Chapter 189: Human Resistance (2)

30 Minutes Ago

Floor 72, in front of the exit.

I quietly drew in a breath.

The wall standing before me did not shake no matter how many times I swung my sword.

[Warning!]

[Emergency restriction on Floor 72 activated.]

[Space Fixation: External movement temporarily impossible.]

The system message echoed.

I know.

This suppression, this wall is the law of the Tower.

No matter how strong I become, as long as I am part of the Tower, I cannot escape the boundaries of that law.

That is the limit of a being called the Tower Administrator.

” “

I slowly raised my hand and looked at the red seal engraved on my chest.

Tower Administrator.

Successor of Immortality.

This power that seemed omnipotent on the outside.

But in the end, this is a mold.

Shackles.

As long as I exist within the law, I cannot go outside that mold.

Seo Jun will die.

That thought struck my mind like lightning.

Nepas has already reached out.

That filthy remnant, part of the Source of Fear, is targeting Seo Jun, and Leon.

As long as I am trapped in this mold, that bastard will dig into the gap.

That is unacceptable.

“Yeah.”

I laughed lowly.

Administrator, my foot.

Successor, my foot.

Screw it all.

I am human.

I am the one who climbed Gritia with my bare body and stood at the top.

Even now, it is the same.

My foundation, my roots are human.

Kkwadeuk!

I grabbed the seal on my chest.

Red light scattered from my fingertips.

[Warning!]

[Attempt to abandon Administrator authority detected!]

[This action violates the order of the Tower!]

[Progress: 73%… 74%….]

“If I must stay within the law, then no thanks.”

I gripped harder.

I don’t need authority.

Rather than remain part of the Tower, I will return to being human.

And with human strength, I will break this wall.

Kwang!

At last, the seal shattered.

The Tower’s suppression trembled ever so slightly.

I aim for that gap.

Sreung.

I drew my sword.

A sword honed through my own effort and training, without the Immortal Flame or the Tower’s authority.

That is my all.

And it is enough.

“In-Gan-Dap-Je”

Kkwajik!

The tip of the sword tore through the air.

The suppression, the law, the mold itself shook.

The Tower’s warning sound rang out.

“Human potential is infinite.”

“Pil-Myeol-Geuk”

I raised the sword high.

I don’t care about laws.

I am human.

And human potential is greater than any mold.

Swiik!

I brought the sword down.

At that moment, space split.

The suppression collapsed, the law broke.

But the exit did not open.

‘I’m still immature.’

I threw away everything and exerted human power.

But there was still lingering attachment.

That attachment interfered with bringing out complete power.

“Mu-Nyeom-Mu-Sang”

I emptied everything.

Only then could I look.

At myself, a person.

At the existence called Kim Si-won.

I put that realization into the sword.

No technique or authority is needed.

I move.

And cut.

With that single principle, my sword fell vertically.

And the next moment.

Jjeo-eok!

Space distorted.

The Tower’s suppression vibrated again.

This time it was different.

It was not an immature strike like before.

I looked at this wall as a single human.

The Tower’s law?

Nepas’s trap?

The Source of Fear?

They are all just illusions.

Even if they block my path pretending to be truth, they will eventually collapse.

I slowly stepped forward.

When I arrived at the place presumed to be the exit,

I saw the barrier of law flowing in front of it.

Not so much with my eyes,

But with my heart, with my existence, I perceived it.

I break away.

I drew my sword.

What dwells in the tip of the sword is not a miracle.

Nor is it the Tower’s power.

It is only the proof of a life I have honed as a human, myself.

“I break the law.”

Kkwajik!

The tip of the sword cut through the air.

There was no resistance at all.

As if nothing had been there in the first place.

As a result, the Tower’s suppression power faded, and through the gap that appeared, I stepped forward.

Woong woong woong!

Blood surged, and pain like flesh being torn came over me.

The Tower’s suppression still remained.

Even if the law was shaken, it hadn’t completely disappeared.

But I don’t care.

This pain is the share of the mortal.

Because living as a human has always been about embracing pain.

I endured it and took one step, another step.

Kureureung!

Space broke.

The suppression split, and the Tower screamed.

I didn’t hear that sound.

I only walked.

With human feet.

With mortal blood.

With empty intention.

At that moment, my vision distorted.

I saw the original space again.

I was no longer bound by suppression.

I had surpassed the law.

‘Seo Jun.’

The remnant of Nepas, the Source of Fear, is targeting those children.

It might already be too late.

But it doesn’t matter.

I have arrived.

In a place without any authority or order of the Tower,

I finally stood at the limit of being human.

“Ss-eup!”

I took a short breath.

And the moment I took one step.

Kwang!

The Tower’s suppression completely broke.

Space twisted, the law split, and a new path opened before me.

That path was the path of a human who broke the law.

And before my eyes, I saw a barrier-like territory filled with terrible madness.

Of course.

Kwachachachang!

That barrier crumbled too easily before my sword.

And so… I arrived.

1001

The sight unfolding before me covered my vision.

Twisted space.

Black tentacles and gaps of the Abyss.

Nepas, with part of the Source of Fear covering his body, stood there.

And in front of him, Seo Jun lay collapsed.

Seo Jun’s body was a mess.

Even the Soul Sword was cracked.

Covered in blood, but he held on without giving up until the end.

‘He held out well.’

My heart ached.

Regret, anger, and killing intent.

I suppressed them coldly.

Emotions are a luxury right now.

Nepas lifted his head.

His black eyes reached me.

「…Kim Si-won.」

「The law should have bound you.」

「How?」

I did not answer.

There is no reason or meaning to explain with words.

Sreung.

I drew my sword.

It was neither the sword of Immortality nor the Tower’s armament.

Only myself as a human.

A pure sword obtained through countless swings and countless honing.

And focus.

Seureureuk.

All the noise of the world faded away.

Only Nepas was visible.

At that moment, the Abyss’s energy exploded from Nepas’s body.

Part of the Source of Fear writhed like tentacles.

Space twisted, and pressure that denied existence itself rushed in.

「Humans….」

「Are utterly insignificant in the end.」

「Do you believe you can overcome this power with such a sword?」

Papat, papapat!

He moved.

Black tentacles tore through the air and slammed down toward me.

The wave of existence negation dug into my skin.

But I didn’t move.

I slowly extended my sword.

It was the limit built up by a human, not any miracle or transcendence.

Seogeok!

The tentacles were cut.

That was it.

No grandiose explosion, no flashy effects.

Just naturally, they were cut.

Nepas’s eyes shook.

He must have felt a clear threat for the first time.

Toward such a bastard.

Jeobeok—

I took a step forward.

Deudeudeudeu!

The law shook and space twisted.

But no one, nothing can stop me.

“Seo Jun.”

I spoke to Seo Jun, who was standing with difficulty but upright as I walked forward.

“You held out well.”

Seo Jun looked at me with blurred vision.

A light of relief spread in his eyes.

Yes, that is enough.

「You bastard!」

Nepas screamed and extended his tentacles again.

Space tore, and a gap of the Abyss opened.

Beyond the gap, the Source of Fear breathed.

But I raised my head.

“With that much….”

I raised my sword high.

The pure power of a human, its end.

The limit of a mortal.

“You cannot harm me.”

If I hadn’t attained enlightenment, maybe, but now I have transcended everything.

Even if the target is Nepas, who carries that unspeakable part of the Source of Fear.

That is why.

Swiik!

The sword cut through the air.

Space, law, Abyss split.

「Impossible….」

Nepas let out a scream.

That scream was not just a cry of pain.

It was fear.

Because I had broken the limit that humans were believed to never surpass.

Chwaaaak!

I swung the sword.

No red energy, no Immortal Flame.

Just my body and my sword, tempered with blood for decades.

That alone was enough.

Nepas’s tentacles were torn off in droves.

As if space itself were tearing, the Abyss’s energy screamed.

He stepped back.

Black blood and twisted flesh scattered in the air.

「A mere human…breaking that suppression…how…?」

His voice twisted with growing anxiety.

He believed in the Tower’s law.

Because I, who had ruled over that law,

had kicked that law away myself and came out.

I breathed in.

My heart beats.

Blood boils.

My mind clears.

No Tower, no Abyss, no fear is needed.

I am human.

Nepas trembled with rage and extended his tentacles again.

Dozens of black tentacles struck down like lightning.

Space tore, pressure rushed in.

But I smiled.

‘I can see it.’

I extended my sword.

Seogeok!

The tentacles were cut off.

Once more.

Once more.

Cut, tear, break.

No corruption, no Abyss can surpass the limit of a human.

「What do you know…!」

Nepas screamed and exploded the Abyss’s energy.

Space tore.

Part of the Source of Fear was exposed.

Beyond the space, a terrible shape writhed within thick black clouds.

「No matter how you struggle, in the end…!」

Kwang!

Before he finished speaking,

I thrust my sword.

“In-Gan-Dap-Je”

“Pil-Myeol-Geuk”

“Mu-Nyeom-Mu-Sang”

The ultimate technique combining all of that.

“In-Geom-Il-Yeo”

Kkwajik!

The sword tears.

The Abyss splits.

Space, fear, darkness shake.

Nepas screamed.

Fear mingled in his scream.

I took another step forward.

The pressure of existence rushes in, but I no longer fear it.

“Do not be afraid.”

“I am here now.”

Eeuk!

I brought the sword down.

Space, law, Abyss shattered into pieces.

Even the Source of Fear could not block that blow.

Nepas stepped back.

Fear settled in his eyes.

Yes.

Now it is his turn to be afraid.

I breathed deeply.

Raised the sword high.

The potential of humanity, its end.

I am a human who broke the law and shattered the mold.

R

….]

Nepas’s will was no longer heard.

Passeu—

The debris scattered.

The darkness energy shattered and spread through the air.

The tentacles of the Abyss too.

The twisted flesh too.

All disappeared like smoke.

Silence came.

The Tower’s suppression power returned weakly, and space stabilized.

The distortion around resolved, and the twisted dimensional boundaries seemed to revert to normal.

I sheathed my sword and slowly exhaled.

‘It’s over.’

I was certain.

The pressure that had tightened around my heart and the fear energy denying existence had vanished.

But then.

Sseuseuseu!

A subtle sense of incongruity brushing against my skin.

An off-kilter wave felt beyond my intention.

“…?”

I looked up.

I looked at the scattered darkness debris.

There, in the black smoke that should have disappeared, a faint residual light flickered.

It was unmistakably Nepas’s energy.

“I see.”

He was dead, but not dead.

Beyond space, somewhere far away, the same wave spread clearly.

It was definitely a different floor, a different space.

But the same familiar fragment of existence.

Only then did I realize.

The essence of the being called Nepas.

He was no longer one.

He had scattered his body, consciousness, source of life countless times and spread them throughout the Tower.

What I just struck down was merely one of those countless fragments.

From within the torn remnants, a faint whisper echoed.

「…You only cut a part of me.」

「I hid in every corner of the Tower…」

「And the moment the Source of Fear is completed…」

「I…will return as a complete being.」

That voice had neither mockery nor anger.

It was just a dry, cold resonance declaring an established fact.

‘The Source of Fear….’

Part of it had spread throughout the Tower, and Nepas had used that energy to disperse himself.

It cannot be ended by cutting the body.

I must uproot all of his remnants hidden in every corner of the Tower.