Chapter 191: Star, Baek Gyeo-Ul (1)

Chapter 191: Star, Baek Gyeo-Ul (1)

“How... can a god die...!” Czestochowa couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed.

A deity had died! If she were being honest, she despised ‘Big Sick Bug,’ her Guardian. He showed no consideration for her and even tried to change his apostle every now and then, so she really couldn’t respect him. Nevertheless, he was still her Guardian. On top of that, Czestochowa and the ‘Big Sick Bug’ both played dirty, and he was the one who gave her the power to become the Killer Overlord. Czestochowa thought very highly of him.

She thought of her Guardian as a wall that she could never climb over, someone whose league she could never reach... So how could he get defeated that easily? Czestochowa was a level 90 player, the highest level that humans could reach. That was why she naturally knew Chang-Sun had used his mind palace to take out the ‘Big Sick Bug.’

In one’s mind palace, one could use their power to the fullest as if they became a Creator Celestial, but it was really difficult to believe that a mortal had enough willpower to sustain their mind palace and subdue a Celestial...!

「Whether you believe it or not does not matter. All that does are the facts,」Jin said as he put his greatsword against Czestochowa’s neck, making her tense up. The cold wind that had put her in danger several times started to blow again. She thought about pushing his greatsword away and doing something about the wind, but she couldn’t bring herself to move for some reason.

[You have lost your Guardian.]

...

The messages that popped up before her deepened her despair.

[You have lost your Guardian’s protection.]

[You have lost your Guardian’s blessings.]

...

[You have lost your Authorities.]

...

She quickly weakened. Like a cracked pot spilling out water, her mana leaked out from her body.

[Your Skills’ damage has decreased.]

[Your stat points have decreased.]

...

“A-ahhh...!” Czestochowa belatedly realized that she no longer had the strength to move as she wanted.

Although she wanted to deflect Jin’s [Frost King’s Greatsword], which was pressing against her neck, she couldn’t move her arms at all. She tried to move backward, but her legs entangled with each other, causing her to fall to the ground. However, at that moment, she could feel Jin’s [Frost King’s Greatsword] narrowly swinging above her head.

The only reason she had managed to avoid Jin’s attack was luck, not skills. She was so surprised at how severely she weakened that she collapsed on her own and ended up dodging his attack in the process. Jin dumbfoundedly looked down at her and chuckled for a moment.

“Argghhhh!” Czestochowa couldn’t afford to pay attention to Jin’s reaction. She was far too busy screaming.

She looked down, terrified, when she felt her legs being unusually wobbly. They used to be as muscular as a horse’s, but they were now as scrawny as flat balloons. Her hands, which she had been taking such good care of that they had become too pretty to think of as an assassin’s, were now wrinkled and had age spots. It was as if she had aged dozens of years in an instant.

Clank, crack!

At that moment, the [Doggaebi Face] on her face dropped, shattering like a glass cup. She unwittingly brought her hands against her face in response, only to become more terrified. Against, her palms, she could feel wrinkles.

“Ahhhhh!!!” Czestochowa screamed.

All this time, she had been delaying her aging process using her mana, but all those delays had now caught up to her. Her skin sagged, her muscles atrophied, and her bones weakened. She was now an old woman—no, she was in a worse state than ordinary elderlies. Having spent her entire life staying powerful and young, reigning over countless people, she found it really hard to accept her current situation.

「... How lame. I thought you were quite a skilled ‘king,’ but you’re not king material at all.」

Jin lightly clicked his tongue as he looked at Czestochowa in disappointment. Of all the opponents he had encountered outside the Changgwi Cave, she had been the most worthy. Her being classified as a ‘King-Class’ Player in the civilization called Earth only gave him more reasons to be disappointed.

Still, he had often seen cases like Czestochowa in Arcadia too. Only relying on their power, they acted arrogant only to end up losing everything and falling into despair. How they responded to such moments usually revealed their true calibers.

They commonly reacted in two ways. Some became depressed for some time but eventually accepted reality and tried to improve themselves. On the other hand, some became completely broken. The former often became stronger than they used to be, while the latter usually reached rock bottom.

Slash!

Splash―!

Jin neatly cut off Czestochowa’s head so she wouldn’t have to be in any more despair. Although he didn’t like her, he could show this much mercy as a warrior.

Thump!

Czestochowa’s headless corpse powerlessly collapsed.

[The temporarily restored divine ground has been resealed.]The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

Pzzz―!

After the fight ended, a message popped up. The ‘Twilight-Setting Battlefield’ started to disappear, revealing the inside of Surtr’s heart and its red walls once again.

[Channelings have been restored.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ has reentered.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ has reentered.]

...

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ closely observes you to see if her apostle candidate got hurt.]

“We thought it would never happen... but our new king has been born,” Jarapgu declared.

The store owners’ eyes gleamed in excitement, remembering the message that they had received several hours ago.

‘The new king of <Muspelheim> has been born.’

For the store owners, the last people of this old extinct plane, it was without a doubt the most significant event they had ever witnessed. Thinking they could finally put an end to their misery, their hope slowly grew.

“So the message was true,” Canola, the store owner of the second station, said with a trembling voice.

“That’s right.” Jarapgu nodded.

“Who’s the new king?” Canola asked.

“Lee Chang-Sun,” Jarpagu said.

“Lee Chang-Sun...?”

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Seriously, Earth people’s names are too similar, so I can’t tell.”

Upon hearing a name that they had never heard of, the store owners busily talked among themselves. Although they had met many talented people from Earth, they had never even heard of Lee Chang-Sun. Their attention naturally fell on Jarapgu again, thinking he would know something about Lee Chang-Sun since he was in charge of the path to the ‘Rhaegaren.’

However, Jarpagu just smacked his lips. “I only talked to him a couple of times, so I’m not sure who he is exactly either. But there’s one thing I can say for sure—he was truly something else.”

“How can you tell that from a few conversations?”

“That arrogant guy asked me to run a tab.” Jarapgu grinned.

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Well aware of Jarpagu’s temper, all the store owners’ eyes widened. Some even quietly whistled. As the last people of the extinct plane, money was as valuable as lives, so running tabs meant the store owners were sticking their necks out. Of course, a mere Player wouldn’t know about the store owners’ culture, but the fact that Jarpagu let Lee Chang-Sun run a tab meant he successfully persuaded Jarapgu.

“Now, we have to choose whether or not we’ll acknowledge the new king and swear our loyalty,” Jarapgu said.

Falling into silence, the store owners tiptoed around each other. It wasn’t easy to say something regarding this matter. Although they agreed on needing a new leader to revive their race, the store owners belonged to different factions, so they had differences in how they were going to select a new leader. Crowning a new king meant giving up some of their rights, and it could even mean having to give up everything they had for the sake of reviving <Muspelheim>.

“I know you all have a lot on your mind since we’re all in different situations, so I have no intention to force you. The only reason why I requested this meeting is to hear your opinions, so feel free to speak up,” Jarapgu persuaded them, but no one volunteered still. They could be branded a criminal for high treason if they were to say something wrong.

At that moment, Elspe, the vampire sitting at the rearmost seat, raised his head, revealing his pale face and pointy fangs. Aside from Jarapgu, Elspe had the strongest voice among the store owners. “Can I ask your opinion, chairman?”

“I believe we should swear our loyalty. Regardless of my preference, we have only him to rely on now.” Jarapgu sighed.

“We don’t exactly have to swear our loyalty just because he ascended the throne.” Elspe shrugged.

After hearing Elspe’s answer, Jarapgu quietly chuckled. Elspe was the richest store owner and even had a connection to the <Management Bureau>, allowing him to accumulate a significant amount of assets in other planes. Elspe likely wasn’t pleased about the fact that he might have to hand over all his assets to somebody he had never even heard of.

‘He must have wanted to become the <Musepheim> king himself.’ Jarapgu assumed.

Everyone in this meeting knew that Elspe and the store owners he was close with had been preparing to conquer the ‘Rhaegaren,’ which was why Elspe was reacting defiantly.

“Yes, we don’t have to, but...” Jarapgu trailed off.

Jarapgu hated Elspe for biting off more than he could chew.

“Don’t we have to think about how long this Dungeon would last? If he’s capable of ascending the throne, then he’ll clear the Dungeon Quests in no time. Do you think you can do something about him until then?” Jarapgu asked sarcastically.

All the store owners clenched their teeth. If the Dungeon were to close, they would disappear with the Dungeon. None of them wished to die, so they were left with no other choice. Holding their breath, the store owners pondered whether or not they should acknowledge Chang-Sun as their king.

“No, we have another way,” Elspe abruptly said, catching every store owner’s attention.

“...?”

“...?”

Jarapgu looked at Elspe, silently signaling him to explain himself.

Elspe’s smile deepened as he said, “I heard there is a very nice culture on Earth called abdication of the throne.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Realizing what Elspe meant, all the store owners’ eyes widened, and Jarpagu ended up unconsciously frowning. In contrast, Elspe’s smile just deepened and deepened. “We can kill him and take the throne away.”

1. He is a god depicted with antlers in ancient Celtic and Gallo-Roman religion. He often appears in Celtic religious drawings, but nothing is known about him. ☜

2. It’s the name of the star in the constellation Aquarius. ☜