Chapter 314: The Fifth Return, Earth (10)

Chapter 314: The Fifth Return, Earth (10)

“Sigh.”

“Good job, Noona.”

“You too, Junggeun.”

Finally, the rough sorting was done. Kim Hwiyeon laid her body on the table. Hard Mode. Even for her, who had entered the late 40th floors, there was so much to handle that she felt exhausted.

But now, the rough sorting was over. All that was left was to rest until she returned to the labyrinth. As she was about to get up to finally catch the sleep she had put off,

Whiiiing!

A massive wave struck them. Kim Hwiyeon froze in the posture of getting up.

“...Huh?”

“Wait.”

Geum Junggeun’s face also hardened. They hurriedly rushed outside.

“What is that?”

They looked up at the heavens in shock.

The sky was opening above them.

The power felt from there was literally absolute power. A pure concentration of force that was impossible to even estimate.

Everyone who felt the wave of power froze. Especially Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok, who were in Solo Mode, were hit harder.

“Uh...

“God? What is this?”

There had been a few times when gods had descended before. But the feeling now was strange. It was more ferocious, more unnatural.

It was when they were staring blankly at the heavens.

Kugugugung!

Suddenly, a colossal force slammed down on the heavens. The collision of forces distorted space, causing people to scream and collapse.

Simultaneously, a roar erupted from the heavens. It was the cry of a beast craving life, screaming not to lose what was its own.

Everyone covered their ears. Lee Taeyeon and Kang Junhyeok clutched their heads in agony.

“Ugh.”

Lee Taeyeon covered her mouth. Even though they weren’t the target, their minds felt shaken.

Kuuuung!

As if the roaring entity was pushed back, the sky that had opened in the heavens began to close.

And then the mutation began.

[Oooooooo!]

A roar struck the world. A twisted, distorted being began to swell and cover the heavens.

“What is that!”

Kim Hwiyeon screamed. She thought everything was over. She couldn’t keep up with the sudden events.

Fortunately, the system window informed them of the situation.

[Special Quest Initiated]

[Defeat the Monster.]

“A special quest?”

“It wasn’t over yet?”

They murmured among themselves, coming to a conclusion.

“Does that mean we have to defeat that thing?”

At someone’s mumble, everyone looked up at the twisted monster in the heavens.

A monster so broken that its form couldn’t be properly recognized.

“Ah...”

People who were staring at the monster grabbed their heads. They staggered back, retching.

[Chaos Judgment in Progress...]

[Madness Judgment in Progress...]

[Mental Collapse Judgment in Progress...]

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“Ugh!”

People clutched their heads in agony. Some had already failed the judgment and began to go mad. Kim Hwiyeon gritted her teeth.

“Everyone, don’t look at it!”

Just looking at it was enough to collapse the mind.

But that wasn’t the end. From the heavens, a black energy was slowly oozing down like lava.

They didn’t know exactly what it was, but they instinctively realized it.

If they touched it, they would no longer be human.

“Get back!”

Kim Hwiyeon shouted harshly.

“What is this...”

In the midst of the chaos, they began to flee from the oozing energy.

Taesan, who was glancing down, summoned spirits.

[You have summoned Minerva, the King of the Wind Spirits.]

[You have summoned Barkaza, the highest-grade spirit of vibrant colors.]

[Master, what is that?]

“Huh? Isn’t that the guy who was supposed to be Zhenlong? Why has it become something that doesn’t belong to this world?”

“Those guys interfered.”

As soon as they appeared, Taesan roughly explained to the two who were confused.

“Watch over that area down there.”

Minerva and Barkaza quickly grasped the situation as they saw the oozing black energy. The two nodded.

“Got it.”

[As you wish, Master.]

Minerva’s body disappeared and reappeared in front of the people. Those who had been hastily retreating from the black energy widened their eyes.

Minerva swung her arm. The wind exploded, completely blowing away the black energy.

“Ooooh!”

“Lady Minerva!”

People exclaimed in awe.

But Minerva frowned.

It was heavy.

Even for a Spirit King, the energy was strong enough that she had to use considerable force to block it. Kim Hwiyeon cautiously approached.

[The Spirit God, Beatrice, has descended.]

Without a corporeal body, a wavering spirit appeared. The Spirit God had shown itself on Earth.

The aura of the Spirit God flowed out. Compared to its true form, it was a very weak, almost insignificant power, but the power of nature perfectly surrounded Mount Baekdu.

The black energy struck the natural barrier, but there was no sign of wavering.

[These troublesome things have been meddling, so I’m a bit late.]

Beatrice spoke indifferently, gazing at the collapsed heavens.

[They’ve crossed the line in a very strange way. Thanks to that, we’re also able to interfere.]

“...Mother, were you able to descend to another world?”

Minerva was bewildered. On Earth, the concept of spirits did not exist. It wasn’t an area that Beatrice, the Spirit God, could interfere with.

Beatrice answered.

[This place is a neutral domain. It’s a world where both they and we have set foot. It’s a very unique and alien place, so it’s possible.]

“O... Oooo...”

The people looked at Beatrice and awkwardly bowed.

They did not even have the ability to perceive a fragment of Beatrice’s power. However, the overwhelming reverence that couldn’t be hidden welled up in their hearts.

Beatrice turned her gaze to the people.

She looked at Lee Taeyeon for a moment and then spoke.

[There is another whom you should worship. Offer your prayers to him.]

“Ah...”

Only then did people recall who was fighting the monster.

The people knelt. They clasped their hands and began to pray.

“Lord Taesan...”

“Please...”

Until now, the people had believed in Taesan and worshipped him as a god, but that faith had been a common one offered to a strong person.

But now it was different.

The black energy that instinctively provoked rejection.

The monster in the heavens that would shatter their minds just by being faced.

And the battle where Mount Baekdu itself crumbled.

It was a sight that could literally drive one insane. Even for those who had become accustomed to various situations, it was an alien sight, as if the very laws of the world were being destroyed.

In this extreme situation, people began to believe that Taesan was their only savior.

The pure aura of belief, untainted by anything else, flowed towards Taesan, who was in the heavens.

Beatrice watched this quietly.

[How peculiar.]

Faith was the power of human belief.

The belief of hundreds of thousands, even millions of people, was not something that a human could typically accept.

There were those who had received divinity by accepting the belief of people, but most of them were beings who were born with a certain level of divine status, not humans.

But Taesan, despite being human, was accepting faith perfectly, without any loss.

The Spirit God was the god of spirits. She had existed in this world since the time when the concept of spirits first appeared. There might be stronger gods than her, but there were few gods older than her.

Even she had never seen a case like Taesan.

[Show me, mortal. The power you possess.]

[Oooooooo!]

The monster roared, thrashing its body wildly. The ground collapsed and was destroyed.

Taesan swung his sword to block, but he had no choice but to allow the attack.

Kaaaaang!

[Your Third Attack Nullification has been activated.]

Taesan clicked his tongue. All his attack nullifications had been used up.

But it wasn’t without gain. He had figured out how to defeat the monster.

[You activated Frost Arrow.]

An arrow of ice flew out. The monster could easily dodge it, but instead of dodging, it charged at Taesan. The arrow collided with the monster.

‘A monster that disregards defense and charges forward.’

It was as if the monster didn’t consider Taesan’s attacks to be a threat. It didn’t bother with defense.

The pattern of the rampaging monster was readable because it had no intellect. If he focused solely on dodging, he could avoid the attacks.

But there was another issue.

[You dealt 1320 damage to the twisted being that is no longer alive.]

The monster’s level was far too high. Even when Taesan’s attacks hit, they didn’t inflict significant damage.

He lacked power. But Taesan continued to move.

If he lacked power, he would simply have to attack more. Just as he was about to charge at the monster,

A colossal force descended. Taesan paused. The monster also hesitated, perhaps sensing the powerful wave.

Taesan turned his gaze. A being with great power had descended next to Minerva.

“The Spirit God?”

She manifested her power, creating a barrier around them. The black energy that had been spreading was blocked.

The High Gods had certainly crossed the line by interfering with Zhenlong. He had anticipated that a god would intervene.

It was a good thing. Now he could focus solely on the battle.

The faith of the people, who had been confused and fleeing, grew even stronger.

It was strong enough that Taesan could feel it.

[Your proficiency in Divinity has increased by 2%.]

The rise in Divinity.

[Oooooooo!]

The monster charged. Taesan didn’t dodge. Instead, he used the monster’s force to drive his sword into it.

[You dealt 2431 damage to the twisted being that is no longer alive.]

[You received 44353 damage.]

In an instant, his health dropped to below half.

Taesan enveloped his body in Divinity. His depleted health rapidly recovered, and his mana and magic power also replenished.

But the Divinity quickly ran out.

However, Divinity was derived from the faith of people.

Now, millions of people were giving all their faith to Taesan.

The depleted Divinity quickly replenished. In just a few seconds, his Divinity was restored to its original state.

[Your proficiency in Divinity has increased by 1%.]