Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 473: Floor 89: The Old God’s Outpost (6)

To defeat Paradise, Taesan needed to overcome his authority.

The simplest method would be to use Chaos Domain. By distorting the very laws and concepts of the world, even the power of the Old Gods could be crushed.

However, Boundary Line had already been significantly depleted. A large amount had been used to forcibly normalize frozen time.

Chaos Domain was a power that, even at full capacity, could only be used once or twice. Using it now carried an enormous risk.

But there was no need to rely on it.

While Chaos Domain was close to omnipotence, Taesan was confident he could defeat Paradise without it.

He already knew how to deal with someone like him—he had once fought Lee Taeyeon, who had wielded similar abilities.

Taesan adjusted his sword, his movements deliberate. Paradise flinched.

The air suddenly shifted. Taesan began gathering demonic energy.

[You have activated Marbas’s Black Wave.]

[You have activated Starlight Arrow.]

[You have activated Mana Storm.]

In an instant, dozens of spells and dark magic materialized in the world. Taesan spun quickly, channeling mana and demonic energy as he encircled Paradise. Just as Paradise prepared to fire his gun, he realized something.

Taesan’s power was literally engulfing the world.

To the left, storms raged. To the right, a black wave surged. In front, arrows of light flew. Behind him, waves of frost advanced. Above, a space darkened by shadow loomed.

His entire field of vision was blocked by a combination of magic and dark energy—there was nothing he could see.

Panicking, Paradise tried to sense Taesan’s presence and aim his weapon, but Taesan responded effortlessly.

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[You have activated Stealth.]

[You have activated Baal’s Overlapping Shadows.]

Taesan’s presence disappeared entirely.

The only thing Paradise could perceive were the magic spells hurtling toward him.

“Foolish! Even so!” Paradise growled, baring his teeth.

“You can’t hide from my authority!”

He spun and fired his gun wildly.

Bang!

Crack!

The bullet rewound time, twisting through the air, searching for Taesan.

Paradise’s authority of possibility would repeat endlessly until the desired outcome was achieved. Even if Paradise himself didn’t know the answer, the authority would find it. Escaping the bullet, no matter how well hidden, was supposedly impossible.

Crack, crack, crack!

But the bullet stopped.

No matter how many times it rewound, it failed to find its mark, piercing only empty space.

“W-What? How?”

Taesan’s passive skill, Shadow Walker, was the reason.

The skill ensured that any attack unable to recognize its target would never hit.

While endless repetition would eventually succeed if there was even a sliver of a chance, attacks with zero probability were useless.

Frustrated, Paradise quickly began reloading his gun. But Taesan’s spells, which had enveloped the area, were already upon him.

The closer Paradise was to Taesan, the slower his movements became, but he couldn’t simply move the overwhelming attacks aside.

Paradise’s mind raced. If he used his gun, he could carve out a path, but Taesan would undoubtedly exploit the opening.

In that case, he would force his way through.

The magic surrounding him wasn’t all that strong. If he endured the damage, breaking through was possible.

Paradise decided to push through the wave of frost. Compared to the other spells, it seemed weaker and would result in the least damage.

Crackle!

“Urgh!”

Frost clung to his entire body. Gritting his teeth, Paradise endured and successfully broke through.

“I figured you’d do that.”

But that was exactly what Taesan had anticipated.

What greeted Paradise on the other side was a shining, golden Great Collapse.

Breaking through by targeting a weaker spot was the logical choice. Taesan had expected this and preemptively fused divine energy with Great Collapse, setting it as a trap.

The radiant golden orb filled Paradise’s vision.

He thought he had succeeded in escaping, only to face a new assault. If he had been calmer, he might have realized Great Collapse was a trap. Instead, Paradise reflexively raised his gun.

Bang!

The bullet rewound countless times, destroying Great Collapse.

Taesan didn’t waste the opportunity.

[You have activated Mana Storm [Chaos].]

Crack, crack, crack!

A gray storm surged.

In an instant, Paradise’s entire body was shredded. He let out a pained groan and staggered back, his body battered and torn.

“You’re still standing after that? You’re tougher than I thought,” Taesan remarked.

“You bastard!”

Taesan lunged forward. The cooldown for Paradise’s authority was ten seconds—he wouldn’t give him any time to recover. He swung his sword, infused with ashen energy, resisting the slowed time as he targeted Paradise.

Paradise barely managed to block with a dagger.

Clang!

If both were at their peak, Paradise wouldn’t have been able to block Taesan’s attacks. However, the slowed time even affected Boundary Line, reducing Taesan’s speed by half.

"I can’t fully resist it."

The slow-time field was an area-based authority. Without activating Chaos Domain or enveloping himself entirely in Boundary Line, it was impossible to completely negate its effects.

Even so, Paradise barely managed to buy himself ten seconds.

But using his gun required reloading the bullets.

Paradise gritted his teeth, enduring damage as he reloaded. Blood poured from his side as Taesan’s blade inflicted a deep wound.

Despite the injury, Paradise successfully created distance and finished reloading.

[You have activated Random Blink.]

Taesan teleported behind Paradise. Realizing the shift in position, Paradise hastily gathered mana.

[You have activated Great Collapse [Chaos].]

[You have activated Spell Acceleration.]

[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]

[You have activated Limited Blink.]

A chaotic Great Collapse materialized behind Paradise while Taesan charged at him from the front.

Caught between the two attacks, Paradise’s eyes darted in desperation.

No matter how many possibilities he rewound, his bullet couldn’t pierce both the front and back simultaneously.

Forcing Paradise into a choice that exceeded the scope of his authority, Taesan left him with no way out. Paradise’s panicked eyes whirled before he made his decision.

Bang!

The shot was aimed at Taesan.

But it was the wrong choice.

[Your Third Attack Immunity has activated.]

“What the—damn it!” Paradise spat, cursing in frustration.

The Great Collapse behind him detonated.

Boom!

Paradise was thrown to the ground, his body rolling across the terrain. Taesan closed in, swinging his sword, leaving a deep gash across Paradise’s back.

Despite the injuries, Paradise didn’t fall.

Desperately, he stood again, reloading his gun.

“You’re unbelievably durable,” Taesan said, clicking his tongue. Even attacks reinforced with Boundary Line weren’t enough to finish him. Although Paradise didn’t seem to possess any physical reinforcement authority, his resilience was extraordinary.

"Not that it changes anything."

Taesan unleashed a barrage of spells. The ground fractured, the air twisted, and the sky split open.

Crack!

Opening his inventory, Taesan summoned a sentient spear that flew freely, adding to Paradise’s confusion.

“You... damn you!” Paradise stammered, overwhelmed by the barrage of attacks. As soon as the ten-second cooldown ended, he fired his bullet.

But it was a mistake. The bullet was wasted, and Taesan exploited the opening again.

No matter how powerful the authority, its effectiveness ultimately depended on the user. Forcing Paradise into constant mistakes and wasted efforts, Taesan chipped away at his defenses.

Just as he had done against Lee Taeyeon, Taesan created scenarios and conditions that the enemy couldn’t simulate, ensuring his victory.

Boom!

Wounds continued to accumulate on Paradise’s body.

His complexion grew paler with each passing moment.

[You have activated World’s Blade.]

The blade of the world materialized, its hue tainted with ash.

Paradise fired his gun, the bullet colliding with the blade. Both shattered upon impact.

Taesan pressed forward through the crumbling remnants of the blade, targeting Paradise.

Terror filled Paradise’s face.

“My... my master! I offer this world to you! Defile it as you see fit!”

Screeeech!

The world began to freeze again.

Five minutes had already passed.

But Taesan was ready to end it.

[You have activated Chaos Domain.]

With his remaining ashen energy, Chaos Domain would last only a few seconds.

That was all he needed.

The ashen world consumed the frozen one.

Freed entirely from the influence of slowed time, Taesan advanced.

Tap.

“Wait—!”

Paradise cried out, panic-stricken.

Until now, Taesan had only countered the frozen world with Boundary Line, which required a slight delay. But Chaos Domain crushed the authority of the Old Gods outright.

Crunch!

“Urgh!”

Taesan’s blade pierced Paradise’s heart. He coughed up blood as the life drained from his body.

“I... I...!”

Paradise tried to speak, but the ash consumed everything.

“Next time, send an Old God directly. Their envoy won’t suffice.”

Thud.

Taesan drove the blade deeper, ensuring Paradise was completely subdued.

The authority and essence within Paradise began to escape, trying to return to its true master in another dimension.

“Not so fast.”

Taesan smiled, drawing forth his power.

With his Seed of Life skill having reached 40% proficiency, Taesan now had the ability to directly manipulate spiritual energy.

He crushed and suppressed the escaping essence, forcibly pulling it into himself. Despite its resistance—its desperate attempts to return to its master—Taesan’s sheer force of will overwhelmed it.

In the end, the immense essence was entirely absorbed into Taesan.

[You have defeated the Envoy of the One Who Walks Through Time.]

[You have shattered countless possibilities to claim victory. You have acquired the special skill [Possibility Denial].]

[You have stolen the transcendent authority [Time Interference].]

As the messages appeared, Taesan felt an entirely new sensation coursing through him. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. For the first time, he understood the scope of his newfound power, as well as its limitations.

He couldn’t suppress his laughter.

He could now manipulate the flow of time in the world itself.