Trait Hoarder-Chapter 296: Old Father – (1)

Old Father – Part 1

She’s strong.

A completely different presence from what I remember in the game.

‘This isn’t Phase 1.’

The Saintess in the game always looked the same.

Her physical age, her equipment, even the aura she gave off—identical.

It wasn’t until Phase 2 that she manifested wings of light and the pitch-black halo.

But what the hell is that?

She’s already got the wings of light, the pitch-black halo, and a black-gold neural interface embedded in her back!

And especially that thick cable connected to the terminal—

It’s as thick as a person’s waist, wrapped entirely around her back.

The overwhelming magic power radiating from it was unmistakable. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A torrent of divine energy flowed through the cable into the Saintess.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Based on her game stats, I should be able to crush her effortlessly.

But the Saintess in front of me had combat strength comparable to my own.

And this is her before transitioning to the next phase?

No, this won’t be easy. Not at all.

“You’ve got more wrinkles?”

I asked with a smirk. The Saintess gave a calm smile.

“The time has come. I originally had a few months left… but I gave it all up for today.”

“So devoted, huh? I’m sure the Old Father is very pleased.”

“Fufufu… devoted, you say…”

The Saintess brought her hands together, almost like in prayer.

“As you know, Savior, there’s only one way to save humanity. It would’ve been ideal if the Old Father had descended completely and embraced humankind… but since it was already declared that he’d fall to foolish heroes, we had to twist that fate.”

Foolish heroes.

She must be referring to the game’s backstory.

Back when Korea was on the verge of collapse, when all of Seoul was nearly consecrated—despite everything, Episode 3 still ended with the heroes’ victory.

I have no idea how it’ll play out in this world.

The Saintess stared directly at me.

“I am grateful to you, Savior.”

“For what?”

“That almighty soul of yours… that transcendent body…”

Her entire body trembled.

“It’s the perfect vessel for a Divine King, isn’t it? It was worth protecting and guiding you. At last, today, the Old Father shall descend and rescue humanity from this hellish Earth, from this ocean of suffering.”

“And then humanity becomes the god’s snack and plaything for eternity?”

“Even if we become livestock, isn’t that better than total extinction?”

“I’d rather die.”

“Fufufu.”

The Saintess spread her arms.

Clank. Clank.

When did she become mechanized?

Her arms were fully prosthetic.

Metallic muscle expanded, making her arms several times larger.

As if responding to that, a massive warhammer and an oversized shotgun released a gloomy black-gold light.

“Do we need more words, Savior? It’s time to offer your body and soul. Wouldn’t you like to join me, to be absorbed into the stomach of the great and supreme Old Father and become eternal nourishment?”

“You crazy bitch!”

I flung the golf bag far away.

The Black Tiger Sword clattered against the ground with a metallic clang.

“Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!”

The Saintess burst into a crazed laugh.

BOOM!

The black-gold neural terminal pulsed violently.

The cable connecting her to the throne thrashed like a beast gone mad.

Slowly, the Saintess began to levitate.

Divine script danced across her skin.

Unholy patterns began etching themselves around her.

Pop!

The cable snapped.

The Saintess tilted her head with a jerking motion and stared down at me.

Her chapped lips twisted into a smile—

Then, flaring her wings, she charged straight at me!

CRASH!

I blocked with the Muryangon.

I had activated Absolute Barrier just in time.

But the sheer impact slammed me straight into the floor of the Grand Hall.

A sickening pain shot through me as the vast hall’s surface cracked wide open.

It looked like a meteor had fallen.

The Saintess, having just slammed down her warhammer, let out a wild laugh.

“Ahaha! Ahahahaha! Oh Savior, what’s wrong? That transcendent body of yours is being wasted!”

“You son of a—!”

Yeah.

I admit it.

As hard as it is to believe, right now the Saintess is on par with me.

Even just physically, she’s up there.

Which means I’ll have to give it my all.

No—more than that. I’ll have to dig out every last ounce of strength I have!

I thrust my sword forward.

[Mars Swordsmanship]]][Invincible Sword King][[[Nephilim Sword]

The Heavenly Demon Sword flashed brilliantly.

A pitch-black Sword Force was born, cradling a star within.

What it traced wasn’t a simple sword path—it was the orbit of stars.

It even crackled with Black Thunder, giving off an ominous presence.

“Yes! That’s what I wanted to see!”

The Saintess was fast too.

She had already started moving as soon as I thrust my sword.

She shoved her oversized shotgun at me and fired—BOOM! A thunderous explosion.

And then she disappeared like a teleportation blink.

My Heavenly Demon Sword only managed to slice through the magical buckshot from the shotgun.

CRACKLE!

A lightning burst. Black Thunder.

The pitch-black lightning left scars in space itself.

The very fabric of space tore apart.

The dense magic in the air dissipated in an instant.

Flashes erupted again and again, and the ceiling dozens of kilometers above began to split open.

“Ahaha! Ahahahahaha!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Saintess jumped from place to place, flickering through the air.

She circled around me, firing her oversized shotgun.

Magical buckshot streaked through the air.

Black Gold Baptismal Flame.

Flames like black fire rained down like a meteor shower.

“Hmph.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

She’s prancing around without even having a single firearm-related trait?

I drew my twin pistols and hurled myself forward.

With Thunder Stride, I caught up to her and immediately activated the Invincible Gun, no—Mortal Throne.

RATATATATATATATANG!

A ruthless barrage from close range!

My eyes flashed with inner sight.

Any counterattack could be dodged with an aerial bombardment.

My Hero trait was still lending me power.

The six attributes imbued into the gun—[Impact] [Spiritual Shot] [Destruction] [Stasis] [Death] [Anti-Magic]—erupted like a storm.

But none of that really mattered.

The real deal was still in wait.

My Heavenly Demon Sword, hanging at my waist—

From it, a black light pulsed and shimmered.

A jet-black flash burst from the muzzle.

Thousand Demon Heaven-Piercing Gun – Rapid Fire!

The Saintess’ face twisted with ecstasy.

“As expected of the Savior!”

Light projectiles scattered like stardust.

The Saintess gently brought her hands together.

Wings of light flared as they raced toward the ends of the earth, and the pitch-black halo quivered, then began to erupt.

The Thousand Demon Heaven-Piercing Gun, fired tens of thousands of times, vanished within that eruption.

The Saintess had entered an invincibility state.

A blaring alarm rang in my mind.

‘It’s the Book of Apocalypse!’

A wipeout skill only used in Phase 2.

She’s using that already?

Doesn’t matter.

I’ve dodged this crap hundreds of times in the game.

Just in case, I prepared to activate Immortality of the Golden Fleece.

My eyes flashed as I watched the Saintess closely.

At last, she opened her clasped hands.

Fwoosh! Fwfwfwfwsh!

Black spheres flew out.

Each one as large as a human torso.

Their destructive power was minimal.

The problem was the number.

Far more than the light projectiles I had fired—hundreds of thousands, scattering randomly.

They filled my vision completely, saturating the entire Grand Hall with black orbs.

‘This is just like the game.’

The number’s definitely different.

Arcane Seoul was a mobile game, so it could only handle a few hundred at most.

But the direction, speed, and pattern of the spread—it was identical.

That makes this easy.

Tap!

Half a step to the right.

A black orb brushed past me by a hair.

Then, one dropped from above my head.

I didn’t move.

It curved in midair on its own and missed me completely.

This time, two steps to the one o’clock direction.

A black orb split apart just in front of me and passed to either side.

Had I been even slightly off in angle or distance, I would’ve been hit.

And then, paralyzed, I’d have been torn apart by the follow-up attack.

‘It’s coming.’

The air trembled.

Light vanished, and darkness arrived.

My vision plunged into pitch-black.

A streak of light flashed, then whipped through the air like a lash!

RUMBLE!

Whips of light radiated out from the Saintess in a perfect circle!

The ultimate destructive force, manifested by the wings of light!

A guaranteed kill move.

Even a level 9 character couldn’t survive it, no matter how many defensive traits they had.

There were only two ways to deal with it:

Dodge it, or tank it with an invincibility skill.

Whales who paid-to-win would gulp Ambrosia and brute-force through.

Me?

I ran the pattern so many times I had it memorized.

FLASH! FLASH! RUMBLE!

Dark projectiles poured down without mercy.

And at intervals, the instant death attack swept across the space.

I dodged them all, light on my feet.

I didn’t even need to use the Golden Fleece I had prepared.

“Ahaha…”

The Saintess dropped her hands limply.

“You dodged all that… Just how much did you foresee…?”

“My turn!”

I charged in one burst.

Drove the Heavenly Demon Sword straight at her.

The black light aimed directly for her heart.

The Saintess calmly caught the blow with her warhammer and shotgun.

She swung the shotgun like a bat.

The sword and shotgun clashed with a deafening explosion.

BOOOOM!

The space trembled.

An invisible shockwave spread like it would shatter the world.

The tracksuit of my Black Tiger Attire fluttered violently, nearly ripped apart.

And that was the least of it.

The ground under both me and the Saintess split wide open.

Even a nearby pillar shook, dust and stone raining down.

“Ahahahaha!”

The Saintess laughed maniacally, slamming down her hammer.

[Executor of the Apocalypse] activated with chilling force.

And alongside it, [Saintess of the Elder God] bolstered her offense.

Just those two traits alone were on par with my Trait Swap build.

“Hmph!”

I wasn’t about to lose.

My left hand brushed the weapon cradle.

Mjolnir rose, crackling with Annihilation Thunder, imbued with the essence of the Hammer God.

But that wasn’t enough.

The Thousand Demon Heaven-Piercing Spear launched forth as a black dragon.

BOOOOM!

A thunderous impact.

It felt like our very existences were being shaken.

The storm engulfed both me and the Saintess, smashing into the Grand Hall—into this miniature world.

The massive tremor gave way to collapse.

Pillars crumbled, the ceiling began to cave in.

Even the floor shattered into fragments.

The once-majestic Grand Hall became ruins in an instant.

But neither I nor the Saintess cared.

If anything, we were more fired up than ever.

We rushed at each other, weapons clashing again and again!

BOOM!

The Saintess rammed into me with her whole body.

I did the same.

We collided chest-first.

[Close-Combat Mastery]]][Fist King][[[Lord of the Fist]

Divine power and magical flames swirled around the Saintess.

My body burned with pitch-black Sword Qi.

Two meteors slammed into each other.

With power not just enough to level a city, but an entire region.

BOOOOM!

Clash. Clash. And clash again!

Stabbing and slashing with swords.

Hammering with a warhammer.

Swinging shields.

Punches flew, kicks followed.

Gunfire erupted in wild bursts.

Rocket launchers and grenade launchers exploded into the fray.

I summoned an ancient dragon, fought in hand-to-hand combat, and unleashed its breath.

Everything I had built up—I unleashed it all to push the Saintess back!

“Ahaha! Ahahahaha!”

The Saintess didn’t fall behind.

She charged like a knight out of the Apocalypse, throwing herself at me.

Simple, but lightning-fast.

Heavy, and filled with massive force.

She fought me evenly, wielding a power that had long since transcended human limits.

I had just one advantage.

Heavenly Demon Art.

The Heavenly Demon Sword was imbued with it—and it functioned almost like a seventh trait.

If not for that, this would’ve turned into a stalemate.

And with time, as stamina and mana dwindled, I would’ve lost.

As I sliced apart the Saintess’ attacks with my sword, I thought—

‘The Thousand Demon Heaven-Piercing Sword isn’t enough.’

Thousand Demon Heaven-Piercing Sword. Thousand Demon Heaven-Piercing Palm.

Top-tier offensive techniques in Arcane Seoul.

But just replicating those pre-set skills wasn’t enough right now.

Not against her.

Every strike I delivered needed to be infused with Heavenly Demon Art.

No—it’s not just attacks.

Every strike, every defense, every movement, every flow of mana, every muscle in my body, every thought, every sense—all of it had to be infused with Heavenly Demon Art.

Only by fully embodying the Heavenly Demon Art—making it completely mine—could I hope to overwhelm the Saintess!

[KRAAAHH!]

I re-summoned Red.

Just as the Saintess swung her hammer in a wide arc.

A full-power strike!

And Red appeared right in its path.

[No! If that hits me, I’m dead!]

Red screamed desperately.

I ignored it.

Instead, I followed the enlightenment that flashed in my mind, unleashing World Traits, Trait Swap, and Heavenly Demon Art all at once.

[Vajra Body]]][Invincible One][[[Undying]

[Dragon Knight] [Celestial Wall] [Hero]

And Heavenly Demon Barrier.

A black wall protruded from Red’s abdomen, intercepting the Saintess’ attack.

It wasn’t perfect.

The chaos of divine power and mana, a force bordering on myth, seeped through and rattled Red’s insides.

Red trembled.

That pain crashed into me too.

My hand shook—but I didn’t stop.

That blow sparked a burst of inspiration!

‘What if I manifested Dragon Knight through Heavenly Demon Art?’

Heavenly Demon Art was an attack technique, a defense method, a movement skill, a mana cultivation technique.

Then what about support traits?

Traits like Dragon Knight, General, and Wish?

CRACK!

My thoughts surged forward and pierced into the world itself.

[KRAAAHH!]

Red howled.

His entire body sprouted black scales like armor.

A black light glowed at the tip of his horn.

Majestic eyes burned with pitch-black radiance.

Six pairs of wings of darkness unfurled!

Counting his original pair, seven pairs of wings now spread wide—a symbol of new power.

A hidden secret of Heavenly Demon Art.

Or perhaps… a new Trait.

[Heavenly Demon Dragon King]!

“Yes! That’s it! That’s what I’ve been waiting for!”

The Saintess charged with ecstasy twisting her face.

“More! More! Get stronger—stronger still!”

Everything blended together.

All the traits I’d cultivated were forming into new secrets.

Like a martial arts manual thickening with newly discovered chapters, a sixth, then a seventh form were being written.

A single shout to amplify all buffs: [Heavenly Demon True Word].

Reading the Saintess’ intentions, predicting the future in real time: [Heavenly Demon Eye].

Empowering the body to mythic levels and reflecting curses: [Heavenly Demon Body].

A boundless, divine power supply: [Heavenly Demon Sacred Soul].

Commanding fire and ice, thunder and earth: [Heavenly Demon Elemental Rule].

Buffing entire armies while strengthening myself: [Heavenly Demon Emperor], and more.

Every gesture of my hand.

Every movement of my body.

Every thought in my mind—

Was being reborn through Heavenly Demon Art.

Crack. Cr-raaack.

The World Traits fused to my heart and spine began reacting.

Like an egg cracking—my entire body began to split apart.

A new stage of growth had begun.

“Ahahahaha!”

The Saintess was sent flying.

The Grand Hall was in total ruin.

The only thing left intact was the towering black-gold throne.

The Saintess was slammed into it.

She coughed up blood in torrents—but kept laughing.

Like a lifetime dream had finally come true.

“At last, at last!”

She rose to her feet.

Madness poured from her eyes like tears.

“This day has finally come!”

She raised her hands to the heavens.

Her warhammer and shotgun, her black-gold crown and breastplate—they’d all been destroyed long ago.

Her mechanical arms were nearly torn to shreds, the hands barely clinging to synthetic muscle fibers.

Waving those dangling hands, she cried out with desperate reverence.

“Come forth, O Old Father! Nurturer of the great and supreme civilization, Ruler of the Stars!”

The cosmos began to glow with ominous light.

Golden constellations and pitch-black voids approached.

Descending—toward the Saintess, or perhaps toward the throne.

Once more, she cried out with frantic devotion.

“Come forth!”

And then it descended.

The Old Father devoured the Saintess.