It was only an instant, but it was unmistakable.
Short, light-colored hair and a face that looked about nineteen or twenty.
The person who had brushed past him was someone he knew.
Or more precisely, someone Yi Geon would have known.
*‘Yeonwoo.’*
Without a doubt, it was that person—the one who had been family with Yi Geon in the old days, the one who had supposedly been devoured by a monster in his place.
*‘I heard it was the work of that monarch.’*
Well, it was time that did the killing, and as for the flesh, it seemed the monster who’d been with them had eaten it.
And in the end, Yi Geon couldn’t even recover Yeonwoo’s body.
All he could salvage, they said, were tiny bone fragments the monster had dropped while feeding.
Wasn’t part of that what became the Punishment of the Heavenly Sky?
Anyway… why was someone who died twenty-four years ago here?
But Hugo, glancing around, was startled.
*‘Gone.’*
There had been an afterimage, but now even that had completely vanished.
Well, whatever it was, it didn’t matter now.
[Aaaargh!!! Sagittarius! Save me!]
“?!”
The creatures that had been chasing Hugo began chasing Yang Wei instead.
They were looking at Yang Wei and grinning eerily.
[The lowest of the low, a lowborn slave god. A lowborn slave!]
[The pattern on the necklace around his neck is the proof!]
[Hahaha! I don’t know what crime he committed, but it’s been a thousand years since we’ve seen one of those!]
[I’ll pluck out his eyes first.]
[I’ll pull his fingernails first.]
[A precious one! Treat him with care!]
Wait, they were saying treat him with care, yet they planned to pluck out eyes and pull off fingernails?
“You son of a bitch, what is this hellhole?!”
Yang Wei, hiding behind Hugo, wailed.
[It’s Tartarus!]
“Tar… what?”
[One of the Hell Layers of the Divine Realm, called the Torture Realm!]
Hugo froze at those words.
Of course, even hearing the name Torture Realm, he honestly had no clue what kind of place it was.
He’d stopped asking after the Constellation God scoffed, ‘If I told you, would you even understand the Divine Realm?’
But even knowing nothing, one thing was certain.
“You bastard, this is about you. Get going!”
[Aaagh!!!]
If they got caught, he’d be tortured to death too.
And when Hugo shoved him away, Yang Wei grabbed his leg, sobbing about how he could do this between them.
[How could you! You’re super strong! We’ve shared twenty years of burning friendship! You were closer to me than Yi Geon!]
“I don’t even have memories of sharing garbage with you.”
[Please! I can’t even use holy artifacts because of this necklace!]
Hugo looked at the black choker around Yang Wei’s neck.
He didn’t fully understand, but it seemed the red letters inscribed there indicated Yang Wei’s current status.
[A toy-slave prisoner for us after such a long time!]
[What’s the Divine Realm up to, sending us such a precious one!]
[Just what kind of crimes did he commit! Hahaha!]
Hugo glanced at Yang Wei’s collar at those words.
Of course, he understood the meaning of that choker.
*‘A god of the slave class, even among divine beings.’*
And for reasons unknown, Yang Wei was a lowborn, the most abused kind even among slave gods.
So he asked.
“What crime did you commit in the meantime? You should’ve just stuck quietly by Geon’s side.”
[What! That bastard Yi Geon is the one who did this to me!]
“What?”
[He auctioned off our Constellation God for 5.997 trillion talents and handed the debt to me!]
Hugo was horrified.
He could see exactly what had happened without even hearing the details.
No, before that…
*‘5.997 trillion talents??’*
“Can you even repay that?”
[How the hell could I?! Anyway, what are you hiding in your pocket!]
Though he’d become a slave, Yang Wei, ironically because of that, had turned into a yokai-like human soul.
He was far more sensitive to power than when he was human.
Maybe that was why.
“Hey, yah!”
Yang Wei swiftly snatched the notebook from Hugo’s pocket.
It was a black notebook with a snake pattern drawn on it.
And when Yang Wei saw its contents, he was appalled.
Because it was inscribed in Yi Geon’s handwriting, recording something from twenty years ago.
[Wh-what is this! Isn’t this Yi Geon’s old idea notebook from back then?]
“Yeah. An SS-rank appraiser I know had it for twenty years, but he said when Geon got it back, it evolved into a memory-type holy artifact. So now it seems he uses it as a design notebook.”
Yang Wei ground his teeth.
‘Dammit, I searched so hard for this notebook, and that appraiser had it all along?’
But no, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
‘That crazy bastard, what kind of blueprint has he been cooking up in the meantime…!’
Though it was only a fraction, Yang Wei’s hands trembled as he scanned the contents.
As a born merchant, he instantly grasped the value of this blueprint.
Yang Wei swallowed hard.
Well, to Hugo, it probably just looked like random delusions written down.
*‘This insane bastard, he was designing something like this?’*
Humans can never escape the Constellation Gods.
Because holy artifacts and skills can never be used without the magic power of the Constellation Gods.
And as long as unknown civilizations exist, and as long as threats exist, humanity can never break away from the Twelve Zodiac Constellation Gods.
Of course, given Yi Geon’s current path, there was no reason for him to make something like this.
If Yi Geon merged all twelve Zodiac divine thrones and became the sole god, he could simply lead humanity himself.
Which meant…
*‘That bastard. He’s also preparing for if something goes wrong with himself.’*
This was Yi Geon, who had once been betrayed in the Demon Tower while staying still.
He was probably preparing a few things just in case for an uncertain future.
*‘Anyway, these are all insane designs.’*
Just as Capricorn’s blueprints had traded at high prices, Yang Wei knew how to read design schematics.
And in Yi Geon’s notebook, there were not only weapons but also fabrication plans for buildings and all sorts of things.
What’s more, the level was high.
To put it simply, if these were all made real, neither humanity nor gods would suffer any technological inconvenience for about three hundred years?
*‘I knew he was a genius, but I didn’t know it was this much.’*
Yang Wei felt he now understood why his Constellation God had so persistently ordered him to gather the holy artifacts of the dead Yi Geon.
And also what the Constellation God had muttered back then.
*‘Strange. As expected, he seems to carry the same magic power as that Creation Clan.’*
He meant the artisan clan that had crafted the thirteen divine thrones.
In truth, all gods could muster divine troops and receive tributes, but that was simply gathering military force.
Meaning, among the gods, the only divine throne that could form a holy city and grow through experience points was…
And what made that possible was…, and because of that, it seemed to be treated as a treasure of the universe.
No, it probably wasn’t just that.
*‘They say even…, which all Constellation God-level beings now possess, are all creations of that Creation Clan.’*
So everything made by that Creation Clan was said to receive special treatment.
To put it simply, just as inventions made by geniuses change each era, the same was true for things made by that Creation Clan.
They were genius artisans that even gods couldn’t help but covet.
And judging by the truth uttered earlier by his now-enslaved Constellation God…
*‘It’s certain. That bastard Yi Geon has the blood of the Creation Clan flowing in him.’*
At the same time, there was a possibility that Yi Geon was the original master…
*‘Well, I heard Ophiuchus was originally the leader of the thirteen Zodiac palaces anyway.’*
Which was why Yang Wei found it so frustrating.
*‘That bastard Yi Geon. He’s going to scatter something this incredible to humanity again, isn’t he!’*
It wasn’t that he couldn’t secure his own gains, but by Yang Wei’s standards, this guy had no clue about business!
*‘Selling this to the gods would fetch an astronomical fortune!’*
No, gods were nothing.
An item of this caliber, the entire Divine Realm itself might rush to buy it.
Then wouldn’t his debt of 5.997 trillion be cleared in an instant?
*‘Then I can escape slavery!’*
No, that wasn’t all.
*‘Even without the blueprints, this notebook alone is already a holy artifact with considerable functionality!’*
Thus, Yang Wei’s eyes flashed with hope.
And maybe that was why.
*‘This is a chance. I have to steal it. I have to sell it to the Divine Realm and break free from slavery.’*
But Hugo wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Hey. Give that here.”
[……!?]
“I can see exactly what you’re thinking, you know? Hand it over, now.”
Hugo urgently tried to snatch the notebook back.
“You bastard, you just got faster since becoming a yokai! Let go!”
But Yang Wei, who couldn’t afford to live as a slave, was desperate.
[No! I won’t! You bastard, you don’t even know how much this is worth!]
“I know too! Are you not handing it over?”
[What do you know! Would someone who knows just leave it like this!]
As if it wasn’t worth answering, Hugo reached out.
And just as Hugo was about to grab the notebook!
[Gooooh!]
Under the assault of the gods, Yi Geon’s blueprints flew away.
“?!”
In the end, the notebook fell into the dark riverbank.
And the one who scooped up the notebook fallen into the river was none other than the river god!
“Aagh!! That old bastard with the trident!”
Pale as a ghost, Hugo swiftly drew his bow.
An arrow of magical power shot forth in an instant, but the river god nonchalantly slipped into the water.
Ultimately, Hugo rolled up his sleeves and pants.
“You think I can’t chase you into the river?!”
Yang Wei desperately clung to him.
[You idiot! That river is the Samdocheon! The River of Oblivion! If you fall in, it’s game over!]
“What?!”
Flustered, Hugo hoisted Yang Wei up like a pig about to be slaughtered.
Yang Wei fainted.
[Hey! What are you doing!]
“Don’t worry. I’ll pull you out in no time.”
As Hugo gestured, a red lasso bound around Yang Wei’s legs.
Originally, this skill was a trap skill exclusive to Sagittarius, used only for luring prey, but who cares.
“There! I’ll hold on, so swim toward Geon’s notebook, you pig!”
[What?!]
“Why? Weren’t you going to sell Geon’s designs? Or are you going to let another god snatch them?”
[No! Hey!]
“I put a tracking skill on the notebook, so just reach out your hand!”
At last, Hugo hurled Yang Wei into the river.
But at that moment.
“Ughack?!”
Something rising from the floor dragged Hugo into the river too.
Splash!
Dragged into the River of Oblivion, Hugo almost screamed involuntarily.
It was because of the countless hands reaching out from the riverbed.
Like gravel, the hands paved across the riverbed aimed for Hugo and Yang Wei, who had fallen in.
[A precious lowborn slave god!]
[The other one is human, but wears a divine rank.]
[An affiliated god, perhaps?]
[Well, the speed at which memories are erased varies by power, but even the strongest god can’t last thirty seconds here.]
[Indeed. Let’s hand them over to the ruler here.]
[Then our sentence will be reduced.]
Hugo, his leg caught, ground his teeth.
He quickly turned his head. Thanks to the tracking skill, Yang Wei had latched onto the river god who swam away with the notebook in his mouth.
[Urgh, who am I. But the notebook, I have to hold onto the notebook.]
True to his greedy nature, though his memories were erased, he clutched the notebook tenaciously.
In response, Hugo twitched his fingers.
The stretched lasso line contracted, pulling Yang Wei back.
Taking the notebook from the dragged Yang Wei was nothing.
And though the robbed river god chased madly, Hugo shot an arrow.
Boom!!
The river god was the first to be blasted away by Hugo’s arrow.
Immediately after, he fired an arrow toward the hundreds of hands.
[
Paaang!!!
This time, the firepower was immense.
The entire river exploded, and the River Samdocheon was blown away entirely.
Along with the hands of the slave gods beneath it.
[Experience points increase dramatically.]
[Level has risen.]
[Little remains until the qualification of…]
[The name of… has been obtained. The path of the Combat Affiliated God becomes known.]
The growth rate was far faster than when dealing with monsters.
But as if that wasn’t the important thing, Hugo urgently swam up toward the surface.
*‘It’s not too late. My memories haven’t been erased.’*
But at that moment.
“……!”
Something grabbed Hugo by the hair and dragged him down.
Underneath the river he had destroyed, something was there.
The opponent was no slave god.
[To kill all my slaves. So there’s a useful Affiliated God-level being here.]
“……?!”
[I shall make you my special servant.]
Hugo realized it was too late.
The opponent was probably the god managing this place.
[All memories are erased.]
Simultaneously, Hugo’s magic power also vanished. When you lose memories, faith disappears as well.
But at that moment.
Flash!
A woman appeared before Hugo.
And as her eyes flashed, the being targeting Hugo screamed and vanished.
At the same time, a flash erupted, and Hugo’s vision changed.
When he opened his eyes, he was outside the river.
“Cough, cough.”
Soon, the woman tapped Hugo’s head, and his memories returned.
That was why Hugo couldn’t help but be shocked at the woman before his eyes.
*‘Yeonwoo.’*
And it was then.
[Taek-su, can you hear me?]
“!”
Hugo flinched in surprise at the familiar voice from the sky.
Of course, Yi Geon hadn’t come to this world. Only his voice could be heard.
But…
*‘Geon came to save me.’*
At the same time, Hugo urgently looked at Yeonwoo.
*‘I have to tell Geon about this.’*
But at that moment.
The woman shook her head and murmured something.
[Please, be sure to tell Ophiuchus.]
Hugo couldn’t help but be startled at that voice. It was the same female voice he’d occasionally heard.
But what was more surprising wasn’t that.
Just as he was wondering what he had to convey, a shining object appeared before Hugo.
A chair.
It was an object of Ophiuchus.
(Continues in the next part)