Ch.7777. Black Sun (1)

The constellations, specifically those belonging to his domain, were momentarily bewildered.

The suddenly vanished presence.

The overwhelming divine power that should never have disappeared had mysteriously vanished.

“Kugh, Father God…!”

But they still had work to do.

The situation was dire—a dungeon break had erupted, endangering everyone remaining in the city.

Homeless hobgoblins had burst out in rage, and disturbed undead hordes charged at the living with resentment.

Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.

“Frontline! Hold steady! If you break, we all die!”

“Fuck, I know that!”

The shield bearers at the front line swallowed their frustration as they struggled to hold back the monsters.

Most were human, inherently disadvantaged in raw strength compared to the monsters.

“We’re… breaking…!”

“Hey! Focus! We’ll all die at this rate!”

“Herk…!”

Finally, one shield bearer staggered, causing cracks to form in the previously solid defensive line.

The Emissary of the Sun, who had been anxiously watching the situation, finally decided to take action.

“…Wait!”

One of the nearby constellations sensed her intention and tried to stop her.

“You’re not thinking of interfering in the human realm, are you?!”

“…If we leave them alone, they’ll all die.”

“Even so—”

“Are you still concerned about the authority of constellations? And if the city is destroyed when the Absolute One returns, do you think he would simply stand by and watch?”

“Emissary of the Sun. No matter how favored you are by the Absolute One, we’re all in the same position.”

“F-favored?”

The Emissary of the Sun’s cheeks turned faintly red.

“That’s right! Even if the Absolute One can break Providence as he pleases, if we act recklessly like him, there will surely be backlash from other constellations!”

At those words, the Emissary of the Sun’s gaze returned to the urgent situation.

The adventurers’ expressions were desperate, as the frontline looked ready to collapse at any moment.

“If we dispatch forces from our order—”

“You know as well as I do. The mana leaking from the dungeon core is disrupting divine power.”

Forgotten Wisdom refuted the constellation’s logic with a grave expression.

As she said, the order’s forces were already struggling with other monsters elsewhere.

“What are you doing?”

“…!”

A familiar presence suddenly appeared beside them as they fretted.

They turned in surprise to find their savior calmly looking back at them.

“A-Absolute One!”

“You’ve returned?!”

“Absolute One! What should we do?! At this rate, Dungeon City will fall…!”

“You’re still speaking so briefly.”

Perhaps because speaking respectfully to someone felt awkward, his concept kept slipping.

Thinking he should properly correct this sometime, Ron opened the system window as he always did.

‘I missed you.’

An ability that had been forbidden in the other world.

He deployed divine power by manipulating what was now essentially an extension of his body.

「Casting ‘Superior Blessing’.」

#

“Woooah!! Father God is with us…!”

After the dungeon break incident passed, I watched the adventurers celebrating their victory.

Some shed tears of joy, while others offered fervent prayers of gratitude to the Absolute One.

“I told you to handle things well.”

After roughly sorting out the situation, I looked at the remaining constellations.

The maids kept their heads down, glancing nervously at each other.

“I apologize.”

The Emissary of the Sun finally stepped forward and spoke.

“Hmm.”

I thought for a moment.

I didn’t want to be irritable again after coming this far.

‘Ah, because of the leveling issue.’

Progress is the most sensitive element for a player.

It’s directly connected to a gamer’s pride and self-esteem.

I’d been trying not to think about it, but the conversation with the Incarnation of Dianon brought it back to mind.

In other words, I was in a very unpleasant mood right now.

“I-I’m sorry.”

The Emissary of the Sun, standing at the front, was the first to sense this mood and bowed her head even deeper.

She looked like she might touch her toes with her forehead at this rate.

“Straighten up.”

“Y-yes.”

After allowing the Emissary of the Sun to assume a more comfortable posture, I briefly cleared my thoughts.

‘Good thoughts. Good thoughts.’

I imagined our Lisia wearing rabbit ear accessories and acting cute.

“Sigh…”

It felt like the dark clouds in my mind were clearing.

“I’m not angry at you all right now.”

“…?”

“My progress… you wouldn’t understand if I put it that way.”

Some truly blasphemous beings had messed with my order.

Unlike Kalisa’s mischief, they genuinely intended to cause harm.

“S-someone directly defied the Absolute One…?”

“Is it a constellation…!”

“Perhaps it’s an outer god, like the Visitor.”

“They’re something different.”

Past ghosts? Or remnants?

Should I call them returnees, or just bastards?

Even after the Incarnation of Dianon’s explanation, it was hard to explain, so I decided to keep it brief.

And equally important—

“Why are you all still holding back?”

“T-that’s…”

One constellation hesitated to answer.

It was the constellation named something like Reassembler of Chaos.

Even without asking, I already knew half the answer.

‘Providence.’

They had almost abandoned Dungeon City because they were trapped by that worthless rule.

‘I’m disappointed.’

I thought I’d treated them quite well, but the distance in our hearts was still this great.

For the world I envisioned, their consciousness needed to develop to the point where they could easily break Providence.

“F-forgive us, Absolute One.”

The Emissary of the Sun raised her voice again to assert her presence.

“You.”

“I should have made a quick decision when I realized you were absent, but I failed… Even though you gave me direct orders—”

“Enough.”

I cut off the Emissary of the Sun mid-sentence.

If I left her alone, she seemed like she would endlessly destroy her self-esteem.

“Children.”

“Y-yes.”

All five constellations responded simultaneously, bowing their heads.

-Thump.

“Huh?”

Noticing an unexpected presence, I looked down to find the Visitor clinging to my waist.

“Absolute One.”

“Yes. Have you been well?”

“Don’t leave again.”

“Uh…”

“Hmm?”

It seemed like I would have to leave a few more times, but saying that would surely make her expression turn sour, so I just nodded vaguely.

“It’s dangerous there.”

“The other world?”

The Visitor nodded.

Deciding to discuss this in detail later, I continued what I was saying to the constellations.

“I thought you had adapted somewhat by now.”

“…”

“Providence and whatnot. I can’t believe you’re still concerned about other constellations. You need to reassess your positions.”

Though they may have once been lost and wandering, they are now fellow constellations walking the same path as me.

“The more you hesitate, the less I can trust you.”

“…!”

“What will you do? End it here, or follow me?”

Honestly, I know.

The condition I’ve set is practically a death sentence for them.

Who would trust a constellation that once belonged to the Absolute One’s forces?

If they left now, their orders would be destroyed first.

Being rejected by me would indicate their decreased value and weakened power.

“We can never go back… no, I can’t…!”

“We must protect the order somehow…”

“That’s why!”

Seeing a constellation say exactly the right thing, I immediately interrupted.

“Why are those who care most about the order so indifferent to what’s happening in the world?”

Freedom.

The constellations needed freedom.

“Listen carefully.”

Heads that had been lowered slightly now turned toward me.

“I need you.”

The more constellations that can help, the better.

To be honest, if everything until now had been a stepping stone for my enjoyment—

Now I was facing a new crisis and was quite tense.

If, as the Incarnation of Dianon said, they had the ability to interfere with my object.

It meant the other side could also make moves.

“…Absolute One.”

The Emissary of the Sun called to me.

“What?”

“What exactly did you see in the void…?”

The once mighty Absolute One, who had always maintained a smiling face and composure, was now showing tension.

This translated into a great crisis for the other constellations as well.

“Vermin.”

“Pardon…?”

“No need to think deeply about it. Some bastards have appeared who deserve to be killed immediately.”

“Anyway, I’ll give you time to think about it.”

I hope they understand what I’m trying to convey.

If they remain the same even after I’ve said this much, I’ll be very disappointed.

‘Or I could just have them assist.’

They don’t necessarily need to be on the front lines.

As long as they can handle things while I’m gone, or even just—

Serve as figureheads, that would be enough.

I already have loyal constellations by my side.

‘Sigh… Black Sun.’

…..

‘Black Sun?’

There’s no answer when I call.

‘Star Child.’

No response from this one either.

This is the first time both constellations haven’t responded.

And simultaneously, a very ominous thought crossed my mind.

“What the…”

At that moment, an enormous divine power surged up and poured toward me.

-Whoosh!!

Startled by the unexpected situation, I hastily deployed divine power.

「Casting ‘Divine Shield’.」

As the highest-grade divine magic activated, it blocked the situation before me.

-Boom!

When a violent vibration shook the space, I could feel the constellations behind me panicking.

“W-what is this? How…!”

“A holy war?! In the Absolute One’s sanctuary?!”

“Absolute One!”

Facing the panicking constellations, I felt strangely calm.

No, perhaps I naturally relaxed because I recognized the owner of the divine power that had engulfed me.

Beyond the dazzlingly brilliant divine power.

I could make out a figure.

「Constellation ‘Incarnation of the Black Sun’ is using Divine Manifestation!」

The status message belatedly appeared in my view.

Divine Manifestation was being used.

It meant our precious one, who had only taken a passive stance until now, had finally taken a step forward on their own.

‘Oh.’

I couldn’t help but admire it.

“A-Absolute One…”

The woman who emerged from the light was holding a magnificent sword in one hand and shedding tears.

“Yes?”

“Absolute One!”

I naturally caught the slender figure running toward me.