Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 265: Star, Hoshikjang (6)

At a building in downtown Chicago, U.S.A…

“…Alright, so he’s here?” Executive Director Oh Shi-Hwan said some time after receiving his subordinate’s report.

Behind Executive Director Oh was a breathtaking view that included the most magnificent, brilliant skyscrapers in the U.S. and a vast lake. Despite that, he did not look particularly happy. It was understandable, as the report he had just received made his heart heavy; Chang-Sun was coming to the U.S. as they spoke.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have let him go,’ Executive Director Oh thought.

When he first sent Chang-Sun to Europe, he had not particularly cared what Chang-Sun’s plan was, having believed that he would not suffer a loss no matter what. He had thought that if Chang-Sun’s plan worked out, it would give the White Tiger Clan an opportunity to branch out to Europe. Otherwise, Executive Director Oh could just wipe the slate clean. Although it would be sad to lose the talented rookie known as the Tyrant, Executive Director Oh had believed he would be able to find a replacement regardless.

‘At the time, I thought time was on our side.’

The Gildals Executive Director Oh was raising in secret also had quite a lot of potential, so if he kept improving them, he would have an unlimited resource of rookies that were just as talented as the Tyrant. No, even if he was wrong, he believed that Munseong could put an end to everything once he drew his hidden blade.

Executive Director Oh was well aware of the fact that Munseong was already a demigod—no, he was technically more than a demigod. The ‘Immortal Overlord’ Jacque Valentine had always been recognized as the number one Player, but he had never mattered to Executive Director Oh in the first place.

In fact, there were many Players on par with Jacque in the White Tiger Clan’s Council of Elders. ‘Evil Wu Hou’ Jaegal Hyeon-Ryong alone was unfathomably strong. However, the reality was that all the members of the Council of Elders combined would still not be enough to take on Munseong.

Which apostle in the world could negotiate an equal contract with their Guardian in person? Ever since Executive Director Oh had found out that Munseong and Heoju were equal partners, he had given up on the thought of defying Munseong and started studying and raising Gildals in secret. However, he was not trying to stand against Munseong. It was simply a way to weather the storm as much as possible if Munseong tried to abandon him. Besides, Executive Director Oh felt as if he would lose his mind with fear if he did not do at least that much.

Just like that, the future of the White Tiger Clan had been set to be bright forever. Perhaps even the sort of world domination that the third-rate villains of many old animated films would not be all that far-fetched. In fact, the White Tiger Clan members had already begun their journey of conquest. By allying with the Jaynix Company of the U.S., they had conquered both North and South Americas and spread the name of ‘Sword Sky Tiger’ across the world.

All of those miracles had been made possible by the mystical books named the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan]. Powers, talents, Authorities… That source of their omnipotence had made all their dreams come true.

‘But… You, Lee Chang-Sun, came out of nowhere,’ Executive Director Oh thought.

Everyone in the White Tiger Clan knew about Chang-Sun’s series of shocking accomplishments.

‘He said he was going to find the [Fourth Cryptical Book of Hsan], but he suddenly became strong enough to defeat the Immortal Overlord… He must have decrypted the cryptical book. Damn it!’

Executive Director Oh was well aware of the fact that Chang-Sun was more ambitious and greedy than anyone else, but he had still let Chang-Sun go to Europe with ease, firmly believing that Chang-Sun would never be able to decipher the books. Even within the White Tiger Clan, he and the others had consumed tremendous time and resources to start interpreting the cryptical books, so he had not thought that Chang-Sun could do it so easily.

‘It was my mistake.’

Perhaps things would have been different if the [Fourth Cryptical Book of Hsan] was in Executive Director Oh’s hands, but before he could acquire it, Chang-Sun had begun to cause a sensation. Thus, Munseong no doubt knew that Chang-Sun had the [Fourth Cryptical Book of Hsan].

Of course, Munseong would eventually wonder whether Executive Director Oh was behind Chang-Sun, so Executive Director Oh’s hands were tied. On top of that, Director Gwon Hyo-Hae, Executive Director Oh’s political rival, continued to attack him, so many of the people on his side had turned their back on him. The existence of the Secret Tiger Lab had been revealed, while the Ghost Soldiers and Gildals were also at risk of exposure.

Chang-Sun had practically incited Executive Director Oh’s demise… and thus, Executive Director Oh’s hatred toward Chang-Sun was bound to be deep. Of course, Executive Director Oh had no time to vent his hatred, because there was currently no guarantee he would live to see the next sunrise. If Munseng called for his execution, he would have to obediently put his neck in a guillotine.

‘But I’m still alive, so it must be one of two reasons,’ Executive Director Oh thought, shutting his eyes. ‘One possibility is that the Clan leader completely forgot I exist.’

It was actually more than possible. The way Munseong saw the world was completely different from ordinary people. In his eyes, other people looked like mere ants.

‘The second possibility is that he’s giving me the chance to accomplish a feat if I want to live.’

Of course, that feat would be voluntarily bringing the [Fourth Cryptical Book of Hsan] to Munseong, along with the complete translation.

Executive Director Oh slowly opened his eyes. Although he still had a lot on his mind, now was not the time to sit idly. He said quietly, “Department Head Shim.”

“Yes, Executive Director Oh,” Department Head Shim Geon-Ho replied.

“I’m ever grateful to you,” Executive Director Oh continued.

“Please don’t say such a thing.” Department Head Shim said with a bow.

All the Future Strategy Department members, who had practically been Executive Director Oh’s children, had turned their backs on him, but Geon-Ho had continued to stay by his side. It was because Executive Director Oh had saved Geon-Ho, who was an orphan.

“No, no. I can now tell what is mine and who my people truly are after undergoing countless difficulties,” Executive Director Oh said, waving his hand.

“…”

“So, for the sake of my dear treasures, I can’t just sit on my hands and wait to ‘sink’, can I?” Executive Director Oh continued, leaning back against his chair.

Geon-Ho sensed the fury hidden in Executive Director Oh’s calm voice. Executive Director Oh was the Sandstorm Shadow Tiger, the legendary and sly monster that could escape from hunters with ease after devouring numerous humans. This old monster was still too vigorous to go down without a fight.

“Finally…! Have you decided to take action?” Geon-Ho asked delightedly.

“Since my master wants me to become his executioner… I should, shouldn’t I?” Executive Director Oh remarked.

“You’re right, Executive Director Oh. Then I’ll get ready right away,” Geon-Ho said.

Executive Director Oh nodded, his eyes shining more menacingly than ever. However, that meant he uncharacteristically missed the cold sneer that spread across Geon-Ho’s face as he bowed.

* * *

The staredown between Chang-Sun and Heoju had ended up fizzling out. Although Chang-Sun had thought that Heoju would try to do something to him, Heoju simply retreated more quietly than he had expected.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ disappears quietly, gritting his teeth.]

Although Heoju had shown up so briefly that it seemed meaningless, Chang-Sun knew Heoju very well, and realized that Heoju had declared war against him in his own way. Since the White Tiger Clan was Heoju’s <Order>, everyone in the Clan would put their best effort into killing Chang-Sun, but that was actually what Chang-Sun wanted.

‘This’ll be perfect for fighting a war against Heoju,’ Chang-Sun thought.

[False Belief]

One of the five trademark Authorities of the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’. It is used to protect oneself from a barrage of weapon and magic attacks by discovering and utilizing several runes. Furthermore, the Authority user becomes an Aberration, a magical being that is not bound by the laws of nature.

· Skill level: 1.

· Type: Authority.

· Effect: Letter Engraving. Aberration Manifestation. Aberration Awakening.

Chang-Sun had definitely not expected that [False Belief], the second Authority he retrieved from among his Inverted Pentagrams, would be restored this suddenly, as he had not even recovered the main Skills that made up the Authority.

‘So that isn’t the only way to restore my previous powers,’ he thought with a nod.

Although Chang-Sun had not recovered the Skill components, he had earned more than enough achievements related to [False Belief]. The main component of [False Belief] was runes, which were Divine Scripts that embodied mystical wonders. Thus, a being engraved with runes would become as mystical as the number of runes on them. Chang-Sun’s first class was Rune Master, and his second class was Einheri, a class that originated from Rune Master. In other words, he had numerous achievements pertaining to runes.

‘No, I have [Gnostic Eye], so maybe it’s a given.’

Chang-Sun was well aware of his origin now. Odin had been the Ruling Celestial of <Asgard> and the creator of rune magic, so [Gnostic Eye] was part of his power. After the acquisition of [Gnostic Eye], Chang-Sun had formed a deeper relationship with rune magic, and thus he was bound to achieve a bigger result.

Thus, the more his [False Belief] improved, the more effective it would be, incomparable even to when he had used it as the ‘Divine Twilight’. Perhaps…

‘...it can even become a Signature, although I’ve only heard rumors about those.’

Above Skills, Authorities, and Divine Rights, there were Signatures, which were a kind of a conceptual phenomenon. A Celestial needed to obtain a Signature of their own to surpass the limit of their divine rank and become a complete concept, thus becoming a part of Idea as a law of nature.

From that point, a Celestial would be able to become a Conceptual Celestial, which was considered a Celestial among Celestials. However, there were very few Conceptual Celestials; only the Nine Heavens and the few beings who were as strong as them had reached that level.

[False Belief] had the potential to become a Signature, and that was what it meant to become an Aberration, a creature outside the rules. Additionally…

Ding!

Ding!

[All the Effects of the Skills ‘Rune Research’ and ‘Rune Creation’ have been applied to the Authority ‘False Belief’.]

[The two Skills have merged with the Authority, ]

[The Authority level has increased!]

[The Authority level has increased!]

As if to prove Chang-Sun’s thoughts, the level of [False Belief] swiftly increased twice.

‘In that case…’ Chang-Sun thought. He had five hours left before the plane reached its destination, so he would try utilizing [False Belief]. In order to make it a Signature, he had to get to work as soon as possible.

[The Authority ‘False Belief’ has been activated, engraving runes on yourself!]

Chang-Sun reached into the air as he drew forth his mana, and his <Darkness> lit up like a candle.

Pzzzzz….

Starting with the back of his hand, runes began to manifest on his skin.

[A Divine Power Rune has been engraved.]

[A Guidance Rune has been engraved.]

[A Protection Rune has been engraved.]

[A Shelter Rune has been engraved.]

…

[A series of runes has been listed, forming a rune sentence!]

Once a rune was completed, another rune appeared, and another… The list of runes began to symbolize one coherent thing, eventually becoming a sentence that could be completely interpreted. It was a sentence that embodied mystical wonders!

―God be with us.

Letters were only able to deliver fragments of information, but sentences could be used to convey much more complicated ideas, allowing a Rune Master to describe what they wanted to do to the world. Thus, rune sentences were more effective, produced better results, and lasted longer than rune letters.

The sentence Chang-Sun was trying to complete was a common one that usually served as the start of many scriptures within the various gods’ gospels.

‘It’s the sentence that best summarizes a follower’s wish to always have their god’s protection and blessings,’ Chang-Sun thought.

If the sentence was the start of many scriptures, that meant it was the wish of many devoted followers, so no sentence could be more effective.

However, the god Chang-Sun served in practice was himself. Thus, the sentence had a whole new meaning, which was to amplify the effectiveness of all the Authorities and Skills Chang-Sun cast on himself. The more he believed in himself, the more he would improve himself, and the more effective the rune sentence would become. The sentence had become about his own belief in himself, so he was actually becoming a Celestial of his own faith…

‘It might have been different if I decided to engrave runes on myself to make a sentence.’

In the past, Chang-Sun had acquired [False Belief] long after he awakened to become the ‘Divine Twilight’. When he was a notorious fiend, he had tried to take on many enemies at once, so he had needed a way to effectively defend himself while continuing his attacks. After thinking it through, he had created [False Belief].

Whenever Chang-Sun had used [False Belief], he wondered what it would have been like if he had obtained [False Belief] sooner. Although it had been too late to wonder about that in the past, it was different now.

Pzzzz―!

‘Six runes completed… It really hurts like hell.’

Although he had had [Rune Creation] and [Rune Engraving] all along, he had not attempted to create a rune sentence, because [False Belief] was essential for doing so.

Once he finished engraving runes, it would be nearly impossible to modify them, so what would happen if he made a mistake with insufficient mastery in rune magic? One wrong stroke could change the whole meaning of a rune, so the results could be catastrophic. In other words, he could end up suffering from harmful side-effects while trying to obtain mystical wonders.

In order for a rune sentence to work properly, each rune had to be written in the same size and handwriting. In addition, even aspects such as indentation and spacing had to be accurate. Since runes were very delicate, the engraving process required a lot of time and a high level of mental stamina and concentration.

[You are in horrible pain, and your condition is deteriorating.]

[Your Pain Resistance has increased by 15.]

[Your Burn Resistance has increased by 21.]

…

However, the pain caused during the engraving process was unbearable even for Chang-Sun, who was usually unfazed by injury, and it did not take long for his abundant mana to become nearly depleted. That was how much effort was needed to permanently engrave mystical wonders on oneself. However Chang-Sun had to do it because he knew how sweet the fruit of his labor would be. By the time he got to the tenth and final rune…

‘Wait.’ An idea flashed through Chang-Sun’s mind. ‘If I can engrave sentences… Can’t I use [Bestla’s Poem]?’

It seemed the number of effective sentences—no, paragraphs and clauses he was going to engrave on himself would be far greater than he had originally planned.

After reading Chang-Sun’s thoughts…

『…Is he a pervert?』

『Something along those lines.』

…Dria and Armand chuckled dumbfoundedly.