Chapter 205
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Lesson 40. No Alien Allowed - 5
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“Eek! You startled me!”
Kang Eun-young cried out in surprise upon suddenly seeing her daughter right in front of her.
But she also seemed somewhat relieved.
“Why are you here? I heard strange things are swarming the skies everywhere, causing total chaos... Ah, Yu-won must have sent you! Look at our good boy, keeping his promise to Mom like clockwork.”
Meanwhile, Ban Yu-mi—who had been half-forcibly shoved back to Korea via her little brother Ban Yu-won’s spatial teleportation—winced and furrowed her brow as she watched her mother relax, bringing up that promise with her son.
“What promise did you make with Ban Yu-won? Something involving me?”
“Huh?”
“Ban Yu-won said you and I were in danger.”
Ban Yu-mi was in a foul mood right now.
She hated how her little brother knew all sorts of things she didn’t and was toying with her from above her head like that. And it pissed her off even more that she was so powerless she had to be protected by him.
“Yu-mi.”
“He definitely said that, right? But the whole Earth is in danger now. Mom, tell me. Why are just you and I in danger? He knows, but why don’t I?”
But what irritated her most of all was her own self, secretly thrilled despite everything.
She knew she shouldn’t feel this way... but the filthy, vulgar delusion she’d harbored in secret since childhood.
Yes, a delusion too base and sordid to call a mere wish or fantasy—it was swelling up with the expectation that it might actually come true.
She couldn’t tolerate herself like that.
“Yu-won said that...?”
Kang Eun-young’s face filled with pity for a moment at her daughter’s words, but then it hardened like a different person had taken over as she began firmly pushing her daughter’s back.
“We’ll talk later. For now, let’s get to the shelter with Mom and Dad—hurry!”
“Mom, please. I’m the leader of the world’s top combat guild. Why the hell would I hide in a shelter?”
“You still need to hide right now!”
“So why?”
Ban Yu-mi’s voice now carried conviction rather than mere doubt.
In truth, she’d sensed something off for a while now.
Ever since the world changed, her mother had been acting suspiciously far too often.
Sure, plenty of people couldn’t adapt to the flipped world, but her mother’s issue felt different in nature.
It seemed like she was hiding worries and secrets from the family, which was frustrating. But with the only other person at home being her hopelessly dense husband, no one else had noticed Kang Eun-young’s odd behavior.
It’ll sort itself out over time. At least she’ll tell her daughter eventually, Ban Yu-mi had thought, letting months slip by.
And now, before she could even hear the full story from her mother’s lips, this mess had exploded.
“Sweetie, we don’t have time to argue. Let’s head to the shelter Father prepared first, then talk.”
“...Mom, you know where these bastards invading Earth came from, don’t you?”
“Ugh...!”
But her little brother was different.
In less than half a year, her unrecognizably grown brother had eyes that seemed to pierce right through people’s hearts.
He pretended to know nothing and acted casual, but Ban Yu-mi had vaguely sensed he was agonizing over something.
And perhaps the reason was...
“Mom.”
“...Fine, I’ll tell you.”
Kang Eun-young couldn’t possibly miss what her sharp daughter had picked up on, so she finally let out a deep sigh and nodded.
Her son had tried to keep it secret even while conversing with her and figuring things out.
The fact that he’d told Ban Yu-mi directly meant he couldn’t hide it anymore... and given the current situation, it seemed like they’d truly reached the limit.
“But we need to hide first. Once this is over, I’ll tell you everything, okay? Listen to Mom.”
“Yeah. Honestly, hiding won’t matter if Ban Yu-won gets overwhelmed.”
“Don’t jinx it!”
The shelter wasn’t far—just set up near the house—so they didn’t need to travel.
But as Ban Yu-mi said, hiding the two of them meant nothing anyway. And that was—separate from the battle Ban Yu-won was waging in space—because an assassin had ambushed them.
Perhaps it was for the best that even Chairman Ban hadn’t joined them and thus avoided the attack.
“—Danger!”
As Kang Eun-young and her daughter fled the mansion toward the basement, she suddenly spun around and thrust out her arm.
Bang! Her arm glowed red, blocking a sword flying straight for her daughter’s neck.
It was the unique aura wielded by the knights of the Prominence family.
“Mom?!”
“Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas!”
Flames blazed along the blade, and even without a visible wound, Kang Eun-young’s face paled in an instant. In a voice of disbelief, she uttered the name of a constellation.
“Tch!”
“How...?”
The attacker hastily retreated, fearing a counterstrike, but Kang Eun-young was in no state to pursue.
“People from other dimensions shouldn’t be able to enter so easily. Don’t tell me they made contractors on Earth?”
“...That’s right.”
The response to Kang Eun-young’s shocked voice didn’t come from her blocked attacker, but from someone else.
Including that person, five or six individuals with long, distinctly unnatural red hair appeared, surrounding the two women.
This was Ban family private property, but at the level of life-threatening attacks, a little illegal trespassing was hardly noteworthy.
Their biggest commonality besides mostly being Korean—the fact that they were all contractors of the Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas.
“You fools! You can’t possibly handle the Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas at your level!”
“That’s our worry, lady.”
“Don’t you think handling us is your problem right now?”
They were famous ability users Ban Yu-mi and even Kang Eun-young had seen on TV multiple times, but they barely scraped by as average in Oculus Ruber.
Such people couldn’t possibly receive a proper constellation’s blessing.
Their contracts with the constellation weren’t legitimate!
As Kang Eun-young’s eyes darkened, realizing their future and the constellation’s true aim, one of them mistook it and offered an excuse with a guilty look.
“They said they’d give us greater power if we cut off Empress Ban Yu-mi’s head. We couldn’t pass that up without risking our lives. Sorry.”
“Ha? Me?”
It was already humiliating and infuriating that her mother had to block an attack she hadn’t sensed, but now this crazy group was talking like she owed them her life. Ban Yu-mi couldn’t take it anymore.
“You pathetic shits. You contract with a constellation, snag a speck of power, and think I look like an easy mark—?!”
Ban Yu-mi thrust her hand forward without hesitation.
Crimson flames erupted in a straight line from her palm, first targeting the brazen man who’d attacked her and her mother before retreating.
Seeing the flames move like a living thing under her will, the man sneered.
“So it’s that, huh? Even after seeing whose power I wield— Aaaargh!”
—Krunch.
With a gruesome sound like a beast tearing into prey’s flesh, the flame spear pierced the man’s abdomen.
The blaze spread through his entire body in an instant, devouring him whole. And mere seconds later...
Nothing remained where he’d stood.
It was a blaze hot enough to freeze the attackers in place.
“What the hell is that monster?”
“Didn’t they say this power could block the Empress’s flames?”
“Damn it, I knew it wouldn’t be easy!”
Whether the constellation’s granted power was too weak or Ban Yu-mi’s awakened ability too strong, it was clear she wouldn’t lose to these hastily contracted amateurs.
The contractors of the Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas belatedly realized the truth: you shouldn’t blindly sign even seemingly favorable contracts. They hesitated and fell back.
“Ugh, run!”
“But the contract conditions with the constellation...!”
“You’re all dead.”
Ban Yu-mi wasn’t kind enough to spare intruders on family land who’d targeted her and her relatives’ lives. She now forged her crimson flames into swords gripped in both hands and pressed the attack.
“Ban Yu-mi, I told you not to use your powers!”
Yet even as she watched her daughter’s fierce rampage, Kang Eun-young’s face grew ever paler.
Her worry from the start hadn’t been these pathetic contractors.
“Sorry. But it’s already too late, Mom.”
[Yes, it’s already too late.]
One of the attackers suddenly stepped forward, affirming Ban Yu-mi’s words.
His already red hair now burned like actual flames.
He looked transformed into a fire spirit entirely.
Ban Yu-mi swallowed, overwhelmed, as his eyes and then his flesh were naturally consumed by the blaze.
[I’ve already caught your scent.]
Another stepped forward to add.
Why did their voices sound identical despite different speakers?
Probably because all the attackers were turning into fire spirits.
[My servant smelled your scent on that man of yours. I caught it for sure before that traitor escaped me.]
Four men?
Was it referring to Ban Yu-won?
Ban Yu-mi was disgusted with herself for blushing even now at catching that word.
[Now that I know, there’s no more hesitation.]
[It’s been a long wait. Now, return to where you belong.]
[Close your eyes and come into my embrace.]
The constellation’s contractors had all transformed into identical forms.
No—they were the miserable remnants of humans who’d lusted after power beyond their station.
You shouldn’t make contracts unfit for your level; anyone on Union Net knew that much. But true proposals from constellations to humans were so rare that fools occasionally misunderstood.
Being chosen proved they were worthy.
But most constellations never lost out, except when dealing with the tiniest fraction of humans.
[Come to me.]
[The contract with Prominence—you, inheriting that blood, must fulfill it.]
And as punishment for their delusion, they were used like disposable batteries and discarded.
Everything that made them individuals burned away in the constellation’s flames, leaving only the pure will of the constellation.
The constellation’s sole goal.
Descent right here.
Expelling aliens from Earth.
[[[<Princess of Prominence, become one with me.>]]]
“...!”
The fire spirits merged into one before their eyes, swelling into a massive fiery giant that loomed over Ban Yu-mi and Kang Eun-young.
The materials were so poor that it took several to succeed—but the aura radiating from the successfully descended Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas was overwhelmingly intense for Ban Yu-mi, who hadn’t fully awakened her powers yet.
“Ah... Aah...”
“Yu-mi, leave this to Mom and run.”
Kang Eun-young stepped forward again.
If they’d blocked the descent, fine—but since it had already happened, fleeing before exhausting the power in that vessel was impossible.
Someone had to stop it.
“Run and hide. Ask Father—no, Yu-won. My son’s amazing; he’ll find you a safe spot...”
“Hide where exactly?!”
“Another dimension.”
[Haha. After I finally found you, you wanna slip away again? I won’t allow it.]
The descended form laughed vulgarly upon hearing the mother-daughter exchange, raising its blazing hand.
Like her daughter, Kang Eun-young formed massive flame greatswords in both hands, her eyes sharpening.
She had no intention of just throwing her life away.
The descended constellation was beyond what her power alone could handle—but no matter how many human lives it sacrificed, it couldn’t fully compensate for the inferior materials.
If she could just buy time or find an opening to shatter it—!
[Resistance denied. Your son and your man are already in my grasp.]
The descended form of the Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas pointed a finger skyward like a rock star debuting a finale before tens of thousands.
Countless red dots were embedded in the sky.
Slowly moving, growing larger.
[Not just your man. Disobey me, and I’ll burn this entire planet Earth to ash.]
“Ha...! To think a constellation would spout such vile, cowardly nonsense!”
The descent scoffed back at the furious Kang Eun-young.
[You’re deluded about constellations? Our thinking isn’t so different from humans’. Some idiots show off for style and suffer, but not me. I get what I want, by any means. As the master of the unquenchable flame, no need for words—]
But the moment the constellation tried to continue boastfully.
A notification appeared before everyone on Earth.
The next instant.
Ban Yu-mi, Kang Eun-young—and of course, even the descended form—were all hurled into outer space.
Whether it was Earth’s blessing or the system’s default, Ban Yu-won was right there in front of them.
““Huh.””
Ban Yu-mi and Kang Eun-young’s voices overlapped neatly as they faced each other, joined by Ban Yu-won’s.
Ban Yu-won quickly assessed the situation and nodded confidently. Ignoring his sister and mother, he jabbed a finger at the room’s sole uninvited guest—the descended form of the Followers of the Ten Thousand Kalpas—and shouted.
“Let’s fuck that bastard up first!”