Chapter 401: Star, Conflicts (1)

[The Celestial 'Sagittarius’ is watching the Planet ‘Eos’ in contentment.]

[The Celestial ‘Aquarius’ is furious!]

...

* * *

The Star Palace, the central divine ground of , was where the people who ruled over Worldline #802 and oversaw the affairs of Worldline #801’s resided. Alioth entered the place while huffing and puffing.

“S-Sir...!”

“Get out of my way!”

The guard who had been protecting the Star Palace’s front gate hurriedly stepped aside, because he was well aware of what would happen if he got on the bad side of Alioth, the most violent Eighty-Eighth Star Sign.

Thump, thump, thump!

Alioth stomped every time he took a step, shaking the Star Palace as if he wanted everyone to know that he was furious.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard that he’s going through Soul Degradation?”

“S-Soul Degradation? What happened to him?”

Soul Degradation was a very rare event, so the Star Signs in the Star Palace could not help but feel curious. It did not take long for news of the recent incident Alioth had gone through to spread to everyone in the palace, however.

“Siriuuuus!” Alioth let out a furious roar that reverberated thunderously.

“Let the fighting begin.”

The Star Signs paid attention to that direction, thinking they were going to witness something fun.

Meanwhile, Sirius had been sitting on a rocking chair and enjoying a book in his room, but he quietly put down the book on his lap and looked at the door as Alioth barged in. He said, “The Star Palace is where the Zodiacs stay. Even if you’ve sold your common sense to someone else, you should have some decency at least.”

“Decency? Decency?!?! You must be fucking with me...!” Alioth roared.

Whooosh―!

Alioth exuded murderous energy, ready to rip Sirius to death. The outline of a huge bear appeared behind him and growled, but Sirius detected with his sharp nose that Alioth’s murderous energy was weaker than before.

Alioth’s condition seemed to be similar to a bowl in which thin cracks were spreading. It was so precarious that one tap on the bowl would be enough to knock down the bowl. It meant that the message about Alioth’s Divine Class beginning to crumble was true. Of course, Sirius could not just strike him in the Star Palace where many other hyenas roamed around.

“I told you that the havoc in Eos wasn’t my doing,” Sirius said with a sigh.

“Then who could it be?! I’ve verified multiple times that it’s the technique used by your priests!” Alioth replied.

Sirius shrugged and said, “Who knows? It may be those freedom fighters or revolutionaries who always talk about making a world without gods.”

“Are you mock...!” Alioth began.

“Even if you’re a bonehead, you don’t think I would be that obvious when making a move, do you?” Sirius interrupted.

Alioth pursed his lips. While he was known for his ferociousness, he was also popular for being ignorant, so his eyes wandered.

[The Myth of ‘Foolish Bear‘ is active!]

“But my churches are the only places that are burning up in Eos. It’s strange that Chiron’s and your churches are fine!” Alioth replied as he finally remembered a suspicious circumstance, feeling confident that Sirius wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this. However...

“That’s what the terrorist wants, you stupid bear. The terrorist is using a shallow trick to fish in troubled waters,” Sirius said.

“Troubl... Troubled... What? Don’t use big words, although I do like fish!” Alioth replied.

“A third party is starting a conflict between us and benefiting while we’re busy fighting, you idiot!” Sirius snapped in annoyance at Alioth, who still didn’t understand what was going on. He continued, “Besides! The [Colossal Hound’s Claw Mark] that the terrorist used is a very popular Skill, so it’s hard to distinguish if it’s actually one of my clergy who used it! But if you’re going to continue doubting me for it...” Sirius trailed off.

“Then what? What are you going to do?” Alioth replied.

Tap!

“I won’t sit on my hands any longer,” Sirius said as he closed his book and slowly stood up, his eyes gleaming like a hound that had found tasty prey.

“I knew it! It was you! You’re finally revealing your true colors!” Alioth cried, his expression brightening. The outline behind him became more vivid, and the wounded bear roared.

“Ah, you knucklehead. Think what you want,” Sirius said as he revealed his canine teeth.

Alioth’s ignorance usually frustrated him, but he was glad this time, because he could use it as a good pretext to attack Alioth.

‘Thanks to him, I found circumstantial evidence of Sadalmelik plotting something. Sir Chiron will love it,’

Sirius thought.

Once he subdued and interrogated Alioth, Sirius would be able to find out more details, so he was grateful to the terrorist for impersonating him.

‘But I’ll still have to punish them for taking advantage of my popularity.’

Paah―!

With such thoughts, Sirius clashed—no, would have clashed against Alioth, if not for the sudden interference.

[An Ice Blade is falling!]

“...!”

“...!”

Swoosh!

Craaaack―!

A blade of ice suddenly fell between Sirius and Alioth. Ice spread out from where the blade tore apart the walls and floors, releasing cold air.

“This is...” Sirius muttered as he hurriedly turned to look in the door’s direction.

“L-Lady Sadalmelik!” Alioth cried out as he prostrated on the floor, looking very ashamed.

Although they were both Star Signs, Alioth acted like a slave who was ill at ease around his master, Sadalmelik.

“Fighting within the Star Palace is a felony regardless of the reason. Are you not aware of that?” Sadalmelik asked as she looked at Sirius with a sharp gaze.

Sirius silently clicked his tongue, as today did not seem to be his day. He thought,

‘I’ll have opportunities in the future.’

Chiron had already entrusted Sirius with full power over this matter, so there was no need to rush things. On a hunt, exhausting prey and biting its neck had a higher success rate than overpowering the prey with pure strength.

After loosening up, Sirius grinned and then bowed. He said, “I must have been very sensitive because of our imminent war against the Alliance. Please forgive me.”

Sadalmelik glared coldly at Sirius for a moment then turned away, saying, “You’ll be detained for three days, Sirius. Follow me, Alioth.”

Sadalmelik walked away, and Alioth followed her, furtively studying her face to see if she was angry. Sirius did not look up even until both of them left, but his eyes were gleaming ferociously.

* * *

As soon as the door to her room was closed, Sadamelik kicked Alioth’s abdomen in annoyance.

Smaaack!

“Keough!” Alioth groaned.

He was undoubtedly several times bigger than Sadalmelik, but their physiques did not matter nearly as much as the difference between their levels. Alioth collapsed onto the floor and vomited. However, Sadalmelik continued to kick and step on Alioth without blinking an eye.

Smack, smack!

“Get up,” Sadalmelik ordered.

Smack, smack, smack!

“I said get up,” Sadalmelik repeated, gnashing her teeth.

Alioth wished to follow her order, but could not because she threw a kick whenever he tried to stand up. In addition, he was going through Soul Degradation, so her kicks only widened the cracks in his Divine Class. Only after Alioth turned bloody and powerlessly collapsed onto the floor did Sadalmelik finally stop kicking him.

“Phew!” Sadalmelik had finished venting her anger, so she took a deep breath and tied up her hair.

Meanwhile, Alioth started having a seizure and looked as if he was about to die.

Clang!

Sadalmelik tossed a glass bottle in front of him, saying, “Drink up.”

“T-T-Thank... you...” Alioth used the last reserve of his strength to open up the bottle and drink the contents.

At that moment, blue energy swirled around him, erasing bruises and healing his other wounds. He also looked less pale after drinking the [Low-Grade Elixir], which Sadalmelik had concocted using her expertise in alchemy. From time to time, she vented out her anger on Alioth and used violence on him, then healed Alioth with her [Elixir].

After waiting until Alioth recovered enough to stand up, Sadalmelik asked, “What about your Soul Degradation?”

“Thanks to your grace, I was able to patch the cracks up just now,” Alioth replied.

“But it’s temporary, yes?”

“...That is right.”

“You would need to restore your to heal completely, no?”

“...”

“Idiot.” Sadalmelik clicked her tongue.

“...I’m sorry.”

“I chose to have you by my side even though I was aware of your stupidity, but you’re worse than I expected.”

“I’m really sorry.” Alioth lowered his head even further.

“Do you know why I use you as my pawn even though I know you’re an idiot?”

Alioth could not say anything.

“You’re a loyal fool, an absolutely loyal fool. I liked how you faithfully carried out my orders without doubting it, which is better than Sirius, because he’s trying to be cunning when he’s not even good at it. But your blind loyalty is weighing me down.”

Alioth could not look up nor say anything else, knowing very well that making excuses at the moment would lead Sadalmelik to kick him again.

“Sirius got wind of what’s happening, so Chiron is going to watch him and us to interfere when the time comes. Bel-Marduk is preoccupied with the Alliance, so that was why I was going to use this moment to do our work. Ha!” Sadalmelik scoffed in discontentment and continued, “That’s why Castor will be joining us.”

“L-Lady Sadalmelik...?”

“I’ve finished talking things out with Castor. I know it’ll become complicated if we involve someone else, but we don’t have a choice. We have to push our plan ahead without looking over our shoulders before Bel-Marduk finds out, or else everything will become a mess. Maybe this is for the best. We need to fill in for Antares anyway, so we’ll be able to gain more if we use Castor.”

As Sadalmelik had already come to a decision, Alioth couldn’t say anything else.

“I’m officially going to deliver the prophecy soon to mobilize the imperial family. Once the Arcadian Imperial Army has Eos under control, this terrorist won’t be able to run wild anymore,” Sadalmelik said as her eyes gleamed menacingly. “So apprehend the perpetrator no matter what this time, and find out who’s behind this terrorist. It might be the Alliance, Chiron, or a third party we don’t know.”

The Alliance had knocked down and was driving into a corner. Tiamat was gaining a lot of influence, but the other Nine Heavens were too quiet, which Sadalmelik felt leery about. She was suspiciously considering the possibility of the other Nine Heavens making a move in secret.

Of course, from her perspective, the chance that it was the doing of an Alliance spy was the highest, but she still had to consider all possibilities and be cautious in her every move, so as not to make a mistake when doing her important work.

“This is your last chance. You understand what that means, yes?” she asked.

“...No matter how stupid I am, I’m not that slow-witted. I’ll do my best, and if necessary...” Fury blazed in Alioth’s eyes as he said, “...I’ll use up every last bit of my life force using the potion you gave me.”

The sound of Alioth gritting his teeth emerged from his pursed lips.