Chapter 157

'Mother?' He never thought he'd hear someone call him that, but he tried to maintain a calm expression as he watched what was happening.

"Huh… Is something wrong with your eyes?" Kallein asked, seemingly unbothered by the sword sticking through his chest. "Why do you think our Head is a mother? He's a male! That's why I want to merge with him."

"You're as noisy as the rumors say," the high elf said.

Whoosh-

A green light flashed through the wooden sword, and illusory vines extended toward the Dead Star. The moment the green light touched his robe, it instantly vanished, and a king's voice emerged from Kallein's robe.

- Oh, this power is…!

- I can finally rest!

- I'm going to be purified…!

The wooden sword's green energy vanquished one of Kallein's ghosts.

"That damn sword…" Kallein mumbled. "So annoying!"

Poof—!

The high elf swiftly jumped back when Kallein's ghosts exploded from his robe.

"You managed to cram a lot of souls in there!" she yelled.

Whoosh—

His robes vanished, and the ghosts formed a giant figure filled with overwhelming dark magic. The heavy pressure it emitted was truly worthy of a constellation's power.

"What are you talking about?" Kallein asked in the same annoying voice. "They're kings who willingly help me~ Right?" Doll, I'm going to rip you apart before merging with the Head!"

The high elf completely ignored what Kallein was saying and kneeled before JiHan. "Mother… I'm sorry! I failed to suppress the enemy!" Despite the situation, she gave him a high amount of respect.

'Why is she calling me 'Mother'?'

[Hmm… I think the high elf is mistaking you for a 'World Tree's Root'. Those are the only things the elves use the term 'Mother' for.']

'A Root?'

[They're basically the absolute rulers of each of the elves' planets. They directly communicate with the World Tree and lead the World Tree's Alliance on their respective planets.]

'So they're quite important then.'

[As for why she's mistaking you for a Root… I'm not sure.]

'Hmm… Could it be because of the energy I received from the Seed of Life?' He slowly circulated the Life Energy in question throughout his body.

[Ha! No wonder. High elves can instinctively feel that energy, which is enough for them to mistake you for a Root. Wait, Master…! You aren't a Root, right?] When she felt how pure the energy was, even she started to have doubts.

['The World Tree is cosmic trash and should be thrown into the sun.' Say it.]

'The World Tree is cosmic trash and should be thrown into the sun.'

[Hmm… It looks like you're still the same JiHan. Sorry, the energy was too similar to a Root's.] The suspicion was gone from her voice.

[Some advice for you… If you're going to try fooling a high elf into thinking you're a Root, just remain silent and nod. Leave the rest to their interpretation.]

'Okay.'

[Even if it's a bit awkward, she won't have any doubts so long as you subtly emit some of that essence.]

"The sword must take root if it's to kill this being!" the high elf said. "Mother, please grant your permission!"

Following Ariel's advice, JiHan silently nodded and cycled some of the Life Energy through his right hand.

"Ah! To think you'd grant permission right away… I'm truly grateful!"

Tap—!

She broke her wooden sword in half and stabbed it into the ground, and a few moments later…

WHOOM-!

A beam of light shot up, and a garden of multicolored flowers bloomed.

"Garden of the Sun. Full bloom!" As soon as she finished the technique, the flowers started to split open.

Crack. Crack—

And then…

Whoosh—!

The flowers sucked in each of the ghosts forming Kallein's giant figure one by one.

- Rest! Finally…!

- Eat me! Eat me as well!

The ghosts looked happy to be absorbed by the flowers, and Kallein's physical form rapidly diminished in size as the flowers ate away at the ghosts. The first ghost to be completely absorbed was Kallein's left arm.

'What? He's being defeated so easily?' JiHan was prepared to intervene if things got out of hand, but the constellation was crumbling without much of a fight.

'Are the flowers that strong?'

[The Garden of the Sun is an elf's most powerful ability. They're not affecting you because you aren't a target.]

'This is going to end too easily.'

[Hmm… The ability might be powerful, but Kallein is being defeated without enough of a fight. The Dead Star in particular should be one of the most difficult beings to defeat like this.]

Swoosh-

Kallein's limbs continued to be devoured by the flowers until only his torso and head fell to the ground, and his head rolled toward JiHan.

"Head… You." A red light flashed from Kallein's darkness-obscured face. "Did that old witch really devour you?"

The red light flitted around and soon settled on the essence circulating in JiHan's right hand. "I'd finally found a Head after so much time…"

The red light gradually turned black, and with only his head left, Kallein's voice deepened. "If I can't have you… then nobody can."

Creak- Crack-!

Light streaked from the darkness covering Kallein's face, and the constellation gave him an order…

"Die."

The rainbow-colored flowers began to wither and lose their vitality as a deathly authority surged in every direction, and a dark-red light far exceeding ordinary dark magic spread toward JiHan.

'This is no joke.'

Kallein had only behaved in a very unconstellation-like, light-hearted way until then, but he was finally showing his power as the Dead Star.

"Ugh! M-Mother! You need to run…!" The high elf collapsed near Kallein before she could finish speaking. Her species might've been hardier than a cockroach, but it wasn't enough for her to overcome Kallein's deathly power.

Thus, the 'Top 25' high elf died without even being able to put up a fight.

[Master, he's way too strong! It was even enough to kill the high elf, so how about you reveal your true identity?]

'What good would that do? Wouldn't he just force me to become his 'Head'?'

[Isn't it better than dying?]

'No. Dying is better than that.'

JiHan did everything he could to run away, and he had a particular place in mind.

"What's up with all the chaos?"

"I managed to survive the Thunder God, but…!"

A few moments later, he arrived where the other players had been summoned.

'One more death is enough for the game to end.' There was no need for him to fight Kallein head-on yet since the game would end when there were only five survivors.

He didn't think the other players would be able to stand against something that'd killed a high elf so quickly, so he rushed toward them.

"Such tricks won't work, World Tree."

Flash—!

The red light passed by the other players, leaving them trembling in its wake but untouched.

"What? Is that the authority of death or something? How are you supposed to fight that?"

"Is that really a side character?"

"Most believe the Dead Star to be the universe's biggest threat after the Wandering Martial God… He's quite terrifying. How could a mere side character be so powerful? Ugh… I'm losing interest in being a constellation."

Of course, the other constellations would've been able to endure the power from Kallein's secondary character if they were there with their main bodies, but just how much stronger would Kallein be if he were also there in his true form? The thought was terrifying.

'Things were much better when I was able to just screw around after becoming a constellation…'

'Why are there so many monsters in the Space League?'

The other players desperately looked at JiHan in the hopes that he'd soon die and bring the game to an end. He was faster than Kallein expected him to be, so the deathly authority hadn't reached him yet, but it was only a matter of time.

'Die already!' they all thought.

"This won't do." JiHan gave up on running. There was no point in dragging things out if the others were just going to watch.

[Are you going to reveal your identity?]

"No, I'll face him head-on." Nothing much would change if he revealed that he wasn't a Root and ended up as Kallein's 'Head' instead. It'd be better to just die.

'I'm not done with it yet, but…' He'd modified his techniques with the boost in Martial Soul he received from Fourth-rate Warrior's inspiration effect, but there were still a lot of problems.

He was experiencing another bout of inspiration at that very moment, so it was worth trying.

'Okay, let's do it.' JiHan smiled and moved the Phoenix flag to his left hand and Eclipse to his right, which he continued to cycle the Life Energy through.

[Master? This is the exact opposite of my energy. Since its power is derived from the World Tree itself… mixing shadow magic with it will just reduce the efficiency of both.]

'Just bear with me for a moment.'

[Don't say I didn't warn you…]

Ignoring the warning, JiHan surged the Life Energy through Eclipse, and the shadowy sword shrank in size as it started to glow with a green light. At least both powers were managing to coexist.

Maintaining that state, JiHan swung his sword and spear to make a cross.

Nameless Divine Arts God-Killing Technique: Iron-Blood Cross.

WHOOM-!

The marble walls of the temple ripped apart to create a giant, pure-white cross with a hole in the center. The technique was originally supposed to be engraved on the ground, but JiHan had modified it to be used in the air.

Then, as he infused the white cross with Life Energy…

Swoosh—!

A green shield wrapped around him.

[Wasn't this… an instant kill technique?]

'I'm trying to use it for defense.'

[Can you do such a thing on a whim…?]

'I can.'

[Woah…]

Flash—!

Kallein's dark-red authority touched the cross, and the Dead Star still believed JiHan's efforts to be futile. His deathly authority wasn't bound to a physical form, so it's not like a shield could block it.

Then…

"No…! My power…!"

Thud—!

Kallein's authority bounced off of the cross's shield, completely unable to penetrate.

Iron-blood Cross originally killed humans in an instant, but its limitation on fixed locations was awkward, which was why JiHan had modified it.

'I managed to make the cross float.' After he'd originally accomplished that much, he'd found that he couldn't penetrate the cross with his spear since it was as sturdy as an iron wall.

In the end, that iron-like durability proved to be helpful. It was even strong enough to resist Kallein's deathly authority.

Thud! Thud—!

As Kallein's power continued to bounce off…

"W-wait! This… You… don't tell me!" Kallein's voice brightened up. He seemed happy to see that his authority was being blocked. "Y-you! You're still the Head, right? That old hag would never use her power in such a way! Heeaadd!!"

JiHan silently tossed his Phoenix Flag into the air.

Nameless Divine Arts Heavenly Lightning Technique: Heavenly God's Judgment.

BZZT-!

A massive spear of light infused with red lightning descended and caused Kallein's head to burst into flames.

"As expected of our Head!! Curse me more!!" Even in defeat, Kallein continued to happily shout at JiHan. "See you next time, Head! Hihihi…"

Kallein finally vanished.

[There are 5 survivors left.]

[The promotion match is ending.]

"Haa…" Jihan sighed in relief. He'd somehow managed to survive.

[The 'Thunder God' of the Divine Throne has shown interest in you.]

[The Thunder God would like to become your constellation. Will you accept?]