Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 178

178

“Kuh-erk….”

Falise’s arms and legs were torn off.

Black flames erupted from each severed area, burning the flesh and making him feel faint.

The Worm Pest writhed in agony as it burned away from his limbs.

Recovery was impossible.

The beasts gnawed at Falise’s flesh.

Falise was consumed by terror.

Just what was the identity of the creature before him?!

Was it a real demon?

At that moment, the beasts began to swirl together, massing into one.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

A being wearing a goat skull helmet and jet-black armor.

“…The Constellation of the North.”

Falise’s eyes widened.

Why, why was he here…?

Loki looked down at Falise.

“Finally caught you.”

“……”

Falise looked at Loki, then lowered his gaze.

Facing Loki’s burning gaze, he felt a fear that shook his soul.

At this rate, he would be defeated.

Counterattack—he had to counterattack.

But how?

He needed to close the distance a bit more.

No matter how powerful a Constellation he was, he would still take damage from his strike.

Loki approached Falise.

Falise watched for an opportunity, his eyes flashing.

“Die!”

Just as he was about to unleash his divine power on Loki’s neck, Loki twisted his body to evade.

The space tore apart, and only a loud boom echoed in the air.

Loki spun around and kicked Falise’s body with his foot.

Crack-!

A part of his body, unable to withstand the impact, burst.

Falise screamed and rolled across the floor with his tattered body.

‘Kuh-erk-!’

It hurts! It hurts!

“Don’t die.”

Loki approached Falise and pressed his head down with his foot.

“Death is a luxury you don’t deserve.”

“……”

“More than anything, the Worm Pest you created…”

Loki’s eyes curved into a smile.

“It’s a truly interesting toy.”

“……”

“The method to make it…”

Loki lifted Falise up with his hand and brought him close to his face.

“Teach it to me.”

***

After the battle with the Black Arbiters, the Nord warriors were busy with the cleanup.

“Don’t kill them all. Leave some as training dummies for the trainees.”

The Shaman waved his staff, and the Nord warriors put shackles on the Black Arbiters and took them away.

“…It ended more anticlimactically than I thought.”

“It couldn’t be helped. Loki, us, and the Shaman all took action directly….”

Kudan agreed with Cancun’s words.

In fact, mobilizing about 4,000 Nord warriors to occupy the Black Arbiters’ base was overkill.

The Black Arbiters they dealt with this time were Asgardians who had hunted hundreds, even dozens, of angels.

The Nord warriors who were injured in the process were treated with potions and focused on recovery.

“Wow… what a sunny day.”

The warm sunlight shone on the Nord warriors who came out of the cave.

The Black Arbiters, who had lived in the cave for a long time and were accustomed to the darkness, covered their faces with their shackled hands, as if the light was too bright.

“Oh? Loki!”

Cancun discovered Loki and waved his hand.

Loki, who came out of the temple, was dragging High Priest Falise, who had lost consciousness, in his grasp.

Loki threw Falise in front of Cancun.

“Is this the High Priest?”

Cancun poked Falise with his holy sword.

Each time he poked him with the holy sword, his skin burned away from the divine power, unmistakably marking him as a human infected with the Worm Pest.

“Yes.”

“He looks really pathetic…. So, is it over now?”

“Well…”

Even though High Priest Falise was captured, his followers were widely spread across the continent.

Although Falise was human, his reputation was on par with that of a Constellation, and he was praised.

Even if Falise was captured and killed, it would not be easy to eradicate the group that praised him.

“But with Falise captured, the activities of the Black Arbiters will be greatly reduced.”

The Black Arbiters, having lost their center, would split into factions according to their beliefs.

Since the person they believed in and followed had disappeared, they would naturally split into dozens or hundreds of groups, and their power would decline.

“We have nothing to lose.”

At those words, Cancun nodded.

“Oh! It looks like it’s over!”

At that moment, Aum and Per, riding warhorses, were seen coming up from the bottom of the hill.

The two approached Loki, dismounted, and bowed their heads.

“We have announced the regulation of the slave system for the Nord people to the continent as you requested. Sooner or later, letters from each kingdom will reach Asgard.”

“……”

At those words, Loki felt a headache coming on.

His workload had increased again.

“Oh? What is that?”

Aum pointed at Falise.

His holy robes were already in tatters, and the old man, almost naked, was lying unconscious and miserable.

“That’s High Priest Falise.”

“…That’s him?”

Aum let out a hollow laugh.

The leader that Asgard had been trying so hard to find was such a pathetic and unsightly old man….

“We were racking our brains over such a thing.”

“But thanks to him, we got good things.”

“Good things?”

At Aum’s words, Loki smiled.

“Worm Pest.”

At those words, Aum, as well as Per, Kudan, Cancun, and the Shaman, all froze.

“I plan to use it.”

***

Loki and his party decided to return to the north.

It was going to be a long journey.

The Black Arbiters were all locked in iron cages and dragged away.

Also, behind Asgard’s procession, a procession of hundreds of thousands of Kartal people followed.

They used the path of the Laryas Kingdom again this time, and they encountered the knight they had met before once again.

The knight of Laryas greeted Aum and couldn’t believe the sight before him.

The Black Arbiters, locked in iron cages and wearing expressions of despair.

And the cart carrying the corpses of angels.

Behind them, a procession of slaves with no end in sight.

It was too amazing that only 4,000 soldiers were controlling all of this.

The knight of Laryas saw Loki passing by, knelt down, bowed his head, and offered a prayer.

As Pope Zaus had declared him a Constellation, the knight believed that he had encountered a real Constellation.

Asgard continued to move north.

The young king of Kartal, Johan, had to march even more arduously than during the evacuation.

After a long march, they finally arrived at the frozen land, but the cold there was more severe than they had expected.

His body trembled, and it felt like his lungs were freezing.

The Asgard army distributed fur, but the amount was too small.

‘This is the place.’

Johan raised his head.

‘The place where I will toil for the rest of my life….’

Johan looked up at the huge frozen wall.

It was truly enormous.

The huge gate of the wall opened, and the Nord people gathered to welcome Loki’s return.

At the same time, they poured jeers at the Kartal people who were captured as slaves.

The Kartal people were intimidated by the Nord people.

Now, they were the slaves.

All they could do was pray to find a good master.

Johan was no different.

“Jo, Johan!”

Johan turned his head, and an old man among the crowd found Johan and his eyes turned red.

“Gra, Grandpa!”

“Ah…! You were alive!”

The old man, Jermie, approached Johan.

He was happy to hug his only grandson, and at the same time, he couldn’t help but wail.

***

「I’m sorry, Loki.」

Loki, who had returned to his homeland, was the first to visit Urgart.

The item he had commissioned last time, made from the corpse of the Constellation of the Sea [powerful celestial being], and Mercury, the Constellation of Light he had captured this time, were also good item materials, so he was full of anticipation.

But the answer he heard was an apology.

Urgart looked at Loki and shook his head.

「It failed.」

The disassembled corpse of Calib, the Constellation of the Sea, was floating on the lake.

And there were many broken weapons around it, and the dwarves were cleaning them up with gloomy faces.

「These dwarves worked hard, but the weapons are too weak to contain the power of a Constellation.」

Loki seemed to know why the dwarves’ expressions were gloomy.

They must have felt powerless because they couldn’t create a weapon that could contain the power of a Constellation, no matter how hard they struggled.

「For now, it seems impossible to make a weapon from the corpse of a Constellation.」

“…I see.”

At those words, Loki felt a great disappointment.

「If there was a stronger and more solid weapon, it would be possible to contain the power of a Constellation, but since we can’t make it in the first place….」

“Are you saying that if there is someone who can make better weapons than the dwarves here, it would be possible?”

「That’s right.」

Urgart affirmed Loki’s words.

Urgart was also greatly disappointed.

These days, he had been enjoying the hobby of making items with the dwarves.

Loki had something that came to his mind at Urgart’s words.

He took out the warhammer used by the Velete royal family from his inventory.

“How about this?”

Urgart’s eyes sparkled when he saw the weapon Loki had taken out.

When he waved his hand, tree trunks stretched out, lifted the warhammer Loki was holding, and brought it in front of Urgart.

Urgart looked at the warhammer from side to side and widened his eyes.

The dwarves also became interested and gathered around Urgart, their eyes shining.

“Good heavens! What on earth is this weapon…!”

“It’s exquisite. And it looks sturdy.”

“What kind of metal did you use?”

The dwarves exclaimed.

「Oh ho! Loki, you surprise me every time you come.」

Urgart looked at Loki.

“Can you imbue magic into that weapon?”

「That’s impossible. Magic is already imbued in this weapon. But if it’s a weapon that doesn’t have magic, the story changes.」

“……”

「Bring me something like this weapon. Then I will imbue the power of the Constellations.」

Loki rested his chin on his hand.

The weapon that the Constellation of Light was holding.

The Velete royal family praised their weapons every time they went to war.

Although Mercury gave it to them, he wouldn’t have made it himself.

He had to find out about the existence that made this weapon.

And one more thing.

“If you are skilled in magic, you would know about this, right?”

Loki took out a bottle from his chest.

Inside the bottle was a wriggling worm.

The plague that brings death to the continent.

It was the Worm Pest.

「You bring very unusual things.」

Urgart opened a book and began to find information about the Worm Pest.

「It’s a parasite with unusual power.」

“Using this allows humans to exert abnormal power.”

They gain tough skin, powerful strength, and agility, but lose their ego in return.

But the Black Arbiters were different.

They maintained their ego.

Although they were enemies, their power was truly attractive.

Fast regeneration ability to the point of being able to revive even when their heart is pierced and their body is torn apart.

Tough skin offsets most damage.

They were able to maintain their ego and have fast agility and powerful strength.

“I want to introduce this to our army.”

「Are you crazy? This gives you great power, but it takes away the user’s ego.」

“There were those who could maintain their ego without losing it. I will use this worm as a weapon for our Asgard.”

「…….」

“A weapon that gives the user great power but does not infect others.”

A bio-enhancement weapon, not a plague.

“I want to create an immortal legion.”

That’s what Loki wanted.