Chapter 494
Karak let out a furious roar.
With rage twisting his face, he charged at Taesan, his fist filled with every ounce of his power.
“A physical-type authority, huh.”
Taesan simply raised his hand and extended one finger to meet him.
Karak’s fist struck Taesan’s finger. A massive shockwave rippled through the area, and the people watching screamed in terror.
“Ah…”
But Taesan didn’t move an inch.
Karak’s fist stopped dead, blocked by a single finger. Despair filled his face.
Taesan flicked his finger.
Karak’s body shot backward like he’d been hit by a cannon.
“Ooooh!”
“Remidaos!”
Those who had timidly raised their heads now shouted in awe. Before such overwhelming power, their faith in Taesan grew even stronger.
“Get up.”
“O-oooh…”
Karak groaned, barely standing through the pain. His defiance and fighting spirit against a superior opponent made Taesan smile in satisfaction.
Taesan stomped once.
In an instant, he appeared behind Karak and swung his sword.
Karak hastily raised his fist to block, but his arm shattered on impact.
He rolled helplessly across the ground.
The onlookers gasped, their cries growing louder.
Taesan approached again.
“Ugh!”
Karak tried to defend himself, but Taesan grabbed his arm and hurled him away.
Taesan was a Transcendent.
To him, an Immortal was nothing. He could have subdued Karak with a single word of command if he wished.
But instead, Taesan restrained himself, applying just enough pressure to keep the fight going. The longer it continued, the stronger the people’s faith became.
Karak’s face contorted with fury.
“What are you doing! Stop toying with me and kill me! Don’t mock me!”
“No.”
Taesan answered casually. Karak howled and charged again.
Boom!
The battle continued. Naturally, it was one-sided. No matter how desperately Karak resisted, it was as meaningless as a child’s struggle.
The people watched in a daze.
After several dozen minutes, Taesan decided it was time to end it.
He stepped forward, lunging toward Karak. The Immortal tried to protect himself, but the gray energy within Taesan’s blade pierced his chest.
“Guh!”
“Good effort.”
“This… can’t be. I…”
Boom!
Gray energy exploded.
Karak died without even leaving a final word.
“If you treated your world’s people as toys for faith, you should’ve been ready to die the same way.”
Taesan spoke calmly. His [Spirit Rank Ascension] didn’t activate. The gap between them had been far too large.
But Bardray and Akasha reacted differently.
[Hmm.]
[This is…]
The Immortal’s energy flowed into Bardray and Akasha. They shuddered slightly as the overwhelming force entered them.
The people following Taesan stared blankly. Only after a moment did they realize—the being who had ruled over them was dead.
“Ooooh!”
Their faith erupted.
Any lingering doubt vanished completely as their devotion to Taesan solidified. His divinity soared to a higher state in an instant.
[Divinity proficiency increased by 3%.]
Taesan had become the god of this world.
After gathering the divine power, he spoke.
“I will now leave you.”
“Aaaah!”
“Lord Remidaos! Please don’t abandon us!”
“Don’t worry. Soon, my true representative will come to you. He was once your king—one cast out by the wicked.”
“Aah…”
“Lord Remidaos…”
The people calmed slightly.
Whether they would truly accept the Shopkeeper was uncertain—but that was the Shopkeeper’s burden to bear. Taesan activated [Teleport].
“I will always be watching over you.”
[You have activated Teleport [Chaos].]
Taesan vanished into gray mist. The people wept uncontrollably, praying toward the sky for hours, sending their faith to him.
Leaving the planet, Taesan immediately traveled to the next.
That world was no different from the first—except that humans lived there instead of dwarves.
An oppressing Immortal.
Remidaos appearing in dreams, promising salvation, and taking their faith.
Thus, Taesan used the same method as before.
“I am Remidaos.”
Declaring himself so, he guided the people. He defeated their oppressors, earned their trust, and led them.
Gradually, he approached the Immortal ruling the world.
“Foolish being!”
But this time was different. The Immortal awaited him confidently.
“How dare you interfere! The great one already knows! You may have reached transcendence, but he is far beyond you! You will not survive—”
“You talk too much.”
Taesan drew his sword. In a flash, he appeared before the Immortal, who barely managed to dodge.
“You!”
“Whatever I do isn’t your concern.”
As before, Taesan displayed his power before the people. When their faith reached its peak, he finished it.
“You’ll regret this!”
The Immortal’s face twisted in rage as he died.
“Ooooh!”
“Remidaos!”
Their faith poured into Taesan. Believing him to be Remidaos, they devoted the faith they had built for years.
And thus, Taesan became the god of yet another planet. Bardray spoke, dumbfounded.
[It’s really this easy?]
“The conditions are all in place.”
They were already oppressed. Their suffering made them crave someone to believe in.
All Taesan did was take the faith already prepared for him. There was no difficulty.
“It shouldn’t be this easy… but I won’t complain.”
Taesan immediately moved to the next planet. The third was the same. He gathered faith, found the Immortal, and struck him down.
This time, the Immortal reacted differently. His face was twisted with confusion and fear.
“Why! Why do you remain silent! They’re stealing your power, and yet you do nothing!”
There was no resolve in his eyes—only panic. As if something was terribly wrong.
Of course, Taesan didn’t let him go.
Even as he died, the Immortal looked bewildered rather than hateful.
“Why… why…”
He fell.
Faith exploded once again, rushing toward Taesan.
[Divinity proficiency increased by 2%.]
Taesan had now gathered the faith of three planets.
His divinity grew more stable, more complete.
He then moved on to the next planet.
The moment he arrived, a massive force struck him. Taesan casually flicked his finger, and the attack tore apart and vanished.
“Guh!”
“Kill him!”
Four Immortals appeared.
Their faces were filled with desperation as they attacked together.
“So this time, they’re coming first.”
It didn’t matter. Taesan’s divinity had become far more stable with the faith he’d absorbed. A few Immortals made no difference.
He waved his hand lightly. Darkness shimmered into existence.
The darkness faded into an unseen force.
Taesan sent [Worthlessness] toward them.
It was small—like a speck of dust—and carried no sense of danger. The Immortals barely noticed it and tried to erase it with their powers.
But the moment they touched it, they realized something was wrong.
“W-what?!”
“Wait—!”
Panicking, they tried to shake it off. But [Worthlessness] clung tighter, rendering their powers meaningless.
Fear crept into their faces.
The strength and status they had built up meant nothing. Everything they had vanished—erased, nullified.
They struggled to escape, but failed. [Worthlessness] slowly devoured them, erasing everything they were.
“N-no…”
They experienced a terror worse than death.
After thrashing in panic, they finally realized there was no escape—and begged Taesan for mercy.
“P-please… don’t…”
“I’m not killing you yet. You still have a purpose.”
Taesan withdrew [Worthlessness].
It seemed these Immortals had come from other planets to stop him.
“Not that it matters.”
The Immortals lay collapsed, trembling.
“Why… why isn’t Lord Remidaos…”
“So the Transcendent isn’t moving, huh?”
“We sent word… but he remains silent… why… why…”
They mumbled in confusion.
“No idea.”
Taesan shook his head.
‘Why is it so quiet?’
The Transcendent, Remidaos—who received faith from multiple planets—had to be watching.
He would have seen everything—Taesan stealing his faith and killing his servants.
Yet he made no move.
Taesan’s plan had been simple: steal faith before Remidaos noticed, and when he reacted, expose his true nature before the people to shatter their faith.
But Remidaos remained silent. Too silent. It was as if he wanted Taesan to steal his faith.
Perfect Reconnaissance could reveal everything, but it still had limits. Information beyond a certain threshold was unreachable.
Thus, Taesan couldn’t discern what Remidaos was plotting.
‘Whatever it is.’
If he wasn’t stopping him, there was no reason to hold back. Taesan took the captured Immortals.
Taesan continued traveling between worlds.
Dragging the captured Immortals with him, he declared himself as Remidaos and said he had descended to punish the unfaithful.
The people believed and worshipped him.
Time passed. Eventually, Taesan received faith from every planet.
“Haa…”
He exhaled. Vast divine power and towering faith filled him. His divinity was nearly perfected. Bardray and Akasha, too, had grown far stronger.
Among them, Akasha’s condition stood out. She seemed troubled, letting out faint groans.
“Something wrong?”
[Something… it’s almost there. Just a little more, and I could reach it…]
Akasha still wasn’t complete. Neither was Taesan. He felt a barrier—proof that he hadn’t yet reached true transcendence.
‘Too fast, maybe.’
He had gained faith too quickly. It wasn’t enough to reach the true realm of a Transcendent.
Still, aside from that, there were no obstacles. The process of gathering faith had been almost dull.
And he knew why.
Taesan looked toward the white star beyond the universe.
He had stolen faith that someone else had built.
Yet the original recipient, Remidaos, hadn’t moved.
Even as his faith across all his worlds was taken, Remidaos stayed silent. It was as if the master of the house had left the door open, inviting the thief inside.
No resistance. No response.
‘What are you planning?’
Regardless, he had gathered all the faith he could.
So, he would go and confirm it himself.
To fulfill the quest—he would face the one who once received that faith.
Taesan reached into the air. Space split open, and he crossed through it.