldn’t win, then he would make it so that he could.

[You have activated [One Who Opposes a Colossal Will].]

[You have activated [Enemy of the Old god].]

[You have activated [Antitheism].]

[King’s Vessel]. [Avatar of Nature]. [Apostle Transformation].

He activated every buff skill he could use. In an instant, his power and rank soared to new heights.

Receiving Earth’s divinity, he could even stand toe-to-toe with Ainzhar now.

Taesan charged forward with strength surging through his body.

[You have activated [Forced Fall].]

[Forced Fall], a skill that lowers the target’s stats. Taesan aimed it at the giant.

But the activation was canceled.

It was as if the giant couldn’t even be considered a target. The skill was simply erased.

The giant raised its fist and looked at Taesan.

Boom!

The fist came crashing down at tremendous speed. Taesan wrapped himself in divinity and evaded.

Boom!

The shockwave brushed past him.

That alone caused the divine energy surrounding Taesan to distort ominously.

He tried to raise the divinity even further, but nothing changed. The giant swung its leg. Moving with a speed unbefitting its size, Taesan chose to block instead of evade.

[You have activated [Blade of the World].]

A colossal sword that pierced the heavens appeared in Taesan’s hand.

He swung it at the giant’s leg.

As power collided with power, a thunderous roar erupted.

Taesan’s eyes shook.

The [Blade of the World] shattered. Unable to withstand the force, it broke into fragments that scattered everywhere.

Taesan hastily cast a spell.

But it couldn’t even touch the giant’s skin. The spell exploded before it could even get close to the giant’s overwhelming physical power.

Taesan was kicked by the giant’s leg.

Boom!

[Your first attack has been nullifi@#%!]

The first strike nullification activated.

But it was different. Though the damage didn’t come through, the giant’s body didn’t reset to its previous state before the attack.

Taesan’s body also reacted as if it had taken a hit, flying backward. Rather than attack nullification, it was closer to damage negation.

[You have activated [Landing].]

Using the skill, he forcibly grounded his body to prevent being launched into space. Then he gathered black energy and magic.

[You have activated [Great Collapse – Negation].]

A sphere of pitch black flew toward the giant.

The giant casually extended its hand and grabbed the [Great Collapse].

It vanished without doing any damage.

The [Great Collapse – Negation] was the strongest magic Taesan possessed.

For it to be blocked like that meant that his magic had no effect on the giant whatsoever.

Boom!

He barely dodged another swinging fist. Even that distorted his divine energy and tried to cause damage.

“No choice, huh.”

Divinity alone couldn’t completely block the shockwave. Taesan infused the black energy into the divine aura around his body.

He enveloped himself in [Boundary Line]. Only then did the shockwave stop reaching him.

Veeeen!

He also cast [Boundary Line] on his sword.

He spread his wings and moved quickly. Dodging the swinging fist by a hair’s breadth, he stabbed with his sword.

Clang!

But it didn’t pierce.

The ashen-colored [Boundary Line] was blocked by the ochre flesh. It left a small scratch, but it couldn’t even be called a proper wound.

“What the…”

Taesan let out a hollow laugh.

The giant extended its other hand wide.

It clawed toward Taesan, trying to grab him.

[You have activated [Restricted Blink].]

Taesan escaped using magic.

But the giant seemed to know his location and raised its foot to stomp him.

Taesan quickly amplified the [Boundary Line] surrounding his body and raised his sword.

Clang!

His sword pierced through the bottom of the giant’s foot. Thanks to the giant’s own strength, the blade buried itself to the hilt.

But the giant’s foot didn’t stop.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Taesan was crushed deep into the ground.

Boom!

He took no damage. The [Boundary Line] covering his entire body protected him even from an Old god’s attack.

But a massive amount of black energy was consumed.

At this rate, he could probably block only three more attacks before he’d no longer be able to use the [Boundary Line].

There was no time to be shocked—another attack followed immediately. Taesan quickly leapt away, barely avoiding it.

“Ridiculous.”

Taesan had definitely wounded the giant with the [Boundary Line].

But the sheer size of the creature made the damage negligible. For a human, it was like getting a splinter in the foot. Painful, but far from a fatal injury.

At this rate, his black energy would be exhausted before he could inflict any real damage on that body.

That body itself was the giant’s ability.

Untouchable by any means and warping the very concept of reality—this was the power of an Old god.

“If even a fragment is this strong, what on earth is the real body like?”

Taesan muttered and kept moving. Without losing his fighting spirit, he charged toward the giant.

—

Boom!

The earth trembled.

The sky warped as dirt spewed into the air, reaching the clouds.

If the pillars hadn’t protected them, they would’ve already died. People screamed and ducked. Overwhelming fear engulfed them.

“This is…”

“No. This can’t be happening.”

Beldenkia’s face hardened. Diana stared at the giant, pale. Lee Taeyeon bit her nails and murmured nonstop.

The three of them could tell what the descending giant was.

It was an Old god.

Just a fragment, but still a part of the true body. It was, without exaggeration, an enemy of an entirely different order.

No matter how powerful Taesan was, he had no chance of winning.

“No way. What are the transcendents even doing?”

Lee Taeyeon bit her lip.

“Curious?”

At that moment, a voice echoed behind her. Startled, she turned around.

Behind her stood a young man.

She couldn’t feel anything from him. Even though he was clearly here, he felt like an illusion.

Lee Taeyeon realized who he was.

“Zervand…?”

Zervand nodded.

Beldenkia and Diana hurriedly bowed. Zervand waved his hand.

“Just treat me normally. I’ve concealed all my power for that very reason.”

Zervand looked toward the giant.

“The World Destroyer, huh. If this goes wrong, his body might be annihilated. But they seem to be targeting his soul instead? From our side, that’s not too bad.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Taeyeon was flustered.

That a being capable of neutralizing Taesan’s [Boundary Line] and interfering with skills was ‘not too bad’?

But Zervand looked perfectly serious.

“It’s only physical force, after all. And its authority is limited to its body. Compared to those that erase your experience and strength, or devour entire planets, this is better.”

“And thanks to protecting many of the pillars, its size has been considerably reduced. Just barely small enough for a planet to handle. That alone makes it manageable.”

“That’s…”

It was absurd.

Zervand spoke as if it were nothing.

“You’ll understand once you reach the place prepared for you. She has high hopes for you.”

“Zervand.”

Lee Taeyeon spoke with a calm face.

“Your descent means you can help Taesan, right?”

“That’s right.”

Zervand nodded.

“It wouldn’t be fair for only the other side to directly interfere, right? This time, we’ve also been granted permission to intervene. I came down as a representative.”

“Then please. Please help Taesan.”

Lee Taeyeon bowed deeply.

Zervand was a transcendent—one of the beings who had banished the Old gods. If he helped, then surely Taesan could win against the Old god.

But Zervand responded with a smile.

“No.”

It was a denial.

“I won’t interfere. Not right now.”

“Eh?”

Lee Taeyeon raised her head in shock.

“Why…?”

“First of all, there’s no need for me to intervene just yet.”

Boom!

A deafening roar rang out. People screamed.

The battle was still ongoing.

Taesan was holding his ground against the Old god.

“He’s strong. Stronger than you think. No matter how formidable the World Destroyer is, the seventh fragment alone won’t take him down so easily. If he faces a real crisis, maybe then—but not now. And if I step in now, the plan could fall apart.”

“The plan…?”

Instead of answering, Zervand waved his hand.

At that moment, a massive screen appeared before the people.

It was an image of Taesan fighting the Old god.

Zervand was showing the battle using his power.

“Oh…”

“Ah…”

Moans escaped the crowd. Those frozen in fear stared blankly at the projection.

Boom!

The earth was trampled. The surface split open, exposing the mantle. The giant’s arm swung. Storms pierced through the atmosphere.

A monster on a cosmic scale.

And against such a monster, Taesan did not retreat.

He advanced—fighting.

People unknowingly fell to their knees. They closed their eyes and began to pray.

Some had doubted Taesan until the very end.

Lee Taeyeon realized what Zervand was aiming for.

“You’re trying to make Taesan the god of Earth, aren’t you?”

“Sometimes, more than a brilliant leader, an overwhelming fear unites people. They’ve been given an opportunity—why ruin it by interfering?”

Zervand laughed cheerfully.

“Aren’t you curious? What he’ll be capable of, once he receives your faith?”