The floating castle in the sky, Dragma.
Dragma came into existence 20 years ago.
It was born when humanity gave up on reclaiming their territory and chose to imprison themselves.
[“Land routes completely blocked”]
[“Waterways even more hopeless”]
[The only thing left is the sky]
The land had been blocked off, occupied by an unknown civilization. And the sea was so teeming with monsters that even launching a ship was unimaginable.
Safety was guaranteed within the Domes, but still, humanity yearned to venture outside.
Thus, they chose the sky.
The sky, too, was roamed by monsters, but perhaps due to the Star Gods,
the monsters rarely ascended to the lower stratosphere, which was used as flight paths.
So humanity built a new landmass there.
That is the floating castle in the sky, Dragma.
A colossal castle that traverses the troposphere and stratosphere along its course.
It was humanity’s neutral zone, a place where they unfolded a grand stage of harmony.
And this castle, created and kept afloat by the powers of the 12 Star Gods, has never once fallen in its 20-year history.
But now, at this very moment.
BOOM!!!
The ship of the sky, never once shaken, tilted violently.
At the same time, screams erupted.
“Aaaah!”
The moment the castle tilted to a 40-degree angle, those who lost their center were all swept to one side.
Crash! Crash!
“Save me!”
Half the people slammed into the wall, the other half tumbled from their seats and slid.
People clutched railings and seats in a frenzy to avoid falling the other way.
“What on earth is happening?!”
“Could something have happened to the Star Gods?”
“No, this castle isn’t structured that way!”
“The stored energy should be more than enough!”
“Right, it should last 30 years without a problem…”
And then, it happened.
Creak!
As the castle tilted, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling swung violently!
“Aaaah! Get away!”
“It’s falling!”
“Too late!”
And then, at that instant.
[Bite]
[Snake Grab]
Golden chains and green chains seized the chandelier.
BOOM!
It was Leo Steven and Cheon Yuha.
The caught chandelier was then erased by Heilli using her Steal skill.
[Shadow Steal]
Thanks to them, those on the verge of death breathed in relief.
“We’re alive…”
But it was then.
BOOM!!
“Aaaah!”
The castle tilted even more sharply, and chandeliers, statues, and electronic boards crashed down all at once.
“Aaaah!!”
“No! We can’t catch all that!”
The Ten Stars urgently searched for Taurus.
“Hurry, a defensive barrier!”
But Taurus was nowhere to be seen.
“Damn it!”
Those clinging to the pillars squeezed their eyes shut.
They were going to die.
A massive tragedy was about to unfold.
But at that very moment.
KABOOM!!
A flashing sword-green beam streaked out before their eyes.
The falling objects were consumed by Ego in an instant, reduced to ash.
[Decomposition experience gained]
[Whines not to waste itself on such trivial matters]
People cheered.
“That’s Igeon’s!”
And at the sight of the objects turning to ash in the blink of an eye, both the saints and the Ten Stars had their eyes wide with astonishment.
“Uncle!”
“As expected of Igeon…!”
But Igeon himself urgently shouted.
“Left side!”
“!!!”
No sooner had he spoken than octopus tentacles burst up through the floor everywhere.
“Monsters!!”
The tentacles attacked people in a flash.
And they were not just one or two.
There were dozens of them.
Igeon’s eyes flashed as he raised the Sky’s Judgment high.
And then.
“Everyone, get down!”
“!!!”
The saints, startled by that roar, quickly ducked their heads.
The followers of the castle also ducked.
Somehow, it felt like they had to.
At that instant, the Sky’s Judgment drew an arc.
Whoosh!!
Instantly, a green semicircle swept over their heads.
At the same time, the ducking followers’ ears were met with horrifying screams.
“Kyeeeek!”
“Kieeek!”
“Kyeeeeeeek!!”
And when those screams vanished and they lifted their heads, the followers’ jaws dropped.
The tentacles that had been bursting through everywhere were all instantly sliced into pieces and disposed of.
Seeing this, Cheon Seongjae sobbed, while Cheon Yuha and Karly’s eyes sparkled brightly.
Of course, Steven was bulging with veins in his neck.
“Igeon! What the hell! You didn’t have an area-of-effect skill!”
“Oh. I don’t. That was pure magic power.”
“Magic power?!”
It had been impossible in the past, but now, with his level increased,
he simply threw out a sword aura as vast as a sports field.
At those words, Steven glared at Igeon.
“P-pure magic power… t-to think you’d generate such force with that…”
The followers cheered.
“Insane!”
“Igeon!”
But Igeon paid no mind, quickly slipping out through the breached wall.
What mattered now was not inside, but outside.
And sure enough.
Those looking out the windows erupted into great commotion.
“We’re falling!”
“What?!”
They were still managing to hold on with the power of levitation, but the castle was unmistakably descending little by little.
And the direction of the fall was also a problem.
“The sea! We’re falling into the sea!”
“What?! The sea?!”
People were struck with terror.
While land was bad, falling into the sea was more frightening in a different way.
‘That place is a field of monsters.’
Humanity’s shipping lanes hadn’t been cut off for nothing.
Wasn’t it telling that even children around the age of the Cheon siblings had never set foot in the sea?
The moment one entered the water, they’d be torn apart and devoured by monsters.
All because of the Lord who ruled the sea.
Thus, the interior turned into a pandemonium.
“There are octopus tentacles clinging to the castle!”
“They’re dragging Dragma down from the sea!”
People screamed.
“Quick, deal with the monsters attached to the castle first! Before it crashes!”
But amid the panicking crowd, Igeon alone was laughing.
He couldn’t help it.
‘I feel a Lord-class power outside.’
There was no doubt.
And if they could just defend the castle, a way to capture the Taurus Star God would present itself.
Perhaps that was why.
‘First, hold the castle, then use the Lord to eliminate Taurus.’
Igeon’s eyes flashed.
And.
‘I’m also curious about the secret that the 12 Star Gods are hiding.’
Hadn’t Aquarius and Pisces spoken of it before?
That the reason they tried to kill him was entangled with a truth that the 12 Star Gods would rather die than reveal.
‘I tried to force them to tell me what it was, but a Silence Contract bound them.’
And wasn’t it said that the contract which could undo that binding existed in Taurus’s holy domain?
‘Since I couldn’t pierce Taurus’s defensive wall, they chose quite a good hiding spot.’
But well.
‘Shields exist to be pierced.’
And sure enough.
“Il-nam.”
[Yes, you called?]
“Locate the missing Taurus.”
[Will do as ordered.]
And the moment a massive octopus tentacle lunged in through the broken window!
CRUNCH!!
Igeon, holding his axe, spun his body like a whirlwind.
Simultaneously, the giant octopus’s tentacle was severed and sliced by the Judgment.
“M-Mr. Igeon!”
Using another tentacle as a foothold, Igeon rushed toward the octopus’s head in a flash and pulled out a slime.
And what Igeon held in his hand was none other than a pair of scissors!
Upon seeing that familiar scissor shape, Gote’s face, even from afar, turned deathly pale.
And as expected!
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
The scissors’ windmill attack instantly minced the octopus into a paste, scattering it throughout Dragma.
And at the sight of its innards splattering everywhere, people clamped their mouths shut and retched.
“Urgh, urgh!”
But the effect was undeniable.
“The castle’s fall has stopped!”
Thanks to that, even Steven and Gote, who had hurriedly followed Igeon, managed to get a word out while holding their mouths.
“Hey, you still haven’t fixed that gruesome hunting habit of yours?!”
“I never thought I’d see it again, but as expected, Mr. Igeon, you’re incredible. Urp.”
Gote said that to Igeon, but perhaps realizing his mistake, he quickly resumed his brainwashing, saying their Lord was even greater.
“Anyway, Mr. Igeon. So we won’t be crashing after all, right? That’s a relief…”
“No. Doesn’t look that way.”
“What?!”
Sure enough, the castle began to fall even faster toward the sea.
People wondered what was happening, but soon learned the reason.
“Lord! It’s terrible! The castle’s levitation device is completely wrecked!”
“What?!”
“What about teleportation!”
“It’s no use! The central device is destroyed, and the teleportation area is completely shut down! We can’t escape!”
“What?!”
At Steven’s shock, Igeon clicked his tongue.
“Tch, looks like we’ll all be going skydiving. Ah, this would be your second time? How is it, manageable?”
Thanks to Igeon, Steven, who had once fallen from Dragma before, bulged with veins.
“Are you joking at a time like this?! Damn it, who destroyed the central device!!”
But Igeon could immediately guess the answer.
[The Abyss is greatly delighted]
[The Abyss’s forces are beginning to swarm toward Dragma’s crash point]
“Ah, it’s a Lord. The Lord of the Sea.”
“What?!”
“What?! A Lord?!”
“Yeah. Just thought about it, and that bastard really showed up. Still, aren’t you happy to see it?”
Happy, my ass!
Gote, who had already been thrashed by a Lord before, turned white as a sheet.
Hadn’t the defensive equipment Igeon had made for him during the Abundance incident already been riddled with holes?
Because of that, Igeon had said, ‘Hey. I’ll upgrade it once I get Taurus’s authority. So until then, don’t go out into the field.’
But how long had it been since he said that, and now suddenly another Lord!
“Ack! Moreover, if it’s the Lord of the Sea, this time there’s no way to exterminate it! During the Abundance incident, we at least had that guidebook with its weakness written, so it was easier…!”
“It wasn’t exactly easier even with that.”
“What?!”
“I’m suppressing my power, but unlike the Abundance one, it hasn’t entered a human body.”
“Then you mean it’s the main body?!”
“Yeah.”
And indeed, a cunning voice resounded.
[I only planned to devour the castle’s followers, but it seems there are two extra high-grade prey here.]
That high-grade prey surely meant himself and the Taurus Star God.
And sure enough.
Boom!
“Mr. Igeon!!”
A scream came from not too far away.
Il-nam, whom he had sent, must have found Taurus and lured him toward Igeon.
And then, at that moment.
[First, I’ll eat you two, then offer the humans as nourishment for my minions!]
“!”
Octopus tentacles rose up again.
He didn’t know why, but the Lords coveted the Star Gods intensely.
‘They did say that the bodies of Star Gods become nourishment for those things.’
Indeed, the Taurus Star God seemed to be trying to dismantle his Star God manifestation, as if it were troublesome, but well.
[Did you think I’d let you flee!]
This place was, of all things, above the sea.
Perhaps because it was a space where the power of the Sea Lord, the Abyss, extended.
[You are above the domain of the sea. Without the Abyss’s permission, none can ever escape.]
“Miserable bastard.”
Even the Taurus Star God, unable to cancel his manifestation, could not flee to the divine realm.
Truly, teleportation was blocked, levitation skills were dead, and even return skills were useless.
It was a good opportunity for Igeon, but at the same time, it was the worst situation.
‘We’ll all become fish food before I can use the Lord to catch Taurus.’
And perhaps because the Abyss had been swimming in the deep sea of another dimension, it hadn’t known of Igeon’s existence until now.
Especially after catching Igeon’s scent, the Abyss went mad with frenzy.
[This is a scent incomparably finer than the other Star Gods. I’ll bring it crashing down and devour it right away.]
No sooner had those words fallen than screams erupted from all over the castle.
“Aaaaah!!!”
“Ack!”
Had the monsters sent spies into Dragma?
Monsters burst out from everywhere inside the castle. And they were all monsters that the castle’s followers had captured for the Star Gods.
[The monsters in the aquarium return to their true forms.]
[The captured monsters reveal their true appearances.]
At last, the interior became pandemonium.
The hidden monsters instantly attacked the tens of thousands of followers inside the castle.
“Aaaah!”
“Save me!”
“Holy Maiden! Please save us!”
Because so many people had gathered in Dragma, the damage was catastrophic.
And Steven, sensing the helplessly rising number of victims, ground his teeth.
“Damn it…! Even the Healing God Seat can’t handle this many!”
To make things worse, the castle was plummeting hopelessly toward the sea.
[The floating castle in the sky is falling.]
[The floating castle in the sky is falling.]
Everyone would be helplessly turned into food for the fish—no, the monsters.
Of course, with Pisces’ skill, one could walk on the sea and fight, but now was different.
Far from fighting, the number of victims was rising helplessly.
‘It’s hard enough to fight in the sea as it is.’
The Abyss knew that too, and so it laughed.
[Now, fall quickly!]
Tens of thousands of prey would be created at once.
It was only natural for the sea monsters to go wild with joy.
People fell into panic.
“Damn it, it’s all over…!”
But just then.
Igeon murmured something, and a light burst forth.
Flash!
[Sanctuary Designation]
-Permanently designates this as Ophiuchus’s official domain (Sanctuary).
-Unlike temporary sanctuaries, it requires magic maintenance and management.
-The higher the Star God’s level, the wider the range.
-Current level: Lv.29 / Possible range: 1km²
And the moment Steven grasped the nature of that skill, he foamed at the mouth.
“Hey! Are you insane?! Dragma is the common territory of the 12 Star Gods! Why are you using the Domain Designation skill!”
“Then you save them.”
“?!”
Igeon smiled.
Well, originally, at his current level, he could only designate a sanctuary of 1km², just as the skill description said.
[Ophiuchus’s authority is being applied in conjunction with the authority of the Space-Time Lord.]
[The target area ‘Dragma’ is recognized as a single space. The entirety can be designated as a Sanctuary.]
Thanks to the Space-Time Lord, the authority he had gained from the Abyss seemed usable even in sanctuary designation.
And finally, from the 12 Star Gods’ neutral zone, the light of the Serpent Bearer spread out.
And that light enveloped the entirety of Dragma.
[Recognition of Dragma (Area: 3km², Height: 50m) as a space complete.]
[Dragma has been designated as the Serpent Bearer’s Sanctuary.]
[Sanctuary basic trait activated.]
[Super Regeneration (S) level increased.]
[Super Regeneration (SS) activated.]
A tremendous radiance enveloped the castle in the sky.
At the same time, a miraculous event began to unfold.
(To be continued in the next episode)