Chapter 192

192nd Episode

Dark Star Necromancer Hassan

192 – Dark Star Necromancer Hassan #3

In my opinion, people find some form of entertainment no matter where they are.

The countless distractions and stories that flooded the Earth are proof of this.

Perhaps humans are simply unable to endure even a moment of boredom.

For me, who had lived amidst the dazzling lights of the 21st century, the civilization of this outdated Gaia Continent was frankly shocking and horrifying.

Not only were the facilities and infrastructure inadequate, but most of the food was flavorless due to the lack of seasoning, bland beyond compare.

everywhere, there were swarming rats and ignorant humans.

Truly, they were incredibly ignorant, loud-mouthed, and violent people…

Still, it wasn’t all bad.

As I mentioned earlier, humans always find a way to enjoy themselves no matter their circumstances.

If I had to pick one thing that helped me endure life on the Gaia Continent, it would probably be the countless stars that shine in the night sky.

With no industrial gas pollution or fine dust, the sky is clear and crisp, and at night, truly innumerable stars twinkle.

Is this what the night sky would look like if you spread a dark blue curtain and sprinkled tiny droplets of mercury on it?

Since I’m not good at expressing things beautifully, I have no idea how to describe this scene properly.

Regardless, what was important is that to me, who had only ever known the dim glow of the moon amidst the city’s concrete jungle, this night sky continually felt new.

The two moons floating in the sky still feel strangely unfamiliar to me.

Could the universe I’m seeing far away be the same one where Earth existed?

Could Earth be among those twinkling stars?

Thoughts like these often flood my mind. When I’d gaze at the night sky on my own and camp out, I’d reflect on such things.

“Hassan, there are really a lot of stars!”

Of course, lying beside me now was Luna.

Tatatat-.

A mat of straw was spread out on a spot in the yard.

Beside it, herbs meant to repel insects were slowly burning in a small bonfire.

It was a summer night, and we were lying down looking at the same sky.

Suddenly, I wondered:

To me, born in the city, this night sky is incredibly fascinating, but to Luna, this must be entirely ordinary, right? Would Luna also find the shining stars and the night sky wondrous and magnificent?

“They look like sugar—beautiful!”

Even to Luna, the stars floating in the sky seemed incredibly beautiful. Admittedly, throughout Earth’s history, there were many records of people marveling at the beauty of the night sky and the universe.

Is beauty something that transcends both time and worlds?

While staring at her Emerald-colored eyes that glittered under the moon and starlight, Luna asked me while gazing fixedly at the night sky:

“Are there constellations like these in Hassan’s homeland?”

“Constellations?”

Constellations… The ones I know are limited to the Big Dipper, Orion, and Cassiopeia.

I didn’t learn about them out of interest; I picked them up naturally after spending a year in the pristine, star-filled nights of Gangwon Province during my military service.

“Well, I did know some constellations, but the night sky here is different from back there.”

“Huh? Is that possible? The sky I saw in Ideope and here is exactly the same.”

Luna laughed as if she couldn’t comprehend what I was saying. Her laughter made me happy, but at the same time, I couldn’t quite imagine the expression she’d make or what she’d say if she found out I wasn’t from this world but from another one entirely.

There’s no real need to tell her, right?

Even if I did tell her, she might just think I’m joking and lying to her. Perhaps mentioning it might create unnecessary tension in our relationship.

To be honest, I’m pretty satisfied with the current relationship between Luna and me. Our vague, half-known understanding of each other.

We’re not too close, but we’re not too distant either. It’s this tension I find comfortable. Of course, I want to know more about Luna, but at the same time, I’m somewhat afraid.

Luna with many secrets.

I’m scared that once I uncover all those secrets, they’ll lead to some profound revelation about her origins that I won’t be able to handle. And in the end, it feels like Luna might leave me.

Some might think I’m worrying needlessly, but I’m naturally anxious and fearful, so there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Hassan, you’re thinking too much again, huh?”

While I was lost in my thoughts for quite some time, Luna once again spoke to me. Turning my head, I saw her watching me from the side.

“You’ll get a headache if you think too much. Hassan, you need to learn to clear your mind. That’s why we’re looking at the stars, isn’t it?”

“Alright, so I can just lie here like this and look?”

“Hassan, you really don’t know anything, do you? If you don’t know how to look at stars, I’ll teach you. To become a hero, one must, at the very least, be able to read the stars.”

Swoosh.

Luna eventually pointed her finger upward toward the starry sky and began indicating various stars with her straightened index finger.

“Do you see that? The one shining the brightest? It’s twinkling awfully.”

It seemed like her finger was pointing to something, but to me, all the stars just looked equally bright.

“Where?”

“That one—right over there, the one shining super brightly.”

Luna explained again, but no matter how hard I looked, they all looked the same to me. Still, I figured it would be better to just act like I could see it.

“That big one you’re talking about? What about it?”

“That big star, and the even bigger star next to it, if you connect them in a line with eight other stars, doesn’t it look like a spider?”

“Spider?”

I never thought about associating the stars with spiders, so I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. But ‘Spider Constellation’? Not even ‘Crab Constellation,’ but ‘Spider Constellation’?

“Over there—that’s the Wolf Spider constellation! Doesn’t it resemble Keng Keng?”

As Luna continued explaining, she pointed out more constellations.

“There’s also that, and over there, the Galaxy Constellation. And if you keep going straight across…”

Luna seemed to know quite a bit about the night sky.

I had no idea what any of the stars were, but Luna’s finger kept moving like a teacher marking stars on a blackboard.

I said to Luna:

“Luna, you know a lot about constellations.”

“Of course. Since coming to Sodomora, I’ve been observing the stars every single night. Not even a Voodoo Priest knows the night sky as well as I do.”

“Is it?”

While I found it impressive that Luna knew so much about stars, I was also slightly curious. If Luna’s explanation is right, and she started gazing at stars here to clear her mind, then wasn’t she in need of clearing her mind every night since arriving in Sodomora?

I couldn’t help but imagine Luna, without anyone to rely on, lying on her back looking at the night sky each night. What was she thinking back then?

My curiosity was getting the better of me, so I casually asked, like a slithering snake:

“You’ve looked at a lot of stars in Sodomora, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, come to think of it, I saw a lot of stars in Ideope too. I used to climb the hill near the village every day to look at the night sky like this.”

“Is that so…?”

“Strangely, whenever I look at the night sky, I feel calm. Do I feel this way alone? Hassan, haven’t you ever felt it?”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, it does feel that way sometimes.”

“Right?”

With that, Luna fell silent for a little while. I wasn’t sure if she was lost in admiration of the night sky or if she was deep in thought about something else.

Thinking back now, Luna was quite deep inside. She always talks a lot, but she never reveals much about herself.

In that way, Luna and I were alike.

So, I could vaguely sense that Luna was currently deep in thought and worry.

And then Luna said:

“Lately, I haven’t really been looking at the stars much. I’ve been so busy.”

“Is that good?”

“I’m not sure… But somehow, it feels good. Even a life without looking at stars might also be quite fulfilling. What do you think? I read somewhere that this is called an ambiguous statement.”

“You could be a bard then.”

“If I were a bard, Malco would starve to d*ath!”

Luna laughed heartily, seemingly very satisfied with what she just said. Right at that moment—

Swishhh—

The stars started swirling, as if fireworks were exploding in the sky. Even for me, who had experienced many things since coming to this world, it was a rather grand and impressive sight.

“Hassan, look! The stars are falling! It’s a star shower!”

Luna also spoke in an entranced tone. Indeed, listening to her, it did feel like the stars were pouring down.

Are these shooting stars? There sure are a lot of them. If they’re not shooting stars, then the term ‘star shower’ fits perfectly.

“…Tch, it’s like fireworks during a festival, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. It really is.”

“I wish every night could be like tonight.”

Though I didn’t say it out loud, I agreed with Luna. I wished these days could continue forever.

But—

At least for today—

Since the atmosphere is so magnificent and romantic,

Perhaps becoming a little closer wouldn’t be so bad?

So, I calmed my racing heart and slowly moved my hand.

Slowly, navigating through the prickly sensation of the straw, my hand eventually rested atop Luna’s small, warm hand.

“…”

Luna didn’t say anything. But, judging by her slightly disturbed breathing, it seemed like she was quite surprised. I held her hand.

“Sssh—”

Though I’ve done a lot with Luna by now, I don’t think I’ve ever felt my heart race like it did today. Even among all the things we’ve done, this felt the most exhilarating and dizzying.

Holding hands—it was truly such a significant act.

After our hands touched, we both lay silently gazing at the sky. Neither of us knew what to say, and any words would probably feel awkward.

So, I ended up staying silent.

Luna seemed to have the same thoughts as me, as she, who had been chattering moments ago, now closed her mouth and could only be heard breathing lightly.

But the longer the silence lasted, the more our grasping hands felt closer together.

Creeeeak.

Under the shower of falling stars,

Smoke drifting into the sky from the campfire,

And the tiny insect chirping yard.

It was a humble celebration, ours alone.

“…”

Moments later, as I was calming my trembling heart, I could hear Luna’s steady breathing, soft and regular, from beside me.

Turning my head slightly, I saw Luna lying there with her eyes closed, asleep. Had she been tired because the night was getting late? Or did she fall asleep like this so quickly?

Should I wake her up or carry her to the second floor and lay her on the bed? I was somewhat hesitant.

What to do…

So, I finally decided to move Luna to the second floor.

Pftptptpt—

Suddenly, a loud flapping of wings broke the air, and rather large birds flew into the yard. What is that? Are those Keng Keng birds? I heard they’re nocturnal.

Caw!

Surprised, I stood up and saw one completely black bird sitting in the yard, digging up the potato field with its sharp beak to eat the potatoes.

Caww!

Are you breaking the field I just barely fixed?

Absolutely unacceptable.

“You, get out of here! Go on, leave!”

I flailed my arms to chase it away, but the black bird completely ignored me and continued to ruin the field.

How audacious of it to invade Luna and my garden. Absolutely unacceptable.

So, just as I was about to fully stand up to catch it—

Ptptptptt.

A deafening sound of flapping wings suddenly surrounded the cottage.

Before long, something resembling a black cloud completely covered the cottage and the garden. On closer inspection, it wasn’t a cloud; it was countless crows.

What is this mess? Not locusts but crows?

“Luna, Luna, wake up! The crops are going to be destroyed!”

I tried to shake Luna awake, but she was sleeping deeply, unresponsive to my attempts.

Awkward.

I was deeply pondering how I could deal with this alone when—

Suddenly, the crows that had been flying around the cottage eventually dived their heads onto one corner of the yard and started spraying bl**d.

Pakpakpak.

Kwiik!

Kwiiaaak!

Numerous crows—many of them—rammed their heads into one corner of the yard, spraying feathers and screams.

To be honest, it was a frightening and grotesque scene, so before I could even be startled, I instinctively reached for the club at my waist.

Something’s coming.

A large event, one beyond my comprehension, is about to happen.

I could vaguely sense that.

“Luna, wake up. You can’t sleep now!”

Even as I adjusted my stance, my lips continued to desperately try to wake Luna.

Just then—

『The child—』

The countless crows intertwined and fused into an undulating shadow-like form.

The figure made of countless crows grew endlessly, swelling until it completely towered over me. It was at least two or three heads taller than me—a giant.

“Are you…”

Looking at the unexpected giant, I took a breath.

The crow feathers and wings flapping around, the black hair, the star-like glittering night-sky dress that dragged endlessly on the ground—

And those half-lazy, deep, deep violet eyes, imbued with dark shadows.

Her beauty was sculpted, utterly stunning, almost terrifying in how beautiful she was.

That’s right.

This is a beauty that’s scary and awe-inspiring.

The only thing that came to mind was a ghost—no, this must be a goddess.

She opened her mouth and spoke in a chilling voice.

『The child—Luna will never wake up again. She has fallen into a deep slumber of Somnus.’

Ssshhhh—

Just by opening her mouth and speaking, an unnaturally cold chill, unlike the summer night, filled the air. And in this world, the only one who could emit such bone-chilling cold was one person.

“Could you be Lady Nox?”

[Afterword]

Mother-in-law… No, Mother of my Wife!

Roengrang!!! Fuwjsf!!! Vurgil!!! Joijang!!! Potatoserver!!! Thank you so much for the sponsorship coupons… And also to those who sent the manuscript fee coupons, I’m really grateful!!!

And to everyone who kindly leaves recommendations and comments, I extend my gratitude!!!

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