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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 338
<T-Tenebris…?>
As the seal was lifted and they stepped outside, Baal, who had been waiting, began to grow wary of Tenebris.
<Hooh, so you're a Sovereign-class Transcendent.>
Tenebris' eyes curved like a crescent moon, intrigued.
You're probably wondering why a Sovereign of the Demon Realm is parasitizing a human body.
<H-Hey! You said you'd lift the seal, but you never said you'd put that thing into your body!>
Baal protested with a panicked expression.
He must be quite afraid of Tenebris.
It wasn’t hard to read what he was thinking.
Jeong-hoon sighed and answered.
“I need this guy right now.”
<You need him? Why?>
“He can shield me from the eyes of other Transcendents.”
<Shield you?>
“Yeah.”
With Tenebris inside him, he no longer had to worry about being watched.
<Hooh… That’s not bad. If your position can’t be read precisely, then even Escanon won’t be able to act so easily.>
“Well, unless he gets pissed off and starts tearing through things, yeah.”
<That’s possible too, but the fact that he’s not watching you right now makes me want to give you some credit.>
Jeong-hoon nodded.
“So welcome Tenebris. And despite what you said earlier, he apparently didn’t try to wipe you all out.”
<What the…>
Tenebris cut off Baal’s words.
<It’s true. I don’t know what exactly you think you know, but I was ambushed and sealed. That’s all.>
<You expect me to believe that?>
<Believe it or not, that’s up to you. …But your tone’s a little short, isn’t it?>
<You want me to speak formally?>
<Tsk. Your face.>
As Tenebris glared sharply, Baal grinned awkwardly and bowed his head.
<Would a smile like this do?>
<Hmm, I don’t like that dumb face of yours, but it’s better than before.>
<Hahaha.>
<Keep smiling like that from now on.>
<I’ll take that to heart. Truly, I will.>
What a clown.
Jeong-hoon gave him a look of pity, then turned away.
“Alright, let’s go claim our reward for preventing the second annihilation.”
After all, the only reason they came here was to release Tenebris' seal.
They still hadn’t collected the reward for stopping the second annihilation.
* * *
The temple’s center.
There’s a staircase leading underground.
They passed by it to release Tenebris’ seal, but there’s no reason to leave the reward behind.
As Jeong-hoon descended underground, he found another statue of the goddess standing tall there as well.
‘This part’s the same.’
Above the statue’s head, a rainbow-colored question mark blinked—just like before.
[Secret Quest: Gamble]
– Requirement: One who prevented the Second Annihilation
– Reward: ???
– Description: A choice is granted to the one who prevented the Second Annihilation. If the reward is claimed here, a “Massive Increase to All Stats” will be granted. However, if postponed, the reward will disappear and instead be added to the reward after the Third Annihilation.
This part was different.
Jeong-hoon stroked his chin, deep in thought.
A massive increase to all stats.
He didn’t know to what extent the stats would rise, but any increase in power right now would only make him stronger.
‘But I can’t ignore the option to combine it later.’
If a massive reward were already guaranteed for preventing the Third Annihilation, and this reward was added to it?
He could obtain something far greater.
<I think it’s best to postpone it.>
<I agree completely.>
Tenebris recommended postponing it.
Baal, who had somehow become his lackey, was fawning over him eagerly.
“Just so you know, Tenebris—he’s the guy who betrayed his own master.”
Jeong-hoon pointed at Baal as he spoke.
Baal turned pale and frantically waved his hands.
<Y-You’ve got it all wrong!>
<Hooh, so you're saying it wouldn't be strange if this one stuck a knife in my back too, huh?>
Jeong-hoon grinned and nodded.
<You little... This is how you repay all the kindness I’ve shown you?!>
<Shh. Quiet.>
<Yes, sir.>
At Tenebris’ single word, he became docile like nothing had happened.
‘Wow… does he have no pride?’
‘And that guy used to be a ruler?’
Mukho and Anima criticized Baal, but Jeong-hoon found it quite pleasing.
He had betrayed Escanon and joined him.
It was a scheme Jeong-hoon had carefully cultivated over a very long time.
Though it had helped him greatly, Baal was still a demon—you never knew when he’d betray you.
That’s why he needed someone to keep him in check.
Of course, that didn’t mean Jeong-hoon trusted Tenebris either.
“I’ll postpone it.”
[Reward has been postponed.]
[If the Third Annihilation is prevented, it will be added to the existing reward.]
With those words, the statue of the goddess vanished.
And with that, the Second Annihilation was truly over.
* * *
“What is this… why can’t I read it!”
Escanon slammed his fist down hard.
When he revisited the temple, the exact same phenomenon occurred as before.
The same as when his domain had been brazenly seized.
Could it be that the Named had intervened again this time?
The problem was that the human had vanished without a trace afterward.
No matter how much manipulation he tried, the mirror couldn’t locate the human.
<Hey! Just what is that guy?>
At that moment, a furious voice rang in Escanon’s ears.
“Who told you to act all high and mighty?”
<Ha, unbelievable. To think Espada would be defeated so helplessly.>
One of the rulers of the Twelve Demon Realms.
Espada.
Also one of Abaddon’s favored subordinates.
And yet, he was easily overpowered by a mere human.
When Escanon's domain was taken, it had only been possible because the Named intervened.
They believed if Espada stepped in, the human’s life could be taken with ease.
But the outcome was completely different.
The man crushed Espada without much effort.
“Tsk, so—did that satisfy your curiosity?”
<…You sure you’ll be alright?>
“What are you talking about? Don’t tell me you actually think I’d lose to some human?”
Escanon scoffed.
He had been watching everything unfold from here as well.
Indeed, the human wielded power not granted to mere mortals—but only to that extent.
No matter how capable he was, even strong enough to suppress a lord, he was still a child before someone of Jecheon level like himself.
The real issue was that the Named seemed to be shielding him.
The fact he couldn’t read the human meant the man had obscured himself from Escanon’s eyes.
<Heh, seems like you’re nervous.>
Abaddon sneered, looking at the tense expression on Escanon’s face.
“If only the Named wasn’t protecting him, I could’ve crushed him easily.”
Power returned to Escanon’s clenched fist.
<……>
Abaddon said nothing.
Why had the Named so openly revealed its protection right before Escanon stepped in?
Could it be the Named planned to strip Escanon of his position and hand it over to that human?
“What? Do you think I’ll be cast out too?”
Escanon smirked faintly.
<Why wouldn’t I? Why else would the Named guard him so openly?>
“……”
<In any case, it’s a pity. I didn’t want to see you step down like this.>
“There will be no stepping down for me.”
<Heh, turns out humans are very fond of insurance. They call it a method of preparing for danger.>
“…What are you trying to say.”
<Get ready. Unless you want to be taken down without a fight.>
At Abaddon’s warning, Escanon quietly closed his eyes.
He didn’t want to admit it, but every word was true.
The moment the Named began protecting him, there was no avoiding unpredictability.
‘There’s no harm in being prepared.’
* * *
Even after averting destruction, dungeons that imposed penalties began appearing like mushrooms after rain.
However, unlike before, Jeong-hoon was no longer obsessed with hunting monsters.
In a situation where he should be using the Absorption Technique to raise his experience and stats even slightly, he instead sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, spending time in complete stillness.
‘The Power of Tenebris.’
Jeong-hoon named this power Creation Qi.
He didn’t intend to treat it as a mysterious force and simply use it for regression.
Creation Qi possessed creative power.
A power said to be wielded only by the Named.
It referred to the power to create existence out of nothingness.
Of course, it wasn’t as overwhelming as theirs.
After losing most of its power during a five-way siege, its strength had dropped to a faint level, significantly weakening its creative potential.
‘Altering nature is impossible.’
The Named could probably do it, but Jeong-hoon’s power wasn’t on that level.
Even so, aside from that, it was highly satisfactory.
‘A power strong enough to reverse time itself.’
With this power, he could stand against Escanon.
And—this too was possible.
Jeong-hoon opened his skill tree.
<You sure have a lot.>
Tenebris gave a brief impression of awe.
It was only natural, considering how Jeong-hoon had acquired skills without regard for means or methods up until now.
From the list, Jeong-hoon selected the recently acquired Asura.
===
[True Asura]
- Type: Passive
- Level: 1
- Grade: Ultimate
- When delivering or receiving a certain amount of damage, ‘True Asura’ mode activates. (180 seconds)
- Phase 1: Asura
- Phase 2: Berserk
- Phase 3: Blood Dance
- Phase 4: Annihilation
===
True Asura—an Ultimate-grade skill.
It consisted of four total phases, but Jeong-hoon had never reached Phase 4 before.
‘Combine it.’
Using Tenebris’s power to recreate the skill anew.
It was possible only because it was a skill owned by Jeong-hoon.
===
[True Asura ]
- Type: Passive
- Level: 1
- Grade: Ultimate
- Activates True Asura mode. (300 seconds)
- Extreme Annihilation
===
Asura, Berserk, Blood Dance, and Annihilation disappeared, and in their place appeared the newly established Extreme Annihilation.
- The true path of Asura
- Illusionary arms expand to 10 and attack speed doubles.
- Weapons used by the illusionary arms are automatically imbued with the Death attribute.
- Each time damage is dealt to the enemy, attack power and critical damage increase. A bleeding effect is forcibly applied, and three additional hits occur.
The four phases were not only combined but newly upgraded.
‘This is insane. Now I can activate Asura anytime I want.’
Even the activation time had increased significantly—from 180 seconds to 300 seconds.
If so, then the other skills too.
Jeong-hoon began reviewing every skill he had acquired up to now.
If the activation condition was too strict, he relaxed it; if certain options were lacking, he merged them—systematically upgrading everything.
Once all the adjustments were completed, Jeong-hoon opened his eyes.
‘Master, you’re seriously amazing.’
Only then did Mukho speak to him.
“Hm? What is it?”
‘How can you just sit still with your eyes closed for two whole days?’
“It’s already been two days?”
When he checked the clock, two full days really had passed.
No wonder—going through each skill one by one had taken a lot of time.
“There’s no time. Let’s move quickly.”
Before long, the third Destruction would begin.
So, they had to move quickly.
‘Huh? Where are we going?’
“Earth Korea.”
Jeong-hoon’s destination was Earth Korea.
The NPC guarding the entrance.
“What brings you here?”
An NPC who had completely lost its personality and was being used as a plaything by Transcendents.
Fixing them was the first order of business.
<Hey. Why are you even bothering to restore those things?>
Tenebris noticed Jeong-hoon’s actions and frowned.
In response, Jeong-hoon looked at him with a face that asked, What are you talking about?
“Why would I restore them? Should I go around advertising that I’ve gained this power?”
<Huh? Then why did you even come here?>
“There’s something I need to check.”
Jeong-hoon passed by them and headed up to the 7th floor, where the management team used to work.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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