Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 236

236

The execution of the Holy Emperor, once the ruler of the Holy Kingdom, was imminent.

Yet, strangely, it felt more like a festival than the execution of a criminal.

No, it was a festival itself.

Numerous people gathered.

Partly to visit Loki’s location as a pilgrimage, and partly to witness the demise of the fallen Holy Emperor.

As people gathered, merchants naturally followed, and various goods began to be traded.

Tomatoes were especially popular, as throwing them at the condemned was a tradition of the Arond territory.

Perhaps because of this, travelers could often be seen throwing tomatoes at mock targets.

“…I truly don’t understand this event. Do you people enjoy this sort of thing?”

Loki, disguised as a crow, wandered through the market street.

His human appearance was already somewhat known, so even a slight resemblance would draw crowds.

Indeed, people gathered around travelers who had dyed their hair black and white in admiration of Loki.

“Ah, no! We are different! Of course, we used to have events where we dueled with criminals, but tormenting a defenseless prisoner… that’s something our Nord tribe despises.”

Cancun walked beside Loki, flustered.

She had braided her hair and hidden it under a wide-brimmed hat.

Her face was covered with a pure white mask that concealed her eyes.

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

…Well, the Holy Order must be the strange ones.

The differences in culture and values are extreme from kingdom to kingdom.

That’s why Loki was always surprised when visiting other countries.

But that’s also what made traveling interesting.

‘Should I go on a continental trip under the guise of eliminating disasters?’

It was a very good excuse to avoid Aum’s nagging.

“But… what are we doing right now?”

“Patrolling. Since we’ve publicly announced that we’re going to kill the Holy Emperor, the Black Arbiters will surely make a move. …Oh! That looks delicious. It’s a food I’ve never seen before.”

Loki approached a food stall and bought a skewer.

It was a strange fruit with many holes.

“Haa… It seems to me that you’re just out for fun.”

“You have to enjoy your work.”

“But I’m worried. What if they take this large crowd hostage…?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. The Lord of Arond seems quite meticulous.”

The outer wall security and the checkpoint security at the outer gate were thorough.

Paladins and priests were individually making small cuts to test the blood.

“There are ordinary people among the Black Arbiters, not just those infected with the Worm Pest.”

Loki chewed the fruit.

“Yeah, but they won’t even be able to use their full strength.”

Loki frowned.

It was more bitter than he expected.

He pointed to the street with the empty skewer.

Paladins in various attires were patrolling the streets.

“Aren’t there many paladins? Cultists who are only good at fighting without powers can’t beat even one paladin, even if they swarm them.”

“That’s true, but….”

“In the end, there’s only one way for them to save the Holy Emperor: to break through the barrier surrounding the Arond territory.”

“……”

“But that won’t be easy. If they bring siege weapons, they’ll be discovered by the scouts that the Lord of Arond has deployed. This Arond territory is truly a trap to lure insects. A trap that forces them to enter to save a queen ant.”

Cancun felt relieved at Loki’s words.

“I suppose so.”

“It’s a unique taste, but good. Here, try it.”

Loki bought another fruit and offered it to Cancun.

“It’s a sweet fruit. If you chew it in one bite, the juice will burst in your mouth.”

At those words, Cancun chewed the fruit.

A bitter taste spread, numbing her tongue.

Cancun frowned, unable to chew, and Loki wore a playful expression.

“You’re playing tricks again…!”

“Haha!”

Loki burst into laughter, and Cancun stuck out her tongue, trying to soothe the bitterness.

Yet, a smile naturally crept onto her face.

It was fun to enjoy such peaceful days, apart from war.

If all the corrupted constellations were killed… could they enjoy such a daily life?

Cancun looked at Loki with such expectations.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

‘Let’s travel with Loki-nim after the war is over.’

Cancun smiled, thinking so.

***

Among the Black Arbiters, there were those who were not infected with the Worm Pest.

These were either people who had been kidnapped and brainwashed through torture, or those who, in extremely harsh environments, had received help from the Black Arbiters and mistakenly believed that the Holy Emperor they served was the messiah who would save the world.

Amidst the crowd, fanatics stood before the outer gate checkpoint.

They were ordinary people not infected with the Worm Pest.

The fanatics were nervous.

‘T, there are more than I thought?’

There seemed to be hundreds of paladins stationed at the outer gate alone.

If this was the security at the entrance…!

‘Good heavens…! Did they gather all the paladin orders of the Holy Order? How are there so many?!’

The fanatics, hidden among the travelers, were intimidated and hesitated.

But they couldn’t retreat.

The Black Arbiters did not spare deserters.

If they were caught by them, it wouldn’t end with simple re-education—torture and brainwashing.

Given the situation, they would turn them into wights [undead creatures controlled by dark magic].

There could be no mistakes.

‘Your job is simple. Create chaos from within before the execution!’

‘Just indiscriminately kill those gathered in the plaza!’

‘Then, we and the wights will advance, destroying the outer gate and outer walls to break through.’

‘If even one of you infiltrates and spreads the Worm Pest, we will be victorious!’

‘A new era will dawn, and you will be praised as heroes!’

At the words of the Black Arbiters, the fanatics clenched their fists.

They were people who had lived weak lives.

They were told that this was their chance to become heroes in history.

‘…Save the Messiah.’

They said.

His Holiness the Holy Emperor was a being who had ascended to the ranks of the constellations [powerful, god-like entities].

If they saved him, they too could be reborn as immortals.

The infiltrating fanatics disguised themselves in various professions.

Some disguised themselves as artists, others as circus performers or merchants.

They stood before the outer gate checkpoint.

“What is your purpose here?”

“Haha! It seems like a lot of people have gathered, so I came to sell goods.”

“Goods?”

The paladin looked at the fanatic disguised as a merchant.

And he looked at the cart that the fanatic was pulling.

Soldiers scanned the cart.

Opening the boxes, they saw pottery wrapped in straw.

Removing the cloth, there was also a birdcage with pigeons inside.

“You have a variety of items.”

“I’m just a peddler….”

“Hmm…. Would you mind holding out your hand?”

The fanatic nervously held out his hand.

A small cut was made on his finger. Blood was dropped next to it for testing.

“No abnormalities.”

As the fanatic breathed a sigh of relief, a priest approached and held out a long staff.

“Huh?”

“We will conduct a body scan.”

…They do that too?

The staff emitted light, scanning from head to toe.

Perhaps the inspection had become more thorough due to the previous incident where someone swallowed the Worm Pest in a bottle and caused a terrorist attack.

It meant that the Holy Order was able to withstand the Worm Pest and the Black Arbiters’ invasion not only through sheer force.

“No abnormalities.”

The fanatic swallowed hard.

If he had swallowed the Worm Pest in a bottle, he would have been caught and died on the spot.

“You may pass. May the grace of Azellan Constellation be with you.”

The paladins allowed the fanatics to pass.

They breathed a sigh of relief.

Dusk arrived, and night fell.

Travelers accustomed to the darkness of the abyss wore tense expressions.

But the darkness of the abyss they feared did not come.

“…Wow… waah….”

Everyone stared at the sky with wide eyes.

The starlight and moonlight shining in the sky brightly illuminated the Arond territory.

Torches softly illuminated the surroundings, driving away the darkness of the night.

“It’s light!”

“The light has returned!”

“The rumor that the Constellation of the End drove away the disaster was true!”

The travelers cheered.

The fanatics stared at the sky with wide eyes.

“M, my goodness…!”

“The light of night has returned….”

“…T, that’s not what they said? The Black Arbiters said that the Constellation of the End would destroy the world? That if we killed the constellations, that disaster would come and never disappear….”

One of the fanatics, who was speaking, stopped abruptly in surprise and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Fortunately, everyone was cheering, so no one heard their words.

The fanatics were relieved.

Yet, they moved their feet.

First, they had to find an inn and wait until the execution of Holy Emperor Pallis.

When the execution was carried out, a large crowd would gather.

That’s when the grand event would begin.

The fanatics scattered and secured inns.

Then, they opened the windows and tied letters to the legs of pigeons and flew them into the air.

Soon after, the pigeons returned.

The merchant stabbed the belly of the flown pigeon with a dagger and cut it open.

Inside the pigeon’s body was a small bottle containing the Worm Pest.

“Good! With this…!”

Someone was watching that scene.

“…Some guys who aren’t infected with worms have come in.”

High above the clock tower, Loki was sitting on the roof of the clock tower.

He heard their words amidst the noise.

They were definitely a group that mentioned the Black Arbiters.

“Wow! Loki-nim! Everyone likes looking at the sky!”

Behind him, Cancun, holding a pen and paper in her hand, was looking around the streets with sparkling eyes.

“Cancun.”

“Yes!”

“You’ve identified their locations, right?”

“Of course! I’ve found out the lodgings where the cultists are staying!”

Cancun shook the paper in her hand.

“I’ll pass it on to the Einherjar [elite warriors] . They will monitor and suppress them as soon as they move suspiciously!”

“Okay.”

“But could you tell me why you’re not suppressing them now?”

Cancun tilted her head.

She thought it would be better to suppress them now.

“If we catch them now, we won’t be able to properly lure the worm bastards, will we?”

The bastards would be preparing a total offensive, feeling relieved that the infiltrating agents were safe.

Loki smiled.

The performance of the bait is certain.

It would be the role of the Holy Order to catch the swarming worms all at once.

“I’m looking forward to the execution.”

***

Time passed quickly.

“Damn it! What the hell are the Black Arbiters doing?! Why aren’t they coming to save me!”

Pallis, who was in prison, screamed, banging his head against the iron bars.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

He didn’t even know how many days had passed.

He had no way of knowing since he wasn’t even provided with food in a place where the sun didn’t shine, on the grounds that he was infected with the Worm Pest.

As his sense of time dulled, he was gradually going insane.

“These damn iron bars…!”

Pallis used divine power to cut the iron bars.

And as he headed towards the entrance of the underground prison, Einherjar in silver-white armor stood there.

Pallis paused.

“Haa… How many times is this….”

Sharin sighed and pulled out the dagger from her waist.

Pallis’s expression hardened at the sight.

“First of all… even if it’s slow, it regenerates. I’ll have to cut off one of your limbs so you don’t run away.”

“H, how dare you! I am the Holy Emperor! H, how dare you… me…!”

“I’m an imperial princess, you know? I’m on a different level than a fallen criminal. And….”

Sharin’s expression turned cold.

“In our empire, we cut off one of the arms or legs of an escapee on the first attempt. On the second attempt, we cut out the eyes and ears. So… how many times is this for you?”

At those words, Pallis closed his mouth.

Sharin smiled and approached Pallis.