Chapter 449
Chapter 449
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 449
>Chapter Title: The Tenth Guardian Star
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Lush, vibrant strands of hair.
Karen, who could even be likened to a red rose, joined the ranks in a state of high tension.
“Karen! You're late!”
“Sorry, sorry! Were you all waiting for me?”
“It's not all gathered until you're here.”
Karen's attire had reverted to what she wore when she served as a guardian of the Montla imperial family.
She pouted her lips and said,
“We're all gathered... but Karuna isn't here, you know....”
“Sigh... This is why Karuna might be harboring resentment!”
“What? Resentment? Did you just call me resentful?”
“Yeah! Resentful! You spiteful thing!”
“Hey!”
Smack-!
Whap-!
The two women grabbed each other's hair.
Jellin, who had served as a guardian alongside Karen, grabbed her by the hair and scolded her.
“Aaaah! Let go! Let go!”
“You let go first!”
“Fine. On three, we let go at the same time.”
“Deal.”
“One, two, three....”
Crunch-!
Both sides tensed their arms, forearms bulging with effort.
“Aaaah!”
“Aaah!”
At that moment, fists struck both their heads equally.
“Stoooop!”
Thwack-!
“Guh... Feels like my neck is broken.”
“Did my neck just cave in?”
The one who subdued them in an instant was Rain. The highest-ranking guardian and Montla's symbol, the Knight of the Sun.
“Knights fighting like this? If you're going to fight, do it properly! Pulling hair? It's utterly disgraceful!”
“What... That's why?”
“Rain, weren't you here to stop us?”
“...Oops.”
Rain asked,
“Why the fight first thing in the morning?”
Jellin answered first.
“Because Karen came out late!”
“She picked on Karuna!”
“In short, you're both at fault.”
“Ugh....”
“Uuuugh....”
Jellin and Karen both looked unconvinced but didn't dare defy Rain.
Karen usually treated Rain casually, but not now.
They had an important official event ahead.
“Karen, Karuna is the most knightly one I've acknowledged. He'll come back once he's sorted his feelings.”
“Really?”
“Of course. But if he returns to find you like this, he'll kick the emperor's rear and run again.”
“......”
“Fix your hair and clothes, Jellin and Karen!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Jellin and Karen glanced at each other, shrugged, and straightened their clothes and hair.
Adjusting their attire was linked to their demeanor. Soon, they regained their characteristic sharp aura.
“We are the guardians of Montla's imperial family, the pride of Montla. To the imperial citizens, we must always appear perfect and invincible.”
Before stepping forward, Rain turned back for a final check.
“Even if that's not the case inside. Do you understand?”
“......”
“I asked if you understand.”
“Yes!”
“We understand!”
Rain nodded and took the lead.
“Open the gates.”
Rumble...
The castle gates opened, and the procession began.
“Waaaaah!”
“The imperial guardians!”
“Look over here!”
“Here! Here!”
The crowds parted to both sides, cheering.
The majestic sight of the imperial guardians, led by Rain, was overwhelming.
An open-top carriage followed them.
It carried Jin, the emperor of Montla.
He too had appeared before the imperial citizens for the official event.
The procession marched once for the citizens before heading to its destination.
A newly built temple.
“Whew....”
The citizens' voices gradually quieted.
The temple area was under strict security, so everyone watched the event from afar.
“You are Montla's new Guardian Star.”
Montla's artificial god, the Guardian Star.
These artificial souls, born from the fusion of magic and reason, symbolized the unprecedented golden age of Montla's power.
There had only been two Guardian Stars, but under Jin's reign, they had increased to nine.
And today was the day the tenth Guardian Star was born.
The ceremony proceeded.
The tenth Guardian Star, resembling a small flame, promised the empire's peace alongside Jin's address.
With that, the official ceremony concluded. The tenth Guardian Star would now live as a pillar supporting Montla.
Jin departed, and the guardians followed.
Or so it seemed.
“Ah... If we're caught like this, I'll be the only one in trouble.”
“Don't worry! As long as we don't get caught. If we do, I'll take the blame. They'll just pity you all?”
“...Yeah, you're hopeless at stopping things.”
The temple, lit only by dim lighting, suddenly grew a bit noisy.
Someone abruptly appeared before the tenth Guardian Star.
“Hello!”
- ...Hello?
“What's your name?”
- Who are you?
“Me? If I had to say... someone like you, the tenth!”
The Guardian Star realized who stood before it.
- Karen, the tenth imperial guardian. Still the same.
“Right! Now tell me your name.”
- Guardian Stars are forbidden from having names. Acquiring a sense of self could lead to side effects....
“Why?”
- ...Because it might judge itself superior to the emperor.
“What? This guy's dangerous!”
Karen frowned and said,
“Kidding. No one's greater than Jin, of course.”
- I think so too. However....
“Can I... give you a name?”
- My name?
“Yeah, your name.”
The newly born soul of the sun pondered Karen's proposal. Was this a devil's temptation?
- Still... I want it.
“Razin.”
- Razin....
“From now on, you're Razin. That's what I'll call you. But don't tell anyone.”
- Razin... my name.
Beneath the heavy duty of Guardian Star, the crushed soul's ego awakened.
A fragile ego that could easily be tainted by evil.
“I'm Karen. The knight who'll surpass Rain and become the sun someday. Watch over me.”
- I see. Karen... little spark.
Razin wriggled its flame and said,
- You are already my sun.
“...What?”
- Razin will protect Montla. Until the day you become the sun.
After Razin, Montla's next Guardian Star was never born.
* * *
Whoooosh...
Tension filled the space where they faced each other.
Karen and Razin gazed at each other with affectionate eyes, just like their first meeting.
“...You're alive, Razin?”
- 'Alive' isn't fitting. I've never been alive.
“Ka-hat... Yeah, right? Sorry.”
- ...I have much to ask you.
“Me too.”
The reason Karuna didn't know Razin.
Razin was born during the time he had left Montla.
Unable to resolve the situation, the empire fell, so it was natural he didn't know Razin, regardless of time.
- Everyone died.
“...As expected.”
- As if it had to be that way, they destroyed everything I remember of Montla, not leaving a single blade of grass. As if... it had to be.
Hummm...
Razin vibrated.
- I broke my promise. I failed to protect Montla. I'm sorry, Karen.
“It's okay. I know you did your best. The empire's fate wouldn't have changed no matter how we struggled.”
- Now, only we remain who remember Montla. I, the last Guardian Star, and you, the last guardians.
Karen and Karuna fell silent.
- Won't you come to me? If it's you....
“Razin.”
“Hmm....”
- I failed once. A Guardian Star of Montla cannot fail.
Fwoosh-!
Razin briefly burned black.
- I don't want to fail. Give me a chance....
Swish...
Karen reached out and touched Razin's burning soul.
“Razin.”
It was an act that could burn horrifically, but even as flames engulfed her hand, Karen remained calm.
“Everyone fails. Even Guardian Stars.”
- Karen....
“Ka-hat... Well, failure teaches lessons, right? Like vowing never to let it happen again. So....”
Karen smiled wistfully.
“Let's walk the present. Montla hasn't vanished. It's carried on in us.”
Sizzle...
Razin’s black flames subsided.
- Ahh... As expected, you alone are my sun.
Whoooosh...
Razin drifted away slightly.
The other flames watched the first flame from their positions.
- I've lived here quite a while. Eventually, followers appeared, and I didn't refuse them.
“Yeah, they all see you as a god.”
- I stayed silent to survive. Over long ages, everything I've seen and felt is within me. That's why I know. ...The future that's coming.
“...What?”
- But I can't tell you easily. That would mock you and lead to failure.
Rustle...
The Keshii tribe, who had vanished midway, were now prostrated flat on the ground.
“Razin! These ones know of Jinryeo. The woman who stole fair Kunna from us.”
“That's right!”
This time, Kang Seol asked Razin.
“Is it true that Jinryeo stole Kunna?”
Gone was the tone from conversing with Karen; Razin's voice turned stern again.
- It is true. However... that too is the natural order. Did she fulfill her duty?
Flinch!
Kang Seol knew well what Jinryeo and Kunna had done together. No, perhaps only Seolhong knew as well.
She had protected Seolhong, who seized the Wasteland Command from Hwagumu. In the talent-rich Khan, only Jinryeo could have done it.
“I see... It was prepared....”
Kang Seol bowed his head.
“I greet Keshii's god. Razin.”
- Raise your head. I've done nothing.
The power emanating from Razin was extraordinary. His standing hairs proved how mighty Montla had been.
“But... I have a question.”
- I'd like to speak with you after the reunion. But if it's urgent, I'll answer.
“I heard others reached here before us.”
Kang Seol was inquiring about the council's whereabouts.
'They were summoned directly by Razin... What's Razin's game?'
- I let them in. They seek an old fragment of stone from the past.
Gian, fists clenched, shouted.
“We're seeking that too!”
- I have no desire to converse with you.
“How troublesome. Understood.”
As Shindio patted Gian, Kang Seol continued.
“Do you know the fragment's whereabouts?”
- It's with me.
For a moment, thinking he'd misheard, Kang Seol tilted his head.
Whoooong...
Something floated before Razin. It resembled the fragment he'd obtained up to Triem.
“...Seems legit.”
- They wanted it from me. I tested them.
“A test... What kind...”
- Don't you see the empty spots?
Looking around, Kang Seol saw two empty spaces amid the lined-up flames.
'One's probably fair Kunna... What's the other?'
- One tainted by corruption. I imprisoned it, but not everything goes as planned. To take the fragment from me, find it before those who left first.
“...Understood.”
- Not you.
“...Pardon?”
Razin flared toward Karen.
- You, Karen.
Karen scratched her temple and asked back.
“Huh?”
- It's you I'm testing.
“You're testing me? Why?”
- I must confirm.
Fwoooosh-!
Suddenly, the Sprno Mountain crater shook.
Rumble...
“Ugh....”
Sizzle...
“Hot, so hot....”
“What is that....”
An ominous flame floated before Razin.
- Whether you qualify to inherit this flame.
Kang Seol was instantly captivated by the flame.
'That...'
As if prepared solely for Karen, a sleekly burning flame.
['Inggeol Flame' Inheritance Adventure Begins.]
[Warning! Summoned Beast Authority Acquisition Imminent.]
[Summoner's Authority Not Manifested.]
[Prolonged current state may impact loyalty.]