[■■■■ ■■ ■■■ is your Constellation now.] [You are the only follower of ■■■■ ■■ ■■■.] It felt like a dream. Not mine, but someone else’s. The dream felt both long and short, and my sense of time became distorted. It was as if I were standing in the middle of a stream with water flowing past me at different speeds on my right and left. The current of time engulfed me. A day passed. Or, at least, it felt like a day. —Hmm. It seems we’re fucked. —Nothing. It’s pointless to say anything now. I’m also under the influence of this power. Even if I say something, it’ll be distorted in your memories and, surprisingly, in mine as well. What are you talking about? —I’m telling you the simple truth of life that words are often useless. You’ve evolved from a physical zombie to a temporal zombie. What the hell are you talking about? —Hmm... What should I do? This is pretty nasty. If it were just a matter of memory distortion, there would be plenty of ways to deal with it, but this is probably reality bending. Indeed, the floors above the sixtieth are full with perverted lunatics. I do feel like lamenting about the pervert who has an eye on you, but it’s understandable if I think about it. Kim Zombie, you do have all the qualities that would make perverts around the universe drool all over you. ... What in the heck are you really talking about? The Guardian ignored my question. His eyes sharpened, and he immersed himself in his own world. —What should I do? How should I screw over that nasty starhead? A voice too familiar to me gently called out to me. I naturally turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw a lovely boy tilting his head. “Are you troubled by something?” he asked. The boy looked nervous as he looked at me. Every expression and gesture of his—perhaps even his very existence—trembled like a candle flame. I wanted to protect that fragile, pitiful being. —Hey, never mention me. Let’s see what happens. “It’s just that... thoughts jumbled up in my head.” My mouth went dry. The thought of lying to this pure boy and hiding something from him—my one and only Constellation—filled me with a deep guilt. “Hmm.” The boy smiled. “Is that so? You think a lot, don’t you?” “I think being thoughtful is a sign of kindness. At least, I do.” The boy rested his head on my forearm. A pleasant scent lingered in my nose. I didn’t know why, but I liked the scent very much. It was a fresh, blue scent that I had smelled before from someone else. As I enjoyed this happy moment, the Guardian spoke to me for the first time in days. —Hmm. It seems we’re fucked. —Nothing. It’s pointless to say anything now. I’m also under the influence of this power. Even if I say something, it will be distorted in your memory and, surprisingly, in mine as well. What are you talking about? —Is this the first time you’ve heard me say this? What are you talking about? I knew you weren’t normal, but you’ve never been this strange before. Are you missing Miss Gray Spider, Mr. Sword Emperor? It’s said that loneliness is an incurable disease. The Guardian smirked. —Okay. Fuck. Aaaaalrighty then. Even if the Constellation doesn’t know what I said, they can automatically erase memories or events that interfere with their power. There is no doubt about it. It’s an Enlightened-level Constellation. Ah, can you please try to put up an act? My Zombie, you would have become an actor if you hadn’t become a Hunter. Is it too much to ask that you maintain your poker face regardless of what I say? Am I expecting too much from you? Have I placed too much hope in this world? I don’t , but I’ll grant you the miracle anyway. “We’ve finally defeated the remnants of the Blood Demon Cult!” the boy rejoiced. “I can’t believe that the Mad Demon Cult, the White Demon Cult, and the Divine Demon Cult were secretly allied with the Blood Demon Cult all along! And the Heavenly Demon was behind these four factions all along! They’re unforgivable! The title ‘Heavenly Demon’ means more than just a name to you, Mr. Gong-Ja. You can’t forgive them either, can you?” Right. I was now traveling with the boy on the sixty-first floor. It felt like a week had already passed in the blink of an eye. “These four groups dared to use names similar to those of a demonic cult and even used the name of the Heavenly Demon! Such cruel bastards!” We had been defeating these phony demonic cults. The Heavenly Blood Demon, the one that had kidnapped the boy, was also defeated. While rescuing him, I learned a lot. He was a Constellation who had lost his power, and he was also on the brink of death because he had no followers. “I will be your follower.” When I had told him this, the boy burst into tears and clung to me. He said he would become my Constellation and mine only. Though he had no power, he vowed to create a quest solely for me, promising to keep going until we reached the hundredth floor. —We promised to stay by each other’s side for the rest of our lives.[1] —One Hunter and one Constellation. This was our story. The Guardian laughed for some reason —Ha. What a load of bullshit. That’s why Hamustra was in charge of the beginner stages, even though he was also at the Enlightened level. He’s still a pervert, but at least he doesn’t think the world belongs to him. That is actually given, but there aren’t many Constellations that meet the requirement. Think about it. The Tower lacked manpower so much that they had to assign Hamustra to guide the newbies. The background noise was very loud. “Now, Mr. Gong-Ja! Let’s go!” The boy smiled brightly and linked his arm with mine. “This time, the quest is to beat up the White Demon Cult, my only follower!” I smiled. “Yes, shall we get going, my Constellation?” —I’m just curious. If I said that your conversation just now was cringeworthy, will it also be censored? Huh? What did you just say? —So it does get censored. Motherfucker. That rascal is so childish. We continued our journey. The White Demon cultists were lawless villains. Every month, on the eighth day of the lunar calendar, they descended upon the twelve worlds they had colonized and gathered three hundred children that would be sacrificed and offered as human sacrifices. This was done to accumulate these cultists’ qi, which they called demonic qi. —That was an evil the Death King could never tolerate. —The Death King showed no hesitation in punishing the phony cultists. From his perspective, the cultists were clearly evil. There was no need to consider their circumstances, past, or feelings. He simply had to swing his sword without a second thought. —There were battles where he didn’t have to compromise himself, nor did he have to embrace his opponents. How delightful it was! He was happy. Perhaps the Death King had long been thirsty for battles where he could forget about himself. I heard a clock ticking every time a day passed, though the sound quickly faded into oblivion. It sounded like the second hand of a clock moving or someone typing on a typewriter. It also resembled someone playing the piano. —Alright. If they choose to be childish, I’ll do the same. I don’t expect much from you, Zombie, but do one thing for me. —At every dawn, I’ll recite some sentences to you. Just don’t forget them. Don’t worry. They won’t threaten your cute god or shake this world. They’re meaningless. ... So it’s nonsense. —That’s right. It’s nonsense. The Guardian smiled. His eyes weren’t on me, though. They were on someone else behind me. —Alright, just some sentences a day. Just some utter nonsense. You can remember that much, can’t you? —Make that bullshit ripe. That bullshit is ripe this year, too. It was one hundred percent nonsense. If his nonsense were an orange, I would be able to make juice out of it if I squeezed it. —Remember that. I’m going to kill you if you forget. However, the Guardian looked serious. Does this mean I gotta use more of my mental storage than usual? —Remember it before you shove your whole life in a trash can, you brat. One sentence a day. I won’t say anything else today, so just remember. It was rare for the Guardian to act like that. His expression was also so terrifying that I was slightly overwhelmed by him. Okay, okay. I’ll remember. A day passed. Every day, when dawn came—or at least when I thought it did—the Guardian said his nonsensical sentences in an indifferent tone. —Star in the air is a sage ruler. Sign shows that is a great general. I gave him a sour look. —I know you want to say something, but just engrave it in your brain. Do I have to say “please” to get you to listen to me? No, you don’t have to go that far. It’s just that you sound so stupid. I feel sorry for you. —Fine. Feel sorry for me all you want. We’ll see about that. A day passed. I succeeded in subduing the White Demon Cult. It had been a difficult quest. The demons had been practicing human sacrifice for hundreds of years, so they were strong. The qi they had accumulated was solid, regardless of their karma. They were the perfect examples of villains, so I had to give it my all to defeat them. —Kill that evening’s darkness to bring joy. You are blessed by the saintess. Yet the arduous battle was strangely fun. Now that I thought about it, I must have loved giving my all in battle. Perhaps that was why I felt a sense of joy when I faced the Magic Tower’s Gray Spider. —Right now, set the carpet. At the moment, it’s time to enjoy the world. My journey with the boy grew more enjoyable with each passing day. The world was still filled with evil. The victims didn’t turn into perpetrators, and the perpetrators didn’t pretend to be victims. These were evils that could be cut down clean, like tofu. The Guardian continued to utter nonsense. —This is the moment for terror to be gone. Moment for death’s end has come. —Right, righty-o, Kim Gong-Ja. Now, you look at me, you bastard. Without saying anything else, I decided to leave him be. Just as I was who I was, the Guardian would always be the Guardian. People could change, but not the Sword Emperor. On the seventh day... —Gong-Ja, do you trust me? Today, I was once again with the boy, taking down the phony cultists. After we defeated the Heavenly Blood Demon, the Heavenly Divine Demon, and the Heavenly White Demon, only the Heavenly Mad Demon remained. After destroying the enemies’ outposts, we joyfully headed toward the Light Demon Cult’s hideout. The boy was humming a tune. As I watched him walk in front of me, I felt a sense of pride. It was as if the canvas of my heart was being painted with colors of happiness. Meanwhile, the Guardian was like ashes had been scattered randomly on the colorful canvas. No, I don’t trust you. The source of thɪs content is novel✶fire.net What? I got goosebumps. Have you gone insane? —But I don’t just trust you. I also believe in Gramps Marcus. If you can’t make it to the ninety-ninth floor, he’ll get there someday on your behalf. Well, that is a weird phrase to use since he isn’t your substitute, but I think you know what I mean. The Guardian’s voice faded into the air. —I’ll be honest. It’s okay if you fail. Trust is about believing that both you and the other person will do their best. You determine what your best is, not the other person. Therefore, a trusting relationship is one in which each person decides what is best for themselves and accepts the other person’s decision. That’s all there is to it. Do you know you’re freaking me out right now? I meant it. Even if he cursed and swore at me a whole day straight, I wouldn’t be as nervous as I was right now. Why are you beating around the bush? The Guardian stared at me. —No, listen. Do you remember all the nonsense I said for a week? —Your memory is shit. Do you really remember everything? You brainwashed me to remember, so of course I do. Besides, my memory is fine. It’s your memory that is freakishly good. My memory is better than average. —Good. Then recite what I told you. The Guardian gestured with his chin. Perhaps because I suddenly stopped walking, the boy walking ahead of me also stopped and turned to look at me. “Huh? Mr. Gong-Ja?” “I’m sorry. Please wait a moment, my Constellation.” After asking for his understanding, I quietly concentrated on the nonsense that the Guardian had told me. I envisioned white letters engraved on black paper. For an aura user whose job was to manifest their consciousness, this wasn’t difficult. Like stacking bricks, I connected the sentences I had heard over the past seven days. Make that bullshit ripe. That bullshit is ripe this year, too. Star in the air is a sage ruler. Sign shows that is a great general. Kill that evening’s darkness to bring joy. You are blessed by the saintess. Right now, set the carpet. At the moment, it’s time to enjoy the world. This is the moment for terror to be gone. Moment for death’s end has come. Right, righty-o, Kim Gong-Ja. Now, you look at me, you bastard. It wasn’t difficult after all, but I had to figure out why the Guardian had to say these things. To figure that out, I sped up my cognitive ability. He’s not the kind of guy to say embarrassing things for no reason. What could it be? What kind of prank was he trying to pull? What else did he say? I tried to recall. For some reason, parts of my memory had been erased as if eaten by worms, but I could still hear voices. —Hmm. It seems we’re fucked. I remembered that, but it wasn’t really a clue. —Is this the first time you’ve heard me say this? I remembered that, too. Then what about... —Alright. If they choose to be childish, I’ll do the same. I don’t expect much from you, Zombie, but do one thing for me. I stopped thinking. Childish. Yes, the Sword Emperor was childish, so if I took the first word of each sentence the Guardian had said... “Make” that bullshit ripe. That bullshit is ripe this year, too. “Star” in the air is a sage ruler. Sign shows that is a great general. “Kill” that evening’s darkness to bring joy. You are blessed by the saintess. “Right” now, set the carpet. At the moment, it’s time to enjoy the world. “This” is the moment for terror to be gone. Moment for death’s end has come. “Right,” righty-o, Kim Gong-Ja. Now, you look at me, you bastard. No, that didn’t make sense. Even if I took the last word of the sentence, it didn’t work. It didn’t make sense even if I tried to string them together in my head. No, wait. Wait a minute. “Make” that bullshit ripe. “That” bullshit is ripe this year, too. “Star” in the air is a sage ruler. “Sign” shows that is a great general. “Kill” that evening’s darkness to bring joy. “You” are blessed by the saintess. “Right” now, set the carpet. “At” the moment, it’s time to enjoy the world. “This” is the moment for terror to be gone. “Moment” for death’s end has come. “Right,” righty-o, Kim Gong-Ja. “Now,” you look at me, you bastard. Make ■■ ■■■■ that ■■ ■■■■ Star■■ ■■■■ Sign■■ ■■■■ Kill■■ ■■■■ you ■■ ■■■■ Right ■ ■■■■ At■■ ■■■■ This■■ ■■■■ Moment■■ ■■■■ Right■■■ ■■■ Now ■■ ■■■■ Make that Star Sign kill you right at this moment. Right now. “Are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a while, and you look pale.” “Is it because of the internal injuries you sustained while fighting the demons? I suppose you’ve been fighting battle after battle without taking a break. I feel like I rushed the quests a bit. Should we rest a little before continuing?” I placed the dagger in the boy’s hand. I pulled the dagger toward my neck. The sound of flesh tearing echoed. “No, Mr. Gong-Ja! What in the world?” Everything happened in an instant. Before he could resist or use any abilities or Skills, I immobilized his body with my aura and placed my throat over the fixed dagger. My life was cut short at a slanted angle. Beyond the dagger, the boy screamed in horror. “Why? Why, damn it! Fu—“ [Activating the Skill.] The world around me shattered into pieces. 1. This is the Constellation trying to worm their way into Gong-Ja’s mind. ☜