Chapter 410: Hafran And The Knowledge Of The Destroyed World (2) |
Taesan accepted Hafran’s quest.
As a result, he now found himself in Hafran’s devastated world.
The world wasn’t much different from before. It remained an ashen realm, devoid of life, filled only with death.
And within that world, Taesan sensed a gaze upon him.
A gaze brimming with intense hostility and murderous intent.
The will of the world had clearly recognized him.
However, unlike before, there was no immediate reaction. It did not summon a storm to crush him nor shatter the earth beneath him.
As if mocking his strength, it simply waited for Taesan in silence.
Taesan, as if responding, moved toward the place where power was gathering.
After a brief journey, Taesan arrived once more at the cave where the will of the world resided.
Taesan stomped his foot.
With that single movement, the cave floor collapsed.
His body began plummeting into an endless abyss. Taesan initiated a landing technique, reaching the depths of the earth.
Taesan continued walking down the long passage.
His movements were remarkably natural, as if he were strolling along a familiar path.
After passing through the passage, he arrived at a vast plaza, where a pure white sphere awaited.
A sphere radiating light like the sun itself. From it emanated a will and power that had engulfed the entire planet.
[You have encountered the world.]
“The second time.”
Taesan muttered. The world’s hostility toward him grew even stronger.
-Die.
It was the declaration of the world. A command imbued with absolute will rushed toward Taesan.
[Instant death judgment in progress…….]
[Judgment successful!]
There was no need to use Word of Command. Such instant death effects no longer worked on him.
“Nice to see you again.”
Taesan spoke leisurely as he raised his sword.
The world’s hostility grew even stronger.
The first time he encountered the world, he couldn’t even properly block its attack. If not for the boundary, he would have died then and there.
But that was no longer the case.
Taesan tensed his entire body. Countless buffs enveloped him.
[You have activated Apostle Transformation [Darkened Chaos].]
[You have activated the King’s Vessel.]
[You have activated Nature’s Incarnation.]
[Your World Challenger ability has been activated.]
There was no indication that victory was impossible or that it would be difficult.
Taesan had risen to the level of the entity that had once annihilated Hafran and left him on the brink of death with a single strike.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Taesan unleashed his aura, and the world responded by erupting with emotions.
Rumble!
The plaza cracked apart with a deafening sound. As debris rained down, Taesan leaped forward.
Boom!
The power of the world itself struck down.
It was on a completely different level from the wandering planet he had encountered on the 75th floor. The falling debris twisted and surged toward Taesan.
[You have activated Forced Exclusion.]
A formless wave burst out from Taesan’s body.
Unable to withstand the force, the debris shattered and scattered in all directions.
“This place is too cramped, isn’t it? Let’s move outside.”
[You have activated Random Blink.]
He had marked his path on the way in.
Thanks to that, Taesan used Random Blink to teleport to the surface.
Boom!
Shortly after, the cave was obliterated.
The planetary will, shining like the sun, revealed itself upon the land.
Nature responded to its will. The air grew heavy, the ground trembled, and the sky rumbled with rage.
Screeeech!
Taesan manifested his divine power to shield himself. The world exerted its will, and nature obeyed.
Crack!
Distant mountain ranges collapsed.
Countless rocks and soil compressed together, forming a massive spear.
That colossal spear rushed straight toward Taesan.
The compressed mass of an entire mountain range loomed, capable of piercing through the planet itself if desired.
Yet, it wasn’t just raw physical force. Within it lay the will of the world, the very force that had once driven Taesan to the brink of death.
Despite this, Taesan did not summon his boundary.
He simply gazed at the incoming spear, gripping his sword with both hands and raising it high.
As the spear reached him, he swung down.
Boom!
His body was pushed back by the sheer force, but he did not fall. He planted his feet firmly and withstood it, then exerted strength into his sword.
Crash!
The mountain-range spear shattered, scattering debris in all directions.
With sheer physical power alone, without any skills, Taesan had broken the force of the world.
“You won’t kill me with such brute force.”
Taesan swung his sword. The world, which had remained still for a moment, finally made a move.
The massive core, radiant like the sun, collapsed.
From the ruins, a humanoid figure rose.
A being of pure white, almost like a spirit.
This was the will of the world.
[A being of pure, condensed power.]
The massive core was too large to properly engage Taesan, so the world reshaped itself into a form suited for combat.
The world raised its hand, and power gathered instantly. Unlike before, it was not just sheer size; it was a force precisely targeting Taesan.
As the power surged toward him, Taesan responded. The force of destruction shook the surroundings.
[You have activated Call of Ruin.]
Black energy hungrily emerged into the world.
At that, the world grew furious. As if such an existence could not be tolerated in its domain, it unleashed its power once more.
Matter began collapsing, and space distorted.
Taesan did not stop. He stomped on the ground that threatened to consume him.
[You have activated Spell Stacking.]
[You have activated Earthquake.]
The ground erupted. Immediately, Taesan surrounded himself with three shields stored in Memorize, then unleashed a Mana Storm. The raging storm surged toward the world.
The world clasped its hands together.
At that moment, the air, the land, and everything that made up the world swirled together. Another storm formed to clash against the Mana Storm.
Crackling!
[Whoa.]
The ghost let out a groan, overwhelmed by the storm unfolding before them. The power was far beyond that of a wandering planet.
This was literally the world itself.
Yet, Taesan was not being pushed back in the slightest.
[You have activated Decarabia’s Distorted Vegetation.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
Rumble!
Roots sprouted. The world immediately shattered them with its power, but the roots that devoured space itself did not easily retreat.
[You have activated Restricted Blink.]
Taesan seized the opening created by the world’s concentrated attack. In an instant, he moved in front of the humanoid manifestation of the world.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
He gripped his sword tightly and thrust forward.
The world gathered its power. A defense imbued with its will materialized.
But it didn’t matter.
[You have activated Absolute Judgement.]
The defense itself was erased.
The white figure wavered for a moment, almost as if in shock.
The moment Taesan’s sword was about to strike, its form scattered.
And then it reappeared elsewhere.
Its method of evasion was not particularly surprising. In this realm, which was entirely its own, it could manipulate space freely.
What mattered was the fact that it had chosen to dodge.
It did not ignore his attack—it dodged.
That meant if he could land a hit, he could deal meaningful damage.
Bit by bit, he was breaking through the world.
The world, too, realized it. At this rate, it would not be able to defeat Taesan.
Thus, the world made a decision.
The world raised its hand. At its fingertips, a small blue sphere of power condensed.
That tiny sphere emanated a dense energy unlike anything felt before.
The world launched the sphere.
It flew toward Taesan and, the moment it reached him, exploded.
It was the power of wind.
A blast of wind, condensed to its very limits, swept away everything in its path. The moment the sphere flew toward him, Taesan reacted. He deployed a defensive spell and activated Embers of Catastrophe to counteract the force.
Crackle!
However, the wind forcibly extinguished the embers and tore his defenses to shreds.
Even though he had prepared, he was still unable to fully defend against its power.
In the end, he allowed a direct hit from the raging wind blades.
[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]
Taesan swiftly created distance and silently observed the lingering remnants of the wind.
The power contained within that attack was stronger than any force the world had shown before.
It wasn’t just powerful.
Taesan realized what kind of power this was.
Authority.
A unique power possessed by those who had transcended mortality.
Screeech!
Another sphere formed—this time, it was brown. It flew toward Taesan and exploded.
Boom!
At the same time, countless rocks rained down.
Taesan raised his sword.
[You have activated Collapse.]
A skill acquired after passing the trial of the God of Collapse. Its effect: the destruction of everything the sword touches.
[You have activated Gale Rush.]
His sword whirled like a storm. The incoming rocks crumbled before they could reach him.
Screeech!
As the sphere’s effect dissipated, yet another one flew toward Taesan.
However, this time, Taesan threw himself toward the sphere.
Before it could unleash its power, Taesan collided with it, triggering an explosion.
[Your Second Attack Nullification has been activated.]
The attack nullification activated. In that brief moment, Taesan analyzed the power contained within the sphere.
So that’s how it works.
The world was condensing its essence into the form of a sphere and detonating it.
That was the Authority possessed by the world.
It was undoubtedly a powerful ability. Among Taesan’s skills, there weren’t many ways to block it without taking damage.
But that didn’t mean there were none.
“If this is all you’ve got, you can’t defeat me.”
Multiple strategies flashed through Taesan’s mind.
Partial World Alteration couldn’t be used. Magic of Denial was also out of the question—he lacked the necessary resources.
This wasn’t the right situation to use his Boundary, either.
His opponent had the ability to teleport through space.
And considering it was only using one sphere at a time, it seemed unlikely that it could wield multiple at once.
Then, what was the optimal action?
He needed to neutralize the sphere’s power while unleashing an attack strong enough to damage the world.
The moment he arrived at the answer, Taesan acted.
[You have activated Astaroth’s Dark Devour.]
[You have activated Brilliantly Radiant Blue Barrier Magic Circle.]
He cloaked himself in darkness to reduce incoming damage and used the Barrier Magic Circle to protect his body.
[You have activated Spell Stacking.]
The spell he was stacking was already decided.
[You have activated Grand Collapse.]
Rumble!
Mana condensed, and a sphere of destruction appeared in the world.
The world swiftly prepared another sphere. Taesan didn’t bother blocking it.
[Your Third Attack Nullification has been activated.]
[You have activated Grand Collapse.]
Rumble!
Power gathered once more.
The immense strain on Taesan’s body began to show.
[You have taken 1,233 damage.]
[You have taken 2,312 damage.]
Even with his magical and dark magic defenses, and Absolute Protection reducing continuous damage, he was still taking hits.
One more time.
[You have activated Grand Collapse.]
Crack.
Space itself shattered.
A sphere of destruction, dark and deep enough to devour even light, materialized in the world.
Hoo…
Taesan took a deep breath.
Though the residual energy from the collapse was eating away at his stamina, it wasn’t at an unmanageable level.
And the moment the Grand Collapse stacked up, the world sensed something was wrong.
The energy contained within the sphere had the power to completely destroy this world. The world instinctively realized this.
It had to stop him.
The world gathered all its power and formed a sphere.
Screeeeech!
This time, the sphere was rainbow-colored.
A condensed manifestation of all the world’s energy—the very essence of the world itself.
With this, it could counter the force Taesan had unleashed.
At the moment the world was about to launch the sphere at him—
[You have activated Copy.]
Another sphere appeared.
Without any prelude, without any fluctuations of power, another Grand Collapse materialized.
The world hesitated, unable to process the surreal sight before it.
And it didn’t stop there.
[You have activated Distorted Ring of the Regretful One. Copy's cooldown has been reset.]
[You have activated Copy.]
Another sphere materialized.
Now, three Grand Collapse spheres had appeared in the world.
[……What in the…?]
Even the ghost was speechless.
“Go ahead. Try and stop this.”
[You have activated Magic Release.]
[You have activated Absolute Judgement.]
[You have activated Shield of Aegis, the One Who Gained Divinity.]
Three Grand Collapse spheres surged forward, consuming everything in their path.
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