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Chapter 493: Star Fragments (3)
Chapter 493: Star Fragments (3)
Chapter 493: Star Fragments (3)
Chang-Sun found himself trembling so violently that even the [Twilight Spear] shook, so he had to grab his right hand with his left to stop the quivering. He did not know whether he was overwhelmed by terror of R’lyeh, or being affected by the surging rapids of power within him after consuming Ubbo-Sathla’s <Star Fragment>.
Perhaps it was both. The Apocalypse Dragon that could end all Worldlines was too great for a Celestial from one Worldline to remain in his presence, and Ubbo-Sathla’s concentrated <Star Fragment> simply held too much power.
[Your Divine Class has been destabilized due to an influx of power!]
[You have entered the ‘Confused’ state.]
[You have entered the ‘Delirium’ state.]
...
[The leftover identities are talking incomprehensibly!]
[The leftover identities are advising you to become part of them!]
[Warning! You are in critical condition. You are advised to take a break after moving to a safe place.]
[Warning! The energy of Nyx is contaminating your mind.]
...
Chang-Sun clenches his teeth, his [Gnostic Eye] reddening as if it could explode at any moment. Although he had consumed the <Star Fragment> to create a bigger explosion, he had not yet been ready, so he was suffering from the aftermath.
‘But... I’ll fight through it at all costs!’
Fortunately, Chang-Sun instinctively knew how to handle it. Using his [Gnostic Eye] to observe his internal world, he avoided danger and created what he needed.
[Starting the inscription for the second chapter of the last volume of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’!]
While the first chapter, ‘Sero Diéi’, was about the lives of Bestla the Celestial King and her Giant descendants, the second chapter would be about the battle between Ubbo-Sathla and many Lee Chang-Suns. Of course, converting all their memories into letters took a significant amount of effort and time, so Chang-Sun could not focus on that right now.
“That nutcase is seriously going to do it!”
“We have to stop him! It’ll be a big problem if R’lyeh surfaces!”
Baal and Metatron urgently spread out their black and white wings respectively, turning pale as they launched themselves forward
?He’s truly Master’s replica! Stop right there!?
Aphoom-Zhah grew longer, then also flew at Chang-Sun.
“...So he’s going to gamble in the end, huh? I didn’t expect that from another me.” Asclepius gritted his teeth and also threw himself forward, his staff growing longer to strike Chang-Sun.
Four people were coming for Chang-Sun from all directions. Although he was already falling toward where R’lyeh was, Chang-Sun was bound to be captured before landing on the ground at this rate. However...
“I’m still here, and yet you people show me your backs... All of you must be pretty confident about yourselves.”
[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ has activated the Authority ‘Namtillaku’, bending the flow of energy in the area to his will!]
Wooosh!
Thud?!
Bel-Marduk extended his arm and clenched his fist as if clawing the air. The air heated up, and immense pressure held the four pursuers down. Bel-Marduk’s debuff Authority not only weakened the active Authorities of Metatron, Baal, and Ascle, but also slowed them down.
Bel-Marduk was renowned as a warrior because he preferred close combat, but he was still Lee Chang-Sun, which meant he was gifted in magic as well. Besides, Bel-Marduk was also the Celestial of Magic who was the successor of Asarluhi[1], Enki’s son...!
Rune whips and chains flew forth from every direction and bound the four pursuers’ limbs. Compared to Divine Steel shackles, they were weak, but they were quite durable. Noticing the high level of magic in the chains, Metatron and Baal quickly turned to look at Bel-Marduk.
“Are you rebelling against me, Bel?” Ascle asked, scowling as he looked at the rune chains around his wrists; he was furious at the thought of his boy trying to defy him.
When Ascle glared at him, Bel-Marduk flinched, but he soon clenched his teeth and scowled back. “What do you mean, rebelling? You try awfully hard to act like a father when all you did was abuse me. Why do you think I ended up emotionally volatile to the point of insanity?”
“It looks like... I need to punish you.”
“Go to hell!”
“I’ll have to do something about your foul mouth first.” Ascle narrowed his [Gnostic Eyes], which shone even brighter.
Crash, crash, crash!
The moment Ascle changed his target to Bel-Marduk, all the rune chains around him shattered.
Rummmble?!
Bel-Marduk extended his open hands and created runes in the air, summoning lightning bolts. Whenever his lightning bolts struck the ground, they unleashed superheated gales. As the former and current leaders of <Horoscope> clashed...
?Ahhhhhh~? Tighter! Tie me up tighteeer! Ahhhhh~??
...Aphoom-Zhah happily rubbed himself against the rune chains, forgetting about his objective.
* * *
The pursuit of Chang-Sun did not come to an end just because Bel-Marduk held his pursuers down, however.
“So annoying! What is it now?!” Baal growled as he enveloped a knife-hand strike with demonic flame, amassing his demonic energy to smash the chains around him.
Pzzzzzz!
Sparks fiercely flew up in resistance, but Baal was able to sever the rune chains. Although one of the reasons for that was that Bel-Marduk could not focus on using his Authority in his fight against Ascle, Baal was not his old self from the time at the Tower, either.
Baal had not merely been the Tower’s guard under the orders of <Dull Darkness> until now. Using his time at the Tower as an opportunity, Baal had tried hard to regain his long-forgotten power.
His true name was Shavalyoth. Every time he passed by, a solar eclipse took place, and a dark vortex manifested. Anyone sucked into the vortex would be disintegrated into particles and be annihilated, regardless of whether they were mortals or transcendental beings.
Compared to Baal, Shavalyoth was on a whole other level, but Baal had never forgotten about his true identity. Thanks to his strenuous efforts, Baal had recovered some of his old Authorities as Shavalyoth.
“Alright, you leave me no choice. I wasn’t going to go this far, but you seem acquainted with those guys with fucked-up tempers...!”
[The Celestial ‘Pure Evil’ has revealed a part of his old hidden name ‘Shapeless Shadow’!]
Baal compressed his demonic fire into a sphere and yelled, “You started this, so you should deal with it too! Now that things have turned out this way, I’ll lock you up in the Tower forever!”
Baal clenched his fist, and the demonic fire sphere exploded.
Clang!
Clang, clang, clang!
At the same time, dark vortexes manifested everywhere in the pit leading to R’lyeh. They were miniature black holes, the very celestial objects that could absorb all matter in the universe and distort space-time itself. They grew larger very quickly, connecting and merging with others around them; as a result, their suction force increased several times over.
Rummmble...!
Cracks spread across the ground and walls, and all the dust and dirt that flew up was sucked into the black holes. Chang-Sun, who had almost arrived where R’lyeh was, also floated into the air.
‘No...!’ Chang-Sun could feel that he would soon be sucked into one of the black holes at this rate.
Whooooosh?!
Chang-Sun turned back and looked at Baal, who was holding out a hand in his direction. Baal looked like a totally different man from the one Chang-Sun had seen at the tea party. Veins bulged out of his hands to his face as Baal’s demonic energy raged around him.
‘...I did hear that some Elder Celestials were comparable to the Eight Gods of Disorder.’ Chang-Sun clenched his teeth.
Chang-Sun drew forth his Rád?us to destroy the black holes, but his lightning bolts were simply sucked into them. As the black holes had the ability to absorb any kind of energy and Chang-Sun’s attacks were only focused on destructiveness, he was left at a complete disadvantage.
‘I’ll need to shoot down Baal himself...!’
Everything would be over if Chang-Sun was sucked into one of the black holes. The problem was that black holes also surrounded Baal, which meant Chang-Sun’s lightning bolts would be ineffective. Besides...
“Light of Harmony...!”
[The Celestial ‘Pure Good’ has revealed a part of his old hidden name, ‘Luminous Eon Fire’!]
High above, Metatron held up his bow of light to use the opportunity Baal had created. Metatron had not even tried to break free from his rune chains, having concluded that Chang-Sun would arrive at R’lyeh even if he gave chase.
Metatron’s true name was Orryx. Just like Baal, Metatron had also been training himself to regain his power, becoming able to use part of his old light. His three sets of wings spread wide enough to cover the sky, and his halo became bright enough that it resembled another sun.
“Please punish the sinner who dares to end harmony,” Metatron said quietly.
Whoooosh!
The moment Metatron nocked an arrow of white light...
Swoosh?!
...he instantly released it, striking the pit with a ray of light. Baal specialized in holding down enemies, while Metatron focused on taking them down. The synergy of their joint attacks was the reason why they had been able to remain the Tower’s guards, even against numerous Star Signs.
Right before he was struck in the chest with the light of Orryx, Chang-Sun considered several options and concluded that the chance of shooting down Baal and Metatron was slim. In that case, he needed to use the incoming attack to his advantage.
Thump...!
Chang-Sun focused on sharpening all his senses to speed up his ability to think, fully perceiving all the information around him. He could hear his pounding heart and the swirling of the divine power he had not absorbed yet, befuddling him.
Amid the storm of information, he drew forth his divine power, which he had originally planned to use to write the second chapter of [Prelati’s Spellbook]; however, he planned to use it in a different way. The divine power from the <Star Fragment> was still too impure, so it looked too daunting to use. However, Chang-Sun infused all the divine power into his [Gnostic Eye] without caring about the danger one bit.
Badump, badump...!
Badump, badump, badump...!
As Chang-Sun’s heart raced frantically, his eyes began to hurt horribly. It felt as if they were going to either burn up or explode, but he still endured the pain.
Crack!
At that moment, a sound filled the air
Oooooooong!
Just as the [Twilight Spear] had howled, Chang-Sun’s [Gnostic Eye] also echoed, and the world he could see through the eye changed completely.
[The Authority ‘Gnostic Eye’ has reached its maximum level.]
[You can now accumulate more gnosis...]
[You can now see more...]
...
In a world filled with letters, Chang-Sun suddenly saw a course of action that had been faint to him until now, becoming able to foretell how to respond to the incoming attack.
[A higher-level Authority, ‘Foretelling Eye’, has been created!]
Following his [Foretelling Eye], which had merged with his Inferno Sight completely, Chang-Sun regained his balance and stomped down firmly on the air.
Thump!
[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has been activated!]
[The spatial coordinates of the area have been fixed, pausing all laws of physics in the area.]
Time was stopped—no, space was fixed in place. The suction of all the black holes ceased, and the light arrow froze right in front of Chang-Sun’s chest.
“What in the world...?!”
“How is he using the power of Quirinale...?!”
The jaws of Baal and Metatron practically dropped to the ground.
[The Authority ‘Heaven and Earth Great Shift’ has been activated!]
Everything in the area reversed. The black holes surrounded Baal and Metatron instead, and the light arrow was pointed at them too. The two Celestials quickly moved to block the attacks.
[The restriction on space has been lifted!]
Before they could do anything, however, the black holes resumed their activity, and the arrow of light struck them.
Rummmmmble?!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!
Tap!
Leaving behind widespread chaos, Chang-Sun landed on R’lyeh’s closed eye, but he was pale and in precarious condition from using too many Authorities simultaneously at full power. Thinking to himself that he still had to endure it, he bent down on one knee and put his hand on R’lyeh’s eyelid.
Finally.
Ubbo-Sathla fervently expressed her emotions in the corner of Chang-Sun’s mind. Aware of her wish, Chang-Sun calmly said, “<Dull Darkness>, please answer my call.”
At that moment, R’lyeh’s eyelids trembled for the first time.
?Why do you keep trying to wake me up??
1. It’s Bel-Marduk’s other name in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Asarluhi, also spelled as Asaruludu, is one of the Anunnaki, a group of gods, in the actual mythology. ?