Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 273: Star, the U.S. (8)

Unsure what Bel-Marduk’s plan was, Chang-Sun just quietly looked at his invitation. Bel-Marduk definitely seemed to have figured out who Chang-Sun was, yet he still sent him an invitation.

‘Well, he has always been like this,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Chang-Sun was the most hostile around Bel-Marduk among the Zodiacs. Although it was partially because Bel-Marduk was the leader of the <Horoscope> and Zodiacs, the biggest reason was that Chang-Sun found it difficult to determine what his goal was.

That was also why Chang-Sun was momentarily tempted by the invitation. If he accepted it, headed to Bel-Marduk’s divine ground, and activated the [Execution Sword] as soon as he met him, perhaps he would finally learn what was going on inside his head.

Chang-Sun shook his head. ‘That would be too naive of me.’

He could gamble like he had done with the Emperor’s Seat, but he decided not to. Back then, he was fighting in Minerva’s divine ground. He would end up in Bel-Marduk’s if he accepted this invitation, which was no different from throwing him in the center of enemy territory naked. Although Chang-Sun bulldozed through many things, he didn’t want to take such a risk now.

‘Even if I get a chance to use the [Execution Sword], I doubt it’ll be enough to capture him.’

Chang-Sun knew Bel-Marduk was strong, but he had no idea how powerful the Celestial exactly was.

The [Execution Sword] was simply a tool that temporarily returned Chang-Sun’s lost Divine Class. Considering he failed to defeat ‘Scorpio’ Antares, who couldn’t even hold his head high before Bel-Marduk, it would be impossible for him to capture Bel-Marduk even as the ‘Divine Twilight.’

‘I should do more than regain my original power. I have to aim higher… I should at least reach the level of the Nine Heavens.’

In that regard, Pabilsag’s invitation was very useful. Although Chang-Sun wasn’t sure what Tiamat was trying to teach him, ignoring Bel-Marduk’s petty provocation and heading to Pabilsag’s divine ground would be ideal since it meant he could receive Tiamat’s help too.

[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ asks if you are really not going to accept his invitation.]

However, Bel-Marduk knew Chang-Sun quite well. He knew Chang-Sun would respond if he hurt his pride, so he provoked Chang-Sun by asking if he would really let such a tasty prey go when it was already right in front of him. Would the notorious ‘Divine Twilight’ really do that?

With a slightly annoyed look, Chang-Sun looked at the invitation.

Tap!

[You have rejected the invitation from the Celestial ‘Taurus’!]

The answer Chang-Sun sent frustrated him, and a new message immediately popped up right after, making it seem as if Bel-Marduk was waiting for that response. Ignoring Bel-Marduk, Chang-Sun closed his eyes.

[You have accepted the invitation from the Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’!]

Woosh!

He could hear the sound of the world around him distorting.

* * *

[You have entered the Divine Ground ‘Hunter Base’!]

Chang-Sun opened his eyes again, finding himself in a jungle spread on a low hill. The forest was so dense that he couldn’t even get a clear view of the sky, and the ground mainly consisted of mud and swamp. Chang-Sun felt different animals hiding all around him, many of which seemed stronger than most monsters.

Chang-Sun initially thought that he was in a hunting ground, a haven for those who liked to hunt, but something soon caught his attention. Beyond or above the endless sea of trees, something colossal stood, yet Chang-Sun also felt as if it was right in front of him, ignoring the principle of perspective. He wondered if it was a cliff because he couldn’t detect any presence.

After observing it for a while, Chang-Sun realized that he was mistaken. It wasn’t that there was no presence. Rather, it was just so tremendous and vast like air that he couldn’t detect it properly.

‘... Can one’s presence be this big?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

He was quite surprised the last time he met her, but he couldn’t help feeling shocked again. That was how overwhelming Tiamat’s presence was.

What Chang-Sun had thought to be a wall opened, revealing a reptilian eye. It looked around for a moment, then stopped right at Chang-Sun. When her eyelid curved, Chang-Sun thought she seemed to be smiling.

『My beauty is certainly enough to captivate anyone, and I’m proud of that, but I can’t help feeling bashful if you stare at me like that.』

“… I-is that so?” Chang-Sun uncharacteristically stammered, unsure how to answer.

He found Tiamat to be difficult to deal with in many ways.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ grunts after looking at the Evil Dragon in the primordial…]

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ was about to complain for rejecting his invitation but becomes shocked after looking at the other…]

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ says that she seems to have gotten way bigger than…]

[The Celestial ‘Plague Monarch’ becomes surprised…]

…

『To have a proper conversation with you, my dear, I have to do something about those uninvited guests first,』 Tiamat said quietly.

Clink!

[The protection in the Divine Ground ‘Hunter Base’ has been reinforced!]

[The Channelings from outsiders have temporarily been disconnected.]

The divine ground’s barrier was reinforced, and all the Channelings were closed, making Chang-Sun marvel once again. They were in Pabilsag’s divine ground, not Tiamat’s. She was Pabilsag’s mother, but this place still wasn’t her territory. Nevertheless, she managed to do all those. Chang-Sun couldn’t even begin to fathom what level one had to reach to do that.

“Mom, please stop. We didn’t call him here to chitchat,” Pabilsag, who had her hair tied in a ponytail, grumbled upon showing up from Tiamat’s shadow.

Pabilsag was armed to the teeth. She had a bow hung over her left shoulder, various kinds of daggers attached to her belt, a shield on her back, and two swords underneath that shield. She had all sorts of weapons around her thighs and ankles too.

In some ways, her attire looked cumbersome to move around, but her set of weapons suited her sharp eyes and tanned skin quite well. She looked like an agile hunter who could hunt anything.

Nevertheless, unlike the time Pabilsag sent Chang-Sun the invitation, it didn’t seem like they were going to train. It was like…

‘... War. They’re going through a war…’ Chang-Sun thought, looking back and forth between Pabilsag and Tiamat.

『You’re certainly clever. You already noticed it just by looking at us.』 Tiamat chuckled, finding Chang-Sun adorable. Tiamat’s laughter was so loud that the divine ground shook, making it seem as if it would crumble down any minute.

“Mom!” Pabilsag frowned a little.

『Fine, fine.』

“Did the <Nammu> start a war?” Chang-Sun asked.

A pool of light covered Tiamat.

Paah!

Shortly afterward, an adorable girl with snow-white cheeks landed on top of Pabilsag’s head. Wearing a frilly princess dress, Tiamat rode on Pabilsag’s shoulders in the form of a six-year-old child.

“They took action as soon as you returned to Earth. It was as if they were waiting for that moment,” Tiamat dignifiedly said, but her too-adorable appearance betrayed her.

Embarrassed by her mother, Pabilsag covered her face with her hands and quietly sighed.

However, Tiamat paid no attention to her daughter and just nonchalantly continued, “The <Horoscope> Celestials are starting to snoop around my <Society>, so my children quickly responded. However, it turns out the <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials have also been acting suspiciously.”

Chang-Sun’s eyes shone. It was very sudden for the <Horoscope> and the <Purple Star Astrology> to be making a move now. The conflict between them had recently intensified, so if they were taking different actions, that could only mean one thing.

“The two <Societies> have reached some sort of agreement,” Chang-Sun said.

“Who knows? It can be a treaty or an implied contract. We’re already on bad terms with the damned ‘Taurus’ in the first place, so this isn’t surprising. The problem is…”

“The <Purple Star Astrology>. The Celestials probably know that I’ll be fighting Heoju someday.”

Tiamat nodded. “They have been taking concerning measures on Earth. They are certainly up to something.”

Chang-Sun momentarily thought about it. He already knew that Heoju was the scout of the <Purple Star Astrology> for their Earth invasion. Hence, he had been planning to take out Heoju and snatch the power that he had been trying to obtain. However, the Celestials backing Heoju were also making a move now, which meant they were preparing something big to capture Chang-Sun.

“We had to inform and warn you about this, so we invited you here under the guise of training. Many beings are paying attention to you now, and even more will be watching you in the future. Many of them will also try to sabotage you out of jealousy,” Tiamat said.

She was basically telling Chang-Sun to be careful because his full-scale war against the <Purple Star Astrology> would start earlier than he anticipated. His goal of becoming the only Celestial on Earth shouldn’t be taken lightly.

For some reason, Chang-Sun already knew what Tiamat would tell him next.

“You’re the <Nammu>’s ally and my potential husband, so it’s preposterous of me to let those barbaric animals gang up on you. There seems to be a need to accelerate the speed of your growth. Why don’t you hear my offer out?” Tiamat gave Chang-Sun a dignified yet adorable grin.

* * *

‘As long as he’s trapped here, he won’t be able to do anything!’ Francois Prelati was certain about his victory.

Francois could trap his target in the space he created with [Space Severance] for fifteen minutes at most, but that was based on the real world’s flow of time, which was extremely different from the the flow of time inside the space. Even Francois didn’t know the exact difference.

Francois acquired this Authority only recently, so his research on it was still very lacking. Moreover, this Authority had an unfathomable depth that even Francois couldn’t grasp as an Elder Lich.

However, based on the several experiments he had conducted, the severity of one’s time perception distortion was closely related to their resolve. The stronger one’s resolve was, the more distorted their perception of time became and more aggravating the mental deterioration was. It was a year at the minimum, and five years at the maximum. Spending that much time in a world of nothingness was bound to drive anyone crazy.

‘Even if he holds out by training, he’s bound to reach a limit in one or two months.’

Francois didn’t bother measuring how strong Chang-Sun’s resolve was because those with weak determination could never become so powerful.

‘He’ll spend at least five years inside the space… Unless he’s a Celestial, he’s bound to go crazy. No, even if he’s a Celestial, he’ll self-destruct once he spends a long enough time trapped alone in such a narrow space.’

Grinning, Francois looked at the countdown. Although Chang-Sun’s summons were still raising hell, more monsters had been summoned to restrict their movements.

[00:00:52]

With less than a minute left, Francois smirked.

‘Come to think of it, my Guardian is weirdly obsessed with Lee Chang-Sun. He would probably love it if I offer him Lee Chang-Sun, who has probably gone insane!’

[10 seconds remain until your Authority deactivates.]

…

[3.]

[2.]

[1.]

[The Authority ‘Space Severance’ has been deactivated!]

Woosh!

“He’s here!” Francois beamed as he looked at where Chang-Sun would appear.

He activated all the magic spells he had prepared in advance to subdue Chang-Sun in case a part of his mind remained stable, which was highly unlikely. The floor, wall, ceiling… dozens of large and small magic circles simultaneously shone.

Pzzz―!

The space wobbled, and Chang-Sun gradually appeared.

‘How is he? He has probably mentally collapsed, so he won’t be able to make any rational judgment,’ Francois thought, looking forward to seeing Chang-Sun’s blank eyes…

However, he felt a shiver run down his spine instead. Chang-Sun didn’t really look any different from before. He was still emotionless, and black lightning energy still circled around him as navy-blue flames blazed up in his eyes.

The only difference was… the illegible runes engraved on him not stretched from his right shoulder to the back of his right hand. It was now a paragraph, not a sentence. On top of that, the Inferno Sights in his eyes seemed deeper than before.

‘… He got stronger!’

[Initiating a magic bombardment!]

Paah!

Boom, boom, boom―!

Instinctively feeling that something went wrong, Francois launched dozens of magic spells on Chang-Sun.

[The Authority ‘False Belief’ has been activated, nullifying all magic attacks!]

The runes covering Chang-Sun’s upper body concurrently shone and canceled Francois’ magic bombardment. Shortly after, Chang-Sun swung [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], splitting the space and releasing his extremely condensed lighting energy like a Dragon Breath.

Rumble!

[A Dragon Breath has been fired!]