Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 149

149

“Huh?”

Sharin’s face stiffened.

He was close enough to feel her breath.

A moment ago, the necks of the clergy’s escort knights had been snapped.

The clergyman, who had witnessed the scene, alternated between Sharin and the angel with trembling eyes.

If that woman hadn’t pulled her neck away, it would have been broken like those escort knights.

‘…So… fast.’

Sharin was frozen.

The opponent looked at Sharin as if she was interesting.

「Ho, you grasped my movements. You have good eyes.」

It was talking.

Well, isn’t it obvious? It has a human form, so it must have vocal cords.

But….

‘It’s not human.’

Staring at the angel’s eyes head-on, her body stiffened.

It was as if there was something restricting the opponent’s movements.

Soon, the angel reached out and grabbed Sharin’s waist.

“Huh?”

‘I… can’t move my body.’

Fear washed over her.

「There are many strong humans here. It would be good to use them as sacrifices.」

The angel flapped its wings and flew up.

“Wa, wait a minute!”

The clergyman grabbed Sharin’s arm.

It was when the angel was passing through the wall of the lodging.

“Shoot-!”

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

Bolts were embedded in the angel’s body.

Node soldiers had used ballistae [large, ancient crossbows] to pierce the angel’s lower abdomen.

「Kkyaaaaak! Humans!」

The angel flew away quickly.

It was an incredible speed.

But was it because it had suffered a fatal wound?

She could move her body a little.

Sharin took out a dagger from her bosom and stabbed it into the angel’s lower abdomen, where the bolt was embedded.

The angel screamed in pain and threw Sharin into the forest.

***

Cheep-! Cheep-!

Sparrow sounds echoed.

Sharin, who opened her eyes in the morning sunlight, blinked.

“……”

Where is this?

All she could see was the clear blue sky.

Tree branches were broken, and soft snow was supporting her body underneath.

Perhaps thanks to that, she only suffered minor scratches even after falling from the high sky.

Sharin raised her upper body.

‘Am I… alive?’

If it hadn’t been for the snow, she would have fallen to her death.

“…Cold.”

Sharin shivered. She looked around.

“Where… is this?”

She was stranded.

Having lived in a hot environment, this cold was very unfamiliar to her.

She had received a uniform provided by the academy, but her body trembled as she was exposed to the cold air for a long time.

Sharin took a step.

How many hours had she walked?

The sun that had been floating in the sky was already setting, and night had come.

The cold became even more intense, and a blizzard began to rage in the sky.

In the darkness, the glint of beasts’ eyes and howling sounds could be heard.

‘What happened to that clergyman?’

She looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe… if he didn’t fall to his death, he would be safe like her. Instead, he would be terrified.

‘Am I going to freeze to death like this? Or… will I become food for the beasts?’

The unfamiliar environment and darkness began to gnaw at her heart.

“Huh?”

As she moved her steps in the cold, she sniffed.

She smelled something burning.

“……”

Could there be a campsite nearby?

Maybe it was the angel extermination squad or a search party.

Sharin hurried her steps.

Soon, she experienced a strange phenomenon.

‘Warm?’

As if she had crossed a certain area, the climate had changed.

She looked ahead and saw a strange man making a fire.

Also, next to him, she saw the clergyman who had flown up with her collapsed.

‘Is it the search party?’

She was relieved. And she looked at the man next to the clergyman.

A young man with black and white hair.

Even though white snow was falling around him, snow was not falling around that man, and only a warm energy was felt.

Whether it was because of the fire or the atmosphere of the night, it was truly mysterious.

“Excuse me….”

She spoke to-.

“Please help me.”

-Loki.

***

‘My friend! Thank you for responding to this body’s request for dispatch! Your Berserker Warriors are showing great performance in this land. The lords are delighted as the heterogeneous monsters are being dealt with!’

It was a letter sent by Karma, the emperor of the Kron Empire.

‘But there are also monsters that are difficult to handle. Can you handle this as well? If possible… I would like to ask you. I will send this body’s lovely younger sister for a detailed explanation, so I hope you will listen to her. Please take good care of my younger sister and siblings!’

That was a request for dispatch from the Kron Empire.

The Kron Empire was also in chaos due to heterogeneous monsters.

Also-.

‘Last night, an angel was sighted in the territory of Asgard. It seems to have been discovered near the relay station connected to the royal capital.’

Heterogeneous monsters also began to appear in Asgard.

Loki received the report and moved immediately.

He formed an extermination squad led by Koodan and dispatched them, and Loki took action separately.

Among the magic that Urgart taught him, there was ‘Search,’ but it was magic focused on finding traces of something, not finding a specific person.

Therefore, Loki chased the scene of the attack directly and roamed the forest.

And he found a man.

“Cough-….”

A clergyman whose whole body was trembling and feeling the cold.

Loki looked down at him, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and began searching again.

But he couldn’t find any traces of ‘angel’ around here.

‘Since it has wings, it can go anywhere and hide anywhere.’

To think that an angel would invade Asgard.

He was monitoring the entrances to the sea and islands in his own way, but it was impossible to monitor the sky as well.

It meant that if they were determined, they could invade as they pleased.

‘…I need to have a force that can properly hunt them.’

Requests for dispatch are pouring in from various countries on the continent.

Currently, the only army in Asgard that can hunt angels is the Berserker Warriors led by Koodan.

If they were to leave their positions and angel attacks were to occur simultaneously in Asgard, it would be difficult to handle.

“I dispatched a search party, but it will take a considerable amount of time to find the missing person.”

Loki force-fed the clergyman a potion and lit a fire in the firewood.

It was late at night, and he was able to meet another missing person.

“Excuse me… Please help me.”

Loki looked at the woman who spoke to him.

Purple hair and eyes, healthy bronze skin.

She was a citizen of the Kron Empire.

Also, an academy uniform.

‘I see.’

Loki thought of Karma.

“The First Princess, Sharin Kron?”

“Th, that’s a relief….”

Sharin let out a sigh of relief.

In addition, tears welled up in her eyes.

As the empire’s princess, she had been acting as dignified as possible, but she was banished to this strange land – in her mind – and she thought she might freeze to death after being stranded.

She thought she was destined to die in the cold and become food for the beasts.

To meet a person like this, someone who even recognized her!

“Are you the search party?!”

“Well, something similar.”

At Loki’s words, Sharin was relieved and approached him, but then stopped.

‘He’s not a Node?’

He didn’t have blue hair and eyes.

Then… there was a possibility that he wasn’t from Asgard’s search party.

‘A search party from… another country?’

Or maybe he was a mercenary.

She didn’t let her guard down and glanced around.

She was looking for something that could be used as a weapon.

“Excellent.”

“……”

“It’s a better attitude than approaching recklessly. Asgard’s security is good, but it’s a land of barbarians. Runaway slaves, thieves, unreliable mercenaries, and adventurers are rampant. In particular, criminals from the continent sometimes come in as well.”

For them, a tired and defenseless princess would be good prey.

Loki took out a dagger wrapped in cloth from his bosom and stood up from his seat.

Sharin’s face turned pale.

But that was only for a moment, as she raised both hands and bent her back to prepare to fight.

She had learned hand-to-hand combat in the Kron Empire’s imperial family.

‘I’m a little tired, but… I can handle one man…!’

Loki threw the dagger.

‘Fast?!’

Sharin was about to take a step back in surprise.

Thwack-!

“……!?”

The dagger was stuck behind Sharin’s ankle.

Sharin lowered her gaze and saw the dagger stuck in the ground, with red staining the snow between the eyes of the dagger.

“Huh…?”

Loki approached Sharin and bent down.

When he pulled out the dagger, a white snake was pierced by the dagger.

“But you also need to know how to look around.”

“……”

Loki put the dagger back into its sheath and threw it to Sharin.

Sharin, who had caught the dagger, looked at Loki with surprised eyes.

“Have a weapon to protect yourself.”

“…I guess you are the search party.”

If he had malicious intent, he wouldn’t have handed over the weapon like this.

But she couldn’t let her guard down, so Sharin stood still and observed Loki.

Loki returned to the bonfire. And he took out a large chunk of meat wrapped in cloth and a water bottle filled with water from his bosom.

At the appearance of food and drinking water, Sharin swallowed hard.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten anything since last night.

She had been attacked by the angel as soon as she arrived at the lodging.

“You must be hungry.”

“……”

Loki trimmed the branches.

He skewered the meat on the branches and placed it over the bonfire.

A savory smell wafted through the air.

Loki took the cooked meat skewer, stuck it in the ground, and placed the water bottle next to it.

Then he stepped back and sat around the bonfire.

“Eat.”

It was like giving food to a wary cat.

Sharin chuckled at the sight.

It was as if she had really become a wild cat.

She let her guard down. She picked up the meat and the water bottle and sat opposite Loki.

And she tore off the meat and ate it.

It was well-seasoned meat. Sharin, who had a picky palate, began to devour it in a hurry at the unexpected taste.

“You’ve let your guard down.”

“…If you had malicious intent, you wouldn’t have given me the dagger. You wouldn’t have saved me either.”

She put a mouthful of food in her mouth and mumbled.

Sharin looked at the clergyman next to her.

Now that the Holy Kingdom had fallen, clergymen were subject to discrimination, just like the old Node people.

That clergyman was lying down as if he had fainted, with his whole body in a clean state.

It meant that he was not only being treated but also protected.

‘Above all, what you did to me a little while ago.’

It was a very delicate consideration.

Sharin observed Loki’s face in detail.

Clean and flawless skin.

‘A noble.’

Moreover, an atmosphere where dignity could be felt even if he stood still.

But there was no way a noble would be in a place like this.

Then there was only one thing she could think of.

‘A hostage.’

He must be someone who was dragged to Asgard just like her.

And he must have been dispatched as a search party because they were short on hands.

‘…Besides, he’s somehow familiar.’

It felt like she had met him somewhere before.

The relief of being rescued in an unfamiliar place.

And the sense of empathy that she was in the same situation as him.

Familiarity and warm consideration.

All of that was enough to ease Sharin’s vigilance.

“Excuse me….”

It was when Sharin was cautiously about to speak.

Loki raised his head.

“It’s here.”

Behind Loki, something flew up quickly.

Sharin froze.

It was an angel.

Good heavens, was it still alive!?

It had been hit by a ballista bolt and its stomach had been pierced.

Moreover, Sharin had stabbed a dagger deep into its stomach.

But it was alive and even appeared before her eyes.

“Danger-.”

It was when Sharin was about to speak.

Loki turned his body and reached out his hand.

Compared to the monster with a height of 2m and a body made of solid muscles, Loki’s body seemed smaller.

In Sharin’s eyes, Loki’s resistance seemed meaningless.

But-.

Thwack-!

The moment the angel’s outstretched hand touched Loki’s fist, it disappeared.

It burst and disappeared so quickly that she mistook it.

Thud-.

“……?”

Sharin widened her eyes at the red liquid that splattered on her face.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her eyes trembled as if she was agitated.

「What is this.」

The angel didn’t seem to have made a proper judgment.

He turned his head and looked at his hand.

「How-?」

He was an angel who had destroyed a solid stone wall with his bare hands.

In a fistfight with an ordinary human, it should have been the human’s hand that disappeared. But when his hand flew away, he felt a chill down his spine and cold sweat broke out.

Soon, when the angel looked at Loki, he could see his hand reaching out.

「You’re not human!」

The angel, feeling a sense of crisis, quickly stepped back and spread its wings.

But when he made eye contact with Loki, his body stiffened.

「Wai-」

Having his body stiffened caused the worst situation for the angel.

Loki’s grip grabbed the angel’s shoulder and pressed down.

Crack-!

The shoulder was crushed, and his knees were bent on their own.

The angel screamed.

At the sight, Sharin covered her mouth with her hand.

‘What kind of grip strength-!?’

Loki’s hand went to the angel’s wings and grabbed them.

「Wa, wait, what are you trying to do!?」

“What you’re imagining.”

Rip-!

Loki tore off the angel’s wings.