Chapter 219: Star, the Owl (5)

Chapter 219: Star, the Owl (5)

[Your HP has decreased below 10%. You are advised to take a break.]

[Your Mana has decreased below 6%. Depleting your Mana will risk you getting infected with the Demonization Syndrome.]

......

[You have entered the ‘Brink of Death’ state!]

“Huff! Huff!” Chang-Sun panted hard, soaked in enough sweat to drench his coat. He wanted to lie down—no, he wanted to faint if he could do as he pleased because of how fatigued he was. Such a response was only natural, however, since his HP, Mana, and mental stamina had almost reached zero. His radiantly shining Drăcōnígĕna Monólĭnum was also gone now.

He had unsealed three relics and fought three Celestials in a row, one of which was the ‘Tian Shi Yuan,’ who was notorious even in <Heaven>. The [Execution Sword] alone was already difficult to use for prolonged periods with Chang-Sun’s current Class. His Class, which he had built with difficulty, could destabilize.

The possibility of that happening was increasing right now. He had to drop everything and rest. However, he showed superhuman resolve instead and remained standing. Still having unanswered questions, Chang-Sun tried to watch the conversation between Thanatos and the Emperor’s Seat.

‘Is he really the Emperor’s Seat?’ Chang-Sun wondered. That question had already crossed his mind when he had first exchanged blows with the Emperor’s Seat.

‘His attacks were too weak.’

Chang-Sun knew the Emperor’s Seat very well. They used to be so close that he almost called him father before. However, the Emperor’s Seat that Chang-Sun knew was an absolutely powerful Celestial. He had the strength, prestige, and abilities to live up to his title as the leader of the <Purple Star Astrology>. Chang-Sun even thought that the Emperor’s Seat could become an Emperor-level being, which he had only heard about in legends, with more Faith.

The Emperor’s Seat that Chang-Sun had fought just now was nowhere near that level. Although Chang-Sun had trouble winning, the Emperor’s Seat couldn’t overwhelm him. He was way weaker than Chang-Sun expected.

Whirl―!

Clink, clink!The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.

As Chang-Sun wallowed in his thoughts, the pulleys quickly turned, and the Divine Steel chains from the <Underworld> tied up the hands and feet of the Emperor’s Seat.

[The Celestial ‘Tian Shi Yuan’ has been arrested!]

Creak!

The pulleys beyond the hole turned in the opposite direction, tightening the Divine Steel chains around the ‘Tian Shi Yuan.’ The more the chains tightened, the more the [Zhan Lu Sword], which was still in the chest of the ‘Tian Shi Yuan,’ shook. The Emperor’s Seat had now been completely subdued, but instead of getting dispirited, he still held up his head high. It seemed he was calmly accepting the situation.

『The <Underworld> and the King of the Underworld... Only the likes of the King of the Underworld could certainly take the ‘Divine Twilight’ under his wings. Hahaha, I appear to have been defeated for a reason.』

The Emperor’s Seat burst into laughter even though he was about to be sealed. Even though he was the one who had set up a trap for Chang-Sun, he was the one who ended up being devastatingly defeated. It would’ve only been natural for him to get mad. However, he looked refreshed instead.

The Emperor’s Seat thought his defeat was not unnatural. The ‘Divine Twilight,’ who not only harbored a deep grudge against the <Purple Star Astrology> but also knew it better than anyone else, had taken the matter into his own hands, and the King of the Underworld backed him up.

『Your divine class has been extremely worn out. Is it because of the recent conflict within the <Purple Star Astrology>?』

Chang-Sun’s eyes widened at Thanatos’ remark. ‘His divine class has worn out?’

Chang-Sun paid more attention to the conversation. This was his first time hearing about a conflict as well.

『Hmm? You know about it? I did hear a rumor that the <Underworld> has spies all over <Heaven>... I guess the rumor was true.』

Although the Emperor’s Seat was under restrictions, he remained relaxed and calm. It was as if he had given up.

『That’s not important. What matters right now is that one of the Three Enclosures of the <Purple Star Astrology> sustained an injury grave enough to damage his divine class. He then overdid himself and got captured by the <Underworld>.』

『Ah, let me correct one thing. I’m no longer one of the Three Enclosures.』

『You nitpick on my every word and try to weasel your way out of this.』

Unable to stop himself, Chang-Sun interrupted, “Wait! I would like an explanation about what’s going on.”

『It’s exactly what you heard. A big conflict started within the <Purple Star Astrology> that weakened his divine class to the point where he no longer held enough power to be one of the Three Enclosures. Because of that, he was kicked out of the <Purple Star Astrology>.』

“... What?” Chang-Sun muttered in disbelief.

『Twilight, the reason the Emperor’s Seat was hellbent on chasing down your old colleagues was to gather <Shattered Starlight> and restore his damaged divine class. The Tian Shi Yuan Army soldiers are currently divided among themselves. Some are following the lead of the Emperor’s Seat, and some have turned their back on him.』

“...!” Chang-Sun’s face darkened, finding the story quite shocking. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”

Although he currently held the rank of a reaper, he and the King of the Underworld were equal in the deal they made, so he couldn’t help but find it unpleasant that Thanatos could be controlling the information that Chang-Sun received and bossing him around. After all, that meant Thanatos just considered Chang-Sun as his hound.

『... I only found out about this recently. While interrogating Xue Yong, I noticed that something didn't add up, so I reached a conclusion based on the reports of our spies in <Heaven>. No, this wasn’t even a conclusion. It was just a hypothesis.』

Having noticed how displeased Chang-Sun was, it seemed Thanatos tried to pacify him.

『Giving you the wrong information during your operation could have caused confusion. Once I have checked the status of his divine class during this trial, I was going to tell you the whole story.』

Chang-Sun stayed silent.

The war over Chang-Sun and Ithaca’s <Starlight>, which Chang-Sun used to own, was called <Myth War> for a reason. Numerous Celestials repeatedly fought against one another and parted ways. During the war, Chang-Sun plummeted, and many <Societies> crumbled down. Moreover, it blurred the line between the Absolute Good faction and the Absolute Evil faction.

The Emperor’s Seat looked serious when he said he was worried about Chang-Sun, making it seem as if he wasn’t lying about it. Of course, it wasn’t enough to stop Chang-Sun from smirking at him.

“Says the man who tried to kill me in the end,” Chang-Sun sarcastically said.

『Well.』

The Emperor’s Seat smiled bitterly.

『I had to find you first so I can protect you. Otherwise, you would have writhed in agony. I wanted to take you under my wings again.』

Chang-Sun despised and loathed the Emperor’s Seat for acting like a hypocrite, but the Emperor’s Seat had actually been putting up an act to fool everyone else.

“Give up your <Starlight> and surrender. If you do, I’ll make sure they spare your life."

“Why are you trying to waste your father’s efforts? Can’t you really see the number of Celestials who are coming for your life like hyenas?”

“You’re really frustrating me. Frustrating... Why do you keep acting foolish?!”

Chang-Sun recalled what the Emperor’s Seat had said when they had run into each other. At the time, Chang-Sun had thought that the Emperor’s Seat had said those things to not disgrace himself and to hide his desire for Chang-Sun’s <Starlight>, but had Chang-Sun been wrong? Maybe the Emperor’s Seat had genuinely tried to protect him since it had already been obvious by then that he would eventually lose.

『And you’re wrong about one thing, King of the Underworld.』

The Emperor’s Seat calmly turned toward Thanatos.

『What do you mean?』

『I didn’t go after Kali and the others to simply regain my divine class.』

『Then?』

『I already lost too much of my divine class by then, so I tried to recover the vestige of my son’s old friends before I crumble down any further instead,』the Emperor’s Seat said as he held up his head high, showing that he was speaking the truth this time too.

『You’re saying building a World Net was part of your effort?』

『I thought the people behind Xue Yog’s disappearance likely held a grudge against the <Purple Star Astrology>, so I thought the possible suspects were those children or the people related to them. Still...』

The Emperor’s Seat smiled faintly.

『... I definitely didn’t expect my son, whom I thought was long dead, to be behind Xue Yong’s disappearance. Hahahaha!』

The Emperor’s Seat laughed really hard, feeling actually glad to be defeated by his own son. However, the more the Emperor’s Seat laughed, the more expressionless Chang-Sun became.

‘No, that doesn’t change anything,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Chang-Sun was indeed affected by the story of the Emperor’s Seat since he could tell that the gestures of the Emperor’s Seat were genuine. However, the sins he had committed against Chang-Sun didn’t just disappear even if he did half of those to fool other people and help him.

The Emperor’s Seat still ultimately hunted down Chang-Sun after Richardus told him Chang-Sun’s location. He also participated in driving Chang-Sun’s colleagues into a corner after Chang-Sun went through the <Divine Trial>. Still, why did his heart feel heavy now that he had found out the whole story?

“Why are you telling me this?” Chang-Sun asked.

『It’s all over for me anyway,』the Emperor’s Seat answered as if it was a simple matter.

『After I lost my title, some children tried to help me, but they were all killed. I have lost everything, so it’s meaningless to fight back at this point. Besides, the <Purple Star Astrology> has abandoned me, so it’s better to tell you the whole truth and ask you a favor instead.』

Favor—the word somehow kept echoing around Chang-Sun’s ears.

“What favor?”

『My children... Please save the people who almost became your siblings in the past.』

Although The Emperor’s Seat had lost everything, his children were his one last regret. His wildflowers were about to lose their flowerbed and be forced to face the rough storm of reality.

『After I left the <Purple Star Astrology>, I ordered them to scatter and run.』

1. This constellation is part of Zi Wei Yuan. ☜

2. One of the constellations within Tian Shi Yuan. ☜

Namu's Thoughts

I...hope the actual astrology isn’t spoiling anything.