Hugo's heart dropped in an instant.
He was so startled that he shattered the espresso cup he had been drinking from.
That was only natural.
'Yi-geon, of all people!'
And on top of that, the location of the incident was near Gwanghwamun?
'Damn it. That's right next to the Demon Tower!'
Hugo's hands moved faster.
Past Gaeseong, the northern part of Seoul had long been an impassable zone for people.
Because of that, even the Blue House and central administrative agencies in northern Seoul had evacuated to the south long ago.
In any case, the area around the Demon Tower was near the front lines, so only the watchtowers and investigation teams of the constellations were stationed there.
And Yi-geon appeared in a place with such limited foot traffic?
'Then it might really be him.'
Given the timing and the location, it was highly credible.
Hugo's hand trembled as he clicked the link.
But.
- Oh, by the way, I said it was Yi-geon, but you know it's obviously a fake, right?
└Huh? Then it's the real Yi-geon? lol
- Anyone who gets confused by that is an idiot lololol
Damn it, sorry for being an idiot!
'These bastards, messing with people's heads!'
Well, I did think it was probably a fake.
But in this situation, my heart couldn't take it. Because if that bastard went into hiding, it definitely meant he was about to cause some serious trouble.
'There was that time he grabbed the Army Commander by the collar and made the front page of the newspaper.'
And what did he say back then? Something about how if they were going to work him that hard every single day, they should at least have the conscience to let him sleep in on his one day off.
Anyway, knowing his temper so well, Hugo couldn't help but worry.
'That bastard, he might actually storm the 12 Constellations...!'
And in fact, this incident itself was a perfect example.
The Gemini Constellation, who Yi-geon had supposedly beaten up, was, out of the countless constellations like stars in the sky, a directly managed constellation under Gemini, one of the 12 Zodiacs.
Put simply, the victim could be seen as their direct subordinate.
Because of this, if it really was him, his luck in picking a target was so impeccable it deserved applause.
But the public's reaction was a little different.
- Who gets beaten up in the street? Gemini is a direct constellation where even high-rank Awakeners start as coffee fetchers lolol
└2222 true, direct means the Saints run them personally, so the entry test is insanely tough. And the test is actually conducted by the Saint themself?
- Probably less tough than that psycho Zodiac where you have to kill someone to join lolol
└ Dude, that's not a matter of toughness...
- Anyway, it's a hoax.
- I don't know. Maybe he really did get beaten up by Yi-geon? lololol
- Hey, are you joking lol Yi-geon is beyond overhyped. He'd be crushed from the entry test lolol If Yi-geon takes down a 12 Saint, I'll donate 10 million won to a Yi-geon shrine and bring proof lololol
Everyone dismissed it as a joke, but Hugo's face was actually dripping with cold sweat.
'You idiots, you shouldn't say things like that for real.'
What if he's watching?
Of course, it didn't matter anyway.
"We'll clean that up for you."
An employee approached Hugo as he was groaning and picking up the broken coffee cup.
But in that instant.
"Kyak!"
Hugo suddenly aimed the broken glass at the employee's neck.
The cafe was empty. Thanks to that, there was no commotion, but the employee seemed flustered.
"C-Customer?"
"Where do you get off playing these games?"
No sooner had he spoken than the employee's lips curled up into a smirk.
[I hid it well. How did you know?]
Hugo laughed as if it was ridiculous.
"Some parasite told me how to distinguish you, you pervert who only possesses women's bodies."
That's right.
The opponent was none other than China's Aries Constellation. And this was their skill, a possession skill they used on their scattered believers all over the world.
[Whatever. Why aren't you answering our calls?]
At his words, Hugo, as if he wasn't even worth dealing with, ignited a flame in his hand.
The opponent seemed startled by this.
[What is this? Surely you don't still think we killed Yi-geon?]
Hugo was dumbfounded. But the opponent made a whining sound.
[Hey, hey. Don't be like that. We're dying over here too trying to meet the Star Gods' demands lately. We're running a deficit, I tell you, a deficit.]
Hugo smiled viciously.
Deficit, my ass.
"While you're living the high life off of Yi-geon's mementos."
Yi-geon had had unique items that only he possessed.
And those were weapons he had created himself as their maker, like his own children.
'Since Yi-geon had no Star God, he made and used everything himself.'
From the start, the other Star Gods and Saints were unwilling to give Yi-geon even a single thread anyway.
In any case, the world had no idea Yi-geon was the maker, but his creations were his battle partners, his hands and feet, and rare treasures that even the Star Gods coveted.
But 20 years ago.
The bastards had taken them all claiming they were inherited from Yi-geon.
And furthermore, Yi-geon's items, even the junk ones, were incredibly popular with the wealthy. They sold out in the blink of an eye despite the high prices.
'Thanks to that, I had a hell of a time securing some of them.'
But Yang Wei let out a scoff.
[Enough with the boring talk. I heard that tower was destroyed. Don't you know anything about that? Maybe Yi-geon is alive or something...]
"If you're just going to spout nonsense, get lost."
[Wai...!]
Before Yang Wei could finish speaking, fierce flames engulfed the employee's body. He had forcibly dispelled the possession skill.
As the collapsed employee regained consciousness, Hugo felt relieved, but then the employee screamed.
They had recognized Hugo, who had caught them.
"E-Excuse me, you're really the Sagittarius Constellation...!"
As the employee blushed, Hugo hurriedly pulled his hat down and left the cafe.
'Seriously, those shameless bastards.'
Hugo quickly checked the community for any posts related to Yi-geon. Because if his Star God was raising a fuss, it was certain that Yang Wei was coming to Korea.
But it was then.
'!'
There was one post that oddly caught his eye.
And upon seeing it, Hugo's expression turned strange.
[Where can I find Yi-geon's mementos?]
Author: Yi-geon Jjang-jiang-man
- Eh? You don't know that? Go to the Yi-geon Museum.
└ There are some on display next to the Yi-geon shrine lolololol
└ Not that kind -_- (Author)
└ If you mean the real mementos, there's no way to know. Other countries try really hard to keep them hidden.
└ Ah, but I know one place. Japan's Gemini Constellation.
└ I also know of one at the Sagittarius Constellation.
└ I heard both of them squeeze tons of money out of workers with those.
└ Really? Those bastards lol (Author)
Seeing this, Hugo was dumbfounded.
He didn't care about the others, but the claim about himself was truly unfair.
'Where do these ridiculous rumors come from?'
Honestly, the ones spreading lies and the ones believing them were all the same.
But.
- Thanks for the info. I'll put it to good use. (Author)
└ lol np. But why are you asking about this kind of stuff?
└ So I can find my stuff and wreck them first ^^ (Author)
Hugo froze in the middle of the street.
Wait a minute?
Could this really be him...?
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time, at a large supermarket in Bucheon.
Yi-geon, who had posted in the community, was clicking his tongue.
Using a smartphone wasn't that difficult, so he had learned quickly. In the meantime, he had even tried a game called Animal Pang, where you collected and butchered 3 animals. But the problem was those damn 12.
'This might be a bit tricky.'
Thanks to Cheon Seong-jae, he had recovered his mana, so Yi-geon had planned to storm the bastards' places.
But.
[The 12 Saints never leave their sanctuaries.]
[They refuse all interviews with the public.]
[Go through their representatives if you have business.]
[No one except their followers can enter the barriers of their main palaces.]
'So, these bastards, acting all high and mighty as Saints, never even come out of their hideouts, is that it?'
Yi-geon laughed contemptuously.
In short, the bastards were living like reclusive gods in their own hideouts.
Of course, storming the 12's hideouts wouldn't be difficult in itself, but there were several problems.
First, there was something that didn't exist in the old days: the presence of the loyal followers who now revered them as Saints.
'If those guys get tangled in, it'll be a bit bothersome to deal with.'
And if he was still without his original weapons, it would be even more inconvenient.
Was that all?
The second reason was his own physical condition.
[As a price for completely reconstructing your entire body, you have incurred a slight penalty.]
[Penalty / All physical abilities reduced by 50% (Remaining time: 998 hours)]
He didn't know for sure, but it was probably a penalty for regenerating his body.
And that was the problem.
'I need to figure out how severe this penalty is first.'
He was confident he could win, but those bastards weren't idiots either; they would have developed their abilities alongside their Star Gods over the past 20 years.
Actually, that was the reason Yi-geon came to the supermarket.
The reason was simple.
"Seong-jae, should I put some snacks in the cart too?"
"Just put one."
That's right.
Yi-geon was tailing Cheon Seong-jae and Han Ji-min, the kids of the household he was indebted to.
And the reason Yi-geon was tailing them was because of something that happened this morning.
* * *
Earlier that morning.
"What? A fortune? It talked about me?"
"Yes. The fortune skill said I would meet you, Hyung."
"!"
The skill the boy mentioned was one that the 12 Zodiacs rented out.
Simply put, by paying a price, you could borrow the skills of each Zodiac.
And the boy had shown him a phone app and said,
"This is it. This fortune usually has a 60% accuracy rate, but Seong-jae is a VVIP customer of this Zodiac, so it's 90% accurate."
At those words, Yi-geon had been quite intrigued.
'A fortune that predicted meeting me.'
Wasn't he just agonizing over how to meet those bastards?
So, thinking there was nothing to lose, he tried using the fortune skill.
And then, an unexpected result came out.
- Rejoice. The first Golden Ram, who loves wealth, walks into your stomach.
- Do not ignore it for its young age. A boy friendly with flames is the benefactor who will guide you.
- Everything the boy encounters is great fortune for you. He will find everything you desire, so granting him grace is also a good choice.
- However, it is advisable to bring a weapon. The arthropod forgotten by the covetous Ram will make for good nourishment.
* * *
And currently.
Yi-geon, recalling the fortune he saw that morning, raised the corners of his mouth.
The 'Ram who loves wealth' mentioned in the fortune was surely Aries among the 12 bastards, China's 'Yang Wei.'
And the 'guide' must be Cheon Seong-jae.
Of course, since he was naturally ill-fitted for fortunes, he didn't know if it would come true, but there was nothing to lose anyway.
'Yang Wei is perfectly suited as my first test subject.'
That bastard, being the Zodiac of Wealth, obsessively collected even the weaknesses of other Saints.
And as for being able to meet the bastards without the bother of storming their places?
It was definitely worth a try.
And so, having been led to tail the two, Yi-geon picked up a large box of cola in front of him.
Then he casually placed the item into Han Ji-min and Cheon Seong-jae's cart.
Yi-geon calmly watched the two boys, who still hadn't noticed him.
But the two, completely unaware, were having an interesting conversation at the checkout counter.
"Seong-jae. Could that older brother be the real Yi-geon-nim?"
"What? Hey, are you kidding? His looks and age are different! And!"
Sparks flew from Cheon Seong-jae's eyes.
"If he were Yi-geon-nim, there's no way he'd commit such barbaric acts as pulling off my figurine's head!"
"..."
Han Ji-min silently placed the items on the checkout counter. It made sense; Seong-jae had been furious, saying Yi-geon had eaten all the soy sauce and even salt.
"Still, ever since that brother came, all the disasters that used to appear every dawn have completely disappeared. Even that guy you and your sister were getting headaches over... so maybe..."
"No. There's no way Yi-geon-nim is really alive, and above all, there's definitive proof that he passed away."
Definitive proof?
Yi-geon, who was perfectly alive and well, tilted his head from behind, but Han Ji-min accepted it.
After all, Cheon Seong-jae's father was the famous Sagittarius Constellation, Yi-geon's old colleague.
So that 'proof' must be 100% certain.
"Anyway, Ji-min. You seem to be under the illusion that brother fights pretty well. Beating up people is different from hunting monsters. Didn't you see the video? The way Yi-geon-nim hunts monsters is on a completely different level! You have to compare comparable things! Anyway, I'm definitely kicking that fake out today, so don't take his side."
"Still...!"
"I said enough, so just put your stuff on the counter quick... Hey!"
Cheon Seong-jae, who had been talking, suddenly got angry.
It was because bread, snacks, and even retort pouch foods were piled up like a mountain on the checkout counter.
Even a large box of cola!
“Ah, seriously! When did you put up that useless thing again!”
“Ah, no! I put it up!”
“What? Then who else is here besides you…”
It was then.
Han Jimin, who was about to say something, shouted in surprise.
“Seongjae. Your wallet?”
“!”
At Han Jimin’s words, Cheon Seongjae was startled. That was only natural, for the wallet he had been holding had vanished like a ghost.
A pickpocket.
Just as he suspected.
“Kyaak! A thief!”
Amid the screams around him, Cheon Seongjae ground his teeth and looked for someone.
He had no choice.
‘Damn. It’s the work of the Thief God Throne!’
The only one among the 12 God Thrones who could make a wallet disappear in an instant like this was Scorpio alone!
That was why Cheon Seongjae grew desperate.
‘Damn, even high-grade ability users have trouble finding the Thief God Throne…!’
At this level, the opponent was at least A-class or higher, practically someone you had to give up on.
In fact, the hidden thief smirked slyly.
‘Fools. How could you ever find me?’
Pleased with himself, the thief aimed for the next target.
‘I’ll swipe one more.’
The thief’s target was none other than I Geon. And the moment the thief’s hand reached for I Geon’s trousers—
“Kyaak!”
“!”
With a tremendous scream, a woman was slammed onto the checkout counter.
Thud!
People were utterly startled.
“Aack! What’s with this woman!”
But whether people were surprised or not, the man who had kicked the woman lost his temper.
“Hey. Who said you could touch my expensive butt and walk away? You wanna die?”
Seeing the man, Cheon Seongjae almost screamed. For that man was I Geon.
“H-Hyeong! What brings you here?!”
Thereupon, I Geon, stepping on the woman, feigned ignorance.
“I forgot you told me to buy cola to drink with the leftover chicken?”
When I Geon tapped the cola box on the counter, Cheon Seongjae’s expression was a sight to see.
‘So that guy was the one who put those up!’
But that was only for a moment; Cheon Seongjae and Han Jimin were taken aback.
Because I Geon pulled something out of the woman’s pocket.
“Ah! Seongjae’s wallet!”
What’s more, the wallets that came out were more than one or two.
“No way, that’s mine!”
As a result, the surroundings stirred, but I Geon smiled and tossed Cheon Seongjae’s wallet.
“Be careful.”
“……!”
Having caught his wallet, Cheon Seongjae could only doubt his own eyes.
‘To catch that elusive Thief God’s sacred art practitioner in such a short time…!’
In fact, the thief who had been caught while trying to pick I Geon’s pocket was just as dumbfounded.
But Cheon Seongjae soon lowered his head first.
“Hyeong, thank you for finding my wallet….”
However, I Geon held out his hand with a gentle flutter.
“Just with words?”
“…….”
Cheon Seongjae’s facial muscles twitched.
The expression on I Geon’s hand-waving face was utterly infuriating.
“Make the reward generous.”
‘As expected, there’s no way a thug like this could be I Geon-nim.’
In the end, after handing over the thief to the manager and ringing up the snacks I Geon brought as well—
“Impressive. The Thief God’s sacred art is truly hard to catch.”
“!”
Someone approached I Geon. A man in his twenties. And with his appearance, the crowd suddenly stirred greatly.
“Oh my god. Isn’t that Min Seonghun?”
“It is! Korea’s S-class!”
People sent admiration and praise to the precious S-class, but Cheon Seongjae, looking at Min Seonghun, could only scrunch up his face.
‘What the. Why is this bastard here?’
That was it.
He was Cheon Seongjae’s superior. He didn’t know why he was here, but he undoubtedly belonged to the elite corps assisting the saint of the Gemini Throne.
And now, he was the one burning with the intent to personally eliminate I Geon’s impostor who had stolen the Gemini Throne’s S-class relic.
So Cheon Seongjae looked at I Geon with concern, but Min Seonghun snorted and eyed I Geon up and down.
“Seeing you don’t even feel the aura of a godly being, you’re a mere ordinary person at best. Probably an unranked believer.”
Min Seonghun glanced at those praising I Geon, then gave I Geon advice.
“This time, by sheer luck, you caught the Thief God Throne’s sacred art practitioner, but next time, don’t step in yourself—just report it.”
“!”
“If you don’t want to get hurt.”
At Min Seonghun’s arrogant smile, I Geon let out a dry laugh.
What’s this now?
The divination clearly said everything encountered while being with Cheon Seongjae would be great fortune.
‘Then could this be…?’
If not, had the divination itself been a wild goose chase after all?
‘And I can’t even sense the Aries guy who was supposed to appear.’
At that point, I Geon sighed.
As I thought, you shouldn’t trust a friend’s divination. I should have filtered it out the moment he called it the Archer Throne’s rental skill.
‘A quack after all.’
In the end, as though deciding to change his plan, I Geon made to exit through the door.
But just then.
“Seongjae! The door won’t open!”
“!”
For some reason, the door would not open.
The people trying to leave with their loads stirred uneasily.
But their confusion was only momentary.
Kugung!
“!”
“Kyaaaaak!”
Suddenly, the mart shook violently. It was a massive earthquake.
Something that could never happen in the middle of the city under the protection of the gods.
At the same time, screams erupted.
“Hyeong, it’s dangerous!”
Something fell from the sky.
[Warning. A tremendously powerful calamity (monster) has appeared.]
[At the same time, the scent of a sluggish sheep is sensed from somewhere.]
[Ophiuchus’s ability is activating.]
At the very familiar scent of that guy, I Geon smiled with interest.
(To be continued)