Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 217: Star, the Owl (3)

[The Constellation ‘Azure Dragon’ fiercely swings its tail!]

Roooarrr―!

Every time the tall Dragon howled, soldiers near it exploded, unable to withstand the Supervibration. From the dark skies, countless lightning bolts struck the ground, wreaking havoc in the ‘Gemini’ camp, and strong gusts of wind unbalanced the survivors who tried to retaliate. The Azure Dragon, which was in the center of the ‘Gemini’ camp, was untouchable.

The ‘Horn Mansion’ Mokgyo, ‘Neck Mansion’ Geumyong, ‘Root Mansion’ Toehak, ‘Room Mansion’ Ilto, ‘Heart Mansion’ Wolho, ‘Tail Mansion’ Hwahao, and ‘Winnowing Basket Mansion’ Supyo… The seven stars that symbolized the eastern sky of the <Purple Star Astrology> were just mere monster and demonic deities when they were apart, but they could merge into the Azure Dragon—a great demonic deity that could destroy realms.

Even though this area was under the control of Minerva and the ‘Gemini,’ the Dragon broke every law of divine power whenever it turned, giving Castor and Pollux trouble coming up with countermeasures.

『<Purple Star Astrology>! Do you truly want to have a war against us?! Is that what you want?!』Pollux roared.

“Serena,” Minerva quietly called, observing the state of the battle. When Serena cautiously approached her and bowed, she continued, “Take charge for a moment.”

“Are you going to backstab the ‘Tian Shi Yuan’?” Serena asked.

“Of course. I can’t just sit by, can I?”

Even if the tide of the battle now favored Minerva because the <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials appeared, she was never the type to just sit on her hands and observe the uninvited guests who suddenly barged into her divine ground. Besides, it seemed Suo Chao and Textile Rule had stopped rampaging and suddenly vanished because of Chang-Sun.

After a short moment, Minerva concluded Chang-Sun had set up a trap for the Emperor’s Seat, who had done the same for Chang-Sun… If so, then she only had one choice to make.

‘Chang-Sun, you would tell me to win the war first now that things have turned out this way… you really know nothing about me if you think I’ll just walk away after benefiting from the situation,’ Minerva thought.

As a Celestial, she protected and blessed all heroes. Hence, she would help Chang-Sun as well.

Thump!

Minerva slammed the ground with the end of her spear, causing sacred light to rise from underneath her feet and spread to her either side. It was as if an owl had just spread its wings wide to rise from being curled up in its nest for a long time.

Paaah―!

[The owl is spreading her wings!]

Minerva began to move.

* * *

Boom! Rumble―!

The palm of the Emperor’s Seat narrowly missed Chang-Sun’s cheek. Powerful and intimidating, the attack made the air where the Emperor’s Seat had hit shake profusely, leaving behind strong winds and a visible crack in the space.

Despite regaining his divine class as the ‘Divine Twilight,’ his head would have been smashed If that attack had hit him. Nevertheless, he just narrowed his eyes. ‘Too weak.’

The Emperor’s Seat was the ruler of the <Purple Star Astrology>, which was one of the biggest <Societies> in <Heaven> right now, so he ought to be powerful enough to destroy several galaxies if he forgot to control his breathing. However, that was impossible with his current power level…

‘Did something happen to him?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

The Emperor’s Seat could call himself a <Monarch> and play father and child with his many children because he had the power to. Even the ‘Divine Twilight’ in his prime couldn’t guarantee his victory against the Emperor’s Seat—no, the ‘Divine Twilight’ would have certainly lost. That was why Chang-Sun opened the chapter of Drăcōnígĕna Monólĭnum in [Prelati’s Spellbook].

Clang, clang, clang!

Chang-Sun stopped analyzing the situation when Suo Chao swung the [Jin Can Axe] horizontally toward him.

Crack.

Chang-Sun could see the [Jin Can Axe] leaving cracks in the air.

‘Come to think of it, Suo Chao’s relic had the power to destroy literally everything it touched,’ Chang-Sun thought.

The <Purple Star Astrology>’s monster and demonic deities were born as Aberrations, so their relics were often totally different from ordinary relics. They either looked unique or were part of the owner even if they seemed ordinary.

The [Jin Can Axe] was the latter. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it held Suo Chao’s every power. After all, it decreased the durability of everything it touched to almost zero, no matter how great the blessings bestowed upon it were.

Anything the [Jin Can Axe] touched once would be half-destroyed. Touched twice, and it would be completely shattered. Well aware of that, he used the [Yuchang Sword] and [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] to fight but not directly block the [Jin Can Axe]. After indirectly deflecting the attack as much as he could by hitting the handle of the [Jin Can Axe], Chang-Sun tried to stab Suo Chao’s stomach.

Just like before, Chang-Sun pulled [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] toward him and slightly turned to the side to avoid the [Jin Can Axe]. At the same time, he swung the [Yuchang Sword] diagonally. With a flash of sacred light, a storm was created.

[The Skill ‘Black Mountain King’s First Claw’ has been activated!]

Swoosh!

Feeling the claw reaching for his neck, Suo Chao hurriedly retreated backward, causing the attack to just narrowly scratch the underside of Suo Chao’s great helm. Not missing the chance, Chang-Sun tried to activate the second claw using [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], but Bo Du attacked first, aiming for Chang-Sun’s heart.

Bo Du was using a relic named [Storm Spear], which was known to create a strong storm every time he thrust it. The thought of how dangerous it would be to directly block the attack flashed through Chang-Sun’s mind. However, Bo Du was too close to him right now, and it was already too late to withdraw his weapon.

‘In that case…’

[The Skill ‘Stomp’ has been activated!]

[The ground has been turned upside down.]

Boom!

Using the skill he had bought to acquire Richardus’ Authorities, [Sea Change] and [Mountain-Crushing Supremacy], Chang-Sun slammed the ground with his foot, causing the ground underneath him to sink deep. At the same time, the land in front of Chang-Sun rose up, creating a high wall—no, a hill between Chang-Sun and Bo Du.

[Sea Change], which artificially changed landscapes, had been partially applied. Although Chang-Sun had definitely activated [Stomp], it had been upgraded in accordance with his current divine class.

『It’s meaningless!』Bo Du shouted.

Rumble―!

A storm crashed into and destroyed Chang-Sun’s earthen wall. Bo Du smirked at him for trying to block his attack with such a pathetic wall, thinking even the ‘Divine Twilight’ had lost his edge after plummeting. Chang-Sun would likely naturally yield if Bo Du showed him the power of [Storm Spear] a few more times, so Bo Du just broke through the rain of pebbles and dust to keep pressuring him. However, Chang-Sun was nowhere to be found.

‘Where did he go…?’ Bo Du wondered, his eyes widening.

『Bo Du! Behind you!』the Emperor’s Seat shouted, but it was already too late.

When Bo Du frantically turned around, he saw Chang-Sun, whose eyes had become sharper, overlapping and launching the [Black Mountain King’s Second Claw] and the [Black Mountain King’s Third Claw] at him.

Chang-Sun was so swift that Bo Du failed to detect his movements despite Bo Du’s sharpened senses. However, showing no signs of surprise, Bo Du spun like a top. Drawing an arc, Bo Du aimed for Chang-Sun’s heart using [Storm Spear].

Clang!

The [Yuchang Sword] blocked off Bo Du’s [Storm Spear]. The collision between the spearhead and the blade made the storm scatter, its aftereffect spreading in every direction and clawing at everything nearby, and purple lightning energy soar into the sky.

Their fight was no different from natural disasters crashing into each other, a sight that could only be found in myths. If they were on Earth, they would have already reduced several cities to dust with ease. Nevertheless, Chang-Sun just calmly yet quickly swung [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

[The Skills ‘Black Mountain King’s Fourth Claw’ and ‘Black Mountain King’s Fifth Claw’ have been activated!]

[The attack has reached the level of Authority.]

Aside from allowing Chang-Sun to launch Crushing Blows endlessly, the biggest advantage of the [Black Mountain King’s Claws] was that its damage exponentially increased. When Chang-Sun activated the [Black Mountain King’s Fifth Claw], it became as destructive as an Authority.

Bo Du swiftly raised the end of his [Storm Spear] to distance himself from Chang-Sun, but the moment the [Black Mountain King’s Fourth Claw] smashed the [Strom Spear]’s handle, the impact pushed away Bo Du.

Bo Du skidded to a stop, leaving two deep furrows in his tracks. His mind had blanked out, seemingly having sustained a concussion. The world around him spun, making him feel so nauseous that it became difficult to breathe.

Bo Du was stunned, finally realizing he was wrong. Since the attack was powerful enough to impact his divine class… The ‘Divine Twilight’ didn’t weaken at all after he plummeted. Rather, he made his skill tree more diverse and powerful as he attempted to rise again. The Lee Chang-Sun in this place was already way stronger than the ‘Divine Twilight’ in his prime!

Chang-Sun could only use this amount of power while the [Execution Sword] was activated. However, if he could achieve <Transcendence> and <Exuviation> again and regain his divine class… Bo Du couldn’t begin to fathom how much more sinister this fiend, who was already shining ominously, would become.

Despite being in a state of momentary panic, Bo Du regained his composure, albeit with difficulty. However, just as he did, the [Black Mountain King’s Fifth Claw] struck his head. Left by the old false deity, who had lost everything because of Heoju, this Authority proved very destructive. It didn’t just shatter the [Storm Spear], which was basically Bo Du’s everything. It was also about to rip him into pieces.

『Get a hold of yourself, son!』

The Emperor’s Seat hurriedly pulled Bo Du away by his nape and abruptly showed up where Bo Du had been. He then folded all his fingers halfway and concentrated his power in the center of his palm, using [White Hit] to immediately counter the incoming [Black Mountain King’s Fifth Claw]. The attack likely looked simple, but it was surely effective. Even Chang-Sun or the Fourth Elder, a member of the One-Horned Tribe, admitted that the Emperor’s Seat was an exceptional martial artist.

Boom!

The [Black Mountain King’s Fifth Claw] dissipated in the air, but even the Emperor’s Seat couldn’t completely nullify it. The claw’s fragments ragged his sleeve. Almost as if a tiger had clawed him, deep wounds covered him from his fingertips to his elbow.

『… It seems you resent me more than I thought, my son.』

The Emperor’s Seat sighed, frowning slightly. He and the two Celestials only exchanged several attacks with Chang-Sun, but he could already tell Chang-Sun had excruciatingly tried to prepare for this moment. It saddened him. The Emperor’s Seat genuinely wanted to make Chang-Sun his first son.

‘If we only didn’t misunderstand each other back then…!’ The Emperor’s Seat thought bitterly.

No matter how much the Emperor’s Seat regretted it now, nothing would change, but he couldn’t help but still find it sad. Thinking he should straighten everything out, the Emperor’s Seat decided to subdue Chang-Sun first. After cutting off the chain of the <Underworld> that was shackling Chang-Sun, he would clear up the misunderstanding between them.

Of course, considering the personality of the ‘Divine Twilight,’ the Emperor’s Seat knew that he would never listen. Rather, he would just growl at the Emperor’s Seat and tell the Emperor’s Seat to kill him. The ‘Divine Twilight’ would never yield even if his life was at stake. Nevertheless, the Emperor’s Seat wouldn’t let Chang-Sun go this time. He would try really hard to persuade him. Even if Chang-Sun never changed his mind, the Emperor’s Seat would keep trying until he did.

Swoosh―!

The Emperor’s Seat could see Bo Du, who had narrowly escaped death, moving again as he gritted his teeth. Judging from the anger blazing up in his eyes, he seemed to be trying to have payback for the humiliation he had just suffered. Suo Chao also rode his Dragon Horse toward Chang-Sun, swinging his [Jin Can Axe].

『Then, as your father, I should do my du—!』

The Emperor’s Seat drew up all his divine power to activate his Authority. However, he abruptly stopped when he felt a shiver run down his spine. The intuition of beings like the Emperor’s Seat was no different from prophecies. Just as he had expected…

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ has descended after receiving the divine ground owner’s permission!]

A spatial gap suddenly opened right in front of the Emperor’s Seat, and a goddess shining in golden light appeared. She was wearing ancient bronze armor, holding [Pallas] the divine spear in her left hand and [Aegis] the unbreakable shield in her left.

“From now on, you’ll be fighting me.” Minerva smiled faintly.

Whirl!

Minerva turned and thrust [Pallas] toward the Emperor’s Seat. The end of the golden light, shining radiantly, dissipated in the air, just like an owl flapping its wings.

[The ‘Divine Punishment of Promachos’ has descended!]

『No…!』

Flash!

Rumble―!

The Emperor’s Seat quickly redirected his [White Hit] from Chang-Sun to Minerva. Changing the course of attack midway significantly decreased its damage. Failing to break through the [Divine Punishment of Promachus] completely, a pool of light blinded the Emperor’s Seat. However, before he completely lost his sight, the last thing he saw was Chang-Sun smiling at him.

『No…!』The Emperor’s Seat tried to scream, but a thunderous sound muffled him. Minerva also completely blocked his view, so he couldn’t do anything.

Swoosh―!

At that moment, Chang-Sun headed toward Bo Du and Suo Chao, who were both coming at him. However, there was one thing different about him.

Click―!

Just as when Chang-Sun had forced a warp gate open, he had inserted a golden key in [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

[‘Peter’s Key’ has unlocked all the seals of ‘Tiamat’s Snaggletooth.’]

[The dormant power inside ‘Tiamat’s Snaggletooth’ is awakening.]

[The Evil Dragon has been unleashed!]