Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 176: Star, Laevateinn (1)

Chapter 176: Star, Laevateinn (1)

Mephistopheles descended as a slender young man with relatively short black hair and impressive sharp, cold eyes. He looked like a Northeast Asian.

‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…’ Chang-Sun tilted his head in confusion.

For some reason, Mephistopheles looked familiar to Chang-Sun, although this was definitely their first time meeting. To be precise, he reminded Chang-Sun of someone.

‘Cha Ye-Eun?’ Chang-Sun thought.

He suddenly wondered why he was suddenly recalling Ye-Eun, the Saintess and Iron Witch, but he stopped thinking about it when Mephistopheles began to talk.

“You really have a tendency to ask for my attention in every little matter,” Mephistopheles grumbled as he crossed his arms. His cold eyes made him look really cool, and his low voice made Chang-Sun straighten his posture.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ holds her breath…!]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ wonders why he is reminded of someone…!]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is petrified…!]

…

[Many deities want to see the famous great devil who does not come out of the abyss…!]

[A few stars wish to see the great devil’s disciple…!]

…

“They’re too loud.” Uncrossing his arms, Mephistopheles irritatedly looked up to the pitch-black ceiling and lightly waved in the air.

[The Channeling has been disconnected.]

[The Channeling has been disconnected.]

…

[The connection to the Dungeon Channel system has been temporarily disconnected. The connection to the <Management Bureau> has been terminated.]

Looking at Mephistopheles, Chang-Sun silently clicked his tongue. He could tell how high Mephstopheles’ divine class was just from him blocking the Celestials’ eyes and preventing the <Management Bureau> from interfering.

Even if the ‘Divine Twilight’ returned in his prime, he wouldn’t be able to beat Mephistopheles. Moreover, having finished his Giant awakening, Chang-Sun’s senses had heightened. Hence, he could feel Mephistopheles’ pressuring aura more clearly.

“Isn’t it better for your disciple to not act pathetic, teacher?” Chang-Sun emphasized the word teacher in a nonchalant yet cunning tone.

Noticing what Chang-Sun was trying to do, Mephistopheles shook his head, but he didn’t say anything since Chang-Sun did uphold his promise much quicker than he had expected.

Since Mephistopheles was already trying hard and going through troubles to study the <Abyss>, he had to put a lot of effort into taking care of Chang-Sun. That was why he had no intention of being a gentle teacher. Although he was still going to give lessons from time to time, he would abandon Chang-Sun if he couldn’t keep up with the lesson. It would be Chang-Sun’s fault anyway.

Fortunately, Chang-Sun was a student good enough for Mephistopheles to put in the effort. Depending on how much he progressed, he could be a big help to Mephistopheles in chasing down the <Abyss>.

‘You better keep up. If you can’t, I’ll just abandon you out of sheer disappointment.’

Chang-Sun could clearly tell what Mephistopheles was thinking, and it was also what he wanted his great teacher to do.

‘Nothing good will come out of an affectionate teacher-student relationship,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Wouldn’t it be better for them to just establish a relationship where they could exchange what they needed?

‘I feel a little bit annoyed because he didn’t show any reaction when I called him teacher, though.’ Chang-Sun slightly narrowed his eyes, noticing his capricious heart.

“I won’t explain twice, so pay attention.” Mephistopheles waved his hand lightly in the air again to begin his lesson.

Woosh!

A navy-blue will o’ wisp that resembled the Inferno Sights was created, but Chang-Sun could tell the fire was the mutated version of it, and that Mephistopheles created it using <Darkness>.

“<Darkness>, also known as nihil, is a power that swallows and turns everything into nothing. It’s also the power that filled the empty universe prior to the Big Bang,” Mephistopheles explained.

Chang-Sun quietly nodded as Mephistopheles told him basic knowledge that he only vaguely knew about. The main challenge came in the next lesson—controlling <Darkness>.

“You can create a little bit of <Darkness> using the [Ferocious Heart], but making it obey you now is impossible.” Mephistopheles shook his head.

‘It’s similar to the Retribution Fire.’ Chang-Sun nodded again.

“It’s impossible even for me since <Darkness> tends to return to its past or primal state. How can you stop a wheel from spinning in the opposite direction?” Mephistopheles asked.

‘Return to its past, wheel spinning in the opposite direction…’ Chang-Sun repeated.

Those phrases sounded familiar to Chang-Sun. Back in the Underworld, Thanatos and the others had to spin the small wheel of time in the opposite direction a little bit to send Chang-Sun back to Earth, and now Mephistopheles was telling him that <Darkness> had the same tendency.

“Using <Darkness> is all about leading, not controlling it. Well, I guess it’s better to show you.” Mephistopheles lightly flicked his fingers.

Flick!

The blackness surrounding the two disappeared, revealing the world Chang-Sun was originally at. However, something had changed. Unlike before, everything in it had been paused, including his intense battle against Gustaf. The spear Gustaf thrust was just right next to Chang-Sun’s right cheek.

‘The ‘wheel’ has stopped…?’ The sight made Chang-Sun unwittingly chuckle in disbelief.

Mephistopheles had completely stopped not only this tiny Dungeon’s flow of time but the entire plane that Chang-Sun was on! At that moment, Chang-Sun finally understood how Mephistopheles blocked the eyes of the Celestials who were watching them.

The time of the universe was usually called a wheel because they both worked in the same way, and it was impossible to interfere with this wheel unless one had a really great power. Nevertheless, Mephistopheles didn’t just disconnect the other Celestials’ Channeling. He had rendered them unable to even acknowledge the plane’s existence by pausing the universe’s ‘wheel’ of time.

Even Minerva or the Zodiacs couldn’t pull off such a feat, so this unbelievable sight made Chang-Sun chuckle dumbfoundedly. He seemingly couldn’t even begin to fathom how high Mephistopheles’ divine class was.

“This is <Darkness>,” Mephistopheles monotonously said and pointed at Gustaf. It was as if he didn’t even feel anything despite showing Chang-Sun something so great.

Without showing any forewarning, the navy-blue will o’ wisp soon exploded, creating no sounds in the process. It then spread and covered the entire place, like an ink drop falling into clean water. Gustaf, who was in a fervent clash with Chang-Sun, disappeared first.

Engulfed in the will o’ wisp, Gustaf was ripped into pieces and vanished into the darkness. Next, it was the ground that he had been standing on, then the space in its vicinity. In the end, the entire Instance Dungeon was wiped from existence leaving only black nothingness behind. It was nihil itself, which was known to exist beyond the universe.

The <Darkness> didn’t stop spreading in every direction. After covering the Dungeon that Chang-Sun perceived, it then swallowed the ‘Wuthering Stone Desert,’ which was beyond the ‘Rhaegaren.’ Like a domino, it continued to engulf the other Dungeons on Earth, then the planet itself, followed by the entire solar system.

Still showing no sign of stopping, the <Darkness> swallowed everything in its path—no, it devoured everything much more quickly than before. The sight sent a shiver down Chang-Sun’s spine, which was a first. The universe was collapsing—crumbling down to nothingness. Chang-Sun thought this sight looked similar to a plane being met with <Extinction>, which he bore witness to some time ago.

Clang, creak?!

Something flashed before Chang-Sun, and a bizarre mechanical sound echoed. Soon after, everything returned to its original state, including Gustaf, who was unscathed and was still thrusting his spear toward Chang-Sun.

‘What in the world…?’ Chang-Sun wondered. Soaked in sweat, he held his breath. He never expected <Darkness> to be the power that summoned <Nihil> and <Extinction>. Chang-Sun wanted to unlock its potential, so the first thought that came to his mind was that he acquired something outrageous. One wrong move could cost his whole existence.

“You can’t create such a phenomenon even if you fail to handle the <Darkness> properly, but now that you’ve seen it, you must have at least gotten a grasp of how you should control it.” Mephistopheles’ eyes turned cold.

Chang-Sun had a feeling that the Inferno Sights lit up in Mephistopheles’ eyes.

“I’ve shown you how to mobilize <Darkness>, so draw some of it up and try it yourself. That will be the first step to properly controlling the [Ferocious Heart],” Mephistopheles said, then immediately disappeared as if to say he had done his job, so it was now Chang-Sun’s turn to take care of the rest.

Chang-Sun, who was just looking for a hint to use <Darkness>, became dumbstruck. Mephistopheles was like an art teacher who just showed Chang-Sun how to paint without explaining any basic theories but wanted Chang-Sun to repeat after him anyway. He didn’t even teach Chang-Sun how he should mix colors or the different types of strokes. No, Chang-Sun didn’t even know if he should paint in watercolors or oils.

Even so, Chang-Sun roughly learned something from Mephistopheles’ lesson. Chang-Sun had always known how to use the <Darkness> enough to light up the Inferno Sights, so what he had to learn now was the proper technique to circulate it. Using [Viper Eyes], Chang-Sun watched Mephistopheles’ circulation technique from start to finish.

Well aware of what Chang-Sun was doing, Mephistopheles helped him observe the circulation of the <Darkness> in detail and the process of activating the <Emptiness> by showing him Earth and the solar system reaching <Extinction>.

‘I’m sharing the [Ferocious Heart] with Cadmus anyway, so I shouldn’t have a problem in handling the <Darkness>... Then I only need to lead it properly,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Mephistopheles also told him that using the <Darkness> was about leading, not controlling. Since one couldn’t make the <Darkness> obey, the user’s only choice was to lead it in a way that they wanted it to move, and the same applied to the Retribution Fire. After reaching a conclusion, Chang-Sun threw the [Yuchang Sword] and [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] on the ground.

Clang!

Chang-Sun’s hands were only momentarily empty, however. He pulled out the Nameless Spear, which had been in his inventory up until now. At that moment, time began to flow again.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ wonders what happened while the Channeling was disconnected!]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ narrows his eyes.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ asks about the conversation you had with the great devil. ]

…

[Many deities doubt the great devil’s intention.]

[A few stars observe you closely, having become alert due to the great devil suddenly taking action, observing you closely.]

…

[The <Management Bureau> has ordered their employees to work overtime to prevent the chaos the Celestials from <Heaven> will cause.]

Many Celestials wondered what happened between Chang-Sun and Mephistopheles, but Chang-Sun had no time to care about them because Gustaf had changed the course of his attack and aimed for Chang-Sun’s neck using his stone spear.

Swoosh!

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been activated, enabling you to make a quick retreat!]

Using the Jigwi’s wings, Chang-Sun distanced himself from Gustaf. At the same time, he conjured Retribution Fire.

Woosh!

Like a snake climbing up a tree, navy-blue fire swirled around the Nameless Spear slowly and fiercely from underneath his feet. Mixed with <Darkness>, it became unpredictably dangerous. However, Chang-Sun didn’t try to force the Retribution Fire to bend to his will. Rather, he tried to naturally lead the fire to the spearhead using a very simple method.

‘Focus my thoughts on the spearhead,’ Chang-Sun thought.

He didn’t worry about the Retribution Fire, which started from the [Ferocious Heart], moving against his thoughts since he was currently a Giant—an elemental spirit made up of <Muspelheim> fire.

After all, that meant the Retribution Fire was a part of him and would follow him even if he left it alone. He failed to control it before because he perceived it as a tool, like the [Yuchang Sword] or [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], so he got a completely different result when he started thinking of it as one of his limbs.

Woosh, woosh, woosh!

[You have completed the ‘Aura Spear’!]

Although Chang-Sun had tried so many times, there was one form of Aura that Chang-Sun had constantly failed to use. However, the Retribution Fire now swirled around his weapon’s spearhead, transforming into a long Aura.

However, its form was completely different from the Aura that Chang-Sun had been using. His Aura was usually in the fixed form of a sturdy, sharp blade, but it now constantly went back and forth between undulating and maintaining a certain shape—no, it was in helical form.

‘If I can’t make the Retribution Fire stay in one place, then I can keep leading it until it naturally transforms into a spearhead,’ Chang-Sun thought.

He called it Spiral Aura, and he was sure that it was stronger than ordinary Aura Blades. Since it kept spiraling, the damage of his attacks would increase severalfold if they were executed using a Spiral-Aura-covered weapon. It could even be quickly restored to its original form after the external shock had deformed it.

Chang-Sun could shape the Spiral Aura not only into a spearhead but also into a blade, arrow, or sphere. However, although it was versatile, he had to constantly make it spiral. Doing so required nonstop focus and a significant amount of mana infused into the Aura. Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about it since he already had the [Integrated Magic Circuit].

?Twist it in helix form…? Outrageous…!?

The eyes of Gustaf, who had been going on and on about how Chang-Sun should grow muscles, widened when he noticed how dangerous Chang-Sun’s Spiral Aura was. He hurriedly pulled his spear away, but…

[The State ‘Fierce Tiger’ has been changed into the State ’Jackal Tiger,’ activating the Additional Skill ‘Jackal Tiger Hacks’!]

Chang-Sun fiercely swung his Nameless Spear, brilliantly initiating his spear attacks. Gustaf was well aware of what technique Chang-Sun was using. After all, it was the same technique that he used.

?Ho-how can you also use Sarmatia…?!?

Woosh, woosh, woosh!

[You have successfully imitated ‘Sarmatia,’ the spear technique of <Muspelheim>!]

…

[The Skill ‘Spear Mastery’ has been activated, increasing the damage of your spear attacks!]

[Skill level has increased.]

[Skill level has increased.]

…

[The Skill ‘Spear Mastery’ has reached its maximum level. You have acquired the new Trait ‘Spear Ocean.’]

[The Title ‘Spear Expert’ has been created!]

[From now on, your enemies will no longer challenge you with a spear.]

…

Chang-Sun acquired the first Trait that made up the [King of Weapons], the proud Trait of the ‘Divine Twilight.’ As soon as he did, his offensive using the Nameless Spear became more fierce and destructive.

‘Gustaf, showing me Sarmatia was a mistake.’ Chang-Sun faintly grinned.

Despite the fact that he had just acquired the title of expert, Chang-Sun didn’t look thrilled at all. After all, to him, it was a given.

‘No matter how I try to control the Retribution Fire, I’ll eventually reach my limit, but it’s different for you Giants. You’ve all been handling the <Muspelheim> fire for so long that you have likely been upgrading your methods of controlling it.’ Chang-Sun assumed.

In the end, the Giants’ fighting technique depended on how well and effectively they utilized the flames of <Muspelheim>. If so, then Chang-Sun should just keep ‘taking’ what was in front of him. Having acquired [Spear Ocean], it was no longer difficult for him to imitate—no, improve Sarmatia.

Rumble?!

Boom!

Chang-Sun thrust the Nameless Spear as hard as he could, making it clash against the tip of Gustaf’s stone spear. A huge explosion ensued that made Gustaf shake noticeably hard and start to think that his stone spear could really break unless he tried harder to win the battle. Hence, he hurriedly moved his left arm and grabbed the spear with both hands.

Rumble?!

Even then, Gustaf still got pushed far back, creating two deep furrows. A cloud of dust rose above them.

Pzzzz!

When the cloud of dust subsided…

?… Oh, no.?

Gustaf was bewildered. His initial plan of fighting Chang-Sun with only one hand and without moving from his spot had been ruined. Not only did he use both hands, he even got unexpectedly pushed quite a distance away. On top of that…

‘… My spearhead cracked.’ Gustaf narrowed his eyes.

His favorite weapon, which was also a treasure of the great ‘Rhaegaren,’ had slightly cracked, serving as an indication of how great Chang-Sun’s strength was. In disbelief, Gustaf raised his head and saw Chang-Sun faintly smiling in contentment as he made the cloud of dust go away.

“What’s the end result?” Chang-Sun asked.

Gustaf couldn’t help smiling bitterly. A warrior spoke with honor and pride, which meant they should never lie. And even if he could lie, Chang-Sun’s skills and the speed of how quickly he became stronger were enough to enthrall him.

‘Maybe this man can grant our greatest wish…!’ Gustaf thought as he loosened up and slammed the end of his spear against the ground, making the Dungeon shake.

Thump!

Gustaf yelled.

?As the first gatekeeper of the ‘Rhaegaren,’ I, Gustaf, announce the contender Lee Chang-Sun’s victory.?

[You have defeated the first gatekeeper!]