Chapter 365: Celestial Of The Black Stars (1)

After the three-day vacation ended, Kwon Oh-Jin’s busy routine resumed. As always, he woke at dawn and headed to his private training facility, which was now an entire stadium Isabella had purchased and converted just for him.

Training began at four in the morning and ended around eight at night. After sixteen straight hours of grueling practice, he could now control the Stigma of Lyra as a ten-star.

“I’ll get going now, Mr. Oh-Jin. I made as many side dishes as I could and stocked them in the fridge.”

“

Ah

, okay. Thanks.”

It wasn’t only Kwon Oh-Jin who was swamped with work. Isabella, alongside her own training, constantly flew around the world to manage the Colgrande Family’s dozens of businesses.

“You said you were headed to Italy this time, right?” he asked.

“Yes, I’ll be visiting my family’s estate for a bit.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“Well... I’ve got a lot to deal with, so I’ll probably be gone for longer than usual this time.”

Her face drooped at the thought of being apart from Kwon Oh-Jin. Seeing her shoulders slump, he couldn't help but chuckle as she looked like a puppy caught in the rain.

Isabella shot him a sharp glare. “What? Don’t tell me you’re happy to be rid of me?”

Shaking his head, Kwon Oh-Jin gently cupped her cheeks. “That’s not it.”

“Honestly, I just want to drop all the businesses, but...” She sighed deeply and gazed at him longingly.

In truth, she wanted nothing more than to abandon all her corporate responsibilities so she could manage every detail of his life, from his meals to his schedule and even his nights.

For his sake... I have to hold back.

The vast wealth and influence generated by those businesses were a huge asset to Kwon Oh-Jin, who technically had nothing else backing him besides the Association. Even in a world with rifts to different realms and monsters running rampant, money still held overwhelming power.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him while you’re gone.” Song Ha-Eun slyly grinned and squeezed his butt.

Isabella’s eyes quickly sharpened. “Unnie...!”

“I’m kidding, kidding. I’m busy too, you know.”

“

Hmph

. Still...” Isabella bit her lip, clearly displeased.

She knew Song Ha-Eun was also swamped lately and training hard to master the Dragon God’s soul she had obtained in the Demonic District.

“Still, this is unfair,” Isabella muttered.

At least Song Ha-Eun didn’t have to leave the country like she did.

With a long sigh, Isabella soon shook her head. She couldn’t keep pouting like a child when they were all busy.

“Well then, I’ll be off, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“Okay. Travel safe. Call me.” Kwon Oh-Jin kissed her lightly and waved as she left.

Roberto and a few attendants in black suits, waiting outside the door, all escorted Isabella. “Shall we go, miss?”

Song Ha-Eun clicked her tongue as she watched Isabella leave. “Guess she really is busy these days.”

“Yeah, probably.”

No matter how skilled Isabella was, running dozens of companies couldn’t be easy. Even with subordinates handling most of the day-to-day work, only she could make certain decisions.

“I should get ready and head out too,” he said.

“Let’s go together, Oh-Jin.”

Song Ha-Eun hadn’t locked herself in the training facility for sixteen hours straight like him, but she still put in a lot of effort. Whenever they had a break, they would eat lunch together, or she would help with his training as well.

“Wait, let me call Vega first.”

Besides Song Ha-Eun’s help, Vega also helped Kwon Oh-Jin with a far more structured approach to mastering the Stigma of Lyra. Thanks to her guidance, his training to fuse the Stigma of Lyra with the Black Heaven progressed rapidly.

In the past, he could never have dreamed of Vega helping to fuse the Black Heaven and Stigma of Lyra. However, now that the Black Heaven’s true nature had been revealed, he no longer needed to train in secret from her.

Kwon Oh-Jin channeled mana into the pendant around his neck, and a silver light shot out.

Woong!

Vega appeared with her arms raised in her usual dramatic pose. “It is I!”

She looked over them, both dressed in training clothes, and sighed. “Are you off to train again?”

“That’s right.”

“

Haa.

You already trained so hard yesterday and were practically exhausted. I worry your body will break down.”

“If I get hurt, I’ll just soak in the pool for a while.”

Since the training facility had originally been a stadium, it included a large pool for underwater training. Of course, Kwon Oh-Jin simply used the swimming pool for treatment and not underwater combat training.

“That water-absorption healing skill, was it called Water Affinity?” Vega asked.

“Yeah.”

“But that technique can only heal external injuries, can it not?”

“That’s true, but...”

Even healing just external wounds helped a ton.

“Ever since the Black Heaven grew stronger, it sort of started healing internal damage as well,” Kwon Oh-Jin explained.

Only to some extent since it wasn’t a skill meant for treating internal injuries.

Even if someone gulped down an entire bottle of elixir, they wouldn’t recover this fast.

When it came purely to raw recovery speed for external wounds, Water Affinity could easily match the legendary elixir that could bring even the dead back to life.

Thanks to that, I can train without worrying about wrecking my body.

As long as he had enough water, no matter how severe the injury, he could regenerate as if he were some immortal creature. No better recovery skill existed for Kwon Oh-Jin, who enjoyed pushing himself with brutal, borderline-torturous training.

Vega pressed her forehead as if getting a headache. “

Haa

. You’re unbelievable.”

Riarc, her Star Spirit who had inherited a fragment of her soul, was just as much of a training fanatic as Kwon Oh-Jin. However, even Riarc didn’t push himself to the point of breaking down.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

He didn’t train earlier in the morning because he wanted to see Isabella off. Since it was already late, he figured they would have to stay longer.

As he opened the front door, his phone started vibrating in his pocket.

Bzzzzzz.

“Who’s calling?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Hang on.”

He checked the screen and saw that it was Han Jun-Man.

Kwon Oh-Jin answered, “Hello?”

—

Haa... haa!

Oh-Jin, is now a good time to talk?

Han Jun-Man sounded urgent.

—Could you... come to the Association immediately?

“What’s going on?”

—I’ll explain when you get here.

“

Hmm.

Alright. I’ll head over right away.”

—Thank you!

Without even a proper goodbye, Han Jun-Man hung up.

“What’s going on?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Not sure. He did sound pretty urgent, though.”

“Oh, really?”

“Either way, I’d better go.”

“Oh, wait. I’m getting a call too.” Song Ha-Eun’s phone began vibrating as well.

It seemed Han Jun-Man wasn’t just calling Kwon Oh-Jin, but all the Awakeners affiliated with the Association.

“Okay, Mr. Gorilla. I heard from Oh-Jin. We’ll go there together.”

After the short call, Song Ha-Eun headed out with Kwon Oh-Jin to the Association.

***

When they arrived, Han Jun-Man was already waiting at the entrance with sweat beading on his forehead. “Y-You’re here!”

Kwon Oh-Jin walked up to him and quietly asked, “What happened?”

Despite Han Jun-Man’s urgency, the employees and Awakeners inside the Association seemed calm. This meant that the public didn’t know what Han Jun-Man was about to tell them yet.

Han Jun-Man glanced around before turning. “Follow me for now.”

He led them to a conference room where only the president and top executives could enter.

Sensing someone already inside, Kwon Oh-Jin cocked his head. “

Huh?

Someone’s here already?”

“Yes. The guild master of the Valhalla Guild.”

Valhalla Guild?

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes narrowed as he hadn’t heard that name in a while.

The conference room door opened, and Lee Woo-Hyuk stepped out. “It’s been a while, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“

Ah...

yes. It really has been a while.”

As they shook hands, Kwon Oh-Jin tried to recall the last time they had met.

Was it back during the Living Armor incident?

It had been so long that he could barely recall.

Hmm?

He noticed a doll-sized figure perched on Lee Woo-Hyuk’s shoulder. The man radiated a sharp, heavy presence like a finely honed blade. However, he didn’t seem as intimidating because of his small size.

“It’s been a long time, Alkaid,” the tiny man greeted Kwon Oh-Jin. Then, he turned to Vega on Kwon Oh-Jin's shoulder and bowed respectfully. “I greet the Star of Lyra.”

“Aren’t you... Regulus?” Vega asked.

Regulus was the Celestial of Leo, one of the twelve Zodiacs.

“How are you here on Earth...?” Vega asked.

“Ever since the restrictions of the Law weakened, I’ve been able to manifest in this form.”

“

Ah

,” Vega gasped.

She had heard that the restrictions had weakened enough for Celestials to manifest outside, but this was the first time she had actually seen it with her own eyes.

So, the Celestial of Leo chose Lee Woo-Hyuk.

They had said that they were keeping an eye on him. Now, it seemed they had decided to stay by his side.

“Introductions can wait for now... Mr. Jun-Man?”

“Yes, please come inside.” Han Jun-Man opened the conference room door and stepped in. “I already gave Awakener Lee Woo-Hyuk a heads-up, but... please take a look at this video.”

The projector played a video of an empty seaside.

“What is this...?”

“The Kuroushi organization sent this footage.”

The Kuroushi was an organized Yakuza group that Kwon Oh-Jin had connections with in the past.

Nodding, Kwon Oh-Jin focused on the video in front of him.

—Rumble, rumble!

A black rift formed over the sea, and something began pouring out.

“Demonic beasts?”

Its head resembled that of a horse, but it walked on two legs with webbed feet and arms protruding from its torso. One more distinctive trait stood out.

Horns.

Two horns protruded from their horse-like heads, eerily similar to the ones Kwon Oh-Jin had seen countless times on the foreheads of demonkin in the Demonic District.

“The important part is about to come up.” Han Jun-Man quickly fast-forwarded the video.

After thousands of horse-headed demonic beasts emerged from the rift, another figure stepped out from the black rift.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

—

Haa

, so this is Earth.

Unlike the other horse-headed demonic beasts, this one radiated an indescribably intimidating presence. It wasn’t a demonic beast or demonkin, but a transcendent being far beyond common understanding.

As it lightly stepped onto the sand, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and the sea roiled violently.

—

Rumble!

“T-That’s...” Vega muttered.

Regulus nodded at Vega, whose eyes had gone wide. “That’s right, Lady Vega.” Furrowing the scarred corner of his right eye, he continued, “It’s the Celestial of Seahorse, Enceladus.”

A Black Star Celestial had manifested on Earth.