Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Interlude - The Goddess's Atonement (1)
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“Next, you say?”
Deneb’s voice trembled as he spoke.
Even though his opponent was in a state so wretched that ‘tattered rag’ was an understatement.
The man’s two eyes, shimmering with blue will-o'-wisps, glowed eerily.
“Just… what did you turn into an Apostle, Vega?”
A skin-crawling sensation, as if insects were crawling all over him.
He couldn't even think about the bet anymore.
It wasn't just Deneb.
Even the Constellations filling the spectator seats were so overwhelmed by the aura Oh-jin exuded that they couldn't speak properly.
“What, are you, doing?”
Oh-jin grinned, staggering toward Deneb.
Deneb flinched and unconsciously took a step back.
“Hk….”
Realizing what he had just done, Deneb’s shoulders shuddered.
A Constellation of Polaris.
A being ranked among the top three of all transcendents born from the stars.
He had been so overwhelmed by the aura of a mere human that he had taken a step back.
Normally, it wouldn't have been strange for him to be the target of ridicule from the other Constellations.
[…….]
“……”
Neither the mischievous Spica nor any of the other Constellations watching from the stands cast a scornful gaze upon Deneb.
As if entranced, they simply watched Oh-jin staggering forward.
“Hurry… Next.”
*Thud.*
Oh-jin, who had been walking forward, collapsed.
Just as he was about to plant his face into the ground…
[My child.]
Vega appeared in an instant and caught the falling Oh-jin.
She bit her lip, as if the sight was too painful to watch, and gently caressed Oh-jin’s blood-soaked cheek.
[Is Albireo present?]
Vega asked, looking around the spectator seats.
Albireo, the Constellation of Aquarius.
He would be able to heal even the most grievous of wounds without difficulty, as long as the person was still breathing.
“Ah, yes. I am here.”
A young man with a gentle demeanor stood up from the stands.
Wearing a monocle on a string, he descended to the arena and examined Oh-jin’s fallen body.
“…These are terrible wounds.”
Even if one couldn’t die within the Sanctuary.
It was hard to believe he had continued to fight with injuries like these.
[Can you heal him?]
“Of course.”
Though the wounds were gruesome to behold, he was the Constellation of Aquarius.
As long as there was breath in the body, saving them was not difficult.
*Whooooooong—!*
Albireo gently closed his eyes and focused his mind.
Water droplets materialized around his body and seeped into Oh-jin.
Oh-jin’s body began to heal in an instant.
His form, which had been no better than a tattered rag, was restored as if a video were playing in reverse.
“Puha! *Cough! Cough!*”
Oh-jin, who had been unconscious, shot up, gasping for air.
He coughed violently, clutching his chest in pain.
“His internal injuries are not yet fully healed, so he will need to rest for a while.”
[I understand.]
Having finished the treatment, Albireo adjusted his monocle and turned away.
“Vega…?”
Oh-jin, having regained consciousness, blinked and looked around.
[*You… you fool!!*]
*Thwack!*
Vega, with an enraged expression, smacked Oh-jin on the head.
A yelp escaped Oh-jin’s lips.
[*Why… Why must you always trouble this goddess so!!*]
She scolded Oh-jin, her eyes welling with tears.
“…Vega.”
[*Was the match not already won! There was no reason to fight while getting hurt like this!!*]
Vega cried out in a sorrowful voice, pulling Oh-jin’s head into her embrace.
Oh-jin managed to extricate himself from the plush sensation pressing against both his cheeks and offered an awkward smile.
‘Well, there were a few reasons.’
For one, he had gotten too fired up.
He had entered a state of arousal as if he were on drugs, and his instincts craved a battle with a strong opponent.
Of course, that didn't mean he had simply let his momentary impulse guide him to continue the match.
‘I was on the verge of grasping it.’
Lightning at level 9 had been stagnant for a long time.
He hadn't stopped because he had a gut feeling that he could seize the clue to reaching level 10.
Had he actually stopped during the fight with Xiaolin, he probably would have never reached level 10.
“Hmm.”
Oh-jin looked around at the Constellations filling the stands.
They were staring at him with expressions as if they had seen a ghost, whispering amongst themselves.
Another reason he had continued the fight with Deneb’s Apostle.
‘I think I’ve firmly imprinted my existence on the Constellations.’
Though, because he had gotten so worked up, he felt he was probably perceived more as a crazy bastard with a few screws loose than anything else.
Still, he believed he had more than demonstrated a level of skill that wouldn’t bring shame to the name ‘Apostle of Vega’.
And finally.
“I needed something besides the divinity.”
[Something you needed?]
“Just a moment.”
Oh-jin staggered to his feet.
He approached Deneb, who was staring blankly in his direction.
“Now, you have to give me the divinity as promised, right?”
“Ah, I know.”
Deneb held out something that looked like a white, glowing crystal.
It didn't exude an aura that one would call ‘divinity’, but with so many Constellations watching, he wouldn't have given him a fake.
“Thank you.”
If he had his way, he would have loved to use the Black Heaven to gobble up Deneb’s divinity right then and there.
But now that he knew Vega’s rank was at risk of dropping to the level of the Zodiac, he couldn't do that.
“And one more thing.”
“One more thing, you say?”
“I beat four people, not three. Naturally, there should be a corresponding reward for that, shouldn't there?”
“What?”
Deneb’s eyes narrowed.
“There was no mention of that!”
“Isn't this common sense that doesn't even need to be mentioned? In a match that was supposed to be won after ‘three’ victories, I won four times, so there should be a fitting reward.”
“Hmph! Why didn’t you say so from the start?”
“Hmm. So you’re saying there’s no additional reward?”
“That’s right! I’m not giving you a single damn thing!”
“No, I don’t need a damn thing.”
Oh-jin smirked slightly and shrugged.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay with that?”
“Is there any reason I wouldn’t be?”
“Plenty.”
Oh-jin glanced over the Constellations filling the stands as he continued.
“In the first place, the ranks of the Apostles you sent out for this proxy war were different from what we discussed, weren’t they?”
“Th-That’s.”
“When it looked like you were going to lose, you sent out a higher-ranked Apostle, and when you still lost, you sent out an even higher-ranked Awakened, thinking you’d teach this bastard a lesson.”
“You were the one who suggested it…”
“So. After sending out your 5th and 4th rankers and still losing, you’re just going to play dumb now?”
“……”
Deneb’s expression twisted violently.
Oh-jin smiled leisurely and shrugged.
“I wonder what the other Constellations will think of this.”
“…Are you trying to threaten me right now?”
“Threaten you? Weren’t you the one who summoned every Constellation under the sun, intending to humiliate me in front of everyone, Lord Deneb?”
“Kgh.”
Deneb let out a groan, having nothing to say.
Just as Oh-jin had said, there were too many eyes watching for him to simply wipe his hands clean and feign ignorance.
‘Dammit!’
He had fallen into his own trap.
Deneb stomped his feet in frustration.
“Argh! This is so annoying! That bastard is seriously pissing me off!!”
Deneb screamed, tearing at his hair.
Allen, who had come down from the stands, tried to calm the shrieking Deneb.
Deneb, who had been throwing a tantrum like a child, let out a deep sigh and glared at Oh-jin.
“…So, what is it you want?”
As expected of Deneb, who possessed three of the Seven Stars, the treasures he owned were countless.
Among the myriad treasures he possessed, there was only one thing Oh-jin wanted.
“An Elixir.”
“…An Elixir?”
“Yes. I would like you to give me an Elixir.”
Oh-jin nodded with a calm expression.
“Why an Elixir, of all things? There are plenty of other items.”
Deneb tilted his head, unable to understand.
An Elixir, possessing healing properties so potent that it was said to revive the dead.
It was a precious item capable of regenerating even ‘body parts that had been severed for a long time’, something that even a high-ranking Awakened of Aquarius would find difficult to heal.
‘But I don’t see any such wound.’
He had put on a crazy performance by tearing off his own mangled left arm, but that wound had already been completely healed by Albireo’s power.
He couldn't think of any reason why Oh-jin would need an Elixir.
“Well, alright. You just want an Elixir, right?”
For Deneb, who had been worried he might make an absurd demand, this was welcome news.
Of course, an Elixir was a precious item whose value couldn't be measured in money, but among the treasures he possessed, it was of a slightly lower grade.
*Whooooooong—!*
The ring on Deneb’s finger emitted a light, and a ripple spread through the air as if a stone had been thrown into a calm pond.
Reaching his hand inside, Deneb pulled out a glass bottle shimmering with a clear blue light.
“Here, take it.”
“Thank you.”
Oh-jin accepted the Elixir with a faint smile.
‘I was originally planning to make it for her myself.’
First, to create an Elixir, one had to be at least a high-ranking Awakened of Aquarius.
If that were all, it would be one thing.
But it was known that creating a single Elixir required years of preparation and material gathering.
‘There’s no reason to wait that long.’
Oh-jin carefully placed the bottle he held into his pocket.
[Are you planning to give that to Ha-eun?]
“Yeah.”
Oh-jin nodded without hesitation.
[…….]
Vega’s eyes wavered as she looked at him.
[Truly… utterly pathetic.]
“Huh? Me?”
[No. I was not speaking of you.]
She shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.
[That was a remark I made to myself.]
“Why all of a sudden?”
[…….]
Vega looked at Oh-jin with trembling eyes.
The image of Oh-jin, his body a tattered mess, staggering to his feet time and again, came to mind.
The reason he had fought so desperately…
‘Was it not all… for the sake of ‘others’?’
First, to restore Vega’s divinity.
Then, to gift an Elixir to Ha-eun, he fought.
No matter how painful, no matter how grueling and agonizing it was to the point of death.
He stood up, unyielding.
‘And I… harbored suspicions about such a child?’
The energy of the Black Heaven she had detected on the day Oh-jin freed her from the shackles of the Commandment.
Even while thinking it couldn't be, she hadn't been able to erase the seed of doubt that had taken root in a corner of her heart.
[I am ashamed.]
She felt so foolish for not having trusted Oh-jin.
“What are you ashamed of?”
[It is my duty to believe in you and care for you above all else… yet I foolishly forgot my place.]
“What does that…”
Oh-jin’s expression, about to ask what she meant, subtly hardened.
Vega’s recent suspicious behavior suddenly flashed through his mind.
‘Shit, did I make some kind of mistake?’
He quickly retraced his memories, but he couldn't recall doing anything that would have aroused Vega’s suspicion.
‘What the hell happened?’
While he was racking his brain, trying to figure out why she had suddenly started doubting him…
[This will require atonement.]
“Atonement?”
Vega, who had been hesitating, finally steeled her resolve and nodded.
[Bestow a sharp punishment upon this wretched Constellation!]
Huh?