Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Prologue

Mortal.

A being with a finite lifespan.

A being that must inevitably die someday.

And the opposite of that, an immortal.

A god.

Many people say it.

That gods look down upon this world and watch over humanity.

That gods love humans.

But he knew better than anyone that those words were nonsense.

Merely wishful thinking created by humans.

To gods, humanity and civilization were not even worthy of being called entertainment.

How could he be so certain?

Because there was a god right in front of him now.

A space where everything was pure white.

There, a god bleeding from his wounds glared at the person before him.

“I am sick and tired of you.”

Contempt, anger.

The god displaying such emotions toward the opponent before him.

Glared at Han Yugeon and emitted terrifying killing intent.

“What exactly are you struggling for? Did I not promise to kill you without pain? You are the only one left in this world anyway.”

“...”

At the god’s words, Han Yugeon let out a deep sigh.

Just as the god said.

The world had perished.

Eighty years ago.

One day, enormous towers appeared all across Earth.

Towers created by a god.

The towers created by the god formed enormous entrances.

And at the same time, mysterious powers began to be bestowed upon various humans.

That was the beginning of the end.

“Yeah... The world was destroyed, all because of you.”

Humanity resisted as much as it could.

Barely holding back the overwhelmingly powerful monsters spewed out by the towers.

They endured with the mysterious powers they had been given, enduring again and again.

And all the while, they continued challenging the towers.

Why challenge the towers even while the world was being destroyed?

Because of a wish.

The humans who entered the towers found a single thought planted in their minds, as though they had suddenly realized their own fate.

‘The wish of the one who clears the tower will be granted.’

Humans realized that thought was true and learned that any wish could be granted.

And so, they climbed the towers.

Losing comrades.

Losing family.

Even after losing friends, they continued forward without stopping.

The world outside the towers grew increasingly desolate, but if they simply stood still, nothing awaited them except death.

Humanity’s only choice was to climb the towers.

He did not know what their wishes had been.

Each of them must have carried a different wish.

They moved forward with those wishes held close to their hearts.

“But... you deceived humanity.”

The wish of the one who cleared the tower would be granted?

How?

How were they supposed to clear it?

When an immortal god awaited them on the hundredth floor.

If it had merely been a powerful monster, they might somehow have managed to kill it.

But what they encountered upon reaching the hundredth floor was an immortal god.

That was right.

From the very beginning, the god had never intended to grant humanity’s wishes.

“Was it amusing to watch us struggle because we wanted to live? Was it entertaining to watch us cling to false hope?”

“Yes, it was quite amusing and entertaining.”

At Han Yugeon’s words, the god revealed a chilling smile.

For a god who had lived through countless eons, there was no better entertainment.

The sight of humans being given a wish and desperately struggling to grasp it was truly ridiculous and delightful.

“You people always said the same thing. That a god should not behave this way. Kahahahaha.”

The god burst into laughter.

“Why do you humans expect gods to care for you? Why do you make such assumptions on your own and expect such things from me?”

At the god’s words, Han Yugeon clenched his teeth.

He had nothing to say.

Anger surged within him, and his blood boiled.

But he could not answer.

“There were several humans who managed to reach me. Yet, aside from a few, most of them spoke of the same wish.”

To erase the towers forever and return time to before the towers had existed.

Of course, even such a wish was possible.

“You would probably ask for the same wish. Hmm...”

“?”

“Shall I grant your wish?”

“...What?”

For a moment, Han Yugeon’s eyes trembled.

The god’s voice sounded serious.

As though he truly intended to grant his wish.

“But there is a problem. The Holy Grail can no longer be activated.”

“...The Holy Grail?”

“A sacred artifact that grants wishes. To activate the Holy Grail and fulfill the wish you desire, there must be sufficient weight behind it. Only then will the Holy Grail activate.”

“Weight? What does that...”

“The aspirations of humanity and their lives. That sort of weight.”

“You bastard...”

At the god’s words, Han Yugeon ground his teeth.

Grin.

“What I mean is that even if I wanted to grant your wish, I can no longer do so. Kahahahaha!”

The god wore a revolting smile, as though mocking him.

In contrast, Han Yugeon’s expression had twisted into that of a demon.

“So that’s why you drove the world to destruction!!”

Because he did not want to grant a wish, just as he did not now.

Knowing how the Holy Grail that granted wishes operated, he had deliberately destroyed the world beforehand.

Han Yugeon was the only human left on Earth.

No matter what he did now, it could no longer be undone.

“If humanity and civilization had remained, the Holy Grail could have been activated easily enough. What a shame. I truly did intend to grant your wish. Khuhuhu.”

It did not require the life force of humans.

Humanity and civilization throughout the world.

In other words, wishes were granted according to causality.

“Even if you kill me, you can no longer fulfill your wish.”

“...”

Hearing the god’s mockery, Han Yugeon could say nothing.

Right.

This is the end.

There is no hope left.

Even though there were still nonhuman races that had not yet gone extinct, the fact that the god said this to him meant.

That their world was influenced solely by humanity.

‘How wicked...’

Wicked to a horrifying degree.

He had struggled and struggled all this way, yet now there was no hope left.

Family.

Friends.

Memories.

He had missed them so desperately that he had tried to restore the destroyed Earth.

But now, he would give up.

It was something he could not accomplish anyway.

“Haha... Right, it’s useless. But...”

Clench.

Han Yugeon gritted his teeth and readjusted his grip on his sword.

“Even if I cannot fulfill my wish... I will at least kill you. At the very least, I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart.”

His entire body was drenched in blood.

His left eye had burst.

Part of his abdomen had been torn away, and the tendon in his right leg had been severed.

His shoulder had also been torn open, and the blood flowing from it soaked his arm.

“Khuhuhu, you fool. Do you still not understand? Mortals cannot bestow death upon us.”

Ssssss.

With a vicious smile, the god healed every small wound on his body.

The only reason he had left those wounds unhealed in the first place was to mock Han Yugeon.

“Don’t worry. This time will be different.”

Crack!

With an emotionless expression, Han Yugeon shattered his own dantian.

Rumbleeeee!

His energy began to run wild.

All the energy he had accumulated until now began to rage uncontrollably.

At the same time, Han Yugeon began burning away his own life.

The innate true qi that every human possessed from birth.

Whoooooosh.

His sword burned pure white.

“?!!”

Upon seeing it, the god’s expression froze in shock.

At this very moment.

The sword of Han Yugeon, who was nothing more than a mere mortal, was transcending everything.

“You crazy son of a—!!”

Flash!

Feeling a chill run through him, the god quickly thrust out his hand.

At that moment.

Flash.

KWA—

Riiiiing.

With a tremendous explosion as though the Big Bang itself had occurred, Han Yugeon’s sword moved.

“Th... This is absurd...”

Rustle.

After moving his sword once, Han Yugeon wore a vicious smile as his body began scattering into dust.

At the same time.

Sssst.

A single red line began appearing across the god’s body.

“...You damned...”

Split!

At last, after spitting out a curse, the god was cleaved in half.

‘Hahahaha! Serves you right, you stupid bastard.’

Rustle.

Han Yugeon watched the god die until the very end, laughing inwardly as he completely vanished.

____________

［You have achieved Godslaying with the body of a mortal. The Sanctuary expresses admiration for your deeds.］

［You have accomplished the impossible.］

［For this impossible achievement, ■■■ wishes to grant you another opportunity.］

［■■■ begins deliberating.］

［The Outer Realm approves.］

［The Sanctuary rejects.］

［The Outer Realm mocks them.］

［The Sanctuary rejects once again.］

［■■■ converses with the Sanctuary.］

［After deliberation, the Sanctuary approves.］

［Time is reversing.］

［Reconstructing the annihilated body.］

［Temporary pain will occur during reconstruction.］

［This message is being sealed.］

______________

Drip. Drip.

“Ugh...”

A figure was struck by droplets of water falling from the ceiling.

Han Yugeon’s body began to twitch.

Rumble.

Flash.

“?!”

As he twitched, Yugeon heard a tremendous roar from somewhere. His eyes snapped open, and he began looking around.

What is going on?

Where am I?

No, before that.

“How am I alive?”

Is this a dream?

Or the afterlife?

If neither of those, then a hallucination?

He had definitely been fighting the god at the end.

And he had clearly witnessed himself cutting down the god.

Then where exactly was this place?

At that moment.

Crack-crack-crack!

“Ghk?!!”

Overwhelmed by pain that swept through his entire body, Yugeon, who had been rising, dropped to his knees once more.

He felt excruciating pain as though his entire body were being torn apart.

In the end, Yugeon sat cross-legged and took a deep breath.

Huuuu.

‘My dantian... is gone.’

It was not broken.

His dantian simply did not exist at all.

During his final battle with the god, he had shattered his dantian to make his energy run wild.

So he had expected his dantian to be broken, but the dantian itself simply did not exist.

‘My body hurt when I woke up, but now it’s fine again.’

However, this was no longer a body overflowing with power like before.

How should he describe it?

It felt somewhat heavy?

It felt as though gravity were pressing down on him more strongly.

Ding!

“...?”

［You have achieved Godslaying with the body of a mortal.］

［With the body of a mortal, you have achieved the Martial God’s Divine Sword Unity.］

［For this great achievement, the great Sanctuary and Outer Realm offer you their praise.］

［Your annihilated body has been reconstructed.］

［Temporary pain occurs during the reconstruction process.］

［Reward: 【One Sword of Heavenly Destruction】］

Yugeon tilted his head as he looked at the status window that suddenly appeared before him.

There was nothing particularly strange about seeing a status window, since every Awakened had been able to see one after the towers appeared.

But he had never seen messages like these before.

First, bodily reconstruction.

‘So reconstruction is why my body is still intact.’

He also understood why he had experienced pain upon waking.

But more than that, two things stood out.

The first was the Sanctuary and the Outer Realm.

‘The great Sanctuary and Outer Realm...’

He could roughly understand what the Sanctuary meant.

Gods.

The place where they gathered was the Sanctuary.

‘Is the Outer Realm also a place where gods gather?’

Then what was the Outer Realm, and what sort of gods were there?

‘And Godslaying...’

Yugeon recalled the god who had been on the hundredth floor.

The god who had been split in half and vanished just before Yugeon himself disappeared.

‘So that bastard really did die.’

There was another strange point as well.

Divine Sword Unity.

The word “divine” in Divine Sword Unity was not the one that should have been there.

Originally, it was Body-Sword Unity.

Yet the characters displayed in the status window meant Divine Sword Unity.

‘And One Sword of Heavenly Destruction... What is this?’

It was not one of his martial arts.

【One Sword of Heavenly Destruction】

Rank: Transcendent

Type: Active

Cost: 1 Feat

You are one who has cut down a god with a single sword.

With the body of a mortal, you achieved an impossible transcendence and succeeded in gathering all martial arts into a single point.

Nothing and no one can stop your sword.

Even if that being is an immortal, undying, regenerating god.

-Active Effect-

While the skill is active, you reach the realm of the Martial God.

‘What is this...’

Yugeon was greatly bewildered by the skill he had never seen before in his life.

Even the skill’s cost was Feat?

Originally, his status window had displayed Internal Energy.

‘There are three more skills.’

【No-Mind】

Rank: Transcendent

Type: Passive

-Passive Effect-

Fear, killing intent, hallucinations, mind control, and so on.

Complete immunity to mental interference.

【Transcendent Eye】

Rank: Transcendent

Type: Active (Partially Passive)

Cost: 100 Will

-Active Effect-

While the skill is active, you possess the Transcendent Eye.

-Partial Passive Effect-

Even while the skill is not active, you can view information about the target you are looking at.

【Infinite Realm】

Rank: Transcendent

Type: Active

Cost: 1 Feat

-Active Effect-

Separates the user’s time from the outside world.

Within the Infinite Realm, everything except you enters a state equivalent to complete stillness.

“...”

After reading the skills he possessed, Yugeon’s face went blank for a moment.

The countless martial arts he had learned, along with his own unique martial art, had disappeared, replaced by three skills he had never seen before.

Yet all three possessed absurdly tremendous power.

Every single one of them was powerful enough to be called broken.

At that moment.

Rumbleeeee.

“R-Run away!!”

“Protect the mages! Don’t attack, defend first!”

Along with the thunderous noise coming from afar, people’s screams began ringing out.

Kyaaaaaaaaa!

Soon, an enormous silhouette entered his sight, accompanied by a roar that made his entire body stiffen.

‘Fragment of the Abyss.’

A predator of the tower, also known as an Abyss Wanderer or Rift Boss.

【Lv. 88】Baroden

‘I remember.’

Forty years ago.

A Fragment of the Abyss that suddenly appeared in Area 1, killed thousands of people, and then disappeared.

Baroden.

‘Don’t tell me... I regressed?’

After grasping the situation, Yugeon let out a hollow laugh.

Baroden had appeared at the stagnant pool on the fourth floor of Area 1.

This had definitely happened forty years ago.

After that, Baroden had never appeared in Area 1 again.

Thud-thud-thud-thud.

“Hey, man! What are you standing there spacing out for?! Hurry up and run!”

A middle-aged man fleeing from Baroden gestured toward him with a deathly pale face.

‘Been a while.’

Yugeon gave a faint smile as he looked at the man before him.

He did not know his name, but he had encountered the man fairly often until Area 3.

And the man had died to the boss of Area 3.

Shing.

“H-Hey! Are you crazy?! I told you to run, so why are you trying to fight it?!”

When Yugeon drew his sword and began walking toward Baroden, the man shouted in horror.

Hundreds of people were running away, so why was that man the only one heading toward Baroden?!

‘My body feels heavy.’

He could no longer feel the dantian that had once seemed as deep as the ocean, and even the sword in his hand felt heavy.

But once he gripped the sword, his mind grew calm.

Step. Step.

“What’s with that guy??”

“Is he trying to fight the Wanderer?”

“Forget about him and run! If he wants to die, there’s nothing he wouldn’t...”

Step. Step.

Ding!

【No-Mind】 resists Baroden’s roar.

Yugeon’s gaze turned cold as he ignored Baroden’s roar.

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Stamina: 10

Feat: 2

Internal Energy: 0

Senses: 10

Technique: 10

Will: MAX

【Special Notes】

Will MAX due to 【No-Mind】.

Consumed Feats recover after 24 hours.

A new stat called Feat had appeared on the status window floating to one side.

‘One Sword of Heavenly Destruction...’

Ding!

【One Sword of Heavenly Destruction】 has been activated.

[Consumes 1 Feat.]

The moment he activated One Sword of Heavenly Destruction, light burst from Yugeon’s eyes.

A sense of omnipotence, as though he could cut apart even the world with a single sword.

‘So this is the realm of the Martial God.’

Shing.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!

As he drew his sword toward Baroden.

The entire tower shook violently with a tremendous roar.

Enough to knock every fleeing person off their feet.

“What the...”

“...”

And then came the sight that entered everyone’s eyes.

Crack.

Sssssss.

BOOM!

Baroden, who had been slaughtering Awakened indiscriminately, was cut diagonally in two and died.