“This is…!”
What Heili had handed over was none other than a back scratcher.
Of course, it was no ordinary back scratcher.
It was a back scratcher with a magnificent golden horse head handle. Just looking at it, it seemed quite expensive.
And sure enough, Cheon Seongjae, who knew everything about Igeon’s belongings, was surprised.
“Oh! That’s the item that sold for $1,000 at an auction in the US…!”
A full 1 million won. For one of Igeon’s items, it had sold at the lowest possible price, so he remembered it clearly.
“That’s the thing my uncle said he didn’t need and put out at a flea market…”
After going around in circles, it had ended up at an auction for American tycoons.
After Igeon’s passing, his belongings generally only appeared at large-scale auctions where bids reached tens or hundreds of billions of won.
So for an item of Igeon’s, it had sold extremely cheaply.
But Seogigwan clicked his tongue, calling it an overly luxurious piece of odds and ends.
‘For a mere back scratcher, it’s in the million-won range.’
However, upon hearing that, Hugo flew into a mad rage.
“Only $1,000?! For this?!”
“L-Lord!”
“Careful! It’ll break!”
“He’s right! Do you know what kind of item that is?!”
“???”
Seogigwan looked at the Holy Palace cultists as if they were crazy, while Gote and I Jaewon fidgeted nervously, afraid the back scratcher might break.
But regardless, Hugo held the back scratcher and shouted angrily at his son.
“Why on earth was this sold for $1,000?”
“Huh? How would I know... It clearly didn’t give off any aura for one of uncle’s items. It must be cheap junk…”
“Like hell it is!”
Sparks flew from Hugo’s eyes for a moment, but he barely restrained himself and looked at Igeon.
The price didn’t matter at all right now.
“A flea market…? Hey! Did you really dump the sacred relic of the Holy Palace at a bargain sale?!”
“?!”
Seogigwan’s expression was something to behold at this unexpected revelation.
A sacred relic?
That piece of junk??
But Igeon just picked at his ear.
“Selling off one or two of those won’t cause any trouble.”
“Hey!”
So that was it.
What they had thought was a simple back scratcher was actually a sacred relic of the Holy Palace.
Of course, it probably hadn’t been a back scratcher from the start.
‘I just borrowed it a little.’
He was a guy who used to steal and tamper with the twelve other sacred relics (SS) at will, using them as reference for making his own sacred relic.
And one of his own sacred relics, the Divine Bow, he had also borrowed and then modified to his liking, saying he didn’t like the design.
Because of that, his own artistic design had turned into something grotesque, which had enraged the Holy God.
Of course, afterwards, the Holy God had admired Igeon’s skill.
In any case, during that modification, he must have repurposed a part of the sacred relic that he’d removed into whatever he pleased.
‘I never imagined he’d make it into a back scratcher, though.’
He had thought all the parts he’d removed all this time would be in Igeon’s workshop.
And sure enough.
“Well, its function still works.”
Click!
When Igeon pressed the horse’s muzzle on the handle, the rod of the back scratcher extended.
At the same time, Hugo trembled with rage.
Honestly, he too had thought it was a part better off removed, and he had handed it over because Igeon said he’d make a better one.
But whether Hugo trembled or not, the corners of Igeon’s mouth curled up.
“With this, things change.”
No sooner had he spoken than Igeon immediately used his power.
[Switching to Disassembly Workshop]
[Disassembling the sacred relic]
A green-blue light emanated from Igeon’s hand, and then an incredible thing happened.
Pop!
The grasped back scratcher cracked and shattered completely.
[Sacred relic disassembled]
[Gained a small amount of disassembly experience]
The green-blue light spread out in a circle.
It was like watching a stellar explosion.
And the shattered object seemed like it would scatter radially, but instead, it stopped, not falling to the floor.
The disassembled fragments sparkled as they hovered around Igeon.
It was like a scene where time had stopped — no, like looking at outer space where gravity had disappeared.
At the same time, Igeon took out his sacred relic.
[The Book That Stores Anything (S)]
He opened page 14, and a familiar object popped out.
[The Sunlight of the Fiery Lion] (SS)
It was a massive bow.
And it was a weapon of a divine agent, permitted only to the Stars.
The treasure of the Holy Gods.
It was also proof of a contract with a Holy God, and the highest-grade treasure of each Star House.
And above all, without a sacred relic, a Star could exert only half their power.
It was because the direct descendants of the Holy Gods had slightly different body structures compared to ordinary Awakened.
But such an important sacred relic looked to be in quite poor shape.
[No trace of the Holy God’s power is felt]
[Absolutely no life force is felt]
The bow, as if rusted, was lusterless, and the bowstring was literally in tatters.
It was even broken into several pieces, making it ambiguous to even call it a bow.
Of course, it was even in this state only because Igeon had worked on it.
When he’d first received it, it had been completely blackened as if burned to a crisp.
And at that utterly wretched sight, Kevin furrowed his brow.
‘It must have been damaged by those from the Scales side.’
Probably twenty years ago.
It was right after they had caught the Red Eye.
Through Crater House, Hugo had heard of Igeon’s death and had stormed the twelve Stars’ press conference.
He claimed there was no way Igeon was dead, and demanded to know why they had left Igeon behind and come out alone.
[You caught the Red Eye, and Igeon gave his life for you? You expect me to believe that?]
Well, from the perspective of Hugo, who had been waiting outside, hearing his friend had suddenly died must have been a bolt from the blue.
Of course, Kevin had no memories of the Demon Tower, and he’d been forced to keep his mouth shut at the press conference he’d attended with an uneasy feeling.
‘Scorpio wasn’t present then, so perhaps he went back into the Demon Tower to look for Igeon.’
When they caught the Red Eye, it had been a scene of utter chaos, and Scorpio had been part of the rear guard, tending to the straggler Sophie.
Anyway, at that time, a fierce battle had broken out between Hugo and the twelve Stars, and Hugo’s sacred relic had been destroyed then.
[If you’re that angry, you shouldn’t have left the tower midway either, you fool.]
[Doesn’t it occur to you that you going out might have led to Igeon’s death?]
[……!]
Hugo belonged to a strong Star House, but in a clash between Stars, one against many was too much.
In the end, his sacred relic, the tool that allowed a Star to exert 100% of their power, was shattered, and afterwards, the Bow House had declined.
[With this, you’re a worthless cripple who can’t even use your power.]
The Scales Star had laughed.
The Stars who had smashed Hugo’s bow had laughed.
The reason they had been helpless against the toad monster ten years ago wasn’t just the monster’s power; it was mostly due to the absence of the sacred relic.
In any case, that’s how important the item was.
‘Even the Goat House’s Holy God could not fix the sacred relic.’
The Goat House Star had confidently invoked his Holy God and stepped up, but had failed miserably.
It was because the relic’s grade was too high, and the damage too severe.
‘They clearly said it was beyond the realm of repair.’
They said the sacred relic had completely died. That even its connection to the Holy God was severed, and it held no value as a sacred relic.
But.
[Switching to Repair Workshop]
As Igeon flicked his finger, the fragments of the back scratcher gathered onto the broken bow.
It was like watching grains of sand converge.
And the fragments filled into the empty spaces of the bow.
[These are parts made of the same substance]
[Synthesis is possible]
[Significant time reduction is possible]
[Do you wish to re-synthesize?]
With that, Igeon clenched his fist.
A tremendous light burst forth.
And then.
“……!!”
As the light gradually faded, an object that had regained the shape of a bow appeared.
[The traits of the One Who Strikes All Things and the traits of the Serpent Bearer House have been activated]
[The sacred relic begins to breathe]
[The sacred relic regains vitality]
It was like a spark.
The moment its body mended through Igeon’s power.
Sizzle!
From within the dead bow, life energy surged like boiling lava.
And explosively, light burst from the sacred relic.
Boom!
The Bow of the Sun had been resurrected.
All the cultists were astonished.
[SS-grade sacred relic recreated]
[Experience dramatically increases]
[The sacred relic’s revival causes a stir among the vassal gods of the Bow House]
[Fame for the Serpent Bearer House rises]
[The soul dwelling within the sacred relic receives grace from the Serpent Bearer House and grows favorable]
Finally, seeing the sacred relic that had regained the shape of a bow, Hugo was at a loss for words.
A thing they had completely given up on had been revived.
Igeon smiled.
“Well, the problem was a lack of parts to replace the lost body. If the components are the same, repairs are quick. I cut the time by half a year.”
“……!!”
Of course, although it looked perfect, it wasn’t yet complete.
“I’ve only set the frame. I need to finish it more.”
But then it happened.
A red light spilled from the top of Igeon’s head.
[The master of the Fiery Lion rejoices greatly]
[The master of the Fiery Lion seeks to repay the Serpent Bearer]
Along with that message, a massive amount of items rained down over Igeon’s head.
Gold and silver treasures, all kinds of treasures, and even stamina boosters poured down.
Some hair loss medicine also fell, but he threw it away the moment he saw it.
That wasn’t all.
Something incredibly surprising happened for Igeon.
[The Holy God of the Fiery Lion pledges any form of recompense]
[An alliance has been formed]
[A Promise has been created]
[From now on, the Fiery Lion Holy God will grant any one request you make]
Along with that, something fell before Igeon. It was a bracelet made of red feathers.
[Proof of the Promise]
Looking at it, Igeon grinned.
Any request... huh.
[Deeds have been added to the Bible]
[The Sun is moved by the Serpent’s grace]
On the other hand, those who saw the sacred relic resurrect before their eyes could not shut their mouths.
It was only natural.
“He... he fixed that?”
“Is Igeon-nim even greater than the master craftsmen of the Genius Workshop?”
Kevin swallowed hard.
‘At this point, it’s the realm of resurrection.’
Of course, the Serpent Bearer House is the Star House of regeneration.
That might be why it was possible…
‘Wait. If this happens, doesn’t the Bow House’s ranking change?’
He didn’t know about the ones who had brought ruin to the Bow House, but if they had regained their power as a Star House, the story would be different.
And Igeon, who had fixed the sacred relic, smiled with satisfaction.
He looked at Heili.
“I still need to finish it, but thanks to you, I repaired it well.”
He threw the bow to Hugo, who was overjoyed.
‘I heard it was that Bull guy who wrecked Taeksu’s bow.’
That guy had despised them intensely. And with him, there were Stars who collaborated in beating Hugo to a pulp.
‘Well, with this, Taeksu can be resurrected too.’
If there was anything lacking, it was that they hadn’t been able to incorporate the water attribute data, the Bow House’s weakness.
‘Seems the Bull bastard used that fish guy last time too to smash it.’
Anyway, as if satisfied, Igeon picked up his gear.
It was to deal with the remaining ones who had sided with the Scales.
“First, we need to break through their sanctuaries.”
But as he turned his head, Igeon was startled.
Because right before his eyes, another bundle had appeared.
“I-If you’re going that way, use this. It... It will be of help.”
The bundle contained all kinds of remedies and a lunch box for Igeon.
That wasn’t all.
“What the heck. Are you moving house or something?”
Hugo looked inside the bundle in disbelief.
The mountain of a bundle was packed with water, clothes, batteries, books, towels, toothbrushes, snacks — enough supplies for hundreds of people and even more.
And seeing the provisions inside, Heili’s vassal gods were horrified.
[P-Princess! At this rate, our provisions will!]
“Starve.”
[Yes?!]
[N-No, if you do this, our soldiers will!]
“Starve.”
[Princess!]
Watching that scene, the momentarily dumbfounded Hugo clapped Igeon on the shoulder.
“Give it your best.”
His expression was more serious than ever.
“It’s a daughter. It has to be a daughter. No son who looks like you.”
Hugo got hit again.
* * *
A very short while later.
Igeon was serious.
Before him stood the face of his ghastly past.
It was a truly monstrous visage, a life-size Igeon figurine.
And looking at the image of his past self, Igeon’s expression was deeply grave.
“Seongjae.”
“Yes?”
“Does this face make you want to date?”
At those words, Cheon Seongjae’s eyes turned serious.
“If it’s you, uncle, I’d marry you even with that face.”
“…….”
I was asking the wrong person.
Maybe if I ask Yuha, who’s a woman, I’d get a different answer.
It didn’t matter anyway.
Igeon looked at Cheon Seongjae, who was moving luggage.
Now that the Serpent Bearer House had its own sanctuary, Cheon Seongjae, as its follower, was about to relocate there.
But that’s when it happened.
Vrrrr.
Igeon’s cell phone was ringing.
And confirming the number, Igeon furrowed his brow.
It was because it was an extremely familiar number.
So Igeon tilted his head and answered the phone.
And at that moment.
[Igeon, please save me! The monsters have invaded!]
The caller was none other than the Fish House.
The Scales House’s invasion was about to begin.
And the urgent voice continued.
[None of the ones on the Scales’ side or the others are answering. Please, if it’s not you, the sanctuary will—!]
To that, Igeon said one thing.
(Continued in the next episode)