Floria did not retreat.
Even knowing he had no chance of winning, he kept moving, searching for an opening to secure victory.
But, of course, the impossible remained impossible.
Boom!
“Guh!”
Floria was smashed into the ground, his entire body covered in wounds.
As he writhed in pain, Taesan brought his sword down upon him. Gritting his teeth, Floria activated a skill.
[Floria has activated Designated Mark Acceleration.]
[You have activated Restricted Blink.]
“This is getting tedious.”As Floria accelerated, Taesan teleported above him.
He had already figured out the locations and situations where Floria would move.
Floria tried to raise his sword too late, and Taesan’s sword pierced through his chest.
Crunch.
“I didn’t expect… this ending…”
[You have defeated Floria.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[By the terms of the Demon God’s contract, level-up recovery is restricted.]
Floria had been defeated.
However, it wasn’t easy.
Taesan had tried to block Floria’s movement with Decarabia’s twisted flora.
And Floria used every piece of equipment he had to break through it.
As a result, Taesan had to continuously activate Decarabia’s twisted flora.
While he hadn’t lost much health, nearly half of his mana was depleted.
Boom!
As Floria fell, a surge of force followed, as if determined not to give him any chance to recover.
Taesan raised his sword.
system-start
[You have activated Forced Duel. For the next 12 seconds, only Gloria can damage you.]
[Your Forced Duel proficiency has increased by 1%.]
system_end
The attacks targeting Taesan vanished. Warrior of the Great Saint, Gloria was the next target. Taesan charged at the golden-haired woman clad in golden armor, her expression steeling as she raised her sword. ꞦαΝọＢЕS
“Light, heed me!”
[Gloria has activated Saint's Blessing.]
[Gloria has activated Chosen One.]
[Gloria has activated Holy Avatar.]
Light enveloped her. Taesan recognized it as divine power.
Gloria, wielding her sword and shield, confronted Taesan’s attack.
Clang!
The impact struck Taesan.
‘She withstood it?’
Taesan grimaced. His stats now surpassed 20,000, far above even Lee Taeyeon’s. In terms of strength, Gloria shouldn’t have been able to hold her ground.
Yet, she was holding her own against Taesan.
Clad in divine light, she swung her sword fiercely.
Slash!
[Gloria has activated Divine Sword's Retribution.]
The air tore as swords of light rained down indiscriminately. Despite Taesan’s attempt to evade, Gloria’s onslaught triggered his Attack Nullification skill.
“I am a warrior of the divine! Creatures crawling on the earth cannot reach me!”
Gloria charged at Taesan with a cry full of faith.
Although Helia had instructed her to buy time, she had no intention of following that advice.
Taesan had expended considerable energy fighting Floria. She believed she could win if she poured everything she had into it.
Slash!
Taesan analyzed as he blocked Gloria’s attack.
It wasn’t her pure strength. High divine power was enhancing her strength and speed.
In that case…
How could he counter the divinity of another? Taesan had experienced this in the spirit world.
Shing!
A radiant light burst from Taesan.
It was similar to the golden light surrounding Gloria, but denser and more potent.
“Ah?”
Gloria, who had been charging fiercely, hesitated.
Divine power emanated from Taesan.
“Why…”
Before she could finish her question, Taesan’s divinity overwhelmed her.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
The golden light surrounding her shattered like glass. Divine protection vanished.
“How… how…”
She looked at Taesan in shock.
The entire room was enveloped in Taesan’s divine power.
“It seems it works after all.”
Taesan murmured as he deduced that divine power could be countered with divine power. And the divinity Gloria wore wasn’t her own; it was given to her by another.
In contrast, Taesan’s power was his own divine energy. The quality difference allowed him to break through Gloria’s divine barrier.
Taesan leaped forward. Gloria, panicking, raised her shield.
Boom!
“Gah!”
Unable to withstand the impact, Gloria slid back.
What followed was an overwhelming battle. Without the divine power that had been her greatest strength, Gloria had no means to resist.
“What…?”
The other Guides, watching this, let out a groan.
“Breaking Gloria’s divinity? How is that possible?”
Gloria’s strength wasn’t all that extraordinary. Her speed was average, and the skills she had gained while traversing the labyrinth weren’t particularly special.
But her faith was unmatched.
She believed that no one could match her devotion to the divine, and indeed, none among the devout could rival her divine power.
When she clad herself in divinity, even the other Guides couldn’t easily break through. She was an impenetrable wall, a fortress unlike Shaman’s walls.
But now, that barrier was shattered by Taesan’s divinity.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s natural that he’s stronger than us.”
Helia spoke coldly, though a smirk tugged at his lips.
“With this battle, he’s used his divine power.”
With that level of divine power, Taesan wouldn’t be able to use it again.
“In the end, we will win.”
As the battle dragged on, Taesan would continue to deplete his strength, one by one.
In the end, he’d be left fighting with all his cards expended.
“Grr!”
Even with precautions against Absolute Judgement, Gloria continued to recover and endure.
But that was all.
Crunch.
Taesan’s sword shattered her armor.
She coughed up blood as she fell.
“O divine… answer…”
[Your level has increased.]
In this battle, he had used divine power. Now he could no longer use Boundary Line or Boundary Repel.
His damage potential was considerably drained, having used the Blade of Resolve and Copy to finish her in a single blow.
There was no time to rest. His next opponent was Cliff, the ruler of the dark abyss.
Cliff wielded a bottomless darkness.
Boom!
Endless, deep, dark shadows emerged. Taesan summoned his magic.
[You have activated Frozen World.]
It was a Frozen World stacked with layered magic. The power it held was undoubtedly at the edge of mortality.
However, as soon as it touched the beastly darkness, it was swallowed up and vanished.
“Magic and dark magic alike are certainly divine powers, but they are wielded by mortals. They cannot touch me.”
Cliff, clad entirely in black, spoke as he gathered more strength.
Darkness blanketed the world.
Everything was dyed and devoured.
This time, Taesan activated dark magic, but it, too, was swallowed as it approached Cliff.
As he withstood the assault through Attack Nullification, Taesan thought.
‘Neither magic nor dark magic is effective.’
It was a power entirely separate from his own. The force Cliff wielded devoured all of Taesan’s power.
After exhausting all three Attack Nullifications, Taesan realized it.
The power Cliff wielded was the power of destruction.
It was a force similar to that of a Demon Lord, consuming and annihilating everything, bestowed upon one tasked with the mission of destroying the world. That was why neither magic nor dark magic worked against it.
Taesan didn’t know how an adventurer in the labyrinth had such power, but he had a counter.
If his opponent wielded the power of destruction, he could use his own.
[You have activated the Spark of Calamity.]
A fiery wolf emerged, possessing the power to burn the world. Cliff sneered.
“The trivial power of a mortal cannot reach me.”
Taesan was indeed strong. The process of defeating Floria and Gloria had been remarkable.
‘But…’
In the end, it was still the power of a mortal. Impressive, but nothing more.
On the other hand, his power was destruction itself, unreachable by mortal hands.
‘If he still had his divine power, he might have been a threat.’
Divine power was the strength of the gods. It could certainly contend with his destructive power.
But Taesan had already used his divine power in his battle with Gloria.
He had exhausted all his cards to block Cliff’s strength. Confident, Cliff unleashed his darkness.
The ferocious flames clashed with Cliff’s darkness.
“…What?”
Cliff’s expression hardened. Taesan gathered his power once more.
[You have activated the Call of Destruction.]
The Demon Lord’s power, which had annihilated the spirit world, manifested.
Cliff’s darkness was trampled and vanished in an instant. Frantically, Cliff gathered more strength.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
He was the sole survivor of a world devoured by endless darkness.
After wandering through a destroyed world, he absorbed the remnants of the destruction that had swallowed the world.
Thus, he possessed the power of destruction itself.
To defeat him, one had to either endure until he exhausted his power or target his mind. The high energy cost meant he couldn’t sustain prolonged battles, which was his weakness.
But now, Taesan was pushing back Cliff’s power with his own.
“How can a mere mortal wield the power of destruction?”
Boom!
Power erupted, tearing open the space.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]
Taesan dashed towards Cliff. Cliff quickly gathered his strength, but Taesan used Restricted Blink to appear behind him.
“Move!”
Power surged toward Taesan.
Taesan planted his feet firmly and swung his sword.
The blade pierced through the darkness, striking Cliff’s neck.
“Gah!”
The approach was successful.
Cliff’s movements were unremarkable, likely because he had descended into the labyrinth relying solely on the power of destruction. The moment Taesan closed in, Cliff’s chance of victory vanished, and he began to be pushed back rapidly.
“…You had the power of destruction too. No matter. You’ve also expended that in this battle.”
Helia barely managed to suppress his shock.
Divine power and the power of destruction. Unexpected, but it changed nothing. Taesan had once again drained his strength. If he continued to deplete his power, they could win. That belief hadn’t faded.
Next was Esteban, the master of the Echoing Valley.
He moved his hand, his expression grim. The space opened, and countless beasts emerged.
[Esteban has summoned a Biting Wolf.]
[Esteban has summoned a Dreadful Beast.]
[Esteban has summoned a Rat Hidden in Shadows.]
A host of twisted beasts charged at Taesan.
While Taesan fought with the other Guides, Esteban seemed to have finished all his preparations. The summons were endless, and each beast was incredibly powerful, not ones Taesan could easily defeat.
“You’re personally moving to fight. Isn’t that quite a primitive approach?”
“Is that so?”
Then Taesan responded in kind with his own summons.
[You have summoned Minerva, the Spirit King of Wind.]
[You have summoned Barkaza, the Shield of Many Colors.]
A blast of wind sent the charging beasts flying.
Minerva grinned.
“Straightforward enough!”
Boom!
The wind whipped around violently, and Esteban’s expression hardened.
“…This is beyond expectations.”
Minerva, now significantly stronger after absorbing the power of the Fire Spirit King, was much more formidable than during the battle with Shayan.
Wind and beasts collided with explosive force.
Esteban gritted his teeth and reached into the air.
[Esteban has summoned the Master of the Valley.]
A colossal serpent appeared beyond the space.
Its power was on the edge of mortality.
Esteban’s lifelong companion, undefeated and unwavering, it was the very symbol of Esteban himself.
“Ho…”
Minerva’s eyes blazed with the thrill of the challenge as she gathered more strength.
They clashed. The body of wind and the serpent collided, sending out immense waves of power.
Minerva was undeniably strong, but the Master of the Valley was Esteban’s trump card, reserved for deep-level adventurers. It wasn’t easily overpowered.
Boom!
Power clashed. Minerva and the Valley’s Master gave it their all, while Taesan also didn’t stand idle.
Taesan charged toward Esteban.
Esteban opened the space.
Countless beasts poured out in succession. A giant gorilla struck with its fist, and a wolf-like beast aimed for his throat.
There were far too many to take down one by one.
[You have activated Magic Overlay.]
The stacked Frozen World surged forward. Taesan gathered his power once again.
[You have activated Forced Amplification.]
Crack! Crack!
The entire space was engulfed in frost. The beasts screamed and resisted furiously, but the frost froze their every attempt.
In an instant, a frozen space was formed.
[You have activated Starlight Arrows.]
Arrows shot toward Esteban. Startled, he opened the space again, calling forth more beasts.
He incinerated all the endlessly emerging beasts with his magic.
Esteban’s trump card, the Master of the Valley, was locked in combat with Minerva. The remaining beasts were strong, but they couldn’t match Taesan.
Shreeeek!
“Not a chance!”
The Master of the Valley tried to move in Esteban’s defense, but Minerva unleashed a blast of wind, pinning it down.
The battle continued.
Helia could no longer claim that Taesan was depleting his strength and that they could win.
He simply watched the fight, his expression hardened and silent.
Taesan trampled over the beasts and pierced Esteban’s chest.
Esteban spat blood and shouted.
“It’s your victory, but I won’t go down quietly! You monster!”
[Esteban has activated Forced Recall of All Summoned Beasts.]
Boom!
“Ugh!”
In an instant, Minerva and Barkaza’s forms distorted. All summoned beasts within the designated space began to be forcibly unsummoned.
Minerva spread her power to resist, but Esteban’s final energy, which enveloped the space, relentlessly pressured her.
“I can’t fight any longer. I must return. Be sure to win, Master.”
“I understand.”
Minerva and Barkaza vanished.
Taesan raised his sword.
“Next.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter