Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

So Seong San-ha had been hiding the truth about Hamal all this time, and now Fake Eui-jin also knew about it? The fact that this imposter knew something I didn’t left me irritated, but curiosity quickly overtook that feeling. I had to find out what they were talking about.

 

‘Going through the door would be too obvious…’

 

I scanned my surroundings for another option, and that’s when I noticed the dark terrace beyond the window. Without hesitation, I stepped out onto it, leaning over the railing to survey the hotel’s facade. Most of the rooms were dark at this late hour, with only a handful still illuminated. Soon enough, one of the previously dark windows lit up.

 

“Over there! One, two, three…..seventeenth floor, first room.”

 

Now that I had the location, there was no reason to hesitate. I grabbed my phone and exited the room. I then took the elevator to the eighteenth floor, one level above the fake Eui-jin’s room. 

 

As the doors opened, I saw the rooftop garden stretching out before me. After confirming that Fake Eui-jin’s room was just below, I climbed over the railing and hung down.

It was unexpectedly slippery and I almost lost my grip. The air below my feet was dizzying.

 

“Ugh.”

 

With a few swings for momentum, I dropped down and landed safely on the terrace below. Luckily, I stuck the landing. From the small gap in the partially open window, I could hear their conversation. I quickly ducked and listened.

 

“So, what’s this urgent conversation about?”

 

“There’s no need to rush. How about a glass of wine while we talk…?”

 

“I’m sorry but I’m not in the mood for drinking tonight.”

 

What a cozy little scene. The whole “hyung” thing, talking about drinking wine together…………… 

 

It hasn’t been that long since that imposter appeared but considering how close they were being, it was clear San-ha had completely disregarded my warnings. He was fully convinced that this guy was the real Kang Eui-jin. 

 

It was even more pathetic and pitiful because I could see the flowers Seong San-ha had bought for Fake Eui-jin from where I crouched. I scrunched my nose in disgust.

 

***

 

“I’m really not in the mood for wine tonight.”

 

The man, who was holding out the glass, offered an awkward smile, clearly taken aback by the rejection. San-ha smiled with his eyes and gestured for him to sit down.

 

Kang Eui-jin. 

 

This man had shown up with the exact face I had envisioned and, as if that wasn’t enough, claimed to be involved in investigating the Constellations. 

 

How could it be this perfect? It was like something out of a carefully constructed script.

 

San-ha, suppressing a laugh inside, tilted his head, urging the man to continue. He could feel a strange, unpleasant scent lingering in the air, and the last thing he wanted was to prolong this conversation.

 

“There’s a lot you need to explain. Let’s start with how you came to know all of this.”

 

“I can’t give you the exact details, but the organization I’m involved with has been keeping an eye on celestial movements. Naturally, we noticed that Cheon Rang was also paying attention to these developments.”

 

“Isn’t Novarion just a pharmaceutical company? How could you know something like that?”

 

“I told you, I can’t reveal everything just yet… Let’s just say there are people on our side who believe it might be beneficial to team up with Cheon Rang to protect certain things. I understand if you don’t fully trust me right now—it’s a serious matter, after all. But I can prove myself… and, well, I just…”

 

Kang Eui-jin’s face reddened under San-ha’s intense gaze. His mouth opened and closed a few times as if he was struggling to find the right words. Finally, he averted his eyes, continuing with a more vulnerable tone.

 

“I’m just happy that after all this time, we’re on the same page… It feels like fate, doesn’t it?”

 

“Oh.”

 

A perfectly crafted smile spread across Seong San-ha’s face as he listened to Kang Eui-jin’s words. The sudden gaze that flickered up toward him seemed to freeze for a moment, and San-ha responded with a soft, reassuring voice.

 

“How could I ever doubt you? You’re Kang Eui-jin, after all.”

 

“Hyung…”

 

“I trust you, Eui-jin. But to persuade others, we need evidence. Unlike your side, we haven’t fully reached an agreement about teaming up with someone.”

 

“I know. You’ll need Chairman’s approval, and you’re not exactly the type to move with others, are you?”

 

“You sure know a lot about me, Eui-jin.”

 

At Seong San-ha’s warm compliment, Kang Eui-jin nodded shyly. Worried that Seong San-ha’s trust might waver, he quickly continued, as if trying to reinforce his point.

 

“At first, I noticed it while keeping an eye on the domestic hunters. When S-rank or similarly powerful hunters die, a star disappears. Regular people didn’t catch on because of the system aura, but both are unusual, right? A star losing its light, and strong hunters dying in such numbers?”

 

“What exactly do you want from Cheon Rang?”

 

Seong San-ha’s expression turned serious, and Kang Eui-jin, looking satisfied, responded.

 

“We want to share information and protect them together. We’ve failed several times in protecting hunters with the powers of the Constellations due to a lack of information. It must be the same for you, right?”

 

“You’ve failed before?”

 

“Actually… we already knew that Hamal’s counterpart was Ryu Su-yoon, the S-rank Guide. The same goes for Aditi Singh of Sadalmelik and Bella of Spica. We tried to protect them from danger, but as you know, we lost them all. Now, the only remaining Constellations are Aldebaran, Regulus, and…”

 

“Zubenelgenubi, Rukbat, and Alesha—just five left. As more stars lose their light, the Gates and Dungeons become increasingly unstable.”

 

“Exactly. We need to find out where the remaining ones are as soon as possible… How much does Cheon Rang know about the remaining Constellations?”

 

“A few names.”

 

“Who? Aldebaran? Rukbat? Or Alesha?”

 

Kang Eui-jin, who had been excitedly asking questions, calmed down under Seong San-ha’s steady gaze, resting his chin on his hand.

 

“Don’t worry about the agreement. To put it out there, we are already protecting a Constellation. Once you see him, Cheon Rang will have no choice but to believe us.”

 

“That’s interesting. Who is it?”

 

“You go first, hyung. How many are you protecting?”

 

“Three.”

 

“Just as I thought!”

 

Kang Eui-jin’s face lit up with joy, but Seong San-ha slowly shook his head.

 

“That raises a question. Except for the ones I’m protecting and the two who have completely erased their presence, the only ones left are the unstable Hamal and Castor. Who is it you’re protecting?”

 

Still unable to shake off his doubts, Seong San-ha muttered to himself, while Kang Eui-jin confidently revealed his trump card.

 

“Castor.”

 

“Castor?”

 

“I know. Hamal and Castor aren’t in a normal state. I’m telling you this first because I trust you. The flickering stars haven’t completely died. Before Ryu Su-yoon died, he must have hidden Hamal’s power somewhere, but we haven’t found it yet. There was someone we suspected, but they died already.”

 

“…So Castor is in the same state as Hamal?”

 

“That’s right. Castor first lost its light on March 17th. That day, there was a hunter who almost died. We tried to save them, but keeping them barely alive was all we could do. Right now, they’re in a comatose state.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

“I’ll tell you later. If you tell me where the other Constellations are, I’ll let you meet Castor.”

 

***

 

Uncertain when their conversation would end, and not wanting to risk getting caught spying, I slipped away from the terrace. I intended to return to Seong San-ha’s room, but realizing I didn’t have a room key, I decided to leave the hotel altogether. The streets were quiet, devoid of protesters or journalists, as the night had grown late.

 

I hailed a passing taxi and returned to the workshop, where I collapsed onto my bed. The stillness around me finally gave me a moment to process everything.

 

My mind was spinning with all the unexpected information. I had expected some high-grade item secrets or hints about S-rank quests at best, but this…

 

“Sadalmelik, Castor, Spica…”

 

On the way back, I had looked up some information and realized that all of them, like Hamal, were alpha stars of their constellations. In order: Aquarius, Gemini, and Virgo. There must have been more. The thought that these stars had lost their light was unsettling.

 

To feel that chill of realization, I’d have to know more about the constellations, but I was completely clueless in that area.

 

‘I can see the stars just fine at the rooftop. So what’s the big deal?’

 

I had heard that observing stars had become difficult due to the System Aura, but the stars still shone, blending together in the night sky. I couldn’t tell which ones were which or which were alpha stars.

 

One thing I understood from their conversation was that someone was after Hamal—my Cloud. That meant I needed to protect him. Now it made a little more sense why Seong San-ha had been following me around, obsessively muttering about Hamal like a madman.

 

“Are there more like Cloud out there? No, they said the others are dead, but only Hamal and Castor are acting weird. Does that mean Cloud’s two stars?”

 

“Mehh!”

 

Of course, Cloud somehow knew I was talking about him. He bumped his head against the bedpost, eager for attention. I picked him up and placed him on the bed, gently scratching his head.

 

“Shh. It’s nighttime. You’ll wake Seung-yeon.”

 

“Meh.”

 

“I’m getting a headache from thinking about your friends. Anyway, don’t worry—I’ll protect you. Seong San-ha knows where the rest are, and Castor is apparently dead, or rather in a coma.”

 

As I muttered to Cloud as if explaining about his friends, I suddenly stopped. Something clicked in my mind. March 17th, the day Castor’s light supposedly went out, was also the day I died. It was the D-day I had chosen to betray Tae Jae-heon. I had spent over a year counting down to that day, with the sole purpose of getting my revenge on him, so the date was still fresh in my memory.

 

It felt a little strange to think that someone else had died on the same day I had.

 

“………It’s none of my business.”

 

Stars, constellations, whatever. As long as Cloud wasn’t in danger, that was all that mattered. The talk about the dungeons acting up had left me a bit unsettled, but in the end, I didn’t care what happened to the rest of the world. Saving people and protecting the world—that was someone else’s job. People like Seong San-ha could handle that on their own.

 

What I needed to deal with was the imposter. I couldn’t act openly as either Joo Ho-hyun or Kang Eui-jin anymore, but I couldn’t just sit by and watch someone else use my name and live my life. 

 

Whether he was part of some mission to protect the stars or not, there was no forgiveness for that. Especially with that disgusting “hyung” nonsense.

 

‘The most terrible way would be to let him get caught by Tae Jae-heon and spend 100 years rotting away in some hellish cell.’

 

But that wouldn’t work in the long run. If he died in captivity, he’d get to live on forever as “Kang Eui-jin.” That wasn’t a satisfying option either.

 

“

Yawn…

I’m way better-looking than him anyway.”

 

The impromptu rooftop workout must have taken more out of me than I thought. Exhaustion hit me like a wave. I stroked Cloud’s fur, who had curled up around my waist, and let my eyes close.

 

No matter what else was going on, right now, all I wanted was sleep.

We are diving deep into the lore....The Constellations sound so interesting.