Chapter 48: The Dark Starbearer

Chapter 48: The Dark Starbearer

Reality World, Crustyroll.

Faced with Dekora’s sudden and shocking twist, countless viewers across the dimensions were left stunned.

“Holy crap— I thought Dekora was just some arrogant rich kid background character. Who knew he was hiding this deep?”

“Told you! Anyone in a show who actually has a name is never simple. Even I got fooled— I thought he was just a spoiled brat!”

“Starbearer Association? Why is Dekora’s father so sure that if Tendou and the others expose themselves as Starbearers, the Association would instantly intervene? Don’t tell me... he’s working with them?”

It was only a brief exchange of dialogue.

But even from that, the dimensional audience managed to extract several crucial pieces of information.

If their guesses were right, then the first storm Tendou and his team were about to face… would come from Dekora’s family itself.

And while the audience continued to debate and theorize in the barrage comments, the anime’s screen darkened for a moment. Then, the scene changed to an office three days later.

Inside that office sat none other than Dekora’s father— Burdean.

Three days later, BluEther Group subsidiary, Rohn Technology Co., Ltd. President’s Office.

“Yong Amsan, you’re late.”

“Late?”

The short, stocky man who walked in—barely one meter fifty tall, with a full beard covering his face—paid no heed to the older man’s tone.

He swaggered over to a sofa, dropped himself onto it without ceremony, and leaned back lazily.

Ignoring the wary gazes aimed his way, he leisurely pulled out a small nail clipper from his coat pocket and began trimming his nails, utterly unbothered.

“Burdean, there’s no such thing as being late. If you ask me—” click “—this meeting shouldn’t have been called in the first place.”

“Lina. Claude. Visel.”

Yong Amsan muttered the names as his molten-gold eyes swept around the room, recognizing every face present—every one of them a Dark Starbearer.

And then, his gaze finally landed on Burdean, seated calmly at the head of the room.

“A bunch of brats who just happened to pop up out of nowhere, and you actually gathered all of us for that?”

He let out a mocking laugh.

“Burdean, Burdean… I can’t tell if you’re just too cowardly, or if you’re looking down on me. You do realize—”

He lifted his hand, blowing the nail dust toward Burdean with exaggerated arrogance.

“—that taking care of a few little kids is something that I can do by myself.”

Shaa—

The moment that arrogant display ended, a guard standing nearby could no longer hold back.

He drew his pistol, jammed it against the back of Yong Amsan’s head, and growled,

“Watch your mouth, shorty. I know you’re a Starbearer, but at this range—even you won’t walk away unscathed.”

“So here’s the deal—apologize to the big boss, right now. Or else—”

“Or else what?”

Yong Amsan’s pupils suddenly narrowed into glowing, magma-like slits.

His tone was calm—too calm.

He slowly turned his head to look at the trembling guard.

But before the man could even answer, his breath hitched.

At some point—Yong Amsan’s hand had already seized his wrist.

White smoke began to hiss from the guard’s skin as flesh sizzled and melted away, revealing raw, red muscle underneath.

Yong Amsan’s palm glowed red-hot—lava bubbled and surged from his skin, forcing its way into the guard’s arm.

The next moment, the man’s flesh started melting like wax, leaving only gleaming white bone.

“AAAAAHHH—!!”

A scream ripped through the office as searing pain flooded the guard’s nerves.

The guard screamed, thrashing wildly as he tried to pull his arm free.

But it was useless.

Yong Amsan’s grip was like an iron vice—unyielding, absolute.

No matter how the man struggled, he couldn’t move an inch.

Moments later, the body of the same guard who had dared to threaten the short Starbearer was engulfed in roaring flames. When the fire finally died, all that was left was a charred corpse, collapsed face-first on the marble floor.

Yong Amsan stared at his “handiwork,” licking his cracked lips with a satisfied sneer.

“Guess he wasn’t that tough after all.”

As he turned his gaze toward the rest of the room, the other guards reacted instantly.

Dozens of guns were drawn, their muzzles flashing with the cold glint of steel, all aimed squarely at the bearded dwarf lounging on the sofa.

Yet instead of fear, Yong Amsan’s grin only widened—becoming cruel, almost beastly.

A suffocating wave of heat exploded outward from his small body.

The air shimmered. The office plants withered and blackened in seconds, curling into ash under the blistering temperature.

Right then, Yong Amsan looked less like a man and more like a living volcano—ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.

Ruthless. Unstable. 

Lethal.

Fortunately, just as the tension threatened to explode, Burdean’s calm, deep voice broke the silence.

“Put your weapons down.”

“But, Lord Burdean—!”

“I said put them down.” His tone carried weight—cold, commanding.

The guards froze.

Though unwilling, they obeyed. One by one, they lowered their weapons, sweat beading on their foreheads as the temperature in the room slowly fell.

Meanwhile, the other three Dark Starbearers in the room showed no interest in intervening.

To them, this was little more than cheap entertainment.

Lina, the Shadow Weaver, plucked at the strings of her bone harp, completely absorbed in her eerie melody, never once raising her head.

Claude of the Iron Coffin lovingly polished the metal coffin beside his feet, each motion tender and deliberate—like he was caressing a sleeping lover.

Visel, known as the Plague Doctor, crouched by the still-smoking corpse, pulling out a handful of multi-colored syringes from his coat and muttering thoughtfully to himself, “Hmm… red first, or the green one…?”

Compared to them, Yong Amsan’s violent outburst almost seemed normal.

Each one of these “Dark Starbearers” was deranged in their own way—monsters wearing human faces.

Still, as bizarre as their behavior was, none of them made a move.

And so, by some miracle, the suffocating tension began to ease.

Burdean finally exhaled, his sharp gaze landing on the burnt corpse on the floor before shifting to Yong Amsan. His brows furrowed.

“Yong Amsan, there’s a reason I called all of you here today.”

“I know your reputation—‘Unmatched Below The Second-Order,’ wasn’t it? You don’t take ordinary first-order Starbearers seriously.”

Burdean paused, his tone deepening.

“But what if the target you’re facing is like you—on the verge of reaching second-order?”

Yong Amsan blinked. Then his eyes lit up like burning coals.

The anger vanished, replaced by unrestrained excitement.

Burdean smirked faintly and gestured to his secretary.

The young woman, still pale from witnessing the earlier scene, trembled as she approached. She placed a tablet in front of Yong Amsan with both hands, then quickly retreated to Burdean’s side as if escaping a furnace.

Yong Amsan picked up the tablet and began to read.

Moments later, a booming laugh erupted from him.

“Ha! Interesting—no, fascinating!”

He clenched his fist in sheer exhilaration, shattering the tablet like brittle glass.

“A twelve-year-old prodigy… with over eight hundred star energies already?”

He threw his head back, laughing manically.

“Burdean! You’ve really outdone yourself this time! What a perfect little toy you’ve found for me!”

Burdean nodded slowly, eyes cold and calculating.

“Yes. A twelve-year-old… and already standing at the threshold of second-order. A true genius among Starbearers.”

“Yong Amsan,” Burdean’s voice cut through the heat-filled air, calm yet weighted. “Now that you know the facts… do you still question why I called you all here today?”

“You must understand—someone like Masamune Tendou, a prodigy of that caliber, could never be just some nameless street rat.”

“I don’t know his true origins yet,” Burdean continued, his eyes narrowing, “but from what my son gathered through several encounters, it’s not just Masamune who’s extraordinary. The three transfer students who came with him are all first-order Starbearers as well.”

“To send out so many young geniuses at once... whoever stands behind them must be a formidable organization.”

He paused, his tone deepening.

“Be careful, Yong Amsan. These kids won’t be easy to deal with.”

Burdean had expected that warning to sober him up—to make Yong Amsan take this matter seriously.

But he had still underestimated just how arrogant—and how utterly deranged—the man could be.

Yong Amsan tossed the crushed remains of the tablet aside and stood up, a grin slowly spreading across his burnt face.

“Interesting,” he muttered, striding toward the door. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

“A bunch of young, proud Starbearers, huh? You know what I love most, Burdean?”

He looked back with a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

“Watching self-proclaimed geniuses break—seeing them crawl before me, begging for mercy with that sweet look of despair.”

“Don’t bother sending anyone else. Something this fun? There’s no way I’m letting anyone else take it from me.”

He pushed the heavy office doors open with a sharp kick.

“I’ll go see this Masamune Tendou myself—see what kind of little miracle he really is.”

A low chuckle escaped his throat. “I just hope he lasts long enough. It’d be boring if he dies too fast.”

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze drifted toward the woman lounging by the door—Lina, the sultry figure with twin braids and a bone harp resting in her lap.

His greedy eyes swept over her curves, and for once, he actually offered something that resembled… an invitation.

“Lina,” he said with a crooked smile, “care to join me? You’ll love it, I promise.”

“The screams of gifted children in despair—believe me, they sound far sweeter than anything your harp could ever play.”

Lina blinked, unimpressed. Then she yawned.

Placing her bone harp aside, she replied in a tone as light as silk, “Try not to overdo it, Yong Amsan. You know how it is… the blood of a genius tends to run very hot.”

“Overdo it?”

Yong Amsan laughed—loud, wild, and unrestrained.

When it subsided, he declared with absolute confidence, “Relax. Below second-order, there’s no one in this world who can beat me!”

With that, he turned and left, his heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway until the sound faded into silence.

For a moment, the office was quiet—only the faint twang of harp strings remained.

Then, Lina’s lazy voice drifted toward Burdean.

“You sure it’s wise to let that idiot off the leash this early?”

She plucked a slow note, her crimson eyes half-lidded.

“In a few days, it’ll be the Trilan Training Camp. If Dorian catches even a hint of trouble, he’ll probably pull his precious daughter out of school and lock her away somewhere safe.”

Burdean didn’t hesitate. His tone was deep, assured.

“Don’t worry. Dorian won’t make that move.”

“Oh?” Lina arched a brow. “And why’s that?”

“Because he and I both understand something very clearly—” Burdean’s lips curved into a thin, cold smile. “When both sides know each other’s intent, the real deciding factor... is the cards we hold.”

“I don’t know what kind of trump cards Dorian’s hiding.”

“Just as he doesn’t know mine.”

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming like the edge of a blade.

“So let Yong Amsan make his move. It’ll force Dorian’s hand—and we’ll finally see what kind of ‘Starbearers’ he’s been keeping in reserve.”

“And if he fails to show sufficient strength…”

Burdean’s tone turned low, venomous.

“Then we won’t even need Isabelle’s involvement. We can strip him of his position entirely.”

“After all—” He glanced out the window toward the city skyline. “In this world, wealth is the weakest form of power there is.”

Lina fell silent for a moment, her fingers hovering above the strings.

Then, with a faint, knowing smile, she began to play again—a slow, haunting melody that echoed through the office.

Because she understood now.

She knew exactly why Burdean had whispered poison into Yong Amsan’s ear, why he had deliberately unleashed that mad dog today.

It wasn’t to win a fight.

It was to expose Dorian’s hidden hand, to see what kind of Starbearers he’d been keeping in the shadows all along.

<+>

Note: 

Yong Amsan is this world Jogo

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