D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 44
“What? You recognized me just from hearing my voice?”
The Constellation’s voice was brimming with intrigue.
He scrambled to his feet.
“You are….”
“That’s right. Even at a glance, you wouldn’t mistake me for human.”
The Constellation, still perched on the Window Frame, leaned his upper body forward toward him.
Though his face remained indiscernible in the darkness, only his golden eyes gleamed.
It was like meeting a cat’s gaze in the dark.
No—calling it a cat would be sacrilege.
The eyes of a god were observing him.
He still remembered it. That window that had suddenly materialized before his eyes.
[ ‘Constellation of the Entangled Apocalypse’s Finalizer’ has sponsored you with ‘Won-hwa’. ]
[ ‘Constellation of the Entangled Apocalypse’s Finalizer’ entrusts the use of that money to you and says he respects your choice. ]
[ ‘Constellation of the Entangled Apocalypse’s Finalizer’ is pleased with your eyes. ]
It was an amount that could not only establish a Guild but absorb medium-sized Guilds as well.
He surely hadn’t sponsored it without knowing that.
Yet despite receiving such funds, the people of Taemyeon had attacked Ha Gyuhyuk.
‘If Hunter Ha Gyuhyuk is someone chosen by a Constellation, it’s only natural that we shouldn’t touch him!’
‘Those bastards’ way of thinking is completely different from humans. Do you know what that means? It means they don’t treat humans as humans.’
The Guild Master had cited numerous historical accounts of Constellations as evidence.
When the humans they sponsored died, they would abandon them without hesitation and simply switch to another.
They never treated them as equals in the first place, viewing them as lightly as dolls to play with or games to enjoy.
He’d even said that if Ha Gyuhyuk died, it would be nothing more than a ‘character change’ to them.
‘The fact that he gave you that much money surely means he has some interest in you, Kim Gyuwun.’
‘Guild Master!’
It was loyalty to him alone that kept me holding on there.
People said Taemyeon was already a sinking ship, and it was only Kim Gyuwun—not even the Guild Master—barely keeping it afloat.
Every single day, recruitment offers came from increasingly larger Guilds.
No matter how many times I refused, it made no difference.
I had never wavered then, but when I saw the Guild Master’s face that day, I was shaken for the first time.
Doubt began to creep in about whether it was even right for me to stay here.
“So you didn’t use that money?”
And this Constellation before my eyes had read even the unspoken thoughts of Kim Gyuwun.
His voice sounded like that of any ordinary human, yet it also seemed to resonate directly within the brain.
He descended from the bed and looked up at the Constellation.
The Constellation, legs crossed while sitting on the Window Frame, tilted his head.
Though moonlight poured in brightly, nothing but his eyes could be distinguished.
‘Intention.’
He had deliberately concealed his appearance so his face could not be recognized.
If the Constellation had wanted to, they could have revealed nothing at all. The fact that they had exposed even their eyes seemed like a gesture of goodwill on their part.
“I just asked you a question.”
The tone was calm, but the words carried a warning to answer quickly.
An absolute being who could read Kim Gyuwun’s innermost thoughts in an instant would never be ignorant of where that money had gone.
This might have been a test.
“Yes, that money… I was unable to use it.”
“Why? I naturally assumed you would use it to rebuild the Guild.”
A hint of laughter colored their voice.
At first, I had certainly thought I would do exactly that.
With this money, I could have easily revived Taemyeon.
But watching the Guild Master’s greed swell beyond control, I couldn’t bring myself to hand over the funds.
“I began to doubt whether Taemyeon was a Guild worthy of rising again.”
“So you decided not to use the money?”
“I thought there might be a better option. If my choice displeases you, you’re welcome to take the money back…”
“That’s not the kind of noble answer I’m looking for.”
The voice that had been coming from the Window Frame now sounded right at my ear.
A chill ran down my spine.
Yet the Constellation remained seated on the Window Frame, gazing at Kim Gyuwun with serene stillness.
[ ‘Constellation of the Entangled Apocalypse’s Finalizer’ approaches you. ]
“What is this better option?”
A simple question.
I thought I had seen many beings beyond human comprehension while clearing countless Dungeons.
It was arrogance.
The one I now faced could not be compared to them in any measure.
A being who could reduce such creatures to ash with a single breath.
Petty lies held no sway against the presence before me.
Not that I had ever intended to deceive, but Kim Gyuwun felt fear anew—a sensation he hadn’t experienced in far too long.
‘Even when I was trapped inside a Dungeon waiting for rescue, I wasn’t this terrified.’
More afraid now than when death had loomed at my doorstep.
The overwhelming presence of the being before me pressed down upon my entire body.
“For instance, I could make donations for those in need, or provide sponsorship to the Hunter’s Association. Upgrading the System also requires resources… currency is consumed.”
“Donations, sponsorship, upgrades.”
The Constellation murmured each word as if savoring it, then leaped down from the Window Frame.
Before their feet even touched the ground, I felt my body being pulled toward them.
In the blink of an eye, our positions had reversed.
Kim Gyuwun now sat upon the Window Frame, while the Constellation stood below, looking up at him.
The window had already vanished, and the cold wind from outside rushed against my back.
The Constellation’s eyes gleamed with light.
“Are you afraid?”
‘If I shift my posture even slightly wrong here, I’ll fall.’
The place where he lived was built in the air—a fall from this height meant instant death.
No matter how skilled a Hunter might be, there was no surviving a plunge from this altitude. His body tensed with dread.
“When you learned that the Taemyeon Guild’s people had gone to ambush Ha Gyuhyuk, what did you do?”
“I… I lodged a protest with the Guild Master.”
“Was that truly the best choice?”
The Constellation’s question cut through the empty air with crystalline clarity.
Kim Gyuwun grasped the intent immediately.
In that moment, he understood—should he have truly protested to the Guild Master?
“I should have gone to rescue Ha Gyuhyuk.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
Had Kim Gyuwun gone, he could have ended that situation.
But he hadn’t.
It wasn’t that he’d wished for Ha Gyuhyuk’s death—not deliberately.
It was merely careless judgment.
“I thought… since he was chosen by a Constellation, he would be fine.”
“If he truly were chosen by a Constellation, he would be fine. So for days you simply watched as they surveilled Ha Gyuhyuk, doing nothing?”
“That’s a misunderstanding! I learned everything on the day the actual kidnapping occurred!”
Though that wouldn’t lighten his guilt.
As Kim Gyuwun frantically tried to explain, his body suddenly lost its footing and stumbled backward.
He plummeted helplessly through the void.
Feeling his body suspended in empty air, Kim Gyuwun squeezed his eyes shut.
Ha Gyuhyuk’s suffering was his doing. So this was the price he had to pay.
‘From the start, I was willing to stake that man’s life to escape the Dungeon. This was always my fate.’
With that thought, his mind grew calm.
He released the tension from his falling body.
How long had he fallen? The sharp wind against his cheeks suddenly ceased.
Kim Gyuwun slowly opened his eyes.
Golden eyes gazed down at him.
Gentle hands cradled his waist, lifting him up.
They were close enough that he could see what lay within those eyes.
Seeing his own reflection in those golden irises, he knew—he was alive.
“I like your eyes and the way you think.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I don’t trust you, nor do I trust your nature or your principles. But I have chosen to trust the weight of your guilt and your remorse.”
“My guilt… the weight of my sin…”
The setting shifted back to the room.
The Constellation laid Kim Gyuwun on the bed and leaned forward at the waist.
Long strands of hair brushed against his cheek and fell away. In the moonlight, the Constellation’s profile was softly illuminated.
“You know my epithet, you know the human I have chosen, and now you know my face.”
Through the gaps in that pale violet hair, Kim Gyuwun saw that face clearly.
Red lips moved.
“If you felt the injustice of that world you belonged to, you should know how to escape it.”
“You are…”
“You prolonged your existence by feeding on the lives of others—I shall help you pay the price of that sin and escape from that world.”
It was not an offer, but a command.
[ The Constellation of the Entangled Apocalypse’s Finalizer wishes for you to cooperate with their human. ]
That unmistakable command, or threat, or coercion.
But it mattered not what it was.
The Constellation smiles.
In that smile alone, Kim Gyuwun’s choice became abundantly clear.
“…I understand. Whatever it is, I will obey.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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