This was right after Igeon had caught the Pisces.
The world was thrown into shock.
It was probably a shock on par with Steven’s press conference after Igeon had caught the Red Eyes.
[The gods have betrayed humanity]
[“They exploited human fear for the sake of faith”]
[It was the Constellation Gods who tried to kill humanity’s hero, Igeon]
Suspicions that the Constellation Gods had invited the Unknown Civilization.
Moreover, the suspicion that they had tried to eliminate Igeon, the vanguard, in the Demon’s Tower precisely because his capture of all the monsters would have been disastrous for them.
And the story that the root of all this was the Constellation Gods usurping the thrones from their original owners.
Even the story that in the past, Awakened had classes, and the reason they were slaughtered was because they had discovered these secrets of the Constellation Gods.
Countless stories poured out.
But it seemed the people of the world were even more shocked by the process through which the truth was revealed than by the truth itself.
It couldn’t be helped.
— Now! Say it again! What was that?
— Kk, khhh! Th-that is, we were worried that Sir Igeon really would drive out the entire Unknown Civilization…!
— Your voice is too quiet! Again!
— Th-that is, the Constellation Gods conspired to kill Sir Igeon using Cancer… Kyaaak! We were wrong! Please, anything but the furnace!
It was so.
This press conference had been led by Igeon personally.
The reason was that leaving it to the Constellation Gods alone risked them taking the ordinary people in the conference hall hostage.
And what appeared on TV were the Aries Constellation God, dragged in like a slave, and the younger sister of the Pisces Constellation God.
The Aries god was forced to confess while held by the scruff of the neck by Igeon—no, more like beaten to a pulp—and the Pisces god was tied up over the furnace.
The older sister had long since gone into the furnace.
And the Constellation Gods were beings who had originally manifested only through the bodies of the Saints.
When the forms of the Constellation Gods, never seen before, were broadcast live, everyone’s attention was riveted.
Of course, the reason they could reveal themselves like that was all thanks to the collars around their necks.
[Divinity Control Device (EX)]
— 100% control over divine power
It was something Igeon had made by applying the ring he normally used to seal his power.
And then.
— Now, again!
— Th-that is, we needed human worship…! No, I… just how many times are we repeating this?
— Earlier was the Asian broadcast. Now this is the version going out to the remote parts of Africa.
— Is there even anyone there to listen?!
In the end, the world had no choice but to be shocked by that bizarre press conference.
And Hugo was no exception, watching TV in shock.
“This crazy bastard…. He said to leave the cleanup to him, and what the hell is that?”
Hugo stared blankly at the recorded scene.
If he’d known it would be like that, he would have just gone himself.
But the person who had actually caused this mess seemed to feel wronged.
“Sniff. People say I’m more like a villain than him. Isn’t that too much?”
“…….”
No, anyone who saw that spectacle would think the same.
“It’s only because of all the achievements you’ve piled up that you’re not in trouble. Know that in an instant you could have become the final boss.”
“Sniff. Taeksu, I’m so wronged.”
“Hey, stop pretending to cry. Who’s going to fall for that garbage acting?”
At that, Steven, who was nearby, shot him a look of utter disbelief.
A face that said, Who was it that got so fooled they grabbed reporters by the collar?
That made Hugo flinch, and he shouted.
“Damn it, that was because my body reacted weirdly to the skill!”
“Oh really?”
But Hugo was actually grinding his teeth as he looked at Igeon.
‘Because of that bastard, I ended up with weird skills.’
Well, the massive increase in attack power did make it worthwhile, though.
But the world reacted quickly.
— If this revelation is true, shouldn’t we rethink the entire Constellation System itself?
— No, we must maintain the system! We’re still in a standoff with the Unknown Civilization!
— That’s right. Whatever the cause, the monsters did target humans and attacked. They would have been conquered sooner or later anyway.
— Can’t the Constellations just be left to the Saints as they are now?
— What are you talking about! The Saints committed fraud against Sir Igeon! How can we trust them now?!
— In this case, perhaps we should leave it to Igeon….
— To Igeon? Are you crazy?!
— Crazy? Love him or hate him, Igeon is our hero who prioritizes humanity! He has never harmed an ordinary person!
— Are you sure about that? What about dine-and-dashing or property damage….
At those words, Igeon’s eyes went wide.
“Wow, what are they saying! Do they know how much I’ve worked for free! They can let that much slide!”
“Let it slide, my foot! Anyway, never hold a press conference like that again. From now on, I’ll….”
“Look who’s talking. You’re no different from him. If anything, we’d be lucky if your Berserk skill doesn’t make it even worse.”
At that, Hugo glared at Steven.
“Forget that, why are you here?!”
And no wonder. This was the main sanctuary of Virgo. It wasn’t far from the press conference venue.
And there was no way Kevin would tolerate Leo entering this place.
“Does Leo have so little to do? Chasing after Geon like a little puppy?”
At that, Steven burst out in anger.
“What are you talking about! I’m a guest here too! I’m here because Geon said he’d make a weapon for me!”
Hugo looked at Steven as if he were ridiculous.
Sure, he was blinded by the prospect of an EX-rank weapon, but there was no way Igeon would actually make one for him.
“You idiot. After everything you’ve been through, you still don’t know Geon….”
But then.
“Yeah, I’ve got all the measurements data now, so just wait a bit. I’ll have it finished in three days.”
“Really?!”
Steven was overjoyed, and Hugo looked at Igeon as if he’d lost his mind.
“Geon, are you saying you’re really making a weapon for him?!”
“Yeah. A promise is a promise.”
At those words, Hugo’s mouth fell open.
‘Did he eat poison or something?’
What on earth had gotten into him to make a weapon?
But whether they understood or not, Igeon focused on his shadow.
Because the familiar spirit he’d sent out to scout had returned.
[Master, I searched the entire Pisces sanctuary, but it wasn’t there, as expected.]
Igeon furrowed his brow.
A strange killing intent could be felt. Steven flinched at the sight, and Hugo asked.
“Geon, what’s going on?”
“I had my familiar search the sanctuary. There was something I was looking for.”
“Something you were looking for?”
“Yeonu.”
“!!”
At the same time, a hand reached out from the shadow.
It was none other than a pendant necklace.
And Hugo was shocked by the object.
That’s because it was the very item that Pisces had used to provoke her own friend on TV.
‘They said Yeonu’s soul is contained within it.’
It seemed they had searched Pisces’s body and found it.
The familiar spirit spoke.
[I found nothing else within the sanctuary containing the same energy. It is presumed that is all of it.]
“What do you mean?”
At Hugo’s question, Igeon looked at the pendant and said.
“It’s nothing. Just that it seems Yeonu’s soul has been split.”
“What?!”
He hadn’t realized it from a distance, but when he disposed of Pisces and recovered this object, he understood.
“What’s in here is about 10% of her soul.”
“What?!”
Their eyes went wide, as if asking if that was even possible.
Of course, Pisces was a cautious Constellation God.
So at first Igeon thought she had used transformation magic to bring a fake for negotiations, keeping the real one hidden in her sanctuary.
‘But just in case, I checked, and it’s not in the sanctuary.’
Well, 10% was so minuscule it was practically a speck of dust, and wouldn’t have any personality, but Yeonu was still Yeonu.
Igeon looked at it with considerable care.
Then he said.
“Probably has the remaining 90%.”
“!”
It was originally who held Yeonu’s soul, and Pisces had obtained it from her to provoke Igeon.
And had undoubtedly split the soul at that time and handed part to Pisces.
The reason was simple.
‘They said is obsessed with the power of Ophiuchus.’
And Yeonu was the former Ophiuchus Constellation God.
She must be more interested in the power of than in Yeonu herself.
‘I don’t know the reason why, though.’
But at those words, Hugo gave him an incredulous look.
“Wait. That makes it even stranger. The ability to split a soul is Cancer’s exclusive, patented skill.”
“But Cancer currently has no Constellation God, so that skill can’t be used, right?”
That was correct.
When a Constellation God disappears, all skills of that constellation become unusable.
In fact, on the borrowed skill list, all Cancer skills were marked as ‘Unusable.’
‘And any data I obtained that I didn’t turn into a holy artifact quickly became unusable.’
That was why Igeon had dispatched Kalli and Yuha to steal the throne from the Cancer side.
Having would enable a merger, and only then could skills be transferred over to Ophiuchus.
‘But the only ones Igeon has transferred so far are Taurus and Gemini.’
Defense was urgently needed, and Gemini was for the mage Seongjae.
The rest had not yet been moved.
Especially Cancer, with its god-killing attribute, was extremely powerful but demanded caution in its transfer.
But now.
“You’re saying can use Cancer’s skill?”
How in the world?
However, that question was quickly resolved.
[Miss Hailie said that is a time traveler who can move between the past and the future.]
“!?”
Everyone in the room was startled by the sudden voice.
It couldn’t be helped.
“Seongjae?!”
“What the… Where is that coming from?”
This time, even Igeon was unusually surprised.
What was this? Even he hadn’t felt any presence.
But when he realized where the voice was coming from, Igeon’s eyes widened.
And then.
“This little rascal. I told you not to use it for nonsense.”
Igeon grabbed the slime on his shoulder tightly.
At the same time, a scream came from the slime.
Without a doubt.
It was a possession artifact—he had possessed the slime.
But that wasn’t the only shocking thing.
[Ah, you idiot! Why would you say something! We’ve been caught!]
“?!!”
Another voice came from the slime.
“Yuha?!!”
Dad, Steven, and even Igeon were shocked.
Apparently, both siblings had possessed the slime at the same time.
Igeon squished the slime’s face and twitched his brow.
“You little punks. I told you not to use it for peeping. Where are you two right now?”
[Ggweeeek!! We’re in the Virgo Saint’s vault right now!]
“What? Why their vault?”
[Well, because there’s something we need to… steal…!]
Hugo pressed a hand to his forehead.
He had no idea what the kids were up to.
“So? What’s this about a time traveler?”
[Ah! So supposedly, can travel to the past. So we thought maybe she’s using the power of the past Cancer Constellation God.]
At those words, Igeon, Steven, and Hugo all furrowed their brows.
Well, given her abilities, it meant regression was possible.
“It’s certainly fitting that they’d say there’s no way to kill someone like that.”
At the same time, Hugo broke out in a cold sweat.
‘The one who annihilated Sagittarius, including the Blazing Scorpion Lord, in the future was .’
He needed to leave Ophiuchus quickly and return to Sagittarius. He couldn’t leave everything to Gott alone.
But it was right then.
“Khk!”
“Geon?!”
All of a sudden, Igeon clutched his heart as if in agony.
“Geon! What’s wrong! Are you sick somewhere?”
Igeon was in extreme distress.
And then.
Ruuuumble!!!
A sudden burst of black light shot up from Igeon’s body.
[Experience point application complete.]
[The level of has increased.]
[Death evolves to Stage 4.]
[Warning. This is the stage immediately before entering the final stage.]
[The time of choice is approaching.]
(Continued in the next episode)