It was an astonishing transformation.
[Bestowing the power of the Ophiuchus master.]
[The sacred relic transforms to match the master’s power.]
First, the color of the ordinary iron carving knife turned black.
[The master’s traits are being bestowed.]
[Ophiuchus trait]
[Ophiuchus trait]
[Ophiuchus trait]
At the same time, the size of the toy-like carving knife changed as well.
Its size and length became tremendously long, easily on the level of a greatsword.
Clearly, it was growing in response to the master’s magical power.
Of course, the excited slime tried to recklessly enlarge further and got smacked by Igeon.
And the shape of a snake engraved itself onto the blade.
[It has been bestowed.]
[Through the Ophiuchus trait and the Snake Catcher trait, any object is granted a critical strike property.]
[Any object is granted a sharp property.]
[Any object becomes a weapon.]
[Any object is granted a hunting property.]
[Base damage increases.]
These must be referring to the unique individualities that only each constellation possesses.
And it seemed that with the constellation trait bestowed, even the slime, which had been a crafting tool, gained offensive power.
That was not all.
[The Thirteenth Sense (F) activates.]
[The path of death begins to reveal itself.]
As he held the enlarged carving knife, something astonishing appeared in Igeon’s field of vision.
‘……!’
A black shining area appeared on Pishu’s body. It wasn’t a vital spot. But he grew curious about what that spot might be.
‘Shall I test it out?’
At the same moment, as Igeon stepped forward, Hyugo was startled.
“Geon-a!”
He suddenly grew urgent.
Igeon was certainly strong, but that was only when there were no risks involved.
In truth, Igeon’s prime was just one and a half years after the thirteenth superhuman appeared.
Practically all the legendary raid videos, like the Russian subjugation, are from that period.
And above all, Hyugo had first met him at his absolute peak.
Thus, he keenly felt the changes since that prime.
While the twelve grew ever stronger under the grace of the gods, Igeon’s body only steadily deteriorated from there.
Of course, he covered even that with experience and his genius sense, but his reaction speed, stamina, eyesight, hearing, senses—everything declined.
And what had nearly made Hyugo’s heart drop the most was twenty years ago, just before the Red Eyes subjugation of the Demon Tower was decided.
Back then, Igeon had nearly been hit by a car at a crosswalk without even noticing it.
The so-called strongest of humanity.
His every sensory organ was so ruined that he couldn’t even perceive an ordinary car approaching, horn blaring.
That was why he had so desperately tried to stop him from going to the Demon Tower.
‘He just went and snatched chicken legs and wings.’
Anyway, even if he somehow returned alive from there, and even if he looked fine on the surface,
‘With that body condition, it’s impossible.’
What’s more, the opponent wasn’t even an ordinary monster.
‘A divine vassal.’
Of course, Pishu was a divine vassal of Aries, not of [ ]. (TL note: The original text leaves a blank, so I leave it as is.)
Thus, although its combat ability might be lacking and its rank not so high, the creature was undeniably god-tier.
It was far more troublesome than most high-grade monsters.
In fact, it would likely be impossible to even kill it.
So inwardly tense, Hyugo summoned his auxiliary bow.
Then a bow seemingly made of light appeared.
‘Can we escape this sanctuary?’
But in that moment.
“!”
Igeon stepped in.
And with no time to stop him, Pishu lunged at Igeon.
Pishu, also called Bihyu, at first glance looked like a fat tiger, but it was unmistakably a dragon god. Its ferocious dragon head bared its teeth.
[Grrrr!]
Thud!
A plump front paw with red skin aimed at Igeon.
Whish!
Finally, a front paw larger than a house mercilessly smashed down on Igeon.
Bang!
“Geon-a!!”
The startled Hyugo ran over. He hurriedly took out a healing relic ampoule he had rented before.
“So with that body, where do you think…!”
But it was then.
“What about my body?”
“……!”
Hyugo nearly screamed.
Igeon was blocking Pishu’s massive paw—trying to crush him—with his arm.
Igeon glared at Pishu as if it were somewhat heavy.
“You shitty pig. Charging in without even trimming your claws.”
Blood was dripping from Igeon’s face. It must have been from Pishu’s claws.
The wound looked quite deep, but Hyugo doubted his own eyes.
‘……!’
Smoke was rising from the wound area, and new flesh was sprouting. Because of that, Hyugo could not help but be aghast.
‘That’s a holy god’s power!’
Moreover, that ability was clearly recovery-type.
It was unmistakably the recovery ability of Aquarius, who among the twelve holy ones commands the most followers in the world and is worshipped accordingly.
So Hyugo was bewildered.
‘When on earth did he borrow a skill from Aquarius?’
Even the wound’s regeneration speed was terrifying.
So it was strange. He was absolutely certain Aquarius had not been capable of that kind of regeneration.
But his astonishment was brief.
“You brat, I said trim your claws!”
Pishu’s scream rang out. The furious Igeon had swung his sword.
But far from just cutting its claws, Pishu, its entire front paw severed, thrashed its body as if wailing.
And at that sight, Hyugo could only doubt his eyes.
‘Those movements…’
There was no doubt.
Igeon’s senses. Those razor-sharp movements, as if a piece of paper dropped on his sword would be instantly cut.
‘It’s Geon from his prime.’
Hyugo’s body trembled inside.
It was exactly the appearance that had overwhelmed him when he first met him.
Of course, it had been so long that he almost wondered if he was seeing an illusion.
“The brat, annoying people.”
Igeon shook the blood off his blade and kicked off the ground, soaring upward.
‘!’
And in an instant, Igeon, having shot upward, spun and charged at Pishu.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
He severed the beast’s joints.
Then, with a fountain of blood, Pishu’s leg was cut off, and its massive body collapsed to the floor.
Thud!
Hyugo could only stare blankly.
‘Unbelievable.’
To think he would see those movements again with his own eyes.
And not against an ordinary monster, but a divine vassal!
‘To sever one of its legs…’
Even if it’s a pig, it’s still one of the divine vassals.
Yet Igeon, who had just cut off Pishu’s leg, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
‘Tch, I only cut off one.’
Just as they said, his physical abilities had dulled due to penalties.
Soon, Igeon, having landed, was about to leap again.
But it was then.
“Geon, you’re really too much.”
“?”
Hyugo, approaching him, looked to be in a terribly bad mood.
For some reason, his grumbling seemed oddly disappointed.
When he wondered why, Hyugo said something absurd.
“How could you think of going to Aquarius before me?”
“What?”
“You rented a high-grade healing skill from Aquarius, didn’t you? Well, I don’t know if Aquarius had that much ability, but I guess the holy god leveled up over twenty years. Since they have the most followers among the twelve constellations. Anyway, I was wondering how your body recovered…”
He looked so genuinely hurt that Igeon was dumbfounded.
“Are you crazy? Why would I borrow a skill from that woman?”
Then Hyugo’s expression was a sight to see.
“Then whose power is this?”
“My own power.”
Huh?
Hyugo looked at Igeon as if he were absurd.
“What did you just say?”
“I said it’s my own power, moron.”
“?!”
No sooner did he get smacked than Pishu, its leg severed, let out a growl and unleashed its power.
[Warning. Pishu uses its ability.]
[It steals treasures.]
‘!’
As Pishu’s body turned red, it stole the bow Hyugo was holding, even the Aries sacred relic Igeon had stolen.
No sooner did the items vanish than Pishu summoned them before itself and devoured them all.
And when even the long carving knife Igeon was holding disappeared, Igeon clicked his tongue.
“If you’d stayed quiet, you could have kept your life.”
Soon Hyugo was about to unleash flames, but Igeon was faster.
In an instant, he vanished and appeared in front of Pishu, snatching his knife.
‘!’
Igeon actually thought it was a good thing.
Pishu is a divine beast that devours gold, silver, and treasures, but cannot excrete them.
Which meant…
‘So it’s a piggy bank?’
Igeon smiled brightly and climbed onto bewildered Pishu’s face.
And as he raised his carving knife, a strange sight appeared.
The black blood vessel he had seen before became visible. He wasn’t sure, but a black crevice was also visible near the belly.
At the same time, Hyugo, watching Igeon, felt a bizarre power.
‘What is that magical power?’
It was an aura he had never felt before.
But one thing was certain.
‘It’s the power of a holy god.’
However, the moment he realized that, Hyugo could only be confused in a different way.
‘What? I can’t even sense a holy god.’
Of course, he couldn’t sense the presence of a distant holy god the way Igeon could.
But no matter what, he could sense the presence of a holy god within the same range.
Especially at such a close distance.
What’s more, if he was openly using a holy god’s power like that, there was no way he wouldn’t feel the aura of the twelve holy gods who use him as a follower.
Since all holy beings receive magical power and skills from the holy gods.
But how was he using a constellation skill without any holy god being felt?
‘How on earth?’
But soon Hyugo corrected himself.
‘He was never someone who borrowed a holy god’s power to begin with.’
Unlike other holy beings, Igeon generated his own magical power.
His stupidly massive food intake came from that.
In other words, what he ate became energy, and his energy became magical power.
But in that moment, Pishu’s cry rang out.
“!”
Because Igeon, who had leaped down, stabbed Pishu’s belly with the carving knife.
“My energy is running low, so shall we start breaking the piggy bank?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Igeon split open Pishu’s belly.
Shrrrk!
Simultaneously, countless sacred relics poured out.
At that sight, Hyugo’s eyes went round.
Igeon grumbled that they were useless one-time junk items, but from high-grade healing potions to barrier items—
To Hyugo, many of them looked quite good.
[You have captured a divine vassal.]
[The power of the Aries sanctuary weakens slightly.]
[Constellation experience increases.]
And Pishu, its belly split, lost consciousness. Thinking itself a god-tier divine beast, it wouldn’t die so easily like a monster.
But it was then.
An unexpected message rang out.
[Will you make the beast of treasures, Pishu, your vassal?]
“!”
Igeon’s eyes went round in an instant.
‘Vassal?’
Come to think of it, wherever there were twelve holy gods, there were always divine vassals.
It had nothing to do with him, so he hadn’t been interested, but he knew that divine vassals were slaves commanded by the twelve holy gods.
At the same time, he also knew that to humans, they were absolutely loyal servants who strutted about like the slaves of a noble’s house.
‘But can you command vassals separately?’
So he asked Hyugo.
“Taek-su. Can you command divine vassals?”
Hyugo looked at him in disbelief.
Divine vassals are gods commanded by the twelve holy gods located on the ecliptic dividing the sky into twelve, referring to the millions of gods in the eighty-eight positions of each constellation.
“I can’t command them. I’ve moved alongside them, but why…?”
“Hey, if I make it my vassal, wouldn’t it become a decent piggy bank?”
Huh…?
Hyugo was floored.
Well, of course, Pishu is a beast closer to a divine beast than a divine vassal, so maybe you could manage to tame it.
“Normally, what holy beings call vassals refers to followers from SS-grade to D-grade. Anyway, don’t think about sneaking it, I’m taking mine.”
It was the moment Hyugo tried to pick up his auxiliary bow from Pishu’s belly.
Flash!
“!?”
As Igeon stroked Pishu, an astonishing thing happened.
The aura of Aries that had filled Pishu’s body vanished in an instant.
Instead, it changed into the aura he had sensed from Igeon.
And then.
[Pishu (Low-grade) has become a vassal of Ophiuchus.]
[Number of vassals: 1]
[You may grant a vassal name.]
[Through the influence of Ophiuchus’s power, Super Regeneration ability (Low-grade) is bestowed.]
[The split belly wound regenerates at an extremely slow rate.]
“The name ‘Piggy Bank’ will do.”
[Pishu (Low-grade) has been granted the name Piggy Bank (Low-grade).]
Soon Pishu disappeared. Hyugo’s sacred relic disappeared with it.
Hyugo was simply dumbfounded.
‘What the. What just happened?’
But there was no time to be surprised.
“The sanctuary’s power has weakened!”
“Capture the intruder!”
As the followers of Aries swarmed in, Hyugo urgently shouted.
“Geon-a, first those followers…!”
“Yeah. Take care of them and come back.”
“Hey! You! No, my bow!”
Then Igeon smiled infuriatingly.
“I still have something to do, you see?”
(To be continued in the next episode)