We rushed out of the dungeon in a panic.
What met our eyes was a hellscape: monstrous beasts large enough to blot out the sky, people screaming and writhing on the ground, and Awakened desperately trying to hold the line in between. But there were simply too many monsters. The resistance crumbled without a fight.
It was a catastrophe.
In a way, this whole disaster had been set in motion by me and Oh Kwon-hyuk. Because of his skill, my fate—which should’ve ended during the First Monster Calamity—had been accelerated. And with it, the calamity itself came sooner than it should have.
‘Is Baek Tae-beom okay?’
His younger brother had been transferred to an outskirt hospital, so he should be safe. But it was Baek Tae-beom I was worried about. He couldn’t possibly be in good condition.
The more chaotic things got, the calmer my mind became. After all, I was going to die today. Oh Kwon-hyuk was beside himself, pacing nervously, but I ignored him and spoke to the others instead.
“The priority is rescuing the civilians.”
“But you—”
“Oh, for god’s sake. I said I’m fine!”
I snapped, elbowing Oh Kwon-hyuk in the side. I was already as good as dead—there was nothing left to change now. That’s just how skills imbued with a Constellation’s authority worked. All I could do now was act on what I could do.
“Hurry! Get out there and help them!”
I shoved Oh Kwon-hyuk forward, then turned away from Kim Yong-tae and Yoo Jin-woo, speaking to Lee Myung-won instead.
“I’ll go check on Tae-beom.”
“Are you sure? You’re not exactly in—”
Lee Myung-won looked me up and down. I gave him a sheepish grin. My body had been wrecked after getting dragged across the ground by Oh Kwon-hyuk earlier.
“I’m fine, seriously. I’ll be back.”
I patted his shoulder lightly and took off running. At the same time, I tried calling Baek Tae-beom on my phone, but he didn’t answer.
“Don’t tell me he’s still asleep?”
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Your body is currently infused with the authority of death.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You understand there’s no avoiding this, right?]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: I know. I just want to talk to Tae-beom before it happens.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Wow, look at you pampering him like he’s your damn boyfriend.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What exactly are you planning to say?]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: That I’m his Constellation, and I’ll be back soon, so he doesn’t need to worry.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Like hell he’s going to believe that.]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: I think Tae-beom will.]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: Besides, it’s only my body that’s dying. Don’t worry.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Who the hell says I’m worried?!]
I laughed at the chat, then twisted my body to dodge a spear flying at me from overhead. Up in the sky, massive monsters with feathered wings were hurling spears down at the people below.
Swarms of giant locusts buzzed everywhere. The scent of burning flesh filled the air. I pinched my nose shut and activated a skill.
[Skill: Sanctuary of the Soul
You are moving into your personal space.]
[You are using a skill. Skill: Sanctuary of the Soul]
[Skill: Sanctuary of the Soul has been canceled.]
[Reason: You are not in a safe enough area to activate the skill.]
“Damn it!”
My staff was already shattered, so all I could rely on now were my skills.
[Skill: Hand of Sunlight]
[You are using a skill. Skill: Hand of Sunlight]
[Activating Hand of Sunlight. You are receiving your Constellation’s blessing.]
A massive locust before me was pierced by an arrow of light and crashed to the ground. Green fluid sprayed everywhere. Suppressing the wave of nausea, I ducked into an alleyway. I was still trying to find a chance to teleport to my sanctuary—but I hadn’t fully grasped just how dire the situation really was.
Crawling out from the alley were zombie-type monsters.
“Un-freaking-believable.”
I fired an arrow directly into a zombie’s head, but it didn’t even flinch. There were too many of them. The sheer volume of monsters surging in like a tidal wave was a disaster all on its own.
“Please, help us!”
“Someone, anyone, please save us!”
I rushed toward the corner where people were trapped in terror. A green lizard-shaped monster bared teeth like a human’s and looked ready to devour everyone in front of it. Among the terrified group was Yoo Jin-woo.
Leaping onto the lizard’s back, I drove an arrow into its forehead. With a grotesque screech, the monster convulsed violently before crumbling into dust.
But the people I saved still wore frozen expressions of fear. Yoo Jin-woo shouted.
“Behind you! Behind—!”
I spun around instinctively. A bipedal lizard—grotesque even by monster standards—stood there, readying a long spear to strike.
‘No way… Am I going to die like this?’
The thought barely had time to settle when a dazzling sword aura cleaved through the monster’s body.
KIEEEEEEK!
With a horrible shriek, the monster crumbled into dust. A man stood before me, panting hard, his chest rising and falling as he looked straight at me.
Eyes shining with a transparent, radiant gold.
The moment our eyes met, Baek Tae-beom smiled.
“Hyung.”
“Tae-beom!”
I ran to catch his collapsing body. His breath brushed against my neck, his lips nearly grazing my throat. The sensation tickled, and I instinctively flinched my shoulder. Tae-beom let out a quiet, low laugh. It looked like the abnormal status had worn off.
“I missed you…”
And yet, what kind of person says something that romantic the moment we reunite? Dumbfounded, I grabbed him by the hair and gave a tug. He yelped dramatically, whining in pain.
“Are you okay? Your body, I mean.”
“Yeah. Thanks to you. But Hyung…”
His expression hardened as his gaze landed on my neck.
“What happened to you? What’s this?”
“Ah, this? Just—wait, Tae-beom. This isn’t the important part right now—”
“It’s not important?”
His face grew even colder.
“Why do you always talk like that?”
“What?”
“Why do you act like your wounds are nothing? Like they don’t hurt? Like you’ll just get over it in no time? Can’t I even worry about you?”
“No, I…”
“These are finger marks. Someone choked you with their bare hands. And you’re telling me that’s not important? Then what is important to you, Hyung?”
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What is this, a married couple spat?]
“Can you not right now?”
“What?”
“No, not you—I wasn’t talking to you—”
“Hyung.”
Baek Tae-beom’s fingers lightly traced along my neck as he gritted his teeth.
“Am I even someone important to you?”
“Tae-beom, just listen—”
“You’re going to make excuses again. Like always!”
He shouted, biting hard on his lower lip. I couldn’t say anything as I watched tears well up in his eyes. When I blinked, those tears began to fall. Baek Tae-beom was crying.
Was it because of me?
“To you… I’m nothing, aren’t I?”
“Of course not! You’re—”
You’re my precious contractor. And the one who’ll bring about the end of the world. Can I say either of those out loud? If I told him I was a Constellation, would he believe me?
“You’re a good… little brother.”
“Ga-hyeon Hyung.”
Baek Tae-beom bowed his head and cried.
“You can stop now. This pity thing you’re doing, helping me just because you feel bad.”
“What?”
“I know. You’re just kind, that’s why you help me. But you don’t feel anything for me. Right?”
“What are you saying?”
“You still don’t get it?”
Baek Tae-beom let out a faint, broken smile.
“I… I lo—”
But the rest of his words were muffled—blocked by something I couldn’t hear. I tried to blink but couldn’t. Tried to breathe, but the air wouldn’t come. I couldn’t even swallow. I couldn’t do anything. It felt like I was being crushed beneath an enormous, suffocating weight.
Baek Tae-beom’s tear-streaked face twisted into a horrified expression. As his eyes dropped, I followed his gaze downward, slowly lowering my own head.
At first, I couldn’t process what I was looking at. My mind was too sluggish to recognize it.
But when I saw the red liquid pouring down my torso, I finally understood.
A sword.
A sword was protruding from my solar plexus.
I tried to open my mouth to say something, but I couldn’t close it properly. A hot clot of blood surged up past my throat. Everything around me was soaked in red.
[You are being led into death.]
Only then did I realize—our surroundings were engulfed in pitch-black mist, and the one who had stabbed me in the back was Yoo Jin-woo, who had fallen under an abnormal status effect.
Baek Tae-beom’s voice rang out, screaming.
Someone caught my collapsing body.
“No, no… No, Hyung, no—look at me. Just a second, please… please….”
Every time I blinked, the scene around me shifted. Baek Tae-beom was crying again, shouting in fury, desperately clutching my hand and screaming something with heart-wrenching desperation.
[You are approaching death.]
“I didn’t—I didn’t do it!”
Yoo Jin-woo shrieked.
I wanted to scream too, from the searing pain—but not a sound came from my throat. ‘No. I have to tell Tae-beom. I need to speak. I have to.’
‘I need to tell him not to worry.’
My cheek felt wet. Tears that had fallen from Baek Tae-beom slid down and ran along my face.
“No, no—you can live. I can save you. There has to be a way. You’re going to be okay, Hyung. It’ll be okay. Yeah? Look at me. Look at me, please. Don’t close your eyes. Don’t—don’t leave me. Don’t leave me behind. I—”
[Your contractor is feeling fear.]
[Your contractor is overwhelmed by terror.]
[Your contractor is—]
…
.
.
.
…
[Your contractor is consumed by despair.]
[Contractor’s condition has been met. Skill activation in progress.]
[Constellation ‘One Who Knows of Destruction’ is synchronizing with the Holy Vessel.]
[Synchronization failed.]
[Constellation ‘One Who Knows of Destruction’s physical vessel collapses.]
[You have died.]
[Constellation ‘One Who Knows of Destruction’s physical vessel is being restored.]
[Restoring into a new body.]
[Remaining time: 1 year 9 months 27 days 4 hours 34 minutes 04 seconds….]
