Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 245: Star, the Four Overlord Conference (4)

“Urgghhh! They’re here…!”

Baek Gyeo-Ul was dreaming right now. Ever since he had merged with Bardiya, his other personality in his shadows, he occasionally had this dream of a man who resembled him—no, a man who looked exactly like him running away quickly.

The man was inside a forest that was far from normal, considering it was in the Imaginary Plane, a world of pitch-black shadow. Everything in it had no color except black or gray.

It was a hidden and shadow plane of Trailokya and the Six Paths, but the problem was that the people who weren’t supposed to be there were pouring into the plane. The bursts of <Starlight> were ripping the shadows in this plane apart. Nevertheless, the man continued to run to find the last hope even though his everything was getting destroyed.

“A little more, a little more…! If I get there, I’ll be able to find Twilight…!” The man muttered under his breath.

Twilight. The man kept repeating the name of Twilight.

‘Twilight.’ Gyeo-Ul repeated.

He really wanted to ask the man in his dream who Twilight was.

* * *

‘Is this the place?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

After following the GPS on his smartphone for a while, Chang-Sun stopped in front of an old house, his destination, on an ordinary street.

‘Yeah, I’m at the right place.’

Detecting the faint presence of people inside the house when he sharpened his senses, he quietly pushed the gate. It was left unlocked, so he opened it with ease. The first thing Chang-Sun saw was a front yard so unkempt it seemed people hadn’t lived here for some time. However, he could sense people quietly watching him from the darkness.

[The Authority ‘Monster Excursion’ has been activated, detecting hidden enemies!]

“Come out,” Chang-Sun said, but no one answered. “If you don’t come out, I’ll assume you’re trying to kill me.”

When Chang-Sun put his hand on [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], which hung on his belt, over a dozen people dropped down to the ground.

“Hmph…!”

‘Thumb Finger’ Wojtek, who was standing in front of the group, bit his lower lip. He did not like how the Crna Ruka assassins were tiptoeing around Chang-Sun.

“You don’t have to act that menacing, you know.” ‘Index Finger’ Hyacinth, who was also with them, glared at Chang-Sun. He seemed to have become more courageous since they were in the Crna Ruka’s safehouse in Frankfurt, which meant they were in assassins’ territory.

“Is that so?” Chang-Sun nonchalantly asked.

“Ye—!” Hyacinth abruptly stopped.

Slash!

Before Hyacinth could finish speaking, Chang-Sun slit his throat with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

Thump―!

Hyacinth looked like he didn’t even know how he died.

“Didn’t I tell you to back out if you have a problem?” Chang-Sun tilted his head.

Thud.

Watching Hyacinth’s headless corpse fall to the ground, Wojtek’s hands faintly trembled. ‘… I couldn’t see anything.’

Wojtek didn’t even realize that Chang-Sun had unsheathed his sword. He had always believed that he had sharp eyes since he could follow Killer Overlord Czestochowa’s movements. However, he couldn’t even notice signs that Chang-Sun was about to attack.

‘He has gotten way stronger over the past several days!’

Chang-Sun disappeared after breaking through the trap of the <Purple Star Astrology>’s demonic beings. When Wojtek found out about it, he thought Chang-Sun was simply resting somewhere due to fatigue. However, it seemed Chang-Sun instead found enlightenment and reached a level that Wojtek couldn’t possibly reach.

‘Demigod… He’s at least as strong as a demigod, which is the Sword Overlord’s level. Shit! Then that means someone as monstrous as the Sword Overlord is right in front of us! Of all the people in the world, why did I have to be involved with him?!’ Wojtek cursed Czestochowa over and over again for messing with the tiger named Chang-Sun.

“Weren’t there three of you?” Chang-Sun asked.

“… If you’re talking about Vitus, he died trying to assassinate the Red Eagle Duke.”

“You all must have taken quite a lot of damage,” Chang-Sun said.

“Losing our Skills and Authorities weakened us, so that’s only natural.”

“I see.” Chang-Sun nonchalantly nodded.

After briefly biting his lower lip, Wojtek said, “... You said you’ll give us [Demon Faces] to recover our powers if we do as you said. Please keep your end of the bargain.”

“Let’s confirm that you’ve all done your job first.”

“Bring it!” Wojtek shouted as he quickly turned back, worried that Chang-Sun would go back on his words.

Wojtek’s subordinate opened the package wrapped in cloth that he had been holding cautiously, then showed it to Chang-Sun. The package was the head of someone who looked like he died in pain.

“This is the head of Constantine Brunnit, the Red Eagle Duke. Those packages over there are his minions’ heads.” Wojtek pointed at his other subordinates.

They opened the packages they carried, revealing the heads of their assassination targets.

“Thanks to Joachim Wolff and the Frankfurt Miracle, the people on the Red Eagle Duke’s side quickly lost power. Using the confusion of the moment, we were able to eliminate them. Only thirty percent of our people survived, though,” Wojtek reported.

Although Chang-Sun wasn’t sure what exactly the miracle was, he assumed it took place when Minerva appointed Joachim as her apostle.

“Thirty percent, huh?” Chang-Sun murmured.

“Yes, so please give us the masks. If you want, we will even swear our loyalty—!”

“Didn’t I tell you that I don’t trust criminals’ loyalty?” Chang-Sun interrupted.

“Then…!” Wojtek’s voice trembled a bit.

“Still, putting you all under leashes is better than nothing.” Chang-Sun pulled out a mask and handed it to Wojtek.

The gloomy-looking swan mask looked somewhat ludicrous.

[Swan Demon Face]

The melancholic persona of the Player Lee Chang-Sun. Wearing the mask will restore the power that the Celestial ‘Big Sick Bug’ has granted. However, wearing it will also force the user to give their Faith to the persona’s owner.

Gulp!

With shaking hands, Wojtek reached out for the swan mask. He instinctively knew that it would not only restore his diminishing power but also make him a lot stronger than before. Maybe he would even reach a level that was almost close to an Overlord.

“You know what will happen once you wear this, don’t you?” Chang-Sun asked.

Wojtek nodded slightly as he thought, ‘I’ll never be able to defy him.’

He was well aware of the mechanism of [Demon Face], which was the materialization of the Authority user’s persona. Once Wojtek wore the mask, he would fall completely under Chang-Sun’s control. Chang-Sun could even just throw him away after enslaving him around. Nevertheless…

‘That’s no different from when I worked for Czestochowa!’ Wojtek clenched his teeth as he politely accepted the swan mask.

After a couple of deep breaths, Wojtek wore it.

Click―!

The swan mask fit him perfectly, making it seem as if it was his from the start.

[The Player ‘Wojtek’ has put on your ‘Swan Demon Face’!]

[The Player ‘Wojtek’ isn’t your Subordinate.]

[Starting the subordination process!]

“Arggghh!” Wojtek groaned.

Chang-Sun’s mana dug into Wojtek from the swan mask. Wojtek paled as his veins bulged, making his condition seem critical enough for him to die any time soon.

[Eradicating the Divinity fragment of the Celestial ‘Big Sick Bug’ inside the Player ‘Wojtek’ as part of the subordination process.]

[5% of the Divinity fragment has been eradicated.]

[11% of the Divinity fragment has been eradicated.]

…

[The Divinity of the Celestial ‘Big Sick Bug’ has been eradicated! Granting the Player ‘Wojtek’ new Divinity(Attribute: Darkness)!]

[Carving a ‘Stigma.’]

Xue Yong used to be the Guardian of the Crna Ruka. However, now that he had been sealed, all his Channelings had been terminated. Without its owner, Xue Yong’s Divinity in Wojtek was fading, so Chang-Sun decided to destroy it and replace it with his.

Chang-Sun didn’t have his own Divinity because he hadn’t <Exuivated> yet, but he could still control the Crna Ruka assassins using the <Darkness> from his [Ferocious Heart]. A mortal could die from mana deviation if the Divinity inside them was replaced, but…

‘That’s their problem,’ Chang-Sun thought.

He wanted to take over only the best the Crna Ruka had to offer, so this was the perfect opportunity to get rid of assassins who would break down from this.

“Urgggh……!”

“Keugh!”

“Ahhh! What—?!”

The more Wojtek suffered, the more his subordinates retched and grabbed their chests. They, too, seemed to be having their Divinity replaced with Chang-Sun’s darkness. Chang-Sun watched them coldly for a moment before entering the safehouse.

* * *

[The number of Celestials watching you has increased!]

[The current total: 1,861 viewers.]

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ frowns as he watches you.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ covers the eyes of the Celestial ‘Geminus,’ protecting you.]

Ever since Chang-Sun’s subordinate resurrected as Kali, the number of the Celestials watching over him kept on increasing.

『You said Xerxes’ son is here, didn’t you?』Kali asked.

Yes.’

『A son… It’s fortunate that he managed to leave a trace.』

When Kali’s personality woke up, the first thing she requested was to see Xerxes’ son. She couldn’t help but wonder how Gyeo-Ul would look, considering he had a part of Xerxes’ personality in his subconsciousness.

『Didn’t you make him your shadow? Why isn’t he with you right now?』

Before Chang-Sun headed to “Owl’s Nest,’ he instructed Gyeo-Ul to go to Frankfurt and keep the Crna Ruka in check while staying in the shadows. He then told the Team L members to stay with Joachim. That allowed him to keep track of things while he was away. He had to get to the U.S. and take his first step in conquering Europe quickly, so he decided to deploy them to different missions.

‘I needed him to do a job for me,’ Chang-Sun replied.

『You were just worried about him getting hurt, weren’t you?』

‘…’

『I knew it.』Kali sighed. 『Phew! Based on what I’ve seen from the Elfin’s memory, I think he can take care of himself.』

‘Not enough to be involved with Celestials.’

『You’re just not trying to give him a chance to be involved.』Kali now sounded serious.

『You probably haven’t even told him about his father yet. The boy is trying hard in his own way just so he can fight alongside you, so you should be proud of him and his efforts. If you keep coddling him to protect him, he won’t be able to improve, which will frustrate him in the end.』

Chang-Sun smiled bitterly. Kali sounded as if she was scolding Chang-Sun for protecting their nephew too much. Kali had a point, though. If Chang-Sun continued keeping the whole story from Gyeo-Ul, Gyeo-Ul would become more and more curious.

『You’re probably being careful because there are many eyes on you, but you don’t have to act that cautiously anymore, do you?』

Kali was right again, so Chang-Sun could only nod quietly. Looking at Chang-Sun, Kali quietly chuckled.

『It would be best to tell him the whole story now. It will be my first time meeting him, so let me do the honor.』

‘What are you going to do—?!’ Chang-Sun asked, unsure of what exactly Kali was trying to do.

[Your Subordinate ‘Kali’ has revealed herself!]

Without answering, Kali jumped out from the wide-open Changgwi Cave. At that moment, the safehouse’s door also opened, and Gyeo-Ul entered.

“Hyung…?” Gyeo-Ul looked confused.

Hearing the commotion outside, he decided to come out. However, he didn’t expect to run into Chang-Sun. His face brightened up, but Kali suddenly stood between him and Chang-Sun, thrusting her wooden staff toward Gyeo-Ul’s neck. Gyeo-Ul was surprised, but he still calmly drew up his shadows and deflected Kali’s wooden staff to the side.

Boom!

「You’re calm and collected! Very good. You have a very solid foundation, but…」

Kali wasn’t done. She turned and swung her wooden staff against Gyeo-Ul’s lower body, demonstrating her precise and exceptional techniques. While Chang-Sun had excellent combat skills, which he developed on battlefields, Kali was great at traditional martial arts and training people.

Whirl!

「... it’s too early to finalize my assessment of you.」

“… Hup!” Gyeo-Ul inhaled sharply.

Continuing this exchange of attacks with Kali made him feel as if he would use up his shadows. Hence, he instead covered himself with them. Even his Black Dragon Fang turned pitch-black as he thrust it forward.

[The Player ‘Baek Gyeo-Ul’ has activated the Trait ‘Shadow Play’!]

Boom, boom, boom!

As they clashed multiple times in seconds, Kali sharply assessed Gyeo-Ul.

「Balance, grip, footwork… All your skills are below average. It seems you tried to mimic Twil—Chang-Sun’s skills to improve those you lack. However, without a perfect understanding of what you’re trying to replicate, they will only become a problem for you in the future. You won’t be able to improve yourself enough to get out of Chang-Sun’s shelter. You lack stamina and are slow to learn, so how can you even think of mimicking Chang-Sun? If a sparrow tries to keep up with an eagle, the sparrow is bound to run into a problem one day. That being said, you are lacking in too many areas.」

Boom, boom, boom!

Gyeo-Ul actually couldn’t hear a word of what Kali said because he was too busy getting beaten up. Although he had initially managed to block Kali’s attacks several times, he was rendered helpless when she launched a barrage of attacks with her wooden staff.

Kali moved like a snake. Whenever Gyeo-Ul tried to attack her, she dodged, and whenever he tried to flee from her, she tenaciously chased after him, aiming for his vital spots.

Boom―!

Kali eventually struck the pit of Gyeo-Ul’s stomach with her wooden staff and unleashed an explosion. The attack destroyed half of Gyeo-Ul’s shining black [Shadow Armor] and sent him flying quite a distance away. It was a miracle that he even managed to last this long.

“Blarrghh!!!” Gyeo-Ul put his hands on the floor and vomited blood and everything in his stomach.

『Master,』Jin Prezia called, silently asking if it was okay to leave Gyeo-Ul and Kali like that. It seemed that working with Gyeo-Ul several times had made Jin care about him. Hence, he was bound to feel worried and confused. After all, Gyeo-Ul was getting beaten up without any explanation.

‘It’s okay.’ Chang-Sun shook his head.

『But…』

‘Kali must have a reason.’

『… if you say so, master.』

Jin didn’t argue further.

Kiyoo…

Even Cadmus became worried, which it expressed by howling quietly on Chang-Sun’s shoulder.

Tap―!

「I like one thing about you, though.」

Kali chuckled while looking down at Gyeo-Ul, who was coughing up blood.

「Your eyes are the same as your father’s.」

[A curtain of your <Darkness> envelops the area!]

[Separating the area!]

[All the Channelings connected to the outside world have temporarily been disconnected.]

Chang-Sun cut all the Channelings to the outside world as a precaution.

“… As I thought, you know my father,” Gyeo-Ul murmured.

Gyeo-Ul forcefully raised his head. Despite Kali’s slightly scrawny physique, she looked and was strong. For some reason, Kali didn’t look like a stranger to Gyeo-Ul.

「As you thought?」Kali tilted her head in confusion.「This is your first time meeting me.」

“I met you in my dreams.” Gyeo-Ul slowly stood up, wiping blood off his mouth using the back of his hand.

Although he was wobbling, his eyes were still glued on Kali.

「Dream?」

“Yes, my father was always with four people in the dreams, and you were one of them. And—!” Gyeo-Ul glanced at Chang-Sun, who was standing behind Kali, then turned his head back to Kali. “ Let me ask you one question… Who are you?”

Kali smirked and clasped her hands behind her back, her deep eyes reflecting Gyeo-Ul. At that moment, she didn’t look like a goddess of destruction. She was the great sage who cultivated in Himavat the snow mountain.

「From now on, I will be your teacher.」

“Teacher…?” Gyeo-Ul repeated blankly.

「Yes. I happened to be the martial art teacher to the other three idiots you saw in your dreams. Does that suffice as an introduction?」

Gyro-Ul’s eyes widened upon hearing Kali’s response. He swiftly turned his head to Chang-Sun. “The Twilight that my father kept talking about… was you, hyung.”