Boom!
At Yi Geon’s signal, the Pisces Saint plummeted into the furnace.
Hugo let out a scream at the sight.
“Geon, you!!”
When his mouth gaped as if to ask what he was thinking, Yi Geon whispered.
“Don’t overreact. You won’t die from something like that. Ah, you’re already dead, anyway.”
“!”
Well, Liv wasn’t involved in his own death timing-wise, but still.
‘The Holy God knew who the real culprit was, after all.’
In the Holy God’s case, even knowing the culprit, he hid the truth from Kevin and shamelessly called him to ask him to protect their sanctuary.
Even if there were circumstances, it couldn’t be seen in a good light.
And since Liv was close to the Holy God, it was unlikely he didn’t know about that either.
‘Since it seems he could use magic even in spirit form, he could have at least passed it on to Taeksu.’
Well, it was obvious.
He was probably sleeping inside the Horn of Plenty because it was too much trouble.
As if that were actually the case(?), Liv fell into the furnace. And at that sight, the Pisces God was horrified and screamed.
[Kyaaak! My Saint!]
Splash!
A clear sound was heard.
The sound of Liv falling into the molten iron pooled inside the furnace!
At this, the flustered Pisces God unleashed power from his body.
Crunch!
At the same time, Hugo and Kevin flinched.
It was because an intense power that made even the gods tremble with fear erupted from the Pisces God.
[The Pisces God, the Master of Sea Beasts’ ability rises]
[The Master of Sea Beasts opens
With a flash of light in his eyes, a terrifying divine might exploded.
Then, the Holy God who had been caught in the skill broke free in an instant.
[Warning. The fish’s energy threatens the Serpent Lord’s sanctuary]
Boom!
At this, the flustered Kevin hastily grabbed his sword.
The Virgo subordinate gods, who had been secretly hiding in Kevin’s shadow to ogle Yi Geon, also gritted their teeth and leaped out.
[The Young Serpent-nim’s power is not yet complete!]
[How dare you, in the Young Serpent-nim’s domain!]
As expected of the War God Seat’s subordinate gods.
But Kevin seemed startled by the goddesses’ appearance.
“What, since when were these kids hiding… Ugh!”
In an instant, the five war goddesses who had sprung up brandished their swords.
[Kevin! What are you doing! Quickly activate the master’s Frost Winter!]
[Do you intend to let go of the precious Young Serpent-nim’s ingredients… no, the enemy!]
“No, I clearly told you not to follow… Agh!”
In a flash, a dizzying arrow of light grazed past Kevin’s face.
It was Hugo.
The sun arrow that stretched out like a laser aimed at the Pisces God heading for the furnace.
But the god’s eyes gleamed.
[Illusory Transformation (SSS)]
-Transforms all attacks.
The divine archer’s arrow turned into flower petals and scattered due to the god’s skill.
“……!”
[Saint!]
The god, who had disappeared among the petals, landed at the furnace.
Thud!
[Saint! Where are you!]
The god urgently searched for Liv, but Liv seemed to have already fallen into the furnace.
The proof was the back of Liv’s head floating in the molten iron.
Eventually, it was the moment the god saw that and fainted, screaming.
“What are you doing. You get in too, quickly.”
[Kyaaak?!]
As if he had been waiting for this, Yi Geon jumped and kicked the Pisces God.
Crack!
Finally, the kick that seemed faster than light struck the Pisces God’s back.
[Kyaaaak!]
The Pisces God followed Liv into the furnace.
Splash!
[
[Aagh, no… Kyaak!]
Even Kevin and the subordinate gods seemed to realize it only then.
That Yi Geon had deliberately let the Pisces God escape from the skill.
However, Hugo clutched the back of his neck.
Since human souls had little effect when thrown into the furnace, dropping Liv in was purely a lure to draw out the god.
But that made it worse.
“Damn, he’s not really going to use that bastard as material for my weapon, is he?”
On the other hand, the Virgo subordinate gods, as if understanding, tottered back into Kevin’s shadow.
[Then, Kevin. Help the Young Serpent-nim finish making his weapon.]
[Ah! And take a bath with the Young Serpent-nim!]
[Scrub each other’s backs, and build some camaraderie among men. Keuhum.]
These little…
Are they planning to hide in the shadow and spy on Yi Geon?
It was when Kevin’s eyes flashed at that inner thought.
[Puhak!]
The Pisces God who had been thrown into the furnace burst out.
“!!”
And everyone was shocked at the sight.
[He’s alive?!]
But Yi Geon smiled as if he had aimed for this.
“It would be troublesome if you died already, right?”
Indeed.
It was none other than Yi Geon who had pulled the god out of the furnace.
Of course, not just the god.
[Heo, heok! Saint!]
Tied to
But the way they were being hauled out was quite different from before.
The god’s divinity had been decomposed, leaving half his arm gone, and Liv’s hair was completely gone as well.
However, Liv seemed more frightened of something else than falling into the furnace.
[Wow, the furnace is full of fish like Yi Geon.]
[Saint! You mustn’t be afraid of that!]
Well, it was understandable.
The moment you entered the furnace, it was full of steel fish that let out eerie laughter, likely particles that melt down the materials.
They must be tools that rapidly break down incoming materials to melt them faster.
Still, the god seemed relieved when Yi Geon pulled him out.
Of course, Liv, being a mere spirit, felt no pain, and the mental shock was the issue, so there was no major hindrance.
Even the god had his own magic, so he was fine, but that furnace was really not it.
‘Even my divinity is being disintegrated…!’
Half his arm was gone, and mysterious sky-blue stones floated around him.
At the same moment, the god realized the meaning and was horrified.
‘Did my arm just turn into material?!’
At this rate, even he would really die!
That was when the god was terrified.
Flash!
Unexpectedly, Yi Geon regenerated the Pisces God’s and Liv’s bodies with
At the sight, the furnace erupted with dissatisfaction.
[
[
At that sight, the god, who realized something, was greatly delighted.
[Saint! Rejoice! It seems the Serpent Lord is willing to show magnanimity…!]
Indeed, the God Seat was the only Magic God Seat that could stop the god who ranked third on Yi Geon’s caution list.
‘If they clash directly, no god would remain unscathed before that magic god.’
The wise Yi Geon couldn’t possibly not know that.
‘That is, killing us would be more troublesome for him than anyone else.’
Thus, the Pisces God smiled and bowed his head.
[I will never forget this grace… Kyaaaak!!!]
The Pisces God plummeted back into the furnace.
Splash!
The flustered Pisces God floundered urgently and shouted to Yi Geon.
[Why are you doing this! After even healing us, why…!]
At those words, Yi Geon, standing above the furnace, laughed.
Why?
“If you only put them in and boil them once, it’s a loss, isn’t it?”
[?!!]
“The ingredients are good, so it’s better to steep them as much as possible.”
[Excuse me?!]
“Well, if ten come out instead of one, isn’t that nice? They’re gods, so they won’t keel over easily anyway.”
When you put a god in the furnace, random parts of the god’s body turned into material.
With a look that said how could he miss such an opportunity, the flustered god shouted.
[Then what about the Saint!]
“Well, I’ll take good care of your saint myself, so you can stop worrying.”
At those words, Liv, even more frightened, shouted.
[Just kill me by throwing me into the furnace!]
But Yi Geon’s eyes flashed as if to tell him to get lost.
“And you both knew, right? About the day I awakened.”
[!]
It was something the Pisces God on the other side had done, so there was no way these two didn’t know.
“At least you could have given me a heads-up when you met me back then.”
[!]
“So pick. Will you go in, or your saint?”
[!]
At those words, Liv, feeling both sorry and thinking it would be better to just rest in peace than get entangled with Yi Geon, quickly spoke.
[Then I’ll…]
At that sight, the horrified god wore a determined expression.
[Saint! No matter how troublesome life is, you mustn’t give up! I will go in!]
“Call.”
As soon as the words ended, both were submerged into the furnace again.
[Kyaak!]
[Kyaaaak! Serpent Lord-nim!! If this is how it’s going to be, just… Aghup!!]
Both partially submerged and lifted, regenerated, and it was a whole pandemonium.
Thanks to that, the furnace rejoiced that the spicy fish stew had become shabu-shabu.
[Obtained
[Obtained
[Death grows]
And at that sight, Hugo lamented.
‘Well, bear with it a bit. He’ll probably let them go once he fills up 100 pieces of equipment.’
Though in the end, all enemies would probably go in and out of that thing.
‘As for Liv, he’ll probably make him a body first and take him as Slave 2… no, a subordinate.’
And when Hugo couldn’t bear to watch any longer and approached, Yi Geon said proudly.
“Thank your hyung. It’s all material for your weapon. I’ll pour all the extract into yours.”
“…Like hell I’m grateful.”
“Why. You’re a fire attribute, so you’re total trash in underwater combat. I’m doing this to reinforce your weak point.”
And wasn’t there supposed to be a Deep-Sea Ruler among the monarchs Hailey had mentioned?
‘The sea area must be entirely that bastard’s domain.’
And leaving the saint and the god like this was to draw out the fish and another sister god’s side.
In the end, it was when Hugo was about to say something.
“Geon-ah?”
Something flew at Yi Geon.
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time.
The deep, deep sea.
That place was the deep sea of human territory. And within that dark abyss, someone’s eyes flashed.
[They say the Pisces God has fallen?]
[Yes, it seems he was done in by the human side.]
At his subordinate’s words, the other burst into laughter.
[That fool finally caused trouble, after all.]
Along with the laughter, the seabed trembled greatly.
At the same time, a vicious magical energy rose from the floor.
And schools of fish swimming by here and there were killed en masse by the magical energy.
But regardless, the pleasant laughter continued.
[I saw it coming from the moment he strutted around relying only on his own propagation power.]
The Deep-Sea Ruler did not mourn the death of a fellow monarch.
[Rather, it’s a nuisance. Without him, we can’t increase the numbers of our soldiers, can we?]
Well, they could increase them through normal methods, but it would take time.
[It was because of that
Faced with endlessly multiplying numbers no matter how many they killed, humanity had lost the will to fight.
[Yes, anyway, the humans are crawling out of the domes, saying they will reclaim the territory that the
The subordinate frowned, saying the provisions didn’t know their place.
Well, they weren’t ones to give away that empty land to mere provisions.
[The lord must be quite troubled…]
But the Deep-Sea Ruler laughed.
[Troubled? Did you just say troubled?]
[!]
The Deep-Sea Ruler burst into laughter.
At the same time, he fully revealed himself from the seabed.
It was a giant beast.
Ominous magical energy began to flow from the deep sea.
Simultaneously, the sea-monsters that caused the ocean to surge fled in terror at the magical energy.
And this guy was
Normally, he would circle the cosmic seas rather than human seas, devouring the gods of the divine realm, but well.
[If the humans willingly come out of the domes, that’s more welcome for us.]
[!]
He was someone who had been bored in the sea anyway because of the humans who had no intention of leaving the domes.
[This is good. I was getting sick of eating the gods of the Pantheon (萬神殿).]
The abyss’s eyes flashed.
[They say snake meat is popular lately. I should go look for it.]
This guy was the one that even
‘He’s someone who would never take a loss with his time.’
He would never move without considerable gain.
So while he had no interest in that sly bastard, the prey caught his interest.
And at that laughter, the subordinate bowed his head and smiled.
[We’ve already infiltrated.]
Into the floating city of humanity that fled to the sky in fear of the sea’s
To the Sky City where humanity gathers in one place.
[It seems humanity has gathered in one place over the Sky’s treasure. Moreover, the energy of the twelve Star Gods is accumulated in Drakma, so it will be of help to you, my lord.]
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time.
The Sky City of Drakma, Small Arena.
The empty arena was filled with the cheers of people.
The reason was simple.
“A Saint!”
“What the? Where’s Igeon? Why isn’t Igeon here?”
“Wow, Cheon Yuha and Kali are so pretty!”
“Please give me your autographs!!!”
“The Cheon siblings are so gorgeous!”
There, the Saints had gathered for Igeon.
For Ophiuchus, Leo, Aquarius, and Scorpio, the Saints themselves were present. For Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Virgo, the Ten Stars had come as the Saints’ representatives.
And the reason these unlikely individuals had gathered in one place was simple.
Though the preparations had already been discussed.
“That land is ours.”
Indeed.
After the land once ruled by Pungyo became empty, a great anomaly occurred in the sky.
[Nameless Land]
Could it be that Pungyo’s seal was undone with his death?
The hidden territory that Pungyo had possessed had appeared.
Its nature was unknown, but it was said to be a land flowing with tremendous life energy.
“The observatory says an incredible amount of energy is coming out of it.”
“If the nation uses it, it’s an inexhaustible energy source. If a Constellation uses it, it’s a power-up resource.”
That was the kind of land it was.
‘The Constellation that takes that land will instantly become the number one Constellation.’
Even the lowest-ranked Constellation would gain enough power to overwhelm the others.
And sure enough.
“Anyway, since we discovered it, we’ll be entering.”
“What do you mean? We were the ones who observed it! With that, we could even reclaim territory from unknown civilizations!”
At that, Cheon Seongjae slammed the table with a bang.
“What are you talking about? Since Igeon-nim eliminated Pungyo, that land naturally belongs to Ophiuchus!”
“Excuse me?”
It had been decided that Ophiuchus would take over the territory Pungyo had occupied, of course.
The problem was the legacy Pungyo left behind. That land had appeared right in the common area of the 12 Constellations.
It was land Igeon couldn’t claim ownership of.
But there was one reason Cheon Seongjae had his eye on it.
That land would benefit Igeon in many ways, not to mention boosting Uncle’s experience.
But more than anything.
[Egg of Ophiuchus’ Subordinate God (SSS)]
- A reward from Igeon’s trials of Power, Intelligence, and Fame.
‘With a land like that, I might be able to revive this egg.’
That was it.
The egg was a reward Igeon received when he went through his awakening trials.
And originally, it was something he entrusted to Iaso, the healing goddess he had turned into the Holy God (?) of Aquarius.
Since she was a physician-type god, he thought she could hatch it more safely than he could.
In fact, because it refused to hatch at all, hadn’t he given up and set his sights on Libra’s Subordinate God?
But then, unexpectedly, Iaso handed it to Cheon Seongjae and said:
[O Saint of the Serpent Bearer, my power is slightly lacking. It seems a stronger power—a Saint’s power—is needed to hatch it.]
That was why it was said Cheon Seongjae, who had awakened as the Saint of Ophiuchus this time, might be able to hatch it.
Well, that wasn’t wrong.
The egg was indeed wriggling.
[The egg is showing a reaction.]
[Caution: Stats may vary depending on prenatal care.]
And since prenatal care was important, they read Uncle’s heroic epic to it for eight hours a day, played Uncle’s hymns, and did all sorts of things.
But perhaps because Uncle’s level was low. Or was the power a bit lacking?
[Hatching Status: 23%]
It had gone up 20% compared to when Iaso had it, but still.
‘With that special land, I might be able to hatch it in no time.’
Even if not, it was certainly a place that would help Uncle.
That was why he had stepped forward with his elder sister instead of Uncle.
‘Anyway, if we can get it, that’s all that matters.’
But then—
“That land is ours.”
“!!”
At the voice of a third party who had appeared, eyeing the land, everyone erupted in commotion.
Even Cheon Seongjae, Kali, and Cheon Yuha were rarely surprised.
No, they couldn’t help but be surprised.
“It’s the Gemini Saint!”
“The Taurus Saint is here too!”
At the appearance of two Saints who had no reason to be here, Cheon Yuha glanced at her younger brother.
It was only natural—the Gemini Saint was little more than a figurine to Igeon, and the Taurus Saint chewed on top-grade cowhide gum like it was nothing.
But Cheon Seongjae, who was observing the two with his Eye of Appraisal, suddenly widened his eyes as if startled.
‘Holy God?’
(To be continued in the next episode.)