[Save me! Aaaak!]
[Breaking news! Three more monsters like Red Eye have appeared!]
[It’s similar to the Red Eye incident 20 years ago... no, it’s an even greater crisis!]
[Perhaps humanity will end up as prey for the unknown civilization just like this... Aaaak!!]
The whole world screamed at the sudden onslaught of monsters.
And in that chaos, everyone sensed death.
No wonder, since across the world, Red Eye and the Fish Constellation had stolen away humanity's future.
That’s why everyone thought they would die like this.
But.
[That’s…!! Igeon has stepped in!]
[He looks different, but it’s Igeon! It’s Igeon!]
[Igeon has taken down one of the enemies!]
[That’s not all! Thanks to the power of the Serpent Bearer Constellation, no one has been taken captive like 20 years ago!]
[The saints and holy warriors are defending the city using the Serpent Bearer’s skills!]
[Just like when he dealt with Red Eye 20 years ago, Igeon is saving humanity once again!]
People cheered at the scenes being broadcast on the news.
Though some places had their communications paralyzed by the invasion, there was no real trouble watching the news on their phones.
After all, humanity’s communication facilities were operated by the magic of the Fish Constellation.
And now that Igeon had inherited the Fish Constellation’s throne and was maintaining the communication facilities, even amid the city invasion, the disaster-preparedness channel was vividly alive.
At the sight of Igeon on the global public channel, Cheon Seong-jae broke down in tears.
“Uwaaaang! Uncleee!!”
Cheon Seong-jae, who was defending the city, looked like he was about to dive right into his phone monitor.
[Did you see that?! Igeon! Igeon has taken out one of the monsters!]
[Hey! Stop recording me!!]
“Uwaaaang, Uncleee!!”
[Humanity has been saved by Igeon once again!]
[I’ll really take down the channel!]
“Just get rid of me! Uwaaang!”
Cheon Seong-jae was so overjoyed he didn’t know what to do.
The little serpent with him and Cheon Yu-ha were reacting similarly.
And watching him, Gote broke out in a cold sweat.
He had already left his assigned area in Haelly’s hands and rushed over because his subordinates had sent reinforcements.
And fortunately, it seemed the Serpent Bearer Constellation and the holy warriors had dealt with the monsters and even quarantined those who had turned strange.
“Uwaaaang, I want to see Uncle up close too!!”
The holy warriors around them soothed their wailing.
“This place is safe now, so why not go and assist Lord Igeon?”
“R-right, then you could see him in person...”
But Cheon Seong-jae was downcast.
As if he didn’t know that already and wasn’t doing anything about it.
Of course he wanted to watch Igeon’s exploits live, but!
“Damn it, Uncle has placed a no-approach ban on me!!! He told me not to even set foot in the holy area for a while!”
As his wails echoed, Gote groaned as if he understood.
‘Come to think of it, Lady Haelly also couldn’t go when she was told to go to Lord Igeon.’
They were all in the same boat.
But then.
Vibrate.
“!”
Cheon Seong-jae was startled by a sudden text message.
Could it be a message from his uncle telling him to come back?
But after checking the message, Cheon Seong-jae pouted.
“What the hell, it’s Dad.”
But the content was a bit strange.
[Seongjae, be careful. The Sovereign is taking human form and trying to approach you.]
[He’ll probably look like a child.]
[High chance it’s Igeon’s appearance.]
[Dad will be there soon, wait.]
It was a flood of typos, but Cheon Seong-jae instantly understood and was alarmed.
‘The Sovereign is trying to approach?’
And at Cheon Seong-jae’s expression, Gote seemed surprised.
“If it’s a child, then it must be Lord Igeon’s current form. Is he trying to sneak in like when the Fish Constellation’s ten stars tried to infiltrate?”
At those words, Cheon Seong-jae became extremely displeased.
“That’s ridiculous. You think we wouldn’t recognize Uncle?”
“Hah, last time you didn’t recogn— gahk!!”
Cheon Seong-jae kicked Gote and narrowed his brow.
The fact that Dad had sent a message so urgently was one thing.
‘Something’s not right.’
Feeling uneasy, Cheon Seong-jae tried to go see his uncle for a moment.
Since he could get there and back quickly with a skill.
But.
“!”
When Cheon Seong-jae’s expression hardened, the holy warriors of the Divine Archer Constellation tilted their heads.
“Seongjae, what’s wrong?”
“My Return skill isn’t working.”
“What? Really?”
It wasn’t just the Return skill. He couldn’t even contact his uncle at all.
Surely the Sovereign’s power was interfering so that the holy gods and warriors couldn’t communicate.
‘No wonder, I thought I couldn’t hear Uncle’s voice earlier.’
He just thought Uncle was busy.
Of course, amid all that, there were instructions from Igeon.
[If you see a suspicious guy, don’t fight and just let me know.]
The suspicious guy must mean the one in human form, the Sovereign.
‘If he’s taken Uncle’s appearance, I can tell right away.’
And just then.
“Lord of the Serpent Bearer Constellation!”
“!”
A familiar face appeared before them.
With a gentle impression, it was a boy around Cheon Seong-jae’s age.
Of course, they didn’t know him personally.
It was just a face they recognized.
Sure enough, Gote nudged Cheon Seong-jae.
“Isn’t that Lord Igeon’s younger brother?”
“!”
It was unmistakable.
The visions of the Serpent Bearer Constellation had shown the previous generation of holy gods.
That is, it had shown the appearances of Igeon’s family.
Specifically, the images of Yeon-woo and Jun-woo.
To be exact, they witnessed a scene where the two were murdered by the holy gods and monarchs of the Magic Constellation.
And thanks to that, the subordinate holy warriors vividly remembered their faces.
But.
“That child, he’s already dead, isn’t he? Over 20 years ago...!”
He died to the Fish Constellation holy god that had turned into a monster.
“His name was definitely Jun-woo...”
But regardless, the boy spoke.
“Excuse me, you’re a saint of the Serpent Bearer Constellation, right? I have a favor...!”
“...Uh, yes, but.”
“Thank you! For protecting this area! I wanted to ask Lord Igeon a favor in return...!”
“!”
At those words, Cheon Seong-jae, Gote, and the holy warriors of the Divine Archer Constellation all went on high alert.
‘To Lord Igeon?’
‘Suspicious.’
To show the face of someone who had already died 20 years ago.
And sure enough, that was when.
“Seongjae...!”
‘!’
Han Ji-min approached Cheon Seong-jae with a serious face.
Clearly, that suspicious boy must have asked for directions and been brought here.
Realizing that, Cheon Seong-jae hastily grabbed Han Ji-min.
“Ji-min, what’s going on? That kid is...!”
Han Ji-min nodded gravely, as if he also knew.
“That kid asked me if I knew where the saint of the Serpent Bearer Constellation was.”
“!”
“But that face was too suspicious, so I brought him here for now.”
Han Ji-min had also seen photos of Yeon-woo and Jun-woo.
Maybe that’s why.
“I thought it might be a trap from that side...”
Cheon Seong-jae nodded as if he had done well.
“Probably. Uncle and Dad told us to be careful anyway.”
Well, the enemy’s objective was likely one thing.
Seeing that he wanted to ask Igeon a favor with that face, he must be targeting Igeon.
But.
“The enemies don’t know that we recognize that face.”
At Gote’s whisper, Cheon Seong-jae secretly prepared a spell.
And as Cheon Seong-jae cautiously approached the boy, Han Ji-min smiled.
It wasn’t for any other reason.
‘Really? Igeon already told you to be careful?’
It was a deeply disgusting smile.
Han Ji-min.
No, he had already been by their side.
For a very long time.
Secretly.
Sure, he hid himself using a special method that ensured he’d never be discovered, but still, if he got too close, there was a risk of being detected by Igeon.
But if he was too far, it would be hard to observe.
Thus, the most optimal location had been Han Ji-min’s position.
And he had wholeheartedly assisted Igeon’s growth.
‘Well. Though I did get scared stiff when Igeon actually barged into my house.’
That brat, is he insane or what.
[Throw it away quickly. In fact, this is what’s causing the monsters to appear.]
[Huh? But that’s a high-class protective relic of the Constellations! Even more, it was personally blessed with a kiss by that saint renowned as a peerless beauty...!]
Even now, it was absurd.
‘I nearly died from having to hide my aura in that house because of that.’
On top of that, the spider incident.
The Gemini Constellation saint incident.
And the recent attack by the outer gods.
Back then, I deliberately talked about the throne to send Hugo to the divine realm.
‘Since the Serpent Bearer’s throne was there.’
Furthermore, didn’t I even capture Giselle in the Alps recently and hand her over to Igeon?
Of course, the reason he went to such lengths was just one.
[My lord, it’s finally not long now!]
[That’s right. Once you devour all the holy gods and humans, you’ll become the unique Grand Sovereign...!]
[No. Because of that, it’s impossible.]
[......!]
That’s how it was.
Because he was Igeon’s brother, he kept getting caught up in that meaningless regression over and over.
And every single time, right at the moment he was about to seize power!
[Why do we keep going back to the past at this point every damn time?!]
[Who knows. By now, you should just accept it.]
[Hey!!]
Anyway, since he kept regressing every time, how could he not be furious?
‘As long as that Igeon is alive, I’ll probably keep regressing at crucial moments.’
And although he himself couldn’t kill that person due to the contract, Igeon was different!
‘With Igeon’s power, not only could he kill that person, he could also erase this world.’
No, even the existence of the Grand Holy Gods!
In other words, what he wanted was Igeon as the God of Death!
‘As if I’d let him awaken as some mere life god.’
Well, the 13th original owner of the power could apparently use both life and death simultaneously, but who knows.
‘I don’t know how, but that crazy 13th original owner was a talent monster anyway.’
Anyway, what he wanted was the God of Death!
And not just a 5th-level one.
‘Level 6.’
And for that, an intense despair was needed.
Therefore, right now.
He was here at this very place.
‘I’ll take care of the ones he cherishes first.’
In that sense, what he had prepared was that boy resembling Jun-woo.
‘While their attention is on him, I’ll wipe them all out.’
And just then.
Boom!!
“Kyaaaaa!”
A scream came from the middle of the city.
“Here! People are turning into zombies!”
“Save us!”
At the urgent shout, Han Ji-min called out hastily.
“Seongjae! I’ll help! Let’s go quickly!”
“Okay!”
But then.
Someone was watching Han Ji-min with a subtle gaze.
“Brother, what’s the matter?”
“No. I just wondered if that kid was emitting that kind of aura.”
“Huh?”
The invasion of the Unknown Civilization.
Lee Jae-won, now level 19, narrowed his brow.
(To be continued in the next episode.)