Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Dark Star Apprentices
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After the Dark Star Warriors occupied this town, they built the giant serpent's nest in the town's political center—the underground of the enforcement hall.
According to the plan, Gavin and Heinrich would pose as hostages, escorted by the shop owner and several other residents to the enforcement hall. By convention, a Dark Star Warrior would come out to send the residents away, then take the hostages inside. Whatever happened after that was known only to the giant serpent and the dead.
Gavin and Heinrich pretended to have their hands bound behind their backs, sitting face-to-face in the vehicle. Several residents with bruised and swollen faces sat beside them. The atmosphere in the cabin was frozen solid.
After a long moment, Heinrich finally couldn't hold back.
“What the hell do you mean?”
Gavin rested with his eyes closed, not even bothering to open them.
“...I'm talking to you!”
“...”
Heinrich flew into a rage and stood up to grab Gavin's nape. Their wrists were bound with slipknots. The residents immediately shrank back in terror. Gavin finally opened his eyes and barked,
“I was joking! Sit down!”
Heinrich grudgingly sat back down. His ice-blue eyes stared unblinkingly at Gavin. That gaze was so oppressive that the residents trembled and didn't dare speak. After a long moment, he coughed once and asked,
“Do you have any plan?”
Gavin smirked slightly.
“Rush in, kill them all, find the communication gear, send a rescue signal. Once we're back, call in the Emperor. Two hundred thousand iron cavalry will be enough to flatten this planet.”
It was the first time Heinrich had heard him so casually advocate killing everyone without a second thought. He couldn't help feeling surprised. After a long moment, he asked,
“If you were the one leading those two hundred thousand iron cavalry...”
“No thanks.”
People accustomed to commanding armies couldn't go long without craving troops again. But Gavin spoke without the slightest flicker in his eyes. He truly seemed to have zero interest in the Emperor's throne.
Heinrich felt a twinge of disappointment. He wasn't sure what to make of the sour taste in his heart—Celia leading troops would make every superior wary, but Celia openly declaring no interest in his troops felt like a rejection of his own appeal.
The cabin fell silent for a long moment. Everyone held their breath in fear. Suddenly, Gavin said faintly,
“Don't worry.”
“...?”
“Dark Star Hall's convention—for a town like this, they station at most three people. Mostly apprentices... Ruthless plenty, but short on strategy and skill. Nothing to fear.”
Heinrich eyed his expression and probed,
“You're very familiar with Dark Star Hall?”
Gavin went silent.
Of course he was familiar. The once-dominant Yunes had been hounded by him for centuries until he had no place to stand, reduced at his lowest to a pathetic clown. When Gavin faked his surrender, those so-called rising stars like Osroed and Barnett strutted around Dark Star Hall. He treated them like air—not worth the effort to undermine, or even remember their names.
Dark Star Hall's hierarchy was ironclad. New warriors and apprentices held no status. Sure, dropping the name "Dark Star Hall" terrified people. But to Gavin, crushing them one-handed was child's play.
“Why did you join Dark Star Hall back then?” Heinrich finally pressed. “Yunes said that five hundred years ago, you...”
Gavin fell silent for a moment before replying,
“No reason.”
“Impossible! Edna said you left the Alliance alone as a youth. If not for some reason—”
Heinrich's voice cut off abruptly. The cabin filled only with uneven breaths. Gavin stared at a drifting speck in the air. After a long moment, he finally spoke the truth.
“Because no one in the Alliance took me seriously.”
He paused, then continued slowly.
“And I wanted to prove myself.”
A flicker of regret crossed his eyes. Heinrich froze.
The vehicle finally pulled up at the enforcement hall entrance. The black building loomed like a beast in the night, standing silently at the end of the steps.
The Beta residents had been cowed by their conversation the whole way. Upon disembarking, they forgot everything and just stood there shaking. After a long moment, the shop owner finally mustered his courage. His face on the verge of tears, he bowed deeply to Heinrich and Gavin.
“Everything's in your hands...”
Gavin nodded reassuringly and gestured for him to knock.
The shop owner ascended the steps, glancing back every other step. His hands shook as he patted the black metal door. His voice quavered barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
“L-Lord Dak, this month's delivery is here...”
The metal door was seamless. Moonlight revealed utter silence. Seconds later, a vibration hummed to life. The door cracked open into a narrow slit just wide enough for one person.
A black-armored warrior strode out arrogantly. He coldly swept his gaze over the steps below.
“One Alpha and one Omega? Did you bring next month's share too?”
Heinrich had seen Yunes, Osroed, and the others. High-rank warriors had burly builds with an eerie, terrifying presence. This Dak was far more ordinary. Though masked, he looked no different from a normal man overall.
“His black armor hasn't been specially treated,” Gavin whispered. “He's an apprentice.”
Heinrich gave an imperceptible nod.
Dak's gaze swept casually over them before fixing on the trembling shop owner.
“What's your game? Planning to skip next month's live ones? Let me tell you—next month's quota hasn't changed. Dare slack off or play tricks, and—”
The shop owner's knees buckled. He dropped to them. Dak sneered coldly and jabbed a finger at Gavin.
“Why hold back the town's Omega until now?”
“N-No, it's not like that. Actually, we...”
The shop owner didn't finish. Dak's impatience boiled over. He lashed out with a kick, sending the man tumbling brutally down the steps.
“Shut your mouth! Scheming in front of a Dark Star Hall warrior—you're all courting death!”
Bang! The shop owner hit the ground and writhed in agony. He clenched his teeth, not daring to make a sound.
The residents seethed in impotent fury, heads bowed to the dirt. Dak savored the scene with contempt. Satisfied at last, he lifted his head and imperiously beckoned the two hostages.
“You two—get over here!”
The hostages obeyed meekly, heads down as they climbed the steps. But Dak's nasty temperament reared up again. Gavin had just lifted his foot when Dak flicked his hand!
In that instant, the same device Barnett had used in the rematch extended from Dak's leather glove—fine gears protruding from his fingertips. An invisible force yanked Gavin into the air and slammed him down!
Bang!
Gavin crashed at Dak's feet. His knees felt like they'd split open. Pain wrenched a sharp hiss from him.
Heinrich's face darkened in an instant. He nearly lunged forward—
Dak whipped his hand toward him and barked,
“What?!”
“...” Heinrich marshaled every ounce of restraint to hold himself back. He ascended the steps in stiff strides and planted himself before Dak.
It took everything he had. An Alpha's protective instinct toward an Omega had no limits—not even self-harm was allowed. And Dak had just hurled Gavin right in front of him?
“Hmph. Dead men walking.” Dak turned away contemptuously, not looking back. “Follow.”
Heinrich truly regretted sticking to Gavin's plan. He should've left him at the inn and pressed ahead his own way. Rushing in, killing everyone—unnecessary. He could summon two hundred thousand Imperial iron cavalry right now and grind that wretched Dark Star Hall to dust!
But this wasn't the moment to turn hostile. Heinrich's face frosted over as he followed Gavin through the black metal door.
The enforcement hall lobby was icy and dim. The floor oozed with sticky dampness. Every step squelched unpleasantly. Dak strode through to a row of offices at the far end. Another Dark Star apprentice lurked in the shadows—no mask, his gaze sullen and impatient.
“Why two this time?”
Dak blinked in surprise.
“Adlai? What are you doing here?”
The man sneered and nodded toward a tightly shut office door nearby.
“High-rank warrior's having another episode. How can the likes of us compare...”
Gavin froze at that. A high-rank warrior? Here?
Dark Star Hall had endless low- and mid-rank warriors—promoted at will, used as cannon fodder in wars. High-ranks were different. They wielded real power and rarely left the planetary headquarters. Their numbers were fixed by quota—one died, one replaced.
For an ordinary town on a third-rate planet, even stationing one official warrior was exceptional. A high-rank showing up out of nowhere?
Dak and Adlai didn't dwell on the high-rank. They sized up Heinrich and Gavin. Surprisingly, their eyes skipped the Omega and locked on the Alpha.
“Tsk tsk. An Alpha in this dump? Where'd they snag him?”
“Who knows. Maybe he came willingly.” Adlai circled Heinrich with ill intent. “Hey. You volunteer?”
“...”
“Yo, got some fight in him.” Adlai smirked and reached up to gauge Heinrich's height. “Huh, this guy's tall! Check the build—like a battlefield vet, right Dak?”
Dak drawled lazily,
“Looks it. You getting ideas again?”
Adlai burst out laughing. Then—slap!—he smacked Heinrich's ass.
“So what if I am? Dead meat anyway—”
Heinrich: “...”
Gavin: “...”
In that moment, Gavin's expression turned profoundly strange, like he was fighting back laughter. His mouth corners twitched.
Adlai pressed on, oblivious.
“Think you can waltz out after crossing this threshold? Before you die, why not let me—”
“—Fuck your ancestors!”
Boom! Heinrich whirled with a roar and drove a foot into Adlai's chest. The apprentice flew back!
The kick landed viciously. The Emperor had never been this enraged in his life. Adlai sailed over ten meters without a chance to scream! A shadow flashed. Heinrich seized Adlai's right arm and wrenched it with a crisp snap!
“Aaaaaaah—!”
Adlai's scream shattered the silence. His arm tore free in a spray of blood!
“Stop that, you bastard!” Dak roared and lunged. But the world blurred. Someone pinned him tight.
“You?” Dak focused and sneered at Gavin. “Get off me, or I'll—”
“Do what to me?” Gavin smiled.
Dak's eyes locked. Then they quivered madly. Gavin's pupils flashed red. Countless black patterns swirled up from the bloody depths, spreading across half his face in an instant—like living venomous serpents crawling from neck to fingertips.
Dak went rigid.
“D-Dark... Star Warrior Mark...”
Gavin grinned oddly.
“Hello, junior.”
He seized Dak's throat and slammed him viciously to the ground with a whoosh!
The Dark Star Mark belonged only to official warriors—the higher the rank, the more prominent. An apprentice like Dak could never imagine snaring a senior. His head hit so hard he reeled. As he struggled to fight back, cold steel kissed his neck—
Gavin had drawn the fruit knife from his boot sheath. With a slash, he tore the black armor from the neck joint. It peeled away like a butcher skinning a hog. Dak thrashed. Gavin smashed a fist into his eye socket—splurt! The eyeball burst!
“S-Spare me! Mercy, senior—mercy!”
Dak shrieked in agony. Gavin didn't pause. Rip rip—he shredded the armor into chunks. The arm guard stuck fast. Gavin simply hacked the arm off and tore the entire upper-body plating free amid geysers of blood.
“Aaah—! Aaaaah—”
Dak rolled in torment. Gavin booted him aside and stripped the glove section, slipping it onto his own hand.
Every move had purpose. The glove activated—fine gears sprang from the fingertips. He snatched the other glove to toss to His Imperial Majesty but recoiled with a hiss, averting his face.
“That's enough! Heinrich!”
Behind him came a wet splat—some part of Adlai hitting the floor. Heinrich snarled,
“Enough of what?! These scum deserve far worse—!”
Gavin didn't know what to say. They just groped you, and this is Alpha thinking...
Heinrich stormed over. The stench of blood was so thick Gavin instinctively stepped back half a pace. He offered the glove. As he started to explain its use, his peripheral caught movement—the nearby office door had cracked open. A tall, familiar figure stood there.
Even Heinrich sensed it. He turned—and froze.
It was a Dark Star Hall high-rank warrior. Eyes blazing red, body etched in black marks. He stood rigid. His aura was overwhelmingly sharp and powerful, yet his face was vacant and dull—like a sleepwalker lost in haze.
The sight chilled Heinrich's blood.
After a long moment, he whispered in disbelief,
“A-Aaron...”