Chapter 411: Hafran And The Knowledge Of The Destroyed World (3) |
Taesan was now shielding himself not only with magic and black magic but also with divinity.
However, even the divinity couldn’t withstand the three Grand Collapses that had descended upon the world, and they began to affect Taesan’s body.
If it weren’t for the immunity granted by Aegis’ Shield, he would have been instantly killed.
Kugugugung…
The three spheres of collapse advanced toward the world.
Kiiing!
The world did not retreat but stood its ground. It launched a radiant sphere, condensed with the essence of the world, toward the collapsing spheres.
The sphere flew toward the Grand Collapse and detonated its power.
Kugugung!
The unleashed forces synchronized with the world, continuously gathering strength.
Everything in existence was converging in this place.
Kagagagak!
The sheer force caused the collapsing spheres to distort. Though they did not get pushed back and continued their slow advance, the overwhelming power of the world made them waver.
The world gathered even more power.
Kugugugung…
The intense fragments of collapse spread in all directions, shattering space and filling the vision with overflowing natural energy.
The world trembled in joy.
It had blocked the power of that wretched outsider. It was the ruler of this world, and no one could oppose it.
And at that moment—
Kwaduduk.
Devouring the scattered fragments of collapse and the remnants of nature, the remaining two spheres of collapse surged forward.
The world was startled. It was certain it had stopped the Grand Collapse. Then how—?!
“Sorry, but you only stopped one.”
Taesan muttered indifferently. The world involuntarily took a step back.
If it were to be engulfed by those things, it would be annihilated.
For the first time, the world felt the emotion of fear.
But the world did not back down.
It was the ruler of this world. This land, this domain, all belonged to it alone.
To be frightened and run away from some outsider? Its ego as the world would not allow it.
All the power of the world gathered and charged toward the Grand Collapse.
Kiiing!
The Grand Collapse, which had been advancing without resistance, halted.
Seeing this, the world gathered even more strength.
It had now reached the point where it could no longer maintain itself as a world.
Kuguguguk.
Even so, the Grand Collapse began to move forward.
Like a compactor crushing everything in its path, it slowly but surely advanced toward the world. The world struggled desperately, unleashing its power, but it could not stop the Grand Collapse.
Only then did the world think of running away.
But it was already too late.
The Grand Collapse had already reached right before the world.
As the Grand Collapse engulfed the world, an explosion erupted.
The massive explosion was caused by the two collapsing spheres.
Taesan pulled out his shield as the overwhelming force of collapse rushed in.
[You have activated Aegis’ Shield.]
Immunity to all damage for 1 second.
As soon as the shield was activated, the destruction struck Taesan.
“Ugh—”
Even in an immune state, he could feel the pressure. His vision darkened.
The only thing he could perceive was the force of collapse.
One second passed in an instant, but the destruction did not cease.
Taesan cloaked himself in divinity.
Then, he wielded magic and black magic.
Kugugugung!
But it wasn’t enough.
[You have taken 21,230 damage.]
[You have taken 11,212 damage.]
[You have taken 14,543 damage.]
His health was reduced by more than half in an instant.
This was merely the aftermath, yet its power was overwhelming.
Realizing that his current strength could not withstand even the aftermath, Taesan gripped his sword.
Black mixed with gold, turning into an ashen hue.
Activating the Boundary Line, Taesan swung his sword.
Kwa-ga-gang!
The force of the collapse was cleaved apart and scattered in all directions.
“What monstrous power.”
Only by wielding the Boundary Line could he withstand the aftermath.
Even the ghost watching was in sheer disbelief.
[...Was Copy really a skill capable of replicating high-level magic?]
“I had suspected it, but I didn’t expect it to work this well.”
Taesan had always considered this possibility.
A skill that doubled the effect of an action—Copy.
In his past life, he had only used Copy to increase his damage.
That was because, in Easy Mode, he had never possessed magic or similar skills.
But his current life was different.
He had obtained magic, black magic, and various other powers.
Then what if he copied those?
At first, Taesan tried to copy the Boundary Line or the Black Force.
But those two were impossible.
Copy itself was possible to use, but he could not handle the amplified power.
Since he had yet to fully master those skills, he could not use Copy on them.
But magic was different.
Magic was a power that Taesan had gained through the recognition of the God of Magic.
Since it was under his full control, he could copy it without issue.
The only problem was that there wasn’t much reason to do so.
Doubling mid-tier magic wasn’t as useful as copying an attack to double its damage.
Thus, up until now, Taesan had only used Copy in that manner.
But the Grand Collapse was high-level magic.
The power contained within it was close to a law of nature.
And it was a power Taesan had directly inherited from the God of Magic and controlled entirely.
Then, logically, he should be able to copy the Grand Collapse.
It was a judgment close to certainty—and it turned out to be correct.
Now, the result lay before him.
The world had crumbled.
The sky and earth.
Even the deep layers of the surface—all were collapsing and distorting.
Space twisted, and matter lost its original form, melting into a viscous state.
The very concept that made up the world was breaking apart.
“This is great.”
A smile spread across Taesan’s lips.
At last, he was using Copy as it was truly meant to be, beyond merely duplicating damage.
That fact alone satisfied Taesan.
Taesan moved forward.
In the collapsed world, there was nothing left intact.
“You haven’t been annihilated, huh.”
Beneath the broken surface, the remnants of the world could be seen.
Perhaps it had successfully defended itself, as the world staggered to its feet.
But its state was utterly miserable. Its entire form was melting away, as if dissolving. The immense power it once held had been reduced to a pitiful fraction.
“I’ll make it easy for you.”
Taesan raised his sword.
The world, which had been staring blankly at Taesan, erupted in fury. Power surged forth.
Taesan answered in kind.
Kugugugung!
The forces of nature burst forth. Taesan, too, had expended a considerable amount of energy. The Grand Collapse consumed a massive amount of mana, and despite his high intelligence stat, the consumption had not lessened significantly. His mana was nearly depleted, and his health had also dropped substantially.
But the world was already on the verge of death.
[You have activated Flow.]
Taesan guided the surging forces away with his sword, redirecting them. Then, he used Restricted Blink to move behind the world.
[You have activated Asmodeus’ Chains of Decay.]
The world tried to create distance, but Taesan held it in place with black magic and reached out his hand.
[You have activated Branch of Despair.]
A wave of despair spread through the world’s mind.
Taesan gripped his sword tightly, infusing it with ashen energy, and stabbed forcefully.
[You have activated Addition.]
[You have activated Blade of Fighting Spirit.]
[You dealt 167,544 damage to the world.]
The ashen force engulfed everything. The world desperately tried to resist, gathering every ounce of its strength, but it was meaningless.
As the humanoid form of the world collapsed, the power within it scattered.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Soul Ascension has been activated.]
[The proficiency of Concept Skill: Will ??? Strike has increased by 25%.]
[Concept Skill: Will ??? Strike has evolved into Concept Skill: Will of All Things.]
[Soul Ascension has been activated. The proficiency of Word of Command has increased by 5%.]
[You have killed the world. You have obtained the special passive skill: World Slayer.]
[You have obtained the Core of the World.]
At the same time, the world began to change.
The air, once filled with hostility toward living beings, gradually calmed. The dried and withered land turned to dust, scattering into the void, while the ashen sky slowly crumbled.
The moment the ruler of this world fell, this place had become a dead world.
“That ended faster than I expected.”
Hafran’s world had never been weak.
The radiant sphere it wielded had been strong enough to neutralize a stacked Grand Collapse created through magic layering.
But when considering the battle itself rather than the raw power, the world had been hopelessly inexperienced.
If it could use spatial teleportation, it should have utilized it more effectively. Had it started the fight by maintaining distance and pressuring Taesan, then teleporting away whenever he approached, the battle would have been far more troublesome.
But the world had not fought that way. Instead, it stubbornly insisted on direct confrontations, failing to leverage its strengths.
Taesan could guess why. The world was, quite literally, a world. It had been the ruler of this place.
During its destruction, no one had likely been able to resist. It had probably never faced an opponent of equal standing before, which made its combat techniques crude and undeveloped.
It was all over now.
A strange sensation spread through Taesan’s body, likely due to acquiring a new skill through Soul Ascension, but there was something he needed to do first.
He returned to the Labyrinth.
“You’re back already?”
Hafran’s eyes widened.
Taesan nodded.
“It’s all done.”
“…Then come with me. I need to confirm it.”
Hafran pulled a black gemstone from his possession.
Both he and Taesan moved together, teleporting to his destroyed world.
“Hah.”
Arriving in his world, Hafran let out a dry laugh.
The air was lifeless. The land was crumbling into dust and vanishing. The sky was collapsing.
“You really did it. Then… did you find what I asked for?”
“This must be what you meant.”
Taesan handed over the Will of the World.
It was a radiant, rainbow-colored orb.
[Core of the World]
[The entirety of a world. This small sphere contains the essence of an entire world.]
With trembling hands, Hafran took the orb.
Then, he burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Perfect! Absolutely perfect! At last! Finally! I can fulfill my wish!”
In the dying world, only Hafran’s laughter echoed.
[Sub Quest Completed.]
After laughing for a long time, Hafran’s laughter gradually faded. He clutched the Core of the World tightly.
“Alright. There’s no reason to stay here any longer. Let’s go back.”
“What about the other materials?”
This was Hafran’s world. It held a considerable number of valuable materials.
But Hafran shook his head.
“If our goal had been to subjugate the world, we could have taken them. But our objective was to defeat the will of the world. Now, this place is a dead world.”
The planet itself was growing colder.
Looking up, Taesan saw the atmosphere slowly dissipating.
Soon, this place would become nothing more than a lifeless rock drifting in space.
“When a world dies, everything within it dies as well. Even if we took the materials, they would lose their power before we could forge anything useful.”
Ultimately, they had to abandon many of the resources here.
It was a shame, but not a significant loss.
After all, even the best equipment they could craft from these materials wouldn’t be of much use to Taesan now.
Leaving the dying world behind, they returned to the Labyrinth.
Hafran absentmindedly played with the orb, a pleased expression on his face.
“I’ve always wanted to craft equipment beyond perfection. Weapons so powerful that only a select few could even wield them. With this, and your help, I can finally create equipment that surpasses mortality itself.”
He smirked.
“You wanted to merge the Twin Rings into one, didn’t you? Bring out the other materials.”
“Here.”
Taesan began pulling out various materials one by one.
Fragment of Will, Essence of the World, Crystallized Divine Blood, Emblem of Struggle, and the Thread of Collapse.
They were materials he had acquired long ago but had been unable to use due to a lack of skill.
“With these, merge the Twin Rings into one.”