Ascension Through Skills

Chapter 337

The Demon King was chosen as the opponent for the forced duel.

“Hoo.”

The Demon King, a being that had surpassed the mortal realm, understood what Taesan had done.

An unknown power was enveloping him.

“Is this a barrier or a restriction? You’re trying to stop me with such feeble power.”

The Demon King released a fierce burst of darkness to shake off the force surrounding him. The power, capable of devouring and destroying everything, erupted.

However, the power surrounding the Demon King did not waver in the slightest.

The Demon King frowned.

“…What is this?”

It was a force that even the Demon King couldn’t dispel. Taesan braced himself.

“See for yourself.”

Taesan leapt forward, holding his swords in both hands, rushing to attack the Demon King.

The Demon King waved his hand, and darkness rose, engulfing Taesan.

And Taesan was swallowed by the darkness without resisting the Demon King’s attack.

“What is this trick?”

The Demon King’s words didn’t continue. It was because Taesan reappeared, piercing through the darkness.

Taesan was in the exact same state as before he was swallowed by the darkness. He swung his sword violently.

The Demon King belatedly grabbed his greatsword.

Kaaang!

Because he reacted too late, the Demon King’s body was pushed back.

Forced duel.

Its effect was that no one except the designated opponent could interfere in the battle.

However, due to the Ability Sword, another effect was added to the forced duel.

If both combatants were using swords, they couldn’t use anything other than their swords.

Kagak!

Taesan pressed the Demon King. The Demon King swung his darkness, but Taesan didn’t defend. Everything that touched Taesan transformed into something meaningless the moment it reached him.

The Demon King realized too late that Taesan had done something. Now, he couldn’t attack Taesan with his darkness.

‘What on earth is this?’

The Demon King was quietly astonished.

The darkness he wielded was a power granted to him to destroy the world. Until he completed the task of destruction, he could wield it almost infinitely.

But now, that darkness had become completely meaningless.

“Hm.”

The Demon King gathered the darkness while blocking Taesan’s attacks. A monster emerged from the deep abyss of the dark void.

[Uwoooo!]

It was one of the powers granted to him for destruction—the summoning of the monster that followed him.

A giant creature rushed toward Taesan.

Taesan, just like when the Demon King swung his darkness, did not respond.

[U, Uwoooo!]

The monster was repelled without being able to do anything. Taesan immediately closed in on the Demon King. The Demon King swung his greatsword to block, but the trajectory of his sword twisted, grazing the Demon King’s arm.

The Demon King widened the distance and clenched his fist.

Darkness rose and shot toward the distance like a cannonball. It fell where people and monsters were fighting.

Kuuuuung!

The ground shattered, creating a crater. It was a destructive force akin to a natural disaster.

Yet, neither people nor monsters died.

People looked bewildered by the sudden attack, but no one was injured.

“I see.”

The Demon King nodded.

“You and I. We are in a state where only we can interfere with each other. And interference between us can only happen with swords.”

‘He grasped it quickly.’

Taesan had expected him to show a bit more panic and expose a gap, but the Demon King figured it out after just a few exchanges.

Still, the Demon King was sufficiently shocked.

“What kind of power is this?”

He realized that Taesan had done something to him, making everything except swords ineffective.

The problem was that he was the Demon King.

The only one who could defeat him was a hero who had fulfilled the prophecy. No matter how powerful someone was, they couldn’t kill him by brute force alone.

Because that’s how he was made.

The prophecy dictated that the Demon King could only be defeated once it was fulfilled. Without fulfilling the prophecy, neither could one kill the Demon King nor seal him.

But now, Taesan had imposed restrictions where no one could interfere with them, and they both had to fight using swords.

This meant one thing:

The power Taesan wielded was superior to the laws of destruction that bound him.

And those who could intervene at that level of the law were beings far beyond mortality.

‘A god would grant that much power to a mortal?’

Taesan didn’t appear to be an apostle of anyone. Although he had used Apostle Transformation, it was far from the true power of an apostle. The Demon King, unfamiliar with the existence of the labyrinth, was utterly confused.

But the Demon King’s eyes quickly regained composure.

Though he didn’t fully understand what Taesan was, his task remained the same—world destruction.

And Taesan stood before him as the hero.

In that case, he would crush him and complete his task.

The Demon King gathered the darkness. All his power began to converge into his sword.

“Not bad. Let’s have a pure battle of swords.”

Kaaang!

Their swords clashed and bounced off each other. Taesan quickly regained his stance and thrust his sword. The Demon King swung his greatsword to block and used the rebound to aim at Taesan’s neck.

Taesan took a step back to dodge and brought his sword down.

The Demon King pulled his sword to block.

Kugugung!

The darkness wielded by the Demon King consumed the world. The will contained in his sword surged forward like a beast.

Taesan matched his stance in response.

Suppressing the will imbued in his sword, he pushed himself to the limit of his ability.

[You have activated Forced Duel.]

The duration of the forced duel was very short. He had to activate it frequently, but it didn’t consume much mana, so there were no issues.

Kaaang!

The swords clashed.

And this time, it was Taesan who was pushed back.

The Demon King didn’t miss the opening, diving in low to pierce through Taesan’s shoulder.

[Your First Attack Nullification has been activated.]

The Demon King’s attack was erased.

However, the Demon King didn’t panic and quickly regained his posture. He had already gauged Taesan’s strength to some extent and believed this level of resistance was entirely possible.

“How much can you erase, I wonder.”

The Demon King’s sword moved explosively. Controlling every possible trajectory, he pressed Taesan.

The Attack Nullification activated once again.

Taesan seized the opening, but the Demon King blocked his attack without faltering.

The Demon King was only fighting with a sword, yet he wasn’t weakened at all.

In fact, the more he fought Taesan, the more his movements seemed to absorb Taesan’s and grow stronger.

Kagak!

The final Attack Nullification activated.

“Hahahahaha!”

The Demon King burst into wild laughter. His swinging sword shattered the ground and distorted the wind.

“This is enjoyable!”

The one qualified as a hero was trying to defeat him with his own will and strength.

The Demon King was truly delighted.

“Come! Hero! Defeat me and fulfill your role!”

The Demon King charged. The force behind his sword strikes, like a rushing chariot, held power that even Taesan couldn’t easily respond to.

Kagagak!

Taesan was pushed back.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Demon King was purely stronger than Taesan.

Even without the burden of suppressing the will imbued in his sword, Taesan was in a situation where he couldn’t fully concentrate on the battle, so it was inevitable that he would be pushed back.

Wounds began to appear all over his body. It was clear at a glance that Taesan was being overwhelmed.

Kagak!

Taesan deflected the sword and widened the distance.

His expression was calm.

Though his body was covered in wounds, there wasn’t a single fatal injury. All the cuts were superficial.

“It’s about time.”

Up until now, he hadn’t been able to engage in proper combat because he was too busy suppressing the wild impulses of his sword.

But now, he had more or less completed the process.

The Demon King had said to defeat him and fulfill his role.

Taesan decided to respond to the Demon King’s expectations.

The effect of the Forced Duel prohibited the use of any power other than swordsmanship. Only skills related to swordsmanship could be used.

But Taesan’s Ability Sword turned skills into sword techniques.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

Kagagak!

His sword strikes came in swiftly. The Demon King, surprised by the increased speed, quickly grasped the trajectory and flow of the sword to push it away.

[You have activated Strong Blow.]

Kaaang!

But instead, it was the Demon King who was pushed back.

Taesan took a step forward toward the Demon King, who was trying to regain his stance.

[You have activated Gale Slash.]

The sword surged forward, like a storm.

Unable to withstand the onslaught, the Demon King made a decision.

Kwajik.

Taesan’s sword grazed the back of the Demon King’s neck. The Demon King pressed his body closer, blocking the space for Taesan to swing his sword.

Since there was no room to swing his greatsword either, the Demon King aimed at Taesan’s chest with the end of the sword hilt.

Taesan barely pulled back in time. The hilts of their swords collided with a clang.

He twisted his wrist, aiming for the Demon King’s neck.

As the Demon King lifted his greatsword to block, Taesan aimed for the Demon King’s neck.

[You have activated Counter.]

Kwajik.

“Kuhk!”

Taesan’s sword ignored the Demon King’s defense and pierced his neck.

The Demon King barely created distance while clutching his neck. Darkness enveloped the wound.

The Demon King grinned, baring his teeth.

Despite being injured, he charged at Taesan as if he were enjoying it.

Taesan raised his sword to meet him.

As their swords clashed, system messages began appearing and disappearing.

[Your Ability Sword proficiency has increased by 1%.]

[Your Airak Martial Technique proficiency has increased by 1%.]

[Your Strong Blow proficiency has increased by 1%.]

Ability Sword.

A swordsmanship technique based on the Ghost’s style, crafted by utilizing the Labyrinth’s system.

However, Taesan hadn’t used it much lately.

There were few opponents who fought with pure sword skills. Most battles involved divine power, black magic, barriers, and other colorful abilities.

As he had mastered such a variety of powers, his attention naturally shifted away from pure swordsmanship.

But now, with the Forced Duel in effect, he could only use swordsmanship.

In this situation, focusing on swordsmanship allowed him to elevate it to the next level.

[You have activated Strong Blow.]

Kwaduduk.

Even though Taesan was holding back, the force and will imbued in his sword were still assisting him. Since they were evenly matched, the activation of Strong Blow forced the Demon King back.

Kang! Kang!

Their swords clashed repeatedly as Strong Blow continued to activate.

The Demon King wasn’t easily pushed back. He filled his sword with darkness and swung it. The exploding darkness momentarily obscured the Demon King’s view.

[You have activated Stealth.]

Taesan’s presence vanished in an instant.

The Demon King momentarily lost track of Taesan’s position. Taesan had slipped beneath him and slashed upwards with his sword.

[You have activated Leap.]

Tat. Taesan launched himself into the air. He brought his sword down, landing with a powerful stomp.

[You have activated Landing.]

“I am the Demon King!”

Even while being pressed by Taesan’s immense strength, the Demon King endured and tried to push him away.

Taesan pressed harder with his sword.

[You have activated Blade of Will.]

The Blade of Will’s effect was to triple the force exerted through the sword.

With a loud roar, the Demon King was slammed into the ground.

Taesan continued to swing his sword in that position.

Kagagak!

The force of his sword clashing against the Demon King’s body overwhelmed him.

[You have activated Endurance.]

The impact of the clash on their swords was momentarily reduced. Taesan used the remaining strength to twist the trajectory of his sword, piercing the Demon King’s chest.

The Demon King grabbed the hilt of the sword impaling his chest. He gripped it tightly, preventing Taesan from pulling away, and thrust his greatsword toward Taesan.

[You have activated Slip.]

“Ugh.”

The Demon King’s hand slipped away from the hilt in an instant.

Taesan swiftly pulled out his sword and responded to the Demon King’s attack. The Demon King chuckled darkly.

“You possess quite a unique power.”

The Demon King laughed, seemingly enjoying the battle.

He charged forward once again.

Kwoooong!

The battle raged on.

The Demon King did not fall. Even when wounded or impaled by Taesan’s sword, he wrapped himself in darkness and continued to clash with Taesan.

Taesan also had to endure damage. A sword lodged in his arm, and a deep gash formed on his thigh.

However, Taesan gradually began to gain the upper hand.

Utilizing his Ability Sword, he relentlessly pressured the Demon King and finally delivered the finishing blow.

Kwajik.

Taesan’s sword pierced the Demon King. He pushed forward, sending the Demon King crashing into a cliff.

Kurururung…

[Your Ability Sword proficiency has increased by 1%.]

Unable to withstand the force, the cliff began to collapse.

The darkness surrounding the Demon King slowly dissipated.

“Congratulations, Hero.”

The Demon King smiled.

“You have succeeded in saving the world.”

Despite failing to fulfill his mission, the Demon King’s expression was not dark. If anything, he appeared pleased.

“This is exactly what I had hoped for. Victory doesn’t matter. I wanted to fight a battle of worth between the Demon King and the Hero.”

The Demon King had achieved his desire.

“But… one thing is regrettable.”

The Demon King clicked his tongue as he looked at Taesan.

“The Hero who saved the world is an outsider in the end.”

Taesan was not a resident of the dying world. He was nothing more than an outsider.

The Demon King’s gaze shifted to the Ghost, who had hidden himself.

“It would have been better if you had fulfilled the prophecy… but this will suffice. Rejoice, humans. Your world has been saved.”

With those words, the darkness surrounding the Demon King scattered.

And a part of that darkness began to seep into Taesan.

[Your Soul Ascension has activated. Your health has permanently increased by 7,581, strength by 789, agility by 662, and intelligence by 643.]

[Your Desire for Victory has activated. Your health has permanently increased by 1,166, strength by 558, agility by 303, and intelligence by 229.]

[Your Soul Ascension has activated. ??? proficiency has increased by 3%.]

[Your Soul Ascension has activated. You have obtained the special activation skill [Call of Destruction].]

[You have defeated the Device of Destruction alone. You have obtained the special permanent activation skill [Opponent of Destruction].]

[You have overcome the overwhelming power and force trying to consume you with your own will and maintained your identity. You have obtained the special permanent activation skill [Will of the Spirit].]

[You have gained the Will that Calls Destruction.]

The people who had been fighting were bewildered.

The monsters had suddenly melted and disappeared.

“Huh?”

“Could it be…?”

When Taesan appeared, their eyes began to shine.

Their suppressed cheers erupted.

“Waaaah!”

“Hero! Hero!”

“We won!”

“We survived!”

Everyone cried tears of joy.

The people who had overcome destruction embraced each other in celebration.

Their faces were filled with hope and anticipation for the future.

It was a sight the Ghost had never seen before.

The Ghost, hidden from view, silently watched their joy.