Chapter 579
“What’s your proposal?”
“Nothing major.”
Taesan looked at the Magician.
“After all, there isn’t really anything suitable to give as a 100th-floor quest, right?”
“Well… that’s true.”
The 98th-floor quest had been to defeat an Old God.
The 99th-floor quest had been to defeat the Usurper, which had devoured the God of Fall and several Old Gods.
Then naturally, the 100th floor had to be of a higher difficulty than the 98th and 99th floors.
But that was impossible.
The Usurper had been stronger than the Magician.
And clearly so.
Yet they had to give a quest even more difficult than facing the Usurper.
At least with the Magician’s abilities, that was impossible.
But skipping the 100th floor was also awkward. As the culmination of everything that had come before, it could not simply be passed over.
So Taesan proposed:
“The 100th-floor quest is something I choose myself.”
“Myself? Not something I decide?”
“Yes. Since you’ll be the one verifying it anyway, there shouldn’t be any real problem.”
“Hmm.”
The Magician stroked his chin.
He thought for a moment.
About Taesan’s proposal.
And the conclusion came quickly.
“Alright.”
The Magician nodded.
“I’ll accept it.”
It was not much of a problem. After all, the decision still ultimately rested with the Magician. If Taesan brought something worthy of being called a trial, it could simply be accepted.
“So, do you already have something in mind?”
“I do, but I need to confirm a few more things first.”
He was not going to propose it right away.
To get that confirmation, Taesan asked the Magician,
“So, what happened?”
Where had the Old Gods gone?
And what had become of the war?
The Magician grinned.
“The confirmation is done. The Old Gods no longer exist within the universe.”
“Then.”
“They’ve all returned to the Domain of the Old Gods. It’s safe to say they fled.”
Even the possibility of ‘what if’ had disappeared.
They had won the war.
“No matter how many times I say it, it won’t be enough. Thank you, Taesan. It’s all thanks to you.”
If not for Taesan, they would still be at war.
No, not just that. Many Transcenders would have met their deaths. Countless mortals would have been swept up in the war and perished.
It was no exaggeration to say that Taesan had prevented all of that.
Taesan opened his mouth.
“So what will you do now?”
“Well… first, we’ll enjoy the victory.”
They were the victors.
They had more than earned the right to enjoy that victory.
“After that, we’ll have to restore the barrier.”
They had won the ancient war and banished the Old Gods to the far side of the universe.
What had made that possible was the barrier itself.
They had created a barrier that separated the far side of the universe from the universe itself, preventing the Old Gods from appearing here.
But now, that barrier was broken.
“Even if we won the war, as long as the barrier is gone, they can cross over at any time. With you here, that probably won’t happen… but there’s no reason to leave a risk like that unattended.”
So they would restore the barrier.
Stronger than before, so that even the Old Gods could not break it.
“Can you help?”
If Taesan helped build the barrier, it would become even harder for the Old Gods to intervene.
Taesan nodded. There was no reason to refuse.
But Taesan wanted more.
“There’s one thing I’m curious about. Even if we restore the barrier, the Old Gods will still be able to intervene in the universe, won’t they?”
“Uh…”
The Magician thought for a moment.
Then nodded.
“They won’t be able to cross over in their true forms like they did this time, but smaller interventions like before will still be possible.”
It had not been long since the barrier was broken. But even before that, the Old Gods had continuously intervened in the worlds.
More than two hundred worlds had been destroyed at the hands of the Old Gods.
Earth had almost become one of them.
Even if the barrier was restored, it meant interventions like those could still happen.
“We can’t completely sever them. Even though they are distorted beings, they still originated from this world. Even if we build a barrier, there’s nothing we can do about smaller forms of intervention.”
The Old Gods would still be able to interfere.
“But that’s fine. We can still sufficiently block intervention on that level.”
“Even so, there will still be sacrifices.”
Just as many worlds had been destroyed before, there would still be no small number of sacrifices.
The Magician clicked his tongue.
“For that part, we’ll have to keep coming up with countermeasures. Since we’ve also dealt with all the Apostles, the number of sacrifices should be smaller than before.”
“No.”
Taesan denied the Magician’s words.
“I’m not going to be satisfied with that.”
From the beginning, the fact that the Old Gods could still continue to intervene and exert influence in the universe… that would only be an unstable kind of victory. Taesan could not be satisfied with that level of triumph.
“Are you saying…”
“What I want is a complete victory.”
An eternal, unbreakable seal that made it absolutely impossible for the Old Gods to intervene in the universe.
“I’ve decided on the 100th-floor quest.”
Taesan said to the Magician,
“To seal the Rift completely, and make it impossible for the Old Gods to intervene in the universe in any complete way. That is the 100th-floor quest I’ve chosen.”
Silence fell.
The Magician looked at Taesan.
His gaze held the look of someone staring at something incomprehensible.
“Wait a moment.”
The Magician turned his thoughts over frantically, trying to understand what Taesan meant.
“…Are you saying you’re going to kill all the Old Gods?”
If it were the current Taesan, it was possible.
He could usurp everything the Old Gods possessed and erase their very existence.
But Taesan shook his head.
“That may be possible too, but I’m not sure it would really mean anything.”
“What do you mean? You’re saying killing the Old Gods would be meaningless?”
“I’m not sure yet either. I plan to decide after I confirm something.”
“Hmm.”
The Magician fell silent.
He understood Taesan’s meaning perfectly.
That was exactly why he had to ask.
“…Is that really possible?”
Taesan shook his head.
“I don’t know either.”
He could not be certain. It was not something he had ever tried before.
But there was a possibility.
And a substantial one.
“Wouldn’t that be enough for a 100th-floor quest?”
“Well… it would. But.”
The Magician was confused.
To make it impossible for the Old Gods to intervene in the universe.
Not just their true forms crossing over, but even their countless smaller interventions as well.
To completely prevent them from so much as approaching the universe.
That was something they had wanted since the ancient war.
But it had been impossible. The Old Gods were beings originally rooted here. There had been no way to shut them out completely.
And now Taesan was saying it could be done.
“Really?”
The Magician asked again.
Taesan nodded.
“Yeah.”
The Magician settled his confusion.
Then thought.
Would that really be enough for a 100th-floor quest?
The answer came immediately.
It was more than enough.
It was overflowing.
“Whether it’s truly possible or not is still uncertain, but it’s worthy enough.”
[100th-floor Quest begins.]
[Perfectly banish the Old Gods from this universe.]
[Reward: ???]
[Secret Reward: ???]
The 100th floor.
The last one.
“So, how are we going to do this? I have no idea.”
“I need one final confirmation.”
So he would cross over.
To the Domain of the Old Gods once more.
“Is there nothing we need to do?”
“Just monitor the barrier. See if any Old Gods try to escape, that kind of thing.”
“That’s quite…”
The Magician smiled bitterly.
For a Transcender to play a supporting role… this was a first.
“Alright. Then I’ll pass the word to the other Transcenders. Do you need time to prepare?”
“No. I’ll go in tomorrow.”
“Alright. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
With those words, the Magician departed.
He had probably gone to the Transcenders resting in the Pantheon.
Taesan waited on Earth.
Night fell.
The people who had been happily chatting and telling stories gradually fell asleep one by one.
In the stillness, Taesan alone looked up at the sky.
It was a very clear sky, unobscured by anything.
Taesan quite liked that sight.
And then a being appeared beside him.
[The true meaning of the end.]
“Demon God.”
[You can speak casually. You’ve earned that right now.]
The Demon God chuckled.
[No. If anything, perhaps I should be the one using honorifics with you.]
“I have no intention of doing that.”
The Transcenders had done much for him. He had no intention of changing his attitude just because he had become stronger.
[Well, I figured you’d say that.]
In the darkness, brilliant black hair gleamed.
Black eyes turned toward Taesan.
[I heard it from the Magician. You can truly bring all of this to an end?]
“It’s only a possibility. I can’t be certain.”
[But there is a possibility. That’s enough.]
The Demon God chuckled.
[…Then perhaps even he may become unable to intervene anymore.]
The Demon God muttered.
Now that he thought about it, the Demon God also had deep ties to the Old Gods. After all, the reason she had become a Transcender in the first place was to free the Demonkin from the old Demon God.
Even now, there were regions in the demon realm where followers of the old Demon God still existed.
That was why Taesan had resolved that matter once before.
[Perhaps someday, I’ll tell you my story too.]
“Once everything is settled, there’ll be plenty of time. We can think about it leisurely.”
[That doesn’t sound bad.]
The Demon God laughed brightly.
[I’ll be waiting.]
Taesan nodded.
And then the next day,
Taesan prepared to leave.
Lee Taeyeon came to him.
“Where are you going?”
“To put an end to everything.”
To witness the true end.
Lee Taeyeon’s eyes calmed.
She spoke with a composed face.
“Come back safely.”
Taesan nodded.
Then he left Earth.
The place he arrived at was the broken barrier.
The barrier separating the universe and the Domain of the Old Gods had been completely shattered, with only Splinters left behind.
If the Old Gods wished, they could cross over through here at any time.
Taesan stood before the Domain of the Old Gods.
He felt several gazes directed at him.
The Transcenders of the universe.
They were watching from behind.
And as though representing them, Arilnan stepped toward Taesan.
[The true end of everything. It’s hard to believe… but if you’re saying it, then that means there is a possibility.]
“Arilnan-nim.”
[Come back safely. I’ll be waiting.]
Taesan reached his hand toward the barrier.
And his physical body stepped beyond the Rift.
A sense of otherness assailed Taesan.
A space where none of the universe’s concepts existed—no gravity, no wind, no air, no attraction.
Nothing existed there except pure otherness.
This was the Domain of the Old Gods.
This was his second time coming here.
But this time was different from before.
Last time, he had entered by exploiting the gap created when the Old Gods broke the barrier.
Back then, he could not defeat an Old God.
So he had slipped in like a thief, avoiding their gaze.
But this time.
He stepped directly into the Domain of the Old Gods, openly and head-on, as though daring them to stop him.
That was why he could feel it.
The gazes of all the Old Gods directed at him.
“Facing each other like this really is a first.”
All the Old Gods had gathered before Taesan.
Taesan spoke casually.
“What are you looking at?”