Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 304: Star, the United Army (4)

Chang-Sun drove the Nameless Spear deep into Heoju’s head.

Clink!

A mechanical sound echoed from somewhere.

Creeak―!

At the same time, the sound of an unoiled pulley reverberated.

Swoosh, whoosh!

<Nihil> gaps surrounded Heoju, and metal chains poured out from them.

[Arresting the defendant!]

『Don’t… kill me!』

Clank, clank.

Like a caterpillar covering itself with silk to become a cocoon, the metal chains tied Heoju up.

“You won’t die,” Chang-Sun said, his smirk deepening. “You’ll just end up in Abysm.”

『I… don’t want to… end up like this…! I! I have… a job to do! Please…!』

Heoju begged as he desperately tried to get away from the metal chains. He had already lost all his power, so the only thing he could do was stumble backward. However, he was unable to move freely due to the thick [Blood Toxin] in his soul. His eyes were filled with terror, making Chang-Sun unable to help wondering whether this was even the same ferocious tiger from earlier.

『Pleeeease!』

Clank, clank, clank!

Heoju’s plaintive screams echoed, but the chains continued to tighten around him. The locks on them soon snapped shut as they finished binding Heoju.

[The defendant has been arrested!]

[Please pronounce the penalty for the defendant as the representative of the Celestial ‘King of the Underworld’.]

Chang-Sun’s status as a special-rank reaper granted him a wide range of rights, so he could even sentence a criminal while the King of the Underworld was unavailable.

『Twilight! Listen to me, Twilight!』

“I’ll begin giving my verdict for the defendant.”

『Listen to me! This will also benefit you! It will! I know a piece of information you’ll want to hear!』

Through the metal chains enveloping Heoju, Chang-Sun was able to glimpse Heoju’s eyes.

Violating the <Treaty> was a felony among felonies, and Heoju had been caught red-handed in committing that very act. Of course he would have a life sentence at the very least, but to think that he would spend an eternity in a prison where nothing existed! Heoju could never do that. On top of that, he had spent a long time roaming many planes greedily, so nothing could be worse for Heoju than a life sentence in Abysm.

That was why Heoju shouted that he would give up all the information he had coincidentally found out while researching Chang-Sun. That information had to be tempting for Chang-Sun, and Heoju was the only one who knew it. He had not even told the other <Stars> in <Purple Star Astrology>, his partner Munseong, or anyone else!

The problem was that Chang-Sun showed zero interest in hearing Heoju out. He solemnly continued, “The defendant has committed a felony that disrupted the orders of the <Underworld> and <Heaven>, but he shows no sign of remorse.”

『Cryptical Books! It’s about the last cryptical book!』

“Therefore, the judge declares…”

『Ithaca! Ithaca’s last <Starlight>! Do you know what it is?!』

Chang-Sun stopped handing down his verdict. With a bone-chillingly cold gaze, he looked at Heoju.

Gulp!

When Heoju looked up at Chang-Sun, he swallowed his saliva out of nervousness, finding Chang-Sun terrifying. Twilight. Twilight…The person whom Heoju had been desperately wanting to take after became a more terrifying being and had Heoju’s life in his hands.

Heoju believed that this short silence was a sign that Chang-Sun was tempted, which was his last chance.

『Don’t you want to know? Yes, you must be interested, right…? Un-Untie this first. Please untie me! Please… Then let’s talk this out. I’ll tell you, and do anything you want me to! If you want me to become your hound, I’ll become one. If you ask me to die, I’ll even pretend to be dead…!』

Heoju became a little arrogant at that moment. Thinking Chang-Sun would no longer be able to do anything to him, he furtively put forth some terms.

“...that the defendant is hereby sealed.” Chang-Sun casually declared his verdict, as if he had only stopped to hear out Heoju’s last bit of nonsense.

Creeeeakk―!

『Shiiittt! It’s your…! I told you it was about your lover, Ithaca! So why would you still…?!』

Heoju hurriedly fired off more words, but he soon had to stop. With the sound of pulleys turning counterclockwise, the chains around him tightened, shutting him up in the middle of his sentence. Heoju desperately tried to pull the chains off his mouth, but the more he tried, the faster the pulleys turned.

[A verdict has been reached!]

[Opening up Abysm!]

Below Heoju, <Nihil> gaps undulated and created a big ripple that spread in every direction. A hole soon appeared, resembling a giant, greedy beast opening its mouth to devour Heoju. Heoju resisted even harder after seeing the hole, but there was no way to defy the Divine Steel shackles, which restricted one’s Divine Class. In the end, he gradually sank into Abysm in his huge tiger form.

With an emotionless gaze, Chang-Sun watched Heoju’s futile resistance. The thrill of finally having his revenge? He definitely felt it, but it was not as exciting as he had thought. He had only managed to vent his anger a little bit by taking out one minion. The remaining members of <Purple Star Astrology> would definitely be stronger than Heoju, not weaker.

『Ithaca’s <Starlight>!』

Right at that moment, Heoju’s struggles finally allowed him to move one of the chains aside, so Chang-Sun could faintly hear his voice. Nevertheless, two-thirds of Heoju had already sunk into Abysm, so he had given up on persuading Chang-Sun. His voice was now filled with deep anger and scorn.

『Munseong will soon have Ithaca’s <Starlight>! When…! When the moment comes…! You’ll regret not listening to me! You’ll end up like me…!』

―Noisy.

Just then, the black tiger, who had been watching Heoju with Chang-Sun, pushed Heoju’s head into Abysm with a frown on his face.

Crack.

With the sound of something breaking, Heoju was shoved immediately into Abysm. His voice died out as his mouth passed through the hole, so Chang-Sun could not hear him any longer.

Thud…!

The hole to Abysm finally closed back up as if it had never been there. Thinking it was finally over, Chang-Sun turned in the opposite direction. He had finished his sickeningly long feud with Heoju, but the war was not yet over.

* * *

[The Divine Trial has been completed.]

[Trial result: Seal.]

…

[You have successfully completed your mission as a special-rank reaper, which was given to you by the Celestial ‘King of the Underworld.’ Your karma is increasing.]

[As a reward, you have regained a part of your revoked Divine Class.]

…

Clink, clank―!

As Chang-Sun stepped forward, the shackles on his soul disengaged one after another. The ones on his wrists, ankles, shoulders… He soon realized that he had only one shackle left, which was around his neck.

‘So I’ll be able to go back to my old self after this one opens, huh?’

In that case, ‘Divine Twilight’ would return for real, and Chang-Sun was confident that the newly liberated ‘Divine Twilight’ would be vastly different than the previous ‘Divine Twilight’. He had regained the Inverted Pentagram, his original five Authorities, and acquired many additional Authorities and abilities. While fighting against Odin and his other past lives in his subconscious realm, Chang-Sun had directly experienced how high a Divine Class he could achieve by harnessing their abilities.

And now, Chang-Sun could obtain one more Authority.

[As another reward, you can extract one of the Authorities of the Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’.]

[What will you choose?]

[Authority List]

1. Monster Excursion

2. Tiger War

3. Hideous Fang

…

They were Heoju’s Authorities, but Chang-Sun couldn’t help but chuckle dumbfoundedly.

‘Nothing really looks interesting.’

While receiving Heoju’s so-called affection, Chang-Sun had learned all of Heoju’s nine [Tiger Forms] anyway, as well as [Monster Excursion] and [Windstalking Tiger]. Thus, nothing really caught Chang-Sun’s attention.

―Would it be okay to offer you my advice?

The black tiger, who had been quietly walking beside Chang-Sun, asked a question. After getting revenge for his clan, he had been sorting out his emotions.

Chang-Sun realized that the black tiger was trying to repay him, so he nodded and said, “Of course.”

The black tiger smiled a little. Chang-Sun suddenly had a silly thought; only now did he realize that tigers could smile like that.

―If you don’t have anything specific in mind, I would like to recommend [Dream-Eating Beast].

“[Dream-Eating Beast]?” Chang-Sun asked, tilting his head in confusion.

7. Dream-Eating Beast

However, Chang-Sun already had it.

[Dream-Eating Beast]

A tiger that only embodies inauspiciousness and ferociousness. The ominous tiger becomes a mountain king that no one dares to challenge.

· Type: Trait

· Effect: Utmost wickedness. Malevolent belligerence.

No, he did not just have [Dream-Eating Beast]. It was a Trait that Heoju had created by copying ‘Divine Twilight’ out of excessive idolization. So why was the black tiger telling Chang-Sun to take such a Trait? He was very confused.

―I’m well aware of what you’re thinking. You must want to know why you would choose the technique that’s just an imitation of you.

“That’s right.”

―In truth, [Dream-Eating Beast] was originally my clan’s special technique.

“Special technique?” Chang-Sun repeated, his eyes widening as he heard the unexpected answer. The black tiger quietly nodded.

―There is a being called the Baku. Although the Baku has since disappeared, it was once a divine creature—no, a divine spirit that fed on nightmares.

The Baku was a divine creature that was close to a ferocious beast. It had a bear’s body, an elephant’s trunk, a rhino’s eyes, a cow’s tail, and a tiger’s feet.

―The Baku is also my clan’s first ancestor.

Chang-Sun became a little surprised, as he had also heard about the Baku before. As the Baku was also an Aberration, <Purple Star Astrology> had tried very hard to recruit Baku, but they had turned the offer down, as they did not share the principles of <Purple Star Astrology>.

―My clan tried very hard to take after our first ancestor. That was why we never forgot we were elemental spirits, even though we look like tigers. Without a doubt, we believed that we would be among those shiny <Stars> in the sky, so we compiled our first ancestor’s teachings and created [Dream-Eating Beast]...!

“That was what Heoju tried to copy?” Chang-Sun asked.

―He’s an idiot. Even before he finished learning [Dream-Eating Beast], he harmed his clan members. It looks as if he tried to restore it in his own way, but it’s still a fake.

The black tiger laughed for a long time, then turned to look at Chang-Sun.

―Regardless, he used your techniques to restore it, which means [Dream-Eating Beast] is a good match for you. I believe that will be the case.

“Then you’ll give me the proper version of [Dream-Eating Beast]?” Chang-Sun asked.

―Of course.

“Is it okay for you to give me something like that?” Chang-Sun continued.

―Why not? My clan is extinct anyway, and my ancestor isn’t coming back. So it’s better to pass down the technique to those who share the same vision. Above all…

Thud…!

The black tiger put down his paw, exuding an impressive aura. Chang-Sun could not help but wonder how formidable the black tiger had been before his death, as his Divine Class was still this impressive as a spirit.

―I was the king of my clan, so it’s my right to choose the person I wish to pass down my techniques to.

Chang-Sun laughed without realizing it, and the ends of the black tiger’s mouth also curled up.

―So what do you think? Will you take the technique?

“Of course,” Chang-Sun said with a nod, tapping [Dream-Eating Beast].

[You have chosen the Authority ‘Dream-Eating Beast’!]

[You have revoked and successfully extracted an Authority from the Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’!]

…

[Creating the Authority ‘Dream-Eating Beast’!]

[The Authority ‘Dream-Eating Beast’ has been updated with new information, enhancing the Effects!]

…

Paaah…!

The black tiger began to fade. Light particles danced around Chang-Sun before being absorbed. At that moment, he could feel that the Effects and usage of [Dream-Eating Beast] were much greater than he had thought.

[It has been determined that the Authority ‘Dream-Eating Beast’ has surpassed the level of a normal Authority.]

[Reexamining the Authority.]

…

[It has been determined to have the potential to become a Divine Authority.]

‘A Divine Authority…?’ Chang-Sun thought, his eyes widening.

While an Authority was based on a <Myth>, a Divine Authority was the essence of a Celestial’s ideal, or the unification of the Celestial’s ‘concept’. It was also known as a Signature, containing such great power that even ‘Divine Twilight’ had never been able to create one… Harnessing such potential made Chang-Sun come to many realizations.

‘I get why he kept calling Heoju an idiot. Despite its potential, Heoju wasn’t able to use it properly,’ Chang-Sun thought with a nod.

Still, he was very thrilled. The fact that Heoju had tried to complete [Dream-Eating Beast] based on the information he had on ‘Divine Twilight’ indicated that Chang-Sun could make [Dream-Eating Beast] his Signature. In fact, the black tiger said as much.

―I’m glad to see you like it.

The black tiger guffawed after noticing Chang-Sun’s excitement, feeling content to be helpful. The black tiger had gotten his revenge and passed down the clan’s secret technique, so it looked as if his job in this world was over.

“Are you going to go?” Chang-Sun asked.

―I saw that idiot getting shoved into Abysm, so I have no lingering feelings in this world.

The desire to have the black tiger by his side suddenly emerged from Chang-Sun’s heart. He asked, “Why don’t you join me?”

As the black tiger had not expected such a proposal, he widened his eyes a little, but he soon smiled and shook his head.

―It’s an interesting offer. I do want to watch how you’ll walk down a great path, seeing as you surely will…!

The black tiger held his head high. The sky was empty, but he was looking at someplace beyond the sky. His gaze turned nostalgic.

―…But I want to rest by my clan members’ side now.

“That’s a shame,” Chang-Sun said.

―But all my teachings are still with you, so it’s not as if I’m leaving you completely.

Chang-Sun nodded in agreement.

―I had fun, thanks to you.

After saying that, the black tiger shattered and was absorbed into Chang-Sun.

[Your Class has increased!]

Clank―!

Chang-Sun felt a little elated, sensing that his last shackle had loosened. And then…

[You have equipped the ‘White Magpie Bow’.]

Taking out the only bow he had in his [King’s Treasury], he calmed his breath. Then he took up [Gram], which happened to be nearby, and nocked it like an arrow. With a sharp gaze, Chang-Sun pulled the bowstring as far back as possible and looked at… the intense fight between Chogang and the Azure Dragon.

‘Munseong will have the final cryptical book? I don’t know what that means, exactly, but it suggests they’re still up to something,’ Chang-Sun thought.

[Gram] was the dragon-slayer sword, and the Azure Dragon looked like a Dragon. What would happen if the Azure Dragon met the dragon-slayer sword?

‘I sent Jin and Sinmara, so I won’t have to worry about it too much.’

In truth, Chang-Sun had not let Munseong run away without aa plan. Jin Prezia and Sinmara had to be pursuing him in the shadows right now.

‘I’ll have to head over there anyway, but before I do that… I need to sort things out on some level.’

Fortunately, the Azure Dragon had not noticed Chang-Sun pointing his arrow at them. Although one of the reasons was that Chogang was too formidable, not allowing the Azure Dragon to observe their surroundings, the Dragon could not have expected that Chang-Sun would eliminate Heoju so quickly, enabling Chang-Sun to set up a sneak attack.

Pzzz, pzzzz!

Chang-Sun’s vermilion lightning sparks fiercely flew up from [Gram]. Perhaps because he had concentrated as much of his lightning energy into [Gram] as possible, it was so heavy that the bowstring looked as if it would snap.

‘Hitting them from behind is always fun,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Swoosh―!

Chang-Sun loosed the bowstring, drawing a red arc in the air.