A brilliant light burst out from within the sea.
That light was no ordinary light.
Nor was it magic.
It was the light of the sun, incomparable to any pathetic illumination or spell.
A brightness so intense that it was as if the ocean depths had turned to day.
Because of this, those standing on the ice could not help but be astonished.
"The sea...!!"
"What is that light!"
But what was even more startling was not the existence of that light.
Bubble!
A sound as vivid as that of boiling soup or stew could be heard.
Precisely the sound water makes when it just passes the boiling point and starts bubbling furiously!
Thus, they could not help but doubt their own eyes.
Even if they tried to deny it, it was unmistakable.
"It's boiling!"
"What?"
"The sea is boiling!!!"
"What?! Are you insane?"
The people on the ice stirred, but the seawater, once it started boiling, began to bubble even more fiercely.
At the same time, scorching heat was felt everywhere!
"Aaagh! The ice! It's melting! Melting!"
"Hurry, return to the citadel!"
Those who had been holding swords on the frozen ground quickly moved toward Drakma.
And just as the monsters, flustered by this situation, were about to hastily move.
"As if the likes of you can escape from the sun."
The captured Igeon grinned.
And along with that grin, an intense light erupted from beneath Igeon's feet.
[The great sun descends upon the vast ocean]
Kugugung!!
Finally, the sun's light, having risen to the surface, covered the wide Atlantic.
"Aaagh!"
The monsters, sensing the danger and desperately trying to flee, screamed.
[Kieeek!]
[Kiek!]
In the seawater that had suddenly risen in temperature to a raging boil, the monsters vomited blood.
[The monsters are being cooked by the sun's heat]
[They are greatly pleased by the monsters' agony]
[They say it would be fine to cook them even more slowly]
[They are horrified]
The scales that had withstood the freezing subzero water turned to tatters in an instant.
The muscles inside the thick shells hardened stiffly from the intense heat, and the blood coagulated, unable to reach the heart, solidifying.
[7,894 ingredients have been very well cooked]
[Experience gained]
[Experience gained]
[The monsters cannot possibly endure the boiling broth]
[They grieve]
[They say boiled is not their taste]
[They say they prefer fried]
The monsters, turned crimson red, floated up to the sea's surface.
The Atlantic was covered with monsters to the point of forming a landmass. It was a mass death.
And that was the moment.
Had the black tentacled creature holding Igeon also been damaged?
['s scripture is suffering]
[It writhes in agony]
Igeon grinned.
The one holding him was roughly a high-grade monster sent by the monarch.
Surely it would be of Black Zone grade.
And though it was that strong, it hadn't anticipated a situation like this.
'After all, whose power is this that is recognized.'
Soon, with Igeon's grin, rough waves surged.
A scream accompanied it.
[Kieeeek!!]
Splash!
The stalk holding Igeon lost its strength.
Simultaneously, Igeon fell toward the sea.
"Uncle!"
But Igeon quickly twisted his body and set his stance.
Thud!
The floating monster corpses served as fine footholds.
Igeon called back the Sky Judgment that had fallen into the sea, his eyes flashing.
"There must be ones not yet cooked."
Igeon's gaze was directed below the sea.
In the end, it was useless for the remaining ones to hurriedly try to return to the cold deep sea.
[A futile effort.]
"!!"
People were startled by the voice that resounded from the sky.
What appeared above the sea was a figure of light.
"Th-that, no way!"
"The Sun God!"
The Lord of Blazing Heat sent Igeon a look that seemed to ask if this wasn't well done.
Meanwhile, people stirred at the appearance of a great god.
It was far away and the light made the face hard to see, but it was unmistakable.
"That attire! It's the Constellation God of Sagittarius!"
"Really? Where! Let me see too! They say the Sagittarius god is a handsome man!"
"What? Really?"
The descent of a Constellation God was a fine opportunity to raise faith.
But Gote, faced with his appearance, could only tremble.
He had no choice.
'The hair!'
He'd definitely heard that his hair was falling out because of Igeon.
And if it were just falling out, that'd be one thing, but the god did something strange...!
'No! If they see that sight, faith will drop instead!'
He had to send him back quickly.
But it was then.
"Hey."
"!"
Igeon, of all people, called out to the Constellation God with a bright smile.
"You, come here for a moment."
The Lord of Blazing Heat immediately consented.
[If the Serpent Bearer calls, I must go]
And perhaps he thought it was just as well.
He seemed to have the idea of showing the god's dragon face and increasing the initiates of Sagittarius.
A gathering of so many people was a good opportunity for propagation.
But as the god actually drew near, Gote moved urgently.
"Aaagh! No!"
He was already pitiful enough; he couldn't give up the god's dignity too.
But the people were quicker to notice the god.
"Huh? That..."
"Huh? The hair..."
At that sight, it was a moment of despair for Gote, as if he had been wrong.
[Forced summoning of the Constellation God!]
"!!"
The radiant figure floating in the sky vanished in an instant.
"Huh? Wha? What was that just now?"
"The Constellation God has disappeared!"
And the one who had hurriedly possessed the god into his own body was fuming.
"That damned Igeon! We almost advertised it as a bald Constellation God!"
It was Hugo.
He was perhaps a few hundred meters away from Igeon.
He was crouching on the sea surface.
With a translucent blue bow slung on his back.
[Crafted from Fish (EX-grade)] Water Attribute
(Precise Hope Deep Sea Water Hunter)]
-The water bow made by melting down the Pisces Constellation God
-Basic skills: Ocean Breathing, Ocean Walking, Torpedo and 5 others
- 3 Special skills (SS, EX)
Perhaps he had wanted the first EX-grade weapon made for someone else to be given to Hugo.
Despite having refused, Hugo, who ended up receiving the weapon made by grinding down a Constellation God, had come all the way here at Igeon's words.
It wasn't for any other reason.
The fall of Drakma.
And it was around the time he realized it was a slime dancing the idol dance.
Right after he noticed Igeon had disappeared.
Suddenly, Igeon's voice had come to him.
[Hey. Track my location, quickly.]
'!'
Perhaps because he was a saint of the mountain, he could hear the Constellation God's voice.
Up until now, he'd only heard a clear woman's voice, so hearing Igeon's voice suddenly was strangely annoying, but no matter.
[No time to explain, so get ready to boil some spicy fish stew.]
'Spicy fish stew??'
At first he wondered what nonsense this bastard was talking about, but after tracking Igeon's location, Hugo realized.
'On the sea?'
When the scribe had appeared and said Drakma's condition was strange, that it kept falling and stopping, he'd thought it was suspicious then.
'Whose doing is it, but Drakma is falling into the sea.'
And he couldn't not know what that meant.
'The sea is a domain ruled by Black Zone monsters.'
Didn't falling right into the middle of it literally mean becoming monster food?
For that reason, Hugo, immediately catching the meaning of spicy fish stew, had bolted from his spot.
The scribe who saw his location tried to stop him, saying it was dangerous, but he didn't care.
There, his one and only idol and his children were.
[Teleport has been rented]
[Warning. Teleporting to a hazardous area (quasi-Black Zone). Are you sure you wish to use it?]
Well, it was an already dangerous area. And the middle of a sea with no land, but it didn't matter.
[Ocean Walking is auto-activated]
Though not yet a finished product, with the bow made from melting the Pisces Constellation God, the sea surface was no issue.
And the moment he arrived, Hugo saw.
[Warning. The leader, the Serpent Bearer's Constellation God, is losing power.]
"!"
300 meters ahead.
Drakma had fallen into the sea, and Igeon was caught in a monster's tentacle.
Seeing that, Hugo immediately carried out the operation.
[Using all of 's constellation energy]
[Activating Bible Skill]
[Summon Sun (SSS)]
It was, in a sense, a skill that summons the Constellation God itself.
Unlike God's Descent, which summons the god's soul, this materializes and summons the god.
And the sun summoned beneath Igeon's feet boiled the sea in an instant.
Well, raising the ocean's temperature might cause an aftermath, but it was better than Igeon dying.
'Well, Igeon probably half let himself get caught.'
Because while boiling water, it'd be troublesome if the prey ran away.
Besides, Igeon is a Constellation God.
Even staying still, the strongest of them would try to capture Igeon.
It was a good bait strategy, keeping the strong ones from being distracted elsewhere while pinpointing their location.
'Still, it's incredible.'
Originally, it was something he had only imagined due to lack of power, unable to even attempt.
But after becoming the Serpent Bearer's subordinate, the ways he could act increased.
Of course, he regulated the power.
Lest he accidentally leave no broth, that'd be troublesome... no, no, it would be troublesome if the people in Drakma got hurt.
'But that bastard Igeon.'
After he'd done just as ordered and handled it so well, he was thinking of showing his god to the people?
But the summoned Lord of Blazing Heat seemed very dissatisfied.
[He grumbles about why you thwarted his chance to show his magnificent appearance and proselytize to many followers]
[He angrily asks if you have any intention of reviving the constellation]
Hugo felt his anger rise.
Who was the one who nearly lowered faith on purpose!
"You, of all people, are asking if I intend to revive the constellation! I did it because I didn't know what kind of article would pop up if you went out looking like that!"
[He swaggers that he's already applied hair tonic and grown hair]
"Where do you shove that kind of fuzz! If you keep this up, I'll really go to Igeon!"
[He feels wronged, saying he raised, fed, and cared for you, and this is how you repay him]
"Who's the ingrate here! And once again, you've gone and declared war on another constellation on your own... ugh!"
Hugo swiftly drew his bow.
It was because of the Taurus Constellation's subordinate gods charging at him.
And the Taurus followers too!
[Warning. 's Constellation God, the Adamantine Lord, has issued an SS-grade constellation mission]
[He commands that the Serpent Bearer and Sagittarius, war targets of the great Taurus, be cast into the sea for a reward]
Constellations have special missions issued by the Constellation God and saints.
A kind of task; upon completion, the god personally bestows a reward.
Thus, those who received the mission rushed over in droves.
Their numbers were sufficient.
[The Adamantine Lord has now declared ]
[Just as the Serpent Bearer did, he says he will devour Sagittarius and make them a subordinate]
[He boasts that they will become good servants for ]
[He says it would be of great help in confronting unknown civilizations and uniting the scattered solidarity]
It seemed the gods had opted for forced annexation instead of consent or cooperation.
Hence, Hugo glared fiercely.
"See! Because you declared war, it's openly come to this!"
[Slightly sorry, he stealthily offers equipment]
"I don't need it! Igeon's is way better! If you're going to give that crap, just give me money!"
Well, it didn't matter.
When had Sagittarius ever joined hands with others anyway?
And in truth, Igeon's situation was equally troublesome.
"...Uncle!"
Cheon Seongjae, clutching the Gemini saint, was shouting urgently.
He had no choice.
Is it for nothing that it's the 3rd ranked constellation?
[Warning. It is a powerful adamantine force]
[It is the powerful bull-monster strength surpassing the Serpent Bearer's power]
The Taurus Constellation God, who had seized Igeon from behind, laughed.
"Honestly, I'm surprised."
"!"
"To think you would use Sagittarius to deal with the sea beasts."
Was it thanks to the spicy fish stew operation?
The Taurus Constellation God, who had likewise escaped from the monster, had his eyes glittering.
And Taurus is the physically strongest among the 12 constellations.
Both arms seized, Igeon could not shake off the Taurus god.
'He's not budging at all.'
Shaking him off by force was impossible.
From the body attacked by the bull, blood dripped steadily. The more he tried to break free, the more blood flowed.
And perhaps the Taurus god knew his own strength.
He laughed arrogantly.
"Seems your precious hyper-regeneration can't be used against my power. Still, I'm grateful you dealt with the monarch's servants in my stead. I'm alive thanks to you."
The monarchs aimed for the Constellation Gods, and the gods were in a vulnerable position against those monarchs.
Because their power was stolen.
Moreover, this was still the sea surface.
Even a quasi-Black Zone.
There was no change in the dangerous situation until they reached land.
In fact, wasn't it a situation where the enraged monarch could surge up at any moment?
Therefore, he was sincerely grateful to Igeon.
But.
"I shall make you regret gathering your subordinate constellations in one place."
He looked at the sea.
A black shadow appeared beneath the sea.
And at that shadow, the Taurus god flinched.
He thought the abyss had arrived too quickly, but soon realized the reason.
'It's your blood scent that brought it.'
To think the inability to use hyper-regeneration would work like this.
Sure enough, the lord of the sea revealed itself.
[How dare you wretches touch my subordinates!]
But this was also an opportunity.
The Taurus god looked at Igeon and laughed.
"If you don't want to be thrown as prey to the monarch, first hand over your subordinate constellations."
But it was then.
Perhaps he had deliberately not used hyper-regeneration.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Igeon instead pulled the bull into a tight embrace.
And he simultaneously jumped into the sea where the monarch was gaping wide.
(To be continued in the next chapter)