The Hammer That Strikes the Stars

I made Rian open the barrier entrance one more time, and the poor dragon-fucker looked like he was genuinely about to die. “Ugh…! Haaack…!”

Thinking back to how Leona had broken into a cold sweat after opening the entrance earlier, it seemed that locating and opening a barrier entrance took far more stamina than I’d expected. ‘It makes sense, I guess. These things are hidden so thoroughly…’

I wasn’t sure about martial arts, but barriers seemed closer to the realm of magic or sorcery, so I couldn’t say for certain. As I grabbed the collapsed Rian by the scruff of his neck and dragged him across the threshold, the sound of hammering rang out once more.

Jjeeeeeeong————!

“That’s the fourth one already.”

Each strike was followed by about a minute of absolute silence. Wasn’t hammering supposed to go clang! clang! clang! at a nice, steady rhythm? That’s what I’d always thought, but…

‘Well, he knows what he’s doing.’

The Abyss Star Cult fanatics had gone half-mad trying to find him, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and my father had called him a trustworthy blacksmith. There was no doubt that Mr. Octopus was an exceptional artisan.

After waiting for Rian to close the barrier entrance behind us, I half-dragged the now completely exhausted boy back to the cabin. Bella greeted us from the sofa, lounging like she owned the place and casually sipping tea, while Leona stood politely behind her like a secretary.

“My lady. You’re back already?”

“Yup. Where’s Mr. Octopus?”

“Sir Ksael left for the forge after saying not to disturb him under any circumstances.”

Leona answered while poking the limp Rian I’d dumped by the door. Hmm. Don’t disturb him, huh. Did that mean even watching from the side was off-limits?

I clicked my tongue in disappointment, only for the fifth hammer strike to thunder out.

Jjeeeeeeong!

“How does hammering even make a sound like that?”

“Who knows? Maybe he really is striking stars.”

“Stars?”

“Ksael’s title is the Star Iron Duke. He is commonly known as the Blacksmith of Stars, or the One Who Strikes the Stars.”

Bella shrugged as if to say, there must be a reason for a title like that, right?

“…Would it be okay if I snuck over for a quick peek?”

“He specifically said you must never enter the forge.”

“As long as I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don’t interfere, it should be fine, yeah?”

In other words, quietly sneaking in, watching silently, and slipping back out wouldn’t cause any problems. Bella simply closed her eyes as if to say, do as you wish.

“Hehe. I’ll be right back.”

The moment I received her tacit permission, I moved with my presence completely suppressed. I had never formally learned stealth techniques, but killing my presence was something I could do instinctively. I suppressed my magi as much as possible and even consciously slowed my heartbeat.

“Sneaky sneaky.”

“My lady. If you say the words out loud, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of moving sneakily?”

I saw no value in answering a martial arts ignorant like her. How could she fail to appreciate the beauty of the technique I was displaying?

“Haa…”

I shook my head at Bella’s hopeless attitude and continued moving with silent steps. The forge was behind the cabin. It was so massive that I wondered how I hadn’t noticed it before.

Strangely, the roof seemed completely open to the sky, and starlight poured down like rain, twisting into spiral shapes before being sucked into the forge.

‘Holy shit.’

He really was working with stars!

I desperately held back my excitement, climbed the wall using Wall Tiger Step, and peered down through the open roof. The first thing I saw was a pure white lump that resembled an anvil, except it was far too large to be called one.

‘Huh?’

And the Mad Dragon’s Horn resting on that anvil had already taken on the rough shape of a sword.

‘How is he doing that already?’

Even I could barely scratch it without using Imitation Bone Transformation. It was that hard. Making it look like this through ordinary means should have been impossible. Even Mr. Octopus’s hammering posture was anything but ordinary.

‘He’s just standing there so stiffly…’

There was no sign of a craftsman’s refined stance. He simply stood upright, raising only one arm above his head. That said, the tentacle acting as that arm was enormous. Countless tentacles twisted and coiled together to form the shape of a massive hammer.

Ksael was muttering nonstop, as if possessed. Several of the spiraling streams of starlight slowly descending from above responded to his will, stretching out to dwell within the hammer-shaped tentacles. Then they slammed down onto the Mad Dragon’s Horn.

Jjeeeeeeeeeeeong————!

The starlight contained within the hammer burst outward in all directions before slowly seeping into the horn. It was on a completely different level from the hammering I’d heard from afar. Even though I had protected my ears and eardrums with magi, the impact still shook my brain.

Ksael must have noticed me flinching in surprise. His face turned a sickly blue as he stared directly in my direction. Honestly, hammering with actual stars was quite the spectacle… but I still didn’t understand why he wouldn’t let anyone watch.

‘Is he the type whose efficiency drops if someone’s watching?’

It was a bit rude of me, but since he was the one making my sword, I was about to smile awkwardly and apologize when I suddenly felt something unknown looking at me from somewhere.

“Mng?”

Crack.

Tiny fractures began to form on the horn that had nearly taken the shape of a blade. It wasn’t that the horn itself had broken. The cracks originated from the space around it. And then they began radiating an overwhelming pressure.

‘Oh no.’

Not only the starlight, but every trace of natural energy in the area began getting sucked in at a terrifying speed. Even the magi inside my body.

“Wait…”

I tried to resist having my magi taken, but to my shock, I couldn’t put up any resistance at all. In that instant, the magi within me was no longer mine. My control over it had been completely stripped away.

On top of that, even moving my body properly was becoming difficult. At this rate, both my body and my magi would be devoured entirely.

By that gaze that had seen me earlier.

‘It’s an Outer God.’

Not the main body. Probably just a fragment of the Outer God that Ksael had contracted with. A tiny sliver had briefly turned its attention here. That was all. And yet that alone had caused me to lose all control over myself.

Now I understood why humans and demons couldn’t defeat beings from another realm. They twisted and toyed with laws and providence as they pleased.

‘I have to make the magi mine again.’

Even the magi that had been sleeping inside the magic stone was being helplessly sucked away. I had to regain control somehow.

‘But how?’

No clear solution came to mind. Trying to interfere with the magi being drawn in was useless. It was even affecting my mind; my consciousness was growing hazy.

‘Am I really going to die like this?’

Not in a cool fight against some insanely strong opponent, but while secretly watching someone hammer? How pathetic. Just as my spirit began to break from the lack of options, I heard a laugh.

It sounded like mockery, yet also like genuine amusement. It was the first time I’d ever heard the voice, yet the laughter felt strangely familiar.

“Who…?”

I sensed a presence. It wasn’t that someone had approached me. Something had suddenly appeared inside me. That was when a voice only I could hear began echoing in my head.

The moment those words ended, an invisible hand covered my eyes. One by one, my senses began to shut down. Sight, hearing, smell, taste. And finally, touch. The only thing I could still feel was the magi flowing through my body.

‘This is strange.’

The magi was still not under my control. However, it was no longer being sucked away by the Outer God either. Clearly following someone’s will, the magi was racing through my meridians.

‘Martial arts?’

It wasn’t like how Leona or the Honcheon Noeje moved their power in the manner of knights. This was martial arts. And not just any—it was an absolute divine art I had never encountered before. Yet it was also completely different from every martial art I had learned until now. It was nothing like the techniques of the Namgung Clan, nor was it anything like the Pale Hand Demonic Art.

‘The way it handles magi is so violent.’

I could almost picture the user’s temperament. It was the path of dominance. Overwhelming. Absolute. It treated even magi as nothing more than a weapon, a tool of war.

‘What the…’

There was no time to think further. The magi that had been racing wildly inside me began spinning even more fiercely. ‘Mmmmmmrrrrgh…!’

Along with a pain like molten iron racing through my veins, sudden insight flooded my mind. Letters were being forcibly engraved onto the slate within my mind’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

That was the name of the divine art the voice was unfolding.