It hurt.
It really hurt.
To add a little exaggeration, the pain was as if he had been struck right between the balls by a soccer ball kicked with all of one's might.
But at least that pain was temporary.
His just wouldn’t end.
“Guaaaaaaaaah.”
A wretched scream like that from the last survivor of an ancient vampire race who was thrown off into the sunlight after getting captured by hunters at the end of a relentless pursuit escaped his mouth.
[Hmpf. You idiot.]
‘Huh?’
Ohjin looked towards the familiar voice he heard above him.
“Ve…ga?”
He saw gold eyes and beautiful silver hair that looked to be made out of condensed starlight.
The Goddess with a breathtakingly beautiful appearance was softly looking down at him.
[Have you come to your senses?]
Vega’s gentle touch rested on his head.
It was not her shrunken doll-sized hand but the full-sized one.
‘Huh?’
Ohjin looked around to see if he was in the sanctum, but where he lay was in the new house Ha-eun bought.
“How are you in that form…?”
[Let’s talk about that later.]
Vega gently pressed down on Ohjin’s head as he tried to get up.
[Rest easy for the time being.]
He felt a snug sensation on the back of his head as he laid back down.
‘Wait.’
He didn’t notice at first, as he had just woken up, but he realized what he was resting his head on was not a pillow but Vega’s lap.
‘What situation is this…’
The last memory he had was managing to enter the house after the fight with Arshad Khan.
He didn’t know how much time had passed from then, but he couldn’t imagine that he would be lying on Vega’s lap by the time he woke up.
“What’s going—”
[Didn’t I tell you to rest easy for the time being?]
Vega lightly pinched his cheek while talking as if she were admonishing a child that caused trouble.
[Seriously…]
Her voice deepened.
[Despite this lady’s constant request, you always overexert yourself.]
“…”
This time around, he really had no words to say. After all, his life had wandered the gates of death.
[Pshaw, you bad child.]
Stretch—
Vega stretched out his cheek.
[Haa.]
She sighed deeply.
Lightly messing up Ohjin’s hair, she smiled faintly.
[Even though you caused this much trouble, my intent to scold you has disappeared now that you've opened your eyes… Have you cast a spell on this lady or something?]
She patted his head endlessly with a caring smile.
“Uh, um.”
As he lay till while receiving Vega’s touch, he seriously felt like he turned into some three-year-old baby.
‘Is this… a mother’s touch?’
Mommy Vega.
‘Urgh.’
His insides churned from the word that suddenly flashed across his head.
In any case, it was true that her touch felt good; it helped him forget about the horrifying pain.
“I'm fi—argh!”
However, it appeared that it was still too early for him to move.
When he put strength into his hips in an attempt to get up, an intense pain spread across his body.
[Mhm. You shouldn’t move.]
Vega pulled down Ohjin’s shoulders and laid him down once again.
[Or is there something you need?]
“Hm? No, it isn’t that.”
‘It just feels like I’ll lose something important as a human if I stay laid down like this.’
[Oh yeah, now that I think of it, you must be thirsty.]
Vega raised the cup placed on the table next to the bed and placed it by his mouth.
[This is this lady’s holy water. Drink as much as you want.]
‘Uh… that seriously comes off the wrong way.’
[Fufu. I’m just kidding. It’s normal water.]
“…”
Vega supported the back of his head and tilted the cup.
The cold water ran down his throat.
“Haa.”
Was it because he had been unconscious for a long period of time? The refreshing water felt like it was permeating into each one of his cells.
[Have you finished drinking?]
Vega took out tissues and thoroughly cleaned his mouth.
"…"
He was speechless from the treatment he was receiving.
* * *
* * *
"…So what's going on?"
Ohjin requested an explanation of the situation while lying on Vega's lap.
[You have been unconscious for four days.]
"Ah."
Being unconscious for four entire days…
Well, since he woke up three days after using Exceed last time, four days could be considered a small amount of time.
[As you didn't wake up for an excessive amount of time, Ha-eun personally came to the sanctuary in search of me… and it just so happened that the duration of the ‘restriction' was over, which is how I came to be in your house.]
‘Aha.'
‘So that's what happened.'
"But how are you able to stay in that form?"
Outside the sanctum, she had always resided with her body shrunk to a size of around 30cm because of the restriction. Even with that, she was only able to stay active for three hours a day.
[Hmm. To be honest, this lady doesn't know the exact reason either.]
"You don't know?"
[Starting from a couple days ago… that's right, ever since the day you fainted, the Commandment's Restriction has weakened.]
Vega slightly raised her hand up.
Bzzzzt!—
Blue lightning sparked at the tip of her hands.
[There is now no restriction when releasing a small fraction of my strength. The time I'm able to maintain my manifestation has also increased to six hours a day… Though I'm unable to keep it up for a long time, materializing my original form like this has also become possible.]
"Hm."
The sudden weakening of the Commandment's Restriction…
‘What caused it?'
If it started on the day he fought Arshad Khan, was he the cause?
‘I've risen to 5-Star, the Black Heaven had its fourth awakening, and the new thing called a ‘quest'.'
He couldn’t pinpoint the cause since so many things happened at once on that day.
‘It might also be completely unrelated with the times matching up by coincidence.'
There weren't enough grounds to come to a conclusion.
"If the restriction has weakened, are you able to grant blessings freely from now on?"
If that was the case, it would be extremely welcoming news worth being overjoyed about.
Once again, he felt just how powerful a celestial's blessing was in his recent fight with Arshad Khan.
[It hasn't weakened to that extent.]
"Ah."
‘What a shame.'
[Hmpf! However, I'm now able to give simple assistance instead of doing nothing but watch while you fight.]
Bzzzzzt!—
Vega raised her nose as the blue lightning created at the tip of her finger flickered into several forms.
A dragon, cat, dog, wolf, complicated symbols, and even Ohjin’s face.
The lightning changed its form freely like some kind of slime.
‘Damn. What the hell?'
Ohjin’s mouth opened wide.
He couldn't even get a grasp on how high of a realm was needed in order to handle lightning that freely.
‘Though it’s only natural for a celestial.'
Nevertheless, just seeing her play around with lightning like it was nothing made him thrilled.
"Huhu. I'll look forward to it."
[Fufu. Count on this lady a little more.]
Vega boastfully straightened her shoulders.
"Haha! I'll keep that in mind."
Ohjin gently sat up while letting out light laughter.
He could feel a slight bit of pain, but it was bearable.
[It's okay for you to stay down a little longer…]
Vega patted her lap where Ohjin's head had been a moment ago like it was a shame.
"I'm fine now."
[Alright.]
Soon after, silver light wrapped around Vega's body, she returned back to her usual small size.
Dazzle—
Floating through the air, Vega landed on top of his shoulders and suddenly clapped her hands.
[Oh right, you should be careful.]
"Hm? Be careful of what?"
[Fufu. Isn't there a person who's more furious than this lady?]
‘Ah, now that I think of it…'
"Where's Ha—"
Bang—
The room door violently opened before he was able to finish his sentence.
"O-Ohjin woke up?!"
Ha-eun, who looked to have sprinted there in a rush, opened the door and entered.
After entering the room, her eyes sharpened as she looked at Ohjin.
"Y-You bastard!!!"
Ha-eun grabbed his collar and violently shook his body.
"Do you know how worried I was, you piece of shit!!"
Tears started to build up around her right eye.
"Sorry, Ha-eun."
"Do you think a sorry is eno—"
"It's noisy, lizard woman."
Cutting off Ha-eun's words, a silver wolf walked into the room.
"Riak?"
"Warriors must develop by fighting with their lives on the line. A true warrior cannot be born if you spoil him like that."
Grrr—
Riak puffed out smoke from his nose.
"…What’s with the lizard woman?"
Ha-eun frowned as she looked back at Riak.
"Grrr. Aren't you an apostle of Draco? That's why you're a lizard woman."
"I have a completely fine name… ‘Song Ha-eun'."
"Hmpf! I have no plans on memorizing the name of a mere human!"
Riak puffed out and turned his neck around.
"Instant noodles confiscated for a week."
"Miss Ha-eun, you must have suffered through a hard time because of that foolish human. I understand you completely."
‘What’s wrong with this guy?'
"Why is Riak here?" Ohjin asked while looking at Vega.
[Didn’t I say that the restriction weakened? Thanks to that, my Star Spirit can now exit the sanctum and stay active.]
"Ooh."
[Though his strength is naturally in a very restricted state, it should be more than enough to help you.]
Ohjin didn't know how much of Riak's strength was restricted, but just being with a powerful being like Riak felt like it would be a big help.
"Hmpf. Even if my strength is restricted, I can face you with just one of my front claws!"
Riak growled while swishing his front claws around.
As he did those kinds of acts in his wolf form, it looked quite cute because it seemed like he was a large dog trying to act charming for its owner.
[By the way…]
Vega narrowed her eyes and pulled on Ohjin's earlobe.
[Can you tell us what happened on that day?]
"I won't let you go until you tell me every single detail."
Ha-eun stuck right next to him and firmly held his arm.
"Haha! Alright. I'll explain everything, so don't fret."
Ohjin explained everything that happened on that day, excluding the Black Heaven.
[Such an unfortunate event…]
"Hmm. So that's why the mood back then was so dark."
The story of what happened to Jang Sukho made the expression of the two women stiffen as they let out sighs.
"But did you really win against a 7-Star Awakener as your opponent?"
"Yeah."
"Even if you're a North Star’s apostle… is the stigma of Lyra that powerful?"
Unable to believe it, Ha-eun looked at Vega.
[Fufu! If you are with this lady's stigma, the differences in ‘stars' can easily be ignored!!!]
Vega boasted that with her arms crossed before suddenly sighing deeply.
[—is what I would like to say, but even as this lady, it's hard to believe that you defeated 7-Star Awakener.]
It was unbelievable, even for a celestial.
‘Arshad Khan wasn’t really a 7-Star, he was closer to an 8-Star.'
Ohjin chuckled.
"Well, it was close, to be honest."
Ohjin wouldn’t have been able to win if it didn't start raining just in time.
[Fuu. Now that I’ve heard of the situation, I can’t even reprimand you for using Exceed.]
Vega let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
[By the way, have you really reached the 5-Star rank? It is tough for me to believe.]
Vega got up from his shoulders and went into Ohjin’s T-shirt.
"Aaah! Y-You bitch, what are you doing!"
Ha-eun freaked out and pulled Vega out of Ohjin’s clothes.
[Oh my, such discourteous words against a celestial.]
"The one being discourteous is you!!"
[Ohjin is my proud child. Examining his body is simply my duty.]
"Nonsense!" shouted Ha-eun as she ferociously bared her teeth.
[…Anyways.]
Vega looked back at Ohjin.
[So you've really risen to 5-Star]
She shook her head in disbelief.
"Hm. By the way, kid. Your Lightning&Thunder skill rose to level 9, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Because he had maintained his mana in an extreme state and whatnot, the level of his skills rose explosively at once.
"Sigh. You crazy monster."
Riak clicked his tongue with a fed-up expression.
It appeared that Ohjin’s Lightning&Thunder skill becoming level 9 was quite shocking news for him.
"Anyways, train it ceaselessly. That skill is the core of the stigma of Lyra."
"I already know."
It wasn't hard to tell when every other skill became easier to handle every time the Lightning&Thunder skill leveled up.
"And once it reaches level 10…"
Smirk—
The edge of Riak's lips tilted up.
"A completely new world will unfold before you."
"A New world?"
Ohjin looked at Riak with interest in his eyes.
"Is there that big of a difference between level 9 and 10?"
"Of course. Once a skill reaches level 10, it ‘evolves', and an incredible reward follows with it."
"Woah."
‘So there was something like that.'
"As rewarding as it is, it won't be as easy to go from level 9 to 10 like in the past."
"What will I get once it becomes level 10?"
"Fufu. I shall show it to you this one time."
Riak smirked and took one light step back.
"Now, watch carefully, kid."
Bzzt! Bzzzzzzt!!—
Blue lightning coiled around Riak’s body.
"The powerful technique you can obtain once the skill reaches level 10—"
The blue lightning that coiled around his body started to condense by his mouth.
"—Lightning Flames!"
Fwoosh!—
Blue flames blazed fiercely around his mouth.
"Huh?"
‘Lightning Flames?'
"But I can do that as well."
Ohjin raised his hand up.
Fwoosh!—
Blue flames engulfed his hand.
"…huh?"
Riak's mouth opened wide.
