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Chapter 233: Star, the Star Auction (8)

Paah―!

Although the <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons were working together in the <Star Grave>, Uriel really didn’t like asking for a demon’s help. Regardless, he required every help he could get right now.

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ is brightening up the hall!]

The series of explosions wasn’t the end of the terror attack. Many spectators also participated in aggravating the chaos, which meant these terrorists already had everything planned before they entered the auction house.

‘When did they plan this? I didn’t notice anything suspicious,’?Uriel thought in frustration.

The job of the ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ wasn’t just about protecting the gate. It was about protecting the entire <Society>, which meant Uriel had to monitor everything within the <Society> in detail.

Fortunately, Uriel had the ‘eye’ to do the job. Nevertheless, despite using his [Clairvoyant] Authority, he didn’t detect any movements that could have possibly caused this kind of terrorism. Many groups had tried to ambush the <Star Auction> house to get their hands on the treasures, but Uriel had always prevented them from happening in advance. Unlike those instances, Uriel currently had no idea how the terrorists planned and carried out this attack.

[Attempting to find out which <Societies> the terrorists are in!]

[The attempt has failed.]

[Attempting again.]

[The attempt has failed.]

The bigger problem was that the terrorists were wearing masks that hid their divine class and aura, just like the other ordinary spectators. That made it harder to identify them.

‘I’ll just arrest everyone first!’?

Woosh!

A heated gust of wind circled around Uriel, and a fire formed up above his right hand, transforming into a sword. Condensing his Everlasting Retribution Fire, which he used to burn souls, [Truth Sword], Uriel conjured his relic, the [Truth Sword].

One of the terrorists was coming at Uriel. The seemingly formidable terrorist was wearing a very ominous-looking Jiaolong mask and had collected the [Chunjun Sword] in the midst of confusion.

Clanng!

Booom―!

The [Truth Sword] and the [Chunjun Sword] clashed, unleashing a shockwave around them powerful enough to cause the floor to sink and spread cracks all the way to the ceiling. It was their first time exchanging blows, but…

‘... He’s not inferior to me!’?Uriel realized.

Uriel wasn’t sure if the man had always been this powerful or if he just became stronger by unsealing the [Chunjun Sword], but Uriel was certain that subduing him wouldn’t be easy.

‘I have to buy time until Marbas gets here.’?Uriel gritted his teeth.

Booom!

* * *

Meanwhile, Chang-Sun was quickly passing through the confused crowd.

Swoosh―!

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been activated, simultaneously manifesting the Skills ‘Concealment’ and ‘Lightness’!]

[The State ‘Jackal Tiger’ has been applied, sharpening your senses!]

Fortunately, no one seemed to have noticed Chang-Sun in this chaos. Still, he concealed himself as much as he could to avoid anyone detecting him.

Right now, Chang-Sun was going after the Gray Elves.

‘They calmly started moving in a certain direction as soon as explosions erupted, which means all this has been planned.’ Chang-Sun thought that the children of the Emperor’s Seat were behind this terror attack. ‘If things had gone according to their plan, they would have been the ones winning the bid for the Gray Elves. However, the chance of that happening dwindled, likely because they couldn’t afford to spend that much money.’

A variety of reasons seemed to be behind this terror attack.

‘I’ll track them down first.’?Chang-Sun decided.

The children of the Emperor’s Seat? Although Chang-Sun wasn’t sure which children were here today, he had no intention of handing over Kali’s children.

* * *

Moodoo and the Gray Elves escaped from the stage and passed by the seats without difficulty. The lights suddenly went out and the other terrorists drew the people’s attention away from them, making it easier for them to move. Currently, no one paid attention to the Branches.

“Are you Kali’s children?”

Upon reaching the end of the hallway that led to an emergency exit, a man wearing a long gray robe greeted them. Getting a glimpse under his hood, she saw a white mask that had no decorations.

The Gray Elves froze up in tension. On everyone’s behalf, Moodoo nodded as she answered, “Yes, that’s us. Who in the world are you?”

“Part of a resistance army.”

“Resistance army?”

“Yes, we share the same goals.” The eyes of the white-masked man shone brightly. “I received instructions to bring you all out of the auction house and help you meet your other siblings.”

“Other siblings…?” Moodoo’s sharp eyes lost focus for the first time.

“Yes. They’re waiting for you. Follow me.” The white-masked man turned back and led them away.

However, the Gray Elves didn’t budge. Wondering what was wrong, the white-masked man turned back.

Moodoo frowned and said, “You’re the minion of the ‘TIan Shi Yuan,’ aren’t you?”

At that moment, Supada and the other Gray Elves all turned their heads toward Moodoo, appearing both belligerent and wondering what she meant.

“If so?”

“Am I supposed to trust a minion of the very person who put us in this position? Who knows what could happen this time?” Moodoo growled.

“Would you prefer to stay here and get sold off as slaves to someone you don’t know?”

“Are you saying that you and your people are different? How can I trust you?” Moodoo frowned.

“We don’t really have much time… Hmm!” The white-masked man stroked his chin, unsure of what to do. After a moment, the white-masked man came to a decision. “You say you can’t trust me and my people, but can’t you see that we’re taking risks and damages out there? If we were scheming, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. If you still can’t trust us, then let’s just split up after getting out of here. How does that sound?”

Moodoo shut her mouth, and Supada looked at her in sorrow. Supada knew how pressured Moodoo was by the thought of having to save Supada and their other siblings. The Gray Elves waited for Moodoo, prepared to follow whatever decision she would reach. Even if Moodoo’s decision ultimately proved to be a mistake, they wouldn’t regret it. They trusted and relied on Moodoo so much that they’d gladly die with smiles on their faces if she asked them to.

“Fine. Let’s go,” Moodoo soon replied.

The white-masked man nodded. “You’ve made the right decision. Follow me. Here.”

The white-masked man walked forward a little more, feeling the hallway wall, and pressed one of the bricks. Creating clouds of dust, a part of the wall slowly rotated and revealed a spiral case that led downstairs.

‘This place has a hidden passage?’ Moodoo instinctively felt that even the <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons didn’t know about this passageway.

Although Moodoo wasn’t sure how the minions of the Emperor’s Seat knew about this place, she assumed that the passageway was the key secret to escaping the <Star Grave>.

Moodoo and the other Gray Elves headed downstairs, following the white-masked man’s lead.

Clunk.

Once all the Gray Elves had entered, the wall closed behind them, turning their surroundings pitch-black. Nevertheless, they had no problem moving.

Rumble…

The ceiling occasionally shook, causing dust to fall off, seemingly evidencing that things were still in chaos upstairs. Reaching the end of the staircase, they came across a seemingly endless passageway. It was winding and had many obstacles, but it probably hadn’t been used in a very long time, considering how dusty it was. It was also quite narrow, forcing the white-masked man and Gray Elves to move in single file.

No one said a word as they walked down the hallway out of sheer worry that the <Maleakhe> angels and <L’Infernal> demons would come after them any minute. As a result, suffocating tension filled the air. Nearing the end of the hallway, they sensed moisture and smelled water instead of musty bricks.

“This is…?”

“We’re here.”

After the white-masked man, Moodoo and her siblings exited the passageway, finding a land vast enough to accommodate thousands of people.

“Huh?”

“How can such a space exist here…?”

“W-water!”

The Gray Elves were just as surprised, not expecting to find this kind of place beneath the <Star Grave>. What shocked the Gray Elves even further was the large, placid lake.

“Have you ever wondered what ‘star’ means in the name <Star Grave>?” the white-masked man asked.

Moodoo turned her head and looked at him.

Looking at the lake, the white-masked man kept on walking.

“It’s from <Asgard>.” the white-masked man continued as if he wasn’t asking for Moodoo’s answer. “After <Asgard> met <Extinction>, its leftover interstellar matter spread all across the universe and turned into a nebula, the core of which is that lake. From that lake, rivers stretch across the <Star Grave>, creating an energy site.”

Moodoo looked at the lake with slightly widened eyes. She already knew that the <Star Grave> was created from the remains of the stars who died here long ago. Although many <Societies> coveted this place, the <Maleakhe> and <L’Infernal> were always on alert, prepared to protect it. However, Moodoo had no idea that the whole place originated from <Asgard>. The legends about Odin and Valhalla were so famous that everyone knew about them.

“We call that place Mimisbrunnr,” the white-masked man said.

Mimisbrunnr was the pond that Mimir, the Giant of Wisdom, personally managed. One sip from the pond gave one the wisdom of a great sage. According to the legend, Odin offered one of his eyes to Mimir to gain that great knowledge. After that, he became the Ruling Celestial of <Asgard>.

The white-masked man probably meant that the lake was great enough to be compared to the real Mimisbrunnr, so Moodoo couldn’t help staring at the lake as if it had captivated her. As the white-masked man continued, everyone headed to the lake, finding a small boat waiting for them. Just like the white-masked man, the boatman was also wearing a white mask and a gray robe.

The difference was that the boatman’s mask had red wave patterns around the mouth. The boatman seemed to be the white-masked man’s superior. After all, they reached the lake, he stopped in front of the boatman and politely bowed.

“I’ve brought Kali’s priests safe and sound just like you instru—!”

“You’ve done a good job.” the boatman abruptly interrupted, looking beyond the white-masked man and Gray Elves. “... However, you should have lost the tail.”

“…!” the white-masked man raised his head in surprise.

Paah!

At the same time, the boatman disappeared, and an intense shockwave spread from the air.

Booom!

[You have been made.]

[The Skill ‘Concealment’ has been deactivated!]

The space distorted, and Chang-Sun appeared, and the boatman swung a whip at him. His bizarre-looking whip had nine metal rods for lashes, each one having sharp edges that could be used to slay enemies. However, Chang-Sun just blocked the boatman’s attack with the Nameless Spear.

“You’re…” Chang-Sun smiled coldly as he looked at the nine-chain whip. He was surprised that the boatman saw through his Concealment skill, but he didn’t show it. “... Lie Si.”

Lie Si was the ninth of the Thirteen Commanders whom the Emperor’s Seat treasured.

“You know me?” The boatman’s eyes gleamed.

“Well?”

“You definitely know who I am, yet you still say that… I’ll have to take off your mask,” Lie Si, the boatman, mumbled, believing that he could defeat Chang-Sun with ease.

Chang-Sun’s aura was sharp, but from Lie Si’s perspective, he was a demigod at best. Of course, Chang-Sun wouldn’t idiotically fight Lie Si head-on. In his current state, that would be suicide unless he activated [Execution Sword].

‘My goal isn’t?fighting?Lie Si anyway,’?Chang-Sun thought.

What Chang-Sun needed right now was to buy time to take away Moodoo and the other Branches. Chang-Sun soon heard pages flipping in his head.

[The third chapter of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’ has opened!]

[Creating your Dr?cōníg?na Monól?num.]

Pzzz, pzzzz!

Rumble―!

Purple sparks flew up Chang-Sun’s skin. The <Dusk Lightning> sparks’ power was then amplified hundreds of times, causing them to spread heat everywhere. Chang-Sun’s lightning energy then circulated inside him and increased the efficiency of his [Integrated Magic Circuit], sharpening his senses far more than ever. At the same time, [Ferocious Heart] began to race.

Badump, badump, badump―!

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ nods in contentment, saying that you have gotten quite good at using the technique.]

Chang-Sun’s enhanced nerve cells and muscles had allowed him to surpass his physical limit. Tightening his grip on the Nameless Spear, Chang-Sun parried Lie Si’s nine-chain whip upward. At the same time, spatial gaps opened on Chang-Sun’s flanks. Jin Prezia and Sinmara stepped out of them.

「Hahaha! He looks scary.」

「Well, now this is what I call a fight!」

[The ‘Changgwi Cave’ has opened!]

Lie Si grabbed the whip with both hands and swung it fiercely, launching gusts of wind that were as sharp as a sword.

Boom, boom, boom!

As the three-on-one battle commenced, they sent shockwaves all around them, causing the placid lake to undulate profusely.

Spl―ash!

Tap!

The Elfin landed before the Gray Elves.

“You…?”

Looking at the surprised Gray Elves, the Elfin nodded.

「Long time no see, Thirty-Second Branch.」

1. Part of Tian Shi Yuan. Also known as Jewel Market in English.