Ascension Through Skills
chapter-262

A gigantic presence.

With its appearance, the space distorted. The laws of the world crumbled, and everything began to twist.

[Ugh.]

The ghost momentarily held its breath. Soon, its figure disappeared.

The link was not broken. It seemed the ghost had been temporarily ejected outside, unable to endure.

Taesan looked at the demon.

It, too, turned its gaze towards Taesan.

Even without a head, even without visible eyes, Taesan could feel its gaze upon him.

As the gaze was felt, its presence also approached.

Boom!

An overwhelming enormity.

An immeasurable font of power. It felt as vast as when one first saw the ocean. It was a power that could not be reached even if one devoted everything at the cost of their life.

At the same time, all the despairing emotions a human could be felt rushing in. A torrent that could make even one who had endured asceticism turn into a simpleton in an instant.

“Shut up.”

Taesan gritted his teeth.

He gathered his spirit.

Rising up, he shook off the overwhelming presence and will.

A strange light lingered in the gaze directed at Taesan.

Taesan gripped his sword tightly.

Overcoming the sensation of his body collapsing, he looked at the old demon god.

[You.]

It was not a language. Language is made to converse with someone. It was not applicable to the old demon god.

It was merely a declaration containing its will.

[Mine.]

Boom.

The world twisted. To fulfill the will of the great presence, the space itself twisted, and power moved.

It was a type of law. Reality itself changed, phenomena occurred to fulfill the old demon god’s will.

Taesan’s body approached the old demon god. The space opened, trying to swallow Taesan and invade his mind.

“Get lost.”

Taesan stomped his foot roughly.

The spirit gathered within him exploded.

Like a beast gone mad, it shattered the distorting reality. The storm of spirit dissipated the twisted reality.

“You can’t suppress me with will alone without doing anything.”

He had broken through numerous trials and gained immeasurable power. Even an old demon god couldn’t suppress Taesan with just its will in an imperfect state.

“If you intended to kill me, the story would be different… But you don’t want to kill me, do you?”

Taesan sneered. The demon wanted to suppress him.

“Then this won’t do. I won’t submit to you.”

The mortal declared boldly in front of the transcendental being.

The old demon god’s gaze did not change.

[Then fall.]

With those words, reality twisted.

The changed natural law rushed to kill Taesan. The distorted space turned into thorns to pierce him, and the air transformed into poison to infiltrate his breathing.

Taesan swung his hand roughly.

[You have ignited the flame of disaster.]

The flame of the beast that would destroy the world exploded.

It surged to burn everything it touched.

But the being in front of him was literally an existence trying to break the universe.

The surging flame was trampled by the twisted reality, extinguishing like a small spark.

But he had bought time. Taesan gathered his spirit into his sword. Swinging it roughly, he dispelled the approaching pressure.

Just as Taesan was about to push off the ground.

Boom!

The ground collapsed.

The foothold crumbled, and his body began to fall. Taesan clicked his tongue and looked down.

And his pupils dilated.

There was no end to the collapsing ground.

His body began to fall into an endless abyss.

“Damn it.”

Taesan clicked his tongue and wrapped himself.

“Ah, ahhh!”

The contract between a spirit and a human was a kind of link.

Humans could feel the spirit’s vision and power and sense its movements.

And the same was true for spirits. They could see the rough power and vision of the contracted human.

That was why Minerva could see now.

The gigantic presence in front of Taesan.

“No!”

When the power had first gathered in the abandoned land, she had thought it was merely a level of power to strengthen the presence before her. It was dangerous, but within the realm of mortals.

However, this was not the case.

The old demon god. A transcendent being. Its main body had directly descended.

Minerva gathered the wind. It was a rough cohesion, not considering reverse summoning. She swung it straight at the thorn-covered black barrier.

Paang!

But it was the wind that scattered. As the demon stepped on the ground, it spoke.

[It's useless, child of the spirit. That is a concentration of power. Your strength can't even scratch it.]

“Ahhh!”

Minerva ruffled her hair.

Her master, the person who had helped her, was confronting the old demon god. The thought of it made her mind turn upside down.

“Oh, great demon!”

She cried out, looking at the demon.

“Please save my master! Don’t you also cherish my master?”

[Yes, I cherish him.]

The demon nodded.

[But I will not save him.]

“Why!”

Minerva’s eyes widened.

“Why! Why are you letting my master die?”

[Calm down.]

The demon placed its finger on Minerva’s forehead.

In an instant, her body collapsed. Barkaza quickly wrapped her body.

[Great demon...] [I just put her to sleep for a while. I will forgive her rudeness, as her feelings for him were commendable.]

She had shouted directly at a transcendent being. If it had been a more ill-tempered transcendent, she would have turned to dust instantly.

[...Thank you for your mercy.] [You seem uneasy about him too.] [...Yes.]

“Great demon, can you really not help him?”

Anetsha also asked with trembling eyes. Standing in front of the demon she respected, she barely maintained her composure; otherwise, she would have gone mad like Minerva.

[First, one thing.]

The demon god placed her hand on the black barrier.

[I am not choosing not to save him, but I cannot save him.]

“Demon god?”

[This black space is a concentration of energy that pervades the entire abandoned land. Beyond it lies the old demon god's domain. It can no longer be called the demon world.]

The demon god clicked her tongue.

[Of course, unlike the abandoned land, it is a temporary cohesion and can be crushed with power... but doing so will erase everything inside.]

“Ah…”

If the demon god destroyed the space, Taesan would also die. Anetsha closed her mouth at that fact.

[We must leave the rest to him. And even if I could save him, I would not.]

“W-what?”

[You need to trust him more.]

The demon god smiled.

She couldn’t see beyond the space, but she could guess what was happening inside from the energy she felt.

[Not a proper descent, just a trick. Barely managed to insert just the body. He won't die from just this.]

She spoke, her tone confident like a princess waiting for the hero’s return.

[He will return victorious. Just like always.]

In the state of falling, Taesan spread his wings.

He didn’t know what was below, but his instincts warned him. He must not go down. Reaching the bottom would mean the end of everything for him.

As he tried to fly up, something sprang up from the abyss.

Taesan reflexively raised his sword.

[You have activated Flow.]

Thunk.

The thing that sprang up was repelled, revealing itself.

Taesan frowned.

“Hands?”

They were black hands.

Like a curse, numerous hands rose. They reached out to grab Taesan’s arms and legs.

Taesan spun around.

He infused his sword with aura and swung it.

The aura poured out like waves. The rising hands moved, avoiding the aura.

“Tsk.”

Taesan clicked his tongue, focused his mind, and swung his sword.

Ka-gak!

He cut down the hands one by one. Moving his legs, he kicked away the hands trying to grab his feet and punched. He gathered wind and flames and blasted them downwards.

Taesan glanced upward.

The old demon god was quietly watching him.

[You have activated Frost Arrow.]

Frost arrows flew towards the old demon god. But they disappeared before reaching it, as if the pressure below didn’t allow them to exist.

He cut down the hands aiming for his limbs again.

‘……Weaker than I thought.’

The power to collapse space and twist reality. It was certainly strong, but it wasn’t the power of a transcendent being.

In other words, the old demon god was also greatly weakened as it crossed the space.

The old demon god descended here using Elain’s power.

There must be a time limit. If Taesan survived until then, it would be his victory.

However.

“I don’t like it.”

Taesan muttered.

He wanted to land a blow on the old demon god looking down at him from above.

The thought was momentary, and the decision was quick. Taesan twisted his falling body upward. Dozens of hands rose simultaneously.

Taesan’s arms and legs were grabbed. The strong force tried to pull Taesan into the deep abyss.

[You have activated the Frozen World.]

Creeeak!

The severe cold surged. The hands were covered in frost.

But the hands didn’t stop.

Breaking through the ice, they grabbed Taesan.

[You have activated the Frozen World.]

Once again, the cold surged.

The strength of the hands had weakened compared to before.

Taesan didn’t stop.

He continuously activated the Frozen World. He invested all the remaining mana.

“Hoo.”

He took a deep breath.

The moment the breath was exhaled, it froze and fell.

The surroundings were covered in transparent ice.

Creeeak.

The ice began to slowly crack. The hands moved, gradually advancing towards Taesan.

Taesan drew Aegis’s Shield and clenched his fist.

[You have used Aegis's Shield. For 1 second, you are immune to all damage but cannot move.] [You have activated Magical Explosion.]

The cold shattered. The Frozen World, which had overlapped more than ten times, exploded all at once, covering the surroundings. The advancing hands couldn’t withstand the explosion, which Taesan had invested all his mana in, and shattered.

But from the depths, the hands rose again.

Not just from the bottom; this time, they were slowly rising from both walls. The hands came at Taesan from all directions to grab him.

Taesan put away the shield and gathered magic.

Due to the magical explosion, the cold scattered in all directions, slowing the hands’ charge.

He put all the magic he had into the passage.

He saw the gaze beyond.

It looked at Taesan and smiled. At the same time as the magic ran out, Taesan drew power from the passage.

[You have activated Decarabia's Twisted Vegetation.]

Roots sprang up from the opened passage.

They were thicker than any roots Taesan had summoned so far.

And they were denser and sturdier. Taesan instinctively realized that the roots he had summoned so far were just a part. These were the roots that pierced the world itself.

Rumble!

The rising roots advanced upward.

Taesan flew along the roots. The advancing hands were trampled and crushed by the roots’ momentum.

Energy flowed from the old demon god, who was quietly watching from above.

The small energy amplified and amplified as soon as it flowed out, becoming a gigantic wave.

The wave, like a beast, shattered the roots. The roots that pierced the world were crushed and twisted like toothpicks.

Overwhelming presence and power. An insurmountable wall for a mortal.

The wave didn’t stop and tried to engulf Taesan.

Taesan didn’t run. He neither retreated nor evaded but moved forward.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

He spread his wings and charged at the old demon god.

He drew his sword.

He put everything he had into the end of it. Spirit, strength, aura—all gathered.

[You have activated Blackness.]

A color as dark as pitch spread, and a bright light began to mix with it.

Gray light gathered in the sword.

Enduring the sensation of his limbs twisting, he swung the sword.

The wave of the old demon god collided with the gray and was erased.

Taesan exerted all his strength and advanced further.

The advancing wave twisted his body just by approaching. The overwhelming presence and power made him nauseous and dizzy.

But Taesan advanced.

Crushing and overcoming the transcendent power and presence, he moved forward.

He erased and shattered the advancing wave. The presence of the transcendent slowly began to fade under the gray.

Rumble!

The space began to collapse. The abandoned land, formed by the gathering of all its energy, couldn’t withstand the clashing power and began to collapse slowly.

And at the end of it.

Taesan arrived in front of the old demon god.

Clang.

A small sound echoed.

Taesan’s sword touched the old demon god’s body.

Taesan smiled.

“I won.”