Chapter 13 — Constellation VS Constellation (5)
‘Hero of the Golden Reins’ Bellerophon.
Despite being the great hero who had tamed Pegasus, his Throne was desolate.
There was nothing here except an old observation device lying on the floor. There was not even a single chair.
“You... Don’t tell me...”
Bellerophon glared at me.
“Are you the Constellation contracted with that bastard Kang Yujin?!”
“That’s right.”
Bellerophon was already speaking informally to me, so there was no reason for me to keep being polite either.
“How the hell did you find this place?! Do you have some kind of ability that lets you locate coordinates?!”
“I just bought the information.”
“What?”
“From Apostle No. 36, the Apostle assigned to you.”
Bellerophon looked as though he had been caught completely off guard.
“There’s nothing strange about it, is there? Apostles are people who trade anything as long as the price is right.”
“D-Don’t talk nonsense! There’s no way No. 36 would betray me!”
“Why do you think that?”
“No. 36 has been doing business with me all this time! Since long before Cheon Muhyeok! He’s someone I can trust!”
“Hey, Bellerophon.”
I spoke while feeling slightly bitter.
“Apostles act entirely according to profit and loss. Unlike Contractors or Constellations, those guys only pursue their own interests.”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
“You must have spent an enormous amount of Origin Power until now. So every time you spent Origin Power, who do you think took the commission?”
“...!”
“The person who probably profited the most while you and Cheon Muhyeok were falling apart was No. 36.”
And once No. 36 realized there was nothing more to squeeze out of Bellerophon, he had cleanly cut ties with him.
He had even earned one last bit of pocket money by selling Bellerophon’s information to me.
“No. 36 gave me a little tip. He said your Origin Power should be completely exhausted by now.”
“...!”
“Judging from that expression, it seems he was right.”
If Bellerophon had supported Cheon Muhyeok at the very end, Cheon Muhyeok might have had a chance to turn things around.
However, Bellerophon had given him no blessing at all.
In the end, Cheon Muhyeok had fallen helplessly.
It might have been different for another Constellation, but Bellerophon had gone all-in on Cheon Muhyeok.
There was no reason for him to simply watch while Cheon Muhyeok faced a life-or-death crisis.
Then why hadn’t Bellerophon supported him?
Because Bellerophon no longer had the power to do so.
“Bellerophon. Today’s Event was basically a proxy battle between you and me.”
Cheon Muhyeok was Bellerophon’s only Contractor.
Kang Yujin was my only Contractor.
If Cheon Muhyeok lost, Bellerophon would completely collapse.
If Kang Yujin lost, I would be placed in a difficult situation.
This battle was a fight between Cheon Muhyeok and Kang Yujin.
At the same time, it was also a battle between Bellerophon and me.
“Bellerophon, what do you think was the reason you lost?”
“What?”
“Was it because you lacked Origin Power? Because you couldn’t provide Cheon Muhyeok with enough support at the end?”
Of course, that was one reason.
But—
“The real reason you lost is because even though you were in trouble, you sat lazily on your Throne like all the other Constellations.”
“L-Lazily?”
“You should have gathered information and created a strategy. Instead, you left everything to Cheon Muhyeok and simply watched from behind. The most you did was send him a single Pegasus.”
If Bellerophon had gathered information from every possible source like I had and prepared strategies while considering different situations, his side might have won.
Like most Constellations, Bellerophon was simply someone who sat high above everyone else and acted superior.
That was why I had been able to defeat him.
“In the end, you brought about your own downfall.”
“Y-You insolent bastard...!”
Bellerophon charged toward me with a furious expression.
“How dare you insult me...!”
Bellerophon was furious, but that didn’t mean he was charging recklessly.
His movements belonged to an experienced warrior.
Pankration... No, perhaps its original form?
Pankration was an ancient Greek form of mixed martial arts.
Since Bellerophon was a Greek hero, it was only natural for him to use techniques similar to Pankration.
A straight punch characteristic of Pankration shot toward my face.
“...!”
However, Bellerophon’s fist never reached me.
I caught his arm midway—
and twisted it.
“Ugh?!”
A Constellation’s body was not a living physical body, but a spiritual one.
Apparently, they still felt pain exactly the same way.
While Bellerophon’s face twisted in pain, I took advantage of the opening and threw him over my shoulder with a clean movement.
Thud!
“Ghak...!”
Bellerophon screamed.
“Y-You bastard... What did you just do? How did you counter my technique so perfectly...?”
“You see, I was extremely weak when I was human.”
Keeping my foot pressed down on him so he couldn’t get back up, I slowly continued.
“To overcome that weakness, I learned many ways to break down an opponent’s techniques and catch them off guard.”
Of course, that hadn’t solved everything.
Even if I knew exactly how to counter a technique, most of the time I still couldn’t overcome a massive difference in basic physical ability.
“And I’m an S-rank Constellation now. On top of that, I possess 150 million Origin Power.”
I looked down at him.
“Compared to you, an A-rank Constellation whose Origin Power has already run dry... isn’t it obvious which one of us has the advantage?”
“Kuugh...!”
If we had been humans instead of Constellations, I would probably have been the one getting beaten helplessly instead of Bellerophon.
I had been an ordinary human with poor physical abilities.
Bellerophon was a hero whose name had been carved into mythology.
But now—
I was a Constellation.
I no longer had to bow my head because of inferior stats.
“You bastard...!”
Bellerophon forcefully pushed me away and managed to stand up again.
That’s right.
Come at me again.
Watching Bellerophon charge toward me once more, I confirmed that everything was going exactly as I wanted.
I didn’t come here today just to mock the defeated Bellerophon.
Everything I had said to insult him until now had only been meant to provoke him.
This way, I can find out just how much I can fight another Constellation as a Constellation myself.
I wanted to see how far a Constellation could go when fighting another Constellation.
That had two meanings.
First, I want to confirm my own potential after becoming a Constellation.
It was obvious that my stats were incomparable to what they had been when I was human.
But I still didn’t have a clear sense of exactly how strong I had become.
So I needed an opportunity to test my strength personally.
By fighting Bellerophon, another Constellation, I could determine roughly what level I had reached.
Second, I want to find out what is permitted when Constellations fight each other.
Were Constellations allowed to fight?
Was there a penalty for attacking another Constellation first?
Could one Constellation actually kill another during a fight?
And so on.
I wanted information about battles between Constellations.
Sorry about this, Bellerophon.
Watching Bellerophon continue charging toward me, I focused my mind.
You’ll have to become my tutorial opponent.
If I wanted to rise even higher as a Constellation in the future, Bellerophon was the perfect tutorial opponent.
I wondered how much time had passed.
I was catching my breath while looking down at Bellerophon, who was lying on the ground in a near-death state.
Then a voice came from behind me.
“As expected, you really are interesting, Nameless One.”
The S-rank Constellation, ‘King of Vengeance.’
The Count of Monte Cristo was watching me.
“How did you know I was here? Is that one of your Constellation Skills?”
Earlier, Bellerophon had asked whether I possessed an ability that allowed me to locate coordinates.
If such an ability really existed, perhaps the Count was its owner.
“I have no reason to teach you something like that for free, Nameless One.”
“I told you all of my Constellation Skills.”
“That was because you wanted an investment from me. Revealing information about yourself when seeking an investment is only natural.”
The Count approached me with a cold smile.
“You should stop tormenting that hero now. If you attack him any further, you’ll end his existence with your own hands.”
“What happens if I do?”
“At least as far as you are concerned, nothing will happen.”
So there was no direct penalty for killing another Constellation?
“However, the other Constellations will begin treating you as someone dangerous. A newly born Constellation going around killing other Constellations...”
The Count shook his head.
“That would not be good. Considering your future activities, you should stop here.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“I would like you to leave what comes next to me.”
The Count lightly tapped my shoulder and stepped forward.
“R-Revenge King?”
“It has been a long time, Hero of the Golden Reins.”
Bellerophon recognized the Count and began trembling.
“There’s nothing complicated about why I’m here. I simply came to collect an old loan.”
“W-What?! Why are you bringing that up now...?!”
“The repayment date has already passed. Did you think I had forgotten?”
Did the Count run some kind of financial business among Constellations?
Well, even when he was human, he had been a wealthy man who controlled an enormous fortune...
“I simply allowed you more time at my own discretion. However, after watching today’s events, I decided there was no longer any reason to keep waiting.”
“W-Wait!”
Seeing Bellerophon begging the Count was almost pitiful.
“Does he owe you a lot?”
“Originally, they were debts he owed to other Constellations. I acquired all of them.”
The Count answered my question with a cold expression.
Then he looked down at Bellerophon.
“Hero of the Golden Reins. Two hundred and thirty million Origin Power.”
His voice was merciless.
“I would like you to repay it here and now.”
“Uugh!”
Two hundred and thirty million!
That was an enormous amount.
It was far more Origin Power than I currently possessed.
“P-Please wait, King of Vengeance.”
“I cannot wait.”
“The Scenario will begin soon! Once I spread my name there, I can easily obtain that much! Just give me a little more time!”
I had been unable to move far beyond the 150 million Origin Power I had received when I first became a Constellation.
Even when Kang Yujin performed well, my Origin Power only increased by a few million.
And that increase was usually canceled out by the Origin Power I spent on Constellation Skills and broadcasts.
But Bellerophon was saying he could easily obtain 230 million during a Scenario?
Scenarios were certainly much larger events than normal Events or Quests.
But did Scenarios really hold that much importance for Constellations?
“Hero of the Golden Reins, I thought the same thing. That is why I waited until now.”
“T-Then...!”
“But you lost.”
Bellerophon froze.
“Even the Contractor you trusted ended up like that. How exactly do you intend to perform well in the Scenario?”
“U-Ugh...”
“There is no future for you. I know that, which is why I came to collect the debt.”
“U-Uuugh...”
The Count’s voice became even colder.
“If repayment is impossible, then you are bankrupt, Hero of the Golden Reins.”
Bellerophon bit his lip and struck the floor with his fist.
“You know what happens to a bankrupt Constellation, don’t you?”
“Kugh...”
“A Constellation whose Origin Power falls below zero can no longer maintain its existence as a Constellation.”
The Count raised one finger.
“At that point, you are given two choices.”
He continued.
“The first is the destruction of your existence...”
His gaze remained fixed on Bellerophon.
“The death of your soul. You disappear from the universe without going anywhere.”
“...”
Then the Count raised another finger.
