Chapter 557
[Y-you bastard!]
Leviathan beat its wings. The Authority of the apocalypse swung down to trample Taesan.
Kwaga-ga-ga-gang!
Dodging the attack, Taesan thought rapidly.
He had forcibly cycled Replication’s cooldown with the Authority of Cycle. That meant he could interfere with the System itself.
Then could he cycle skills whose cooldowns weren’t an hour like Replication’s, but several days long?
[You activated Fall of All Things.]
[Ugh!]
All things fell. The apocalypse was included in that as well. Leviathan’s rank plunged for an instant.
[You activated Transcendence [Cycle].]
And he forcibly cycled Fall of All Things’ cooldown.
[You activated Fall of All Things.]
[Argh!]
The rank that had fallen once fell again. The gap was big enough that anyone could feel it.
“It works.”
Taesan’s lips curled upward.
Even a Transcender’s Authority—even a skill with a cooldown lasting several days—could be cycled without issue.
[What in the—.]
Leviathan, flustered, activated its own Authority. Raising a fallen rank again wasn’t particularly difficult.
For Leviathan, which governed the end of all things, even a fall could be forcibly brought to an end.
But that wasn’t why it was shaken.
Leviathan was one of the Transcenders who had helped build the Labyrinth. As such, it understood what the Labyrinth’s System was, and what concepts it operated on.
And because of that, Leviathan knew better than anyone.
That it was impossible to activate skills like Fall of All Things or Replication in rapid succession.
[How are you chaining a skill of that level over and over……?]
Replication. It doubled a skill’s effect. Even to a Transcender, it was a skill that exceeded specifications.
Leviathan could accept the skill’s existence itself. It knew the Labyrinth’s System could create skills at that level.
But a skill of that level had to have a long cooldown.
Yet Taesan activated it repeatedly as if there were no cooldown at all. Fall of All Things was the same.
He could receive a Transcender’s Authority, sure, but there had to be restrictions on its use.
He was cycling the cooldown with Transcendence [Cycle], but since it was happening entirely within Taesan, Leviathan couldn’t grasp it.
“Interesting.”
Taesan was satisfied. Forcing cooldowns to cycle and reactivating skills—this was a massive advantage.
“It’s a different direction from Designated Skill Reset, but this is good in its own way.”
Each had pros and cons.
Designated Skill Reset’s advantage was that you could repeat the same attack skill.
That let you stack Multiplication.
But Cycle couldn’t be used that way. Stacking Replication had only been possible because of magic’s special nature—he couldn’t stack Multiplication through Cycle.
Still, that alone was more than enough.
Unlike Designated Skill Reset, Cycle itself had no cooldown.
You couldn’t immediately cycle a skill you had just cycled once, but in exchange, you could use it once on every skill. That more than made up for the drawback.
With Cycle, if he also used Reset equipment, he could activate Multiplication four times in a row.
It was deeply satisfying.
[Y-you…….]
“Thanks. Because of you, I could confirm it.”
Taesan was genuinely grateful to Leviathan.
In that moment, Leviathan felt a humiliation it couldn’t endure.
[Die.]
A cold voice rang out.
At the same time, storms and lightning surged forth.
Without any change in expression, Taesan stomped.
KWA-AAAAANG!
Gray and the Authority of the apocalypse collided. The power that forced an end upon all things tried to swallow Taesan, but the Boundary surrounding him excluded it all.
[Don’t make me laugh!]
Leviathan spat out denial and swung its power again. The universe’s apocalypse engulfed Taesan.
Taesan didn’t dodge or block.
With sunken eyes, he simply watched the apocalypse crashing down on him.
There were still a few things left to confirm. The Authority he had obtained wasn’t only Cycle.
He reached out. Taesan grabbed the apocalypse that was swallowing him.
Crack.
“Hand it over.”
[You activated Soul Rank Usurpation.]
And the apocalypse began to be usurped.
KUGUGUGUGUNG!
A massive backlash immediately churned inside Taesan.
As if declaring he couldn’t control it, as if declaring he wasn’t its master, it resisted—tearing through Taesan’s insides, trying to ruin everything.
“Swallow it.”
Taesan spoke calmly.
The beast of the Boundary sleeping within him rose.
It trampled and controlled the apocalypse trying to run wild inside him. As if to say it would crush it if it didn’t obey, it pressed down with brute force.
And before long—
KUGUGUGUNG…….
The apocalypse settled inside Taesan’s Treasure Chest.
Leviathan stared blankly at that sight.
[……This is.]
“So that’s how it is.”
After glancing at his hand for a moment, Taesan swung his arm.
And Authority burst forth from his hand.
The Authority of the apocalypse that revealed the end of all things.
It swept over Leviathan. Leviathan reflexively raised its forepaw.
KWA-AAAAANG!
[Kuugh!]
With the impact, Leviathan felt pain.
[What… what is this?]
Leviathan couldn’t move.
It couldn’t understand what had just happened. It only stared at Taesan in a daze.
“Not bad.”
And Taesan was satisfied with the Authority he had just wielded.
“Keep coming.”
*
Leviathan couldn’t accept it.
But it couldn’t deny what had happened, either.
Taesan had usurped its Authority.
And he wielded it as if it were his own.
The moment Leviathan realized that, it went mad.
[Yooooou!]
A qualitatively different rage from before. The domain couldn’t endure and began to crumble. The end was forcibly revealed.
[That is mine! It’s mine! How dare something like you wield what you have no right to wield!]
With overwhelming fury, Leviathan activated its Authority.
The end of all things engulfed Taesan.
Even a Transcender who handled complete concepts would rot and crumble on the spot if they didn’t respond with full power.
Taesan didn’t dodge or block.
He simply reached out.
[You activated Soul Rank Usurpation.]
The moment the end of all things touched Taesan, it became Taesan’s property.
Up until now, power usurped with Soul Rank Usurpation had to be wielded immediately. It was only a temporary usurpation, and if it wasn’t used, it vanished.
But not anymore.
The end of all things he usurped settled inside his Treasure Chest. Not temporarily, but permanently.
And Leviathan could feel it, too.
That its Authority had been permanently lost.
[A… aaagh! Aaaaargh!]
The apocalypse covered everything.
Taesan didn’t retreat.
He took a single step forward.
[You activated Soul Rank Usurpation.]
He usurped the apocalypse. Permanently.
Piece by piece, he filled his Treasure Chest.
Leviathan couldn’t tolerate it.
It was the lizard that bestowed the apocalypse upon all things—born with that role from the start. No one could interfere.
But Taesan was forcibly usurping that role.
A role that had existed since the beginning was being denied.
Leviathan fell into madness, activating its Authority like a lunatic.
Whether Leviathan did that or not, Taesan began handling the Authority he had obtained.
KWA-AAAANG!
Apocalypse and apocalypse collided. In that process, the Authority of the apocalypse stored inside the Treasure Chest decreased.
“So it’s consumed every time I use it.”
It was a permanent usurpation, but it didn’t refill on its own. If he used the Authority he had usurped once, that was the end of it.
Snatch.
[You activated Soul Rank Usurpation.]
And the Authority of the apocalypse that had been consumed filled again.
That process wasn’t smooth. In the act of usurping the Authority, he felt no small amount of backlash and resistance.
‘I can’t use it freely, huh.’
Leviathan and Taesan were an absolute mismatch. Leviathan’s attacks couldn’t reach Taesan, so Taesan was usurping without worrying at all.
But if his opponent were someone who could truly oppose him, he’d have to use it carefully. If he used it recklessly, he might expose an opening instead.
Even so, if he seized an opening and usurped, it was more than useful. Usurpation meant gnawing away at the opponent’s power.
More than that, it had meaning as a blow to the opponent’s mind as well.
Authority was either a realm an existence had devoted its entire life to reaching, or it was their everything.
To have someone else steal it at will and wield it as if it were their own—then steal it permanently on top of that.
Even the greatest would have their mind shaken.
KUGUGUGUGUNG!
He continued usurping the apocalypse. As a result, Taesan soon reached a limit. Even when he activated Soul Rank Usurpation, he could no longer store any more in his Treasure Chest.
“So infinite usurpation is impossible.”
There was still plenty of empty space left in the Treasure Chest. It seemed there was a limit to how much could be stored per individual Authority.
Still, this was far more than he had expected. He was satisfied.
Taesan pulled the apocalypse out.
And mixed Boundary into it.
An apocalypse of the Boundary manifested in the world and smashed Leviathan. Leviathan tried to defend, but the apocalypse of the Boundary pierced through that defense by force.
KUUUUUNG!
[Krghhhhhk!]
“I can mix Boundary into what I usurp without any issues. Great.”
Taesan smiled, pleased.
Then, lastly—
Taesan focused. He drew up the beast of the Boundary.
And poured Cycle into it.
A concept that belonged nowhere began to cycle.
Grrr.
The beast snarled. It was like a child whining while being forced to eat food it hated.
At the rejection, Taesan withdrew Cycle.
‘Still too much for now.’
But the possibility was there. If he tried a little more, he could make it happen.
“Alright, then I’d like to be done now.”
He had tested everything he needed to test. He had no more business with Leviathan.
[OOOOOOO!]
But Leviathan roared. A storm engulfed Taesan.
Taesan swung Boundary and shattered the storm.
“Haa…”
It wasn’t listening.
Leviathan had thrown away reason in its rage. It was moving for one purpose only—killing Taesan.
“This is annoying.”
He couldn’t kill it. Leviathan was a device that maintained the universe’s balance. If he killed it, problems would arise.
Then—
Taesan put force into his legs.
His body accelerated as he charged at Leviathan. Leviathan violently swung its forepaw. The apocalypse crashed down on Taesan.
Taesan called the beast. The beast of the Boundary let out a howl. The apocalypse shattered and broke apart in an instant.
He clenched his fist and hammered Leviathan’s head.
BOOOOOM!
[KAAAAAK!]
Leviathan’s body staggered.
[O-OOOOO!]
Leviathan steadied itself.
But Taesan grabbed its head and slammed it down. With a thunderous crash, Leviathan’s massive body was driven into the ground.
[OOOOO!]
The apocalypse rose.
Taesan crushed it all with Boundary.
“You can’t beat me.”
It was simple. Leviathan was a device of the universe. It was powerful, but its power was limited to existences that remained within the laws.
But Taesan was now beyond the laws. It was like being outside the law’s jurisdiction. No matter how Leviathan forced the laws, Taesan didn’t belong to them in the first place.
So Leviathan could never defeat him.
An absolute mismatch.
“I’d like you to admit defeat. But you won’t, will you?”
[Dieeeee!]
“Figured.”
Taesan stomped. A shockwave spread through Leviathan’s body. A groan of pain rang out.
“Then I’ll beat you until you admit it.”
[Sto—.]
A fist came down. Boundary brutally pounded the apocalypse-ridden body.
Leviathan didn’t yield.
Enduring to the end, it tried to strike back at Taesan.
And Taesan crushed all of that resistance.
After a full day passed—
[I… I lost…….]
Leviathan declared in a voice on the verge of death.
[Please. Please stop…….]
The dragon that governed the universe’s apocalypse had yielded to pure violence.
“You should’ve done that earlier.”
Taesan lowered his fist.
[97th Floor Clear.]
[Leviathan has given you a reward.]