Chapter 567
The World Destroyer roared in fury.
Unable to accept the fact that it had been pushed back, that something had actually blocked it, it let that emotion erupt.
Ruuuumble!
That emotion alone made the universe tremble and threaten to break apart. The four Transcenders drew out their Divine Power to stop the impact from spreading throughout the universe.
Ruuuumble!
The World Destroyer lifted its foot.
Then it brought it crashing straight down toward Taesan.
The moment that foot landed, the galaxy itself would be destroyed.
It contained that much power.
But there was no fear.
Taesan neither dodged nor retreated.
He drew his sword.
He controlled Divine Power.
Not only did he imbue his sword with Physical Force, but he also took control of all the Physical Force trembling in the surroundings. Even the Physical Force scattered by the movement of that foot fell under Taesan’s control.
Then the sword met the foot.
Boom!
A tremendous pressure bore down on Taesan. In terms of sheer power alone, it was such an overwhelming force that he should not have been able to withstand it.
Craaack!
But he endured it.
He controlled Physical Force.
His own Physical Force, and all the Physical Force created by the World Destroyer’s movement.
And he made it his own.
He infused the Physical Force he had seized in that way into his sword.
Craaaack!
Physical Force exploded. The World Destroyer’s foot rose back up. Taesan’s body also tried to plunge downward.
Boom!
But he controlled the Physical Force and halted his body’s fall.
Rumble…
The World Destroyer regained its posture.
The damage was minimal. Its stance had merely been thrown off by the collision of forces.
But even that alone was an unprecedented shock to the World Destroyer.
Taesan lazily swung his sword.
“Not that impressive.”
The World Destroyer’s power was simple in the end.
It merely wielded the Physical Force released by a body so massive that it held meaning even on a universal scale.
It was just that, because of that size, the Physical Force it produced tore the universe apart. The phrase ‘the violence of scale’ fit perfectly.
Unlike the Usurper, it was a being that wielded a concept of the universe itself.
But Taesan was a being who governed Physical Force itself.
No matter how immense the Physical Force wielded by the World Destroyer was, as long as it belonged to a concept of the universe, Taesan could control all of it.
Of course, if that were all, it likely would not have trampled countless Transcenders. If it had been nothing more than simple Physical Force, there were many concepts of the universe that could have countered it.
The real problem was the Immutable Self surrounding the World Destroyer.
That Divine Power, which negated and rejected all things, prevented the Transcenders from interfering with Physical Force. That was why the World Destroyer was so overwhelmingly powerful.
But none of that mattered to Taesan.
Boom!
The World Destroyer swung its fist again.
Without retreating, Taesan swung his sword.
Boom!
Sword and fist collided. He tried to bring the Physical Force generated by the World Destroyer under his control.
Interference occurred in that process.
The World Destroyer’s Divine Power.
Immutable Self.
It blocked and rejected concepts of the universe. It tried to reject Taesan’s control over Physical Force.
But it had nothing to do with Taesan.
Creak… crack…
The Boundary Negation surrounding him activated.
It clashed against Immutable Self. The two incompatible powers mixed and shook against each other, creating a gap through which concepts of the universe could intervene.
And through that gap, Taesan interfered with the World Destroyer’s Physical Force and seized it.
Craaaack!
The World Destroyer was pushed back once again.
Throughout that entire process, Taesan felt no particular burden.
The Boundary Negation he possessed had originally been the World Destroyer’s Divine Power, Immutable Self.
He had usurped it from a Splinter and devoured it, making it his own Divine Power.
It had merged with the Death Born of Strife and been reborn as a new Divine Power.
Because of that, its fundamental structure was similar to Immutable Self. A certain degree of Divine Power compatibility occurred.
Originally, as a perfect lower-tier version, it likely would not have had any effect on the World Destroyer.
But Boundary Negation had been mixed with a concept of the universe.
In terms of the grade of Divine Power itself, it was inferior, but the peculiarity of being a mixed concept was enough to keep it from falling behind even against Immutable Self.
The Divine Power of Physical Force.
And Boundary Negation.
Even if those two alone were not enough to defeat the World Destroyer, they were enough to keep Taesan from being overpowered.
And the power Taesan possessed was not limited to that.
“Then shall we begin?”
He had already confirmed how far he could go with those two Divine Powers alone.
Now it was time to use the others.
Taesan moved.
He charged toward the World Destroyer at terrifying speed.
Ruuuumble!
A fist swung down.
Taesan did not dodge.
He did not swing his sword, nor did he charge into it head-on.
The moment the fist was about to touch Taesan, Taesan opened himself.
And the fist was swallowed into Taesan.
The Divine Power of the Bottomless Abyss, which devoured and dropped all things, was now unfolding within him.
The World Destroyer’s body began to sink into Taesan.
The World Destroyer reflexively pulled back its fist.
It was shaken.
Its Divine Power had not been devoured or broken.
It had simply vanished.
As if it had fallen somewhere.
“It’s hard to clash head-on with just my body.”
Taesan also felt the strain. It seemed that trying to drop an attack from a being on the World Destroyer’s level head-on placed a considerable burden on him as well.
Then he simply would not meet it head-on.
He would steadily gnaw away at it and drag it down instead.
Taesan’s body shot forward at high speed.
Boom!
His body accelerated, wrapped in Boundary. He clung to the World Destroyer’s body and swung his arm.
Claaang!
The World Destroyer’s torso touched that arm.
And the Immutable Self enveloping that torso fell into the Bottomless Abyss.
On its scale, it was an insignificantly small amount, but the Divine Power had undeniably vanished.
The World Destroyer reacted.
It violently twisted its body. A savage wave of force burst out, trying to shake Taesan off.
“Doesn’t work.”
But Physical Force like that meant nothing to Taesan.
He swung his hand. He turned all the Physical Force produced by that wave into his own.
And struck.
Craaaack!
The World Destroyer’s own force slammed into the World Destroyer.
Its torso shook slightly, and in that instant, Taesan once again dropped some of its Immutable Self into the Bottomless Abyss.
Rumble…
He gnawed away at it and kept striking.
The damage was not significant.
But the World Destroyer was being pushed back without pause.
The World Destroyer made a decision.
It could not allow this to continue.
It was an Old God that had slaughtered countless Transcenders. It did not wield nothing but simple brute force.
The World Destroyer’s Immutable Self intensified.
The Divine Power concentrated in its fist thickened and deepened.
To the point that Taesan’s Bottomless Abyss could no longer drag it down.
“So it’s concentrating its Divine Power.”
Certainly, if it handled things like that, even the Bottomless Abyss could not drag it down.
Boundary Negation was also at a disadvantage, making it difficult to block it properly.
But Taesan still had not used all his Divine Powers.
If the opponent responded by concentrating its power, then Taesan would do the same.
He gathered power.
Ripple.
The beast of Boundary settled into Taesan’s sword.
It became one with Physical Force.
He swung it just like that.
A collision of raw force against raw force.
A thunderous roar erupted.
Taesan did not retreat a single step.
He aimed for the opening in the staggering World Destroyer and drove toward its chest.
Gathering everything into a single point, he thrust his sword.
He dropped Immutable Self into the Bottomless Abyss and erased it, then drove his sword into the exposed body.
[You activated Multiplication.]
Craaaack!
The World Destroyer’s massive body slid backward.
Taesan sheathed his sword.
That sword was stained with red liquid.
“So even an Old God’s blood is red.”
He had seen blood before, so he was not especially surprised.
Taesan launched himself forward once more.
And all the Transcenders watched that battle.
[…What is this?]
The God of Control muttered.
[He’s handling it too easily.]
It was not that there was no danger.
The World Destroyer’s attacks were more than capable of inflicting meaningful damage on Taesan. Taesan too was dealing with it seriously, using his full power.
But that was all.
He was not driving himself to the extreme under a relentless assault, nor was he forced to keep throwing out trump cards against an overwhelming enemy.
He was simply bringing out the powers he possessed one by one and dismantling his opponent.
Without much difficulty.
It looked like someone calmly solving a puzzle set at just the right level of challenge.
That sight was a tremendous shock to the Transcenders.
Ehilliye spoke.
[If it were another Old God, he would not be able to deal with it this easily. But against the World Destroyer, there shouldn’t be much difficulty.]
Taesan and the World Destroyer were practically polar opposites in terms of compatibility.
With only Physical Force and Boundary Negation, they would be evenly matched, but Taesan’s power did not end there.
The God of Compression spoke in a voice full of disbelief.
[Just how many Divine Powers is he wielding?]
Physical Force.
A Divine Power similar to Immutable Self.
The Divine Power of the Bottomless Abyss.
And Boundary.
That made four.
And he still seemed to have power left to spare.
[Originally, it shouldn’t have been to this extent.]
He should not have been able to deal with it this easily.
If the World Destroyer had used its full power to crush Taesan, Taesan too would have been forced to risk his life and expend a massive amount of strength. No matter how overwhelming the compatibility advantage was, the World Destroyer still possessed enough power to overcome that.
The reason he could deal with it so calmly was because Taesan had obtained one Divine Power.
The Divine Power of the Bottomless Abyss.
An abyss that dropped all things.
Something that literally dropped and devoured everything, without consumption and without wasting power.
Even an Old God’s Divine Power.
Even Immutable Self.
He dropped Immutable Self into the Bottomless Abyss, pierced through what remained with Boundary Negation, then penetrated the body itself with pure Physical Force and Boundary.
That was why Taesan could respond so easily to the World Destroyer’s attacks.
[Spiritual Rank Usurpation.]
Ehilliye muttered.
He was a god who had resided in the Labyrinth.
He knew of the power Taesan possessed.
Taesan usurped that power when he defeated someone.
Even if that someone was an Old God or a Transcender.
Back when it was Soul Rank Usurpation, he had only usurped fragments, but once it evolved into Spiritual Rank Usurpation, he began usurping complete concepts.
That was truly absurd.
To usurp the complete Divine Power of every Transcender or Old God he defeated and wield it as his own.
It was no different from saying he grew exponentially stronger every time he defeated an enemy.
That Divine Power of Taesan’s had been a miscalculation for both them and the Old Gods.
Splaaash!
Crimson blood scattered.
While devouring the World Destroyer’s swinging attack, Taesan shook his sword.
“Disgustingly big.”
He was steadily accumulating damage, but on a universal scale, its size still held meaning.
These were only scratches.
They were not fatal wounds.
Simple attacks would not be enough.
‘Its form is humanoid.’
Then what about vital points?
[You activated Reconnaissance [Boundary].]
He looked at the World Destroyer.
He scouted the Old God.
He could not discern its concept or origin, but he could understand the basic structure of its body well enough.
As a result, Taesan learned that the World Destroyer’s bodily structure was not much different from a human’s.
Even down to its vital points.
Then.
After thinking for a moment, Taesan made a decision.
He put strength into his legs.
His body accelerated through the universe.
Straight toward the World Destroyer’s chest.
The World Destroyer roared in fury.
There was no sign of defense or evasion from Taesan. It was a movement that intended to pierce through with pure force alone.
Ruuuuuumble!
Filled with rage, it raised its fist.
Its immutable Divine Power gathered into that fist.
Hummmm!
The fist began to move.
The universe twisted and broke apart.
Taesan did not dodge.
He drew out the Bottomless Abyss, controlled Boundary, imbued Physical Force, and gathered everything together.
Boom!
The universe tore apart. The four Transcenders barely blocked the aftermath with their Divine Power.
Whoosh!
The Bottomless Abyss activated and dragged down Immutable Self.
Then Boundary Negation devoured and erased the remaining Divine Power, while Boundary and Physical Force struck the World Destroyer’s body directly.
Craaaack!
Cracks spread across the World Destroyer’s arm.
Its blood vessels burst, and crimson liquid sprayed in every direction.
A wound appeared on the supposedly immutable body of the World Destroyer.
The World Destroyer also did not retreat.
Even while wounded, its fierce determination to crush Taesan no matter what was obvious.
And that attempt seemed like it might actually succeed.
Because the Bottomless Abyss and Boundary Negation surrounding Taesan began to slowly disappear.
A sense of delight rose from the World Destroyer.
Its fist touched Taesan.
[Your First Absolute Attack Nullification was activated.]
And that fist, however slightly, clearly recoiled.
The current Taesan could, to some extent, activate Attack Nullification even against an Old God.
He had aimed for this from the very beginning.
The World Destroyer was shaken, and Taesan did not miss that opening.
Twisting his sword, he charged like a meteor.
He carved a long wound across it, reached the World Destroyer’s chest, and drove his sword deep into it.