Free Web NovelChapter 423: War Of The Stars (14)
“I... can’t stop here.”
He had to for the sake of that child who never received any salvation.
“If it’s for her... For Eve—”
—Make them pay for their sins no matter the cost.
The black clouds he wore like a cloak seeped into him.
Rumble!
Veins as dark as ink sprouted beneath Mobius’s pale skin.
Vega stared at him with trembling eyes. “You...”
Those grotesque black veins, like tangled tree roots, bulged beneath his skin. A Celestial’s body, made purely of a Stigma’s mana, underwent such a transformation for only one reason.
Deneb asked, “T-That lunatic is feeding his own Stigma to the Black Heaven?”
Mobius was throwing away his Stigma, the core of his existence, to the Black Heaven’s clouds as food. This wasn’t merely fueling a fire with his own body, but dousing his already burning self in oil.
Black clouds spewed violently from Mobius’s every pore.
Shhhhh!
“K-Kugh!”
The black clouds devoured him completely.
Deneb urgently cried out, “Get back!”
The black clouds that had swallowed Mobius twisted toward the Celestials. Their Sacred Grounds shredded like paper before the monstrous clouds.
“Kugh!”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Those whose Sacred Grounds were torn apart disintegrated into dust and vanished from the world on the spot.
Deneb stared in shock at the violently writhing Black Heaven’s clouds. “W-What is that?! It’s way stronger than before!”
The black clouds that had consumed Mobius now took the shape of a serpent.
“A serpent?”
Vega turned toward the other Celestials. “It devoured Mobius’s Stigma and fully merged with it! Do not let that serpent touch your Sacred Grounds!”
“B-But!”
How could they fight that monster without their Sacred Grounds?
“Deneb! Hold that serpent down for just a moment! The rest of you Celestials, gather around me!” Vega spread her arms wide and began chanting.
Silver light gathered around her as blue sparks ignited in the air.
Deneb nodded and dashed through the air. “Ugh, got it!”
The massive serpent made of black clouds turned its head toward him.
Rumble!
It lunged toward Deneb at a terrifying speed, opening its mouth wide as if to swallow him whole.
Deneb yanked the ring off his middle finger and threw it into the air. “Damn it... This thing was expensive!”
The space before him split apart like shattering glass, forming a rift.
“Here I go!”
He slipped through the rift, and it instantly sealed behind him.
The serpent’s fangs clamped down on empty air.
Deneb reappeared hundreds of meters away. “Over here, you stupid reptile!”
The serpent didn’t even glance his way and turned its head toward Vega instead.
Deneb looked around frantically for help. “W-Wait! That’s not supposed to happen! Guys! Somebody, draw its attention!”
Isabella sighed and unleashed a barrage of attacks at the enormous serpent coiling in the air. “Didn’t you say earlier that you’d show us why you’re called Celestials?”
“Fire!”
“Hey! Look over here!”
Other Awakeners followed her and bombarded the serpent with all they had, but its focus never wavered. The serpent flickered its long tongue and slithered toward Vega, who continued her incantation.
Cassia frowned and shook her head. “It’s no use. That serpent is moving purely according to the Black Heaven’s instinct.”
The Black Heaven’s instinct was to devour the stars. It would consume as much mana from Stigmas as possible. That hunger was its sole purpose. To draw its attention, one would need an immense amount of mana, enough to rival or exceed its target.
And right now... no one here has more mana than Lady Vega.
In other words, no matter what they did, the serpent’s aggression would remain fixed on her.
Cassia murmured grimly, “At this point, the only option left is to stand our ground and face it head-on.”
At that moment, Song Ha-Eun’s flames struck the serpent head-on. “Burn!”
Cassia sighed deeply and shook her head. “Miss Ha-Eun, don’t waste your strength. There’s no way to draw that thing’s attention—”
“Huh? It’s looking this way.”
“What...?”
The serpent, which had been moving straight toward Vega, suddenly froze. Then, ever so slowly, it turned its massive head toward Song Ha-Eun.
“W-What the hell?”
Not even Deneb’s attacks, which were far stronger than any other Awakeners, had made the serpent flinch. However, it was now turning toward Song Ha-Eun.
The enormous serpent lunged savagely at Song Ha-Eun.
Shhhh!
Song Ha-Eun’s eyes widened in panic as she turned and ran. “Why the hell is it coming for me all of a sudden?!”
As an Awakener of Draco, she specialized in long-range attacks and had no means of evading a monster that fast.
“Grab onto me!” Deneb swooped in, wrapping his arm around Song Ha-Eun’s waist and lifting her into the air just as the serpent struck.
The serpent obliterated where she had just stood.
Boom!
Song Ha-Eun flailed as Deneb carried her hundreds of meters into the sky. “Kyaaaaah! T-Too high! This is too high, you little shit!”
“Quit flailing and hang on unless you wanna fall!”
“Hey, hey! Watch where you’re putting your hands, you pervy little brat!”
“Hmph. Don’t flatter yourself. I’ve got no interest in human women.”
“What, so you’re into guys instead?”
No wonder he’s always been so close to Allen.
“D-Don’t get the wrong idea! Allen and I are not like that!”
“Sure... totally gay.”
“Ugh! Shut it before I drop you!”
“Gay, gay, gay.”
“Aaaagh! Why in the stars does Alkaid even like this woman?!”
The serpent shot up, following close behind them through the clouds.
Rumble!
Deneb pushed himself to the limit, weaving through the sky to keep ahead. “Agh!”
Even as a North Star Celestial, he couldn’t fully outrun the serpent.
He glanced back at the rapidly closing serpent and cursed under his breath, “Damn it!”
Just then, Cassia stood below with her arms wide open. “Throw her this way!”
Without hesitation, Deneb hurled Song Ha-Eun straight toward her.
“Aaaaah!”
“Nice catch!”
“Good pass.” Cassia caught Song Ha-Eun, gave Deneb a thumbs-up, and vanished into the shadows.
They had successfully escaped the serpent’s pursuit.
“I’m not a damn basketball, you maniacs!!”
“Shh. Stay quiet.”
From several hundred meters away, Cassia reappeared with Song Ha-Eun as they sprinted away from the serpent.
However, the serpent caught up to them at an incredible speed and opened its mouth wide, ready to swallow them whole.
“Well done, holding it off for this long!”
A streak of blue lightning speared straight into the serpent’s open mouth.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion split the air as the Black Heaven’s clouds, composing the serpent, dispersed.
When the smoke cleared, only the tattered Mobius remained.
He fell to his knees with a heavy thud and weakly reached toward Vega. “A-Agh... I... For you...”
From the shadows beneath him, a white serpent slithered up his arm. It elongated, hardened into the shape of a gleaming sword, and shot toward Vega.
“Ah...!” Vega shut her eyes tight.
Exhausted from burning away the Black Heaven’s clouds, she had no strength left to block or dodge. Just as his sword was about to pierce her Stigma, a spear crashed down like a bolt of lightning and deflected it.
Mobius faintly exclaimed, “Ah...” ƒreewebɳovel.com
“M-My child?”
“You did well, Vega.”
Kwon Oh-Jin, who had been unconscious moments before, walked toward Mobius. He looked down and sighed at Mobius, who was staring into the void with hollow eyes as if he had no soul.
What could Kwon Oh-Jin possibly say to someone who had truly lost everything? Just then, something caught his eye.
Hmm?
A crude apple-shaped pendant, like one in a child’s toy set, rolled out of Mobius’s pocket. It clattered softly against the ground.
Kwon Oh-Jin picked up the necklace from the ground and held it out to Mobius.
“Is this yours?”
A faint glimmer of light appeared in the eyes that had been empty and lifeless just moments ago.
“Why...?”
Was he asking why Kwon Oh-Jin returned the necklace to him?
“Who knows?”
Kwon Oh-Jin himself didn’t really know why he did something so pointless. Maybe it was because Mobius, staring blankly into space with those hollow eyes, looked just like the Heavenly Demon, his own self from the past who couldn’t protect Song Ha-Eun.
“Ah... uh.” Mobius clutched the faded apple-shaped necklace to his chest and curled up like a serpent coiling into itself. “Eve... Eve... Eve...”
He cried out the name of the girl he couldn’t protect.
“I’m sorry... I couldn’t protect you... My beloved... My child...”
Kwon Oh-Jin looked down at the weeping Mobius and turned away with a bitter expression.
Suddenly, the last memory he had inherited from Lee Shin-Hyuk flashed through his mind.
“Don’t forget. You and I share only one purpose.”
Was Eve the purpose Mobius had mentioned?
“Tsk.”
In both his past life and this one, Mobius had given everything for Eve. Just as Kwon Oh-Jin once had. Just as the Heavenly Demon once had. Mobius, too, was the same.
Kwon Oh-Jin suddenly snapped his eyes wide open. “Huh...?”
A chill ran down his spine like lightning. Something felt wrong. Things didn’t add up. The pieces didn’t fit.
What was it? What did he miss?
“Ah.”
According to Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memory, the Heavenly Demon and Mobius had been working toward the same purpose since their past lives.
“Then... why did Eve die?”
Song Ha-Eun had survived this time, so why... did Eve die?
