Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: The Land Forsaken by Stars (5)
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*Slurp.*
The slimy sensation of a tongue crawling across his cheek.
Mika's hand snaked out, groping Oh-jin's rear.
Oh-jin spoke with an indifferent expression.
“You’re going to get hurt.”
“Heehee, I told you, you won’t get hurt if you just do as you’re told.”
“No, not me.”
You’re the one who’s going to get hurt.
“What?”
Just as Mika furrowed her brow, as if asking what nonsense he was spouting.
*Thud.*
Someone placed a hand on Mika's shoulder from behind.
“What is it, Shiranui? Are you jealous?”
Thinking it was obviously Shiranui who had grabbed her shoulder, Mika let out a sultry moan and turned her head.
But it wasn't Shiranui who was there when she looked back.
Ha-eun, her face twisted like a yaksha demon, had her hand on Mika's shoulder.
“...Huh?”
With a bewildered expression, she looked for Shiranui.
Far in the distance, Shiranui was on the ground, clutching his crotch and foaming at the mouth.
“W-What is this?”
Sensing a sinister premonition, Mika slowly backed away.
Ha-eun instantly grabbed the collar of the retreating Mika and yanked her forward.
“Hey, you bitch.”
Her eyes glinted menacingly.
Ha-eun reached out and roughly grabbed the piercing in the center of Mika's tongue.
“Who the hell do you think you are, slobbering all over what’s mine?”
*Rip!!*
The skull-shaped piercing tore through her tongue and clattered to the floor.
“Guaaaargh!!”
Blood gushed from her torn tongue.
Mika let out a bizarre scream and clapped a hand over her bleeding mouth.
“Y-You thucking bitch!!!”
As if responding to her blazing killing intent, the Stigma of the Seahorse emitted a black light.
Intense demonic energy surged from the seven strokes glowing with black light.
*Rrrrrrumble!*
The surface of the water dagger twisted, transforming into a round sphere.
The sphere floating above her palm spun fiercely, scattering water in all directions.
A sticky dampness clung to the air.
A damp mist, like the dawn after a downpour, spread widely through the area.
The spreading mist didn't just bring a sticky discomfort.
“Kugh!”
“M-My body won’t move!”
Astonished cries erupted from the Kurōshi members who were fighting fiercely with the Black Star Society.
The sticky mist spread out over a radius of several dozen meters.
Their bodies, touched by the mist, flailed as if they were drowning in deep water.
“You dare… touth me?”
Mika spoke with a lisp, roughly clenching the swirling sphere above her palm.
The sphere exploded like a water balloon, reforming into dozens of blades.
“Thie!!!”
She thrust her hand toward Ha-eun and shouted fiercely.
Dozens of water blades, shrouded in mist, rained down on the immobilized Ha-eun.
“What a joke.”
Ha-eun let out a snort of laughter and pulled a cigarette pack from her pocket.
She took out a cigarette and casually placed it between her lips.
*Inhale.*
As she took a deep drag, the tip of the cigarette glowed red, though she hadn't used a lighter.
“Hoo.”
She exhaled the smoke and flicked the cigarette.
“Burn.”
*Fwoooosh!!*
With the quiet incantation, the flame burning at the tip of her cigarette rapidly expanded, sweeping through the area.
The thick mist and the dozens of blades shooting toward Ha-eun like bullets were all swallowed by the flames and vanished.
“Huh?”
Mika, who had been glaring at Ha-eun with fierce eyes, gaped.
“W-What was that?”
The water created by the Stigma of the Seahorse was fundamentally different from ordinary water.
Its hardness surpassed steel.
It shouldn't boil when touched by fire, nor freeze when chilled.
And yet, it had vanished without a trace from a single cigarette ember.
“What do you think it is, bitch?”
Ha-eun twisted her lips into a grin and raised her fists.
Lifting both fists in front of her face like a pro boxer, she bounced on her feet and then shot forward.
“Time for you to get your ass kicked.”
In an instant, Ha-eun closed the distance to Mika and threw a punch.
*Thwack! Pow! Thud!*
First, one to the solar plexus. Then two quick jabs to the stomach.
“Keuk!”
As Mika clutched her stomach and doubled over, Ha-eun delivered a vicious uppercut to her philtrum.
*Craack!!*
With the dull sound of shattering bone, Mika's bloodied body flew into the air as if she had jumped.
“Hraaaah!!”
Ha-eun let out a battle cry, pivoting on her left foot.
She struck Mika's airborne stomach with a spinning back kick so clean it was worthy of admiration.
Mika was sent flying over ten meters, her eyes rolling back as she passed out.
“Such a weak little bitch, acting all high and mighty.”
*Spit.*
She spat on the ground and turned toward Oh-jin.
“And you, you punk, why were you just standing there watching? Huh?”
“I was just checking to see what kind of abilities the Stigma of the Seahorse has.”
“Hmph. You’re all talk.”
Ha-eun approached Oh-jin with a scowl and wiped his cheek with her sleeve, as if cleaning a stain.
“I was worried something terrible might happen, but it seems my fears were unfounded!”
Sakaki burst into hearty laughter and gave Ha-eun a thumbs-up.
“I'd only thought of you as Lightning Wolf's lover, but you're an incredible fighter!”
“Heh, I'm still a higher star-rank than Oh-jinnie right now.”
“Is that so?”
Sakaki's eyes widened.
“Lightning Wolf... he was a 6-Star, wasn't he?”
“I'm a 7-Star.”
“Hoh. Then does that make you an 8-Star?”
He looked at Ha-eun with admiration.
Sakaki himself was an 8-Star Awakener, but since 8-Star Awakeners were so rare in Japan, he hadn't imagined she would be one.
“Nope, one higher than that.”
Ha-eun puffed out her chest and said boastfully.
“A 9-Star…? Th-Then aren't you a high-rank Awakener?”
“That's right.”
“Hoh. To think I'd see another high-rank Awakener besides the old man!”
Sakaki gasped in admiration and let out another hearty laugh.
“It seems I shouldn't have been so happy just to get Lightning Wolf's help!”
“Ahem. You're overreacting.”
Faced with the gazes of envy pouring in from all around, Ha-eun cleared her throat unnecessarily and averted her eyes.
High-rank Awakeners drew attention wherever they went, but perhaps because there were none in Japan, the eyes on her were sparkling excessively.
To use a gaming analogy, it was like a Diamond-tier player suddenly appearing in a world full of Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
“N-No way.”
“Lady Mika...”
As Mika fell with absurd ease, the remaining Black Star Society members lost their will to fight, their weapons drooping.
The Kurōshi members seized the opportunity, rushing in to subdue the Black Star Society members.
“Well then, since they're all subdued, let's head inside the ward.”
Oh-jin said, looking around at the mostly resolved situation.
He needed to find out what on earth they were doing, kidnapping Awakeners.
“Understood. Lads! Keep a close watch on these bastards so they don't escape! We'll be interrogating all of them later.”
“Yes, Oyabun!”
“Ah, and bring the 'Yumehanashi' too.”
“Yessir!”
Yumehanashi?
Oh-jin tilted his head at the word that came through untranslated.
‘Is it that proper nouns like Kurōshi don't get translated?’
He watched the members running off somewhere and asked Sakaki.
“What is a Yumehanashi?”
“Ah... well. Hmm.”
For once, Sakaki trailed off, hesitating to answer.
After a moment's hesitation, Sakaki let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“It's a Holy Relic that puts the target into a hypnotic state by clouding their mind. Its effect is extremely short, and they develop a resistance after one use, so it's not something you can use for a proper testimony... but at the very least, you can determine if the information you get is true or false.”
Sakaki clicked his tongue as if he didn't like it at all.
“It's not a very manly tool, so I'm not fond of it, but there's nothing better for weeding out false information when interrogating these scum.”
So there was a Holy Relic with such an amazing effect.
“Then let's save the interrogation for later and head inside.”
“Yes.”
The other Kurōshi members waited outside, while only Oh-jin, Ha-eun, Sakaki, and Koshiro went in.
“Doesn't look like much.”
Ha-eun looked around the abandoned ward.
Inside, there were only traces of the Black Star Society members who had been hiding there; there was nothing that could reveal why they were kidnapping Awakeners.
“Hold on.”
Oh-jin closed his eyes and used 'Hound of Vega'.
A faint lightning current spread from his body, enveloping the entire abandoned ward.
“There's a basement.”
“A basement, you say?”
“Yes.”
Oh-jin made his way to the stairs leading to the basement.
Descending the stairs, he saw a firmly shut basement door.
“Only this door is in good shape. Everything else is rusted to hell.”
“They must have installed a new one.”
Oh-jin examined the lock on the door.
It wasn't a modern lock like a fingerprint or iris scanner, but one made using a Holy Relic, so it was impossible to know what kind of authentication was needed to open it.
“Oyabun. Should I bring one of the captured men?”
“Is there any need for that?”
Sakaki grinned and stepped forward.
“Hmph! Stand back!”
The muscles in his right arm swelled grotesquely.
A powerful shockwave condensed on his fist.
“Hraah!!”
*KRAAAANG!!!*
With a single punch, not only the basement door but also the surrounding wall was torn away.
The interior of the basement was thus revealed.
“What... is this?”
The inside, filled with machinery reminiscent of a mad scientist's laboratory, was lined with large, cylindrical tanks filled with clear water.
“A-Are these bastards making chimeras or something with monsters?”
Ha-eun exclaimed, wrinkling her nose as if the mere thought was disgusting.
Oh-jin surveyed the cylindrical tanks, his eyes narrowing.
“If that were the case, the tanks wouldn't be completely empty.”
And if they were making chimeras to use as fighting forces, it was strange that none had appeared during the recent battle.
“Now that you mention it, you're right. Then what the hell were these bastards doing with...”
“Wait a minute, Nunna.”
Oh-jin cut her off, his gaze fixed on a corner of the basement.
*Click.*
A door labeled "Control Room" opened cautiously, and a young man walked out.
The young man was gaunt, as if he hadn't eaten in days.
The left sleeve of the white lab coat he was wearing was empty and hung limply, where an arm should have been.
“Who... are you?”
Upon spotting Oh-jin's group, his eyes widened, and he looked around frantically.
“Wh-Where did those two go? W-Wait a minute.”
His darting gaze landed on Sakaki.
“S-Sakaki Ryo!! Are you Sakaki Ryo?!”
He ran toward them, clearly agitated.
Sakaki casually extended a hand toward the approaching young man.
*Pang!*
An invisible shockwave pushed the young man's body back.
Struck by the shockwave, the young man's body was thrown limply against the wall.
“Kugh!”
“Who are you?”
“Hah, hah. You are... Sakaki Ryo, right?”
“I am.”
“*Sob... hiccup. Hoooook!*”
The young man, collapsed on the floor, began to weep sorrowfully.
“Thank... thank goodness. Finally... *sob*!”
“......”
“What's going on here?”
“Hmm. I wonder.”
Ha-eun and Sakaki watched the weeping young man with expressions of complete confusion.
“M-My name is Sakai Yuji.”
The weeping young man introduced himself as he got to his feet.
He said he had been captured by the Black Star Society, confined here, and forced to perform a terrible task.
“A terrible task? What was it?”
“It was...”
Yuji's face turned pale as he squeezed his eyes shut.
“The process of turning Awakeners... into 'nutrients'.”
“Nutrients?”
At the ominous-sounding word, the expressions of Sakaki and Ha-eun hardened.
Yuji's explanation continued.
“They put the kidnapped Awakeners into water created by the power of the Stigma of the Seahorse... and d-dissolve them.”
“...What?”
At the shocking revelation, both Ha-eun and Sakaki gaped in horror.
To dissolve a whole person and turn them into nutrients.
It was an act so nauseating and disgusting it was sickening to even imagine.
“You bastard!!”
*Kwang!*
Sakaki roared like fire, grabbing Yuji by the collar and hoisting him into the air.
“You dare kidnap one of our own and commit such an atrocity?!”
*Ruuuumble!!*
As Sakaki unleashed his fury, the entire basement shook as if it would collapse.
“Calm down, Mr. Sakaki.”
Oh-jin stepped forward to restrain Sakaki.
“How can I be calm in this situation?!”
“Then do you plan on destroying this entire place?”
“...Kugh.”
Sakaki bit his lip and set Yuji down.
“*Cough! Cough!*”
Yuji fell to the floor and slammed his forehead against it.
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...”
He sobbed, repeating his sorrowful apology.
Oh-jin approached the weeping Yuji and asked quietly.
“You were captured by them and forced to obey?”
“Yes. Th-That's right.”
“How can we believe that?”
“That is...”
Yuji trailed off with a bitter expression.
He lowered his head and continued.
“I understand if you can't believe me. And... I know that even if I was forced, my sins don't just disappear.”
He bit his lip with sorrowful eyes.
“It's alright if you kill me right here, right now. No, please kill me.”
Tears of sorrow streamed down Yuji's cheeks.
“But... before you kill me... there is just one thing, one thing I must ask.”
Kneeling, he slammed his forehead hard against the floor.
“Kurosaki Sosuke... that monster... that demon in human skin... please... please kill him.”
The tears streaming down his cheeks wet the floor.