53
053 ― Downfall
Jin-woo comfortably crossed through the temple via the hole that Kalesian breath had pierced through. The deeper he went, the more ominous the atmosphere truly felt. It seemed that what Kalesian had said about piercing straight through to the divine artifact was true.
Strangely, there was no one in the temple. There were no Hunters offering tributes or undergoing trials, nor were there any foreign races. Even.
'I don't see any Guardian either?'
Even the Guardian that Kalesian had been so wary of was nowhere to be seen. Was it hiding somewhere? Even so, Jin-woo had already reached deep into the temple. He could already see an ominous-looking object that appeared to be the divine artifact in the room across from him. If he just crossed one more room, he would be within arm's reach of the divine artifact.
'Where is it hiding?'
Perhaps it was quietly holding its breath like a Hunter targeting prey. The moment the target catches its prey—that is, the moment he obtains the divine artifact. It might be waiting to strike at that moment of carelessness.
'But that's also strange.'
A Guardian is originally an existence meant to protect divine artifacts. To throw the divine artifact it's supposed to protect as bait and deliberately wait for the moment it gets stolen? Moreover, he couldn't feel any blue flames nearby. At the very least, there were no living beings with souls in the vicinity.
'Well, the latter could be a golem or some magical creature.'
When thinking of Guardians, the first image that comes to mind is a golem. If it were such an existence, it would make sense that there were no blue flames, so Jin-woo never let his guard down. However, despite his tension, Jin-woo entered the room with the divine artifact far too easily.
An extraordinary object entangled in the air like threads along with heavenly energy.
'Is it a scabbard?'
At first glance, it appeared to be a scabbard. The color was black, but looking closely, a mysterious galaxy was embroidered on its surface. The material seemed like leather, but he wasn't certain. Jin-woo wasn't a craftsman, and even if a craftsman like Bulkar had seen it, they wouldn't have been able to discern it. The material that made up that scabbard was from the 6th floor, the Spirit Realm. It was a material that couldn't be found in this world.
'I just need to take that.'
Though it bothered him that the Guardian was still nowhere to be seen, since it was right before his eyes, he couldn't help but reach out. Jin-woo drew his sword to cut through the sky-blue energy surrounding the scabbard.
Then.
Kururururung―!
As expected, the God of Sky wouldn't just stand by. At this moment, the hidden Guardian appeared.
'This is…….'
The room where Jin-woo was standing, the room with the divine artifact, rapidly expanded. What had been just the size of a single room expanded rapidly to the size of a city, to the size of a continent, and eventually to the size of a star. Naturally, the divine artifact that had been right before his eyes also moved far away, now reaching a position on the opposite side of the continent. The distance had grown as far as from South Korea to Uruguay.
'Illusion? Domain? Is this the true identity of the Guardian protecting the divine artifact?'
He instinctively realized that this was a type of mental magic, like an illusion. If it had been the previous Jin-woo, he might have suspected it was an illusion, but wouldn't have been able to discern it. However, having eaten the golden apple and undergone a transformation in both body and mind, he had developed the intuition to recognize the true identity of this Guardian. Though knowing it was an illusion didn't mean he knew how to break it.
[ The God of Sky sneers. ]
[ Wander eternally. Under my sky. ]
The God of Sky openly sent mockery. How would he find his way under this vast sky? There was nothing to eat or drink there. Even what he had brought in his subspace had limits, so eventually he would die of starvation or dehydration. Under the endlessly spread sky like a vast ocean, Jin-woo closed his mouth.
[ The God of Sky declares victory. ]
[ It is my victory. ]
The illusion magic directly deployed by a god, a lord, was indeed extraordinary. While fighting Johan, he had seen magic that controlled souls, brainwashing, hypnosis, and curses many times. However, the current domain was on a different level from any of those. This illusion was no longer an illusion but something no different from reality that directly affected both body and mind.
The Guardian was placed to protect the divine artifact. Its true identity was not some other life form, but a trap directly installed by the lord's own power.
'Kalesian wasn't wrong when he said one S-rank wouldn't even come close.'
He understood why Kalesian hadn't moved alone and had tried to recruit him. Even if not just one S-rank but a truckload came, there would be no way to escape from this power.
However.
'It's the power of Erosion.'
This power, this trap, directly imbued with the lord's power, was permeated with the energy of Erosion. It wasn't an indirect method of bestowing blessings or conveying will through divine artifacts. It was a trap directly installed by the Lord of Erosion with his own power. Because it was Erosion, it was clearly visible to Jin-woo's eyes. Which path was the correct life gate, where the dangerous death Gates and ghost Gates were?
'Kalesian's personnel allocation was correct.'
Lin Shenlin would be handled by Kalesian himself, so he had entrusted the divine artifact to Jin-woo. Of course, he didn't know the Guardian's true identity. He also didn't know what kind of power Jin-woo had regarding Erosion. That judgment at the time was just a natural decision made according to the flow.
'But it was correct as a result.'
For Lin Shenlin, who handled Magi instead of Erosion, Jin-woo's ability had little merit. It would just become a pure power struggle. Conversely, this planet-sized domain woven with the power of Erosion was something Kalesian couldn't break through. For him to find the divine artifact within this, he would really need to think about searching through an entire star.
Now he understood. Erosion was not a phenomenon to be feared. At least not for him. Look at this. Even the power directly deployed by the so-called Lord of Erosion was visible so clearly. It wasn't that he should fear Erosion, but that Erosion should fear him.
***
Mountain-high flames rose up to confine Kalesian and Lin Shenlin, creating a circular arena. It was meant to prevent Lin Shenlin from going to interfering with Jin-woo, but from Lin Shenlin's perspective, it was rather good.
"You can't run away anymore."
He could finally directly kill Kalesian, who had been flying around here and there like a fly, running away. If Kalesian had landed on the Sky Island from the beginning and fought him head-on, the battle wouldn't have dragged on this long. The reason Kalesian had been able to hold out until now was that he had used hit-and-run tactics while avoiding direct confrontation with Lin Shenlin. However, having confined himself within the arena, he could no longer run away.
'Jin-woo! Please hurry as much as possible. I don't know how long I can hold him off.'
Kalesian uncharacteristically broke out in a cold sweat. Though he had always been confident as a dragon, he couldn't be so against Lin Shenlin, who had received the full blessing of a god.
"Keuk!"
As Lin Shenlin's sword fell, the magic spells that Kalesian had deployed were torn apart like paper. Fire, lightning, nothing worked, and even when he poured out water like a waterfall—though it wasn't to his taste—nothing changed. No magic could withstand his sword, and there were even countless spells that were torn apart at the magic circle stage and couldn't even be activated.
Still, magic was all he had. Abandoning the torn spells without regret, he continued to produce dozens, hundreds of magical techniques.
"Hmph!"
Lin Shenlin snorted as he dealt with those spells. Originally, he was someone who had directly clashed with adult dragons in the 5th floor. Though he couldn't overwhelm the adults, he was at a level where he wasn't easily defeated or overcome. Just reaching that level was enough to discuss being the best in the world in this floor. To such a Lin Shenlin, Kalesian's magic was truly like child's play.
"Kraaaak!"
Not only were all the spells broken, but Lin Shenlin's Magi began to cut through Kalesian's scales. Though his magical knowledge was at the adult level, his body and mind remained as they were when he was a hatchling. It meant he was outmatched in absolute physical class. Against Lin Shenlin, who was enhanced by divine power and exerting more than double his usual strength, he couldn't hold out half-heartedly.
'Damn, I can't end this so quickly.'
Of course, running away was possible. If he immediately left the battlefield and fled, he could easily shake off pursuit. However, if he did that, Lin Shenlin would also be freed. The liberated Lin Shenlin would immediately return to the temple and strike Jin-woo, who was fighting the Guardian, from behind. If Jin-woo died that way, it would be his defeat.
The opportunity to steal the god's divine artifact would be permanently forfeited. Not only the God of Sky, but other gods would also greatly strengthen their defenses regarding divine artifacts. That would also mean his desire to learn about the 6th floor would be shattered.
'Life or aspiration.'
Whether to stake his life and hold onto Lin Shenlin until the end, or just save his own life and throw away the aspiration he had harbored for thousands of years, like an old shoe. There was nothing to think about. If he had been someone who would choose the former, he wouldn't have made the choice to come down to Earth without undergoing transformation in the first place.
'Bres! One more time!'
Rather than running away, he opened his mouth once more to shoot Bres. The most powerful and destructive secret technique among all the magic possessed by dragons. A beam of light shot out with the power of the Dragon Heart, which had an absolute attraction to Magi.
"Hmph, this little……."
'A mere hatchling's Bres.'
Sneering like that, Lin Shenlin raised his sword. The sword covered with Magi positioned itself in the sky, aiming at the beam of light. Saying he could easily split this little thing.
Puk―!
At that moment, an arrow pierced his shoulder.
"Kuk! Who is it!"
It wasn't just any arrow. Not light wood or anything, but an incredibly heavy arrow made of iron. It was the kind of thing more suited to be shot from a ballista than a bow. The iron itself seemed to have undergone special processing, harboring ridiculous power.
Outside the flaming arena. On a high tree in the Moonlit Forest that even Kalesian's flames couldn't penetrate, April was quietly hiding.
Kwaak―!
She drew her characteristically thick bow. Though it seemed like a light draw, her arm muscles were writhing tremendously. Though she used swords and shields, her main weapon was this bow. Even her whole body's muscles were developed solely to draw this bow. The arrow she shot flew not in a parabolic arc but in a straight line, piercing through the flames to snipe Lin Shenlin.
"Kraaaaaa!"
Lin Shenlin's rage. That momentary disruption threw off the timing to bring down his sword.
'Damn it!'
Though he hastily brought down his sword belatedly, the beam of light was already closer than the timing he had aimed for.
***
Originally, the distance between Jin-woo and the divine artifact in the room where the divine artifact was located was close. Six steps. It was a distance that could be reached by walking just six steps at most. The domain had unfolded from such a close distance.
'So even within this, it should be reachable within six steps.'
This was an illusion, so the divine artifact on the opposite side of the continent should be reachable in six steps. It would be strange if it weren't.
'One step.'
With the first step, he crossed the ocean. An ocean like the Pacific folded in just one step as Jin-woo crossed the sea.
'Two steps.'
With two steps, he traversed the continent. Was this how the legendary Taoist masters who used earth-shrinking (Chukji) felt? It truly felt like folding the earth to move. Of course, everything was happening within an illusion. Like that, three steps, four steps, five steps. With the final sixth step, Jin-woo arrived in front of the scabbard.
[ The God of Sky is shocked. ]
[ This cannot be! ]
The one who had confidently declared victory earlier screamed. Using that scream as background music, Jin-woo reached out to the scabbard. The Erosion energy that had been surrounding the scabbard threatened and tried to harm Jin-woo as he reached out, but.
Chwaak!
Unable to withstand Jin-woo's sword, it all fell away.
[ Stop! Stop! ]
The severed Erosion energy didn't give up and wrapped around the scabbard like a cocoon to protect it. Jin-woo paid no heed and tore the scabbard from within the cocoon. Forcibly cutting away all interfering energy. Finally, the scabbard trembled as if making a last desperate struggle, but when Jin-woo gripped it firmly, even that subsided.
[ Stooooop……. ]
The voice of the God of Sky, who had been shouting to stop, gradually grew distant. Having had his divine artifact stolen, he could no longer easily connect to the lower floor.
'How satisfying.'
Pleased with the delightful result, Jin-woo smiled while holding the scabbard.
And.
[ The God of Sky's Temple has collapsed. ]
[ The God of Sky has been stripped of all authority in the 3rd floor Pandemonium. ]
[ All of the God of Sky's contribution points and blessings disappear. ]
The fall of the God of Sky's Temple resonated throughout all of Pandemonium.