Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 64

The Player Who Became a Constellation – Episode 64

Everyone headed to their assigned rooms to rest, leaving Loki and Cancun alone in the banquet hall.

Loki sipped his drink, watching Cancun.

She had her head buried in her arms on the table, groaning softly. A smile tugged at the corners of Loki’s lips.

“Tired?”

“…You have no idea. I’m beyond tired.”

Cancun waved a dismissive hand, chuckling weakly.

“Well, you were drinking everything they put in front of you.”

“It’s just… I got caught up in the atmosphere… Besides, I can usually handle my liquor….”

Cancun brushed her hair behind her ear and looked at Loki. She was smiling, but her face was pale.

“Use a purification potion if you need to.”

“I’m still oka–”

Cancun stopped abruptly, covering her mouth.

Then, glancing at Loki, she pulled out a purification potion and took a swig.

Loki burst out laughing.

“You’re quite a sight.”

“Don’t laugh. It was rough.”

Cancun shot Loki a disgruntled look.

“Is that so? Still, I didn’t expect such generous treatment.”

“Thanks to you, the ‘uncles’ seemed very pleased, didn’t they?”

Calling them ‘uncles’ was likely a reference to the Berserker warriors.

“So… what do you think of your journey across the continent?”

“It was interesting.”

Or perhaps, intriguing?

In truth, nothing particularly significant had happened. However, he had become quite curious about the people he’d met and the Worm Fest disease.

“That… the woman you’re looking for, what is she to you?”

Loki stroked his chin, watching Cancun, who was cautiously probing.

“An old comrade.”

“A lover?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. Maybe a close senior colleague?”

“Is that so?”

Watching Cancun smile, Loki picked up his glass and took another sip.

The sharp, unique taste that tingled on his tongue was quite enjoyable.

“Is it because the food is good?”

Loki turned his gaze to the ceiling.

“The hungry rats are gathering.”

On the other side of the ceiling, dozens of grotesque figures lying prone drew their daggers.

***

“Ugh… I, I’ll never drink again!”

“…Kudan, Captain. Do you know you said the same thing last time?”

The Berserker warriors supported Kudan as they made their way to their assigned room.

Not only Kudan but also the Berserker warriors were staggering, unable to keep their balance, as if they were drunk.

They arrived at the room and unceremoniously dumped Kudan on the bed. Then, they stumbled towards their own beds to collapse from exhaustion.

“Oops!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I left my equipment behind!”

The Berserker warriors exchanged glances and chuckled.

“That’s right! To abandon equipment that should be valued more than life itself! Are you crazy, you idiot!”

“Don’t talk about others. You left yours behind too?!”

“What should we do?”

“We can just get it tomorrow.”

“Hmm… but you know.”

One of the Berserker warriors pointed to a wardrobe.

“I feel uneasy leaving that cockroach hiding in that wardrobe alone.”

At that moment, the wardrobe door burst open.

The assassins in black flashed murderous intent in their eyes.

Simultaneously, a gleaming blade hurtled towards the Berserker warrior’s forehead with terrifying speed.

Then, the assassin’s wrist was seized.

“……!”

The assassin couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was a perfect strike.

It should have been impossible to defend against this surprise attack, but the Nord [referring to a warrior from the Northern region] easily blocked it.

“…Kuaaak!”

Not only that, but the surprise attacks of the other assassins also seemed to have failed, judging by the groans echoing around the room.

Other assassins crashed through the windows and rushed in to attempt a surprise attack, but the Berserker warriors simply dodged the swung daggers and subdued them.

On the contrary, the assassins were being subdued, their hands broken, and beaten to a pulp.

‘What…?!’

The assassin struggled to escape the iron grip, but he couldn’t break free.

“What are you? No matter how charming I am, you can’t just rush at me like this!”

The assassin frowned at the Berserker warrior’s words.

With his free hand, he grabbed the hook on his belt and swung it down to sever the Berserker warrior’s hand, but before he could, the assassin’s face was crushed.

“Ah…! That startled me. My hand almost flew off.”

“Kuaaak…!”

The assassin groaned, clutching his face.

Usually, assassins are trained to withstand capture and torture.

However, even that training was useless against the pain of having his nose bone and frontal skull crushed by a single blow.

It was excruciating.

‘Fai, failure? Then…!’

The assassin staggered and tried to plunge the dagger in his hand into his heart, but he was too late.

“Oops. Hey! Did I make you upset? Even if you’re disappointed, you shouldn’t throw away your precious life so easily!”

The Berserker warrior stomped on his wrist, crushing it.

With a sickening ‘crunch,’ the assassin writhed silently.

Sweating profusely, he turned his bloodshot eyes to the side and saw bone protruding through the skin.

The arm was a mangled mess.

In this state, the arm would have to be completely amputated, let alone healed.

The assassin looked at his comrades.

‘…Kill the leader!’

The assassins who were still free confronted the Berserker warriors and stared at a bed.

“Ugh… wh, what’s going on?”

Just then, a man who appeared to be their leader was waking up, clutching his head.

‘Eliminate the guy in front of you! If you fail, Marquis Halloom will take care of it!’

The assassins rushed towards ‘Kudan’ all at once.

The two assassins in the lead leaped forward.

The moment they tried to stab Kudan’s neck with the daggers in their hands….

“…Goodness! Are you crazy!”

“Why Kudan, Captain, of all people…?”

Before the Berserker warriors’ sympathetic voices could finish, the heads of the two assassins were seized by a heavy hand.

And….

Thwack!

With the sound of a watermelon bursting, blood splattered everywhere, and only the shape of the heads remained between Kudan’s fingers.

The remaining assassins hesitated and stepped back.

Their faces were pale. Moreover, their eyes were bloodshot, and the veins were wriggling in the steel-like muscles of his arms, which were covered in blood and brain matter.

“What… is this? Ugh… my stomach….”

Kudan covered his mouth.

That sight alone was enough to instill fear even in trained assassins.

‘He’s… drinking blood and brains?!’

If you only saw that scene, he would look like a demon.

“…Kudan, Captain, is usually a kind person, but.”

“He’s terrifying when he’s drunk.”

The Berserker warriors clicked their tongues.

“So… what should we do now?”

“Originally, we should kill them… but shouldn’t we capture them after all?”

The Berserker warriors looked at the assassins and their eyes gleamed.

“Then….”

“Let’s start the hunt!”

The Berserker warriors, consumed by a battle frenzy, glared at the prey before them.

***

Cancun quickly grabbed her sword.

Her eyes sharpened as she swung her sword towards the ceiling.

With a flash, the ceiling split in half and collapsed.

Along with the debris of the ceiling, thick blood mixed with dirt and dust poured down.

Assassins in black robes descended through the collapsed rubble, and dozens of assassins burst through the banquet hall doors.

“You’ve prepared quite grandly. I wonder where these guys came from?”

Loki swirled his glass.

“Did Prince Ash send them?”

“…….”

“…It would be strange to answer even if I asked. Then.”

Loki said briefly to Cancun.

“They seem to be quite skilled… don’t kill them, capture them all. But don’t let a single one escape.”

“…Are you kidding me?”

Cancun asked in a stiff tone.

There were roughly 30 of them just in front of her.

If they fled in different directions, it would not be easy to subdue them all.

“Ah! Assassins might try to commit suicide. I’ll give you permission for purification potions and healing potions.”

“…Even preventing suicide… you’re serious.”

Cancun sighed, grabbed Brutgang [likely the name of her sword], and glared at the assassins.

***

The dark room became bright.

The two assassins who tried to kill Sallett stabbed each other’s bodies with daggers.

“Uwaaaaaaack!!”

Their eyes were glazed over.

Sallett’s divine power.

By [Charm], they were ordered to kill each other.

Sallett struck a pose, looking at the two of them.

“H, how dare humans try to kill me? How funny!”

He said that, but his body was trembling.

If he had hesitated, he might have been killed.

***

Aum was about to open the door to the banquet hall.

At that moment, one side of the door was smashed, and a figure crashed violently into the wall.

“……?”

Aum looked at the assassins in black robes and then gently shifted his gaze into the banquet hall.

‘What is it? This…?’

Black-clad assassins were scattered around.

Some were lying on the table, and some had their heads embedded in the ceiling, not moving at all.

Some were passed out, tangled up with their comrades.

“It’s… it’s over.”

“Good work.”

Cancun sat down as if exhausted, breathing heavily.

Sweat was pouring down, and she looked very tired.

“You can handle hundreds of Wight [undead creatures], but you’re struggling with these humans?”

Cancun wiped the sweat from the back of her hand and grumbled at the teasing tone.

“It’s not a joke. Even though I drank a purification potion, to subdue them without missing a single one while full of alcohol… and to prevent suicide, it’s really difficult.”

“But you did it.”

“…….”

“Just think of it as training.”

“I don’t want this kind of training.”

Aum tilted his head, listening to their conversation. He looked at the assassins scattered around the banquet hall and asked, puzzled.

“Who are these people?”

Aum Linia was late to the party.

***

“An assassination…?”

Aum Linia looked at the captured assassins in surprise.

Among them, some were trying to commit suicide by taking poison or biting their tongues, but they had already been stopped.

Including those subdued by the Berserker warriors, the number was around 100.

To carry out such a large-scale assassination right after the banquet ended….

‘I expected it, but I didn’t know they would make the first move like this?’

Loki stroked his chin.

But this is an opportunity.

Sent assassins? This is different from justification.

Being the target of an assassination attempt was enough to declare war on Lonia altogether.

Of course, that’s if the assassins mentioned Eastern Lonia.

“They’re not talking?”

Kudan scratched the back of his head, looking at the assassins.

He had used all sorts of torture to get them to talk, but no one opened their mouths.

Rather, they only offered twisted sneers and glared with bloodshot eyes.

“They seem to be quite… accustomed to pain.”

Aum looked at Loki at Kudan’s words.

“If you give me permission for potions… I can increase the intensity of the torture by cutting off their limbs and healing them.”

The assassins’ eyes wavered at Aum’s words.

They had been trained for pain, but they had never experienced the pain of having their limbs ‘severed’.

The assassins looked at Loki with uneasy eyes.

The crow-masked man looked down at the kneeling assassins and tilted his head.

‘Torture….’

“I have no interest in torture.”

The assassins were relieved at that one word.

At the same time as Loki’s words, the Berserker warriors lowered the torture tools they had prepared, looking disappointed.

“So….”

Loki bent down to meet the eye level of the kneeling assassins.

“Tell me what you know. Even simple information is fine.”

At his actions of simply asking, the corners of the assassins’ lips turned up.

The opponent is the type who hates harming someone. Even if it’s an enemy who tried to take his life.

‘What a fool.’

The assassins could only look down on Loki more than anyone else gathered here.

Some were monsters who crushed skulls with their bare hands, and some were skilled enough to swing their swords and collapse the ceiling.

Besides, the Berserker warriors were all beyond the realm of human ability.

To them, the crow-masked man in front of them seemed to have no ability at all.

Moreover, he could only be seen as an incompetent commander with a weak heart.

They were puzzled that such a person was the commander of this group of monsters, but it was fortunate.

They would never reveal information even through torture.

Even if they were treated well, no one would weaken and open their mouths.

If they used this opportunity to buy time until Marquis Halloom brought other troops or sought a way to escape…!

“…You’re not going to talk?”

Loki was disappointed.

“Then you’re not needed.”

He placed his hand on the assassin’s head.

At the same time, the head burst into flames.