Chapter 521
In that instant, space twisted.
The Physical Force implemented by the system revealed itself to the world.
CRACK.
The Apostle moved, struggling to block the Physical Force bearing down on him.
[Black] welled up. It wrapped around the Apostle’s entire body, forming an absolute defense that blocked all outside interference.
[Black] was a power from beyond this world—superior to every affinity. It couldn’t be pierced by mere Physical Force.
CRACK.
But [Black] was pierced.
Pure Physical Force shattered it. The Apostle frantically tried to summon more, but it was already too late. With the sound of something splitting apart, the [Black] broke through completely, and the force touched the Apostle’s flesh.
KRAKOOM!
An explosion erupted.
The sky was torn open. The clouds scattered, revealing the vast universe beyond.
That Physical Force pierced the Apostle and tore all the way into the cosmos.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KABOOM!
The sea rose into tsunamis and surged in every direction. The surrounding land collapsed, crumbling from its very foundation. Even though Taesan suppressed the direction of the power as much as possible, the uncontrolled Physical Force spread like a beast, lashing out everywhere.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
“W-What is this?!”
People were flung away as if caught in a violent storm.
“Ugh!”
Minerva, horrified, manipulated the wind. She seized those about to be swept away and pulled them back to Greenland.
[Ueo-eo-eo!]
[Ahhh!]
The monsters fared no better. Many couldn’t withstand the aftermath and were blown out of Greenland.
“W-Wait a second…”
Lee Taeyeon stared, stunned. Even from this distance, she could feel that immense Physical Force.
“…What is that?”
It wasn’t simple Physical Force anymore.
With that density and power, it had become another Divine Power—one that bore the name Physical Force.
“What on earth did he do?”
A dumbfounded voice rang out.
CRRRRK!
The Apostle’s body warped. Unable to endure the Physical Force applied to him, he was blasted toward the far reaches of the universe.
He was moving insanely fast—so fast that even Taesan couldn’t easily keep up.
Taesan opened space.
[You have activated Teleport.]
He leaped through the gap, arrived ahead of the Apostle’s trajectory, and extended his hand, wrapping the Boundary Line around it.
The Apostle’s body snapped into Taesan’s grasp.
Taesan dropped straight down and drove the Apostle deep into the earth.
KRAKOOM!
Back on Earth, Taesan flexed his hand.
The Apostle was near death. He writhed and tried to draw out his power, but the [Black] wouldn’t come out properly—as if he didn’t even have the breathing room to do so.
Taesan let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
The Apostle had no clear concept of stamina. No matter how high one’s attack power was, damage alone couldn’t defeat him.
And yet, he’d been driven to the brink with a single Physical Force.
[…Wow.]
Bardray finally let out the admiration he’d been holding back.
[If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, the damage exceeded four billion.]
“That’s right.”
[Geez…]
Bardray burst into laughter.
[I expected numbers like this.]
Addition. And Multiplication.
With Taesan’s current attack power, producing tens of billions of damage wasn’t difficult. He already knew that.
But seeing it with his own eyes felt completely different. Four billion. Even the number of digits was absurd. Unimaginable damage—produced with just two skills.
“Damage isn’t what matters.”
To Taesan now, damage was only a number. Simply having high damage couldn’t defeat an Apostle of the Old Gods.
They were beings outside the laws of this universe. Damage bound by the system couldn’t inflict meaningful harm on them.
In other words, obtaining Multiplication hadn’t meant much.
That was, until Balbamaba gave him a single skill.
“I didn’t think it’d be this much.”
Even Taesan was surprised.
[Damage to Physical Force Conversion]. Physical Force was proportional to the damage value, but his proficiency was still woefully low.
Still, with four billion damage, he’d expected it to reach a certain level.
It far exceeded that.
“Not bad.”
No—this was more than good.
The reason he’d worked so hard to obtain Multiplication was exactly this.
The Apostle wasn’t a difficult opponent for Taesan anymore. Even without Multiplication, he could have handled it without issue.
But driving it to near death in a single blow using Multiplication meant this skill was worth as much to him as the Boundary Line itself.
“Satisfying.”
Taesan smiled and drew his sword to finish it. The Boundary Line began to gather along the blade.
Just as he was about to swing, Taesan stopped.
The moment he summoned the Boundary Line, he felt something foreign—an indescribable, unknown sensation intruding.
He looked at the Boundary Line shimmering on his sword, and understood what that sensation was.
The Boundary Line—ever so slightly—was slipping out of his control and flowing somewhere else.
Taesan knew exactly where.
The Rift in the sky.
His brow furrowed.
“What?”
After staring at the Rift for a moment, Taesan swung his sword. The blade sank into the Apostle’s neck, and ash swallowed the Apostle’s entire body.
[Your Divinity Boost has been activated. Proficiency in [Black] has increased by 3%.]
[You have activated Teleport.]
Taesan returned to Greenland.
The earth was shattered down to its foundation. Even though he’d controlled the direction as much as possible, the place where he’d confronted the Apostle had collapsed completely, becoming part of the sea.
“The Disc is intact.”
Even in the aftermath, the Disc stood safely in place.
Taesan spoke briefly.
“Arise and fill.”
[You have activated Declaration of Restoration.]
RRRRUMBLE!
The collapsed foundation rose, recreating the land. It returned to the exact same appearance as when Taesan first arrived.
Taesan moved to another Disc. There, people were desperately fighting monsters.
CRUNCH.
A monster’s neck was pierced by Kim Hwiyeon’s sword, and it collapsed. There were no more monsters left.
Kim Hwiyeon shouted, beaming.
“We won!”
“Oooooooo!”
Cheers echoed as everyone raised their weapons in celebration.
They had won.
* *
The joy didn’t last long.
The moment they finished off the last monsters, new ones immediately appeared.
“It’s a war of attrition! Hold the line!”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, the new wave wasn’t large. Their strength was moderate too, letting the defenders rotate and endure.
With a bit of breathing room, they began to look around.
“By the way, where’s Taesan? I want to offer a prayer…”
“I know where he is.”
Amelia looked up at the sky, her expression complicated.
“You won’t be able to see him.”
“There’s so much I want to ask, but he never comes down.”
Lee Taeyeon grumbled.
Taesan was above the sky.
He stared at the Rift, directly in front of the massive black tear. Pillars of light implemented by the Discs continued to hammer it, but the Rift endured without much wavering.
A dark, black hole that swallowed even light.
This was the Boundary Line connecting the Old Gods’ world to this place.
After watching it for a while, Taesan raised his hand.
Ripple.
The Boundary Line—neither light nor darkness, but something between—formed across his palm.
At the same time, he saw it.
A portion of the Boundary Line was being pulled into the Rift.
The Rift, having swallowed it, grew—only slightly, but unmistakably—in power and size. Taesan clenched his hand, extinguishing the Boundary Line.
Every time he used it, a part of it was being sucked into the Rift.
It was a minuscule portion—so small it would be impossible to notice without focusing—but it was real.
Taesan stared at the Rift.
A strange familiarity clung to it.
Not familiarity with the Rift itself, but something closer to the familiarity he felt from the concept of the Old Gods.
“Hm.”
Taesan returned to the ground and recalled the Apostle he’d just defeated.
The Apostle had the form of an ordinary human.
He wasn’t especially strong or fast. Considering the Apostles Taesan had encountered so far each had intense, distinct traits, it was strange.
Taesan sifted through his memory. What abilities had that Apostle possessed?
‘…[Black].’
The [Black] he wielded.
It was subtly different from the [Black] used by other Apostles—darker, more foreign.
What if Taesan had faced an Apostle wielding that foreign [Black] while relying on the Boundary Line?
He ran the scenario in his head. Having reached the Transcender, he could simulate it close to reality.
And the answer came quickly.
It would take time.
Of course, it still wouldn’t be difficult.
That Apostle was an opponent Taesan could defeat without much trouble now.
It came down to affinity.
That [Black] was optimized to block the Boundary Line. It would cling stubbornly, forcing Taesan to keep using the Boundary Line.
And the Boundary Line spent that way would be siphoned into the Rift.
Taesan understood what the Old Gods had been aiming for in this return.
His use of the Boundary Line.
That was the goal.
“Not a bad plan.”
The Boundary Line was Taesan’s greatest strength. Sealing it and fighting was like tying his arms and legs.
But using it played into the Old Gods’ hands. He didn’t know what method they used, but they would keep siphoning the Boundary Line.
A move that couldn’t truly be blocked.
“Well planned.”
But there was one problem.
Taesan had obtained Multiplication.
With the Physical Force he could now create, he could drive an Apostle to near death without using the Boundary Line at all.
“The timing is good, too.”
Taesan looked up at the Rift in the sky, unhurried.
After that, monsters didn’t appear for nearly a week.
A few hundred A-ranks and one or two S-ranks descended, but they were handled without losses.
It looked almost like hesitation—like they were flustered.
Multiplication was an irregularity among irregularities. Taesan could defeat an Apostle with pure Physical Force alone. Even the Magician hadn’t expected it, which meant the Old Gods couldn’t have predicted it either. Their plan had been thrown off completely.
Time continued to pass.
The golden light covering the Rift gradually spread.
“At this rate… about a month.”
“There’s still a while.”
One month. A concrete time frame.
Morale rose.
Then, as if they’d finally reached a decision, the monsters began to pour out again.
“They’re coming! Everyone, get ready!”
Those who’d been resting hurriedly sprang up—and froze.
The entire sky was packed with monsters. Nothing else could be seen.
“Are they trying to make up for lost time now?”
Taesan muttered as monsters landed before him.
RRRRUMBLE!
[$%%s%& has appeared.]
[#@!!!! has appeared.]
[[system protected]%s&&& has appeared.]
“Three Apostles, huh.”
Three Apostles surrounded Taesan.
[You have activated Reconnaissance.]
[You have activated Essence Comprehension.]
After roughly grasping their information, Taesan was certain.
The Old Gods wanted him to wield the Boundary Line.
These Apostles were disposable pawns meant to force that. They were likely still holding their real cards in reserve.
So Taesan’s response was simple.
Do not use the Boundary Line.
He moved.
The Apostles tried to react, but Taesan was faster. He drew his sword and swung.
[You have activated Addition.]
[You have activated Multiplication.]
CRACK.
[$%%”%& received 4,412,382,124 damage.]
The Apostle desperately tried to block it.
The defense shattered. His body blasted beyond the universe.
KRAKOOM!
The moment Taesan used Multiplication, the other Apostles rushed in as if they’d been waiting. Their movements made it obvious—they wanted him to use the Boundary Line.
Taesan had no intention of doing so.
He slipped between them, overlapping their positions.
[You have used the Ring of Distorted Regret. The cooldown of Multiplication has been reset.]
[You have activated Addition.]
[You have activated Multiplication.]
[You have activated Copy.]
“Go together.”
With a calm swing, the two Apostles’ bodies were severed.