Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Ancient Constellations (4)
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“What do you want to eat?”
Ha-eun asked, pulling on my arm.
“I’m not sure.”
Nothing in particular came to mind.
“How about tteokbokki?”
While skimming the news before, I’d seen an article stating that tteokbokki was the number one favorite food among women in their twenties.
‘Though, my sister isn’t in her twenties anymore.’
With the new year, the first digit of her age had changed to a three.
But based on her looks alone, you could easily say she was in her early twenties.
‘Did they say aging slows the higher your Star-grade?’
I’d heard that for high-ranking Awakeners of the 9th Star or higher, aging stopped completely.
‘Well, not that it matters.’
Nothing would change even if she became a wrinkly old grandma.
“Tteokbokki? We can afford something a bit pricier, you know.”
“I’m just in the mood for it.”
“Heehee. Sounds good! Let’s go get some tteokbokki, then!”
We headed to a nearby snack bar.
We were eating a combination of sundae, tteokbokki, and fried snacks when I overheard a conversation.
“Did you hear? They opened a Security Management Center for the non-Awakened in Daerim-dong.”
“Oh, really? The Association built it?”
“Yeah. The guild bastards don’t give a damn unless it’s in their own territory.”
“True that.”
I could hear the two men sitting at the next table chatting.
“When you see stuff like this, it really feels like the Association is the only one that cares about us non-Awakened.”
“Well… that’s not entirely true.”
“Huh? Why?”
The man with the darker complexion sighed and continued.
“The executives are the ones managing the center right now, but our oh-so-great Association President apparently told them to cut back on the security centers because they cost too much.”
“What?”
“They were originally supposed to build a joint management center for Guro-dong and Daerim-dong, but the president opposed it. I heard the executives had to chip in their own money to get the center built.”
“Ha. Fucking bastard. Are our lives not worth anything to him?”
“Seriously. He sucks up to the major guilds but has no clue who’s paying the taxes that line his pockets.”
The two men sat there, spewing curses at the Association President.
‘…The Association President opposed expanding the centers?’
That was something Director Han hadn’t mentioned.
‘I should ask him about it later.’
I needed to confirm whether it was just a baseless rumor or if he had a genuine reason for his opposition.
‘Still… the Association President really has a bad image among the non-Awakened.’
It was unavoidable.
Given the nature of the Heukseonghoe, they must have continuously pushed policies that favored the non-Awakened.
‘The problem is that their help doesn’t come from a place of pure intentions.’
I recalled the documents Jang Seok-ho had given me.
The non-Awakened who became Awakeners by receiving the ‘Stigma of the Black Star’ from the Heukseonghoe had their lifespans drastically shortened as a price.
‘It’d be a relief if their lifespans were the only thing that shortened.’
Oh-jin scowled.
The documents from Jang Seok-ho were filled with information about Heukseonghoe members who couldn’t adapt to the Stigma of the Black Star and either went insane or became monster-like beings as the flesh on their bodies grotesquely twisted and melted away.
‘It’s a system that’s bound to have side effects in the first place.’
Every person has a Stigma that is uniquely suited to them.
If they were forced to accept a different Stigma, the ki and blood in their entire body would become twisted, leading to instant death.
‘Just like Lee Shin-hyeok.’
Non-Awakened, in particular, were often cases where the ‘Stigma’ itself was incompatible with their bodies, which was why they hadn’t been chosen by a constellation.
To force a Stigma upon them…
It would be stranger if there were no side effects at all.
“Whatcha doin’?”
Ha-eun asked as she dipped a hot piece of fried food into the tteokbokki sauce and popped it into her mouth.
“Nothing.”
Following her lead, Oh-jin put the remaining tteokbokki in his mouth.
“Ahh! That was a gooood meal!”
After paying the bill.
Ha-eun stretched and patted her stomach as we stepped outside.
“What should we do now?”
“What do you mean? We’re going home to train.”
I hadn’t gotten a satisfactory training session in today because of my visit to the Association.
“Aw, it’s a shame to go straight back after coming all the way out here, don’t you think?”
Ha-eun pouted and poked me in the side.
“Let’s go for a drive for a change!”
“Hmm.”
Well.
Since I usually trained so hard, I figured taking a break every now and then wouldn't be a bad idea.
“Then let’s call Vega and Riark, too.”
“Huh? Why them?”
“I’ve never really shown them around Seoul properly. It must be boring for them to be stuck in the Sanctuary all the time, so it’d be nice to hang out together.”
“Hmph.”
Ha-eun puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased.
“I wanted it to be just the two of us.”
“Hm? What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”
Of course, that was a lie.
Thanks to my heightened hearing after reaching the 5th Star, I’d heard her loud and clear.
“Ahem! Oh, n-nothing!”
Good grief.
Why is my sister so damn cute?
“Hehe. Alright, I’m calling them.”
Oh-jin got into the car parked in the lot and touched his necklace.
*Vwoooong!*
Light erupted from the silver necklace, and Vega and Riark appeared.
[Has something happened?]
“No, nothing like that.”
Oh-jin started the car and continued.
“I was thinking of going for a drive with my sister for a change, so I called you guys to join us.”
[A drive…?]
“It’s when you ride in a car to see the sights or go somewhere fun.”
[Ooh! Wonderful! I have been wanting to take a leisurely look at the world of humans!]
Vega’s eyes sparkled as she latched onto the top of Oh-jin’s head.
[However… are, are you the one driving?]
She asked with a worried expression, as if recalling a past nightmare.
“I’m a good driver now, so don’t worry.”
[H-Hmm. I shall trust you.]
Vega gulped and nodded.
“Grrr. You finally call after all this time, and it’s for something so trivial?”
Riark clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“A true warrior must never neglect their training for a single day!!! Where is the time for such things as sightseeing?!!”
*Click.*
As he spoke, he opened the car door, quickly hopped into the back seat, rolled down the window, and peeked his head out.
“You little punk. Acting like you don’t want to come when you’re clearly excited.”
“Ex-Excited?! Do you think a true warrior would get excited over mere sightseeing?!”
*Wag, wag.*
Yeah, right.
Not with your tail wagging so furiously.
“Ahem! I-I am merely a little! Just a little curious about the human world!”
Riark hurriedly tucked his tail down and shouted.
“Still, when you’re at home these days, you two watch TV together, right?”
Recently, under the pretext of studying the human world, Riark and Vega often sat in front of the TV watching dramas, news, movies, and the like.
Riark, in particular, seemed to have taken a liking to the sports channels. There was even a time when he’d sat glued to the TV all day, binge-watching sports that were popular before the Gates appeared, like baseball and soccer.
‘Something about feeling a warrior’s spirit, was it?’
Honestly, I doubted he even knew the rules.
[Huhu. But seeing it on television is different from seeing it in person, is it not!]
Vega gently tugged on his hair and huffed.
“Phaha! That’s true.”
Oh-jin slowly drove through the streets of Seoul.
The towering buildings packed tightly together, the people bustling along the streets.
[…So this is a place where so many children live.]
Vega sat atop Oh-jin’s head, gazing at the streets with a somewhat wistful look in her eyes.
“Is this your first time seeing it?”
[It is my first time observing it so leisurely.]
“Hmm. But didn’t you say before that the constellations were the guardians of Earth?”
Shouldn’t a guardian know Earth better than the average person?
[Constellations can only perceive macroscopic matters such as the fate, existence, or crises of a star. We cannot know how each and every being living upon the star goes about their lives.]
I see.
[Well… there are cases where constellations with many apostles possess extensive knowledge of the human world. But I had no apostles before you… so this is my first time observing human life up close.]
“I should have shown you sooner.”
If I had known, I would have taken her out more often.
[Huhu. Do not think such thoughts. More than the world of humans, I am happy simply being with you like this.]
Vega patted his forehead and smiled warmly.
[Let us come out and see the world together like this more often in the future.]
“Of course, my goddess.”
In the past, the pressure of having to pretend to be a regressor made me reluctant to be with her.
But now that I was confident we’d built a certain level of trust, that pressure had lessened considerably.
If anything, I felt guilty about how she believed my lies without a shred of doubt.
‘Should I just… reveal everything?’
That I’m not a regressor.
That I am the Master of the Black Heaven.
‘…No.’
I’ve already crossed a river too wide to turn back.
The deeper the trust, the greater the betrayal would feel. That was a given.
Just because we’d grown closer didn’t mean I could reveal the whole truth to her.
[Ooh! My child! What is that place called a ‘PC Bang’?]
Well, for now, let’s forget the complicated stuff and enjoy the drive.
“It’s a place where you play computer games.”
[Computer? Games?]
“Hmm.”
This was going to take forever to explain.
“Grrr! Brat! What is that place over there called ‘Ramen Heaven’?!”
“A specialty restaurant that sells many different kinds of ramen.”
“Is it Valhalla?!”
“No, it’s not.”
When did this mutt become such a ramen fiend?
He looked like the type to tear into raw meat.
[My child! What is that place over there called ‘Go Go Ecstasy’?]
“It’s a kalguksu place.”
What the hell is with that store name?
[Then what about that place called ‘Flower-Chu’?]
“They sell flower tea and churros.”
Seriously.
[Hoh. Then what does that place over there, ‘Yadong & Co.,’ sell?]
I’d like to know, too.
What in the world do you have to sell to come up with a name like that?
[There are many intriguing shops!!]
You don’t say.
I don’t know about the others, but I’m damn curious about Yadong & Co.
“…Why does she only find places like that?”
Ha-eun, sitting in the passenger seat, pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.
I felt the same.
[My child! My child! Over there…]
Vega’s voice, which had been excitedly looking out the window, suddenly cut off.
She narrowed her eyes, staring intently at something.
[My child. There is smoke rising from over there.]
“Huh?”
I looked where she was pointing, and sure enough, black smoke was billowing up.
“Is there a fire?”
“That’s over by Guro-dong, right?”
Ha-eun rolled down her window and stuck her head out.
And then.
*BEEEEEEEEP!!*
“Wh-What the?”
With a harsh blare of a horn, cars came speeding toward us from the direction of the smoke, driving on the wrong side of the road.
*CRASH! KABOOM! CRUNCH!*
In an instant, the road descended into chaos.
“What the hell are you doing, you crazy bastards!”
Drivers who got out of their wrecked cars started shouting profanities.
“H-Help.”
“What?”
“Help meeeeeeeee!!”
A young man who scrambled out of one of the oncoming cars started running away, his face pale with terror.
“G-Get that bastard!!”
The other driver hurriedly chased after him, but.
*BEEEEEEEEP!!*
“Get out of the way!! Get the fuck out of the way!!!”
“Don’t block the road, you son of a bitch!!!”
The cars following behind them plowed straight into the driver and sped down the road.
“O-Oh-jin, this is.”
“……”
His expression hardening, Oh-jin pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Let’s go.”
“O-Okay!”
[Understood!]
With Ha-eun, Riark, and Vega, I ran toward the source of the smoke.
There.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
“H-Help me!!!”
“Aaaah! A m-monster!! Why is there a monster here?!!”
“There aren’t any Gates nearby!!!”
People were screaming and running for their lives.
Chasing after them, hundreds, no, thousands of monsters were rampaging wildly.
“Holy shit! Where did all these monsters come from…!”
Ha-eun’s jaw dropped as she stared at the swarm of monsters, so numerous they covered the entire street.
“…No.”
Oh-jin shook his head, his eyes glinting sharply.
“They’re not monsters… they’re demonic beasts.”
Feeling the distinct aura of the ‘Black Star’ flowing from the creatures.
Oh-jin’s expression twisted fiercely.