Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Side Story, Song of Ice and Fire (1)
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0.
My discharge date was April 5, 2045.
That's when the world ended.
With this short explanation alone.
You can immediately understand my anger.
"If you don't believe me, I can verify with my discharge cap. Want to see it now?"
A rough-looking pair of Nightmare Hunters, man and woman.
As they exchanged glances and nodded, I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out my discharge cap.
- From Yuseong-deok's War Journal, page 16
1.
The Great Cathedral Library.
"Absolute Gods."
As Shin Tae-yeop muttered, he laid out five top-grade soul stones in a row on the desk.
"The supreme among the supreme, the five stars that reign over all other stars."
Snow White Star, Ikillas.
Dark Star, Ruiiniyen.
Black Flame Star, Labelhein.
Divine Blood Star, She-Piker.
Abyss Star, Baladon.
"The Absolute Stars—or Absolute Lords—have no idols. Mortals lack the power even to capture their exalted forms."
All excerpts from the ancient tome 『Absolute Star』.
Across the desk from him.
Choi Uk, who had been reading from 『Absolute Star』, continued with the next passage.
"The hunter chosen by an Absolute God receives power and authority through baptism that no hunter of other stars can dare approach."
Choi Uk let out a sigh.
Then he lifted the third soul stone upward, setting it aside.
"Black Flame Star, Labelhein."
Im Yong-gon, the hunter chosen by Labelhein's Absolute Lord. He was no more.
"Now that I know this... it feels like... we've lost something... so incredibly precious..."
"I agree."
Having organized his thoughts, this time.
Choi Uk gathered the fourth and fifth soul stones together.
"Divine Blood Star and Abyss Star."
"The power of Divine Blood was held by Park Ji-won."
"The power of the Abyss is being used by Jeong Ha-kyeong as her unique skill."
But.
They were not hunters of the Absolute Stars.
"An Absolute Star is the pinnacle of a single attribute."
Even the stars under their command.
Their subordinates all share the same attribute.
"The problem is Snow White Star and Dark Star... No one's ever used those two powers that I've seen..."
The problem ran deeper.
Where were the hunters of those Absolute Gods...? They were surely in other Paradises. But.
What if they were hostile...?
The thought sent chills racing down his spine.
"It's not hard to imagine. Just picture Im Yong-gon as an enemy."
"Our goals align, so... they'd be friendly, right?"
"That's too naive."
As Choi Uk spoke.
He pulled seven high-grade soul stones from his pouch.
"Under the Absolute Gods reign the Seven Star Gods."
He laid them out beneath the top-grade ones. It was a refined motion, like placing stones in a game of Go.
"Not as great as the Absolute Gods, but only relatively so. Their authority is immense."
Lotus Soft Star, Pelriom.
Extreme Wind Star, Larvedaban.
Breach Star, Altaut.
Embryonic Star, Ungraneg.
Insight Star, Sejuram.
Bizarre Hardness Star, Sharuguna.
Dark Ray Star, Oballum.
"The Seven Star Gods do not belong to the Absolute Gods. Instead, each commands their own subordinates."
With that, Choi Uk.
Set aside the first and fifth soul stones upward. Shin Tae-yeop spoke.
"The hunter of Lotus Soft Star, Pelriom... that's Kim Gye-sang, right?"
"Correct. He died before he could even grasp his true power."
Shin Tae-yeop let out a brief groan.
"What if... I had been there then? Would it have been different?"
A moment of silence.
The flicker in his eyes revealed just how Kim Gye-sang had died.
"The outcome would have been the same."
"...Really?"
"The situation back then... no one could have predicted it."
Choi Uk continued his explanation, subtly skipping over Insight Star Sejuram.
"Kim Gye-sang dies, and the three of us return alive but battered. That's all."
Then he began arranging lower-grade soul stones beneath them.
"Now, under the Seven Star Gods, the thirty stars."
"Can I ask something...?"
"What?"
"Why are you suddenly organizing all this?"
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of soul stones striking the desk.
Choi Uk rarely met anyone's gaze when speaking.
"To predict the unpredictable."
"...?"
"Shin Tae-yeop. Living beings share common traits. The Russian scholar Pavel Lotman wrote..."
"...Pavel Lotman? You mean, as experience accumulates, new senses emerge?"
Shin Tae-yeop grinned in response.
Choi Uk raised his head from alternating between the ancient tome and soul stones, his face showing surprise.
"You're far too perceptive for your age. I wish I had a disciple like you."
"Right?"
"Indeed."
At that, Rin buzzed.
「More than me? More than me? More than me?」
"Of course not."
"What? Be honest—I'm smarter than Rin, aren't I?"
「No you're not. No you're not. No you're not.」
Choi Uk gently stroked Rin once, then shook his head and got to the point.
"Anyway, the theory's crux is that humans develop an experience-based crisis sense—what we might call a sixth sense—much like wild beasts."
Shin Tae-yeop's eyebrow twitched for a moment.
He had sensed something in Choi Uk's tone.
"You've... caught the scent of crisis, haven't you?"
"By now, the other Paradises have probably conquered their own Nightmare Zones, right?"
"Yes. With the immediate problems solved... soon we'll start interacting with the other Paradises?"
In contrast to Shin Tae-yeop's hopeful tilt of the head, Choi Uk remained cautious.
"But... what will it really be like?"
".........?"
"Do you know the saying that human history is a history of struggle?"
Shin Tae-yeop fell silent for a moment.
History of struggle...
Sometimes that struggle was against nature or apocalypse.
But mostly...
"...a history of struggle against other humans..."
That was when it happened.
The mystical starlight stepped into view.
...It's here.
A pure white, elegant clerical robe.
Beneath the mask covering her mouth, a star-shaped gem sparkling with starlight.
"Ah, you faithless generation."
And.
Eyes from which an even more graceful starlight emanated.
"How can you engage in such rebellious talk?"
The Star Messenger of Seodaemun-gu and Jongno-gu, Karlen.
* * *
[Currently Available Information]
1. After the reclamation of Jongno-gu, the six branch chiefs of the <Association>.
- Command Branch: Choi Uk
- Hunting Branch: Do Su-jin, Shin Tae-yeop
- Recon Branch: Lee Seong-mi
- Subjugation Branch: Kim Baek-jun
- Logistics Branch: Seo Hwa-yoon
2. Paradise Development Fund
- a: A fund created by Association members donating 1/100 of the soul stones they acquire.
- b: This donation is said to have elevated welfare benefits for Paradise citizens to an astonishing level.
3. New Star Pleasure Garden, Jongno-gu
- a: With Jongno-gu fully reclaimed, all administrative districts have been incorporated into the inner territory.
- b: All Paradise residents can now freely travel between Jongno-gu and Seodaemun-gu.
* * *
"This is a holy sanctuary. Such irreverent acts must not take place here."
"What is irreverent?"
"That attitude! Seeking wisdom from the stars not, but thinking for yourselves!"
Choi Uk squinted one eye.
"If we ask, do they tell us?"
"Of course. Insight has not descended upon you because you did not ask. You asked but received nothing because you sought it for your own glory."
The Star Messenger's tone was polite.
As always... But her demeanor brimmed with disapproval.
After the Exalted Ones assault.
Shin Tae-yeop guessed it stemmed from the Paradise policies the <Association> had put forth since then.
"Better to hone our own clarity than kneel to capricious beings like the Holy Apostles."
"How arrogant."
"Call it realistic."
"Enough! The Mother of Truth has shown you countless signs, yet why do you still harbor only doubt?"
Starlight poured more fiercely from the Star Messenger's eyes.
"Look around your world. Does not every environment proclaim the truth to you from all sides?"
Shin Tae-yeop could see Rin buzzing in fear.
"When the Nightmare descended, who granted you strength and wisdom?"
"...........?"
"Woe to you. Now, in the holy name of Sejuram, I prophesy."
Think Choi Uk is bewildered?
No...