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Chapter 456: Star, Niflheim (1)

“This is surprising.”

『What is?』

Bel-Marduk turned his head to his left. Urash, one of his four gate protectors, was snickering. While the other gate protectors were outside helping Chang-Sun’s subordinates, Urash focused on protecting ‘Babylonia,’ which ultimately allowed her to witness the interesting sight of her master becoming more emotional than he had ever been.

Urash kept giggling. “I thought you didn’t actually mean anything when you talked about hope and that you weren’t really going to help him at all.”

『...』

“Am I wrong? You didn’t want to be involved in this kind of affair ever again, did you?”

Urash was from Worldline #801. She joined Bel-Marduk relatively later than the other gate protectors, so she didn’t know much about their master. Regardless, she could still read the room and deduce what choice he would likely make based on his usual behaviors and what his other subordinates had said about him.

She believed Bel-Marduk would never help Chang-Sun. Even if Chang-Sun continued to cling to him for help, Bel-Marduk could have just run off to the Imaginary Plane to avoid him. The Great Universe’s pillars of time didn’t apply there, so he wouldn’t be affected no matter how many times Chang-Sun triggered Rollback.

However, Bel-Marduk chose not to go to the Imaginary Plane or completely reject Chang-Sun’s offer. On the contrary, he went here for Chang-Sun, making Urash realize that it was impossible to read what was going on in his mind.

『...ing.』

Urash tilted her head. “Pardon? I didn’t catch what you said.”

『That bastard keeps fighting.』

Bel-Marduk’s voice turned so low that Urash instinctively stood straight and listened attentively.

『Do you know how many Worldlines I’ve been in?』

“... I’m not sure,” Urash answered quietly.

『Thousands, tens of thousands... in search of another me, I’ve been to so many that I’ve lost track.』

Urash’s eyes slightly widened after she realized what Bel-Marduk was saying right now.

‘It wasn’t the first time he searched for another him when he found Twilight?’

If so, then Bel-Marduk had already thought about what Chang-Sun was doing right now long ago.

『But most of them only pretended to be tough. When faced with <Extinction>, they became too absorbed in protecting themselves... Ha

! It would be preposterous to call them my other versions.』

Bel-Marduk’s voice filled with deep contempt. Urash wondered if it was self-loathing to hate another him from a parallel universe.

“... I doubt you let those people flee,” Urash speculated.

『Of course not. I ate them all.』

Urash had a feeling that this could be why Bel-Marduk became a Star Sign. Other Chang-Suns would have still died from <Extinction> even if Bel-Marduk left them be, so he killed them instead. He also devoured those Worldlines since there was no hope for them anyway.

Urash could only imagine how many times Bel-Marduk broke down during his journey.

‘I’ve always thought Master is unusually afraid of Ubbo-Sathla... I kind of understand his fear if this was the reason,’ Urash thought.

Urash suddenly remembered the Chang-Suns in the underground lab of ‘Babylonia.’ Perhaps they had made similar choices too.

“Did you decide to help Twilight because he’s the first one to ask you to fight together?”

『No, I still think Ubbo-Sathla is insurmountable. That is how strong an Outer Celestial is, especially one close to becoming an Emperor.』

Finding Bel-Marduk’s answer a bit unexpected, Urash tilted her head in confusion. “Then...?”

『I believed that I had given up on myself... but I realized that I’m still holding onto that ‘if.’』

Urash gawked. “Ah.”

『That’s why I want to know what Twilight saw.』

“What would you do if he actually saw hope?” Urash asked.

After a short silence, Bel-Marduk answered,『I’d give everything I have again.』

* * *

Whirl!

Ubbo-Sathla struck ‘Babylonia’ with their thickest and largest tentacle, its shadow big enough to cover the entire sky city. It looked as if no barrier could ever withstand the strike, no matter how sturdy it was.

[The Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ has descended!]

Rummmble!

However, before the tentacle could hit its target, a white lightning bolt struck down from the sky, parrying the tentacle away. The shockwaves from the collision turned into storms, butchering the tentacle.

Amid the storms, Chang-Sun had awoken, the upper body of a Cataclysm Celestial behind him.

[The middle volume of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’ has been opened.]

[The last chapter ‘Orígo Speciéi’ has been applied, starting an Anathema!]

With his [Gnostic Eye] active, Chang-Sun gripped [Gungnir] in his right hand and enveloped his left hand with <Darkness> and supreme sacred light. He exuded superiority that dazed anyone who looked at him.

『Master!』

『... You sure took your sweet time.』

『You’re late! Damn it!』

『Are you injured? Are you okay?』

『It seems you’ve exhausted yourself by using your Authorities too much. Are you sure you’ve recovered enough to join the fight?』

Telepathic messages flooded into his head immediately after his sudden appearance on the battlefield. <Muspelheim> Fire Giants, <Valhalla> siblings, his friends, and now <Jotunheim> Frost Giants... knowing that he had just observed countless timelines through Sinmara’s eyes, everyone asked about his safety and well-being.

Even Sinmara didn’t look good even though all she had done was lend Chang-Sun her power. She panted hard, and she didn’t seem to have enough energy to even lift a finger. A few Fire Giants were guarding her, but she would definitely be targeted first if this battle continued.

Chang-Sun extended his hand toward her and transferred divine power to her.

Paah!

A pool of white supreme sacred light fell onto Sinmara, causing her cheeks to quickly turn rosy. With her eyes widened in surprise, she looked at Chang-Sun, who reassuringly nodded at her. She smiled faintly. Although she wasn’t sure what exactly Chang-Sun had done, she knew that he had helped her recover enough to be fit for combat again.

Sinmara’s three faces simultaneously let out delighted shouts, intensifying the heat on the battlefield.

“Bring victory to our king!”

“For the king!”

“For the king!”

Thud, thud, thud!―!

Having regained her full power, she began to exude the dignity of a chief warrior, not a shaman. She tackled the tentacle flying toward her. The tentacle writhed hard to break free from her grasp, but the other Fire Giants helped her hold it down, preventing it from budging even an inch.

“You won’t be able to have your way anymore, you dipshit!”

“How dare you treat us like vermin!”

“Rip this thing apart!”

Pzzzzzz!

The Fire Giants released hot steam. A fire sparked below them, incinerating the tentacle.

Rip―!

The sounds of muscles tearing echoed across the battlefield as the Fire Giants continued to pull on the tentacle.

You.

Ooooong!

Ubbo-Sathla released even more energy in annoyance, sending powerful tremors to the Dungeon. It looked as if it could crumble at any moment now, yet Chang-Sun’s subordinates still gained hope. For the first time throughout this entire battle, they had managed to block one of the Outer Celestial’s attacks.

Brimming with determination, they tenaciously attacked and ripped the tentacle apart.

『... You seem to have changed in some way,』 Bel-Marduk commented, quite baffled by the sudden change in the tides of the battle.

Even though all Chang-Sun did was show up, the others suddenly managed to retaliate against Ubbo-Sathla. Moreover, Chang-Sun himself now had a different air around him. It was as if he had become an entirely different person.

‘He’s stronger!’ Bel-Marduk thought.

No, it would be more accurate to say that, like a child becoming an adult overnight, Chang-Sun’s Divine Class had changed and his <Myths> had deepened.

“After seeing quite a lot of things, I know how to use my power now,” Chang-Sun replied.

『Hmm...』

Bel-Marduk couldn’t fathom what kind of timelines Chang-Sun had seen, but he could tell that they were beyond his imagination. Considering they all centered around Chang-Sun, he probably gained a lot from indirectly experiencing all those possibilities. Perhaps he no longer just had what it took to be a Celestial King but was now actually very close to becoming one!

Holding back his hope, Bel-Marduk threw a question. 『What have you seen?』

“Us who became Hsan.”

『... What in the world does that mean?』 Bel-Marduk wondered, clearly not expecting that answer.

“All this time, we’ve been getting one thing wrong."

Chang-Sun couldn’t remember what he had heard about Peter and Yog-Sothoth, but based on the memories he was left with, he concluded that there could be a way to win this war.

『What would that be?』

“We’ve always thought that one of our countless versions became Hsan while fighting Ubbo-Sathla.”

『We were wrong about that?』

With a heavy heart, Chang-Sun nodded. “Hsan came first, then us.”

『Elaborate.』

“When his fight against Ubbo-Sathla reached a stalemate, Hsan created a turning point in the past to create us.”

Astounded, Bel-Marduk was rendered speechless.

Chang-Sun smirked. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

You. Are. Problem.

Swooooosh―!

Ubbo-Sathla twisted and compressed one of their tentacles like a helix, then launched it toward Chang-Sun. A storm showed up before Chang-Sun and blocked the attack.

Grinnnd!

The storm summoner stared at Chang-Sun, showing no interest in the gruesome sound that echoed. “A guy like Hsan wouldn’t have done something like that without any plan... Does that mean we can surpass him?”

“Yes.”

Bel-Marduk’s stare intensified. “How do we do that?”

Chang-Sun smirked.