Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 226: Star, the Star Auction (1)

Minerva watched the staredown between Chang-Sun and Mars from the second floor of a nearby building. With a slight frown, she turned her head back and asked, “What is that idiot doing here?”

Mercury, a slender man with a small snake around his right arm, stood behind her. Stroking the snake’s chin with his left index finger, he looked at Minerva and shrugged. “What am I supposed to say to someone who insists on coming along?”

Thanks to his unique divine rank, Mercury, the ‘Sky and Earth’s Connecting Wing,’ was the only Celestial among the Twelve Great <Olympus> Celestials that wasn’t affected much by the law of causality and traveled freely in the universe. Since he was Minerva’s closest sibling, she had asked him to get her a ticket to <Star Auction>, and he had readily agreed and had even delivered the ticket to her directly.

Minerva would have been very grateful if Mercury had come alone, but he came with an uninvited guest instead. Unlike Mercury, Mars and Minerva weren’t a good match in many ways.

Jupiter was currently living in seclusion, so on his behalf, Numen[1], his children, ruled over <Olympus>. Minerva, his eldest daughter, was meticulous, charismatic, and in charge of strong divine ranks like war and civilizations. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was the new Ruling Celestial of <Olympus >.

However, Mars hated Minerva’s ways. As the legitimate son of Jupiter and Juno, Mars thought that Minerva was just a bastard who didn’t even know who her mother was. Due to his belligerent nature, he didn’t like how <Olympus> was staying quiet amid the recent turn of events either.

To top it all off, the two Celestials had similar divine ranks, which were related to war. Hence, they naturally fought often. Minerva was a warring deity who symbolized military tactics while Mars was a fighting deity who signified combat and fighting spirit. Since the lines among those concepts were blurry, reconciliation for them was impossible.

Minerva thought of Mars as a rude combat dog that was obsessed with battles. Meanwhile, Mars believed that Minerva was an arrogant coward who was leading <Olympus> to its demise.

That was why Minerva didn’t ask for help from the other <Olympus> Celestials when she was in the middle of the fight against the ‘Gemini.’ She was worried about the fight aggravating into a full-scale war against <Horoscope>, but she also didn’t want Mars to have another excuse to get on her back. Nevertheless, he was now in her divine ground.

Mars normally hated coming near Minerva’s divine ground, yet he followed Mercury to ‘stroll’ today… There was no way Minerva wouldn’t notice what Mars was up to.

“The news of your failure to make that mortal your apostle is spreading in <Olympus>. Now, Mars is hellbent on persuading him over. If he succeeds, he’ll be able to say that he beat you. He’s really quite the simple being. ” Mercury shook his head, looking at Mars.

After a moment, he glanced back and forth between Chang-Sun and Minerva. His sister was famous—no, notorious for being picky in choosing an apostle, so Mercury was also curious about what kind of mortal she had chosen. There was even a rumor about the Pale Star, who shone brilliantly in the outer universe, keeping this mortal close. Because of that, it was only natural for him to be more curious.

“Persuade? Mars?” Minerva crossed her legs and scoffed in disbelief, seemingly thinking that that strong simpleton couldn’t do much.

Mercury swayed his index finger from side to side. “You can’t take this lightly, sister. Mars is willing to give Lee Chang-Sun his entire savings to recruit him. If necessary, he would even give Lee Chang-Sun [Balmung].”

“[Balmung]...? Mars has it?” Minerva’s expression subtly changed.

[Balmung][2] was one of the relics that symbolized the old <Asgard>... The demonic sword put its wielder in pain, but its wielder’s opponents were bound to bleed.

[Balmung] was also famous across <Heaven> for another reason. The sword was a part of the [Omni-Weapon Chest], the trademark of the ‘Divine Twilight. He used to always carry it around! Now that Minerva knew about Chang-Sun’s real identity, she couldn’t help but worry a little, but since Mercury didn’t know about it, he just believed that his sister had finally grown cautious.

“Why? Do you want to stop the sparring now?” Mercury chuckled.

“No, That’s not it…” Minerva trailed off. She couldn’t tell him the whole story, so she just looked at Chang-Sun with mixed emotions.

‘Mars…’ Minerva wasn’t actually worried about Chang-Sun. ‘... might get his ass kicked.’

Despite their relationship, she felt sorry for her brother. She felt as if she could already see his immediate future.

* * *

Chang-Sun had also heard a lot of rumors about Mars, the worst rabid dog of <Olympus>. He stirred up more troubles than demonic deities and was the type of Celestial to punch first and talk later. This <Olympus> rascal had difficulties starting a day without causing trouble. Not one rumor about Mars was good, but depending on one’s perspective, he had one thing that could be praised.

―The strongest fighting deity.

‘The strongest fighting deity, huh?’ Chang-Sun chuckled. ‘He has that title… even though I’m here?’

His chuckle was out of competitiveness, not amusement. Before he became a fiend in the past, he used to be a fighting deity who liked battles first. Hence, he wanted to spar with Mars too.

During the prime of the ‘Divine Twilight,’ he was compared to Mars the most. They both always took the lead on battlefields, were the experts of any weapons, and were brave enough to not fear showering in blood. People naturally argued about who was greater, but Chang-Sun and Mars never ran into each other. Hence, the question was left unanswered. Now, however, Mars was right in front of him.

“Hahahaha! What? You don’t feel fear around me?” Mars laughed in contentment, looking into Chang-Sun’s eyes.

Chang-Sun held his head up high against the menacing aura around Mars, which made Mars like him. Mars had only ever heard rumors about this Lee Chang-Sun… but it seemed the rumors about him actually seemed to have undervalued him.

‘I want him.’ Mars’ eyes filled up with greed.

He had heard about Minerva trying so hard to make a Player her apostle that she even gave her Authority to him, but she still failed. That was why Mars wanted to see the cocky Player’s face and make the Player his own apostle if possible. However, it seemed Mars had to be serious now. Just looking at Chang-Sun made Mars want to take him away. Of course…

‘I’ll have to test him first since there is a chance that he’s all flash, no substance.’

Mars could feel his desire to win rising within him for the first time in so long, but he never expected a mere mortal, not a fighting deity or another warring deity like him, to make him feel this way.

“I heard you were having fun with the Atrytone,” Mars said.

The Atrytone warriors, who had been watching Chang-Sun spar, started talking among themselves, wondering if their expectation was correct. From the looks of it, Mars could pounce at Chang-Sun any minute now. Even the warriors who had been grumbling about Mars interrupting the sparring even though things were heating up were beginning to pay all attention to the commotion. They wanted to see how a sparring match between Chang-Sun and Mars would turn out. The news spread so quickly that the area around the sparring grounds was already crowded.

“Can I join you guys?” Mars asked.

All the spectators cheered when their expectations turned out to be true. Although Mars was called a rabid dog or a rascal among Celestials, many warriors looked up to him for his bravery and fighting spirit.

“I don’t think the match will be valid,” Chang-Sun concisely said, which made Mars immediately think that Chang-Sun was talking about how Mars was bound to emerge victorious.

“Hahaha! Do you really think I’ll fight a mortal without any penalties? Winning a fight like that will only be a disgrace for me,” Mars firmly said.

“How do you wish to proceed, then?”

“Let’s just test our skills. We’ll put a limit on the amount of mana we use before we spar. How does that sound?”

“Hmm…” Chang-Sun tilted his head.

“What is it? Is that not enough penalty? Then how about fighting without using any Authorities—!”

“No, I’m not asking for more penalties.” Chang-Sun interrupted Mars, dismissively waving his hands. Chang-Sun continued, “Now that I’ve been honored with a chance to spar with someone like you, sir, how could I ask for anything else? I just thought we can spice things up.”

“Spice things up…?” Mars repeated blankly.

“Yes, how about we add a little wager to this sparring?”

Mar’s expression subtly changed, not expecting Chang-Sun would dare mention the concept of wager in front of him. However, Chang-Sun just smiled enigmatically.

‘Mars is definitely a good sparring partner. I can test out the combination of [Dust Devil] and Armand and see if Mars is really worth the title of the strongest fighting deity. It’ll be a waste of opportunity to only test out those, though,’ Chang-Sun thought, remembering Mars liked gambling. ‘I heard he likes weapons as much as he loves fighting. Shall I take one of his weapons then?’

“Hehe. Hehehe! Hahahaha! The more I talk with you, the more I like you! Yes, right. A fight without any wager would be boring. What do you suggest we bet, then?” Mars asked.

“How about a wish?”

“Granting the winner’s wish, huh?”

“Yes, but of course, the wish shouldn’t be a burden to the other.”

“Good.” Mars smirked and stomped on the ground lightly. With a thud, the ground shook, and white sacred light enveloped his tanned body. “Since you dared make a wager with me, you better prepare yourself.”

Paah―

Mars raised his leg. At that moment, he disappeared so quickly that spectators weren’t sure if he truly adjusted the level of his ability with Chang-Sun, but Mars’ speed still made the spectators exclaim. However, Chang-Sun had already sharpened his senses with [Monster Excursion], so he knew that Mars was coming toward the blindspot behind him.

‘Armand,’ Chang-Sun said in his head.

『I know. Show you what I can do, right?』

Chang-Sun chuckled. ‘I like how quickly you’re catching on.’

『I really don’t like your way of talking,』Armand said, which was similar to what Ithaca had told Chang-Sun before. She then fiercely stirred up the wind, quickly mixing it with the storm that had risen up from underneath Chang-Sun’s feet to create a sandstorm.

[The Skill ‘Dust Devil’ has responded to ‘Armand,’ spreading their wings hidden in the sandstorm!]

Mars, who had been aiming to strike Chang-Sun from the back, flinched in surprise. His vision had suddenly been covered. Chang-Sun not only turned invisible but also undetectable.

Boom!

Mars speculated and thrust his spear where Chang-Sun would be, but Chang-Sun wasn’t there. However, the whirlwind that shot out of Mars’ spearhead eradicated the sandstorm. As it did, he saw purple lightning sparks flying up from the floor. However, before he could withdraw his spear, Chang-Sun had already reached him and swung the [Jin Can Axe] diagonally from the bottom.

Swoosh―!

“Hup!” Mars inhaled sharply.

Heavily infused with Chang-Sun’s lightning energy, the axe flew toward Mars’ forehead. Living up to its notoriety of destroying everything with one smash, Chang-Sun delivered an extremely destructive attack with the [Jin Can Axe]. Instinctively feeling that he shouldn’t get directly hit by the axe, Mars hurriedly turned to the side, narrowly dodging the attack.

However, Chang-Sun had already started his next attack, having pulled out the Nameless Spear with his left hand and swung it against Mars’ waist. Chang-Sun had a huge axe in one hand and a long spear in the other. The two weapons were so different that it would’ve still been difficult to utilize one of them with two hands. However, Chang-Sun used them at the same time seemingly without any difficulties at all.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Slash, slash, slash!

‘This is…’ Mars thought as he swiftly retreated backward to dodge Chang-Sun’s attack. The Nameless Spear left a long claw mark with each thrust and each strike with the [Jin Can Axe] created cracks.

Realizing Chang-Sun’s attacks couldn’t be taken lightly, Mars finally decided to be serious in this fight. Although he likely had a higher Class than Chang-Sun, the mortal was just as skilled as Mars.

‘... going to be fun.’ Mars smiled, having so much fun.

He immediately pulled out the small shield on his back and held it downward. The shield was a relic called [Rhinotoros], which meant ‘to rip apart.’ He rarely used it, having only drawn it out during times when he thought he should try his best in combat. With this shield’s unique ability to completely reflect his enemy’s attack, he had shattered the limbs and killed many of his enemies without even knowing what happened to them.

Claaannggg!

The [Jin Can Axe] narrowly missed Mars, yet the [Rhinotoros] still looked intact and undamaged. The same could be said for the [Jin Can Axe], however, since the two relics had nullified each other’s powers. Mars immediately turned to the side, held his [Enkesphalos] with a wide grip, and swung his spear. With his favorite demonic spear, Mars bombarded Chang-Sun with attacks from his head to his feet, making it seem as if he was hitting him with a waterfall.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh―!

Ting, ting, ting!

Chang-Sun drew up <Dusk Lightning> energy and heightened his senses. With Armand’s help, he also increased his agility enough for him to move with immense speed for the first time in so long. Blocking, stabbing, swinging, slaying… the [Enkesphalos] and the Nameless Spear clashed in the air multiple times while the [Jin Can Axe] and the [Rhinotoros] tested their mettle.

Woosh, woosh, woosh!

The gusts of wind became one with Chang-Sun as he united with his spear. His spearhead was where the wind blew, and the wind followed him wherever he went. Chang-Sun’s moved like a ghost. Up until now, he had been focusing on brute strength and explosions, but his attacks now were very swift and sharp like a will’o wisp.

Because of his movements, Chang-Sun felt as if he had entered the Ghost Spear state, which was his state back in Arcadia. All he had was a spear and a gust of wind that followed him. No, it was actually the same now, so Chang-Sun could move as freely as if he had gotten back on the saddle after quite some time. The sparring with Mars had certainly been a great catalyst to quickly regain it.

[Achievement unlocked!]

“Feeling the nostalgic wind.”

Reward: Wind attribute +10. Enhancement of the Skill ‘Dust Devil.’

[You are now in the zone!]

[You have successfully removed a part of the limitations on your Class!]

『This is… you.』

Being able to read Chang-Sun’s thoughts since they shared physical senses, she got a glimpse of the relationship between him and Ithaca. It gave her mixed emotions, but she only felt sentimental for a moment. With a confused voice, Armand asked,『 It’s a bit strange. Although it’s only by a little, why is his ethos similar to yours?』

1. It actually means divinity in Latin. ☜

2. The sword belongs to the hero Siegfried in the Völsunga saga. The sword goes by different names depending on the version of mythology, including Gram and Nothung. ☜