Chapter 577
The Magician, who had appeared by tearing through space, looked at Taesan.
Then he let out a hollow laugh.
“Unreadable. Completely.”
He could not grasp Taesan.
That itself was the same as before. The distorted Taesan did not fully yield to a Transcender’s observation.
But now, the feeling was different from back then.
It was not simply that he was distorted and unreadable. No, it felt unreadable because he had truly reached a rank above that.
Arilnan also let out a laugh.
[He’s definitely stronger than I am. Among the beings of the universe, there likely isn’t a single one who can oppose him alone.]
Arilnan had handed a significant portion of the concept of [Cycle] she possessed over to Taesan. She was weaker than before.
But even so, she was still a god who presided over the concept of cycle.
Most Transcenders could not even touch her. Even a top-tier Transcender like Rakiratas was no exception.
And even such a being could not defeat Taesan.
That much was certain.
[How does it feel?]
“I’m not really sure myself.”
Taesan answered calmly. The Magician slowly bowed.
“First… should I congratulate you? Or thank you?”
With the utmost courtesy, as though welcoming a hero, he showed respect to Taesan.
“Thanks to you, the universe escaped destruction. Truly, thank you.”
If Taesan had been defeated, the Usurper, after devouring Taesan and completing itself, would have emerged from the Rift and revealed itself within the universe.
And at that moment, the balance would have collapsed. There was no Transcender who could defeat a Usurper that possessed countless Divine Powers. They all would have been devoured by the Usurper, and even the very concept of the universe itself might have vanished.
Taesan had saved the universe.
It was no exaggeration to say that.
[Honestly, I thought it would be difficult too, but to think you’d come back victorious.]
Arilnan’s tone also held a trace of wonder. She had known the Usurper could even devour Old Gods, but she had not expected it to have devoured several. Considering the level its rank and Divine Powers had reached, Taesan’s victory had been almost impossible.
But Taesan won.
He won, devoured the Usurper, and returned here.
Taesan answered calmly.
“Because the Usurper was an Old God.”
A being strong from birth.
And in the end, that was all it was.
Of course, the Usurper had usurped power and made it its own, but fundamentally, it was still just a wielder of power. It was not a being that had built itself up from weakness until it reached strength.
That very difference had decided victory and defeat.
“By the way, the fact that you’re both here.”
Taesan looked at the Magician and Arilnan.
“Means you have some leeway, I assume.”
Two powerful beings were standing with Taesan rather than dealing with the Old Gods.
That would have been impossible without some room to spare. The Magician stroked his chin with an ambiguous expression.
“Well, about that. It’s become a little ambiguous.”
[You must have felt it as well. The presence of the Old Gods has disappeared.]
“Not just hidden, but disappeared?”
[Yes.]
It was the same as before.
The Old Gods had hidden their bodies from the universe.
[It was right after you defeated the Usurper and emerged from the Rift. They suddenly stopped fighting and left. I thought about pursuing them, but we didn’t have the room for that either.]
“Was it a retreat?”
“It would be reasonable to see it that way.”
The Old Gods could not defeat Taesan. If several of them attacked at once, there might have been a chance, but the Transcenders would not have simply stood by and watched.
In the end, they would have had to face both Taesan and the Transcenders, and the Old Gods did not possess that much power.
If they stayed in the universe, the only thing waiting for them was annihilation.
“Did they return to their own Domains?”
“That would be the reasonable assumption… but we can’t say for certain yet.”
Confirmation was needed.
But there was one thing that was certain.
They had won.
“We… won.”
They had won the war against the Old Gods.
Joy and happiness appeared on the Magician’s face. Arilnan was no different.
“However, there are also things we need to confirm. We’ll probably need to discuss the details later.”
[We too have much to discuss among ourselves. A great deal.]
“It was ultimately for my sake as well, so that’s fine.”
Taesan answered like that. Arilnan grinned.
[That sounds like you.]
With those words, the Magician and Arilnan left.
Only then, as though he had finally realized it, Bardray muttered,
[We really… won.]
“We did.”
[I still can’t believe it.]
Honestly, Bardray had half expected defeat. But Taesan had wielded his own power perfectly, achieved victory, and risen to an even higher state.
How far had Taesan ascended now?
Even Bardray, who was wielded by Taesan, could not know.
[You really are a monster.]
Bardray realized that once again.
“Is that anything new?”
[Well, that’s true.]
Taesan also had a great deal to confirm.
In defeating the Usurper, he had truly gained an enormous amount of power.
“There’s a lot to do.”
He still had to speak with Amelia and Lee Taeyeon. And there were future discussions regarding Earth as well.
But before all that, he first needed to confirm what he had obtained.
[Transcendence [Broken Wish]]
[Proficiency: 100%]
[One who hopes, dreams, and wishes. But all that a distorted existence can ultimately reach is a broken point of attainment. You can realize your wish, but the result is realized in a distorted form. However, if you truly wish for it, you can perfectly realize your wish exactly once.]
[Broken Wish]. The Usurper’s Divine Power.
Now that it had reached 100%, it had become a complete Divine Power.
And its contents had changed as well.
“‘Can perfectly realize your wish exactly once,’ huh.”
Perhaps because it was a Divine Power, its effect was beyond comprehension.
A perfect wish.
What was there left for him to wish for now?
After thinking for a moment, Taesan shook his head. Things were not completely sorted out yet, so there was probably no need to dwell on it now.
And the proficiency of [Treasure Chest] had also reached 100%.
[Transcendence [Treasure Chest]]
[Proficiency: 100%]
[You can store what you have usurped inside a treasure chest. Also, if you wish, you can take out and wield what is stored.]
The contents of [Treasure Chest] had not changed much.
But the size of the [Treasure Chest] had grown enormously.
To the point that it could truly contain everything.
If he wished, he could likely even put the entire universe inside. This was the true meaning of a treasure chest.
[Transcendence [Spiritual Rank Usurpation]]
[Proficiency: 100%]
[The soul has reached a world one step higher. A higher-dimensional soul steals everything from the opponent with each victory. You can usurp the Soul Rank of those who oppose you and wield it as your own.]
“…Wait.”
After reading the description, Taesan paused.
Not much had changed. Just a few words had been added or removed.
But those few words raised the grade of the Skill’s effect to an incomparable level.
A higher-dimensional soul steals everything from the opponent with each victory.
The fact that the Skill’s description stated that meant it truly meant everything.
Not just power and rank, but also what the opponent had built up. Concepts, experiences. He could usurp all of it.
And that was not all.
You can usurp the Soul Rank of those who oppose you and wield it as your own.
In that line, the part that said ‘temporarily’ had been removed.
That meant permanent usurpation was possible even during battle, without having to defeat them first.
“Ridiculous.”
Its grade had become so high that he could not even fully grasp it.
And Taesan had usurped the very existence that was the Usurper.
[Usurper]
[One who usurps. Only that being itself knows what it desires.]
The concept, rank, and power of the Usurper.
They had become Taesan’s. They had completely fused with him and become part of him.
Even seeing just that much was enough. Taesan had become incomparably stronger than before.
But that was not the end.
The Usurper was one who usurped. It usurped countless powers and ranks and made them its own.
And Taesan also usurped power.
With the two overlapping, Taesan had gained numerous Divine Powers of the Old Gods.
The first among them was [Shapeshifter].
[Transcendence [Shapeshifter]]
[Proficiency: 99%]
[One who changes form. Can transform into anything. Also, can possess the concept and power most suited to the transformed form.]
[Shapeshifter]. As the Usurper had used, it seemed he could change form.
He could become something smaller than dust, down to the atomic level, or become the most colossal of all things.
And he could also possess the power best suited to that form.
If used properly, he could perfectly target weaknesses the way the Usurper had done against him.
“99%, huh.”
Perhaps because he had usurped what the Usurper had usurped all over again, it had not reached 100%.
But it did not matter much. It was not especially meaningful to the current Taesan.
[Transcendence [The Aggregate of All Things Nauseating]]
[Proficiency: 99%]
[The aggregate of all nauseating things that cannot be concretized. Whatever it sheds defiles, contaminates, and taints.]
It seemed to be a Divine Power of an Old God that had been fused by the Usurper. Even Taesan could not know its exact effect just from that.
Then he would simply have to check it directly.
Taesan raised a finger.
And there, filth gathered.
[Huh?]
[Master?]
Bardray and Akasha were startled.
Their instincts warned them.
That thing could defile all things.
Even that tiny fragment, if scattered throughout the universe, would defile everything it touched. Not just life. Nothing could continue to exist as part of this world. That was the kind of Divine Power it was.
“So this is it.”
Taesan clenched his fist and erased the filth.
He had roughly grasped how to handle it.
And that was not the only Divine Power.
[Transcendence [One Who Wields the Universe]]
[Proficiency: 99%]
[Can lift and move the concept itself.]
The description of the Divine Power ended in a single sentence. Taesan frowned slightly as he read it.
“Don’t tell me.”
What did it mean to be able to lift and wield the universe?
Taesan clenched his fist for a moment.
Then brought it down.
At the same time, the universe moved ever so slightly.
To be precise, Taesan had touched the concept of ‘wavelength’ that existed in the universe. Then, the concept of wavelength itself had shaken in accordance with Taesan’s will.
“So this is it.”
[What… did you just do?]
Bardray got goosebumps.
Taesan had just touched the entire universe in the truest sense.
“Confirming Divine Powers. They’re truly monstrous things.”
There was more left to confirm, but each one was too immense. He wanted to cool his head first and then continue checking them.
Taesan postponed confirming the remaining Divine Powers and checked something else he had obtained.
The Usurper had been the master of the Rift in the sky.
And that was not all.
The replicated Labyrinths.
It had also been their master.
Now ownership of those Labyrinths had passed from the Usurper to Taesan.
[Labyrinth [Easy Mode]]
[A replica of the Labyrinth created by the Magician. A Domain known as [Easy Mode]. You can perfectly control and rule that place. Also, under specific conditions, you can interfere with the lifeforms subordinate to that place.]
[Labyrinth [Normal Mode]]
[A replica of the Labyrinth created by the Magician. A Domain known as [Normal Mode]. You can perfectly control and rule that place. Also, under specific conditions, you can interfere with the lifeforms subordinate to that place.]
[Labyrinth [Hard Mode]]
[A replica of the Labyrinth created by the Magician. A Domain known as [Hard Mode]. You can perfectly control and rule that place. Also, under specific conditions, you can interfere with the lifeforms subordinate to that place.]