Chapter 549
The Usurper.
An Old god.
Taesan instantly widened the distance. He studied the Usurper, who was calmly watching him.
‘…This isn’t the Usurper’s true body.’
The reaper had said it. The Usurper, like the other Old gods, was currently breaking the boundary. There was no way it would be guarding the treasure chest inside.
More than that, the rank he felt from the Usurper before him was… lacking.
It felt like a severed portion. As if it had guessed Taesan’s thoughts, the Usurper smiled.
[You’re right. I am the warehouse keeper who guards this vault and crushes thieves to death. You can think of me as a part of that one.]
‘A fragment.’
A portion the Usurper tore off to guard the treasure chest.
Perhaps because it was a warehouse keeper to begin with, its power and rank weren’t particularly great.
But it could still be called the Usurper.
Taesan examined it.
Neither human nor monster. A warped shape that couldn’t be called of this world or of the Old gods.
It was like a thousand faces.
That was the Usurper’s essence.
[But… how curious. How did you crawl in here? It was hidden perfectly—once the link was severed, no matter how much it was you, you wouldn’t have been able to detect it.]
The Usurper was startled that Taesan had found and entered the treasure chest. While judging the reason, its gaze shifted to Taesan’s finger.
[…I see.]
The Usurper murmured as if amused.
[Because of you, what I stole has reclaimed itself. No… not that far. That concept is still here, so… it’s more accurate to say it regained its ego. That informed this place’s location.]
The Usurper laughed pleasantly.
[When an existence like you intervenes, results like this can happen. I should move the box’s location again.]
“Too much talking.”
Taesan tightened his grip on his sword. His will took form and pressed down on the Usurper.
The Usurper smiled and spoke.
[You and I don’t need to fight.]
At those words, Taesan paused. The Usurper continued.
[Let me make a proposal. Will you join hands with me?]
“Bullshit.”
Taesan dismissed it. He and the Usurper were enemies. They could never cooperate.
But the Usurper spoke gently.
[You seem to be mistaken about something. I and that one are different entities. I’m bound here for an entire lifetime as a warehouse keeper—nothing more than the scraps it discarded.]
[I hate that one. Even though we are the same, I am trapped here, while it roams freely outside, fulfilling its desires.]
As if truly displeased, the Usurper’s form twisted.
[I hate it. I also want to leave this maddening box and walk my own path.]
“You’re just a part, and you can still manifest an ego like that?”
[Normally, it would be impossible. But I’m very old. At this point, it wouldn’t be strange for an ego to form.]
The Usurper spoke lightly.
[What do you think, Adversary? Will you take my hand and trample that one?]
“Then tell me. How?”
If something could be used, it should be used. Taesan asked. The Usurper answered cheerfully.
[It’s simple. Let yourself be eaten by me.]
“What?”
[I devour you, use your body as my vessel, and act. That’s all. You get revenge on the Usurper, and I gain freedom. Clean, isn’t it?]
“So that’s what you were trying to say.”
Taesan let out a hollow laugh.
He’d thought he might be able to exploit the proposal, but he’d only wasted time.
The opponent was an Old god. You couldn’t make deals with a twisted, warped existence. Instead of answering, Taesan drew up gray.
[Refusal, then. It can’t be helped.]
The Usurper raised a finger, sounding genuinely regretful.
[Then I’ll have to trample you myself, and usurp you.]
Whoosh. Gray wrapped around Taesan.
Among the countless concepts strewn about, Taesan took a combat stance.
[Strong.]
The Usurper let out a pure exclamation.
[I can’t read your essence, but I can tell one thing: you’re strong. Even against that one, you’d put up a decent fight. Far stronger than anything like me.]
The Usurper’s portion wasn’t strong.
Because it was a warehouse keeper, it was closer to a shard. He could win without issue.
[If I devour you, it’ll be delightful.]
Yet the Usurper never once considered its own defeat. Smiling, it welcomed Taesan.
[Come, Adversary.]
* *
Kuuwoong!
Taesan stamped the ground. An acceleration so fast that even a Transcender who ruled a low concept would struggle to even see the movement.
His sword aimed for the Usurper’s throat.
And the Usurper responded lightly.
It waved its hand. At the warehouse keeper’s will, the scattered concepts took form.
Kiiiiing!
Dense, black powder scattered through the world, protecting the Usurper.
Taesan ignored it and swung his sword. Boundary clung to his blade. He could pierce any ordinary authority whenever he wished.
Kra-ka-ka-kak!
But it didn’t break through.
Taesan’s eyes wavered. The black powder wriggled and clung to Boundary, trying to corrode it.
The powder surged up and swallowed Taesan.
Kra-ka-ka-kak!
Boundary Negation rose. It tried to trample and devour what dared interfere with it.
But the black powder wasn’t pushed back.
Like poison, it burrowed into the cracks of Boundary. Slowly, it defiled and corroded its essence.
Taesan gathered Boundary and detonated it. Boundary exploded like a bomb and forced the powder back.
Tap.
Taesan quickly widened the distance.
‘What?’
Boundary Negation hadn’t been able to push it away.
Boundary Negation had swallowed even the worthlessness of the merged apostles without being affected. Unless it was a concept directly handled by a Transcender or an Old god, it couldn’t respond to Boundary Negation.
Which meant only one thing.
That black powder was the authority of a Transcender who ruled a complete concept.
The Usurper waved its hand. The black powder condensed into a sphere.
Then it exploded.
Sweeping forward in a fan shape.
‘What authority is that?’
It was twisted and warped, making it hard to identify precisely.
Then start with the basics. Taesan gathered mana.
[You have activated Great Collapse.]
Kuuwoong!
Great Collapse manifested and collided with the fan-shaped black powder.
And Taesan saw it.
Great Collapse rotted and decayed in an instant.
Without even the slightest resistance, Great Collapse vanished. Taesan detonated gray and blocked the black powder.
‘I get it.’
This was the authority of corruption.
The Usurper was wielding a Transcender’s concept—one that made all things rot and decay.
Kra-ka-ka-kang!
Powder of corruption swept in all directions.
Taesan detonated Boundary. Black powder and gray collided, canceling each other out.
[Die impaled.]
And the Usurper didn’t stop. A new authority manifested.
A long, formless line was drawn in the air.
The Usurper lightly waved its hand, and the line shot toward Taesan.
Taesan’s instincts warned him.
He couldn’t dodge.
No matter how he moved, that line would pierce him.
It was that kind of guaranteed-hit authority.
Then.
“Come out.”
Kuhuhuhung!
The Boundary Beast appeared.
The beast, raging in joy, thrust its maw toward the line. The Boundary Beast and the line collided.
Kra-ka-ka-kak!
And of course, the one that won was the Boundary Beast.
It split and snapped the line.
[As I expected, but even more than I imagined.]
The Usurper spoke calmly and stamped the ground.
Dozens of lines formed in the air.
They fired all at once.
The beast crouched, then roared. A howling infused with Boundary shattered and smashed the lines.
Not all of them broke. Some endured even the howling and still tried to pierce Taesan.
Taesan raised his sword.
Kra-ka-ka-kak!
The line collided with Bardray and snapped. Taesan shook his body, sending out a wave.
All the remaining lines shattered.
And the powder of corruption seized the opening.
It clung to Taesan, trying to rot and corrode his essence. Boundary Negation was dyed in an instant.
KWA-AAANG!
Taesan violently shook his body. Physical force infused with Boundary pushed the corruption away.
[You’re blocking even this without issue.]
The Usurper thought lightly, then decided.
[I will suppress you.]
With that declaration, an authority activated.
The authority of suppression that existed in the universe.
Taesan was pressed down.
Body, soul, and rank—those three were trampled and forced down. The control of a solemn emperor coerced Taesan.
Taesan put strength through his whole body.
Gray exploded. He smashed all suppression trying to control him with sheer force.
Tap.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
Taesan kicked off, surged forward in an instant, and thrust his sword.
The Usurper lightly raised its hand.
[I exile you.]
Kuuwoong!
Taesan’s body was forcibly flung away.
He was exiled to a fixed distance from the Usurper, instantly forced far back.
‘What?’
Boundary Negation still remained. Regardless, Taesan’s very existence had been forcibly excluded by the Usurper.
‘An authority of exile?’
It looked like that.
Kra-ka-ka-kak!
Taesan stabbed his sword down and forcibly anchored his flying body. He raised his soul rank and shattered the exile authority that excluded him.
‘I expected it, but still.’
Taesan clicked his tongue.
The Usurper usurps the concepts of worlds.
And every concept it had usurped was inside this treasure chest.
Countless universal concepts, accumulated since the old war.
[I killed countless Transcenders outside and stole their concepts. Everything is here.]
Countless authorities.
Complete concepts that affect the universe itself were being realized in the Usurper’s hands. And it wasn’t just one.
[You are strong. Incomparable to something like me. But… this is my domain.]
Kugugugung……
The universe’s concepts strewn like trash resonated with the Usurper.
[At least here, you cannot defeat me.]
The Usurper smiled.
[Come. My Adversary. Come and become my vessel.]
Powder of corruption covered the domain. With nowhere to go, it packed in tightly, compressing the space.
KWA-AAANG!
Taesan gathered Boundary. Boundary slowly lost its color, transforming into worthlessness.
Then he swung it.
The powder of corruption touched worthlessness and vanished, carving out a path.
But he couldn’t run down that path.
[If you can block the authority of corruption, then how about this?]
The Usurper spoke lightly and waved its hand. The scattered authorities rose, resonating with the warehouse keeper’s will.
Kiiiiing!
A white plane was drawn across the world.
Then it charged at Taesan, trying to shove the entire space without leaving a single gap.
“What authority is this now?”
Taesan grumbled and focused.
He condensed the Boundary within his sword—harder, and more of it.
Taesan swung his sword, and the beast howled.
Kra-dr-dr-deuk!
The plane warped like aluminum foil and tore apart. Taesan slipped out of the white plane.
And that opening was filled by yet another authority.
“Just how many did you usurp?”
Taesan clicked his tongue.
The authorities the Usurper was wielding were enormous concepts that pierced the universe itself.
And it was handling more than five of them.
That meant it had erased at least five Transcenders who ruled complete concepts.
Strong.
None of the authorities it wielded could be taken lightly. Each one was a complete authority on its own. Like a god of victory, choice, or magic—complete concepts. If not, they would’ve been torn apart and erased by Boundary.
And they were diverse. When Taesan broke one authority, it pulled out another. It kept fighting from advantageous points.
Wielding countless authorities, constantly pulling out new cards.
It was like Taesan.
‘So this is how the ones who fought me felt.’
An opponent who handled multiple authorities. The Usurper was worse than Taesan. It truly swung countless different concepts.
‘But.’
The Usurper couldn’t handle the concepts of this world completely.
At best, it was imitation.
And if so, he could trample it as much as he wanted.