January 7, 2005.
The raid on the Demon Tower.
Igeon still vividly remembers that day.
It was the first step toward a centuries-long nightmare.
And...
'Thirteen people entered, but the tower's records detected only twelve.'
Igeon let out a contemptuous laugh.
Of course, two of those twelve weren't human.
'That damn Libra and Haily.'
Still, the reason those two were registered as human was probably one thing.
Giselle was inside a human body presumed to be her own Holy Body.
In Haily's case, she had thoroughly erased the other side's scent, as she thought of herself as human.
After all, Igeon only figured out their identities after awakening in this body himself.
'If they hadn't, they'd have been caught by the other Star Gods long ago.'
And the detection systems of an unknown civilization weren't likely to be superior to Skills.
Of course, since it was technology sensitive to humanity, it might have detected things Igeon himself missed.
[Aries Contractor: The most nutritious one. Plus 10 pieces of information.]
[Cancer Contractor: Plus 7 pieces of information.]
[Sagittarius Contractor: Plus 8 pieces of information.]
[Scorpio Contractor: Plus 2 pieces of information.]
...
[No Contractor: The ugliest one.]
Igeon felt a vein bulge at the information floating before his face.
Well, it was information nonetheless.
Moreover, even the identities of the Star Gods, which he had been unable to pin down until now, were faintly recorded.
'I suppose I'd better take it with me.'
Any words he didn't know, he could just ask Haily.
That wasn't all.
'If twelve entered and Virgo isn't among them, there's only one answer.'
One of the twelve had increased the headcount and acted as Virgo.
And among those capable of creating a fake were: the one who could make a water clone, the one who could make a doll doppelganger, and the one who could create an illusion.
But none of them were the culprit.
'The tower they entered is the Demon Tower, after all.'
In an ordinary battlefield, maybe, but in the Demon Tower, could a fake with specs inferior to the original survive up to the 90th floor?
And no matter how deadened his senses were at the time, there was no way he couldn't catch a single off movement from a doll.
So there was only one possibility.
'Division.'
Among illusions, the only technique where every split part was the real body was that.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
'The divided entity must have transformed.'
It transformed into Virgo.
And that transformation Skill, like Gemini's teleport or Pisces's unique racial Skill.
Moreover, if it was a transformation he himself couldn't notice, it was 100% the work of a Star God.
So it meant he now knew who the culprit was.
'Good.'
Fortunately, it didn't seem like he'd have to resurrect someone he'd killed or anything.
And as for that culprit, he wanted to make them suffer the same fate as himself. Could he use this Demon Tower for that?
'For that, I'll need to restore it up to the 100th floor.'
It would be nice if he could even revive its trap functions.
'Well, before that, I'll need to raise Seongjae to SS-class.'
Thinking so, Igeon looked at Cheon Seongjae, who was struggling inside the map display.
[Apostle 1 is dying, crying.]
[Apostle 1 has suffered a major leg injury.]
[Apostle 1 is surrounded by enemies.]
[Apostle 1 praises the Star God.]
[Super Regeneration effect begins on Apostle 1.]
[Apostle 1 uses a Skill.]
Along with the notifications, the clusters of red dots on the map suddenly vanished.
Seongjae must have taken down the monsters.
Igeon nodded at the sight.
"See, you can do it. That's our Seongjae. Lose your legs a few more times and you'll level up."
Of course, if Seongjae was seriously about to lose them, Igeon would step in. Still, seeing him put up a better fight than expected, Igeon felt relieved.
'I was wondering if I'd have to step in from the first floor.'
But then, that happened.
[It's an emergency! Allies are dying!]
"!"
The animal skull hanging on the wall began to speak.
As the tower regenerated, even the items in the Tower Manager's chamber had regenerated.
The cracked skull reattached with a grating sound, and bone fragments scattered on the floor came together.
Then the skull, as if it were a guide for the tower's situation, shouted urgently at Igeon.
[We are under massive attack on the 1st floor!]
[Allies are dying!]
[The lord's power is weakening!]
[The contribution points returning to the lord are decreasing!]
At the same time, a goat skull attached to the wall burst out of it.
Poking out as if it could no longer contain itself, it glared at Igeon and shouted angrily.
[General! Are you listening! Hurry and... argh!]
The goat skull that burst from the wall was struck by a crystal ball and sent flying.
Igeon, seemingly pissed, smashed the goat skull to pieces.
"General? Who the hell is a general? You wanna die?"
Under the gaze that screamed 'how dare you treat me like a monster', the goat skull was baffled.
[Not the general? B-but this presence...!]
Igeon then flung a pocket watch at the goat skull.
It must have mistaken him because of the pocket watch, presumably belonging to the general.
He then glared menacingly at the skull.
"Idiot, look properly. I am human..."
[Oh my god, great lord?!]
Crunch.
Igeon completely demolished the goat skull.
Crunch!
Igeon, who detested monsters, stomped on it repeatedly as if just hearing that disgusted him.
He seemed utterly furious.
How dared they treat him like the leader of those monster bastards.
But the piecemeal goat skull seemed wronged.
[Th-this noble aura, so utterly different from the cunning Star Gods! This magnificent power! It is undoubtedly that of our great lord... gasp, the lord has returned...]
That bastard again.
Igeon imbued magic into his raised foot.
But the skull was overjoyed.
[Thank goodness! In fact, I had an item to offer to the great lord...]
At those words, Igeon, who had been about to obliterate it without a trace, flinched.
Lowering his foot, he smiled.
"Right. I have returned. I am the lord."
[Great Lord!]
Well, he didn't know why it was mistaking him for the lord.
"Hand it over. The thing you were offering me."
As Igeon held out his hand, the goat skull sobbed as if deeply moved.
[Th-the noble lord extends his hand to this lowly sinner!]
"Hand it over now. Right now."
The deeply moved goat skull, crying, didn't know what to do.
[I wish to fetch it immediately, but my body is in this state...!]
At that, Igeon used his ability.
[Activates the power of Ophiuchus.]
[Activates Super Regeneration.]
As Igeon placed his hand on the goat skull, it began to regenerate.
Flesh and bone sprouted from the shattered goat skull, reforming into its skull shape.
The skull wept.
[Ooh, the great lord's magnificent power! I shall go at once!]
The skull bounded off somewhere, hopping along.
The sight of a flesh-covered skull hopping around was a bit horror-like, but whatever.
"Hey, you mentioned something about contribution points earlier?"
[Ah! Yes! If you kill the invading human wretches, energy will accumulate. Over there are our summoning devices, so...!]
"This?"
Igeon pressed a button on the wall.
Right then.
A sound echoed through the castle.
[Consumes accumulated contribution points and energy.]
[Deducted. Summoning soldiers.]
The moment those words fell, Cheon Seongjae's scream could almost be heard from the 1st floor.
But Igeon tilted his head quizzically.
"Nothing's showing up. Did I press it wrong?"
Igeon pressed another button.
And again, Cheon Seongjae's scream echoed.
Beep, beep, beep.
As he pressed several buttons, the skull freaked out.
[Wait a moment! If you use them so recklessly, the other lords' energy...!]
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
Simultaneously, Cheon Seongjae's cries rang out.
[Used the power of the lords.]
[The lords' power weakens slightly.]
[Apostle 1 is surrounded by 10,000 monsters.]
[Apostle 1 is about to die.]
Only then did Igeon look at the map with an "Ah."
Unbeknownst to him, the 1st floor where Cheon Seongjae was had become swarming with red dots.
"Oh. What, they all got summoned over there?"
Then it happened.
[Flustered Apostle 1 attempts to use the special privilege Skill
"Yeah, reject."
[
[Apostle 1 cries bitterly.]
But whether or not that happened, Igeon smiled.
Well, he'd thought 1,000 were too few, so this was perfect.
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Due to the monsters Igeon had called, Cheon Seongjae, suddenly surrounded by 10,000 of them, was sobbing from the ceiling.
Afraid he'd be eaten if he stayed on the floor, he was hanging from a pillar on the ceiling.
"Uwaaah, uncle, I'm sorry."
At the same time, Cheon Seongjae thought Igeon was incredible.
'No, how can those things be so damn strong?!'
Even the Red Zone-level threats he'd faced alongside Star Gods and corps commanders hadn't been this strong.
'No, they're stronger than the Black Zone!!'
Of course, fighting in a wide plain versus a narrow tower was worlds apart, so there would be differences in actual power.
Anyway, that was his point.
'Did uncle really take all of these out by himself?'
It wasn't just fear talking. Even as an S-class Apostle, he'd already tried all his attacks and killed dozens before saying that.
'As expected, he's in a different class...!'
And then it happened.
One of the monsters launched an attack at Cheon Seongjae, who clung to the ceiling like a cicada.
Instinctively, Cheon Seongjae tried to use an offensive Skill.
But without realizing it, he activated a different Skill.
"F-Family Shield!"
But then.
[The Skill has been halted.]
[The master of Ophiuchus frowns, telling him not to break his promise.]
[Saying that to become his Apostle, he must overcome such a crisis on his own.]
[As punishment, he will delete the photo he took of you on his phone.]
Scolded by his uncle, Cheon Seongjae wailed.
In the end, with tears in his eyes, Cheon Seongjae launched attacks at the 10,000 enemies.
[Experience increases.]
[Contribution points increase.]
[Energy accumulates in the Divine Throne Energy.]
[Apostle's experience increases dramatically.]
[Part of the Apostle's experience is returned to the master of Ophiuchus.]
And at this situation, Igeon must have been satisfied.
Beepbeepbeepbeep.
Igeon pressed buttons mercilessly, cackling.
"This has a lot of useful functions. So this is how the Tower Manager bastard tormented me, huh."
From location reset to traps, even monster cloning functions.
Well, it seemed that pressing buttons deducted energy from the lord's side.
[Contribution points deducted.]
[Summoning soldiers.]
That was why Igeon found it intriguing.
'This unknown civilization, it feels similar to the Star God system somehow.'
To draw a comparison, the generals were like Star Gods, and the lords were like evil gods similar to Star Gods.
'Though the feeling is completely different from Star Gods.'
Indeed, when he temporarily felt the lord's presence through the helmeted man, it was deeper and darker.
A being so vast and boundless its scale was unknowable.
And incredibly strong.
'Star Gods are strong too, but it's a different feeling.'
Well, whatever.
[Apostle 1's experience dramatically increases.]
[Level up! Apostle 1's physical abilities increase (Strength, Magic)]
...
[Apostle 1's Skill level increases.]
[Apostle 1's body level increases.]
[Apostle 1's detection level increases.]
[Apostle 1's level increases.]
Igeon was extremely pleased with his Apostle's explosive level-ups.
At this rate, within four days, SS-class would be no problem.
Of course, the skull watching this seemed troubled.
[Um, truly, any more than that is...]
But regardless, Igeon kept pressing buttons beepbeepbeepbeep.
"Good, let's keep going. The more Apostle candidates, the better."
But then it happened.
Beep.
The moment he pressed a certain button, the skull screamed.
[Aack! That one!]
"Ah."
An ominous feeling washed over him.
Sure enough, a hair-raising sound echoed through the tower.
"Kieeeeek!!!"
At the familiar roar, Igeon broke out in a cold sweat.
It seemed the button he had pressed last was a summoning for the Red-Eyed.
Of course, it wasn't the real Red-Eyed, but a replica.
[Apostle 1 attempts to faint.]
In the end, Igeon sweat nervously.
"Hmm, right. Permission to use Family Shield granted for that one."
But then.
Igeon, who was granting the Skill, widened his eyes.
[The lord of the underground has opened its eyes.]
[The lord of the underground takes an interest in you.]
* * *
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
"It's an emergency!"
Press conference venue in the United States.
Apostles rushed toward Steven and Hugo as they finished their declaration of war.
Their expressions were grave, and Steven furrowed his brow.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"They say the state of the Virgo sanctuary is abnormal."
"Virgo?"
Hugo also looked at them with concern.
For good reason—Kevin had broken away midway while heading to destroy the gate.
And while there had been no contact since, he was someone who rarely kept in touch, so they hadn't worried much.
But the Apostles' expressions were dire.
"They say Cancer's Apostles are swarming towards the Virgo sanctuary...!"
"What?!"
"It seems the Cancer Star God summoned them. But in any case, they say Cancer's Apostles are trying to seize the Virgo sanctuary..."
"!"
Both Steven and Hugo were shocked.
Unless something happened to the Star God, they would never openly try to seize a sanctuary.
Meaning.
'Something has happened to Kevin.'
And if Cancer moved into the northern hemisphere, things would become extremely troublesome.
Moreover, the Virgo sanctuary was very vast.
If those bastards swallowed it all...
'The Star God will grow so strong even Gun will have a hard time.'
As things were, Igeon needed to focus on finding Star Gods and growing his Divine Throne.
In the end, Hugo turned around urgently.
"I'm heading to the West immediately!"
"Pardon? But then it'll be all-out war!"
"It can't be helped! If we don't..."
But then it happened.
[Sagittarius's prophecy Skill activates.]
And at the sight unfolding before his eyes, Hugo's eyes went wide.
(Continued in the next episode)