Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Guardian Star (3)
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But what's the strength criteria for Guardian Stars?
This is the top-tier guardian spirit that kid Yoan hangs around with.
Thunder that cleaves the sky?
Apparently, back when it was alive, it was a 7th-circle warrior.
Why does it fight better than the Sword Master guardian star I rescued? In a straight physical brawl, it couldn't even meet Sword Ham's eyes. But inside Star's Land, it stomps Sword Ham and flies circles around it?
Guardian Stars aren't ranked by pure combat power originally.
Ranked by class based on their tier.
That Thunder pig-herder dude.
For real.
Fought demons and beasts till he dropped.
Got endless praise from the beastkin tribes.
Legit top-class among Guardian Stars.
Thunder-who-cleaves-pigs' top feat was bagging a level 70 demon, right?
That's straight-up legendary hero territory.
Cleaving pigs, raising pigs, total chaos.
What, is he a butcher?
But wtf is this Thousand Maggot Spawn thing?
Even a Guardian Star that took down a high demon gets bodied?
True to the name, it's spawned from like a thousand evil spirits clumped together.
Pure body class is ass.
Yeopo of Star's Land.
Watching it fight in Star's Land, it legit seems unbeatable.
Can you even kill the Point Demon?
Can't kill it.
Best case is forcing a retreat lol.
“Ah… Aah…”
Yoan had thought, gazing at the horde of evil spirits closing in.
The worst.
It was the greatest problem for an astrologer—
and at the same time, a comfort.
A situation already at its worst.
No further deterioration possible; only improvement remained.
If they could just hold out.
If they could only buy time for Hamun's Guardian Star to intervene, everything would be resolved.
That slender thread of hope was what moved the astrologer pushed to her limit.
However.
The sight unfolding before her eyes now.
Yoan shuddered.
Any astrologer in her place would have felt the same.
Sandstorm.
Pillar of fire.
Swamp of blood.
Swarm of insects.
Each one rivaled the horde of evil spirits in class—a great calamity.
And not just one, but several, erupting one after another.
‘Hamun's Guardian Star…’
Yoan recalled the sole hope: that mighty, mysterious being.
She tried to think as positively as possible, relying on its aid.
But the deeper her thoughts delved, the more despair grew.
No matter how mighty the Guardian Star—
no matter how exalted the class of that being's avatar—
it could not handle all those.
“Why in the world…”
Durakta muttered.
He had staked his life shielding Yoan from the evil spirits' assault.
The onslaught had finally ceased. Yet he found no joy in it.
The evil spirits' attacks, which they had barely endured at the cost of everything—
those had been effortlessly quelled as if nothing, only for these disasters to now advance upon them.
At this point, his question was singular.
Why.
Why had such disasters gathered in this one place?
To seize Hamun's star, coveted by the horde of evil spirits?
‘For that alone?’
The thought arose unbidden.
No star, no matter how brightly it shone or vulnerably exposed, could draw such great evils together.
“We still… don't know yet…”
One astrologer murmured.
The tribe's revered elder looked especially pathetic today.
“Such great evils could never coexist. Whatever their goal, they will surely drive each other out and reign supreme alone. If we just exploit that gap…!”
The others nodded at the persuasiveness of his words.
Their class. Their power. Their scale.
They were assuredly kingly beings, each seeking dominion.
Gathered in one place, they could not avoid clashing over a single throne.
“Indeed, that makes sense. Right now, we're not even on their radar—”
In other words.
They need only face the last one standing.
And that survivor would be weakened from the prior battles.
The sole hopeful prognosis amid this hopeless situation.
However.
The issue was—
“Can we even survive the aftermath?”
“…”
They steadied their resolve with trembling hands.
All present confronted the situation with expressions mingling hope and despair.
All but one.
Roera, conversing with someone visible only to her.
It was then.
Ah.
Aaah.
Aaaaaah!!!
Kyaaaaah!!!
The evil spirits filling the land screamed in unison.
Swallowed by the sandstorm.
Swept into the pillar of fire.
Devoured by the swamp of blood.
Torn apart by the swarm of insects.
A horrific dissonance formed a single melody.
And the scattered spirits converged into one.
At last, the horde took on the shape of a face.
—Aaaaaaah!!!
The face writhed, unleashing a scream.
“Ugh—”
The deafening roar shaking heaven and earth made them clap their hands over their ears instinctively.
“That's… the horde's true form…!”
The hands over their ears trembled with primal fear.
The pressure felt through their skin.
They realized anew.
This horde of evil spirits was undoubtedly a great evil comparable to those four calamities.
Then, the face's gaze turned to the sandstorm.
—Be-Be-Belvandes!!!!!!!
A shout laced with rage.
Fury and doubt mingled within.
—Why!!! Why do you, of all beings, meddle in a mere mortal's fate!!!
—…!
Thunder that cleaved the sky.
The warrior who had lived for battle, even surrendering to its thrill on the brink of death, now trembled.
—My descendant.
She addressed Yoan.
—That thing is dangerous.
“Ancestor…?”
—The sand mountain blotting the sun… That's no being we can handle.
The astrologer's face twisted in horror.
Her valiant ancestor—
his expression dyed in unmistakable fear.
—If you must fight it, abandon the star without hesitation.
“…”
A valiant warrior unknowing of fear until his dying breath.
Could any warning be more effective than fear from his lips?
At the same time.
The other astrologers heard the same from their Guardian Stars.
The sand mountain blotting the sun.
Under no circumstances challenge Belvandes, the superior demon.
—So… Sahila… Even her sacrifice went to waste…”
Yoan could not comprehend the ancient warrior's tale of old.
The ancient great warrior.
The incomprehensible legend from his lips.
It further fueled their imaginations, and bloated fancy bred greater unease.
Then.
If that sandstorm was such a mighty being.
What in the world were the others, rivaling its majesty?
—Aaaaaaaaa…!!!
Then, the horde roared as if sobbing.
—Answer me, Belvandes…!!! I have no desire to fight you…!!! Lead your kin away right now—
The horde's plea, half-warning, half-begging, cut off midway.
Kwarung!
Sand typhoon.
Lightning flashed within, causing vibrations.
As if in conversation.
—What…? You're… not Belvandes…? Then what the—
Kwarung!
—Belvandes…
…Kwarung!!!
—…What nonsense are you spouting!!!
The colossal face formed by the horde contorted wildly.
—What! What did you say…!!! Majestic sand mountain! What dares mimic you!!! If not, what are you mimicking…! What made you like that!!!
The horde writhed in terror.
Was it imagination?
That fear seemed directed not at the sandstorm, but something else.
—Ah, I see…!
Soon, the horde shuddered in ecstasy.
Gathering evil spirits into arms, it shook off the clinging insect swarm.
—So that's it…!
It struck the pooled swamp of blood on the ground.
—So that's what happened…!!!!
It repelled the pillar of fire.
—Beings once great…!!!
Bam!
The horde collided with the sandstorm.
—I see your parasitic shadows clearly with these eyes…!!!
Fallen, indeed.
The horde murmured.
Then, its size swelled enormously.
The spirits seemingly vanished in the calamities returned.
The horde raised its colossal arms with all its might, then slammed them toward the earth.
Kugugung—
The vibration rent heaven and earth.
The calamities threatening the evil spirits' horde waned.
Just as the horde seemed to overwhelm the calamities.
—Kuhahaha!!!
The pillar of fire surged.
What had dimmed under the horde's momentum blazed fiercer anew.
—Blind fool!!! Look again properly!
The black flame's core took on a new hue.
It spread instantly, mingling with the existing ebony.
Thus, a new grayish-white pillar of fire formed.
Spirits touching it no longer screamed in agony.
They did not burn.
Instead, their distorted, corrupted forms reverted.
Some to wolves.
Some to humans.
Back to before becoming foul evil spirits.
—…!!!
The horde recoiled in panic from the grayish-white pillar of fire.
The grayish-white fire pillar mockingly sneered at the horde.
Its writhing flames evoked a mocking face.
—Fallen?! Shadows?! No! This is—
The pillar's words cut off there.
A final spasm?
In the end, the tide did not turn; the four calamities seemed subdued by the horde's momentum.
On the surface, yes.
However.
Reality differed.
The horde realized too late.
The four calamities.
They were mere offshoots from a single source.
Fragments of power someone had unleashed—
like its own horde of evil spirits.
—Uh- Uuuh- Uwaa- Aaaaah- Agagagak—
The horde emitted grotesque groans, biting off one of its arms.
From the fingertips.
Purification spread from where it had touched the grayish-white flames.
Its momentum fiercer than an autumn wildfire.
—Where are you…!!!
Even after the calamities vanished, their power lingered.
The horde's face darted about, pursuing the power's origin.
—There you are!
“…!”
Yoan and her group, dazedly witnessing the mythic scene, shuddered violently.
The horde's gaze fixed between them.
“No way…?”
All eyes turned to the beastkin girl, Hamun, unconscious at the center.
Just as their gazes converged—
“Rishir…?”
The hero Roera murmured softly.
“Wh-What the hell all of a sudden!?”
“This one—”
Her companions—
Lotna and Gelrad—startled, staring at one spot.
There stood a man who had appeared unnoticed.
Yoan's group focused on him too.
The horde's gaze clearly locked on the man.
“…!”
Then, Roera startled and stepped before the man.
As if shielding him from the horde.
“Hero!?”
“Hold on, Roera—”
Her flustered companions.
“Roera! Get back!”
Yoan shouted at her.
“That's probably not the person you know!”
“…!”
Already stunned by his sudden appearance.
Roera turned to Yoan.
As if asking if she had some inkling.
“The aura from Hamun… it's emanating from you now!”
“You mean…”
“Hamun's Guardian Star has manifested, borrowing your power!”
“Hamun's Guardian Star? But why—”
Roera's gaze swept the man's face.
No mistake.
No matter how she looked, it was that man she knew.
Brother.
Roera repeated the word inwardly.
“In borrowing your power, it took on your influence! Tell me, hero! Isn't that man in the form of the one you rely on most!?”
At Yoan's words, the man—
no, the Guardian Star—gazed at Roera.
Imagination?
The Guardian Star's expression seemed mischievously teasing.
As Roera recalled, it was precisely the face of a brother teasing his little sister.
“…!”
The cynical hero's face flushed red.
No!
A shy impulse screamed at her to deny it.
But now was not the time.
Moreover—
Roera now knew ‘it’ was not her brother.
Obvious, upon reflection.
Roera.
She knew Rishir's magical talent.
A genius who could be 6th-circle by now, no surprise.
Yet—
‘This is ridiculous.’
Commanding such ‘calamities’.
A Guardian Star.
Even Roera, who alone proclaimed ‘6th-circle’ amid cries of ‘3rd,’ struggled to accept it.
Thus, she accepted Yoan's words readily.
That's not him.
Just the Guardian Star in his form.
That was why.
Roera uttered words she could never say before ‘him.’
“Yes.”
She gazed at the Guardian Star's face and answered Yoan's question.
“It is indeed the face of the one I rely on most.”
The cynical hero's expression twitched briefly.
The ‘Guardian Star,’ hearing her, seemed startled, then flashed a sly grin.
Roera felt a twinge of annoyance inwardly.
Damn.
Don't copy that too.
In truth.
Roera was inwardly disappointed.
‘I thought it was really him…’
In this situation where dramatic reunion was thwarted.
Harboring displeasure at the Guardian Star striving to save her and her comrades—for mimicking him—would be ungrateful, right?
Roera pushed down her discontent.
“Great one…!”
Yoan knelt toward the Guardian Star.
The other astrologers followed; Roera's group awkwardly bowed their heads too.
“We shall repay this grace without fail. So please, protect these feeble stars…!!!”
A colossal shadow loomed over them.
The horde's arm, raised high, now swung down toward them.
Visible even from afar, it slowly blotted their sky.
Despair and hope.
At that precarious midpoint, they desperately awaited the Guardian Star's miracle.
“Uuuugh!!!”
Moments later.
Fierce wind pressure crushed them.
And—
that was it.
The horde's arm halted.
Just before touching the Guardian Star's raised arm.
As if a mere twig propped up the sky.
—Ah, aaah— aaaaaah…!!!
The horde withdrew its arm, bringing it before its face.
Gazing intently, it emitted grotesque groans.
The emotion in its voice spread through its body.
The horde convulsed freakishly.
The power fueling that spasm focused to a point.
Once more.
The horde raised its hand with all its might.
Higher than before.
And slammed down fiercer.
—Impossible…!!! Unthinkable—!!!
Merely the wind from that motion.
Yet Roera's group could not stand against it.
Only one.
The Guardian Star stood firm, arm raised skyward.
Thus—
the moment the horde's and Guardian Star's hands met.
“...Huh?”
The crushing wind dispersed.
They looked up at the sky.
A refreshing breeze blew.
Grass revived by it fluttered.
Beasts regained vitality, dashing about.
The evil spirits, bound to corruption for various reasons, were liberated.
Like dead trees bursting into full bloom.
“Ah…”
Roera's group stared, awestruck, at the wondrous sight.
Thus, all evil spirits scattered as stars.
Left behind: Roera's group.
And—the Guardian Star.
“Huh?”
The beastkin girl, her complexion much brighter, rose.
She looked around in confusion.
“Ah…!”
Truly befitting a small animal's keen instincts.
Seeing her comrades, Hamun immediately knelt toward the Guardian Star too.
The atmosphere gradually settled.
At its end, Yoan cautiously spoke.
“Great one… These humble stars sincerely thank you for your mercy and grace…”
“…”
The Guardian Star silently regarded Yoan.
Feeling that great being's gaze, Yoan felt joy and fear intertwined.
For an astrologer, drawing the attention of an incomprehensibly exalted being was thus.
“These humble stars wish to inherit your light… So, great one… Illuminate our path ahead…”
Such a mighty being would not aid without reason.
They belatedly inquired after the Guardian Star's purpose—
its desires.
“…”
Gulp.
Someone swallowed unconsciously.
A being who repelled that horrific horde with a gesture.
Its demands.
What heavy burden would they bear?
And what fate would that burden lead them to?
Some worried, others anticipated.
The Guardian Star spoke.
“Please take good care of my little sister Roera.”
Silence fell.
In that silence, they raised their heads one by one.
First visible: the hero Roera's face.
“…”
Her cynical smile: eyes and mouth agape.
Then, the Guardian Star looked at Roera, making an expression.
Utterly mischievous and sly.
—It is indeed the face of the one I rely on most.
Seeing it, Roera recalled her own words.
“…!”
The cynical hero's face burned crimson, as if to burst.
“Little… sister…?”
Her companions gazed at such a Roera with reverent eyes.