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Chapter 403: Star, Conflicts (3)

Just like that, many different people worked in the dark to gain more influence in Arcadia. Whether it was through protests, terror attacks against the Star Order, or even a civil war... After the Liberation Front began to be known as an army, the empire had begun to brand its members as rebels and hunt them down.

They were the very same people whom Chang-Sun had been trying to meet.

* * *

‘If one branch is this strong, I guess it’s pretty big now,’ Chang-Sun thought as he smiled slightly, looking at the people who were surrounding him.

Since the Liberation Front members had been working in the shadows, Chang-Sun had believed that he would be able to contact them in a criminal organization such as a thieves’ guild. Indeed, he had hit the jackpot. Chang-Sun could not help but be delighted as he sensed a familiar mana scent from Stasha, Ricchi, and the others. Some of them resonated with his soul on some level, as he was a founding member of the Revolutionary Army.

Chang-Sun was glad, as it felt as if he had come back to his homeland, but of course, he looked like a stranger chasing after the Revolutionary Army from its members’ perspective.

“Who... are you?” a woman who seemed to be their leader asked with a serious expression.

She was vigilant, but had power in her voice, so Chang-Sun got the impression that she was quite a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Army.

“How is Arin?” Chang-Sun asked.

“...Arin?” the woman replied.

“Ah, that isn’t the name she would usually use around here. Is Ardrin Tigernmas[1] still doing well?”

Stasha’s eyes widened as she exclaimed, “How do you know her name...?!”

Ever since the Revolutionary Army had been founded, their leader had never changed for what seemed like an eternity.

‘They’re people who wish to drive out gods, and yet seek help from a god, so it’s contradictory in some ways,’ Chang-Sun thought.

However, that was also the reason why the Revolutionary Army had remained safe from internal strife or succession wars until now.

“Go tell her that Sun is back,” Chang-Sun said as he gestured at Stasha.

* * *

Clink―!

“...Here’s your coffee,” Stasha said as she quietly set down a cup of coffee.

“I see that the tradition of melting four sugar cubes is the same as ever. Has Arin still not changed her preference?” Chang-Sun remarked with a chuckle.

“T-That’s right,” Stasha replied, unable to hide her surprise. ‘He even knows her preference...!’

The Revolutionary Army operated in small groups, and any information about their leader was the most confidential information within it. Her name, social class, gender, age, race... even the fact that she was a Celestial was not widely known, to the point that fewer than five people knew all the information about their leader. Nevertheless, no one knew their leader’s exact whereabouts, but Chang-Sun had called her the nickname ‘Arin’, which Stasha had heard long ago, and even knew her preferred way of taking coffee.

‘Is he a spy from the Inspection Bureau?’ Stasha wondered. However, she soon shook her head. ‘Not even the Inspection Bureau would have found out all that about the leader. If that had been possible, they would have captured her already.’

The Inspection Bureau was tasked to protect the imperial family, but the Revolutionary Army’s leader had managed to stay under their radar until now. Besides, there was no way that the leader would not notice their trap. Regardless of everything else, however, the part that bothered Stasha the most was the fact that it was the leader who had ordered the members to contact her once they found the Metal Mask. That meant he and the leader were connected somehow. Stasha and the others were still waiting for the leader’s message, however.

“But how long are you going to leave him like that?” Chang-Sun remarked as he slightly lifted the mask to drink the coffee, but turned to look at a certain corner.

Ricchi was on his knees and looking at the wall with his arms in the air as a punishment. When he was mentioned, he flinched noticeably in surprise.

Stasha’s gaze turned cold and she said, “He’s gotten too old not to get rid of his nasty habit, so he should be punished.”

“I just wanted to see if he was the real Metal Mask...” Ricchi murmured in a weak protest as his head drooped a little lower.

“Be quiet!” Stasha retorted, immediately dismissing the protest.

“I gave him my wallet on purpose, you know. I got it back anyway,” Chang-Sun said as he waved his wallet in the air.

“The important fact is that he hasn’t gotten rid of his bad habit, and if you, sir, had any bad intentions...” Stasha trailed off.

However, everyone in the room knew what she wanted to say; she meant that Ricchi could have endangered the entire branch. That was why Ricchi’s shoulders had drooped lower.

Chang-Sun chuckled quietly. Ricchi seemed to be around Hiyan’s age, but they were so different from one another, and acted completely opposite from each other. The thought that it would be interesting to put them together crossed his mind for a moment.

“Don’t you lower your hands,” Stasha said, narrowing her eyes.

Ricchi straightened his posture again.

“Excuse me.” Stasha’s subordinate, who had been standing outside, entered the office cautiously, saying, “We received contact from the main branch.”

“What did they say?” Stasha asked.

“Well, ummm...” the subordinate trailed off, looking back and forth between Stasha and Chang-Sun.

“Go on. It’s fine,” Stasha said, gesturing at her subordinate.

“The leader is coming to the branch right now...!” the subordinate reported.

“What?” Stasha exclaimed, springing to her feet in surprise.

Paaah!

At that moment, a magic circle manifested in the corner of the office...

[An unknown being is descending!]

...and a powerful gust of Divine Class-infused wind blew.

Whooosh―!

Stasha, the subordinate who had delivered the report, and Ricchi all flinched. The piles of documents on the desk collapsed, dancing in the wind.

“There she is,” Chang-Sun said, smiling enigmatically.

Stasha hurriedly yelled, “Go ahead and activate a perception-excluding magic spell! I’ll explain things to Lestan later, so ask him to create a magical barrier too!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” the subordinate stuttered.

There was no way that the Inspection Bureau would not detect a being with such a high Divine Class, so the Revolutionary Army members hurriedly took action to hide their leader’s arrival.

[The descent has been completed!]

Just like that, someone emerged from a pool of white light that filled the room. She was a 180-centimeter tall woman, with knee-length golden hair, white skin, and pointy ears. Rather than ‘beautiful’, it seemed more appropriate to describe her as ‘noble’. Thin vines and small leaves covered her arms and hair, filling the air with a fresh scent. She was a High Elf, one of a race of transcendental beings born with divine blood.

“G-Greetings, ma’am!” Stasha said with a bow, quickly going down on one knee.

Ricchi, who was still undergoing his punishment, had never seen Stasha reacting in such a way; he was stupefied for a moment. However, he also changed his posture and did the same, as did the subordinate. Only Chang-Sun looked at the High Elf with mixed emotions.

The High Elf slowly opened her eyes and said, “Sun.”

“Long time no see, Arin. How have you been?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Of course...” Arin, the High Elf, smiled slightly as she said, “I’ve been unwell because I’ve been regretting how I didn’t get to kill you.”

“...?”

“...?”

Her smile and tone did not match her words, so Stasha and Ricchi were confused.

Swoosh―!

Arin’s eyes suddenly gleamed menacingly and she flew at Chang-Sun, leaving a faint afterimage. The vines around her arms transformed into a robust spear, the leaves transforming into a spearhead that looked so sturdy and sharp it could shatter most metals as if they were glass. However, Chang-Sun calmly extended his arm and deflected Arin’s spearhead to one side. At the same time, he thrust his left elbow at Arin’s neck.

“Hmph!” Arin snorted and sent out her own elbow in response, showing no signs of standing down.

Thud...!

Their collision created a shockwave that spread and shook the entire building. Stasha did not dare to jump in on the fight to stop them, because she would only be caught in the crossfire instead.

“S-Stasha... Is it okay to leave them be...?!” Ricchi asked as he grabbed Stasha’s sleeve.

“No! Don’t move rashly or else it’ll get really dangerous,” Stasha said to dissuade him.

Rumble!

At that moment, another collision took place, between Chang-Sun’s knife-hand strike and Arin’s spearhead. Lightning sparks flew, making a mess of the entire office. Then, Chang-Sun grabbed Arin’s spear handle and pulled it toward him. As he successfully imbalanced her, he readied another knife-hand strike and held it against Arin’s neck.

“Are we going to continue?” Chang-Sun asked.

Arin could not move anymore, so she huffed and puffed. With a furious gaze, she looked straight into Chang-Sun’s eyes, asking, “Do you know what my biggest regret is in my long life?”

“What is it?” Chang-Sun asked.

“I should have slit your throat when I had the chance, especially before those fucking Zodiacs dragged your ass away. Because of you, Sister... Do you know how many hardships she went through after you died so irresponsibly?”

Crom Cruach was the only one whom Arin could call her sister.

“And the suppression we’re under...!” Arin continued as she gnashed her teeth, revealing her strong desire to shred Chang-Sun to death if she could.

Chang-Sun smiled bitterly, thinking, ‘I thought the organization was unharmed from what happened, because it seems to have gotten bigger... I was wrong.’

He and Arin actually shared a very long history. During his battle against the Star Order, Chang-Sun had coincidentally encountered Arin and founded the Revolutionary Army. The reason behind forming the alliance at the time was that he needed another force to fight against the Star Order, so he had considered the army a tool. In contrast to him, Arin had sincerely believed in the cause.

After Chang-Sun achieved <Transcendence>, he had left the army, and that was when Arin introduced him to Crom. Thus, Chang-Sun had technically known Arin longer than the other colleagues, so he was glad to meet her again. However, it seemed their relationship had only left regrets for Arin.

“I’m sorry,” Chang-Sun suddenly said.

With a frown, Arin tilted her head and retorted, “What? Sorry? You’ve gotta be joking.”

Chang-Sun’s apology only added fuel to the flames of Arin’s anger. She continued, “I don’t know how in the world you escaped from <Horoscope>, but judging from how you shamefully showed up here, I’ll assume that you don’t mind dying. You said you were sorry, yes? Then you’d better offer your head first.”

Chang-Sun nodded and said, “If necessary.”

“So you do have a conscience, huh? Alright, let’s...!” Arin began.

“But I want you to listen to me first,” Chang-Sun interrupted.

“I’m going to beat the very soul out of you if this is more bullshit,” Arin hissed through gritted teeth.

“You have to know this too,” Chang-Sun said.

“What is it?” Arin asked.

“Crom Cruach is alive,” Chang-Sun answered.

“...!” Arin froze up, as if time had stopped flowing.

“It’s not just Crom. Xerxes is with her too,” Chang-Sun added.

Arin’s face reddened as she exclaimed, “You jerk! You’re messing with me again...!”

[Your Subordinate ‘Goddess of Massacre and Destruction’ has revealed her face!]

A spatial gap opened up beside Chang-Sun, and Kali showed a part of herself.

『Long time no see, kiddo.』

“Kal...!” Arin began.

『Some Star Signs may be watching this place, so watch your words.』

Arin finally realized that Kali had used Chang-Sun’s shadow to reveal only a part of herself instead of showing her complete self. From what Arin knew, Kali had died with Crom, and yet she was now witnessing the resurrected Kali.

Badump, badump, badump!

Arin’s heart raced; the thought that Chang-Sun could be right and Crom was actually alive flashed through her mind.

Schwing.

Arin withdrew her spear, but continued to glare coldly at Chang-Sun. She said, “Start talking.”

1. This first name seems to be derived from ‘Ardrí na héireann’, which means ‘High King’ in Irish Gaelic. This title was given to Irish kings who earned great historical accomplishments. Meanwhile, the surname comes from a famous king of Ireland who started worshiping Crom Cruach. ?