The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 406: Star, Conflicts (6)

[00:01:49:98]

[00:01:49:97]

...

When Chang-Sun met Procyon, he found out that the body Procyon was using resembled Jin Prezia from their first encounter in the Changgwi Cave... Although the thought had occurred to him, Chang-Sun had not expected Jin to mention it first.

‘This is your nephew?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Jin was originally from Arcadia, and the Prezia Family was one of the most prestigious and prosperous noble families on the capital planet, being called a Great Family; thus, even Chang-Sun knew how influential the Prezia Family was in Arcadia.

『That’s right.』

When Jin answered, Chang-Sun asked, ‘How can you tell?’

『How can I not? His blazing red hair resembles the sun, and his eyes sparkle like obsidian. Of course he’s a Prezia.』

After listening to Jin’s explanation, Chang-Sun reluctantly replied, ‘...I don’t think that’s the right description.’

Although Jin was very proud of his own family, it was very surprising how nonchalantly he described his family using the sun and obsidian as metaphors. On top of that, Jin did not even look like a typical Prezia after becoming an Undead. Of course, Jin would grab Chang-Sun by the collar and fight him if he said that out loud, so Chang-Sun remained quiet.

『Don’t nitpick the weird parts, master.』

Jin grumbled, well aware of the truth.

『Anyway, can you see the tattoo on his nape?』

Chang-Sun saw the symbol of a shield behind Procyon’s nape. It was difficult to see the full shape because of his collar, but the symbol was quite unique regardless.

『It’s a symbol that only the main family’s immediate members can have. An additional line is added to the symbol in every generation, so he must be from two generations after my time.』

Jin’s voice was now quiet.

『Among the main family’s immediate members... Helsion was my only nephew, so that man must be his blood kin.』

To sum things up, Procyon’s current body technically belonged to Jin’s grandnephew. Chang-Sun had wandered in Arcadia for a long time and gone back to Earth after going through all sorts of tribulations and hardships, so he could fathom what kind of emotions Jin was going through as he himself had also been lost in indescribably mixed emotions right after his return to Earth. Similarly to Chang-Sun, Jin had to leave his family for a long time due to the Changgwi Cave’s curse, so coincidentally running into his family member must have perturbed him.

『Helsion was three years old the last time I saw him, and the boy made a family now... Haha... Hahahaha, I wanted to meet my parents, but I guess it won’t be easy.』

As Jin laughed bitterly, a new question crossed Chang-Sun’s mind. ‘But why is an immediate member of the main family working as Procyon’s apostle?’

Even if priests were comparable to nobles, a member of the main family could lead the entire Prezia Family in the future, so they had no reason to be ordained, since they would have to sever their ties to the material world in that case. Even if nobles had their own reasons, a Prezia would only become an apostle to the Zodiacs or the Celestials whose Divine Classes were on par with theirs, not the lowly ‘Canis Minor’. The Prezia Family was far out of Procyon’s league.

『That’s my question too. Did something happen to my family?』

Chang-Sun nodded in agreement. Just then, Procyon asked, “Can you take off that mask?”

“I don’t want to,” Chang-Sun replied.

“From what I heard, you used to be Alioth’s priest, so is it actually necessary to hide your identity?” Procyon asked.

“If you know my identity already, then you don’t need to see it, yes?” Chang-Sun scoffed.

Procyon’s cold eyes gleamed, and he stopped smiling. He said, “Hey, human. There’s a limit to how much I can tolerate your rudeness. You should have decency and manners as a mortal above all.”

Whooosh―!

[The Celestial ‘Canis Minor’ reveals his fangs!]

An intense pressure containing Procyon’s murderous energy fell upon Chang-Sun. In contrast to most humans who encountered gods, Chang-Sun continued to be rude, so Procyon wanted to break his spirit. Of course, Chang-Sun found Procyon’s attempt ridiculous.

“It’s funny,” Chang-Sun murmured.

“...What?” Procyon exclaimed.

“You’re the one who should be faithful to your role as an envoy. What are you going to do if you get kicked out for acting cheeky before you can hand me the package?” Chang-Sun remarked.

“You ras...!” Procyon was enraged, but soon froze, thinking of how he would incur Chiron’s wrath if he was kicked out.

“The Revolutionary Army leader’s barrier excluded this building from the range of the Channel. What do you think would happen if the leader deactivated it?” Chang-Sun continued.

“...!”

“I think ‘Aquarius’ would be very interested to know that a Star Sign from the faction of ‘Sagittarius’ is here,“ Chang-Sun said with a grin.

Procyon bit his lower lip. His visit had to remain a secret, as the moment Sadalmelik realized that Chiron was on the move to strike her, she would be furious for certain. If that happened, Chiron would negate any connections to Procyon, abandoning him. A shiver went down Procyon’s spine.

‘How can a human be this well aware of what is going on within <Horoscope>?’ Procyon thought.

Procyon had to admit that he could not think of the man in front of him as an ordinary human, but when he was about to reply...

“Ah, this seriously pisses me off,” a voice suddenly said in annoyance from behind Chang-Sun.

When Procyon looked toward the voice, he saw a High Elf glaring at him, exclaiming, “Do you take me for an idiot? Treating me as nobody and throwing a fit in front of me is already annoying, so how dare you treat me as a pushover?”

[The Celestial ‘Unknown Ancient Celestial’ has revealed her Divine Class!]

Paah!

Pzzz, pzzz!

Releasing sparks, Arin revealed her canines and hissed, “Hey, do you want to die, you minor son of a bitch?”

Procyon trembled upon realizing the difference in levels between his and Arin’s Divine Classes. The Celestial known as ‘Unknown Ancient Celestial’, whose real name was Ardrin Tigernmas, had been a thorn in the Zodiacs’ side for a long time. Although she had lost most of her Divine Class, she had still survived and tenaciously pursued them.

Regardless of everything, Procyon had believed that Arin was not a serious issue despite the cumbersome problems she continuously created, so he had intentionally ignored her even though he was aware of her presence... It seemed that he had misjudged things, however, because Arin was not someone he had any chance of winning against.

“That’s enough, Arin. He might wet himself too hard, and it’ll be cumbersome to clean up the floor,” Chang-Sun interrupted.

“Hmph! That’s true,” Arin said with a nod.

Only after Arin dissipated the energy of her Divine Class that permeated the air could Procyon breathe again.

‘Shit!’ Procyon was ashamed of the fact that Chang-Sun and Arin had played him until the end.

“It seems we’ve talked enough, so give me what you brought,” Chang-Sun said, gesturing at Procyon.

* * *

[00:00:51:02]

[00:00:51:01]

...

“So if I join your side, your Star Signs will not only save this city but also give me a higher nobility title regardless of my identity and who’s behind me?” Chang-Sun repeated.

“...That’s right,” Procyon replied.

“But you want me to share everything I find out about the plans of ‘Aquarius’. It’s actually a fine deal,” Chang-Sun said with a nod.

The offer of a higher nobility title meant that the guaranteed title was that of a marquess at minimum. A higher nobility title was very significant in Arcadia, because marquesses and higher were given the Classes of demigods. In other words, Chiron’s faction would help Chang-Sun complete <Exuviation>, and perhaps all the way through <Transcendence> too. Although the offer was meaningless to Chang-Sun, it was what it was because Chiron’s faction was the one making the offer. The proposal alone was very appealing, and Chiron was taking a big risk to gamble on Chang-Sun.

The once-dispirited Procyon held his head high again, saying, “Then it’s a dea...!”

“But I want to change the terms,” Chang-Sun interrupted.

“...How?” Procyon asked.

“I don’t need a higher nobility title, and you people wouldn’t want to keep us by your side either. I want something of equal value to that title instead,” Chang-Sun said.

Procyon swallowed his saliva and waited for Chang-Sun to continue.

“[Elixir],” Chang-Sun concluded.

At that moment, Procyon’s eyes widened.

“Can I have it?” Chang-Sun asked, tilting his head.

“Don’t bullshit me! Even <Horoscope> doesn’t have a lot of them!” Procyon yelled, springing to his feet.

That was how valuable an [Elixir] was. Even Arin was surprised, as she had not expected Chang-Sun to ask for the legendary cure-all, but he had a pressing reason to acquire an [Elixir].

“If you get a chance while robbing them, bring us one bottle of [Elixir],” Thanatos instructed.

“You sound like you’re asking me to pick something up from the supermarket aisle. Why are you suddenly asking for it?” Chang-Sun asked.

“I found out while interrogating Antares with Byeonseong that [Elixir] was necessary to make a cure for [Gaia’s Curse],” Thanatos said.

“What?” Chang-Sun asked again in disbelief.

The Byeonseong King was a great sage, and the Sixth Elder who had told Chang-Sun the location of [Wait]. Thanatos and Byeonseong had been interrogating Antares about how to make [Gaia’s Curse] and detoxify it, so the fact that the most crucial ingredient was an [Elixir] had been a surprise for Chang-Sun.

‘...This is the only way to undo Ye-Eun’s curse,’ Chang-Sun thought, his gaze now sharper than ever.

“Of course, I’m not asking you to give me one right now,” Chang-Sun added.

“Then?” Procyon asked.

“Bring down ‘Aquarius’ with the information I gave you and you’ll earn trophies. Give me a bottle of [Elixir] from those trophies,” Chang-Sun suggested.

Procyon could not say anything else at this rate, so his eyes wandered as he made calculations in his mind. ‘It’s not a bad deal if we can pay the price later—no, depending on what happens later...!’

Chang-Sun did not miss how Procyon’s eyes gleamed menacingly, so he speculated, ‘He thinks he can get rid of us in the future.’

No, it was clear that Procyon thought that it was a chance to eliminate not only Sadalmelik’s faction, but also the cumbersome Revolutionary Army, to solidify the dominance of <Horoscope> over Arcadia. How could Procyon be so predictable? Chang-Sun felt dumbstruck, but did not show it.

‘I’ll make you realize soon enough that you’ve been deluding yourself.’ Chang-Sun smiled coldly.

After finishing his calculations, Procyon nodded and said, “Alright, let’s do that, but I want to make a Mana Pledge to make things more concrete.”

Procyon furtively checked the countdown.

[00:00:20:50]

[00:00:20:49]

...

About twenty seconds remained.

“You’re annoyingly picky. Fine,” Chang-Sun said with a nod.

[The Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’ has proposed a Mana Pledge to the Celestial ‘Canis Minor’ and his Faction!]

[Will the Celestial ‘Canis Minor’ accept the offer?]

‘Lee Chang-Sun?’ Procyon thought, tilting his head in confusion as the name sounded familiar for some reason, but not much time was left. Without thinking any further, he accepted the offer.

[The Celestial ‘Canis Minor’ has accepted the ‘Mana Pledge’!]

[The ‘Mana Pledge’ has been signed by both parties.]

[A record of the ‘Mana Pledge’ will be stored at the <Management Bureau>.]

[If the ‘Mana Pledge’ is breached, the offending party will receive a corresponding penalty.]

[00:00:14:29]

[00:00:14:28]

...

“I’ll make them retreat to celebrate our new alliance,” Procyon offered pompously as if he were bestowing his grace. He smiled happily, thinking that he had finally completed Chiron’s mission.

However, Chang-Sun chuckled and shook his head, saying, “No, we’ll deal with them. You people focus on sorting out the aftermath.”

Procyon frowned and said, “Hey, human. I won’t deny that you won on this one, but don’t take them lightly even if you have Ardrin Tigernmas by your side.”

“I take them lightly because they’re lightweights,” Chang-Sun replied.

“What?” Procyon replied with a frown. However, just then...

“Arin. You can broaden the range of Channel disruption, yes?” Chang-Sun asked Arin suddenly.

“How wide are we talking about?” Arin asked.

“All of Clio City,” Chang-Sun replied.

“Are you not even going to be subtle in enslaving me? Urgh, I won’t be able to lay low any longer,” Arin grumbled.

Nevertheless, she did not turn down Chang-Sun’s request. At that moment, she slammed the table, sending out concentric waves that spread throughout the entirety of Clio City.

Thump...!

[The Celestial ‘Unknown Ancient Celestial’ has temporarily declared Clio City as her divine ground!]

[Disconnecting all external Channelings.]

[The other Star Signs who have been observing Clio City have been forcibly logged out.]

[Unable to intervene from outside.]

[Unable to observe the divine ground from outside.]

...

[The number of Star Signs in the temporary Divine Ground: 27.]

A dome-shaped, translucent barrier encircled Clio City.

[Many Star Signs have sent complaints to the <Management Bureau>!]

[The <Management Bureau> declares that the bureau is unable to intervene in the matter.]

[The Celestial ‘Lacerta’ is quite puzzled about losing connection to <Horoscope>!]

[The Celestial ‘Hydrus’ tells the Star Signs around him that something is wrong and they should quickly bring <Extinction> to Clio City.] ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴoᴠel ꜰɪre.nᴇt

...

[The Celestial ‘Ursa Major’ is feeling a premonition!]

‘Blocking external communication...?’ Procyon thought as he turned to look at Chang-Sun and Arin, getting a feeling that things had taken an odd turn.

[00:00:08:56]

[00:00:08:55]

...

“Ha!”

Less than ten seconds were left until <Extinction>, so Procyon was confused by Chang-Sun’s laughter... and yet he found Chang-Sun’s eyes somewhat familiar.

At that moment, Procyon belatedly remembered the identity of the one whom the name ‘Lee Chang-Sun’, which he had seen while forming the Mana Pledge, belonged to.

‘Wait a minute!’

The moment Procyon came to that realization...

Woosh!

A navy blue flame blazed in Chang-Sun’s eye as he revealed his hidden Divine Class.

[The Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ has revealed his Divine Class!]

[The Authority ‘Execution Sword’ has been activated.]

Ratttle―!

Scarlet sunset arrived from the sky, and the creepy sound of metal chains filled the air.

‘N-No!’ Procyon finally realized that his faction had taken the hand of someone they should never have partnered up with.