Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: A Fraudster's Path to Victory (7)
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-Kzzzzzzzt!!!
A torrent of blue lightning engulfed Cheon Woo-seong.
The black wings tightly wrapped around his body were torn to shreds.
His body, now fully exposed.
“…Ah?”
Cheon Woo-seong's eyes, shrouded in a halo of light, turned to Oh-jin.
“What… is this?”
His eyes were wide open.
He stared at the blue lightning blazing before him, as if in disbelief.
“What do you think it is, you bastard?”
Tossing the broken spear aside, he clenched his fist.
A fist crushed from condensing mana beyond its limits.
Ignoring the dizzying pain coursing through his arm, he threw a punch with all his might.
“It's an express ticket to see your mommy.”
Thwump!!
The fist, condensed with blue lightning, pierced through Cheon Woo-seong's chest.
The fist emerged from his back, a pulsating red mass of blood clutched within it.
“Cough, hack!”
With his heart torn out, blood gushed from Cheon Woo-seong's mouth.
“Why, why…?”
As if he still couldn't grasp the situation.
His eyes wide, he collapsed to the floor.
“…Hooo.”
A low sigh escaped Oh-jin's lips.
“Mommy… Mo, mmy…”
“…”
He looked down at Cheon Woo-seong, who lay on the floor pitifully calling for his mother.
Was it because he was an Awakened on the verge of becoming a 9-Star?
Even with his heart ripped out, Cheon Woo-seong was desperately clinging to the last thread of his life.
“Tch.”
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
A sticky, unpleasant feeling, like stepping barefoot in a muddy puddle, enveloped him.
‘What's so special about this damn mother?’
He had been abandoned at birth by parents he'd never even seen.
So he couldn't quite understand why Cheon Woo-seong was crying out for his mother so desperately.
“Mo…”
“Shut up, you bastard.”
After spitting out a harsh curse at the sobbing Cheon Woo-seong.
Oh-jin sighed and searched through Cheon Woo-seong's clothes.
‘Just as I thought.’
Such a mama's boy.
Tucked away inside his clothes was a small notebook containing his mother's photograph.
The picture of an ordinary Korean middle-aged woman with permed hair.
The kind of ordinary woman you might see every thirty seconds on the street.
To Cheon Woo-seong, was she such a significant being that she could turn his entire life upside down?
‘Transform.’
Crack, creak!
He changed his face.
“…Huh?”
A flicker of light appeared in Cheon Woo-seong's fading eyes.
“M-Mo, mmy?”
“…”
Was there any need to answer?
Oh-jin simply looked down at him without a word.
“Ha, haha! M-Mommy!”
Tears streamed down Cheon Woo-seong's cheeks.
“I… I miss, ed you…. I had to… had to see you again.”
Tremble, tremble.
His trembling hand reached pitifully toward Oh-jin.
“I'm sor, ry... Mo…”
Thud.
The hand that had been reaching out so desperately fell to the floor, never touching Oh-jin.
The light completely vanished from Cheon Woo-seong's eyes.
“…”
A heavy silence descended.
Oh-jin clicked his tongue once more and walked over to Cheon Woo-seong.
‘This kind of thing really doesn't suit me.’
Well, at least for his final moments.
It should be fine for him to close his eyes in a fantasy.
“Let's see here.”
He reached a hand out toward the fallen Cheon Woo-seong.
‘Black Heaven.’
Rumble.
A black storm cloud covered the gaping hole in Cheon Woo-seong's left chest.
He was slightly worried if absorption would work with the heart ripped out, but…
-Rumble.
As if to say there was no need for such useless worries, a dizzying amount of mana immediately began to flow in through the black storm cloud.
‘This is incredible.’
A dense mana on a completely different level from Park Geon-woo, who was also an 8-Star.
It wasn't that the quantity itself was immense, but the quality of the mana was far richer.
‘With mana this dense.’
Even using the same amount of mana, I can unleash much greater power.
For Oh-jin, who was struggling with his narrow mana circuits, this was the most welcome mana he could ask for.
Just as he expelled more of the storm cloud to accelerate the mana absorption.
-Wooooong!!
The Stigma engraved on Oh-jin's left chest blazed brightly.
A brilliant halo of light erupted from the Stigma, wrapping around Oh-jin's body.
‘This is.’
A phenomenon similar to what happened with Cheon Woo-seong earlier.
“Keuk!”
A short groan escaped Oh-jin's lips from the searing pain in his chest.
But the pain was brief.
-Ting!
[The 'Stigma of Lyra' has been elevated to 6-Star!]
A sixth stroke was engraved next to the Stigma, and power surged throughout his entire body.
“Hah.”
Physical growth.
The skeleton hardened and the muscles toughened.
A transcendent power, as if he could tear through rebar with his bare hands, settled into his body.
‘And.’
The corners of Oh-jin's mouth curled up.
Physical growth meant.
That the mana circuits flowing within had also expanded.
-Kzzzzzzzt!!
“That's right.”
Blue lightning blazed fiercely in Oh-jin's hand.
Upon becoming a 6-Star, the amount of mana he could handle at once had increased significantly.
‘Well, compared to my total mana reserves, it's still like draining a 100-ton water tank with a garden hose.’
That was only because the amount of mana he possessed was on a completely different scale; it wasn't a small amount compared to other Awakened of the same rank.
‘My dear Goddess will probably faint again if she finds out.’
Becoming a 6-Star in less than a year since awakening his Stigma.
It was a monstrous growth rate, the kind that would make you suspect he'd bought a level-up ticket in a game.
However.
“There's still a long way to go.”
It was far too early to be satisfied.
The Star that Defies Heaven.
To play the part of humanity's savior,
he needed even more overwhelming power.
‘I have to get stronger.’
So that no one can dare to challenge me.
So that they wouldn't dare touch what's mine.
“Hm?”
Just as he was steeling his resolve.
-Fzzt.
‘Transmission, huh.’
With a familiar sensation, his vision flipped.
Oh-jin focused his mind on Cheon Woo-seong's memories flowing into his head.
-…why do you need it?
-Ho ho ho. You don't need to know, so don't concern yourself.
In an unknown forest.
An old man with wrinkled skin gave Cheon Woo-seong a gentle smile.
-More importantly, is the plan proceeding well?
-Yes. If this operation succeeds, we'll be able to take control of the entire Association.
-Ho ho ho. You're doing well.
-…
Conflict flickered in Cheon Woo-seong's eyes.
-Father. About this matter…
-Woo-seong.
As if stroking a beloved treasure.
The old man placed a hand on Cheon Woo-seong's cheek.
-Have you forgotten what happened to your mother?
-…Th-That's!
Cheon Woo-seong's expression hardened.
-Ho ho ho. Don't think about useless things.
The old man patted Cheon Woo-seong's head with a gentle hand.
-You just… have to follow this father's words.
-…
As if he had been hypnotized.
Cheon Woo-seong's eyes momentarily glazed over.
-Yes… Father.
With Cheon Woo-seong bowing deeply,
-Ting!
[A portion of the records of Awakened 'Cheon Woo-seong' has been successfully transmitted!]
[The Stigma of Noctua is now completely subordinate to Black Heaven!]
[You have acquired the new Black Heaven trait, 'Domination'!]
[You can exert dominance over Awakened who possess the Stigma of Noctua.]
The memory ended.
“Oh.”
A short exclamation escaped Oh-jin's lips.
‘Is this because I've absorbed so many Stigmas of Noctua?’
To think I can exert dominance over other Awakened.
I haven't tested it yet, so I don't know its exact capabilities, but it seemed like a pretty useful ability.
‘By the way.’
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes, recalling the face of the old man from Cheon Woo-seong's memory.
‘Cheon Do-yoon.’
The King of Owls.
‘Was he the one… who instigated Cheon Woo-seong?’
It occurred to him that Cheon Do-yoon might be the reason Cheon Woo-seong had remained a 'boy' who had only grown physically.
‘What is he plotting?’
From their conversation, it seemed like Cheon Do-yoon was looking for something.
But he couldn't tell what it was because the beginning of the memory was cut off.
“Hnngh.”
Oh-jin frowned and swallowed a groan.
He pondered for a while, but there were too few clues to guess what Cheon Do-yoon was planning.
‘For now, I guess I have no choice but to be as careful as possible.’
Cheon Woo-seong was one thing.
But Cheon Do-yoon was not an opponent he could take on yet.
‘He must be a high-ranking Awakened, like Isabella.’
As rank 6 to her rank 3, he was likely a level below Isabella.
Still, as one of the Executors leading the seven factions of the Black Star Organization, he would boast immense skill.
‘If I use Isabella…’
Oh-jin continued the thought before shaking his head.
The risk is too great.
Isabella was a being far too powerful for him to control.
‘In that case.’
Oh-jin's eyes gleamed sharply.
‘For now, is there any other way than to build up as much strength as possible before Cheon Do-yoon makes his move?’
Enough to win even against a high-ranking Awakened.
He had no choice but to become stronger himself.
“Hmm.”
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes and continued to think.
‘A way to build up strength quickly.’
There was one.
He had a method in mind.
‘I don't know if it will go as planned.’
But it was certainly worth a try.
“Ugh. For now, I should probably contact Mr. Jun-man.”
Oh-jin pushed himself up and grinned.
‘The reward for this is going to be pretty sweet, isn't it?’
Not only did he plan the operation to capture Cheon Woo-seong, but he also caught him when he tried to escape. In terms of contribution, it would be embarrassing to even compare him to anyone else.
Knowing the Association President's personality, he would surely provide a reward fitting his contribution without him even having to ask.
‘Just how much is he going to give me?’
Hehehe.
Oh-jin's lips curled into a smirk, laughing to himself as if just imagining it was enjoyable.
It wasn't that he was desperate for money.
But money was something you could never have too much of.
“Alright then.”
As he moved his arm to pull his smartphone from his pocket.
Throb!
“Keuk!”
A dizzying pain shot up his arm.
Frowning, he looked down and saw his battered arm.
‘It's a complete wreck.’
With so many chaotic things happening one after another since the battle ended, he had completely forgotten, but his entire body, not just his arm, was a wreck.
“Ugh.”
Isn't it always the case that a wound you didn't know was there starts to hurt clearly the moment you notice it?
That was exactly the situation now.
As soon as he became aware of his body's condition, a deep fatigue, along with the pain, weighed him down.
‘Shit.’
Thump.
Oh-jin, unable to even support his own body, slumped to the floor.
“Have to… contact him.”
Woooong!
He tried to activate the Stigma of Aquarius to heal himself, but even that was difficult now.
The blue light gathering at his fingertips kept dissipating.
‘Damn, I'm sleepy.’
Was it because the tension had vanished all at once?
An insane amount of fatigue and drowsiness washed over him.
“Just… five minutes…”
In the ruined underground passage.
Oh-jin leaned his body against the passage wall and slowly closed his eyes.
* * *
“—Don't you think this is just too much?”
Click, clack, clack!
The heels of her high-heeled shoes tapped impatiently on the floor.
“How could you not send a single text or make a single call?”
“W-Well…”
The woman, legs crossed, gnawed on her lip.
Sweeping back her platinum blonde hair, which shone beautifully as if spun from molten gold, she questioned the old man bowing at her feet.
“Did I perhaps not take good enough care of him? I stayed by his side and nursed him, I even cooked for him myself.”
“M-My Queen, I believe you did your very best.”
“Then perhaps he wasn't pleased with my appearance?”
“That is absolutely impossible!!”
The old man's eyes went wide as if to ask how she could say such a thing, and he shook his head.
“What man in this world would not fall for the Queen's beautiful appearance!!”
The old man shouted, veins popping on his neck, in a way that didn't suit his dignified appearance.
His neatly trimmed gray mustache trembled.
“Then.”
The woman's eyes flashed fiercely.
A dense, blood-red aura billowed out from her.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
The entire mansion shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“Then why in the world hasn't he contacted me?”
“W-Well.”
“Weren't you the one who said I should wait patiently and not contact him first in a situation like this, Roberto?”
“I-I apologize, my Queen!!”
Gulp.
The old man bowing before the woman, Roberto, swallowed dryly.
His neatly pressed butler uniform was becoming soaked with sweat.
“Well, whatever.”
The woman sat in a luxurious chair and crossed her sleek legs.
Her pale white legs, revealed through the hem of her dress, sparkled like jewels.
“Since it's come to this, I'll have to go meet him myself.”
She stuck out her tongue and licked her red lips.