Trait Hoarder-Chapter 268

The Beginning of War – Part 3

I dismantle the heavy-armored tank.

Tear apart the black-gold main cannon and toss it aside.

Crush the holy missile launcher and blow up the dark autocannon turret.

One by one, I obliterate the magic detectors, blessing amplifiers, and divine signal transmitters.

As if splitting a rotting log, I rip open the armored plating—and reveal a pale, terrified face beneath it.

“Y-You barbaric beasts!”

A stubborn-looking middle-aged man.

An archbishop of the Old Father’s Cult.

“The Old Father will bring divine punishment! Divine punishment, I say!”

The archbishop howled and shrieked.

I reached out without hesitation.

Grabbed him by the collar and, using the suppression traits from close-quarters combat, dragged him out.

THUD!

“Guh-ack!”

I slammed him onto the ground, and the archbishop screamed.

He was the last one.

The battle was over.

Everywhere, the Old Father’s armored units were wrecked and spewing thick black smoke.

The ground was littered with corpses.

A few were captured alive, but most resisted to the end and died.

Fitting for fanatics.

“Kill me.”

The archbishop craned his neck and spat the words.

“It won’t be long now! You’re too late! Even if you throw us into the sea, burn us alive, or shoot us all down, destiny is already decided! The Saintess will summon the Old Father, and once descended, He will become the one true Father, placing the souls of all mankind upon His knee! When that day comes, I shall stand at His side as an archangel and enslave you all!”

I simply shrugged.

“For a loser, you sure talk a lot of bullshit.”

“Loser? Loser?!”

The archbishop’s eyes bulged.

“Not a chance! This is just the beginning! No, it’s already over! No matter what you do, you can’t overturn destiny! Savior! Embrace your fate! Become the vessel of the Old Father and save the world!”

“Don’t you see?”

I swept my arm, pointing around.

“It’s over. Once we break the barrier, Gwangju is liberated. And inside it? A passage connected to your so-called Divine Kingdom. We’ll storm in, take out the Saintess and your cultists, and end this. I’ll kill the Old Father and reduce him to nothing more than a spirit fragment.”

That’s the plan.

That’s how it went in the game, too.

But the archbishop started laughing hysterically.

“Puhahaha! Fool!”

“What now?”

“You don’t get it. Why do you think we launched such a massive defense?”

“To buy time, obviously. Stall until the ritual’s complete.”

Offering up all of Gwangju isn’t so simple.

In the original world, Gwangju’s population barely hit 300,000.

Here?

It was nearly a million.

Close to being promoted to a metropolitan city.

Even with decades of preparation, sacrificing that many people all at once isn’t easy.

“Hehehe.”

The archbishop let out a breathless laugh.

“You’re only half right. Just half. We knew how much of your forces you’d bring. Do you think we launched a full-scale defense with just this? Our true goal was something else.”

Their goal was different, and I only got half of it right?

What kind of nonsense is that?

I was about to press further—

When the black dome before us suddenly lit up.

FLASH!

An ink-colored flash soared into the sky.

Light scattered into a cascade of rain.

Falling only atop the black dome.

Then, the pitch-black dome began to shimmer like obsidian, reflecting a strange sheen.

The archbishop threw back his head and laughed maniacally.

“It’s done! The barrier is complete! Oh, praise be! Old Father! Saintess! You’ll never pierce that barrier! It is the crystallization of violence, the throne of absolute rule, the greatest might on Earth! And do you know? Exactly 72 hours. Just 72 hours remain! Then the ritual will be complete, and Savior, no matter your will, the Old Father will claim your body as His vessel!”

Is this… a remote descent ritual?

Only 72 hours left?

Even after I seared the Saintess’s heart with Ultimate Flame?

So if I hadn’t attacked her then, she would’ve already been done cooking—served up on a silver platter by now.

The Legion Commander standing nearby kicked the archbishop.

“Guh-urk!”

“Shut up. Is this bastard lying? 72 hours? You saying the ritual can be completed that fast?”

“Ahaha! Fear! Rejoice! The descent of the Old Father is near!”

“They’re not just sacrificing the citizens of Gwangju—they’re including these cultists too.”

“You people are insane.”

“That’s why they believe in the Old Father. You have to be mad to worship a god like that. My guess? The Saintess, the ones fighting here, and all of Gwangju’s citizens—they’re all sacrifices.”

“Insane…”

Actually, it’s not even 72 hours.

I looked up.

At the airship still floating above us.

It was about time.

And I was right.

The mana began to tremble.

“Huh? Wha—?!”

The archbishop was the first to react.

He stared upward, mouth agape.

Mana swirled like greasy smoke.

Waves of unnatural color rippled through the air.

And then—

BOOM—a crimson flash exploded in the sky.

FWOOSH!

The beam of light shot downward like a single ribbon.

Toward the massive black dome.

It looked like it should’ve been blocked.

The dome’s pressure was monstrous, like it would stop anything.

But the beam pierced it effortlessly.

From here, we couldn’t see, but it crossed dimensional walls and struck into another plane.

Perhaps even hit the being within it.

A being that was once Earth’s most powerful divine entity—

Now reduced to a mad god, the most feared existence of all.

[GUAAAAAAAAAAAH!]

Was that… a scream?

Or was it a wail?

A cry of fury?

A chilling wave swept through us like it was clawing at our souls.

Not just me—all the superhumans here.

Just a moment of exposure was enough to twist our mana circuits and churn our guts.

Judging by their expressions, the others were feeling it too.

But the one who took the biggest hit—

Was the archbishop.

His face looked utterly vacant, eyes fixed on the city of Gwangju.

“Th-this can’t be… The Old Father… The Saintess…”

A forced connection through the mana circuit.

And a counterattack.

I guarantee it hurt. A lot.

That so-called 72-hour ritual? Just turned into 720 hours. A full month.

KRRRMMM, KRAKABOOM!

Maybe because it was a flame-attribute strike rather than dark or frost?

The airship’s mana circuit had gone into overload—and now it was exploding.

Crew scrambled to cross over to Sky River, while the world tree branches rose like tendrils to push the burning airship away.

A dazzling firework show lit up the sky for a good while.

With that as the backdrop, the Tower Master slowly descended.

“Phew… I’m never doing that again.”

“Great work.”

“I thought I was going to die. Tch! The security was basically divine-grade. I had to face the Old Father himself to crack it open.”

“And it was just a terminal, wasn’t it?”

“You’re a Warrior, so you’d say that. But a Mage’s mind is far more delicate than a Warrior’s. I might still be able to cast a spell or two, but anything more is too much.”

He really did look worn out.

His once-taut skin had gone noticeably rough, and wrinkles etched deep across his face.

He must’ve fought tooth and nail in the spiritual plane.

To be fair, fire-attribute Mages aren’t exactly built for hacking mana circuits with counterspikes.

If I’d had any other Level 8 Mage, I would’ve sent them instead.

“You did great. Just hang in there a little longer.”

“Urgh… How did I end up getting tangled up with a madman like this…”

The Tower Master conjured a leather sofa in midair and sank into it.

The archbishop watched him with blank eyes.

Then, suddenly, he found some last bit of strength and lunged.

“You heretic! I’ll kill you!”

“Hmm? What’s this now?”

“I’ll kill you! Kill you!!”

His mana was already sealed.

Short and frail, completely out of shape.

Not much of a threat—but also not much reason to keep him alive.

My thoughts were long, but my decision was short.

I cut off his head without hesitation.

His torso lurched forward. His glaring head fell backward.

“Hmm…”

The Tower Master tilted his head.

“Was there any need to kill him?”

“I had to confirm something. He wasn’t going to cooperate even if we spared him.”

“Well, that’s true. But if we brought him to a necromancer, we could’ve restrained his soul for interrogation.”

“That wouldn’t have worked.”

“Oh? Ah… You’re right.”

The Tower Master’s eyes flashed, then he nodded in understanding.

Because of what we both saw—

The archbishop’s soul did not ascend.

It sank.

Coldly absorbed into the earth.

Dragged by some magic woven into the land. His mana pulled away and surged toward one place.

Toward the still-standing black dome.

A contract with a divine being—nothing we could interfere with.

I simply clicked my tongue.

With his mana and soul stripped, his brain had been reduced to mush.

If not for that, I might’ve been able to analyze his memories. But the Saintess had been careful.

The Legion Commander muttered.

“Damn cultists. We should’ve never gotten mixed up with them in the first place. You know how much trouble they caused even during the independence war? The only time they were useful was taking down the Amaterasu Cult.”

“Well, we did take that cult down thanks to them.”

“There is that.”

We advanced slowly.

Toward the black dome looming ahead, radiating immense presence and pressing down on the air itself.

It was a unique kind of barrier.

Just looking at it made your shoulders feel heavy.

A weaker soul might’ve dropped to their knees in worship by now.

In a way, it felt similar to the Old Father’s presence—but not quite the same.

It didn’t erode your sanity.

Unlike the Old Father, a terrestrial god fused with an outer deity, whose madness was intrinsic.

This one…

Could be summed up in one word: Dominion.

“Good work, Sword Star.”

The Western Army Legion Commander approached and clapped my shoulder.

“I’m ashamed. I insisted I could handle them alone, and I couldn’t even beat three Level 7s.”

“They were directly empowered by the Old Father. Even with a level gap, that’s not easy. Still, glad the losses weren’t too bad.”

If it hadn’t been the Western Army Commander, we’d have seen thousands dead.

As it stood, hardly anyone had died.

Plenty were injured, but they’d already been transported to the rear for treatment.

I’d donated a good number of elixirs too. Everyone should pull through.

For a full city assault, this level of casualty was practically a miracle.

The Western Army Commander marched ahead.

“Then allow me to handle that barrier.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

The barrier loomed right in front of us.

The Commander pressed his hands together as if in prayer.

Behind him, dozens of characters—both Hanja and Hangul—rose into the air like scripture.

He focused between his palms.

At some point, a fountain pen had appeared in his hand, glowing with a rainbow light.

“Teacher, you think Commander Chae can break through that easily?”

Baek Sorin whispered beside me.

I frowned slightly.

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“There are things even you don’t know, Teacher?”

“Whoa, seriously?”

“Commander Chae’s Ten Thousand Characters Pen Technique surpasses even Black Tiger Invincible Sword Art in terms of burst power. Don’t you think it’ll pierce the barrier? Especially one this massive—it should be spread thin.”

Seo Woojin made a perfectly valid point.

But then why did I have a bad feeling?

Long story short, I was right.

“Ha!”

With a spirited cry, the Western Army Commander launched his fountain pen.

Ten thousand characters streamed out and struck the barrier.

At a single point.

A fusion of martial arts and illusion, the Commander’s ultimate technique.

One of the most powerful attacks in all of Arcane Seoul…

And nothing happened.

In the game, this thing could destroy asteroids.

“Huh?”

“Wait, what?”

The barrier remained, tall and untouched.

Well—on closer inspection, there was some change.

The impact point shimmered with a faint ripple.

But that was all.

The Commander’s face twisted in disbelief.

“You dare—!”

He hurled his pen again.

Ten thousand characters exploded into the air, overlapping, compressing, condensing into a single letter.

That final character struck the barrier dead-on.

You’d expect a KWAANG! to shake the heavens.

You’d expect a shockwave to send hair whipping everywhere.

But the result was the same.

Just a slightly bigger ripple.

The barrier swallowed the Commander’s final strike like nothing, as if mocking him.

It was hard to believe, even watching it with my own eyes.

The Tower Master, who had been lounging on his summoned sofa, bolted upright.

The Commander narrowed his eyes.

My disciples stood with their jaws open.

Even the gathered superhumans—proud and shining like stars—were stunned.

It defied everything we understood about the world.

“That thing just blocked Commander Chae’s attack?!”

“What is that barrier?”

“Maybe it’s a new spell the Saintess created?”

“No defense magic should be able to block Ten Thousand Characters Pen Technique!”

“Hey now, don’t insult us mages like that.”

“I heard the Old Father’s Cult passed down a top-tier defense spell called Fire of the Ancient God. Could it be that?”

“No. It looks and feels completely different. And even that wouldn’t block this. A focused strike should pierce through, period.”

“What the hell…”

The Western Commander tried a few more attacks.

All with the same result.

Each time the magic hit the barrier, it simply vanished. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Ptooi, ptooi!”

Next up was the Eastern Army Commander.

He spat on both palms and gripped his White Tiger Sword.

“Yeeaargh!”

A devastating strike.

Enough to cleave aircraft carriers and spaceships in two.

But the barrier held.

Where his Sword Force struck, a faint crack formed—only to ripple, heal, and bounce him back.

“Guh!”

The rebound was massive.

If anyone less than a Commander had swung that sword, the blade would’ve shattered and their hands ripped open.

“Huh?”

He blinked.

“I’ve seen this before… where was it?”

“Tch. Warriors, I swear. Move aside. Just stay back and watch.”

“What’d you say, you brat?!”

The Tower Master unleashed Ultimate Flame.

Once, twice, three, four, five times—

A near-infinite barrage.

Of course—it was the Tower Master.

A torrent of heat and pure flame hammered the barrier.

All of it aimed at a single point.

The same spot the two Commanders had targeted.

“That’s…”

“Insane. Absolutely insane.”

“What the hell did that Saintess do?”

Sweat beaded on the Tower Master’s forehead.

His right hand, which held his staff like a rifle, started trembling.

Color drained from his face.

Even with his enormous mana reserves.

Even with near-demigod-level mana control.

Even after hurling the Solar Tower’s Ultimate Flame in endless waves—

He couldn’t break the barrier.

“Goddamn it!”

He cursed and stumbled back.

“Guess you’re not invincible either, huh?”

The Commander chuckled dryly.

Naturally, all eyes turned to me.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“You think you can do what they couldn’t, Sword Star?”

“Hey, if anyone can, it’s our Deputy Commander. Hmm!”

“We believe in you, Teacher!”

Brute force wasn’t going to cut it.

Even if I stacked multiple Nephilim Sword swings, it wouldn’t be enough.

Then how about this?

[Heaven Reversal]

I placed my hand on the barrier and activated it directly.

There was a response.

The surface of the barrier trembled violently—then sizzled into mist.

A hole was beginning to form.

“Whoa!”

“It’s working!”

“Knew it! Go, Sword Star!”

“Korea’s strongest! Future Heavenly Demon! Earth’s future Number One!”

It wasn’t a full breach.

The barrier shimmered, rippled, and thinned—but it hadn’t yet cracked or collapsed.

What is this thing that even Heaven Reversal can’t fully penetrate?

It’s clearly not powered by the Old Father.

Has another divine entity intervened?

Doesn’t matter.

If one shot’s not enough, I’ll just fire two.

I equipped the [World] trait.

I was just about to replicate Heaven Reversal for a second strike when—

“…Huh?”

A strange sensation ran through me.

My heart—and my mana circuit—vibrated.

The [World] trait was reacting.

To the barrier in front of me.

As if some invisible thread had connected the two.

And in that moment, I realized—

This unidentified barrier—

Could be copied with the [World] trait.