I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy

Chapter 258: The Black God (3)

“How can such a thing exist?”

“What?”

“Me?”

For a moment, I was puzzled.

It was hard to understand what it meant.

The feeling it gave off was like seeing something that shouldn’t exist.

‘Doesn’t matter.’

I picked up the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

I instinctively felt that Black Heaven had finished attuning itself to the sword.

Wuuuuung!

The space trembled. A void appeared, swallowing, breaking, and embracing everything.

‘This is…’

Black Heaven captured and devoured the abyss.

A power that could only be forcibly fixed with the strength of the Four Seasons.

That power was absorbed by the Black Heavenly Demon Sword, as if it was an old companion.

-Be careful.

Black Heaven spoke.

-This power is far more dangerous than you imagine. If the Creator God wielded the energies of Defying Heaven and starlight, the Black God was a being that mastered the pillar of blackness.

“Black?”

The absolute stat, Black, came to mind.

-Indeed. Until its downfall, it wielded the power of black. It allied with the Evil Gods to grow its power, but was thwarted by the Creator and torn apart by the Evil Gods.

Black Heaven seemed to show a hint of regret.

-That’s why this power could pass to you. As you know, celestial talent and skill can only be held by one seat. Now that most of my memories have returned, you wield two of the Black God’s powers.

“Two?”

The Infinite Black Flame Star and the Black God Sword.

“…”

I recalled the authority of the Infinite Black Flame Star.

A power that creates stars to house infinite energy within.

There might be more, but it wasn’t clear yet.

Even so, the ability to wield near-infinite power alone made the Infinite Black Flame Star invaluable.

Those two powers were the Black God’s symbols.

“What about White?”

-White?

“There must be White as well. Do you know what kind of being it is?”

-…You seem to have a hunch, Master. But I don’t know much about White. I’ve heard it’s a deity related to martial arts, so I once tried searching for it. But I couldn’t find it.

“I see.”

That was enough for now.

My gaze briefly rested on Kim Seo-hyun.

Then, I turned my attention.

To the Black Sun.

To the Evil God of Life.

-Impossible. You perished along with the Destruction of Heaven and Oblivion.

“What are you talking about?”

-It doesn’t matter.

After saying that, the Black Sun seemed to hesitate.

As if recognizing me as its nemesis.

And as if bearing a wound inflicted by that nemesis.

-Defying Heaven and Penetrating Heaven? Hah.

The Apostle let out a cryptic laugh.

No, was that an Apostle? It was far too massive to be just an Apostle.

For some reason, this world’s fallen Apostle of the Black Sun was overwhelmingly strong.

“Are you an Evil God?”

-You could say that.

A black sun, burning with the power of life, ascended.

Yet, the entity continued to hesitate.

-Long ago. You were not such a powerful being. There were far greater and more threatening entities.

It looked at Kim Seo-hyun.

At the White being imbued with the Martial God.

-Yet, you are still the most dangerous. Nothing can be seen from you. And yet, you create variables in every way. Yes, that’s why you’re dangerous.

Shhhk.

The Black Sun turned its gaze toward me. Its wings, like tendrils, unfolded.

Darkness.

A great darkness fell heavily, like the night sky itself descending.

I raised the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

Black Heaven coiled around my neck. The power of the Black God surged.

The abyss descended. I swung the Black God Sword.

The Apostle—or rather, the Black Sun—clasped its hands together in prayer.

-It’s futile.

The power of the sun radiated fiercely. Death, the force that melted and erased all.

Another name for it was Life. The power worshipped as life by the demonic beings born of darkness descended.

─────────!!

A black flash tore through everything, rushing toward me.

I lifted Black Heaven, shrouded in the power of the abyss. I called upon the Four Seasons to project the power of my mind into a transcendent sword technique.

‘Destruction of Heaven.’

Crackle.

A lightning bolt, annihilating all life, materialized in my mental world.

I infused it into the Four Seasons Sword.

Then, I swung the abyss.

Shhkk.

Silently, the all-consuming abyss swallowed the death ray and cut through it. Yet, it wasn’t enough. As if imbued with infinite energy, the death ray split into dozens of beams targeting me.

“Hoo—.”

I exhaled.

The talent of the Sword Saint revealed a path. The next step of Black God Martial Arts, the nameless martial art (Mumyeong), invigorated my body.

The body of the Great Dragon moved with agility.

I slashed.

With strong will, I swung the Four Seasons.

The lightning bolt that annihilates all life cut through the death rays with the Four Seasons.

Step.

I moved forward.

Passively taking hits wasn’t my style, so I shifted into an offensive stance.

‘Sword Saint.’

I mimicked the posture of the Sword Saint I had seen before.

Dual wielding was still awkward. It was reckless to use clumsy techniques against such an entity.

But I was different. I had always used overwhelming physical abilities to wield the sword.

Technique didn’t matter. The Black God Sword and the Destruction of Heaven would make up for it. Mimicking was manageable with my current talent.

The talent of the Sword God guided me. I swung the abyss and the Destruction of Heaven in a crossing motion.

Shhkk.

The all-consuming abyss swallowed space and reached the Black Sun. The Destruction of Heaven, infused with the power to annihilate life, reached the Black Sun’s face.

It was futile.

At the same time.

The Black Sun moved. Hands emerged. Two pairs of hands appeared, each forming different gestures.

-I am the creator of Brahma.

-And I am also the preserver.

Its hands crafted metaphysical shapes.

Lotuses bloomed.

‘…What?’

It was a pattern I had never seen before.

Yet, the Black Sun moved, regardless of my confusion.

Lotuses bloomed. Circular formations resembling Mandalas focused on the Black Sun’s face.

-If the abyss consumes everything, I just need to fill it until it’s satisfied.

The abyss was extinguished.

-If the lightning that annihilates all life is inevitable, I just need to block it.

The Destruction of Heaven vanished.

-I am the destroyer and the preserver. And the creator of Brahma.

Everything was but a moment.

-Kalpa.

Whirr.

For a moment, I felt as if the world was spinning. Behind the Black Sun, a galaxy unfolded.

My body’s hair stood on end, and all my senses felt fully open.

Everything slowed down.

Yet, the Black Sun watched me in that slowed world.

-This place was originally meant for me to reclaim my power.

-But you are far too dangerous. Even if I pour out everything, I must kill you.

-Feel the time of dread (怯) and die.

I exhaled.

This was dangerous.

All my instincts were sounding alarms.

I distinguished everything. A power capable of enveloping the world resided within me.

-Run!

I heard Heo Sang-ryong’s voice.

I felt the Heavenly Demon rushing urgently toward me.

Breaking Heaven.

Heavenly Dread. I was the dragon slayer, the one who slayed dragons.

The Garden of the World Tree.

A frozen world where everything was still.

I could feel mental landscapes unfolding.

And their urgency resonated with me.

“Damn it!”

Heo Sang-ryong dispelled the distortion concealing himself.

I felt a force in front of me that seemed capable of distorting everything.

Clang!

A spear of light and a sword of shadow flew toward me. Light and shadow exploded in every direction, blocked by something resembling a barrier.

I assumed a stance.

That power could not be avoided.

It was that kind of force.

Though I had never seen it before, I could roughly infer its nature.

I had spent tens of thousands of hours preparing for situations like this.

‘Its range is at least the entirety of Europe.’

I couldn’t gauge its exact potency. If spread wide, it could sink all of Europe, but most of its force was concentrated on me.

It contained the power of inevitable strikes and annihilation.

What was more terrifying was that it also wielded the power of preservation.

‘This must be destroyed head-on.’

It was that kind of force.

Despair crept in, but external gods—those beings called Evil Gods—wielded such power effortlessly.

Fortunately.

This one wasn’t so bad. By their standards, this was manageable.

Thus, I chose to destroy it.

Focus.

Black Heaven coiled around my neck.

I could feel the immense power of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

-The Black Heavenly Demon Sword’s strength lies in connection.

“Connection?”

-Between you and me.

Black Heaven wrapped itself around my neck. I felt something connecting me to Black Heaven.

It was like a thread.

-The stronger the connection feels.

Fwoosh.

The abyss opened. The power of the Black God began to stabilize.

The ability of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

I could roughly understand it now.

It synchronized my power with Black Heaven to maximize its potential.

Wuuung.

The star within me began to rotate.

Its name was Defying Heaven, Boundary, and Form.

Wuuuuung!

The Black Heavenly Demon Sword responded. Within me, the energy of Defying Heaven intertwined. The Boundary distinguished the surroundings, and Form momentarily covered the world.

‘This…’

I focused.

The absolute stat Black responded. The power of black intertwined with the destructive force.

It enveloped the abyss.

Something.

Something beyond the abyss existed. It consumed, distinguished, and negated everything, taking form.

‘This is…’

I half-closed my eyes.

The talent of the Sword Saint responded. A talent unparalleled in cutting, specifically with swords, began weaving this power.

‘Not yet.’

It was incomplete.

Even with the absolute stat and the Sword Saint’s talent, I couldn’t weave everything together at once.

Each was too unique and too powerful.

However, I could intertwine Boundary and Abyss.

The weakest forces began to merge.

Simultaneously.

[Skill, "Black God Sword (Ex)," has integrated the Abyss's power into Talent, "Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex)."]

[Talent, "Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex)," has birthed a star of the Abyss.]

A star was formed within me.

The power to create stars within me transformed the Abyss into a star.

[Absolute stat Black increases by 1.]

A vast.

The cosmos settled within me. Stars grew larger. The four stars now fixed within my mind bolstered my power.

I struck.

I imbued it with the will of severance. The talent of the Sword God guided me.

I discarded every stance I had ever held.

No-mind.

Everything stilled. My eyes focused solely on the Black Sun.

Black.

An ancient time. Memories from an ancient time surfaced. When I reached the next stage, I realized everything turned black and white.

Everything was black, with the world outlined by white lines.

[Talent, Celestial (?) observes you.]

Some.

Some memory came to mind. Of me and Kim Seo-hyun sitting together, staring blankly at a sunken city.

‘This…’

It wasn’t a memory I needed now.

I merely cut down my opponent.

[The Will of the World observes you.]

[Your epithet, Savior, responds to your will.]

I raised my sword.

Upward.

Then, with a single step forward.

I struck downward.

Shhkk.

The sound of something being severed filled the air.