Chapter 508
The Taiji Sword, designed to destroy the Red World Tree.
After long training, Dongbang Sak completed this sword, but
He himself felt something was lacking.
-The sword's destructive power is still insufficient.
Dongbang Sak, who was always thinking about this in his mind because training the Taiji Sword was forbidden in Tuseong,
Would always look up at the sky when he was there.
The sky full of Constellation relics on display.
At that time, he still had respect for Martial God as his master, but
Separately from that, when he saw those Constellation relics,
One impulse arose in his heart.
-I want to destroy them with one strike.
Why?
He was loyal to Martial God.
Why did he want to destroy that sky with the Taiji Sword when he saw those Constellation relics?
Dongbang Sak tried to suppress this strange impulse, but,
In his subconscious, he was already completing one sword.
Especially,
After Ashoka's death, in the process of sealing his own memories,
-From now on, I'll forget everything and be loyal to Martial God... but I won't forget just one thing. Only the determination to cut down this sky full of Constellation relics with one strike.
Even while forgetting everything else,
He deeply engraved the resolve to destroy Tuseong's sky with the Taiji Sword.
Thus, he completed the sword Galactic Sword Scar.
It was an excessively grand martial arts name for just one sword technique, meaning to leave a sword mark on the galaxy, but
'...That name. It fits too well.'
Seong Jihan, holding the Taiji Sword,
Immediately grasped the power of Galactic Sword Scar.
If another martial artist had given such a name to their technique, he would have scoffed,
But this sword made by Dongbang Sak truly lived up to its name.
'But without his Taiji Sword, this Galactic Sword Scar... can never be used.'
Seong Jihan, who inherited Galactic Sword Scar, realized he would only have one chance to use it.
It was only possible when holding the Taiji Sword, which contained all of Dongbang Sak's insights.
When his sword disappeared, Galactic Sword Scar would become a sword technique that could never be used again.
Well, it might be possible if he trained for a hundred or thousand years while maintaining this Taiji Sword, but
'There's no time for that.'
Seong Jihan quickly gave up on learning Galactic Sword Scar.
No matter what, you needed to be at a certain level to learn something.
This sword was created by Dongbang Sak, a genius of martial arts, after long deliberation.
He couldn't even imitate it.
Don't cling to what's impossible, just think of the most efficient way to use it.
'A sword that can only be used once... I need to use this well.'
It should be aimed properly at where Martial God's power is most concentrated.
If he wasted power in a strange situation, he would just waste precious sword energy.
As Seong Jihan was thinking this,
[You have learned all verses of Annihilation God's Secret.]
[Fundamental Divine Art changes to Infinite Annihilation God.]
[Skill grade rises to EX.]
'Infinite Annihilation God?'
Seong Jihan blinked seeing Fundamental Divine Art's name change.
Come to think of it, at the end of Fundamental Divine Art's skill description,
[If you master all of Annihilation God's Secret and realize its ultimate meaning, you can find a new name for the martial art and raise its grade to EX.]
There was a mention about being able to raise it to EX grade.
'With Galactic Sword Scar and Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit, it seems too early to say I've realized their ultimate meaning...'
He was grateful for raising the skill grade, but,
While Galactic Sword Scar is understandable since he was holding the Taiji Sword, was it evaluating that he has realized the ultimate meaning of Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit too, which doesn't match up to Gilgamesh?
He didn't understand the criteria.
Thinking this, Seong Jihan opened the description of Infinite Annihilation God.
[Infinite Annihilation God]
-Skill Grade: EX
-A power created by Dongbang Sak, the true master of Fundamental Divine Art, to destroy the wandering Martial God.
-It contains Dongbang Sak's martial talent, which is beyond standard, but due to system limitations, only a part can be implemented.
-When equipping the title 'Martial God', the implementation level of martial talent increases.
'Wow, to mention system limitations...'
How extraordinary must Dongbang Sak's talent be for it to be unimplementable to this extent?
He knew he was a genius, but he's really on a different level.
Thinking this, Seong Jihan recalled the martial arts he had used until now.
Then,
'It's definitely different.'
Even though he only inherited a part of his martial talent,
He could immediately point out where the martial arts he had used until now were lacking.
Was this the talent of a genius?
'Originally it was his job, but now I, an ordinary person, am doing it.'
Dongbang Sak and Ashoka.
The task that these two geniuses should have done, he ultimately took on, so the burden was heavy.
But all the more,
'I'll deal with Martial God decisively.'
Seong Jihan steeled his resolve and drew the sword.
Then,
Paaaat...!
The light that had been soaring high from the seabed to the sky all gathered into the sword at once,
And the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation on the ground shone brilliantly white.
Then, the life force flowing from inside rapidly faded away.
Probably,
This was the process of the World Tree sealed inside the formation disappearing.
Seeing this, Gilgamesh exclaimed in surprise.
"No, isn't the World Tree about to completely disappear...! Sh-Shouldn't we stop it?"
"We've already eaten enough life force."
"That's you! I still need more!"
This guy was so noisy.
Should he just get rid of him now?
As Seong Jihan was briefly considering how to deal with Gilgamesh,
Ziiing...!
The sealing formation from which the sword was drawn reflected something.
* * *
What appeared inside the sealing formation was a space of the universe.
And a moving huge mass of rock caught the eye.
"That's... Tuseong."
"Really? Looking at it like this, it's not that big."
"It's probably much smaller than the moon. Whether Martial God is moving it or not, it shows unnatural movement..."
As Gilgamesh was examining inside the sealing formation,
Ziiing...
From the tip of the Taiji Sword Seong Jihan was holding, a faint light stretched into that space.
Then,
Whaaak!
The image reflected in the sealing formation expanded,
And began to show Tuseong, which had been just a small rocky sphere, in detail.
And,
As Tuseong's land was revealed, the shape of a sword began to be engraved in that screen.
At first, Seong Jihan couldn't understand what this meant, but.
Wiiing...
Seeing the Taiji Sword resonate with that sword shape, he instinctively realized.
'Does it mean we land where that sword shape appears?'
There was a reason why Dongbang Sak said not to worry about going to Tuseong.
But in this case,
'This guy... is unnecessary?'
Seong Jihan quietly looked at Gilgamesh.
He had kept him alive as insurance in case there was no way to go to Tuseong,
But seeing this,
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hey, you've lived a long time, right?"
"W-Wait. Are you... planning to kill me?"
"Yeah, I have a policy of not leaving loose ends."
When Seong Jihan stated this, Gilgamesh hurriedly waved his hands.
"W-Wait! My power! Aren't you curious about my power?"
"Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit?"
"That's right! The reason why it didn't work on you, but worked for me...! Shouldn't you find that out? For the sake of completing the power!"
"Ah, there should be at least one mystery in the world. And besides."
Sssss...
A blue aura flowed from Seong Jihan's body.
"I've already completed the power."
"What..."
"It says I've already mastered your Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit too."
"That can't be...!"
At Seong Jihan's words about completing the power, Gilgamesh's eyes became gloomy.
At this rate, he would really die.
As he rolled his eyes trying to find a way to survive somehow,
He spotted Martial God in the sealing formation screen and pointed his finger there.
"W-Wait! Look at that! Martial God. Martial God is detecting this!"
As Gilgamesh pointed out,
Martial God was standing at the indicated spot, staring upwards.
Even if they changed the landing point, Martial God quickly followed and was preparing.
"If he knows the landing point, he'll set traps there in advance... Is there any need to take such a risk? Rather. How about raising the Golden Tower there?"
"The Tower of Babel?"
"...Yes. The Tower of Babel. We warp there, avoiding the traps!"
Show the sword's landing point, then appear from the Tower of Babel.
Was he suggesting a feint operation?
"I can't trust you."
"Let's write a contract! I'll definitely transport you, and you'll definitely let me live!"
"You were scammed by that guy with a contract, and you still want to write one?"
"That's why I've improved it...! We'll include both the name used in BattleNet and the contract subject's name."
"...Don't tell me you were scammed by him by switching names?"
As Seong Jihan gave him an incredulous look, Gilgamesh protested.
"He definitely used Enkidu's name back then! I checked several times..."
"Enkidu? Isn't Enkidu the name of that steel giant?"
"Yes. I was grateful to him for saving me, so when I asked if I could use his name, he gladly allowed it..."
As Gilgamesh spoke, he began to drag out his words.
"You might see me as trash who just sowed seeds in the lab. But my life wasn't easy either. When I could have many children, the Blood Clan treated me well, but as my reproductive ability declined, opinions started to emerge about needing to replace me..."
"You were doing well until then. Only your women died."
"But I couldn't just die! At that time when experiments were being conducted to produce my replacement, Martial God approached me... asking if I wanted to overturn this situation."
"Overturn the situation, you say."
Was this what happened in the beginning?
Seong Jihan glanced at the Taiji Sword.
Its power was still maintained, but there wasn't enough time to hear the full story.
"How do you think I felt then? Living as a stud for the Blood Clan, forgetting the past days of loyalty, having to betray them..."
"Ah, enough. Your feelings aren't important, just briefly state the important facts."
"...Kuk. Well, so Martial God got me out of the lab, and furthermore, connected me with the Void."
"The Void?"
Seong Jihan frowned at those words.
The Void.
Come to think of it, the owner of Arena had called Gilgamesh a traitor who abandoned the Void's calling before.
He should have died after fulfilling his mission and enjoying his given lifespan.
But he survived without dying.
At that time, he just thought, 'Is that so?' but.
Recalling that it was the owner of Arena who told him this,
Something felt off.
After all, he was an accomplice who had colluded with the Red Administrator.
"Did you gain some power from the Void?"
"...I obtained Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit from a being of the Void. They said it was a modified version of the Void's restraints. They told me to use this power to subdue the World Tree rooted on Earth and the Blood Clan."
Up to here, it matched the explanation of Arena's owner.
But,
'It's strange that Martial God had a connection with the Void... and the nature of Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit is so different from the Void.'
Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit, which absorbed the opponent's life force and allowed proper utilization of the 'Eternity' stat.
This nature was completely opposite to the Void's purpose of inevitable death.
Until now, he hadn't thought about it because he didn't have the leisure to worry about Gilgamesh's issues.
But hearing it directly from his mouth, there were certainly questionable points.
Seong Jihan thought for a moment and then asked him.
"Who gave you that?"
"What do you mean, who gave it to me?"
"Did the guy with the hat give it to you directly?"
"...That's right, the owner of the Arena passed it on to me."
Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit, directly taught by the Arena Owner who colluded with the Red Administrator.
'This seems to be related to that Red guy somehow...'
The fact that only the Red World Tree and Gilgamesh's Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit work together,
It all felt very suspicious.
Until just now, he was thinking of just leaving this phenomenon as an unsolved question and getting rid of Gilgamesh.
But it seemed right to solve this before moving on.
Moreover, he couldn't check earlier because he was holding the Taiji Sword, but.
[The distortion of stat 'Red' increases by 30.]
[The distortion of stat 'Red' decreases by 30.]
The distortion of the 'Red' stat had spiked and then returned to normal.
'I should solve any questions related to the Red Administrator before moving on.'
Did this mean he had to write a contract with this guy after all?
He really didn't want to keep him alive because he might become a future problem, but there was no choice.
'...Hmm, but he said he was scammed by changing names.'
Just hearing it earlier, he thought how could someone be so stupid.
Thinking this, Seong Jihan turned on administrator mode just in case.
And inwardly, he inquired to the system.
'Can names be modified with administrator authority?'
Since Martial God did it, he asked just in case.
['Blue Administrator Seong Jihan' is a being whose name is known throughout the BattleNet.]
[It's impossible to completely modify the name, but it can be changed temporarily.]
[However, due to extremely high fame, changing the name consumes 100 administrator authority per minute.]
The system answered that only temporary modification was possible.
How high must Seong Jihan's fame be, to use 100 administrator authority per minute just to change a name.
'So it is possible?'
For now, the important thing was that it was possible.
Seong Jihan immediately tried to modify it.
Then soon,
"...So what are you planning to do? Seong Jihun."
From Gilgamesh's mouth, the changed name.
'Seong Jihun' came out.