Chapter 79
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Snake King's Return
The massive warship was left in utter chaos from the collision, with deep gouges scored across the walls where the shuttle had plowed in. The floor was littered with shattered metal fragments and scattered instrument parts.
At the far end of the cabin stood over a dozen Dark Star Hall warriors, all clad in identical battle armor and black cloaks, like a row of pale, silent zombies. Osroed stood before them, his face icy and overcast, his cheekbones tinged with a sickly bluish hue. But the figure beneath his cloak seemed piled high with bulging slabs of muscle—far bulkier than when Yunes had stabbed him to death before, almost grotesquely deformed.
"Never thought I'd still be alive, did you, Celia?" Osroed cracked a grin, his gravelly voice dripping with mockery. "You talk a good game, but your scheme to stir up infighting in the Dark Star Hall fell apart under Yunes's strength. Looks like turning into an Omega really did weaken you."
Celia ignored the barb in his words.
"How are you here?"
"Why can't I be? You didn't actually think I was dead, did you?"
To Osroed's surprise, Celia shook his head.
"No, I didn't think that... You've been at each other's throats with Yunes for over a century. I never believed you'd die that easily."
He paused, then asked,
"But what I'm curious about is why you didn't go after Yunes for revenge. Why show up here playing tricks?"
They were only about ten meters apart. Osroed narrowed his eyes at Celia, a smug contempt gleaming in his gaze, as if victory was already in hand.
"Guess."
A vague, unreliable hunch flickered in Celia's mind. As he hesitated, a voice suddenly rang out from not far behind him.
"He's not here waiting for you. We just happened to run into the stump while chasing the rabbit."
Celia turned to see Heinrich clapping the smoking gryphon shuttle before striding forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, staring Osroed down face-to-face.
"This move of yours is actually aimed at Yunes. You know his plan, figured he'd come to the Void Star to get Celia's memories. The missing Void Star natives and the serpent tide—they're your doing, right? But I'm still wondering: what makes you capable of pulling off something this big?"
Before the words even finished, Celia whipped his head toward him, his expression screaming: *How do you know my memories are on the Void Star?*
Heinrich pretended not to notice and turned his head to cough.
"Worthily the Galactic Emperor, Your Majesty Heinrich..." Osroed chuckled, the sound even more grating than sandpaper on metal. "No wonder you tamed Celia so thoroughly. But too bad—the whole warship's under my control now. You're both fish on my chopping block, to be dealt with as I please."
The emperor and the marshal both snorted inwardly in unison but showed nothing outwardly. Celia asked calmly,
"So, how do you plan to deal with us?"
Osroed took a step forward, his hulking frame casting a massive shadow across the metal deck.
"You're a silver-tongued Omega, and the emperor's a green kid who doesn't know the heights of heaven. But I'll graciously stoop to team up with you against Yunes. How about it?"
The two exchanged a glance, each seeing a flicker of understanding in the other's eyes.
"You want to team up?" Celia turned to ask. "What's in it for us?"
Osroed snorted derisively as expected, his mockery plain on his face.
"I'd say you've lost any bargaining position, Celia. No weapons, no ship—eighteen Dark Star Hall warriors could tear you to shreds in an instant... If I were you, I'd surrender and cooperate nicely right now. After all, Yunes wants to use the Alliance to attack the Empire. You want him gone even more than I do, don't you?"
Yunes might superficially be partnering with the Konsetlin family to help the Alliance "restore democracy and strike back at the Empire," but in truth, he just wanted to control the weakened Alliance and turn it into the Dark Star Hall's puppet. Going further, the Alliance still held popular support despite its rot, so the Dark Star Hall—branded as terrorists—could use it to whitewash themselves and openly carve out a slice of the galaxy.
But the faction led by Osroed opposed the plan—not because they didn't want power, but because their internal power struggles had dragged on so long they just wanted to sabotage it to topple Yunes's group.
Celia's conflict with the Empire was irreconcilable, but he was even less keen on letting the Alliance become the Dark Star Hall's puppet. On that point, he and Osroed were aligned. He narrowed his eyes at Osroed for a moment before replying noncommittally,
"You're right, dear junior brother. But don't forget—Yunes outclasses you by miles. How's a mere serpent tide supposed to take him down? If he crushes you easily, what difference does it make if I surrender now or not?"
The question cut sharp and merciless.
Osroed narrowed his eyes, then sneered after a moment.
"You're underestimating me, Celia... Back then, you toppled the Dark Star Hall by sweet-talking the elders. Now Yunes holds all the power because his galactic ambitions won their support. But you think you two could do it and I, Osroed, can't?"
Smug pride shone undisguised in his eyes as he said,
"You think this kill trap on a planetary stage could happen without the full backing of the Dark Star Hall elders?"
Before the words faded, a thin crack split open behind him!
Space fissured like a crumbling city wall. The black rift widened rapidly with a chilling *crack-crack* sound. Heinrich and Celia both stepped back half a pace as a massive hand thrust out from the void—
The hand was half the size of a man, deathly pale with bluish knuckles, its crevices stuffed with nauseating crimson gore. It seized the rift's edge and tore viciously—*crack!*
The black hole pierced heaven and earth. A bone-white mask emerged first, followed by its colossal, mountain-like body swathed in layers of shroud-like black cloaks. It hovered midair like a zombie, looming abruptly!
Celia cried out in shock,
"—Mandetiras!!"
Heinrich could scarcely believe his eyes. How could such a monstrosity exist in the world?!
It wasn't even human anymore—like some prehistoric corpse squatting in the air. Nearly every exposed part was gleaming white bone, its claw-hands fan-sized, wreathed in faint gray-purple mist—
This was a Dark Star Hall elder?!
Mandetiras?!
"Long time no see, Alliance Marshal. That same smug face of yours... hasn't changed a bit."
A rasping voice issued from behind the bone mask, buzzing their eardrums. Heinrich instinctively moved to shield Celia, but Celia grabbed his arm.
"—Nor have you, Elder Mandetiras. Except for your unwavering support of Yunes."
"Don't you know centuries can change many things?" Mandetiras chuckled hoarsely. "Didn't you end up tangled with this young emperor, Celia?"
Celia's grip on Heinrich's hand tightened instantly.
But then he smiled too.
"Yes, yes, my mistake. The serpent tide was your handiwork?"
"A little welcome gift for Yunes. How about it?"
"And the Void Star natives?"
"No need for them here anymore!"
"Where did they go?" Celia's clear voice cut through the rumble. "You didn't feed them all to yourself, did you?"
The words stunned not just Heinrich but even Osroed.
Yet Mandetiras fell silent. The sockets of his bone mask were twin black voids, staring sinisterly toward Celia.
"They're... all here." After a long pause, he raised a slender, grotesque finger and tapped his hooded skull. "They've merged with me. All become my sustenance."
Everyone froze!
Osroed's group quickly shifted to manic glee, while Celia's face drained of color.
"So that's it, Mandetiras! You knew why I came—the Void Star natives have what I want! You're trying to hoard it for yourself?!"
Osroed seemed about to speak, but Celia cut him off.
"And you, Osroed! Cooperation is built on mutual benefit. If you push too far, I can turn to Yunes right now—the Alliance is already primed to counterattack the Empire—"
"I don't need your cooperation, Celia." Mandetiras's deep rumble interrupted. "In fact, I was just about to show you my absolute power over Yunes—and this strength can control you too."
Osroed started to murmur a caution to Mandetiras, then froze at the words. A rustling slither came from behind the bone mask, like something crawling slowly. Then a vibrant giant serpent's head emerged from one of Mandetiras's hollow eye sockets—
"This, this is..."
Osroed suddenly found the serpent eerily familiar, but before he could place it—*thud!*
Celia staggered back into the shuttle, oblivious, his eyes locked on the snake in undisguised disbelief. His voice trembled.
"How... how can it still be alive?"
Heinrich lunged forward.
"Celia?"
Mandetiras's low laugh rumbled.
"You recognize it too? This is the Void Serpent King that marked you mentally all those years ago—the same one that marked Yunes... It's lived in the Dark Star Hall's depths for centuries, awaiting this day."
With his final word, the giant serpent arched its upper body into an inverted U. Its murky yellow eyes fixed on Celia, gaze like twin nails hammering into his brain.
"—Think it can finish you both, Celia?"
Mandetiras's last words hissed like serpents. Celia's stare locked on those snake eyes, entranced, his mind exploding in a roar.
He plunged into a kaleidoscope of hallucinations. The surroundings spun like whirlpools, forming absurd, grotesque scenes. Gasping, eyes wide, he dimly saw the space before him warp into a vast tribunal—
"...Traitor, can't trust him..."
"Betrayed the Dark Star Hall once already—must kill him..."
"He's the Alliance Marshal—killing him would..."
The stands buzzed with jeers. Chained to a stone seat, Celia faced the elevated elders' dais. An icy, slimy giant serpent coiled up his body, its crimson tongue flicking his face, eyes glinting with vicious greed.
*Hiss... hiss...*
Celia turned away in revulsion. Next instant—searing agony as fangs plunged into his neck!
"Ah—!"
The serpent's venom flooded his veins, planting its evil seed. Dark Star warrior tattoos radiated from his heart, crawling over shoulders, arms, neck, cheeks. Seconds later, they snapped toward his eyes, pupils flashing blood-red!
A deafening roar erupted from the elders: "Welcome back to the Dark Star warriors, Marshal Celia! From now on, the Dark Star Hall and Alliance shall cooperate to divide the galaxy's territories and power..."
Celia heard nothing. Clutching the armrests, he gasped, cold sweat streaming down his pale cheeks to his collar, leaving dark stains.
Countless Dark Star warriors' gazes bored into him from the stands—greedy, challenging. Celia shook his head to clear it and forced himself up using the armrests.
The serpent was being dragged into an iron cage by warriors, but its massive head twisted back, horrifying eyes fixed on Celia. Its maw gaped, blood trickling from its mouth, streaking shocking red trails over its gleaming fangs.
The scene shifted. The noisy tribunal vanished, replaced by a long, dim corridor.
Celia strode through the passage until it opened wide. In the vast hall stood a huge iron cage, silent and empty save for the coiled giant serpent within, its black scales shimmering with eerie green flecks.
Celia halted before the cage, raised his hand—his silver phoenix ring on his ring finger flashed, morphing into an electromagnetic gun aimed at the snake's head.
But as he pulled the trigger, a hand seized his wrist from behind.
"What are you doing, Celia?"
Celia whipped around—Yunes's pale face loomed over him.
They stood nearly chest-to-chest, eyes mere inches apart—close enough to see his reflection in the other's pupils. After a dozen seconds' standoff, Celia stepped back.
"You know killing the Void Serpent King means you and I are free from its control forever."
Unexpectedly, Yunes countered,
"So what?"
"You want to be controlled by it?"
"I want *you* controlled by it."
Tension spiked. Yunes smirked maliciously.
"As long as I never betray the Dark Star Hall, I'll never be controlled. But you, Celia—you fame-chasing fraud—are you preparing to betray again?"
"..."
They locked eyes a moment before Celia wrenched free.
"You want to die with this snake, don't you, sewer rat?"
"Oh? Got the guts?"
"You saw what I'm capable of when I had you under my boot."
Celia's silver gun shimmered, transforming into a short-handled military blade. Simultaneously—Yunes's fists *clang-clang!* ejected twin thin blades, which he leveled at Celia's face.
"Now it's *you* under my boot!"
With the final word, he slashed backhand—the blades sheared through three or four cage bars!
The startled serpent hissed long and loud, its black body lightning-fast, bursting from the cage amid a foul wind!
Celia retreated sharply, but Yunes anticipated it, blocking his path and slamming him down by the neck. As Celia reached to counter, the Void Serpent King struck from above—ignoring Yunes entirely, its bowl-thick icy coils *snap-snap* wrapping him tight!
"Ah..."
Celia couldn't dodge; his striking arm was crushed in the tail, then he was pinned flat. Looking up, he faced a blood-basin maw!
"Grab him, Serpent King!"
"Stop—"
Too late—Celia's free hand lunged for the snake's eye. But suddenly, hands seized him. A familiar voice barked,
"Gavin! Snap out of it!"
The voice pierced his soul like lightning. All illusions receded like the tide. Celia jolted.
"I—"
He froze.
He lay on the warship's deck, Heinrich half-kneeling, half-holding him, eyes frantic, gripping the hand Celia had unconsciously raised to strike him.
That hand needed only inches more to reach the emperor's heart!
"Hahahaha..." Mandetiras's shrill laughter shook the entire ship. "Even you can't resist, Celia. Got anything to say now?!"
Celia and Heinrich met eyes briefly, quickly checking each other for injuries. Then Celia gently pushed from Heinrich's arms. He staggered rising but steadied, brushing dust from his sleeves.
The cold sweat on his forehead hadn't dried, but his gaze was focused and steady. The earlier chaos and lapse had vanished from his impassive face.
"Nothing." He said flatly. "I've got nothing to say. You win."