Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Star Shadow (1)
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The decapitation was refreshingly swift.
Blood spurted from the severed neck, soaking the skull throne.
Thud.
The king's head, spinning through the air, landed at Bran's feet.
"Th-that... uh... uh..."
"Shaaa..."
Soon after, the warriors summoned by the king began to dissipate.
The ghosts crawling from the walls, ceiling, and floor scattered like curry powder, turning into yellow dust just like the royal guard had earlier.
The same went for the weapon the king had tried to draw.
The pile of bones that should have transformed into a cursed spear lost its form and crumbled away.
"Phew."
Bran let out a sigh of relief.
It was the first break he'd taken since leaving the rocky mountain.
He hadn't noticed until now, but his heart was pounding like mad.
'Couldn't do it twice.'
Even thinking back, it had been a speedrun far from normal.
In any case, there were no more moving things in the king's chamber.
His companions, who had followed behind, stood frozen in place.
As Bran caught his breath...
"Bran! What have you done?!"
"Ugh."
Arzan roughly grabbed him by the collar.
Her face was suddenly right up in his.
He wanted to joke about whether she planned to kiss him, but the mood was all wrong.
A furious voice burst from her lips.
"I didn't come here to assassinate the king! Our goal was to kill the sorcerer behind it all, wasn't it?!"
"You're right."
"Then why did you do this?! Why, without even a chance for a single word of conversation...!"
This is the first time I've seen her talk this much.
Arzan's eyes blazed with anger and betrayal.
It was a justified reaction.
He had lured her in with the promise of taking down the sorcerer, not the king.
But.
"Arzan. This is the fastest way to take out the sorcerer."
"...What?"
"And even this won't kill him for good. The price of a ritual that sacrifices an entire kingdom isn't something you shake off easily."
Bran hadn't broken his promise from the start.
Arzan furrowed her brow at the cryptic words.
Just as Ilrak was about to step in to mediate the tense atmosphere...
"Ugh... uuum..."
A groan spread from beneath Bran and Arzan's feet.
Arzan looked down and froze.
"What."
"Wh-what... happened to me?"
The king's head—the one with just the head left—was blinking its eyes.
Groaning while staring at the ceiling, it looked just like someone waking from a long sleep.
Kael, watching from atop the wolf, let out a shrill scream.
"Gaaah! The head is talking!"
"H-how... how can this be...!"
Benden reacted similarly.
Ilrak didn't scream, but all the scales on his tail stood on end.
Bran laughed.
"I told you."
"......Impossible."
The strength drained from Arzan's grip on his collar.
The king's gaze, slowly scanning the surroundings, fixed on Arzan's face.
"My god. Narhael."
"What?"
"My beloved daughter. Why have you returned?"
Arzan's face hardened.
The king—no, now that he was in his right mind, he should be called by his true name, Rahir.
Rahir continued in a trembling voice.
"Hurry and leave! You shouldn't be here. You must survive and carry on the stewardship of the highlands!"
"Your Majesty."
"Take my steed. He's a legendary horse of unparalleled quality; Namun surely didn't kill him. But why won't my body move... Gasp. What?!"
Rahir looked down and recoiled in horror.
He had finally realized he was just a head.
Unable to watch any longer, Arzan grabbed his head with both hands.
"King of the Winds, Rahir!"
"Wha...!"
"Get a grip. I am not your daughter."
Arzan declared.
Rahir let out a bewildered sound.
"B-but you look so much alike."
"I must have inherited the blood strongly. However, I've heard the name Narhael from my father. She was the sole survivor of the massacre on the highlands, the progenitor of our clan."
"Then... who are you, exactly?"
"My name is Arzan. I am your distant descendant."
Seeing them face-to-face like this, they really did look alike.
Almost like father and daughter.
Arzan continued.
"So please, pull yourself together. We came to slay the evil sorcerer and free the souls of our ancestors bound to this land."
"Sorcerer...?"
Rahir's eyes narrowed.
He looked like someone suffering from an impending sneeze.
A low sigh escaped his groaning lips.
"Ah."
The moment of realization was brief.
Looking around again, Rahir muttered softly.
"......That's right. It was like that."
Everything from the past had changed.
A bitter smile tugged at Rahir's lips.
"Narhael... couldn't possibly still be alive after all this time."
"Are you back to your senses now?"
"Yes. Descendant."
Unlike before, vitality gleamed in his eyes.
He turned to Bran and the others.
"My apologies to you all as well. I showed you a shameful display."
"Over a thousand years under mental control? It could happen to anyone. Do you understand what went down?"
"...Yes. Every detail."
"Phew."
Bran patted his chest in relief.
He had been inwardly tense, fearing some variable might arise.
Like Rahir's head suddenly turning to curry powder and vanishing, or the sorcerer unluckily reading in the king's chamber or something ridiculous.
He was relieved beyond words that he could behead him right upon entering the tent.
'Dodged the worst-case scenario.'
This could be considered part of the speedrun too.
A precaution to avoid the battle getting tougher.
If they entered through the normal entrance, they'd almost certainly face Rahir and the sorcerer at the same time.
That would kick off an insanely frustrating boss fight.
The sorcerer would chant vile spells nonstop, stacking debuffs.
Rahir would freely wield bone spears and bows, showing off how great a warrior he was in life.
And the endlessly spawning ghost royal guards were the cherry on top!
'The sorcerer alone is tough. Just imagining it is nightmare fuel.'
But if they blew off Rahir's head right at the start?
Not only did it lower the boss fight's difficulty, but it gave time to talk with the sane Rahir.
His soul couldn't leave this world until the quest was cleared anyway.
Rahir smiled.
"Thank you, Arzan. I can't remember the last time my mind felt this clear."
"You should thank them, not me. I never could have made it here alone."
She gestured toward Bran and the group.
Handing out credit like this.
She truly had a noble character befitting her great bloodline.
Rahir, nodding in satisfaction, asked a question.
"So, you all came to kill Namun?"
Namun.
The sorcerer who had turned the Kargai Highlands into this state.
Bran nodded.
"Yes."
"Then we must hurry. I'm grateful you gave me this moment of joy, but I can't guarantee I won't lose my mind again. I've been Namun's puppet for far too long."
"Agreed."
Spot on.
They had succeeded in lowering the difficulty, but they couldn't slack off.
In about an hour, the severed head and body would reattach.
Rahir would fall under the sorcerer's control again, becoming a puppet for battle only.
That couldn't happen.
Bran turned and called to Ilrak and Benden.
"You two. Come here a sec."
"Huh? What's up?"
"Hm?"
Bran led them to a corner.
To achieve their goal, they needed to divide tasks.
Ilrak frowned at Bran's orders.
"Eww, for real? You want us to do that?"
"With that item, it should be doable. Trust your big bro."
"I'd sooner trust... ugh... fine, for now."
"I-I'll do my best too. It's quite bewildering, but!"
Benden nodded.
Both looked bewildered.
It wasn't a request anyone would accept gladly, but he trusted they'd do it.
Timing had to line up perfectly, though.
Clap clap!
Bran clapped as he returned.
"Alright. Let's head out."
From here, it was no longer a speedrun—they'd go straight through.
The sorcerer's chamber shifted locations constantly.
So they had to move swiftly, checking every room they passed.
It was a hassle, honestly, but no big deal.
He was confident they'd find it within the hour, and he'd laid all the groundwork.
Kael muttered.
"I-I guess I'm coming along after all..."
"Obviously, dude. Can't have a priest bailing in a ghost-infested place."
"Looking forward to your help again, beautiful Kael."
Arzan mounted the wolf with Kael.
The tent was so vast they could ride inside comfortably.
As the prepared group was about to set off...
"...Wait. Take me with you!"
Rahir suddenly shouted.
His head sat like a flower vase on a table far from the throne.
Bran tilted his head.
"Pardon?"
"This tent is basically my design. Namun twisted it during his renovations, but I can still help. Please, give me a chance to make up for my mistakes!"
Rahir's voice was desperate.
He'd never encountered a severed head demanding to tag along in the game.
Easter egg? What condition had he met?
After a moment's thought, Bran shrugged.
"Sure, why not."
"Ahh, truly, thank you!"
No reason to refuse.
As long as he stayed sane, no backstabbing risk.
Bran picked up the head and held it out to Arzan.
"Here. You keep an eye on him."
"Haha, much obliged, descendant."
"Wh-what is this...!"
Even Arzan hadn't expected this.
Rahir shook his head—no, tried to.
"Oops. Holding me must be a hassle. Just set me on the mane. As long as I don't fall off."
"Ah, got it."
Arzan did so.
She couldn't refuse her revered ancestor's request.
Rahir, face buried in the mane, took a deep breath.
"Sniiiif... haaa!"
"Grrrng?!"
The startled wolf flinched.
Rahir savored it, breathing repeatedly, then murmured contentedly.
"Haaa... so comfortable. It's been ages since I rode a wolf."
"H-heek...!"
"No need to fear so much, pretty one. What can a headless ghost do besides wag its tongue? Hahaha."
Rahir chuckled softly, soothing the terrified Kael.
His personality seemed different from before. Imagination?
It wasn't half bad, anyway.
Click.
Savoring the mane's fluffiness, Rahir clucked his tongue.
"Ah, but I can do something after all."
"What’s that?"
"I'll show you now. Wait."
Suddenly, Rahir closed his eyes.
Unintelligible words flowed from his parched lips.
Whoosh...!
A bizarre, colorful light spread from the top of his head.
A translucent window appeared before Bran's eyes.
You have entered the influence range of Rahir's skill [Pride of the Beast].
While in the area, Strength, Agility, and Stamina greatly increase!
Rahir's skill [Soul Beast Harmony] has activated!
Physical recovery rate greatly increases. Resistance to all damage increases!
One after the other.
Bran's eyes widened in shock.
"What...!"
Both were top-tier buffs.
Heat spread from deep within his body.
He could feel his speedrun-weary body recovering rapidly.
But that wasn't why Bran was surprised.
'Skills humans can't learn, right?'
If memory served, both were monster abilities.
From particularly ferocious, hard-to-catch beast-type monsters at that.
Rahir, now glowing like a mood light, spoke.
"I can absorb the abilities of what I eat. Tried it after ages—good thing this type works without a body."
"Absorb abilities...?"
"Yes. That power let us stand against that mighty empire."
Bran flinched.
It was the same ability Arzan had.
Info he'd never known fighting her as a boss.
He'd thought Arzan was the only mutant.
"But not everyone has it. Even in our clan, only a rare few are born with it."
"......I have the same gift."
"Really?! Haha, perfect. I can teach you plenty!"
Rahir laughed.
He seemed thrilled, and Bran was too.
'An unexpected windfall.'
It opened ways to enhance Arzan's abilities beyond plan.
Maybe he even knew secret techniques Bran didn't.
Rahir said,
"Anyway, let's go. Stay near me, and you'll recover stamina quickly. I'll lend all my strength to punish Namun."
That was the plan anyway.
Exiting the king's chamber, the path split into five directions.
Bran rubbed his forehead.
'Not easy from the start.'
That was why he'd breached the outer wall instead of the entrance.
But having gotten this far for free, he couldn't ask for more luck.
As Bran rummaged through player memories like solving a puzzle...
"Ah, this looks familiar. Go straight, then turn right."
"Pardon?"
"A fork will appear. Left leads to the kitchen, right to the treasury."
Rahir's voice was calm.
Following the instructions skeptically, a fork indeed appeared.
"Aha. See?"
Rahir chuckled.
The lone head still faintly glowed.
Bran clenched his fist.
'......This is just a navigator.'
Maybe even the final hurdle would be a freebie.