Ch.9999. Exception

“The Absolute One.”

“Recently, he’s been searching only in the dungeons, not where we’re actually hiding.”

“In the end, is he just another fool?”

“Haha! It was absurd from the start! That he could oppose us with just his one Absolute body!”

The fact that they were completely deceiving the Absolute One fueled their confidence for what would come next.

It wouldn’t be long now.

The time to bring down that false constellation and open their own righteous new world.

“…Still, doesn’t he have the other constellations?”

“Ah. Those constellations who act worse than servants.”

“They still walk around proudly despite their humiliating appearance!”

“That’s just their nature. They’ve been contaminated by the Absolute One’s misguided ideology.”

“We should help them.”

The constellations recalled the Absolute One’s divine manifestations.

Divine manifestations in the form of beautiful maids, a beauty rarely seen in the existing world.

“…We should recruit them as our believers later.”

“Will they follow willingly?”

“If they’re desperate enough to serve someone like the Absolute One, they can be persuaded more easily to join our side.”

“Indeed, they have potential too valuable to simply kill or discard.”

Filthy and impure thoughts that no constellation should harbor toward another.

The Past Remnants eagerly anticipated that day, letting out wicked laughter.

“Still, we mustn’t let our guard down until the end.”

“This presence, yes.”

One constellation recognized the being that was causing concern.

Recently, one among them had been behaving rather suspiciously.

Completely terrified, continuously refusing to face the Absolute One.

“You. Aren’t you the one scared of the Absolute One?”

“….! Who…!”

“Seems I hit the mark. Looking at how quickly you reacted.”

Faced with the mockery of another of their kind, the constellation could only swallow their miserable feelings.

They knew things weren’t going well.

‘…If this really goes wrong.’

Having directly witnessed and confronted the Absolute One, they had seen some possibility in him.

That he was different from other constellations, and that the discomfort felt then was truly a dangerous “something.”

However.

‘Well, I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?’

Having cooperated despite the risks, they hoped it would bring appropriate returns.

These beings they were working with now were truly madmen consumed by desire.

Even if everything ended perfectly, it was obvious that a hellish scene would unfold with everyone scrambling to secure their own positions.

“Now is the time to strike!”

“Where next?! Of course… the Regalium Kingdom…!”

“…”

The Constellation of Dreams couldn’t help but feel devastated.

The Regalium Kingdom was the civilization that the Absolute One had been most fond of in Dianon recently.

If that place fell, it would be a direct blow to the Absolute One’s authority.

‘I need to tell him.’

But their situation wasn’t good either.

“Everything for righteous justice…!”

“Justice, huh.”

And at that moment—

A peaceful voice that absolutely shouldn’t have been heard created a heavy silence.

“What? Am I invisible?”

Only one constellation continued to express their feelings in a disappointed tone.

#

“Black Abyss.”

I faced Ragnis after removing my stifling mask.

A somewhat ominous holy sword, directly forged from the Star Child’s essence.

“Do you feel anything?”

“I-I feel strange… like I’m about to become someone else…”

“Hey. This isn’t anything weird, right?”

-I-I don’t do such obscene things!

Would someone like that have suddenly dropped a holy sword meteor in front of us before?

Or should I interpret it as him living such a different life recently that he’s forgotten even those memories?

-It’s because the resonance hasn’t been perfectly achieved yet!

“How do you do that?”

-Enter the most painful and bitter memories of the believer and help them overcome it themselves. To become a true hero, such a process is essential.

“Other heroes didn’t have to do that?”

-It might not have been visible on the outside.

Is that so?

So to awaken Ragnis as a hero, she needs to fight her inner self?

-I call it the ‘Hero’s Trial.’

After giving a cold look to the Star Child who was trembling with self-absorption, I turned my gaze back to Ragnis.

“He says you need to awaken.”

“What…? Oh.”

-The Star Child made the sword hum again in response.

“Will you be okay? It’s going to dig up your most painful memories.”

Hero’s Trial.

I don’t know what kind of test it is, but it won’t be easy.

I’d like to help if possible, but I wonder if that’s even possible.

“I-I will overcome it…”

Ragnis sent me a determined look as she said this.

“How admirable.”

“Ugh.”

As I patted her white head, I relayed this to the Star Child.

-…

“What? Is there something else?”

-No. Let’s move to a different location first.

So we arrived at a place where Ragnis could comfortably lie down.

Her body was fully laid out on a luxurious bed.

She closed her eyes gently, placing her hands politely on her abdomen.

“I am ready.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

When I gave the signal, an unknown divine power began to rise from the Star Child’s holy sword.

Just like when I faced the Constellation of Dreams before, as I quietly watched them, Ragnis fell into a deep sleep.

-She has entered her inner world.

“Oh.”

-Now she will never wake up.

“What?”

-Ah, no. She’ll wake up when the trial ends.

When I looked at him with an annoyed expression, the Star Child hastily gave an answer.

“Is there any way to see what’s happening?”

-I-It’s possible.

I immediately gave instructions to the Star Child who had indicated affirmation.

The goal was to enter Ragnis’s dream and awaken her qualities to use the holy sword.

‘Hmm.’

Since she has the talent of the Black Abyss, she should be able to overcome this trial without problems.

-Let’s go.

“Yeah.”

The two constellations instantly entered the believer’s inner world.

“…”

A pitch-black abyss, as if I had closed my eyes.

This was similar to the darkness I experienced when entering the world of constellations.

-Crackle.

The first thing I felt was the sensation of flames burning.

A blackened forest, bloodstains, and an injured elf running through the center.

It was a young Ragnis, with the symbolic ears of her race half-cut off.

From what I knew, Ragnis had betrayed her race by forsaking the protection of the World Tree.

‘This is disgusting.’

-Is she being… hunted?

‘What a shame.’

-What?

‘They’re all dead in reality anyway, so I can’t punish them again.’

The World Tree’s Domain was thoroughly eliminated because of Ragnis.

The remaining elf remnants would be busy saving themselves, and Ragnis’s revenge had been successfully carried out.

Yet she hadn’t saved herself.

‘Is this the Hero’s Trial?’

-Yes.

‘It’s fucking gloomy.’

Digging up someone’s painful memories and guiding them to overcome it themselves.

In fact, it’s uncertain whether they can overcome it or not.

It meant pushing a person to their weakest point and making them struggle from there.

“Hah, haak…!”

In the distance, I could see Ragnis desperately running away.

A young elf with a similar height to now, but exuding a youthful energy.

And behind her, black shadows presumed to be trackers were chasing her at high speed.

All I could do was watch.

‘What’s the criteria for passing the trial?’

-The answer lies within that believer’s inner self.

Here we go.

The constellation’s typical logic method.

A malicious way of speaking that makes it incomprehensible by strangely mixing philosophy and beliefs.

Feeling frustrated, I decided to urge the Star Child.

‘Tell me quickly before I confiscate your holy sword.’

-…It’s closely related to this mental world. Perhaps the believer’s answer lies in ‘complete liberation’ from this unstable world.

Liberation.

Escaping from racial oppression and an unreasonable reality.

She wanted to live in a world where only Ragnis herself existed wholly.

‘How pitiful.’

-N-No, you can’t.

‘What? I haven’t done anything yet. You always seem to paint me as a strange and evil constellation.’

Step. Step.

I carefully moved my feet and followed Ragnis who was running away.

-Interfering with the believer’s trial might cause side effects!

‘What side effects?’

-T-That…!

‘There aren’t any, right?’

The authority from the trial belongs to the constellation.

All that power too.

So in conclusion, if the Star Child just stays quiet, everything can be resolved peacefully.

-…If you make exceptions like this…!

‘It’s okay. Just this once.’

Leaving behind the now-silent Star Child, I headed toward Ragnis who was desperately running away.

-Thud!

“Ah…!”

One poor elf tripped over a rock and fell spectacularly.

Like a tragic heroine, she looked up with despair in her eyes, in a complete mess.

At the end of her gaze were the shadows pursuing her.