Ascension Through Skills
chapter-258

Blackness was the power of the High Gods, opposing divinity.

Focusing on controlling the wavering black energy, he scattered it in all directions. The observers from afar were shocked.

[Master?]

Minerva barely restrained herself from instinctively attacking.

The power of the High Gods was moving under Taesan’s control.

“Now that I think about it, you said you could handle the power of the High Gods.”

Minerva muttered in confusion. Taesan had said the gray power was a mix of divine and High God’s power. It sounded so absurd at the time that she was half-entranced by his words, but seeing it in reality was astonishing.

“But did the Transcendents just leave it alone?”

[It's all under Taesan's control. Don't worry about it. Isn't he always doing weird things?]

“That’s true, but…”

Minerva said with a grimace. For someone in this world to handle the power of the High Gods without distorting their mind or body was beyond Minerva’s understanding.

Blackness scattered in all directions.

The dispersed blackness started to intervene in the power of the old demon god spread throughout the land.

Taesan’s eyes sparkled.

The power permeating the land began to blend into the black and fall under Taesan’s control.

Taesan gathered the black energy that had absorbed the land’s power and concentrated it to the limit.

Boom!

Then he exploded it.

The concentrated energy scattered in all directions. The dispersed energy spread throughout the entire land again.

“Control is possible, but elimination is not.”

The black energy could not interfere with the domain.

The power of the gods and the power of the High Gods. Both were impossible.

Then what about a power that was neither, but straddled the boundary?

“Minerva, get back.”

“Oh, got it.”

Minerva, guessing what Taesan was about to do, took Anetsha and Quaned and distanced themselves.

“Minerva?”

“It’s going to be a bit dangerous here. You don’t want to get caught up, do you?”

[You have activated divinity.]

Light manifested above Taesan’s hand.

Then black began to overlay it.

[You have activated blackness.]

Squeak.

Light and darkness began to mix and turn gray. At the same time, they started to rampage, refusing Taesan’s control.

‘It’s manageable compared to before.’

Maybe because he had acquired the Boundary Line skill, it wasn’t as explosively overwhelming as when he first used it.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to control either. It was still shaking, as if wanting to escape Taesan’s control.

Taesan wielded the gray light.

The gray light swallowed everything around it.

[Your Endurance has activated.]

The gray light subsided, and Taesan looked around.

He smiled contentedly.

“It works after all.”

The land was purified.

‘Could this work on Earth too?’

The High God’s power that had engulfed this place was similar to that on Earth.

It might be possible to expel the High God’s power that had permeated Earth and reclaim it.

Anetsha, watching from a distance, was astonished.

“Huh, what?”

The power of the old demon god that had engulfed the entire land.

The moment that power touched the gray light, it was cleanly erased.

It wasn’t merely pushed back by the wave of power or temporarily hidden; it was literally erased.

Twisted beings residing in the forsaken land would be freed from their bound souls the moment they stepped into this place.

Minerva clicked her tongue.

“Such absurd power.”

The forsaken land was imbued with the power of the old demon god. Even the demon gods couldn’t handle it.

And yet, a mortal like Taesan had cleanly erased that power.

A mortal doing what even the Transcendents couldn’t. A mortal interfering with the power of the Transcendents.

It was incredibly contradictory.

A method had been found.

The gray power could erase the domain of the High Gods.

But it couldn’t be solved immediately.

“The range is too narrow.”

The range that could be erased with the gray was only about the size of a playground. It wasn’t a small range, but the extent of the forsaken land was beyond measure.

Simply erasing the domain was impossible. A fundamental solution had to be found.

And he had heard information related to it from the man he had captured.

‘Thorns. And the apostle that is guarding them.’

If it was an apostle, it must be referring to the apostle of the old demon god. It meant that such an entity was present in this place.

And the thorns guarded by such an entity were likely very important here.

The destination was set.

Of course, there were still problems.

The forsaken land was extremely vast. It was clear that just identifying where the thorns were would take a considerable amount of time.

But it would be much faster than erasing everything without a purpose.

“Then let’s walk around. Anetsha.”

Those who had resided in this place for an immeasurable amount of time were likely to know the location of the thorns.

“Yes.”

Anetsha calmly raised her finger.

“When I sensed it earlier, I felt the presence of several people far away.”

“How far?”

“Well… it’s about a day’s journey at my pace.”

“That’s quite a distance.”

Taesan began to move.

As they quietly moved, they started to talk about their curiosities.

“Heh.”

Minerva’s eyes sparkled.

She was now listening to Quaned’s stories about the labyrinth.

“Mortal beings that strong. Are you saying they could be stronger than me?”

Quaned had told Minerva about the leaders of the guides. Most of them were stronger than Minerva.

“The labyrinth sure is interesting.”

“Yes. Well, I lost in the middle, though.”

Quaned replied.

“There was someone similar to you among them.”

“…Hmm.”

“It was the Fire Spirit King. I think their name was Vishnu.”

“Vishnu, huh.”

“Do you know them?”

“I do.”

Minerva snapped her fingers.

“They’re quite famous in the spirit realm.”

She hummed.

“The one who refused the responsibilities of a Spirit King. The one who wanted to break free from the limits of being a Spirit King. The spirit who wanted to transcend lifespan and become solitary.”

A cold aura flowed from her eyes.

“They’re the Spirit King who destroyed a world and ran away. Hmm. So, they are in the labyrinth.”

Minerva laughed.

“That’s interesting.”

“…It seems that not all spirits get along.”

“Of course not. There are quite a few spirits who dislike those who entered the labyrinth. I’m not that extreme, but… if it’s a Spirit King, it’s a different story. And my master is Taesan. If they are his enemy, I’ll probably end up fighting them too.”

A battle between Spirit Kings.

Quaned gave a hollow laugh at those words.

“That sounds exciting. Although I won’t be able to see it myself.”

[I am only following my master’s orders. Even if the opponent is a king, it doesn’t change.]

“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder when we’ll meet.”

Quiet conversations continued.

And Taesan had his own thoughts.

‘It was greed.’

When he stepped onto this land, the gaze of the High Gods.

The light in that gaze wasn’t hostility or anger, but greed.

That was quite unexpected. The High Gods showing greed meant that he wanted something from Taesan.

Taesan had fought the High Gods many times before, but they had never shown greed, only hostility or curiosity.

Why would the High Gods, who were transcendents from birth and now exiled from the world, show greed towards Taesan?

“Taesan.”

Lost in thought, Taesan was interrupted by Anetsha’s question.

“Should I sense it again?”

Taesan nodded. They had moved enough. The opponent would have moved as well, so they needed to locate them again. Anetsha struck the ground with her staff. The magical energy extended from the staff in all directions.

Information from the surroundings flowed into Anetsha.

She began to organize each piece of information.

“…Hmm?”

Anetsha’s face hardened.

“What, what is it?”

“What’s wrong?”

Quaned asked with a puzzled look. Anetsha’s face turned pale.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

Sensing something was wrong, Taesan gathered his magical energy.

[You have activated Leraje’s Territory Detection.]

Black waves spread out, and the surrounding information flowed into Taesan. He could also tell.

There were beings rushing towards them.

And their number was in the hundreds.

“Hmm?”

Minerva also seemed to sense something as her face hardened. Taesan drew his weapon.

The approaching figures began to appear.

The endlessly twisted beings saw Taesan and shouted.

“There he is!”

Hundreds of twisted beings shouted.

“For the Old Demon God!”

“Capture him!”

Hundreds of twisted demons.

Even the weakest among them seemed to be at the mid-20th floor level of the labyrinth.

There were even a few who could reach the 40th floor.

“No way. How?”

Anetsha was bewildered. There was no reason for such a number to gather in one place without a reason. It meant that all of them knew Taesan was here.

“Minerva. Barkaza. Look after Quaned and Anetsha.”

[Understood.]

Barkaza clapped his hands. Rainbow-colored light emanated, and wind manifested in Minerva’s hands.

Taesan kicked the ground.

The faces of the frenzied beings quickly approached.

“Capture him!”

“Subdue him!”

Taesan’s sword moved. The twisted demons tried to block it, but their defenses were crushed and they were pulverized.

[Your Soul Ascension has been activated.]

Messages of Soul Ascension appeared rapidly. Taesan closed the system window that was obstructing his view.

He dodged the outstretched hands and stomped his foot.

He put strength into his entire body and swung his shoulder. With a thunderous sound, dozens of twisted demons in front of him exploded simultaneously.

Those who exploded did not resurrect.

Their soulless bodies scattered everywhere.

But there was no fear in the eyes of the charging twisted demons.

They only tried to grab Taesan with frenzied faces.

Boom!

Wind burst from behind. Minerva wielded the wind and escaped from the twisted demons.

The demons paid no attention to that.

As if only Taesan was their goal, they charged at him without even glancing elsewhere.

In this situation, it was not bad for Taesan. He could focus on the battle without worrying about others.

Slash.

He swung his sword.

He crushed heads and kicked them away. He dodged swinging attacks by moving his entire body.

[You have activated the Frozen World.]

Crackle!

Cold air surged. The surrounding demons froze in an instant.

A familiar face was among them.

“I spared your life, and you’re back.”

“Gasp. Gasp…”

It was the twisted demon from whom he had extracted information and spared.

With half his limbs frozen, he was clattering his teeth in the cold.

Seeing Taesan, he shouted.

“Human! Our great one calls for you!”

“Are you talking about the Old Demon God?”

“Yes! He spoke through the mouth of the apostle! He said to bring you! Those who bring you will have the opportunity to become his apostles!”

“So, it’s not to kill me but to capture me.”

The Old Demon God wanted something from him.

Crack!

“Clear the way!”

The ice began to shatter. Taesan placed his hand on the twisted demon’s head.

“There won’t be a second time.”

There was no fear in the demon’s face. He shouted with endless obsession.

“Great one! Bestow your grace upon me!”

That was his final words. Taesan gathered his magical energy in the breaking ice.

A passage opened.

He felt the gaze of a demon beyond it.

He released his power as it was.

[You have activated Marbas' Pitch-Black Wave.]

A black wave surged out. The wave that poured through the opened passage was no longer just a wave but a tsunami.

Shattering the ice, it crushed and swallowed all surrounding beings.

The dense, dark energy shattered everything around.

Boom!

Thousands of frenzied, twisted demons were swallowed all at once. Some of them were at the 40th floor level of the labyrinth, but it didn’t matter. The demonic wave crushed the believers of the Old Demon God.

Hundreds of demons disappeared like that.

“It’s definitely useful.”

Marbas’ Pitch-Black Wave was the strongest black magic Taesan had learned. Opening the passage and drawing out its true power made it incredibly potent.

Returning, Minerva grimaced.

“Not to kill but to bring me alive. What do they want?”

“…Did the Old Demon God give an oracle?”

Anetsha muttered with a shocked face.

“That’s impossible… This is the Demon Realm. It’s the domain of the Demon God. Even if this is the Old Demon God’s territory, the ruler of the world is the Demon God. It’s impossible to interfere, even in a very small form…”

“It means they paid a price.”

In other words, the High Gods thought it was worth the risk to capture Taesan.

“Anetsha, use your staff again.”

Taesan placed his hand on her shoulder. Anetsha calmly struck the ground with her staff.

Woom.

Waves spread out. They resonated with Taesan’s magic, bringing in information over a wide range.

“…This is…”

Anetsha quietly groaned.

“The twisted demons… are coming directly towards us.”

“It seems so.”

The oracle of the Old Demon God. It wouldn’t end with just hundreds. It must have spread throughout the entire forsaken land.

Soon, the twisted demons came into view.

“Oh, oh no.”

Quaned drew his sword with a pale face.

Demons were running towards them from all directions.

And there was no end in sight.

“There he is!”

“Capture him!”

The believers of the Old Demon God shouted,

“For our god!”