Chapter 29 – A-Rank Constellation (1)
“What did you do to Xiahou En?”
“Xiahou En? You mean that small fry?”
The voice of the “Witch of the Eagle” came through the communication window.
“I erased him. That guy already owed me a debt anyway. He was getting in my way.”
“Even so, is it really okay to erase another Constellation whenever you feel like it?”
“Nobody cares whether a D-Rank Constellation like that lives or dies.”
As I listened to her vicious words, I tried to figure out her true name.
If my guess was right, she was the witch Circe.
She was a figure from Greek mythology, and her name supposedly meant eagle.
The outfit I caught a glimpse of just now was also Ancient Greek in style. It has to be her.
Circe was one of the most famous witches of ancient times.
She was well known for turning countless people into animals and taming them.
She was also famous for having a close relationship with Odysseus, one of the great heroes of Greek mythology.
I think I saw her watching an Event before.
Was she an A-Rank Constellation?
According to the Count, there was no special penalty for killing another Constellation.
However, doing so could cause the other Constellations to mark you as someone dangerous.
Yet Circe had killed Xiahou En without a second thought.
She claimed nobody cared because he was only a D-Rank Constellation, but one thing was clear.
Circe was the kind of villain who felt absolutely nothing about killing another Constellation.
“So, Witch of the Eagle. What exactly are you planning?”
“Didn't you hear me? I said I'm going to crush you and your Contractors.”
Circe spoke in a sing-song voice.
“I've already gathered plenty of information about you. I know the King of Vengeance raised you, that you haven't been a Constellation for very long, and that Kang Yujin and Seok Taejun are basically the only Contractors you're managing.”
“You did a lot of research.”
“But there's one thing I don't understand.”
“What's that?”
“How can someone like you be an S-Rank Constellation?”
A strange smile appeared on Circe's face through the communication window.
“Only true heroes and great figures who left their names in the history of the Fantasy Grand World can become S-Rank Constellations. That's why they're usually famous people everyone knows, and it's difficult for them to hide their identities.”
“……”
“But nobody has any idea who you are or what you did. You don't even have a Constellation Name, and there isn't a single clue about your identity. Why do you think that is?”
“Who knows? Maybe I'm just shy.”
“Ahaha! That's a funny answer. But if you're so shy, why have you been putting so much effort into publicity?”
“I was only promoting my Contractors. Like you said, I'm still a rookie Constellation. Every single Contractor is precious to me.”
“What a pathetic excuse, Mr. Nameless. Anyway, I don't like you.”
Circe was clearly hostile toward me.
“One of my favorite Contractors happens to be active over there, you see. So I gave them orders to teach your Contractors a lesson.”
“You gave them direct orders?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No. I just heard that Constellations generally don't like directly commanding their Contractors.”
“That's not exactly wrong. But you'd better remember that it isn't an absolute rule.”
So Team Hecate attacking at this exact moment was Circe's doing.
A Constellation could see the world through an Observation Device.
If Circe was personally giving orders, it was entirely possible for her to wait until the Black Dragon Society and the Iron Blood Group exhausted themselves fighting before launching an ambush.
“I understand what you want. But why did you bother attacking Xiahou En just to contact me? Couldn't our Contractors simply settle things between themselves on the ground?”
“Because I wanted to give you a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Yes. You have two choices.”
Circe raised a finger.
“The first is to stay right where you are and watch your Contractors get beaten one-sidedly.”
“……”
“And the second is to surrender to me right now.”
“Surrender?”
“That's right. Bow your head and say, ‘I'm sorry for getting so full of myself,’ and then…”
A smile spread across Circe's lips.
“Come under me.”
“……”
“Of course, I'm not saying I'll take everything away from you and make you my slave. I'll even let you keep Kang Yujin and your other Contractors.”
“So instead, you want me to become your puppet and move whenever you give an order?”
“That's putting it a little too harshly. I'm simply asking you to stand on my side and cooperate with me from now on. Whatever else you may be, you're still an S-Rank Constellation. Having you on my side would be extremely useful.”
“And if an S-Rank Constellation becomes your subordinate, your fame will rise as well. Your Source Power too.”
“Of course.”
I could more or less understand what Circe wanted.
She didn't just want to beat down someone like me who had recently started attracting attention.
She wanted to bring me under her command as one of her own subordinate Constellations.
Are there quite a few Constellations trying to expand their factions like this?
Most Constellations seemed content to watch the mortal world and entertain themselves.
But apparently there were also quite a few who acted aggressively like Circe.
“If you're making me that offer, I guess you're pretty confident about the battle happening on the ground.”
“Hmm? Of course.”
Circe smiled.
“Team Hecate is an organization centered around Contractors specializing in magical attacks. They've already started bombarding your people from long range. No matter how impressive Kang Yujin might be, there's no way he can deal with this.”
“……”
Baphomet had previously gotten into trouble after allowing Kang Yujin to close the distance.
But Team Hecate had completely prevented that situation from happening.
They were relentlessly bombarding the battlefield with magic from long range.
It was certainly difficult for a close-combat fighter like Kang Yujin to fight back in this situation.
“Well, Mr. Nameless? Do you understand the situation now?”
“……”
Circe stared at me with a triumphant expression.
Looking at her face, I let out a long sigh.
“Do whatever you want.”
“What?”
“I said, do whatever you want.”
I scratched my head.
“Blow them away with magical bombardment or whatever else you feel like doing. I'll do whatever I want too.”
“W-What did you say?”
“Didn't you understand?”
I stared straight at Circe through the communication window and spoke clearly.
“I'm telling you to stop talking bullshit and get lost.”
“……!”
After talking with Circe for a while, I became certain of something.
She might be an A-Rank Constellation…
But this witch was small fry.
— Wow, they're really pouring it on.
— They're pretty good at magical attacks.
— But now we can't see what's happening down there.
— Yeah. There's way too much dust.
Just as the chat said, the situation on the ground looked terrible.
Team Hecate's magic-type Contractors were bombarding the battlefield from long range.
— Didn't Ma Taesu expect this?
— He probably expected Team Hecate to appear, but he wouldn't have expected them to try wiping out the Iron Blood Group at the same time.
— Is Team Hecate planning to wipe out both the Black Dragon Society and the Iron Blood Group so they can take control of this whole area?
— Only a tiny portion of the Black Dragon Society's forces are here, but if Ma Taesu loses this battle, his position will still be shaken.
— But even Kang Yujin can't do anything this time, right?
— This isn't like the battle with Baphomet. They're way too far away this time.
— Exactly. And they're firing magic at full power.
Geumgak silently watched the negative messages filling the chat when Eungak spoke beside him.
“Hyung, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“The current situation.”
Geumgak snorted at Eungak's question.
“It's true that it looks extremely dangerous on the surface.”
“Then you're saying it actually isn't?”
“Of course.”
Geumgak didn't seem worried in the slightest.
There were plenty of negative comments in the chat, but the other Constellations didn't seem particularly worried or saddened either.
