Chapter 54: Clash of Powers

Of course, it wasn’t certain.

It might not be Batan but another powerhouse nearby.

To confirm, Gaon slightly adjusted his direction.

He moved toward the source of the aura.

Soon, Gaon could see the figure with his own eyes.

The man wasn’t tall.

But he had a remarkably sturdy build.

His deep red hair and the scar on his right cheek made for a striking appearance.

It was a middle-aged man who instantly drew attention.

At that moment, the man noticed Gaon and stopped.

His eyes gleamed as he shouted, “As expected, the incident at the 1st Branch was your doing!”

The man’s shout echoed, and Gaon was certain.

It’s him. Batan.

It was undoubtedly Batan, the 2nd Division Leader.

Who else would make such a proclamation if not Batan?

“What did you do to the 1st Branch!” Batan shouted again, his voice thick with fury.

Gaon smiled faintly and replied, “Didn’t you see the soul stones?”

“…!”

Batan’s face twisted at Gaon’s words.

Then, a pattern appeared on his face.

It was the mark of the Painless Secret Art.

Batan charged toward Gaon.

Watching Batan close the distance rapidly, Gaon activated his circles.

Weak magic won’t work.

Batan possessed an aura equivalent to a 7th Circle Master.

Light magic might buy time but wouldn’t deal damage.

So Gaon planned to unleash a powerful spell from the start.

When the distance narrowed to about 30 meters, Gaon completed his incantation.

Magic circles appeared above Batan’s head, behind his back, and on the ground.

Lightning bolts rained from the circle above.

Blades of wind poured from the circle behind.

Ice spikes surged from the circle below.

And Gaon saw it.

The spells were refracted, veering off to other directions.

Gaon furrowed his brow slightly.

I thought that would break through.

From Parn and Behid, he already knew Batan’s ability was tied to “space.”

He had believed the power of those spells would be enough to penetrate.

Yet not a single one reached Batan.

Still, it wasn’t a complete loss.

Batan’s aura had weakened significantly.

It seemed refracting the spells had consumed a great deal of his energy.

Even so, Gaon couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied.

Then Batan extended his hand.

Gaon felt it—the pressure from the distortion of the surrounding space.

Gaon released Pacheongi, seizing control of the nearby space.

He restored the distorted space to normal.

As the space normalized, the pressure vanished.

Having completed the restoration, Gaon looked at Batan.

“…!”

Unlike the initial fury, Batan’s face no longer showed anger.

It was filled with shock and confusion.

Gaon prepared another spell, thinking to himself.

I need to reach the 8th Circle soon.

Batan was the 2nd Division Leader.

While not a low position in the Abyss, it wasn’t among the highest either.

Yet failing to subdue him instantly wounded Gaon’s pride.

If he had reached the 8th Circle?

Those spells wouldn’t have been refracted.

They would have pierced through the distorted space and struck Batan.

At that moment, Batan turned around.

And he began to flee.

Gaon looked at the escaping Batan with a dumbfounded expression.

Giving up already?

He had considered that Batan might have felt a “wall” when Gaon restored the space.

But he didn’t expect him to give up this quickly.

Of course, Gaon didn’t pursue.

There was no need to chase.

He could catch Batan with the spell he was preparing.

Soon, the preparation was complete, and Gaon spoke.

“Mega Gravity.”

Humm…

A deep rumble echoed with the incantation.

Simultaneously, Batan, who had been fleeing, slammed into the ground.

Batan struggled to rise under the crushing force.

Barely standing, he resisted the pressure, taking one laborious step at a time.

Gaon watched him and prepared another spell.

It wasn’t an elaborate spell.

It was a simple one.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three magic circles appeared above Batan’s head.

Pointed rocks emerged from them.

The immense gravity didn’t affect only Batan.

It applied to everything in the area.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The rocks fell from the circles at tremendous speed.

Batan, noticing them, gritted his teeth and maximized his ability.

The space above his head distorted.

The rocks struck the warped space.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The rocks hit the distorted space, producing explosive sounds as they were deflected.

Gaon’s first attack was blocked.

But it was truly just the “first.”

The magic circles didn’t vanish.

A second wave of rocks was already emerging.

The second rocks fell.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They, too, were deflected with explosive noises.

But the distortion was noticeably weaker than before.

Then the third wave of rocks began to fall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The third rocks were deflected as well.

And the distortion vanished completely.

Seeing Batan’s exhausted expression, Gaon released the fourth wave.

The fourth rocks struck Batan.

Boom!

Batan was crushed into the ground by the rocks.

He didn’t resist.

But Gaon didn’t stop.

Batan hadn’t exhausted all his energy.

The moment gravity returned to normal, he’d try to escape.

Gaon intended to completely drain him.

Two more waves of rocks fell, depleting Batan’s energy to Gaon’s satisfaction.

With a pleased expression, Gaon released Mega Gravity.

The gravity normalized, and with a wave of his hand, the rocks pinning Batan floated up and flew away.

Gaon saw it.

Batan, staring at him with a face full of disbelief.

Gaon flew toward Batan.

Batan said nothing, even as Gaon arrived.

He just stared.

Gaon remained silent too.

It was obvious Batan wouldn’t speak, no matter what was said.

“Earth Wall.”

Crack!

The ground surged, lifting Batan to Gaon’s waist height.

Gaon placed a hand on Batan’s shoulder.

He injected Pacheongi, dismantling the seals in Batan’s brain and heart in an instant.

“What!” Batan, who had been silent, cried out in a panicked voice as the seals were undone.

Gaon didn’t respond and proceeded to dismantle the Painless Secret Art.

“Argh!” The moment it was undone, Batan screamed from the overwhelming pain.

“Heal.”

Swish!

Gaon cast Heal, and Batan’s trembling stopped.

Batan looked at Gaon with a bewildered expression.

His face asked why Gaon had healed him.

Gaon, observing Batan, thought to himself.

A Division Leader probably won’t misunderstand.

The ideal scenario was Parn and Behid’s misunderstanding—that Gaon was the Lord, making them spill information willingly.

But Luhan, the 3rd Elder’s subordinate, hadn’t been fooled.

Would a Division Leader make that mistake?

It seemed far more likely he wouldn’t.

He might even mock Gaon instead.

Let’s get straight to it.

Having decided, Gaon spoke.

“Three minutes—no, since you’re a Division Leader, let’s make it five.”

“?”

Looking at the puzzled Batan, Gaon unleashed Bone-Severing Tendon-Twisting.

“What do I do…”

Marlin muttered with an anxious expression, pacing around.

Finally stopping, Marlin looked up at the display with uneasy eyes.

The display held countless soul stones.

The problem was that every single one was shattered.

These were the soul stones of the 1st Branch executives, including Branch Leader Parn.

“Ha, if he’d left just a bit later…”

Marlin thought of Batan.

Batan had departed before the soul stones shattered.

Meaning he didn’t know the 1st Branch’s current state.

That’s why Marlin was worried.

What if something happened to Batan at the 1st Branch?

“No, the Division Leader will probably clean things up.”

Shaking off the worry, Marlin reassured herself.

Who was Batan?

Ranked 51st in the Abyss’s official hierarchy, a powerhouse in the top 100.

Whatever happened at the 1st Branch, Batan’s involvement would resolve it.

At that moment—

Crack!

A sound at her ear made Marlin flinch.

The sound of a soul stone breaking.

It meant someone had died.

The problem was the direction of the sound.

In that direction, there was only one soul stone.

It was the soul stone of Division Leader Batan.

“No, it can’t be.”

It must’ve been a mistake.

Why would Batan’s soul stone shatter?

With an anxious expression, Marlin slowly turned her head.

Seeing Batan’s soul stone, she froze, mouth agape.

It was split in half.

A shattered soul stone meant death.

…No, that’s impossible.

Marlin couldn’t believe it.

Batan, dead?

Her mind went blank.

She couldn’t think of what to do.

But she couldn’t stay like this.

Slap!

Marlin struck her cheeks hard with both hands.

Her pale skin turned red from the force.

The pain snapped her back to reality, and she quickly thought.

The holy site must know too.

Batan’s soul stone wasn’t only here.

It existed at the holy site as well.

They’d know of Batan’s death and would surely contact her.

Marlin left the room and headed to Batan’s office.

Upon arriving—

Swish!

She saw a glowing communication crystal.

Marlin approached it, thinking to herself.

Where’s it from?

There wasn’t just one communication crystal.

Over ten sat on the display.

The glowing one was unfamiliar to Marlin.

Swish!

Another crystal began to glow beside it.

This one Marlin recognized.

It was used for communication with the Elders.

Batan had recently spoken with the 3rd Elder, Lilith.

It might be from her.

Since they talked recently…

Marlin infused energy into the crystal she assumed was Lilith’s.

Light burst from it, and a figure appeared in the air.

As expected, it was the 3rd Elder, Lilith.

“2nd Division’s Marlin greets the 3rd Elder Lilith,” Marlin said, bowing respectfully.

– Batan is dead.

– Are you aware of this?

As expected, Lilith knew of Batan’s death.

“Yes, I confirmed it moments ago.”

– Did he go to the 1st Branch?

“Yes, but considering the time, it seems he met trouble somewhere else.”

– Not the 1st Branch?

“It’s only been an hour since he left. Even at full speed, it’d take two hours to reach the 1st Branch.”

– Hmm…

At Marlin’s response, Lilith let out a low groan, recalling her conversation with Batan.

Batan had said he was confident he could survive even an 8th Circle mage.

If he died, it meant Gaon was an 8th Circle Master.

And now Batan was dead.

…Is he really an 8th Circle Master?