Did He Really Just Walk Out?

Level 30.

While thirty was a modest number in the grand cosmic scheme, for a mortal incarnation, it represented an exceptionally high threshold. Putting aside transcendent figures deemed "Above the Clouds" like the members of Moment of Eternity, the highest level a standard explorer could ever expect to encounter in an ordinary dungeon capped out at Level 40.

In other words...

"Am I... basically invincible right now?"

The staggering thought froze Nari in place. In that exact fraction of a second, a flurry of crude weapons swung by the swarming goblins struck her all at once.

And then...

"...Huh?"

"—?!"

Not only Nari, the intended victim, but even the attacking goblins froze in utter bewilderment.

The monsters possessed sheer numbers, nothing more; even by the most generous estimate, their levels barely scraped single digits. If the skill description held true, there was no earthly way their strikes could ever pierce her.

It's real. It's actually real!

Only now did Nari truly believe that the cheat skill bestowed by the Anonymous Constellation was genuine. Just what kind of almighty being could toss out such an absurd blessing without batting an eye? A tempest of questions whirled in her mind, but she had no luxury to ponder them now.

"Skill—Sympathy Sickness!"

Casting aside all hesitation, she unleashed her primary offensive skill. As one goblin succumbed to virulent illness and began keeling over in agony, the others hacked and stabbed at her with renewed frenzy, but she didn't care in the slightest. Not so much as a faint scratch marred her pale skin.

"...!"

"?"

Finding their blades bouncing harmlessly off flesh, the goblins stared at their rusty daggers in sheer disbelief, checking for broken edges. The weapons were completely intact.

Driven by mounting panic, the creatures tried to dogpile her to pin her down. Several swarmed her legs, but that proved to be a fatal mistake.

"Get off me!"

Nari lashed out, kicking a goblin square in the chest with her long legs. As an awakened incarnation, if she struck with lethal intent, she possessed more than enough physical power to slaughter a grown man barehanded. The goblin's ribcage caved in with a sickening crunch.

I don't even need a weapon—I can crush these runts with my bare hands!

Engaging armed monsters empty-handed would have terrified her under normal circumstances, but right now, she walked in absolute ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠invulnerability. Weaving her plague skill alongside ruthless kicks and punches, Nari battered the goblins into bloody pulp. Who could have imagined that this very woman had been teetering on the precipice of death mere moments ago?

Watching the unbelievable spectacle unfold through the lens of her dropped smartphone, the stream's viewers rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

The entire audience had clearly heard Nari's desperate plea for divine intervention. It was hardly a leap in logic to deduce that some unseen constellation had answered her prayers with a sponsorship.

Yet even so...

The sheer magnitude of the buff was unlike anything ever seen in modern streaming history, throwing the chatroom into utter hysteria.

Having annihilated an entire swarm of over a hundred goblins, Nari absorbed a massive deluge of experience points, advancing two levels back-to-back.

"Ah... AAAAAAHHH!!"

Letting out an ecstatic shriek, Nari ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dropped straight onto both knees without a second thought. And then, before the astonished gaze of tens of thousands of viewers, she threw her hands forward and began prostrating repeatedly toward the ceiling.

Her audience seriously doubted her sanity, but Nari had never been more solemn in her life.

"Holy shit, this is insane!! Thank you! All praise to you! You are the one true god, Anonymous-nim!!"

Not only had she crawled out from the jaws of death, she had struck the mother of all jackpots. Whether her viewers were watching or not, she remained prostrated upon the damp dungeon floor, gazing up toward the heavens with rapturous devotion as she glorified Aethel.

Tears streamed down her cheeks in a theatrical display befitting a seasoned streamer—a reaction so wildly exaggerated that the man watching her through the phone screen grimaced in mild distaste.

It was just an act of pity, so don't you dare come looking for me.

Aethel looked away from the restaurant ajumma's smartphone screen as if he had just witnessed something he'd rather unsee. He had granted a miracle simply because she looked pathetic, but he had zero desire to form any lasting ties with her. After all, his bonds with mortal incarnations had landed him in enough trouble for one day.

"Looks like some constellation stepped in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to save her. No need to worry about her anymore, so how about finishing that food?"

"Ah, right away!"

The restaurant ajumma, who had been gaping open-mouthed at the sudden reversal of fortune, snapped out of her trance at Aethel's call. She hurried back to tend to the soybean paste stew she had left on the stove, only to let out a horrified gasp.

"Aigoo, what do I do?! I got so distracted that the pot completely burned! And that was the very last batch of ingredients!"

...What is with my luck today?

Clicking his tongue, Aethel let out a dry sigh.

"Just give me some boiled eggs, then. I need to get something in my stomach before I figure out my next move tomorrow."

"...Did we really just banish our constellation?"

Rewinding the clock slightly, back to the moment Aethel had casually walked out of their headquarters, it had taken a considerable amount of time for the members of Moment of Eternity to even process what had transpired.

Because...

"I-Is he an idiot?! Who told him to actually walk out?!"

None of them had ever entertained the thought that Aethel would truly leave. Astounded beyond belief, Heuk-ri shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"He's a constellation, not some dispensable luggage carrier! Why the hell would he pack up and leave just because someone told him to?!"

She had fully expected him to sneer and tell her to get lost. For a supreme being of cosmic divinity to obediently comply with an eviction barked by a mere incarnation without raising a single word of protest? What in the world was going through his head?

"Y-You were the one who told him to get out in the first place!"

Sensing how terribly the atmosphere was souring, Angelica immediately rounded on Heuk-ri, leveling an accusing finger.

"You crossed the line! Who gave you permission to speak so recklessly to him?"

"Do I need your damn permission to open my mouth? He was giving us attitude first, so I just handed it right back to him!"

"Just because Master voiced his displeasure, you immediately degraded yourself to spitting curses at him? Truly, your pedigree remains as low as ever."

"Shut your filthy mouth, you wretched bitch!"

Heuk-ri and Angelica glared daggers at one another. Both women possessed vivid crimson eyes, and as their murderous glares locked, their irises seemed steeped in fresh blood.

Even under normal circumstances, the two had harbored the worst relationship within the team. Now, with the blame for Aethel's departure being hurled back and forth, genuine killing intent crackled between them—emotions that should never have been directed toward a comrade.

"Wait, please, stop it, both of you!"

Hana hurriedly stepped between them, her voice trembling with urgency.

"That's not what matters right now! We need to go after Aethel immediately!"

Though shaken to her core, Hana retained far more composure than the other two. Struck right at the heart of the matter, both Heuk-ri and Angelica flinched, taking a reluctant step back.

"...Consider yourself lucky," Heuk-ri spat.

"That's my line!"

Clicking her tongue, Angelica whipped her head around in dismissal and marched straight toward the door.

Yet the moment her fingers wrapped around the brass handle—

"Stop."

A quiet, cool voice drifted from behind the three women. Turning their heads, they met Miri's composed face. As the strike team's leader, she never allowed her posture to waver, and even in this crisis, she betrayed not the slightest ripple of agitation.

"There's no need to chase after him."

"What do you mean by that?" Angelica's brows knitted tightly. "Miri-ssi, of all people, I can't believe you would say such a thing..."

"And what, should I go sprinting down the street in a panic? What do you plan to say once you catch up to him? 'We're so sorry, we'll abandon our guild plans and never defy you again, so please come back'... Is that what you're going to tell him?"

"...Well, that's..."

Pierced squarely in her pride, Angelica's voice faltered. Seeing that the blonde tanker had reclaimed a sliver of rationality, Miri continued in a calm, reassuring tone.

"Besides, he hasn't truly left us."

"And how could you possibly know that, Miri-ssi?"

"He claimed he was leaving, yet he walked out without taking a single penny of money."

"..."

Faced with such an unexpectedly pragmatic point, the room fell dead silent, their faces blank.

"If he truly intended to cut ties and leave, he would have at least demanded his fair share of our funds."

"What if he returned to the constellation realm?"

"He hasn't gone back. I would be able to feel the severing of our bond. On top of that, he left behind the artifacts he brought down from the celestial world."

To prove her point, Miri walked over and pulled open the cleaning utility closet. Resting inside among the mops and dustpans was a divine relic Aethel had brought down and casually shoved into storage: the Floating Staff, levitating midair and pulsing with soft celestial radiance.

"Whatever else he might discard, there is no way he would abandon this. When he cools off, he'll return on his own."

"...Can you truly be certain?"

"I am. In all the time we've known him, has Aethel ever stayed separated from us for an extended period?"

At least during their years together, he never had. Miri, who had known Aethel the longest among them, was utterly confident in her judgment.

"He will be back shortly, so just wait."

Holding back her teammates with that confident assurance, several hours ticked by.

"..."

"..."

"Um, Miri-unnie?"

Watching the other two women's expressions grow darker with every passing minute, Hana ventured timidly, "It's already past the end of the workday, but... he still hasn't returned?"

"...He must have headed straight back to our house ahead of us."

In stark contrast to Hana's rising dread, Miri maintained her unshakeable calm.

"I'll head back and check on him myself, so don't worry and go home for the night."

Ushering her uneasy teammates out the door, Miri returned to her own residence. Though categorized as a high-end luxury home, it was remarkably modest considering it housed one of the world's premier incarnations.

"Aethel, where are you? You're back, aren't you!"

Miri called out as she stepped through the front entrance.

She had every reason to expect him here. Aethel possessed no personal property or lodgings in the mortal realm; he had shared this very house with Miri from the very day he first descended to Earth. Naturally, she had taken it for granted that he would come back to the place they shared.

Yet there were no shoes in the foyer, every light in the house was switched off, and not a trace of Aethel's presence remained in the chilly, empty rooms.

Slowly, reality crashed down upon her.

Did he... really leave?!

The realization shattered her calm, tipping past shock into sheer disbelief.

Just because he didn't like what the team decided, he walked out of our home too?! No, there's no way... He wouldn't take it that far over something like this...

It was simply too absurd to accept, so Miri chose to wait, clinging to the fading hope that he was merely taking a stroll. But no matter how long the clock ticked, Aethel never walked through the door. Miri sat awake on the living room sofa, unable to sleep a single wink as the night bled away.

"...Ha!"

Still clad in yesterday's formal clothes as dawn broke over the horizon, incredulous laughter bubbled up in her chest.

Don't tell me...!

Grasping at straws, she wondered if he had gone straight back to their headquarters, and rushed to the office without even changing. But the sight awaiting her dashed every lingering hope.

"Did Aethel not come with you?"

Waiting in the lounge were a brooding Heuk-ri, a stiff Angelica, and an anxious Hana. Aethel was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Miri."

Seeing Miri arrive completely alone, Heuk-ri glared daggers at her.

"What's the meaning of this? You said he'd come back if we just waited!"

"...It appears I made an error in judgment."

"Do you think admitting that fixes anything?! You're the one who stopped us from going after him, and you think saying it was a mistake lets you off the hook?!"

Unable to contain the hysteria mounting inside her, Heuk-ri screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Because of you, every single one of us has become an incarnation without a constellation!"

When you were the one who told him to get the hell out in the first place!

A surge of burning irritation flared in Miri's throat, but she swiftly clamped it down. Rather than returning fire, she spoke with the measured authority demanded of their leader.

"Don't worry. If we put our minds to it, we can track him down. I'll bring him back shortly, so just wait."