Return of the Shattered Constellation

A siren went off in Chang-Sun’s mind; he had a strong feeling that he would die at this rate. That was why, even as he lost his balance, he twisted his torso and opened up the [King’s Treasury].

Paah―!

Claang!

Chang-Sun drew [Balmung] with his empty left hand and parried away Taeul’s hand as it flew toward his head. At the same time, Chang-Sun balanced himself as he let go of the [Twilight Spear]. As spears were best used at longer ranges, he deduced that it would be difficult to fight Taeul up close with the [Twilight Spear]. Thus, he drew [Nothung] and swung it toward Taeul’s lower body.

‘This should work…!’ Chang-Sun thought, concluding that Taeul would be unable to counter his current attack.

The nickname of [Nothung] was ‘god-slayer’, so Chang-Sun had a chance of winning if he could manage to at least leave a scratch on Taeul. Depending on the results, perhaps he would even be able to plant Duskfall into the wound and create an explosion, but…

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated the Signature ‘Heaven and Earth Great Shift’!]

Chang-Sun could feel the world around him turning upside down. By the time he pulled himself together, the trajectory of [Nothung] had already changed to the opposite of what he originally intended, and Taeul had already retreated a great distance away.

‘Again?’ Chang-Sun wondered in frustration.

The world around him turned once again, making him feel lightheaded as if he were carsick.

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated the Signature ‘Heaven and Earth Great Shift’!]

The outcome was the same each time. Whenever Chang-Sun managed to balance himself, the world turned upside down, throwing him off balance even though he prepared himself for it.

『You look quite surprised. From what I know, it’s very difficult to see that kind of look on ‘Divine Twilight.’』

Meanwhile, Taeul closed the distance again and appeared right in front of Chang-Sun, chuckling. Then, he aimed a knife-hand strike at Chang-Sun’s neck, creating a loud airburst. In response, Chang-Sun crossed [Balmung] and [Nothung] to block Taeul’s attack.

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated the Signature ‘Heaven and Earth Great Shift’!]

However, the feeling of spatial distortion struck Chang-Sun again, causing him to lose his balance, and Taeul used that as an opportunity to strike the center of Chang-Sun’s chest with a palm strike.

Thuuud!

The shock alone crushed Chang-Sun’s chest bones, but the strike itself contained so much yin energy that it froze his [Integrated Divine Power Circuit], Coughing blood, Chang-Sun was catapulted a great distance away, leaving two long furrows in the ground.

Paaah, paah―!

Taeul immediately pursued Chang-Sun and followed up with two palm strikes. His right hand contained yang energy, and his left hand contained yin energy. They combined into a powerful explosion that swept away Chang-Sun.

Rumble!

Chang-Sun only just managed to sit up and draw [Gram] to block the attack.

Claaaaang―!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…!

A battle of strength between Taeul and Chang-Sun followed. However, Taeul delivered double palm strikes from above, while Chang-Sun just barely managed to block the strikes using [Gram] from below, so Taeul was at an absolute advantage.

On top of that, Taeul’s yin energy was eating away at Chang-Sun’s soul, hindering the circulation of his divine power, so Chang-Sun was naturally pushed away. The sharp blade of [Gram] the Dragon-slayer sword cut Chang-Sun’s cheek instead, blood dripping from the wound.

『Regardless of everything, I have to hand it to you in terms of your talent in combat. No one else has ever dealt with [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] this well.』

After hearing Taeul’s compliment, Chang-Sun repeated the name [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] in his mind, but he really could not remember hearing of such a Signature. If it was Taeul’s Signature, it should have been extremely famous; however, it was Chang-Sun’s first time hearing about it, which meant Taeul had been intentionally hiding his Signature. He had the impression that the technique absolutely deserved the title, however.

Normally, Celestials had the tendency to instinctively or intentionally change the domain they were in, or tried to conquer it proactively with their divine power. As each Celestial was basically a principle of the world unto themselves, their every action greatly affected the law of causality. That was why a fight between Celestials was also a territorial dispute, not just a physical fight.

However, [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] negated all the changes made in a domain by overturning the principles of the world. On top of that, it also disrupted one’s senses, making it hard to tell what was happening. Even if a person noticed it quickly, it would all be meaningless if [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] was activated again.

The series of random changes practically drove Chang-Sun crazy, leaving him no choice but to rely on pure instinct in this fight. No strategies, plans, or martial arts techniques were going to work.

Besides that, Taeul revealing his long-held secret meant only one thing…

‘He’s going to kill everyone in here…!’ Chang-Sun deduced.

Himself, Tiamat, the <Anti-Star> Alliance, the Purgatory Plane army, even the <Stars> of <Purple Star Astrology>... Taeul could very well be trying to kill and eat all the people in here. It was a reasonable hypothesis, as Taeul had been hiding in the shadows and waiting for his opportunity to emerge. His willingness to step back into the light implied that he was confident he was ready to devour Worldline #801.contemporary romance

Perhaps Chang-Sun had unintentionally provoked Taeul to reveal himself to the world again. That thought crossed his mind, and he concluded…

‘...I can’t lose.’

Creeeeak―!

Chang-Sun put more strength into [Gram] and pushed away Taeul, who was quite impressed. The instincts of those who were on a similar level as Chang-Sun were usually dull due to their Divine Ranks. They normally observed the macroscopic world, but were helpless against unexpected variables in the microscopic world. As that was related to the secret used by the <Stars> to freely travel from Worldline to Worldline, Chang-Sun had no way of being aware of it; but despite his disadvantage, he was fighting back quite effectively, surprising Taeul.

Regardless, Chang-Sun wondered what in the world Taeul was suddenly talking about, as he felt as if he had been going through hell.

『I’m beginning to understand the obsession ‘Taurus’ has with you.』

Bel-Marduk was obsessed with Chang-Sun? Although Taeul’s remark bothered Chang-Sun, it seemed he had to prioritize suppressing the yin energy and pushing Taeul away.

Paaaah!

The purple fog around Chang-Sun became redder like a radiant sunset; at the same time, the yin energy inside Chang-Sun ran wild.

Badump, badump, badump.

Chang-Sun’s heart raced, and a chill ran down his spine. However, he could only endure it. Just as Chang-Sun was about to unleash more lightning bolts, and [Gram] was dyed in the color of a sunset…

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated his Signature ‘Heaven and Earth Great Shift’!]

The world around him turned upside down again. Every time Chang-Sun tried to deliver his counterattack, Taeul activated [Heaven and Earth Great Shift]. This time, though, since Chang-Sun already expected the cycle to repeat, he analyzed his condition very quickly. His head was pointed downward, and his feet were pointed upward. The circulation of his divine power was disrupted because Taeul’s yin energy overwhelmed his body, except for his head.

[You have entered the ‘Poisoned’ state!]

[The Effect ‘Thousand Toxin Immunity’ has been activated, blocking the Ice Toxin.]

[The energy that has invaded your system is yin energy.]

[You are required to reach a higher level in the Effect ‘Thousand Toxin Immunity’ to fend off the energy.]

[The Effect ‘Triple Samadhi Fire’ has been activated, blocking the yin energy.]

[The Effect ‘Triple Samadhi Fire’ is unable to block the yin energy completely because the divine power contained within is too strong.]

……

[Toxin corrosion rate: 61%]

Numerous messages appeared in front of Chang-Sun, but Taeul threw another palm strike, breaking through the messages. Right at that moment, though, Chang-Sun activated the Authority that he had prepared in advance.

[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has secured the domain!]

The Authority of Chiron the ‘Sagittarius’ specialized in locking a domain into a certain state, so it was basically the polar opposite of [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] in terms of Effects. The Authority could even stop <Darkness> and supreme sacred light from reacting against each other.

Whirl!

Chang-Sun was able to forcibly regain his balance, and his senses returned to their original condition, allowing him to see Taeul’s course of attack very clearly.

[The Authority ‘Kalos Kagathos’ has recovered completely, analyzing your opponent!]

Tap!

Paah―!

After stomping his left leg to solidify his footing, Chang-Sun spun like a top and swung [Gram] at a diagonal angle, like a huge tiger bringing down its front paw.

[The Authority ‘Dream-Eating Beast’ has activated, firing the first claw!]

Slash―!

Spuuuurt!

The attack infused with Duskfall sliced through Taeul’s right hand.

‘The cut is shallow,’ Chang-Sun thought, clicking his tongue because it had been an opportunity to slash Taeul in the chest. He immediately started another chain of attacks.

Slash, slash, slash―!

[Attempting to slaughter your opponent with the claws and fangs of the Authority ‘Dream-Eating Beast’!]

Holding [Gram] in both hands, Chang-Sun quickly launched sword attacks and closed in on Taeul like a raging storm. Every one of his attacks that shone with the color of sunset was infused with Duskfall, so they were immensely destructive.

Boom, boom, boooom―!

Swish, whoosh, swoosh!

Taeul’s limbs were severed, and a deep cut appeared on his chest.

『What are you doing…?!』

Taeul stumbled backward to straighten his posture. Although he was unsure why he had failed to use [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] just then, he believed he had simply made a mistake.

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated the Signature ‘Heaven and Earth…!]

[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has been activated, canceling the change by locking the domain into its original state!]

However, the message about Taeul’s attack was cut short by the message about Chang-Sun’s, preemptively canceling Taeul’s attempt to overturn the space where Chang-Sun was. Light fragments spread everywhere due to the failed activation of his Signature.

『What in the world have you done?!』

Taeul could not help but realize that something was up at this point, but Chang-Sun just continuously fired off the claws of [Dream-Eating Beast], not wanting to bother answering the question. When necessary, he threw [Gram] into the air while using other swords, including the [Chunjun Sword] and [Zhan Lu Sword].

Whoosh, whoosh, swish―!

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated the Signature ‘Heaven…!]

[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has been activated, canceling the change by locking the domain into its original state!]

[‘[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has activated the Signature ‘Heaven and Earth Great Shift’, attempting to reverse…!]

[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has been activated, canceling the change by locking the domain into its original state!]

…

『…Chiron’s [Avatar’s Descent]? But you shouldn’t be able to cancel [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] like this…』

Taeul looked confused even after realizing what Chang-Sun’s counterattacks were. Even if Chiron was one of the Zodiacs, he was weaker than Bel-Marduk, so it was hard for Taeul to believe that such a person’s Authority could have that Effect.

“Well, you should figure out the answer on your own, shouldn’t you?” Chang-Sun replied simply.

The question was inevitable, as Taeul did not really know a lot about Chang-Sun. Chang-Sun had been devoting every moment he could spare to practicing controlling <Darkness> and supreme sacred light at once, using [Avatar’s Descent] to solve the issue. A slight imbalance between the two Divinities could cause a catastrophe, so he had to be extra cautious in controlling them.

On top of that, Chang-Sun had continuously conducted experiments to use them in actual combat. One of them had been the attack on the Incendiary Burial Island, in which Chang-Sun had acquired a lot of information to help him in controlling his powers. Thus, his mastery in [Avatar’s Descent] naturally increased extremely quickly.

[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has reached its maximum level!]

In the end, Chang-Sun had reached a higher level than Chiron in [Avatar’s Descent].

Rumble―!

Chang-Sun swung [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] downward, and Taeul was forced to admit to himself that [Heaven and Earth Great Shift] would no longer work on Chang-Sun. However, that did not mean that Taeul was going to go down without a fight, as a lot of the <Myths> he had built—no, devoured—belonged to martial artists.

Using the back of his right hand, which had just recovered, Taeul parried away the sword and struck with his left hand at lightning speed to grab Chang-Sun’s neck. Veins bulged out of the back of Taeul’s hand as he strengthened his grip, trying to snap Chang-Sun’s neck.

In response, Chang-Sun held the [Yuchang Sword], which was in its dagger form, in a reverse grip and pierced it through Taeul’s waist; the color of sunset within Duskfall was now blood red.

Staaaaaab!

Taeul and Chang-Sun both used their full power to kill each other, no longer exchanging conversations. Chang-Sun already felt as if his brain was about to fry while trying to pour out his divine power. In that moment, where one wrong move could cost him his life, a thought crossed his mind.

‘[Trollsverd]… If only I had [Trollsverd]…!’

Among the four slayer swords, [Trollsverd] had the nickname of ‘monster-slayer sword’, so Chang-Sun thought that it had to be a weapon he could use to deliver a fatal attack on Taeul. Among all the Celestials that Chang-Sun had met until now, Taeul was indisputably the king of monsters and Anomalies. Taeul had devoured countless Worldlines, manipulated the laws of nature, and built <Myths> however he wished. Who else could be classified as an Anomaly, if not him? [Trollsverd] specialized in correcting abnormalities, and thus the chance of the sword being Taeul’s natural enemy was high… The problem was that Chang-Sun did not have the sword at the moment.

‘It isn’t just [Trollsverd]... Swords like [Nagelring][1] or [Lobera][/ref] King Ferdinand III’s symbol, which was also known as the wolf-slayer sword.[/ref] would work on Taeul too,’ Chang-Sun thought regretfully.

Not possessing his [Omni-Weapon Chest] was the biggest problem. Chang-Sun’s [King of All Weapons] Trait allowed him to use all existing weapons to their full potential, but he needed his [Omni-Weapon Chest] to use his combat sense to the fullest. In the end, all the <Myths> of ‘Divine Twilight’ were connected to his [Omni-Weapon Chest].

Avalokitesvara had given Chang-Sun the locations of all the weapons that had been in [Omni-Weapon Chest], but it would take a very long time to recover them all. [Trollsverd] in particular was a sword that Chang-Sun could retrieve only after heading to Arcadia, which meant he had no way of reaching it at the moment.

‘Or is there a way?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

An idea suddenly crossed his mind. Because the [Omni-Weapon Chest] was a component of all the <Myths> of ‘Divine Twilight’, the weapons had to be spiritually connected to him, so perhaps it was possible to gather all the weapons into one place if the main component of the <Myths>—himself—was present.

As Chang-Sun reached that conclusion, he activated omniscience and omnipotence, broadening his area of perception. Then, he saw numerous lines spreading out from him in every direction. They were links symbolizing the <Myths> that were connected to his [King of All Weapons] Trait, so it was obvious what would be at the ends of those links.

Thus, Chang-Sun activated [Wordwielding] to combine his scattered <Myths> into one.

“Come.”

At that moment, the weapons of ‘Divine Twilight’ that had been scattered all over the universe responded simultaneously, starting to tremble.

1. The sword of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero. ☜

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