Chapter 571
This was the second time he had seen the God of Fall.
Its overall form had not changed much since then.
It was still so massive that its shape could not be properly discerned.
It still had that grotesque appearance, as though countless lifeforms had been forcibly mixed together.
But there was one difference from before.
A distortion could be felt from that enormous body.
Essence had been corrupted by an Old God.
“What did you mix into yourself?”
That corruption was clearly different from Levinenov’s.
It twisted the rank of Essence and distorted its concept, but its fundamental nature still remained. It looked as though two concepts had been blended together.
[…It feels good.]
Essence muttered softly. Its grotesque body swayed.
[Everything sinks to the bottom.
Everything falls.]
The concept of the universe descends.
Humans are reduced to a rank lower than insects, and insects become less than dust. Even the mighty have their rank dragged down to the level of ordinary humans.
[Everything becomes worthless. Don’t you think that’s the proper direction for the universe?]
“You’re distorted.”
Essence let out a chuckle.
[I know that too. I know I’m distorted. I know I desire something utterly different from the other Transcenders.]
What had gone wrong?
Was the concept of Descent itself the problem?
Was it the process through which he had obtained the concept of Descent?
Or perhaps the being called ‘him’ had been the problem from the start?
Whatever the reason, the God of Fall was twisted.
That result had already become an established fact.
He was close to being an Evil God in the truest sense.
[Until now, I couldn’t reveal myself. There were always annoying things getting in the way. So I had to be satisfied with petty little pranks.]
An intense emotion could be felt.
It was directed at Taesan.
[But… not anymore. You broke my little toy.]
“Should I take that as a compliment?”
[You may. Thanks to that, I no longer have to care about anything.]
The God of Fall bared its teeth.
Its power exploded outward.
[I don’t care about anything anymore, so now I can crush you!]
Rumble!
Rank surged forth.
The Divine Power that dragged all things downward and cast them to the bottom came crashing down on Taesan.
Taesan gripped Bardray.
Boom!
An explosion erupted.
The Divine Power colliding with the Boundary scattered apart.
Without stopping, the God of Fall continued attacking Taesan.
The distorted Divine Power of Descent assailed him over and over.
‘He’s gotten stronger.’
The God of Fall was a Transcender who governed a complete concept.
Even among them, he possessed considerable power. The fact that he had established himself within the Labyrinth in the first place was proof enough of his strength.
But there had been a clear limit.
The God of Fall had once confronted the Demon God.
Back then, he had been unable to exert much power against the Demon God and had been pushed back.
He could not reach that level attained by top-tier Transcenders like the Demon God.
And yet, the concept he wielded now had reached a point where even if he fought the Demon God, he would not be at a major disadvantage.
‘Is it because he fused with an Old God?’
It was extremely unstable, but his rank and concept had been enhanced.
It was enough to understand how he had managed to make the entire universe descend.
‘But.’
That was all.
The Boundary Negation surrounding Taesan activated roughly. It devoured and shattered all the Divine Power of Descent covering him.
“Doesn’t work.”
He put strength into his feet and accelerated.
Shattering the swirling power, he swung his sword at the God of Fall.
Screeeech!
Essence’s massive body shook violently.
Meaningful rifts spread across its body.
Essence had clearly fused with an Old God and become stronger.
It could even be said that he had surpassed the Demon God.
But that was precisely the limit.
The current Taesan could defeat an Old God alone.
At this point, that level was no longer a threat to him.
“Even fused, you can’t touch me.”
The reason it could rival the Demon God was because it had become distorted through its fusion with an Old God, but that meant little to Taesan.
He had stood at that boundary from the very beginning.
Rumble…
Essence’s swaying body barely regained its balance.
[…It really is impossible after all.]
Essence muttered.
There was no agitation in its voice.
It was calm, as if it had known this would happen from the start.
[Alone, I cannot make you fall. A pity, but… it can’t be helped.]
And then a presence was felt.
It had been there all along, as if it had existed there from the beginning.
Like Essence, it too was a distorted and broken being.
[The Usurper has appeared.]
It was the Usurper.
Not a fragment of the Usurper, but the Usurper itself in the truest sense.
It was there.
This was the Usurper’s Domain to begin with, so it was not that surprising.
Taesan looked at the Usurper.
“So this is the first time I’ve seen it properly.”
Its basic appearance was not much different from the Usurper’s fragments.
It was neither human nor monster.
A distorted form that belonged neither to this world nor to the Old Gods.
Something straddling the middle.
But the rank and concept felt within it were on an entirely different level.
A distorted, exalted rank.
‘It’s aberrant.’
It possessed a twisted rank unlike any Old God he had seen or fought.
The Usurper, which had been quietly observing him, opened its mouth.
[The Warehouse Keeper is indebted to you.]
“There’s nothing to be indebted to me for. I gained a lot thanks to him too.”
[Then it’s time for collection.]
“Try it, if you can.”
Taesan gripped his sword.
The Boundary rose and wrapped around him.
“Two of them.”
The God of Fall.
And the Usurper.
He could feel no sign of any other Old Gods.
That meant those two were his opponents.
An Old God and a Transcender joining forces.
It was probably the first time something like this had happened in the long history of the universe.
[No.]
But the Transcender denied Taesan’s words.
[Not two. One.]
Taesan frowned.
“You.”
[I desire the fall of all things. I desire all things to become meaningless and ephemeral.]
The God of Fall slowly moved toward the Usurper.
[In that regard, I am no different.]
The Usurper expanded itself as if it had been waiting.
Slowly, it began to take the God of Fall into itself.
Throughout that entire process, the God of Fall offered no resistance.
It was offering itself to the Usurper of its own will.
“You’re really something else.”
[Uh, uh… something feels strange.]
Taesan clicked his tongue and dashed forward.
He had no intention of standing there and quietly watching.
Rumble!
But a wave assailed Taesan.
A violent wave that made all things collapse, tremble, and fall.
As it merged with the Usurper, that wave cleanly forced Taesan back and blocked his approach.
[Oh, ooooooh…]
The God of Fall let out a moan.
What had the God of Fall done?
What achievements had it accumulated to rise to that place?
For mortals, it must have taken an unimaginable span of time, alongside countless accomplishments.
All of that became part of the Usurper.
All of it changed into something utterly worthless and meaningless.
The very existence known as ‘him’ began to fall below even an insect.
It was a horrifying and pitiful event even on a universal scale.
But the God of Fall was more overjoyed than anyone.
[My… fall… My end…]
It was genuinely rejoicing in its own downfall.
“Mad.”
It was even more twisted than Taesan had expected.
Rumble…
The Usurper enveloped the God of Fall.
That presence was buried within it and vanished completely.
Now the God of Fall was dead.
The being that had governed the concept of Descent in the universe, that had occupied a place in the universe for an immeasurably long time, had been completely devoured by the Usurper.
“He didn’t change until the very end.”
The God of Fall remained the God of Fall to the end.
Rumble.
The concept of Descent began to change into the Usurper’s.
Completely, it became the Usurper’s possession.
It was not simply storing it away in a treasure trove.
The concept of Descent itself was being dyed into the Usurper.
It gained perfect control and mastery over that universal concept.
It was very much like Taesan.
The concept of Descent was stained black.
“So that’s how it is.”
Arilnan was the God of Cycle.
A god who governed the very cycle of the universe.
His strength had clearly surpassed even Rakiratas’.
And at the time, the Usurper had not even possessed many universal concepts.
Even so, the Usurper had confronted Arilnan, defeated him, and usurped that concept.
Now he understood why.
Arilnan had once said that the Usurper could temporarily swallow an entire world.
It completely dyed the concept of Descent and made it its own.
It was like looking at Taesan.
Creak… crack…
The Usurper wielded its Divine Power.
The blackened Descent covered Taesan.
Taesan drew out the Boundary.
Rumble!
The black Descent and the mixed Boundary collided.
And they canceled each other out.
Until now, nothing had ever truly blocked the Boundary.
Enemies either overwhelmed it with sheer quantity or avoided clashing with it head-on in the first place.
But now the Boundary had collided with something and been destroyed.
[You are ultimately a being that originated from me.]
The Usurper laughed.
[There is no reason I cannot do what you can.]
“For something saying that, you sure seemed desperate to have me.”
[By devouring you, I can become more complete.]
The Usurper’s body swayed.
The body that had swallowed the complete concept of Descent was trembling unstably.
So it was unstable after all.
That thing too.
It could endure, but not for long.
[You are mine.]
“I’m sick of hearing that.”
This was the Usurper’s Domain.
The Domain itself clung to Taesan.
The black Descent tried to drag down both his Soul Rank and his body.
That was a distorted, complete Descent.
Something literally capable of covering and corrupting the universe.
A twisted universal concept.
Anyone who wielded that would surely have a superior affinity against almost every being in the universe.
But—
“So what?”
Taesan drew out the Boundary.
He swung the Gray.
Screeeech!
The black Descent trying to swallow Taesan and the Boundary canceled each other out.
Even after that, it kept trying to swallow him, but the Boundary Negation surrounding Taesan rejected and repelled it.
The Usurper was clearly monstrously strong.
With that power, it could likely devour the Transcenders of the universe.
But Taesan also possessed power similar to the Usurper’s.
He might be canceled out or pushed to a disadvantage, but there was no reason for him to be overwhelmed.
“You’re ultimately just a devourer. Your own Divine Power shouldn’t properly exist.”
If all it could do was corrupt Descent and wield it,
it could not touch Taesan.
He drew out the Boundary.
Knocking away the Descent, he dashed forward at high speed and thrust his sword at the Usurper.
[I know that too. I know wielding this alone will not be enough to defeat you.]
The Usurper spoke calmly.
Something grotesque undulated.
Rumble!
The Descent gathered into one point.
All concepts of Descent were compressed into a small sphere.
It swung that sphere toward the charging Taesan.
It was very small.
But it was everything.
Taesan brought out the Bottomless Abyss.
The Bottomless Abyss and Descent touched.
Screeeech!
A shrill collision rang out.
The Bottomless Abyss failed to withstand the Descent and warped.
If this continued, the Bottomless Abyss would be destroyed.
Taesan judged the situation instantly, withdrew the Bottomless Abyss, and leaped back.
At that very moment, the sphere of Descent expanded.
In an instant, it swallowed and shattered the Domain.
The Boundary Negation surrounding Taesan was consumed in a single blow.
Taesan summoned the Beast of Boundary.
Rumble!
Using the Beast of Boundary, he forcibly escaped the Domain of Descent.
Taesan frowned.
What the Usurper had just wielded was Divine Power.
But it was not a universal concept.
Nor was it the Usurper’s own Divine Power.
Taesan realized it.
“You. You’ve devoured other Old Gods too.”