Return of the Shattered Constellation

Chang-Sun repeatedly activated his [Wordwielding] at full power. Although he knew that it wouldn’t be enough to kill Ubbo-Sathla for good, he still had to weaken her as much as possible.

Whirl!

The explosion filled up almost the entire <Nihil>, blowing away some of her flesh, which then turned into tentacles. Like arrows, they were fired at Chang-Sun. They entangled in the air, transforming into the same woman that he had met earlier.

“Twilight!!!” Ubbo-Sathla belligerently screamed, now covered in burn marks.

She extended her arm to Chang-Sun, but he found no need to stop it. Bel-Marduk had already anticipated her attack.

“He’s not the only one who is here, you know.” Bel-Marduk came running and kicked Ubbo-Sathla in her waist.

Smaaack―!

Rummmble!

Ubbo-Sathla was catapulted away, thrown into the center of <Nihil>. Her destroyed body parts rose like clouds of dust.

They then turned into dozens of tentacles, which in turn were launched toward Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk. Instead of dodging, the two confronted the attack head-on.

[Your ‘Gnostic Eye’ is showing you a path!]

Woosh!

Chang-Sun put all his focus on his [Gnostic Eye], which he had gotten so proficient in using that he could now use it to predict even an Outer Celestial’s actions. When his Inferno Sight blazed awake, a blue line appeared and showed him the quickest route to get past the tentacles and close in on Ubbo-Sathla.

Click!

Chang-Sun disassembled [Gungnir] and tossed his four slayer swords in the air. They danced around him and parried away the tentacles coming for him. He also used the [Twilight Spear] to deal with those who managed to break through the four slayer swords’ defense.

Boom, boom, boom―!

The other weapons in the [Omni-Weapon Chest] joined in on the dance. The whips lashed out in the air, and the shields flew around like boomerangs. They didn’t seem to be following any definite route or technique.

Clang, clang, clang!

Still, they were effectively defending Chang-Sun, allowing him to narrow the distance between him and Ubbo-Sathla.

[The Effects of the Trait ‘King of All Weapons’ has been activated, quelling your enemy’s attack!]

Bel-Marduk was no different. Since he didn’t have a [Gnostic Eye], he used his outstanding physical power to crush the tentacles instead. Perhaps it was because of the numerous Worldlines that he had eaten, but even Chang-Sun could tell based on Bel-Marduk’s divine power that few beings out there could defeat him when it came to pure physical strength.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuckkk!!!”

How. Vermin. Tricky.

Terrified by Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk’s relentless hunt, Ubbo-Sathla simultaneously screamed and unleashed her energy. The two before him were supposed to be nothing more than half-wits bound to the restrictions of Eros, acting all pompously despite being unaware of what true <Transcendence> was. She should have been able to easily sway them away like dayflies.

However, contrary to her expectations, they were the ones overwhelming her. Eventually, she was driven to a corner. Having trouble wrapping her head around what was happening, she couldn’t help but wonder what in the world they had done.

The tips of her tentacles turned into monsters to stop Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk, but even they were pulverized by their might.

Soon, Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk reached Ubbo-Sathla.

Chang-Sun drew [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]. “Howl.”

Zinnnnnnng!

After it had grown a lot larger, Chang-Sun slashed Ubbo-Sathla with it.

At the same time, Bel-Marduk launched an attack of his own.

[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ has activated the Authority ‘Namtillaku’!]

Engulfed in a pillar of lightning energy that emitted a golden sunset light, Ubbo-Sathla screamed.

Kieeeeh!

“It hurts! Hurts! Hurts!!!”

Hurts! Hurts! Hurts! Hurts! Hurts! Hurts! Hurts!

Determined to rip her to shreds, Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk bombarded her with attacks, giving Ubbo-Sathla no time to retaliate. All her defensive techniques were rendered useless. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, Rádĭus bolts still struck her, destroying her tentacles and monsters.

“I have to do something…!”

Father. You.

Despite having lost many parts of her body, including half of her face, Ubbo-Sathala still tried to reach for the gate. However, her mental breakdown prevented her from sustaining her astronomical consciousness. She soon lost control of her power and exploded.

Grrrrrr―!

In the woman’s place now stood an enormous, bizarre creature that looked like dozens of monsters compressed together. The lump of flesh let out a roar that reverberated in all directions as innumerable limbs sprouted all over it.

Where. I. Who. I. Kill. Hate. Kill. Kill. Hurt. Hurt.

With Ubbo-Sathla’s mind now broken to pieces, she began to speak about several things at once. She couldn’t even seem to recognize Chang-Sun and Bel-Marduk anymore. The only thing she could do now was run wild.

She frantically swung her tentacles and engulfed their battlefield with fire, forcing her opponents to distance themselves from her. All that was left in her mind now was a single thought.

See. Father.

Witnessing Ubbo-Sathla’s obsession, Bel-Marduk clicked his tongue in annoyance. He then turned into a lightning bolt and dropped right into the center of the monster. “She just won’t go down!”

Boom, boom, boom!

Bel-Marduk blew away the upper part of her body, exposing the core hidden deep inside her.

Pzzzzzz!

The moment he slammed a mass of his lightning energy against it, a colossal pool of light burst out.

Rummmble―!

Kieeeeeh!

Ubbo-Sathla writhed to shake him off her. However, through clenched teeth, he kept holding onto her, filled with the resolve to put an end to their bad history.

“You have no idea…” Bel-Marduk gathered lightning energy into his fist and punched her core.

Thuuuud!

“... what I had to lose because of you.”

Thuuud! Thuuud!

Bel-Marduk planned to keep hitting Ubbo-Sathla’s core until he had turned it into dust.

“So let me show you.”

Bel-Marduk’s eyes tinged with madness as he struck Ubbo-Sathla with another lightning bolt.

Booom, boom, boom!

Thuuuuud―!

* * *

Watching Bel-Marduk vent out all his grudges and anger, Chang-Sun frowned a little.

‘It might get dangerous if I leave him be.’

Chang-Sun had always been aware that Bel-Marduk wasn’t in his right mind. After all, the man had been fighting Ubbo-Sathla for so long and had witnessed <Extinction> countless times. No one could possibly protect their sanity from such an experience.

Bel-Marduk was slowly being consumed by his madness, causing his <Myths> to degenerate as well. If he were to go completely insane, he could even turn into an Anomaly—which would be a big problem.

However, Chang-Sun didn’t have the time to stop him. Perhaps it was because the energy that Ubbo-Sathla exuded had been becoming increasingly weaker as she physically became smaller, but he had only realized now that the faint smoke rising from her destroyed body parts was seeping into the metal gate.

Chang-Sun could have easily stopped it with his Rádĭus. However…

‘The gate is open? When in the world did she do it?!’

Chang-Sun’s eyes widened. Did Ubbo-Sathla open the gate when they arrived or did it open because of a completely different reason? Either way, he had to stop this now. The image of an Apocalypse Dragon, one that could rip the entire universe apart, slumbering beyond the gate popped into his mind He had to prevent <Dull Darkness> from waking up!

Father. Father.

Chang-Sun agonized over whether he should stop Bel-Marduk or Ubbo-Sathla first. However, he soon came to a decision. Everything would end as soon as the Apocalypse Dragon woke up and surfaced in R’lyeh, and Earth, where Cha Ye-Eun and Chang-Sun’s family were, would be the first to disappear.

He had to stop that future no matter what.

Swooosh―!

Considering Ubbo-Sathla’s energy had already entered the gate, Chang-Sun deemed it too late to stop her using a Rádĭus bolt. Hence, he would follow it instead.

[The Authority ‘Avatar’s Descent’ has been activated, attempting teleportation!]

Connected to Quirinale, [Avatar’s Descent] secured a certain area upon activation, allowing two different locations to interchange. Chang-Sun moved his location to the front of the gate and threw himself into it. Following the smoke, he used his [Gnostic Eye] to analyze the letters that he had thought to be nothing more than ordinary holy icon drawings.

Luminous River Divine Steel Ruyi Golden Shackle Gate

‘[Ruyi Jingu Bang]…?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Grand Heaven Sun Wukong’s great relic suddenly crossed his mind, but he shook his head and focused on looking for the trail of energy for now. Fortunately, the Apocalypse Dragon still appeared to be slumbering in peace unlike before.

Chang-Sun spread his energy to cautiously yet quickly locate Ubbo-Sathla.

Father. Wake.

Ubbo-Sathla, who now looked pale, was reaching out to the part that seemed to be R’lyeh’s eyelid.

Screaming “no” in his mind, Chang-Sun swung his [Twilight Spear], firing another Rádĭus bolt. He then teleported the Rádĭus bolt right behind Ubbo-Sathla to split her in half.

『I can’t let you do that.』

『I understand why you’re doing it, but yours can wake him up. More importantly, why do we keep ending up with strange people instead of Star Signs? It’s supposed to be for them.』

Raaatle!

As holy and evil voices echoed in the air, metal chains flew out from all over the area and tried to catch Ubbo-Sathla and Chang-Sun.

‘Divine Steel!’

Swiftly noticing that the metal chains were made from the same material that was used to seal his power long ago, Chang-Sun immediately tried to retreat.

Clink, clink!

However, before he could even do anything, the chains quickly wrapped around his and Ubbo-Sathla’s limbs, binding them down.