Malignant Constellation, the Serpent that Swallows Heaven and Earth - (2)
After walking for quite some time, Yuna arrived at a massive public institution that resembled a police station. It was a space where several avatars had gathered.
"Hello~"
"Oh, hey. Yuna, you're here? Shall we head out now?"
"Got all your gear on?"
Yuna passed through the strict inspection at the entrance and entered with a cheerful greeting. Various avatars responded to her hello. There were about twenty of them, give or take.
They were planning to storm the hideout where the avatars of the malignant constellation had gathered? Together with these guys?
"Alright, let's move out. Feels like it's been ages since I got to stretch my legs. Which sector was it again?"
"Can we do summary executions?"
"You think? We gotta capture them all."
But unlike ordinary people, avatars were always marked on the constellations' AI information entities. With so many gathered like this, wouldn't the target constellation notice?
What if that constellation warned its avatars to prepare for an assault? What then?
Constellation Whispering Star Cluster worries about the security breach issue visible to the constellation.
"Pardon? Oh. Are you worried that the malignant constellation might notice our movements?"
"...My Lord? That other-dimensional constellation?"
"Yep, senior. He's watching us."
"Ooh...!"
"They say he's the only constellation with just two avatars."
"...Ignore that and talk to the Lord."
The avatars' morale soared at the news that the constellation was watching directly. Yuna took a moment to explain it to me, leaving them behind.
The key points from her explanation were two main things.
1. Silent Starlight created the avatar contract law and simultaneously transmitted information spirit bodies to all immortals in contact with the Super Galactic Empire Federation.
2. These information spirit bodies, to facilitate avatar contracts, provided constellations with the ability to view all planets except the federation's capital planet, Solaryon.
"...They say the information spirit body appears the moment a constellation first contacts someone from the Super Galactic Empire Federation."
Information spirit body? Ah, that AI information entity that appeared to me while I was probing the dimensional wall.
All constellations must have received one each. That was one reason why it was so hard to guess the true nature of Silent Starlight, known as a galaxy spirit body. No matter how much I rummaged through my knowledge, even a deity on Naiserria's level couldn't project such power beyond the dimensional wall.
It must be connected to the Outer Gods on this side somehow.
"But if a constellation gets registered as malignant in the federation's constellation database, the information spirit body breaks down. That's from the testimony of a constellation that surrendered after fighting the federation before."
From Yuna's words, I understood everything.
Immortals designated as enemies of the Super Galactic Empire Federation lose the vision provided by Silent Starlight.
"That's why it's widely believed that Silent Starlight has been contracted with the federation's leaders generation after generation."
Of course, one could secure wide vision with their own power without relying on such an information body. But since Silent Starlight had blocked direct physical intervention, they couldn't exert power beyond a certain level.
No matter how much a constellation hostile to mortals favored by galaxy spirit bodies, defying the Absolute's command to forbid direct intervention would be a huge burden.
Of course, I couldn't guarantee there were no constellations resentful of the federation that would leap into the material world and rampage. But with the Super Galactic Empire Federation's military might, they could sufficiently check constellations manifesting their true bodies in the material world, maintaining balance.
"Still, the federation's top brass is so shrouded in mystery... Hehe. Honestly, I don't know much either."
I recalled the content of the information body that flew to me while probing this dimension.
An arrogant tone for addressing other dimensions' immortals. The name of the 57th leader, Reinhardt Olim. The federation's official stance and knowledge on constellation contracts.
If it was sent by the power of Silent Starlight, contracted with the federation's leader, it made sense.
But wasn't this giving too much power to mortals? Even as the dominant species of the galaxy, getting branded a malignant constellation by the human empire meant losing too much.
If they registered any constellation they didn't like as a hostile one willy-nilly, there could be serious repercussions.
Constellation Whispering Star Cluster questions humanity's arbitrary judgment of constellations' alignments.
Yuna glanced around cautiously at my question before speaking in a quiet voice.
"...Yes. That's why, back in the old Galactic Empire days, many constellations actually rebelled."
Come to think of it, there was a war between mortals and immortals. A war between some planet spirit bodies and the Galactic Empire. And interstellar treaties with numerous planet spirit bodies.
"But after the interstellar treaties, the empire's expansionist tendencies died down, and after renaming to the Super Galactic Empire Federation, the number of constellations designated as malignant dropped sharply."
Did the leader, presumed to be contracted with a galaxy spirit body, attempt an internal purge? Maybe they revised federation policies to avoid major setbacks from continued aggression.
"From what I know, the constellations the federation targets nowadays are only those with irreconcilable differences in values or truly heinous ones."
The federation has a lot of enemies, huh.
Malignant Constellation, Serpent that Swallows Heaven and Earth.
Unlike the planet world tree constellation Sky-Supporting Great Tree that existed in the material world, this was a deity whose true body resided in its own space. Conceptual realm. Void realm. Akashic dimension. The back side of the world, etc. A being coiled in the "other side" space, called by different names depending on the immortal's nature.
"Let's wrap up the briefing and move out. The constellation Serpent that Swallows Heaven and Earth is a single-planet restricted spirit body discovered a few years ago. It was designated malignant after evidence surfaced of forcing human sacrifices via its avatars..."
According to the federation's classification, it was the weakest among constellations: a single-planet restricted spirit body. And a recent manifestation at that.
"The objective of this operation is to subdue the avatars of the constellation Serpent that Swallows Heaven and Earth. Since it's a subjugation op, not extermination, avatar forces will enter first."
A middle-aged man in a suit continued the briefing. He didn't seem to be an avatar. Probably an officer from the federation's regular army.
"Once we cut off all the evil serpent's limbs, the higher-ups will negotiate or subjugate it appropriately."
Negotiation aside, how do they subjugate a constellation in its own space? Beyond planet-destroying weapons, maybe with bizarre tech weaponry. With warp tech invented, they probably had ways to enter the other side too.
"They're holed up in a factory in the underdeveloped sector. Check your terminals for detailed location info."
I'd love to witness a constellation subjugation firsthand if possible. But that rarely happens.
Unless they're utterly enraged, few constellations would ignore a galaxy spirit body's orders and manifest in the material world to unleash their power.
The site where the malignant constellation's avatars were gathered was a factory in a rural area with little sign of life.
There were about ten avatars who had kidnapped people, bound them, as if offering sacrifices to their constellation. Anyone could see they were contracted to a malignant constellation.
BOOM!!!
"Drop your weapons and surrender, you fucking bastards!"
"Beat 'em down the moment their abilities manifest! As long as we don't kill 'em!"
"Get down!"
As the government avatars burst in, the enemies began resisting, unleashing their abilities. One turned into a snake and spewed green fluid, another tried to petrify with red light from its eyes. Dazzling abilities dazzled the eyes.
Clang!
"Wearing no anti-ability protective gear!"
"For our Lord! Die, you trash!"
"Push 'em back and run!"
A punch shattered a concrete wall, another avatar drew a magic circle from their hand to spew flames. A swordsman deflected anti-personnel gunfire with blades. Another avatar neutralized him in one strike.
On one side, an avatar transformed into a massive wolf wreathed in blue flames bit into the body of a snake-transformed avatar—a monster battle unfolding.
It felt like watching an action movie slathered in CG.
Even in this chaos, Yuna was steadily subduing them one by one. Her control over Cosmic Power had grown skilled. She took down hostile avatars methodically.
"Guh! The authority granted by our Lord..."
"Our Lord granted us authority too?!"
Having gained plenty of real combat experience, she impressively subdued opponents who were fellow humans without hesitation.
Blinding them with Cosmic Power light, tripping their legs to disrupt balance, then cuffing them with avatar restraints.
Compared to when we first met, when she couldn't control Cosmic Power and shot into the sky, it was like night and day.
Constellation Whispering Star Cluster praises the performance of the first apostle.
"Thank you!"
Yuna was handling things on her own just fine.
Shifting my gaze from my first apostle, who was steadily growing even without my watch, I turned to Beatrix.
Last time I checked, she was taming a hunting dog using a monster corpse.
Let's see how she's doing.
Grrr.
Grrr...!
"Stay still until I say so!!!"
Switching to Beatrix's view, the scene was her threatening a summon with dripping bloody meat—and the hunting dog unable to close its drooling maw.
Given the all-white lab-like space around, she was dead serious about taming the summon.
A starving beast eyeing the meat in her hand, debating whether to lunge and snatch it. But for some reason, it wasn't moving.
At that moment, the hunting dog lunged at the meat in Beatrix's hand.
Thud.
Grrr!
Arf!
Beatrix twisted her body, dodging the fangs propelled purely by leg power.
No spatial jump used, and her reinforced suit helped her evade.
"O-ho-ho-ho-hot! With such sluggish movements, you can't snatch the meat from my hand-wa yo!"
"...Your Highness. The reinforcement suit's assists and reverse field spacetime fixation have limits, so please be cautious. You have about 10 minutes left."
Voices from outside the lab mixed with the princess's laughter and the hunting dog's growls.
Constellation Whispering Star Cluster demands an explanation from the second apostle.
"You've arrived-wa yo, my God? This is the taming process-wa yo! We fix spacetime firmly to prevent spatial jumps, then use a monster corpse to..."
She was training it by exploiting the hunting dog's obsession with monster meat.
Last time she first summoned it at the palace, it broke through spatial stabilization. The function in this lab seemed far stronger than the palace's.
"Good wait-wa yo! Kaiser! This is your reward-wa yo!"
Plop.
Grr.
Munch munch.
Beatrix tossed the meat after timing it. As the monster wolfed it down greedily, something seemed off.
That thing... had it grown a bit bigger somehow?
Constellation Whispering Star Cluster asks if the hunting dog's body seems larger.