At Yi Geon’s casual remark, the Taurus Saint was horrified.
But he wasn’t the only one stunned.
“Wha—what is that!”
Hugo, who had been furious at the sanctuary turned into a demon king’s castle, and Kevin were both frozen solid.
The youngest members of the Sagittarius Sect, seeing the Red Eyes for the first time in their lives, looked as though they were about to wet themselves.
Though only a part of its body was visible, it was unmistakable.
Crimson claws far larger than a human, a black body that seemed to hold molten lava within!
“Red Eyes!”
Even Kevin showed rare shock, and Hugo was literally foaming at the mouth.
Of course, knowing Yi Geon’s personality, there was no way he would have left the Red Eyes alone and come here. So naturally, the Red Eyes had either died by Yi Geon’s hand or been captured.
But... a pet?
“Has that crazy bastard really lost his mind?!”
Hugo, no longer even calling him a friend, was on the verge of losing all sense of reason.
Kevin’s gaze seemed to ask *how* he had captured it, but such details didn’t matter to Hugo.
Because the moment he saw it captured, he could picture exactly what Yi Geon was planning to do.
“Geon, you son of a bitch! You’re planning to leave that thing in the sanctuary, aren’t you! Are you insane?!”
At Hugo’s reprimand, Yi Geon sneered.
“Why? Looks like it’d guard the house well, doesn’t it? I thought it’d be perfect as a watchdog.”
Hugo was dumbfounded.
“You captured a Red Eye just to use it as a damn guard dog?!”
But there was no time to scold him.
A narrow crack formed in the air.
And the monstrous hand reaching out through that crack slammed down onto the ground again.
[Kieeeek!!!]
Boom!!!
“Aaagh!!”
The earth shook violently.
Claws far larger than a human raked the ground, and a hand the size of a building madly tried to devour the Taurus Saint.
It was a spectacle akin to a game of whack-a-mole.
Boom! Boom!
The Taurus Saint barely dodged, but the opponent was a monster reaching a staggering 170 meters.
Evading it was no easy feat.
It was only fortunate that the creature was lashing out blindly; otherwise, he would have been torn apart by those claws.
And it was at that moment.
Thud!
As if asking why it couldn’t catch him, the thick hand retreated into the hole.
Crash!
The starving Red Eyes shoved its face through the narrow gap.
[Kieeeek!]
A screech that felt like it could tear one’s heart out echoed through the sky. Simultaneously, the Red Eyes pulled its snout out of the gap.
And just as it was about to open its hideous mouth wide—
“Hey, you bastard, shut your mouth!”
Yi Geon kicked the Red Eyes squarely in the face.
“Your breath stinks, you damn snake!”
Crunch!
The kicked Red Eyes let out a wail.
And at the sight of the calamity that had threatened humanity whimpering like that, everyone was left utterly speechless.
At this point, it was almost hard to tell whether the Red Eyes or Yi Geon was the real catastrophe.
Of course, since it was a creature he had captured over and over again in the Demon Tower, it might have just looked like a cute puppy to Yi Geon.
“How did he manage to command that thing? There’s no way a monster would be loyal to a human.”
At Kevin’s flustered words, Hugo erupted in anger.
“Does that look like commanding to you?! He’s just beating it into submission with his fists!”
Whatever the case, it didn’t matter.
The point was that Yi Geon had dragged that monster here.
As expected.
The Taurus Saint, who had felt the fear of death moments before, glared at Yi Geon.
Yi Geon might say he’d use it as a watchdog, but there was no way he’d use such a monster for something as trivial as guarding a house.
“Are you planning to threaten us with that thing?”
“!”
Yi Geon and the two Saints looked at the Taurus Saint.
The trembling Taurus Saint ground his teeth. He seemed to have caught on to Yi Geon’s plan.
“You caught that thing to threaten us instead, didn’t you!”
“Threaten?”
“Yes! Why else would you subdue a Red Eye! You plan to use it to destroy cities if we don’t listen to you, don’t you!”
It was certain.
Just as they themselves had done to increase their holy cities and solidify the power of the Saints.
‘A Red Eye has that kind of power.’
Probably just seeing the Red Eyes would make everyone cower and pledge allegiance to Yi Geon.
After all, the power of the Red Eyes had been confirmed by all of humanity twenty years ago.
And while they themselves had no way to capture a Red Eye, Yi Geon, who had captured it, was different.
Yi Geon essentially held a massive nuclear weapon in his hands.
That’s why the Taurus Saint shuddered as if he understood everything.
“Right. You plan to use that to threaten citizens and other nations to grow your own faction!!”
But then.
“What’s this idiot going on about?”
A scornful laugh of sheer disbelief burst out.
When the bewildered Taurus Saint looked up, Yi Geon was glaring down with a menacing expression.
It was a gaze that didn’t see him as a person. A look as if he were staring at a bug.
As expected.
“Is that all you lot have in your heads?”
“!”
His sharp voice carried strong disgust.
“You haven’t changed one bit since the old days. All you can think about is trafficking in human lives. Bastards.”
“……!”
Yi Geon glared at the Twelve Saints as if he loathed them.
“Well, if it weren’t for you bastards, I probably wouldn’t have awakened either.”
At those words, the Taurus Saint and Kevin wore puzzled expressions.
Simultaneously, Kevin whispered to Hugo.
“What does he mean, he awakened because of them?”
But Hugo shook his head.
“I don’t know either.”
“What? You’ve known Yi Geon the longest.”
“I never met Geon before he awakened.”
He’d only met Yi Geon after his awakening. Meaning, after his face had already been ruined.
He was saved by Yi Geon when he was about to be captured by monsters and killed.
Because of that, Yi Geon’s awakening was shrouded in mystery.
Of course, the world always wondered why there were thirteen Apostles when there should only be twelve.
Now, it was a matter of intense curiosity, almost among the world’s top three mysteries.
Hugo was curious too, so he had asked which god had chosen him and how he awakened.
But Yi Geon never revealed it, seemingly not wanting to talk about it.
The only certain thing was that before they met, his friend seemed to have had a live-in partner.
‘From what I can see, he doesn’t seem to have been chosen by a god.’
All Saints had encountered gods and were chosen as contractors.
Though the circumstances and reasons differed for each.
Anyway, it didn’t matter.
The Taurus Saint seemed extremely flustered by Yi Geon’s words.
Not only because Yi Geon claimed to have awakened because of them.
‘He has no intention of using the Red Eye like that?’
As if confirming his thought, Yi Geon grinned menacingly.
“Why would I do something so complicated? There’s a much simpler and more certain method.”
“!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Yi Geon nodded.
“Hey, Snake Girl. Stick your head out.”
[!]
Then the Red Eye, which had been menacingly reaching out its hand, pulled it back in.
And stuck its face out slowly.
Then, in the moment everyone was panicking, wondering what he was about to do—
Snatch!
Yi Geon grabbed the Taurus Saint by the collar and threw him into the sky.
“?!”
Flung by Yi Geon, the Taurus Saint shot up into the sky in an instant.
And as if waiting, the Red Eye opened its mouth wide like a crocodile.
It looked exactly like a baby bird waiting for food.
100 meters. 50 meters. 10 meters.
Falling, the Taurus Saint screamed.
“Aaaagh!”
The Red Eye, with its mouth wide open, seemed quite delighted.
The Taurus Saint quickly activated his skill and swung his fist.
But to the Red Eye, the Taurus Saint’s attack seemed to be nothing more than a puff of air.
“Damn it!”
In the end, despite his desperate struggle, the Taurus Saint went straight into the mouth of the Red Eye.
And the mouth snapped shut instantly!
Crunch!
Everyone was aghast.
Of course, being a Saint, he didn’t die immediately.
“Ughhh!”
The tightly shut mouth of the Red Eye began to open slightly.
“!”
The Taurus Saint, now inside its mouth, was prying the jaws of the Red Eye apart.
Desperately pushing against the roof of the monster’s mouth to avoid being chewed, the Taurus Saint looked to be struggling heavily.
“Urrrggghhh!”
The Taurus Saint’s muscular arms trembled violently as grip strength and jaw strength clashed.
Unable to eat its prey, the Red Eye thrashed wildly.
[Kieeeek!!]
Eyes bulging and veins popping at the monstrous cry, the Taurus Saint glared furiously.
“You beast! Did you think...!!! I’d be eaten?!”
But at that moment.
“Oh, what’s he saying, just get eaten already.”
As soon as the words finished, the Red Eye’s mouth slammed shut with a bang.
Yi Geon had leapt up and stomped down on the Red Eye’s snout.
Crunch!
Simultaneously, a scream and the sound of teeth clashing rang out.
Crunch! Crunch!
“Aagh!”
The subordinate gods of the Taurus Sect who were watching were horrified at the sight.
[That heaven-cursed fiend!]
But whether they reacted or not, Yi Geon looked at those subordinate gods.
“My pet says she’s hungry. I think the more food, the better.”
[!]
His snake-like eyes gleamed.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the subordinate gods of Taurus screamed and scrambled backwards.
It was understandable, for the Red Eye was the leader that had once commanded an unknown civilization.
Was it not an opponent they would find daunting to face themselves?
[Inform our master!]
[That the calamity has finally arrived!]
In the end, as the subordinate gods of Taurus fled, Yi Geon clicked his tongue.
“What’s this? Why are they running away?”
Hugo was stupefied.
Is this bastard seriously asking because he doesn’t know?
Hugo clicked his tongue and looked around. Nearby were the subordinate gods of the Virgo Sect that Kevin had called earlier.
Unlike the burly subordinate gods of Taurus, they were full of elf-like goddesses.
And as hundreds of them couldn’t take their eyes off Yi Geon, Hugo chimed in.
“Look. Even these guys are dumbfounded....”
But it was at that moment.
They all dropped to one knee in unison.
“?!”
It was directed at none other than Yi Geon.
Seeing the scene, Hugo was taken aback.
The sight of beautiful subordinate gods offering their respects was certainly magnificent, but that wasn’t the important part.
‘Subordinate gods dropping to one knee?’
Of course, it didn’t necessarily signify loyalty. It was strictly a gesture of deference.
Finally unable to contain himself, Hugo looked at Kevin.
“What is this? Is even your god a fanboy of Yi Geon?”
Under that scrutinizing gaze, Kevin clicked his tongue as if asking to be left alone.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t know why his subordinate gods were bowing to Yi Geon.
Why?
‘Even with his semi-divine form, he couldn’t attack the Celestial Scales.’
And that was because Giselle was a god.
Human attacks couldn’t land on a god.
But Yi Geon’s attack did?
Then what did that signify?
Kevin swallowed hard as he watched the subordinate gods of Virgo bowing their heads to Yi Geon.
Indeed.
‘That is a show of respect directed at a god.’
Of course, whether it was directed at Yi Geon himself, or at a god that may be possessing Yi Geon, he didn’t know....
‘But perhaps....’
Kevin narrowed his brow as if realizing something.
It was then.
Yi Geon smiled as he looked at the shining horn he had obtained from the Taurus Saint.
The arm of the Leo Saint, seemingly retrieved from the Red Eye’s stomach, was a bonus.
“Good. I should be able to make at least two weapons with this.”
“What the. What’s that arm?”
“What do you mean? It’s a monster arm. I pulled it from the Red Eye’s stomach.”
Hugo was horrified at those words.
No, he knew from news articles that the Leo Saint was still alive.
And he also already knew from his son’s boastful texts that Yi Geon had pulled the Leo Saint’s arm from the belly of the Red Eye.
The head of Steven he saw was probably magic from the Pisces Sect, specialists in transformation magic. That god’s technique was no ordinary feat.
But.
“What! You pulled it out just to make a weapon?!”
“Why? What did you think I pulled it out for?”
“N-No. I thought you were going to reattach it to the Leo Saint with your regeneration abilities....”
Yi Geon’s face turned serious.
“Am I crazy? Why would I waste something so precious?”
Having obtained body parts from two combat-type Saints, Yi Geon grinned ominously.
As expected of those who received gods’ blessings, even the severed body parts hadn’t decayed and were perfectly intact.
Moreover, the bull’s horn was one from its semi-divine state, thus radiating god-tier power.
Anyway, he’d never made equipment from the physical bodies of Saints before.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what tier these will come out as.”
It was just when Hugo was looking disgusted.
“!”
Suddenly, Yi Geon clutched his stomach as if in pain.
[The power of the consumed portion of a god is being recreated]
(Continued in the next chapter)