Chapter 562
BOOOOOM!
The condensed Physical Force was released. The power stored within it swept out in all directions.
KRAAAASH!
The inside of the Bottomless Abyss was scoured clean. Black things were pulverized and flung away by Gray Physical Force.
The Bottomless Abyss. The keeper of the bottomless abyss.
Its Authority was, quite literally, infinity.
And Physical Force swept that infinity away.
At this point, even the Bottomless Abyss couldn’t possibly not know. The Taesan it had swallowed was trying to come out from within.
The Bottomless Abyss burned with rage.
It was the one who devoured everything.
There was nothing it could not contain.
If it wished, it could swallow not only the universe, but even Old Gods into its hole. It was an existence of that rank.
The only being granted infinity—was the Bottomless Abyss.
And yet you dare confront that infinity head-on?
The Bottomless Abyss expanded its abyss with fury.
Taesan could feel it. The Bottomless Abyss’s interior was expanding without end. The speed surpassed even the expansion of the universe itself.
So what?
What he wanted wasn’t to fill infinity.
It was to shatter it.
With the Physical Force he held, it was more than possible.
‘I get why the Magician made me deal with the Bottomless Abyss.’
With that thought, Taesan swung his sword. The black space broke, and the backlash raged outward.
The endlessly expanding space couldn’t withstand Taesan’s Physical Force.
The Bottomless Abyss realized.
This was something it could not swallow.
Something that exceeded its own rank.
The backlash was violent enough to be felt even outside. The Demon God let out a groan.
[No way…….]
CRACK.
The Authority of infinity fractured.
Taesan put rough strength into it—and pulled.
[782,560,331,566 damage to the Bottomless Abyss.]
[782,560,331,566 damage to the Bottomless Abyss.]
[783,333,127,124 damage to the Bottomless Abyss.]
[783,333,127,124 damage to the Bottomless Abyss.]
[55,864,546,432 damage to the Bottomless Abyss.]
[55,554,576,412 damage to the Bottomless Abyss.]
A total of over three trillion damage.
All of it converted into Physical Force and tore through the Bottomless Abyss’s interior.
RRRIIIP!
Infinity was pierced. A massive hole opened from the Physical Force, and the universe came into view.
BOOOOOM!
Even the remaining backlash roared beyond the universe. Every concept within its range—including time and space—was stripped of its original form and swept away. The Demon God recoiled and wrapped darkness around her body.
[Keuhhhk!]
But the darkness was peeled away in an instant. The Demon God’s eyes sharpened as she clenched her fist.
KIIIIIIING.
Dense, deep darkness formed a barrier that shielded her.
KUGUGUGUGUNG……
Only then was she able to free herself from the backlash of Physical Force.
[…This is absurd.]
The Demon God let out a hollow laugh. It hadn’t been a direct hit. She’d been a fair distance from the backlash. A great deal of power would’ve been consumed piercing through the Bottomless Abyss’s body.
And yet she could barely block it even at full strength.
Tap.
Taesan returned to the universe through the hole.
He turned back to check the Bottomless Abyss’s condition, then smiled in satisfaction.
“Good.”
A portion of the Bottomless Abyss had been blown wide open. Like intestines spilling out after an explosion, its Authority continuously poured out from within.
KUGUGUGUGUNG……
The Bottomless Abyss’s body convulsed, filled with pain that felt as if it could tear heaven and earth apart.
[Uh… ugh.]
Bardray groaned.
[I think this time I really snapped.]
“I told you, didn’t I.”
[I’m getting chills. What the hell was that?]
[Master…… this is—]
Akasha couldn’t even finish her sentence. The Demon God approached with a stunned expression.
[Taesan. How……?]
“I just forced my way through with brute strength.”
[The Bottomless Abyss? With brute strength?]
The Demon God let out a scoff.
Who was the Bottomless Abyss? The master of the bottomless abyss. It could drown everything that touched it and make it all meaningless.
More than a few Transcenders had fallen into the Bottomless Abyss and never returned. Even if every Transcender in the universe put their heads together, there was no way to subdue it, so they forcibly expanded space itself to create a place where nothing could reach it. A straightforward approach showed no answer, so they resorted to a workaround.
And yet Taesan had just punched straight through the Bottomless Abyss with sheer force.
It meant he’d done what not a single Transcender in the universe had been able to do.
[How is that even possible?]
“The Bottomless Abyss definitely devours everything. It has no bottom.”
It could swallow even the universe, even Old Gods, and store them all within itself.
“But there’s a limit to what it can swallow.”
It had no bottom, but it couldn’t truly drown everything in the absolute sense.
Just like the black paint, if a concept and power rose too far beyond, the Bottomless Abyss couldn’t consume it.
And Physical Force created through Multiplication was power the Bottomless Abyss couldn’t swallow.
That was how he’d shattered infinity.
[…Do you even understand what you’re saying?]
It meant the power Taesan had swung was above any Transcender in the universe. The very idea of punching through infinity with brute force was beyond imagination.
[You’re beyond what I can picture. I don’t know whether the Magician will be happy or miserable.]
The Demon God grinned.
[Either way, you made it back. So you went in on purpose?]
“Compared to dealing with it from the outside, I judged it would be more effective to blow it up from within. And I had a card that could do it.”
[Seriously.]
Even so, to actually go into the Bottomless Abyss… if it went wrong, he might never have returned. The Demon God laughed, her eyes filled with awe and respect.
[As expected… you’re incredible.]
But there was no time to talk leisurely.
Wiiiiii
A howling spread—something beings of this world couldn’t hear.
The Bottomless Abyss shook its body. From the hole torn into the mass of flesh, pitch-black paint poured out.
The amount was no joke.
It looked like it could stain the entire universe.
[Your strike dealt the Bottomless Abyss serious damage. Damage it can’t recover from. But…… it’s still dangerous all the same.]
With a grave expression, the Demon God gathered darkness.
[That paint flowing out has slipped beyond the Bottomless Abyss’s control. If we mess up, the entire universe could fall into that and vanish.]
KUUUUNG!
Darkness spread. A colossal curtain formed, separating them from the universe.
[I can block it…… but I can’t hold for long. Sorry, but I’m asking you one more time.]
“I know.”
Taesan stepped before the Bottomless Abyss. The Bottomless Abyss, writhing in pain, stared at Taesan.
What lay within that gaze was pain—and searing hatred.
A fierce hostility toward Taesan, who had dared to wound its Authority.
“I did hurt it, but…”
Even so, his odds were still slim. Taesan had, in effect, burned through one of his strongest cards.
An Old God was still an Old God.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say it was a step above him.
So he, too, needed to climb a step higher.
He summoned the Beast of Boundary. With a howl, a distorted form manifested into the world.
It was the embodiment of Boundary itself—a world between the universe and what lay beyond.
But even this wouldn’t be enough to pierce the Bottomless Abyss.
The Bottomless Abyss shook its body. Boundary and all—its greed showed plainly, as if to say it would swallow everything and bury it away.
If it was the Beast of Boundary, it could tear and punch through all of that paint. But the Bottomless Abyss’s true body—breaking through that bottomless Authority with brute force—was impossible.
To pierce that, he needed power that exceeded its rank.
At the very least, the current Beast of Boundary didn’t have the strength to break through everything and bring down an Old God.
So he would give it that strength—and that rank.
The greatest characteristic of Boundary was that it was a domain, yet also possessed the self of a beast.
Even without Taesan’s orders, it could act of its own will.
Then—
Could he grant that self life, in the truest sense?
Could he make the domain called Boundary be born as a living being, in the truest sense?
Taesan possessed the Authority that could make it possible.
[You have activated Cycle.]
KIIIIIIING.
Cycle touched the Beast of Boundary.
The Beast of Boundary let out a low growl. From the start, it reacted with rejection toward Cycle. Taesan knew that as well.
So he tamed the beast slowly, like handling an animal.
He let it grow accustomed to Cycle, little by little.
As a result, at some point, the beast no longer rejected Cycle so strongly.
“Accept it.”
He gave the command with force.
And at last, complete Cycle took root within the beast.
Thump.
A heartbeat rang out.
A physical form began to take shape within the beast that had never been able to hold a proper body.
Boundary began to cycle. Turning and turning, it started to forge a single set of rules and order.
A domain began to bloom.
The Beast of Boundary was undeniably powerful.
It held the advantage in compatibility over all things in creation and beyond, and as a domain itself, it was vast and towering.
But it wasn’t perfect.
Boundary was a domain beyond. Wielding it within this universe—
In the eyes of the universe, it was ultimately something external.
Wielding an external concept inside the universe. Naturally, that alone came with inevitable loss.
No matter how Boundary held the advantage in compatibility over everything, it couldn’t solve every problem by itself.
But now, Boundary began to embrace even the laws of the world.
Grrrrrr.
And finally—
The beast became life.
[The master of Boundary has changed.]
[Transcendence [Boundary] has changed.]
A long system window didn’t appear. Only the fact that two things Taesan possessed had changed.
But Taesan understood better than anyone what had happened, and what had changed.
Squelch.
The materialized Boundary settled beside Taesan.
It was still an amorphous mass with no true shape. But now, he could touch it, and feel its texture.
The rank of Boundary had been altered.
But that alteration wasn’t bad.
The enraged Bottomless Abyss expanded its body. The abyss spilling out shot toward Taesan.
With pure Boundary alone, he couldn’t respond to that abyss. Only Physical Force using Multiplication could shatter it.
But not anymore.
“Block it.”
A living domain rose. Having gained even perfect Physical Force, it flew of its own will and collided with the abyss.
BOOOOM!
With a thunderous roar, the abyss shattered. Boundary slid back and settled beside Taesan.
“Now it works.”
Taesan laughed brightly.
A complete Old God’s Authority.
He could now respond to it with Boundary alone, without any other power mixed in.
He had reached the same realm as an Old God.
“Let’s do this properly one more time.”