Chapter 1418
Indra took a stance with his Thunder Sword and shouted.
“Oh, Cheonan! What I summon is the vanquisher of enemies! I grant the domain of the God King; let the might of destruction lose its brilliance for a moment!”
Wiying!
Light shimmered across Indra’s entire body, swirling like a whirlwind. Countless beams of light were condensing as if they were about to explode at any moment, and then suddenly, Indra’s eyes sparkled, and a roar exploded forth.
“The blade of the God King cleaves through the universe!”
Boom!
In that instant, it felt like Indra’s whole being exploded, and a clear light surged across the heavens and the earth, transforming the dimly lit universe into a complete white canvas. From that white world, a translucent blade soared straight and struck the center of a bookshelf.
Rumble!
As a result, the black goat’s form being summoned from the bookshelf vanished as if washed away, and the bookshelf itself tore apart and fluttered in the air.
Did we finish it?
No, is Indra actually helping me by revealing his true form?!
In the midst of this incomprehensible situation, while I was overwhelmed, Indra stood before me, still facing away, and spoke softly.
“I shall ask, Reborn Person!”
“……!?”
“If you could obtain Chi You’s power but had to end all battles in a single lifetime, would you accept that choice?”
W-what is he talking about?
Chi You’s power?
What is this guy even spouting…
Just as I was panicking, Indra bellowed again, urging me on.
“Hurry up and answer! Just now, that was merely a manifestation of the black goat. I appeared as a promise to Chi You, and soon, causes and effects will be granted to the Outer God! Time is running out!”
……!!
So I didn’t block the true form but just a manifestation…!!
Realizing the urgency in Indra’s words, I quickly replied.
“You bastard, Indra!”
“……?!”
Gritting my teeth, I shouted.
“Apologize for letting Mangnyang die in the Outer Dimension!”
This time, Indra looked back in surprise. Though he appeared to be a man filled with lightning, his features seemed vaguely humanoid, making it difficult to gauge his expression, but it was clear he was taken aback.
“What? This crazy guy… don’t you realize it’s all over if the Outer God arrives? This isn’t the time for apologies…”
Regardless of Indra’s words, I began to furiously point at him.
“Because of you! Last time I fought the Emperor, I got a Vajra stuck in my heart! Not to mention I killed Mangnyang not once, but twice with my own hands! And then you go and kill me in the Takrok Era! All thanks to you, I had to do all sorts of nonsense in the Training World! I will never forgive you!”
“You little brat!? Is getting an apology from me that important even though everything is about to end?!”
“Yeah, you jerk! If not now, you’d never apologize!”
“……!! You lousy guy… just sitting there, pretending to be all high and mighty!”
“Pretending? Let’s see you try!”
All of a sudden, I felt a split in my mind and lashed out with curses.
“No matter how impressive your situation is, I’m not grateful for receiving help from a jerk like you! You little brat! If I have to live thanks to someone like you, I’d rather die right here!”
“Ugh… You crazy idiot…”
“Crazy? Well said! Let’s die together, you scumbag! Worse than Cheon Woo-jin!!”
Rumble!
At that moment, the bookshelf that had been torn apart in the void began to reassemble itself amidst a mysterious darkness. It wasn’t fast, but with each reconstruction, waves of intense darkness surged from the other side. Seeing this, Indra seemed a bit anxious and spoke with a voice that sounded like he was chewing on something.
“Honestly, tell me. Do you have the qualification to be the master of the Four Great Spirit Deities? Your power is nowhere near Chi You, let alone Dharma! While there may be potential for the Reborn Person, with your innate talent being so low, as you grow, you might actually become weaker than other reborn individuals.”
“So what?”
Indra pointed his Thunder Sword at me, speaking condescendingly.
“Would you bow to someone worse than you? Before I was sealed with the Four Great Spirit Deities, I wasn’t afraid of the Three Sovereigns in this world, arguing with only the Outer God standing above! If you want to handle me, you need qualifications!”
“Huh… Is that so?”
I didn’t take his harsh words too seriously because I knew he was like this from the start. Instead, I calmly responded to him.
“Then teach me.”
“…What?”
“You just used some sort of martial arts. Stop acting like you’re the only one who’s great, and teach me everything you know. If after all that, I still can’t find an answer, then I’ll gladly give up the Thunder God technique Vajra and set you free!”
“……”
Indra fell silent for a moment before responding.
“Are you serious? You know your talent is trash, right? You’re actually going to try?”
“Sure. There’s no point in just being angry at each other stuck like this, right? So teach me everything. Who knows, maybe I have some hidden talent and can learn it all.”
After all, if I stayed like this, I’d just be held back by Indra every time I reincarnate. No matter how powerful the Thunder God was, being betrayed at crucial moments would be a huge loss. It would actually be better to learn the techniques that he has than to give up the Thunder God altogether.
“And damn it, before we talk about that, you better apologize to me first. If you don’t, we’ll both die here!”
As I pointed at him, Indra looked at me in utter disbelief. Then, he nodded as if accepting his fate.
“Fine. I’ll accept that proposal. And I’ll apologize.”
“You’ll apologize? What a rude little brat…”
“Hmph. You piece of trash.”
While we both glared at each other, I thought this was all I could accomplish. It was important that the rude punk had at least apologized on the surface. I nodded at Indra.
“Alright, then figure that out. Are you going to keep pushing that manifestation away like you just did?”
“It can’t be done. The Outer God is expanding the universe and consuming this place.”
“……?”
“Watch closely.”
Indra lifted his hand, and following his gesture, the Thunder Sword began to move in the void. I muttered as I watched.
“Sword Flying Technique?”
Whoosh—Boom!
The Thunder Sword flew straight and hit the center of the reassembling bookshelf, ripping it apart yet again. And among the torn pages, a giant silhouette of starlight began to flow majestically.
Shushushu…!
This time, the torn pages did not merge back together, but each piece began to grow larger, seemingly shifting into the shape of a bookshelf. Indra, having collected the Thunder Sword again, said.
“Each of those pages is the universe. Inside those torn pieces are millions of stars and galaxies. Ripping them all apart is impossible even for an Emperor or an Evil God. Even with the Thunder Sword that disrupts the principles, there are limits.”
“W-what? The universe? What absurd talk…”
“Logic and concepts don’t apply in front of the Outer God. It’s impossible to completely block the descent of the Outer God with my current power, even if it were just Chi You.”
Were they literally creating a universe while actively manifesting? This nonsensical situation left me in shock, but soon I realized this is precisely the power of the Outer God. Standing equally with such an existence was completely out of the question.
Indra, crossing his arms, said.
“If you could fully utilize the Four Great Spirit Deities, it wouldn’t be impossible, but for now, we have no choice but to run.”
“You have a way to escape?”
“Just wait for now. Until the events of the outside world settle.”
“Settle?”
As I focused on those words, a clear mirror-like vision of the outer world appeared before me, and I gasped.
“No?!”
Boom!
The events happening outside were astonishing.
“Cough… ugh…”
Dharma was groaning!
The world was reduced to ruins, and a barren wind swept across the wasteland. My body was shown gripping Dharma’s neck, with Chi You’s horns sharply protruding from me, my expression completely blank as Dharma’s body was already soaked in blood.
Wait—did my body turn around and instead grab Dharma’s neck in this moment I wasn’t paying attention? I couldn’t understand the situation at all, as it was clear to anyone that I had overwhelmingly gained the upper hand against Dharma!
“W-what happened?”
It was obvious I was overpowering Dharma, making it hard for me to grasp what was going on. Then, Indra, who was beside me watching the mirror image, spoke up.
“It’s natural. It’s only a fraction of strength, but that’s the true power of Chi You. Someone like you, relying only on the powers of the Outer God, wouldn’t stand a chance. You’d need to be at the level of a Martial God to defeat that.”
“A fraction?!”
Indra spoke with an air of self-importance.
“Look closely. That’s the strength of one who battled against my body for the title of the strongest in the universe.”
Just then, Dharma’s eyes, which I was gripping, turned completely black, and he began chanting a spell loudly.
“Oh, God of Magic Hermes, grant me the fruit of the World Tree! Here, I shall unleash the peak of the Demon Path by unjustly obtaining the fruits of cosmic authority!!”
Roar!
In the next moment, circuits like threads erupted from Dharma’s entire body as his power began to rise again. I didn’t know what the spell was, but I could sense its effect thanks to the knowledge of magic that Cheon Woo-jin had taught me from the Hermes system.
‘It’s a forbidden technique that ignites all the SETH within oneself to gain immense power in an instant! If done right, one could temporarily use the power of the World Tree…’
Still, my level of SETH was nothing compared to Dharma’s. Dharma seemed to have reached a high rank within the Sephiroth, and as his SETH amplified, he began to radiate an even greater level of dark magical power. It felt absurd to even think about defeating a being with such power.
Roar…!
Yet, despite Dharma amplifying his strength tremendously, he still could not break free from my grip on his throat. He was desperately trying to push my arm away with both hands, but my arm didn’t budge at all.
“Gagh… It can’t be… I ignited the equivalent of a World Tree’s worth of magical power…! I can’t even move a finger?!”
Dharma seemed increasingly unable to withstand, eventually crying out in despair.
“So Chi You was this strong! I had never seen such a strong entity, as I’ve not been outside since the closure of the cycle…”
Crack!
“Gah!”
With a final gasp, Dharma fainted, collapsing afterwards. I watched in disbelief as he did so.
“Can a being of the Demon Path really be knocked out?”
“He’s overwhelmed by the power of Chi You, so his soul is being suppressed. Since he heavily relies on the Demon Path, being overwhelmed in terms of spiritual power makes him particularly weak.”
“…Am I being controlled by Chi You’s will right now?”
“It’s merely combat instinct. ‘That’ has no will of its own.”
“You mean it operates solely on instinct? Is that even possible?”
“It was common during the era Chi You was active.”
Indra, responding nonchalantly, continued.
“Since you’ve won in the outside battle, now return to your body. If you get out of this world, you should be safe from the Outer God.”
Swoosh!
Indra’s pair of wings radiated a crimson light as he flapped them once. With that flap, a strange energy opened a two-dimensional passage wide enough for just one person to pass.
“……”
Before stepping into the passage, I looked at Indra and asked.
“Indra. What’s your relationship with Chi You? What sort of promise did you make?”
He clearly hated me enough to want to kill me, so I knew he wasn’t helping me out of goodwill. Furthermore, considering why he was moving, it was definitely because of a promise to Chi You. As I questioned him, he replied.
“An evil friend. He perished before I could settle that debt. We don’t have time to talk details, so hurry up and leave.”
“You must promise to tell me later.”
“I’ll promise, now get out of here.”
Alright, with a promise obtained, I scrambled to exit!
I quickly nodded and ducked through the passage, eager to escape.
Swoosh!
“……?”
Huh? What’s this?
Even after exiting the passage, I saw Indra again. It seemed I had only fallen a bit beyond the initial location. I shouted at him incredulously.
“Hey! Are you messing with me?!”
“Ugh.”
Indra looked a bit pale as he began glancing around, speaking as if he was genuinely concerned.
“Could it be… that by tearing the bookshelf open, the Outer God has already consumed the entire universe, abolishing the cycle? I never thought the Outer God would use such power to capture a Reborn Person…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Be careful.”
Indra’s warning froze my thoughts.
“The Outer God, the Black Goat, has already been summoned. It’s present within this space.”
“……!!”
Damn! What do we do now?
If even Indra can’t escape, doesn’t that mean there’s no way out?!
As I was panicking, a faint, singing-like voice could be heard in the void.
“Chi You wanted to be the conclusion of this tale.”
As I stood frozen alongside Indra in the void of space, we could do nothing but remain still.
Because while we could hear the voice of the entity, we had no idea where it was or felt its aura.
No… perhaps this entire universe is the body of the Outer God.
In a situation devoid of any chances, I had no idea what to do.
“The King of All Beings is watching. Show us your qualifications.”
Damn it!
I desperately looked at Indra, but it seemed like he resigned himself, letting his Thunder Sword droop. It appeared he recognized that with our current powers, defeating the Outer God was impossible. Some might mock Indra for being incompetent, but I couldn’t muster the thought to do so.
Because even as I breathed in this space, I learned something. The presence of the Outer God that fills this space is on a completely different level. Regardless of what I try, I’ll just be dismantled and killed in an instant.
Thus, the only option left was to figure out what the Outer God wanted.
Qualifications…!!
I didn’t know what kind of qualification was sought, but I felt the Black Goat might spare me if it saw something worthy.
So, what am I supposed to do?!
While I desperately racked my brain, a certain thought struck me.
Taking a deep breath, I reached out my hand, concentrating all my energy. Indra looked at me like I was nuts, but I paid him no mind.
“I-It could work…”
No… this wasn’t something that would simply work through an act of will…
Could it be possible…?
“Ugh… ugh…”
“What are you doing?”
Even now, risking my life for the first time, I felt no confidence. Because I was about to attempt something unprecedented again.
And the Outer God, the Black Goat, which had descended into this space, seemed to read my thoughts, wearing a faint smile.
“Go ahead and try.”
“……”
In a moment, I pushed all my life’s concentration into a single hand gesture directed forward.
If this space is effectively the body of the Outer God, perhaps there is a chance. But it’s so absurd it hardly feels rational.
Is it even conceivable?
I had no choice but to believe!
“Technique of All Things!!”
I hope there’s a mask for the Outer God too!!
