Ascension Through Skills
Chapter 391: The Sixth Return, Earth (8)

“An immortal, is it?”

It was an entity evidently stronger than Taesan at the moment.

Taesan observed the opponent first. Charging in without information was akin to gambling.

But there was no time for that. The apostle’s four hands began to move.

At that moment, Taesan realized it. A massive force was condensing around him.

Kuwoooong!

Everything around him collapsed. The ground disintegrated, the air vanished, and even space itself crumbled. Absolute destruction enveloped everything, consuming Taesan.

Taesan couldn’t evade and took the apostle’s attack directly.

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Taesan pulled back, clicking his tongue as he stared at the apostle.

“What the hell?”

He had been cautious of the apostle’s movements.

He was ready to respond no matter how it attacked.

But he couldn’t dodge the apostle’s attack. Or more accurately, the thought of evading hadn’t even crossed his mind.

The four arms moved again. Taesan pulled a shield from his inventory.

[You used the Aegis Shield. You are immune to all damage for 1 second but cannot move.]

Simultaneously, a force pressed down on Taesan.

The Aegis Shield granted complete immunity to damage. There should’ve been no way for any harm to reach him.

But Taesan felt the pressure of the destructive force bearing down on him.

Kugugung!

Matter broke down at the atomic level. It was a force capable of defeating Taesan in a single blow. When the shield’s duration ended, Taesan used a limited blink to leap through space.

“This is absurd.”

It was a monstrous destructive power. And it wasn’t even a trump card but seemed like a standard attack used consecutively.

[You activated Focus Detection.] [You activated Essence Identification.] [You activated Reconnaissance.] [Destroyer.]

The information revealed just one word.

The people observing the battle from Earth screamed.

“Ooooooh!”

“Lord Shiva! Please forgive us!”

They cowered in fear of the apostle, bowing their heads. Their emotions flowed toward the apostle.

“Shiva?”

Taesan stared at the apostle. Blue skin, four arms, and an uncanny smile.

It did resemble the images of Shiva he’d seen on the internet before.

Whether it was a coincidence or related in some way didn’t matter for now.

The apostle’s arms moved. Taesan unleashed his divine power. A golden light enveloped his entire body as he leaped.

[You activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

He attempted evasion first. Since the apostle’s arms moved before attacking, it wasn’t difficult to determine its attack patterns. Taesan’s body darted swiftly through the air.

Jjjeojeojeok!

However, the apostle’s power targeted Taesan’s evasive maneuvers with precision.

Cracks spread rapidly across the golden light surrounding him.

On Earth, where direct faith was received, divine power could recover infinitely, but the total amount that could be handled at one time was limited. If the opponent’s power exceeded that limit, even divine power couldn’t withstand it.

[You activated Magic Overlay.] [You activated the White Rune's Guardian Shield.]

He layered defensive magic and released it. But even that wasn’t enough. The destructive force penetrating all defenses reached Taesan.

[Your Second Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Even the second nullification was consumed.

But he gained critical information.

‘I can’t avoid it.’

Though he didn’t know the principle, the apostle’s power seemed to precisely target Taesan.

Rather than actively hitting Taesan, it was more like everything aligned naturally toward him. At least for now, Taesan had no means to dodge it.

And blocking the destructive force was also futile. His opponent was an immortal being. A clearly superior entity whose defenses couldn’t be breached.

What was the solution? Taesan quickly concluded.

Head-on. Breaking through with sheer power.

The apostle’s four arms moved again. Taesan gathered his strength.

[You activated Call of Ruin.]

The force of ruin burst forth, clashing with the destructive power attempting to crush Taesan.

Kiiiiiik!

But even the power of ruin couldn’t reach it. The dense, profound aura continued to collapse and vanish.

Taesan gathered even more power.

[You activated Ember of Calamity.] [You activated Light of the World.]

Flames and light exploded forth. Taesan followed up with consecutive activations of magic and black magic. The immense clash of forces began to distort the space around them.

Jjjeojeojeok!

The destructive force could not reach Taesan and shattered.

The apostle continued attacking without any visible consumption of energy. Meanwhile, Taesan had already spent a considerable amount of mana and magical energy using skills with cooldowns such as Call of Ruin, Ember of Calamity, and Light of the World. At this rate, he would inevitably lose in terms of endurance.

“I didn’t want to use this already, but…”

[You activated Partial World Transformation.]

The laws of the world began to shift. A world unfavorable to the apostle and advantageous to Taesan started to manifest.

The apostle clasped its four hands together.

Kkigigijik!

The laws of the transformed world twisted.

The world imposed by Partial World Transformation distorted and warped. The laws themselves were colliding.

The apostle wielded its destructive power once more. Taesan drew upon his mana and magical energy.

Kuuuuung!

The forces clashed, obscuring the world.

“Aaaah!”

“Lord Taesan!”

Players from the three nations offered fervent prayers to Taesan. Even Russian players, albeit hesitantly, began to follow suit.

But India was different.

They prayed not to Taesan but to the apostle.

“Lord Shiva! Please, please! Grant us mercy!”

“Please, do not abandon us!”

They still adhered to Hinduism.

And now, the apostle bore a striking resemblance to Shiva from their myths.

As a result, they began to believe that the apostle was Shiva incarnate—a god of destruction descending to obliterate them.

In their terror, they started offering faith to the apostle.

That faith strengthened the apostle further. Even with the balanced state created by Partial World Transformation, Taesan began to falter.

Maria quietly observed the scene.

A presence approached her.

[...Child bound to the labyrinth. Why have you come?]

The ghost steeled itself.

[Please, help Taesan. Oh great god.] [Hmmm.]

A languid voice resounded. The ghost tensed up.

Asking a god for something without permission was risky. A malicious god could obliterate it on the spot.

But the ghost did not back down.

Maria observed the ghost for a moment before murmuring.

[Speak. Why do you ask me to help him?] [...Because he will lose.]

Taesan had overcome battles that seemed impossible before.

But this time was different.

[The opponent is an immortal.]

An immortal.

A being that had fully transcended mortality.

While Taesan had reached a restricted form of immortality, it came with conditions. Though he could endure and fight, the longer the battle dragged on, the more certain his defeat became.

[He has defeated an immortal before, but that was because the opponent was in a broken state, lacking reason and intelligence. This time is different.]

The apostle was a complete immortal.

Though it had consumed power and was likely less potent than its original form, it was still an immortal. Even its diminished strength was beyond the reach of mortals.

Ultimately, Taesan would lose to the apostle. That was an unchangeable outcome.

[You could help Taesan win. The apostle's descent indicates that your influence is permitted to intervene.] [I won’t deny it. That’s true. But why should I?]

Maria chuckled.

The ghost swallowed nervously.

Gods demand equivalent offerings from mortals who seek their aid.

The ghost braced itself.

[I offer myself.] [That’s not a very appealing offer. You hold little value to me...] [I mean it literally. I offer my entire being.]

Maria’s words halted.

In the silence, her voice softly echoed.

[Do you understand what that means? Offering yourself means your existence will disappear. Your wishes will remain unfulfilled.] [I understand.]

The ghost answered calmly, its demeanor one of acceptance.

Maria observed the ghost briefly before murmuring.

[That’s your choice.] [...Excuse me?] [Later. It’s a story for later. Do you want me to help him?] [...Yes.] [Sorry, but I refuse.] [What?!]

The ghost was taken aback.

[You don’t want him to die, do you? Surely you can’t...] [You’re mistaken. My help isn’t necessary.] [But—] [Just watch. Then you’ll understand.]

Maria spoke leisurely. Her tone carried confidence, leaving the ghost unable to argue further.

“Oooooh…”

“Aaaah…”

The people of India prayed to the apostle.

They begged the entity trying to kill them to spare them.

Only Hassan remained calm, assessing the situation.

‘What must I do to change this?’

He couldn’t interfere in the battle before him. It was far beyond his comprehension and capabilities.

But he couldn’t simply stand by. He had to find a way to shift the situation.

After much deliberation, Hassan found a solution.

The golden light surrounding Taesan.

Though he didn’t fully understand it, he realized it was tied to faith and worship.

Faith and worship.

Hassan looked at the players from the three nations. They were praying to Taesan.

He couldn’t be sure. Gaining power through faith seemed almost godlike.

But the possibility was there.

Convinced it was something only he could do, Hassan quickly gathered his thoughts and raised his voice.

[Hassan activated Rallying Cry.]

“Get a grip!”

His booming voice snapped the Indian players praying to the apostle out of their daze.

Hassan shouted with a twisted expression.

“That thing is not our god!”

“But…”

“I know! It looks like Shiva, the god of destruction! But you all saw it!”

Hassan pointed at the apostle.

“That thing kept changing forms! It’s transforming into what we believe to deceive us!”

Whether it was true or not, Hassan didn’t know.

He simply declared what he believed as truth. And that was enough. The fear on their faces began to fade.

“That thing is trying to kill us! There’s only one being we should trust and believe in!”

Kugugugung!

A deafening roar erupted.

Everyone’s attention turned to Taesan.

“He’s fighting for us! Protecting us from the entity you think is Shiva!”

“O… ohhh…”

Space twisted, and everything crumbled.

Everything in sight was collapsing under the aftermath of the battle.

Amid it all, Taesan stood alone, battling the apostle.

That power no longer seemed human.

It was godlike.

Hassan spoke softly.

“Gods that don’t exist won’t protect us. What protects us are real beings. Now you know who you should put your faith in.”

The people no longer looked at the apostle.

All eyes were on Taesan.

In the midst of his battle with the apostle, Taesan realized something.

At some point, the faith directed toward him had grown stronger.

As he blocked the apostle’s attacks and turned his gaze, he saw several Indians praying to him.

‘This is…’

Faith was amplifying, bringing him closer to a higher realm.

India’s faith was still weak. Not many were praying.

More faith and more believers were necessary. The method was simple.

Kaaang!

He deflected the destructive force, cracks spreading through the space.

The duration of Partial World Transformation was nearing its end. From the battle thus far, Taesan had sufficiently analyzed the apostle’s power.

It was time to make a decisive move.

Taesan steeled his entire body. As the apostle moved its hands, a destructive force engulfed him.

Taesan did not resist.

[Your Third Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Time rewound.

And Taesan moved.

[You activated Beyond the Boundary.] [You activated Phoenix of the Unquenchable Flame.] [You activated Forced Amplification.]

A phoenix manifested into the world. Flames engulfed everything around him. The apostle moved its four arms, wielding destructive power.

Amid the clash of forces, Taesan activated another skill.

[You activated Eternal, Unshakable Faith.] [You activated Mental Burden Substitution.]

In an instant, Taesan’s realm surpassed mortality.

He gripped his sword and charged. The duration of Eternal, Unshakable Faith was incredibly short. He had to finish it now.

Divine energy spread outward. In the crumbling world, golden light enveloped everything. People cried out.

The apostle brought its four hands together as if in prayer.

Simultaneously, an incomparable pressure bore down on Taesan.

It was a force that twisted concepts themselves—a power that no being within the laws of existence could resist.

But Taesan charged even harder.

The golden light surrounding Taesan turned black, creating an ashen hue.

Taesan swung the ashen light. The pressure shattered, clearing a path to the apostle.

Rushing toward the apostle, Taesan poured everything into his blade and struck. The apostle wildly swung its four arms.

Kugugugung…

A light that seemed to herald the world’s end engulfed the people. Maria’s barrier trembled momentarily.

When everything subsided and visibility returned, Taesan was standing, seemingly unharmed.

But the appearance was deceptive.

[Your Last Chance has been activated.] [You took catastrophic damage.] [Your Endurance has been activated.]

Even with Last Chance mitigating the blow, the sheer aftermath triggered Endurance. It was a consequence of forcibly wielding incomprehensible power through Eternal, Unshakable Faith.

The duration of Partial World Transformation ended.

So too did Eternal, Unshakable Faith.

Taesan looked at the apostle.

“Couldn’t kill it, huh.”

The apostle had not fallen. At the last moment, it endured by borrowing the power of the high gods.

Two of its four arms had been severed, and its lower body was half-destroyed, but it was still alive.

Taesan no longer had a chance of victory.

But this was enough.

“Oh… oh…”

Everything settled, and what the people saw was Taesan standing tall and the apostle half-destroyed.

It was a strikingly dramatic sight.

The absolute being they believed to be the god of destruction had been reduced to this state by Taesan.

In an instant, the faith of the people surged explosively.

It was faith surpassing billions of lives.

Faith from all the living beings of an entire continent, a vast world.

Faith so dense it was visibly tangible reached Taesan.

And at that moment, Taesan’s realm transcended mortality.

He reached a realm he had only ever brushed against before, incompletely and under restriction. A qualitatively different sensation enveloped his entire being.

It was the realm beyond mortality.

[Your proficiency in divine energy has increased by 3%.] [You have acquired [Immortality].]