Mortal.
A being with a finite lifespan.
A being destined to die someday.
And their opposite, immortals.
Gods.
Many people say this.
That gods look down upon this world and watch over humanity.
That gods love humans.
But Han Yugeon knew better than anyone that such words were nonsense.
They were merely wishes humans had invented for themselves.
To gods, humans and civilization did not even amount to entertainment.
How could he be so certain?
Because there was a god right in front of him.
Everything was pure white.
Within that space, a god bleeding from his wounds glared at the man before him.
“I’m sick of this.”
Contempt.
Rage.
The god radiated terrifying killing intent as he stared at the man before him.
Han Yugeon.
“What exactly are you struggling so desperately for? Did I not promise to kill you without pain? You are the only one left in this world anyway.”
“…….”
Han Yugeon let out a deep sigh at the god’s words.
Just as the god said.
The world had ended.
Eighty years ago.
One day, enormous Towers appeared all across Earth.
Towers created by a god.
The Towers created by the god opened massive entrances.
At the same time, mysterious powers began to be bestowed upon various humans.
That was the beginning of the end.
“Yeah…. The world ended. All because of you.”
Humanity resisted as fiercely as it could.
They barely held back the overwhelmingly powerful monsters the Towers spewed forth.
They endured and endured with the mysterious powers they had been given.
And even amid all that, they continued challenging the Towers.
Why challenge the Towers when the world itself was being destroyed?
Because of a wish.
Those who entered the Towers found a single thought taking root in their minds, as though they had suddenly realized their own destiny.
‘The wish of whoever clears the Tower will be granted.’
Humanity realized that thought was true and learned that any wish could be granted.
And so they climbed the Towers.
They lost comrades.
They lost family.
They lost friends.
Yet they never stopped moving forward.
The world outside the Towers continued to fall into ruin, but if they simply stood still, all that awaited them was death.
Humanity had only one choice.
To climb the Towers.
Yugeon did not know what wishes the others had held.
Each of them must have carried a different wish.
And with those wishes held close to their hearts, they pressed onward.
“But… you deceived humanity.”
The wish of whoever cleared the Tower would be granted?
How?
How were they supposed to clear it?
An immortal god was waiting on the 100th floor.
If it had merely been an extraordinarily powerful monster, they might somehow have killed it.
But what awaited them when they finally reached the 100th floor was an immortal god.
That was right.
From the very beginning, the god had never intended to grant humanity’s wishes.
“Was it fun watching us struggle because we wanted to live? Did you enjoy watching us cling to false hope?”
“Yes. It was exceedingly amusing and enjoyable.”
At Han Yugeon’s words, the god smiled in a way that sent chills down his spine.
For a god who had lived through untold eons, there was no greater amusement.
Watching humans desperately struggle to seize the wish dangled before them had been truly ridiculous and entertaining.
“You humans always said the same thing. That a god shouldn’t behave this way. Kahahahaha.”
The god burst into laughter.
“Why do you humans expect gods to care for you? Why do you invent such delusions on your own and expect such things of me?”
Han Yugeon clenched his teeth at those words.
He had nothing to say.
Rage 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 asked for the same thing.”
To erase the Towers forever and turn back time to before the Towers had ever existed.
Of course, even such a wish was possible.
“You will probably ask for the same thing. Hmm….”
“?”
“Shall I grant your wish?”
“…What?”
For an instant, Han Yugeon’s eyes trembled.
The god 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 relic 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….”
Han Yugeon ground his teeth.
Grin.
“What I mean is that even if I wished to grant your wish, I no longer can. Kahahahaha!”
The god wore a grotesque smile, openly mocking him.
Han Yugeon’s expression, in contrast, twisted into that of a demon.
“So that’s why you drove the world to destruction!!”
So that he would not have to grant anyone’s wish.
The god had learned how the Holy Grail that granted wishes functioned and destroyed the world in advance.
Han Yugeon was the only human left on Earth.
No matter what he did now, there was no longer any way to undo what had happened.
“If humanity and civilization had still remained, there would have been more than enough to activate the Holy Grail. What a pity. I truly intended to grant your wish. Khuhuhuhu.”
It was not that the Holy Grail demanded the life force of humans.
Humanity and civilization across the world.
In other words, wishes were fulfilled according to the Law of Causality.
“Even if you kill me, you can no longer fulfill your wish.”
“….”
Han Yugeon said nothing as he listened to the god’s mockery.
Right.
It’s over.
There’s no hope left.
There were still other races that had not yet gone extinct, and yet the god was speaking to him this way.
That meant their world was influenced only by humanity.
‘How vile….’
He was horrifyingly evil.
Yugeon had struggled and struggled all this time, yet now there was no hope whatsoever.
His family.
His friends.
His memories.
He had missed them so desperately that he had tried to restore the ruined Earth.
But now he would give up.
It was impossible anyway.
“Haha…. Right. It’s pointless. But….”
Clench.
Han Yugeon gritted his teeth and adjusted his grip on his sword.
“Even if I can’t fulfill my wish… I’m still going to kill you. At the very least, I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart.”
His entire body was drenched in blood.
His left eyeball had burst.
Part of his abdomen had been torn away, and the tendons in his right leg had been severed.
His shoulder had also been ripped open, and the blood flowing from it soaked his arm.
“Khuhuhu, you fool. Do you still not understand? Mortals cannot grant us death.”
FSSSH.
With a chilling smile, the god healed every small wound remaining on his body.
The only reason he had deliberately left those wounds unhealed in the first place was to mock Han Yugeon.
“Don’t worry. This time will be different.”
THUNK!
With an emotionless expression, Han Yugeon shattered his own qi center.
RUMBLE!
All the energy he had accumulated until now began to run rampant.
At the same time, Han Yugeon began burning away his own life.
Innate True Qi.
The energy every human possessed from birth.
WHOOOOOSH.
His sword blazed pure white.
“?!!”
At the sight, the god’s expression froze in shock.
At this very moment.
The sword of Han Yugeon, a mere mortal, was transcending everything.
“Damn it, you crazy…!!”
SWISH!
Feeling a chill run through him, the god swiftly thrust out his hand.
At that instant.
FLASH.
BO—
RIIIIING.
Accompanied by an explosion so tremendous that it seemed as though a Big Bang itself had erupted, Han Yugeon’s sword moved.
“Th… This is impossible….”
FSSSH.
After moving his sword only once, Han Yugeon gave a cold smile as his body began scattering into dust.
At the same time.
SLIIIDE.
A single crimson line began appearing across the god’s body.
“…You fucking….”
CRACK!
A moment later, after spitting out the curse, the god split cleanly in half.
‘Hahahaha! Serves you right, you stupid bastard.’
FSSSH.
Han Yugeon watched until the very end as the god died, laughing inwardly before finally vanishing completely.
[You have achieved Godslaying with the body of a mortal. The Sanctuary expresses its admiration for your actions.]
[You have accomplished the impossible.]
[For this impossible achievement, ■■■ wishes to grant you another opportunity.]
[■■■ begins deliberation.]
[The Outer Realm approves.]
[The Sanctuary refuses.]
[The Outer Realm mocks them.]
[The Sanctuary refuses once more.]
[■■■ speaks with the Sanctuary.]
[After deliberation, the Sanctuary approves.]
[Time reverses.]
[Reassembling annihilated physical body.]
[Temporary pain will occur during the reassembly process.]
[This message will now be sealed.]
DRIP. DRIP.
“Ugh….”
Water droplets fell from the ceiling onto someone below.
Han Yugeon’s body began to twitch.
RUMBLE.
FLASH.
“?!”
Yugeon’s eyes snapped open at the booming noise coming from somewhere nearby, and he began looking around.
What’s happening?
Where am I?
No, before that.
“How am I alive?”
Is this a dream?
Or the afterlife?
If not that, then some kind of hallucination?
He had definitely been fighting the god at the end.
He had even clearly witnessed himself cutting the god down.
Then where in the world was he now?
At that moment.
CRACKLE!
“Ghk?!!”
An overwhelming wave of pain assaulted his entire body, and Yugeon, who had been rising to his feet, dropped back to his knees.
Agonizing pain tore through him as though his entire body were being ripped apart.
In the end, Yugeon sat cross-legged and took a deep breath.
Haaaaa.
‘My qi center… is gone.’
It was not broken.
His qi center simply did not exist at all.
During his final battle against the god, he had shattered his qi center to make his energy run rampant.
He had expected his qi center to be destroyed, but instead, the qi center itself was completely absent.
‘My whole body hurt when I woke up, but now I’m fine again.’
However, this was not the same body overflowing with strength that he had once possessed.
How should he put it?
It felt somewhat heavy.
As though stronger gravity were pressing down on him.
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 physical body has been reassembled.]
[Temporary pain has occurred during the reassembly process.]
[Reward: 【One Sword to Annihilate Heaven】]
Yugeon tilted his head as he looked at the status window that had suddenly appeared before him.
There was nothing particularly strange about seeing a status window.
Ever since the Towers appeared, every Awakened could see one.
But this was the first time he had ever seen messages like these.
First, the reassembly of his physical body.
‘So that’s why my body is intact.’
He now also understood why he had felt pain when waking up.
Yet there were two things that stood out even more.
The first was the Sanctuary and the Outer Realm.
‘The great Sanctuary and Outer Realm….’
He could more or less guess what the Sanctuary meant.
Gods.
The place where they gathered was the Sanctuary.
‘Do gods gather in the Outer Realm too?’
If so, what was the Outer Realm, and what kind of gods existed there?
‘And Godslaying….’
Yugeon thought of the god on the 100th floor.
The god who had been split in half and vanished immediately before Yugeon himself had been annihilated.
‘So that bastard really did die.’
There was something else strange as well.
Divine Sword Unity.
The “divine” in Divine Sword Unity was not the character normally used in that term.
Ordinarily, it was Sword-Body Unity.
Yet the status window displayed Divine Sword Unity.
‘And One Sword to Annihilate Heaven…. What is this?’
It was not one of his martial arts.
【One Sword to Annihilate Heaven】
Grade: Transcendent
Type: Active
Cost: 1 Feat
You are one who 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 the hell….’
Yugeon was utterly taken aback by the Skill he was seeing for the first time in his life.
Even the Skill’s cost was Feat?
Originally, his status window had displayed inner arts.
‘There are three more Skills.’
【No-Mind】
Grade: Transcendent
Type: Passive
-Passive Effect-
Fear, killing intent, hallucinations, mind control, etc.
Complete immunity to mental interference.
【Transcendent Eye】
Grade: Transcendent
Type: Active (Partial Passive)
Cost: 100 Will
-Active Effect-
While the Skill is active, you gain the Transcendent Eye.
-Partial Passive Effect-
Even while the Skill is inactive, you can view information about whatever you are looking at.
【Seamless Realm】
Grade: Transcendent
Type: Active
Cost: 1 Feat
-Active Effect-
Separates the user’s time from the outside world.
Within the Seamless Realm, everything except you enters a state equivalent to complete stillness.
“….”
After reading through his Skills, a dumbfounded look crossed Yugeon’s face.
The countless martial arts he had learned and even his own signature martial art were gone, replaced by three Skills he had never seen before.
Yet all three possessed absurdly tremendous power.
Every single Skill was powerful enough to be called outright broken.
At that moment.
RUMBLE.
“R-Run!!”
“Protect the mages! Don’t attack! Defend first!”
Along with the booming sounds in the distance, people began screaming.
SKREEEEEEEEEE!
Then came a massive silhouette and a roar so overwhelming that his entire body should have frozen.
‘Fragment of the Abyss.’
Also known as an Abyss Wanderer or a Rift Boss.
A predator of the Towers.
【Lv. 88】Baroden
‘I remember.’
Forty years ago.
A Fragment of the Abyss that had suddenly appeared in Area 1, killed thousands of people, and vanished.
Baroden.
‘No way… Did I regress?’
Yugeon let out an incredulous laugh as he grasped the situation.
Baroden had appeared at the Stagnant Pool on Floor 4 of Area 1.
This had unquestionably happened forty years ago.
Afterward, Baroden had never appeared in Area 1 again.
THUD THUD THUD.
“Mister! What are you doing just standing there?! Run!”
A middle-aged man fleeing from Baroden gestured frantically at him, his face white with terror.
‘Been a long time.’
Yugeon gave a faint smile as he looked at the man.
He did not know the man’s name, but they had crossed paths several times until Area 3.
And the man had eventually been killed by the boss of Area 3.
SHING.
“H-Hey! Are you crazy?! I said run! Why are you trying to fight it?!”
The man screamed in horror when Yugeon drew his sword and began walking toward Baroden.
Hundreds of people were fleeing.
Why was that man alone heading toward Baroden?!
‘My body is heavy.’
He could no longer feel the qi center that had once seemed as deep as the ocean, and even the sword in his hand felt heavy.
But the instant he grasped the sword, his mind became calm.
STEP. STEP.
“What the hell is that guy doing??”
“Is he trying to fight the Wanderer?”
“Forget about him and run! If he wants to die, there’s no stopping someone from—”
STEP. STEP.
DING!
【No-Mind】 resists Baroden’s roar.
Yugeon ignored Baroden’s roar, and his gaze turned cold.
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Constitution: 10
Feat: 2
Inner Arts: 0
Senses: 10
Technique: 10
Will: MAX
【Special Notes】
Will is MAX due to 【No-Mind】.
A new stat called Feat had appeared on the status window floating beside him.
‘One Sword to Annihilate Heaven….’
DING!
You have activated 【One Sword to Annihilate Heaven】.
The moment Yugeon activated the Skill, light burst from his eyes.
A sense of omnipotence filled him, as though he could cut even the world itself in two with a single sword.
‘So this is the realm of the Martial God.’
SHING.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Yugeon drew his sword toward Baroden.
A tremendous roar erupted as the entire Tower shook violently.
The impact was so great that every person who had been running away was knocked to the ground.
“What the….”
“…….”
Then they saw it.
CRACK.
SLIIIIIDE.
THUD!
Baroden, which had been indiscriminately slaughtering the Awakened, had been sliced diagonally through its body.
And it died.