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Chapter 255: Star, the Apostle Battle (5)
Chapter 255: Star, the Apostle Battle (5)
Chapter 255: Star, the Apostle Battle (5)
Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes as the Elemental Spirit Knight mentioned Odin. When Chang-Sun had fallen into Mimisbrunnr, he had met an old man who could have been his previous incarnation in his subconsciousness. The man had one eye and a ferocious demeanor; two crows had sat on his shoulders, and hungry wolves had roamed around him.
At the time, Chang-Sun had instinctively realized that the old man was Odin, the Ruling Celestial of the extinct <Asgard>. No one else would have such a unique appearance, nor would they talk about ‘gnosis’ the way he had. However, Chang-Sun was unsure whether he was really Odin’s reincarnation, because there was no physical proof. He had thought he could simply be the reincarnation of someone who looked similar to Odin, but the Elemental Spirit Knight told him with certainty that he was indeed Odin’s reincarnation.
“Did the Kraken’s hallucination also show the dormant memories in my soul?” Chang-Sun asked, because the only hallucination he had seen was a memory of his family when things had been good.
The Elemental Spirit Knight smiled faintly and said, “No. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see it, since you woke up before I did.”
“Then?” Chang-Sun asked.
“But you have all the indicators. No matter how you passed away, began your samsara, or lost all your memories, you’re bound to subconsciously retain the habits you had as a Celestial,” the Elemental Spirit Knight said.
“So that’s why I have to be Odin?” Chang-Sun asked.
“Yes, that’s right. Your storms, lightning, Undead Army, runes, madness, fights, belligerent temper, [Magical Eye]...” the Elemental Spirit Knight said, pointing at Chang-Sun.
Chang-Sun stroked his left eye. It seemed that his [Gnostic Eye] looked like a [Magical Eye] to the apostles.
“Who could you possibly be other than Odin?” the Elemental Spirit Knight shouted in delight.
Having gained a rough idea of what the apostles thought, Chang-Sun chuckled.
“Nonsense! He’s obviously Balor,” the Plague Monster said with a scoff after watching the conversation between Chang-Sun and the Elemental Spirit Knight.
Pouting slightly, the Elemental Spirit Knight asked, “What do you mean?”
“One eye, death, magic, a Giant, a fighter… These indicators point to Balor,” the Plague Monster said with a shrug.
Balor was a Giant Warrior who had died long ago after becoming the enemy of the <Society> named <Tuatha Dé Danann[1]>. He was also the son of Buarainech, the Celestial of magic, and had a <Myth> about how one of his eyes had been ruined after accidentally inhaling the poisonous fumes of a potion that his father’s subordinates had been creating. Whenever anyone ,ade eye contact with his ruined eye, they all died, so it was no wonder that the Plague Monster had mentioned Balor after meeting Chang-Sun.
[The Celestial ‘Aquarius’ says that you could be the deceased Tomte.][2]
[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ adds that you should not forget about the Forgotten Star Perkwunos.][3]
…
[The Dungeon Channel KR-9,721 has erupted into an uproar due to the viewing Celestials giving their opinions!]
[The <Management Bureau> employees are pulling out their hair.]
Chang-Sun chuckled dumbfoundedly, watching the Celestials who were busy discussing who he could be the reincarnation of. All the names they mentioned belonged to Celestials who had died, plummeted, or been forgotten. However, they shared some things in common: They were fighters who had primarily used lightning, storm, magic, and spears.
“Someday, many people will doubt your real identity. We need to hide it as long as we can, but you’ll stand out after earning all those achievements,” Thanatos said.
“Of course. Not everyone in <Heaven> is a fool,” Chang-Sun remarked.
“At first, they’ll want to find out who’s behind you, then uncover your identity. After that, they’ll consider the possibility of you being a Fallen Star. That’s when I’m going to create a distraction,” Thanatos continued.
“A distraction?” Chang-Sun asked.
“Yes. We’ll need to use one, since we can’t keep things secret forever,” Thanatos said with a nod.
“What are you going to do?” Chang-Sun asked.
“‘The <Underworld> will release a number of Fallen Stars to the <Saha World> in secret to keep <Heaven> in check.’ Something along those lines,” Thanatos said, smiling mischievously.
“…<Heaven> won’t take that rumor well,” Chang-Sun said.
“After that, the rumor of ‘Divine Twilight’ being one of those Fallen Stars is also going to spread. Then, they’ll pay attention to the other Players who are also performing brilliantly,” Thanatos concluded.
Thanatos’ plan was very simple. By creating a rumor about the <Underworld>, he would make the Celestials in <Heaven> tense. On the other hand, he would also divert the Celestials’ attention using the Fallen Stars of the <Underworld>. The goal was to make it difficult for the Celestials in <Heaven> to ascertain that Chang-Sun was ‘Divine Twilight’ even if they paid attention to him.
There was an additional benefit that the <Underworld> could gain. Once the Celestials in <Heaven> tensed up, they would naturally make several mistakes and leave themselves open to attacks. That was the moment Thanatos was waiting for.
“Be honest. How many <Underworld> reapers are there? I think there have to be a lot more than me,” Chang-Sun said.
“Hahaha! Well, let’s leave it as a mystery for fun,” Thanatos replied.
Standing on the chaotic battlefield, Urash had previously remained silent. For the first time, he said, “He could be the reincarnation ‘Divine Twilight’.”
The Elemental Spirit Knight and Plague Monster simultaneously looked at Urash.
Smiling very crookedly, Urash continued, “Why are you all looking at me like that? It’s more than possible. Besides, haven’t you all heard the rumors about the <Underworld> making a move?”
Urash was looking at all the Celestials who were watching this apostle battle, not just the other two apostles and Chang-Sun. In truth, however, it was not Urash who was talking at the moment. It was Bel-Marduk.
[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ is watching you!]
[Total viewers: 58???.]
“One of the reasons this quest started was to find out whether he was the secret weapon of the <Underworld>, so it’s a reasonable doubt to…!” Urash began, raising a brow.
“Of course. That is also a possibility,” the Elemental Spirit Knight said, interrupting him. Urash glared at her, but she did not seem to care very much as she continued, “But I think the possibility of him being Odin’s reincarnation is still more likely. Who knows what the <Underworld> could do with Odin’s soul? Besides…”
Despite the blindfold that covered her eyes, Chang-Sun had a feeling that the Elemental Spirit Knight was looking at him—no, she was observing something that could not be seen with the naked eye.
“Don’t his subordinates also resemble Odin’s? His two ghost subordinates remind me of Geri and Freki. Odin’s Huginn and Muninn are like his Evil Dragon and Demon King,” the Elemental Spirit Knight said, pointing at Chang-Sun.
Geri and Freki were Odin’s two hungry wolves. They could bite the souls of warriors right out of their bodies, turning them into einherjar, Odin’s soldiers. As Jin Prezia and Simara fought in the frontline and assisted Chang-Sun in battle, they truly did resemble Geri and Freki.
On the other hand, Huginn and Muninn were Odin’s crows, their names meaning ‘emotion’[4] and ‘memory’ respectively. They left each daybreak and returned the next morning with all sorts of information and knowledge, delivering it to Odin. Based on that information, Odin had ruled over his plane with ease. Since Cadmus was Chang-Sun’s ‘emotion’ that shared [Ferocious Heart], and Simon Magus assisted Chang-Sun with his mastery of gnosis as his ‘memory’, the Elemental Spirit Knight had a point.
“Besides, Lee Chang-Sun is currently the king of <Muspelheim>. Suppose that the <Underworld> resurrected Odin and led him to conquer the Giants, who were his old enemies. The final goal would be to unite <Muspelheim with <Jotunheim> and <Niflheim>, and ‘complete’ Bestla. In that case, no one else could be a more dangerous secret weapon of the <Underworld> than Odin, no?” the Elemental Spirit Knight continued.
Many people thought that Odin’s archenemy was Loki, the ruling Celestial of <Niflheim>, but that was a misunderstanding that was caused after Loki became popular later on. Bestla was the real archenemy Odin had stayed on high alert around.
Bestla was the Giant King who had become a Deity King after uniting <Muspelheim>, <Jotunheim>, and <Niflheim>. Thus, what would happen if the <Underworld> resurrected Odin and allowed him to earn all the same achievements Bestla had gained? Then, the <Underworld> would be able to create the most powerful weapon. The conjecture actually sounded very plausible even to Chang-Sun.
‘I think Thanatos is actually capable of doing that,’ Chang-Sun thought.
As no one could tell what was going on in the King of the Underworld’s mind, the Elemental Spirit Knight’s hypothesis was possible. Chang-Sun was using him, so Thanatos could be planning something using him too. There were undoubtedly many things about the Celestial-sealing plan that Chang-Sun did not know about.
[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ licks his dry lip with his scarlet tongue.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ consoles the Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’, asking him if he is okay.]
[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ chuckles, saying that it is funny to be comforted by a child.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ angrily shouts that she is not a child!]
[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ soothes the Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’, saying that he hears her with a laugh.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ jumps in anger!]
Jörmungandr was a key member of <Niflheim>, so he seemed a bit nervous after hearing the Elemental Spirit Knight’s conjecture. It was understandable, because if Chang-Sun was really Odin’s reincarnation, that meant Jörmungandr had been supporting his old enemy. Since Pabilsag knew that, she was comforting Jörmungandr.
“Well, that sounds pretty convincing,” Urash said with a chuckle, looking at Chang-Sun. Despite his answer, however, he seemed to be convinced of something else.
“Of course, I could be wrong. The rumor about Lee Chang-Sun being the secret weapon of the <Underworld> could just be false. He may have become who he is today by being born with as much talent as—no, more talent than—the deceased ‘Divine Twilight,” the Elemental Spirit Knight concluded before continuing, “Regardless of what the truth is, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re the man of talent that everyone wants, Lee Chang-Sun, so…”
“I should join you?” Chang-Sun asked.
The Elemental Spirit Knight nodded fervently and said, “If you’re really with the <Underworld>, you should join me… But why not do so even if you aren’t? You might have reached your current level with your talent, but you’ll eventually run into a wall. Let me and my comrades help you…!”
The moment the Elemental Spirit Knight was about to finish speaking, Chang-Sun pierced the ground with the swords he was holding. It was unclear what he was trying to do. Feeling nervous for some reason, the Elemental Spirit Knight stopped speaking and looked at him. The Plague Monster and Urash did the same.
Chang-Sun suddenly reached out his hand in another direction and said, “Come.”
Whoosh!
[Gram], which had been stuck in the center of the stage, rattled and floated into the air, before quickly landing in Chang-Sun’s palm.
Ooooong, ooooong?!
[Gram] shook violently as if to say that it was glad to meet Chang-Sun again.
?Where have you been.
?I have returned
?to you.
Chang-Sun also heard the voice of [Gram]. Although [Gram] could not speak in full sentences, Chang-Sun was able to sense positive emotions in its voice; the sword was happy and thrilled to meet its previous owner again.
“You said I wouldn’t be able to uncover the secrets of my soul, right?” Chang-Sun asked, one side of his mouth curling up as he looked at the Elemental Spirit Knight.
Although one of his reasons for listening to their hypotheses without saying anything was that he was following Thanatos’ plan, the other reason was that he wanted to know how far they would go with their ridiculous theories. Chang-Sun was right there, but they had kept coming up with ideas and discussing which one was more right without listening to what Chang-Sun had to say. It was absurd.
Who were they to decide what was possible or impossible? Chang-Sun was Odin, Balor, Tomte, or Perkwunos? So? So what? He did not care who they were, because they were just ancient remnants he could not even remember.
Regardless of everything else, the person who was here today was Lee Chang-Sun, the fiend ‘Divine Twilight’—no, the Fiend Star who had caused the fall of countless Celestials.
“You can just see for yourself,” Chang-Sun said.
Pzzzzz!
His Atra Fulmen energy covered [Gram] in a flash. The relic that had been used to hunt dragons shone brilliantly once Chang-Sun expelled the demonic energy from it.
[You have successfully connected with ‘Gram’, your old weapon!]
[The Trait ‘Close-Combat Master’ has been applied, awakening the dormant energy in ‘Gram’.]
[Some of your limitations have been temporarily removed, revealing the Divine Class of ‘Divine Twilight’!]
1. This actually refers to a supernatural race in Irish mythology. ?
2. While a Tomte is a mythological creature from Nordic folklore, and is normally said to take the form of a gnome typically associated with the winter solstice and the Christmas season, in TDTR the name Tomte has something to do with fighting. ?
3. A weather deity in Proto-Indo-European Mythology. ?
4. This was translated according to the raws, but Huginn actually means ‘thought.’ ?