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Chapter 396: Star, Arcadia (8)

[Updating your system based on your new Server.]

[Proceeding...]

...

[<Star Sign Prophecy> function has been installed.]

[<Star Sign Faction> function has been installed.]

...

[Please refer to the document below for a detailed description of the newly added functions.

[Recording your log-in history!]

[Your Data has been designated to a special-class management group by the <Management Bureau>, prohibiting anyone from reading your Data.]

...

Although Chang-Sun understood the part about him entering Arcadia, he had no idea why the <Management Bureau> was suddenly mentioned. Nevertheless, he just waited for the row of messages to end.

[The possession has been completed!]

[Printing detailed information about your possessee.]

[Atran Euhanes]

A Class 3 priest and inquisitor of the Celestial ‘Ursa Major.’ In charge of <Myth> Elimination, he eradicates <Myths> or regional legends that can become a hindrance to the Star Order’s future work and purges anyone who passes on such <Myths> and legends.

Age: 46.

Title: Bear’s Hind Paw.

Strength: 41.

Agility: 32.

HP: 52.

Magic: 49.

Intelligence: 51.

Faith: 98.

※Caution: The possessee enforces order in the Star Order, so there is a high chance that ‘Ursa Major,’ his Guardian, will notice it if you forcibly extort his body.

‘It’s stuffy.’ Chang-Sun’s expression crumpled up as soon as the possession was complete.

His omniscience and omnipotence were gone, leaving him with a feeling similar to being stuck in a narrow and sealed room. He felt as if he was bound by Divine Steel shackles again, which was only natural. He had basically become a mortal again, after all.

However, unlike when Chang-Sun was shackled and had all his powers sealed against his will, he could descend to this place in his real form whenever he wanted. He had no intention of doing that right now since it would waste all his efforts to stay under the Zodiacs’ radar and infiltrate Arcadia, but having that freedom made a big difference.

‘On that note, this isn’t a good option for possession.’ Chang-Sun briefly sighed. He couldn’t believe he possessed a forty-year-old ‘Ursa Major’ priest of all people.

The man was a Class 3 priest, but he was so negligent of his training that his stat points were a mess considering his age. They were higher compared to ordinary people, but ‘Ursa Major’ was a Martial Celestial... The priest was so pathetic that it was impossible to think of him as a high-class priest.

‘Alcohol, cigarette... He does drugs too? Ha! Judging from the big loss in his vital force, he’s sexually corrupted and a habitual visitor of a brothel.’

The priest’s mana hall was empty, and his body was full of impure energy. It made Chang-Sun feel as if he was covered in soaked cotton.

‘Yet his Faith is three digits. Well, I can see what kind of life he led.’

Although the Star Order was notorious in Arcadia, most of their priests put an effort into living as an ascetic. They dedicated their lives to studying their Guardian’s doctrines and coming up with a way to spread them to the people of Arcadia. Since every aspect of their lives was related to their Guardian, their Faith was naturally high.

There was only one way for someone morally corrupt to have high Faith. Under the name of their Guardian, they pleasantly did all sorts of evil deeds, finding them rewarding, and their Guardian occasionally went along with them. They would even bless and protect them, making the latter even more dangerous. This would lead to the order that the person was in to believe such atrocities to be the will of their Guardian, giving that person even more influence in the order and ultimately allowing them to negatively affect the wider region of the world.

That was what this man named Atran Euhanes had been doing so far. Basking in the glory of ‘Ursa Major,’ Atran focused on personal benefits but sincerely believed that it was what his Guardian wanted.

‘This kind of twisted devotion is what brings evil to the world,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Chang-Sun believed that for a society to be healthy, politics and religion should be separate. In a society where religion was considered important, every trivial matter was subjected to suppression and control. Those who went against their ruler’s will were executed in the name of their god. They had no respect for the free will of people. Politics, arts, finance, philosophy... every area of society was the same.

That was what Arcadia was. The great empire extended over numerous planets and exerted a significant amount of influence over the entire Worldline, staying at the zenith of magic. However, it had zero diversity.

The Imperial Family of the Arcadian Empire and its Star Order had formed a very solid alliance and built an everlasting hierarchical society. No one could ever dream about moving to a higher social class, and children inherited their parents’ social class and occupations. Eighty percent of its citizens couldn’t travel far from their homeland, let alone out of the planet they lived on.

That was why Chang-Sun hated this place. Although he lived here longer than he did on Earth, he never got used to this suffocating world. He now had many good memories here, but most of his memories were still unpleasant.

『Wh-who are you?! Why did something weird come inside me?! My body! Give me my body back!』Atran screamed in shock within his mind as Chang-Sun’s thoughts deepened.

『Ah, w-wait. Is my god trying to test me? D-D-Dear Lord! Please vanquish this devil and free me from this test!』

‘It’s noisy.’ Chang-Sun directed mana to his head. He planned to pound on the upper dantian, which was where one’s consciousness and soul were, to blow away the existing soul.

Atran writhed in surprise, having realized what Chang-Sun was trying to do, but no human couldn’t defeat Chang-Sun.

『N-no—!』

Booom.

The sound of a small explosion erupted from the back of his head. Atran’s soul was annihilated before he could even scream.

[You have completely taken over the body!]

[The Terminal to the Celestial ‘Ursa Major’ remains in it!]

[Would you like to eliminate the Terminal as well?]

Chang-Sun glanced up.

[The Celestial ‘Ursa Major’ is scouring the Planet ‘Eos’ to look for you, who vanished right in front of his eyes!]

‘I see no reason to draw attention right now,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Since Chang-Sun possessed someone right before ‘Ursa Major’ could attack him, he likely just suddenly vanished from the Star Sign’s perspective. Naturally, the first instinct of ‘Ursa Major’ was to search the area for the intruder. The last thing he would suspect was that the intruder had possessed one of his priests.

Chang-Sun planned to use this to his advantage. He didn’t choose this body because he wanted it, but he might as well exploit it in every way possible now that he was in this situation.

[You have postponed the Terminal’s removal.]

Chang-Sun looked in front of him.

“L-Lord Inquisitor?”

“Why did you suddenly...”

The executioners looked at Chang-Sun—no, Atran, whom Chang-Sun possessed—with bewildered expressions. Atran, the one who ordered the criminals’ execution, suddenly grabbed the guillotine blade and shattered it. Hence, the executioners couldn’t help but be worried that they made mistakes.

Inquisitors ruled ordinary citizens with terror. Since they were above the law, getting on their bad side could cost more than just the citizens’ lives.

Putting the executioners’ brief hesitation to very good use, Chang-Sun found a child who was emitting an unusually bright sunset-colored light among the crowd blankly looking at Chang-Sun and the executioners.

‘It’s him.’

[You have found your follower ‘Hiyan’!]

[Your follower ‘Hiyan’ is waiting for your blessing.]

That child made it possible for Chang-Sun to come down to Arcadia. In truth, the system thought the child was a good candidate for him to possess, but he was so young that he would have limited Chang-Sun’s mobility. Taking a child’s body weighed down on Chang-Sun’s heart as well even though he would just be temporarily putting him to sleep.

The child also desperately wished for his father’s survival. If Chang-Sun possessed him, he wouldn’t be able to create any window of opportunity to grant his wish. Hence, Chang-Sun changed course midway and possessed this priest’s body instead even though it was trash and he didn’t like anything about it.

Seeing the child watching him with widened eyes made him chuckle.

‘He resembles Hye-Bin,’ Chang-Sun thought, reminded of his adorable apostle. He sent a telepathic message to Hiyan, his new Arcadian follower.

『Hold on a moment. I’ll save him soon.』

Hiyan’s lips trembled, realizing what Chang-Sun meant. Meanwhile, Chang-Sun turned to the executioners, who just anxiously stared at him, at a loss for what to do.

“D-do you have any other instructions for us...?”

“This is nothing personal, but you’ve tried to hurt my followers. You better have done that completely prepared for the consequences.” Chang-Sun shrugged.

The executioners didn’t even get to ask what he meant. He had already thrown the blade fragments in his hand toward them.

Stab, stab, stab!

The executioners fell backward as the projectiles pierced through their foreheads.

“Run,” Chang-Sun told Paul and the other convicts, all of whom were just vacantly looking at him. They hurriedly stood up and started to run. The ropes that bound them had already been severed.

“Huh? Huuuuh?!”

“The death row convicts are escaping!”

“Wh-what...?!”

“Sh-shouldn’t we get them?!”

The crowd spiraled into chaos, not knowing what to do and unable to bring themselves to run toward the platform. Amid their hesitation, Chang-Sun fired mana bullets at the crowd.

Boom, boom, boom―!

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The sounds of cannonballs being fired echoed as clouds of dust spread all over the place.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“That ‘Ursa Major’ priest is trying to kill us! He’s gone insane!”

“Run!”

“S-save me!”

It was mayhem. The crowd began to run away from the area, worried that Chang-Sun’s mana bullets would hit them. Up until a while ago, the people in the plaza were cursing the death row convicts in unison. Now, however, their screams filled the skies as they tried to escape.

In truth, Chang-Sun’s mana ‘bullets’ sounded deadly but only hit the ground. However, the crowd had no way of knowing that right now. Their panic kept soldiers’ hands full just trying to control them, leaving them no room to arrest their prisoners.

“Come this way.” Chang-Sun gestured at the others. Amid the commotion, he managed to secure an escape route for himself and the convicts.

Although torn about whether or not they should listen to the inquisitor who was tormenting them just a while ago, they eventually decided to follow him anyway. He was the only one they could rely on right now, after all.

[A Protection Rune has been activated!]

When the convicts began to follow him, Chang-Sun quickly drew a rune in the air. This body and his real body didn’t have a proper Channeling yet, so he couldn’t use his Authorities as he pleased. Since he wasn’t familiar with the Skills of ‘Ursa Major’ either, he was left with no other option but to use rune magic to create a translucent barrier above them.

‘The regional government army is assembling quicker than I expected.’ Chang-Sun ran toward Hiyan and Bixter, who were still stunned. He had to save them as well.