Chapter 18 – Herald Star

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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After the Black Sun rose, people’s daily lives changed.

Living anxiously every cycle, and when the Dark Light was cast, they frustrated and resigned themselves looking at the approaching monsters.

The result of those who knew the truth of the world keeping their mouths shut, saying they could not give greater despair, was not very good.

From a certain point, people began choosing death over a painful life.

Even an incredibly courageous and steadfast person was no exception.

Rather, because they were courageous, there were numerous cases where they held their swords in reverse.

Beryl was exactly that case.

Thump.

A sky where the Black Sun had risen, the world sank and submerged into the monsters the Dark Light summoned.

No one ever wished to die in such a cramped and narrow space they entered to find something to eat.

Thump.

Crack, crackle, crack.

However, the fragile wooden door was already breaking.

“No, the door is going to split!”

“Beryl, hurry!”

His companions who came alongside him, Peter and Heron, shouted with glaring eyes.

Why was I holding a sword again?

Beryl rebuked himself for only trying to constantly turn his eyes away from the grim reality.

Beyond that wooden door, Corpse Demons were swarming in.

However, the place where Beryl’s sword point was aimed at was a small child driven into a corner and trembling violently.

“D, Dad.”

“….”

Grrrrk, grrk, kkeuk.

The cries of the monsters endlessly repeating only the death throes they spat out when dying were scary.

The fiercely shouting voices of the misters were also frightening.

However, what the child truly feared was his own father holding a blade in the darkness.

“Snap out of it, please! It is going to be breached soon! We cannot block it!”

A food storage room of a castle covered in dust.

It was a place where nothing was left except rotted food and a single entrance.

Even beyond the small window made for ventilation, only the sky blocked by the Black Sun remained. In a situation where Corpse Demons would storm in soon, Beryl knew what he had to do.

Even what he had to do with the sword he was holding.

Nevertheless, he just stood there blankly doing nothing.

Only then could the child see the appearance of a weak father for the first time.

The hand gripping the sword was trembling violently.

“Beryl, send Den off!”

If they died an early death before the Corpse Demon’s teeth reached them, they did not become Corpse Demons.

It was a desperate struggle to give them eternal rest.

Both Peter and Heron were fighting desperately in a hopeless situation to prevent the child from degrading into a Corpse Demon.

The lantern’s light shaking roughly along their desperate struggles.

Shadows were roaming around dancing a dance full of malice following the shaking light.

‘I cannot leave him alone among those shadows.’

Keo-heuk, kek, keo-heuk.

The echoing sounds of the Corpse Demons gasping for breath were heard.

There was no more time to delay. It was the moment Beryl gritted his teeth and raised his sword.

“…!”

The surrounding sight illuminated by the lantern’s light was seen reflected on the blade.

An understanding colored above Den’s face, who had been shivering in fear.

With a calm attitude uncharacteristic of a child, Den was looking at his father’s trembling hand with sorrowful eyes. At that time, something truly unexpected occurred beyond the small ventilation window.

Flash.

The bursting flash of light illuminated the inside of this dark storage room, even if only for a brief moment.

It was a light intense enough to sweep away all the shadows for a short while.

“Wh, what was that just now?”

It was not even an illusion.

Peter and Heron were also shedding tears because they faced the dazzling flash of light.

Even though it must be painful to even keep their eyes open due to how dazzling it was, they fixed their gazes towards the window where the light entered. Only Beryl, who was the only one free, could approach the window.

And looking at the sky, Beryl was clenching both hands into fists without even realizing it.

On the opposite side of the setting Black Sun.

A star unyielding even to the murky Dark Light cast thickly in all directions was seen.

Even though it was a light so blurred and crushed that it was difficult to tell where it even was, Beryl was certain.

“It is starlight. A star has risen.”

“A star?”

“It is shining even in the Dark Light. Like…”

Someone might recall a lighthouse near a reef amidst a swirling storm.

But the moment Beryl saw that star, he thought of a herald.

A herald that came to announce the fact that the Black Sun would set soon.

Herald Star (傳令星).

It was a starlight like a herald dashing forward overcoming numerous hardships and ordeals to deliver news.

Facing the Herald Star, Beryl began scanning Den and the inside of the room with a new resolve.

“Beryl, what are you doing!”

“The Black Sun is going to set soon. The starlight showed it to me. The setting Black Sun.”

There was no space for a sturdy adult to hide in this place.

But there was one space the light that visited for a fleeting moment, and the blade Beryl was holding, reflected.

Among the wine barrels that had now turned into vinegar. It was enough for one small child to hide.

Beryl hugged Den, who was sitting slumped on the floor, and moved him there.

“Den.”

“D… Dad.”

Beryl dipped his finger into the vinegar dropped on the floor.

After that, he ruffled Den’s hair roughly with his vinegar-stained hand.

“You have to hold out.”

As Beryl, who finished his business, approached the place where the door was, Peter and Heron looked at Beryl with profound expressions.

“You might regret it.”

“Or you might feel relieved.”

Thump.

Crack, crackle-.

Beryl threw his body towards the crevice that began to split just in time.

Thanks to the three men blocking it together, they bought time, but even doing that was merely just a little.

“Ha, that kid Den. His skill at handling an axe was very bright. Showed promise, he did.”

Heron, who had been completely occupied blocking the door until now, looked back for the first time.

Even though he had already hidden himself, Heron spoke towards Den who must be somewhere in this room.

“Tsk… I suppose we were not close enough to go chop wood together.”

“Den has a patient personality, I tell you. He said he would be good at fishing.”

It was the moment Peter added his words.

Pop, cr-aack-.

The door that had reached its durability limit began to split and break.

Grrrk, grrr-rrrk.

Through the gaps, Corpse Demons drooling saliva mixed with bloody phlegm opened their mouths and reached out their hands.

Heron pulled out the handaxe he wore at his waist, and Peter pulled out a nail-studded club, intuiting their end.

Beryl was also the same.

May the Herald Star deliver even the news of the child trapped here to the whole world.

Aiming his sword point towards the crevice of the broken door, Beryl gritted his teeth once more.

The Black Sun was a persistent entity.

Not just crowded cities, it violently smashed up every place where it is said people live.

It was the sentiment I felt as soon as I faced a village on the outskirts a little far from the ruined city Catabria.

A wheat field dying a gaunt death buried in rotten grains. A burned-down windmill left desolate.

And the torn flesh and bloodstains scattered all over here and there.

“Ah, oh my god! He said he could not abandon his ancestors’ land no matter what happened!”

It seemed someone he knew stayed behind saying they would not evacuate, and eventually met with a tragic end.

Even seeing the traces of battles and massacres remaining all around, it was impossible to expect their survival.

It was plainly visible what kind of end they met as well.

Not seeing any corpses, Bartol quickly concluded.

“They must have all become Corpse Demons.”

It was a correct judgment.

The Holy Mother of Stillborns was a demon concentrated on increasing the number of Corpse Demons.

Like a cliché zombie flick, her tendency was revealed just by looking at the setting that those killed by Corpse Demons revive as Corpse Demons. In any case, it was true that the Holy Mother of Stillborns cherished humans the most out of the demons.

It was just that… her tastes were peculiar so she did not deal with living ones.

Unable to hide my bitter feelings, I inspected the surroundings.

“There is no ambush. It seems they were not a group large enough to divert my attention or fight head-on.”

Did they swiftly retreat knowing we were coming, or had they hidden their traces a long time ago.

Both were plausible stories.

Of course, I knew what kind of tendency the Holy Mother of Stillborns had.

She probably moved nimbly to create even more Corpse Demons.

Hwen’s thoughts were the exact opposite of mine.

“There could be unknown poisons or enemy reconnaissance! Even if people lived here, do not enter the houses rashly!”

She even screamed at the top of her lungs in a much firmer tone than usual.

I could not simply dismiss it as a vain effort.

Since people had to possess the minimum strength to protect themselves.

I could not interfere with the process of her, who was once a knight, using her experience to establish the organization’s system.

Seeing that boisterous appearance, Bartol shuddering his body must indeed have been because a person who had experienced it knew it better.

“She is truly the same whether now or then.”

“Truly?”

“She is a cool woman.”

The thoughts he was having and the words popping out were different.

Looking to see why, Hwen, who had been yelling at the people around, was pricking her ears before I knew it.

In the meantime, Bartol had his two eyes softly closed, acting as if he were chewing over what he saw.

Indeed, no matter who saw it, he was henpecked.

I shook my head left and right and approached Hwen.

Floating adrift down from the sky, that was.

“O Star Creation.”

“You seem to be adapted to facing me. You do not even stutter your words much anymore.”

“….I am, trying my best.”

Wondering what exactly kind of emotions she was feeling, I looked at her closely.

Then, a unique texture reminiscent of Shooting Star ice cream, popping every time I chewed, spread in my mouth.

This was… probably roughly the feelings of a staff sergeant meeting a four-star general.

I had not been very conscious of it until now, but I did not know I could feel it as a texture instead of a taste.

To think Hwen was feeling this much burden.

It was the moment I resolved to deliver my business, whatever it may be, as fast as possible.

“Your vigilance scanning the surroundings was excellent. Fortunately, it seems there are no enemies around here. Since they are still people who need rest, what do you think about completing the reorganization we could not finish here.”

“As You will.”

The moment Hwen replied placing her hand on her chest.

Before I knew it, the people who were keeping their senses keen on our conversation were stealthily putting down their bags.

“It brings back memories. Because we are walking through the trees like this.”

It was a grumble let out by Ad, who ended up leading the people.

Being from Santiom, a city developed by forestry, Ad stepped forward on his own, saying he would scrape up everything edible.

Since I knew the sense of debt underlying this action, I persuaded Hwen and helped Ad step forward.

And we also needed to replenish our lacking food while we were at it.

Children, who usually busy being protected by adults, also wandered the nearby forest with Ad.

Of course, I didn’t send them without any preparations either.

-Protection miracle, Comet Tail

-Bestowal miracle, Stability

I scattered my influence throughout the entire forest to block even the approach of unforeseen Corpse Demons in the first place.

And I even bestowed stability so people wouldn’t panic should they, by any chance, face a crisis.

If there was something to carry, I would carry it with golden hands…

It was a time when I used miracles for reasons other than fighting for the first time in a while.

“Move the branches over here! We will use those for firewood!”

“We could carve that much and make it into a spear. Good, give it to me. I will carve it and give it back to you.”

The people utilized the wood I brought for their respective purposes.

The supply and demand of wood proceeded much smoother than expected.

It was thanks to me snapping trees using golden hands, chopping them into blocks, and bringing them.

Thanks to that, the empty village was slowly turning into an evacuation shelter worthy of people spreading out mats.

This sight. It was also the part I liked the most.

Fighting was important in Last Comet, but it was a game you could not win just by fighting alone.

While there were people who liked thrilling combats, there were also quite a lot of gamers who felt proud looking at a settlement perfectly equipped with extreme efficiency and landscape aesthetics evenly.

I was close to the latter.

Fights were good too, but there was nothing more fun than watching people bustling and gathering, working together eagerly to create something.

However, as if reminding you that this was not a city management game so that you do not relax too much, events occurred sometimes.

“Ack!”

I immediately turned my gaze toward the forest where the sound was heard.