Chapter 490: Reunion of an Old Acquaintance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 490: Reunion of an Old Acquaintance
For a Constellation to intervene in the Tower, they had to expend WP.
The lower the floor and the higher the Constellation's rank, the more the cost would snowball.
Of course, there were always exceptions.
Just as the 'Beautiful Skin' had intervened to protect its apostle, Choi Taeho, some leeway was granted for matters concerning a contractor.
Even so, the cost was not insignificant.
Even lower-ranked deities could barely avoid bankruptcy, which was how the balance on the lower floors was maintained.
As a result, most of the highest-ranking Constellations preferred to avoid interfering with the lower floors as much as possible.
In the first place, there was almost nothing to be gained from the lower floors, no matter how much effort they put in.
It was safe to say the return on investment was so low it was practically hitting rock bottom.
Ting—
[The Constellation, ‘Duke of Thieves,’ frowns.]
["You will have to cover the losses from this incident."]
“Kuaaaargh!!!”
“B-Bishop!!”
Sprawled on the pure white marble floor, Malzark let out an agonizing scream.
The wound started at his right shoulder and ran all the way down to his right thigh.
Simply put, half of his body had been completely severed.
An ordinary person would have died long ago from such a grievous injury, yet Malzark was still alive.
It was because of the Constellation he had contracted with.
A blessing and a curse bestowed upon those who make a pact with a demon.
“Wh-what do we do...!”
Kiriel, who seemed relatively unharmed, broke into a cold sweat and poured a potion over Malzark's body, but it was a futile gesture.
The bleeding didn't stop at all; in fact, his condition only worsened.
The demon-breaking energy imbued in Kang Hyun-woo's Vajra Aura was slowly eating away at his body.
Even for Malzark, who had contracted with a high-ranking demon, it was painfully obvious that he would soon breathe his last if this continued.
“Guuuh...!!!”
Bloody foam trickled from between his lips, and the white marble floor was stained with his entrails.
Just as Malzark's dark skin was growing paler and paler...
Click, clack—
“I wondered where that sound of a pig being slaughtered was coming from.”
With the clear sound of heels, two women emerged from the darkness.
“Huhu, my dear Bishop. You're in quite a state, aren't you?”
“A-Archbishop...!!”
Kiriel immediately prostrated herself before the woman in the lead. She trembled slightly, her forehead pressed against the cold marble.
The woman gave Kiriel a brief, smiling glance before turning her gaze to Malzark.
“I... greet the A-Archbishop...”
“So devout, even on the verge of death.”
Finding something amusing, the woman crouched down and intently examined the cross-section of Malzark's severed body.
“Well... it would be fun to just watch, but you should be grateful that the Great One has not yet permitted your death, hmm?”
The woman stood up with a bright smile.
Then, with a slight turn of her head and a flick of her finger, the other woman standing behind her stepped forward.
Dressed like a nun with a veil pulled low, the woman, her eyes covered by a lace-trimmed cloth, knelt gracefully before Malzark.
“Pardon the intrusion, Bishop.”
[Activating the Authority, ‘Wheel of Healing.’]
The moment the woman pressed her palms together toward Malzark, a wheel materialized in the air.
Creeak—
As the old, worn wheel began to turn with a strange noise, the somber energy in the air slowly enveloped Malzark.
It looked like a scene from an execution, but his injuries began to heal rapidly under the concentrated demonic energy.
Of course, with half his body severed, a full recovery would take a long time, but the fact that he could heal without any lasting side effects was an incredible feat in itself.
“So this is that Knight of Holy Light? He's uglier than I thought.”
While the veiled woman treated Malzark, the Archbishop, her red hair fluttering, poked at Rusleck's head lying on the floor with her fingertip.
Even though her subordinate had returned on the brink of death, the smile never left her lips.
“Kiriel.”
“Y-Yes...!!”
“Come here.”
At the Archbishop's call, Kiriel immediately rose and rushed to her side.
She then rested her chin on the Archbishop's palm.
It was a cat-like gesture, but the Archbishop, as if it were a familiar routine, gently stroked the tip of Kiriel's chin.
“Three-line summary. Can you do it?”
Nod, nod!!
Kiriel nodded her head vigorously.
Trying her best not to stutter, she managed to perfectly explain the situation in less than a minute.
“He put Malzark, who was under the Great One's protection, in this state with a single blow? I've never heard of a monster like that on the lower floors...”
The Archbishop stroked her chin, pondering for a moment before speaking.
“Do you know who it is?”
Gurgle—
At that moment, the head of a masked person emerged from her shadow.
“...I'm not certain, but there is a likely candidate.”
“Tell me.”
“A player named Kang Hyun-woo.”
“Kang Hyun-woo?”
“Yes. Despite having entered the Tower less than a month ago, it has been confirmed that he entered Sanctelium as of yesterday. Furthermore, immediately after clearing the tutorial, he is said to have destroyed a clan called Black Lore, which was known to have considerable influence within Arcana.”
The man handed the Archbishop a document containing Kang Hyun-woo's personal information.
“Most importantly, there was a report that he was seen entering Celis Cathedral this morning. The surveillance was tight, so we couldn't confirm if he was accompanied by the Holy Knights, but comparing his description to what Kiriel-nim said, he seems to be the most likely candidate circumstantially.”
“A player of just one month is on the 8th floor... Is he being sponsored by a major clan?”
“No. However, we have information that one of Kang Hyun-woo's party members is a talent that Boundless Heaven Sect has taken an interest in.”
“Boundless Heaven Sect...? Why are those gluttonous Daoist bastards interested in the lower floors?”
“The player in question is said to have a special constitution. In fact, an elder from the Ghost Spirit Valley was planning to personally descend to the lower floors to guide them to the sect.”
“Full-on VIP treatment. But why the past tense?”
“Because the elder was assassinated.”
“...What?”
For a rare moment, the Archbishop looked surprised as she questioned the man.
“Our intelligence gathering was insufficient, so we don't know the detailed circumstances, but the intelligence department believes that incident is what led the player to join Kang Hyun-woo's party.”
“...”
After hearing the man's story, the Archbishop wore a meaningful expression, then looked up at the ceiling and continued.
“I think we've found him, don't you? My Constellation?”
Rumble—
At that moment, an absurd presence descended upon the palace.
Everyone except the Archbishop instantly turned pale.
Ting—
[The Constellation, ‘Queen on the Camel,’ reveals her presence.]
“...You want me to go and check? Come on, you know how busy I am. Since it's come to this, why don't you go out for a stroll for the first time in a while?”
[The Constellation, ‘Queen on the Camel,’ gazes at you with displeasure.]
“Huhu, you want to see for yourself anyway, don't you? It could be a reunion with the old superior you admired so much.”
The Archbishop's playful laughter echoed throughout the palace.
*
In Mesopotamian mythology, there are beings known as the Seven Ruling Gods, who are chief deities.
Among them, Ishtar is one of the Three Heavenly Gods, making her an undisputed high-ranking deity.
However, as is common with ancient gods, she had a problematic personality. According to Lucifer, the epithet 'Saintess of Uruk' did not originally belong to Ishtar.
The original owner of that title was a woman named Siduri, who appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Of course, some claim she was a transformation or another form of Ishtar, but the Tower seemed to treat the two as separate individuals.
In any case, one day Ishtar took a liking to Siduri's epithet and ended up forcibly taking it for herself.
Besides that, she was a goddess famous for causing trouble everywhere, so much so that nearly every tale about her involved some kind of incident.
And now, because of my promise to that very Ishtar, I was about to face her directly.
Sure, I had met her in the Corridor of Stars after clearing the tutorial, but at least there I had the System's protection.
But this time, the place I was going to, 'Eanna,' was strictly her domain.
That meant I couldn't expect any protection from the System, no matter what happened.
I was essentially throwing myself into a tiger's den without a safety net.
“...O Dancing Destroyer. I'm counting on you.”
I stared into the air with desperation, but all that came back was a heavy, sinking silence.
Damn it.
'So much for "trust no one."'
This seemed to be the perfect example.
“M-Master...?”
“Hm?”
As I was sighing internally, Yoo Ah-rin, who was in my arms, spoke cautiously.
Her face was beet red, looking like it might burst.
“This position...”
“What about it?”
“...It's nothing.”
I tilted my head, holding her from behind much like one would embrace a lover.
Ah, for the record, I wasn't doing this for any selfish reasons.
“Don't worry about pointless things and focus. If any demonic energy remains in your body, your internal energy will diminish later.”
“...Yes.”
Her earlobes now red as well, Yoo Ah-rin reluctantly replied and closed her eyes.
I stroked her lower abdomen, guiding her internal energy to flow along its proper path.
Demonic energy had seeped into various parts of her body from the injuries she sustained in the fight with Kiriel.
I had given her Holy Water earlier, but a single bottle wasn't enough to completely expel the demonic energy.
Of course, I could have removed it myself, but a master's role is not to put fish in a student's mouth, but to teach them how to catch it.
This, too, was part of her lesson.
Flinch!
“Hik?!♡”
I occasionally stimulated her womb with my internal energy, but this was a clear mistake.
I wasn't showing it, but if I hadn't numbed my sense of pain, I'd be lying on the floor, groaning in agony.
The fact that I was helping Yoo Ah-rin in this state was already a feat in itself.
Flinch—!♡
“Heuk?!!♡ M-Master...?!♡”
*
Step, step—
While Kang Hyun-woo dealt with the players from Gehenna, Lucifer, who had been dropped into the labyrinth alone, was walking through a landscape quite different from the others.
There was no sign of any monsters.
Although all the monsters' aggro in the dungeon had been drawn to Kang Hyun-woo, the complete absence of even a trace of them was a clear anomaly.
It felt as if the path had been intentionally cleared just for Lucifer.
Finally reaching the deepest part of the dungeon, Lucifer gazed at a statue standing in the middle of a wide-open cavern and slowly opened her mouth.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Fwaaa—
At that moment, the statue was bathed in a pure white light.
Soon after, a familiar voice echoed softly through the cavern.
—...Luciel.
It was Gabriel.