It was a chair.
A truly beautiful and magnificent jade throne at that.
At a glance, it was transparent like ice, but emitted a subtle glow; whoever carved it, it seemed like an object not of this world.
At the same time, Hugo was certain.
‘It’s a Throne.’
Perhaps because it wasn’t in an open state, it was smaller than the one the Blazing Star God possessed, but it was definitely a Throne.
A special sacred relic held only by the Thirteen Star Gods of the Zodiac.
It was a treasure symbolizing the master of a divine throne.
And although countless divine thrones existed in the world, only the Twelve Zodiacs used a Throne as the symbol of their master.
The rest, it seemed, used rings, keys, gems, swords, and various other objects as their master’s symbol.
Of course, their functions were child’s play compared to His. At best, they provided buffs like raising stats.
Hence, only He could choose His own master and build a Star Path system to raise a Star God.
Anyway, that wasn't important.
‘Why is this here?’
The chair obviously emanated the demonic energy of the Snake Lord.
And hadn’t this person told him to deliver this chair to the Snake Lord?
That meant...
“Could this really be the Snake Lord’s Throne?”
Yeonwoo nodded with an expression that said, ‘Why are you asking something so obvious?’
Thus, Hugo’s face froze.
“Really? This is the Snake Lord’s Throne?”
Nod.
“Really...?”
Nod nod.
“Really????”
Now Yeonwoo tilted her head, as if wondering why he was reacting that way.
But Hugo himself screamed as if wronged.
“…Damn it, then what kind of chair was I guarding that got me sucked into here?!!”
Hugo, who had been guarding a chair good for the spine and got caught in a trap, held his face.
“Geon, that son of a bitch!!”
Since the chair was so important that Geon personally called him, he naturally thought it was the Snake Lord’s Throne!
“Why did that bastard set a trap on something that’s not even a Throne?!”
If it weren’t for that chair, he wouldn’t have gone through all this suffering!
Suddenly feeling pathetic for risking his life to protect it, Hugo was overcome with embarrassment.
Of course, thanks to coming here, he had met this person.
Hugo, glancing at Yeonwoo, turned his gaze to the Throne.
He had been momentarily mentally collapsed, but now he was newly bewildered.
“Why is this here?”
At those words, the woman, who had worn a somewhat sad expression, reached out and lightly tapped Hugo’s forehead.
At that moment, Hugo screamed.
Because an extraordinary spectacle unfolded before his eyes.
It seemed like a scene from the past.
‘Is this inside a department store?’
It must have been an event from 24 years ago.
And within the department store swallowed by a fire fiend, a tall man approached.
- You’ve worked hard to find it.
The one who appeared was not human.
Though he looked human, resembling Zhang Rui, he was clearly a monster.
And not an ordinary monster at that.
‘A Monarch!’
Compared to Plenty, who had entered a human body, he was a guy exuding incredibly dangerous energy.
Moreover, this bastard was the one who had appeared in his precognition skills.
‘The one that appeared when Yoo Ha and Seongjae got beaten, and our divine throne was attacked.’
Soon, a monster subordinate spoke toward him.
- Lord Time. We have found it.
At that name, Hugo’s eyes flashed.
‘Time? That bastard is Time?’
Anyway, that bastard must be the culprit behind the incident related to the 13th.
‘He’s the owner of the Great One and the one who experimented on Geon there.’
His teeth ground together thinking about how much his friend must have suffered there.
‘No, how much must he have been tormented to be startled even by physical contact.’
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.
- The power of the Great One possessed by the 13th is needed. Since you seem unable to use that power, bring out the Great One.
- !
- It seems that if you occupy the Throne, you can become the 13th Star God.
At the Great One’s words, the master of the point in time, presumed to be Yeonwoo, shook her head.
Her limbs were torn.
She seemed unable to use her strength because she was an ordinary human.
And toward her, Time laughed.
- Well, I know you have no intention of bringing it out easily. So, I’ll make you have that intention.
With that horrifying laugh, Hugo was startled.
Next to Time, a familiar face was summoned.
He couldn’t help but be.
‘Geon!’
It was Lee Geon from his childhood.
Of course, even though it was his childhood, his appearance was exactly the same as now.
Just, compared to now, he looked so kind he could almost pass for an angel?
Time laughed.
- You pretend to have come alone, but this man. He’s your companion, isn’t he?
- ……!!
Flustered, the master of the time point urgently tried to grab Lee Geon.
But Time grinned and made a gesture.
At the same time, an eyeless fog monster swallowed Lee Geon.
It was the Abyss.
Of course, Lee Geon, who had been eaten by the Abyss, was immediately spat out. For some unknown reason, the being that swallowed him writhed in agony.
But his condition was extremely dangerous.
Eventually, the master of the time point seemed to despair.
Time smiled with satisfaction.
- Now, hand it over. The Throne of the 13th.
At those words, the master of the time point laughed.
She hadn’t the slightest intention of handing over her master’s possession to the Monarch bastards.
Perhaps because of that.
The master of the time point, who couldn’t use her abilities, seemed to have sought another method.
At that moment, a tremendous flash erupted.
With that flash, Lee Geon, who was dying, was revived.
But the master of the time point who saved Lee Geon lost her abilities and fell into Tartarus.
Thus, the flashback ended.
At the same time, Hugo gasped for air and opened his eyes.
Before his eyes was the woman who had removed her hand.
Hugo immediately realized what had happened.
“You’re the one who awakened Geon?”
And it hadn’t been a simple awakening.
‘She transferred her own power to Geon.’
The Yeonwoo that Lee Geon spoke of had been the 13th Star God.
And it wasn’t just a transfer of power.
‘She transferred the divinity itself.’
Simply put, she had transferred the power of a god.
The reason was simple.
To save Lee Geon.
‘She was in an unawakened state, so she couldn’t use the power of the Snake Lord.’
Because she possessed divinity, Yeonwoo didn’t easily die even when her limbs were severed, but her healing skill for others hadn’t manifested.
However, if left as is, Lee Geon would have died within minutes.
‘That’s why she transferred the divinity.’
The Snake Lord’s Throne possessed the authority of the Great One. Even just holding the divinity would have healed his wounds to some extent.
But transferring the divinity must have also been a problem.
Ordinarily, a formal succession process is needed to transfer divinity, but an unawakened 13th Star God wouldn’t have the qualification.
‘So she made a contract with the God Realm.’
If she used the Great One that the Star Gods borrowed, it would have been possible to transfer the divinity.
However, Time wouldn’t have simply let the divinity be transferred.
‘She transferred the divinity at the cost of becoming a slave.’
Perhaps she couldn’t use a method to revive the dead Lee Geon by awakening herself.
I don’t know why, but if that were possible, she wouldn’t have transferred the divinity.
Anyway, that’s why Yeonwoo is here.
But as if reading his expression, Yeonwoo smiled and shook her head.
[The price for transferring divinity could be paid with the talents I had, but the problem was the Throne.]
As the divinity was transferred, the Throne also had to be transferred, but Lee Geon couldn’t take the Snake Lord’s Throne.
Because at that time, he wasn’t a complete Star God of the Snake Lord.
And yet, she had lost her divinity to protect it herself.
In fact, Time had approached to seize this Throne.
And in that short moment, the only way she could protect the Snake Lord’s Throne was one.
‘Go where no one can come.’
[In Tartarus, Monarchs cannot come, and Star Gods cannot come unless they become slaves. They can’t even track it.]
And since she had lost her divinity, she temporarily needed power.
Thus, after death, she made a contract with the Great One at the cost of becoming a slave.
She asked for the power to protect the Throne here until the time came.
Upon hearing that story, Hugo’s mouth gaped.
‘So the Throne and this person were here.’
Yeonwoo said.
[Now that a Star God of the Snake Lord has appeared, I should hand over the Throne, but there hasn’t been a proper opportunity.]
Hugo flinched.
Then could it be that the reason he was brought here...
[No. It’s a coincidence. I never imagined you would really be able to come here.]
“…Really?”
Hugo looked at her with a dubious expression, but Yeonwoo smiled brightly and said.
[Since I can trust it if it’s Hugo-nim, I’d like to ask you to deliver it.]
Hugo sighed.
“I’m sorry, but I shouldn’t deliver this; you should deliver it to Geon…”
But just then.
[Ahhh! What is this chair!]
“?!”
Yang Wei, who had crawled out to the riverbank, was enchanted by the Throne and came running.
And even though he had lost his memory and didn’t know what the Throne was, Yang Wei hugged the Throne.
[I don’t know what this is, but it’s an incredible thing! We must sell it immediately!!!]
“Hey, for real!! Sell it? Sell what!”
[What? You’re not selling? I don’t know who you are, but you’re really stupid. I don’t know what this is, but we have to sell it hhh… blegh!]
Hugo knocked down Yang Wei, who was trying to steal the Throne.
“Keep sleeping, you bastard!”
Just after he had subdued Yang Wei.
[Taesu, can you not hear me?]
“!”
Geon’s voice came from the sky again.
The startled Hugo raised his head, but Geon’s power soon cut off.
Yeonwoo immediately understood the reason.
[It's too deep here, so a Star God cannot come. You need to go up to where a Star God’s power can reach.]
At those words, Hugo hurriedly touched the Throne. Then, with a flash of light, the Throne turned into a small cube-shaped piece and entered Hugo’s pocket.
The flustered Hugo looked at Yeonwoo.
“Let’s go up together. Geon must have found a way to escape.”
But right then.
[It’s a Throne]
[Oh my god, a Throne]
“!!!”
Rumble rumble!
Had they smelled the Throne?
Suddenly, the entirety of Tartarus shook.
The pitch-black sky, the pitch-black ground, the pitch-black riverbank.
With a tremendous earthquake, loud voices resounded.
[Hand over the Throne!]
[An empty Throne!!!]
[With that alone, we can obtain the power of a Star God!!!]
“!!”
Enemies of a completely different caliber from when the slave gods appeared earlier came swarming.
‘Damn it!’
Moreover, not only the slaves from the torture layer, but the sounds of gods from other layers who had caught the scent came rushing in.
And sure enough.
Crash!
A hand shot up from beneath Hugo’s feet.
“Damn it!”
At this, Yeonwoo hurriedly made a gesture. Then, with a tremendous light, the hand screamed.
It was the power she received from the Great One on the condition of protecting the Throne.
But.
[The condition of protecting the Throne has ended.]
[As the condition has been met, the contract is terminated.]
[The power given as the contract condition is being withdrawn.]
[It will disappear in about 1 minute.]
At the sound coming from the sky, Hugo was startled, and Yeonwoo smiled as if she had expected it.
From the very beginning, she had intended to send only Hugo and the Throne.
Since she couldn’t leave this place anyway, and she also knew the gods wouldn’t stay still when the Throne was taken outside.
Perhaps that’s why.
Yeonwoo struck Hugo’s arm.
At the same time, Hugo’s body floated up.
She was trying to send him flying to the upper layers where Geon’s power could reach.
And she would block the enemies with her last strength in the meantime.
So Hugo was flustered.
“Ah, no, wait!”
He reached out as if he could never leave Yeonwoo behind.
“No! We have to go together!!”
“!”
Hugo grabbed Yeonwoo’s arm, but it quickly slipped and he missed her.
‘No.’
But right then.
As Hugo was about to be sent flying upward alone, a tremendous flash poured from the sky.
The flash enveloped two people—no, three people.
(Continued in the next episode)