Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 149: Star Stealer Sol
Nol pressed hard on his temples, trying to sort out the current situation.
First, Tahe is fully controlled by that victorious false god. It has obtained partial authority of the system… Well, no, it has eroded a part of the world’s power.
Second, this obviously ill-intentioned guy is looking everywhere for him, striving to kill him as soon as possible.
Wow, really great. A god who has manipulated the world for at least two hundred years is hunting him.
“Why hasn’t it found me yet?”
It’s been months, and the noise they’ve made along the way isn’t small. Not to mention anything else, the generals of the mortal world, the Temple, and the Church, have all noticed the existence of Paradise. For an ancient false god high above, this efficiency is a bit pitiful.
“The stealth power of your Lost Tower comes from the system. It’s absolutely safe. Teest is also absolutely safe by your side. It can’t see you.”
Kando whispered, “In theory, you could hide in the tower for a lifetime…”
“……”
Nol was silent for two seconds, pinching off the candle from the staff.
So that’s it. The three fallen old worlds became the Demon King’s compatriots, and the four moons watched them intently. He was cursed at first and was trying his best to just survive…
“Do you think the weak me, knowing this in advance, would hide in the Lost Tower for a lifetime?” he said.
“Yes, I admit. Besides, ‘wanting to survive’ is not something to be ashamed of.” Kando didn’t struggle, gently scraping Nol’s hand with two candle tears. “I know you have a mortal’s heart, and I don’t understand your character. I needed time… After all, you have the Lost Tower—enough for your compatriots to live well. Continuing to be managed by that victor, the world will not end…”
Nol understood.
He could simply give up going home and live with his neighbors in the Lost Tower, happily and peacefully until old age, indifferent to the possible storms and bloodshed outside—Tahe is a real world now; whether there are gods in the world or not, the world is never short of tragedies, right?
Of course, he could also, for the sake of going home and seeking revenge, actively start a divine war, pulling that powerful false god hidden in the dark off its throne.
Looking at it this way, “giving up” indeed seems like a tempting option. But…
“You don’t need to explain,” Nol said. “Thank you.”
Kando’s single eye widened slightly.
“Hey, it actually considers you a coward. If it were me, I’d definitely take a layer off its wax,” Teest said curiously.
“It obviously wants to deal with that victorious false god. You know, it could have used more despicable means to achieve its goal—like deliberately fabricating facts, creating hatred, tempting us to fight against God.”
“But it just stated the facts at the right moment, with solid evidence, letting me choose. Even if I immediately hide back in the Lost Tower, it can’t do anything.”
Nol put the candle back on the staff. The candle’s single eye still harbored unexpected emotions.
“I thought you would be angrier,” it said nervously. “So your choice is…?”
“I don’t like the victor’s ‘story’, and I want to send everyone home,” Nol said, turning to Teest.
For the Mad Monk, this level of “world truth” might already be enough. The path he was about to choose would be full of thorns. He didn’t want to “tame” his lover, nor did he want to issue a command as a master.
So, now was the moment for Teest to open that gift.
Nol held his breath.
Teest stood a step away from him, as they always maintained that one step—a careful step… the step for saying goodbye.
‘What a mess,’ Nol thought. He had imagined countless times, but when it came to speaking, immense unease and anxiety instantly tore him apart. Compared to that, a headless corpse seemed ordinary.
“Have you decided on your ending?” he asked with difficulty mouthing the words.
Those golden eyes looked at him for a while. But Teest didn’t respond directly.
“How disappointing.” He glanced at Kando. “It seems the so-called ‘false gods’ are just a bunch of animals, full of thoughts about seeking food, getting stronger, seizing territories.”
“Being toyed with by such things, what’s there to talk about ‘domesticating’? Just thinking about it makes one unhappy.”
Saying that, Teest flicked the candle flame. “Does it have a name you can call it by? You should know, messenger of the ‘Loser’.”
Nol wasn’t surprised.
The system could not parse Kando’s race, which meant Kando had signed a contract with a strong being—that being was also determined to see the victor dead. Unless Tahe was hiding a thousand false gods, not many would meet these criteria at the same time.
The candle’s flame instantly dimmed. Kando, for the first time, averted its gaze, muttering a bunch of strange words like “they figured it out themselves” and “this doesn’t count as me leaking secrets”.
After a long time, it finally answered in a huff. “I don’t know its real name, but Headless calls it ‘Star Stealer Sol’.”
“Alright, I remember now.”
Teest clapped his hands, his tone as light as if he was making a toast.
“Since Star Stealer Sol is already hunting ‘us‘, not counter-hunting would be impolite—right, honey?”
He intentionally emphasized the word “us,” but in the end, the Mad Monk didn’t answer the desired ending.
Similarly, Nol didn’t answer this question either.
After fighting for so long, Nol showed a relaxed smile for the first time. In the dim cave, he grabbed Teest’s blood-stained hand, imprinting a long kiss on the palm.
He tasted blood and warmth.
This time, Kando didn’t make any provocative remarks. It patiently waited for Nol to finish kissing and was just about to speak again—
“After visiting the dragon’s lair, you lead the way,” Nol said.
Kando: “Uh… You’re kind of scary sometimes, you know?”
“Being sent here by the loser specifically to say these things, the purpose can only be ‘cooperation’.” Nol fiercely wiped his face. “Rather than ‘us’ fighting alone, I’d also like to understand the situation more.”
“Alright, that makes sense,” Kando muttered. “You can call Headless, Po…”
“‘Loser’ is quite fitting. It can’t even keep its head. I’m not interested in its name. Let’s leave it at that.” Teest indifferently interrupted the candle.
Then he leaned close to Nol and made a 180 degree turn in his tone. “Honey, let’s deal with that old goat quickly, and find a place to rest as soon as possible.”
“Uh…” Just then, the Golden Sword Billy let out a sound like he was coming to his senses.
He slowly rose from the ground, dizzyingly supporting his head. Golden Sword’s handsome features were smeared with sticky black blood, and his complexion was as pale as a dead man.
“I remember now.”
His eyes closed tightly, and he shivered as he spoke. “The Eternal Pope’s face; I remember that face… I have seen that face. I really have seen that face…”
……
Alternate space of [Mercy Countdown].
“Kid, calm down. If you kill me here, all of us will truly be doomed together.”
Painter decisively raised his hands—though he was lying on the ground, with Knight Eugene’s knee pressing against his chest and the knight’s longsword against his throat, making this action somewhat difficult.
“Call me by my name.” Eugene’s tone was ice-cold.
“Alright, Little Eugene.” Painter flashed his teeth. “Let me go, okay? You know very well—you’re no match for me, not to mention we still have Mr. Fischer Reginald.”
The dog-headed knight made a “woof” sound.
“…And the good knight, Saint Bernard,” Painter quickly added.
After a long silence, Eugene lowered his sword. He looked unhappily at the nun uniform, his knee still pressing against Painter. “Blasphemous guy. You’re even crazier than before.”
“To collude with the ‘Eye of the Storm’, I—”
“You’re just looking for an excuse to vent.” Painter relaxed his body. “You must see, the High Priest Fischer helped us kill the old Pope, and that’s a great achievement.”
Eugene sneered. “The Eternal Pope ruled for hundreds of years. It’s normal for the High Priests to be dissatisfied. In my view, you just want to support a new Pope with whom you have good relations. Godfrey Painter, you’ve fallen so low.”
“And yet you’re waiting for me to return. If you had completely lost faith in me, you wouldn’t talk so much nonsense.” Painter patted the knee pressing on his chest.
“Now you’re wondering, could all this be Painter’s plan? Pretending to defect, to be abandoned by everyone, as a disguise for undercover activities, ultimately to kill the Eternal Pope… That would be worthy of the name ‘Ladder of God’.”
Eugene fell silent, narrowing his eyes at Painter. He didn’t speak, but his face clearly read, “Is it really like that?”
“Zealots are so amusing.” Painter laughed. “Of course not! I’m not a masochist. Seriously, move your knee. I’m suffocating.”
Eugene’s breathing became rapid, anger faintly visible on his face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then stood up. “So, do you have any excuses?”
Painter stood up and adjusted his ill-fitting nun uniform without any discomfort.
“None.” His tone was unexpectedly calm. “Regarding matters of God, no matter what I say, you won’t believe me—I’m not arrogant enough to think that a few words could destroy more than twenty years of teachings from the Malloy family.”
Eugene stared at him.
“Oh, right. Don’t think about killing Fischer. I’ve already protected him.”
Painter waved his hand casually. “After leaving here, run as fast as you can. The dragons are on their way. Seeing that undead dragon, they’ll burn everything around them.”
Hearing this, Eugene was stunned.
Everything was so shocking that he momentarily forgot someone’s presence. Golden Sword Embilly Alva was still outside! …As a merchant, Mr. Alva certainly didn’t lack the means to save his life. He would check on him later when leaving.
Besides this—
Eugene suddenly turned around. Magical chains shot out of his hands, wrapping around Painter’s neck. Painter was unfazed. He tugged at the dark red light chain around his neck, raising his eyebrows higher and higher. “Death Row Chains?”
[Death Row Chains], one of the advanced magics of the Investigation Knights, often used to bind extremely dangerous targets.
Its judgment is extremely strict. As long as the caster doesn’t cancel the magic, once the chain between the two people is broken—no matter by what means—the target will immediately be cursed to death.
“You know this won’t work.” Painter chuckled. “You’re a smart kid. With such an oracle, you wouldn’t seek death for no reason. If I forcefully break free, you will definitely cancel the magic.”
“I know, so I changed the designated curse target.” Eugene said, “If you break the chains, I will die.”
Those dark green eyes stared at Painter unblinkingly, covered with a layer of mirth, like toxic mold.
“Mr. Painter, come on, prove your evil,” he said. “What are you hesitating for?”
Painter fell silent. He rubbed the light chain with a complicated expression, the dark red glow illuminating his skin.
He tacitly acknowledged its existence.
“…The Goddess’ judgment on you, was indeed never wrong.” Eugene finally smiled again, gripping the end of the light chain tightly.
High Priest Fischer, loyal to Teest, was indifferent to the drama unfolding in front of him. He even looked as if he wanted to find some snacks to enjoy the show. The dog-headed knight tilted his head, unsure if this counted as an attack—the village chief had told them that such behavior was common in the human world.
After dealing with Painter, Eugene glanced at Fischer. Considering he couldn’t fight flexibly while dragging Painter, he ultimately gave up on killing the High Priest.
Then his gaze landed on Knight Saint Bernard.
“I will report the death of the Eternal Pope.” He suddenly said, “According to the traditions of the Temple of Life, facing such a matter, the Pope himself will verify my original memories with magic, eliminating all possibilities of falsehood.”
Knight Saint Bernard’s ears twitched, unsure of what the human knight was trying to say.
“That means, they will discover you, then uncover your origins. You are not human. According to the Temple’s most common practice, you and your existence will be judged as supportive forces for the usurpation of the new Pope.” Eugene patiently explained.
Knight Saint Bernard froze, looking at Eugene in horror. This wasn’t good news; their village was remote, and the Realm of Shiva wouldn’t go out of its way to protect them. If-if the Temple’s humans came looking for trouble…
“So, go ask those two powerhouses for help.” Eugene didn’t specify his guess.
The warrior of the golden thread was the Mad Monk, and the other black nun… Eugene wasn’t sure, but that was almost certainly a powerhouse from Paradise. Drake, other masters, or the Master of Paradise himself?
None of that was important. What mattered was, the dog-headed beastmen were under the protection of Paradise.
“Interesting. Since they will check memories, aren’t you afraid they’ll see this part?” Fischer crossed his arms, leaning against the ruins within the alternate space.
Eugene: “I need you to attack me, to confuse these few minutes of memory with a memory confusion spell. It’s normal for me to be attacked while capturing Godfrey Painter.”
Fischer laughed. “Kid, do you not know the height of the sky? Do I look like a menu to you?”
Although he no longer followed the false god Anstis, his disdain for the Temple of Life hadn’t lessened by half.
“The two you are following specifically asked Painter to protect this knight. If you see them and their hometown in trouble and do nothing—” Eugene dragged out his words meaningfully.
Fischer immediately choked, clicking his tongue loudly. “You’re quite interesting too. The Temple rejects non-human races, yet here you are, cleaning up after them.”
“Human or non-human is not important. What’s important is Lady Tilia is kind-hearted. She wouldn’t want to see these innocent beings hurt.” Eugene immediately countered.
Painter looked from one to the other, eventually sighing helplessly. He took a few steps with the chain, petting the anxious-faced Knight Saint Bernard.
“If you believe in God too much, you will end up like that.” He made a funny face at Saint Bernard. “Don’t learn from them.”
Knight Saint Bernard: “……”
“But I have to admit, the kid is right. The Temple will definitely come looking for you guys. Get going after we leave here, and quickly find those two.”
Knight Saint Bernard drooped his ears, nodding vigorously. Then he suddenly thought of something. “Bu-but what if they don’t want to help? I followed them here by myself…”
“Don’t worry. Teesti might not care, but Noli will definitely help.” Painter smiled. “Trust me. You’ve done them a big favor.”
Then, he looked at Eugene and Fischer taunting each other. “I thought my prophecy would end today—things are more interesting than I imagined. I get to live a few more days, which is great.”
“End?” Saint Bernard asked in confusion.
“Nothing.” Painter ignored the chain around his neck, stretching. “Ah, I’d rather die saving an innocent dog than for…”
He sarcastically curled the corners of his lip, swallowing the words he didn’t finish.
Soon, the [Mercy Countdown] was nearing its end.
The moment they left the alternate space, Eugene dragged Painter towards Billy’s hiding place.
Fischer summoned a one-time spatial movement item previously obtained from the Church, grabbed the still-dazed Knight Saint Bernard, and activated it without hesitation.
However, just before the item was activated, a hand grabbed Saint Bernard’s fluffy tail. The magical flash disappeared, and there was one more person at the destination.
“Sorry about that.” Painter released Saint Bernard’s tail, apologizing repeatedly.
“Did you kill Eugene?” Fischer was somewhat surprised.
“Hehe.” Painter ruffled his slightly messy red hair. “If that kid wants to catch me, he’ll need to try harder for a few more years.”
Eugene ran to the original hiding spot. Billy was nowhere to be found—there were only countless gem shards on the ground. Fortunately, the short-distance teleportation circle prepared by Eugene was still there and hadn’t been activated.
He looked up at the hillside.
The undead dragon coiled up its body, lying quietly in the place of the original altar, its blue fire eyes dim, as if it had fallen into slumber. The Church’s altar was reduced to a fist-sized rubble, its original form no longer discernible.
The undead dragon showed no hostility towards them, and Billy’s presence was nowhere near.
“Let’s first…” Eugene tugged at the chain, turned his head, and froze for half a second.
His chain was tied around a mutilated cultist’s corpse. The corpse still had faint magical fluctuations; its disguise magic had only recently ended.
When did Painter make the switch?
Eugene had been watching his every move. As a mage, Painter couldn’t have hidden any small actions from him, a knight. Unless…
Unless the moment they entered the alternate space, that guy used a corpse to disguise as himself, hiding in the shadows.
Painter knew what he might do. That damn bastard had been prepared from the start!
Eugene gritted his teeth and canceled the spell, stepping forward decisively, disappearing into the teleportation circle alone.
Forget it. In any case, all truths will soon be revealed before the Goddess.
Carrying that oracle on his back, Eugene had a feeling they would meet again.
…Whether it’s Painter or those two peculiar individuals from Paradise.
The author has something to say:
Actually, those who have read “Stray” can probably guess what race Loser is (lol)
Consider it a little Easter egg, but not having read it won’t affect your understanding XDDD
Kinky Thoughts:
Hm… I didn’t have the slightest clue, but reading the JJ comments, it seems other people have guessed [spoilers], which seems correct.
I don’t want to say it since it will spoil a large portion of Stray for those who haven’t read it (I suggest you do).
Just a note: For those reading along, Nol’s weapon is now a staff, not wand. Previously Nian Zhong used (魔杖), which is wand, but now has switched to (法杖), which is staff. Given the description, staff fits better than wand. It’s basically a cane-sized-looking stick.
I’ll go back and make the changes accordingly… but given there’s over 100 chapters+ of it being wand… there could be some that are overlooked. Just keep this in mind.
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