What?
For a moment, I doubted my own ears. At the same time, I couldn’t believe what that bastard was saying.
After all, I hadn’t misheard Kevin.
So I shot him a look of sheer disbelief.
“What did you just say? Whose daughter is Kalli?”
At that, Hugo, who was nearby, let out a scream.
His face looked as if someone had nudged a domino line he’d spent three days and nights meticulously setting up.
He looked ready to tear his hair out.
‘That useless piece of shit!’
After all the trouble he’d gone to in order to keep my ears covered!
Even on the way here he’d been careful.
Worried something might slip from the Scribe’s mouth, he’d deliberately avoided any topic about Kalli, desperately stuffing a lid on it.
But it wasn’t too late yet.
“Igeo...!”
“Did you just say Kalli is my daughter?”
Hugo froze at the sound of my voice.
The tone was no different from usual, but in that instant he felt it.
The calm before the storm.
For a moment, the power of the Calamity, which even his own Star God feared, seemed to stir.
Maybe that was why.
“What the hell does that mea...”
“Isn’t that guy completely insane?!”
“!”
When Hugo turned dead serious, I widened my eyes.
That’s how desperate Hugo was.
“Igeon! He’s just trying to get your attention because he wants to spar with you! Or maybe he got his head smacked around in Libra’s Sanctuary. Or he’s obsessed with some trashy drama!”
And at those words, Kevin looked utterly dumbfounded.
By now, even Kevin had caught on—that Hugo also knew about Kalli.
So now Kevin seemed angry.
“You know about i—mmph!”
“Igeon! Don’t listen! He’s just spouting nonsense to beat you in a sparring match!”
“Well, that’s true. He has never said anything sensible.”
Then Kevin looked sincerely wronged.
Amidst all that, his eyes said, ‘You’re going to believe only what the Sagittarius says?’
So the wronged Kevin tried to say something.
“Gah!”
But Hugo put him in a headlock and dragged him away. Then, watching me from a distance, he whispered quietly.
“Are you crazy?! What good does telling Igeon something like that do…!”
“Of course I have to! Otherwise, something that violates heaven’s morality might happen!”
Violates heaven’s morality?
What kind of nonsense is that.
But apparently there was a reason he brought up Kalli the moment he opened his eyes.
Kevin glared at Hugo with utter seriousness.
“Kalli said she wants to marry her dad.”
“……?!!”
Hugo froze. His expression screamed, What the hell is this nonsense?
Because even Hugo, who had built up immunity to most things thanks to me, had no defense against something like this.
So Hugo, who had been about to scold Kevin, asked in confusion.
“D-Don’t tell me Kalli said it herself?”
“No. She didn’t.”
“……???”
Hugo stared at him as if to say, What the hell, but Kevin was dead serious.
It must have been when they’d been camping in Libra’s Sanctuary and everyone was asleep.
He’d been watching the sleeping Kalli, curious if she truly resembled me.
“She mumbled in her sleep that she wants to marry her dad!!”
“That’s just sleep talking!! You idiot! And you frightened someone over that!”
“That’s not the point! What if I hadn’t said anything and Igeon ended up falling for that child?! So I have to speak up in advance and prevent a catastrophe!”
Kevin wore a serious expression, but Hugo could only clutch the back of his neck.
“You think Igeon would fall for some bratty little kid?!”
“It’s not impossible?”
“Hey!!”
“What! Honestly, Kalli is pretty! She’s as pretty as your daughter!”
“What are you talking about—my daughter is way prettier! How dare you compare her to someone else?”
Kevin didn’t even pretend to listen.
“Anyway, Igeon may not consider your daughter as a romantic interest because she’s a friend’s daughter, but Kalli isn’t! On top of that, Igeon has even rejuvenated! If he doesn’t know her identity…!”
“Argh! Igeon’s not like that! She’s not even his type to begin with!”
“Huh? Really? Then what is his type?”
“Why are you curious about that!”
“It’s not Scorpio, is it?”
“So what if it’s Hailey?!”
“Well, if Igeon likes her, I don’t intend to interfere, but I do resent her for throwing away the tonic I sent for Igeon! What!”
At that, Hugo grabbed the back of his neck.
Well, he understood. Kevin and Hailey had never gotten along.
They’d built up a history of perceiving each other as would-be assassins of Igeon.
Anyway, Hugo had no clue about Igeon’s ideal type either.
In the first place, he’d never even seen Igeon involved with a woman.
That was no wonder—it was the same with men, but even women all ran away the moment they saw Igeon’s face.
‘Well, there might have been someone he dated before he met me...’
But since he never talked about himself.
‘There are no past photos left, and I have no idea about his origins.’
Not even a common graduation photo.
Of course, after the attack of the unknown civilization, most public records were lost, so finding them wouldn’t be easy.
‘Then again, most adults are the type whose origins are unclear.’
There were those whose nationalities and even names were different from now; they’d all done mercenary work before settling in the current country.
But no matter how you looked at it, even people like that inevitably had some past information surface. Igeon, however, had absolutely nothing.
‘Is that even possible?’
In any case, the Igeon he knew didn’t show much interest in the opposite sex, so naturally there was no way to learn about his ideal type.
Still...
‘If there’s one thing I happened to hear, it was when we reunited after twenty years...’
It was back when Igeon didn’t yet know his daughter’s face.
‘The only thing was, he saw Yuha’s bromide in my room, said she was pretty, and showed some interest...’
But soon Hugo’s eyes grew bloodshot with emotion.
“Aaargh! No! Not Yuha!!”
“?????”
Kevin tilted his head at Hugo, who was going wild by himself, but soon spoke as if that wasn’t the point.
“Anyway, we have to tell Igeon the truth... kuh-huk!!”
Hugo hurriedly kicked Kevin.
“Wait! Our Star God told me to manage Igeon’s mental state well. She said the Calamity God’s power might run wild... So later... much later...”
But Kevin, catching Hugo’s expression as if he’d realized something, frowned.
“You have no intention of telling him, do you? Because it’ll be a hassle for you.”
“!”
“I figured as much.”
As Kevin tried to go to Igeon, Hugo’s face turned pale.
“Aack! I’ll let you spar with Igeon, so please just stay quiet...!”
But that was when.
“The one who needs to stay quiet is you, you bastard!!”
“Gah!!”
Hugo got hit by someone.
Behind him stood Igeon, face livid.
Because of that, Hugo felt a chill run down his spine.
“D-Did you hear?”
“When you scream at the top of your lungs like that, I can’t help but hear it all, even if I don’t want to.”
“……!?”
He hadn’t screamed even once, but Igeon’s hearing was incredibly sharp to begin with.
What’s more, this was inside Igeon’s own sanctuary.
There, his senses grew even keener.
Of course, they had discussed the Scribe and Kalli in front of Igeon before, but back then he must have blocked his ears for the sake of privacy.
Or maybe it was thanks to the Scribe’s skill.
Or perhaps he’d simply had no interest and not listened. But now was different.
As expected.
“So. Why is Kalli my daughter? She has both a dad and a mom.”
Hugo trembled under Igeon’s gaze.
Then the subordinate deities of Virgo, who had been listening, spoke up.
[Ah! If that’s the case, then perhaps the burning bond that the Little Serpent-nim has forgotten...]
At that, it seemed as if heaven and earth quaked.
[Kyaak!]
“I’ve never even used it. How is she my daughter?”
“Uh, uhh... that’s...”
Hugo saw it.
In Igeon’s eyes, the faces of countless people who were going to die.
And.
“Don’t tell me it’s that Holy Grail?”
“...No, that’s not— aaaargh!!”
The terrified Hugo could do nothing but scream.
Because black magic was suddenly surging up from Igeon’s body.
And that vortex shot high into the sky.
Because of that, even Virgo’s subordinate deities screamed, “Kyaak!”
That beautiful, warm life force they’d seen in the forge was nowhere to be found—only a violently churning black power!
[Conditions for the growth of the Calamity God have been met.]
[In reaction, the power of the Calamity God intensifies.]
[Divine status level of the Calamity God (Stage 1 ▶ Stage 2) rises.]
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time.
[Damn it...!]
Having escaped the Serpent Lord’s first trap, the General of Plenty was grinding his teeth.
And perhaps fitting for a general-class.
He’d managed to flee the first trap, but the damage was far from insignificant.
So while recovering his wounds, the general gnashed his teeth.
[Just what bastard designed this...!]
But that was when.
Inside the pitch-black trap. Along with a blue glow, a blue human figure appeared before the general.
[I thought it was strange you weren’t responding. So you were trapped in a place like this.]
[!]
The one who appeared was, unexpectedly, another general-class.
But they belonged to a completely different faction.
That was natural—the one trapped was on one side, but the blue figure that appeared before him was from the Time faction.
The fluid blue human figure looked around and spoke.
[It seems you’ve fallen into a rather troublesome place. Manifesting to this extent is all I can manage.]
Apparently, he had come to rescue a fellow general-class, but the General of Plenty found him anything but welcome.
It couldn’t be helped.
[What does the selfish Time faction, who think of nothing but themselves, want?]
At the sharp voice, the blue figure said:
[Your faction came requesting help. They asked us to find the missing general. And our Monarch also said: in these times, wouldn’t it be troublesome if one more of the 13 Knights vanished?]
At this, the General of Plenty gritted his teeth.
Just as a Star God had Saints, beneath the Monarchs were the general-class, the 13 Knights.
In short, you could see them as the envoys acting on behalf of the Monarchs targeting Earth this time.
Those who served as the hands and feet of the Monarchs, monitoring and controlling humanity regardless of faction.
And two of those 13 Knights had already vanished.
One of the two had been recently.
It was the one who, when the human territories were re-invaded and the penalty was lifted, was killed by Igeon and whose body was stolen by Yang Wei.
And the other had been long ago. Slain by Igeon in the Demon’s Tower.
Of course, the vacant seat among the 13 Knights had been filled long ago by the Time Monarch.
So, to be precise, there was now only one empty seat among the 13 Knights.
But.
[Didn’t your faction already lose its Left General? What was it—Cheonseongjae? Losing to a human brat like him—your Plenty faction’s level is something to behold. Though, falling into a trap is just as laughable.]
At the calm yet mocking voice, the General of Plenty ground his teeth with a screech.
[You bastard...!]
[Anyway, if even you, a 13 Knight and the Right General, end up being taken down, then the Monarch of Plenty will have lost all of his generals, won’t he?]
Unable to bear the mockery any longer, the General of Plenty exploded.
[Don’t spout nonsense! In the first place, wasn’t our general killed because of that damned tower of yours!]
The place where Plenty’s Left General had died was none other than the Time faction’s artifact.
And there was no way they hadn’t noticed the situation inside the tower, yet they had allowed Cheonseongjae to use the reset and humiliate their ally.
‘It’s definitely a ploy to crush our faction.’
That wasn’t all.
[In the first place, this trap! Time, haven’t you bastards sided with the Serpent Lord?!]
At the General of Plenty’s shout, the blue figure gave a hollow laugh.
[What nonsense. Why would we help someone like a Star God?]
[Don’t lie! Now that I’ve come this far, I’m certain. Even now, in this trap, I can feel the sorcery of the Crimson Monarch and the Time Monarch!]
At those words, the blue figure seemed to flinch for a moment.
There appeared to be something that gave him a hint.
[Ah. Could it be that Princess?]
[Hey!]
As if amused, the blue figure gave a sharp smile infused with killing intent.
[In any case, the disappearance of a 13 Knight would be troublesome for us as well. I’ll lend you a hand.]
But that was when.
The General of Plenty flinched.
‘Killing intent.’
And.
“What’s this? One more got added in?”
A bone-chilling killing intent spread throughout the trap.
(To be continued in the next chapter)