Lee Jaewok moved immediately, activating his shield around the artifact before the suspicious figures in black cloaks could get any closer.
"Stay close to me."
Han Jinhyuk caught Elena's hand, pulling her toward him.
"My staff," Elena said urgently. "Hyuk-ah, I need my staff first."
"We'll get it later. It's too dangerous to go near it right now."
"No. I need it now."
If they take that too... I'll be dead before they even touch me.
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue under his breath before giving a short nod. "Fine. Then stay here with Jiyeon. I'll go get it."
As he turned to leave, Elena grabbed onto his sleeve.
"You have to get it no matter what," she said. "Don't let anyone else take it. Please."
Jinhyuk paused, glancing down at her. For a brief moment, he studied her expression, trying to understand what exactly was scaring her this much and why she was desperate for the staff.
Did she think they were going to steal it too? Did she want the staff that badly? But even if he asked now, she probably wouldn't answer.
And now wasn't the time.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he reached out, gently cupping her cheeks before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Don't worry."
Not just Seo Elena, but Jiyeon, Chiyeon, Hyein, and Minwoo were all equally stunned.
Even if they couldn't see as clearly as Jinhyuk in the darkness, there was still enough faint light for them to make out what was happening around them. Shapes were shifting, and movements were flickering just enough to grasp the chaos unfolding before their eyes.
"We need to get out of here first," Jiyeon said, quickly motioning for the others to follow.
Seo Elena, the only one unable to see in the darkness, was guided carefully as they moved. But just as they began to retreat, a presence stepped forward, blocking the hunters from leaving.
"I'll handle this."
Minwoo rolled his shoulders before thrusting his hand forward, flames erupting toward the figure.
The fire caught the cloak instantly, but instead of a body burning beneath it, the fabric burned away to reveal something far worse.
A twisted, deformed man.
No... not even human anymore.
"Damn cultists," Minwoo spat. "You're already in the third phase?!"
Flames gathered at his hand and shaped themselves into a sword. He didn't hesitate, he charged.
The creature met him head-on.
Its arms were elongated and jagged, almost draconic, its legs bent the wrong way at the joint like a goat's. It moved with a weight and speed that had no business existing in something that looked like that, each strike landing hard enough to send reverberations up his arms.
Blow for blow. With an S-rank hunter.
Around them the room was flickering. Curtains first, then the furniture, the fire spreading like an invasive species across the floor and climbing the walls.
And in that burning light, the full extent of the chaos became visible.
S-rank hunters were locked in combat on all sides, each facing grotesquely transformed humans that looked more like monsters than anything else.
If not for Gilbert Kingsley, the battle would have been far more difficult.
His gravity ability was overwhelming, crushing the battlefield into submission and disrupting the enemy's movements with sheer force.
"Gather around Gilbert Kingsley! He's the priority target!"
The command came from the man who had been working at the shield surrounding the artifact.
At once, several cloaked figures broke away from their fights and closed in on Gilbert. Even for an L-ranker, facing multiple opponents on par with S-rank hunters was no easy task.
And there were six of them. Completely surrounded.
Gilbert opened his mouth as if to say something, likely trying to settle things through words first, but without any communication device, his voice was lost in the chaos.
The cultists didn't hesitate.
They attacked all at once.
Several S-rank hunters from the UK, along with others from different countries, attempted to move in and support him, but they were quickly forced back, each tied down by enemies of their own.
It was clear now that this wasn't random. Everything had been planned for this moment.
"Tch." Jiyeon clicked her tongue. "Hyein, protect Elena."
She stepped forward without waiting for a response, Chiyeon falling into place beside her as they pushed toward Gilbert's position.
They didn't make it ten steps.
Another wave of cultists surged from the side, cutting off the path completely. Jiyeon and Chiyeon were swallowed into the fray before they could break through.
Hyein stayed close at first, shoulder nearly touching Elena's. It didn't last.
One of the attackers broke through and forced her hand. She hesitated, her eyes cutting back to Elena for just a fraction of a second, before stepping forward to engage.
Hyein was an assassin by build. She was deadly if moving quietly, but not when it's an open confrontation against someone operating at S-rank level. She was at a disadvantage from the start.
If it had been an A-rank, Hyein would have dismantled the fight in minutes. But this was different. And staying by Elena's side was no longer an option.
Elena knew that, but it didn't make being left alone any less terrifying.
She looked around, fighting the panic rising in her chest. A corner, a doorway, anything she could put her back to, but the room had become a battleground and there was no safe ground left in it. Running wasn't an option either.
Minwoo and a cluster of cultists were locked in combat directly in front of the only exit, so that was out of the question.
She was trapped.
"A civilian?"
The voice came from nowhere. Elena flinched.
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
Make a contract with me! It's the only way you'll survive!
『 Above The Broken World 』
Human, decide quickly. I will not permit your death. A contract is essential for your survival.
The blue screen overlapped almost desperately. They were begging her. Constellations, who were deemed to be divine beings, were begging a human to make a contract with them. It was almost ironic.
But she couldn't just decide something like that on the spot.
There was a reason she had hesitated all this time. Contracts with constellations weren't simple exchanges. Power never came without a price.
What would she have to give in return?
How tightly would she be bound?
『 The Shiniest Gem 』
Please! I swear upon my name that I will never force you into anything you despise or harm you. Do you understand what a name means to a constellation?
『 Above The Broken World 』
I do not care who you choose, human. Just form a contract, before you die.
Her fingers curled slightly.
Time was running out.
"In the name of our lord..."
The cultist's voice dropped into a reverent murmur, his body tensing as mana gathered around him.
"Offer your life."
The mana around him soon spiked, and then he moved.
Elena didn't have time to think. Her arms came up instinctively, bracing for something she had no way to stop.
The impact came like a couch falling on her.
She skidded back, the heel of her shoe catching on the floor, and for a moment the world was just noise and pressure and the smell of something burning. Then it cleared, and she was still standing.
She looked down at herself, stunned.
She was fine?
Ah. She remembered now. The dress. The way Jiyeon had smoothed the fabric over her shoulders with that small with an unusually bright smile.
You'll thank me later. She hadn't explained further and Elena hadn't pushed.
She was thanking her now.
The cultist looked equally surprised. His eyes moved over her slowly, recalculating. Then his expression darkened.
"I guess you weren't that useless, after all."
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Elena could see it in the way he reset his stance, mana already gathering again.
It was more this time.
With no other choice left, Seo Elena raised her voice.
"I'll make a contract with both of you! So help me!"
The moment the words left her lips, a translucent blue screen flashed into existence before her eyes.
『 The Shiniest Gem wishes to become your constellation. Accept? 』
[ Y / N ]
『 Above The Broken World wishes to become your constellation. Accept? 』
[ Y / N ]
"Yes!"
Her answer came without hesitation.
For a brief second, nothing happened. And yet... something had clearly changed.
A strange sensation spread through her body, so unfamiliar and overwhelming. It felt as if something inside her had burst open, like water rushing into a space that had always been empty.
Mana.
She was overflowing with a mana.
Her breath hitched slightly as the energy swirled within her, unstable, pressing against her limits as if demanding release.
Then, another window appeared.
『 The Shiniest Gem requests permission for possession. Accept? 』
[ Y / N ]
"...Possession?"
Her brows drew together.
She didn't fully understand what it meant, but the word itself was clear enough.
Her gaze flickered back to the cultist.
He was already moving, mana surging violently around him as he prepared to strike.
There was no time left to hesitate.
Can I really afford to be picky right now...?
Her fingers slowly curled into her palms.
"...Fine." She said resolutely. "I accept."