Return of the Shattered Constellation

“Shit! Shit…!” Jeong Yoo-Jin cursed.

Wondering how long she had been stuck in this boring battle, Yoo-Jin felt frustrated. She initially planned to quickly kill this meretricious monster and find Chang-Sun, but she soon realized she had greatly misjudged the situation.

Boom, boom, boom―!

Using [Hellfire Song], she created brilliant fireballs and threw them at the Hongsal King, but the Hongsal King immediately cut them down with a single strike and gained on Yoo-Jin. He had not a single trace of soot or a sign of him sustaining any damage. Yoo-Jin used [Dream Hallucination], the phantom magic spell, to distance herself from the Hongsal King again.

Whoomp!

Knowing she was at a disadvantage if she fought the Hongsal King at close range, she used various phantom magic spells to gain some space. She even made mirages to confuse the Hongsal King and disturbed his sense of distance.

If there was one silver lining in this situation, it would be that she was quite skilled at hand-to-hand combat even though she was a marksman-type wizard since Gwak Do-Woon taught her. Even if the Hongsal King nullified her phantom magic spells and approached Yoo-Jin, she could predict the Hongsal King’s next move to some level. If he was too close, Yoo-Jin forcefully increased the distance between them using [Jade Smashing Fist].

Do-Woon was the one who had taught Yoo-Jin every hand-to-hand combat move she was currently using. At the time, she had grumbled and complained about not needing to learn all these, but for the first time, Do-Woon seriously advised her to learn the moves. Although she had been compelled to learn them, they were helping her prolong her life right now. Even if she wanted to return to that time, she couldn’t, but the part that made her regret the most was that she hadn’t even known those times would become one of her dear memories.

Still, she was facing two problems in this battle. One was that using [Hellfire Song] consumed her vital force. It was an inevitable side effect of forcing herself to use the authority despite not having fire attribute mana.

While it could look like she was currently fighting on equal grounds against the Hongsal King, she would eventually self-destruct if she continued to use [Hellfire Song]. She couldn’t let that happen, considering she hadn’t even found Chang-Sun yet. Unfortunately, the Hongsal King didn’t budge at all.

[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ pressures you and asks why you can’t end the fight quickly despite already having his power.]

[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ isn’t certain you are actually his dead apostle’s blood kin.]

The ‘Weeping Mōryō’ had warmly offered to get revenge for Do-Woon together with her, but he was pressuring Yoo-Jin now, showing he was also very frustrated.

However, she currently had a much bigger second problem. The Hongsal King was a monster who could ‘learn.’ He was so intelligent that he gradually learned Yoo-Jin’s attack patterns and attempted to counterattack accordingly. He had also quickly figured out how to break free from [Dream Hallucination] faster, nullify the [Hellfire Song] fireballs without suffering any damage, mess up Yoo-Jin’s prediction about his next move, and slowly close the distance between them.

‘He’s like Players studying a boss monster’s attack pattern as they raid it!’ Yoo-Jin thought, but she couldn’t think any longer.

Rumble, rumble―!

“This is the first time in so long that I’ve had fun during combat. As a reward, I’ll kill you myself and make you my new subordinate,” the Hongsal King spoke as he suddenly showed up before Yoo-Jin.

Although he was wearing half-destroyed armor and was sustaining damage, Yoo-Jin noticed the Hongsal King’s eyes were shining brighter than ever through the gaps in his helmet. That evidenced how much fun he was having in this fight, just as he had said. At first, the Hongsal King focused on getting rid of the female wizard who had appeared after Chang-Sun disappeared, but his plan had completely changed now.

The humans who died in the Changgwi Cave were born again as Changgwis and became subordinates of the Changgwis who killed them. Hence, the Hongsal King decided to kill both Yoo-Jin and Chang-Sun to turn them into ‘general-class’ Changgwis. Unlike those idiotic generals, the two would aid the Hongsal King greatly as he conquered the third floor, maybe even the fourth floor.

Swish―!

Using his sharply-edged sword, the Hongsal King went for Yoo-Jin’s neck.

Boom!

Yoo-Jin conjured as much fire as she could and gathered it in her palm. She then directed its explosion forward using [Jade Smashing Fist], creating a violent wall of fire that deflected the Hongsal King’s sword attack. However, the Hongsal King immediately changed his sword’s trajectory and went for Yoo-Jin’s lower body as if he already knew she was going to do that.

Flash!

Yoo-Jin slammed the staff on the ground using her right hand to cast the phantom magic spell that would confuse the Hongsal King about her location.

Paah―!

The Hongsal King stomped his left foot and destroyed the magic circle being drawn on the ground. “I told you that doesn’t work.”

‘H-he completely nullified the phantom magic spell?’ Yoo-Jin thought in shock as the Hongsal King was about to strike her in her waist with his great sword.

Boom!

[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ anxiously bites his nails.]

“Ahhhh!” Yoo-Jin was sent violently bouncing backward like a balloon that had been popped.

She managed to block the Hongsal King’s attack using the wall of fire, but she couldn’t stop the shockwaves of his attack. With no intention to stop, the Hongsal King kicked off the ground and closed in on her. In response, Yoo-Jin turned in the air and shot out multiple fireballs.

Boom! Boom! Boom―!

The Hongsal King quickly dodged all the fireballs and instantly approached Yoo-Jin. She hurriedly held out her hand forward and drew up demonic energy to slow him down somehow. Being this close to him was dangerous. She had to create some distance.

Pzzzz―!

The fire that had instantly blazed up suddenly died out. Like a candle wick that had just been extinguished, only black smoke came out from her hand. Having nearly exhausted all of her vital force, she no longer had enough amount to activate the authority.

[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ jumps up from his seat and shrieks!]

‘N-no…!’ Yoo-Jin turned pale.

In her flickering view, she witnessed the Hongsal King quickly approaching and swinging his greatsword to cut her head off.

Slash―!

Splash!

She felt pain in her lower body instead of her head. Nevertheless, the pain was so severe that it felt as if someone was scorching her flesh. She bled profusely. Someone else had attacked her from behind.

Clang!

When his greatsword was parried upward, the Hongsal King changed his course of attack and aimed for Yoo-Jin’s forehead, but someone easily deflected it.

“You…!” The Hongsal King narrowed his eyes upon identifying the third party.

“She’s mine,” Chang-Sun lightly sneered and spun like a top, going for the Hongsal King’s neck with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] in his right hand. A will o' the wisp was flaring up in one of his eyes.

[The Additional Skill ‘Cruel Tiger’ has been activated, raging over the opponent!]

Swish―!

Boom!

Rumble, rumble―!

[A firestorm rages over the opponent!]

Right before [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] reached his throat, the Hongsal King successfully blocked Chang-Sun’s attack by holding his greatsword above his shoulders. However, that made the Jigwi’s Eon Fire covering Chang-Sun’s sword burst and spread all over the place like a spiderweb. They didn’t even glance at Yoo-Jin, who had already collapsed on the ground. Although her lower body was quickly being healed, she had no chance of surviving.

“You’ve become stronger.” The Hongsal King narrowed his eyes when he felt how much the sword shook.

They only exchanged attacks once, but the Hongsal King could already feel how much Chang-Sun had changed. What was the accurate description? He had become sturdy—too sturdy, like a block of ice that had been frozen for a very long time.

If the Hongsal King just compared his and Chang-Sun’s physical strength, he would have thought he still had the upper hand, but their current confrontation made him think otherwise. Now, their strength was almost equal.

Chang-Sun curled up one end of his lips. “I think that’s an oversimplification.”

“What in the world have you done?” The Hongsal King asked.

“Well.” Chang-Sun shrugged.

“You must have gone ‘outside,’” the Hongsal King assumed.

“Do you know the Changgwi Cave’s structure?” Chang-Sun’s eyes slightly widened when he heard an unexpected response.

“I’ve also gone through the same curse as you,” the Hongsal King reminded Chang-Sun.

Chang-Sun nodded as all the Changgwis in the cave had been bewitched by the <Starlight> to come to this cave. They then got their souls mortgaged.

“Still, you likely only spent a day there at most, yet you’ve already come up with a way to become this strong? Not anyone can do that.” The Hongsal King smiled crookedly. “I truly have to turn you into my subordinate no matter what.”

Boom!

Putting his weight on the greatsword, the Hongsal King pushed Chang-Sun back, making the latter take a couple of steps backward. However, he soon balanced himself and launched a downward strike on Hongsal King using the [Yuchang Sword].

[The State ‘Cruel Tiger’ has been changed to the State ‘Fierce Tiger,’ activating the Additional Skill ‘Fierce Tiger Dispatch’!]

Clash, clang, clash!

Swish, swish, swoosh―!

Not intending to lose, Chang-Sun planned to overpower the Hongsal King using only his physical strength. Whenever Chang-Sun swung the [Yuchang Sword] and [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], two different energies overwhelmed the Hongsal King. Whenever the [Yuchang Sword]’s divine energy raged over the Hongsal King, white holy light repeatedly flashed like a bolt of lightning, and a dark cloud spread in the air like silk whenever the demonic energy of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] gusted toward the Hongsal King.

When the Jigwi’s Eon Fire hit the ground, it threatened the Hongsal King multiple times. Since his armor had reached zero durability during his battle with Yoo-Jin, the rising heat soon broke it down into pieces.

“Hahaha! I’m having so much fun in this fucking Changgwi Cave! Life is always full of surprises!” The Hongsal King burst into laughter.

Although he was sustaining more and more injuries over time, he was enjoying the fight so much that he felt as if he was going to go crazy. Being able to fight using his full power, have the fun he had when he was a human, and relive his past as a warrior and fighter made him really happy. He felt as if he had become Jin, the heir of the prestigious wizard and bloodline of Prezia!

He didn’t even care about Chang-Sun cowardly dragging Yoo-Jin into their fight to deplete his stamina since he had also done the same by making his subordinates fight Chang-Sun. Strategists shouldn’t be blamed if one were to get killed by their tactics. After all, that simply meant they had done their job.

Swish, swoosh, swish―!

Chang-Sun instinctively felt the Hongsal King run out of stamina. He was bound to reach his limit, considering he had to fight both Chang-Sun and Yoo-Jin.

Chang-Sun wanted to give the Hongsal King the end he deserved. Even though he had been furious because of Mephistopheles until just a moment ago, he cooled down while exchanging attacks with the Hongsal King. Chang-Sun pushed the Hongsal King far back using [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

When [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] released a burst of demonic energy, Chang-Sun distanced himself from the Hongsal King. He then tightened his grip on the [Yuchang Sword] and braced himself for the Hongsal King’s next attack. Fusing his mana into the [Yuchang Sword] caused it to shake hard.

Oong, ooong!

“You’re trying to do something.” The Hongsal King’s smile became more crooked when he realized the attributes of Chang-Sun’s mana waves changed again. He thought the fight would become even more fun.

Paah―!

Chang-Sun activated [Tiger Prowl] at its maximum output. He disappeared soon after, and a gigantic tiger suddenly showed up before the Hongsal King, its jaws wide open.

Roar―!

~

[The Skill ‘Black Mountain King’s First Claw’ has been activated, raging over the opponent!]

~

Emitting white holy light, [Yuchang Sword] struck the Hongsal King’s left shoulder like a real tiger viciously biting its prey.

Boom―!

Crack!

Although the Hongsal King held up his greatsword, which held a great amount of Hohwan Mama, the [Yuchang Sword]’s sharp edge neatly cut it in half and proceed to diagonally slice through the Hongsal King’s upper body. The fragments from his shattered armor were flung into the air, revealing his hideous wound. It was as if a beast had really bitten him.

Chang-Sun still wasn’t done, however. Unleashing that powerful attack emptied his Integrated Magic Circuit, allowing him to draw up his mana again and, this time, activate [Unrelenting Offensive]. [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], seemingly not done yet as well, revealed its second fang and cut the Hongsal King from the bottom right to the top left.

[The Skill ‘Black Mountain King’s Second Claw’ has been activated!]

Chang-Sun couldn’t use the [Black Mountain King’s Second Claw] due to his physical limit, but he finally succeeded in revealing it. As per the explanation on the skill window, the damage of the skill ‘Black Mountain King’ increases exponentially the more claws he revealed. As a result, the shockwave from [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] had become strong enough to blow up the Hongsal King.

Boom!

The [Black Mountain King’s Second Claw] blew away and scattered half of the Hongsal King’s body in the air.

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

Behind the Hongsal King was a battlefield that had practically been reduced to ruins. Clouds of dust feebly rose up.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ gapes after witnessing the attack you had just unleashed.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ tilts his head because it looks like there is something wrong with the skill.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ opens his eyes wide.]

“W-what is this…?” The Hongsal King stuttered.

The shockwave left only one-third of the Hongsal King’s face intact, but he could still luckily speak since he still had a part of his right eye and mouth. His helmet had been completely shattered, allowing his long hair to drape down like a waterfall.

For a very short moment, Chang-Sun wondered if he should answer the Hongsal King, but he soon believed the Hongsal King needed to know.

“Tiger’s claw,” he concisely answered.

“A claw, huh.” The Hongsal King laughed louder than ever.

For some reason, he looked more pleasant and refreshed than when he was about to conquer the third floor or exchange attacks with Chang-Sun.

“It suits you very well.” After the Hongsal King said his last words, he broke down and dissipated into the air.

Crack!

“M-my king!”

“U-unbelievable!”

Paying no attention to the startled Changgwis, Chang-Sun raised his head.

Ding!

Ding!

[Biwi factor acquired!]

[Biwi factor acquired!]

…

[Successfully acquired all the Biwi factors.]

[All the factors have been combined into one and completed a Biwi. You can now designate a subject as a Biwi. The subject will become your subordinate.]

[Would you select a subordinate?]