Chapter 564
Time passed.
So distant, so long, enough time for someone’s memories to be forgotten.
No. You couldn’t even call it time passing. Around the Bottomless Abyss and Taesan, the flow of time was twisted and broken. From the universe’s perspective, not that much time had passed.
But if time had flowed normally—
It would have been long enough for civilizations to change.
[Hmm.]
The Demon God slumped down. She, too, was caught within the distorted flow of time. Even for a Transcender, she had been blocking the ripples of their clash for no short span.
She was exhausted, worn down.
For the first time in a very long while, the Demon God saw her bottom.
But she didn’t yield.
More accurately, she couldn’t afford to.
She barely raised her head.
And what she saw was a colossal monster.
A bottomless monster. The Bottomless Abyss shook its entire body. Power that could swallow the whole universe if it wished shook, devoured, and raged in every direction.
And Taesan, a tiny existence, responded.
Taesan reached out. He made the Bottomless Abyss’s power his own.
Then he detonated it, pressing the Bottomless Abyss.
BOOOOM!
He carved a path, latched onto the Bottomless Abyss, and detonated his own power, forcing it into the Bottomless Abyss’s body.
RUMBLE!
The Bottomless Abyss resisted. Power exploded and convulsed. Taesan looked as if he was being swallowed into it.
But he broke free.
He wrapped his whole body in distorted Gray and swung his sword. Overwhelming Physical Force smashed into the Bottomless Abyss.
KUUUUNG!
The Bottomless Abyss’s body lurched.
A long stretch of time—one that didn’t feel short even to a Transcender.
For that entire time, Taesan fought the Bottomless Abyss.
Overcoming hundreds of crises, breaking through unending threats to his life, steadying his shaking mind and body.
He never retreated even once.
The Demon God couldn’t hide her awe. At the very least, it was something she could never do.
With Taesan fighting like that, she couldn’t possibly back down. She hardened her resolve even further.
[Grant me strength.]
Those who believed in her, every demon she ruled, lent her their strength. She held the curtain she had spread even more firmly.
And after how much time had passed—
At last, the end arrived.
* *
Rumble……
The Bottomless Abyss’s body trembled. Its ripples were clearly different from before. Slow. Heavy. As if it had reached its limit.
Taesan could feel it.
The bottomless abyss had finally seen its bottom.
The endless ocean had become like a spring with a visible floor.
“Is it finally over?”
Taesan himself didn’t know exactly how much time had passed; he had fought until he nearly forgot his own mind.
But he knew it hadn’t been short.
The end was in sight.
Taesan stroked the Beast of Boundary wrapped around his body.
“It’s the last one.”
So, with everything.
Grrr.
The beast roared. As if it had been waiting, as if it had been unable to reveal its true instincts until now, power burst out.
KWAGAGAGANG!
Boundary swept and crushed everything.
In an instant, it carved a path to the Bottomless Abyss. Taesan drove strength into his legs and charged.
KRAK!
His sword plunged into the Bottomless Abyss.
And he detonated Boundary.
Gray swept through the Bottomless Abyss’s interior.
Until now, the Bottomless Abyss had stored most of it within itself without issue.
But not anymore.
Like a balloon overfilled with water, the Bottomless Abyss’s body began to swell. As if it could hold no more. As if this was the limit.
“Go in.”
Taesan ordered the Beast of Boundary wrapped around him. The beast peeled away from Taesan and entered the Bottomless Abyss.
RUMBLE!
It forced its way inside, shook it apart, and filled it.
The inside of the Bottomless Abyss was filled with the domain of Boundary.
CRRRAAACK!
Cracks began to spread across the Bottomless Abyss’s body.
It splintered and broke. The Bottomless Abyss hurriedly tried to harden itself further, trying to devour the beast that had seeped into it.
But it was impossible.
The cracks spread even faster. Gray began to seep out from the Bottomless Abyss’s body.
“Detonate.”
Taesan gave the command.
As if it had been waiting, the beast opened itself. Cracks became fissures.
Then it shattered.
CRAAASH!
With a warped, grating sound, the Bottomless Abyss’s entire body shattered and broke apart. What had formed the Bottomless Abyss became fragments and scattered in all directions.
And those fragments began to turn into Taesan’s property.
[You have activated Soul Rank Usurpation. Special Activation Skill [Deep Place] has been destroyed. You have obtained Transcendence [Bottomless Abyss].]
Something immense—an intact Old God’s Authority—became Taesan’s possession.
Thump.
And Taesan’s inside was filled.
With a vast, bottomless hole.
“This again.”
It was too big, too immense. Big enough to make him feel like it could contain everything he had.
But he gathered it in.
Like bringing downgraded power under control, he made it wholly his without much trouble.
Before long, Taesan made the Bottomless Abyss his own.
“Hoo.”
He let out a short breath and swung his hand. The Beast of Boundary, its task finished, was gathered back inside Taesan.
“I’m tired.”
It had been a long time since he’d felt like he had hit his limit.
Taesan moved. His body leapt across space and arrived beside the Demon God.
[…You won.]
“Yes.”
The Demon God withdrew the curtain she had spread. She let out a hollow laugh.
[I won.]
“That’s how it turned out.”
Taesan replied calmly.
The Bottomless Abyss had been completely erased from the universe.
—
[Incredible. The Bottomless Abyss really was erased.]
The Demon God hadn’t only clashed with the Bottomless Abyss in this war.
Even in wars from the distant past, she had fought and collided with the Bottomless Abyss many times. She clearly remembered countless Transcenders being swallowed into it.
An Old God believed to be impossible to kill—one that devoured all things and could eat the universe itself.
And that existence was now gone.
That fact stirred a strange feeling in the Demon God.
“How much time has passed?”
Taesan had lost track of time while focusing on the battle.
But he knew a great deal of time had passed.
What had happened during that span?
That was what worried him. But the Demon God shook her head.
[A fair amount passed, but you don’t need to worry. Around you, the flow of time was distorted. From the outside’s perspective… at most, only a few days have passed.]
“That’s a relief.”
[It is. Plenty of time to rest, too.]
As she spoke, the Demon God steadied her breathing.
Her condition was terrible. Most of her overwhelming rank and power had been spent, and she was staring at her bottom.
As she was now, she’d have to go all out even to face a Faith God.
[For now… I need to rest in my domain. Until my rank recovers, I can’t move.]
“Thank you.”
Taesan expressed his gratitude. Thanks to her control, Taesan had been able to fight without distraction.
[I’m the one who should be grateful. You’re the one who dealt with the Bottomless Abyss.]
The Demon God waved her hand. Space opened—her own domain.
Before stepping inside, she asked Taesan.
[What will you do now?]
“First, I’ll rest.”
He had recovered through Soul Rank Usurpation, but he wasn’t at full strength. He planned to check the power he had gathered in the Labyrinth and rest.
[And then?]
“I’ll do what I have to.”
Taesan answered calmly.
There was only one thing that could mean. The Demon God looked at Taesan with strange eyes.
[We’ve controlled and suppressed Old Gods countless times. Temporarily sealing them—there’s no counting how many times we’ve done that.]
In overall power, the Transcenders held the advantage. Yet the war dragged on. The reason was simple.
[In the end, we could never erase Old Gods. They’re immutable, beings without the concept of death.]
So even after winning, the Transcenders could do nothing but banish them.
[But you killed the Bottomless Abyss.]
Taesan had erased an Old God’s existence.
It was something no one had ever accomplished.
[You… can end this war, in the truest sense.]
Bring an end to an endless war.
[Everything is your choice. So… I’m asking you.]
With those words, the Demon God stepped beyond the opened space.
Taesan was left alone in the ruined space. Before long, his body leapt across space as well.
[98th Floor Quest Cleared.]
[Balbamaba will give you a reward.]
Balbamaba was what greeted Taesan when he returned to the Labyrinth.
[You have returned.]
Balbamaba greeted Taesan with proper courtesy.
“Where’s the Magician?”
[He is currently unable to confirm this place. So, most annoyingly, I have been made to manage the Labyrinth for the time being.]
Balbamaba asked in a low voice.
[Then what do you desire?]
“Give me attack power. Or give me some cooldown reset gear.”
Other than those two, nothing really mattered anymore. After a brief consideration, Balbamaba decided on the reward.
[Attack power, then. That seems the least burdensome.]
[Balbamaba has activated #000004.]
[Your attack power has increased by 5,000.]
“Only five thousand? You could’ve spared a bit more.”
[I have not been granted much authority. I ask for your understanding.]
“Well, fine.”
It was small, but still satisfying. You could say his current attack power had gone up by about ten percent.
“If the Magician’s gone, does that mean the 99th Floor is empty right now too?”
Only two floors remained.
It was truly not far off. Balbamaba affirmed it.
[It is beyond what I can handle. You will have to wait until the Magician returns.]
“Do you at least know when he’ll come back?”
[That… I do not know either.]
“Yeah?”
Then Taesan had no intention of waiting quietly.
He would do what he needed to do.
“Alright then. That’s enough. Good work.”
[Then.]
Balbamaba left Taesan’s side.
“Hoo.”
Taesan gathered his condition. Not bad, but not at its best. He needed to recover to some extent.
And more than anything, there was something he needed to confirm.
In the process of placing Cycle into the Beast of Boundary, the master of Boundary and Boundary itself had changed.
He needed to confirm exactly what had changed, and what was now possible.
And above all, he had erased the Bottomless Abyss.
Unlike before, it had been an intact Authority.
An intact Old God’s Authority—neither added to nor taken from.
[Transcendence: Bottomless Abyss]
[Proficiency: 99%]
[A deep, deep hole. To the extent you can handle it, you can accept and drop everything.]