A beam of light fell from the sky, piercing through Cheon Seongjae’s body in an instant.
*Crunch!*
It was as if a spear had thrust right through his torso. In that moment, Seongjae’s waist buckled and he collapsed backward.
*Thud!*
When his son fell as though his soul had left him, Hugo was startled out of his wits.
"Seongjae!"
As the panicked Hugo looked toward Yi Geon, Yi Geon just smiled.
"What are you so surprised about? It's just a baptism."
Hugo was appalled.
"Baptism? Who performs a sacred baptism so carelessly?! Hey! Listen up. For a baptism, first step! Sprinkle holy water in a sanctified place. Second step! The follower must confess their sins. Third step! Garb them in vestments imbued with the Holy Spirit's power…"
As if just listening to it was annoying, Yi Geon threw something at him.
"Hey, shut up. Who has time for all that ceremony? That's why you're in this mess. Being quick and efficient is better for everyone."
"Agh!"
Hugo clutched his chest as if he couldn't be bothered to argue.
Regardless, Yi Geon merely wiggled a finger.
[Skill activated]
[A rite to awaken a human through divine power.]
[Stages 1 through 5 have been summarily skipped.]
[Proceeding directly to Stage 6: Soul Imprinting.]
[Transporting to the Holy God's evaluation grounds.]
[The power of the Holy God activates.]
In that moment, Yi Geon's eyes transformed into a snake's.
An immense light engulfed his vision.
And at the same time.
Cheon Seongjae, struck by the light, was bewildered by the sudden change in his surroundings.
'This is...'
Darkness on all sides. It felt like outer space—endless, unbroken darkness stretching infinitely.
And beneath his feet, lights resembling the Milky Way swirled: faint, ashen nebulas.
Seongjae immediately realized.
'This is the place to meet the Holy God...!'
Indeed.
This was a space one entered only at the very end of a baptism.
A place where the follower is evaluated by the Holy God. Where one's potential is measured and a skill is bestowed.
And that meant...
'The Holy God is here.'
Seongjae gulped.
Of course, this mental space varied for each Holy God. When he was baptized in Gemini, it had been a beautiful mansion.
In that mansion, he'd had to solve quizzes posed by the twin god and goddess.
His father's divine sanctuary was a blazing garden of the sun where he'd endlessly extol his own praises.
'Then Ophiuchus's Holy God...'
Seongjae frantically turned his head. But there was no Holy God anywhere.
'What? Why isn't it here?'
That made him uneasy.
After all, he had never once felt the presence of a Holy God from Yi Geon.
All he ever sensed was his uncle's energy.
'Could this be a neglectful deity?'
A god with no interest in its followers.
And followers of such deities were invariably weak. They couldn't receive proper blessings.
Not only that.
'Such gods are usually weak themselves.'
They often hid, leaving everything to their saints.
It was common for them not to even show themselves at a baptism ceremony.
Seongjae felt a tinge of worry.
'I thought that any deity my uncle followed would have to be a strong one...'
Of course, it didn't matter which god he ended up serving.
He had joined Ophiuchus because of his uncle, not for a strong god.
Among the 13 Constellations, he just hoped his uncle served the strongest one.
'But if this is the case...'
Just then.
"...?!!"
Seongjae's breath caught in his throat.
A chilling aura emanated from behind him.
Something immense and oppressive stood at his back.
A pressure so overwhelming he forgot even to breathe.
There was no doubt.
'The Holy God.'
Ophiuchus's god was now behind him.
And clearly, it was not of human size.
It was something colossal.
A terror that promised to devour him at a single misstep of breath.
That monster was looking down at him from the distant heavens.
'So this is Ophiuchus's Holy God.'
Unconsciously, Seongjae swallowed hard.
*Gulp.*
The sound felt deafening. That's how terrifying it was.
And he immediately regretted his earlier thought.
'Weak, my ass.'
He hadn't met many gods, but this was beyond Gemini's by far.
Then it came.
[Are you the one who claims to be a servant of Ophiuchus?]
"!"
At the fiercely resonating voice, Seongjae snapped back to his senses.
'Right. I'm in the middle of a baptism.'
Gathering courage, he turned his head.
"Yes, that's right. I am Cheon Seongjae, ready to become your servant."
[Turn around.]
"I shall…."
But the moment he turned, he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
'Mother of god.'
Fierce eyes were flashing in the darkness.
Though the full shape was unclear, those eyes were unmistakably a snake's!
But it lasted only a moment.
'...Huh?'
Sensing something strange, Seongjae cracked one eye open.
He'd been too afraid to think straight until now.
'Wait. That voice just now...'
It was definite.
It had sounded like a beast's growl, but it was a familiar voice.
Startled, Seongjae's eyes flew open and he whipped his head around—
*Flash!*
A blinding flash erupted. The entire cosmic space he stood in was swallowed by light.
The light spread as if to devour star clusters, galaxies, the universe itself.
That wasn't all.
Caught in that light, his own body began disappearing, starting from his hands.
'!'
And as the light rising from under his feet reached his face—
His consciousness shattered.
A feeling of becoming one with that radiance.
In the flash of the heavens, he clearly beheld it.
A monster swimming leisurely as though traversing the cosmos.
It was a serpent.
A snake that would swallow every star, no, everything in the universe.
Instinctively, Seongjae understood.
'That's Ophiuchus's Holy God.'
Terrifying. Before that being, he was infinitesimally small.
But soon, the serpent transformed into a familiar form.
'Human?'
The shape gradually shifted into that of a man, until finally...
'!'
He gasped in shock at the changed appearance.
It was only natural.
'Uncle?'
That was when Seongjae's consciousness cut out.
* * *
"Gasp!"
Cheon Seongjae sprang up as if breaking the surface of water after drowning.
"Huff... Huff!"
"Seongjae!"
"Young master!"
The followers of Sagittarius looked at him anxiously.
"Is he alright?"
Both Goth and Lee Jaewon seemed worried.
After all, Seongjae hadn't taken a breath for a full minute after the baptism began. They feared something had gone wrong because he'd betrayed Gemini.
"Thank goodness he's safe."
A voice tinged with irritation cut through Hugo's relief.
"Hey, I told you he'd be fine."
It was Yi Geon.
All that fuss over lying down for a measly minute or two.
"Do you really mistrust me that much?"
At that, Hugo burst out in anger.
"This guy skips every single step of the baptism and does whatever he wants, and you're asking if I mistrust you?!"
No matter how bothersome, the procedure existed for a reason.
"Do you know how dangerous it is to directly encounter the Holy God?! It's to prevent accidents, you bastard!"
"What are you on about? That's because you guys are incompetent."
"Agh!"
Hugo pounded his own chest.
In truth, there was reason for his reaction.
'Ophiuchus is an unprecedented 13th Holy God.'
A deity whose identity, disposition, and preferences were completely unknown.
Normally, one would carefully gauge the god's temperament to avoid mishaps, doing the groundwork.
Granted, as long as a saint was present, serious accidents were unlikely. But since it could be some vicious monster, extra caution was mandatory!
"As a saint, act like one and take some responsibility! I don't know what kind of god you've come to serve, but if it's not human-friendly...!"
But just then.
"Wow, insane."
"!"
Seongjae, now awake, couldn't close his mouth.
"Seongjae?"
He murmured blankly.
"Uncle is the Holy God itself."
"...What?"
Seongjae shot up and grabbed his father.
"Insane! Dad, this is insane! Uncle is the Holy God!"
"???????"
Hugo's expression was a sight to behold.
The people around him gave incredulous looks.
Had this kid not fully woken up?
"Seongjae, what in the world are you...?"
"Ugh, I'm telling you, Uncle is the Holy God!"
At his wit's end, Hugo turned on Yi Geon.
"See! I told you the baptism must be thoroughly prepared! The kid's gone completely mad!"
Yi Geon looked flabbergasted.
"What's he on about, this brat?"
Anyway, it was fine.
[Baptism complete]
[Cheon Seongjae (Rare) has fully awakened as a person of Ophiuchus]
[Cheon Seongjae (Rare) has received a new baptismal name]
[Cheon Seongjae (Rare) has received a new unique skill]
[Mission Propagation bonus applied; special stats granted to Cheon Seongjae]
Yi Geon was very satisfied.
'Seems the awakening went well.'
Moreover, the skill Seongjae awakened looked quite good.
Though the one concerned screamed when he saw his baptismal name.
"Oh my god, what are these skills!"
In any case, the baptism wasn't only beneficial for Seongjae.
[Awakening a follower grants a large amount of experience]
[Skill level increases]
[Chance to bloom a good skill increases]
He gained experience from hunting monsters too, but follower awakenings were rare and thus yielded far more.
A huge gain for himself as well.
Though, when he used the baptism skill...
'Why was that kid Seongjae trembling like that?'
He'd just called out from behind when the boy was shaking in that cosmic space.
The dialogue had proceeded appropriately based on what the voice provided.
Well, whatever.
[Penalty: Physical ability reduced by 50% (Time remaining: 69 hours 40 minutes 58 seconds)]
About three days until the penalty expired.
Yi Geon turned his head.
His gaze landed on the scribe, who was trying to sneak away.
Muttering to himself, the scribe was attempting to climb over the wall.
"Damn it, how did I end up caught in a constellation like this...!"
He'd already given up on taking Hugo's wife—the easiest target—hostage to escape.
She was a weird woman whom his abilities couldn't affect for some reason.
"Still, if I go there, even that crazy bastard won't be able to follow... Ack!"
Yi Geon grabbed the scribe by the hair, smiling coolly.
"Trying to run to Scorpio?"
"!?"
Yi Geon curled his lip in contempt.
"Guide me to your boss."
At the same time, Yi Geon thought to himself:
'That item still hasn't been sent? No news for weeks now.'
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"Huh? You received an official baptism from Uncle?"
Cheon Yuha was startled by the call from her little brother.
Over the phone, he was bouncing with excitement. But the baptism seemed secondary.
- Noona! Uncle is the Holy God, the Holy God!
A realist, Yuha brushed it off.
"What's your baptismal name? What about your skills? Did you get any combat skills?"
- Ugh, you battle-obsessed otaku! Your head's only full of getting stronger and thoughts about Uncle! You're not even listening to me! I'll show you the skills when I see you. They're freaking awesome!
Hearing that, Yuha secretly puffed a cheek in envy.
'I want to join Uncle's constellation too.'
She'd been hesitating, thinking it might be rude to pester him to let her join. All she'd done was submit her formal application. She'd been anxiously waiting for weeks now.
Since Uncle hadn't responded, she was pretty much giving up.
'Well, maybe he's not in a rush to expand his followers.'
Yuha fidgeted with her fingers, crestfallen.
But then...
- Oh yeah, Noona. A second follower appeared.
"I know. It's Puffin. That's fine. Puffin will be helpful to Uncle..."
- Huh? No, not Puffin. A guy named Park Gwi-sun. He's a scribe.
At that, Yuha's eyes widened—a rare sight.
Huh? Gwi-sun?!
"Don't tell me... it's a woman?"
- What? No, it's a man. A man.
Yuha felt secretly relieved.
- But he's pretty.
"?!"
Yuha froze with the phone in her hand.
Pretty?
She tilted her head with a strange expression, but that wasn't what mattered now.
"Seongjae. You're not in any danger, are you?"
- Huh? What do you mean, danger?
"Threats on your life, or..."
- Ugh! What are you talking about? Five teams showed up just today, you know!
"Alright. If anything happens, make sure you tell me."
With that, the call ended.
But after hanging up, Yuha's expression turned serious.
'Oliver.'
She clenched her arm.
Yes.
Oliver—an SS-rank follower of Leo and the man who harbored a grudge against her for taking his place among the Ten Stars.
The saint of Leo might be obnoxious, but she owed him, and while she didn't like him, she didn't despise him either. He only ever turned into a fool around Uncle, which she decided to chalk up to being a die-hard fan.
But Oliver was different.
'A greedy, vile human.'
He had dragged her uncle into the training grounds without permission, which ended up benefiting Yi Geon in the end, but now he was targeting both her uncle and her brother.
And five years ago...
She'd been forced to endure it when he killed her senior and mentor. But targeting her uncle and brother changed everything.
A rare killing intent flickered in Yuha's eyes—
Just then.
*Flash!*
A familiar coin fell before her.
A snake-shaped coin.
And in that instant...
'!'
Her arm reacted.
(Continued in the next chapter)