Chapter 245
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 245
Chapter Title: Lesson 47. Twist upon Twist - 5
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Upon learning that Woo Hye-rin's contracted constellation was the Purgatory Gravekeeper, Ban Yu-won confirmed the details from Mira about the constellation and its abilities.
"The Purgatory Gravekeeper has the power to twist and amplify all kinds of curse effects. And by nature, it greedily latches onto every type of curse. It must have ended up contracting with me because of the Changeling."
"Twisting and amplifying curses... Curses are already tricky in their activation methods and conditions, unlike martial arts or magic where mana directly translates to destructive power. And it even twists them."
"To others, Yu-won, your own Authority is just as tricky. Once you grasp the core, curses are actually the simplest."
Causality—cause leading to effect.
A curse can't be established through mere coercion.
You have to provide a clear cause to produce the desired result.
The Changeling, which swaps A and B by creating common ground between the two elements, is a straightforward example.
"Woo Hye-rin's Geas imposes restrictions on herself to amplify her other abilities. It's taking one away and adding another. Of course, with the constellation's power applied, the end result might halve it or double it instead of just one-for-one."
"What about your Changeling?"
"It turns the impossible into the possible. And when the constellation's power is added, the scope of modification expands. For example, if we said we'd sleep in the same bed tonight—"
"Okay, stop right there."
Mira reassured Ban Yu-won that even the constellation's power wasn't pure coercion and couldn't fundamentally overturn the essence of a curse.
It could reduce or inflate the outcome, but it couldn't create causality that didn't exist.
As an example—not one of Mira's personal desires spilling out in an age-inappropriate scenario, but a real situation.
Suppose Ban Yu-won forced an excessive demand on his opponent through a contract meant simply to prevent idle thoughts.
Because no proper compensation was set, the contract was full of loopholes and didn't function correctly, but the contract itself still lingered.
This was the cause.
The unfair contract imposed on her, which Woo Hye-rin turned into her Geas, allowed her to twist it as "payment for enduring it so long" and shift control to herself.
A ploy perfectly fitting the term "curse," forcing the opponent to bear the consequences of a contract they never intended to honor from the start.
This was the effect.
How the constellation's power factored in was unknown, but it wouldn't create an entirely new contract or impose unfair shackles on other Rebellion members uninvolved with it.
Only after considering every possible scenario did Ban Yu-won feel safe enough to leave Woo Hye-rin alone.
"I knew you'd take the bait. But I didn't expect it to be on this scale."
Boom! Kwang-kwang!
Pirate fleets exploding spectacularly in the vacuum of space.
A barrage of dazzling laser cannons and the thunderous roar of hundreds of thousands of fireworks detonating at once raced through mana as the medium, shaking the entire spaceship.
Originally, the plan was to use Conceptual Conversion to slap shackles on Woo Hye-rin and the traitors' necks, then leverage them to disrupt Exodus.
Who could've guessed the constellation would expand the contract's scope... No, Woo Hye-rin must have offered fitting compensation for it.
"That must've taken quite a toll."
"......"
Ban Yu-won narrowed his eyes as he checked the thickness of the contract chains extending from his hand.
He'd expected a spirited retort, but Woo Hye-rin—who'd been screaming bloody murder just moments ago—had gone quiet.
"Gaaah!"
"No, my hands are moving on their own—!"
"Spare us, we're just grunts—."
Meanwhile, the traitors who'd followed him... in other words, the students affiliated with the dimensional pirate group Exodus, were twisting each other's necks, stabbing knives into bellies, screaming, and meeting their ends.
Only Woo Hye-rin was desperately holding back the curse surging toward her with all her might.
"Grk... Mira, nya...?"
She clenched her teeth desperately against jaws trying to chomp down on her own tongue and asked.
A simple Changeling couldn't reverse a contract so cleanly.
It required deep study of curses... backed by exploration of the Purgatory Gravekeeper constellation.
Realizing this, Woo Hye-rin quickly arrived at the answer.
"She... doubted me?"
"From the start, same constellation timing, right? It's all Mira's beauty to blame, though unavoidable. Of course, Mira doesn't blame you. She admits it was her own weakness. Our princess has toughened up a lot... but I find that a bit sad."
The contract's scope being too broad had indeed been the issue.
As the Authority-forged chains snapped, some pirate fleets regained freedom and scattered into space.
The group, who had quietly watched Ban Yu-won's masterful Changeling play out, rose at the sight.
"I'll go, Won."
"Me too. Repayment for the tea."
"Shouldn't you yield to me at times like this, instead of jumping in like you've been waiting? I just reconciled with Yu-won, so you should give me a chance to shine, right? You're so selfish—wait up!"
Conceptual Conversion hadn't only reversed the contract.
The talismans infused with the Purgatory Gravekeeper's curse had flipped too, maximally enhancing the abilities of every Rebellion member carrying them.
Dokgo Yeon, Ire, and Aisha—gripping her transformed True Dragon Sword as a long spear—bickered as they charged into space, and soon the warships approaching to aim their cannons at the ship shattered and exploded in unison.
Dokgo Yeon and Ire went without saying, but Aisha's destructive power—thanks to the perfect weapon Ban Yu-won had given her—was terrifying.
"Ha, haha..."
Woo Hye-rin let out a forlorn laugh.
"In the end... insurmountable."
Three beings capable of taking on warships alone.
And even after deploying that much firepower, Lucelle remained to guard Ban Yu-won, her presence an indescribable comfort.
Ironclad.
Feeling Rebellion's impenetrable wall, Woo Hye-rin slumped as Ban Yu-won clicked his tongue.
"Why try to overcome it? I just wanted to help my lower-dimensional special admission seniors."
"Y-Yeah!"
Kshana, overwhelmed by the rapidly unfolding events, suddenly raised her voice.
"How well Yu-won has treated us... You can't do this! He gave hopeless people like us a chance! My power... the other seniors' powers too! He pondered them with us, helped us grow..."
"Woo Hye-rin, you were always talented, so you wouldn't understand. How hard Yu-won worked to improve our positions."
Another third-year senior chimed in agreement.
Exodus's student members were all the fourth-years and some third-years, while Kshana's entire second-year class and the remaining third-years knew nothing.
"That's all empty hypocrisy. In the end, he was just using you."
Woo Hye-rin retorted coldly.
Blood trickled from his mouth; he'd bitten his tongue after all.
"Picking a lucky few to pamper changes nothing. The roots must change. The walls dividing dimensions, the unequal mana distribution, the Union labeling upper and lower dimensions and fostering discrimination from behind the scenes! Nothing changes without tearing those down!"
"You think conquering the Tower will just redistribute mana across all dimensions?"
"Not just like that. Conquering the Tower makes it possible."
He looked straight at Ban Yu-won.
"The wish you'll never achieve—that's what Exodus will accomplish."
"Aha... I get the gist now. Thanks for spilling Exodus's wish. Not sure if it's yours too."
Good thing he hadn't dealt with him sooner.
He'd learned an enemy goal he hadn't even imagined.
Ban Yu-won didn't believe climbing Babel Tower to the top would bring the convenient reforms Exodus dreamed of.
But there must be a reason they thought that... He'd consult others later.
Yumina probably knew more details than he did.
"What everyone born in a lower dimension yearns for... Brushing it off so lightly proves you can't represent us."
"Us? Don't lump me in with Exodus on your own! No goal justifies crime! Especially not against Yu-won, who's worked for us—!"
Well done, Kshana. Keep going.
Ban Yu-won shared Woo Hye-rin's—Exodus's—inequality complaints, but this method wouldn't achieve anything.
'Things are about to get more annoying. Exodus can't have thrown their all into this. Maybe Woo Hye-rin's rebellion was a test for me.'
If so, what a grand-scale test.
Either way, reducing their forces wasn't a loss, but he sighed at having so many enemies.
As Ban Yu-won raised his hand to finish Woo Hye-rin personally with a tongue-click, Woo Hye-rin—eyes unfocused from blood loss, barely seeing him—suddenly screamed.
"Katro—! Command them! You can do it! All comrades dead, all gone! Why didn't you step up before it came to this?!"
"......"
Woo Hye-rin barked at Katro, who remained silent with head bowed inside the barrier.
"Before it's too late! Now—! 'Command' them! With your Authority!"
Command.
Ban Yu-won's eyes sparkled at the word.
Katro's power to enhance members was incredibly strong, but Ban Yu-won had long thought it too one-sided.
In exchange for boosting everyone's abilities, Katro likely gained some right over them.
If that was the authority to issue commands, it would truly deserve the name "Domination."
Woo Hye-rin's contract seizure was probably planned in tandem with Katro's ability from the start.
But with Katro's recent odd state, they'd settled for extra measures on the talismans.
"Impossible. I told you we can't win, Woo Hye-rin."
Katro finally spoke in a subdued voice.
Did his words reach? Woo Hye-rin's voice grew louder.
"Command them! Like when you survived the Monster Wave!"
"Quellan told you, huh. Trying to provoke me like that won't work."
Katro raised his head.
His gaze stretched from his chest, as if seeing something invisible, landing on Ban Yu-won.
Their eyes met.
"He's seeing my Authority. From the moment we first met."
"Katro————!"
"He could sever a connection like this anytime. If he wanted, he could've easily broken the contract you tried to exploit. He left it alone just to turn your Authority against you. So, again—impossible."
"—!"
Woo Hye-rin kept screaming, but his voice couldn't be heard anymore.
Kshana, unable to endure it, converted all his emitted sound into mana.
Having instinctively activated her power to turn others' voices into mana, Kshana was surprised at her own feat when Ban Yu-won smiled brightly at her.
"Remember this sensation well, senior. Succeed in stripping a voice-based Authority user of their voice, and you might nullify the power itself."
"Y-Yeah... Yeah!"
Kshana, who had felt subtly alienated and anxious watching Ban Yu-won mercilessly punish Woo Hye-rin and the others, finally relaxed and smiled.
Ban Yu-won smiled too.
'Really glad Kshana's not a traitor.'
If Katro's "Command" activated the moment he spoke, then even without Ban Yu-won's barrier or Authority, Kshana alone could block it.
Losing talents like Woo Hye-rin was regrettable, but Kshana's growth made up for it somewhat.
Lilith, sharing the thought, whispered incredulously.
[That's some psychopath-level thinking, Master.]
'That's why I kept it internal.'
Woo Hye-rin collapsed soon after.
Having successfully extracted all Concepts from him and the traitors, Ban Yu-won vowed not to waste their sacrifice and looked up.
"Then, let's begin the full-scale purification of the abandoned dimension."