Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: The Star's Baptism (3)
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The Constellation of Ursa Minor, Polaris.
The first and greatest of the Constellations.
The most brilliantly shining star.
"This is where... Polaris was born?"
Oh-jin looked at Vega, his eyes wide with surprise.
Vega gave a small nod and continued.
[This place has now become Polaris's Sanctuary.]
"Wait, but didn't you say Polaris is in seclusion right now?"
[Even so, the aftereffects of its power still remain.]
So with just the 'aftereffects' of its power, it created and maintains its own Sanctuary in a place where three Dragon Veins intersect?
[Huhu. Are you nervous?]
"Well, it'd be a lie to say I'm not."
Oh-jin swallowed dryly and took a step toward the rift.
'I need to see it for myself first.'
If I see for myself what this place called the Spring of the Milky Way is like, maybe some of my questions will be answered.
One step.
Oh-jin stepped into the rift, which shimmered with a brilliant light like a sprawling galaxy.
"Ugh!"
A throbbing headache.
His heart pounded like he had just sprinted hundreds of meters at full speed.
'What the...?'
Oh-jin frowned, placing a hand on his wildly beating chest.
It felt like a caged beast was rampaging inside him.
When he suppressed the feeling that his chest was about to burst and lifted his head.
"Ah."
A milky way was flowing before his eyes.
A place where stars and stars intersected.
A river of stars, shining with unparalleled brilliance, illuminating the abyssal darkness of space.
[Is it not beautiful?]
At Vega's words, Oh-jin nodded before he even realized it.
The sight of the Spring of the Milky Way was so beautiful that he momentarily forgot the bursting pain in his chest.
'The spring's size... is it about a hundred meters?'
A bit too big to be called a spring, too small to be called a lake.
But right now, the damn size of the spring didn't matter.
"...Crazy."
Oh-jin gulped, feeling the immense magical power of the Stigma emanating from the spring.
He had been completely mistaken.
'I thought that since it was a place where three Dragon Veins intersected, it would have about three times the magic of the last dungeon I went to.'
It wasn't.
To begin with, the very type of Dragon Vein flowing here was on a different level from any he had seen before.
If the Dragon Vein he absorbed last time was a stream flowing through a small country village, this one was like a river that cut across a continent and gave rise to civilization.
And this was a place where not one, but three such Dragon Veins intersected.
'I can't absorb this.'
Oh-jin bit his lip, his eyes tense.
Absorbing all of that was out of the question.
The moment he used the Black Heaven, his body would inflate like a balloon filled beyond its limit and explode.
[Hmm? Is there a problem?]
Vega tilted her head, looking at the dazed Oh-jin.
Snapping back to his senses, Oh-jin put on a calm expression as if nothing was wrong.
"No, it's just so beautiful I was lost in the view for a moment."
[Fufu. It is indeed a beautiful place.]
Vega smiled faintly as she gazed at the Spring of the Milky Way.
"Let's save the sightseeing for later and hurry up with the ritual preparations."
[There is no need to rush.]
"Hmph! Unlike someone, I'm busy, you know?"
Deneb grumbled as she approached Oh-jin.
"Alright, first, take off your clothes."
"...Excuse me?"
Telling me to take off my clothes out of the blue?
"You're going to immerse yourself in the spring, right? Your clothes will interfere with absorbing the magic."
"......"
Still, to be told to strip naked in front of all these Constellations...
Oh-jin looked around with a flustered expression.
[Do not worry, my child.]
Vega approached Oh-jin and spread her arms.
A silver curtain formed a circle around her and Oh-jin.
[There! Now no one can see your precious body!]
Hmph!
Vega declared proudly with a snort.
'But Vega, you're looking.'
Oh-jin looked at Vega with a dumbfounded expression.
Whether she knew what he was thinking or not, Vega's eyes sparkled as she trotted over to Oh-jin.
[I shall help you undress.]
"Hey, I'm not a child."
[Ahem! Stay still.]
Vega put on a mock-stern expression and began to remove Oh-jin's clothes.
Her expression was solemn, but her hands, as they undressed him, were filled with an unconcealable excitement.
In an instant, Oh-jin's shirt and pants were off.
Vega gulped and reached for Oh-jin's underwear.
"W-Wait a minute!"
[To enter the Spring of the Milky Way, you must not have a single thread on you!]
With a fiery gaze, Vega went for the last piece of cloth on Oh-jin's body.
"Huh? Sister, I don't think underwear matter—Kyaa!"
*Crackle!*
The sound of crackling lightning was heard, along with Spica's scream.
"Vega, did you just..."
[It seems Spica was momentarily mistaken.]
Vega played innocent as she whipped off what could be called his last bastion of defense.
[Now! Come into my arms! I shall carry you safely to the Spring of the Milky Way!]
"Ugh!"
With a face full of excitement, Vega snatched Oh-jin up in a tight embrace.
Completely naked, Oh-jin couldn't dare resist the immense force pressing against his body and remained in Vega's arms.
Even while unable to lift a finger, he could feel an unbelievably soft sensation.
[My, what a general you'll be.]
Holding Oh-jin, Vega's cheeks flushed slightly.
"...How did Vega end up like this?"
Watching this, Deneb let out a hollow laugh with a bewildered expression.
The other Constellations also shook their heads, dumbfounded.
"Let's begin, then."
Deneb, who had been holding her forehead as if she had a headache, walked to the outer edge of the Spring of the Milky Way.
Maintaining a certain distance, the six Constellations formed a circle around the spring.
[The baptism shall now begin.]
Vega, who just moments ago had been grinning while holding Oh-jin, spoke with a solemn expression, as if that had never happened.
A silver aura flowed from her body and seeped into the spring.
The other five Constellations did the same.
They closed their eyes and poured the magic of their Stigmas into the Spring of the Milky Way.
[Six stars have gathered before the Spring of the Milky Way.]
A low incantation flowed from Vega's lips.
[Come, O seventh star.]
As her clear voice echoed.
Oh-jin was immersed in the Spring of the Milky Way, his eyes gently closed.
The endless magic of the stars, felt through his skin.
Oh-jin bit his lip at the amount of magic, which far surpassed his imagination.
'I never planned to absorb all the spring's magic from the start.'
In the first place, he couldn't just absorb all the spring's magic with the Constellations standing just a few dozen meters away.
From the moment he first heard about the Spring of the Milky Way, he had planned to absorb just a small, unnoticeable amount.
'But even that seems difficult.'
An unimaginable level of magic was gathered here.
If he were to misuse the Black Heaven, magic would flood in like a broken dam.
'This is not something I can control.'
A deep sigh escaped Oh-jin's lips.
It was true that he coveted the magic filling the Spring of the Milky Way.
'I should give up.'
If he got greedy here, he could lose everything in an instant.
'Besides, I can absorb a certain amount of magic without even using the Black Heaven.'
Oh-jin slowly opened his closed eyes.
He saw the spring water glowing with a faint blue light.
'The light's intensity... is about that of a torch.'
He was a little disappointed, but on second thought, another Apostle of Polaris, Allen Osgal, had said his was about this bright, so there was no need to be disheartened.
Just as he was telling himself to be satisfied with this.
*Rumble.*
A familiar sound echoed in his head.
It was the sound the Black Heaven's dark clouds made when they moved.
"......!"
Oh-jin let out a silent scream, his eyes flying open.
Without a chance to control it, the Black Heaven, which had been coiled in his heart, melted into the spring water and began to absorb its magic.
"Ugh!"
Oh-jin groaned at the tidal wave of magic crashing into him.
'What? What's happening?'
The Black Heaven began to devour the spring water like a ravenous beast.
-Ting!
[You have absorbed an unimaginably vast amount of magic!]
[All conditions for the 'Black Heaven's' eighth bloom have been met!]
[The 'Black Heaven's' eighth bloom will now begin!]
Blue messages appeared before his eyes.
Oh-jin desperately clung to the thread of his consciousness, which was about to be swept away by the tidal wave of magic.
The clear sound of a bell rang in his ears as the message windows continued.
[The Black Heaven has reached the 'Eighth Star Transformation'!]
[To control the absorbed magic, the 'Succession' will be postponed.]
"Hah, hah!"
Along with the message that the Black Heaven had reached its Eighth Star Transformation, the tidal wave of magic stopped.
Cold sweat trickled down Oh-jin's forehead.
He raised his head, his eyes filled with tension.
[Wh-What in the world.]
"N-No way..."
There, he saw the Constellations staring his way, their faces filled with shock.
'I'm screwed.'
Was it possible they'd found out he was using the Black Heaven?
Oh-jin checked the magic emanating from the Spring of the Milky Way.
'The spring's magic has barely decreased.'
To begin with, so much magic was gathered here that even after the Black Heaven devoured some, it wasn't even noticeable.
'And thanks to the Black Curtain, the Black Heaven's energy itself shouldn't have leaked out.'
Then why?
Why were the Constellations staring at him with such shocked expressions?
"Th-The light..."
"I-I've never seen anything like this."
Light?
Oh-jin tilted his head in confusion and looked down.
"Ah."
There, he saw the spring shining as brightly as the sun.
A low gasp escaped Oh-jin's lips.
'They said the intensity of the light changes depending on the amount of magic absorbed.'
Unlike other Awakeners who passively accepted the magic flowing in, he had directly absorbed the spring's magic with the Black Heaven, which was why it was emitting such an absurdly bright light.
"Phew."
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least his Black Heaven wasn't exposed.
*Woooooong!*
The entire Spring of the Milky Way began to glow and ripple as if waves were crashing.
[This is...]
"D-Don't tell me?"
The Constellations turned their heads, their eyes wide with shock.
There, a sphere of the spring's water was slowly rising into the air.
'What's that now?'
Confused by the series of strange phenomena, Oh-jin stared at the spring water, which was floating like a round egg.
The water split in half, and a being emerged from within.
A being covered in brilliant starlight, as if its body were made from the milky way itself.
The starlight covering its body was so intense that it was impossible to tell if it was male or female.
[Polaris...?]
Vega spoke with a bewildered expression.
'Polaris? That's Polaris?'
Oh-jin stared wide-eyed at the being made of starlight.
The being made of starlight slowly flew toward Oh-jin.
[So it was you.]
A voice that resonated directly in his mind, just like Vega's.
It was an androgynous voice, impossible to identify as male or female.
[For ages... I have been waiting for you.]
Waiting for me?
Oh-jin looked up at Polaris with a flustered expression.
[The one who will overturn destined fate, the star that defies providence and causality.]
Wait.
This situation feels familiar.
[You were the Star of Heavenly Defiance.]
"...Excuse me?"
I'm not?