Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“…Isn’t this too much? What did we do wrong! We just believed the rumors and went on a potion expedition, and now we’re on a date with monsters!”

“Lapilta, young man, have some adventurous spirit.”

“One wrong adventure and we’re done for.”

Lapilta, Albert, and Paul joked around, glaring at the Wight Knight.

“Can we win?”

Albert asked, and Lapilta shrugged.

“Even a wooden shield is still a shield. It’s my main weapon. With a shield, I can even take on an ogre.”

“I see. So, you defend, I attack, and Paul supports with ranged attacks…?”

Paul nodded.

“We have a chance. We can definitely beat the other Wights.”

“Really? Then….”

Lapilta gripped his wooden shield.

“Let’s go.”

***

Belatedly arriving, Loki stared at the mercenaries and slaves being brutally murdered—no, devoured.

The Wights, who were feasting on the mercenaries’ and slaves’ entrails, sensed his presence and looked up at Loki.

-Krrr….

Black blood bubbled like foam from the Wight’s mouth, accompanied by a gurgling sound.

Loki sighed.

A Wight opened its mouth wide and charged.

Loki grabbed its head.

Startled by the faint splatter of black blood and [the] Worm Pest, he twisted his body to avoid it.

Glancing at Selot, whom he was holding, Loki threw the Wight he was holding at the other Wights charging at him.

‘Annoying.’

Another Wight charged. He kicked it away.

Dozens of Wights swung swords or thrust spears they were holding.

Loki dodged them while moving forward.

‘There are quite a few in front and behind. They said it was a rural village, but was it actually more than that?’

The number was countless, as if all the villagers and soldiers of the fortress were infected.

Loki avoided the Wights’ attacks to avoid getting dirty as much as possible.

And when he arrived at the end of the secret passage, in a wide space, he could see familiar faces.

“…Haa… haa… Damn it! Crap!”

Lapilta, breathing heavily, held the wooden shield that the mercenaries had abandoned.

Next to him, Albert was collapsed with blood flowing from his head, and Paul was lying down, having dropped his staff, as if he had lost consciousness.

Only Azar was unharmed, using Albert and Paul as shields, covering their heads and bodies, trembling with fear.

The Wight Knight stood tall in front of them.

“…He seems quite strong.”

As soon as Loki finished speaking, the Wight Knight swung his morning star at Lapilta.

Despite being a simple motion of striking from left to right, the speed was very fast, and the power was especially tremendous.

Lapilta quickly turned his shield to the left.

His specialty.

Divinity, [Iron Wall]. [A power that temporarily amplifies the durability of an object in hand or the body.]

When he used his Divinity, a transparent light surrounded the wooden shield.

Lapilta thought that even a rotten, moldy wooden shield could easily withstand the attacks of most knights.

But….

Crack!

The technique was easily shattered.

The sharp thorns embedded in the head of the morning star collided with the shield, dulling the edges. At the same time, a crack formed in the center of the shield, and it shattered into fragments.

The Wight Knight smiled through his helmet and didn’t stop swinging the morning star.

Rather, he put more strength into it, trying to blow Lapilta away. But Lapilta quickly spun his body to avoid it and charged at the Wight Knight.

He quickly grabbed a sword that had fallen nearby and stabbed it into the Wight Knight’s plate mail. No, he stabbed it, but he couldn’t pierce it.

“…Ha, this… is something.”

Lapilta froze, still stabbing the Wight Knight.

His ability was to ‘maximize defense,’ not to sharpen blunt blades.

With a blade with all its teeth missing, he wouldn’t be able to pierce the knight’s armor, let alone pierce the Wight’s skin even if there was no armor.

“I guess… it was impossible….”

Suddenly, his body was thrown away.

The Wight Knight spun 360 degrees this time, swinging the morning star at him.

Lapilta was thrown away, hit the ceiling, and then bounced back to the floor.

A loud thud of a large lump of meat falling was heard, along with the terrible sound of bones breaking.

“Ugh… ack! Damn it! Crap…! That’s why… Worm Pest is… disgusting….”

When infected, even ordinary people are granted a body comparable to a monster, or even stronger. So, it goes without saying for trained ordinary soldiers or even stronger knights who have undergone extreme training.

The Wight Knight in front of him was a monster who could easily take on about three Forest Emperors, Ogres.

“…….”

Loki quietly started walking.

The Wight Knight was surrounded by other monsters, completely encircled.

Completely cornered.

Azar, trembling, discovered Loki and grabbed his pants leg.

“Hey! Nord! D, do something! If you save me, I’ll give you everything! I’ll give you all my fortune! I’ll give you everything I have, so please save me from these guys….”

Loki looked at him, tilted his head, lifted the grabbed leg, and kicked Azar away.

“Ugh?!”

Azar was thrown in front of the Wights.

“W, what are you doing?! What is this…!”

Just as Azar was about to shout at Loki with red eyes, his mouth was blocked by a red hand.

The Wights grabbed his head, body, arms, and legs one by one.

“Uuuugh?!”

Azar tried to shake his head and struggle, but he couldn’t even budge against the Wights’ grip. Rather, the Wights each pulled the part they grabbed in all directions as if it were their prey.

“Uuuuuuaaaaaaaack!”

His arms, legs, neck, and body stretched abnormally, and gradually his skin tore, his muscles snapped, and his bones broke.

In the blink of an eye, Azar was dismembered and scattered in all directions.

The Wights lay on the floor to lick the spilled organs, licking them with their tongues.

They ate every last piece of meat, every drop of blood, without leaving anything behind.

Loki smiled bitterly as he watched the vanished Azar.

He didn’t like the commanding attitude he had been showing since earlier.

There was no reason to save him when he was already dead.

“…You’ve been talking too much since earlier.”

Loki placed the still-trembling Selot near Lapilta and his group.

“…Are you alright?”

Loki asked Lapilta.

His body was in terrible shape.

The clothes he was wearing were torn like rags, with blood flowing through the gaps. The arm that had held the shield was bent in an abnormal direction.

His face was bleeding, with his teeth and nose broken.

“I’m… not… alright!”

But he was still conscious, barely speaking.

“How about the others?”

Loki looked at Paul and Albert.

“…This old man is still alive. However, I’m just too old to move my body.”

That’s what he said, but Albert was bleeding from his eyes, as if he had injured them, and was keeping them closed. On closer inspection, the steel boots he was wearing on his feet were completely crushed.

He couldn’t use his feet at all.

Paul barely regained consciousness at Loki’s words, flailing his hands and grabbing his staff.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be injured.

“I’m… still okay. But….”

Paul couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘It’s already over.’

The situation was the worst.

Even a single Wight couldn’t be defeated even if ordinary soldiers rushed at it in droves.

There were 100 such Wights. And there was a knight who surpassed those Wights… There was no way they could survive.

“Damn… If only I had a proper steel shield…!”

Lapilta said that and laughed. It might be an excuse or lingering attachment.

Even if he had proper weapons, he wouldn’t have been able to stop them.

Above all, even if they killed the Wights one by one, the Worm Pest would erupt. If even one touched their skin, it would be as good as dead.

Loki looked at Paul.

“Can you use magic?”

Paul shook his head.

“…No. I have no mana. And… even if I could use magic, there’s no way we could win….”

Paul struggled to stand up with his staff, biting his lip as if he was frustrated.

Lapilta would become the shield, Albert would become the sword, and Paul’s role was to support them from behind. Even with this fantastic party, they had ended up like this in just a few minutes, so Paul thought that even if Hoon was fine, there was no chance of winning.

“…Do you need mana?”

Loki took out a blue potion from his pocket and handed it to Paul.

“This is…?”

“…I happened to pick it up in the Kelt Mountains. Drink it.”

“Potion? I’ve never seen a blue potion before…?”

Trailing off, Paul struggled to open the potion cap.

The smell was odorless, and he couldn’t feel any energy. It just looked like blue water.

There was no way this could be a potion. If it was….

‘…Could it be poison?’

Maybe that’s what it was.

He wouldn’t survive in this situation. Rather, if he couldn’t die, he would be infected with the Worm Pest and become a Wight.

The best way in this situation was only one: to kill himself.

“Drink it.”

“…….”

Paul trembled, as if he wasn’t ready.

-Kuaaaaak!

The Wights, who wouldn’t wait for their actions, charged.

Loki grabbed the head of the charging one with his hand and threw it away.

As the Wights’ attacks began, Paul’s hesitation disappeared. He closed his eyes tightly, put the mana potion in his mouth, and swallowed it.

At that moment… Paul’s eyes flashed open, and he looked at the mana potion with a look of shock.

His heart pounded, and a blue energy swirled.

“Mana….”

…It’s restored? Moreover, all the mana he could have in his body in just a few seconds?! It was something that couldn’t be understood logically.

He only took one sip. But with the best condition, all the amount that would barely be recovered even if he concentrated and spent time was filled.

“…Hoon! What’s going on…?”

His tone had changed.

Loki, who had been turning his back, turned his head.

He glared at Paul with red eyes shadowed by a crow mask.

Paul felt a strange chill at the gaze, but there was no time to hesitate.

He stuck his staff into the ground, closed his eyes, and executed a defensive spell.

A transparent barrier surrounded Paul, Albert, Lapilta, and Selot.

Paul was surprised even as he cast the spell. Even though he cast the spell, the mana didn’t decrease but continued to remain in its original state.

It was as if mana recovery was still in progress.

‘…Could it be, a panacea?!’

Paul stared at the potion, which still contained 70% of the blue liquid, with a shocked look.

The potion they were looking for was right in front of them.

Loki smacked his lips at Paul’s defensive magic.

The defensive magic seemed weaker than he thought.

‘…A single wide-area skill would break it.’

“Then….”

Loki aimed his crossbow at the Wight Knight and fired.

A bolt the size of a spear rotated and was embedded in the Wight Knight’s plate armor. But it didn’t penetrate and ended up just being embedded.

The Wight Knight tilted his head and lifted his morning star to strike down.

He didn’t seem to be in any pain at all.

Loki lightly dodged the morning star and looked at Paul’s group.

Paul, who was manifesting the defensive magic, was concentrating and kept chanting the spell with his eyes closed.

Lapilta and Albert were conscious, but they couldn’t move their bodies and were just looking at the ceiling. No one paid attention to him.

‘I was trying to travel as quietly as possible and find my junior.’

Loki repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘…I guess it’s okay to use a little bit of power.’

Black haze rose from his fingertips and turned into flames.

It was one of Loki’s Avatar skills, a skill that dealt magic damage until a certain amount of time passed once the flames were attached.

Loki rotated his body and swung his fist at the Wight Knight, and the Wight Knight lifted his heavy arm to block it, but… it was ‘penetrated.’

The flames that arose from Loki’s hand melted the armor worn on the Wight Knight’s arm, burning away the skin, muscles, blood, and even the Worm Pest [a disease].

Loki quickly pulled his hand back and stepped back.

The Wight Knight looked at his arm.

Black flames smoldered and gradually spread.

The thick arm melted and disappeared without leaving any ashes.

The wrist and part of the arm that had lost the connecting part fell to the floor and twitched.

The Wight Knight tilted his head at the sight. Soon, his face twisted hideously.

Whether it was out of anger rather than pain, he swung the morning star mercilessly.