“W-Why the hell is that crazy horse-headed bastard so tough?” Song Ha-Eun stared in disbelief at Enceladus, standing tall and unscathed.

This was a combined strike consisting of five high-ranking Awakeners. Not just Awakeners who had barely scraped to nine stars, but each of them was skilled enough to easily crush others at their level.

All it did was chip a few of his scales?

Kwon Oh-Jin gaped in utter shock at Enceladus.

He knew a Black Star Celestial would be on an entirely different level than any enemy they had fought before. Still, he hadn’t even left a scratch after such a devastating attack.

This isn’t a matter of being strong or not.

The situation itself was absurd. Only Song Ha-Eun and Kwon Oh-Jin had managed to inflict any real damage on Enceladus. Lee Woo-Hyuk’s storm and Sakaki’s fists had done practically nothing.

So, this is the power of a Celestial.

It felt like fighting against a tank with nothing but a spear and a sword.

Vega’s eyes widened in horror at Enceladus. “H-How can this be...! Impossible!”

“What’s wrong?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“I-It’s a Sacred Ground.”

“A Sacred Ground?”

“I told you before. When a Celestial fully manifests their true power, a natural Sacred Ground forms around them.” Vega bit her lip anxiously. “But a Sacred Ground wasn’t around him in the recording, so how...”

“He’s been hiding his true strength from the very beginning.”

This same cunning monster had deliberately left footprints in the mudflats to set a trap. Whether the Heavenly Demon or Enceladus came up with the plan, he had been concealing his true power the moment he arrived on Earth.

We need an attack powerful enough to pierce through the Sacred Ground.

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned and clicked his tongue.

He and Song Ha-Eun had a chance, but this was impossible for Lee Woo-Hyuk and Sakaki.

“There is a way,” Vega said with a determined look.

“How?”

“Unlike the Sacred Ground that I cast, Enceladus’s is limited to a thin layer surrounding himself. If one were to receive a blessing... it could be pierced.”

A Celestial’s blessing, huh.

Besides Vega, Regulus and Aldebaran were here as well. That meant three blessings in total could be bestowed.

Ha-Eun’s raw destructive power can break through his Sacred Ground head-on anyway.

However, blessings had a limit.

“How long will you be able to last?”

“Ten minutes at most.”

Unlike Enceladus, the Law restricted the other Celestials on Earth. Of course, they could tap into their true power by paying the price.

But that price is their existence itself.

Vega could avoid being erased from this world, but the other two Celestials were a different story.

“It has to be a timed attack.”

They had ten minutes.

We have to kill him within that window.

Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue again as he looked at Enceladus, standing arrogantly with his trident and looking down at everyone beneath.

“If that’s the only way, then so be it.”

“But can you truly bring him down within ten minutes?” Vega asked.

“It’ll be difficult with the blessing alone.”

“Then...?”

“With the blessings alone.” Kwon Oh-Jin smirked and lifted his spear with a tight grip.

He immediately thought of a plan when Vega explained the blessing.

“Vega, from here on, please follow my instructions.”

“Very well...” Her lips parted as though to question him, but she merely nodded and didn’t ask.

None other than Kwon Oh-Jin had come up with this plan. As the Celestial of his Stigma and his lover, she trusted him.

“My plan is...” Kwon Oh-Jin used the Stigma of Capricorn to control his voice.

Only Vega could hear, keeping Enceladus from catching wind of it.

Vega’s face gradually twisted in dismay. “T-That method is...”

“It’s the best option we’ve got as of now.”

“Umm.” Vega frowned, clearly displeased with the plan.

“Please, Vega.”

With a heavy sigh, she nodded. “Haa... Very well.”

Enceladus, with a crooked sneer, calmly strode forward. “I can feel you scheming something all the way from here.”

Raising his gaze, he looked at the three Celestials floating in the air and cocked his head as if to provoke them.

“If you want to save your children, you already know what you must do, right?”

His smug look made it clear that he already knew exactly what the Celestials were thinking.

Vega’s eyes went cold as she glared at him. “My child will teach you who’s really overstepping their bounds.”

Radiant silver light burst from Vega and enveloped Kwon Oh-Jin.

Woong!

“Go, my child.”

Mana from his Stigma overflowed, boiling inside him as an electric chill raced down his spine.

“Show that arrogant Celestial how brightly your star can shine!” Vega thundered her command.

Light erupted from the other two Celestials as well.

“To the valiant lion, I grant you the blessing of the wind!”

“Now smash that horse-faced bastard to pieces, Sakaki!”

Beams of light shot into Lee Woo-Hyuk and Sakaki, igniting them with power.

“Damn, it’s rough out here for us without a Celestial.” Song Ha-Eun dryly laughed and turned to Koshiro. “So, what’s your Celestial of Scutum doing anyway?"

“I heard from Lord Aldebaran that the Celestial of Scutum doesn’t have the power to manifest on Earth yet.”

“Really? Well, that’s still better than a certain someone too busy sleeping to even show their face.” Song Ha-Eun clicked her tongue, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

Fwoosh!

At the spark, a massive Fire Dragon formed in the air.

“You gotta work with what you have,” she said.

With or without a Celestial’s blessing, it didn’t matter. Her flames carried enough power to burn right through his Sacred Ground.

“I’ll take the front with Mr. Sakaki!” Lee Woo-Hyuk said.

“Kwahaha! Give me something fiery for backup, sister-in-law!” Sakaki said.

And so, the timed attack began with ten minutes on the clock.

Boom! Thud! Crrrrrack!

The battlefield roared with relentless attacks. Explosions rippled across the land, reducing hundreds of meters to scorched ruins.

The blessed Kwon Oh-Jin, Lee Woo-Hyuk, and Sakaki pressed Enceladus without pause. Koshiro supported with precision, and Song Ha-Eun’s devastating blasts hammered from the rear.

Enceladus only grinned through ragged breaths. “Haa, haa. Your time is nearly up.”

His Sacred Ground continued shielding him. Nonetheless, wounds from blades, fists, and spears covered him.

“Ugh...”

“T-The blessing is...”

Encleadus had endured the entire ten minutes.

“Grhh... I can’t... any longer...!” Regulus said.

“Hold on, Sakaki!” Aldebaran shouted.

Regulus and Aldebaran, who had granted their blessings, twisted in pain. The restrictions of the Law finally kicked in. Static flickered across them like an old videotape unraveling.

“Woo-Hyuk...!”

“Just a little longer, please!”

Regulus grew faint. His form began dissolving back into the Sanctum.

Lee Woo-Hyuk’s eyes flashed with desperation as he stomped forward. “Strike!”

He poured out everything he had left and turned into a raging storm as he swung his sword toward Enceladus’s neck.

Enceladus staggered back, his arrogant composure finally cracking. “Kugh...!”

“You’re too late!” Lee Woo-Hyuk moved a step faster.

His sword carved across Enceladus’s neck.

Clang!

With a deafening clash, Lee Woo-Hyuk’s sword flew out of his hands and clattered helplessly to the ground.

Lee Woo-Hyuk’s face turned pale. “N-No...”

“K-Khahahaha!” Enceladus's eyes gleamed with ecstasy. “Looks like you’re the one who was too late, little lion.”

“Damn it!”

Enceladus thrust his trident at Lee Woo-Hyuk. Just before its three points pierced him, Sakaki threw himself in front of Lee Woo-Hyuk with a savage roar.

“Rrrraaaagh!”

Slash!

The trident tore across Sakaki’s back, peeling his flesh down to the bone.

“Aaaagh!”

“M-Mr. Sakaki!”

“Oyabun!”

Blood sprayed as Sakaki collapsed to his knees, clutching at the mud to push himself up.

“A-A real man doesn’t fall from something like this...”

Splat.

However, his strength failed him, and he fell face-first into the mud.

“Oyabuuuun!” Koshiro’s scream echoed across the battlefield.

“Neighhehehe!” Enceladus let out a horse-like whine, and his shoulders shook in amusement. “Well then...”

Among those blessed by a Celestial, only one remained.

His murderous eyes fixed on Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Huff, huff...!” Kwon Oh-Jin’s state wasn’t any better.

Though Vega's blessing was still taking effect since she was stronger compared to the other Celestials, even hers was starting to fade.

Vega clutched her chest, gasping for breath. “M-My child...”

“Even as a North Star Celestial, it seems like you can’t do much when you’re bound by the restrictions of the Law.”

“You dare...!”

“Neighhehehe! Watch helplessly as your child dies before your eyes, Weaver!” With a mocking laugh, Enceladus charged at Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Oh-Jin!” Song Ha-Eun rushed to block his path.

However, she couldn’t stop him after pouring out every ounce of firepower for the past ten minutes and lacked in close-combat to begin with.

Enceladus kicked her and sent her flying across the mud.

“Kyaaah!”

“H-Ha-Eun!”

“Neighehe! Do you really have the luxury to worry about someone else right now?”

“You bastard...!” Rage flared in Kwon Oh-Jin’s burning eyes as he drove his spear forward.

The sharpened tip slammed into Enceladus’s chest, but the spear ricocheted away with a heavy metallic ring.

Clang!

Just then, the last trace of Vega’s blessing vanished.

“Ah...”

“Die, human,” Enceladus said.

Gush!

The three-pronged trident split his abdomen wide open.

“Kugh!” Kwon Oh-Jin coughed up blood mixed with his shredded entrails as he fell to his knees.

Intense pain flowed through his stomach. Through the haze of his dimming consciousness, he could hear Song Ha-Eun and Vega’s desperate screams, buzzing like wasps in his ears.

Just then, Kwon Oh-Jin’s blood-soaked lips curled into a smirk.

“Ha.” His hand clamped around the trident’s shaft, and he yanked it toward him.

Enceladus frowned, unable to grasp Kwon Oh-Jin’s intentions. “What...?”

Clenching his fist, Kwon Oh-Jin swung straight at the monster’s heart.

Enceladus shook his head in disbelief. “Ha. What a clingy one.”

Even with his stomach pierced clean through, Kwon Oh-Jin still had the strength to throw a punch. Enceladus couldn’t help but admire that sheer, maddening willpower.

“Without your blessing, there’s no way you can break through my Sacred Ground...”

Crackle!

Just before Kwon Oh-Jin’s fist touched Enceladus’s chest, lightning burst forth as though it had been condensed for too long.

Craaaaacck!

It wasn’t the familiar blue lightning, but Black Lightning that blazed like a storm.