The Sinners' Guides found themselves in conflict with each other.

"Do we fight Taesan, or do we hide and wait for him to pass?" Many emotions clashed within the group.

After a heated discussion, even involving physical confrontation, a decision was reached.

"You’re suggesting we summon the Demon God and speak directly with him?"

"Yes," the arrogant, platinum-haired young man nodded.

"Escaping from that guy Taesan who’s coming down here wouldn’t be hard. That’s not the real problem," he continued. "We could use the secret keys to skip floors or just hide in one of the vast floors. It’s not impossible to stay out of his sight."

"But my pride won’t allow it."

The young man came from a royal bloodline believed to have inherited divine power. Even though he lacked any divine abilities, he was raised with near-indoctrination and had a high sense of pride.

"I refuse to flee from someone of lowly status. But objectively, I know I can’t beat him."

"Does your pride allow you to rely on numbers?"

"It’s not dishonorable to use our numerical advantage against a lesser being," he declared confidently.

"So we summon the Demon God and request to remove the restriction," he stated.

Currently, only those granted permission by the Demon God could challenge Taesan. This restriction was preventing them from teaming up against him.

The Lion King’s expression was skeptical. "Do you really think the Demon God would show us any leniency?"

"We won’t know until we try."

The young man explained, "Even a Demon God can’t just kill us. We’re adventurers, diving into their maze, after all. There’s no harm in trying."

His reasoning wasn’t entirely wrong. Despite the gods’ disdain for them, they couldn’t prevent adventurers from progressing through the maze.

"Do as you like. The majority is on your side."

Those in favor of the young man's argument were in the majority. Their pride as deep-dwelling adventurers, coupled with the reality that none of them could face Taesan alone, led to this outcome.

The group began preparations to summon the Demon God.

After offering numerous tributes and equipment, the young man looked toward the sky and called out.

"Please come forth, O Great Being! We offer these gifts to you!"

A loud crack split the air as space distorted, and a formidable presence descended, responding to the suitable offerings and call.

The guides prostrated themselves before the entity.

"We greet the Great Demon God!"

A voice echoed, and the Demon God appeared, lazily waving a hand.

[Enough. I know why you've summoned me. Just get to the point.]

"...Thank you."

The young man swallowed nervously before speaking.

"Lord Demon God, you placed a restriction on us, preventing us and the adventurer you favor, Taesan, from facing each other."

Unless both parties were of a similar level, they were forbidden to engage in battle. Because of this restriction, Taesan could only face one of them at a time.

"But we can no longer face him alone. This restriction has given him many advantages, and we humbly ask you to reconsider. Please hear our plea."

[Well-spoken. Go on.]

The Demon God’s voice was lethargic. Taking a deep breath, the young man continued.

"We respectfully ask that you lift the restriction between us and him, Lord Demon God."

[Hmm.]

The Demon God gazed at him, and the young man felt his chest tighten in apprehension.

The Demon God spoke.

[Fine.]

"You... you’ll grant it?"

The young man looked up, surprised. Though he had proposed the idea, he hadn’t expected it to be accepted so easily. He thought it would take endless offerings and begging.

[Such a minor request is inconsequential. It doesn’t matter much now anyway. Do as you wish.]

With that, the Demon God vanished.

Relieved, the young man slumped to the ground, a twisted smile on his face.

"...It worked."

The restriction was lifted.

He leapt to his feet.

"It’s done. All we have to do now is kill him."

Several guides’ eyes glinted at his words.

But not everyone agreed.

"I won’t be fighting him."

This was the same man who had previously argued with the Lion King.

Although the majority wanted to confront Taesan, a considerable number still refused and opted to flee.

"He’s like a tidal wave. There’s no reason to stand against him. We can just hide until he passes, then continue down the maze."

"Do as you wish, cowards," the young man sneered.

Turning to the Lion King, he asked, "What about you?"

The Lion King frowned.

"...Something doesn’t feel right. The Demon God agreed too easily."

The Demon God favored Taesan. He might not mind a fair, life-or-death battle, but an unfair ambush leading to an unceremonious death wasn’t what he’d want.

The fact that he lifted the restriction so readily suggested that Taesan could still handle them, even without it.

"Who knows? Maybe he’s lost interest in Taesan by now. Gods are fickle beings."

"Maybe."

The Lion King took a step back. "I’m not getting involved in this fight."

"Suit yourself. We’re going to win anyway."

The young man’s face showed no sign of doubt.

It was the combined strength of several adventurers from the deep floors. No matter how strong Taesan was, he believed there was no way he could win.

The Lion King turned to look at Societ.

"And you? Will you join them?"

"Like you, I have my own plans."

She replied curtly, then gave a quiet laugh. It was the first time she’d smiled since the hero’s death.

"We’ve come this far."

She murmured softly, turning to the Lion King.

"What about you?"

"I’ll find my own way," he replied, clutching a gemstone in his hand.

Ambresia watched them with a contemplative expression.

* * *

Meanwhile, broken machinery stirred as the corpse of an Immortal began to move.

[Why is that thing moving?]

The specter was equally stunned. Clearly, this Immortal had perished long ago. Taesan examined it coolly.

"That black pillar from the sky..."

As soon as it touched the Immortal’s body, the Immortal’s eyes opened.

An unnatural energy emanated from the creature before him.

"A god of darkness," Taesan muttered.

During the retrieval of the Immortal’s energy, a dark god had intervened, turning the Immortal's remains into his own puppet.

Taesan glanced up. Beyond the sky, transcendent beings and dark gods were clashing. None of them seemed to notice what was happening down here.

The Immortal, now awakened, focused on Taesan, but without any sentient will.

[Uh...]

The specter groaned. An Immortal — an opponent Taesan couldn’t possibly defeat.

[Find an opening and escape back to the maze.]

It was sound advice, but Taesan refused to back down.

He stared calmly at the awakened Immortal.

"There’s no consciousness left."

It was merely a dead being, its strength forcibly bound by a dark god to capture Taesan.

"And it’s falling apart."

The Immortal’s remains were severely damaged, with hardly any intact sections. The energy radiating from it was extremely unstable.

Even though the Immortal’s aura pressured him, Taesan’s skill, Boundary Reversal, held firm. Just by observing, he could tell that this opponent was beatable.

"I won’t turn my back on cowards who only strike when they find an opening."

[You activated Apostle Form: Darkness and Chaos.]

Taesan triggered a variety of buff skills.

He dismissed the Boundary Reversal enveloping him. Given his current skill level, maintaining the Boundary Reversal during a direct confrontation with an Immortal wasn’t feasible.

As he deactivated the Boundary Reversal, immense pressure descended upon him.

The scattered remnants of Immortals had been retrieved by a transcendent, but the Immortal in front of him was still exerting pressure on him. He could withstand it, but a prolonged battle would be tough.

He needed to finish this quickly.

In an instant, Taesan lunged at the Immortal.

The dark god’s link to the battered Immortal seemed tenuous. One well-placed strike might be enough to bring it down.

Of course, an ordinary strike wouldn’t suffice. Only a hit infused with Divine Power, darkness, or at the level of the Boundary would have any effect.

The Immortal’s aura flared, releasing a blast to subdue Taesan.

Its sole command, left by the dark god, was simple: eliminate the enemy before it.

Power erupted.

Dozens of beams incinerated the ground, erasing the very fabric of space.

The blasts were so fast that Taesan could barely respond. The moment he sensed the attack, he moved, but one beam pierced his leg.

[Your first Attack Immunity has been triggered.]

"So that’s its speed."

His immunity skill had been expended, but it allowed him to gauge the Immortal’s speed.

"This will be close."

Even if he saw the signs of the next attack, there was no guarantee he’d dodge it in time.

Beams rained down once more, and Taesan unfurled his wings.

[You activated Selfish Choice.]

[You activated Perfect Fairy Wings.]

[You activated Skill Acceleration.]

Taesan sped up, reaching a velocity even the Sinners' Guides could barely track.

But his opponent was an Immortal.

The attacks honed in on him with precision. The earth trembled and formed waves that obstructed his path, and a rainbow of beams cascaded toward him.

[You activated Distortion.]

He twisted space, bending the beams away.

Crack.

The

 Immortal’s force tore through even the warped space, piercing the distortion and resuming its pursuit of Taesan.

He knew Distortion wouldn’t hold. All he needed was a split-second.

[You activated Limited Blink.]

[You activated Air Leap.]

[You activated Acceleration.]

[You activated Skill Acceleration.]

In an instant, Taesan shot toward the Immortal.

The Immortal’s form contracted slightly.

A wave of energy rippled out from the Immortal’s core, sweeping through everything around it.

[You activated Aegis’ Divine Shield. You are immune to all damage for 1 second, but movement is the only action you can perform.]

Using Aegis’ Shield, he planned to withstand the Immortal’s power and close in.

Yet the wave’s impact sent Taesan flying.

"Tsk!"

Taesan quickly sheathed his shield and swung his sword. A blade of energy erupted, colliding with the wave.

Landing back on solid ground, Taesan grimaced.

"A simple repulsive force, then."

Absolute Blessing, Attack Nullification, and Aegis’ Shield — all of his defensive skills triggered upon taking damage. But a force without actual damage, just a repulsion, bypassed them all.

The beams surged toward him again.

Taesan moved his wings, deftly dodging.

There was no room to approach. He had to focus entirely on evading the relentless attacks.

The Immortal's entire body glowed.

Dozens of missiles launched from it. No matter how he moved, each one tracked him precisely.

Taesan gathered his power. Since the Immortal fragments in the air had been retrieved by the transcendent, his powers were no longer suppressed.

[You activated Spell Stacking.]

He stacked Frozen World and Starlight Arrows, releasing them in unison.

A flurry of ice and light collided with the missiles.

As the explosion illuminated the world, a red dot appeared on Taesan’s chest.

Reflexively, Taesan activated a skill.

[You activated Random Blink.]

Taesan teleported just as an explosion erupted where the red dot had been.

The blast was so powerful that it nearly overwhelmed him, even after he had teleported.

[You activated Ember of Calamity.]

The destructive flames of ruin erupted, colliding with the explosion, consuming each other in mutual destruction.

Beams surged toward him once more. Clenching his teeth, Taesan moved, weaving through the destruction.

The space around him distorted as pure, overwhelming power scorched everything in its path. This was an opponent he couldn’t even fend off, let alone counterattack.

The Immortal moved without will, responding only to its embedded commands.

Even so, it was an Immortal, a being beyond mortal comprehension.

And yet…

"I can win."

He had only used one immunity. His dark mana and magical energy reserves were still ample.

Victory was within reach.

Taesan spoke.

"Stop."

[You activated Declaration of Halt.]