Chapter 12. Constellation VS Constellation (4)
Seok Taejun couldn’t believe his eyes.
Those monsters had looked completely impossible to defeat, yet they had been subdued in an instant!
“Kang Yujin!”
He hurried over, and Kang Yujin tilted his head before speaking.
“Seok Taejun, I keep getting messages saying that a B-rank Constellation called ‘Leader of the Expedition’ wants to form a Constellation Contract with me. What am I supposed to do about this?”
“Kang Yujin, you’re already contracted with an S-rank Constellation, so a B-rank Constellation shouldn’t be able to interfere with your contract.”
A Constellation could break a contractor’s existing contract and make them sign a new contract with itself.
However, that was only possible if the contractor was currently contracted with a Constellation of a lower rank.
“Ah, maybe that Constellation has some unique ability. Something like being able to freely cancel contracts.”
“Really? Well, it has nothing to do with me… but it’s annoying that the message keeps popping up.”
Kang Yujin muttered as if it wasn’t particularly important.
At that moment, a new message appeared.
[B-rank Constellation ‘Leader of the Expedition’ has received a warning. Reason: Message spam.]
It seemed No. 49, who managed the broadcast, had taken care of it.
Once a warning was issued, the Constellation would be unable to send any messages for ten minutes.
“But Kang Yujin, wouldn’t it be better to finish them off quickly?”
Echidna, Hydra, Orthrus, and Cerberus were still alive.
Hydra, Orthrus, and Cerberus had been affected by Hydra’s poison, so they might die naturally if left alone.
However, there was also a chance they had resistance to it.
“You said there was some hidden element, right?”
“Pardon?”
“If we kill them, it’ll all be over, won’t it? We should find that hidden thing first and finish it afterward.”
Kang Yujin was more level-headed than Seok Taejun had expected.
He had thought Kang Yujin only knew how to charge forward recklessly and smash everything apart.
But apparently, he still remembered that killing Echidna would fulfill the event’s completion condition and immediately end the event.
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Well…”
Seok Taejun looked around.
There was no way there were absolutely no clues.
“Ah, wait a second.”
In Greek mythology, Hydra, Orthrus, and Cerberus were not Echidna’s only children.
There was also the monstrous lion defeated by Heracles.
And Chimera.
They had already defeated a lion-shaped monster on the way here.
But they had never seen Chimera.
Could it be…?
Seok Taejun raised his head.
In the direction Echidna had appeared from, he could see a huge cave.
If that is Echidna’s nest, could there be another offspring inside?
He walked over and stuck his head into the cave.
Then he noticed something rustling deeper inside.
This is it!
Seok Taejun knew it instinctively.
This was the Hidden Piece.
“Kang Yujin! Come look at this! It’s this one!”
He shouted for Kang Yujin.
But at that moment—
A shower of flames suddenly rained down from the sky.
And completely swallowed Kang Yujin.
Cheon Muhyeok was feeling quite satisfied.
Things went much more smoothly than I expected.
The greatest obstacle when defeating Echidna was Hydra.
Unlike the mere “subspecies” that simply had several heads, this Hydra possessed abilities much closer to the Hydra from mythology.
In particular, it possessed extremely lethal poison.
Because of that, it was difficult to find a contractor willing to stand at the front and act as a “tank.”
In the past, Cheon Muhyeok could have found someone suitable through his connections.
But after losing the political struggle and being driven out of the capital region, there was no one left willing to help him.
That’s why I planned to sweet-talk Kang Yujin and use him as bait…
But he never imagined Kang Yujin would possess enough poison resistance to completely nullify Hydra’s poison.
In the end, Kang Yujin subdued Hydra, Orthrus, and Cerberus without suffering any serious injuries.
Then he even beat Echidna down.
And Seok Taejun even found the Hidden Piece for me. That saves me some trouble.
Kang Yujin and Seok Taejun had already done everything for him.
There was no longer any reason to keep them around.
All he needed to do was take the Hidden Piece and leave.
Of course, after cleaning things up.
“C-Cheon Muhyeok!”
From the ground, Seok Taejun raised his head and shouted urgently.
“What are you doing?!”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
Cheon Muhyeok looked down at the sea of flames below and smiled.
“I’m cleaning things up. Getting rid of useless trash.”
Echidna.
Hydra.
Orthrus.
Cerberus.
And Kang Yujin.
He would burn every last one of these monsters to death right here.
Of course, he would have to wait a little before completely finishing Echidna off.
“You bastard…!”
At that moment, Kang Yujin rose from within the flames.
“Oh? You can still move? You’re tougher than those monsters.”
“What the hell is that thing…?!”
Kang Yujin shouted from the ground.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking what the hell you’re riding!”
“Isn’t it obvious just by looking?”
Cheon Muhyeok answered leisurely.
“One of the most famous mythical beasts in the world… Pegasus.”
That was right.
Cheon Muhyeok was currently looking down from high above the ground.
He was riding Pegasus, the winged horse.
“You’re using the power of a Constellation too, aren’t you? This is the power of the Constellation I contracted with.”
Cheon Muhyeok’s contracted Constellation was the A-rank Constellation, ‘Hero of the Golden Bridle.’
Its true identity was Bellerophon, a hero from Greek mythology.
He was famous for taming Pegasus using a golden bridle obtained from a goddess.
That was why Cheon Muhyeok, his contractor, could summon Pegasus.
“Just so you know, this isn’t an imitation manifestation or a limited manifestation. I can use the real Pegasus however I want… This is the Maximum Manifestation of a Constellation Armament.”
A Constellation Armament.
It referred to the legendary weapons, equipment, techniques, and similar powers possessed by Constellations.
A contractor acknowledged by their Constellation could “manifest” those Constellation Armaments in reality.
However, not just anyone could use them.
Most contractors couldn’t even perform a “Pseudo Manifestation,” which reproduced only a portion of a Constellation Armament’s abilities.
Only contractors who were especially favored by their Constellations could manifest a Constellation Armament.
And among them, only the single contractor who received the Constellation’s greatest recognition could use “Maximum Manifestation,” drawing out the full power of the Constellation Armament.
The Pegasus Cheon Muhyeok was currently riding had been summoned through that very Maximum Manifestation.
Unlike an “Imitation Manifestation” or “Limited Manifestation,” there was no time limit.
And Pegasus could use its full abilities.
“Kang Yujin, you possess incredible physical ability. If you polish your techniques in the future, you could become a top-class contractor.”
“……”
“But there’s one problem.”
Cheon Muhyeok smiled.
“All you can do is throw punches on the ground. So how exactly are you going to counterattack against me while I’m casting magic from the sky?”
The reason Cheon Muhyeok had once ruled as one of the Eight Divinities in the capital region, where absurdly powerful monsters gathered, was because of Pegasus.
There were many different Constellations in the world.
However, only a tiny number of them could grant their contractors the ability to fly.
And that ability to fly provided an overwhelming advantage in countless situations.
“Die helplessly, Kang Yujin.”
Magic began raining down again.
Kang Yujin was certainly durable, but if he continued being bombarded by magic like this, he would eventually reach his limit.
“Cheon Muhyeok!”
At that moment, Seok Taejun shouted again.
“Stop this! Is this really necessary?! Why are you doing this?!”
“Is it wrong to dispose of a tool that no longer has any use?”
“W-What did you say?”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time. Together with my Constellation.”
That was right.
Cheon Muhyeok had been waiting for this day all along.
In the past, Cheon Muhyeok had lost his position among the Eight Divinities and had been driven out of the capital region.
During that process, he lost all the wealth he had accumulated, including his Coins.
Bellerophon, who had invested enormous amounts into Cheon Muhyeok, had also suffered a major loss.
Cheon Muhyeok had been desperately struggling ever since to recover those losses.
Even going so far as to come to a rural place like this.
“Now I’ll finally gain the qualifications to participate in the Scenario, and I’ll be able to return to the capital region. I might even reclaim my position among the Eight Divinities. So there’s nothing left for me here anymore. I’ll leave everything behind and move on.”
“What the hell are you talking about…?!”
“Good grief.”
Cheon Muhyeok was beginning to get annoyed.
Now that he thought about it, Seok Taejun was no longer useful either.
“You’re noisy, Seok Taejun.”
Cheon Muhyeok pointed the tip of his staff toward Seok Taejun.
Immediately afterward, Seok Taejun was helplessly swallowed by flames.
His entire body was burning.
It was agony unlike anything Seok Taejun had experienced before.
The pain was so intense that he could barely even scream.
