Chapter 431: Star, Taurus (6)

Star Palace, the central divine ground of .

The Star Signs knew all too well that the sun and moon were the ones that brightened up the whole world, but they were starting to think that Tiamat’s eyes had replaced those two celestial beings.

Tiamat grinned as she arrogantly looked down at the Star Palace. 『It’s funny. This is the first time I’ve seen you people together since you would all always run whenever you’re faced with a crisis. Twilight really hit you in the nerves, huh?』

Even the Star Signs thought Tiamat, who was known to be as big as an Outer Celestial, was gigantic. She exuded a presence so powerful that they felt as if they were nothing for the first time since they became transcendental beings.

『Anyway...』

Boom. Booom. Booooom.

The Alliance was still bombarding the entire Star Palace as they spoke.

『I never thought I would meet another one of my dearest in a place like this.』

Tiamat’s eyes narrowed as she scanned Nemea the ‘Leo.’ Compared to his appearance earlier, he now looked very rugged. His silky cloak was scorched and in tatters, and half of his mask was destroyed, revealing a part of his face. He looked so similar to Chang-Sun that even Tiamat was surprised.

『I don’t think you’re a crude clone or a homunculus...』

[Seeing the face of the Celestial ‘Leo’ greatly shocks the Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’!]

『I’ve only heard about this, but are you Twilight from another Worldline? Even if you two have the same potential, the chances of you both achieving should have been quite low. This is remarkable!』

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ expresses his curiosity, saying that he will be able to study the secret of Worldlines and the Great Universe!]

『I knew I picked a fine man to be my dearest.』

[The face of the Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ darkens.]

Listening to Tiamat annoyed Nemea. Both his enemies and allies were starting to view him differently.

[The Celestial ‘Sky and Earth’s Connecting Wing’ shouts!]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ flexes his pectoral muscles, wishing to fight the Celestial ‘Leo’!]

[Having two ‘Divine Twilights’ makes the Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ happy, thinking explosions would be twice as brilliant now!]

[The Celestial ‘A Blacksmith in a Volcano’ raises his glass!]

...

[The Celestial ‘Cancer’ looks at the Celestial ‘Leo’ in bewilderment.]

[The Celestial ‘Capricorn’ hesitates, unsure how to react.]

[The Celestial ‘Libra’ declares that they should not worry about the betrayal of the Celestial ‘Leo.’]

...

‘This is why I didn’t want to take off my mask!’

Nemea knew that he was the same being as Chang-Sun.

Ever since Bel-Marduk had appointed Nemea as ‘Leo,’ he had always told him that it would be best not to take his mask off because it could lead to misunderstandings that would put him in danger.

‘Divine Twilight’ was a taboo even among the Zodiacs. They won the last war, but they sustained a great deal of damage in the process. They would certainly try to harm Nemea if they were to find out that he and ‘Divine Twilight’ were the same.

Nemea was confident that he could take on any Star Sign. After all, there was a good reason he was leading with ‘Taurus.’ However, it would still be troublesome to deal with their challenges, especially in the middle of a crisis like this.

However, Tiamat was strong. She was so powerful that he couldn’t even believe someone like her could exist outside the Original Worldline.

Nemea’s eyes narrowed.

‘Should I turn into my true form?’

While mulling over his thoughts, a bright lightning bolt and a dark lightning bolt hit the ground on either side of him.

Rumble! Rummmble!

[The Celestial ‘Sky-Resemble’ has descended!]

[The Celestial ‘Malignity-Drinking Saturn’ has descended!]

The bright lightning bolt turned into Michael, his dozens of sets of white wings shining brilliantly. At the same time, the dark lightning bolt transformed into Satan. He was wearing darkness as if it were a cloak.

『Sun Heaven and Transformation Heaven. We have three of the Nine Heavens present now.』

Tiamat the Faraway Heaven, Michael the Sun Heaven, and Satan the Transformation heaven. The Nine Heavens were the symbols of Worldline #801. This many Nine Heavens had never been in the same place at the same time, not even in ancient times. The fact that they took quite a long time to take action during the as well only made this encounter all the more remarkable.

Satan and Michael naturally didn’t care, though. Tiamat was just having fun, too.

“Tiamat. This is your last warning. Stop this madness and return to your original Worldline,” Michael solemnly said.

Sun Heaven referred to the southeastern sky, which was where sunlight shone down the most. The faint sacred light Michael exuded was as warm and beautiful as morning sunlight, but anyone who knew him would know about the destruction that would befall the world should his wrath blend into his sunlight.

Tiamat chuckled.『Funny. You all claim to be maintaining the Great Universe’s balance, yet you stand with the people who are spreading chaos all over the very universe you protect even though all evidence points to their crimes.』

Michael frowned. “I already answered your question before, haven’t I? We concluded that is currently more dangerous than . It won’t be too late to deal with after we’re done with you anyway.”

『Is that your final decision?』

Michael’s face darkened. “What are you trying to say?”

『You know the answer to that better than I do.』

“Tiamat. Who you are does not matter.” Michael’s face reddened. “I won’t forgive you if you’re doubting our sincerity—!”

Satan extended his hand to stop Michael, then came forward. “Let’s cut to the chase already. I doubt anything will change even if you keep yelling.”

“Satan!”

“What are you glaring at me for? Do you want us to kill each other?” Satan grinned. Having rendered Michael speechless, he turned back to Tiamat. “Hey, Tiamat. I’m not sure what you’ve learned, but your thoughts on becoming a Celestial King won’t change, will it?”

『No, I already changed my mind.』

“Huh? What? Are you giving up?”

『Quite the contrary. Since I’ve already come this far, I decided to aim higher.』

Satan’s eyes widened. After a moment, he burst into laughter. “

Hahaha

! Yes! That’s the ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ I know! Quite the guts you have, my queen! Seriously, I think I’m going to fall head over heels for you.”

『If you’re asking for my hand in marriage, my answer is no. I’ve already fallen for someone.』

“I see.” Satan smirked, baring his fangs. “I’ll just have to eat you, then.”

Paah!

A pool of darkness spread out from Satan as he assumed his true form—a seven-headed scarlet Demonic Dragon with a crown and ten sets of horns.

Roaaaar!

Tiamat grinned. 『Your dirty talk is quite vulgar. 』

Michael tightened his grip on his sword. Nemea prepared to draw out divine power as well.

Thump.

Before they could engage in combat, however, a faint quake caught their attention.

Thump. Thump.

The four quickly turned in the opposite direction, but they failed to find the source of the tremors.

Thump, thump, thump...

They scanned their surroundings as the quakes became more strange and frequent. The other Star Signs and Celestials stopped fighting as well to take a quick look around.

Boooom!

With a thunderous sound, the Star Palace exploded. An enormous wormhole appeared where the explosion took place, and something came out of it. As if someone was squeezing their lungs or keeping them deep underwater, the air of the divine ground began to suffocate everyone in the area. Not even the Nine Heavens were exempt from it.

“What... is that?” Michael stiffly murmured.

Those around the wormhole couldn’t help but pay attention to the ominous being creeping out from it.

Pzzzz...!

『Twilight...?』Tiamat wondered, finally realizing that the wormhole was connected to where Chang-Sun was. Something was happening.

* * *

“Wait...” Bel-Marduk quickly looked up amid his intense battle against Chang-Sun. “Did you really just mess with the Nereid Stone?”

“What if I did?”

“Do you even have any idea what it is?!”

“The raw material container for [Gaia’s Curse],” Chang-Sun replied.

“It’s not something you can treat that way!” Bel-Marduk was sounding more and more panic-stricken. Although he was furious because Chang-Sun was fighting harder than he expected, this was still his first time reacting this way. “Doing that can lead to an apocalypse—no, !”

Meanwhile, Chang-Sun’s view overlapped with someone else’s.

Woosh.

Odin stood in front of Jin Prezia, his eye filled with delight. He looked as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. Jin remained vigilant, tightly grabbing onto the [Winter King’s Greatsword], but Odin couldn’t seem to care less about him.

Holding his staff up, Odin yelled,

“Shatter!”

Crassssh!

All the glass chambers in the room simultaneously exploded, sending glass shards flying up in the air. The Lee Chang-Suns in them died one after another, their limbs drooping.

In that moment, the world revolved around Odin. Not even Chang-Sun’s and Bel-Marduk’s divine grounds could affect him despite being right inside it. His every word and gesture performed miracles and created laws of nature and phenomena.

Odin was a Celestial of magic who could manipulate the world with sheer willpower—no, he was magic itself. Magic seemingly existed solely for him, a feat only a Celestial King—a being at the zenith of a Worldline—was capable of accomplishing.

“Come!”

Odin yelled once more, still holding his staff in the air.

Pzzzzz...

The Lee Chang-Sun corpses all over the floor were pulverized, and their particles flew toward Odin. They spun around him, creating a vortex, as he slowly moved forward.

Tap.

Odin’s first step looked very light, but its effect was by no means insignificant. When the vortex of particles trembled profusely, his faint sacred light grew brighter and filled up the room. Having absorbed the other Chang-Suns’ souls to make up for his unstable connection, he completely merged with his new body.

At that moment, Chang-Sun came to a realization.

Odin had resurrected.

Thud.

Now that he had completely restored his Divine Class, the Spiritual Pressure he emitted began to make the divine ground shake.

Tap, tap.Thud, thud.

Odin took his second and third steps, causing the tremors to grow stronger. Jin was holding his breath now, Odin’s presence overwhelming him so much that he felt as if he could no longer maintain his existence.

Thud, thud, thud...

Odin smiled as he glanced at Jin, finding him adorable. By the time he walked past him, his footsteps were no longer just affecting ‘Babylonia’ but also the ‘Twilight-Setting Battlefield.’ No, it was affecting even the areas outside the divine grounds.

[The old Celestial ‘Cane-Holding Father of Warriors’ has regained his Divine Class, speeding up his resurrection.]

[A past Celestial King is about to resurrect!]

Odin stopped in front of where the Nereid Stone used to be.

“Unveil.”

With a light wave of his hand, a spatial gap opened, revealing the Nereid Stone.

Jin’s jaw dropped to the floor. He had put the stone in the [King’s Treasury] earlier himself. He was sure of it. Unfortunately, Odin seemed to have no problem pulling it out.

Thud...!

“

Keough

!” Jin fell to his knees when he tried to stop him, the pressure on his shoulders preventing him from taking even just a couple of steps. As if someone had nailed him in place, he couldn’t even move an inch.

“You worship me in awe as my follow. A true god never harms their follower,” Odin said, smiling faintly at Jin. As he turned serious again, he reached out for the Nereid Stone.

“Awaken.”

As soon as Odin touched the Nereid Stone, a massive amount of light poured out and filled the area. A moment later, Chang-Sun could no longer see anything through Jin’s eyes.

Booooom!

However, he did notice ‘Babylonia’ blowing up and crumbling down from the sky. Green fog spread out as fragments of Bel-Marduk’s pulverized divine ground fell.

[The Nereid Stone’s seal has been deactivated, allowing its toxin to fan out.]

[‘Gaia’s Curse’ is spreading!]

The green fog accumulated and began to move like a living creature. It soared into the sky of ‘Babylonia’ and melted it down, opening up a wormhole. While most of the green fog went into the wormhole, some traveled downward, engulfing Bel-Marduk’s subordinates and soldiers with [Gaia’s Curse].

“

Arrrghhh

!”

“Wh-what is this?!”

“D-Dear Lord, please save—

keough

!”

Pandemonium broke out. Screams and laments echoed from all over the area as the fog’s victims melted.

“The Nereid Stone is the Mother Terra Celestial’s wrath, the -dismantling [Gaia’s Curse] itself!” Bel-Marduk exclaimed, criticizing Chang-Sun. “How can you handle it so reck—”

“I know.”

Bel-Marduk froze. “What?”

“I said I know.” Chang-Sun smiled coldly, making Bel-Marduk finally realize that all of this was part of his plan.