[This is insane]
On the day the Demon Tower shattered,
the Master of the Aries Seat gritted his teeth and cursed.
Of course, the Saints were flustered by the tower's collapse too, but they were nothing compared to the Star Gods.
It couldn't be helped.
[Giselle, don't tell me that half-breed failed the plan?!]
That tower was the very place they had used to assassinate Igeon.
Naturally, even the slightest anomaly would make a thief's own feet numb with guilt.
What if, by some chance, Igeon had survived?
Of course, the tower had been silent for 20 years.
The followers soothed the panicking Master of the Aries Seat.
[If that bastard were alive, he would have come out long ago. Why would he suddenly appear after 20 years?]
[Exactly. That place is a Monarch's tower. If there were any possibility, they would have been conducting experiments inside.]
[How many times did you extract the tower's structure from the Master of the Cancer Seat to verify it?]
Well, that was true.
The entire Twelve Star Gods had commissioned the murder. And it was Giselle and Jang Rui who devised the specific assassination plan.
The anxious Master of the Aries Seat had borrowed Yang Wei's body multiple times to obtain the tower's map from the executor, Jang Rui.
Though Jang Rui, handing over the map, just sneered at him.
- To come all the way here, borrowing a Saint's body at that. You must be terribly uneasy. I've already explained the process of Igeon's death ten times over.
[Shut up, you lowly half-breed monster.]
Jang Rui glared at the Master of the Aries Seat with his monstrous eyes, taking offense, but the Master of the Aries Seat paid it no mind.
[With Giselle and you alike, do you expect me to trust the schemes of your filthy civilization?]
- Then why didn't you handle it yourself? Come on, then.
[!]
Enraged, the Master of the Aries Seat glared fiercely.
[Giselle, has that so-called Monarch now blabbed about that fact even to a wretch like you?]
At that, Jang Rui had burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
- I just probed, bracing myself for what might come, and it turned out to be true, I see?
[......!]
- How refreshing. Now I understand why everyone tolerated Giselle crossing the line. There's no way the twelve of you were afraid of Giselle alone; you were afraid of her mouth, weren't you?
[You bastard, do you even know your place to speak such words?]
When the enraged Star God of Aries unleashed his divine aura, Jang Rui smirked slyly.
- Anyway, don't worry. I also harbor ill feelings toward Igeon, so I wouldn't fail something like that.
[Can I believe you?]
- Well, I also came to fully realize just how much you all fear Igeon.
[This bastard, to the very end.]
- Though I can't fathom why, among all the Star Gods, you alone are so especially terrified of Igeon.
Anyway, it left a nasty taste in many ways, but the Master of the Aries Seat decided not to dwell on it further.
That's why he hadn't strongly opposed his Saint going to Korea back then.
But now this.
"Where do you think you're going, you little shit? I've got plenty to ask you, it'd be a shame if you already try to bolt."
Igeon had appeared!
And with a completely different face and demonic power!
'Those worthless scum! They failed the assassination after all!'
Acting all smug and mocking!
What's more, seeing him strangely exuding a divine aura, it looked like he'd awakened as a lower god!
'They really were just all talk!'
Of course, the plan had been perfect, and Igeon breaking through it was the variable, but none of that mattered to him.
'I'll have to deal with that bastard personally.'
Thankfully, he was still just a lower god.
Killing a newborn whelp wasn't so difficult.
But.
"The Material God Seat's weakness is obvious."
[The 13th Sense]
The moment Igeon used that technique, the Master of the Aries Seat could do nothing but freeze utterly.
It was only an instant, but it was unmistakable.
That feeling glimpsed when using the technique. That aura!
'The Snake Master!'
He was undoubtedly the true master of the 13th God Seat.
That's why he was so bewildered.
You could say it was like witnessing an ancient being that was supposed to have vanished and ceased to exist.
'It should have been erased from this world.'
By the current Twelve Star Gods.
In other words, he was an entirely different existence from the Snake they had commissioned the Monarch to kill.
The Snake they had killed had also been a master of the 13 Ecliptic Palaces, just like themselves.
Meaning he had been one of the great 13 Star Gods.
But Igeon, on the other hand...
'D-don't tell me he's the original owner of the Throne!'
In the end, the Master of the Aries Seat, the only one to have realized that fact, fled.
It was a matter so critical that he had to run, even abandoning his own Saint.
'The very existence of the current Twelve Star Gods of the Ecliptic is in danger of annihilation.'
This was no longer something he could handle on his own.
It was highly likely to be a misapprehension, but if it wasn't, the price to pay would be too great.
So the Master of the Aries Seat abandoned even his Saint and hid himself.
There was no time to inform the other Star Gods. Nor did he have enough camaraderie for that.
Besides, if he told them, Giselle would definitely pull some trick like the Snake.
Wasn't that woman a monster who came over here as a spy, figured out about them, and then devoured even the original Libra Star God and Saint?
Even if Monarchs were cards to be discarded, a Monarch was still a Monarch.
She wasn't someone to take lightly.
Therefore, leaving Earth entirely, where the Snake Master's power couldn't reach, he devised a method to resolve the incident.
Though, he hadn't expected that in that short time, the others would get done in so badly.
'Indeed, fleeing the instant I saw him back then was the perfect move.'
And now.
[Is it truly permissible to take the empty seats of the 12 God Seats?]
Suspicious shadows appeared around the hidden Master of the Aries Seat.
They were silhouettes of beasts, silhouettes of people, afterimages of various shadows.
And they were godless beings without a God Seat, drawn in by the Aries Seat's authority and the vacant seats.
They had no God Seats, but they were tremendously powerful beings. Some among them were capable of killing a Star God in a single blow, even though they had been driven out to other regions.
Because of this, those shadows grinned broadly.
[We were told that rootless bastards shouldn't even dream of approaching the higher seats, but this is something else.]
[I never imagined the illustrious Twelve Ecliptic God Seats would bring in outside forces.]
And just as the Master of the Aries Seat was about to sneer at them, telling the lowly creatures not to speak, that moment came.
[Right, I really didn't know you'd go as far as doing something like this.]
[!!]
At the familiar voice, the Master of the Aries Seat spun around in shock.
There stood familiar figures.
One was the seething Master of the Capricorn Seat. And the other...
[Scorching Heat!]
But the appearance was a bit strange. For some unknown reason, they were wearing a mask.
A horse-head mask.
But as if that wasn't important, the Master of the Aries Seat looked ready to grab Scorching Heat by the collar the moment he saw him.
[You bastard! Don't tell me the reason you opposed killing Igeon back then was because you knew his true identity?!]
The Master of the Scorching Heat Seat said nothing.
Because it wasn't exactly that.
And perhaps that wasn't what mattered now.
[Look what dregs you've dragged along with you just because you had no one else to bring.]
Those bastards were outlaws of the underground that even other gods despised and avoided.
'Those bastards don't give a damn about the safety of humans.'
The Master of the Scorching Heat Seat scoffed.
[Were you that afraid of the Snake God's power?]
At that mockery, the Master of the Aries Seat bristled, incredulous.
[Have you forgotten what that Snake tried to do? He tried to erase our very existence!]
[As far as I recall, we were the ones who raised our blades first. The Snake was trying to use the power of .]
[It all ends up the same! If that power activated, we would have died!]
[So you made him a Calamity God and killed him.]
[He was a Calamity God! A disaster meant to annihilate the gods!]
And at that moment, the Master of the Capricorn Seat bristled, as if demanding to know if he was being ignored.
[Enough of old stories! How dare you put up even my seat as bait? And what's more, I haven't even been completely robbed of my seat yet!]
[Who told you to get caught by that bastard? And aren't you the same in having suffered at Igeon's hands?]
[Namely, my core is still intact so I can recover my strength! Once I recover, I'll gather my followers again and...]
[That plan seems to have already crossed the River Styx. Your followers won't be enough.]
At Scorching Heat's interjection, the Capricorn Star God glared fiercely.
[Are you ignoring Capricorn just because you're the Seat of War?!]
[It's the truth. All of your followers have become Igeon's disciples.]
[?!!]
[Rather, they intend to seat Igeon on the Capricorn Star God's throne.]
Enraged by this, the Capricorn Star God reached out toward Scorching Heat and the Master of the Aries Seat.
[I will kill you both, extract your cores, and make them my strength.]
But then.
The Outer Gods who had come aiming at scoffed.
[Now doesn't seem to be the time for Star Gods to fight amongst themselves.]
[!]
[Someone has come outside.]
With those words, the ground rumbled and shifted.
Of course, it couldn't possibly be an earthquake.
The place they were in was a floating landmass.
'This place is .'
It was.
The place where the Master of the Aries Seat had hidden was the land of authority left behind by , that very firmament land that all the Twelve Star Gods had sought to claim.
It was that very land where the Holy Emperor had wanted to hatch Igeon's subordinate god egg.
After dealing with Igeon, the Outer Gods had been waiting, cutting in line, to make it the domain of the Aries Seat.
It was supposed to be that.
[Isn't that Drakhma?!]
What was visible from outside was none other than Drakhma, the shared land of the Twelve Star Gods!
But its shape and size had changed, and it was approaching this place.
And the Capricorn Star God, realizing that Igeon was the one who had created it, froze.
He had instantly grasped its structure.
But the Master of the Aries Seat froze for a different reason.
'Igeon is approaching.'
He must surely be on that Drakhma.
Because of that, the Master of the Aries Seat couldn't help but panic.
'This place still carries the Monarch's scent. On top of that, its immense power is enough to conceal even a Star God's presence.'
He hadn't hidden here for nothing.
There was no way Igeon could pinpoint his exact location.
Indeed, that enormous force seemed about to swallow even them, so they hadn't gone toward the center.
That power was of a level where even the descent of a Star God couldn't avoid harm.
'But how in the world is Igeon here?'
But soon he learned the reason.
[Here you are, my god! I've finally found you!]
[?!]
The Master of the Aries Seat was aghast at the unexpected voice.
A monstrous creature was approaching from not far away. It was a being wearing a helm and armor of an unknown civilization.
And because its powerful demonic beast aura masked it, he hadn't noticed until it drew close...
[You!]
It was as he thought.
The one who appeared was none other than Yang Wei!
Having discovered the Star God, Yang Wei was overjoyed.
[My god! It seems there was an incident last time, but I understand! So let us renew the contract!]
The Master of the Aries Seat ground his teeth.
It was because of the Snake Master's power he sensed from Yang Wei.
At the same time, he realized why Igeon had been able to come this close.
'That bastard Igeon followed this wretch here!'
Having worked together for over 20 years, Yang Wei knew his aura precisely.
It must have been easy to track him down.
And Yang Wei said with a smile.
[Don't worry! I, Yang Wei, have read my god's concerns and gathered intel on Igeon...]
But that was the moment.
Crunch!
Before he could even finish speaking, Yang Wei's body was ripped to shreds.
[Kuhuhk! My god?!]
However, the Master of the Aries Seat, having torn his own Saint to pieces, flashed his eyes.
[You insolent fool, dragging Igeon here!]
The Master of the Aries Seat quickly turned.
He had the authority of the Aries Seat, the Outer Gods, and most importantly, a secret power seized from the original owners of the Thrones.
Was that why?
Flashing his eyes, the Master of the Aries Seat immediately stabbed the Capricorn Star God, who was being glared at by the Outer Gods.
[Kuhuk...!]
He had ripped out his core.
The Aries Seat held the power of the Jade Emperor. It was considerable.
The Master of the Aries Seat immediately looked at the Master of the Scorching Heat Seat.
Because Igeon's aura had reached right before their noses.
'If I go to the Lower Divine Realm, I'll end up like Aquarius. And I can't go to the Divine Realm because of the betrayal charges.'
Therefore, he had to prepare here.
[Scorching Heat. Help me. I didn't come empty-handed. With this, we can even handle Igeon.]
Scorching Heat, unexpectedly, became highly intrigued by the ancient cube the Master of the Aries Seat showed.
It was clearly a treasure capable of harming Igeon.
[Oh, with that, you could make even the Snake Master kneel?]
Wasn't Scorching Heat someone who had entered the mountain but still held many grievances anyway?
Wearing a horse-head mask surely had something to do with those grievances.
And perhaps he had sensed that aura.
The Master of the Aries Seat smiled as he handed over the cube.
[I'll give it to you. So here, together...]
But then.
[Ah, time to apply some spice. Sorry, bye.]
[!?]
Having received the item, Scorching Heat vanished without a backward glance.
And perhaps wanting to avoid any misunderstanding about being on the same side,
he fled, leaving behind flame letters high in the sky.
Because of that, the panicked Master of the Aries Seat tried to catch him, but...
[!]
All he grabbed was the horse-head mask.
The scattering precious hair was a bonus.
(To be continued)