Star-Gazing Night (1)
The breaking news flashed across every screen in the Heavens: A vicious Sapiens is rampaging through the streets.
Yes. The very one you’re thinking of. Are you still telling yourself it can’t possibly be him? It is. It really is him.
Cameras belonging to Eleim reporters, their bodies hidden beneath refraction magic, frantically chased after Nathan’s trail of destruction. His every movement was broadcast live across the entire Celestial Realm. Eleim citizens screamed in terror, emptying the streets and barricading their doors.
Nathan didn’t care. He tore through the city like a storm, taking care of his business with ruthless efficiency.
“Excuse me, could you tell me the way—”
“Oh gods! Heavenly Father, save your people!”
“I’m looking for the residence of Somnus, the head of Galarhorn. According to this map, it should be somewhere around—”
“Security Guard! Security Guard!”
“They’ve washed their hands of it. I heard that because of the Heavenly God’s laws, they can’t stop me no matter what I do—”
The jeweler quickly pulled out several necklaces and hurled them at Nathan. The gesture was clear: take these and get lost. Nathan simply ducked to avoid the gold chain flying at his face, gave a small nod, and left the shop. As he did, he kicked the door he had forced open earlier—in the opposite direction.
The frame surrounding the main entrance collapsed with a loud crack. The Eleim merchant screamed.
“The jeweler lost ten thousand credits.”
“My store—!”
He was simply returning everything he had received. Violence for violence. Contempt for contempt. Rudeness for rudeness.
Most of the long-eared ones, who had never once heard a Sapiens talk back to them, could not understand this principle. To the Eleim, it was an unbearably ominous and horrifying night.
But for some, it wasn’t.
“Whoa.”
At the same time, in a casting factory not far from the jewelry store Nathan had just wrecked, Sapiens children covered in soot stole glances at the factory manager’s tablet and gasped in awe. A few of them nearly burned their hands on the hot copper plates because of it.
“Whoa? Who is that guy?”
The factory manager, who had been cursing while watching the news, whipped his head around. The children quickly pretended to focus on their work. But the moment his gaze returned to the screen, they began craning their necks again over his shoulder.
It was only natural they were bored. They had spent the entire day engraving pictures and letters onto heated metal with blistered hands. The curiosity that bloomed from their young hearts could not be contained within fourteen hours of forced labor.
One boy carefully removed the mold of a handsome magistrate’s face from the copper plate he was working on. In its place, he inserted the mold he had used until a week ago—the one depicting a Sapiens hanging from a noose. He pressed the shape of the Sapiens onto the glowing hot plate, carefully cut it out, and let it cool. When the shift finally ended, he slipped the now-cold badge into his pocket. It was his own little memento.
It wasn’t just the child laborers making badges. Construction workers sharing moonshine, sewage cleaners steeped in toxic fumes, and low-ranking maids who cleaned up the filthy underbelly of Eleim noble society—all of them watched. Humans, orcs, lizardians—every Lower World race saw it.
The Lower World was a living hell. A demon’s land where parents and children tore each other apart. The Eleim were the gracious masters who had pulled you from that gutter and saved you. Therefore, you must serve the Heavenly God’s people like parents.
That was what the Lower World slaves born and raised in the Heavens had been taught. Under the pretext of having been “saved,” they had to endure every kind of humiliation.
But… it could be like this too.
The authority of the Heavens could not crush Nathan. And the Nathan who survived was free.
He violated and smashed every landscape that had once felt suffocating. Many of those places had strictly forbidden entry to Lower World species.
It was like watching a butterfly dance through a crack in its cocoon. The Lower World races burned that day’s spectacle into their eyes. Their oppressed hearts began to beat fiercely once more.
It was a strangely pulsating night.
“Open the door—!”
In front of the locked gate, Nathan’s eyelid twitched violently. The map he had taken from the Medal Guard unit had dozens of points labeled Galarhorn. Stores, warehouses, customer service centers. Even private villas. But none of them were intact.
Most fell into one of two categories: windows shattered as if looted, interiors completely emptied, or the entire building burned to the ground. All fourteen places Nathan had visited so far had been like that.
It seemed Galarhorn had suffered a massive attack. There was no other way to explain this level of destruction. So when a relatively undamaged building finally appeared before him, Nathan almost cheered.
It looked a bit shoddily built, and the walls were covered in graffiti calling it a traitor’s den, but still—surely someone had to be living here.
But the door was locked. Very firmly.
Nathan considered kicking it down but barely held himself back.
“Is this the right place? It is, right?”
Nathan called out to Aspen, who was watching from seven meters away. He pointed at the locked gate of the gloomy mansion. He had hoped for at least a shrug, but Aspen simply looked away and did nothing. Every so often he sneezed, probably from having jumped into the lake.
“…Why did you have to jump into the lake like that?”
“Indeed. I brought it on myself. I told you so many times not to come meet me.”
The words hadn’t come from Aspen. An Eleim man who had been leaning against a nearby streetlamp, panting heavily, suddenly approached Nathan. A massive diamond-shaped hat sat on his head, wobbling with every step. He was carrying a large, heavy-looking paper box. His staggering gait looked extremely unstable.
Somehow managing not to fall, the Eleim came to stand right beside Nathan. Nathan tilted his head.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Ezgel. A humble servant who serves the entire Heavens.”
The long-eared one wasn’t satisfied with polite speech alone—he even offered a handshake first. After enduring every kind of contempt all day, Nathan was genuinely surprised by the courteous approach. But because of it, Ezgel’s posture became extremely precarious. Supporting the box with only one arm made the Eleim’s waist sway dangerously.
Feeling the silent pressure, Nathan eventually accepted the handshake. The moment their hands separated, Ezgel staggered and grabbed the box with both arms again. He barely held on, but the box did not. A heavy bundle of papers spilled out from underneath it, and Ezgel let out a sigh.
Nathan did not help him. He simply looked down with eyes full of suspicion.
“A servant who serves the entire Heavens?”
“In other words, a priest of the Heavenly God Church. You probably already noticed from the hat.”
Nathan glared at the symbol of the Heavenly God engraved on the enormous hat.
“Conclave.”
“Correct.”
“Every Conclave long-ear I know is a piece of shit. This morning, one of them even tried to offer me poison.”
“You mean Priest Appius? He’s a brother deeply involved in secular politics. I understand how you feel. He’s been offering me similar things for the past few hundred years.”
“He told the same priest to eat poison and die?”
“No. He told me to jump from the eighth-floor terrace of the church. Just think of him as that kind of person.”
Nathan blinked. He was quite bewildered. An Eleim wearing the hat that symbolized authority in the Heavens was speaking to a Lower World human as if they were old acquaintances. Nathan was used to dealing with rude long-ears. But how was he supposed to handle someone who suddenly tried to show sympathy?
“What is a Conclave priest doing here?”
“I have some matters to take care of. These documents all need to be delivered to Venessa Whitaker, the owner of Galarhorn. I’m afraid I can’t say anything more.”
He hadn’t said Somnus. Instead of the public name Somnus, he had used the real name that Benny kept thoroughly hidden. Nathan’s wariness tilted sharply upward.
“I asked what you’re doing here.”
“Nathan Maia, I understand your feelings. But punching me in the mouth won’t make a miraculous answer pop out.”
Glancing at Nathan’s twitching fingers, Ezgel spoke calmly.
“However, I can only repeat what your friend said. There isn’t much time left until midnight.”
“What the hell is this damn midnight secret supposed to be!”
Ezgel quickly set the documents down. He obediently let Nathan grab him by the collar and lift him up. The Eleim slammed into the locked iron gate and let out a dry cough.
“I’d like to tell you, but then I’d get struck by lightning. I thought you would have noticed after seeing that spectacle earlier.”
“You’re not even trying to hide it anymore. Have you been following me this whole time because you were worried I’d get hit by lightning? No way. What do you want?”
“You noticed? I admit I’m not very skilled at stealth.”
His senses, sharpened to the limit after walking the line between life and death. There was no way Nathan wouldn’t have known. Besides Aspen, there had been others secretly following him the entire time. At least several dozen. He had shaken off the Eleim reporters hiding with light magic. But the hooded group presumed to be from the Peres family, and this Ezgel, had followed doggedly after him. From the moment he left the arena until he arrived at this quiet suburban mansion.
“Since you’re a Conclave priest, you must know about my immunity as well?”
“It lasts one week. To be honest, I was a little worried. If you committed a crime during that time that couldn’t be cleaned up, the Eleim would gain a perfect justification to kill you afterward. Fortunately, it hasn’t come to that yet.”
“Does killing a priest count as one of those crimes that can’t be cleaned up?”
“To be precise, I am the only person who can help clean that up.”
Nathan froze. Before he could say anything, the collar-grabbed Ezgel coughed and cut in first.
“I will answer both of your questions. Yes. I said the person who can help clean it up. And yes. I said person. You are not the only one who knows the secrets of the Heavens.”
Even though his face had turned bright red from lack of air, Ezgel calmly raised his wrist to check his watch.
“It’s midnight. We can talk now.”
The front gate burst open. In the middle of the garden stood a familiar silhouette, waiting. Nathan immediately released the priest. Thanks to that, Ezgel—who had been caught between the iron gate and Nathan’s fist—tumbled into the grassy field beyond the gate.
“Benny.”
“Who…”
Benny’s pink hair hung low as tears dripped from her eyes. In the end, she ran straight into Nathan’s arms.
It was no different from four years ago.
“Who told you to take so long…”
As Nathan hugged her back, he let out a groan when someone slammed into his back like a battering ram. Aspen, who had been trying so hard to keep his distance just moments ago, was now hugging Nathan tightly from behind.
This time, there was no lightning-filled dark cloud growling. The night sky, with constellations shining like holes punched through black cloth, remained perfectly clear.
For a moment, Nathan set all his questions aside. He closed his eyes and simply felt their warmth.
“I think I sprained my back.”
The Conclave priest groaned from where he lay sprawled in the grass. No answer came. In the quiet filled only with the sound of crickets, Ezgel soon realized he would have to help himself.
“No one’s listening to me.”
“Nathan Maia, I understand. You must want to fully savor the joy of this reunion. I will quickly explain only the matters that need to be settled first, then leave immediately.”
“Wait, what the hell was that bizarre restriction I had to suffer until midnight?”
“Lightning. No contact. All of it happened because Galarhorn lost the Gladiator Fight and forfeited their rights over you. Every person connected to Galarhorn was forbidden from approaching you. That lasted until midnight, when the rights were restored.”
“I don’t get it.”
“It’s understandable. Lightning striking from the sky because of a duel trial. I will explain everything. But before that.”
Ezgel sat down on the sofa near the fireplace with a groan and spread the documents from the box across the table.
“First, there is a problem that needs to be settled.”
“A very big problem,” Benny added, having declared that she had cried enough. She began glaring at Nathan with stern eyes. It didn’t suit her puffy, swollen eyelids, but the effect was undeniable. Nathan felt his legs go weak like a child caught abandoning his homework.
“If you were a free individual, there would be no issue. However, since you were contracted to be transferred to Galarhorn’s ownership, all the destruction you caused will become debt that Galarhorn must compensate. In truth the situation is far more complicated because you caused so much damage, but to put it simply—that is the case.”
Ezgel declared.
“This is the ledger recorded by the priests who followed you around.”
“What did you record?”
“The amount of damage caused by every act you committed on your way here.”
Ezgel began reciting the scale and monetary value of the damages in a monotonous voice. Nathan had no way of knowing just how enormous the problem was. He could only avoid Benny’s increasingly narrow eyes.