Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 225: Star, the Fog of War (5)

“Overtime-working baby rabbit~ Doo doo doo doo doo♪ Cute~ Doo doo doo doo♪ In the office~ Doo doo doo doo♪ Overtime-working baby rabbit! All-nighter baby rabbit~! Doo doo doo doo doo♬” Herald sang.

White rabbits earned their name because of the color of their fur. Using that same logic, Herald looked like a black rabbit now due to the dark bags under his eyes. Moreover, his already-red eyes turned scarlet because all the small veins in his eyes had popped. At this rate, he would collapse to the side any minute, so his old colleagues unanimously agreed that Herald was finally starting to go insane.

“What? He’s still here?”

“Yes, sir. He has been singing that song for the past several days already.”

“The business trip I went on wasn’t short, but how is he still here?”

“From what I’ve heard, he has too much work because of You-Know-Who…”

Herald’s direct superior frowned after hearing the whole story. In their department, Lee Chang-Sun was called You-Know-Who because it was considered a bad omen to refer to him directly by his name. Whoever said his name would magically end up working overtime and pulling an all-nighter.

There were too many <Societies> and Celestials asking for information about Chang-Sun in this universe, which was unfortunate for Herald, who was put in charge of Chang-Sun. At that moment, the last thing Herald could think about was going home. The other managers heaved a sigh of relief for not being in charge of Chang-Sun, but they also watched Herald, who was turning into an even worse wreck day by day, with pity.

“Keep an eye on him. He might try to visit Lee Chang-Sun with a knife in his hand.” Herald’s direct superior clicked his tongue but soon turned his head in annoyance when he didn’t hear any answer. He continued, “Hey, didn’t you hear what I—!”

The superior stopped abruptly and straightened his posture upon realizing someone more superior was standing with his hands clasped behind his back in front of his subordinate. Rocinante, the central headquarters head of the <Management Bureau>, was one of the most influential people within the bureau. Why did he show up here out of the blue?

“Di-direc—!”

“Psst.” Rocinante put his index finger against his lip as a signal to Herald’s direct superior to be quiet, making him freeze up. With a very delighted look, Rocinante looked at Herald as he continued, “We shouldn’t interrupt him when he’s so focused on his work. Let’s wait until he finishes his current task.”

Herald’s direct superior couldn’t say anything else, not even about how Herald would need at least half a day to complete his current task.

“All-nighter baby rabbit~! Doo doo doo doo doo♪ Bloodshot~! Doo doo doo doo doo♪ Eyes~! Doo doo doo doo doo♪ All-nighter baby rabbit!”

Only Herald’s quiet humming echoed throughout the office.

* * *

“Woah! So the <Management Bureau> took the bait?” Thanatos asked.

“Yes, it was all thanks to him,” Yool answered.

Thanatos nodded in contentment after hearing Yool’s report. Meanwhile, Yool’s colleague had frozen up like a statue for having met the famous King of the Underworld.

“Hey, what are you doing? Go on.” Yool quickly gave his colleague a nudge on the waist.

His colleague flinched in surprise and hurriedly bowed. “I-it’s my greatest ho-honor to meet the King of the Underworld! My name is Dapple!”

Yool added, “I told you about this before, but he was dispatched by the <Management Bureau>. However, he’s proven to be on our side now that he has carried out this task.”

“I-I only did what I had to do!” Dapple shouted.

“Reaper Yool.”

“Yes, sir!” Yool answered.

“Don’t we happen to have a vacant position of Rank 3 inspection agent in the Reaper Branch that needs someone of talent?” Thanatos asked.

“That is correct, sir.” Yool nodded.

“You heard him.”

“Th-thank you, sir!” Dapple bowed so deep that his forehead almost touched the floor, worrying Thanatos would change his mind. However, Dapple was also smiling. The <Management Bureau> had basically abandoned him, but he got a new chance in life the moment he switched sides.

Thanatos lightly waved his hand, signaling that Yool and Dapple could now leave, so Yool quickly took Dapple and exited the room. Left alone in the room, Thanatos chuckled quietly. Sealing the Emperor’s Seat forced Thanatos to move up his plan, but everything else was sailing smoothly.

‘The <Horoscope> and <Purple Astrology> Celestials will begin to move to dig out information about Chang-Sun, so it’s bound to leak from somewhere, no matter how hard we try,’ Thanatos thought.

They had been looking down upon Chang-Sun, thinking he was just a mortal, but things would be different from now on. The two <Societies> that Thanatos knew were definitely not going to let the recent incident slide.

‘If so, then it’s better for us to create a diversion before all the information is revealed. That would buy us more time in the process.’

Chang-Sun’s real identity couldn’t be exposed yet. Although Thanatos wasn’t sure how much time he had, he had to make every possible preparation within that duration. That was why he had come all the way over here right now.

“So you have something to tell me in private?” Thanatos turned his head to the side.

In the dark room, a ray of light shone down where Thanatos looked. The Emperor’s Seat was sitting down, bound with the Divine Steel shackles.

Despite his ragged hair, his eyes were still clear and sharp. Looking into Thanatos’ gray eyes, the Emperor’s Seat calmly nodded and started to say his piece.

* * *

Clang, clang, clang!

Weapons clashed in the air countless times. When the person holding a silver spear retreated backward, the person wielding a sword went after him and unleashed a barrage of attacks like a waterfall pouring down from a cliff.

However, the person with the spear didn’t get swept away by the swordsman’s rapids-like attacks. In fact, he actually ‘went upstream.’ At that moment, a storm started from the spearhead and disrupted the swordsman’s attacks.

Paah!

At the same time, the spearman instantly reached the source of the sword attacks and created a pool of light. The storm that had started from the spearhead also exploded.

Boom―!

“Keugh…!” The swordsman narrowly swung his sword to the side to deflect the attack, but he couldn’t nullify it completely.

The shockwave pushed the swordsman far away to the back. Despite the severe pain, the swordsman gritted his teeth and tried to counterattack, but the spearhead was already right underneath his chin.

The name of the spear glowing underneath the swordsman’s chin was Nameless Spear. Chang-Sun, the spear’s owner, smirked as he looked at the swordsman. “Are you going to continue?”

The swordsman scowled at Chang-Sun for a moment but sighed, dropping his sword to the ground. “Shit! I get your sword skill, but it’s really unfair for your axe and spear skills to be this good too!”

Beep!

“Gyutra lost. Lee Chang-Sun has won!”

“Wow! He won again!”

“How many fights has he won now?”

“That’s simple. It’s the same number of times you lost the wagers! Don’t try to weasel out of this! Give me my money now!”

“Shit!”

When the judge declared Chang-Sun as the winner, the people watching the sparring between him and Gyutra showed various reactions. Some even exclaimed or sighed.

When the news of Chang-Sun’s full recovery spread, the Atrytone warriors swarmed in front of Chang-Sun’s room, wanting to spar with him. Chang-Sun had already made a significant contribution when the ‘Gemini’ had first begun their invasion, but his contribution this time was bigger, having ‘assisted Minerva and driven out the <Purple Star Astrology> and <Horoscope> Celestials’.

The belligerent warriors would never miss a good opportunity like this. Moreover, many people in the ‘Owl’s Nest’ wanted to see how much stronger Chang-Sun had become with their own eyes. Since Chang-Sun needed Minerva to get the ticket to the <Star Auction>, he readily agreed to the sparring. So far, he had fought in thirty-two matches and had a current standing of twenty-seven wins, five draws, and zero losses. Chang-Sun had won almost every fight, putting the Atrytone warriors in great shock.

“Wait, wasn’t he from the planet called Earth?”

“That’s right. Gates recently opened up in that civilization.”

“Despite being born there, he became this skilled in a matter of months? Did he find a good teacher or something?”

“Do you really think he can get that match record with just a good teacher?”

“Impossible. No matter how great his teacher is, it’ll take a long time to master the teaching itself.”

“Then how is that possible…!”

The Atrytone warriors’ levels were currently in the range of 80 to 120. Considering one gained divinity and started becoming a deity upon reaching level 100, it was safe to assume that Chang-Sun had already reached the level of a low-ranking deity, surpassing the level of demigods.

“What level is he at right now?”

“82 or 83.”

“… Maybe it’s because he’s in a No Guardian state? That doesn’t really make any sense either.”

What would Chang-Sun be like once he had reached level 100, was on the verge of achieving <Exuviation> and Transcendence>, and had acquired his third class? Having trouble imagining it, the Atrytone warriors watched Chang-Sun’s sparring in confusion yet admiration.

「Well, he already beat me and is the heir of the ‘Destruction-Calling Fire Giant.’ Taking those facts into consideration, This is not strange at all. Kekeke!」

Watching the warriors made Simon Magus pleased. Although he ended up becoming a mask, he had no reason to hate the fact that his master was strong.

[The level of your Skill ‘Dust Devil’ has increased!]

[Your Skill ‘Dust Devil’ is currently level 6.]

‘Its level is steadily increasing.’ Chang-Sun smiled contentedly.

Even though the skill had only been created recently, it was leveling up quite quickly. At first, Chang-Sun could only create a whirlwind, but he could now produce a small storm in his palm—no, if he wanted, he could even make [Dust Devil] take the form of a devil, which was the signature shape of the skill.

‘I knew I would regain something this time too, but I can’t believe I got this.’

Just like the description window of [Dust Devil], the skill originated from the authority that Chang-Sun had inherited from Ithaca. With this skill, Chang-Sun could ensnare his enemies inside a sandstorm that seemed to have been created by a devil and attack his enemies with increased damage. This skill didn’t just make Chang-Sun popular in Arcadia. Rather, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the fundamentals of the fighting techniques of the ‘Divine Twilight’ were based on this skill as well.

That was why Chang-Sun mainly used [Dust Devil] while sparring. Although he hadn’t been able to use it in so long, he quickly got used—no, he had upgraded it enough to think that he had diversified his fighting techniques.

‘Aside from everything else, I’ll have to regain [Storm Era] as soon as possible. There is no telling when they’ll discover my real identity. I better make all the possible preparations quickly.’

The wheel started rolling. Just like Thanatos, Chang-Sun knew that the <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials wouldn’t watch him idly anymore. He had to acquire enough power to prevent the Celestials from doing anything to him when they attacked him.

After making the sandstorm around his fingers disappear, Chang-Sun pulled out the [Jin Can Axe] instead of the Nameless Spear. To train as much as possible before Minerva arrived, Chang-Sun was about to shout ‘Next,’ but…

『This is…!』

The voice of the ‘Wind-Hating Daughter’ Armand suddenly echoed in Chang-Sun’s head, making him stop.

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

The warriors waiting for their turn all looked at Chang-Sun, who focused on the voice inside his head. Armand continued.

『Were you… really Mother’s heir?』

Up until now, Armand had been silently staying inside his unconsciousness, just like when she had gotten absorbed by him. She had thought that she just wanted to melt away like this because she had been in grave shock after finding out that Mireille, her dear apostle, had been killed by Czestochowa.

However, she suddenly detected someone using [Dust Devil], which was the skill of Ithaca, her mother whom she hated for a very long time. Hence, it naturally caught Armand’s attention. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she resurfaced again, remembering what Chang-Sun had told her long ago.

“What would you do if someone separated you and your sisters from each other by force?”

Her sisters were the beings that Armand’s mother had made with her <Starlight>. Although she couldn’t even remember her sisters’ voices anymore, she could still remember their warm hugs. Armand had forgotten about it until now due to dejection, but it seemed she couldn’t stay that way anymore.

‘You ponder for a really long time. Have you come to a decision?’ Chang-Sun asked.

Detecting Armand’s anguish, Chang-Sun tried to lead her to the conclusion he wanted her to reach. Armand was Ithaca’s <Starlight>, which Heoju deeply desired. Even though Chang-Sun had already gained the power of the [Fifth Cryptical Book of Hsan], he would be able to do a lot more with her help in his attempt to rebuild his divine class. [Dust Devil] was about controlling the wind, while the attribute of Armand’s power was Eon Wind. With the combination of those two skills, he could create many more exceptional techniques.

『The ones that killed Mireille… The ones that tried to exploit me… Do they all belong to the same side?』

‘Yes, they’re the <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials, and I’m hunting them down right now.’

『Then I’ll cooperate. What do I have to do?』

Chang-Sun thought he had just acquired another fine weapon. He smiled. ‘Let’s practice fighting together first.’

『… Fine.』

Pzzz!

The moment Chang-Sun picked up the [Jin Can Axe], a gust of wind twirled around him, a petite elemental spirit flying at the end of the gust. The wind elemental spirit was a girl in a skirt and with braided hair. Judging from her sullen face, it seemed Armand used her power to create an avatar of herself. All Chang-Sun could do was look at her.

『What’s wrong?』the elemental spirit, Armand’s avatar, frowned and asked.

Chang-Sun just shook his head. “… Nothing.”

He could never say he saw Ithaca in the elemental spirit. His heart still ached.

‘I thought I forgot about her to some level now… I guess I haven’t. Not yet.’

Regaining his composure, Chang-Sun shouted, “Next!”

At that moment…

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ is looking at you with keen interest!]

“You’re the famous Lee Chang-Sun.”

A deep voice echoed as a thick shadow was cast over Chang-Sun. When he turned his head in its direction, his eyes widened a little. From a warrior that wore leather armor and that had four swords of different sizes hung on his waist, Chang-Sun could feel a powerful desire to fight him. Although the warrior resembled Minerva, he was a little different. While Minerva resembled a dormant volcano, the warrior was like a volcano that had already erupted.

Thanks to him, Chang-Sun could calm his heart, which had become restless because of his memories of Ithaca. The warrior looked worthy of his title as a fighting deity.

Mars, the rabid dog and the best warrior of <Olympus>, had appeared.