Chapter 182. Destroyed First Floor (2)

“You who died first, can you…protect yourself?”

“Thud!”

On the non-existent land, a sword was planted.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom”

The shockwave it created spread in all directions.

Lee Seo-jun’s consciousness twisted.

The sensation of his existence shaking.

“…Heavy…”

That sensation was the first.

For the first time, he felt the sword was heavy.

So heavy he couldn’t even lift it.

It was the conceptual gravity granted by the destroyed floor—the pressure of existence denial.

An absolute denial applied to everything existing on that floor.

[System Error Detected]

[Existence denial concept is encroaching.]

[If you remain, your existence will be dismantled.]

The system delivered a warning.

It wasn’t a threat.

It emphasized the real danger of existence being dismantled.

But Lee Seo-jun…

“…Just one more step.”

There was not a hint of hesitation.

“If I take just one more step, Brother Leon…”

His will had been honed to achieve a single goal.

Leon.

To save his fellow disciple who shared the same master.

And so.

Step-

He took a step.

Ignoring the intense pressure emanating from the world itself.

And at that moment.

Buzz!

Lee Seo-jun’s sword let out a roar.

It wasn’t an auditory hallucination caused by his consciousness—it was a real resonance of will that scraped against this world.

[Immortal traces recognize you.]

[Partial conditions met—Immortal qualification expressed 30%.]

Creeeak!

As if responding to that resonance, the destroyed space split open again.

And the Self-Harmer moved.

An arm flew, a spear pierced his chest.

A strike that should have been lethal.

But.

“Advance without retreat.”

Even as his sword was torn apart, he pushed off the ground and advanced.

It was possible because he had no physical body.

He wasn’t fighting to avoid death.

A will transcending death created a form, and that form drew in the Immortal Flame.

That was a will no one could achieve.

And something responded to that will.

[Cain’s Immortal Set—4th Fragment: Ring of Eternal Blood discovered]

[Acquisition condition: Cut down the will of the Self-Harmer.]

His consciousness rippled.

Heh-

And Lee Seo-jun smiled.

“If that’s the case…it’s simple.”

He had found one of the pieces of Cain’s Immortal Set.

Then now, it was time for the decisive battle.

And first.

Booooom!

The world collapsed.

Black streaks of light—that wasn’t a simple eruption of power.

It was an aura of destruction that denied and tore apart existence itself.

The roar of despair from the heart of the destroyed floor.

And before it, Lee Seo-jun’s body was flung into the air.

Crack!

Even in his form of consciousness, stripped of physical body, the impact transferred directly.

The grain of his existence was torn.

The edges of his consciousness distorted.

“…Kugh…!”

His hair flew, and the skin of his consciousness ripped.

Instead of red, fragments of existence scattered.

That wasn’t a simple wound.

The collapse of the self—a phenomenon where existence itself crumbled.

“Do not resist….”

“You are already dead…you are an existence that cannot even handle this floor….”

The Self-Harmer approached.

Arms stained with black blood, flesh torn apart.

Yet that destructive silhouette was rather covered in majesty.

The incarnation of destruction.

An absolute ruler who reigned even on the non-existent floor.

That was the Self-Harmer.

Thud, thud, thud!

Every time he walked, space tore apart.

Each step etched despair, as if a god pronounced death.

“Is this… the wall…”

A despairing breath escaped Lee Seo-jun’s lips.

He had trained himself.

Beyond the physical body, he had reached the state of consciousness.

He thought he had grown enough to surprise his master and comrades.

But this was a different dimension.

No one—only his master Kim Si-won—could directly withstand the complete destruction of the Self-Harmer.

‘An insurmountable wall. Just like Master.’

That was what stood before him.

An existence he dared not even dream of surpassing.

“Abandon the thought of survival….”

“Immortal Flame? Remnants of Cain? They mean nothing.”

“You will only be swallowed by the destruction of this place….”

The Self-Harmer was accurately reading Lee Seo-jun’s will.

Thus.

Swish!

A black scythe tore through the air.

Space-time split, and the structure of his consciousness twisted.

Beneath Lee Seo-jun’s feet, not the ground but the very air shattered, and his form began to collapse.

“…!”

That was not something he could block.

His body warped.

The hand gripping the sword melted away, his form blurred.

His existence was being dismantled.

And he realized.

If he continued like this, he wouldn’t return.

The promise to save Leon, the determination to obtain the Immortal fragment—

All of that was in danger of vanishing here.

The Self-Harmer loomed over him like a massive shadow.

A black aura, a shroud of death swallowed him.

‘…Is this the end…?’

It was desperate.

He keenly felt the difference in power.

His growth so far, his awakening, his resolve.

All of that was helpless before this overwhelming wall.

But.

“Nevertheless…”

A heart still remained.

Even as his existence crumbled.

Deep within, a will like a red flame flickered.

Beyond Lee Seo-jun’s blurring vision, he saw a single crimson flame rising in the distance.

That was precisely Cain’s Immortal Flame—

A remnant of the last hope.

‘If only I can get that…’

Now, before this body breaks apart, if he could just obtain that—

“It’s not the end.”

With his shattered body, even as his consciousness fragmented, he squeezed out his last strength.

The next moment.

Rumble—

The world collapsed.

Death approached.

‘…Is this the end…’

His heart grew cold.

His mind wavered.

The resolve he had sworn so strongly, the warmth at his fingertips that had gripped the sword—all were now vanishing illusions.

He wanted to resist, but it was an insurmountable despair.

But then.

1001

Beyond the remnants, a red flame pierced his chest.

“…!”

That flame rekindled Lee Seo-jun’s chest, which had been growing cold, and his fading soul.

“That is…”

In an instant, it came to him.

‘If your will is firm, you can use this.’

Not long ago.

The hand Kim Si-won had extended.

And the subtle energy that seeped into that hand.

It wasn’t simple encouragement or temporary aid.

It was an aura of Immortality.

Cain’s Immortal Set.

Kim Si-won’s sacrifice—tearing off a part of it, sacrificing his own power of life extension, and pouring it into his disciple Lee Seo-jun.

“Master…”

He realized.

Blood boiled.

Soul blazed.

All that despair that had nearly made him collapse suddenly burned like lava.

‘My life is not mine.’

The life Leon protected.

The life his master gave.

He couldn’t trample on all of that.

“It’s…a new beginning.”

That moment.

Whoooosh!

A red flash exploded from his entire body.

A flame of will that tore space and burned the abyss.

This wasn’t a simple awakening.

A soul sword.

His consciousness tangled and formed a sword.

He was no longer a mere body or soul.

His entire existence became one sword.

Red light gathered and finally solidified into a single blade.

That sword was a crystallization of will that transcended form.

The aura of Immortality his master sacrificed, his own soul, and the flame of awakening combined.

【Soul Sword — Sword of Determination】

“…I will not be broken.”

Boom!

The moment he pushed off the ground, the abyss shook.

The Self-Harmer turned.

Even that apostle of black aura hadn’t predicted this sudden change.

“…That power…?”

But Lee Seo-jun didn’t answer.

He simply raised his sword high.

“This…isn’t mine.”

The red conviction Leon left behind.

The Immortal Flame his master gave.

And his own unbreakable soul.

“This…is everyone’s sword.”

Flash!

He charged.

Space tore.

The Self-Harmer’s scythe swung.

That destructive arc cut through space and pronounced death.

But.

【The consciousness of Immortality refuses annihilation.】

The red soul sword cut through death.

In an instant, sword and scythe clashed.

Crash!

An explosion rang out.

The boundary of space collapsed.

But this time it was different.

It was no longer Lee Seo-jun breaking.

The Self-Harmer’s scythe—

Its power of destruction gradually cracked before the aura of Immortality permeating the soul sword.

“What…?!”

“Using the power of Immortality on this floor…!”

Lee Seo-jun’s eyes blazed red.

“You’re wrong.”

He shouted.

“Death is not the end.”

“We endure ourselves, withstand, and rise again.”

“That is the resolve of humans, of us.”

Thunk!

The soul sword pierced the Self-Harmer’s heart.

And.

Screech, sssssh—

The Self-Harmer’s form twisted and scattered.

Red flames blazed, and the aura of Immortality enveloped the space.

The abyss of despair.

The darkness of the destroyed floor.

All of that gradually faded within the red light.

Finally, Lee Seo-jun had won.

Step.

Lee Seo-jun, draped in red flames, moved forward step by step.

His soul, body, and consciousness all mixed together to form a single barrier.

And at the center of the space.

Whiiiiiz!

A giant red crest drew in the air, and at its center, a red crystal rose.

[Cain’s Immortal Set — 4th Fragment]

[For the soul of one who refused death, may the protection of Immortality be granted.]

The crystal vibrated.

It wasn’t simple equipment.

It was the essence of an existence, a fundamental resistance to life that even the structure of the Tower could not handle.

“…This…is Cain’s…?”

Lee Seo-jun’s eyes wavered.

At that moment, from the red crystal, a fragment of memory flowed out along with black flame.

“Deny death.”

“Not even the Tower can define my destiny.”

“This is the blueprint of Immortality.”

“I, Cain, transcend the Tower and stand above it.”

Red flames spread before his eyes.

He felt as if he were witnessing that era.

The chaotic primordial age when the Tower was designed.

Standing above all those floors and structures, one who defied the Tower’s order itself.

The first rebel, Cain.

Part of his truth was revealed.

The Immortal Set was not a simple collection of set effects.

It was a complete simulation of Immortality, straying from the Tower’s order.

When all the fragments he left behind in the form of relics gathered…

An absolute immortal body that denies even the death of the Tower, fate, and the destruction of floors would be born.

“If I gather all of these…”

Lee Seo-jun’s fingertips trembled.

At that moment, all the pieces clicked into place: why his master Kim Si-won had parted with part of his life, why he had sent him to this dangerous Realm of the Unknown.

Completion of Cain’s Immortal Set.

The one and only path to save Leon.

And the only power that could defy even the Tower.

For that, he needed to gather more fragments.

Only then could he reject the Tower’s will.

‘I can find a way to save Master.’

His purpose wasn’t just to save Leon right away.

It was also a method to revive Kim Si-won—his master, benefactor, and everything.

“I will…”

Lee Seo-jun’s resolve hardened.

The moment he grasped the fragment, his soul burned even more vividly.

And what had originally been intangible and formless became tangible.

Thus, the 4th Cain’s Immortal Set he obtained—

Its true identity…

Rumble, rumble—

But he could no longer continue his thoughts.

The layer of the black abyss was swallowed by red flames and collapsed.

Lee Seo-jun turned around.

Ssssh.

His consciousness returned to reality.

The fragments of the collapsed floor disappeared, and what remained in that spot was…

Whoosh!

Only the resolute determination and the Immortal Flame.