Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 161

The Player Who Became a Constellation – Episode 161

“Um, well… what about me?”

The female student who had been found looked at the Nord warrior guarding her.

The Nord warrior patted the female student’s shoulder, trying to reassure her.

“Stay here.”

“M-my, my friends…. They took them away.”

“…Yes, we will organize a pursuit team to try and rescue them.”

“My friends… they’ll be alright, right?”

“……”

The Nord warrior didn’t give a definite answer.

He knew very well what kind of group the Black Arbiters were.

If persuasion failed, they wouldn’t just convert them to their beliefs—.

‘They’d turn them into wights [undead servants].’

They would thoroughly destroy their ego and keep them as slaves.

It was truly a terrible thing to do.

The female student’s face turned pale at the Nord warrior’s hesitation.

“U-um….”

“Yes? What is it?”

She moved her lips.

‘If you say the wrong thing, all your friends will die.’

And then she closed her mouth.

‘If you want to save them, do as we say. Wouldn’t it be good to take revenge on those who ruined the Holy Kingdom?’

The female student shook her head, recalling what the Black Arbiters had said.

“It’s… nothing.”

“…If you need any help, tell me.”

The training was suspended.

The Nord warriors began distributing supplies to the students.

Having received warm fur and soup to fill their stomachs, they began to rest, relieved to be alive.

Fatigue washed over them, and some even tried to sleep.

The kidnapped female student confirmed that Cancun was gone.

‘Send a signal when the witch Cancun disappears. Then we’ll confirm and release your friends.’

It was obviously a trap.

But she couldn’t abandon her friends.

The female student held a torch and waved it in the air.

At that, a group in the forest flashed a signal in the darkness.

***

Sharin stared blankly at Loki as if she had remembered something.

Was it because of her gaze?

Loki looked at her and asked.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“…I wanted to thank you.”

Loki looked at her hand.

Was it a thank you for the herbs and bandages?

She shook her hand.

“I’m grateful for this too, and….”

She gently knelt down and bowed her head.

“Thank you for saving me from the angel and for saving the Cron Empire. Oh, Constellation of Sin.”

“…You knew?”

Sharin nodded.

“How long have you known?”

“…Since the priestess willingly followed your words.”

The priestess of Asgard was known as a prominent figure on par with Aum [a high-ranking religious figure].

Would such a priestess listen to and act on the words of a mere Nord?

‘…Actually, it was just a hunch.’

Sharin felt relieved inside.

In fact, she was half-doubtful.

The voice he had uttered was familiar.

The atmosphere was very similar to him when they first met, with his black and white hair.

So she tried it out of curiosity, and it seemed to be right.

‘…More than anything, I’ve seen that uncle in Cancun’s form… so I had a hunch.’

Sharin recalled Kudan in Cancun’s form.

“What’s going on?”

Sharin cautiously asked about the chaotic surroundings.

The fact that the priestess had suddenly left was clear evidence that something had happened in the capital.

“The Black Arbiters have appeared.”

“……”

Sharin couldn’t help but be surprised.

Those remnant heretics had appeared here?

“It seems they attacked Valhalla Academy.”

“R-really? They have some nerve. To dare attack this country.”

Sharin, who had experienced the battle with the Constellation of the Sea, thought the Black Arbiters were truly foolish.

No matter how much they struggled, it would be difficult to take over or harm Valhalla Academy.

Rather, the damage the Black Arbiters would suffer would be enormous.

“Yes, but it seems they’re not aiming for the academy itself.”

“Yes?”

Loki picked up a pebble lying nearby.

“What they’re aiming for is here.”

Loki looked up at the trees in the forest.

Passing through the dense bushes, a Black Arbiter who was observing the situation with binoculars on a tree froze.

“……!?”

Their eyes met?

Loki flicked the pebble with his finger.

Crack!

The binoculars shattered, and the pebble pierced the Black Arbiter’s head.

Wormfest [a parasitic infection] was scattered around with black blood.

“We’ve been discovered!”

The Black Arbiters who had been lying down and hiding in the bushes stood up one by one.

“…I can’t help it. We’ll attack right now.”

There was only one thing they were aiming for.

“Kill all the students.”

Those who had been taken hostage.

They were the children of nobles.

***

‘I see.’

Loki could understand what the Black Arbiters were thinking.

‘Asgard’s influence is growing day by day.’

Tsutsutsut-!

The bushes rustled.

The Black Arbiters were running at high speed on all fours, with swords in their mouths.

Wights who seemed to be following orders could be seen to the left and right of the Black Arbiters.

They were obeying their words like pets.

‘By killing all the hostages from other countries, they sow suspicion about Asgard and twist diplomatic relations with other countries.’

They were trying to isolate Asgard.

It was a truly simple and ignorant method.

Could they really lower Asgard’s influence with just that?

Could the Black Arbiters and the Holy Emperor really become the rulers of the continent again with just that?

‘How foolish.’

The Holy Kingdom had fallen, and all the intellectuals who followed them had left, so they couldn’t come up with a proper strategy.

In the end, their actions would inevitably become simple and extreme.

“Something’s coming!”

Sharin and the other students seemed to have noticed the anomaly in the forest.

“Everyone, protect the students!”

The Nord warriors who were in charge of guarding raised their shields and stood guard.

They stared at the Black Arbiters who were running through the bushes.

“What is that?!”

“Beast? Human!?”

Loki sneered at the Black Arbiters.

Look.

The henchmen of the once-ruling lord of the continent had now been reduced to beings no different from beasts.

It was truly a pathetic sight.

Loki reached into the air, summoned a greatsword, and drew it.

He lightly swung the greatsword diagonally to the left and right.

It was a leisurely and smooth movement.

But at the tip of the greatsword, the atmosphere was torn and space was distorted.

The students and Sharin could see that.

Soon, a slash erupted from the tip of the greatsword.

It flew towards the leaping Black Arbiters and instantly cut their bodies in half.

Squeak-!

The upper and lower bodies were separated, and everything around them was cut in half.

“Keugh-!”

The body was split, and Wormfest and black blood were scattered everywhere.

The upper body of the Black Arbiter fell to the ground.

Forcibly moving his twitching body, he shouted to his comrades.

“Th-there’s a monster! Be careful!”

The rearguard who heard their comrade’s message gritted their teeth.

“There’s a skilled one! Don’t engage head-on. Flank them!”

The Black Arbiters stopped running and spread out to the left and right.

Hiding in the bushes, they moved quickly.

“Wh-what is it?!”

“Someone died!”

The students stared at the Black Arbiter who had been cut in half.

Black blood, earthworms, and bugs were wriggling from the twitching lower body.

And as if they smelled people, the earthworms were crawling towards the students.

The students covered their mouths at the disgusting sight.

“Worm, it’s Wormfest!”

The students were gripped by fear.

To see the continent’s plague here!

“Damn it, we have to infect them somehow!”

The Black Arbiters, with only their upper bodies remaining, crawled towards the students.

The students couldn’t react properly because of fear.

Logically, it didn’t make sense for them to be speaking perfectly fine with their upper and lower bodies cut in half.

It was a nightmare in itself.

“Everyone, step back!”

At that moment, Sharin ran up and kicked the Black Arbiter’s upper body.

The Black Arbiter’s upper body bounced off and hit a tree.

Sharin sweated coldly and turned her shaking gaze.

Twitch, twitch….

The halved lower body crawled towards where the flown upper body was, as if looking for its owner.

“…Like a monster….”

And as the upper and lower bodies were connected, they began to recover.

The students could see that clearly.

The bugs connected their bodies, and the Black Arbiters were resurrecting.

It was truly bizarre and disgusting.

“A-are the rumors about them worshiping demons true?”

To them, it looked like they were resurrecting with cursed power.

“Demon? Did you just say demon!?”

The Black Arbiters glared at the students with angry expressions.

What they served was the Holy Emperor Palis.

They had been promised immortality and eternal life by him, so to the Black Arbiters, the Holy Emperor Palis was no different from a constellation.

How dare they denigrate him as a demon…!

The enraged Black Arbiters rushed towards the students.

Loki swung his greatsword at the sight, and the slash split the Black Arbiter’s body to the left and right.

The Black Arbiter, whose head had also been cut off, completely collapsed and fell silent.

“…It’s hard to protect them.”

There were too many students, and they were scattered.

‘Besides, their goal is definitely the noble children.’

They would ignore the skilled one like himself and only obsessively target the students.

Loki drew his greatsword in the air.

Space was torn, and a jet-black space appeared. From there, numerous weapons and various potions poured out.

“Princess Sharin.”

Sharin looked at Loki.

“Command and protect the students.”

“…Ah, okay.”

Sharin picked up a crescent sword and shield.

“Everyone, gather around!”

At Sharin’s words, the students quickly picked up their weapons.

They had already been trained by Cancun.

After a brief moment of confusion, they regained their senses at Sharin’s voice and reorganized their ranks.

They gathered with weapons and took a defensive stance.

“They’re grouped together!”

“Kill!”

The Black Arbiters flew towards the students from all directions.

They rotated their bodies in the air and swung their swords.

It was a beast-like, agile movement.

Wights jumped up and rushed towards the students.

“They’re coming!”

“Block-!”

The students raised their shields.

Among them, a female student who belonged to the Holy Order looked at the rushing wight with surprised eyes.

Soon, her face turned pale.

Her friends who had been captured besides herself, they were rushing at her as wights.

“Aaaaaaah!”

In the end, with tears in her eyes, she stabbed her sword at the wight who had been her friend.

The sword pierced through the eyes and became embedded.

“If I don’t kill them, I’ll die!”

Seeing her friend become a wight, the female student felt it.

If you surrender, you will either die or become a monster.

She felt that to the bone.

Other students blocked the Black Arbiter’s sword with their shields.

Clang-!

“Aaaaaagh!”

“My arm hurts!”

It was a monstrous strength.

It felt like her arm muscles were tearing and her bones were crumbling.

But if they allowed the attack to continue, they would be the ones to die.

“……!”

The Black Arbiters had surprised expressions.

‘They’re blocking our attacks?’

They had thought they were just immature noble children, but they were more skilled than they had thought.

As they thought that, spears flew and pierced through the Black Arbiters in the air, pushing them back.

“Hold them!”

With the Black Arbiters pierced, the students jumped up. They swung their maces at their heads.

“W-wait, not the head-!?”

Crack-!

The head exploded.

With that, Wormfest spread with black blood.

Wormfest was smeared on the students.

“Aaaaaaagh! I, I’m infected!”

The students hesitated as they looked at their infected comrade.

Bugs were wriggling and moving between the infected person’s skin.

The skin color began to turn purple.

The students pointed their weapons.

“D-damn it….”

The infected student raised her sword and pointed it at her own throat.

Rather than becoming a monster, she was trying to choose an honorable death.

“Wait, use the potion!”

Sharin sprayed the potion on the infected person.

The changing appearance of the student began to return to normal.

“I’ve heard about Asgard’s potions, but….”

The students watched the scene with astonished expressions.

Who would have thought it would be so effective?!

I think I know why there was a rumor that it was a potion made with the blood of a constellation.

‘Really the blood of a constellation?’

Is there really a constellation in this Asgard!?

Something in the hearts of the students who were negative about faith felt like it was burning hot.

But now was not the time to realize that feeling.

The Black Arbiters were attacking from all directions.

In response, the students fought back against the Black Arbiters.