Around that time, the city's outskirts were in an uproar.
It was because of the lights shooting straight up into the heavens. They were utterly bizarre lights.
"What the hell, that black light!"
"Eeek! This time it's a green light!"
The place where those lights were bursting forth was none other than the Devil's Tower. It was a place few went to now except for the expedition teams.
But those lights were more than enough to seize the world's attention.
Whenever the black light surged upward as if to engulf the humans, the green light swallowed it down as if to say, "Where do you think you're pulling a clumsy trick?"
But the lights weren't the only thing worth marveling at.
"Hey, why are monsters heading towards the tower?"
Was the aftermath of the invasion still lingering? The monsters had once again tried to subtly assault the city.
So the holy disciples had hurriedly amassed, but what in the world—
"Why are they all heading toward the Devil's Tower?"
"And in such a rush at that..."
It was as if an unexpected emergency order had been given to them. On top of that, over half of them suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed.
Of course, thanks to that, the damage to the city seemed to have been prevented in advance...
"Why are they suddenly acting like that?"
"I'm not sure. Couldn't it be because of that light?"
"Light? That green color... isn't it related to Igeon?"
The holy disciples flinched at the name Igeon.
That was because, just a few hours ago, Stephen's confession of conscience had turned the world on its head.
Of course, opinions were divided.
Those who had to defend their positions claimed Stephen was coerced into saying that, and the other side—declaring that if Stephen's testimony was true, they couldn't remain in a Divine Seat of liars—rallied to support Igeon. It was utter chaos.
Literally a storm!
It was a cataclysm where the long-solidified ranks of the Divine Seats could shift in real time!
The one certain thing was that the number of holy disciples wanting to join Igeon's Divine Seat was growing exponentially.
After all, word was already spreading that Igeon had personally captured the red-eyed monsters that appeared during this invasion and had even taken down a general-class.
Because of that, the disciples couldn't help but swallow nervously.
"Um, Captain. At this rate, the Ophiuchus Seat might become the number one Divine Seat..."
"What? What kind of nonsense is that! The other Divine Seats have built up so much!"
"That's right. Don't you dare dismiss the Patron Gods! I mean, a Divine Seat that hasn't even gotten its framework established yet...!"
"Y-yeah! It all depends on who the Patron God is in the first place. We don't even know what kind of god the Patron God of the Ophiuchus Seat is...!"
"Ah, well... about that. According to the observation post, there's talk that Igeon might just be the Patron God..."
At someone's news, the disciples went into a panic.
"Are you kidding? Igeon is a Saint! It doesn't even make sense for a human to be a Patron God!"
"Uh... as expected, right? Come to think of it, if Igeon were the Patron God, there would be a separate Saint. Hahaha."
"Y-yes. Stop talking nonsense."
And it was around then.
In the basement of the Devil's Tower.
Igeon, who had been gleefully using the Monarch as a sandbag, swung the Sky's Judgment once more.
Bang!
[Experience points have increased dramatically]
[Level has risen]
Igeon raised the corners of his lips as he watched the corpse scattering into pieces beneath his feet.
'That makes ten times now, I suppose.'
At the same time, the tower, having registered the Monarch's death, spewed out light again.
Flash!
That light was none other than the light of reset!
[Warning. The Monarch of Spacetime has appeared]
The moment the creature appeared, Igeon joyfully raised the Sky's Judgment.
With this one bastard alone, he'd already leveled up five times. There was no way that wasn't a sweet deal.
Of course, compared to the actual main body of the Monarch, this thing was nothing more than a dead fish, but a Monarch was still a Monarch.
It could only be killed with a technique that required exerting 100% of his power.
And technically, since there was no Saint, it should have been difficult to use Divine God Descent.
[Disciple 1 is sending an immense amount of contribution]
[Divine Seat energy is fully charged]
[All energy can be consumed to use Divine God Descent once]
Thanks to Cheon Seongjae continuously sending contribution from the upper floor, Igeon was able to wield his power.
Though a little while ago, he had been rather startled because of that very Seongjae.
It must have been when he'd cut down the Monarch.
[Disciple 1's vitality has weakened]
[Armor skill is automatically activated]
A few minutes earlier. Igeon had detected danger to Cheon Seongjae.
Above all, the activation of the skill was proof.
That skill automatically summoned a split form of himself when a crisis Seongjae could not handle came upon him.
It was an application of skill data from the Cancer Seat.
Though his own power dropped sharply the more he split, he couldn't let his nephew and disciple die.
And his split form could use Super Regeneration, so even if Seongjae couldn't use a regeneration skill himself, it could hurriedly tie on a lifeline.
It was literally an emergency skill.
And sure enough. It seemed his split form had been about to use Super Regeneration, but what was this?
[Due to the influence of Reset, Disciple 1's body reverts to a few moments earlier]
Before Super Regeneration could even be used, Seongjae had recovered from the tower's influence.
Well, thanks to that, the Divine Seat's energy was preserved, but that didn't change the fact that it had been a dangerous situation.
Because of that, Igeon had been about to go to Seongjae at once.
But.
[Disciple 1 refuses]
[Says he cannot cause trouble for the Patron God]
[Says there is no need for the Patron God to step in for something of this degree.]
[Says he can manage this much himself. Says he will show the greatness of the Ophiuchus Seat as a disciple of the Ophiuchus Seat.]
This kid.
Igeon was dumbfounded, but soon a relieving notification came.
[Disciple 1 activates a trait and defeats the enemy]
[A portion of the experience has been returned to the Divine Seat]
[Divine Seat energy has been greatly accumulated]
[The skill has been deactivated]
[The split form has returned]
Thanks to that, Igeon was relieved.
If the skill had been deactivated, the danger to Seongjae was already resolved.
No, was it only that the danger had vanished?
[Disciple 1 has once again defeated the revived enemy]
[Disciple 1's contribution is coming in]
[Divine Seat energy is fully charged]
……
[Disciple 1 has once again defeated the revived enemy]
[Disciple 1's contribution is coming in]
[Divine Seat energy is fully charged]
Igeon killed the Monarch, and Cheon Seongjae killed the enemy revived by the reset's influence, filling the Divine Seat's energy.
With that power, Igeon killed the Monarch again.
Reset, reset, reset, reset again!
Thanks to that, both Igeon and Cheon Seongjae were in the middle of an explosive level-up.
And now—
Eventually, the Monarch of Spacetime, having turned into an experience sandbag, cried out in anger.
[Stop this! Are you not also injured!]
At those words, Igeon laughed.
Of course, those words were true.
Killing the bastard without a single wound was impossible. In reality, each time it revived, numerous places on its body got riddled with holes.
And while he was using Super Regeneration, that didn't mean he felt no pain.
Knowing that, the Monarch of Spacetime seemed flabbergasted.
[I am already a lump of meat that feels no pain. But you are different. Do you not even worry that your mind will go insane from the pain!]
At those words, Igeon smiled wryly.
"Because my mind isn't so feeble that it'd go insane from just this much pain."
[!]
Physical pain in the first place?
Such things had been a daily occurrence from the very moment he awakened.
So something like this was nothing at all.
'Right now, I just have to endure a few seconds and it's over.'
And at that expression, the Monarch seemed bewildered.
[Then do you intend to keep repeating this!]
"Yeah. I happen to like getting hit a bit more than others. So hand over the experience!"
Once again, the Sky's Judgment was swung.
[Currently, the personal trait is being exerted]
[Masochistic Trait (the more pain felt, the greater the increase in physical ability, vitality boost, awakening effect, heightened senses)]
[The Monarch has been dealt with]
[Level has risen]
[Level 20 has been reached]
[Disciple 1's stats skyrocket]
Watching the bastard turn into a lump of meat again, Igeon raised the corners of his lips.
'With this, I can waste this tower's owner's power too.'
The power of the Monarch using the reset likely wasn't infinite.
In the meantime, he would gain experience, and also weaken the power of the other Monarchs.
"Now, let's test how much we can drain you!"
It was when the flash of light burst upward once more.
How many times had he killed, and killed again, repeating it over and over?
"!"
Igeon, in the middle of killing the Monarch, flinched.
And no wonder—a light different from before had burst out.
'It's not the light of reset.'
Sure enough, that light was trying to drag the Monarch of Spacetime somewhere.
And Igeon, having caught the cause of that phenomenon, smiled.
'Well, I figured it was about to end soon, but.'
Without a doubt, it was the doing of the Time Monarch, who had been repeating the resets.
Sure enough.
[ is attempting to transport to another space]
Well, they weren't fools. They wouldn't just sit and watch this situation while their power was steadily leaking.
So it seemed they were trying to move this bastard elsewhere, but...
'I've been waiting.'
Igeon's eyes glinted.
At the same time, Igeon's skill activated.
It was a skill he had prepared from the very start to use the moment this moment came.
[Gluttony (SSS)]
If he couldn't make use of it anyway, he wouldn't be satisfied unless they couldn't either.
As if responding to that emotion, a powerful green light burst out.
And that green light drew a circular formation on the Devil's Tower and extended its power outward.
The moment the circular formation was fully drawn, a pillar of light like a gigantic lightning bolt crashing down from the sky!
Igeon vanished, and the light in the form of a serpent swallowed the Monarch of Spacetime.
[Swallowed using Gluttony]
[The Monarch of Spacetime resists, claiming he cannot become the power of a mere Patron God]
At that resistance, Igeon laughed.
Well, if it had been a complete Monarch, not even he could have gone this far.
And from the beginning, there was one thing he had realized from the bastards' conversation.
'This bastard is a Monarch who has been stripped of his qualifications.'
Didn't that skull bastard say just that to him? [This thing has had its qualifications revoked.]
That meant this corpse was not a current Monarch, but a former Monarch.
He didn't know through what event it had ended up like this, but surely it had grown terribly weak and had its qualifications stripped.
'If not that, then its power was stolen by the current Monarchs.'
But that, on the contrary, was an advantage for him now!
And perhaps feeling it was about to be swallowed by Igeon, the Monarch of Spacetime urgently called for help.
[ is attempting to draw upon the power of connected to it]
At this, Igeon furrowed his brow as if slightly troubled.
He couldn't help it.
'Handling two is a bit tough.'
Indeed, that prediction was right.
[Warning. The power of is too strong]
[The power of the Monarch protecting the Monarch of Spacetime is excessively powerful]
Igeon had thought of even swallowing the Time Monarch's power with the Gluttony skill, but the Time Monarch's power was stronger than expected.
Sure enough, the corpse Monarch laughed.
[Patron God, have you learned your place? I am protected by the Monarchs. So now, with this, you too shall meet your end...]
But that was the moment.
[The Time Monarch, displeased, cuts off the Monarch of Spacetime]
At this, Igeon smiled, and the corpse Monarch seemed flustered.
[You ungrateful bastards! After growing with my power all this time, you discard me the moment things get difficult!]
But making that cry meaningless, the power of the Time Monarch that had been protecting the corpse Monarch vanished.
In the end, the green light swallowed the Monarch of Spacetime.
[Deconstructing, recreating]
The immense green energy completely destroyed the physical body of the Monarch of Spacetime.
The corpse Monarch seemed resentful.
[Do you think I would be devoured by a fledgling Patron God like you! Do not underestimate this tower and me! Once I get out of here, you and those bastards all... ugh!]
Igeon, who was gulping down the Monarch, smiled.
"I'll take revenge in your stead, so just be devoured in peace. And I'll put this tower to good use."
The corpse Monarch ground his teeth.
[Fledgling, you too will be betrayed. Betrayed, and someday, just like me now...]
"Yeah. Already happened. Thanks to that, I awakened like this. Farewell."
[Keuheok...?!]
As Igeon's eyes flashed, the light in the form of a giant serpent stomped down on the Monarch.
Boom!
A tremendous flash burst out. Even the Monarch's scream gradually faded as if swallowed up by the light.
And.
[Recreated the power of the former Monarch of Spacetime]
[Acquired the power of ]
[ has evolved]
[The Ophiuchus Seat's ability, once limited to living things, now applies to space as well]
And at that moment. A huge light erupted from the Devil's Tower.
* * *
It was around that time.
"Seongjae!"
Hugo was pounding on the Devil's Tower.
Right after the family shield lifted. He had grabbed the teleporter by the collar and flown to Korea like a madman.
And he had rushed straight to the Devil's Tower, but he couldn't get inside.
Of course, it wasn't because of the monsters that had swarmed the tower. He'd dealt with all of them.
The problem was the tower itself, which had regenerated—likely due to the reset.
Normally, Igeon would have broken out, so there wouldn't have been any access issues, but now the entrance and any holes were all sealed.
In the end, Hugo, unable to get inside, kicked the entrance with a bang.
"Seongjae!"
Hugo grit his teeth.
Just before the summons had been released, he still couldn't forget the last face of his son.
Of course, as a disciple, his son was a warrior. It was a profession that always prepared for death.
Moreover, it was a rule not to interfere in the affairs of another Divine Seat's disciple. All decision-making authority lay with the Patron God and Saint of that Divine Seat.
And while he respected the thought of catching a monster alone—
'A general-class! Does he not know how weak he is?'
He trusted Igeon, but Seongjae was so weak he could die before Igeon's hand even reached him.
'If I'd known this, I would've become the Saint of the Ophiuchus Seat and pulled Seongjae into a desk job!'
In the end, growing increasingly anxious, he drew his bowstring.
"Seongjae, just hold on a little longer! Daddy's coming!"
He intended to smash the Devil's Tower.
Normally, it wouldn't be a tower that broke easily, but if he used his royal skill and even cut into his life force, he should at least be able to make an opening!
But that was the moment.
"Uh, uuh?"
With a flash bursting from within, the tower exploded.
Boom!!!
Just as Hugo fell with a scream, a familiar voice came from inside.
"What. What are you doing there?"
"!!"
At Igeon's voice, Hugo bristled.
"What do you mean 'what'! Seongjae is inside...!"
But that was the moment.
"What's up, Dad? What are you doing here?"
At that voice, Hugo nearly collapsed. At the same time, he bared his teeth and turned his head.
"What do you mean 'what', Cheon Seongjae! You, who are barely S-rank!"
But having turned his head, Hugo was shocked.
Because the appearance of Cheon Seongjae he saw was different from usual.
[It is the aura of a Saint-level]
[An SS-grade disciple has been born in the Ophiuchus Seat]
(To be continued in the next episode)