Ascension Through Skills-Chapter 498: 92nd Floor. Faith (9)

Boom!

Ash and golden light collided violently.

The golden light, so radiant moments ago, was swiftly consumed by the ash, turning the world into a palette of gray.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Remidaos gathered his power once more.

Boom!

The clash of forces reverberated, shaking the space. For the first time, Remidaos, who had never ceded ground, stumbled backward. His face was etched with humiliation.

[Don’t make me laugh!]

A high-pitched hum filled the air as Remidaos stretched out his hand, compressing his divine energy into a brilliant white mass.

Crack.

[I reached this level of transcendence eons ago! Do you really think you can challenge me just because you’ve finally ascended?]

"Yeah, I do."

Previously, Taesan had indeed been a transcendent, but he occupied the lowest rung among them.

Remidaos, on the other hand, was at the pinnacle of faith-based gods. Their realms of power might have been technically equal, but the disparity in their mastery was glaring. This difference had allowed Remidaos to dominate Taesan thus far.

But that advantage no longer existed.

Though Taesan’s transcendence was newly attained, it was complete. They now stood as equals.

And with equal footing, there was no longer any reason for Taesan to falter.

Cloaked in dense, ashen chaos, Taesan charged forward.

Remidaos, brimming with rage, swung his divine power in retaliation.

Boom!

The forces clashed.

The brilliant white divine energy began to darken, struggling as if gasping for air like a deer caught in a predator's jaws. The path before Taesan cleared as the divine energy was consumed.

[You insolent...!]

Remidaos retreated once more. Swinging his divine power wildly to create distance, he made it difficult for Taesan to pursue.

But that was all Remidaos could do.

No matter how fiercely he resisted, his efforts failed to meaningfully affect Taesan.

The air shimmered as hundreds of white spears shot toward Taesan.

Taesan extended his hand toward the oncoming storm.

[You have activated Destroyer.]

A soul skill—Destroyer. A power wrested from an apostle of the High Gods.

Until now, Taesan had been unable to fully control it. His mastery was lacking, and the immortal authority it granted was not easily wielded.

But now, his transcendent state allowed him to stabilize and forcibly elevate his proficiency.

Crack!

The space around him, and even the world itself, fractured under the weight of Destroyer.

A web of cracks spread across the divine energy. Unable to withstand the power, the spears shattered like fragile glass.

[How?! How can an immortal’s authority break my divine power?!]

"Because I’m the one wielding it."

Taesan’s response was casual, even as he pressed forward with relentless force.

Though Remidaos resisted with all his might, he couldn’t prevent a direct hit.

Screech!

The divine energy was shredded in an instant.

Despite Remidaos's desperate attempts to escape, the divine power he relied on was rapidly depleted.

[Huff... huff...]

Panting, Remidaos struggled to steady himself. His exposed face betrayed both desperation and fear.

The god who had once basked in the fear of all now found himself consumed by his own terror—directed at Taesan.

The faith and reverence that once supported him had vanished, replaced by unwavering devotion to Taesan.

Remidaos racked his brain, desperately searching for a way out of this dire situation.

He had crossed countless boundaries and overcome countless trials on his path to transcendence. Surely this would be no different.

But soon, he realized... there was no answer.

No possibility remained.

The weight of that realization brought despair to his face.

[No... this can’t be!]

Denying his own instincts and logic, Remidaos roared.

[I can’t lose! I am destined to be great! I won’t fall here!]

A blinding surge of divine energy gathered around him.

The sheer concentration of power warped its form and color, exceeding the limits of what he could control. The strain twisted his physical body as well.

This was pure, unrestrained power—a final, desperate gamble. Even if it cost him all his divine energy, Remidaos was determined to kill Taesan.

[Die!]

His voice carried both murderous intent and despair. The distorted divine energy surged toward Taesan in a massive wave.

Taesan raised his hand.

Above it, an intangible force began to coalesce.

He hurled Worthlessness at the approaching wave of divine energy.

The small, fist-sized manifestation collided with the immense surge.

And then Worthlessness began to grow.

The intangible energy resonated with the massive divine power, expanding rapidly as it devoured and nullified everything in its path, reducing it to nothingness.

[A-ah...]

Remidaos’s final reserve of power—everything he had gathered—was consumed and rendered meaningless.

Taesan clenched his fist, reclaiming the Worthlessness.

He leaped forward.

Remidaos, half-mad with despair, failed to react in time.

It was already over.

Crunch.

[Gah!]

The last remnants of divine energy protecting Remidaos were devoured as Taesan’s blade pierced his chest.

[No... this can’t be! I... I was destined to be great!]

Remidaos writhed in resistance, trying to muster what little strength he had left to push Taesan away.

But even that was taken from him.

Everything he had built was absorbed by Taesan, his face twisting in agony as the realization struck him.

Death loomed.

Overcome with desperation, Remidaos screamed into the void.

[Please! I beg you! Save me! Save meeeeeee!]

A vast presence responded to his cries.

For a moment, Remidaos’s face lit up with hope.

But that hope was quickly shattered.

The presence radiated only amusement and anticipation.

[You... are...]

His words were cut short.

Ash consumed him completely.

[You have activated Soul Elevation. Your mastery of Divine Power has increased by 14%.]

[You have activated Soul Elevation. You have stolen the soul skill Divine Power.]

[You have slain a god. You have acquired the passive skill Godslayer.]

A portion of Remidaos’s immense divine energy flowed into Taesan. Even this fragment surpassed all the divine power Taesan had accumulated thus far.

Taesan let out a quiet laugh.

"This is absurd, no matter how I think about it."

To rob another of everything they had painstakingly built—Soul Elevation truly was a twisted skill.

Turning his gaze, Taesan noticed that Remidaos’s connection to the people had been severed.

They could sense it too.

Remidaos was dead.

The being who had tormented them was no more.

Their faith surged toward Taesan—immense, unwavering, and eternal.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Even Bardray and Akasha began to change.

Unlike a high god, Remidaos was a being of this world. The absorption of his power proceeded smoothly, exactly as desired.

[Hmm...]

Bardray’s aura grew noticeably stronger. Akasha, however, experienced an even more profound transformation.

Remidaos had been a monstrous being of divine energy.

Thus, the energy Akasha absorbed was overwhelmingly divine in nature. The god’s immense power churned within her.

[Ah...]

Akasha trembled as though realizing something. Her voice carried emotions long forgotten, as if a memory had been restored.

Though Taesan wished to examine these changes, he had more immediate concerns.

He turned his gaze to the void, where a vast presence loomed.

It exuded deep satisfaction and amusement.

"Unchanging, as always," Taesan remarked.

[And you remain as insolent as ever.]

"At this point, there’s no need for formalities between us, is there?"

Taesan spoke leisurely, prompting soft laughter from the presence.

The space cracked open.

Something with a distorted form stepped into the world.

At the same time, the people who had been praying to Taesan shuddered.

The entity did nothing but appear, yet its mere presence induced a primal fear of death.

[You have encountered the God of Descent, Essence.]

The God of Descent—Essence.

A god with whom Taesan shared a particularly hostile relationship.

Something resembling a finger extended toward Taesan.

A power enveloped him—a formless authority seeking to drag him into the abyss.

Taesan unleashed his chaos, forcefully clashing with the power to negate it.

Boom!

The collision distorted space and time.

Taesan slid backward but quickly regained his stance, reforging his cloak of chaos as he braced for the next attack.

[So, you’ve grown to handle even this much.]

The God of Descent muttered, displeased.

[I’d kill you here and now, as promised, but... I’m restricted by that cursed interference.]

The space around Taesan fractured once more.

A vast power enveloped him, nullifying Essence’s influence and pulling him into a separate domain.

[We’ll meet again soon.]

With a voice full of amusement, the God of Descent vanished.

The world shifted.

Taesan found himself in a space of warped, rainbow-colored hues.

He had been here before.

Turning his gaze, he saw a familiar figure—the magician—smiling at him.

"You're here?"

***

“Were you watching?” Taesan asked.

“Not all of it, but I caught the final moments,” the magician replied, clapping his hands in approval.

“Well done. You’ve successfully defeated the God of Faith who’s been receiving worship for eons, and you’ve perfectly cleared the quest for the 92nd floor. All that’s left is to get confirmation from the shopkeeper.”

The quest was complete.

Taesan spoke, his tone calm but resolute.

“The transcendent behind Remidaos was the God of Descent.”

“You suspected it, didn’t you?”

Taesan gave a silent nod.

A transcendent who knew about him, harbored ill will toward him, and held no knowledge of Chaos Summon. The possibilities were limited.

It could only be the God of Descent or the God of Death.

But the God of Death wouldn’t resort to such methods. That left only the God of Descent.

“Doesn’t this feel exactly like something he’d do?”

“Now that I think about it, yes.”

The immortals must have expected something in return from Remidaos.

Perhaps they, too, sought to become transcendent beings through faith.

But to Remidaos, they were nothing more than tools—disposable when no longer useful.

The same applied to Remidaos himself. He tried to ascend through fear, but whether that would’ve worked was uncertain.

Even if it had, Essence would likely have intervened, pushing him into the abyss. After all, descent was what the God of Descent desired most.

“This time, I kept him from interfering directly with you... but next time, I can’t make any promises.”

The God of Descent was actively targeting Taesan.

It wasn’t out of mere curiosity or amusement. The malice and intent to kill were genuine and unwavering.

Taesan, however, remained composed.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Eventually, they would have to face each other. Taesan had no intention of losing when that time came.

The magician smiled, clearly satisfied with Taesan’s unshakable confidence.

“‘God of Faith,’ huh? Was that name coined by Balbabamba? It’s not a bad title. Remidaos certainly never moved beyond it.”

Remidaos had undoubtedly tried every conceivable method, exhausting all options to ascend further.

Yet all his attempts had failed.

His final, desperate strategy was to transform faith into fear.

“The distance between a God of Faith and a Conceptual God is truly vast,” the magician remarked.

For a moment, an image of the Green Witch flitted through Taesan’s mind.

“But... you’ll be different. You won’t stop at his level of transcendence.”

Taesan’s goal was not limited to the realm of a God of Faith.

His ambitions extended far beyond that.

Where exactly, no one could say.

“In any case, you’ve done well. You’ve gained quite a lot—not just for yourself, but in other ways too.”

The magician’s gaze shifted to Akasha.

“The changes in your ally are significant, but... you, Akasha, stand out the most,” he said, focusing on her.

There was an unusual glint in his eyes.

“That unknown energy I used to sense from you suddenly feels closer. It’s like a long-lost sense has returned to me.”

Neither the magician who created the labyrinth nor any transcendent Taesan had met seemed to know much about Akasha.

It was as if she had been erased from their awareness.

But now, the magician seemed to have a deeper understanding of her aura.

Narrowing his eyes, he studied Akasha intently.

“You... what have you realized?”