Chapter 314 : Beast (1)

—rumble—

‘What…What is this?’

Taesang was at a loss as he looked at the scene unfolding in front of him.

The giant War Fortress had been the main residence for those who’d first arrived at the Green Zone since it was capable of hosting hundreds of thousands of people.

This very fortress was now being demolished.

It was already very unstable due to that giant hole appearing beneath it.

How could it withstand a mountain falling on top of it?

—rumble—

Taesang realized that there was still a long way for him to go.

He’d felt like he’d gained everything in the world after setting on the path to becoming a transcendent; he’d been able to smash apart all the Kang-Kions that had come his way like ants.

That he might be closer to the level of the Dark King and the man who had given him this strength.

But that was only because he’d never fought them—that feeling of being their equal had merely been a delusion of his.

‘I’m still too far-off, huh…’

These thoughts ran through his mind as he looked at the scene of their battle.

But Taesang’s expression soon brightened.

‘Yeah, I’m just starting out.’

This was just the beginning.

Since there were no dangerous abyssal[a][b] races nearby, he could slowly raise his strength by killing them, and one day reach that level.

‘But…but then, what about the others?’

His thoughts became complex as he thought of his comrades.

Should he share the crystals?

How should he share them?

‘…but is there really any benefit to me sharing them?’

He flinched at the greedy thoughts going through his mind.

How could he think such a thing?

These were people he’d fought with, comrades he’d risked his life for day-by-day, same as they did for him.

He suppressed the raging greed inside him and continued onwards.

‘…my mind is in chaos. Let’s meet that man, first.’

He focused on the reason why he’d come here.

He was easy to locate with his newly heightened senses.

‘…I just need to go in this direction, but should I really do it?’

If the man who had given him this strength had won, there would be no issues.

But what if the Dark King won?

Though he’d become strong, he was nowhere near the level of causing a scene like this.

He started to lose confidence.

‘The Dark King might be perfectly fine…’

He sensed that one of them had a much more powerful aura, and sadly, its owner seemed to be the Dark King.

Taesang pondered for a moment, and then decided to retreat.

‘Yeah, I’m not ready yet.’

He possessed unlimited potential.

He didn’t want to waste this new opportunity by dying.

He also had comrades.

If he met the enraged Dark King after heading into that place, then it would be a worthless death.

But as he was about to retreat—

…chhh…chchch…

—in the distance.

From where he was now heading towards.

A vicious aura was seeping out.

A terrifying aura that made him feel goosebumps all over.

An aura that penetrated deep into his body and mind.

He had felt this before.

Twice actually.

‘…my god. He won.’

Taesang gulped.

This was the same aura as before.

The aura he’d felt when he’d first met that man and had tried to resist.

And when the man released his aura in the storage area.

‘…it’s that red light.’

When Misun had tried to resist.

And when he was finding a candidate to become the transcendent.

A terrifying aura radiated out from the man’s hand.

And that aura was the same as what he was feeling right now.

There was only one reason why he would be able to feel this aura.

It meant that the man had won.

Though the threat of the Dark King was gone, Taesang’s worries did not.

‘Damn…should I have just run away?’

The vicious aura kept striking the surface of his skin.

To the point of making him think that the Dark King might’ve been better.

Taesang pondered if he should continue or not, but soon shook his head.

If that man wanted him dead, he would’ve been killed already.

And he had told him to come after digesting this new strength.

He didn’t dare go against those words.

‘…f*** it, I’ll go. Who knows, right? He might give me more gifts.’

Taesang thought positively as he dashed towards the origin of the vicious aura.

And soon.

A scene unfolded before his eyes.

—shshshshsh—

Dark red smoke was coming out from the man’s eyes and into the seven orifices of the Dark King, who was kneeling on the ground before the man.

“Ahh…..”

Taesang exclaimed out loud when he saw this scene.

………………………………..

“Ughh….”

“You know, I pondered for a long time about how to use you.”

The Dark King grit his teeth while resisting the blood-colored smoke that was invading his body.

‘…Damn it! Just kill me!’

But he could not speak those words.

The blood-colored smoke entering his body felt like it was gnawing away at his insides.

Hansoo continued:

“When a transcendent is born…it is hard to be a righteous person. It’s not a bad thing to become evil. It’s actually quite normal.”

It was hard to survive alone, so groups were naturally formed.

Since maintaining the group was the only way to survive, they made rules and laws for everyone to abide by.

They respected each other since they needed each other.

Even if one made another unhappy, they held back for the greater good of the group.

That was the only way.

If they fought the minute they disliked something, a group would never have been made in the first place.

But a transcendent realizes the moment that they are born that they can escape from those bindings.

“Those with strength can easily become childish. Like you.”

“Ughh…”

Transcendents were different from humans.

Maybe because they were born anew, they acted like babies.

So at first, they would carefully and slowly experiment.

They would test how their newfound strength impacted their surroundings, then wait for feedback.

And surprisingly.

There was no resistance.

Even if a transcendent did something to make the other party unhappy, they did nothing to harm him.

Social bindings?

Laughable.

This is the main point that all transcendents will eventually realize.

Even if their relationships worsened or crumbled apart, the result was the same.

Because they had become a transcendent, all their relationships would change.

The people they had fought with so far were no longer comrades, they were merely weights holding them back.

Since the transcendents were that much more powerful.

At this point, greed rises up inside one’s mind.

Since I’m working this hard to protect you, shouldn’t you return the favor?

And this mindset slowly changes.

From a feeling of want to a desire.

And everyone around the transcendent, as well as the transcendent themselves, start to realize.

That one side had to fear the other.

“Ugh…”

Hansoo continued to speak towards the Dark King in front of him.

“I was thinking about whether I should take you or not. But I feel like I should at least make one before I go.”

Once he unifies and colonizes the 4th zone, the number of people coming up through the elevator will rise, as well as the number of new transcendents being born.

Without a figure to fear, chaos would reign once again.

Those cancer-creating bastards were all settled in the west, and his comrades were fighting against them with their lives on the line.

Hansoo did not have time to oversee the others, nor could he afford the potential casualties.

So he needed to make one.

A symbol of fear.

He needed to show them.

Show them what would happen if they thrashed about just because they’d acquired power.

‘Look closely.’

Hansoo muttered, looking at Taesang.

Then—

—crunch—

“Ahh…AHHHHHH!!!!”

A tremendous scream of pain and misery roared out from the mouth of the Dark King.

…………………………………..

“KUAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Taesang looked in horror at the scene.

It wasn’t just the screaming.

“AHH!…AHHHH!!!”

It was so painful that the Dark King was screaming while rolling around on the ground.

While all his limbs were smashed apart and his muscles had been shredded.

‘What the f***… What did he do!?’

Taesang frowned.

With a body like that, even lying down would still be painful.

And even more so if one rolled around like that.

But the Dark King didn’t seem to be bothered by that, as he literally thrashed around while he howled.

—boom!—

—booom!—

The Dark King’s transcendent body caused the surrounding rubble to break apart.

And then the man approached the Dark King, whispering something into his ears.

‘…what did he say to him?’

“Ugh…AHH!”

And then shockingly—

—the Dark King clenched his teeth and stood up, wearing a horrible expression filled with pain and misery.

With a hint of hope mixed in.

Then—

“Ahhhh!”

The Dark King stumbled as he started to move.

Towards the Kang-Kions in the distance.

This scene caused Taesang to feel sorry for the Dark King, despite the horrible things he’d done.

Hansoo slowly approached Taesang.

“…what did you do?”

Hansoo replied with a laugh as he looked at the Dark King dashing away, screaming as he did so.

“You’ll see.”

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