Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Interlude – Goddess’s Atonement (3)

Ohjin’s palm made contact with Vega’s butt.

Slap!—

[Hmpf!]

Vega held her breath and quivered.

The soft sensation remained on his palm.

Ohjin shook his hand in an attempt to erase that sensation from his head.

“Is this enough?”

His head heated up to the boiling point.

The pulse of his beating heart rang out like thunder.

Ohjin assumed that, since he had hit her butt as she desired, he just needed to calm down.

When he was about to lower his hand with that in mind…

[Is it… over already?]

‘Huh?’

“Y-You want more?”

[Th-This is not enough to be considered punishment.]

“…”

He chewed his lips with an anxious expression.

Just slapping it once felt like it would make him lose his sense of reason, but what about multiple times?

‘Ah, fuck it.’

Ohjin shut his eyes tight and raised his hand once again.

Slap! Slap!—

The silver dress Vega wore fluttered every time his palm swung down

[Huu! Uh! Auh!]

She let out low groans and frowned.

An intense pain spread across her butt with every slap as she removed the protection of her ‘divinity’ in order to receive a proper punishment.

‘It… It’s embarrassing.’

However, the embarrassment was worse than the pain.

The fact that she was getting hit on the butt by someone who she regarded as her own child made her feel intolerable humiliation and immorality.

Her head heated up to the point she wondered if it would melt down.

‘But…’

That embarrassment was also a part of the ‘punishment’.

In reality, there were many punishments that made the target feel psychological humiliation rather than simply making them feel physical pain.

If it was also considered a part of the punishment, they couldn’t stop because of it.

[I am sorry… my child.]

She continuously atoned while getting hit.

—The sin of distrusting her child.

Despite being proud of him for being the Heaven-defying Star, the one and only hope of saving the world, she had started to suspect him before she knew it.

‘You fool.’

She didn’t trust him because he was a Regressor who knew about the future…

She didn’t believe him because he was the Heaven-defying Star who would save the world…

The reason she trusted him was that he was ‘Ohjin’.

Because he was a hero who fought head-on for the people he wanted to protect, regardless of whatever hardship and adversity he had to face.

However…

‘Even though I continuously looked over what kind of person my child was…’

If others began to suspect him, she should’ve been the one to take his side and protect him.

‘Receiving punishment is only natural.’

The amount of punishment even felt far too insufficient to her.

Slap! Slap!—

Her atonement continued.

Vega’s butt turned red and bloated because it wasn’t protected by her divinity.

[Haah.]

Why was it?

Vega’s voice started to feel like it was slightly wet.

Ohjin quickly lowered his arm and avoided her gaze.

“Th-This is enough, right?”

[…]

She looked at Ohjin like it was somewhat of a shame.

When she was on the verge of saying “a little more”, her face reddened as she shook her head.

[Thank you for giving an opportunity for this foolish celestial to atone.]

“…It really isn’t something you have to atone for.”

[No. It was my wrongdoing.]

Vega smiled faintly and pulled Ohjin into her arms.

In cases like that, the person who’d done the hitting would normally comfort the person who was hit, but Vega was the one to comfort Ohjin instead.

[Hand down your painful punishment like this again if this lady commits a mistake again.]

“You’re telling me to do this again?”

Ohjin gulped and urgently shook his head.

He wasn’t confident in his ability to maintain his rationality.

[Is… is it impossible?]

“Ah.”

Vega slightly raised her eyes and looked at him sadly.

Ohjin groaned at those irresistible eyes.

“…Later.”

[Fufu. I’ll leave it to you when that time comes.]

He smiled awkwardly while looking at Vega hum a tune with an elated smile.

‘I think she awakened a weird fetish.’

Just imagining what kind of chaos would be brought about if Ha-eun found out what happened later made his head hurt.

[By the way… is the skill you used in the final match Lightning God Physique?]

“Yes, you’re right.”

He had obtained the skill Lightning God Physique once Lightning&Thunder hit level 10 in the fight.

[Haa. Despite seeing it with my own eyes, it… it truly is hard to believe.]

Vega continuously shook her head.

Lightning God Physique was a skill that transcended the laws of physics and transformed the body into lightning itself.

Even though it was a top-class skill that you could only obtain a hint of when you became a high-ranking Awakener of Lyra, he had learned the skill when he was merely a 7-Star Awakener.

“Well, there still seems to be too many problems to use it in real combat.”

He needed to use Charge over ten times and condense lightning to its absolute limit in order to use Lightning God Physique.

After going through long and treacherous preparation, he could only transform a single arm.

With its duration also lasting only a couple of seconds, there were many restrictions to its use in real combat.

[The fact that you learned that skill itself is something that should’ve been impossible in the first place.]

Vega continued in a worried voice.

[I mentioned this before when you used Exceed, but do not recklessly use skills that aren’t fit for your current Star rank since they come with heavy side-effects.]

“I probably won’t use it in most cases.”

It could be used as an ultimate attack in a situation where all of the conditions fell into place.

Lightning God Physique was hard to utilize in a world of superhumans that exchange dozens of blows in a second.

‘Still, the important fact is that I can use it.’

The power behind Lightning God Physique was enough to overwhelm Shaolan in an instant.

Though she naturally wasn’t using her weapon and stigma, even if that was put into consideration, it was certain that the skill had immense potential.

“But is level 10 not the end of Lightning&Thunder?”

Ohjin believed that level 10 would be the final level since he’d heard a big change would come with it, but the symbol of ‘MAX’ that signified the end wasn’t displayed next to his skill.

[That skill’s maximum level is 12.]

“Ah, so it’s the same as Star ranks.”

It was known amongst Awakeners that the Star ranks ranged from 1 to 12.

As one might’ve expected, even amongst the Seven Stars that were known to be the strongest in the world, there was not a single ‘12-Star Awakener’.

‘An 11-Star Awakener is the highest rank that’s been officially announced to date.’

Considering how much of a difference a single Star made at higher ranks, it was extremely hard to grasp how monstrous the power of an 11-Star Awakener would be.

“Then I guess I’ll have to work hard on getting it to level 11 next.”

Ohjin proudly looked at the ‘level 10’ written next to Lightning&Thunder and smiled with satisfaction.

Since there was such a huge gap between levels 9 and 10, it was only fair to expect an even bigger change once it hit level 11.

[Don’t be in such a hurry. Haven’t you only recently reached level 10?]

“Come to think of it, what level is Riak at?”

Vega would obviously be at level 12 since she was the owner of the stigma of Lyra. 

Ohjin was suddenly curious about what level a Star Spirit that inherited some of her soul would be.

[He’s at level 10.]

“Huh?”

Ohjin’s eyes widened.

‘Riak’s at the same level as me?’

He couldn’t have thought that someone who inherited a part of Vega’s soul would be in the same position as he was.

[Sigh. Do you understand how outrageous your feats are now?]

“Hmm.”

Looking at it that way, he could grasp how absurd it was to have Lightning&Thunder reach level 10 when he was still nothing but a mere 7-Star Awakener.

[Well, there’s probably a big difference between you two even if you’re both at level 10.]

“That’s true.”

There was bound to be an immense difference between a rookie who only just reached level 10 and someone who reached that level hundreds of years ago like Riak.

[Haa. Riak will also have to break down the ‘wall’ soon… I’m worried.]

Vega sighed deeply.

‘So the wall mentioned by Riak was level 11.’

Ohjin had frequently heard that Riak was in despair before meeting him because he couldn’t break down the wall for such a long time.

“I’m sure that he’ll be able to pull it off.”

[Hmm. Are you saying that because you know about the future?]

“Who knows?”

Ohjin smirked and shrugged.

* * *

Translator – Maccas

Proofreader – ilafy

* * *

[That’s enough of that. Aren’t you exhausted?]

“I am a bit sleepy.”

He did get treated by Albali, but it didn’t mean that his built-up fatigue was completely healed.

[Then come here and sleep.]

Vega pulled his hand.

[Fufu. This lady will sing a lullaby next to you.]

“…”

‘Are you an actual mother?’

* * *

“Yawn~”

A middle-aged man yawned and stretched his body.

He trudged through the ruined alleyway settled in deep darkness that was located near Port of Incheon.

The streets of Yonghyeon-dong gave off a gloomy vibe since they were never reconstructed after getting caught up in a gate accident that took place nine years prior.

There were no people other than homeless beggars that roamed the streets.

“Ugh. Why are they telling me that a demon beast will appear in a place like this?”

He clicked his tongue and looked around.

Rumors about the recent disappearance cases in that area being the doings of a demon beast were quickly spreading around amongst Incheon residents.

The Mirinae Guild couldn’t turn a blind eye to those rumors since they were the large guild that managed Incheon.

‘They could’ve just confirmed it by sending a couple who had nothing to do.’

In order to flaunt to the residents that they were paying close attention to the rumors, they’d intentionally dispatched the vice-leader of the guild at Yonghyeon-dong.

“Why does an 8-Star Awakener like me have to step up for something like this?”

He sighed once again and walked down the dark street.

The unpleasant, rotten smell of trash that was casually left aside on the road stung his nose.

He wandered around the area for over an hour.

“Fucking called it. They were false rumors.”

The man swore and spit thick phlegm on the road.

Clang!—

When he angrily kicked an empty can on the ground and was about to turn around—

Hisssssssss—

—the sound akin to leaking gas could be heard from the other side of the alley.

The man frowned and looked toward the sound.

“Huh?”

When he took a step forward in that direction—

Pshk!—

“Kugh!”

—a dark-blue spear blade pierced through the man’s chest.

Blood gushed out of the man’s mouth.

“Wh-What…?”

The man’s eyes trembled.

He slowly turned his head like a broken doll.

“Hiss, hisssss”

There, he saw a monster covered in black armor like a knight from the medieval ages.

The reason he was able to immediately notice that it was not a human but a ‘monster’, despite it being covered in armor, was because of the dark-blue flames that blazed through the gaps of the armor.

Fwooosh!—

Its dark-blue eyes burning through the seams of the helmet looked at the man.

“A-Agh…”

He shivered in fear while looking back at the monster.

The monster pulled the spear pierced through the man’s chest out and held him by the neck with one hand.

The lower part of the helmet split apart as it bared sharp teeth and slivered its red tongue.

“S-Save—”

Before the end of his urgent plea—

Crunch!!—

—the monster swallowed his head whole.

The black armor became drenched in the blood gushing out of the man’s head.

Crunch! Crunch!—

The black-armored monster dug into the decapitated man’s chest with its hands.

The heart inside of his chest was still intermittently beating thanks to his superhuman body.

“Hiss, hissssss.”

The monster’s dark-blue eyes shone while it smirked.

It tore out the beating heart with its hands.

Gulping down the blood that gushed out like a waterfall, it munched down on the Awakener’s mana-rich heart.

When it was continuing its ‘feast’—

“Fufu. Is it tasty?”

—a sticky voice rang out from the other side of the darkness.

“Hisssss!!”

The black-armored monster quickly turned around and thrusted its spear.

Tak—

The dark-blue spear was blocked by a slim, snow-white finger.

“Be obedient.”

A woman with a figure closer to that of a young girl walked out of the pitch-black darkness.

Her slim body was covered by a jet-black dress, and her wavy, light-blond hair shone in the darkness.

The woman looked so delicate that it seemed that she would break with a slight touch.

However, unlike her delicate appearance, a suffocating amount of gloomy energy flowed out of her.

“Won’t you help me for a moment?”

She smiled brightly and stuck out her tongue.

Her thin and long tongue went past her chin and even went down to her chest.

Yes… just like… the tongue of a snake.

____