Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Black Star Society (1)
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“…Hm?”
The young man tilted his head, as if he hadn't expected to hear such a thing.
“You want to sell it?”
It was rare for someone to sell a Sacred Relic that hadn't even been appraised yet.
“Yes. It doesn't seem to have the abilities I was hoping for. Nothing happens when I touch it, either. And…”
Oh-jin gave a friendly smile as he scanned the five people in black robes.
Suspicious figures exuding a strange, cold aura.
A murderous intent, the kind you’d feel from a professional killer, was radiating from them.
‘Well, now.’
I’ve seen this movie before.
Oh-jin shrugged lightly and continued, his voice deceptively casual.
“My life is worth more than a Sacred Relic, wouldn't you say?”
“...Pardon?”
The young man tilted his head again, as if asking what he was talking about.
Then,
“Ha, haha!! Hahahaha!! It seems there’s been a misunderstanding!”
He clutched his stomach, bursting into laughter.
“A misunderstanding?”
“Haha, yes. That’s right.”
The young man, who had even teared up a little, wiped the corner of his eye with the hem of his robe and nodded.
“Well... I admit our guild uniforms are a bit gloomy. It’s the Guild Master’s inscrutable taste.”
He took off the black robe that covered his entire body.
Underneath, he wore the light armor favored by most Awakened.
“It’s true that Awakened often turn into robbers inside Gates… but we’re not like that, so you don’t have to be so wary.”
“Ah, it seems I’ve made an unnecessary assumption.”
Oh-jin bowed his head, feigning embarrassment.
‘A misunderstanding?’
He scoffed inwardly.
‘What a load of bullshit.’
The palpable killing intent he’d felt when he first laid eyes on the Sacred Relic.
Their suspicious attire, completely covered in black robes.
And above all.
‘The same energy that was flowing from this Sacred Relic.’
An ominous, viscous energy that clung to you like tar.
He was certain because he had just absorbed the ‘Power of the Black Star’ from within the relic using Black Heaven.
‘These bastards.’
They possess the same ‘Power of the Black Star’ that was in the Sacred Relic.
“Haha. The world is so dangerous these days, I got a little carried away.”
“Not at all. We’ve also heard that inside a Gate, you should be warier of other Awakened than monsters.”
“Hmm. Be that as it may.”
Oh-jin held out the black chalice again and grinned.
“This. Didn’t you say you needed it?”
“Yes. It’s true that we need it, but.”
“If you give me a fair price, I’ll sell it to you right here.”
“Hmm. Is there a particular reason?”
“As I said, it seems to have a useless ability. If I get it appraised and it turns out to be a 1-star or 2-star relic, I might have to sell it for even less, right?”
He was indirectly saying he wanted a price worthy of at least a 3-star Sacred Relic.
“Haha, when you put it like that, you have a point. Very well. We’ll buy it.”
The young man smiled brightly and rummaged through the pocket of the robe he had taken off.
“How about we trade for this?”
He pulled out a Sacred Stone, slightly larger than a fist.
Its purity was so high that it didn't just have a blue tint; it emanated a soft, blue glow.
‘Holy shit.’
A Sacred Stone of that size and purity would easily fetch hundreds of millions, no joke.
At least 200 to 300 million. On a good market day, it could even go for 400 million.
‘That’s the price of a luxury import.’
With that much, he could get one step—no, several steps—closer to his goal.
“Hmm... Well, this should be adequate.”
He nonchalantly nodded, suppressing the wild beating of his excited heart.
A bright smile spread across the young man's lips.
“Then the deal is done.”
He exchanged the black chalice for the Sacred Stone the young man offered.
“Hoo, hoho. Finally…”
The young man, holding the black chalice, chuckled, his shoulders shaking.
Of course, the black chalice he’d handed over was just an empty shell, all its power absorbed by Black Heaven, but thankfully, the man didn’t seem to notice.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Yes. Thank you for the fine trade.”
After a light nod to the young man, Oh-jin started walking toward the cavern entrance, where stalagmites rose densely.
*Pfft.*
He desperately suppressed the laughter that threatened to burst out.
‘Wow, to think I’d hook such a perfect sucker here!!’
How disappointed he had been when the Sacred Relic he’d worked so hard to get turned out to be an empty can.
For a sucker to show up just in time and buy that empty can for hundreds of millions—it was the windfall of a lifetime.
‘*Fuhuhuhuhu!!*’
He laughed crudely in his mind, his steps light and bouncy.
Of course.
—He had no intention of stupidly walking right out of here.
‘Black Curtain.’
Using Black Curtain, he completely erased his presence and hid himself among the dense stalagmites.
He dropped flat to the ground and crawled like an insect back to the cavern where he had found the Sacred Relic.
‘Those bastards. They're suspicious no matter how you look at it.’
He needed information—why they were looking for the Sacred Relic, and what this ‘Power of the Black Star’ was.
‘And.’
Another question.
‘...Why now, and not six days from now?’
He frowned, retracing the memories that had flowed in from Lee Shin-hyeok.
According to Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories from the first timeline.
‘The Sacred Relic in this Gate is supposed to be discovered six days from now, on the 21st.’
But those robed figures had come as soon as the Gate opened, as if they knew a Sacred Relic was sleeping here.
‘No, they said they were targeting it, so they must have known.’
He didn’t know how they’d found it as soon as the Gate opened.
They couldn't have a regressor's memories like him, so it was highly likely they had an ability or an item that could detect the ‘Power of the Black Star’.
In any case.
‘If I hadn't come, these guys would have taken the Sacred Relic.’
It didn’t add up.
According to Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories, the relic in this Gate wasn't supposed to be discovered for another six days.
There were two possible explanations.
‘Either the future changed for some reason.’
Or the Sacred Relic discovered on the 21st wasn't the black chalice.
‘I’ll find out if I watch them.’
After hiding himself in a gap between the dense stalagmites, he used the Stigma of Canes Venatici.
His senses sharpened, and he could hear the conversation of the robed figures.
“Why didn’t you kill him, Yujin?”
Yujin.
It seemed to be the name of the young man he had dealt with.
“Hoho. This is a brand-new Gate, is it not?”
“...Yes.”
“Other Awakened will be swarming in soon. It would be troublesome to leave any unnecessary traces.”
“We could have disposed of the body perfectly…”
“There’s no harm in being cautious. Is there?”
Yujin’s narrow eyes opened slightly.
“Y-Yes! You are absolutely right!!”
“Haha. Thank you for understanding.”
He smiled brightly, gazing at the black chalice in his hand with a look of adoration.
“The age of the stars is ending, and the day the Black Stars rule the sky is not far off.”
As if performing in a play, he spread his arms and spun around once.
“The arrogant Constellations will all pay for their sins.”
“Grace of the Black Star!”
“Glory to the Black Star Society!”
The four figures in black robes prostrated themselves on the ground.
Yujin smiled with satisfaction and picked up the robe he had cast aside.
“The Black Stars will smile brightly upon your loyalty.”
“We follow the guidance of the Black Star!!”
“Hoho. Oh, right. You brought the replacement Sacred Relic, didn't you?”
“Of course.”
One of the robed figures who had been prostrated stood up and took something from his robe.
A chalice-shaped Sacred Relic that gave off a soft blue light.
He lightly kicked off the ground, leaped onto the statue, and inserted the new Sacred Relic into the space where he had pulled out the black chalice.
“Now, let’s head back.”
“Yes!”
Yujin turned, and the robed figures followed.
“Oh, right.”
*Clap.*
He clapped his hands as if he’d just remembered something.
He turned to one of the robed figures and said.
“You remember the face of the man I made a deal with earlier, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
The robed figure he looked at bowed deeply.
Yujin beamed and continued.
“Follow him and kill him.”
Casually.
He gave the order as if it were nothing.
“I will obey.”
“Ah, and of course, you know to kill him outside the Gate, right?”
“Of course.”
The robed figure who received the order headed for the cave entrance with quick steps.
“Haha. Well then, let’s go report to the Executor.”
Yujin and the remaining three figures also walked toward the cave entrance.
“……”
Five minutes after the robed figures had completely disappeared.
Oh-jin, who had been crouched in the gap between stalagmites, slowly rose to his feet.
“...The Black Star Society.”
He’d never heard the name before.
‘One thing’s for sure, they’re some shady-ass bastards.’
Are they some kind of illegal guild operating in the shadows?
From their actions, they also seemed like some kind of cult.
“This will require some more investigation.”
Hearing them spout nonsense about the Black Stars ruling the sky and the Constellations paying for their sins, they were clearly not your average dangerous bastards.
“Anyway... so that’s how it was?”
Oh-jin looked at the Sacred Relic embedded in the statue’s forehead and let out a smirk.
It felt like one of the questions in his mind had been answered.
‘The future hadn’t changed.’
The Sacred Relic that Lee Woo-hyeok’s guild members found six days later was the one the Black Star Society had swapped in.
‘So that’s why she said something was strange.’
Just before Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories cut off.
He recalled the last words he’d heard.
The woman with glasses reporting to Lee Woo-hyeok had definitely said ‘something is strange’ at the end.
“Of course it would be strange.”
Oh-jin reached out for the Sacred Relic embedded in the statue’s forehead.
They had managed to swap it with a relic of a similar size, but it still felt out of place compared to the original one.
“Might as well take this one, too.”
He pulled out the blue chalice from the statue’s forehead and put it in his sling bag.
‘Black Heaven isn’t reacting this time.’
It seemed it had reacted to the ‘Power of the Black Star’ within the relic, not the relic itself.
“Kyahaha!!! How sweet!”
He’d sold an empty shell of a Sacred Relic for a pricey Sacred Stone and even got his hands on the replacement relic.
‘Well, since it was just a replacement, it’s probably only a 1 or 2-star relic at best.’
Still, that’s something.
Even a 1-star Sacred Relic is worth around ten million won.
“Alright, then.”
He loosened his body and picked up the spear he had hidden among the stalagmites.
“Shall I go catch the minion who’s probably on a wild goose chase for me?”
The robed figure who had run off first to chase after him.
It was time to get some answers to his unresolved questions from him.
* * *
“...What the.”
The man, completely covered in a black robe, frowned.
“Why are there no tracks?”
Following his orders, he had searched for the tracks of the man he’d met in the cavern, but there was no sign he had left the Gate.
He re-entered the Gate and scoured the maze-like network of caves.
But.
“...What in the world happened?”
There were traces of him coming in, but none of him going out.
‘Damn it.’
He bit his lip, his expression anxious.
Yujin’s bright smile flashed in his mind.
“Ugh, ughh.”
If he reported that he’d lost the trail, Yujin would not let it slide.
“Dammit! Where the hell are you!”
*Thump!*
Unable to contain his anger, he stomped his foot hard.
*Flutter!* The hem of his black robe billowed out.
And then.
“—Where else? I’m right here.”
Through the fluttering hem of the black robe,
a spearhead struck like lightning.
—*Puk!!*
“Gah! Gck!!”
The eyes of the man in the black robe flew wide open.
He stared at Oh-jin, who had emerged from ‘inside’ the cave, and trembled in disbelief.
“Peekaboo, motherfucker.”
*Kekeke.*
Oh-jin grinned brightly as he violently twisted the spear impaling the man’s stomach.