Chapter 169: Interlude - Atonement of the Goddess (1)

“Next?” Deneb said in a trembling voice.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s condition was beyond the point where even calling him a rag would be an understatement, yet his eyes flickered with blue flames and gleamed with chilling intensity.

Like insects crawling across his skin, a shiver ran down Deneb’s spine. “Just what did you turn your apostle into, Vega?”

The bet or who won—none of it mattered anymore.

It wasn’t just Deneb who felt this way. Even the Celestials filling the stands were speechless and overwhelmed by the terrifying aura radiating from Kwon Oh-Jin.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked as he staggered toward Deneb. “What... are you waiting for?”

Without even realizing it, Deneb took a step back. Realizing what he had just done, his shoulders trembled.

“

Ugh.

”

Deneb, a Celestial of the North Star, was a transcendent being ranked among the top three born from the stars. Now, he was backing away, overwhelmed by the aura of a mere human.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been the target of endless ridicule from the other Celestials. However, no one cast a glance of mockery at Deneb. They were all staring at Kwon Oh-Jin as he staggered forward like a possessed man.

“Come on... next,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

He started to fall as he walked forward. Just as his face was about to slam into the ground, Vega instantly appeared and caught him.

Plop.

“My child.”

She bit her lip as though it pained her to even look at him and gently caressed his blood-soaked cheek.

“Is Albali here?” Vega asked and looked across the stands.

Albali was the Celestial of Aquarius. No matter how horrific the wound, he could heal anyone without much trouble as long as they were still alive.

“Ah, yes. I'm here.”

The young man with a gentle appearance wore a monocle attached to a chain. He stood up from the stands and descended into the arena to examine Kwon Oh-Jin.

“These wounds are severe.”

Even though dying within the Sacred Ground was impossible, the fact that Kwon Oh-Jin had continued fighting in this state was unbelievable.

“Can you heal him?” Vega asked.

“Of course.”

Though the injuries were beyond disturbing to look at, Albali was the Celestial of Aquarius. Saving someone on the brink of death wasn’t difficult.

Albali closed his eyes and focused.

Woong!

Tiny water droplets formed around him and seeped into Kwon Oh-Jin. The wounds healed instantly as if a video was being played in reverse.

Kwon Oh-Jin regained consciousness and sat up as he gasped for air and coughed violently, clutching his chest in pain.

“

Pwah! Cough! Cough!

”

“His internal injuries haven’t fully healed yet. He needs to rest for a while,” Albali said.

“Alright,” Vega replied.

Albali adjusted his monocle and turned away.

Kwon Oh-Jin glanced around, his eyes regaining focus. “Vega?”

“You fool!”

Vega smacked Kwon Oh-Jin on the head.

Whack!

“

Oww.

”

Her eyes glistened with tears as she scolded him, “W-Why do you always make me worry so much?!”

“Vega.”

“You had already won! There was no reason to keep fighting and end up like this!” Vega sorrowfully said as she pulled his head into her embrace.

Buried in the plush sensation pressing against his cheeks, Kwon Oh-Jin barely wriggled free and awkwardly smiled.

Well, there actually were a few reasons...

For one, he had gotten too excited. Being fully immersed in such an awakened state felt like being high on drugs. He craved fighting against a powerful opponent. Of course, he didn’t continue fighting purely based on impulse.

I did it because I was almost there.

Lightning had been stuck at level 9 for the longest time. This time, he sensed that he was on the verge of reaching level 10. If he had stopped at Xiao Lin, he would never have leveled up.

Kwon Oh-Jin scanned the stands filled with Celestials.

“

Hmm.

”

They all stared at him with wide eyes as if seeing a ghost, and whispered among themselves.

He also kept fighting Deneb’s apostles to leave a striking impression on these Celestials. Although he had a feeling that he came across as a lunatic instead of leaving a good impression after getting too fired up. Nonetheless, he had shown more than enough to uphold the reputation of being the Weaver’s apostle.

“There’s something else I need besides divinity,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Something you need?” Vega asked.

“Just a sec.”

He staggered to his feet and approached Deneb, who stared blankly at him. “Now, as promised, you should give us your divinity.”

“I-I know.”

Deneb extended something that looked like a glowing white crystal. It didn’t exactly feel like something one would call divinity, but he would never hand over a fake with so many Celestials watching.

“Thank you.”

Kwon Oh-Jin felt tempted to use the Black Heavens and gulp down Deneb’s divinity right then and there. However, he couldn’t do that and risk Vega dropping to the level of the twelve Zodiacs without it.

“And one more thing,” Kwon Oh-Jin continued.

“One more thing?”

“I didn’t just beat three of them, I beat four. Shouldn’t I get an appropriate reward for that?”

“What?” Deneb narrowed his eyes. “That wasn’t part of the deal!”

“Isn’t it just common sense? In a match where winning three times was enough, I won four times. Don’t I deserve a proper reward?”

“

Hmph!

Then why didn’t you say that from the start?”

“

Hmm

. So, are you saying there won’t be any additional rewards?”

“Yeah! I ain’t giving you crap!”

“Are you sure about that? I’m not asking for crap.” Kwon Oh-Jin’s lips curled into a smirk as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“There are plenty of reasons.”

Kwon Oh-Jin glanced at the Celestials in the stands before continuing, “Weren't the rankings of your apostles in this proxy battle different from what you originally told me?”

“T-That’s—”

“Didn’t you send out a higher-ranked apostle because you thought you’d lose? And even after losing, you sent out an even higher-ranked Awakener just to make me pay.”

“T-That’s because you were the one who suggested—”

“So, you’re just going to pretend nothing happened after losing even though you sent out your fifth and fourth-ranked apostles?”

Deneb’s expression twisted in frustration.

Kwon Oh-Jin flashed a leisurely smile and shrugged. “I wonder how the other Celestials will take this.”

“Are you trying to threaten me right now?”

“Threaten? You were the one who gathered all these Celestials to watch and embarrass me in the first place, weren’t you?”

Deneb groaned with nothing to say.

“

Ugh

. Damn it!”

He had fallen into the very trap he set and stomped in frustration.

“

Argh!

You’re so annoying! Soooo freaking annoying!” Deneb pulled his hair and threw a tantrum like a child.

Allen came down from the stands and calmed Deneb down.

Deneb glared at Kwon Oh-Jin and deeply sighed. “So, what is it that you want?”

As expected of someone who possessed three members of the Seven Stars, Deneb had countless treasures. Out of all those valuables, Kwon Oh-Jin only wanted one thing.

“An elixir.”

“An elixir?”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded calmly. “Yes. I’d like an elixir.”

Deneb cocked his head, not understanding. “Why an elixir? There are plenty of other things you could ask for.”

Elixirs had high healing properties that could even bring the dead back to life. It could also regenerate body parts that had been long severed. Not even a high-ranking Aquarius Awakener could do that.

But I don’t see any injuries like that on him.

Kwon Oh-Jin had performed a crazy stunt by tearing off his own arm earlier, but Albali had already healed him. Deneb couldn't think of a reason why he would need an elixir.

“Well, okay. I just have to give you an elixir, right?”

Having worried that Kwon Oh-Jin would ask for something outrageous, this was actually good news for Deneb.

Of course, elixirs were still priceless. However, Deneb considered it slightly less precious among his countless treasures.

The ring on Deneb’s finger emitted a soft light, and the air rippled as though a stone had been thrown into a still pond.

Woong!

Deneb reached into the ripple and pulled out a glass bottle that glowed with a clear blue light.

“Here.”

Kwon Oh-Jin accepted the elixir with a faint smile. “Thank you.”

I was planning to make her one myself, but...

To create an elixir, one had to at least be a high-ranking Aquarius Awakener. That wasn’t all. Even with the right abilities, it was well-known that creating a single elixir required years of preparation and collecting rare ingredients.

There’s no reason to wait that long.

Kwon Oh-Jin carefully tucked the bottle into his coat.

“Are you planning to give it to Ha-Eun?” Vega asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded without hesitation. “Yeah.”

Vega’s eyes wavered as she looked at him. “How pathetic.”

“Huh? Me?”

“No. I wasn’t talking about you,” Vega said with a self-deprecating smile. “What I just said was directed at myself.”

“Why?”

Vega looked at him with trembling eyes.

The image of him staggering to his feet in a completely battered and broken state flashed through her mind. He had fought so desperately.

It was all... for the sake of others, wasn’t it?

At first, he had fought to restore Vega’s divinity. Then, he fought to secure an elixir for Song Ha-Eun. No matter how painful and agonizing it was, he never gave up.

And yet... I was suspicious of a child like this?

She had sensed the Black Heaven the day Kwon Oh-Jin freed her from the chains of the law’s restrictions. Even though she kept telling herself it was impossible, she couldn’t erase the seed of doubt that had taken root in her heart.

“I’m ashamed of myself,” Vega said.

She felt utterly foolish for not trusting him.

“What’s there to be ashamed of?”

“Of all beings, I should be the one who trusts and protects you the most... but I foolishly forgot my duty.”

“What are you talking...?”

He was about to ask what she meant, but his expression suddenly stiffened. He recalled Vega’s suspicious behavior from the past few days.

Shit... did I mess up somehow?

He frantically searched his memories, but he hadn’t done anything that would have raised Vega’s suspicions.

What the hell is going on?

He racked his brain to figure out why she had started doubting him.

“I must atone for this.”

“Atone?”

Vega hesitated for a moment with trembling lips before finally nodding with determined eyes.

“Punish this foolish Celestial of yours!”

What?