Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Ancient Constellation (3)
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Even other men would have to admit he was handsome.
The young man, who looked not just neat but refreshingly so, offered his hand with a bright smile.
*Cheon Woo-seong.*
The son of the King of Owls, Cheon Do-yoon, and the de facto leader of the Black Star Guild's "Owl" faction.
And.
"I heard you were an executive, but you're younger than I expected."
The snake in the grass who'd secretly infiltrated the Association.
"Haha! It's all thanks to my many supporters. For me, it's an honor beyond words."
Honor, my ass.
He talks a big game for someone who seized his executive position through tricks and threats.
*Then again.*
I suppose that's a skill in its own right.
"More importantly... what brings you to the Association?"
Cheon Woo-seong narrowed his eyes, studying Oh-jin.
"I have to leave Korea soon. I came to discuss my schedule."
Of course, he had no plans to leave Korea.
But there was something he needed to confirm.
"Hmm. Are you going to Italy again?"
As expected.
He knows I went to Italy.
"Haha. Lady Isabella invited me, you see."
"An invitation from the Saintess of Rome? I'm quite jealous."
Cheon Woo-seong shrugged nonchalantly.
"Luckily for me, Lady Isabella took 'quite a liking' to me."
"...Is that so?"
A flinch.
Cheon Woo-seong's shoulders trembled slightly.
Oh-jin watched his reaction and grinned.
*Good.*
Just as I thought, he's wary of Isabella.
*I mean, it'd be stranger if he weren't.*
He recalled the image of Isabella, licking blood from her lips with a bewitching yet chilling smile.
Her overwhelming power, capable of wiping out hundreds of the Awakened with a single gesture.
And her cruel nature, slaughtering anyone who annoyed her without hesitation.
His plan to eliminate her using the Marco Family had failed, so he must be on pins and needles right about now.
*In this situation, he can't recklessly mess with someone Isabella supposedly likes.*
Whether it's true or not doesn't matter.
The mere 'possibility' is enough to restrict his actions.
*And well, it's not like I was lying.*
It's in a slightly different sense, but...
it's true that Isabella took quite a liking to me.
"Well then, I hope you build a good relationship with her. Becoming friends with a world-famous figure like the Saintess of Rome would be a great help to the Association."
The flinch was momentary.
Cheon Woo-seong beamed and shook Oh-jin's hand.
"By the way."
His gaze shifted toward Ha-eun.
"The lady behind you is..."
His eyes went wide the moment he looked at Ha-eun.
"......!!"
A look of shock on his face, Cheon Woo-seong took a step or two back.
*...What's this?*
Why is he so surprised to see Ha-eun?
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah... what? Haha. It's nothing. I was just taken aback by her beauty."
Cheon Woo-seong forced a shake of his head and made an excuse, but...
*That's a lie.*
He wasn't surprised simply because Ha-eun was beautiful.
There was another reason.
*What could it be?*
Why he looked so shocked at the sight of her.
It was hard to guess the reason.
"I'm not interested in you, so mind your own business, will you?"
Ha-eun scowled, clearly displeased.
"Haha. My apologies. I've been rude."
Cheon Woo-seong apologized with a polite bow.
"In any case, it's a great honor to have two such outstanding Awakened join the Association."
With a bright smile, he took a business card from his pocket.
"If you ever need my help, please feel free to contact me anytime."
"Yes. Of course."
Oh-jin took Cheon Woo-seong's card and gave a slight nod.
"Well then, I wish you both a good day."
With that formal farewell, Cheon Woo-seong walked away.
"Hmm. So that's the Black Star Guild's spy?"
Ha-eun narrowed her eyes as she watched his retreating back.
"Looking at him, you'd never think he was part of that crazy group. He looks perfectly normal."
"He's rotten to the core. Don't ever pay him any mind."
Annoyed that the bastard had shown interest in Ha-eun, his voice came out harsher than intended.
"Huh? What's this, is my little Oh-jin jealous?"
Ha-eun grinned, poking him in the side.
"You're kinda cute."
"...No, that's not what I meant."
"Kyahaha! Seriously, how would you survive without me? You little rascal!"
"......"
He wanted to tell her she was mistaken, but seeing how happy she was, he hesitated.
"By the way."
Ha-eun crossed her arms, her eyes sharp.
"...Isabella, that's the Saintess of Rome, right? How do you know her?"
"I ran into her briefly during the last mission. Remember when we caught the Hydra? She said she saw the broadcast and came over to say hi."
"And you being close?"
"A lie. We barely even talked."
"Hmm."
Ha-eun looked at him skeptically for a moment before finally nodding.
"Well, whatever. We'll have to fight that guy someday, right?"
"I suppose so."
That 'someday' might not be as far off as the word implies.
The Black Star Guild's movements were growing more and more aggressive.
*For now, only a select few know about them.*
But soon, they would likely become infamous enough that no one in Korea would be unaware of them.
*No, that's not right.*
Oh-jin twisted his lips into a smirk.
Soon, he would 'personally' spread their infamy far and wide.
*Let's see them try to hide.*
They could hide all they want.
They could run, it wouldn't matter.
*I'll drag them out by the scruff of their necks.*
He would expose these cockroaches, who scurried in the shadows and hid their true identities, for all the world to see.
And then.
*I'll devour everything but your gold teeth.*
Last time, he'd regrettably been unable to absorb the Marco Family's Stigmas because of Isabella.
But this time would be different.
He would devour their Stigmas, their mana, and their Sacred Relics, leaving nothing behind.
Everything they had desperately built while hiding in the Demonic Realms.
He would take it all with his own hands.
*They said they were building a center to protect non-Awakened, was it?*
To the powerless, the Black Star Guild might be no different from saviors.
Heroes who protected the weak and pointed their swords at the strong.
*So what?*
It didn't matter.
What did it mean if they were saviors or heroes?
*I...*
He gazed at Ha-eun with deep, somber eyes.
She was acting tough and laughing as if nothing was wrong, but...
he gently squeezed her hand, which was trembling faintly.
"Huh? Wh-what's this all of a sudden?"
Ha-eun's cheeks turned red as an apple as she averted her gaze.
If it was to protect her.
If it was to never let go of this warmth in his hand.
*Nothing else matters.*
He couldn't care less how much the powerless suffered or were sacrificed.
As long as he could protect her.
he could smile while trampling over thousands, tens of thousands of lives.
"...Oh-jin?"
He had always lived that way.
He was living that way now.
Other than living that way.
he knew no other way to live.
"Don't worry. You won't have to fight him."
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I have a trump card prepared for dealing with him."
Even though he didn't have one.
"You just have to stay put."
So that she could.
he would make one.
"Hmph. I was wondering what you were on about."
Ha-eun pouted and tightened her arm linked with his.
A soft sensation enveloped his arm.
"You know, for now, I'm wa~ay stronger than you, okay? Don't you know I just hit 8-star?"
"Pfft. I'm well aware."
Ha-eun puffed up her chest proudly and continued.
"You're the one who should stay put, punk. I'll protect you."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Ah, this punk doesn't believe me. Wanna go a round in the training room?"
"Let's get some lunch before that. I'm hungry."
"Ooh, good idea. What do you want to eat? I'll treat you to celebrate my new job!"
Ha-eun smiled brightly and pulled him by the arm.
"......"
A faint smile on his face, Oh-jin followed her into the elevator.
* * *
An executive office in the Association building.
Sitting in a luxurious chair, Cheon Woo-seong was on the phone with someone.
"Yes, I found her. Father!"
[*Hehehe. To think someone with the 'Yong'an' was hiding in a place like that.*]
A sly laugh echoed from the other end of the line.
[*With this, we can move the plan forward.*]
"Hehe. The preparations are already complete!"
Cheon Woo-seong exclaimed, his voice impatient as if he could hardly bear it.
Like a child with a delicious birthday feast laid out before him.
His gentle image had vanished without a trace, leaving behind a boy in a young man's shell.
[*Hehehe. It seems you've been waiting for quite some time.*]
"You know how desperately I've waited for this day, Father!"
His voice was filled with excitement.
[*Yes, yes. How could this father not know his son's heart.*]
The old man continued in a low voice.
[*Good. Commence the plan at once.*]
"Yes! Father!"
Cheon Woo-seong nodded with a bright smile.
"Ah... but it might be difficult to deal with the Apostle of Vega right now."
[*Hmm. And the reason is?*]
"They say the Leech Queen has taken an interest in Noerang."
[*......*]
At the words 'Leech Queen', the old man on the phone fell silent.
[*Hehehe... If it's that bitch, we'll have to be careful.*]
"Yes."
[*However.*]
The old man's voice dropped to a chilling tone.
[*If he becomes an obstacle to the plan, do not hesitate to eliminate him.*]
"I'll keep that in mind!"
Cheon Woo-seong saluted the air as he shouted.
[*Hehehe.*]
Seemingly pleased with his son's spirited reply, the old man's laughter came through the phone.
[*My son.*]
"Yes, Father!"
[*You haven't forgotten what happened to your mother, have you?*]
*Flinch.*
Cheon Woo-seong's shoulders shuddered.
The boy's brightly lit expression turned cold as ice.
He ground his teeth, his eyes filled with a chilling hatred.
"Of course not."
Black mana swirled over his tightly clenched fist.
"Not for a single moment since that day... have I ever forgotten."
[*Hehehe, good.*]
The old man chuckled in satisfaction.
"For the grace of the Black Star."
[*For the grace of the Black Star.*]
The call ended with the short motto.
"......"
Silence filled the room.
"Owls."
-Swoosh!
At his low call, black feathers swirled and men in black robes appeared in the office.
"Commence the plan immediately."
"...But."
One of the men looked up at him with wavering eyes.
"If we start the plan now, many of the non-Awakened will..."
"It can't be helped."
His voice was as sharp and decisive as a falling blade.
Cheon Woo-seong slowly walked toward the man.
*Step, step.*
With each step, black mana surged, filling the room.
"Huugh! Kgh!"
The man trembled violently under the suffocating pressure emanating from Cheon Woo-seong.
He clutched his throat as if in agony, his body convulsing with choked gasps.
"This is a noble sacrifice to follow the will of the Black Star."
"Keuk! Gak!"
"Surely... you haven't forgotten the will of the Black Star, have you?"
Cheon Woo-seong's eyes glinted menacingly.
"Grrk, gack!"
The man's face turned deathly pale.
"Are you not going to answer?"
Just as Cheon Woo-seong's expression was twisting into a snarl,
-Shlick!!!
"Keoheok!!"
A long spearhead burst through the man's stomach.
"Huhu. There is no need to wait for a reply from such a useless fool, Lord Woo-seong."
The one who had pierced the man's stomach with a black spear was a middle-aged man with a long sword scar by his right eye.
"Mr. Geon-woo."
Park Geon-woo.
A high-ranking executor of the Black Star Guild, and Cheon Woo-seong's right-hand man.
"—Well done!"
Cheon Woo-seong gave a thumbs-up with a bright smile.
"Huhuhu. We cannot allow one who dares to doubt the will of the Black Star to live."
"Haha! I knew I could count on you, Mr. Geon-woo."
Cheon Woo-seong nodded repeatedly, clearly pleased.
Park Geon-woo gracefully flicked the blood from his spear and respectfully knelt on one knee.
"Lord Woo-seong. I will take full responsibility for leading this operation."
"Ah, if it's you, Mr. Geon-woo, I have no worries. I'll leave it in your hands."
"Yes, sir!"
Park Geon-woo replied energetically and rose to his feet.
"Then we will commence the plan at once!"
*Swoosh!*
He vanished into thin air, along with the corpse of the man who died with a spear through his stomach.
Following Park Geon-woo, the other Owls also disappeared from the office.
"...Now."
Cheon Woo-seong looked down at the streets of Seoul visible below the Association building and smiled brightly.
"It's starting."
Now.
The day to take revenge on the Awakened he so hated and cursed was not far off.
"Hah."
He spread his arms wide and lifted his head.
He reached a hand toward the blue sky.
"Mom... you're watching, right?"
A fond smile formed on Cheon Woo-seong's lips.
But that, too, was brief.
"Just watch."
The fond smile vanished, replaced by a twisted grin riddled with hatred.
"I will definitely—avenge you."
The boy wearing the shell of a young man.
muttered under his breath as he looked down upon the gray streets.