How powerful had I become, having reached the limits of the human race?

In answer to that question, he simply swung his sword.

——Slash.

[……!!]

The space split apart.

The countless layers of space that connected Jörmungandr and the Sword Warrior were cleaved, slicing through dimensions.

The cutting force was overwhelming. It wasn’t just about cutting through any material; it was a strike that could sever even the concept of materials that didn’t exist in this world.

——Shatter!

The space fractured like glass, sending slashes hurtling toward Jörmungandr.

In response, the massive serpent moved. Jörmungandr’s colossal body rippled like waves, dodging the slashes that aimed at him.

He thought he had avoided them.

——Slash!

The sword strike twisted.

The slash, which had seemed to dissipate after tearing through space, twisted bizarrely and struck Jörmungandr’s massive body, inflicting a wound.

It was shocking to see his scales shattered like paper.

The sword strike had precisely targeted the gaps between the scales. As a result, bright red blood flowed from Jörmungandr’s body.

The wound wasn’t particularly severe.

Jörmungandr’s size was such that he wouldn’t be troubled by a wound of this magnitude.

But…

[Impressive.]

It was astonishing.

To think that this body could be wounded.

The Sword Warrior, Lee Jihoon, stared at me with cold eyes.

"I’ve faced opponents my sword couldn’t cut through before. If you think you can beat me with just the hardness of your scales, you’d better be prepared."

His figure vanished.

The moment he swung his sword through the air, all senses of his presence disappeared as if he no longer existed in this space.

[…….]

Even Jörmungandr’s eyes couldn’t see him.

It wasn’t just that he had hidden himself; it was as if he had completely removed himself from this world.

Jörmungandr instinctively knew.

At this very moment, he had hidden himself in a new dimension.

Where would he appear? When?

Jörmungandr began to count.

One, two, three…

Now.

——Slash!

The invisible space split open, and even faster, a tail imbued with overwhelming mass shattered the rift.

"……!"

The Sword Warrior belatedly tried to overlap dimensions with his sword, but it was futile. Jörmungandr’s power wasn’t bound by dimensions.

The tail, which had shattered dozens of spaces at once, slammed into the Sword Warrior, sending Lee Jihoon flying several kilometers.

Yet, he remained unscathed.

Quickly recovering his wounds, he coldly analyzed the previous clash.

"…Similar."

The Demon God.

The being who had brought endless despair was similar to this.

Space had no meaning to him, and he possessed overwhelming power—truly a living catastrophe.

"But…"

The Sword Warrior, Lee Jihoon, gazed into the distance.

Despite the overwhelming distance, the massive serpent loomed before him as if it were right in front of him.

His blue eyes blazed brightly.

The Sword Warrior met that gaze calmly and bent his knees.

"If that’s all you’ve got, you’d better be prepared."

Boom!

His figure shot forward like an arrow.

The Sword Warrior felt the space around him twist as he swung his sword.

This time, it wasn’t just a simple slash.

It was a technique he had honed over countless years to slay the Demon God.

Spatial Slash.

The First Form.

——Divine Punishment.

Born in a mortal body.

His sword carried the essence of his existence, forged to kill the gods who arrogantly stood at the highest place.

He swung his sword with all his might.

The divine retribution.

His sword, which had been honed solely to punish the gods, twisted strangely in the void.

And at that moment…

[……!!]

A massive slash occupied all of Jörmungandr’s space.

It was enormous.

It was not a slash that could have been created by a human.

It was like a hunt.

A net formed by endless slashes of overwhelming size, crushing the space around Jörmungandr.

This was not a slash limited by size.

It was a slash that would continue endlessly until it obliterated its target from this world.

The first slash struck Jörmungandr’s body, tearing through his scales like paper and leaving a deep wound.

The second slash followed.

It eerily traced the path of the previous slash that had cut Jörmungandr.

The overwhelming mass of the sword followed the path carved by the first slash, aiming directly at the wound.

At that moment, Jörmungandr unleashed his divinity.

A pure white divine light surged from his body, rapidly filling the space and creating a barrier to block the incoming slashes.

"It’s useless."

This slash was…

A sword meant solely to kill gods.

It was a sword that carried the grandiose purpose of a mere human who aimed to slay gods.

Therefore…

Divinity had no effect.

As if divinity didn’t exist, the slash ignored Jörmungandr’s divine barrier and pierced deep into the massive serpent.

But Jörmungandr didn’t go down easily.

He rapidly regenerated the wounds inflicted by the slashes and twisted his body violently.

In that fleeting moment…

His body, twisted tens of thousands of times, vibrated and deflected the slash in a strange direction.

It wasn’t just twisting space.

His rapidly vibrating scales resonated with the slash, reading its wavelength and distorting it in a bizarre manner.

"……."

Lee Jihoon silently observed the scene.

Indeed.

Jörmungandr was quickly adapting to the slash.

No, it seemed he had already fully adapted.

Despite the countless slashes still being hurled at him, none of them could wound Jörmungandr anymore.

As if it were only natural.

With just a few minor injuries, Jörmungandr had become accustomed to the slashes, and now, he would effortlessly deflect any further attacks.

That overwhelming adaptability.

It was all too familiar.

The Demon God he had faced had similarly analyzed, adapted to, and countered all the attacks he threw at him.

"So there was a reason for your confidence."

[Now it’s my turn.]

Jörmungandr’s body shot forward.

His immense body rocketed past the Sword Warrior and wrapped around him, encircling his entire being.

The size was overwhelming.

At this moment, the Sword Warrior felt as if every space he existed in was being enveloped by Jörmungandr’s body.

No.

It wasn’t just a feeling.

At this very moment…

Jörmungandr was encompassing all space within his range.

[Twist.]

The moment he uttered those words…

Space twisted.

No, it wasn’t just space.

Even the dimensions layered upon countless spaces were being twisted and crushed by his massive body.

An overwhelming mass descended upon him.

The Sword Warrior realized that at this moment, every space surrounding him was closing in to compress and crush him.

It was like a mouse caught in the coils of a snake.

A creature tens, hundreds, thousands of times stronger than himself was crushing him with its overwhelming mass.

It wasn’t an incorrect analogy.

To a god standing so high above, he must have appeared no more significant than a bug, even less than a mouse.

But…

Even a tiny ant…

Could bear the weight of the sky.

Spatial Slash.

The Second Form.

This was…

A desperate struggle of an ant to support the sky.

——Celestial Firmament.

Recognize that there exists a vast space between you and the sky.

No matter how high the sky is, understand that there is an enormous gap of space between it and you.

In doing so…

You can withstand even the falling sky.

The Sword Warrior raised his sword.

Not with the blade, but with the back of the sword facing the sky.

The back of his sword created an overwhelming spatial difference around him.

As he swung his sword, a white veil appeared along its path.

This veil…

Even an attack that could distort dimensions…

Crack!

"……."

Wouldn’t work.

The Sword Warrior quietly observed the distortion in space as it tried to gnaw away at his celestial firmament.

It was impossible.

Unless he permitted it, a mere distortion of space couldn’t affect his celestial firmament.

Crack…

A small crack appeared.

Not on the celestial firmament, but on the distorted space attempting to intrude upon it.

The firmament expanded rapidly, pushing through the crack.

The once-close distance between him and the serpent stretched endlessly.

"The celestial firmament is a sword that holds the principle of the sky."

No matter how much one tries to challenge the sky…

The sky will once again retreat from the world.

His firm belief tore through space, forcing Jörmungandr to retreat.

[…….]

Through the now-calm space…

A massive, azure serpent’s eye glinted.

He was quietly observing.

Another version of himself.

A being who had gained a different body and ascended to godhood.

It was astonishing.

He could hardly believe that he had the potential to become a god.

At the same time…

He was filled with rage.

"…Why, you?"

[…….]

"Why was the opportunity, the potential, the talent, the divinity, given to you instead of me?"

If it had been him…

He might have been able to defeat the Demon God.

Jörmungandr remained silent.

Hah, right.

He knew that the serpent was a victim too.

Another version of himself, resisting the fate of destruction.

But…

He couldn’t shake off the jealousy that kept rising within him.

It didn’t make sense.

He couldn’t understand why the Goddess had chosen him instead of himself.

He needed to confirm it.

"Kill me."

If you don’t…

"I’ll kill you."

He swung his sword.