Capítulo 497: Chapter 497
The Martial God's star, Tuseong.
Quiet to the point where only the Martial God remained,
It began to shake wildly after Dongbang Sak transformed the Martial Soul into Devil's Intrusion.
Boom! Boom!
Some of the constellation relics floating in the sky burst explosively.
Hisssss…
Some began to lose their light and started falling to the ground.
[The power… it's uncontrollable…]
Martial Soul.
A power selected as the "Main Ability" for the species 'humankind' due to its exceptional traits.
Yet, it wasn't enough to fully contain Dongbang Sak's talent.
A long time ago, during the early stages of infinite regression,
He tried to absorb Dongbang Sak's martial talents through Martial Soul, only to unmistakably confirm the gap in their abilities.
At one point, he tried to match it,
But as time passed, he realized the sheer difference in dimensions between their abilities, contenting himself with just plundering Dongbang Sak's martial skills through Martial Soul.
[…It shouldn't have been this way…]
Whoosh!
The Martial God, from the sky, looked at the constellation relics moving as they pleased and felt powerless.
About 30% of the constellation relics he had raised.
But as time went on, the number of relics escaping his control continued to increase.
Relics moving and bursting on their own.
Why these things would react so violently to Devil's Intrusion wasn't something he understood, as he only utilized the Martial Soul but never sought to comprehend it.
The Martial God could only helplessly watch the constellation relics fall and explode.
When over half of the relics were beyond his control,
[…Now, I can control it.]
The remaining constellation relics began to slowly come under the Martial God's control.
His Martial Soul,
No, when his Devil's Intrusion dropped to 999, he was able to move freely again.
'So 1000 is the threshold for Devil's Intrusion to manifest…'
The Martial God judged the current situation and quickly moved the constellation relics.
Attempting to absorb their power,
As soon as his Devil's Intrusion broke past 1000 again,
Boom! Boom!
The constellation relics began to explode autonomously once more.
[Argh…! Dongbang Sak…!]
Absorbing power from the constellation relics only for it to turn into a boomerang.
What kind of absurdity was this?
At this rate, how could he utilize the constellation relics he had amassed thus far?
'I've spent so long accumulating this power…!'
Seeing the practically useless constellation relics, the Martial God fell into despair.
Dongbang Sak.
From the moment he drew the Taiji Sword, he had a bad feeling,
But he believed that as long as he was in Tuseong, he wouldn't be harmed.
Since Dongbang Sak was heavily restricted after Ashoka's betrayal,
Even if he regained his senses, he thought he could just kill him and be done with it.
However,
Transforming Martial Soul into Devil's Intrusion to bind me like this…
'In contrast, the Blue Administrator has undoubtedly grown stronger…'
In the recent battle, despite countless defeats,
His power grew even more.
A situation diametrically opposed to his, constrained by the constellation relics.
Moreover, the strike that severed Dongbang Sak's arm,
It would have been challenging to deal with even with the constellation relics.
Yes.
Even if used, it wasn't easy.
If the amplification of power through the relics was blocked…
'I won't be able to seize the Red World Tree, much less—I'll die at his hands…'
Without the strength from the constellation relics, could he truly defeat Seong Jihan with his current power alone?
Even amidst his fury, the Martial God coolly assessed this and reached a quick conclusion.
[I cannot win.]
An ability that even restricted Dongbang Sak,
He could also use Ashoka's Golden Wheel.
Seeing Seong Jihan scrape every possible resource to fight, the Martial God assumed,
The loss was recognized from the start.
So now, what needed to be done was…
[…Escape.]
Flight and hiding.
The solution conceived was inconsistent with the typical image of a "Martial God."
However, from the perspective of the snake, prioritizing survival,
This was the most rational approach.
If only, dropping Tuseong and fleeing alone felt wasteful knowing what had been accumulated over time.
'Moving Tuseong alongside…'
Without amplifying strength through the constellation relics, there was no quick way to move this star.
As the Martial God contemplated his next move,
Vrrrr…
A pattern began to manifest in the sky where the constellation relics were plummeting.
It resembled Dongbang Sak's Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods.
[Dongbang Sak… what on earth are you trying now…!]
As he watched, raising his power in tension,
Crack!
The pattern of the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods shattered,
Thunk…
Within it, a red eye fell.
[That I should be unfettered like this…]
Roll…
The red eye rolled on the ground.
[It seems you're facing some trouble.]
Shine!
It radiated an intense light.
The red light spread in all directions, revealing a BattleTube screen.
The video played at high speed, and then,
[Indeed…]
Beep!
It turned off in less than a minute.
[See, I told you this would happen. Suffering by your own sword.]
[Red Administrator…]
[Are you more inclined to cooperate now?]
The Martial God silently stared at the red eye.
The Red Administrator.
The most dangerous adversary to cooperate with.
However,
'…Bound by Devil's Intrusion, I have no other means.'
No, there was one way.
Abandoning everything.
Destroying all the constellation relics and escaping with only the current power,
While avoiding the Blue Administrator's sight, fleeing far away.
But living like that,
It was not truly living.
[Let's hear what you have to say.]
[Huhu… you'll like it.]
In the end, the Martial God chose to deal with a dangerous adversary.
* * *
After the Martial Soul transformed into Devil's Intrusion,
"Now, it's time to go."
Dongbang Sak spoke in a relieved voice.
"…Are you leaving?"
"Yes. Thanks for everything. I've been freed from the Martial God's enslavement and even got my revenge."
Whoooosh…
Dongbang Sak's body slowly began to fade.
He briefly glanced at the Taiji Sword embedded in the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation,
Gently stroking his beard.
"However, I feel sorry for having taken away so many of your training opportunities."
"It's nothing. Please do more if you can."
"I can't do that. The union of Blue and Martial Soul. You should relish that glorious moment."
"Even though Martial Soul has dissipated, can the union still occur?"
Dongbang Sak looked at Seong Jihan in response to his words.
"Actually, the union is nearly complete. You just need to realize it."
"…I see."
"Yes. So realize it quickly, and thoroughly deal with the snake. Although I've restrained much of his power, given time, who knows when he might recover?"
Even as his body disappeared,
Dongbang Sak calmly discussed the upcoming tasks.
"But to deal with the snake, we must know Tuseong's location."
"You'll know as soon as you grasp the sword."
"You mean the Taiji Sword?"
Nod.
Dongbang Sak's nod gave Seong Jihan a reassuring feeling.
Ashoka was thorough too.
Dongbang Sak was dependable even in these circumstances.
'He was terrifying as an enemy, yet reassuring as an ally.'
Now it felt more regretful that he was about to disappear.
Hissss…
As Dongbang Sak's lower body completely vanished,
Seong Jihan realized it was truly the end.
"Thank you for everything."
With a bowed head, Seong Jihan said.
"Gratitude… It's what I should say to you. Take care of what's next…"
Dongbang Sak glanced at the Taiji Sword once more and smiled.
"And if you have time, clash your Taiji Sword with that one."
"Didn't you assure it would surpass mine?"
"Still, nearing the end, I'm more curious about that than the snake's fate."
"Then I might do it if I have time. If I have time."
"You promised."
Whoooosh…
With those words,
Dongbang Sak's form entirely vanished.
Then,
Whoosh…
The pushed-back seawater began to return underwater.
Blue waves flooded the previously isolated space.
Yet the Taiji Sword embedded in the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation stood firm,
Its radiant light piercing the sea and ascending to the sky.
'To clash the two Taiji Swords… how fitting of him till the end.'
With a slight smile,
'Well, let's try drawing it.'
Seong Jihan decided to grasp the Taiji Sword embedded in the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.
The moment Seong Jihan grasped the sword underwater,
'…It's heavy.'
He instantly realized he couldn't draw it at this moment.
Dongbang Sak mentioned the union of Blue and Martial Soul.
Only after achieving that could the Taiji Sword be extracted from the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.
'It feels almost within reach.'
Thanks to Dongbang Sak undertaking much of the training,
The union of Blue and Martial Soul was near completion.
A single step further,
And Martial Soul would be absorbed into Blue.
As Seong Jihan mused on this,
A system message appeared before his eyes.
[You have acquired information on the final inscription of the Annihilation God's Secret.]
'The final…?'
Final?
There were five inscriptions in the Annihilation God's Secret in total, corresponding to five disciples of the Martial God.
Seong Jihan was puzzled.
[You recognize the name Galactic Sword Scar.]
[Galactic Sword Scar can only be used through the Taiji Sword.]
Galactic Sword Scar.
To leave the scar of a sword on the galaxy.
Seeing the audacious name of the technique, Seong Jihan chuckled.
'More fitting to the Annihilation God's Secret compared to other techniques.'
Only a blade leaving a scar on the galaxy could kill a god.
Another reason to unite Blue and Martial Soul.
Feeling a surge of determination,
[Anomalous movement detected…]
'Hmm?'
Suddenly an Administrator window opened.
[The stat 'Devil's Intrusion' has its limit modified.]
[The stat activates at a value of 1100.]
The message indicated Devil's Intrusion's limit had increased.
'This is rising now?'
Devil's Intrusion born from the transformation of Martial Soul by Dongbang Sak.
It fully activated as a penalty ability at a stat value of 1000.
It was a substantial restriction meant more for the Martial God who could amplify powers with constellation relics than for Seong Jihan.
Yet this limit suddenly increased by 100?
Then,
[Sensing further anomalous movements…]
[The stat 'Devil's Intrusion' has its limit modified.]
[The stat activates at a value of 1200.]
Soon after, another increase by 100.
'Did the Martial God possess such an easy countermeasure for Dongbang Sak's restriction?'
True, he lacked martial skills compared to Dongbang Sak,
But having survived long through infinite regression, he might possess unique methods.
He was never an opponent to underestimate.
At first, Seong Jihan attributed it to the Martial God's abilities,
[The stat 'Red' increases by 1.]
But seeing the subsequent message, he narrowed his eyes.
'…Red has increased now?'
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