Chapter 46: A miracle happens

Slicing the flesh bit by bit.

Severing the nerves strand by strand.

Forcing the blood to flow backward through the body.

Turning the internal organs completely inside out.

Limon spoke languidly, saying that even if one experienced pain that transcended death, they would not actually die.

He explained that this was a torture technique of the Seven Dragon Association—a group that mastered Psionics far better than any other supernatural power to explore the human mind and body—elevating it from a mere skill to the realm of art.

‘This, this man…’

Park Hyun-gun trembled, frothing at the mouth from the agony.

It wasn’t because his unique skill, **[Grand Name and False Reputation]**, which specialized in falsehoods, allowed him to know Limon was telling the truth.

It was because the moment he saw those languidly sunken golden eyes looking at him as if he were a bug struggling on a pin, he naturally came to understand.

The essence of that languor.

It was neither fatigue nor boredom.

It was the weariness that could only be possessed by someone who had killed, killed, and killed again until they found murder not just tedious, but a nuisance.

That was why he could miraculously notice it—the true nature of the existence called a Sword Master, which had been hidden behind the grand name of a hero.

*Thud!*

“Gurgle?!”

“Who told you to daydream?”

Park Hyun-gun forgot everything as a sudden kick to his backside sent a shock through him like a bolt of lightning to his brain.

Limon spoke as he poked at Park’s spine with his sword.

“Keep this in mind.”

It was less a warning and more a piece of advice.

A declaration meant to erase any hope that might exist.

“You don’t have time for escapism anymore.”

Regret, reflection, atonement, worry, fainting, or even madness—not one of these would be allowed for Park Hyun-gun.

From now on, there was only one thing he would be able to feel.

“Begging me to kill you will be the only thing you can do for the next four days.”

Limon spoke lazily while moving his sword.

Amidst the pain of his body being prodded by the blade, Park Hyun-gun tried to think.

He tried to believe.

He tried to give up.

‘This is all a dream. When I open my eyes, reality will be waiting.’

He tried to escape the mental and physical agony by letting go of his mind and separating his consciousness.

However, Limon did not give Park Hyun-gun the opportunity to go insane, just as he had declared.

With precise sword movements, he stimulated the pain nerves to force Park to stay conscious, slowly slicing his body at a cellular level.

Park Hyun-gun despaired in that pain.

And then, he yearned. He begged for someone, anyone, to please save him.

No, he would be satisfied if they would at least kill him mercifully.

If they did that, he would pay any price, no matter who they were or what they wanted.

At that exact moment, a miracle occurred.

**[The Constellation you are contracted with responds to your desperate prayer.]**

**[The Constellation proposes a renewal of your contract. If you agree, you will gain the power to escape your current crisis.]**

**[Do you accept the contract renewal?]**

‘This is…!’

It was truly a strange system message.

Even as a high-level Player who had seen many system messages, this was the first time Park Hyun-gun had ever been offered a contract renewal by a Constellation.

He had never even heard a similar rumor among the information he had gathered while running the Infinity Guild.

Normally, he would have been suspicious.

Since he had climbed to his position by deceiving countless people, his personality wasn’t one to easily believe in such unexpected luck.

But now, having lost everything and facing only a gruesome death, Park Hyun-gun—who had already lost his calm judgment due to pain, despair, and fear—had no room to doubt the system message.

He answered frantically, like a drowning man clutching at a straw.

“I, I accept! I’ll renew the contract!”

*Thump.*

The moment he shouted.

Park Hyun-gun felt it clearly.

A hole was punched through the laws of the world, and a brilliantly shining star fell toward him.

As the star drew closer, an immense power began to envelop him.

In the midst of a storm of vast power—greater than anything he had felt even when stealing Lee Cheon-gi’s abilities to use dozens of skills simultaneously—he realized something.

He realized that even a Lord, worshipped as an absolute being, was ultimately just a human, nothing compared to a truly transcendental existence.

He also felt that great being approaching him now to generously lend its strength.

‘The Constellation didn’t ignore my efforts after all!’

Park Hyun-gun was filled with joy.

The fact that his prayer had been heard, the hope that with this powerful strength, he could not only escape death but also kill Lee Cheon-gi and Limon to take the Infinity Guild for himself—above all, the belief that his efforts were finally being rewarded, unlike the nonsense the foul old monster had babbled—made Park Hyun-gun’s despair-filled heart throb with delight.

As Park Hyun-gun wore a smile of ecstasy, offering worship with the utmost respect and affection to accept the light of the Constellation…

*Crunch.*

*Snap, crackle.*

*Gulp.*

The star swallowed him whole.

‘What is that?’

***

When Park Hyun-gun suddenly shouted that he would renew the contract, Lee Cheon-gi thought he had finally gone mad.

It was common for humans to lose their minds when driven into a corner.

But at this moment, Lee Cheon-gi had no choice but to admit his assessment was a misjudgment.

*Thud!*

It wasn’t just because Park Hyun-gun, who had been writhing like a bug on a sword and couldn’t even control his own body due to the aftereffects of Overheat, had suddenly sprung up and kicked Limon away.

It wasn’t because his waist, which had been nearly split in two from moving recklessly while impaled, healed in the blink of an eye.

It wasn’t even because of the aura that had suddenly exploded, making Lee’s entire body tingle just by being in the same space.

It was the atmosphere.

It was clearly Park Hyun-gun himself, yet it felt as if he were looking at something else that merely shared the same appearance.

The terrible sense of discrepancy was like staring into an abyss that should not be seen.

A sickening revulsion that felt like his soul was being shaved away just by facing it caused Lee Cheon-gi’s face to contort—the same man who had remained calm even when his abilities were stolen by **[Grand Name and False Reputation]**.

‘What on earth is this…’

As if sensing that gaze, Park Hyun-gun suddenly snapped his head ninety degrees to look back at Lee Cheon-gi.

When their eyes met, Lee unknowingly took a step back.

What Lee Cheon-gi felt in that moment was a horror he had never experienced, even when facing death.

Setting aside the strength or danger of the power, a physiological fear—as if his cheek were being licked by something mixed with insects, filth, and entrails—constricted his heart.

*Riiip.*

Seeing Lee Cheon-gi like that, Park Hyun-gun smiled.

His lips stretched so wide that the corners of his mouth tore, and drops of blood leaked out.

He extended his tongue and licked the blood, sneering.

It was a disgusting smile that made one’s mind reel just by looking at it.

He wanted to turn his eyes away immediately.

He wanted to erase that horrific smile from his memory.

He wanted to flee this place and pretend none of this had ever happened.

But it was no use.

Whether he closed his eyes or fled, that hideous image already engraved on his retinas would never be forgotten.

At that moment, a realization surfaced.

Ah.

Yes, that’s right.

If it’s engraved in the eyes, they can just be gouged out.

If the brain remembers, it can be carved out.

If the intestines turn, they can be pulled out.

That was the perfect answer.

To put into practice the only way to escape this terrible feeling, Lee Cheon-gi…

*Boom!*

He fired a Wave Cannon.

Because the abilities stolen by **[Grand Name and False Reputation]** had not yet returned, the skill was pathetically weak compared to its original state.

However, as if he hadn’t expected Lee Cheon-gi’s attack, the defenseless Park Hyun-gun was swept away by the wave and sent flying backward.

Perhaps because he had blown Park Hyun-gun away, the thoughts eroding his mind dimmed, and normal reasoning finally returned.

Nevertheless, amidst the lingering unpleasantness—as if his brain had been dipped in lard—Lee Cheon-gi grit his teeth.

“What did you do?”

It wasn’t a mental-type skill. Like being pulled to the ground by gravity, the terrible sensation that could only be described as erosion—as if falling into chaos just by facing him—gave Lee Cheon-gi certainty.

“No, ‘what’ have you become?”

He still had the form of a human, but Park Hyun-gun had already become something else.

However, the thing that used to be Park Hyun-gun did not answer Lee Cheon-gi’s question.

As if feeling unpleasant that a mere human had defied him, it simply looked at Lee Cheon-gi with glistening eyes and extended one hand.

“It…”

*BOOM!*

“…!”

Lee Cheon-gi’s eyes widened.

It wasn’t because his own skill had been reflected back at him, nor was it because the power exceeded his own.

It was because even though he had reflexively used **[Spatial Transition]** when he saw the hand being extended, the moment their eyes met, the skill failed to activate.

Instead of leaping through space, his movements were pinned in place.

It was as if his entire body were bound by an invisible snake.

Because of that, Lee Cheon-gi, who missed his timing to dodge, was about to be swept away by an intangible wave strong enough to easily crush a human body.

*Slice.*

A sword light cut through the air.

The intangible wave was split in two, and the shackles binding Lee Cheon-gi were released.

Despite being saved from the crisis, Lee Cheon-gi could not relax.

In fact, his expression grew even more chilled.

It wasn’t just because Limon, who had been a step back after taking the transformed Park Hyun-gun’s surprise attack with his sword, had appeared in front of him.

It wasn’t even because of the overwhelming pressure—as if a blade were being held to his throat—which he hadn’t felt even during his life-and-death struggle with Limon.

Limon’s face wore a bright smile, as if he had received a surprise gift or won the lottery.

But unlike his smiling face, Limon’s eyes were frozen cold without a hint of warmth, flickering with a black radiance that made Lee Cheon-gi’s skin crawl.

“Well, look at that… I guess living a good life brings luck after all.”

Lee Cheon-gi could not understand.

No, no one would.

He couldn’t fathom why Limon was so happy, even though receiving the long-awaited blood debt had been delayed.

“I was actually debating whether I should just settle the debt like this.”

Of course, at any other time, Limon would have been furious.

Especially since a Constellation had clearly intervened with Park Hyun-gun, defying the warning not to interfere in his revenge.

Despite that, there was only one reason why Limon was happy instead of angry.

He had seen it.

The moment Park Hyun-gun accepted the contract, Limon saw the form of the Constellation that fell from the sky and swallowed him—a form he could never, ever mistake.

“I’m so damn grateful to you for popping out right in front of me like this, you snake.”

The Constellation that had been contracted with Yu Na-kyung.

The entity that had mocked her the moment she died and tried to steal something like a bead of light from her corpse.

The culprit who had first made him wary of the existence of Constellations.

Looking at the ‘Snake Connecting the Beginning and the End’, Limon wore a chilling smile.