Ice, earth, and starlight clashed, rushing toward the Emperor. Desperately, he opened his mouth to speak.

But Taesan now understood: for the Emperor to impose a rule upon the world, he had to declare it aloud.

And the time it took for that declaration was, for Taesan, more than enough.

In an instant, dozens of spells materialized, their destructive power overwhelming the Emperor.

“Gah…!”

The Emperor furiously amplified the divine aura encasing his body, trying to hold off the magic.

“In the sacred domain of Horai, those who cast spells must first fold their hands in prayer!”

Even as he weathered the storm, the Emperor forced out another declaration, stripping the power from Taesan’s spells, causing them to dissipate all at once.

But Taesan had anticipated this.

Before the Emperor’s declaration concluded, Taesan used a restricted blink to close the distance, activating Starlight Arrow to break through the Emperor’s divine barrier. He placed his hand on the Emperor’s shoulder.

[You have activated Branch of Despair.]

“Urgh…!”

A torrent of negative emotions flooded the Emperor’s mind, attempting to overtake him. Taking advantage of the moment, Taesan activated another skill.

[You have activated Forced Descent.]

The Emperor’s movements visibly slowed as Taesan swiftly created more distance and folded his hands in prayer.

Crackling!

Magic surged forth once more.

Following the rules, Taesan continued casting spells and dark magic. Though his movements were slowed, the Emperor couldn’t find an opening to exploit.

“Gah…!”

The Emperor’s face contorted with rage as his mind was assaulted by the emotional onslaught.

“Enough!”

He shouted in fury.

“I am the Emperor! I am the Apostle of a god! This pitiful flood of emotions cannot hold me back!”

The Emperor’s divine power surged from within, his force of will pushing back against the despair.

Yet, the emotional torrent didn’t disappear entirely.

Deep within his mind, the energy continued to gnaw at him.

“What is this? Why won’t it leave?!”

The Branch of Despair was a skill bestowed directly by the God of Despair, an evolved form of the Seed of Despair—one of Taesan’s most potent abilities. Its potency rivaled that of the Emperor himself. Even the Sins’ Guides had only endured its effects through sheer will.

Likewise, the Emperor was unable to fully shake off its hold, struggling to focus on the battle.

Taesan seized the opportunity.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

[You have activated Skill Acceleration.]

He closed in on the Emperor, quickly kneeling before launching his attack.

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

The Emperor barely managed to block, his face twisted in frustration.

“I declare! As I am under Horai’s protection, no mental interference can affect me unless Horai allows it!”

The rule took effect, and the influence of Branch of Despair faded. Meanwhile, the restriction on dark magic was lifted. Taesan immediately gathered his dark energy.

Rumble!

Dark magic poured forth in waves.

Chains bound the Emperor while arrows of storming black energy cleaved through the air, blanketing the world in a dark tide.

[You have activated Amon’s Black Spike.]

Boom!

The spike struck the Emperor, sending him skidding back.

Grinding his teeth, the Emperor declared another rule, nullifying the effects of the dark magic.

“You…!”

The Emperor, now consumed by fury, lunged at Taesan.

With the rules in place, it would be hard to counter the Emperor’s attacks. So, Taesan didn’t intend to try.

[You have activated Targeted Mark Acceleration.]

Taesan’s body instantly moved backward, almost as if he’d crossed space itself. The Emperor’s eyes widened.

“How…?”

Taesan slammed his foot into the ground.

Using Targeted Mark Acceleration, he leaped from one marked point to another, confusing the Emperor, who struggled to respond to this unfamiliar ability.

After a moment, the Emperor, exasperated, bellowed,

“This is Horai’s land! To leap through space, one must first declare their destination!”

The Emperor imposed a restriction on spatial movement.

He charged at Taesan again.

[You have activated Targeted Mark Acceleration.]

This time, Taesan simply moved at an accelerated speed to his marked location. Since he wasn’t leaping through space, the restriction had no effect.

The Emperor’s face contorted with frustration.

“I declared a rule!”

With the spatial restriction in place, the rule preventing spirit summoning was lifted.

[You have summoned Minerva, King of the Wind Spirits.]

“Throwing me out like that? How rude!”

Minerva unleashed a storm, thinning the divine aura surrounding the Emperor.

Taesan sneered at the Emperor.

Despite his strength and his ability to impose rules, the Emperor lacked experience in wielding his power. He was clumsily misusing his abilities, unable to gauge Taesan’s strength and needlessly expending energy.

This wasn’t surprising. In the outside world, even the strongest individuals only reached levels around the 30th or 40th floor. The Emperor, balanced on the threshold of the Boundary, had likely never faced an opponent of Taesan’s caliber.

In fact, he might never have fought a true battle since becoming an Apostle.

“Honestly, the Sins’ Guides were more challenging.”

If any of the seasoned Guides had wielded the power of rules, they might have actually managed to defeat Taesan. Such power had that much potential.

True power requires more than mere possession—it demands mastery, adaptability, and the ability to handle unforeseen variables.

That’s likely why the gods created the labyrinth.

Power without experience is meaningless. The Emperor dismissed Minerva again, creating a brief opening. Taesan seized it, advancing.

[You have activated Acceleration.]

He thrust his sword, and the Emperor dodged rather than blocking.

[You have activated Sure Strike.]

Crack.

The sword twisted in midair, piercing the Emperor’s shoulder.

“What is this? What is this…?”

The Emperor shouted in frustration, unable to comprehend Taesan’s abilities. His confusion led to hesitation, which in turn slowed his reactions.

Taesan swung his sword with renewed vigor.

[You have activated Call of Destruction.]

The power of annihilation filled the area.

The Emperor, startled, surrounded himself with divine energy.

Call of Destruction—a power Taesan had obtained after defeating a demon king from the spirit world, stronger than Ember of Catastrophe. Though difficult to control, Taesan could now wield it with some restraint.

The destructive force engulfed the Emperor, visibly eroding his divine aura.

“The power of destruction! It can’t reach its full strength outside its own realm!”

The Emperor shouted, barely holding on.

But as a result, the restriction on swordsmanship was lifted.

Taesan slashed with his sword.

[You have activated Blade of Tenacity.]

The Emperor countered with a punch.

Boom!

Fist and sword clashed, grinding away at the divine aura. Eyes wide with anger, the Emperor drew forth more power.

“Die!”

Boom!

Divine energy exploded, engulfing Taesan.

But Taesan had already moved aside.

He gathered dark energy, readying his next attack. The Emperor, consumed with rage, charged again, intent on using his divine aura to overpower Taesan’s dark magic.

Until now, Taesan’s dark magic had merely chipped away at the Emperor’s divine protection without doing significant harm.

The Emperor charged forward.

Taesan unleashed his magic.

[You have activated Beyond the Boundary.]

[You have activated Arrow of Storming Calamity.]

[You have activated Forced Amplification.]

A storming arrow infused with a power beyond mortality shot forth.

The Emperor instinctively understood that this attack would pierce his divine shield.

But it was too late to react. He tried to summon more divine energy, but the arrow shattered his defenses.

Thunk.

The storming arrow pierced his heart.

Rumble…

The Emperor coughed blood, staring in shock at the wound in his chest.

As Horai’s Apostle, he could recover as long as he had divine energy left. But the wound inflicted by the storming arrow refused to heal.

The arrow’s power surpassed his own divinity.

“Heh.”

The Emperor let out a bitter laugh. Given time, he could potentially recover.

But his opponent wasn’t going to give him that luxury.

“So, this is all you have?”

The Emperor retracted his domain of transcendence.

Bzzt!

The Apostle’s power concentrated entirely into his clenched fist.

All restrictions on Taesan were lifted.

In this cornered state, the Emperor was calling upon his ultimate strength.

This was his final move.

All Taesan had to do was withstand this. He gripped his sword tightly.

Thud.

The Emperor leaped forward, throwing a punch meant to obliterate everything.

Taesan met him with his sword.

The blade turned black, then was enveloped in gold.

Gray energy formed, merging the two.

Boom!

The Apostle’s power clashed with the Boundary Line. The gray energy opened its maw, consuming the Apostle’s force.

“What is this…?”

The Emperor was horrified. As an Apostle, he recognized the gray energy.

It was a force beyond mortality.

Or perhaps even…

His thoughts cut off as the gray energy exploded, engulfing his entire being.

---

“I… I have lost.”

The Emperor’s mangled body slumped as he acknowledged defeat. His expression held neither anger nor despair.

“To think I’d return to Horai like this… I must go and beg forgiveness.”

An Apostle, having pledged their soul to a god, does not truly die. Death for them is merely the return of their spirit.

The Emperor’s soul began to detach from his ruined body.

“Oooooo…”

The sky opened.

A powerful presence appeared, its energy cold and devoid of warmth.

It was Horai, the God of Order.

“My god…”

In a daze, the Emperor reached out to Horai.

Horai’s gaze fell upon him, cold and ruthless.

“G-God…?”

The Emperor’s confusion turned to terror as he felt the god’s indifference. Fear gripped him, and he tried to flee, but there was nowhere to run.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Horai’s power forcibly consumed the Emperor’s soul, without mercy or compassion, treating him like a discarded tool.

With a final scream, the Emperor vanished.

[You have activated Spiritual Ascendancy.]

The system message appeared, notifying Taesan of his increased spiritual rank. Slowly, he drew in the remaining divine energy to restore his body.

“It’s over.”

“Ah…”

The child flinched, looking at Taesan.

Taesan had carefully controlled the battle to protect the child. As a result, though the surroundings were in ruins, the child remained unharmed.

Taesan turned to the child.

“The curse that tormented you is gone.”

The curse had been the Emperor’s doing.

Now, the child was simply a mortal with divine blood—a normal child once more.

“….”

The child stared at Taesan, still dazed.

“My family… they’re all gone.”

The Emperor had taken the lives of the child’s loved ones.

“And the world… it will still hate me.”

The child was still cursed in the eyes of the world. People might even blame the destruction of the temple and the Emperor’s disappearance on the child’s supposed curse, fueling further persecution.

“I am still… a cursed child. That hasn’t changed. But…”

The child looked at Taesan.

This man had fought for the child—for no one else but the child.

“Still… I will live on.”

More trials would come, but for Taesan’s sake, the child would continue to live.

It was the choice the child made in the end.

Taesan nodded.

“If that’s your decision.”

With those words, Taesan’s body faded away, the quest complete, returning him to the labyrinth.

“Taesan?”

The child stared at the spot where he’d vanished before slowly beginning to walk.

Though there would be pain and suffering, the child would continue on.

That was the decision.

Yet, one question remained.

What purpose would drive that life forward?

The child had yearned for a normal life, but that was no longer possible. And now, the child no longer desired the ordinary.

As the child pondered, a single thought surfaced.

“The labyrinth…”

During their travels, Taesan had told the child many stories about the labyrinth.

It was a place where warriors from all realms gathered, where those who could survive would grow stronger.

Taesan had ventured deeper into that place.

“Maybe…”

With newfound resolve, the child stepped forward.

---

[So, it’s done.]

“Couldn’t you have waited just a bit longer?”

[Isn’t this outcome good enough?]

The God of Choices’s voice held a satisfied smile.

[The child will go on to live. Countless choices await, and… eventually, they’ll come here. It’ll be an interesting journey.]

Maria chuckled.

[You did so well. You showed me everything I hoped to see.]

For that, a fitting reward was due.

With a flick of her fingers, a powerful force crystallized, manifesting in Taesan’s hands.