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Chapter 239: Star, Mimisbrunnr (4)

“I’m Mercury of <Olympus>. Thank you for your help.”

Minerva and the two other Celestials could finally introduce themselves when the conversation between Chang-Sun and Tiamat ended. Tiamat was just as great a Celestial as Jupiter, the father of the three—no, considering her age, she was at a league significantly higher than Jupiter’s.

『Enough with the greetings. I didn’t help you to gain something from this. However, I do hope this will help strengthen the relationship between <Nammu> and <Olympus>.』

Hearing Tiamat’s response, Minerva’s expression subtly changed. Everyone in <Heaven> knew about the bad blood between Tiamat and the ‘Taurus.’ Since their relationship had recently gone south again, another war could break out at any moment. Depending on her answer, <Olympus> could find themselves involved in the new <Myth War>, so she had trouble answering Tiamat.

『It won’t?』

Tiamat still sounded cheerful, but she clearly wasn’t smiling genuinely anymore, unlike when she was talking to Chang-Sun.

This incident could weaken Tiamat’s influence within <Heaven>. After all, the <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons would likely raise a formal complaint, and the Celestials who had lost Chang-Sun right under their noses would join in. Even if it was because of her daughter’s request, the actions of Celestials like Tiamat had lasting impacts. Nevertheless, Tiamat didn’t care.

Minerva made up her mind.

“It’ll be just as you wished.”

Only after hearing a satisfying answer from Minerva did Tiamat burst into laughter.

『I like your style. You resemble me when I was young.』

The Evil Dragon’s laughter echoed loudly.

Meanwhile…

Wooosh―!

… the ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ gently swam through the universe’s dark matter to God-knew-where.

* * *

The <Star Grave> had a port on the outskirts of its interstellar city, but the port was so old that sailors seemingly no longer wanted to use it. However, a ghost ship was anchored in it today. The ship already had a corroded keel, and its sails were in tatters. Anyone who would see it would think it had been abandoned, but two people quietly approached it.

Tap!

One of them, a person wearing a white mask with red patterns, leaped out of the water and landed on the ship’s bow. Annoyed, Lie Si took off his mask. “… I really can’t do that again.”

At the same time, a man wearing a snow-white mask landed on the ship. After taking off his mask and shaking the water off it, he sighed. “I agree. Those strange people appeared out of nowhere, and… Phew!”

The man, named Jun, looked quite handsome, but his eyes were bloodshot due to sheer frustration for losing Moodoo and the others just as he was about to succeed. Despite being the son of the Emperor’s Seat, he couldn’t become a part of the Thirteen Commanders. However, the Emperor’s Seat adored him so much that many thought he would have gotten that position as soon as one of the seats became vacant.

“I really have no idea who he was, but he definitely knew me.” Lie Si stroked his chin, frowning.

The man’s siamese-cat-looking mask aside, he could use both divine and demonic energies and beautifully screw over Agares, dumbfounding Lie Si.

Lie Si had definitely seen the man’s eyes somewhere. They belonged to one of Lie Si’s enemies, not someone he passed by on the street. What made things stranger was that he couldn’t remember anything else about the man. On their way back to their ship, Lie Si cursed and wondered if he had always been this bad at remembering things, but that didn’t really help clear up his head.

“You don’t have to blame yourselves. Our real target wasn’t the Gray Elves anyway.”

Hearing a voice from up above, Lie Si and Jun simultaneously went down on one knee to pay their respects.

Tap!

Tap, tap, tap―!

A man wearing a black Jiaolong mask landed on the ship’s mast, which had been wobbling like an old scarecrow. He was the one who had retrieved the [Chunjun Sword] and fought against Uriel equally. A little later, dozens of people who seemed to be his guards dropped down to the deck.

Click―!

The man took off his mask, revealing his pale face. His sharp eyes made him look belligerent.

Lie Si and Jun didn’t find bowing to the man shameful. The children of the Emperor’s Seat were sworn brothers, but ever since the Emperor’s Seat had been sealed, the man had been leading them on their father’s behalf.

Qi Gong, the man they were bowing to, was the first Celestial the Emperor’s Seat had taken under his wings before becoming the ‘Tian Shi Yuan.’ Qi Gong was the first son of the Emperor’s Seat, his commander-in-chief, and the prime minister. The terrorists who participated in this raid all followed Qi Gong and were part of the Loyalty Association, the strongest soldiers in the Emperor Seat Army.

“Our goal was to drag out those snotty <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons into the light and make them fight the <Purple Star Astrology>,” Qi Gong said.

The moment they lost contact with the Emperor’s Seat, Qi Gong and his siblings immediately followed the last words of the Emperor’s Seat. They fled from the <Purple Star Astrology> and founded a new <Society>, but they didn’t give it a name. From the perspective, it was meaningless for pathetic children who couldn’t even protect their own father to have a name.

Instead of naming their <Society>, they called themselves <Troop>, and their first goal was the fall of the <Purple Star Astrology>. They believed that the main reason the Emperor had lost his title of ‘Tian Shi Yuan’ and gotten abandoned by the <Purple Star Astrology> was Richardus the Grain Star and the other Enclosures. That train of thought led Qi Gong, Lie Si, and Jun to plan this terror attack.

“We’ve been temporarily avoiding Uriel’s [Clairvoyant] using Hou’s [Heavenly Secret Jammer], but we can’t fully nullify it. He would have found out that we were with the <Purple Star Astrology>, so they’ll certainly be taking the blame,” Qi Gong continued.

By the time Qi Gong had gotten out of <Star Grave>, it was already engulfed in mayhem. Uriel and Marbas were famous for strictly monitoring it, but even they couldn’t control the chaos. Of course, Satan’s suppression, which was borderline terrorism, and the sudden overload of the energy site also contributed greatly to the commotion.

“Just like what Father told us, we would have made more progress with our plan to ‘restore’ Kali if we secured Kali’s priests along with their divinity fragments. We could have gained quite a powerful ally… Still, this is good enough.” Qi Gong shrugged, tapping on the sword hung on his belt.

The sheathed [Chunjun Sword] trembled faintly, making Qi Gong smirk. The weapon had a lot of potential. Now that it was in his hands, Kali’s priests under the <Troop>’s protection would become a lot more powerful, and they would be using that very power for the <Troop>.

“Anyhow, our business here is done. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t find the people who meddled in our plan, but we’ll run into them someday. We have some of the Gray Elves, after all,” Qi Gong said firmly.

Right now, Uriel was probably scouring every corner of <Star Grave> with his [Clairvoyant] to find the <Troop> members. There was a limit to fooling his eyes. Hence, amid the confusion, Qi Gong planned to get out of <Star Grave> through the same route they used to get here.

Qi Gong was about to head to the ghost ship’s cabin when he suddenly stopped. Lie Si and Jun looked at him, wondering what was wrong. Qi Gong’s face suddenly darkened as he hurriedly turned his head in a direction. Meanwhile, Lie Si and Jun still didn’t know what was going on. They considered the possibility of someone ambushing them, but no one was in the air right now.

At that moment…

[A Dragon Breath has been fired!]

Boooom!

The ocean grew turbulent as a strong Dragon Breath struck the bottom of the ghost ship. The impact was so strong that Qi Gong, Lie Si, Jun, and the other Loyal Association members lost their balance and the entire ship wobbled so hard it seemed as if it was about to overturn. Not long after, a wave higher than the ship’s mast slammed down on its deck.

Cracckk―!

Cracks slithered from the bottom of the ship to its center.

Crash!

The keel soon broke in half, allowing water to flood into the ship and gradually sink it.

Woosh, woosh, woosh!

“It doesn’t make sense…!” Qi Gong’s eyes widened.

Contrary to its appearance, their ghost ship was sturdy enough to withstand a battle on its deck, yet a single attack just destroyed it! According to the message that had just popped up, a [Dragon Breath] hit their vessel. However, the only Dragon in <Star Grave> that could fire such a powerful [Dragon Breath] was Satan. If so, then that could only mean the Loyalty Association members had been found.

“Qi Gong! The enemy can attack any time soon! We have to get out of here!” Jun yelled.

Qi Gong calmed himself down. Jun was right. They had to get out of the ghost ship. Hence, the Loyalty Association members prepared to escape.

Woosh, woosh, woosh.

The ship quickly sank in a V shape. Having pulled himself together, Qi Gong and the others quickly tried to escape, but the enemies’ second attack made things difficult for them.

Paah! Paaah!

Four people—Minerva with a lace half mask, Mars with a clown mask, Mercury with a snake mask, and Pabilsag with a dagger in each hand—rose up from the rough ocean and jumped down on top of Qi Gong and the others, who were still shocked.

“You may have wreaked havoc just now…” Mars trailed off.

Rumble!

“... But it’s our turn now!” Mars laughed loudly, fiercely swinging [Balmung].

A storm of his strong divine power made the ocean even more violent.

* * *

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ dryly huckles!]

『Ha…!』

Not so far away from the sinking ghost ship, Tiamat stuck one of her eyes out and watched this outrageous situation after stashing away her real body to the hidden side of the universe.

“Huff! Huff!” Chang-Sun was panting hard on the top of Tiamat’s nose, having probably used up a lot of his mana. He was soaked in sweat, and steam rose up from his shoulders and the top of his head. His hair color also faded a lot quicker than before, so it was almost gray now. Completely unsealed, [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] was in Chang-Sun’s right hand in its greatsword form.

Ooong, oooong―!

Just like how he had captured the Emperor’s Seat, Chang-Sun completely unlocked the seal of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] using [Peter’s Key] and fired a Dragon Breath with the sword. The sight of her own Dragon Breath being fired right in front of her dumbfounded Tiamat.

[The three-second time limit is over!]

[Returning to the original form.]

Unlike with the [Execution Sword] activated, he could only use [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] for three seconds. However, Chang-Sun was still satisfied. After all, that meant he was getting closer to his past level. Moreover, he managed to sink the ghost ship with one strike, destroying the children of the Emperor’s Seat\'s means of escape. While Chang-Sun and the others could leave any time they pleased, the children of the Emperor’s Seat would inevitably be captured by the <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons.

『I never thought another person will be able to use my [Dragon Breath],』Tiamat mumbled in bewilderment. 『You surprise me in many ways. I can see why my youngest wants you.』

“Even if she wants me, I have no intention of becoming her apostle.” Chang-Sun exhaled deeply and stretched.

Now that Chang-Sun had successfully <Molted> for the third time using the spiritual water in ‘Mimisbrunnr,’ his empty [Integrated Magic Circuit] was quickly being charged with his mana, and his fatigue was disappearing. Despite not even being level 100 yet, which was when people usually began their <Exuviation> and <Transcendence>, his Class was already above a demigod’s.

[Lee Chang-Sun Lv.86]

‘... With my current strength, I should be able to fight most Celestials equally,’?Chang-Sun thought.?

He couldn’t help smiling for already being halfway toward his prime in his previous life.

『Naturally. I see you as the king of <Muspelheim>, an equal of mine.』

Paying no attention to Tiamat, Chang-Sun returned [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], which had gone back to its dagger form, on his belt and drew the [Zhan Lu Sword] with his left hand.

Ziinggg, zing!

The [Yuchang Sword] in his right hand and his two other divine swords shook, feeling happy for getting to meet the [Chunjun Sword] soon. Using Divine Sword Resonance, the swords’ white divine energy circulated inside Chang-Sun and cleared his mind.

Now ready to jump into the battle, Chang-Sun turned back and looked at Tiamat’s eye, which was several times bigger than him. He said, “And…?”

『Do you want to become my husband?』

Tiamat’s unexpected question rendered Chang-Sun speechless. Husband? Tiamat was asking him to marry her? Tiamat the Ancient Dragon wanted to become his wife? Just imagining Pabilsag, the simpleton, calling him ‘Father’ made him feel uneasy.

“… You went too far with that joke,” Chang-Sun replied.

『Did it sound like a joke to you? My words are worth something, you know.』

“… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear them, then.” Chang-Sun slowly looked away.

『Are you a bad enough man to disregard a woman’s wedding proposal?』

Tiamat smiled faintly. Although it surprised Chang-Sun that a Dragon could smile like that, he had a feeling that something irreversible would start if this conversation continued, so he just turned away.

“I’ll be back soon,” Chang-Sun said.

『Think about it, hahahaha. If you want, you can change the deal into marrying me in return.』

Instead of answering Tiamat, Chang-Sun leaped into the air. Armand then showed up and created a gray dust storm to cover him. His black-purple lightning energy sprouted from his back and turned into a set of wings, evidencing that he had successfully converted his <Dusk Lightning> into Atra Fulmen.

[The Skill ‘Dust Devil’ has been activated, pulling wind!]

[The Title ‘Jigwi Spirit Incarnation’ has been applied, spreading the Jigwi’s wings!]

Tap!

Swoosh―!

Chang-Sun quietly landed on the ocean and darted toward the ghost ship like a flying tiger.

1. She is actually a creator goddess of the ocean that appears in Sumerian texts.

2. Part of Tian Shi Yuan. Also known as Seven Excellencies in English.