Chapter 27 – Kim Jinho

Huff… Huff…!

Meanwhile, Kim Jinho, who was fleeing toward the starting point, was running while panting heavily.

“Why is that damn wolf pup so fast?!”

While keeping an eye on Lycan chasing him with Thousand-League Eye and occasionally firing arrows to keep him in check.

Ping- whoosh! Ping- shush!

Lycan easily dodged, leaving silver trails in his wake.

He even saw and dodged the Second Awakening Skill 《Snipe》 mixed in among the shots.

Lycan, who had been a 1-Star Dire Wolf, was now a Three-Star Werewolf thanks to the power of the Stigma of Myriad Fire Transformations.

“Grrrr!”

Myriad Fire Transformations didn’t just change form; it also copied the abilities and Grade of the transformed being.

Although currently limited to a two-step transformation into a Werewolf due to the insufficient Grade and power of the Constellation that bestowed the Stigma.

If the Constellation regained all its power, the potential of Myriad Fire Transformations was the ability to transform into an even more powerful form.

Thud-thud-thud!

Lycan, with the swiftness derived from Moon Spirit Dash, quickly closed the distance to Kim Jinho.

The silver moonlight that had only enveloped his legs now covered his upper body as the Werewolf’s Second Awakening Skill unfolded.

《Silver Moon Steel Body》

Srrung!

The Werewolf’s claws sharpened like blades, swirling with a silver light similar to Sword Qi.

“I’m not Lee Hanseong! You think I’ll die to some mutt raised by that bastard?!”

Faced with the imminent danger of being torn apart by the Werewolf’s claws, Kim Jinho stopped running and threw a desperate gamble.

He instantly raised his Synchronization Rate with the Sniper Spirit to over 90%.

“Guhk!”

Kim Jinho coughed up blood even before Lycan could touch him.

It was a Synchronization Rate Overload phenomenon.

His mind was being flooded with the memories and ego of the foreign entity.

But, he didn’t stop.

If he stopped, he would die anyway.

And the moment the Synchronization Rate reached 100%, Kim Jinho’s ego was overwritten by the Spirit’s ego.

“Ah—”

Just before Lycan could touch the crouching Kim Jinho with his claws, Kim Jinho’s head lifted.

The eyes once filled with the fear of death were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a cold, sharp gaze.

“Where does a mere beast think it’s going?”

Kim Jinho—no, the Four-Star Sniper Spirit that had Possessed his body—moved his body just enough to stay out of the claw’s reach and fired an arrow.

Piyung!

It was an arrow fired at point-blank range, but with Lycan’s speed, he could easily dodge it.

Even if it hit, it wouldn’t be able to wound his body protected by Silver Moon Steel Body.

Lycan’s reason judged so, but his instinct screamed to dodge, so he hastily moved his foot.

Tat!

As he escaped the arrow’s trajectory and was about to feel relieved.

The trajectory of the fired arrow curved.

It was the power of the Third awakening skill 《Certain Hit》, unlocked as the Spirit took over the body.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

Arrows of Certain Hit, targeting only weak points through <Weakness Detection> and <Target Designation>. They continued to be fired, gradually increasing in number.

The more arrows there were, the harder it became to dodge.

Moreover, since <Magic Arrow> granted various magical attributes like acceleration, penetration, and explosion to each arrow, their speed and power varied.

Swish- Slurp!

Even when he swung his claws to intercept the arrows before they hit his weak points, the arrows curved to avoid the claws, creating openings instead.

Bang! Thud! Shuk!

An explosion that went off right in front of his nose, arrowheads piercing each of his eyes.

One of them, imbued with a penetration attribute, nearly pierced through to his brain, but thanks to Silver Moon Steel Body, he barely avoided instant death.

“Kiiing.”

As if to finish off Lycan, who was groaning in pain, Kim Jinho fired an arrow.

A penetrating arrow meant to split the arrow already piercing his eye!

Jjeo-eok!

Since it was digging into an already pierced spot, this arrow finally pierced through Lycan’s brain.

Puhak!

But Lycan didn’t die.

Because a Black Shadow Clone deployed for Lycan took the damage instead.

Lee Hanseong had connected Lycan to the Swarm before sending him out in preparation for such a situation.

However, since the situation was urgent, it was Jin Yuseong by his side who created Lycan’s Black Shadow Clone.

When he revived using the clone as a Body Double, Lycan’s location inevitably became the midpoint of the right passage where Jin Yuseong’s main body was.

“Did I miss him.”

Kim Jinho muttered as he watched Lycan’s Black Shadow Clone disappear into shadows.

He turned his body and headed back toward the midpoint.

He had no intention of returning to the starting point to flee.

“Lee Hanseong… I’ll kill him.”

Because the will left by Kim Jinho’s ego desired Lee Hanseong’s death.

Although the body was still only 1-Star, with the skill of a Four-Star Spirit, it was possible to succeed in sniping depending on the situation.

Slurp.

As the Concealment Skill unfolded, Kim Jinho’s Divine Form melted into the shadows of the passage.

* * *

“Lycan was defeated?”

Lee Hanseong, who had witnessed the entire situation of Lycan’s defeat thanks to the Swarm connection, let out a sigh.

Who would have thought he’d hand over his body to the Spirit by using Synchronization Rate Overload.

The current Kim Jinho was almost no different from a Three-Star Awakened.

Not a significant opponent for us in Consecutive Transcendence state, but once Consecutive Transcendence is released, he could become a considerable variable.

‘For now, I need to keep him in mind.’

Kang Min, who was fighting Park Seongcheol, met his death the moment Chungmugong, who had defeated Giparang, joined the fray.

Kang Min’s head, severed by Chungmugong’s Three-Foot Sword, rolled on the floor with eyes wide open.

Considering the future Great War, losing a combatant equivalent to a Seven-Star Contractor was regrettable, but it’s not like we could spare an opponent who tried to kill us.

‘Be satisfied with becoming a sacrifice for our growth.’

As Kang Min disappeared, it simply meant we needed to become stronger.

The only concern was that this was the first killing for Park Seongcheol or other party members.

“Are you okay?”

“What about?”

“It’s your first time killing a person, not a monster.”

He deliberately brought up the topic of killing to gauge their reactions, but they didn’t seem particularly shocked.

“If we didn’t kill him, we would have died. Is there any reason not to be okay?”

“It didn’t seem much different from killing monsters.”

Since they were connected through Colonization, he knew their words were sincere.

Instead, Yu Sehee asked.

“Isn’t there something more important than that?”

“……?”

“The fact that a Contractor tried to kill you means there’s someone behind it outside.”

“Why, Kim Jinho could have commissioned it.”

“Don’t say things even you don’t believe. Or do you still not trust us?”

“Of course not.”

“Then, it would be nice if you told us your secrets now.”

He knew well what she was asking about.

The power struggle over the Association Head position.

Chungmugong’s Promotion to Seven-Star.

Even the Constellation’s Blessing felt with each Colonization.

There must be many things they’re curious about.

“Right. Having come this far, what’s there to hide.”

Lee Hanseong turned his gaze to the Constellation’s Projection.

The Constellation, sensing his intention, wrapped the Projection with Black Shadow Manipulation Art, materializing a shadow-formed entity just as it had when it was a cat.

“It’s the first time greeting you directly. Nice to meet you, humans.”

At the sudden appearance of a cat-eared smiling girl, Jin Yuseong’s mouth dropped open, and Yu Sehee’s eyes widened.

Especially for Jin Yuseong, who mainly uses Black Shadow Manipulation Art, he knew that forming a solid entity from shadows required the level of a Black Shadow Clone, an Awakening Skill, so he seemed even more surprised.

Park Seongcheol wasn’t surprised since he could see the Projection even before it manifested as a shadow.

“So the shadow cat made early in the hunt was created this way too.”

“That’s right, it’s the Lord of the Throne I serve. And now, the Lord of the Throne Seongcheol serves too.”

“What?!”

Although connected through Colonization, since details related to Constellation selection weren’t explicitly revealed, it was the first time Jin Yuseong’s team heard this.

But the surprise was short-lived.

“Well, thinking about what you’ve shown so far, it’s not strange that you already have a chosen Constellation.”

They quickly showed signs of acceptance.

“But it doesn’t seem like one of the Twelve Constellations of the Heavenly Palace no matter how I look at it. Is it perhaps a Heresy Constellation?”

Jin Yuseong asked the crucial question.

Lee Hanseong nodded.

“The very concept of Heresy implies a Heavenly Palace-centric way of thinking, but strictly speaking, it is Heresy.”

“It’s not related to the Unchain side, is it?”

Seeing Yu Sehee mentioning the name of a representative terrorist organization where Heresy Contractors gather, he shook his head.

“When I made my choice, I was the only Devotee of the Lord of the Throne. Now, with Lycan and Seongcheol also becoming Devotees, it’s increased to three.”

“A Constellation with only one Devotee. It doesn’t seem like a very dangerous Constellation.”

“But how can it provide this much help with that level of influence…?”

It was common knowledge that a Constellation’s influence equated to the Causality it could intervene with in reality.

The help Lee Hanseong’s Constellation provided was abnormally significant intervention, just considering Chungmugong’s Promotion alone.

It was the Constellation who answered.

“It is because this one’s Grade is not yet that great.”

The reason the Twelve Constellations cannot easily intervene in reality is that their Grades clash with the world.

They must consume the resource called Causality and reduce the world’s backlash by employing Spirits to intervene in reality.

But an unnamed Constellation was different.

A Constellation that hasn’t yet reclaimed its name is a half-Constellation, so the world’s backlash isn’t that great.

A situation where, because of the Divine Fall, even more intervention became possible.

“If this one reclaims its name, it will likely be difficult to provide the same level of help as now.”

While the prospect that direct help wouldn’t last forever, Jin Yuseong focused on a different aspect.

“So, if you become a Devotee now, you get the Constellation’s full-fledged support, right?”

“That’s… correct.”

“Can’t miss an opportunity like this.”

[The Grade of the Unnamed Constellation becomes slightly clearer.]

Whether Jin Yuseong immediately chose the Unnamed Constellation, the Constellation’s Grade increased.

“I also wasn’t too fond of only those favored by the Twelve Constellations succeeding.”

As if not wanting to be outdone, Yu Sehee, who showed antipathy toward the Heavenly Palace side, also completed her Constellation selection.

It wasn’t hard to understand.

If they became Devotees of other Twelve Constellations, there would be far more outstanding competitors than them.

No matter how promising they were, they were still far below the top-tier Awakened.

Since Constellation’s patronage mostly concentrated on upper Devotees, it was only natural they would rarely receive the Constellation’s benefits.

‘They must think it’s better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon.’

[The Grade of the Unnamed Constellation becomes slightly clearer.]

In a short time, as the Constellation gained its fourth and fifth Devotees, its Grade seemed to swell, then shrank again.

The duration of Consecutive Transcendence had ended.

As the Grades of those belonging to the Swarm lowered, the Constellation’s Grade also decreased proportionally.

There was even a risk that the newly Bloomed Stigma of Myriad Fire Transformations might be sealed again.

Fortunately, the increase from formally accepting two Devotees remained, so that didn’t happen.

Pas-s-s-s.

As Jin Yuseong’s Black Shadow Clone, reverted to 1-Star, was released, the two clones also disappeared.

Park Seongcheol, having confirmed that changes in Devotees directly lead to changes in the Constellation, opened his mouth as if something occurred to him.

“It wouldn’t be bad to even form a Guild beyond just a party, right? Since I’ve become a Seven-Star Contractor, I also qualify for the upcoming Heavenly Palace Tournament. If we perform well there, we could recruit new Guild members and Devotees.”

“Not a bad idea. So be it.”

The Constellation nodded as if pleased with Park Seongcheol’s opinion.

The Heavenly Palace Tournament he mentioned was an event similar to the Olympics before the Great Cataclysm, a stage of competition and harmony where Awakened from all over the world gathered to compete.

But this Heavenly Palace Tournament was too dangerous to participate in with such a light heart.

Because this Heavenly Palace Tournament would be attacked by the terrorist organization Unchain.

Recalling that horrific future, Lee Hanseong’s expression turned serious.

‘To prevent that, we need to become stronger than we are now.’

What was needed was Overwhelming Power.

And the fastest way to obtain such power was through gear.

“For now, since the troublemaker is gone, let’s continue the raid.”

He wanted to deal with Kim Jinho, who had been consumed by the Spirit, first, but there was no immediate way to locate him.

It would be better to deliberately show an opening to lure him out.

Also, anticipating the Legendary Equipment that would appear at the next midpoint, we immediately entered the next passage.

* * *

The subsequent raid proceeded smoothly.

Lee Hanseong’s team, now with Chungmugong added, was of course formidable, and Jin Yuseong’s team, with Lycan added, could keep up with the hunting speed without falling behind.

Thus, the two teams from both passages arrived at the second midpoint at a much faster speed than before.

“After the Sun Star King, it’s the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.”

“Over there, it’s a Fairy. An Apostle of the Wind Constellation, they say.”

Similar to the first midpoint, a shrine existed, and inside, a Stone Golem modeled after an Apostle awaited.

“Roughly got it. It seems the left passage has Apostles of Earth, and the right passage has Apostles of the Otherworld.”

“Hmm. Then what about the next passage? Could this be the last midpoint?”

If divided equally by the number of the Twelve Constellations, there should be up to the sixth.

But since there are only two Apostles of Earth, it’s uncertain if there will be more midpoints.

“Well, we’ll know when we get there.”

After waiting for Jin Yuseong’s team to defeat the Stone Golem in the opposite passage, they awakened the stone statue on their side just before the finishing blow.

Chwaaak!

No matter how tough a 4-Star Golem was, with the now Seven-Star Chungmugong stepping in, it ended in one blow.

Click.

With the collapse of the Stone Golem, the treasure chest opened, revealing the form of Legendary Equipment.

“A sword.”

[Appraised <Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword>.]

For Lee Hanseong’s team, a demon sword shrouded in dull darkness, similar to the Gluttonous Demon Sword.

For Jin Yuseong’s team, boots with a swirling wind emerged.

As he swallowed his saliva and slowly reached to take out the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword.

Pahat.

Kim Jinho, who had been Concealed in the shadow behind the treasure chest, leaped out and reached for the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword before him.

But Lee Hanseong wasn’t surprised by the sudden appearance of the opponent and instead curled up the corner of his mouth.

“Right, I knew you’d come.”

Because the Sniper Spirit that Possessed Kim Jinho belonged to the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation.

It couldn’t just pass by a treasure containing the power of the Heavenly Slaughter Constellation.

Screech!

Chungmugong, who had appeared beside him unnoticed, severed the arm Kim Jinho had stretched out.

Only then did the opponent, who had been mesmerized by the treasure, realize his mistake, his eyes shaking violently.