D.I.O

Chapter 322

[Unintelligible. Impossible. Error.]

[This can’t be… How can this….]

All the transcendents who had been watching the situation with a relatively relaxed attitude, including M-4, groaned as they looked at Lancelot.

And, in the midst of that chaos and everyone’s astonishment…

“At last…”

Dongsoo laughed.

“… I understand.”

Martial arts were not what he trained in for thousands of years. If someone believed that a person could improve in martial arts by simply stabbing, they weren’t just delusional - they’d be considered an idiot.

‘Yeah, during that entire span, martial arts weren’t my true pursuit. I only started such an abnormal regimen to fulfill the skill requirements as effectively and quickly as possible.’

However, that process, which Lancelot considered a cheat, honed something beside martial arts.

It trained his spirit and mental fortitude.

“It was probably the right choice to choose aura power over internal energy back then. If I had continued practicing internal energy, I wouldn’t have been able to do this!”

Pop!

Crack!

A sword blade made from swirling, blistering flames soon became embedded in Dongsoo’s heart region. However, after swinging the sword with all his might, Volcano made a puzzled expression instead of a contemplative smile.

“No, wait… what is this?”

His shoulders and the right arm that wielded the sword had been completely [erased]; it was as if his entire arm had been erased with an eraser.

“Why risk your life for a probing attack?”

Volcano’s attack had been executed to investigate Lancelot’s existence, but instead, it caused him a mortal wound. However, it couldn’t be said that Volcano was careless or complacent, as Lancelot had clearly suffered a loss in this exchange.

Whoosh!

The flames created by the strong heat waves started to burn Dongsoo. Volcano’s Flame of Destruction burned the soul as well as one’s physical body. Of course, if the target was a transcendent of equal level, they could resist and minimize the damage… but Lancelot burned easily and eventually collapsed like a normal person.

“Hmm, I see….”

And soon…

“… it’s hot.”

Dongsoo reappeared and stood where he had just fallen. It seemed as though he had been utterly unaffected.

“This is crazy.”

“Impossible.”

[Unintelligible.]

[What is this….]

Even the transcendents, with their great, mighty powers and vast life experiences, were stunned. This phenomenon couldn’t be explained by any past experience or theory.

It had nothing to do with dying or resurrecting.

“Am I crazy?”

Volcano groaned as he moved his left hand toward where his right arm should’ve been.

“It’s like… it’s as if a [destroyed] being has [created] itself again, no?”

The meaning behind Volcano’s exasperated words seemed so absurd that the observers couldn’t help but doubt their eyes. Yet, Volcano immediately turned his head in surprise. A tremendous aura and momentum began to emanate from the limp Merlin.

Woong.

Volcano’s and the other transcendents’ expressions hardened and became serious. If the same situation had happened a little while ago, it wouldn’t have mattered. In fact, how many times did they successfully interrupt Merlin when he tried to use his Flame Ruby before?

However, since Dongsoo was using an unknown power to block their path toward Merlin, the current situation didn’t bode well for them.

“What’s happening? Wasn’t he completely subdued?”

[Stop him! The power we’re feeling right now is the same as when Apollo first descended….]

Puff!

All the enemies who tried to approach Merlin soon scattered. Before anyone knew it, Dongsoo, holding his silver long spear, was standing next to Merlin.

“I’ve been wanting to say this cool line for a while, but I never thought it’d happen under such conditions or in this type of situation,” Dongsoo said after lightly swinging his spear.

“Anyone who approaches without permission will inevitably die.”

There wasn’t an explosion or sharp sense of killing intent emanating from Lancelot. He just held his ground quietly.

However…

‘He’s disappeared.’

All the transcendents felt the same sensation simultaneously.

Lancelot had disappeared.

From a physical point of view, nothing had changed, but after speaking, all the energy undulations and interference dissipated where Dongsoo stood. Even with their heightened senses, the transcendents couldn’t feel any presence. When using their spiritual sensory realm, it was as if Lancelot’s existence had completely disappeared, like he’d fallen into a deep hole.

At this moment, he became a superstar-like being who couldn’t be recognized with any form of information acquisition ability, including foresight.

[This can’t be… All the coordinates around him are disappearing!]

M-4 was thoroughly exasperated and astonished.

Woong.

Space began to distort around Merlin.

It was pure power… a tremendous, massive force.

“Crazy….”

“W-woah… it’s a power almost as great as His Majesty’s?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! The total amount might be similar, but the realm is lower!”

“Still, no matter how low the realm may be, the scale is-!”

Sadness and Happiness were remarkable [talents] who may ultimately evolve and lead the entire Grotesque faction at some point, having descended to Earth as the Grotesque’s representatives. Even these individuals began to feel a sense of danger rather than interest.

It was just a simple concentration of power. Yet, Merlin’s emanating energy was beyond common sense. Moreover, it was still increasing.

Pop!

Sadness shot out like a bullet toward Merlin but soon rolled across the ground after an explosion rang out. Her inertial control failed as one of her wings, harder than any metal in the world, was completely erased from existence.

“What is this….”

Sadness swiftly raised her body and gritted her teeth with a frown. This was because Dongsoo was employing a suicidal tit-for-tat strategy; if he was going to lose, he was planning on bringing everyone else with him.

‘I can’t avoid it!’

Lancelot’s level wasn’t overwhelmingly higher than hers, but he focused and specialized solely on offense. So, if he constantly exchanged blows with Sadness without caring about his injuries, she wouldn’t be able to avoid severe damage. Hence, Lancelot seemed unstoppable.

Of course, a balance existed, as Sadness benefited significantly from that [damage exchange].

Plop!

Lancelot was bisected vertically, akin to how a lumberjack split firewood. However, behind him…

“Hmm, it’s still impossible for me to overwhelm an opponent through skill alone.”

Lancelot was [created] once again and in a normal state.

“Nonsense.”

“What is this? Doesn’t this mean he’s immortal?!”

Beings with immortality-like transcendent vitality weren’t common, but it wasn’t impossible to find them if one looked hard enough. Some individuals were blessed by gods or were born with a transcendent lineage that allowed them to survive even if their heads exploded. At times, they could even resurrect if their bodies were burned to ashes.

However, Dongsoo’s case was something entirely different.

“… That bastard. No way, did he….”

Shen’s face contorted in astonishment as he stepped back from the battle, a level of combat completely out of his league.

“Did he engrave himself into the universe…?”

***

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like that.”

[I’ve never even heard of it before.]

The two Planet Gods floating in the sky clicked their tongues after seeing Dongsoo’s figure seemingly freely handle destruction and creation. Since they belonged to the upper hierarchy of the Creator God’s system or, in other words, because they could use non-attributes, they grasped Dongsoo’s current state more clearly than anyone else.

[To think that a low-class transcendent could carve and engrave his presence into the universe….]

The penguin let out a hearty laugh. What it had just stated wasn’t a light admission. Among the high-ranking gods, only a limited number successfully engraved their presence onto the universe.

“Even I couldn’t engrave my presence….”

[Why would a Planet God engrave one’s presence, you idiot? Forget a Planet God, it’s even difficult for high-ranking gods to achieve such a feat.]

As it gave its assessment, the penguin looked down at Dongsoo.

‘It’s tough to put into words….’

Although Dongsoo was only a low-class transcendent, the [divine status] he possessed had grown to a level that rivaled a great god. Moreover, his ability to synchronize with all things in the world had successfully assimilated with the greater dimension itself. Hence, it was fair to say that Dongsoo had become an imbalanced existence. At this point, his high level of achievement in synchronization with all things could forcibly improve the other two necessary transcendent abilities: basic mana control and absolute mana control.

“Hmm, but this is truly amazing. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a guy born with a non-attribute talent.”

[What?]

At the girl’s words, the penguin frowned.

[You really have no interest in humans, do you? Originally, more than half of the human species were born with non-attribute talents….]

Possessing a non-attribute wasn’t rare; in fact, being born with a specific attribute talent was considered more abnormal. If an individual had a clear attribute, they could quickly acquire its corresponding special abilities.

The reason all Masters seemed to possess a personal attribute affinity was due to a threshold that was difficult to cross without a level of [talent]. Even for those with aura power abilities, whose personal attributes were more important than any other spiritual power area, most people who didn’t possess a personal attribute usually couldn’t exceed Level 5.

“In other words, that guy realized his non-attribute ability because he wasn’t biased towards any other attribute?”

[Yeah, that’s right. That’s why I’m so taken aback right now. I’ve never heard of such a case.]

The power of non-attribute was creation and destruction.

It was a power that only Planet Gods handled via the hierarchical power system set up by the Creator God. Destruction, or annihilation, could be imitated through magic or other abilities, but the realm of creation was a matter that delved into an entirely different dimension.

“If we’re talking about the realm of creation, not recovery, what are his limits?”

[His mind- no, his will is the limit.]

The girl’s expression hardened after hearing the penguin’s answer. It had truly mind-blowing implications. At this moment, Dongsoo was literally the embodiment of his own will.

In other words, his resurrection, or to be more specific, his ability to recreate, was only limited by…

“If his spirit doesn’t yield… he’ll never perish?”

[Right.]

“Oh my goodness….”

At this point, burning Dongsoo’s body or annihilating his soul was meaningless. If one didn’t somehow subdue his mind and will, Dongsoo would continuously recreate himself in the physical world.

Yet, who could subdue his will, which was supported by his unyielding mind?

Whoosh!

At that moment, Merlin once again burst out with immense power. His enemies, which were, in essence, humankind’s enemies, tried to subdue him with all their might… but they couldn’t overcome Dongsoo, who freely wielded the power of creation and destruction.

[Oh, come to think of it, there’s that guy, too.]

“Actually, that guy is the bigger problem. In fact, isn’t he the main reason things have gotten this far?”

If what Dongsoo achieved was a human victory that could be evaluated as ‘how can such a thing be possible,’ Merlin’s case was a bit different.

He was…

[What the hell is that guy?]

“I don’t know….”

Even those with omnipotent abilities and skills couldn’t figure him out. Merlin was a perfectly incomprehensible existence.

***

When Dongsoo reappeared, expressions of surprise and disbelief greeted him. Any normal being would have felt at least some discomfort from the sudden attention, but for Dongsoo, it didn’t matter. He was focused on one thing and one thing only.

‘What is mental strength and fortitude?’

The answer came quickly.

‘It’s the power to endure with one’s will.’

Although he was an ordinary genius, if one could use that term in the broadest sense, Dongsoo definitely had an extraordinary side - an extreme sense of sincerity and devotion.

If he wanted to study, he studied every single day. When he decided to work out, he never gave up halfway through a workout regimen.

Of course, he also heard the voices of temptation at every twist and turn.

Whenever he woke up in the morning without getting enough sleep, he wanted to give up everything and sleep for another five minutes. When he studied each day, there were quite a few times when he felt tempted to just take a break and rest for a day or so.

When it came to working out or dieting, sometimes he just wanted to give up and eat as much as he desired.

This was natural. This was because Dongsoo was a human being.

However…

He carried out his will to the end. He had been broken, had failed, and had faced regret and despair over and over again, but at the very least, he never gave up.

And the moment when one truly succeeded in overcoming oneself, to practice self-denial to such an extent…

“Hahaha. What is this? Is this a joke? This isn’t funny!”

[I really can’t believe it.]

“I’m going to go crazy.”

Since his birth, Dongsoo had reached a realm that no other being had ever attained.

“What was your name again?”

When the mighty warrior Volcano, the captain of Basara’s 12th ship [Flame], asked Dongsoo this question, Dongsoo calmly answered.

“Byun Dongsoo. Well, you can call me Lancelot.”

“Yes, Byun Dong Soo. If you’ll excuse me… Can you put into words the realization you’ve just reached?”

Most, if not all, people who reached the transcendent realm had their own unique realizations. After all, it was challenging to get to a destination without having a clear path.

Under this analogy, Dongsoo’s [way] was more distinct than anyone else’s.

“Singular spirit.”

Effort, just good old-fashioned effort.

“There’s no other option.”

This concept was the direction and foundation of his soul and spirit after being broken and trained countless times.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Something like that… What kind of realization is that?!”

With a voice full of defeat and disapproval, Shen shouted, having been pushed to one side of the battlefield.

“That’s so obvious and simple!”

And at that moment, Merlin got up.