Chapter 455: Chapter 455

“Hooray Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Hooray Hunter Choi Yeonseung!”

“There goes a true hero!”

The gathered Japanese hunters cheered loudly as they watched Choi Yeonseung run across the sea.

-Successor, it seems that your efforts have paid off.

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ says she is happy.]

All the other constellations were happy, but Choi Yeonseung wasn’t as excited as he thought he would be. He felt very strange, as though he were in a different world.

‘I should stop thinking about useless things. Let’s kill the S-grade monster quickly and go back.’

Choi Yeonseung decided to just focus on the task at hand.

“Everyone to your positions!”

The household members moved according to the plan.

It was a gas-type monster. Killing it was important, but dealing with the aftermath was even more so.

The household members formed a triangular formation centered on Choi Yeonseung. The plan was to rely on Choi Yeonseung’s attack power, which they had already seen a few times, and surround him to be able to support him with their own powers.

Of course, it wasn’t just the household members who were mobilizing.

“Do you understand? You must do as you’re told!”

“Don’t make any reckless moves!”

The clan leaders walked around and shouted at the hunters. No matter how much power they had as a raid team, they were facing an S-grade monster at the end of the day.

None of these hunters had ever faced an amabie before, so they were naturally nervous. Thus, the clan leaders kept repeating the instructions to make sure that nobody would mess up.

“We’ve never dealt with this S-grade monster before, so we can’t tell how this raid will go. Besides, the amabie specializes in evading attacks! You never know how things will change.”

“Use a large-scale magic barrier to block its gas after we kill it. If Choi Yeonseung can’t kill it by himself, we’ll take turns to help him!”

Even the senior hunters, who normally would’ve been bored and irritated by having to listen to so many instructions, were nervously listening to the clan leader’s words.

“But there’s nothing to worry about! We have Hunter Choi Yeonseung with us!”

“Yeaaaah!”

Choi Yeonseung was fighting in the distance, clearly focused on killing the enemy, but the hunters were cheering so loudly that it felt like the ground was shaking.

The civilians gathered at the scene clapped in response.

Choi Yeonseung hadn’t noticed this because he had been busy leading the household members and negotiating with the Japanese government for hours on end, but during his stay in Japan, his reputation had risen to that of a national hero!

Bam!

Everyone at the scene could see a powerful wave of magic power in the sky, and the silhouette of the amabie distorted and dispersed.

This could mean only one thing.

“...The raid is a success! The raid is a success!”

“HOORAY!!”

The cheers from before had been loud enough that some people had to cover their ears, but this roar from the crowd surpassed that by a lot.

It was a roar that seemed to shake the world.

“How is that possible? How can he kill it so fast?!”

“This guy...! Hey! Are you really doubting Hunter Choi Yeonseung’s abilities right now?”

“N-no!”

[Your power of existence has increased greatly!]

***

“It hides its core deep within the gas, and it keeps moving it. This monster can be surprisingly tricky, so be careful,” said Illaphael as she followed behind Choi Yeonseung.

The amabie monster was more annoying than strong. It constantly changed its shape, spread diseases around it, and hid its one weakness, the core.

When dealing with such a creature, it was better to kill it in one blow rather than fighting a prolonged fight.

It would be great if the surprise attack was successful, but if Choi Yeonseung failed, then the household members behind him would muster all the firepower possible.

[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ tells you to signal because she is ready to use her power at any time.]

Illeya met his gaze and nodded.

‘That’s reassuring.’

Choi Yeonseung still hadn’t figured out her true intentions, but he felt reassured knowing that all the household members had his back.

After all, missing the monster or attacking it incorrectly could lead to a disaster, so it was great to have someone ready to intervene if he messed up.

“...Wouldn’t my magic be better than ice magic?” Illaphael blurted out after hearing the observer constellation’s words.

Barbagi shook his head.

“Cold is better.”

“C-cold is better,” added Uranta. “It’s good to slow down the monster.”

Illaphael cursed in her mind. She was more familiar with Choi Yeonseung, so he should side with her, not Illeya.

-!

“!”

The huge gas cloud in the distance started twitching and changing its shape.

“Did it sense our presence?!”

The household members were stunned. It wouldn’t have been enough for them to use their own stealth magic, so their respective constellations had also used their own powers to conceal their presence.

But a mere monster had noticed them?

“I’ll draw its attention, so get ready.”

Seeing how things were taking an unusual turn, Choi Yeonseung quickly took action. They couldn’t afford to give any time to an S-grade monster to do something.

-Be careful, Successor. That monster can’t hurt you, but if it causes a problem, then you might be held responsible.

-There’s no need to worry. I just need to buy time.

The household members were so strong that Choi Yeonseung didn’t think he would have to do everything himself. He just needed to buy some time for them to take care of the monster with the help of their constellations.

‘Now then...’

Choi Yeonseung was completely engulfed by his own energy, to the point where Illaphael, who was right behind him, could no longer make out his silhouette.

Choi Yeonseung ran quickly through the air and approached the amabie from the front. The cloud monster, the shape of which was still distorting, was wary of its adversary and exuded a poisonous energy.

However, there was no need to use the power of existence to stop it.

‘This poison isn’t particularly potent. Is that because we’re not fighting yet?’

Choi Yeonseung found the monster’s weak point before it even managed to raise its defenses. He could see its core, which was emitting great magic power, through the fog.

‘Alright, here I go...’ n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Choi Yeonseung concentrated and loaded his internal energy bullet.

Given how the amabie had noticed the approach of the household members earlier, Choi Yeonseung suspected that it had some sort of detection skill. Thus, he wouldn’t take the time to maximize the power of the bullet.

He would fire it right away!

Origin of the Celestial Finger!

The bullet of internal energy flew away from the tip of his finger and tore through the air, hitting the core of the S-grade monster.

“?”

The cloud distorted violently; it looked like the monster was giving its last struggle before death.

‘What...?’

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback.

‘Was it a fatal strike?’

Of course, this was something to be happy about, but Choi Yeonseung was baffled because his attack was just meant to surprise and distract the monster. He hadn’t fired that bullet with the intent to kill.

Who would think that an S-grade monster could die after being hit once?

-Aren’t you too strong, Successor?

-I have received a lot of power, but... Even with that in mind, it just seems that this monster was too weak.

No matter his current level, it made no sense for an S-grade monster to die from one blow, which hadn’t even been that powerful to begin with.

The defense of the amabie was much weaker than he had thought!

[The ‘Rider of Thirst and Famine’ notices your existence.]

[He curses you in frustration!]

[Power of existence radiates from the amabie’s core.]

“!”

Choi Yeonseung wasn’t fazed by the evil god constellation cursing him for interfering, but he was surprised by the fact that power of existence was surging from the monster’s core.

Initially, he had planned to avoid getting near the core, but now he immediately reached for it.

[The ‘Rider of Thirst and Famine’ is flustered!]

The constellation’s reaction gave Choi Yeonseung even more confidence. As he reached the core, he found some kind of scroll inside it, and it was about to crumble because of the power of existence.

‘What? This?’

-This is...!

The goddess of sloth was shocked by the scroll, but Choi Yeonseung was a bit irritated by her response.

-Why are you pretending like you know what it is?

-Successor, what do you think of me?

The scroll crumbled to dust shortly after Choi Yeonseung and the goddess of sloth saw it.

The Rider of Thirst and Famine constellation was relieved.

-That was a scroll that contained the power to control monsters.

-Monsters?

It was easy to mistake the Abyss for a kingdom of constellations, but in reality, they occupied a very small portion of the Abyss. A much larger portion of the Abyss consisted of barren land full of monsters, and an even larger area was completely devoid of any life.

Thus, all constellations dreamed about controlling the monsters of the Abyss.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking. Unless it was a low-intelligence monster or an undead, it was exceedingly difficult to control a monster.

The stronger the monster, the stronger its personality was. Thus, constellations couldn’t easily subdue monsters worth controlling.

In fact, there were so many powerful monsters in the Abyss that rumors about their fierce combat power kept circulating. It was to the point where the low-ranking constellations avoided them.

Considering that, a scroll that could control a monster would be invaluable to any constellation out there.

-Isn’t this ridiculous?

-It’s not impossible to use it. I actually managed to use it before.

-?!?

Choi Yeonseung was surprised. She had actually used something like this?

-How?

-It’s a bit difficult to insert it in the opponent’s core, but once done, it works pretty effectively. You can control any monster with this scroll.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is surprised!]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ is surprised!]

The other constellations were astonished. They knew that the goddess of sloth was one of the oldest constellations in the Abyss, but it was hard to believe she had created such a power.

Even the cat constellation, an outstanding blacksmith, and the manipulator constellation, a master of illusion magic, thought it was plausible for such a power to exist.

-Amazing, Goddess. Then can you tell me how to do it?

-Uh... That... I think I have to search for it...

-What...? Why do you keep forgetting your powers? You haven’t even found the magic to make the undead do work that you told me about last time, have you? Why do you keep losing it?

-N-no... It was a long time ago, and I was sealed...

The goddess of sloth hurriedly made an excuse after Choi Yeonseung scolded her.

-Lo-look at this though! Successor! I found the magic to make the undead work! You can use it in your factory! You can get the undead to do labor!

-When did you find that magic? If you found it, you should’ve told me right away.

-Sob... Sniffle...

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ defends the goddess of sloth by saying she is still working hard.]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ carefully tells you not to say too much.]

The goddess of sloth seemed really downcast, and Choi Yeonseung felt bad for scolding her like that.

-I’m sorry. I was just frustrated that I couldn’t find such a rare power. Thank you for finding the undead magic.

-...I’ll also find the power to control monsters, so don’t be too harsh.

-Yes. I believe in you.

“Choi Yeonseung! Choi Yeonseung!”

The other household members flew so urgently toward Choi Yeonseung that he wondered if they had heard what had just happened with the Rider of Thirst and Famine.

Of course, they hadn’t heard it.

“I-I never thought you could deal with it in one blow. You’re the best!”

“I didn’t think it would be over before the rest of us managed to do something. So that’s why you insisted on going first! Such a brilliant human!”

‘Ah. It was something else.’

Choi Yeonseung was just there to keep the monster in check, but the other household members praised him enthusiastically, misunderstanding the situation a bit.

[Your power of existence has increased greatly!]

‘Even more?’

Choi Yeonseung was surprised. He thought he had already gained all the power of existence from Japan, like squeezing a towel dry. He found it hard to believe that he was still gaining more.

‘How can it still increase like this? I don’t understand.’

[The ‘Rider of Thirst and Famine’ laughs at you.]

[He says that you have no proof of anything, so the constellations won’t believe you if you tell them what you’ve seen. He scoffs at you and tells you to work hard to find out what it is.]

‘What is this guy saying?’

Choi Yeonseung was puzzled for a moment. He didn’t understand what the rider constellation was going on about.

After all...

“The Rider of Thirst and Famine controlled the amabie! He has already destroyed the evidence, but he definitely has a method to control monsters!”

[The ‘Warrior With a Hammer’ is shocked!]

[The ‘River of Mercy’ is shocked!]

[...]

[...]

Choi Yeonseung didn’t need any evidence.

Given his reputation, the constellations just believed him!