The Constellation Returned From Hell

Chapter 555

Come out, Master of Slowness and Silence! Let’s fight!

Choi Yeonseung’s challenge echoed throughout the entire continent. Although he spoke softly, his voice was full of power of existence, which was why it reached everyone’s ears.

Every being in the realm of the Master of Slowness and Silence, where even the faintest sounds were intolerable, was terribly startled.

No mortal had ever made such a loud noise.

How dare an arrogant mortal enter the realm of the Master of Slowness and Silence and make such a clamor?

“You dare...!”

Tardus emerged right away, before the Master of Slowness and Silence could react. He was furious at the sight of Choi Yeonseung looking down on his master from the sky. Because of that, he didn’t notice the overwhelming presence exuded by Choi Yeonseung.

Or perhaps he was deliberately ignoring it. After all, Tardus arrogantly believed that no matter how great a human hero was, he ultimately stood no chance against a household member of the Master of Slowness and Silence, who had served him in the Abyss for a long time.

That arrogance had crept into Tardus’ heart without his realizing it.

“You... insolent...”

[Tardus, the household member of the ‘Master of Slowness and Silence’, uses his power.]

The air around Tardus shifted, and everything started to slow down. The intense power quickly surged to where Choi Yeonseung was.

Tardus knew that humans couldn’t fly by themselves. Soon enough, his power would nullify Choi Yeonseung’s skill or device and cause him to plummet.

However, Choi Yeonseung remained in the air.

I told the Master of Slowness and Silence to come out.

“Silence... you brazen mortal... It seems that your arrogance stems from your belief in the Undefeated Incarnation of Training...”

Tardus’ fury was made evident by the fact that he was speaking half a beat faster than usual. He suddenly vanished and reappeared in Choi Yeonseung’s vicinity.

[Tardus, the household member of the ‘Master of Slowness and Silence’, casts the ‘Curse of Binding.’]

Tardus activated a powerful curse that rendered mortals unable to breathe and crushed them to death. However, it dissipated before it reached Choi Yeonseung, who defended himself with his power of existence.

Following that, Choi Yeonseung raised his fist.

Tardus remembered the fighting style of this human hero, which he had observed multiple times, and quickly went on the defensive.

[Tardus, the household member of the ‘Master of Slowness and Silence’, expands his domain.]

The space in front of Tardus changed into one with different rules. Any enemies that entered his domain would be slowed down and quickly immobilized. They would struggle endlessly to escape, to no avail, just like a mythical figure enduring eternal punishment...

Bang!

However, Choi Yeonseung broke through the domain at once. The white blazing concentrated energy merged with his power of existence, setting the air ablaze and tearing the domain apart.

His Origin of the Celestial Fist erupted toward Tardus before he could react. It was as if a meteor had crashed down on him.

Just like that, Tardus fell without even being able to scream. With a deafening roar, he was helplessly blasted into Earth’s strata and remained stuck in the upper mantle.

Witnessing the defeat of the renowned Tardus, the other household members who served the Master of Slowness and Silence appeared in a bewildered manner. The sloth-like powerhouses of the Abyss attacked Choi Yeonseung, but they were no more successful than the previous challenger.

Next, the hunters who had recently started serving the Master of Slowness and Silence stepped up. Surprisingly, they rushed at Choi Yeonseung with confidence rather than fear.

As long as they fought in this realm and had the power of the Master of Slowness and Silence at their disposal, they believed they could best even an S-grade hunter. Little did they know, their opponent wasn’t an S-grade hunter but a constellation.

Choi Yeonseung suppressed the hunters simply by releasing internal energy. The fused power of existence turned into a power of its own, crushing his assailants.

“...!!”

“!!!”

At this point, even the most thick-headed human in this realm would realize what was going on.

The man in front of them wasn’t a mortal.

He was a constellation!

***

-Dragon Industry is attempting a raid? Attacking the realm of the Master of Slowness and Silence...

-Breaking news! The S-grade hunter, Martial God Choi Yeonseung, is attacking the realm of the Master of Slowness and Silence. I repeat, Hunter Choi Yeonseung...

-Experts consider this raid extremely reckless and even more unlikely to succeed than the previous ones...

-I don’t think Hunter Choi Yeonseung would start a raid without thinking it through. Maybe he’s trying to reach a concession? Just like the way they negotiated during the first invasion.

-Discussions are taking place on the possibility of negotiation with the Master of Slowness and Silence...

The moment Dragon Industry started streaming live what Choi Yeonseung was doing, everyone instantly assumed that it was just another raid.

Normally, launching an assault on the realm of the slowness constellation would be dangerous and almost impossible, but it was Choi Yeonseung who was attempting it, the hunter who had successfully conducted several Abyss raids.

Perhaps he would manage to threaten the Master of Slowness and Silence and open up negotiations with him, ultimately bringing about peace like in the first and second invasions.

@Schreiber_Lane

-Why did he proceed with this raid without telling anyone? Is anyone there with him?

-Is this a raid that only A-grade hunters can participate in? Please tell me if any A-grade hunters have joined.

@Seha_Han

-The A-grade hunters who secretly participated, you fuck...

[Message deleted]

-I would appreciate it if you could let me know which A-grade hunters are participating in the raid.

-Does anyone know anything about this raid?

It wasn’t just the higher-rated hunters, but also the A-grade hunters who were surprised. How could Choi Yeonseung proceed with this raid without telling anyone? The hunters who thought they were close to him were particularly shocked.

Whom had he taken with him?

-Who among the A-grade hunters went with him?

-I checked just now. It seems that neither Gilbert Gerrity nor Wes Morales has joined.

-What about South Korea’s A-grade hunters?

-I don’t think his best friend, Hunter Han Seha, is participating either. If you look at her social media posts...

-Is he trying to deceive us?

-Why would he try to deceive people with something like this? It’s a dangerous raid, so it wouldn’t make much of a difference even if the information was revealed...

-Maybe he was worried about traitors. Or maybe he had other reasons, who knows...

All kinds of speculations and opinions were exchanged, and as time went on, people grew more baffled.

-...???

-????

-What’s going on right now?

-Why... isn’t Hunter Choi Yeonseung using martial arts?

-That’s... that’s not martial arts... is it...?

-I’m an expert, and I can confirm that this is what S-grade martial arts look like. Once you reach that level, you’ll gain that kind of power even as a martial artist.

-What...?

Regular people were merely curious, and they obviously didn’t understand what the exact situation was. They just shouted, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung is amazing! As expected of an S-grade hunter!”

However, the higher-rated hunters were different. No matter how they thought about it, not even S-grade hunters could possess that kind of power.

“D-do martial arts look like that if you reach S-grade?! Even going through a constellation’s power?”

“I’ve never heard of this before?”

“I’ve seen Hunter Choi Yeonseung fight before but never to this extent.”

The hunters who had signed contracts with constellations and were active as members of their households were the most suspicious.

[The ‘Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ says that this is ridiculous.]

[The ‘Monk Pursuing Glory’ says there is only one explanation for this situation.]

[The ‘Storyteller Who Likes Gossip and Explanations’ watches in bewildered silence.]

The constellations murmured and whispered to their own household members. Hearing the whispers, the household members immediately contacted the hunters they knew.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?”

Jeong Wonuk looked between Kwon Yeongseung and Han Seha with a confused expression.

The three of them had gathered in one place since Dragon Industry started streaming Choi Yeonseung’s aerial fight in China. If things went south and he requested help, it was easier to respond if they were all in one place.

However, the situation had become very chaotic.

“I think it’s a misunderstanding...” Han Seha said tentatively.

“Why?”

“Because he never told me?”

“...”

Kwon Yeongseung didn’t even bother saying anything else.

“What? What’s with that look, you jerk?” Han Seha demanded, clearly noticing his reaction. “Tell me. What are you thinking?”

“No-nothing... If he is really a constellation... like the rumors are saying... Uh... No matter how close you are, it’s hard for him to reveal that to you, right?

Kwon Yeongseung pointed upward.

Even an A-grade hunter’s actions would likely catch the attention of the constellations. Thus, if Choi Yeonseung had casually revealed his identity even to one person, his secret could have leaked to them.

Han Seha almost fell for this explanation, but then Jeong Wonuk asked as if he didn’t understand, “He must’ve had a chance to say it in the Abyss, right?”

“...”

Han Seha’s expression darkened again, and Kwon Yeongseung, frightened, shot Jeong Wonuk a look.

‘What are you doing, clan leader? If she goes from sad to angry, will you deal with her?’

‘Ah, whoops. Sorry.’

Realizing his blunder, Jeong Wonuk quickly changed his words.

“But come to think of it... If he is really a constellation, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone. Choi Yeonseung’s best friends, Lee Changsik and Hwang Gyeongryong, most likely don’t know either.”

Hearing that, Han Seha’s expression brightened slightly.

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung always had a strong sense of responsibility,” Jeong Wonuk added randomly. He didn’t have much contact with Choi Yeonseung, so he couldn’t possibly know how responsible he really was.

“He probably couldn’t drag the people close to him into this because of the kind of responsibilities he has as a constellation.”

“Indeed...”

Even Kwon Yeongseung was convinced by Jeong Wonuk’s explanation. Indeed, they could’ve helped him if he had shared his secret with them, but then they would’ve been dragged into the complicated conflicts of the Abyss.

There had been a few cases of hunters signing with powerful constellations and boasting about their reputation, only to then disappear in the Abyss, never to be seen again.

“Yeah...”

Han Seha’s mood was completely lifted.

Then, a large demon suddenly walked through the door. It was Barigos—he used to be part of the household of the Ruler of Blood and Brawls, and he had been given the Axe of Blood, but now he led the demons and assisted Choi Yeonseung with his work.

“Do you know anything about this situation, demon?” Jeong Wonuk asked cautiously as he turned to Barigos. The demons of the Abyss were so violent that he had to be careful.

“Of course, Choi Yeonseung isn’t a constellation.”

“Oh... Is that so? O-of course...” Jeong Wonuk sighed with relief.

The rumors floating around were so outlandish that they were almost impossible to believe.

“I know because he told me he isn’t a constellation.”

“...”

“...”

Kwon Yeongseung and Jeong Wonuk wondered if the demon in front of them was being serious. To their surprise, he seemed genuine.

‘...Are there demons who lack intelligence out there?’

‘Demons have different personalities and different levels of intelligence...’

“We were adversaries who respected each other’s honor. He wouldn’t lie to me.”

Bang!

At that moment, the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor, Lee Changsik, barged in.

“He’s finally revealed his true identity as a constellation,” Lee Changsik said with a weary expression. “I know it’s shocking, but you need to help.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Huh? What’s wrong with you guys?”