Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 192

192

South of the mortal realm, in the Forest of Death.

Thump-!

A carriage rattled as it sped along the rough terrain.

The skeletal horse pulling the carriage neighed, its breath misting in the air.

Inside, Helga was engrossed in a book.

She was on her way to find Loki.

Her destination: the Wailing Valley at the southern edge of the forest.

‘The Constellation’s emergence is much later than I anticipated,’ she thought, her brow furrowing slightly.

This journey was also at Aum’s request.

‘I hope you can bring him back,’ Aum had pleaded.

A considerable amount of time had passed since Loki’s disappearance.

Had anyone even noticed his absence?

The fallen Constellations [powerful, god-like beings who have lost their way] had begun to reveal themselves one by one.

They appointed kings and nobles as apostles, granting them power and influence to expand their reach.

As a result, kings and nobles, seemingly possessed, initiated wars to prove their faith in these Constellations.

Chaos quickly spread across the continent.

Even the kings who had vehemently denied the Constellations’ existence now recognized the gravity of the situation and desperately requested aid from Asgard. However, Asgard, weakened by Loki’s absence, was unable to provide assistance.

The Black Arbiters [a shadowy organization of paladins], who had lost their center and were shaken by the disappearance of the Holy Emperor, were regaining their strength, attempting to establish a new country.

Meanwhile, numerous cities and nations were overthrown or ravaged by disasters overnight.

Helga sighed, the weight of the world pressing down on her.

As soon as Loki vanished, other countries’ attitudes toward Asgard had shifted dramatically.

Kingdoms ignored Asgard’s orders, and even angels dared to invade Asgard Island….

‘I didn’t realize my senior’s position held such significance,’ she mused, a hint of awe in her voice.

Perhaps Loki had become synonymous with Asgard itself, far more than just a mere symbol.

The carriage lurched as it entered a desolate landscape of red, barren earth.

Helga, who had been quietly reading, sensed numerous eyes upon her.

She waved her hand, and the carriage window slid open. Helga peered out into the gnarled forest.

Something was rapidly closing in on them.

‘Dark Elves?’ she wondered, her brow furrowing.

Just as Helga began to frown, the carriage abruptly halted.

Thump-!

They had arrived at their destination.

Helga stepped out of the carriage and looked up.

Before her was a disturbing sight.

Black-robed paladins, clad in imposing armor—the Black Arbiters.

Their corpses littered the ground around the river, a grim testament to a recent battle.

‘Did the Black Arbiters come here as well?’ she wondered, her eyes scanning the scene.

They must have been investigating Loki’s last known whereabouts.

And they were killed before they could complete their investigation.

The culprit who had slain them was….

Helga raised her head higher.

Cyclops.

The one-eyed giants stood tall and menacing.

In the center of them stood a figure who appeared to be their leader.

A woman covered in blood.

A person with cat ears and a tail, her entire body stained crimson.

A gauntlet adorned her right hand, and a delicate red thread was tied to the little finger of her left hand.

She licked her blood-stained hand, her eyes gleaming with a wild intensity.

“You, who? Are you an enemy?”

“…It’s Helga. Long time no see, Karen.”

‘…I had just assumed she was naturally gifted at taming beast-type monsters, but she’s even tamed Cyclops,’ Helga thought, a hint of surprise in her voice.

Karen glared at Helga, her blood-matted hair partially obscuring her face.

“…Who? Helga? I don’t know anyone like that!”

“…We didn’t talk much… no, not at all. But I saw your face several times in Valhalla Palace [the hall of heroes in Asgard]… I’m a little sad,” Helga replied, a touch of sarcasm in her tone.

Had she forgotten her?

Helga sighed inwardly.

Why did her senior bring this crazy beast-kin princess along?

‘…Is it because he trusts her?’ she wondered, her gaze softening slightly.

Helga glanced at the dead Cyclops surrounding Karen.

She must have overwhelmed them and asserted her dominance to become their leader.

‘She certainly possesses the skills,’ Helga acknowledged.

So she must have been protecting this place for ‘several months’.

Helga’s eyes focused on Karen’s left hand.

Her left hand was noticeably dirty.

But even so, the knot on the red thread seemed sturdy, as if she had protected only that in any situation.

‘She probably didn’t know it would take her senior this long either,’ Helga surmised, a hint of understanding in her eyes.

“You, are you an enemy?”

“No. I’m an ally.”

“…There were guys who said that like you.”

“Think hard. Do you really not know me?”

Karen stared at Helga with a blank but murderous gaze.

Her eyes, which had been staring vacantly, gradually widened.

“Ah! I’ve seen you! The person who was with Hoon!”

“…Do you remember now?”

Karen withdrew her murderous intent.

She jumped and approached Helga, sniffing her nose like an animal.

“I definitely smell this… I’ve smelled it before!”

“Are you sure I’m not an enemy?”

“Yeah! You’re an ally!”

“Why are you here?”

“Hoon told me. To wait here quietly.”

“…Aren’t you a feline, not a canine?” Helga quipped, a smile playing on her lips.

She was like a loyal dog faithfully carrying out her master’s orders.

“Where is your senior?”

“Senior?”

“Senior Hoon.”

“Ah! Go in there…!”

Karen pointed between the valleys. Her bright expression turned gloomy.

“He’s not coming out.”

Helga looked at the sky.

Dark fog was thickly spread, but the red full moon was visible through the gloom.

“I came at just the right time,” she murmured, a sense of urgency in her voice.

“Huh?”

“I came to find my senior.”

Helga headed towards the river flowing between the Wailing Valley.

Ding-!

The ferrymen, liches [undead spellcasters], appeared with the sound of a bell.

They approached Helga and asked in raspy voices.

「Do you want to take a boat? Then gold…」

Helga placed her foot in the river.

“I don’t need it.”

The liches cackled at Helga’s audacity.

「There is only one way to cross this river. Unless it’s a boat made of the bones and flesh of the dead…」

Suddenly, the ground beneath Helga’s feet began to bubble ominously.

“This place is quite nice. There are many bones and abundant magic. I might be able to create something I couldn’t create on the continent….”

Kwararararak-!

Something white rose rapidly to the tip of Helga’s feet, where the bubbles were forming.

The liches stepped back, their eyes wide with disbelief.

「O, ooooooh?!」

Then, in a panic, the liches jumped off the ferry.

Kwajik-!

The bone ferry shattered into pieces.

The lich’s eyes widened in horror as he plunged into the murky river.

A shadow fell over his head.

It was a colossal ship.

「What… is that…!」

The ferrymen were utterly horrified.

The massive ship was reinforced with enormous bones and nails.

The mast was constructed from thick dragon bones, and the sail was crafted from dragon wing leather.

The symbols of Asgard, the snake and the wolf, were prominently engraved upon it.

Vast amounts of magic emanated from the vessel, and Death Knights and Liches stood tall on the deck.

They flashed their burning eyes, looked at Helga, and bowed deeply to pay their respects to their master.

Helga crossed her arms on the deck of the ship and glanced at the undead she had summoned.

“Go inside.”

The Death Knights nodded in acknowledgment.

The Death Knights began to row with unnatural strength.

The liches waved their staffs, summoning evil spirits to wander around the ship, creating an eerie spectacle.

The ship of the dead.

Naglfar.

In Norse mythology, it is a ship constructed from the nails of the dead, and it was also the ship Loki rode during Ragnarok [the end of the world in Norse mythology].

Helga boarded the ship of the dead and entered the Wailing Valley.

***

The screams of the spirits echoed throughout the revolutionary army’s fortress.

Arata’s slave soldiers poured in through the breached fortress walls.

Kashar Kron was at the forefront of the assault.

「Good slaves. I lost a lot because Natos forcibly took the slave soldiers from me, but it’s a relief.」

Kashar harbored ambitions to rebuild his own empire in this land of the underworld.

But Natos did not recognize his worth.

Instead, he treated him as a mere tool to generate gold and slaves.

He sought to alleviate the sorrow and humiliation of that time here.

「Kashar Kron, huh.」

Kashar turned his gaze towards the source of the voice.

There was a group effortlessly suppressing Arata’s slave soldiers.

Humans, beast-kins, dwarves, and elves.

They were representatives of each race.

「Oh, quite high-ranking spirits. They will make good slaves.」

The fighting spirit emanating from them was unlike that of ordinary spirits.

Kashar approached them, a predatory glint in his eyes.

「If we catch that guy, Arata will be ours!」

The representatives of the different races raised their weapons and charged towards Kashar.

「No! We have to wait until Turam comes…!」

Yura shouted at the representatives, but her pleas were ignored.

Kashar was the ruler of Arata.

Her words were simply unnecessary noise to those who sensed that suppressing him would grant them leadership in the revolutionary army.

The dwarf brandished a large warhammer.

The elf clutched a poisoned dagger.

The beast-kin wielded a mace.

The human gripped a giant greatsword.

The elf darted past Kashar’s legs and slashed with the poisoned dagger.

The blade cut Kashar’s ankle, but failed to penetrate his skin.

「……?!」

「Do you think such a small dagger will work!」

Kashar spun around and kicked the elf in the abdomen with tremendous force.

Bang-!

The elf’s body was sent flying, crashing to the ground and rolling helplessly.

「Oooooooo!」

The dwarf and the beast-kin swung their warhammers and maces at Kashar, who had his back turned.

Kashar inhaled deeply.

His body swelled, deflecting their attacks with ease.

「……!」

「…Natos couldn’t catch guys like these? How pathetic. I fell into that guy’s slavery.」

Kashar clenched his fist, his anger simmering.

The fist gradually swelled, becoming enormous.

「D, dangerous-!?」

The dwarf and the beast-kin, caught off guard, were struck by Kashar’s fist and sent hurtling away.

「No matter how elastic the muscles are, they are useless in the face of the sharpness of a blade.」

A small wound appeared on the back of Kashar’s hand with a subtle flash.

Kashar twitched his eye muscles in displeasure and glared at the human who had attacked him.

「I am Rohan Asdal, the king of the Asdal Kingdom. My kingdom may not exist in your era, but I am also praised as a hero in the mortal realm-」

Kashar’s fist seized the human’s head and crushed it, splattering blood and brain matter.

The headless body collapsed powerlessly to the floor.

「…Some insignificant guys are called heroes.」

Yura stared in stunned silence.

The representatives of each race, who had prided themselves on their skills, had fallen so easily.

「Hahaha! Who is this!?」

It was then.

Bang-!

A deafening explosion erupted.

Flesh and blood swirled through the air, and the bodies of the slave soldiers were launched into the sky, raining down upon the battlefield.

Kashar stared ahead, his eyes wide with shock.

Destroyer Turam stood tall at the center of the carnage.

「Kashar Kron. Long time no see! To meet again like this and like this-.」

Magic surged from Turam’s body, crackling with energy.

「To fight!」

「Turam. You bastard…. You dared to steal my gold?」

Kashar’s forehead throbbed with anger.

Turam had been a constant annoyance since their time in the mortal realm.

He had hoped that their rivalry would end when they came to the underworld, but it persisted.

He would sever that troublesome relationship right here and now!

In the underworld, just as in the mortal realm, the two heroes who had once defeated the Demon King faced each other, ready for battle.

Kashar moved first.

「Get rid of Turam-.」

As Kashar attempted to command Arata’s slave soldiers, Turam sprang forward, closing the distance in an instant.

The trainer’s bodyguards, the spirits who were protecting Kashar, rushed to intercept him.

‘Indeed-!’

Turam grinned.

Whether in the mortal realm or in this underworld, Kashar still surrounded himself with annoying protectors.

「You coward. Are you uneasy without a bodyguard!?」

A spear was swung, and the trainer’s bodyguards were sent flying.

As the spear blade hurtled towards Kashar’s neck, Kashar recoiled.

Simultaneously, he twisted his body with a surprising degree of flexibility for his size.

Kashar’s arm stretched elastically, transforming into a whip.

He lashed out, striking Turam’s body with tremendous force.

「Did you think I was just standing still until you came to this underworld!」

Kashar recalled the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Natos and his desire to escape from his control.

He was an emperor.

An absolute being who should not be subservient to anyone!

He had no intention of remaining under Natos’s thumb, treated like a pet dog, forever.

He would amass his strength and reverse their roles.

That ambition would not fade, even if tens or hundreds of years passed.

Seogeok!

At that moment, Kashar’s arm, which he had swung with such force, was severed clean off.

The severed arm dangled precariously.

「That’s the same for me. Do you know how many heroes I have fought in this underworld?!」

Two heroes.

The two monstrous old men glared at each other, their eyes burning with animosity.

They unleashed their murderous intent, swinging their spears and fists with savage fury.

쾅쾅쾅-!

The air crackled with energy, and the surrounding terrain warped and buckled under the force of their blows.

The revolutionary army and Arata’s soldiers, witnessing the spectacle, forgot their own conflict and stared in awe at the two spirits.

They understood.

The side that emerged victorious from the clash between these two old men would ultimately win the war.

「Haha! Kashar. Yeah. I wanted this kind of fight. It’s fun. It’s fun!」

Turam wore a manic grin, reveling in the chaos.

「Oooooooo!」

Kashar burned with fighting spirit, his determination unwavering.

While they were exchanging blows, a figure calmly walked between them.

“Stop fighting around here.”

The two old men felt a sudden chill run down their spines.

They ceased their fighting and cautiously distanced themselves from each other.

The atmosphere shifted instantly, becoming heavy with an unspoken power.

Someone had entered Kashar’s line of sight.

「Wh…, what?」

A black-and-white-haired man stood tall and imposing.

Who was that?

Kashar frowned, but as he made eye contact with the man, a primal fear that had been dormant deep within his soul resurfaced.

「……!」

This feeling.

The terror he had experienced when he was alive.

Kashar’s cheeks trembled uncontrollably.

「You… no way….」

“Long time no see.”

Loki tilted his head slightly as he looked at Kashar, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Kashar. Your son is indebted to me.”

「The ruler of Asgard.」

The man who had sentenced him to death stood right before him.