Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 248: Star, the Four Overlord Conference (7)

‘What the—?’ Eric Gordon rolled on the floor, clearly dumbstruck. He couldn’t understand what just happened.

When he finally skidded to a stop and raised his head, all the eyes on him brought him back to his senses and made him realize how pathetic he looked in front of so many people.

‘Shit!’ Eric cursed in his head.

“You’ve met those Koreans, haven’t you? Provoke them and make them realize where they belong and how big the gap is between our levels.” Ben Eddy told Eric.

Ben had reassured Eric that he didn’t have to worry about consequences, which was why he provoked Woo Hye-Bin. However, that only made him realize how powerful the Koreans truly were.

The palace hall silenced down. It was as if someone had thrown a wet blanket over the place. Eric’s fellow Hellfire Club members froze up, and the other Clans had mixed emotions. The Team L members had been the ones getting ostracized, and Hye-Bin was just a middle school student, so they never expected her to respond to Eric’s provocation in such a way.

‘... Was Eric Gordon that weak?’

‘No way. He’s a ranker.’

‘He had his guard down, but still…!’

Frowning deeply, Eric stood up from his seat. “You little sh—!”

Rumble!

However, before he could finish speaking, a yellow lightning bolt flew right toward his face. Feeling the imminent danger, Eric hurriedly rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the electric projectile. His face reddened with humiliation for being forced to roll twice now. The desire to kill Hye-Bin rose within him.

Paah!

However, before he could react, Hye-Bin was already right in front of Eric, leaving a gust of wind in her path.

“You have too many weak spots. You look older than Mister Chang-Sun, yet your skills are far worse than his,” Hye-Bin murmured.

‘When in the world—!’ Eric gaped, trembling.

Hye-Bin expressionlessly sent Eric flying with a kick to his chin, breaking three to four of his teeth. Having lost consciousness due to a concussion, Eric rolled on the ground like a ragdoll as he foamed around the mouth.

“That bitch!”

“How dare she attack Eric?!”

The Hellfire Club Clan members reacted first, but the Team L members joined the fight just in time.

Eun-Seo quickly stood in front of Hye-Bin and slammed the floor with her tower shield. Holding a mace bigger than her, she growled, “Bastards! Don’t even think about messing with my Hye-Bin!”

Thump!

Rumble!

Above Eun-Seo’s head, Geum-Gyu’s Magical Core quickly spun. It was engulfed in a fiery black fire known as [Black Flame] the lesser version of [Hellfire]. He had recently learned to use the fires of <Hell>, which melted everything in its way.

“Phew! Hyung told us to never cause a problem…” Geum-Gyu mumbled to himself.

“Are you just going to let them attack us, then?”

“That’s not an option either. If we do that, hyung will scold us even harder later.” Geum-Gyu shook his head. Despite the silly conversation Geum-Gyu had with Eun-Seo, his eyes remained as sharp as a snake’s. He used to be timid, but he was more confident now that he had quickly improved his magic skills.

The Team L exuded sharp auras. It wasn’t just Hye-Bin who responded based on how Chang-Sun would have reacted to the situation. Filled with animosity, all the Team L members were ready to turn everything upside down if anyone else dared mess with them.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t intimidate the Hellfire Club members or the other one hundred twenty-nine Clans. After all, they were drastically outnumbered. Most of the Europeans in the annex palace were rankers or high rankers, which meant they could singlehandedly subdue the Team L members if they worked together. No one dared start a fight, however, since the first ones to take on Team L would likely suffer significant damage. As a result, Team L gained the initiative

“Tsk! What a mess.” A middle-aged man clicked his tongue and frowned amid the staredown. With a big staff in hand, he stepped forward. The long black robe he was wearing couldn’t hide his bulky physique and sharp aura.

“Hahaha… Things seem to be getting out of hand…” Geum-Gyu chuckled dryly upon recognizing who the middle-aged man was.

Any magic practitioner would know David Brown the White Sky. After all, he was famous enough to be mentioned in textbooks. Known as the White Sky Duke in Korea, David was a Duke-Class mage, the vice-leader of the Hellfire Club, and the pioneer of white night magic.

Feeling too shameful to look David in the eyes, the Hellfire Club members slightly lowered their heads, but that only made David more furious.

“Even the international community admits that Korea, despite its many talented Players, has constantly been underestimated. However…” David smiled crookedly as he slammed the bottom of his staff on the floor.

Plunk…!

The sound of a stone plunging into a lake echoed. From where David slammed his staff, a ripple spread that created a white fog and distorted the space around David.

“... That only applies when Korea is compared to other trashy countries. Several other centuries like ours ruled the world. Hence, Korean Players naturally can’t be compared to us.”

The fog spread all over the area, covering everything in white. At that moment, Hye-Bin and the other Team L members tensed up as shivers ran down their spines, making them break into cold sweats. There was nothing in the white fog, but it felt as if it was about to swallow them.

David’s white night magic spell revolved around trapping his enemies in an empty white space and slowing the time down inside it to break down his opponent’s minds.

“U-uhhh!”

“He’s using his white night magic spell!”

“Shit! We’ll be in danger as well if we get swept away by that! Get back!”

Knowing how scary David’s white night magic spell was, the Hellfire Club members walked back quite a distance.

“Eat them.” David tapped the floor with his staff again. The white fog headed toward the Team L members, leaving a long afterimage.

Holding her [Lightning Deity’s Dagger] and [Storm Deity’s Dagger] tightly, Hye-Bin prepared to spring forward. A lightning storm revolved around her.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ warns you that it is dangerous to fight him!]

Pabilsag urgently sent Hye-Bin a message, but Hye-Bin still darted forward, gritting her teeth.

‘I can deal the most damage among my team members, so I should stop him,’ Hye-Bin thought.

She learned from Chang-Sun that avoiding the fight was never an option.

[The relic owner observes your fighting spirit.]

Hye-Bin didn’t notice it, but Indra, the owner of the [Lightning Deity’s Dagger], showed interest in Hye-Bin again.

[The relic owner ponders about offering you his help.]

More lightning sparks flew up from the [Lightning Deity’s Dagger] as it clashed with the white fog.

Rumble―!

The white fog split when Hye-Bin’s lightning bolt struck it, but instead of dissipating, it surrounded Hye-Bin and the Team L members. It revealed sharp fangs at its edges, making it seem as if a giant beast was about to devour them. They resisted harder, but the white fog didn’t budge.

“Hahaha, you all put up quite a fight, but resistance is useless.” David chuckled like a gentle next-door neighbor, but his eyes were menacing.

‘That idiot Eric acted pathetic, but this is actually for the better. The Korean girl used violence first, so her team members or the Tyrant can’t complain if I also use force. With hostages in my hand, even the Tyrant will think twice before he makes a move,’ David thought.

David and Ben were actually the ones who came up with the plan of ostracizing and provoking Team L. Although the plan seemed childish, they required justifiable cause to arrest the Team L members. According to their investigation of Chang-Sun, the fearless Tyrant’s only weaknesses were his family and team members.

‘Their sacrifice will allow the Hellfire Club to rise!’ David smiled wickedly and clenched his fist, signaling the white fog to finally swallow the Team L members into the white space.

Through his staff, David started infusing the white space with his mana. However, much to his surprise, the flow of his mana into the staff completely stopped.

‘When did he—!’

David hadn’t noticed it, but someone had grabbed and stopped the mana flow within the hand holding his staff. Frantically turning around, he immediately realized who the culprit was. The man’s hair was gray, unlike in the photos, but there was no doubt about it.

Lee Chang-Sun was right beside him.

“You put up quite a fight, but resistance is useless.” Smiling coldly, Chang-Sun repeated what David had just told the Team L members.

Crack!

“Keugh…!” David groaned.

Chang-Sun twisted David’s right arm, causing the latter’s bones and muscles to mush into each other. With bloodshot eyes, David drew up as much of his mana as he could in an attempt to break away from Chang-Sun’s grip.

Craaaccck!

“Argggh!”

The lower part of David’s right arm was ripped out, rendering his efforts futile. However, Chang-Sun still wasn’t done. He poured mana into David, and the lightning energy imbued in it exploded as soon as he stopped controlling it.

‘N-no…!’

David screamed in pain as the explosion impacted his entire mana road, making him feel as if hundreds of ants were gnawing at it. He had an abundant amount of mana like the Thames River, but the heat from the explosion dried all of it up. Spells? Barriers? He had no time to use any of that. Trembling as if he was having a seizure, his eyes lost focus. Foam bubbled up around his mouth, and black smoke rose up from his nose and ears.

“…Urggh!”

Thud!

David helplessly collapsed on the floor. The proud mage of the Hellfire Club lost before he could even counterattack. Everyone watching the scene knew that David would never be able to use magic again.

“Mister…!”

“Hyung, you came!”

“You shouldn’t be this late, oppa! And what’s wrong with your hair? It looks great on you, but—!”

The Team L members’ faces brightened up as they called out to Chang-Sun, but their reunion was soon interrupted.

Paah―!

“The Tyrant!”

“How dare you attack our vice-leader!”

Having lost their composure because their vice-leader, whom they respected deeply, got injured, the Hellfire Club members drew their weapons and pounced at Chang-Sun.

Swooosh!

Chang-Sun quietly scoffed as he looked at the people who were darting toward him. They were such small fries that he didn’t even have to pull out [Prelati’s Spellbook].

Pzzz, pzzz!

Purple <Dusk Lightning> sparks flew up from his fingertips.

* * *

All of the three hundred thirty Clans’ members in the annex palace prepared to join the fray since it had been agreed that everyone would simultaneously attack the Tyrant as soon as he showed up.

Paah!

“You better stay still.”

However, before they could even take a few steps, a group of people showed up and held their daggers against the Players’ necks, sending shivers down their spines.

“Wh-when…?”

“H-hiihh!”

[The ‘Crna Ruka’ assassins threaten your enemies’ lives!]

Just like Chang-Sun, the Crna Ruka had also entered the palace using the Concealment Skill. As soon as they deactivated the Skill, they seized control of all the prominent Clan executives’ lives.

Dmitri Cherchesov, the second-in-command of the Zmei Clan, gasped as he glanced behind him. “Cr-Crna Ruka…? I thought you people have gone out of business!”

Dmitri soon realized that the assassin was the ‘Inverted Cross’ Wojtek, the second-in-command of the Crna Ruka. Although he was wearing a ridiculous-looking swan mask, he couldn’t be taken lightly since he could easily slit Dmitri’s neck.

They were both Slavs and the right-hand man of an Overlord, so they were acquainted. Despite their friendship, however, Wojtek still scoffed at Dmitri. “We ‘were’ out of business, but thanks to him, we rose again.”

Dmitri was bewildered. ‘The Crna Ruka assassins are back? And they’re under the Tyrant’s command? I heard the Tyrant has no Guardian. Has he chosen one? Or did he just subjugate them…?’

The thoughts in Dmitri’s head jumbled up, but none of them considered the possibility of Crna Ruka’s Guardian going missing and Chang-Sun filling in for the role. However, he was certain of one thing. Just like the European Players, Chang-Sun had been hiding his fangs as well. To make matters worse, he was now biting off their necks harder and more ferociously than they ever could!

‘I have to do whatever it takes to tell the Clan leader!’ Dmitri thought desperately.

“Didn’t I tell you not to do anything rash?” Wojtek said. The cold feeling of his dagger, which was digging into Dmitri’s neck, brought Dmitri back to reality and prevented him from moving an inch.

“You’ll never understand the level of his greatness.” Wojtek glanced at Chang-Sun with blazing eyes.

It had always been Wojtek’s dream to conquer the world, and now that he followed Chang-Sun, he had a feeling that it could actually come true. Hence, he was naturally thrilled!

Pzzzz!

Chang-Sun conjured more <Dusk Lightning> energy as he began to fight the Hellfire Club members.

[The Skill ‘Stomp’ has been activated, creating a strong earthquake!]

Booom!

Chang-Sun slammed his foot into the floor, causing cracks to spread across the ground like a cobweb. The hall began to wobble.

“The g-ground…!”

“I can’t stand straight!”

The Hellfire Club members staggered and lost balance, preventing them from pouncing at Chang-Sun.

[The Skill ‘Fiery Lightning Bolt’ has been activated and is spreading through the cracks!]

Chang-Sun’s <Dusk Lightning> bolts flew up from the cracks, further aggravating the earthquake. Along with clouds of dust, his <Dusk Lightning> bolts instantly filled the hall and catapulted all the players away.

Not long after, Chang-Sun prepared to blow up the whole building.

Booooom!

Rumble, rumble, rumble―

When the cracks reached the ceiling, the annex palace exploded, allowing his <Dusk Lightning> bolts to soar into the sky like a giant Dragon. The ruins muffled the screams of the Players pinned down under the rockslide, while those sent flying outside were electrified by Chang-Sun’s <Dusk Lightning>, preventing them from pulling themselves together.

“Wowwww!”

“A-amazing…!”

Kept safe from the chaos by Chang-Sun’s protection, the Team L members watched Chang-Sun with captivated eyes. His gray hair, navy blue eyes, purple lightning energy… He looked as if he was from another world, which only made Hye-Bin idolize him more.

When Chang-Sun turned toward a direction, Hye-Bin and the others followed his gaze.

[The Skill ‘Tiger Kill’ has been activated, dominating the battlefield!]

Ben, who was in the Illuminati main palace for the Four Overlord Conference, instinctively trembled when he met Chang-Sun’s eyes.

Chang-Sun nonchalantly swung his hand at the main palace, causing his swirling <Dusk Lightning> bolts to gather up and strike it like a whip.

Rumble―!

Booom, boom, boom!