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Chapter 183: Star, Laevateinn (8)

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ flicks her daughter’s forehead, telling her to stop it.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ whines as she rubs her red forehead, saying that it hurts. ]

…

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ watches the birth of the new Giant from the extinct plane with mixed emotions.]

.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ bursts into laughter, saying that you are indeed his subordinate.]

…

[You have partially fulfilled the prerequisite of the Scenario Quest (Fable Creation)!]

[You have made your second Great Accomplishment (Eliminate a demigod).]

[You have completed the rising action of your <Fable>.]

…

Pzzz―!

Grizman’s corpse scattered like a sandcastle swept away by sea waves. His body had practically died dozens of years ago, so it decayed right after Simon Magus, the parasite, was killed.

Clang.

Eventually, only the small iron mask was left where Grizman had been, but even the mask corroded and turned into copper after losing all its power. Chang-Sun quietly picked it up and examined it from various angles, but it was no longer any different from a normal mask aside from the fact that it was made of iron.

‘No, it’s not really the same.’ Chang-Sun didn’t miss the small letters written all over inside the mask.

The letters were runes. Although it was difficult to figure out what they actually meant since the mask had corroded quite severely, Chang-Sun could tell that it was similar to a legendary hero’s epic.

<…■■ heroes rose, so Bes■■ cross■. ■■ir■ bravery and loy■…>

That was what most of the runes looked like.

‘Is this [Bestla’s Poem]?’ Chang-Sun instinctively realized that this epic was part of the poem that Simon had been looking for for so long. ‘She was called the Giant Deity King, so I doubt this epic ends here… Rather, I bet this is just a part of it.’

Maybe—no, Simon definitely wanted to complete this poem. Just one rune letter gave its user the ability to cast a fairly advanced magic spell. If the epic was written all in runes, then it wouldn’t be impossible to draw out the power of its protagonist.

‘This seems like a good way to use runes. Up until now, I’ve only thought of them as a convenient tool to use magic, so I’ve never thought they could be used like this.’?

The idea was extremely exceptional, but it was to be expected of someone who had become a demigod using magic alone. Wondering if he could find out more about the iron mask, Chang-Sun opened up his [Viper Eyes].

[Unable to inspect the details.]

[Unable to inspect the details.]

…

‘Just as I expected, it’s a?<Bound>?artifact.’?Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

An artifact with the <Bound> Effect belonged to its owner indefinitely. If their owner died, most <Bound> artifacts would lose their abilities. Likewise, the mask seemed to have lost its abilities when Simon’s soul, which it had held onto for quite a long time, disappeared.

‘Then I’ll have to revive it,’?Chang-Sun thought.

He turned his head toward Sinmara, who had just killed the last Specter. “Sinmara.”

「Do you have another order for me, my new master?」Sinmara’s loud voice echoed, making Jin Prezia and the Elfin Root look at her in amazement.

「Giants, huh? I’ve only heard about them in stories, so I never thought I would actually get to meet one. This is really amazing,」Jin blankly expressed himself.

Meanwhile, Chang-Sun nodded at Sinmara and asked, “You said Simon Magus’ past and present destinies are all filled with defeats, didn’t you?” What about his future one?

Chang-Sun didn’t plan to make the iron mask his subordinate right away. If Simon would only keep getting defeated as he had done before and now, then Chang-Sun didn’t have to bother making Simon his subordinate even though his skill in magic was quite exceptional.

「Hmm! That’s actually quite odd.」Sinmara answered.

Chang-Sun repeated, “Odd?”

「His past and present destinies certainly all ended in defeat because he was always dispirited and angry.」

“Does that mean his future was a little different?” Chang-Sun asked again.

「He was in a similar state since he was always mad, but his future destiny was dark.」

“Dark?” Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

「I see destinies by looking through the ‘view’ of the soul engraved in the worldline. His soul couldn’t see anything anymore, almost as if he had lost his eyes.」

Chang-Sun could somewhat understand what Sinmara meant since it was similar to his plan of making Simon his subordinate.

「Anyhow, that was why I thought he got constantly defeated… but I’m not sure anymore since it seems you want him, master.」

Sinmara stroked her chin as her gaze sharpened. She had asked Chang-Sun earlier if he knew that his soul had died several times in the past, and she had also seen his present and future. Even so…

「You haven’t asked me what I saw from you.」

“I don’t need to.” Chang-Sun shrugged.

「Why?」

Chang-Sun lightly snorted and turned in the opposite direction. “I don’t believe in such things.”

「Is it something along the lines of not wanting to be swayed by something suspicious like prophecies? The will to build one’s own future… well, that is important.」

“I don’t have such a fancy reason. I just don’t like them.” Chang-Sun casually told Sinmara, who then nodded in return. He looked around the surroundings, then ordered his subordinates, “I’m going into the treasury now, so don’t let anyone enter.”

Putting the iron mask into his coat’s inner pocket, Chang-Sun glanced at the entrance of the thirty-sixth stronghold before he passed the last gate, which led him to the treasury.

Pzzz!

Shortly after, Jin and the Undead Army stood before the wide-opened gate to block it, preventing anyone from entering.

* * *

‘… He knew we were coming.’?Henri Bosque held his breath.

Even though it was just for a very short moment, he had definitely met Chang-Sun’s eyes—no, to be more accurate, Mireille Aliano and Chang-Sun had eye contact. Worrying if Chang-Sun was going to inflict harm on them, Henri tensed up, but Chang-Sun just entered the last gate without paying much attention to them.

However, Henri felt as if he couldn’t chase after Chang-Sun anymore because of the Undead soldiers standing before the gate. They reminded him of the fight that had just taken place, making him shiver.

‘The Tyrant… has all this power, but he still didn’t reveal the existence of his summons. Just how strong is he?’?Henri wondered.

Chang-Sun could be described as a one-man army. No, since he had his summons, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he already had an actual army. Henri ended up wondering how Chang-Sun would compare to Immortal Overlord Jacque Valentine—the teacher of Henri’s teacher, the Revenant Clan leader, and a human walking on the fine line between humans and monsters.

From what Henri knew, only a handful of people among the Ten Overlords could fight with the Immortal Overlord equally, so comparing Chang-Sun to him might be blasphemous. Still, Henri thought even the Immortal Overlord would have trouble if he went up against Chang-Sun and his summons.

‘If the Tyrant fights the Overlords who are weaker than the Immortal Overlord, he is already capable of winning on his own…!’ Henri thought.

“Oh, my, he already knew. Well, I tried my best to be careful, but I guess this was to be expected,” Mireille grumbled, making Henri turn his head toward her.

Even though she sounded the same as before, her tone was sharp for some reason. It was hard to believe Mireille, who was always so considerate of others that she spoke timidly, was grumbling like that. The subtle difference made Henri feel as if something was up.

‘A mask…’?Henri blankly thought.

Thinking Mireille was like an actress who was wearing an invisible mask and wasn’t the fiancee that he knew, Henri unwittingly stepped backward. As he did, he accidentally kicked a small pebble with the heel of his foot, making Mireille turn her head toward him.

“My, my, so you’ve found out as well. You’re of no use to me anymore, anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter.” Mireille smiled beautifully.

Henri felt as if the smile on her face didn’t belong to his fiancee, who had whispered her love to him. It belonged to someone cruel. At that moment, a memory flashed across Henri’s mind—the rumor about the Killer Overlord, the leader of the Crna Ruka.

“With her dozens of masks, the Killer Overlord can always transform into a different person, so no one can see her real self.”

“Your office, shadow, even your bed… the Killer Overlord can appear from anywhere and become anyone, even your family members and lovers.”

That was the last memory that came across Henri’s mind before he died.

Slash!

Something flashed, and Henri’s head powerlessly dropped to the ground.

“Arghh.” ‘Mireille’ screamed.

As if her mask was about to peel off her face, Mireille’s face distorted. Having witnessed the death of her lover, the scream came from the real Mireille, who was sealed under the Killer Overlord’s Demon Mask.

Click.

Czestochowa calmed her distorting face by massaging her jaw and cheekbones, letting out a mechanically meshing sound. Soon after, Mireille’s resistance was suppressed.

“Shall I begin then?”

Although she looked like Mireille, she now spoke using her own voice.

* * *

[You have entered the ‘Heartvault,’ the last stronghold!]

Chang-Sun found himself no longer in a stronghold with several layers of walls. He was now in the main palace, which was so huge and tall that it was impossible to see the top of it. He passed through the wide-opened red door, finding a myriad of treasures laid before him.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ gasps, saying she has never seen a place that holds treasures more brilliant than the ones in her mother’s treasury.]

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ snorts at her daughter, who is making a fuss, telling her that they are nothing. She then looks at the legacy of the extinct plane with mixed emotions. ]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ clicks his tongue, saying that they are all just illusions.]

…

The ‘Heartvault,’ the last stronghold of the ‘Rhaegaren,’ was so splendid that some of the Celestials couldn’t stay calm. Even the [King’s Treasury], which Chang-Sun had received from the Winter King, couldn’t be compared to the ‘Heartvault.’

Kiyoo? Kiyooo!

Looking at such a magnificent sight with sparkling eyes, Cadmus drooled and flapped its small wings, attempting to dive into the pile of treasures without Chang-Sun’s permission. Nobody could tell if Cadmus was having a great time because Dragons instinctively liked treasures or because there was a lot of tasty ‘food’ for Cadmus.

Chang-Sun didn’t really care, though. Something else had caught his attention. In the center of the chaotically scattered piles of treasures was a shrine that especially stood tall. Through the window at the high ceiling, a ray of light poured through and shone on the top of the shrine, which had a sword embedded in it.

Chang-Sun wasn’t sure he could call it a sword since it was way bigger than all the gatekeepers that he had met. In fact, it would take up the space of most castles. Numerous brilliant jewels sparkled on the surface of the sword, the craftsmanship of which was stunningly beautiful.

The sword elegantly gleamed in red, making Chang-Sun’s heart race for some reason. Even without using [Viper Eyes], he could tell the sword was the ‘Laevateinn,’ Surtr’s divine sword and the <Muspelheim> treasure that he had been desperately looking for.

Tap, tap.

After passing through the piles of treasures, Chang-Sun slowly climbed the staircase that led to the shrine. Similar to what he did to the [Yuchang Sword], Chang-Sun had already absorbed the [Zhan Lu Sword] and transformed it into a tattoo that covered his right shoulder.

Woosh!

The energy layer on the surface of the ‘Laevateinn’ turned into flames and engulfed the shrine. While it seemed to be trying to fend off the strange invader, it didn’t actually stop Chang-Sun for some reason. Instead, it just orbited around him.

The fire was leading Chang-Sun, not rejecting him. With Surtr’s Giant factor and the approvals from the thirty-six gatekeepers, he had officially become the Giant King’s heir. Hence, the fire welcomed him. When he reached the end of the staircase, the ‘Laevateinn’ shone more brilliantly. The palace’s entrance was flooded with red light, so it was hard to see what was up ahead.

Chang-Sun reached out his hand toward the ‘Laevateinn.’