The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 380: Star, Purple Star Astrology (1)

A powerful earthquake rippled across the planet covered in piles of wreckage, followed by a giant explosion.

Booom!

Bel-Marduk stood up from the center of the explosion, huffing and puffing in anger.

『Huff―! Huff―!』

It was evident that he was furious. His face was red and half of his body was ruined, although he was recovering quickly. Chang-Sun had commanded [Naglfar] to self-detonate, enraging Bel-Marduk and resulting in his severe injuries.

“You’re a mess,” a voice said from above him, giggling.

Bel-Marduk quickly looked toward the source of the laughter in annoyance. Sadalmelik the ‘Aquarius’ smiled alluringly at Bel-Marduk while sitting on a heap of floating space waste.

『Are you mocking me?』

Bel-Marduk looked as if he wanted to rip Sadalmelik to shreds, but she only gaped dramatically without so much as an apology, thinking he would never actually do it. Her confidence came from her ability, however.

Tap!

Bel-Marduk caught the bottle that Sadalmelik tossed to him; clear water undulated inside a pink glass bottle.

“I wouldn’t be giving this to you if I just wanted to mess with you,” Sadalmelik said as she continued to giggle.

『Ha!』

Bel-Marduk quietly scoffed and drank up the potion. Every sip sped up his recovery remarkably quickly. The potion’s name was [Nectar]; it was a mythical medicine that only a few people in <Heaven> could concoct. Sadalmelik was one of those people. Since she was practically the only healer in <Horoscope>, it was no exaggeration to say she was the most influential one in the <Society> next to Bel-Marduk. Only after his raging divine power subsided on some level did Bel-Marduk continue speaking.

『He’s gotten a lot stronger and more sly.』

Unlike before, no trace of mischievousness or annoyance could be detected in his voice. Rather, his tone was calm and sharp; Sadalmelik could tell that the incident had changed Bel-Marduk’s opinion about Chang-Sun greatly. Up until now, to Bel-Marduk, Chang-Sun had been a… What was the word? Toy? Chang-Sun had been easy prey that Bel-Marduk could eat at any time, but that prey had suddenly turned into a colossal elephant.

‘But the fact that Bel-Marduk still considers Twilight his prey won’t change.’

With that thought, Sadalmelik asked, “So did the tiger suddenly gain a fox’s wits?”

『No, it’s more like…』

Bel-Marduk trailed off for a moment before he continued.

『A snake. He slipped out of his skin and acquired cunning wits.』

“A snake, huh? Hahaha, that makes sense,” Sadalmelik said with a nod.

Snakes were believed to be mythical creatures that could freely travel between the worlds of the dead and the living because of how they moved between the surface and the underground as they wished. Snakes also shed skins and grew bigger, so they signified resurrection as well. Their sharp minds also made them a symbol of wit and wisdom.

Death, resurrection, wit, wisdom… Chang-Sun technically had all of those traits. He had returned from death, and he had quickly grown stronger like a snake shedding his skin. With his wits, he had conspired against his enemies to eliminate them one by one; he had also pursued more gnosis, indicating his heightened slyness.

‘Come to think of it, the first monster he went up against after returning to Earth was a snake too,’ Sadalmelik thought.

Everything was adding up too well to be a coincidence, which was interesting.

“The seat of the 13th Zodiac is empty, right? Shall we give it to him?” Sadalmelik casually suggested.

Ophiuchus, the 13th Zodiac, was a forgotten Star Sign that almost no one remembered now, but that very sign suddenly crossed Sadalmelik’s mind. When she said that out loud, she had a feeling that it was not a bad idea.

Chang-Sun had proven himself to be as capable as them in the incident. In addition, he had the <First Star’s Fragment>, so he was more than qualified. She did not even consider the possibility of Chang-Sun rejecting their offer. Even the other Zodiacs had been enemies, but they were currently working as partners out of necessity.

『…』

However, Bel-Marduk seemed to be lost in thought.

“Well, you don’t want to make a big deal of it since you’re planning to eat him soon, yes?” Sadalmelik remarked, snickering.

With cold eyes, Bel-Marduk looked at Sadalmelik.

“You need to eat Twilight to complete yourself and go back to the turning point that you really…! Ahhhhhh!” Sadalmelik writhed, because Bel-Marduk suddenly grabbed her head roughly.

『I already told you several times that you shouldn’t be unnecessarily curious. Have you forgotten about that, Sadalmelik?』

Bel-Marduk tightened his grip around Sadalmelik’s head, and her screams grew louder. She could feel her soul being crushed little by little; however, even though she continuously struck Bel-Marduk’s hands, Bel-Marduk did not budge.

『Or have I coddled you too much recently? Is that why you think you can stand on even footing with me?』

“I-I’m sorry. My tongue slipped! I won’t take interest in that anymore! So let me… go…!” Sadalmelik said quickly.

『I don’t like to waste my time warning people. I could just just rip you to pieces and replace you with another guy, just like I did with ‘Leo’ over there.』

Sadalmelik fervently nodded, looking at ‘Leo’ through the gaps between Bel-Marduk’s fingers. Only the Zodiacs in <Horoscope> knew how the original ‘Leo’ had been eliminated for an unknown reason and been replaced by someone else, and almost no one else other than Sadalmelik knew that the current ‘Leo’ was a fragment of Bel-Marduk.

“A-Alright, so please put me down…!” Sadalmelik cried. She trembled faintly, feeling as if she would really die at this rate. Only after Bel-Marduk slowly took his hand off her could she start breathing again.

“Huff, huff.” Sadalmelik was soaked in sweat as she watched Bel-Marduk, her eyes filled with terror.

『But you have a point.』

“…?” Sadalmelik looked at Bel-Marduk without saying anything else, not understanding what was going on inside his head.

Smiling wickedly, Bel-Marduk spoke.

『Let’s consider appointing Twilight as ‘Ophiuchus’.』

* * *

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight! Twiliiiiiight!” Pollux screamed in fury.

Right after Chang-Sun teleported away, Pollux had been forced to fight against Kali, and had struggled badly as a result. If Chang-Sun had not fled in the middle of the battle, Pollux would likely not still be here, alive and breathing.

“Despite all your big talk, you’ve gotten very weak, Pollux. How does it feel like to be the weak one this time?” Kali asked, smirking at Pollux.

“I’m going to kill them, kill them! Twilight! Kali! I’ll kill them aaaall!” Pollux yelled at the top of his lungs.

For Pollux, Chang-Sun had been a moth who flew over without knowing his place, and Kali had been a bug he could crush to death any time. Pollux had considered them weaklings deserving only of disdain, but it was different now. Now, they had humiliated him, hurting him greatly.

Still, Chang-Sun would not reappear no matter how indignant Pollux became. That left Pollux no choice but to quell his anger, leading him to unwittingly chew on his fingernails. That was when he suddenly felt a presence from behind.

Pollux turned around, snapping in annoyance, “Brother! Where in the world have you been?!”

『It’s Minerva…』

Castor was also in bad shape. Perhaps it would have been different if Pollux had helped him, but it had not been easy for Castor to fight against Minerva on his own. Since he had already sustained serious injuries prior to the battle, Castor had been losing; there was no knowing how the fight would have turned out if Chang-Sun had not escaped, much like with his brother.

Despite his own injuries, Castor had come to check up on his brother, who seemed to be in poor condition… but Pollux merely criticized Castor instead.

Pollux snapped. “You’re an idiot! How can you not even be able to defeat Minerva? You seriously can’t do anything right. I ended up in this mess because you weren’t here!”

『…』

“Shit. You’re really frustrating. Do better next time! Alright?” Pollux continued.

『…Sorry.』

“You always say that, but you’re always the same!” Pollux continued grubling, even though Castor already apologized. Thinking he needed [Nectar] at least, Pollux looked for Sadalmelik, but she was nowhere to be seen. Pollux cursed, “Where did this bitch go? For fuck’s sake, no one here is useful! No one!”

Castor pursed his lips, looking at his brother. His arm had also been cut off, and half of his head had been destroyed. In fact, Castor’s injuries were worse than Pollux's, so he was far from fine. Nevertheless, Pollux only criticized Castor in anger, not worrying about him even for a second.

‘He’s always…!’ Castor thought, gritting his teeth.

It was just like the time they had invaded the ‘Owl’s Nest’, Minerva’s divine ground. When their invasion had turned into a failure, Castor had protested Pollux’s retreat order, but Pollux had not hesitated to degrade Castor in front of everyone else. Although Castor had thought that Pollux would later apologize to him in private, Pollux never did so, as if he had completely forgotten about it.

The problem was that the incident at the ‘Owl’s Nest’ was not the first time… Castor had spent eternity with his brother, and similar kinds of incidents had occurred again and again. Pollux always believed his decisions were the only right ones, and practically enslaved Castor, his older brother.

Of course, Castor had expressed uneasiness about that several times, but it only worked temporarily. It seemed that Pollux had never viewed Castor as equal, and that had always been a source of deep grievance. But here they were, going through the same situation again. Due to the situation, it was understandable that Pollux had not noticed his brother’s wounds, but he was treating Castor like an idiotic subordinate, even though he had also lost his battle.

‘Why is he treating me like this?!’ Castor thought as he watched Pollux.

Although there was no knowing whether or not Pollux knew his twin brother’s grievances, he did not pay Castor any more heed, at least not until his brother found Sadalmelik some time later.

“She’s with Bel-Marduk? No wonder I couldn’t find her. Shit!” Pollux cursed again.

『…』

“Brother!”

『…Yeah.』

Pollux still did not even look at Castor as he said, “Bring Sadalmelik over here.”

『…What?』

“What do you mean, what? Can’t you figure it out even after seeing my condition? I can’t go to her like this, and that bitch isn’t someone who will readily come just because I call her! So you go and bring her to me,” Pollux snapped, still sounding as if he was addressing a subordinate.

Snap―!

At that moment, Castor felt something snapping inside his mind.

『…Pollux, I’m also hu…!』

“You just got some scratches! My injuries are totally more serious than yours! Look at me!” Pollux interrupted.

『…Still.』

“Ah, fine. Forget it if you don’t want to. I haven’t asked for anything big, but why do you insist on making a fuss? Slowpoke! Alright, I’ll go myself!” Pollux snapped as he brushed past Castor and headed in Sadalmelik’s direction.

Castor caught the cold look on Pollux’s face and realized that his brother still had not even bothered to look at his injuries.

Snap, snap!

The last straw in Castor’s head snapped. He reached out his large remaining hand toward Pollux very slowly.

“Now you’re movi…?” Pollux began with a frown as he turned around in annoyance, but he had to stop talking when he saw Castor’s blank eyes

There was no sign of any emotions or reason in Castor’s gaze as he grabbed Pollux. Although he tried to break away from Castor’s outrageously strong grip, Pollux’s Divine Class was already shaky to the point that even his <Myths> were unstable, which meant it was impossible to resist Castor in terms of physical strength.

“B-Brother! What are you suddenly doing?! Calm down! Get a hold of yo…!” Pollux shouted desperately.

『You’re always like this.』

“Brother…?”

『You’re the only great one, and I’m pathetic, yes? So…』

As Castor slowly opened his mouth, Pollux could see darkness looming over him; his face was deathly pale, in sharp contrast to that darkness.

『...Give me your greatness.』

“N…!”

Crack!

Pollux’s scream was cut short.

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ has cannibalized the Celestial ‘Geminus’!]

[The split Star Signs have been merged into one.]

Castor chewed for a very long time.

Crack, crack―!