Ch.8888. Constellation Deployment

“Ugh, damn it.”

“Um, Absolute One.”

“I’m angry. Really pissed off?”

I expressed my displeasure by tapping the innocent floor.

Though I’m in a position where I need to be mindful of those beneath me, right now there’s only Black Sun and me here.

Black Sun has been on my side for a while now—

Even among fellow constellations, showing this much agitation should be acceptable.

“…What exactly happened…?”

“Well.”

It’s difficult to explain.

I don’t think people here would understand my life on Earth anyway.

“I feel deeply insulted right now.”

“….!”

“Will you help me?”

When I asked, Black Sun tensed his shoulders and clenched his fists.

“I-if I can be of help…! Anytime—”

“You’re the only one I can count on.”

I stood up and gave Black Sun a tight hug.

A sincere constellation embrace.

I can feel the bond between us deepening.

“Uh, um…?”

Black Sun, frozen in my arms, let out a surprised breath.

“Having any difficulties lately?”

“D-difficulties.”

“Yes. Last time you had some trouble with the other constellations.”

The incident where he made one of the constellations cry.

Making a noble Divine Manifestation cry—our Black Sun might have a special talent.

“Not really… Oh.”

“Hmm?”

“S-sometimes I wish you’d go on walks with me… When I’m alone, the stares.”

“Oh, really?”

The attention is certainly understandable.

Unlike other believers, Black Sun entered the most important part of the Sanctuary purely by my choice.

‘Kalisa was the last one, wasn’t she?’

She must have been the final believer to receive my direct selection.

“Sometimes I wish I could greet them too.”

“M-me…?”

“Yes. They’d probably like that.”

Surely they wouldn’t dislike him.

They wouldn’t be so disrespectful as to be hostile toward someone I personally brought in.

“Would that be okay…? For me to do that?”

“Go and greet them first. They’ll like it.”

“….”

Black Sun’s expression remained ambiguous.

An attitude suggesting some uneasiness.

“…Is it really okay for me to do that?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“But… I couldn’t even do that for my own followers.”

“Then you can start now.”

“…Huh?”

There’s no need to make things complicated.

If he feels guilty about the Black Sun followers he once abandoned, he can start treating them well from now on.

“You don’t have to visit them as a Divine Manifestation. Just increase the blessings you give them, and gradually expand the number of high priests or officials who can receive your revelations.”

It won’t be easy to proceed because of ‘Providence.’

Even with my protection, he’ll still need to be mindful of others.

“Other constellations? Tell them to get lost. We just need to take care of ourselves.”

“…Absolute One.”

An indescribable emotion flickered in Black Sun’s eyes.

An expression filled with longing, desperately wanting something.

His golden gaze, wavering with hesitation, shines upon me.

“Once we get through this, I’m going to live exactly how I want.”

“As the Absolute One wishes?”

“Of course. I’m sorry to you all, but I can’t perform absolute power separately. I’m satisfied with this world as it is.”

“….I gave up on that idea long ago.”

From the moment he came into my grasp, he vaguely abandoned such wishes.

A world where his presence would be etched, where everyone would chant the name of Black Sun in worship.

Perhaps he had been thinking incorrectly.

Black Sun was gradually changing while working by my side.

‘I never expected him to become this kind.’

The constellations I knew would casually behead their believers and manipulate them like puppets.

Even the previous Black Sun’s cult was no different.

They conducted forbidden experiments, eventually creating a terrible vampire named Belladis.

Without my intervention, the world would have witnessed countless massacres from the released vampire.

“I’ve been feeling something lately.”

Black Sun, who had been hesitating, slowly created some distance.

“It’s embarrassing to say this, but… I feel reborn.”

“Oh?”

“If my previous life was an illusion lived without purpose, after meeting you, I’ve begun pursuing new interests and goals.”

“What kind of goals?”

“Reconsidering the living beings I once treated as mere tools, as inferior existences.”

And finally, Black Sun gave me an answer I found satisfying.

‘I’m touched.’

Though sudden, I felt deeply moved that Black Sun’s constellation consciousness had reached this point.

It’s proof that even constellations can change.

“Absolute One.”

“Yes?”

“Am I a constellation that deserves to exist in this world?”

He asks me about his reason for existence.

Having followed me this far, I couldn’t refuse to answer.

“Of course.”

Even if countless tears of blood have been shed because of the Incarnation of the Black Sun, the world is already too late.

To judge such sins, too many malices and constellations have already taken root in this land.

From where I stand now, I can only embrace and move forward step by step to change things.

Black Sun is the first step.

‘Emissary of the Sun.’

I want other constellations to gradually follow the same path as Black Sun.

「’Source of the World’ requests a conversation with you.」

And not long after.

With the signal that the bait had been taken, I immediately headed there.

#

“Absolute One.”

I see a detestable face.

It was the Incarnation of Dianon.

“Did you find them?”

“Yes.”

With her usual playfulness completely gone, she spoke with an emotionless expression.

“Good. I was eager to see them anyway.”

“…Did something happen?”

“Happen? Yes, something did.”

I told her about the dream.

“You… had a dream?”

Interference.

The Incarnation of Dianon spoke in disbelief.

A constellation having dreams.

It would be more plausible for a Divine Manifestation to do somersaults in mid-air.

They may be called Divine Manifestations with arms and legs, but their physical structure is completely different from the average human.

Yet someone interfered with such a Divine Manifestation and even made it dream?

“No way.”

“It must be an Absolute One-level entity from the world you abandoned.”

It would take someone of that caliber to escalate things to this scale.

When we actually meet, I might lose my enthusiasm.

“So, where are they?”

“Here.”

The Incarnation of Dianon brought up a screen showing a barren land.

A dried-up zone with no trace of life.

There was a smell.

A stench suggesting something foul was hiding there.

“Why?”

“I’ve been using the ‘Black Abyss’ divine power you shared for various activities. Sprinkling some in dungeons, or releasing it to other constellations’ believers to make them active.”

“They responded to that?”

Dungeons and believers.

Both are elements that constellations are obsessed with.

Like a true reset villain, her skill in handling Past Remnants was exceptional.

‘Crazy bitch.’

Once this was over, I needed to deal with her first.

I wonder if there’s a way to bind her completely so she can’t act at all—that might be more comfortable.

“Yes. We got a bite.”

Meanwhile, the Incarnation of Dianon responded to my question with a confident nod.

“That shortens our operation time.”

The key to this operation was impatience.

With the Source of the World’s divine power gradually being released, making the hidden ones feel an inexplicable urgency.

Seeing the power of the Source of the World that they so desired openly rolling on the ground must have twisted their minds.

“Hmm.”

At this point, I think they might bite even if I went out directly.

‘Go out directly?’

Me tanking with my body would be the safest option.

All the contingency plans are in my Divine Manifestation anyway.

“…You seem itching to go.”

“Well, yeah.”

The Incarnation of Dianon standing before me doesn’t look particularly pleasant, but those bastards are even worse.

They’re on a level that makes me feel bad even comparing them to Black Sun, who once took a wrong path.

‘I have a condition where I convulse when I see evil constellations.’

I want to manifest and give them the punishment they deserve.

From their perspective, there’s no harsher punishment than ‘Divine Manifestation.’

“And I’ve been thinking—I believe they’re also behind blocking your Sanctuary.”

“Probably.”

There aren’t many constellations capable of doing such a thing.

Other constellations are busy watching for opportunities to expand their influence, and they wouldn’t be particularly interested in my life or death.

“What about sending believers?”

“Whose believers? Mine?”

“Yes.”

“That won’t work.”

Why let them die needlessly?

Even if they died due to unforeseen circumstances, I could revive them from my side—

But I don’t want them to experience unnecessary pain.

“In this case.”

I pondered for a moment.

Wondering if playing with believers as the Incarnation of Dianon suggested was the right approach.

But thinking about it again, only negative views emerged.

A somewhat rational thought.

‘Would they even react to mere believers?’

They were once prominent constellations in the world.

To such constellations, ordinary believers wouldn’t even register.

Sometimes in situations like this, drastically raising the stakes is the answer.

This was my seasoned intuition from numerous dealings with NPCs in games.

“When dealing with constellations, constellations are best.”

“…What?”

To the questioning Incarnation of Dianon, I calmly explained the plan.

#

“I-is this right?”

“If it seems dangerous, ring the bell. I’m counting on you.”

I pat the shoulders of the trembling Divine Manifestation.

Forgotten Wisdom.

It was time to begin the operation we had prepared until now.