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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 345
<Are you okay? If we were even a little late, we’d have been seriously screwed.>
‘It had to be this much to end it for good.’
<Still, it was too reckless. Who triggers a move like that right before passing out?>
Jeong-hoon gave a faint smile.
The Winter of Nothingness.
The Four Seasons leading to Destruction.
Its power was beyond imagination.
‘If it weren’t for Tenebris…….’
Even if he had gained more strength here, it would have been impossible to take on Abaddon.
“How did you do it……?”
Abaddon stared at Jeong-hoon with a hollow look.
Even when he tried to use his divine artifact or any other power, it was as if something had broken—nothing worked.
And now, with the Spring of Death spreading, death was consuming his body.
Damn it, had he known this would happen, he would’ve used the divine artifact more aggressively.
He let his guard down, thinking it was just about taking out a mere creation.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“……You filthy bastard, I answered you myself.”
“And? What do you want me to do about it?”
“Ha……”
Abaddon couldn’t understand.
How the tables had turned so completely.
Jeong-hoon picked up Titan, which was lying on the ground.
Titan still held the effects of Advent of the Tyrant and Wrath of the Tyrant.
He probably thought the skills had ended as Summer, Autumn, and Winter passed—but that was all part of Jeong-hoon’s plan.
‘As Summer unfolded, I spread the Genesis Energy into the Tyrant’s Domain.’
And with that, the Rune of Counterattack he had brought.
He recreated the rune and expanded its range into the Tyrant’s Domain.
‘It reflects everything that attacks me within the domain.’
That wasn’t all.
By consuming a massive amount of Genesis Energy, it also prohibited all abilities and the use of divine artifacts.
Of course, it had a critical downside.
Due to its overwhelming power, once it was used even once, the Rune of Counterattack would be completely destroyed.
It couldn’t be used again, so it had to be deployed with caution.
That’s why he waited for the enemy to trigger Winter.
He also waited for enough damage to accumulate even after Winter unfolded, and only activated the prepared counterattack just before death.
As a result, Jeong-hoon, who should have died, returned everything and survived, and even the weapons that had been corroded and destroyed were perfectly restored.
‘I really thought I was going to die…….’
‘Damn, that was truly painful.’
Mukho and Anima writhed from the pain of erosion.
“How is it? How does it feel to be killed by a human?”
The enemy could no longer resist.
He had used Genesis Energy to establish the Tyrant’s Domain.
When vitality drops below a certain threshold, all abilities are sealed.
If it’s not the main body but a clone that enters, the main body is forcibly summoned, delivering a checkmate.
‘No matter how I attacked him, I couldn’t deal proper damage. That must’ve been because the main body was elsewhere, and this was just a connected clone.’
That assumption was right on target.
Jeong-hoon severed his left arm with the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword.
Unlike before, he could feel sensation in his hand, and Abaddon’s left arm was cut off and rolled across the ground.
“Guhk……!”
A painful groan escaped from Abaddon’s mouth.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
“……Did a Named One bestow you their power?”
“Named One?”
“Seems you turned the tide with that power…… You must’ve really caught their eye.”
“Something like that. But it’s probably not the Named One you’re thinking of.”
“What……?”
Abaddon frowned.
To reverse even his seasonal phase by force—only a Named One could grant that kind of power.
“You’ll probably never know.”
<Hey, say my name. Burn my name, Tenebris, into this bastard’s mind.>
Can’t do that.
There’s no need to reveal a hidden trump card.
<No one can hear our conversation anyway!>
Tenebris squirmed with frustration, eager to startle Abaddon.
“Shh. Quiet.”
Jeong-hoon narrowed his brow and raised a finger to his lips in a hush gesture.
<Ha, you frustrating idiot!>
Tenebris smacked his own chest in exasperation.
“……Who are you talking to?”
“A secret.”
“It must be a Named One…… Then I suppose they’re watching all of this right now.”
Abaddon drew his own conclusion and gently closed his eyes.
“I told you it’s not.”
“Tch……”
Spring passed, and Summer arrived.
With all his abilities sealed, Abaddon had no choice but to face Summer, unable to hide the agony on his face.
“If you want to live, hand over your divine artifact.”
Jeong-hoon intended to take the divine artifact from him.
‘If I take this guy’s divine artifact, along with the ones held by the Seven Deadly Sins and Escanon, I’ll have three.’
Abaddon had said it himself.
‘To ascend to a higher realm.’
Hearing that made it clear.
With these divine artifacts, even fighting a Named One might not be impossible.
Only by sacrificing the Rune of Counterattack could Jeong-hoon finally drive Abaddon to the edge.
As a result, the Rune of Counterattack could no longer be used.
Because it had been completely destroyed.
That’s why he needed the divine artifact even more.
“Kuhuhu, you think I’d hand it over?”
“You’ll be dead anyway—what use is it to you then?”
“Shut up! Even if I die, you think I’d hand it over to the likes of you?!”
“Then who would you give it to? Another one of the God lot?”
“……”
“From the looks of it, the divine artifact must be somewhere else.”
At Jeong-hoon’s words, Abaddon’s shoulder twitched slightly.
Having entered the domain and lost all his powers, Abaddon was no longer a God.
He was nothing more than prey among countless others.
Jeong-hoon knew well how to deal with such prey.
“Since your main body was somewhere else, the divine artifact must be there too. But what now? Since you've entered this domain, if you die, the divine artifact will be forcibly transferred to me.”
“……Is that true?”
No, in truth, it was a lie.
Even though he had manifested the main body, if the divine artifact wasn’t in its possession, it couldn’t be stolen.
But Jeong-hoon continued without changing his expression.
“Yes. That’s why I’m giving you a chance. Hand over the divine artifact, and I’ll let you live. I’ll even let you continue as a God.”
“You bastard……”
Those were the very words Abaddon had once spoken to Jeong-hoon.
He had offered to eliminate Escanon in exchange for the divine artifacts held by the Seven Deadly Sins and Escanon.
“So what, you’d rather just vanish like this? If that happens, you’ll never rise any higher.”
“……Fine. But release me first.”
“Just die.”
Jeong-hoon lifted Titan and severed his right arm with the Heavenly Demon Annihilation Sword.
“Guhh! W-Wait! Fine! I’ll hand it over!”
“Remember this. What I’m giving you is a chance. Try anything funny and I’ll cut your throat.”
“Phew……”
In the end, Abaddon had no choice but to summon the divine artifact.
Since the divine artifact was linked to the main body, it could be summoned at any time.
“Is this the divine artifact?”
What appeared before Abaddon was a golden wine cup.
“Yes……”
“Looks familiar.”
Jeong-hoon reached out toward the wine cup.
<Stop! Don’t touch it!>
At that moment, Tenebris urgently stopped him.
“Why not?”
<The divine artifact is the same class as your Titan. If you touch it while it still has a master, it’ll be dangerous.>
“Is that so?”
Jeong-hoon withdrew his hand.
“Ha…… The Named One really is considerate.”
Deep down, Jeong-hoon had hoped he would touch the divine artifact, but thanks to the Named guarding him, it was completely ruined.
“Exactly.”
Jeong-hoon smiled faintly.
Then, as summer passed, autumn flew by in an instant, and winter arrived.
“Guhh!”
As his whole body began to freeze, Abaddon’s face was overtaken by panic.
“The divine artifact! I’ve already handed it over!”
“You’re still its master. So I need to kill you and take it.”
“Wait! If I sever the connection to the divine artifact, you can take it! You promised!”
“Then hurry up and sever it.”
Jeong-hoon jerked his chin toward the divine artifact.
“F-Fine.”
Before winter could devour his body entirely, Abaddon hastily severed the connection to the divine artifact.
The golden-glowing wine cup lost its color and turned transparent.
“A clear, crystal cup.”
Jeong-hoon looked at the divine artifact with interest.
“We’re done now… I kept my promise, didn’t I?”
“Hmm, I changed my mind.”
“What?”
“I’m a bit fickle, you see. What if I spare you and then you stab me in the back?”
“You son of a b****!”
“Goodbye.”
Jeong-hoon grinned widely and waved his hand.
“I’ll curse you! I’ll make sure you die in agony!”
“Sure.”
Winter devoured Abaddon completely in an instant.
Jeong-hoon reached out toward the fallen Abaddon.
[Using Absorption Technique.]
[You gain experience points.]
[All stats have increased.]
He used the Absorption Technique to gain a massive boost in experience and stats.
As expected of a God-class being, the absorption took a long time, and his level and stats skyrocketed.
That wasn’t all.
[Your Rank has increased.]
Even his Rank began to rise.
Using the Creator’s Flag, he had modified the Absorption Technique, allowing it to raise Rank as well.
“It’s done.”
By the time Jeong-hoon withdrew his hand, the first digit of his level had changed from 4 to 7.
All of his stats had jumped to the high 20,000s.
Crash!
As the Absorption Technique finished and he stood up, Abaddon’s body shattered and crumbled apart.
It was the moment a God, ruler of a dimension, had fallen.
Even so, Jeong-hoon’s expression wasn’t pleased.
Because no reward had been granted for the kill.
‘Just like with Espada.’
There was no reward for defeating Espada during the second apocalypse either.
Back then, he hadn’t cared much because he was focused on breaking Tenebris’s seal, but he didn’t expect Abaddon wouldn’t give a reward either.
‘Is it because they’re beings who shouldn’t exist in this dimension to begin with?’
Even if he let Espada go, he had definitely wanted the reward for defeating Abaddon.
Achievement points, currency, divine energy, and the items he was carrying.
If he had gotten all that, it would have been a huge help.
<Why? What’s bothering you?>
“Tenebris, every time I’ve defeated a Transcendent so far, I’ve received a reward.”
<Ah, you're wondering why this one didn’t give you anything?>
“Yeah. Do you know anything about it?”
Maybe Tenebris knew something.
<Hmm, the one who governs rewards is called Beller.>
“Beller?”
<Yeah. His role is to set up the reward system so that rewards differ depending on the target and the dimension.>
“Hmm. So because he governs another dimension, I couldn’t get the reward?”
<Unfortunate, but correct.>
“I see.”
In that case, defeating Escanon should yield a proper reward.
<Still, it’s a relief you had the Absorption Technique. Who would’ve thought it’d make you this strong?>
Tenebris let out a short remark of admiration.
“It’s still not enough.”
Like Abaddon, Escanon is also God-class.
He’s not the kind of opponent you can defeat with brute strength alone.
He would need an item capable of flipping the board, like the Rune of Retaliation.
To shake the board, he needed that divine artifact.
Jeong-hoon picked up the divine artifact that had lost its master.
Then, the once crystal-clear cup instantly turned black.
[Will you accept the trial of the ‘Cup of the Void’?]
A trial?
<To wield a divine artifact, you must be acknowledged as its master.>
Just like with the Titan.
“Then I have to accept it.”
There was no need to hesitate.
Unlike Abaddon, Escanon wouldn’t let his guard down.
He would definitely use the divine artifact actively.
To eliminate someone like that, Jeong-hoon had to be able to wield the Cup of the Void.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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