Meanwhile, at that time.
"Aaagh! Save me!"
"What the hell are those things?"
The continent had turned into a scene of chaos, all because of unidentifiable shadows appearing everywhere.
"They're raiding the sanctuary!"
"Block them!"
That place was South America, where the sanctuary of Cancer was located.
"Damn it, they keep pouring in endlessly! What level monsters are they?"
"No! They're not monsters! They're gods!"
"What? What do you mean gods... urk!"
Due to the nature of the Crime Star Seat, Cancer's main sanctuary was hidden in multiple locations.
And this underground bunker was where assassins were trained under the orders of Jang Rui, the de facto master of Cancer.
It was that secretive, and not easy to enter.
But perhaps it was because Cancer had collapsed because of Lee Geon.
[Find it.]
[Find it.]
[Find the throne.]
As if a psychic phenomenon, the floors and walls of the bunker transformed into a swaying field of shadows.
Because of this, the holy warriors of Cancer trembled with rage.
It wasn't for any other reason.
"Those bastards touched that object!"
"The weapon meant to exact revenge on Lee Geon!"
"What did you say?!"
The holy warriors harbored vengeance against Lee Geon, who had killed their star god and kidnapped their saint.
In fact, they had completed all preparations for a retaliation that could deal a fatal blow to Ophiuchus.
They had utilized the stored power of Cancer.
But then!
"Commander, it seems those guys are after the throne!"
"What?"
At his subordinate's report, Luca, the Ten Star (SS) of Cancer, furrowed his brows.
'As if it wasn't enough that Lee Geon kept targeting the throne!'
Lee Geon's objective was obvious.
'He must be planning to take this and steal the authority of our star seat.'
And now, after Lee Geon, these other vermin as well!
'The throne belongs to Lord Jang Rui.'
They didn't know Jang Rui's whereabouts.
But the throne of Cancer had always been occupied by Jang Rui, not the star god.
As if he himself were the star god.
While other saints all seemed like servants to their star gods, Jang Rui was completely different.
Rather, it felt like he used the star god.
'Inhuman beauty, intelligence, ability, a charisma that even gods couldn't humble.'
Wasn't that why the holy warriors of Cancer held him in such reverence?
To them, Jang Rui was the cult leader, the great star god.
And now they were trying to take what?
Luca ground his teeth.
"Hurry, hide the thron—..."
But it was just then.
"!"
As if sensing something, Luca turned his head.
"Commander! Just now!"
"Yeah. I felt it too!"
From afar, Jang Rui's presence could be felt.
The direction, astonishingly, was nearby!
As the energy drew closer, the holy warriors cheered.
"The star lord has escaped! From that filthy Lee Geon!"
Luca gave the order.
"Bring the throne. We go to escort the star lord!"
They hastily retrieved the throne of Cancer that they had deeply hidden.
Because if they gave it to Jang Rui, they could revive Cancer!
And it was just as they were leaving the hidden underground bunker.
"Oh, they're coming out, coming out."
There were eyes watching them from a tall building.
"Haha, they're pouring out like a swarm of ants. As expected, this is instantly effective on those guys."
It was Kali, laughing cheerfully while holding binoculars, and it was Cheon Yoo-ha who stood beside her, her eyes glinting as she gripped her spear.
* * *
And around the same time.
Underground of the Sagittarius sanctuary.
The situation was no better for the Sagittarius sanctuary either.
[Hand over the throne of Taurus.]
The outer gods that Aries had summoned to kill Lee Geon were flooding underground.
It was because of Taurus's throne, which had been placed there.
And the underground was a place that once boasted ironclad defenses, enough to hide Yang Wei's corpse.
But perhaps because they were formidable opponents, they had quickly located it and launched an assault.
Maybe that was why.
Hugo, having leveled up, unleashed his abilities without hesitation, but the seemingly endless enemies seemed to have irritated him.
"Ah, seriously! Why did that bastard Geon leave what he stole here and cause this mess! He's living rent-free in someone else's house and still a nuisance!"
At that, the Sagittarius holy warriors laughed.
"Hey now, what's wrong with leaving his own belongings in his own sanctuary!"
"That's right. Wasn't the space share of this tower originally 70% for Mr. Lee Geon and 30% for us? Sometimes we feel like we're the ones living rent-free, and we're almost sorry..."
At the holy warriors' bright smiles, Hugo kicked their backsides.
"If you like Geon so much, then go serve Geon right now! You'll only come to your senses after being treated like his underlings!"
"Oh, really? Would he take us as his subordinates?"
"Awesome! Liberation from Lord Hugo!"
"If it's Mr. Lee Geon and Holy Son, they'll feed us well!"
"Thank you for everything until now!"
"Hey!"
As Hugo fumed, his son, who was casting magic beside him, clicked his tongue.
Perhaps as a fellow saint now, he could empathize with his father's wretchedness.
"See, Dad. When I said I'd do economic consulting for Sagittarius, you should have let me. Then we wouldn't have been the Poverty Star Seat."
This brat!
"Let you handle it? Who doesn't know that you were going to use sanctuary activity funds for your Geon fanboying!"
"I wouldn't! How young do you think I am? Even I wouldn't use Sagittarius's money for fanboying!"
Cheon Seong-jae huffed, asking what they thought of him, but his friend Han Ji-min clicked her tongue.
'Not fanboying, my foot.'
This was the guy who had refused admission invitations from prestigious overseas universities like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford because of Lee Geon.
'He turned them down flat, saying if he's not in Korea, he can't get his uncle's merchandise quickly.'
In that vein, if he had managed Sagittarius's funds, he definitely would have embezzled (?) and somehow linked it to Lee Geon's businesses...
"With Sagittarius's pittance of money, I couldn't even put up a billboard in Times Square! As if I'd fanboy with Sagittarius's money!"
"What did you say?! You little!"
Ah, so that's why he wasn't interested.
It didn't matter either way.
Han Ji-min, who had become a holy warrior of Ophiuchus not long ago, hastily moved healing potions.
Of course, she hadn't joined the sanctuary voluntarily.
[Due to the forced transfer of Taurus, all holy warriors are automatically transferred]
As Cheon Seong-jae's roommate and the one who had first brought Lee Geon home from the tower, Han Ji-min was originally affiliated with Taurus.
Not directly under them, but a C-rank awakener of a small sanctuary that used powers by paying royalties.
It was a nameless place with fewer than five people all together.
But when Taurus disappeared, guess what happened.
[A temporary contract has been formed with Ophiuchus]
[Existing skills can be temporarily used with the power of Ophiuchus]
[You may withdraw if you do not wish. However, all skills will disappear immediately, so choose carefully]
Well, as a mere C-rank awakener, she didn't have any skills precious enough to regret losing, but becoming Lee Geon's holy warrior was an immensely thrilling matter.
'I never dared to even mention wanting to join.'
Of course, even though her best friend was a saint of Ophiuchus, she hadn't breathed a word.
Because she knew her place.
'The lowest level in Ophiuchus is A-rank...!'
Just how messed up was this star seat?
They had a whopping three SS-ranks, and even the subordinates they took under them were people like Hugo, Kevin, and other saints.
'The Secretary seems to have been S-rank as well...'
And even that lowest A-rank was only A-rank in name.
It was none other than Puffin, a celebrity who had been the first team of Leo's direct forces.
But then.
'Mr. Lee Geon gave me a chance...!'
And it was then.
"Star Lord! The enemies are retreating!"
"It seems they've given up on the throne here!"
At that, Hugo put away his bow and scoffed.
"They should. Look at who they're against."
"Dad, I routed almost all the ones that came in, you know?"
Hugo shot a glare at his son.
This kid had become stronger than him in the meantime.
But as the enemies retreated, the Sagittarius holy warriors seemed highly suspicious.
"Still, it's strange. According to Mr. Lee Geon, they were supposed to persistently target this."
"Then could it be that they've gone to target another throne...?"
At the subordinate's words, both Hugo and Cheon Seong-jae exclaimed, "Oh no!"
"Could it be Aquarius?!"
It was as they thought.
Lee Geon had gone to deal with Aries, the one who had summoned the outer gods.
Because he knew that if he didn't take care of that guy, the outer gods he summoned would keep increasing.
And they were defending all the other places, so that left one.
"Did they go after Aquarius?"
"It's highly likely. Aquarius is Lee Geon's vassal, so destroying it could weaken Lee Geon's power, and besides..."
"Since Aquarius isn't a combat star seat, killing its star god would be easy too."
"But it's strange. There's no way Geon's vassal god could be taken down that easily..."
Hugo swallowed hard.
The future of Lee Geon that he'd seen recently kept flashing through his mind, bothering him.
But it was then.
"Um, then what about the throne of Ophiuchus? Is it safe?"
"!"
At Han Ji-min's words, Hugo's eyes went wide.
That was because he had never seen the throne of Ophiuchus.
'Strange. Since Geon's group is also a star seat, they must have a throne.'
Normally, it was an object that the star god kept in their domain.
And then, at Hugo's gaze, Seong-jae screamed.
"Ah, Uncle took out a chair I'd never seen before."
It was back when the throne of Taurus had appeared.
Lee Geon had been touching a chair he'd never seen before.
"But I haven't seen it since then. Uncle said he hid it in the safest place."
Hugo understood.
'So that was the throne of Ophiuchus.'
And the seat of a star god was the symbol of the star seat and its leader.
There was no benefit to leaving it where it could be easily seen.
"Anyway, it's that precious an item. Of course he'd put it somewhere safe. Like his Hawaii workshop or something..."
At that, Han Ji-min's eyes went wide as if wondering what he meant.
"Huh? Wasn't the throne of Ophiuchus the dining chair in Lord Sagittarius's kitchen?"
"What?!"
"Uh, that's strange. I'm pretty sure that's right..."
At those words, the Sagittarius holy warriors stirred.
"Wait. A dining chair... you mean..."
Hugo's face turned somewhat pale.
It couldn't be helped.
"That, Lord Hugo said it was old and to dispose of it, so yesterday he put it out to..."
"I didn't throw it away!!! I just put it out by the trash area in front of the building!"
"That's what you call throwing away..."
Hugo looked at Han Ji-min.
"Did, did Geon say that? That it's the throne of Ophiuchus?"
"Ah, no. But whenever he visited the Sagittarius sanctuary, he always sat in the same spot, and when I asked why, he said it was his reserved seat... And if it's a star god's reserved seat, of course it's a divine throne, I thought..."
Hearing that, Hugo laughed brightly with relief.
"That's just where that bastard sits because the TV is easy to see from there. It's not the throne."
Relieved, Hugo said he would send the throne of Taurus to Lee Geon and then head toward Aquarius.
But it was then.
Buzz.
Hugo's phone rang with a message.
Feeling ominous, he checked the caller and saw it was his friend.
And the moment he answered.
— Taek-su. I'm asking just in case, but did you throw away my dining chair?
"......!!!"
— Some kind of defensive barrier activated, so someone must be attacking it. I wondered if it had been moved outside.
Hugo, sweating profusely, immediately hung up the phone.
And then.
"Hurry upstairs!!! Quickly, go get the dining chair from the trash area!!!"
* * *
Beep-beep-beep.
At the sound coming through the phone, Lee Geon tilted his head.
"What the hell. Why'd that bastard hang up when I wasn't done talking?"
Atop the Drachma.
Lee Geon was fuming, wondering why he'd suddenly hung up.
But Kevin, who had been listening to the conversation, was breaking out in a cold sweat.
'Does he really not know why he hung up?'
Because the quick-witted Kevin had roughly realized what had happened just from the snippets of conversation he'd overheard.
And maybe Kevin wasn't the only one who noticed.
"The throne of Ophiuchus was thrown away..."
Haley, who muttered this, wore a grave expression.
They said it was a dining chair, but there was no way a mere dining chair would have a defensive barrier.
'It's definitely the throne of Ophiuchus.'
And the fact that the chair was under attack surely meant that the outer gods who had caught its scent were acting.
And so that Hugo wouldn't defend it in vain, the outer gods might have instead targeted an easier throne.
That was probably the throne of Ophiuchus, which seemed to have been thrown away(?).
Perhaps that was why.
"Lee Geon, can you really stay like this? The throne of Ophiuchus is in danger..."
"What? What nonsense."
"No, Sagittarius said he threw it away..."
"What are you saying. That's just my easy chair."
"?!!"
"You seem to be mistaken about something, but Ophiuchus doesn't have a throne."
"What?!"
If Ophiuchus had a throne, it would be nice since there were things they could check, but...
'We are looking, though. Just don't know where it is.'
"Anyway, even if there was one, there's no way I'd leave it somewhere visible."
Wait, so then why were the outer gods targeting it?
"But is it okay? Even if it's just an easy chair, it shouldn't be destroyed."
What??
"Well, it's fine since it's loaded with traps."
"??!"
No, why did he load traps on just an easy chair?
"Anyway, the human who ends up next to it will suffer a bit but also gain a lot."
"???"
What did he mean by gain?
But regardless, Lee Geon focused on the [floating island] that was beginning to show before his eyes.
The [floating island] that [the Blazing Snake] had left behind.
Though it was an unidentifiable land, that floating island was emitting an astonishingly bright light.
From the center of the island, a powerful light of life was rising.
[The Sun feels immense joy sensing this potential for growth]
[The Moon grieves greatly]
[The Star says that it feels something from that place]
And the reason Lee Geon had come to this floating island was just one.
Because of the sparkling marker that the Blazing Snake had marked in the sky.
Thus, Lee Geon smiled.
"Feather-brained bastard. You were hiding in quite the adorable place, weren't you?"
Well, it turned out well.
Since he had to designate his own land for the [Drachma] anyway.
But it was just then.
Boom!
An attack flew from the floating island.
Simultaneously, unfamiliar faces rushed at him.
[Hand over the position of the star god of Ophiuchus!]
They were outer gods.
(To be continued in the next chapter)