Awakening (1)

[Awakens as a Saint of Ophiuchus]

A notification sound identical to Lee Geon's voice rang out.

And it was a voice that only the Saint of Ophiuchus could hear.

Normally, the subordinate gods assigned to manage the Sanctuary speak through the emblem, but with Ophiuchus, Lee Geon's voice is uniquely transmitted directly into the mind.

It was like a revelation.

And perhaps it was because of that voice. Kallie, who had been struggling to move from the shock of having her soul extracted, flinched.

Even Gott, of the Sagittarius Sanctuary, seemed to have heard it, as he looked around in surprise.

"What, Lee Geon-nim’s voice?"

But the tone was so kind and warm, unlike Lee Geon’s usual manner, that his bewilderment was brief.

Thud!

A dark, green-tinged black energy surged around Cheon Yuha's body.

A dark green wind, one that made it hard to breathe, swirled fiercely.

And at that familiar energy, both Kallie and Gott were startled.

'That is...!'

That was undoubtedly the power of .

It had to be the power of that calamity god the other deities so feared.

And Lee Geon’s power was manifesting through Cheon Yuha's body.

For the physical forms of Saints were beings that made such a thing possible.

That was why Gott couldn't keep his mouth shut.

To be honest, he hadn't said it aloud until now, but frankly, the Saints of Ophiuchus had felt little different from themselves, who were SS-rank.

Of course, their bodies felt fundamentally and tremendously reinforced, but still.

'I didn't feel the sense of a Saint.'

That was why other Saints, and even other mid-level Awakened, had habitually treated them like fledglings.

Well, Seongjae's easily underestimated appearance had played a solid part in that too.

But that wasn't the case.

[Reveals this reaction]

The reason they had all felt the pair to be colorless was simply because they hadn't awakened yet!

Bang!

In the end, as the black energy surged, both Gott and Kallie almost screamed involuntarily.

It felt as if, precisely for this moment, each of their bodies had been individually strengthened.

[Became a vessel upholding the great Serpent Lord's ]

[Awakens receiving the power of the Serpent Lord's ]

[Magical power and skills are converted to the color of ]

[Skills matching the divine attribute are generated]

[Traits are generated]

[ is overjoyed, saying a Saint on this side has finally awakened]

[ states that such a thing can never satisfy the Serpent Lord. It says only it can satisfy the Serpent Lord]

The Serpent Lord, unlike other deities, was a god possessing two divine authorities: and .

Different from other deities whose Saints take on a color as soon as they become Saints.

And as a path was chosen, Cheon Yuha's appearance distinctly changed.

Just as Lee Geon's eyes glowed red whenever he used his power, Cheon Yuha's eye color also changed.

And finally, when Cheon Yuha, her black hair scattering, glared at the Monarch like a red-eyed reaper,

the Monarch was extremely amused.

[That's quite a useful power there.]

Abundance curled the corner of its lips upward.

In truth, the Serpent Lord was a deity that had been obsessed with.

But by its own standards, it was nothing more than a newly hatched baby snake.

That was why the Monarch hadn't expected a Saint of the Serpent Lord to be at this level.

Perhaps because of that.

[I intended to hand this brat's body over to my subordinates as reward meat, but I've changed my mind.]

Abundance seized the neck of the soulless Cheon Seongjae.

Crack!

"Seongjae!"

The sound of a neck bone snapping could be heard.

Startled by this, Gott tried to at least retrieve Cheon Seongjae's body, but the Monarch was not easy to deal with.

Thud!

"Aargh!!"

A threatening force pressed down.

It felt as if his internal organs were being crushed, from the crown of his head down to his toes, like dying under a press.

And that was not a skill, but pure, overwhelming intimidation!

But something even more horrifying was the sensation touching the skin.

Coldness.

That was fear.

A sensation like the frozen hand of a corpse caressing their bodies.

In the end, under that power which seemed to be wringing their throats, Gott, Kallie, and Cheon Yuha all found their bodies frozen, unable to move an inch.

And finally, the Monarch's face, which had seemed almost convivial, changed.

Crunch!

Cheon Ji-woo's eyes, which had seemed benign, transformed into those of a monster, and soon Cheon Ji-woo's form changed into Cheon Seongjae's appearance.

Perhaps it could change its appearance to match the faces of the souls it had devoured.

And then.

[If you are death, that must mean this brat is life?]

opened its vile mouth.

In truth, had no interest in the power of from Cheon Yuha.

And how could it? The Monarch was a ruler who oversaw the birth of monsters, multiplying their numbers and enhancing their abilities.

In many senses, it was a Monarch that promoted abundance.

There was no way it could view , an attribute perfectly opposite to nurturing, with kind eyes.

If anything drew its interest, it would be !

Sure enough.

[If it's the body of a Saint imbued with the power of life, my own power will become stronger.]

Abundance had lost all its generals.

That was why it had intended to throw them the Saints’ bodies to create new generals.

Because even if low-grade, a Sanctuary was steeped in a deity’s power throughout its physical form.

Meat from a Saint, the highest grade, would be more than enough to create general-level beings.

And it was when the Monarch, seeming ready to eat, grabbed Cheon Seongjae’s body to tear it apart like meat.

Slash!

A black flash erupted.

Flash!

At this, the Monarch took Cheon Seongjae and soared onto a four-story building, as if dismissing the interruption, and Cheon Yuha, her eyes flashing, jumped.

Crash!

Seeing that spectacle, Kallie and Gott thought, 'Oh no.'

'She can't do it alone.'

The opponent was what it was.

Unlike earlier, the enemy that had begun unleashing its power was on a completely different level.

'A deity-level!'

It was clear just from sensing the difference in power.

Probably, newly awakened Saint-level power would not even be able to land an attack.

But the flash of light instantly drove down in front of the Monarch.

Bang!

And just as if she would kill it if it so much as laid a finger on her brother, the red-eyed reaper appearing before the Monarch swung her spear.

Flash!

A terrifying speed truly worthy of the name flash!

That wasn't all.

Perhaps sensing its master's rage, the that Lee Geon had created roared ferociously.

[The Red Judgment of the Earth changes form according to the divine authority of ]

[The Red Judgment of the Earth evolves to stage 2]

The spear blade wreathed in black light bent in direction, lengthened, and finally transformed into a scythe.

Like a heavenly condemnation, it was something Lee Geon had prepared in advance, imbuing it with the conversion attribute.

[The Red Judgment of the Earth takes on the of the Serpent Lord]

And the transformed Judgment of the Earth was swung at the Monarch.

Slash!

A black semicircle blasted out murderous intent.

Speed, destructive power, positioning!

Everything was perfect.

Ultimately, the black flash exploded against the Monarch's body.

Boom!

Finally, the Monarch in Cheon Seongjae's form was enveloped in black light, and Cheon Seongjae, released by the Monarch, was thrown into the sky.

And given the height, his body would not remain intact if it fell as is.

Perhaps because of that. Gott, who had been unable to use his body, quickly whistled.

Whistle!

Then, right beside him, a blaze erupted like an explosion.

Poof!

From within the bursting flames, a black object shot out.

Screech!

It was a crow.

The giant crow of Sagittarius, having soared into the sky, snatched the falling Cheon Seongjae.

The Monarch emitted black energy, unwilling to lose the Saint's body, but it was of no use.

Bang!

Kallie had shot out her own ability to cancel the black energy.

The Golden Rule, a manifestation of power that could return the same technique in equal measure to what was received.

Of course, the stronger the opponent, the less it was an ability that could be used freely without a price.

'Ack.'

Kallie pressed down on her own shoulder.

But even that was sufficient.

Having thus evaded the Monarch's attack, the crow dropped Cheon Seongjae to Gott.

Thud!

"Seongjae!"

Gott, swiftly catching Cheon Seongjae, flinched with a shudder.

Because Cheon Seongjae, limp like a doll, truly had no heartbeat.

However, his neck bone, which had appeared broken, was perfectly healed by super regeneration.

All that was lacking was his soul.

'If it's Lee Geon-nim, he will manage somehow.'

He wasn't the sort of person to leave his own Saint to die like this.

But to achieve that.

[I'm quite surprised. You're decent.]

"!"

Gott trembled at the sight of the Monarch approaching them.

"Aaargh…!"

Cheon Yuha was caught in the Monarch's hand.

[, which Abundance nurtures]

Before Abundance, which freely wielded even debuff skills, a frontal assault wouldn't work.

But Cheon Yuha, seized by the throat, gritted her teeth and exuded the power of death.

Rumble!

At this, the Monarch frowned and threw Cheon Yuha away.

Crash!!

"Yuha-yang!"

And then, as if they were quite bothersome, the Monarch flung Cheon Yuha and Kallie into its own subspace.

Crunch!

In the end, only Gott remained.

Having met the monster's eyes, Gott trembled.

Of course, there was the precedent with Cheon Ji-woo. And if they could just retrieve the soul back out, Lee Geon would certainly be able to resolve things somehow.

And like last time, when Lee Geon had sliced open the toad's belly to extract the soul, perhaps a similar method might work, but...

'Damn it, how do I tear that thing open?'

On the contrary, the Monarch that had been stabbed by the scythe was exuding an even more ferocious aura than before.

In fact, its body, which had been cut by death, had already returned to its original state.

Of course, that wasn't regeneration.

[ reproduces its body again]

Abundance was fundamentally a force of production.

It could endlessly proliferate its own body.

If a part disappeared, it just needed to expand another part to fill it.

If a heart vanished, it could attach and connect another heart; if a leg vanished, it could just proliferate another leg and attach it.

Of course, its outward appearance was transforming into that of a monster accordingly.

Anyway, that wasn't the important part.

'The problem starts with even attempting to flee.'

As long as that thing was targeting the Saint's body, even if they wanted to escape, it would surely keep chasing them.

So Gott had a headache.

Even if he tried to find another method, that damned barrier was the problem.

'Damn it. As long as that barrier isn't broken, not even the deities will be able to enter.'

Indeed, not only the Saints, but the deities themselves could not approach beyond a certain area.

It wasn't at the level of Lee Geon's detection ability, but there was a reason he was an SS-rank of Sagittarius.

He could quickly sense who was nearby.

'Though I cannot feel Lee Geon-nim's energy among them...'

Of course, he was not someone who could fail to sense a monster invasion of this scale, nor was he the type to stand by and do nothing.

The fact that his energy wasn't felt likely meant he was actively concealing his power.

But despite that, the fact he hadn't appeared before them...

'Could it be he can't enter because of the barrier?'

So help could never be expected.

And that bastard would target Seongjae's body, and then target them, chasing them down.

The barrier was likely to ensure that.

Truly, a barrier no one could leave or enter.

'I'm going to die here today.'

If he'd known this would happen, he should have confessed at least.

Just as Gott's hand was shaking but gripping tightly to not let go of Seongjae.

[Fine. I will hand that over. And spare you as well.]

"......?!"

A startled Gott looked at the Monarch.

However.

[I'll give you the head. In return, hand over the rest. Though the head is the tastiest part, I'll specially let you hold a funeral.]

"......!"

At Gott's expression, the Monarch's eyes curved as if amused.

[Why? Isn't this an incredibly unconventional offer? Saying I'll spare your life if you just hand over the body of a mere corpse? Try crawling like the coward you are.]

Blood shot into Gott's boiling eyes.

"You son of a bitch, how dare you!"

Just as he was about to surge with the magical power of Leo and lunge at it.

Rumble!

"!"

As if telling him to shut up, Cheon Yuha appeared with her scythe, cutting through space.

The Monarch seemed taken aback.

It wondered how she had broken out of its subspace.

'But this feeling...!'

Though clearly veiled by death, it smelled of the Monarch of Time and Space.

In fact, that guess was correct.

[The that swallowed space does not discriminate by location]

[ is equal to all that exist]

[ can dominate and pass through anything recognized as space]

[The Saint of can pass through any location, regardless of space]

In short, it meant that with the power of the belonging to , one could pass through space, and even physical bodies, like a death god.

But the Monarch smiled as if it found this detestable.

[Should I tear your legs off to stop you from hopping around like a flea?]

It was just as the Monarch was about to split the oncoming Cheon Yuha in two!

Flash!

Suddenly, light burst from the Monarch's body.

[......!!]

And that was none other than the power of life!

[ boils up]

The light boiling up from the Monarch's maw was a warm green mixed with gold!

The Monarch was agonized by that light erupting from within its own body.

It was as if that light was tormenting the Monarch.

Simultaneously, Cheon Yuha, who had been radiating murderous intent, flinched at the sight of that light.

She couldn't help it.

'Uncle?'

There was no mistake.

She could feel her uncle from that power.

And it was then.

Finally, that surging light tore the Monarch's body apart.

And someone who had ripped that body apart burst out of the Monarch.

At that familiar sight, Cheon Yuha was startled.

"Uncle?"

Crackle!

Simultaneously, an astonishing event occurred.

[Awakens as a Saint of ]

(To be continued in the next episode)