Chapter 253: Star, the Apostle Battle (3)

‘I tried to fight that guy? Shit! I had to be fucking crazy!’?

Wojtek, the new leader of the Crna Ruka, thought as he bit his lower lip. Right at that moment, he was cursing his old self, while feeling glad that he was wearing a mask. His subordinate assassins, who were wearing black swan masks just like him, had to be feeling the same way.

Ever since Chang-Sun had given him the odd mask, which restored his lost Authorities, Wojtek had had a strange feeling that Chang-Sun was not a human like them. Otherwise, there was no way he could have surpassed the leader of the religious order, Crna Ruka…!

‘A god!’

Yes, Chang-Sun was a god, not a human.

[Crna Ruka]

Guardian: ■■■ ■■

*The Divine Name is currently nondisclosed.

The guardian of Crna Ruka was no longer the ‘Big Sick Bug’ Xue Yong; he had been replaced by someone else, whose name was censored. Although Wojtek could not tell what exactly that divine name was, he knew for certain that it belonged to Chang-Sun! As if he were actually trying to prove it, Chang-Sun was earning amazing accomplishments.

[Your Narrative is being written!]

[You have achieved a Great Accomplishment: the King of Kings’ Birth.]

[You have completed the exposition of your Narrative.]

…

[You have started the process of creating the rising action of your Narrative.]

…

[Many Celestials have become aware of the Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’.]

[Many Celestials have become aware of the Order ‘Crna Ruka’.]

[The Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’ and the Order ‘Crna Ruka’ have started to leave a minuscule trace in Idea. Several Orders now consider the Player and Order threats.]

…

[The Faith of your Order has increased by 1.]

[The Faith of your Order has increased by 1.]

…

Every Narrative was different. Even after gaining popularity in one community, some Narratives disappeared due to Narratives from the other communities. Narratives often became forgotten because the number of people who remembered them decreased over time.

In contrast, it was also possible for a Narrative to influence the more after enough Celestials showed interest in it. The Celestials’ priests remembered the Narratives and left a record of them in their religious orders, so their followers continued to talk about them in the future. The more they did, the less likely the Narratives were to be forgotten, becoming more influential in the .

In other words, the greater Chang-Sun’s achievements were, the more powerful his order would become, and the more its rank would automatically increase!

[The rank of your Order has been adjusted. D- → D]

[The rank of your Order has been readjusted. D+ → C]

Wojtek was happy, as he felt more power rushing through his veins; but on the other hand, he was also terrified. What would have happened if he had been with Czestochowa at the time of her death? When Chang-Sun gave them one last chance, Hyacinth had approached him. What would have happened if Wojtek had joined forces with Hyacinth?

‘…I’d better stop thinking about this,’?

Wojtek thought, shaking his head and deciding to stop thinking about what-ifs.

The four European Overlords had all been defeated, and one of them was the Immortal Overlord, the number one Player in the ranking. Now, the apostles from the other planes had come swarming in, but they were being slaughtered by Chang-Sun. Thus, Wojtek had to use such a golden opportunity properly. From now on, Earth would be ruled by Chang-Sun, so Wojtek had to have his head in the game in order to establish the Crna Ruka and position himself as the second-in-command of the Clan. That meant he had to show his loyalty to Chang-Sun.

‘No, it’s not enough… I need to devote my absolute Faith!’

To Wojtek, Chang-Sun was already a Guardian whom he had to follow unconditionally.

『Everyone, listen.』

As Wojtek sent his telepathic messages to his subordinate assassins, they all turned to look at him.

『I can see some rats who still haven’t come to their senses and are looking for opportunities. Subdue them all.』

『Yes, sir!』

『Yes, sir!』

The assassins with the black swan masks quickly began to take action. Shortly after, screams and groans filled the air, causing the other Players’ hands to tremble faintly.

[Total viewers: 45???.]

* * *

As the Hell Monarch Granul approached Chang-Sun, a sandstorm suddenly appeared that clouded both his vision and his other senses, making him frown.

[The Skill ‘Dust Devil’ has been activated, creating a dominating sandstorm over the battlefield!]

‘Where is he? Where are you!’?

Granul thought, biting his lower lip.

Chang-Sun was no longer where he had been a moment ago. All that remained in his place were his black lightning bolts, which had appeared from the sandstorm as soon as Granul showed up. With great difficulty, Granul deflected the lightning bolts. If not for his [Preta Senses], which had enabled him to conquer the of , he would already have been split in half. Not only that; if not for [Gram], which he had received from his Guardian Agares, Granul could not have deflected the lightning bolts even if he detected them approaching him.

[Gram], which was more popularly known as the dragon-slayer sword, was a sword made from the body of an Ancient Dragon. Just as its infamous title suggested, many dragons had been slaughtered by the owners of [Gram], and the sword had helped Granul become the ruler of the after defeating numerous arrogant Evil Dragons. As a result, he had always been assured of victory as long as he held [Gram]... but not now.

“Kill Chang-Sun and bring me his necklace no matter what happens,” Agares said.

Granul knew his Guardian better than anyone. The grand duke of madness would not be sad in the slightest even if his apostle died. Whenever Granul looked into Agares’ decadent and cold eyes, he always felt cowed.

When Agares had said ‘no matter what’, it meant Granul had to use any means necessary. If Granul failed, he could not go back, because Agares would then kill him for his uselessness. Besides, there were many hyenas lying in wait for an opportunity to become the monarch of the .

[The Celestial ‘Grand Duke of Destruction and Madness’ quietly watches you.]

“Come out! If you’re a warrior, fight like one!” Granul shouted, using his demonic energy to hold back his anxiety. In the of , he had made many demonic creatures and Evil Dragons bow to him in fear, but his shout was now dispersed by the sound of the black lightning sandstorm.

No answer came back, as if no one had heard anything, but Granul was certain that Chang-Sun was watching him from somewhere beyond that damned sandstorm.

‘He’s a very efficient hunter… Waiting for me to get tired and leave myself open to attack!’?

Granul thought in shock. If he could do as he pleased, he would break through the sandstorm, but the possibility of a black lightning bolt striking the back of his head stopped him.

‘...I’ve heard about this fighting technique. Let’s stay calm, calm,’

Granul repeated in his mind, trying to regain his composure. He thought that analyzing Chang-Sun’s fighting techniques would help him come up with a solution.

Come to think of it, the whole fight brought back old memories to Granul. The previous owner of [Gram], which was in his hands right now, had fought like Chang-Sun.

‘…I heard that ‘Divine Twilight’ often fought like this in the .’

‘Divine Twilight’ was so famous that all people who had completed their and wished to ascend to knew about him. A mere mortal had become a fiend and a star in the . He was a great symbol of hope to them, so the records of him were sold at high prices.

From those records, Granul had found out that although ‘Divine Twilight’ had a reputation for causing indiscriminate destruction and massacres, he was actually an efficient fighter. He rationally analyzed the difference in strength between him and his enemy. When he was stronger, he defeated his enemy with his overwhelming power, but when he was at a disadvantage, he turned the tide of the battle using any means necessary.

Once in a while, he assassinated his enemies or used political maneuvers to instigate a fight among them, but his most used technique was to create a sandstorm to change the terrain of the battlefield by force and dull his enemies’ senses. Afterward, he eliminated his enemies one by one as he moved like a ghost in the sandstorm, his [Storm Era] earning notoriety…

The fight right now was similar—no, the same! The way the sandstorm moved, the way it disrupted the senses of Granul and the other apostles, the way Chang-Sun defeated his enemies one by one… The only difference was that this sandstorm was more dangerous. It was saturated with Chang-Sun’s lightning energy, and a rain of black lightning bolts constantly emerged from the storm.

‘No, that can’t be it,’?

Granul thought.

Kiyaaaaah―!

Kikikiki!

The sound of ghosts screaming ominously emanated from the raging sandstorm. Although it could simply be the wind, that did not truly seem to be the case. The distorted images of ghosts occasionally emerged from the surface of the storm. Everything about the sandstorm was horrific. A storm that tore apart spirits, fired lightning bolts, and sounded like wailing ghosts… Granul had never seen or heard such a thing before. It looked like an upgraded version of [Storm Era].

However, those were not the only ways in which it exceeded [Storm Era]. Part of the sandstorm at the top took the form of a sinister fiend that looked down on them. It was literally a dust devil, a devil created by the sandstorm! After being mixed with Chang-Sun’s Atra Fulmen energy, the sandstorm fiend had turned pitch-black, like the giant Granul had seen while investigating Chang-Sun before participating in the quest.

‘But that looks even bigger and more ferocious…!’

Grrrr―!

Granul had to stop analyzing the situation, because the sandstorm fiend suddenly turned toward him after he stopped shouting. The fiend raised its arm high into the air with a thunderclap; lightning sparks flew up from the sandstorm and accumulated in its hand, transforming into a giant spear.

“…!” Granul gritted his teeth, feeling a shiver running down his spine. He spread his wings wide, pulling [Gram] toward his chest.

At that moment, the fiend threw the lightning bolt at Granul.

Rumble!

The thunder was so horrific that Granul felt as if his soul would be shattered. However, the real problem was that light traveled faster than sound; causing the black lightning bolt to appear near-instantly before him.

Claaaang!

Granul was pushed back a great distance, and [Gram] shook violently, as if it could shatter at any moment.

Ooooong, ooooong, oooong…

Granul swallowed the blood that rose up through his throat.

‘I’m going to be in real danger at this rate…!’?

he thought desperately. Although he wanted to fight back, he had no time to launch a counterattack. The fiend kept throwing black lightning bolts toward Granul, filling him with despair.

* * *

[The Hell Monarch has died!]

[Remaining participants: 11.]

At first, the Celestials and their representatives had thought that the quest would result in a close match, but ninety percent of the participants had died in under thirty minutes. Only the exceptionally strong participants had survived. The eliminated participants had not been able to find Chang-Sun no matter what, but those who remained were skilled enough to track him down and instigate a fight.

[Remaining participants: 5.]

Neptune’s Sea King Creature, Cernunnos’ Elemental Spirit Knight, Serket’s Plague Monster, and…

‘

Urash, Bel-Marduk’s apostle,’?

Chang-Sun recalled.

‘Taurus’ Bel-Marduk, the leader of the Zodiacs, had four favorite subordinates; ‘Babylon Guard’ Urash was one of those four. Of course, Urash’ Class had decreased significantly due to the law of causality after he descended into the . Nevertheless, he exuded an aura greater than that of the other apostles.

[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ strokes his chin, doubting you!]

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ silently glares at the Celestial ‘Taurus’.]

Urash did not attack Chang-Sun, unlike the other apostles. As if he had received an order from Bel-Marduk, he merely watched Chang-Sun from a distance with suspicion, while the other three apostles confronted Chang-Sun.

『Who in the world are you?』

The Kraken, the Sea King Creature that was also known as the ‘ruthless outlaw of the ocean’, scowled at Chang-Sun through a spatial crack. Perhaps because it was too risky to reveal his whole body when he was dozens of meters tall, he remained in hiding and only reached out his tentacles through the spatial crack when he saw an opportunity. Whenever one of his tentacles moved or struck the battle stage, the spatial crack became bigger, and an intense tsunami rose. Thus, even Chang-Sun could not approach him.

Neither the Elemental Spirit Knight with short, shining scarlet hair nor the putrid Plague Monster said anything, but they looked at Chang-Sun as if they were in agreement with the Kraken. Chang-Sun noticed that their Classes were on par with the Kraken’s.

“Haven’t you read the quest description?” Chang-Sun asked sarcastically. Of course, there was no way he would become dispirited.

The Kraken narrowed his red eyes as he replied.

『Don’t try to claim you’re just a human named Lee Chang-Sun. No human could become as powerful as you in a year.』

The Kraken and other apostles were already starting to doubt Chang-Sun’s identity. The level of ability he had revealed, his fighting techniques… Many things about him were suspicious, but in the past, the Celestials had simply marveled at Chang-Sun rather than doubting him. They had questioned it from time to time, but they had eventually reached the conclusion that Chang-Sun’s fighting techniques were reminiscent of a certain ‘someone’.

From the incidents in the to this apostle battle, it was hard to think of Chang-Sun as a mere human named Lee Chang-Sun. Urash had likely shown up in person to get answers to his questions.

However, Chang-Sun did not give the Kraken the answer he was looking for, causing him to shout furiously at Chang-Sun.

『Tell me. Who in the world are you? Why are you similar to h… Argghhhh!』

Crack!

The [Jin Can Axe] suddenly flew toward the Kraken through the spatial crack and crushed his eye, making him scream. Black ink dripped like blood, and his tentacles flailed out of the spatial crack and smashed the stage wildly.

Avoiding the uncoordinated attacks with ease, Chang-Sun smirked and said, “Stop whining and bring it on.”

『How dare you… How dare you!』

“If you’re a man, fight like a man. I’ll give you the real answer if I lose,” Chang-Sun offered.

『I’ll make you regret it!』

Another spatial crack appeared, revealing the Kraken’s other eyes. A pool of blue light manifested in front of the crack, and a man with a menacing appearance emerged; the Kraken had taken on his human form.

Glancing at the Kraken and Chang-Sun, the Elemental Spirit Knight and Plague Monster moved far back from the stage, trying to give the two the space to fight. After all, the two had no reason to stop them when they were voluntarily using up all their stamina.

After the Kraken finished polymorphing, he was certain of his victory. Without that damned sandstorm and its black lightning bolts, he was sure that his odds in this fight against Chang-Sun were good. He prepared to draw his weapon through the spatial crack.

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Whirl, stab!

Even before the Kraken could draw his weapon, he saw a flash. It was the last thing he saw before he was struck in the face with the [Jin Can Axe].

At that moment, the Elemental Spirit Knight and Plague Monster were bewildered.

“Huh? Wait…?”

“He said they were going to fight fair and square, didn’t he…?”

Since Chang-Sun had thrown his axe even before the Kraken could bring out his weapon, he had clearly broken his promise. However, he scoffed coldly and said, “Of course I was lying, you idiots.”

1. A preta is a supernatural being that appears in several religions and folktales. The term basically refers to a hungry ghost. Their hunger and thirst can never be satisfied.