Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 208: Star, the Illuminati (4)

chapter 208: star, the illuminati (4)

although the celestials’ subordinates were closing in on the train, chang-sun didn’t really worry because he had seen this coming.

several hours ago, chang-sun’s changgwi cave curse had activated like usual on the plane from france to frankfurt, germany. that was when he had run into an unexpected guest.

“long time no see, special-rank reaper.”

special-rank reaper was just a temporary title thanatos gave chang-sun so he could operate more easily. aside from sealing celestials, chang-sun had no other powers, so no one called him by that title even in the .

the only exception was yool, the top-rank reaper who found chang-sun wandering around river styx and led him to thanatos. yool himself descended to the changgwi cave, but, of course, he couldn’t use his avatar. hence, he used one of chang-sun’s subordinates as a medium.

“i heard the air in saha world is quite different from the ... but i guess that’s not necessarily true,” yool said.

although yool was using a different body, the look on his face and his way of talking was the same.

“can you just show up like this? many people are probably watching from above,” chang-sun asked.

“it’s fine. they can’t perceive me with their eyes, but i only have limited time here,” yool answered.

chang-sun and yool were far away from the battlefield where chang-sun’s subordinates were busy ‘cleaning.’ it seemed yool had created a barrier around the area to prevent anyone from watching them.

[the server’s connection is getting disrupted due to an unknown cause.]

[please wait for a moment.]

...

[the promises to the celestials, who are complaining, that the connection will be restored quickly.]

‘they must have done something with the too. well, yeah, disrupting the channeling for several minutes will be enough to stop anyone from watching me,’ chang-sun thought.

the wouldn’t be able to do this often, but it was the best way for the to contact chang-sun without raising ’s suspicion. of course, the would have to offer a lot to the in return.

“so i’ll leave right away after i deliver a few things,” yool said.

“what are they?”

“here.” yool pulled out a scroll from his inner pocket.

chang-sun quickly skimmed through the scroll, and his face darkened.

criminal name: the tranquil star xue yong.

faction: purple star astrology.

committed crime: violation of the oath.

description: the following criminal violated the primordial oath made by the and and tried to wake up ‘nyx’...

the detailed report about xue yong, who had become a , contained his crimes that were revealed during the interrogation. with this report, thanatos would probably give xue yong’s sentence in detail. however, the problem was what was written at the bottom part of the scroll.

below is the series of questions between the interrogator and the criminal.

q. aside from your violation of the oath, the investigators in the bureau are investigating what happened after the fall of the ‘divine twilight’.

a. will my sentence be reduced if i cooperate? i’ll tell you everything if you want, so please...

q. i can’t guarantee anything, but i’ll persuade the judge to reduce your sentence as much as possible.

a. after the ‘divine twilight’ went through the , was in chaos...

after the , the divine class of the ‘divine twilight’ was revoked, and he plummeted from the sky. to save chang-sun, kali, xerxes, and his old colleagues went to war against .

chang-sun didn’t know how exactly the war broke out. the only traces that he could find were baek gyeo-ul and the elfin root, xerxes’ son and kali’s apostle respectively. chang-sun had asked the to find out what exactly happened, but the incidents regarding kali and xerxes took place in , which meant the couldn’t look into the matter.

however, chang-sun could now find out what happened. although xue yong was one of the star signs, he didn’t have the guts to withstand the pressure and fear from the . the most terrifying thing for a brilliantly shining star was plummeting from the very sky they resided in.

not realizing his hands were faintly trembling, chang-sun put all his attention to the interrogation report.

a. xerxes, kali, and richardus made a complaint over the hasty , so the and celestials joined forces and drove them out...

after reading through the report, chang-sun crumpled up the scroll and quietly closed his eyes. ‘...so tian shi yuan is still looking for richardus.’

the last part of xue yong’s confession was about the manhunt for richardus. tian shi yuan, the leader of and one of three enclosures and twenty-eight mansions, was leading the search and recently found a trace.

amid chang-sun’s silence, yool slowly said, “the king of the underworld asked me to deliver this message to you, special-rank reaper.”

“... what did he say?” chang-sun asked.

“‘i know we haven’t even properly begun, but i hope this gift can relieve your pent-up anger at least a little bit.’ he also added, ‘i don’t know about you, but i consider you my friend, not just a business partner, so i wish your heart won’t get wounded anymore. ’”

chang-sun couldn’t say anything, so he just chuckled. it was kind of funny to imagine thanatos saying those cringy words with sincerity, but he was still grateful for thanatos’ consolation.

“talking like this any further won’t do us any good. i’ll contact you later.”

thanatos told him those words after sealing xue yong. it seemed this was what he meant.

“so you also know how to do that,” yool said.

chang-sun wasn’t sure what yool meant until he realized he had become slightly teary. chang-sun turned his head slightly to the side and wiped his eyes. once he had calmed down, he turned back to look at yool.

“he also asked me to tell you this as well.” yool looked serious again.

chang-sun’s eyes also turned sharp, thinking this could be the reason why yool had come here despite the risks.

“after you finished the sealing process, he noticed that the celestials are acting suspicious,” yool continued.

“how so?”

“they’re observing your every movement ever since they concluded that you’re involved in xue yong’s disappearance. they have also asked the and for your information.”

chang-sun grinned. “they want to know if someone is backing me up or if i’m connected to a celestial.”

“that’s right. naturally, we have already taken care of everything related to you, so there is no danger of getting caught.”

“but?”

“when you postponed taking the test proposed by satan, it seems they concluded that you’re hiding something after all. they want to provoke you now to get some reactions,” yool said.

“they would face consequences due to the law of causality, but they still wish to mess with me?”

“they even sent a document about it to the , so you better be careful. and about [execution sword]—”

“i know. i’m not stupid. i won’t just pull it out without thinking it through,” chang-sun interrupted.

the [execution sword] was the king of the underworld’s authority and relic. although chang-sun had earned the right to seal celestials on thanatos’ behalf, a catastrophe could occur if someone snatched the [execution sword] away from him.

and . sky and ground. ‘eros’ and ‘nyx.’ the border between these areas could crumble down. that was why chang-sun had to be really careful in using it.

“i know it wouldn’t be an issue for you, but i thought i should remind you anyway.”

“i’ll be careful.”

yool nodded. “keep in mind that you’re the special-rank reaper and the emissary of the , so your safety equals the safety of the .”

as his eyes gleamed, yool paused for a moment. he was slowly exiting from the subordinate he had descended in. “... and also the safety of the king of the underworld, your friend, and my master.”

looking at yool, who was disappearing, chang-sun threw his final question, “i’ll do that, but i have one question.”

“what?”

“you said the celestials are going to form a siege to capture me. who will be leading them?”

* * *

focusing on the present, chang-sun looked at the message that popped up before him.

[the celestial ‘tian shi yuan’ looks at you with suspicion!]

tian shi yuan, the celestial who had killed his old colleagues and even put richardus in danger, was currently watching chang-sun.

1. this deity is actually a ‘he’ in the actual mythology, but it’s a ‘she’ in this novel. the deity is an ancient fertility deity from irish mythology. ☜