บท 452: Chapter 452
[Seal, broken.]
Letters appeared above the red eye.
The seal of Ashoka's red hand had been broken.
'So it got properly stimulated when I melted Pythia's ice earlier.'
When this guy wakes up, he's going to keep talking about burning humanity with sacred flame.
That will be tiring.
Seong Jihan thought that to himself while outwardly saying calmly.
"I'm going to use Total Annihilation right now. Perfect timing. Help me out."
[Total Annihilation? Why use it?]
"To block that thing."
Swish.
Seong Jihan's spear pointed skyward.
Where a black vortex summoned by the Martial God, with dozens of hands stretching out from it, was.
The Martial God's hands were incredibly tough to deal with unless attacked with something on the level of Total Annihilation or the Taiji Sword.
[Is the Martial God trying to kidnap the main body?]
"That's right."
[Got it. I'll help.]
Whoosh!
In response to Seong Jihan's words, the administrator's hand reluctantly complied.
The flames of the Phoenix Spear grew even more intense.
Red:
Total Annihilation.
A red light soon shot towards the sky.
Ssss…
The Martial God's hands and arms began to disintegrate one by one.
– Total Annihilation, indeed.
– Even the Martial God's hands can't withstand that.
– It's such an enticing power… the hand of the Red Administrator.
– But you can't just enter the tournament, can you? That guy even defeated the Dragon Lord's avatar.
Alien viewers, while coveting such power, had no intention of participating in the tournament upon seeing Seong Jihan easily handle the Dragon Lord's avatar.
And as Seong Jihan's Total Annihilation completely obliterated the hands, chat messages started rolling in, as if they had anticipated this.
– The Martial God is nothing much, after all.
– But even then, isn't he a great Constellation?
– Maybe? There's a rumor he's a great Constellation, but there's little detailed info.
– Guess he's on par with the Dragon Lord, the kidnapping attempt has failed.
The Martial God's attempts, through various schemes including summoning the Tower of Babel, ultimately ended in failure.
'The Tower of Babel would have been a hassle, but still, it was dealt with rather straightforwardly.'
Seong Jihan looked at the Tower of Babel, which remained as a form of light in the center of Seolleung.
Despite capturing the tower using Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit, it was still ambiguous to say it was entirely under his control.
'I should study this tower a bit.'
And inside it… there seems to be Gilgamesh. How should he deal with him?
While contemplating future tasks,
[Main body.]
A beep.
Another message appeared on the back of Seong Jihan's hand.
[My seal was quite strong for a while, but it loosened significantly after you enhanced Stats from the Dragon Lord.]
"Is that so?"
[Although I couldn't open my eyes or write messages, I could roughly understand the main body's actions.]
Seong Jihan's brow furrowed.
Why send such messages in this situation?
"…What is it you want to say?"
[I saw it. The switch.]
"The switch… you mean…"
[The item that can ignite the World Tree with a push of a button.]
So it recognized the World Tree ignition device even while sealed.
[Why haven't you pushed it?]
"That's…"
[If you push the button, it's over. You can become an administrator. Especially such an item, it's impossible to manufacture without the intervention of the Black-and-White Administrator. Whatever the true intention of Black-and-White is, this means they practically approved our ascendance as permanent administrators.]
"…One could see it that way."
[So why haven't you pushed it? Why is it rotting away in your inventory?]
Why? Because pushing the button means humanity, including family, would all burn.
He had no desire to become an administrator at such a cost.
Seong Jihan didn't bother vocalizing this thought.
[I have concluded that you have no intention of becoming an administrator.]
The administrator's hand had reached its own conclusion.
And.
Whoosh…
Seong Jihan's right hand spontaneously ignited.
"Power of the red, obey the master's command."
From within.
A voice, not just another message, came from the hand.
And soon, Stats encoded red began to move out of Seong Jihan's control.
"You…"
Seong Jihan tried to control the rampaging red from within.
But the administrator's hand, now speaking aloud, seemed to have higher priority, and the red did not listen.
And then.
Sss…
Seong Jihan's body began to float up.
The direction his body moved towards was none other than the sky rift.
The place where all the Martial God's hands had burned, leaving only a black vortex.
"Don't tell me…"
"I've pondered why you haven't pushed the button and seemed so lax. And I've realized."
"What… have you realized?"
He could still move and speak, as he hadn't completely lost control, but.
His body was flying upwards faster than he could react.
At this moment, neither Martial Soul nor Void could function properly, colliding against the Stats encoded red inside.
"You live a life worth living up until now."
"…What?"
"Even the enemies you've faced up till now, your current power is sufficient. So you don't feel the need to push the button. But when you truly face danger, you'll want to obtain the administrator's power."
"So you're saying…"
Seong Jihan looked up.
The hands of the Martial God, hastily regenerated inside the black vortex, were reaching out to grasp him.
That it'd throw him into such a situation?
"That's right. The main body needs to face extreme situations."
Snap!
Immediately after the hand's response,
[Well done!]
The Martial God's hands gripped Seong Jihan's body,
Shwoosh!
And quickly pulled him into the vortex.
* * *
– What the hell…
– Did the administrator's hand just betray us?
– Seriously, backstabbed by the hand like this…
– Is the broadcast over like this? It can't end like this?
– Kidnapped by the Martial God… what do we do now!
People thought, as usual, Seong Jihan would resolve the situation quickly.
However, the betrayal by the administrator's hand left everyone in shock.
Seong Jihan had an image akin to an invincible hero to humanity.
So, when he was dragged into the Martial God's vortex due to the hand's betrayal, people panicked.
If the broadcast ended here, does that mean Seong Jihan was dead?
What would happen to humanity without Seong Jihan?
Can his top rank in the Space League be maintained without him?
People began discussing Seong Jihan's kidnapping urgently across all types of forums.
Then.
– Wait, the screen is back.
– Uh…
– What's this place?
In the darkened Seong Jihan channel, the video resumed.
"Ha…"
The first sound was Seong Jihan sighing.
And the screen revealed a desolate, grey wasteland.
– Oh. What is this place? There's no sky and straight into space…
– But what's floating above? What are those?
– Are those weapons? There are various kinds.
The camera showed the floating, various relics of constellations above the wasteland.
Not only humans but also…
– This is the star where the Martial God resides, isn't it?
– The weapons seem to be cosmic. The Martial God is notorious for killing constellations and taking their weapons.
– But did he really kill that many constellations for all these weapons?
– Even with the Martial God's infamy, these are too many.
When viewers from other worlds saw the extent of the constellation weapons, they started to doubt.
Then,
Sss…
The Martial God, shrouded in darkness, appeared before Seong Jihan.
[Hand of the administrator. Why did you stop cooperating? If you had stayed still, I would have caught him easily.]
Whoosh!
Once again, Seong Jihan's right hand ignited.
"I just wanted to put the main body in danger. I have no intention of allying with you. This is out of loyalty to push the button."
"Shut up, you bastard."
Loyalty, my foot.
Seong Jihan drew Eclipse and stabbed his hand.
The fire went out immediately.
"I was almost out of energy to resist anyway. Main body… Take the easy way. Become the permanent administrator…"
The administrator's hand continued to speak, then fell silent as it returned to dormancy.
Simultaneously, Stats encoded red returned under Seong Jihan's control.
'This lunatic has caused a massive accident.'
Pythia.
So that's why she froze his arm. Using her divine eye to foresee this future?
Seong Jihan checked his condition seriously.
The administrator's hand, which had betrayed him, stayed dormant after using up its power, and his abilities returned to normal.
'The problem is I'm recovering in Tuseong.'
And the one who kidnapped him,
[Dongbang Sak.]
"…Yes, Martial God."
The Martial God called even called Dongbang Sak.
[We'll cooperate. We must capture Seong Jihan here.]
The Martial God, determined to finish what he started when he finally managed to kidnap Seong Jihan, intended to ensure the end.
– No way… Martial God, really?
– Planning a joint attack when you're supposed to be the Martial God?
– Inviting him to his realm for a gang-up? Truly fitting for a Martial God…
– They should revoke his title of Martial God at this point.
Viewers were dumbfounded by the situation.
But the Martial God's stance was firm.
He wouldn't miss the opportunity now that he had brought Seong Jihan here.
'A joint attack by the Martial God and Dongbang Sak?'
This is serious.
Seong Jihan was gathering all his strength when,
[Great Constellation 'Sun King' urges you to quickly take out the solar core.]
The supporting Constellation, Sun King urgently messaged him.
The Sun King intended to use the Martial God's body.
If things went according to the Sun King's plan, a monstrous being with the Sun King's power and the Martial God's body would form.
Seong Jihan had seriously considered using the solar core last time, but.
'The current situation requires action.'
Facing the joint attack of the Martial God and Dongbang Sak left no room to hold back.
It doesn't matter if his intention succeeds or not.
I need to try something to break this deadlock.
"Inventory."
As soon as Seong Jihan mentioned his inventory,
[You're about to press the switch. Dongbang Sak, set up the sealing formation.]
"Yes."
To counteract the switch's effect, the Martial God instructed the summoning of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation.
Swish…
He moved his hand.
Swoosh!
The solar core, taken out of Seong Jihan's inventory, split cleanly in two.
'This… is Mount Tai Suppression!'
One of the fundamental techniques of Fundamental Divine Arts, Triad of Martial Mastery: Mount Tai Suppression had been perfectly executed by the Martial God.
Though.
'It couldn't cut through the right hand.'
The administrator's hand was quite sturdy, with the attack only making a small scratch.
Perhaps the precision-cut, aiming solely at the item, weakened its power.
Then.
[It wasn't the switch…]
Predicting the split solar core, the Martial God asked in a sinister voice.
[Is that, by any chance, an item of the Sun King?]
"Yes, the Sun King is coming."
Even though it had split just after being taken out, Seong Jihan bluffed.
Then.
[This guy… You've been a nuisance to the end. Dongbang Sak.]
"Yes, Martial God."
[The Sun King may invade, so keep him at bay. Intercept him outside Tuseong.]
"Understood."
Wary of the Sun King's intrusion, the Martial God ordered Dongbang Sak to intercept him outside, sending him away.
Swish!
Dongbang Sak vanished in an instant upon hearing the order.
'Sun King, you can be helpful sometimes.'
Now it won't be 2 against 1.
This is much better.
Though Seong Jihan felt relieved for a moment,
[…I must use my full power before the Sun King arrives.]
Once the Martial God declared he would use his full strength,
A crimson-black aura surged from his body.
The light shot upwards, splintering and connecting with the various relics floating above.
Whoosh!
The Martial God's body grew massive, amplifying his energy tremendously.
Comparing to his previous form, his strength multiplied dozens of times, if not more.
'This is… way too strong.'
Even the calm-headed Seong Jihan felt overwhelmed by the sight of the enormous Martial God.
Unlike the slight increase in battle power he had faced with Dongbang Sak,
'…Sheer overwhelming power.'
The Martial God simply crushed with overwhelming strength he had accumulated.
Strength that could instantly squash the Dragon Lord's avatar.
'Still, I have to fight.'
Since escape was not an option here,
Seong Jihan readied himself for battle.
Ssss…
Half of his face was enveloped by the void, and Constellation traits was activated.
[Still resisting?]
Seong Jihan's power also surged significantly.
But.
'This is not enough.'
Even though he had used every enhancement technique he had,
It still wasn't sufficient against the tremendous power of the Martial God.
To fight properly here, he would need to utilize everything he'd been holding back.
"I will use the supernova."
Using the New Star buff's one-time supernova,
Seong Jihan decided to unleash all his means in battling the Martial God.
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