Chapter 19: Black Star Society (2)

The man clutched the spear impaled in his stomach, wide-eyed.

“

Kugh

! H-How did you...?”

Intense pain spread through him as blood gushed out of his wound. However, Kwon Oh-Jin's emergence from within the cave stunned him most.

“You seem confused,” Kwon Oh-Jin said, violently twisting the spear lodged in the man’s stomach. The wound tore open, causing more blood to spray out.

“

Arrrrgh

!”

“But I’ll be the one asking questions,” Kwon Oh-Jin continued, smiling slyly.

“Shut up!”

The man swung at him with a fist enveloped in an ominous black aura.

Whoosh!

Crackle!

Blue lightning surged from Kwon Oh-Jin's spear before the fist made contact.

“Aaaghhhh!”

The man convulsed violently, flailing like a freshly caught fish, before collapsing to the ground.

“Now, mind telling me a few things?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, pressing his knee down on the man’s chest. “Tell me everything you know about the Black Star Society.”

The man chuckled and haughtily glared at Kwon Oh-Jin.

“

Ha

. I have no reason to answer—”

Kwon Oh-Jin grabbed the man’s left index finger and twisted it off.

Crack!

"Aaaaaghhhhh

!"

“

Oh

, is that so? Well, that’s too bad then.”

Kwon Oh-Jin hadn’t expected him to give it all up easy.

“So you don't want to talk, right?”

“Huff, huff!”

“Then, don’t say another word.”

The fastest and most effective method in these cases was torture. He began twisting and snapping off the man's fingers, one by one.

Crack, crack!

“Aaaghhhh!”

Soon, several severed fingers scattered across the floor. The man’s mouth began to foam after he ran out of fingers on his left hand.

“I-I’ll talk,” the man weakly stuttered.

“Huh?”

“I-I said I’l... talk.”

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head as he grabbed the man’s other hand.

“No. What are you talking about?” Kwon Oh-Jin retorted.

“... W-What?”

“I told you not to say anything, didn’t I?”

With a wide smile, Kwon Oh-Jin twisted and broke another finger.

Crack!

“

Aaaagh

!”

“You said you didn’t want to talk, so don’t say anything.”

“N-No, wait. That’s not—”

Crack!

Kwon Oh-Jin ripped off more fingers from the man's right hand.

“

Aaaaghhhh

! I-I’ll talk!”

“No need.”

“I-I’ll tell you everything about the Black Star Society!”

“I told you, there’s no need.”

“P-Please! I’ll answer anything, so just stop—”

“I said you don’t need to, asshole!”

He grabbed the man by his hair and slammed his head into the ground.

Bang!

“I said—!”

Bang!

“You don’t need to talk!”

Bang!

“Yet you keep trying to yaaaap!”

Kwon Oh-Jin let out a maniacal scream and slammed the man’s head into the ground over and over again.

This would’ve been fatal for the average guy, but this man was an Awakener. Although Kwon Oh-Jin didn't know his exact star level, Awakeners turned superhuman when they awakened; a beating like this wouldn't kill him.

“K-Kugh... Agh... I-I’ll talk. I-I want to... talk,” the man pitifully stammered out.

The patronizing snob from earlier was now weeping like a three-year-old who had fooled around and stepped on Legos.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked as he looked down at the man.

This'll do. There's no better cure than violence.

Anyone who came face-to-face with pure, senseless violence couldn’t help but feel traumatic fear to their core. Judging by the fact that the man even wet his pants, it seemed to have worked.

Nothing’s scarier than a lunatic who can’t be reasoned with.

“So, you feel like talking now?”

“Y-Yes! I-I’d love to!”

“Then let’s hear it. What is this Black Star Society?”

The man nodded slowly. “Th-The Black Star Society's an organization created by the Black Star Celestials.”

“... Black Star Celestials?”

“Y-Yes!”

... The fuck is that?

“In ancient times, when darkness consumed every star... the Celestials born within that void came to be known as the Black Star Celestials.”

“How the hell am I supposed to make sense of that?”

“

Eeek!

I-I’m just repeating what I was told!”

The man curled up like a mole exposed to the cold.

“Fine. So you’re saying you guys are Awakeners who follow the Black Star Celestials or whatever, right?”

“... That’s right.”

“Then tell me where you guys are hiding and how many of you there are.”

“B-Baegunsan! Our branch is at the Baegunsan Mountain in Cheorwon-gun.”

“Does the entire fucking mountain belong to you guys? Give me the exact location.”

“A-Ahh! I-I’m sorry!”

The man trembled harder as Kwon Oh-Jin’s tone grew even more threatening.

“There’s an old, abandoned observatory at the top of the mountain! Our branch is hidden underground, right beneath it!”

“How many of you are there?”

“A-About fifty.”

Damn. That’s a lot.

“You said that’s just a branch, right? Where’s the headquarters?”

“I-I don’t know...”

“You don’t know?”

Kwon Oh-Jin thought about pulling out the man’s toes next.

“I-I swear, I really don’t know! Only our executive knows the location of the headquarters! A mere minion like me doesn't even know where the other branches are!”

“

Hmm

.”

He didn't seem to be lying.

Well, they wouldn’t spill all their secrets to an underling.

An organization making insane claims such as making the Celestials pay for their sins was sure to operate with strict security.

“Is that guy named Yoo-Jin your executive?”

“Y-Yes!”

The man rapidly nodded like a broken metronome.

“But I don’t get it.”

“Get what...?”

“Why are you following a shady guy like that in the first place?”

Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t understand why someone would be loyal to an organization that was no different from a cult.

The man remained silent for a moment before he spoke.

“... He gave it to us.”

“What?”

“Mr. Yoo-Jin bestowed Stigmas upon us.”

“

Oh

.”

So these guys have been using Stigmas as bait.

Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t know how Yoo-Jin managed to grant Stigmas to others, but he could at least understand why people joined such a cult. He recalled all the people gathered before the Sanctum, desperately praying to the Celestials.

Many would even kill their own family if it meant becoming an Awakener.

That was the kind of world they lived in.

There’s nothing more I can get out of him now.

It was time to wrap this up. Kwon Oh-Jin pulled the spear out from the man’s stomach and aimed it at his forehead.

“W-Wait! W-Wait a moment!” the man cried out desperately. Tears streamed down as he dropped his head. “I... I have a daughter! P-Please don’t kill me!”

“A daughter, huh?”

“... Yes. I only joined the Black Star Society for her sake,” he said, biting his lips and squeezing his eyes shut. “I-If I suddenly disappear, she won’t survive...!”

No child could survive without their parents in this crazy world of theirs. Kwon Oh-Jin knew that better than anyone.

Thud!

The man slammed his forehead onto the ground.

“I’m begging you! For my daughter’s sake, please spare my life!”

“

Hmmm

.”

“Or at least let me say goodbye to my daughter one last time! Please! I’m begging you!”

The man pitifully sobbed.

Kwon Oh-Jin squinted and looked down at him.

“Her name.”

“Sorry?”

“What’s your daughter’s name?”

“... Ye-Rin. It’s Choi Ye-Rin.”

“How old is she?”

“Sh-She’s nine! She’s still far too young to survive on her own...”

“When’s her birthday?”

“S-Sorry?”

The man seemed confused. Why was Kwon Oh-Jin asking such things?

“Hurry up and answer the question. When’s her birthday?” Kwon Oh-Jin urged the man.

“December... 14th.”

“Her favorite food?”

“Why are you asking me all this?”

“Just answer.”

“Pizza... N-No, it’s chicken!”

“Her height and weight?”

“Uh... One hundred thirty-one centimeters... and t-twenty-eight! Twenty-eight kilograms!”

“Is that so?”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded. Choi Ye-Rin, nine years old, born on December 14th, likes chicken. A hundred thirty-one centimeters tall and weighing twenty-eight kilograms.

“Okay then,” Kwon Oh-Jin said with a smirk, gripping his spear tightly. “Now, answer all the questions I asked you in reverse.”

Time froze for a moment. The man’s eyes widened and his jaw hung open.

“... What?”

His legs trembled like leaves in the wind.

“Tell me her weight, height, favorite food, birthday, age, and name.”

“W-Well,

um

, twenty-eight kilograms, and then,

uh...

w-wait, just... give me a second!”

“

Pfft!

What’s wrong? Can’t remember? It sure is tough to keep up with your own lies when someone asks you to repeat them backward.”

Not that it's any trouble for me, though.

The blade just barely pierced the man’s flesh, blood trickling down its edge.

“P-Please spare me! I don’t want to die!”

The man fell into sheer panic feeling the cold blade of the spear against his skull.

“One last thing. Where did you say your base was?”

"Ch-Cheorwon-gun. The top of Baegunsan Mountain...”

“Okay.”

So that wasn’t a lie.

Crack!

The spearhead pierced straight through the man’s head, crushing his brain.

“

Kugh

!”

Weariness washed over Kwon Oh-Jin as the tension started to melt away.

“

Haa

.”

The Black Star Society, huh?

He ran his hand through his hair, furrowing his brow in thought.

“This is gonna be a headache.”

He hadn't just encountered a dangerous, shady group, he even scammed them.

I thought I’d found some easy pushovers, but I ended up causing a mess.

“Ugh.”

Kwon Oh-Jin touched his forehead like a headache was coming.

There’s no way they’ll let this slide.

They were bound to come after him for revenge or to cover up their tracks.

And there’s no way I can handle all fifty of them alone.

“I need to come up with a plan.”

This wasn’t something he could deal with right now.

“Though, maybe this could turn into a good opportunity.”

Kwon Oh-Jin peeled away the man’s robe and armor from his corpse, exposing a Stigma on the left side of his chest—one he’d never seen before.

Is this the Stigma of the Black Stars?

He reached out and placed his hand over it.

Kurrrk

.

A black cloud emerged from his palm, with the same unsettling mana he had felt when he'd absorbed the Astral Relic's power. The cloud enveloped the corpse's Stigma.

Ring!

[The Black Heaven is absorbing the Stigma of Owl Nebula!]

[The trace of the Stigma of Owl Nebula is too faint to be activated.]

The Stigma of Owl Nebula, huh?

“What kind of power does the Stigma of the Black Stars hold?”

Kwon Oh-Jin licked his lips.

***

A white-haired old man squinted as he gazed up at the Milky Way stretched across the night sky. Countless stars twinkled as if they were making their way down.

Flutter!

A black owl flew in and perched itself on the old man’s shoulder.

“He's arrived?”

The old man seemed deep in conversation with the owl, nodding now and then as if he truly understood its murmurs. Then, turning slowly, he faced a young man kneeling before him, dressed in a black robe with his head respectfully bowed.

“

Hoohoohoo

. Yoo-Jin, you’re back.”

“Yes, Executor.”

Yoo-Jin swallowed hard. Despite working under the old man for years, every encounter left him frozen, his entire body seized by the unyielding pressure the old man radiated.

It's only natural.

The white-haired man standing before him was none other than Cheon Do-Yoon, the King of Owls—the sixth-ranked Executor of the Black Star Society.

However, this time, Yoo-Jin possessed a card to free him from the suffocating pressure.

“So, did you bring the item?” asked the old man.

“Of course.”

Yoo-Jin carefully took out the Astral Relic from inside his robe. It was a black chalice, slightly larger than a fist; inside it was the power of the Black Stars.

“Hoohoohoo!”

The old man's face lit up with a wide grin as he continued, “You’ve done well, Yoo-Jin.”

“

Haha

, it wasn’t hard.”

The old man raised his hand and commanded, “Owls.”

Flutter!

Following the sound of flapping wings, dozens of figures in black robes emerged from the surrounding darkness. The old man gestured to Yoo-Jin, who stepped forward with the chalice. He approached the intricate, strange circle drawn on the ground.

“At last, the day has come.”

Placing the chalice at the center of the circular inscription, Yoo-Jin spread his arms, looking triumphant. His robe fluttered in the fierce wind.

“Do you see that wretched sky?! It shall soon be engulfed by the Black Stars!”

From beneath the numerous hoods around them, intense gazes flashed through. Though none spoke, the dozen or so members of the Black Star Society all breathed heavily with anticipation as they watched the ritual unfold.

“Now!” Yoo-Jin exclaimed. He infused the circle on the ground with mana. “Watch the Black Stars bless our path!”

Wooong!

The circle pulsed with dark light, and then—

“This is only the beginning!”

Nothing happened.

“Soon, more blessed items will emerge from—Huh?”

Yoo-Jin stared at the now dim circle, confusion written across his face.

“... What’s happening?”

No matter how much he touched, flipped, and examined the chalice, there was no reaction.

“Why isn’t it working?”

Dozens of eyes were unpleasantly fixed on him. He could see the old man’s expression twist into an ugly scowl. Yoo-Jin was screwed.

“W-Wait a minute!”

“...”

His narrow eyes shot wide open.

“N-No! This can’t be happening!”