Chapter 474
"Do you insist on fighting...? Very well."
Whoosh...
From the cosmic-face of the Arena Owner, crimson flames flared up.
"Let's settle our grievances once and for all."
Chi!
An intense red beam shot toward Seong Jihan.
'Total Annihilation, huh.'
Among the Red's abilities, the Total Annihilation boasted overwhelming destructive power.
As multiple beams of red light poured out, Seong Jihan dodged them.
However,
"It's useless to run."
Zing...!
The straight beam of light suddenly curved, chasing after Seong Jihan again.
Multiple beams of Destruction poured out from the Arena Owner, surrounding Seong Jihan.
He was gradually being pushed into a situation where he would have to confront the beams head-on.
'Hmm... Can I block this with my Total Annihilation?'
To counter the Total Annihilations, Seong Jihan deployed his protective measure, Total Annihilation.
[Using red abilities in my presence? How amusing.]
As the red eye twitched,
Total Annihilation created from the destruction code instantly disappeared.
'...It seems I can't use red abilities in front of that eye.'
Seong Jihan furrowed his brows.
One of his useful tools had been rendered ineffective.
'If I must block the Total Annihilation, there's only one way.'
The Total Annihilation, known for its strongest destructive power among red abilities.
To counter it, a weapon with superior power was needed.
Ssss...
Behind Seong Jihan, the Taiji symbol appeared.
He inserted the Eclipse sword into it and pulled it out.
Suddenly,
Swish...!
The enormous black sword appeared.
Whoosh!
As Seong Jihan swung the Taiji Sword, the red beams surrounding him were cut down instantly.
-Oh, as expected...
-That sword is the most powerful.
-I made a bet with a friend about which would win, the red laser or the black sword, haha.
-The laser barrier collapsed in an instant.
When the red beams, which had been closing in on Seong Jihan, were sliced apart,
"Hmm, you've drawn on the power within the Void..."
The Arena Owner paused, stopping the release of more Total Annihilations.
"What is the power within the Void?"
"Though it is a forbidden topic, I'm free to talk now that I'm no longer a subordinate."
The Arena Owner smiled and continued,
"The power within the Void is a space prepared for especially powerful beings among the Void. The Black Administrator annihilated the most powerful beings within the Void. The power of destruction is greatly enhanced there, so it's fascinating that you can handle it..."
So, the Void within the Void serves as an execution site for the exceptionally powerful beings.
Even though the Void's power itself is annihilative, the Void within the Void is even more specialized.
'While learning the Taiji Sword of Dongbang Sak, I touched upon the power within the Void.'
Indeed, the power to annihilate opponents taken from the Void within the Void was overwhelming.
The Taiji Sword was so powerful that even the Martial God avoided facing it directly.
When it comes to destruction, there's no weapon better than this.
However,
'How does Dongbang Sak display that destructive power without using the Void?'
Dongbang Sak's Taiji Sword.
Unlike Seong Jihan's, it was composed of a brilliant sword of light.
Of course, when the sword's power was activated, it exuded darkness,
But no Void energy was felt within it.
No matter how much he pondered, he couldn't fathom how Dongbang Sak created that sword without using the Void.
'Perhaps it's because he's the true owner of the Martial God title...'
After briefly contemplating Dongbang Sak's Taiji Sword, Seong Jihan aimed the sword at the Arena Owner.
"Then you must fully understand the power of this sword."
"Yes. Even if I am to become the Owner Of Hell, I still cannot oppose the power within the Void."
"Is that so? Then you should die quietly."
"But."
Tap. Tap.
The Arena Owner tapped on the damaged part of his face.
"I can make you self-destruct."
Ssss...
As he finished speaking, an infinite amount of Void energy flowed from the Arena Owner.
The spreading Void energy enveloped Seong Jihan.
[Void has increased by 10.]
[Void has increased by 20.]
The Void stat rapidly began increasing.
As the Void stat increased,
Crack...
Seong Jihan's half-face instantly fractured further.
'By self-destruct, he meant this...'
Though the Taiji Sword could dominate,
Increasing Seong Jihan's Void stat was feasible.
As the Void stat increased, he would self-destruct from within.
Thus, the Arena Owner's attack, releasing his Void energy infinitely, was highly effective.
'The increase in Void from this is much faster than the decrease from the Taiji Sword...'
While using the Taiji Sword, the amount of Void destroyed was significantly less than the amount being absorbed.
Seong Jihan attempted to see if he could eliminate the Void energy using the sword,
[Void has increased by 30.]
Sss...
But rather, the Void energy was absorbed even more through the Taiji Sword.
"The power within the Void can destroy anything but does not reject the Void. It uses it as an energy source, drawing more in..."
The Arena Owner mocked Seong Jihan's attempt.
His entire body was already fully saturated with the Void.
Approaching him would increase the Void stat by at least 300.
'My body would shatter as well.'
Unable to use red abilities.
Facing self-destruction from the usage of the Taiji Sword, in a true stalemate situation.
-Nggh... suddenly feeling dizzy here;
-Me too, I feel like my strength is drained.
-My mom was watching the broadcast standing up and suddenly collapsed;
-Could this possibly be due to the Hell?
Along with the Arena Owner's recovery effort, more people began complaining of vitality depletion.
The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for humanity.
[Blue Administrator, is your ability only capable of annihilation? Still resorting to using Void and red abilities in the end.]
Seong Jihan couldn't help but be scorned by the Red Administrator from behind.
Having chosen a new color, was he still using the same old abilities in a pinch?
Hearing this, Seong Jihan thought,
'Fine. As the Blue Administrator, I should try something.'
Activating his Administrator authority, he opened the Blue stat.
Previously, he lacked any information about the Blue stat, making upgrades impossible.
[Through the stat 'Blue,' you have eliminated 'Red Factor' from humanity.]
[The power's intended purpose has been achieved.]
[You have gained insight into the stat 'Blue.']
[It can be upgraded.]
This time, however, the situation was different.
* * *
The Blue stat.
Specialized solely in eliminating the enemy, with no additional functions.
Rated as FFF-grade.
But thinking about it now, such a low grade facilitated granting the stat to all humanity.
'As an FFF-grade, granting this ability to 7 billion humans only required 500,000 Administrator authority points.'
Seong Jihan checked his remaining Administrator authority.
Administrator Authority - 512000
The initial 12000 points, plus the 1 million from the Green Administrator, left 500,000 remaining.
That should allow the Blue stat's upgrade.
'Upgrade the Blue stat.'
[To what grade would you like to upgrade the stat 'Blue'?]
'To the maximum. Use all available authority.'
This is what authority is for.
With Seong Jihan's command, the Administrator authority quickly depleted.
[510,000 Administrator authority consumed.]
[The stat 'Blue' has been upgraded to C-grade.]
'Is this...'
Previously unseen, faint red lines came into Seong Jihan's view.
Connected densely all around, centered on the red eye behind the Arena Owner.
'The energy of humanity flows through those lines...'
The upgraded Blue enhanced the ability to detect the red.
'This stat is truly a nemesis to 'red' traits.'
Thinking that, Seong Jihan touched one of the red lines around him.
Then,
Ziiing...
A blue light surged from his hand.
Snap!
The red line broke.
[You have partially reversed the red's distortion.]
[The Blue stat has increased by 1.]
'Huh?'
Seong Jihan blinked.
Did the stat just increase by cutting a single thread?
'No way I can ignore this...'
Eyes sparkling, Seong Jihan focused on the lines again.
The lines extended below the sky from the red eye.
'I don't need to approach that bastard; I can sever the lines from here.'
Approaching would inevitably result in fatal absorption of Void energy.
Seong Jihan retreated.
This movement was perceived by the opponent as a retreat.
"Ha ha. Are you backing off? Smart choice. We'll just extract our investment and leave, so just watch quietly from there."
[The weak among humanity will fall, leaving only the strong. By numbers, perhaps 10% will survive. It will make governing easier for you, and you'll thank me later.]
Mocking Seong Jihan.
-10%?
-Damn, I'm screwed;
-Doesn't this mean most non-players will die?
-Oh no..... please save us.....
-My strength is draining even faster suddenly...?
-If this is how we die, wouldn't it have been better to live with the red factor...?
-True, if we're going to die so soon, living another 50 years under the Red Administrator would have been better...
-Is there any way to remove the Blue stat now?
This caused panic among humanity.
Losing 90%, leaving just 10% of players and the few others was terrifying.
Some even wished to undo receiving the Blue stat.
However, the subject of their ire,
"Really? That sounds terrifying."
Smiled as he enjoyed the stat gains.
[You have partially reversed the red's distortion.]
[The Blue stat has increased by 1.]
'I'm approaching 100.'
The sky was filled with countless red lines.
As Seong Jihan moved, cutting these lines, the Blue stat incrementally increased.
Reaching over 70, it slowed down.
At this rate, hitting 100 seemed imminent.
"Why are you moving like that? You cannot breach this place from any angle."
The Arena Owner, noticing Seong Jihan's evasive and quick movements, questioned.
"There has to be a point I can attack, right?"
Seong Jihan casually replied, focusing internally on severing more lines.
Before the Red Administrator noticed, he needed to boost the Blue stat as much as possible.
Then, after severing about half the lines connected to the eye,
[What is this!?]
Flash!
Detecting the anomaly, the red eye let out a roar.
[The power feeding into the Hell has drastically diminished!]
"Well, that was quick."
As Seong Jihan smirked at the quivering eye,
[The Blue stat has increased by 1.]
[The Blue stat is now 100.]
[You can now manifest the power of Blue.]
Reaching 100, a new function had emerged.