Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chapter 533: Star, the Beast (4)

Entangled with the Divine Tree vines, Tiamat had become chaos itself, running wild and terrorizing everyone. With just one [Dragon Breath], she sent many of the Star Signs plummeting, and with a whip of her root-covered tail, she destroyed the sky on the bottom of the world. Her fog had also turned the blue world black, much to the Star Signs’ horror.

『S-she has to be stopped somehow!』

『Shit! How are we even supposed to stop her?!』

『... She has almost completely destroyed this dimension now! It can’t be saved! Let’s retreat!』

『To where? Where can we even run off now?』

『A wormhole! We can toss her over to the Great Universe!』

『How in the world are we supposed to throw someone with such a high Divine Class?! We can’t even get near her!』

『Are you just going to let her keep running wild, then?!』

『You go do it then!』

『<Horoscope>… If only <Horoscope> was still around—no, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess if we at least had <Purple Star Astrology>!』

The situation had rendered the Star Signs helpless. After all, since they had always been on the invading side, they had not bothered to prepare defenses or countermeasures against invasions. On top of that, although Chang-Sun wasn’t aware of it, they had recently gone through a very rough time due to <Dull Darkness>, who had destroyed the majority of the Imaginary Plane, preventing it from further sustaining itself.

The energy of Nyx had already spread in some parts of the world, turning those areas into its territory. Repairing the damages alone was already a big problem in itself. However, now, they also had to deal with the Beast that Chang-Sun had dropped into their dimension. The situation was giving them headaches.

Above all, most of the Star Signs’ best fighters had recently plummeted in the Great Universe. There was no way they could stop Tiamat the Beast on their own…

[A <Star Fragment> has been dropped!]

[A <Star Fragment> has been dropped!]

…

Chang-Sun ran across the Star Sign camp, which was engulfed in chaos. The longer Tiamat ran wild, the more <Star Fragments> rained down, which greatly helped him.

[You have absorbed a <Star Fragment>.]

[You have absorbed a <Star Fragment>.]

…

[You have absorbed the divine power of a <Myth>.]

[You have absorbed the divinity of a <Myth>.]

…

Chang-Sun had experienced Celestial-Cannibalizing Star Signs back at the Tower. Hence, he had no trouble absorbing these <Star Fragments>. Although they contained memories and energy of Star Signs, with his Divine Class already close to the level of an Emperor, he quelled them with ease.

Paaah…!

As faint <Starlight> circled Chang-Sun, he saw Richardus in the distance. With his arms spread wide, he was also absorbing <Star Fragments>.

Paah―!

Chang-Sun disappeared.

Swoosh―!

He then showed up behind Richardus, his [Foretelling Eye] already blazing. He quickly mixed his <Supreme Sacred Light> and <Darkness>, creating sunset-colored <Duskfall> sparks.

Rummmble!

Chang-Sun swung down [Gungnir] as hard as he could, turning his <Duskfall> sparks into a Rádĭus bolt. Right after, his attack flew straight toward the top of Richardus’s head.

Shock enveloped Richardus’ expression as soon as he detected Chang-Sun’s presence. Quickly turning around, he extended his arm and, using most of the <Star Fragments> that he had just tried to absorb, unleashed an attack strong enough to turn most star systems upside down.

Rummmmmble―!

However, Chang-Sun just easily tore it apart using [Gungnir]. Right after, he closed the distance between them and thrust his spear toward Richardus’ left chest.

“Keough…!”

Richardus staggered backward, narrowly avoiding getting his heart stabbed. However, he still lost the arm that he had used to block [Gungnir].

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Chang-Sun closed in on him and stabbed him in the left chest using [Tiamat's Snaggletooth].

Staaaaab!

Feeling suffocated, Richardus screamed silently. He didn’t simply get injured. Chang-Sun had also coated the blade of his sword with a curse using [Blood Toxin].

[The Celestial ‘New Tian Shi Yuan’ has been infected with ‘Gaia's Curse’!]

Richardus gritted his teeth and drew up every ounce of his strength to push away Chang-Sun. However, all his veins, starting from the ones around the hole in his left chest, swelled up, making them look as if they would explode at any moment.

Turning pale, he exclaimed, “What… in the world… did you do…?!

Richardus desperately tried to recover using his <Star Fragments>, but [Gaia's Curse] disintegrated his <Myths> much faster.

“I like this look on you much more,” Chang-Sun commented. He didn’t even bother hiding his sneer. “You’re going through the same brutality you put Father through.”

Richardus gritted his teeth. “You dipshit…!”

Chang-Sun laughed as he disassembled [Gungnir]. “Despite all your pompous talk, now that you’re faced with a crisis, you don’t even hesitate to cuss vulgarly.”

He held the [Twilight Spear] in his right hand and had the four slayer swords circle him. Moreover, he also pulled out all of Ou Yezi’s Fine Swords that he had collected, namely the [Yuchang Sword], [Zhan Lu Sword], [Chunjun Sword], [Juque Sword], [Shengxie Sword], and [Shu Lou Sword]. He then pointed them all at Richardus.

“I want to see if you still won’t change right before your death.”

Getting a bad feeling about the situation, Richardus tried to flee. He originally planned to subdue and ask Chang-Sun how the fuck [Gaia's Curse] could be undone. However, with all of Chang-Sun’s weapons laced with [Gaia’s Curse], he decided that now wasn’t the best time to do that!

Since even ‘Scorpio’ had been extremely careful in handling the curse due to its lethality, Richardus couldn’t understand how Chang-Sun was using the Mother Terra Celestial’s ability freely. Putting the thought aside, he focused on getting out of this predicament.

Chang-Sun’s cold smile deepened. “You’re already too late.”

Slash, stab, slash―!

The four slayer swords and Ou Yezi’s Fine Swords turned into rays of light and flew at Richardus like arrows.

Paah, paah, paah―!

Richardus tried to flee using Space-Folding multiple times, which originated from the sage art that the <Chanjiao Sect> and <Jiejiao Sect> had mainly used, not a magic spell or an Authority. Ever since he had obtained knowledge of it from a <Star Fragment> that he had swallowed long ago, he had been diligently cultivating it.

Space-Folding teleported its user to set coordinates by completely folding space itself, which allowed them to move incomparably quicker than any other Skill. Narrowly dodging the light rays using this amazing ability, Richardus began to have hope that he could still win.

With Space-Folding, he could keep avoiding Chang-Sun’s attacks until he found an opportunity to attack him from behind!

Slashhh―!

However, just as he reached that conclusion, a scream escaped his lips. “Aaaargh!” Richardus screamed.

A ray of light had cut—no, butchered Richardus’ right leg, leaving behind a terrible laceration. The wound caused him to lose control of [Gaia's Curse], which he had already been having difficulties suppressing.

“Have you already forgotten whose heir I am?” Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes. “This will get very boring if you keep acting like an idiot.”

Richardus had a lot of things he wanted to say, but the world around him was spinning so fast that he couldn’t speak. Trying to pull himself together alone already consumed a great amount of his divine power. To make matters worse, he had already depleted the power from the <Star Fragments> that he had absorbed earlier.

‘Quirinale…!’ he thought, the word ringing in his ears.

At the same time, he remembered that Chang-Sun used to be Ithaca’s apostle and had inherited everything she owned. However, it seemed Chang-Sun hadn’t only received her legacy but also made it his own.

Richardus had certainly been too occupied with the Grand Heaven League’s affairs recently. Nevertheless, that was no excuse for failing to get an exact grasp on Chang-Sun’s level and underestimating him for being limited to one Worldline.

Richardus clenched his teeth, feeling envy and jealousy rising within him. ‘I-I’m a lion…! I should become a king! Not again…!’

He had admitted to feeling that way toward Chang-Sun and even believed that he had moved on. However, those emotions were now surging from the depths of his heart again. He felt as if he had a devil in his mind, sneering at him and whispering that he would never be able to move on from Chang-Sun, the ghost of his past.

‘Shut up!’ Richardus furiously yelled to the devil.

However, that only made the devil’s smirk deepen, seemingly telling him that he would soon see if it was right or not.

Swooooosh―!

Paaaah!

Another ray of light flew right toward Richardus’ eyes. Hence, he used Space-Folding again.

Chang-Sun smirked. “Haven’t I already told you that that won’t work against me?”

Richardus kept teleporting to different areas within their vicinity, but every time he reappeared, Chang-Sun’s swords instantly pierced him. It was as if they had been lying in wait for him.

Stab, stab, stab―!

Richardus’ left leg, abdomen, chest, waist, nape… Chang-Sun’s weapons continued to stab and imbue him with [Gaia’s Curse], causing him to gradually slow down even with Space-Folding at his disposal.

In combat, the combination of Chang-Sun’s [Foretelling Eye] and the Quirinale space manipulation ability was almost like cheating. Moreover, having absorbed Ubbo-Sathla, he had also built a resistance to [Gaia's Curse]. Not even Antares could match him now when it came to using the curse through [Blood Toxin].

“Aaaarghh! Aaaahh! Fuuuuckkk!” Richardus exclaimed. Spite enveloped him as he swung his limbs around, which had over ten swords embedded within them.

Richardus had nothing but hostility now. It was unclear when it happened, but he had also lost one of his bloodshot eyes.

Staaaab!

Soon, he saw a spearhead protruding from his right chest, causing him to freeze up. There was no mistaking it; Chang-Sun had stabbed him from behind with the [Twilight Spear].

Richardus coughed up blood. He couldn’t follow Chang-Sun’s movements anymore. With [Gaia’s Curse] dulling all his senses, he had been rendered half-deaf and could no longer see clearly. All he could think of now was running away from his opponent using any means necessary.

[The Authority 'Avatar's Descent’ has been activated, securing the coordinates of the Celestial ‘New Tian Shi Yuan’!]

[The Celestial ‘New Tian Shi Yuan’ can no longer use Space-Folding.]

Now unable to use the only ability that he could rely on in this situation, Richardus finally realized that Chang-Sun had only been toying with him. Chang-Sun had been mocking him the whole time to make him scream and fall into a pool of despair.

The devil of envy, which Richardus had quelled with difficulty, woke up again and told him to acknowledge the reality. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to get out of Chang-Sun’s shadow. Although he wanted to refute it, he no longer had any strength left in him.

Chang-Sun looked at Richardus, whose remaining eye was also about to explode. “You’ve become weak.”

Richardus’s heart sank. “What…?”

“You actually became weaker when you took Father’s heart. Have you become a complacent idiot? This is getting too boring.”

Richardus was reminded of his past. Back then, he would spend every waking day training. Since his Divine Class right now was higher than it had ever been, he found it preposterous to be called weak.

“I’ve had this impression for a while now. When you started creating fake versions of yourself, that was the moment you became a lost cause,” Chang-Sun said, implying that Richardus had stopped being desperate ever since he had been freed from the danger of death.

What made Richardus so powerful was his fighting style, which forced him to give his all despite knowing he could die at any moment. When he took the heart of the Emperor's Seat and joined the Grand Heaven League, he gained the ability to create Replicates, essentially freeing himself from the chains of death.

Although he no longer had to jump into combat now, the freedom that he had gained had weakened him as a consequence. [Blood Sword], [Mountain-Crushing Supremacy], [Sea Change]… his failure to properly use any of his trademark Authorities evidenced that.

Unlike Richardus, Chang-Sun always fought his battles himself and never hesitated to risk his life, allowing him to emerge victorious in every fight he joined. Although he had also received many opportunities and gifts, he had never relied on them like Richardus…

The devil inside Richardus’ mind sneered at him as he realized that the devil was right. Every effort he had made was made to become Chang-Sun. However, that was exactly what led him to his demise and failure to become complete.

Richardus wanted to yell, argue, and struggle, but…

“Let’s finish this,” Chang-Sun said. He then swung [Tiamat's Snaggletooth], which he was holding with his left hand.

He wanted to bring Richardus more despair—to make him pay for all the pain that he had caused to the Emperor’s Seat and <Valhalla> siblings. Chang-Sun even originally planned to bring him to the <Underworld> and toss him before them.

However, Chang-Sun no longer saw any worth in doing that. On the contrary, bringing him to the <Underworld> would only be an insult to the siblings.

Slash―!

Splaaash!

Richardus, who could no longer speak, was decapitated, sending his head flying in the air. With blank eyes, he saw a memory of him watching Chang-Sun walk away after a vicious fight.

He desperately wished to be like him…

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