Chapter 419: War Of The Stars (10) |
A torrent of black clouds erupted violently from Mobius.
Rrrrrumble!
His crumling body reformed, and a chilling blue flame replaced the green glow in his eyes.
Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes widened as he stared at Mobius, who was now shrouded in black clouds. “W-What did you just say?”
The sight looked eerily familiar, but also utterly foreign.
“How can he use… Open Heaven?”
Only someone who possessed the Black Heaven could use that skill. How on earth was Mobius using it?
Vega urgently pulled Kwon Oh-Jin back. “My child!”
Rumble!
“Holy shit!”
Those bite-like marks were the signature traces that Open Heaven left behind.
He’s really using Open Heaven!
How could Mobius use such a skill when he didn’t possess the Black Heaven?
Even if the Heavenly Demon had given him a portion of the Black Heaven, using Open Heaven was…
Kwon Oh-Jin exclaimed quietly, “Ah.”
Mobius staggered to his feet, panting heavily. Something felt off about him and the way the black clouds draped over him like a cape.
I see. That’s what’s going on.
Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes.
“My child! H-How is he using Open Heaven—”
“No.”
“No?”
“That’s not Open Heaven.”
Open Heaven was a technique that explosively unleashed the Black Heaven’s power, but Mobius didn’t display the key symptom that always accompanied it.
He hasn’t turned into the Black Heaven’s clouds.
Mobius only wore the black clouds like a cape, but his flesh hadn’t turned into clouds themselves.
“He’s forcing the Black Heaven he received from the Heavenly Demon into a rampage to mimic Open Heaven.”
Of course, that was easier said than done. It required mastery over it and a vast amount of the Black Heaven’s power for it to rampage in the first place.
It’s impossible without help from the Heavenly Demon, which can only mean one thing.
“That bastard…”
The Heavenly Demon had orchestrated this entire situation from the start.
Mobius chuckled and looked down at the black clouds covering him. “Ha, haha. So this is the power the Heavenly Demon spoke of. The power to ruin Celestials—kugh!”
Before he could finish, he clutched his chest and groaned in pain.
The Stigma of Ophiuchus on the left side of his chest slowly lost its light and faded away.
“That’s…” Vega trailed off.
Kwon Oh-Jin replied, “The price of Open Heaven.”
Just like with Cassia and Isabella, the Heavenly Demon’s power seeped into Stigmas like cancer, corrupting and merging with them. Forcing that power into a rampage could only mean the destruction of the Stigma itself.
For a Celestial, the loss of their Stigma meant the disappearance of their very existence.
Surely aware of this fact, Mobius still managed to smirk. “Haa, haa! This is a bit more painful than I expected. Well then… Shall we continue?”
The black storm spread out and charged toward Kwon Oh-Jin like a tsunami.
Rrrrumble!
Kwon Oh-Jin hastily expanded his Sacred Ground to block it. “Agh!”
Craaaack!
The silver Sacred Ground tore apart like paper, and the Black Heaven’s clouds closed in on him.
Kwon Oh-Jin fired a wire toward a nearby ruined building, barely escaping the incoming clouds.
Bang!
He hadn’t fully recovered from the backlash of expanding his Sacred Ground earlier. Forcing another one made his mana scream in agony.
“Kugh..! Kugh!”
A metallic taste filled his mouth as blood rose. It felt like razor-sharp shards were coursing through his veins instead of blood, tearing him apart.
At this rate…
He anxiously bit his lip as screams rang out from the other side.
“Urgh!”
“Kyaaaah!”
When he turned toward the sounds, he saw the other Awakeners fighting the Black Star Celestials rolling helplessly across the ground.
“Haa, haa!” Clutching her bleeding shoulder, Song Ha-Eun looked back at him in confusion. “Ugh… O-Oh-Jin! What the hell is wrong with them all of a sudden?!”
He glanced at her opponent, the Celestial of Owl Nebula, and saw black storm clouds enveloping Noctua as well.
“Don’t tell me…”
The other Celestials had also forced the Black Heaven’s power into a rampage.
Kwon Oh-Jin quickly looked around. As expected, the Black Heaven’s clouds had enveloped all the Black Star Celestials. Compared to the clouds around Mobius, theirs looked inferior in amount and density.
With a sickening crack, the black clouds tore off Allen’s arm.
“Gaaaah!”
Deneb’s desperate scream echoed across the ruined battlefield, “Alleeeen!”
The other Awakeners didn’t fare any better.
Isabella, who had been fighting the Celestial of Leech, cried out, “Ugh… M-Mr. Oh-Jin! The Celestials suddenly changed!”
Cassia, who fought both the Celestial of Felis Butenin and the Celestial of Bufo, also retreated. Her face had turned pale with shock at their sudden transformation. “Lord Oh-Jin! Why are the Celestials using the Black Heaven?!”
Kwon Oh-Jin bit his bloodstained lip and clenched his fist.
Damn it.
No matter how many blessings they had received, they couldn’t possibly stop Celestials who had risked self-destruction with the Black Heaven’s power.
Mobius smiled faintly at Kwon Oh-Jin. “You look anxious.”
He gazed at the Celestials hovering high above, overlooking the battlefield. “Even with all their blessings, you won’t be able to handle this.”
Kwon Oh-Jin already knew that. He only had one option to turn this desperate battle around.
Open Heaven.
He could unleash his own Black Heaven and use Open Heaven as well. His Black Heaven, even stronger than the Heavenly Demon’s, could absorb the Black Star Celestials’ corrupted Black Heaven just as he had done with Isabella and Cassia before.
Using Open Heaven means…
Dozens of Celestials were watching from above. Vega knew he possessed the Black Heaven, but the other Celestials didn’t. Using Open Heaven now was no different from revealing his secret to them.
No matter how skilled Kwon Oh-Jin was at lying, he wouldn't be able to hide his identity anymore once he had used the Black Heaven.
That’s not the only problem.
He wasn't in the right condition to easily useOpen Heaven. Deploying the Stigma of Lyra’s Sacred Ground had shredded his mana circuits into pieces. If he used Open Heaven now, he could lose all his memories.
Even in perfect condition, controlling Open Heaven was nearly impossible. He naturally wouldn’t be able to withstand the rampage due to the injuries that he had sustained. The Black Heaven would completely consume his consciousness.
Damn it. What do I do? What can I do…?
As he wavered in hopeless indecision, a soft hand rested on his shoulder.
With a brilliant silver radiance, Vega manifested in her true form. “Do not fear, my child.”
“Vega…?”
Vega smiled and gently stroked his hair. “I can tell what's on your mind just by looking at your face. You don’t need to carry this burden alone.”
She understood what it meant for him to use Open Heaven. The terrible cost he would have to pay, and the precious things he would lose.
She said, “Now that I think about it, I’ve done nothing but rely on you to keep me safe all this time.”
A Celestial was supposed to protect their child, yet she had been the one being safeguarded instead.
“It is my turn to protect you.”
A radiant silver tide swept out and drove away the Black Heaven’s clouds.
Woong!
Vega’s golden eyes blazed as they fixed on Mobius.
Mobius looked amused, gazing at the silver waves of light spreading across the surroundings. “Hm. You do realize what it means to deploy your Sacred Ground outside the Sanctum, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Haha. So you’re ready to risk your existence for your child?”
“That is the duty of a Celestial.”
Mobius chuckled, his shoulders shaking. “The duty of a Celestial, huh. Tell me, Lady Vega, is there any other Celestial who would still honor this so-called duty besides you?”
Even a North Star Celestial like Vega couldn’t overturn this situation on her own.
Far in the distance, the other Celestials continued watching the battlefield from above. Without their sacrifice, the Black Star Celestials couldn’t be stopped.
Vega firmly replied, “Of course. I am not the only one who cherishes their child.”
The other Celestials also cherished the humans to whom they had granted Stigmas.
Vega confidently turned toward the other Celestials. “They, too, will fulfill their duty.”
With their lips tightly sealed, the other Celestials averted their eyes and deliberately avoided Vega’s gaze.
Vega trembled in disbelief. “Why… are you all turning away? Our children are in danger!”
They remained silent.
“How can you simply stand there and do nothing?”
Their silence only continued.
“Say something! Anything!”
At her outcry, the Celestials only lowered their heads, biting their lips with hesitation and guilt.
Mobius clutched his stomach and burst into laughter. “Pfft! Hahaha! See? Didn’t I tell you?”
Sweeping back his white hair, he glared at the Celestials with flaming blue eyes.
“You all were never planning to sacrifice anything in the first place.”
The Serpent’s sadness-stained laughter echoed across the desolate battlefield.