Ch.80Hawk’s Eye, Kaufman Theosis (5)
by fnovelpia
# The Order of Starlight
The Order of Starlight.
A place that serves the constellation “The Lighthouse That Illuminates All Things” as its deity and is responsible for matters related to starlight. Compared to the other two orders that serve the stars, it is more moderate and handles matters peacefully, making it the order with the most followers.
But Najin knows.
That they are not as honest and innocent as they are known to be. He knows well that while their followers may not realize it, the leadership is completely rotten.
“Was it the Order of Starlight that sent you?”
That’s why Najin boldly asked the question.
Just saying it might be considered an insult to the order and could result in severe punishment, but if he had cared about such things, he wouldn’t have escaped the underground city in the first place.
“Seeing how quickly you mention the order’s name, you must have quite a deep grudge against those bastards too.”
Kaufman let out a laugh.
From that reaction, Najin could confirm a few things: that Kaufman didn’t particularly think well of the order, and that he wasn’t a member of it.
“Yes. The order sent me.”
Kaufman lifted his chin.
He pushed away Najin’s longsword from his neck with his fingers, then unwrapped the bandage around his neck.
“They promised to release my hostage if I killed you. From the underground city of Attman.”
Najin frowned.
What was branded on Kaufman’s neck was a mark, and Najin had seen it somewhere before. It was the same mark that had been engraved inside Ivan’s eyepatch, and stamped on the drug dealer Hakan’s arm.
The mark branded on those who fall into the underground city.
Offen had said it. Even if one escaped the underground city through luck and coincidence, as long as that mark remained, they would be hunted down and killed by the order.
“You too…”
“Sorry, but I’m not from Attman. This is just a leash they put on me.”
They must have thought one hostage wasn’t enough.
Kaufman shrugged and muttered.
“By hostage, you mean?”
“My daughter. It’s a common story. Makes me wonder why soldiers even have children.”
Kaufman let out a rough laugh.
“I’m not saying this to get your sympathy. I’m not going to beg for my life either. If I don’t kill you, I’ll die anyway. But would you die for me?”
Najin remained silent. It was a refusal.
“See? I lost to you, and I don’t think I can beat you no matter how much I struggle here.”
“So?”
“Let the winner enjoy the winner’s rights.”
He said.
“From what I can see, your grudge against the order seems unusually deep. Well, I suppose it couldn’t be otherwise if you’re from Attman. I don’t know why they’re so determined to kill you…”
Kaufman looked at Najin. Then suddenly he burst into laughter, as if he understood.
“No, I get it. A monster who’s nearly a Sword Seeker at eighteen… they probably thought you might really become a Sword Master. At that point, you could potentially bring down the order. So they considered you a threat.”
“……”
Najin didn’t deny it. It was true that the order would consider him a threat.
“Well, whatever.”
Kaufman exhaled deeply.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you intend to overthrow the order?”
“Yes.”
Najin answered without the slightest hesitation.
It was sincere, without any pretense or falsehood.
In the name of Ivan, who had sent him up to the outside world, Najin had sworn. That he would destroy the order.
“I absolutely intend to do so with my own hands.”
“You look like someone with quite a story.”
“The same could be said about you.”
“Yeah, well… you don’t seem to be lying.”
Kaufman stretched out his hand.
His finger pointed toward his poncho lying far away. Najin moved toward where Kaufman was pointing.
“If you search it, you’ll find a contract. It’s a document detailing the agreement I made with the order. It might be useful somewhere.”
Saying this, Kaufman smiled, but Najin felt something unsettling in that smile. Just as Najin was about to approach Kaufman with the poncho, it happened.
“Don’t come closer.”
Kaufman extended his arm to stop Najin.
Najin frowned. Kaufman didn’t seem to be preparing anything, nor did he show any signs of counterattacking. Then why?
“Hey, Najin.”
While pondering the reason, Najin stopped in his tracks. Keeping his distance, Najin looked at Kaufman, trying to understand what had felt off about Kaufman’s smile.
“The Order of Starlight is more vicious, more thorough, and more insidious than you think. Remember that.”
A sudden statement.
Kaufman exhaled deeply.
“They can use all kinds of pawns. So many. Whether they’re holding hostages, have been brainwashed, or are purely religious fanatics…”
Kaufman pulled out a necklace he had kept inside his clothes. There was an ornament at the end of the necklace, and after looking at what was inside it, Kaufman smiled bitterly.
“I’m just the beginning. More crazy ones will come after you in the future. They need people with nothing to lose. Damn it all.”
As he said this, Kaufman clenched his hand.
With a snap, the necklace string broke.
“Well, do your best.”
Kaufman tossed the necklace he had carried his whole life toward Najin.
Clack.
Since Najin didn’t sense any magical means, he caught the necklace Kaufman had thrown. Kaufman smiled faintly and said:
“I’d like that necklace to be buried with me.”
Before Najin could say anything, a sizzling sound came from Kaufman’s neck. The brand glowing red-hot. Blood flowed from Kaufman’s eyes, nose, and ears.
-A gag spell…? No, why that?
Before the surprised Merlin could say anything, Kaufman, spitting blood, managed to utter his final words. As if determined to pronounce the name of the bastard he wanted to kill.
“Or, la, ng.”
Someone’s name.
The moment he uttered that name, Kaufman’s body swelled. Wide-eyed, Najin grabbed the poncho and jumped into the waterway.
As Najin dove into the water, a dull boom—KWAAANG!—shook the underground waterway.
2.
Crawling out of the water, Najin looked at where Kaufman had been sitting. Kaufman was no longer there. Only pieces of flesh and blood splattered in all directions remained.
-…It’s a gag spell.
Merlin said.
-A spell that uses specific words or names as triggers. Usually used together with spells that make bodies explode.
Even as he said this, Merlin couldn’t hide his uneasiness. With a slightly trembling voice, Merlin said:
-It was a forbidden spell even in my time.
-Because it was used like this back then too.
Najin looked at the soot-covered wall.
Kaufman had died without leaving a corpse. Only the blood and flesh splattered everywhere testified to his death. Najin silently opened his hand.
There was the necklace Kaufman had thrown.
Opening the ornament attached to the necklace, there was a photo inside. A photo of Kaufman, his wife, and what appeared to be his daughter. Najin stared at the photo for a while.
“……”
This was someone who had tried to kill him.
Najin knew well that he couldn’t bear to feel sad or guilty about the deaths of such people. So he tried to turn away, but upon seeing the photo, Najin couldn’t help but feel disturbed.
The young girl in the photo.
Najin knew that girl.
While dealing with Trixie, who had dabbled in the human trafficking that Ivan had forbidden, Najin had checked the ledger and “merchandise” Trixie had prepared, and remembered clicking his tongue when he saw where the merchandise would be sold.
Recalling that memory, Najin’s expression crumpled.
“Fucking hell…”
Najin cursed.
Though he hadn’t eaten anything, something churned in his stomach and felt like it was coming back up. Najin gritted his teeth with a grinding sound.
-……
Intense emotion. Merlin, feeling the same emotions as Najin, simply remained silent.
“Merlin.”
-…Speak.
“I, I thought…”
Najin groaned.
“I thought the world above would be different. I thought the world above, under the gaze of the stars, would be different from the underground city. But… I’m starting to doubt that.”
The underground city is filthy because…
The stars don’t shine there.
That’s what Najin had believed. But after experiencing a series of events, doubt had sprouted within him.
“Do the stars not care about this world? Shouldn’t the orders that serve the stars at least not do such things?”
-Do you want an honest answer?
“Yes.”
Merlin exhaled deeply.
-Most constellations don’t really care much about this world. Especially the central continent.
Najin asked why.
To that question, Merlin replied with a bitter voice:
-Because we are already finished beings.
The ancient constellation said:
-We achieved our great deeds, hung our stars in the sky, and met our end. Unless it’s a place where the boundary between heaven and earth blurs, we cannot intervene.
There are some who still try to intervene.
But even they end up regretting it.
In the end, we are mere observers.
-Constellations aren’t as great as you think. The battlefield of stars, the land of the abyss, Camlann. We are beings bound to such places, continuing an endless journey… at a glance, we might seem like the dead.
Najin remained silent.
Merlin continued:
-Most constellations don’t care how the world turns. Most stars are more concerned with their own well-being and making their own stars shine brighter.
Hunting other stars in the battlefield of stars.
Creating their avatars to roam the battlefield of stars.
Those who yearn for the continuation of stories that ended long ago.
-That’s the essence of constellations. Perhaps I’m not much different.
As Najin was about to say something, Merlin smiled faintly.
-After all, I too yearn for what comes after a journey that has ended.
Merlin exhaled deeply.
-I’m sorry to tell you this, as someone who admires the stars, but not all constellations are great and perfect beings. In fact, there are many stars that are more vile than humans.
A story that shatters Najin’s illusions.
A truth Merlin didn’t want to tell. As he spoke this truth, Merlin looked at Najin’s mental landscape. Thinking that the star floating in that night sky might change.
However, the star did not change.
The star floating in Najin’s mental landscape still remained in its place. Eventually, Najin’s voice was heard.
“Then all the more reason I need to climb higher.”
-…What?
“The constellation the order serves. Do you think that Lighthouse star knows about this too?”
-Probably, it knows. I can’t be certain about the case of Excalibur, but I can’t say it’s completely unaware of all the evil deeds the order commits.
Najin put the necklace in his pocket and stood up.
“Then I’ll have to ask that too.”
By obtaining a star, by climbing to a higher place.
There was one more question to ask the order. Grabbing Kaufman’s poncho, Najin moved forward.
Orlang.
He mulled over the name Kaufman had uttered at the end.
Ironically, it was a name Najin also knew. It was a name he had seen while researching the Order of Starlight.
Orlang, the High Priest of the Order of Starlight.
The figure sitting at the highest point of the Order of Starlight’s main church, built above the underground city of Attman. Najin realized who he needed to point his blade at.
3.
Orlang felt Kaufman’s death.
So the hunt failed.
Orlang clicked his tongue and sighed deeply. It would have been better if it had ended with Kaufman, but this makes things troublesome.
“What should we do about this?”
-The water has already been spilled, and the lighthouse is stained. A shadow has fallen on your goddess’s radiance.
“This shouldn’t happen. Perhaps I’ve made a mistake.”
-You were right. If light was born in a place where your goddess does not shine, it is your goddess’s oversight and a stain. Your choice to erase it was wise.
The radiance of the lighthouse must not be stained.
A small stain brings doubt, and doubt spreads into a large shadow. Orlang knows that the goddess must always be flawless.
If the goddess has a stain.
If there is a shadow the goddess cannot illuminate.
Then making it as if it never existed is what the followers who serve the goddess should do. Covering the goddess’s oversight with one’s own body. That is how one devotes oneself to the goddess.
“The Lighthouse Keeper…”
-If that child moves, all stars will take notice. Your goddess’s oversight will be known to the whole world.
“That must not happen. We need to handle this quietly.”
The goddess affirmed with her silence.
Orlang, finishing his prayer at the top of the lighthouse, rose from his seat. Though the goddess’s voice left his ears and was no longer heard, he knew what he had to do.
“Summon them.”
One useful pawn had been broken.
But he still had many pawns in his hand that could move under names other than the order’s.
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