The sudden notification startled Hugo.
[A god of the Divine Realm is eyeing the vacant seat of the 12 Divine Thrones]
[Targeting the Throne of ]
……
[Targeting the Throne of ]
[Targeting the Throne of ]
‘What is this?’
Hugo was flustered.
And when he turned his head, as if they’d heard the same thing, Tian Seongjae and Puffin also wore surprised expressions.
Though their reactions were completely different.
“Uncle is the best Uncle is the best Uncle is the best Uncle is the best Uncle is the best Uncle is the best. Please let me record Uncle’s voice! I really love Uncle so much!”
“Ah… Again, in that person’s voice.”
Unlike Hugo, had the other two heard Lee Geon’s voice?
“But I can never get used to this gentle tone….”
“Shut up and just let me record his voice. Let me record it. Let me record it. Let me record it. Let me record it. Let me record it!!”
Tian Seongjae wailed as he opened the unusable voice recorder on his phone, while Puffin grumbled slightly.
“Ah, can’t we just mute this voice? When I was in Leo, nothing like this ever… kuhuk!!”
Puffin was promptly kicked by Tian Seongjae.
“Mute?! How dare a sacred follower of Ophiuchus spout such nonsense!”
Saying his faith had already dropped, Tian Seongjae played a music file.
“Muffin, raise your faith quickly!! Hurry!”
“Aaagh! I’m sick of that Lee Geon hymn already! Even if it’s the heavenly Yoo Ha singing, I’m sick of it now!”
Faith was never immutable. Just as relationships grow distant without long interaction, faith inevitably drops.
But if faith drops, it could lead to rebellion, or even worse, skills that could harm the god.
As such, sacred followers granted powerful strength to the Divine Stars, but it was a double-edged sword that could become poison if not managed.
Therefore, faith management was essential!
“Here! Listen up!!! If you hate the noona version, now here’s my version!”
“Aaagh! Save me!”
Seeing his son’s excessive sacred follower management (?), Hugo wore a look of disgust.
It was because he could see the faith levels of his son and Puffin.
[Tian Seongjae – Ophiuchus Faith 330%]
[Puffin – Ophiuchus Faith 90%]
Puffin’s had been at 100% when she joined Ophiuchus, and thanks to Seongjae’s persistent sacred follower management (?), it usually hovered around 90%.
But.
‘330%... My own son is truly hopeless.’
Hugo felt uneasy thinking Seongjae might be willing to lay down his life for Lee Geon at that level, yet he also found himself eyeing his son’s phone, tempted by the song his daughter had sung.
And then.
[Borrowed from ]
[VIP Grade. You can steal all data (647,898 photos, 1TB of videos, 240GB of audio files) from the target (Tian Seongjae’s phone) at any time.]
Hugo flinched at the enormous amount, then narrowed the scope to data related to Lee Geon.
[Lee Geon-related data (647,897 photos, 1TB of videos, 240GB of audio files)]
“…….”
Is everything except one single photo Geon’s data???
And what even is that one photo?
Well, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“Clan Head, doesn’t ‘Pantheon’ refer to the Divine Realm?”
“!”
At Lee Jae-won’s words, Hugo grew serious.
The Pantheon (萬神殿).
A divine temple where tens of thousands of gods reside, just as the name suggests.
In other words, it was a world where various gods, including the 12 Zodiac Divine Stars, existed.
Anyway, this Divine Realm was said to be connected to various dimensions, and to Earth as well.
And that humanity received protection through the connection with the 12 Divine Stars.
‘Geon mentioned something about not being able to go there unless you’re above the Incarnation (化神) level.’
Anyway, for now, it was a place only that friend of his among humans could go.
So why were nameless gods from that place targeting something?
“If it’s the thrones, they must definitely mean the jade seats of the 12 Divine Stars, right?”
Hugo nodded at Puffin’s question.
“That’s right. And more than anything, having those is the only way Geon can bring the Authorities into Ophiuchus.”
“!”
The thrones of and were already in Lee Geon’s possession, while and hadn’t been obtained yet.
And without retrieving the thrones, Lee Geon couldn’t use the data he had accumulated.
The reason was simple.
[Data of the empty Divine Seats, vacated due to the extinction of the Divine Stars, is currently in a ‘temporarily unusable’ state.]
[It can be used again by retrieving the Thrones and converting them to or .]
The data Lee Geon had amassed was being temporarily sealed due to the extinction of the Divine Stars.
Simply put, having the Thrones was the key to gaining the ‘qualification’.
Therefore, retrieving the Thrones and either merging them or placing them under Ophiuchus’s direct control was preferable.
Well, that was why they were searching for the remaining thrones, but…
“The one was grabbed by Ten Stars and ran off, so my sister went to look for it, but I have no idea about .”
Hugo nodded too.
“Usually, the Divine Star holds onto it, but with Capricorn’s Divine Star gone, there’s no way to know where the Throne is….”
“Ah. Speaking of that, it’s in our Sanctuary.”
“?!”
Hugo almost screamed at the voice heard from beside him.
Next to him stood Taylor, the head of Capricorn who had come to become Lee Geon’s disciple.
So Hugo shouted.
“When did you get in here!”
“Ah, well, the door was open. Anyway, this is a big problem. I was planning to give Capricorn’s Throne to Lee Geon-nim.”
“What? Why?!”
“Why else? Because if I give it to Lee Geon-nim, he might accept me as his disciple.”
“……?!”
This guy, knowing Lee Geon’s temper, is trying to prepare a bribe…!
Hugo thought it was meticulous, but his eyes also held worry.
‘Things are going to get troublesome.’
He couldn’t help it, because Hugo had just recently seen the future.
[Delphoi’s Oracle (SS)]
The vision was of Lee Geon surrounded by guys wearing strange masks, with Lee Geon’s appearance changing bizarrely.
At that moment, Lee Geon’s appearance was serious. Skin peeling off… at any rate, his form was not normal.
In other words.
‘Something is definitely going to happen to Geon.’
He could only be worried.
Hadn’t his own patron, the Divine Star of Scorching Light, said this before?
- There’s no way other gods will leave empty Divine Seats alone.
Meaning the strong ones wanting to become Divine Stars would come swarming like madmen.
It meant guys aiming to become Divine Stars and seize the Earth’s sacred followers were about to rush in.
- If they’re stolen, you won’t be able to use the Authorities of the other Divine Seats.
Just as Lee Geon could use the Authorities of other Divine Seats because he brought their Thrones, losing a Throne meant losing the Authority he’d worked so hard to gain.
Losing the Taurus Throne meant losing the Taurus Authority, losing the Ophiuchus Throne meant losing the Ophiuchus Authority.
So that must be why the gods were swarming now.
Then his friend, who held a bunch of Thrones, would be in danger too.
Of course, knowing Lee Geon, he wouldn’t lose them quietly, but that’s what was strange.
‘It’s too early.’
The Divine Star of Scorching Light had said it would take at least a few years.
What on earth was going on?
As if thinking the same thing, the Divine Star of Scorching Light spoke.
[This Serpent Lord berates me, asking why I’m not moving quickly when it’s his matter]
[This Serpent Lord is busy needing to make his wig, so he sends arrogant jeers telling a servant whose only use is strength to move faster]
[He gets angry, asking why I’m so slow when he even raised my monthly wage by 100,000 won…]
Snap.
Finally, Hugo pulled out a very small dagger from his bosom.
And as Hugo moved to draw it, his son, Puffin, and even Lee Jae-won were shocked.
Because it was the emblem of Ophiuchus he had been given by Lee Geon last time.
“C-Clan Head? If you pull that out, doesn’t it mean transferring to Ophiuchus…?”
“Ah, Dad?”
“Seongjae, tell Geon. Tell him the Divine Star said to just merge Sagittarius too.”
“Huh?!”
“And tell him the owner specifically demanded to be dismembered and made into Hugo’s bow.”
[?!!]
Hugo moved, leaving the wailing Divine Star behind.
* * *
Meanwhile, it was around that time.
“Ha, I’ve shown nothing but pathetic sides to Lee Geon these last two days.”
At a hotel on the 45th floor of .
Hailey was returning to her room in despair.
And during these two days, she had swung between heaven and despair.
How could she not, after Lee Geon had kindly invited her for a meal, only for her to fail even to eat and show a miserable sight?
In the end, she showed a miserable sight first at the restaurant, and then showed another miserable sight in her hotel room.
In fact, she couldn’t help it, the second time was around dawn.
‘Things are quite chaotic.’
‘They can’t help but be. Lee Geon-nim defeated the Capricorn Genius Workshop, after all.’
The unconscious Hailey had quickly woken up and gone with her subordinates to handle other business.
Tracking the monarch of , the one Lee Geon was looking for. Her subordinates warned it was dangerous to get closer to the Unknown Civilization, but she had the highest chance of finding the bastard.
‘Since we share the same blood, I can catch the scent.’
She desired the destruction of the Unknown Civilization.
Anyway, hearing of Lee Geon’s exploits during her absence, Hailey had chuckled fondly, thinking ‘That’s Lee Geon for you.’
‘Capricorn’s power will be a help.’
Eventually, she returned to her room at dawn, washed up, and was about to go to sleep, which was all well and good, but…
‘Why is Lee Geon here?’
Lee Geon had been sleeping in her room’s bed. And wearing only a pair of underwear, at that!
And whether because the blanket was gone and he felt odd, or he sensed a presence,
The moment his eyes met Hailey’s, she fainted again.
Of course, she quickly figured out why Lee Geon had been sleeping in her room.
And now.
Hailey glanced sideways at the culprit (?) who provided the reason. And that culprit was gritting his teeth in front of Hailey.
“Well, fine. I admit it’s my fault for giving out the wrong room key. But why do I have to be wearing this?”
It was Kevin.
He twitched his eyebrows at the photo of Lee Geon stuck to the back of his head.
But Hailey, who was following Kevin, blushed and cleared her throat.
“It-it’s nothing, so you just staying like that for a while would be nice.”
It seemed that staying in the same building as Lee Geon at this rate would require a high level of tolerance, so she was trying to train little by little.
So she wouldn’t panic, no matter what situation arose.
Of course, it wasn’t just about trying to get close to Lee Geon.
‘I’m part of that side’s group now, I have to disappear together with them.’
It was just that, considering the tasks ahead, there would inevitably be situations to fight together, and she couldn’t afford to be a nuisance each time.
Because of that, when her oblivious monster subordinates offered to mimic Lee Geon for her, they were soon cut down by Hailey.
“Anyway, among the 12, you and Hugo are the only ones similar to Lee Geon in build and height, and Hugo is busy, isn’t he?”
“And I’m not busy?”
“A favor must be repaid. That….”
But it was right then.
BANG!
The massive front window nearby shattered.
Crash!
They immediately went on guard and drew their weapons.
“It’s not a natural phenomenon, it’s an attack!”
At Hailey’s words, Kevin furrowed his brow.
“To break the dome that was cast on the tower… is it a Black Zone level?”
“No, it’s not a monster. It’s a god.”
“A god? Then a subordinate god?”
But right then.
“It’s not a subordinate god. It’s Divine Star-class.”
“!!”
The one who appeared behind them was Lee Geon.
Carrying a large bundle on his shoulder, Lee Geon was smiling.
What’s inside the bundle must be the defensive sacred artifacts Lee Geon had made in the meantime.
He had diligently stripped this place of expensive materials to craft them.
[Holy Artifact crafting experience increased by creating numerous Life (Sacred Artifacts)]
[Current stage is stage 3]
[New Life skill can be used]
[Warning. Outer Gods are targeting the vacant seats of the 12 Zodiacs held by the Serpent Lord.]
Simultaneously, Lee Geon looked at the star visible outside the window and laughed.
And that was undoubtedly the culprit who had attacked this place.
Hailey and Kevin seemed flustered by the culprit’s identity.
‘Those are Outer Gods!’
“Damn it, they’ve come to the Sanctuary aiming for the Thrones!”
“They’re trying to steal the Thrones and become the new Divine Stars of the 12 Zodiacs!”
“The 12 Zodiacs are higher-order god seats coveted by all gods…!”
That’s why Ophiuchus, trying to devour them all, was considered a monster.
But Lee Geon sneered.
“No, those guys are targeting me specifically.”
At those words, Kevin was puzzled.
“What? They’re not even fellow 12 Zodiac Divine Stars; how do Outer Gods know your location?”
Outer Gods (外神) were non-mainstream foreign gods from a place very far in the Divine Realm. There was no way they could properly know the situation here.
So there would be no reason for them to target Lee Geon.
But Lee Geon laughed as if it was no big deal.
“I think I know the reason.”
“What?”
Lee Geon’s eyes flashed.
It was distant from here, but he definitely felt it.
‘The one who ran away first has shown up.’
That was it.
In fact, there was one Divine Star he absolutely hadn’t been able to find until recently.
Even though he could sense almost any presence, .
Hadn’t that Divine Star alone hidden so thoroughly that even its presence couldn’t be found?
Because of that, he was a god mocked even by other Divine Stars and saints.
Thanks to that, Yang Wei had no choice but to become the first sacrifice to him.
‘Even when Cancer was being attacked, all the others showed up, but only that bastard didn’t appear.’
But right now, at this moment.
He felt the bastard’s energy, faintly.
One of the masterminds who joined hands with Giselle to push him into the Tower, and 24 years ago,
the energy of that bastard who sold the Serpent Lord’s information to the Unknown Civilization!
‘I wondered where he fled, abandoning even his own saint.’
There was no doubt.
The one who noticed him first and ran away had dragged these other Outer Gods here.
Fearful, knowing he’d become a target too, as his enemies were picked off one by one.
So he brought allies.
‘He’s counting on the death desired by the 12 Zodiac Divine Stars against me.’
He didn’t know the reason, but was probably brought them because he couldn’t do it alone.
‘He wouldn’t have any concern for humanity’s safety.’
And the intentions of those led here by the Aries Divine Star were obvious.
‘I heard merely sitting in a 12 Zodiac seat raises one’s status and fame.’
In other words, gods with power but no fame, or hyenas looking to expand their forces, would be eyeing this position like crazy.
Because would make excellent bait.
As expected.
[Enemies are coming, targeting Ophiuchus]
[Aries is targeting Ophiuchus]
But well, so what?
He’d been looking for Aries anyway, since he had things to ask him.
‘This works out.’
Soon, as Lee Geon whistled, Kevin and Hailey were startled.
Summoning something, Lee Geon jumped off the tower.
“Lee Geon?!”
“Never mind that. Go get some cola.”
“What?!”
“Cola is the best with lamb skewers.”
Kevin retorted.
“What are you talking about. Lamb skewers go with beer, you bastard!”
(Continued in the next chapter)