Come Back (2)

And at that moment, when Igeon was waking Hugo.

At the appearance of the Scorching Sun Lord, the 13th narrowed his brow.

Well, it seemed to him he’d been hiding to avoid being caught.

[Did you think I wouldn’t notice you lurking around my son?]

At that barbed remark, the Scorching Sun Lord remained silent.

He was once the 13th’s older brother, a god of the same Kreator clan but without the power of creation.

Thus, a god who, with comrades coveting that power, had slaughtered his own kin.

But even he was killed just the same by the 13th’s revenge.

Though the Scorching Sun Lord, unlike the others, retained his personality even after his core was absorbed.

Of course, it hadn’t been long since he’d recalled the memories of his original self.

‘I regained all my memories just before Igeon entered the Demon Tower.’

And in the end, that Scorching Sun spoke to the 13th.

[Now that you’ve been resurrected, will you erase me and finish your revenge?]

[No. I won’t.]

[What?]

[With age, too many things have become bothersome.]

[……!!]

The 13th glanced at the startled Scorching Sun.

[Well, maybe because the Scorching Sun’s followers grew greedy and ate the core before it was purified. Or maybe because Kreator blood runs in you, your personality survived. Either way, you’re under a curse.]

[That….]

[Forget it. You helped my son, so I can overlook the old grudges.]

But no sooner had he spoken than the 13th grinned maliciously.

[Of course, I have absolutely no intention of sparing that head, and that part?]

[……!!!!]

The Scorching Sun’s face twisted.

This bastard—could he be letting it slide just because he’s found his own happiness…?!

But regardless, the 13th furrowed his brow.

[Anyway, brother, keep a close eye on Geon. There’s someone after that power.]

[!]

[Perhaps that someone was the one who pushed you to kill his parents.]

Of course, that didn’t mean he could forgive what this man had done.

But the Scorching Sun seemed flustered.

[Why entrust it to me? Can’t you just stay by his side?]

[I’m a body that should have died that day. The dead must disappear. And besides, the master of Ophiuchus and the 13th Zodiac is now Geon.]

[!]

[Well, if I’m to be a little greedy, I’d like to see my daughter-in-law and grandchild before I fade.]

The 13th smiled, thinking of Igeon.

[Anyway, I told Geon you’re his uncle, so try to do well.]

[??!!]

At that, the Scorching Sun nearly screamed.

Why, why the hell did you tell him that!

If he finds out, Igeon truly won’t leave him alone!

So he was about to retort, but seeing his younger brother’s expression, the Scorching Sun nearly grabbed him by the collar.

[You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!]

[Oh my, how could that be? Surely you don’t have anything weighing on your conscience, brother?]

Faced with the 13th’s innocently beaming smile, the Scorching Sun gave up.

‘I must never leave the divine realm.’

After all, as long as he stayed in the divine realm, he wouldn’t run into Igeon.

But it was just then.

[!]

Suddenly the 13th’s expression changed, startling the Scorching Sun.

[What is it?]

[It seems something’s happened with Geon.]

The 13th vanished in a hurry.

* * *

It was around that time.

Crunch!

The saints and the sacred city’s residents could only stare in horror at what unfolded before them.

And for good reason—Igeon had abruptly kicked the resurrected Hugo.

Thanks to that, they grabbed hold of Igeon.

“Hey! Are you crazy?”

“We get what you’re feeling...! But for now—!”

But Igeon only glared murderously at Hugo.

“You little shit, pretending to be Taeksu. Want to die?”

At those words, the saints and sacred city folk trying to restrain Igeon were stunned.

“Pretending to be Taeksu…”

“He isn’t Hugo?!”

The Cheon siblings also stared at Hugo in shock. And seeing Hugo’s expression, they were horrified.

Their father, who normally would have bristled and fired back, was wearing a subtle smile.

Just as they feared.

“Hah, as expected of Earth’s Holy God, noticed even by the chief gods. To catch on to that.”

“!!”

The Cheon siblings backed away from Hugo in alarm.

“Who are you!”

Igeon’s eyes blazed with fury.

To him, who this bastard was didn’t matter.

“While I’m asking nicely, bring our Taeksu here. Where do you get off trying to swap cards under the table?”

“You say that, but… khuk!!!”

Igeon stomped on his head, telling him to shut up.

“What, you shit? Every time you wag your mouth, one of your fingers disappears. Hurry up and bring our Taeksu!”

At last, when Igeon was about to obliterate the bastard with his power—

Flash!

Light poured from the sky.

“!”

At the same time, the light began to shift into a hologram. And the holographic figure that appeared smiled.

[Destroying that won’t bring your familiar god back.]

“!”

Igeon glared at the bastard as if to say, what nonsense.

“Are you the culprit? Enough of your crap, hand over our Taeksu.”

[No.]

“What?”

[A mere frontier Holy God without even a seat, and you had such an incredible familiar. Thanks to that, the divine realm is in an uproar.]

[??!]

[No matter how powerful a god, surpassing 200% faith is impossible—yet 600% faith is unheard of, unthinkable. And perhaps because of that, it’s on a completely different level from other high-class familiar gods. Not only does it have special abilities, but a single one can replace 600 of the highest grade. Already the auction houses are in chaos.]

In the end, Igeon let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

In short, the divine realm had been turned upside down because they coveted Hugo.

And so his official request had been completely ignored, and the god of the underworld had sent another soul in its place.

The situation having come to this, Igeon turned his gaze somewhere.

“Hey! You want to die! You said you could bring him back! You said you were friends with the god of the underworld!”

Maybe he’d noticed he was hiding nearby.

As if responding to those words, the 13th appeared, sweating nervously.

[What’s this? There’s no way Hades would be so stingy over something like this.]

And at that, the god in the hologram laughed.

[It’s been a while. Ah, Father isn’t here. I’ve already retired him.]

The 13th broke out in a cold sweat.

‘So there’d been a change of generations in the meantime.’

His son’s gaze was intensely sharp.

So the 13th spoke, as if feeling wronged.

[No, how could that guy lose his seat in that time— khuuk!!]

In the end, Igeon had him by the throat.

“So why did you send Taeksu to the underworld, anyway!”

[No! If I hadn’t sent him there, he would’ve been erased by the power! If the soul itself is erased, no god can ever bring him back! It’s better than losing him completely, isn’t it!]

“#$*&*!”

Igeon wanted to blast the 13th away on the spot, but held back.

Because right now, the issue wasn’t why he’d sent him there.

“I paid the fee and asked for him back through official channels. If they reject an official request, they’ll face censure, won’t they?”

[That doesn’t matter. As long as we send an item of equal value, there’s no problem.]

“!”

[So we sent a replacement! That guy, if you just look at his specs… yes… equal performance. No, actually far superior— a top-grade familiar. A special-grade item that the chief gods possess, one everyone goes crazy over. That should satisfy you, right?]

Was he playing word games?

“I don’t need specs or anything else. Hand over Taeksu. That soul is what I need.”

[Fine. Then instead of returning him, give up the Ophiuchus Master’s sanctuary—Earth.]

“What?”

[Then I’ll return him in 500 years.]

Snap.

At last, killing intent rose in Igeon’s eyes.

These bastards, because he’d stayed still, they couldn’t tell what’s what and were climbing all over him.

And then it happened.

[Kyaaak! Geon-ah! I’m being sold!]

“Dad!”

A familiar voice came from inside the hologram.

There, the voice of a goddess as if chasing Hugo could be heard.

[Hohoho, decent face, decent abilities. I shall specially take you as my 19,788th husband.]

[Kyaaak! I’m a married man! I’ve got two kids!]

Power began to seep from Igeon’s body.

“This is the last warning. Hand him over.”

[Haha, I am the great Great Holy God. The ruling god of the Pluto dimension, with far more sacred cities than Earth. A fledgling like you got a 600% faith familiar and managed to claim that much land as a sanctuary—you should be satisfied.]

Saying that, the god of the underworld laughed.

[Anyway, with him alone, they say you can reach the unknown 6th stage that no god has ever achieved. So everyone’s thrilled. So yield such good things to your seniors! You poor, borderland god!]

Click.

The hologram cut off.

And so did Igeon’s patience.

Just as expected.

“...U-Uncle? Kyaaak!!!”

Thud!

As if responding to Igeon’s rage, his power and the 6th stage surged upward.

[You insect bastards.]

“U-Uncle?”

Bastards who’ve never even reached the 6th stage—where do they get off running their mouths?

[I was too lazy to go all the way to the divine realm.]

Igeon’s eyes flashed dangerously.

* * *

[Igeon, Earth’s One True God]

[Igeon saves Earth]

[Zodiac seats dealing with remaining monster remnants]

[All masterless monsters fleeing]

[Retaking human land centered on power]

The world was abuzz.

With the invading monarchs gone, the monsters in the Red Zones and Black Zones lost their morale.

And it fell to Earth’s sacred city, following the Ophiuchus Holy God, to clean up after them.

Even the saints took to the field to join the subjugation.

Well, slip up even a little and they’d face punishment from the Holy God (Igeon) and wish for death.

And today too, just as the saints and their agents were dealing with fleeing monsters.

“So! I’m not giving up the Ophiuchus saint! Noona can take the Libra saint’s seat! Uncle already told us to pick other zodiac saints anyway!”

“Oh ho, just because you’ve grown a bit taller, you’re picking a fight?”

“Yeah! Let’s go! Let’s do this!”

Watching Cheon Seongjae and Kali snapping at each other on the battlefield, Stephen shook his head.

Thanks to Igeon’s power, they were smoothly reclaiming human lands, but the thought of roaming around with this crew for several more months was dreadful.

‘At this pace, we’ll only have to suffer about half a year.’

But it was just then.

“Holy Lord! Please come here!”

“Something strange has been found!”

“!”

The sacred city members seemed to have found something in the cracked earth.

And the saints who rushed over at their call were stunned.

“This is…!”

“We think it was killed during the monster disposal, but its appearance is bizarre.”

“What the. This isn’t a monster—it’s a god.”

But its appearance was too bizarre for it to be one of the familiar gods of the 12 zodiacs they knew well.

It had a grotesque form they’d never seen before.

But Kevin soon realized.

“Could it be a Foreign God…?”

It wasn’t exactly the same, but somehow it smelled similar to the Foreign Gods Aries had summoned before.

‘Could it have come from the same place?’

Of course, that wasn’t what mattered.

“They said other gods were starting to take an interest in Earth and human holy-city residents because of powers they’d never seen before. Could this have been a reconnaissance visit?”

“No, Igeon said so. Those bastards might invade and try to steal human holy-city residents.”

“So then…!”

“Well, being on guard won’t hurt, but it’s fine. We have Ophiuchus’s protection.”

“Speaking of which, where’s Igeon?”

At that, Cheon Seongjae, who’d grown a bit taller, suddenly remembered.

“Ah, uncle’s at the obstetrics clinic with mom…”

* * *

“So, Jiu-ssi, take good care of yourself. And make sure you keep this with you. The baby could come anytime, so stay confined at home.”

“Oh my, Igeon-nim. You’ve said it over twenty times already. And it’s only three months—how could the baby come out now.”

“Ah. Right, I guess so.”

Igeon, who had come to the obstetrics clinic with Yeonu and Yuha, nodded.

“Anyway, before this child is born, I’ll bring Taeksu back. So if anything happens, tell Yeonu right away. Yeonu can travel freely between here and the divine realm.”

Cheon Jiu nodded.

Igeon had entrusted Cheon Jiu to the person he trusted most.

And as she saw them off with a caution to be careful, Igeon said to Yuha.

“Aren’t there some among you who haven’t reached divine level, but who’ve come to faintly hold a divine spark?”

“Yes. Me, Jae-won oppa, and a few of the saints…”

All of them had reached level 10 or higher.

“Yuha, you come with me. Some of the others I may call upon when the time comes. So tell Seong-jae to get them all leveled up by then and make them into subordinate gods. Well, with so much here that could serve as nourishment, it shouldn’t be too hard. They can keep sending me contributions too… Ah, should I ask Hailley to come along as well?”

“!”

Hailley was, after all, from an unknown civilization that even the gods feared.

If word got out that a Lord-level being had entered the divine realm, they’d probably faint.

“Right. I’ll bring her.”

At those words, Yuha and Yeon-woo both started in surprise.

In particular, Yeon-woo, restless for some reason, opened and closed his mouth as if he had something to say, but Lee Geon, who hadn’t noticed, snapped his fingers.

At once, the slime came hopping over and settled onto Lee Geon’s head.

[‘ ’ says that it wishes to go with you as well]

Lee Geon gave the slime a doubtful look, but soon tore apart an item he had previously extracted from the Dimension’s Administrator.

Well, he hadn’t expected to use it like this.

[Uses ‘ ’]

Along with it, the voices of the divine realm’s agents reached his ears.

[We welcome the visit of the ‘ ’ (unmeasured)]␌

[Do you have a destination?]

“Wherever Hades is.”

[Transporting to Zone A]

[The ‘ ’ rank is currently the lowest]

[The divine realm is full of gods of high rank, so please exercise caution]

At last, before his eyes, streaks of light poured down.

And Lee Geon stepped toward that pillar of light.

Well, he’d had no intention of going to some place like the divine realm originally.

“I’ll grind every last one of these bastards.”

Lee Geon smiled viciously.

At last, the gates of the divine realm opened.

**Side Story Episode 1. Please Accept Me as Your Disciple (1)**

“Hey, you lunatic!”

March, 2000.

People across the world were plunged into a crucible of shock.

It was all because of a statement released by the United States.

[Effective today, the United States recognizes the existence of the unknown civilization, and by the Boston Declaration, pledges that the United States shall not exercise independent sovereignty over its territory, nor shall it exercise any other rights.]

In effect, a declaration of surrender.

That shocking proclamation left people reeling.

“Hey, did you hear that? The government’s going to send ten thousand citizens every year as food.”

“What? Is that for real?”

“Damn it, I’d heard that even their armed forces couldn’t win…”

“Dammit. It’s all over!”

This all happened in less than three months after the unknown civilization first appeared.

In the end, the great powers raised the white flag against the unknown attacks, and people were ruthlessly dragged off as provisions.

And so, humanity had no choice but to despair.

But four months later.

[Do you see that! The Northern Superman Stephen has slain a monster!]

[The Western Saint Sophie is treating the wounded!]

[The Eastern Witch Heiji is blocking the monsters!]

“Waaaaah!!”

The Korean International Exhibition Center.

The exhibition hall, packed with a variety of survival supplies, was filled with cheers.

“As expected of the Northern Superman!!”

“Those people aren’t human!”

“Justice shall prevail—!”

People shouted in triumph at the news broadcasts on the giant screens.

They had all come to the expo for different reasons, but in that moment, everyone shouted with one heart and mind.

And it was the same for two men playing a competitive game at a game booth.

“Hey, Jun-woo. Did you see that?!”

“Whoa…! Boss! Did you see that? If you’re gonna make a game, it ought to be about folks like that!”

Their names were Lee Geon (20) and Hugo Oates (20).

It was a time when, far from becoming Awakened, they didn’t even know of each other’s existence.

And the two of them, forgetting they were in the middle of a game, threw up hurrahs.

“Awesome! I won again!”

“Hey, a witch in the East, a saint in the West! A superman in the North! Then who’s in the South?!”

“Oh, come on, you think someone will pop up in the South too?”

Indeed. The three on the news were currently the most famous people in the world.

Eventually, the two gazing at the screen lit up with sparkling eyes.

“The Northern Superman Stephen’s a total killer…!”

“It’s all about the Eastern Witch! She’s the bomb!”

The two, who had been in a match, turned their heads.

And after confirming each other’s faces, they scowled.

Of course, Hugo was still clumsy with Korean, but his listening comprehension was maxed out.

Just as expected.

“The No’ther’n Sou’-man?”

“The Eastern Witch…?”

At last, the two gave each other sneers of disbelief.

Hugo spoke first.

“Hey, if you’ve got eyes, you ought to be rooting for the Northern Superman, shouldn’t you?”

“Hah, what’s so killer about a meathead like that?”

“Says the guy who’s clearly just smitten with the witch’s outfit.”

At that, Hugo and Lee Geon glared at each other.

And it was just as both their veins bulged and they were about to retort.

“Hyung… you’re about to step out of the ring.”

The young man beside Lee Geon pointed at the monitor.

And that kid’s name was Ji Jun-woo (16).

At his younger brother’s words, Lee Geon screamed and instantly worked the joystick.

Then, the character that had been about to leave the ring regained its balance and moved back inside.

At the same time, having saved his character, Lee Geon grinned at Hugo.

“Well, anyway. With such poor eyes, I can see why you suck at the game.”

*Tch!*

Hugo, who was 0–20 against Lee Geon, felt his blood pressure surge.

“What did you say?”

“I mean, you go nuts over some macho meathead, so why are you so bad at the game? That’s not how you use that character.”

Hugo was just about to say something back.

“Hey, hyung, come on, you totally love the Northern Superman too.”

At Jun-woo’s innocent remark, Lee Geon’s face burned red.

“Yah! Who said I like anyone?!”

“Why not? You said Stephen’s the best, and you even clipped and saved all those news articles. Yesterday, too, and the day before.”

“I—I did not!! I only saved those because YOU like him!”

“Uh, I don’t like him at all.”

“What? Then who’s your favorite?”

“My favorite’s you, hyung.”

At that laugh, Lee Geon clammed up and seized the joystick.

It had been Jun-woo who suggested they come to the game booth, but somehow Lee Geon was the one on a 70-win streak.

“Anyway, the Eastern Witch’s the best! Best costume.”

Deciding it wasn’t worth engaging, Hugo put down the joystick.

“Anyway, Boss. The game was fun. I’ll be sure to buy it when it comes out.”

And at that sight, Lee Geon whispered teasingly to his brother.

“Jun-woo, see that? He knows he can’t beat me, so he’s running away.”

*Tch!*

In the end, Hugo, pissed off, strode over to where Lee Geon was.

And then.

*Beep!*

“Aaaagh!!”

He pressed the power button on Lee Geon’s system.

Then, in an instant, Lee Geon’s game screen reset!

Bloody tears streamed from Lee Geon.

“Aack!! That was my highest score! I didn’t even save the name!”

But regardless, Hugo sneered and turned away.

From far off, Lee Geon fumed, grumbling about how ‘that white guy’s acting like a punk,’ but Hugo paid it no mind.

No, he didn’t even bother to remember his face.

Since they weren’t destined to cross paths a second time anyway.

And instead, he took an incoming call.

“Ah, noona. What’s up? Isn’t this your busy time?”

It was a call from New Zealand.

And Hugo, who had come to a Korean university to look after his grandmother living in Korea, felt a sense of dread at the sudden call.

And for good reason.

— Hugh. Are you in touch with Grandfather?

“Yeah. I talked to him yesterday, why? Grandfather’s over there with you guys.”

— Hugh, listen closely. Grandfather’s company has been attacked.

“What?! Grandfather’s company?”

— I’m not sure yet if it’s the monsters’ doing… but the loss of life and damage is so severe that the company itself is at risk.

“……!!”

Hugo was aghast.

After all, his grandfather’s company was no ordinary small business.

It was an enterprise whose name was known throughout Australia.

He’d heard they’d poured money into defense and prepared thoroughly.

And yet, for a company like that to be staggered so badly.

‘Wasn’t Australia a land still untouched by the monsters?’

That’s why he himself had come, planning to bring his grandmother, who had Korean blood, over there.

— Anyway, Hugh. That’s not the important thing right now. Grandfather’s unreachable.

“……!”

— We want to hurry over too, but we’re swamped with patients and can’t leave at all.

“Swamped with patients?”

— Yes. There was a terrorist attack just a while ago.

“……!!”

True. His grandfather was a businessman, and his parents and older sister were doctors at a university hospital.

Hugo was the well-off youngest son of a family of doctors.

‘Not that I’ve got that kind of brain, though.’

And had it not been for the monsters, Hugo too would have naturally followed the path of his parents and siblings.

— Hugh, are you listening?

“Alright. Then I’ll head over there.”

— No, wait. Hugh!!

Hugo immediately hung up and headed for the airport.

‘The world’s completely changed because of those monsters.’

Hugo, who had dreamed of becoming a novelist, buried his face in his hands at this utterly absurd situation.

In any case, he had just hoped that nothing would happen.

Had all of those been vain hopes?

“…Pardon? What did you say?”

“I said they’re all deceased.”

Hugo, who had rushed to his grandfather’s company, despaired.

The reason he couldn’t reach him was because the man had gone where none could return.

But what was even more shocking was that he might not even be able to recover his grandfather’s corpse.

“Oh, good God. What is that!!!”

“The capital city is gone!!”

Indeed.

Canberra, the capital of Australia.

The capital was nowhere to be seen.

Buildings, people—absolutely everything was gone, leaving only a giant hole behind.

Cleanly excavated, as if dug out with a shovel.

Half of the capital had vanished.

And the taxi driver gripping the wheel at the severed road trembled violently.

“Wha, what is this. It wasn’t this bad just a minute ago…!!”

In the end, people screamed as they scrambled out of their cars and began fleeing into the distance.

But it was right then.

*Rumble—!*

“Aaaaaagh!!!”

People screamed.

Hugo, too, couldn’t keep his footing in the sudden earthquake.

“What in the world has—!”

“Dammit, don’t block the road, move!!!”

It was the moment a man tried to push past Hugo.

*Splat!!!*

“……!!”

Hugo blanched at the blood splattering right beside him.

The torso of the man who had tried to shove him had been torn in two.

That wasn’t all.

*Boom! Boom!*

“Aaaaagh!!!”

People screamed at the giant spheres falling from the sky.

The black spheres trapped people within, and then in a single moment shrank in size, turning those trapped inside into lumps of raw flesh.

*Crunch! Crunch!*

“Aagh! Save me!!”

At that sight, Hugo collapsed in terror.

“Ah… ah….”

In the sky was the monster, spewing those problem spheres.

[Kieeeeek!]

And there was no doubt.

That thing was what had done this to the capital.

And.

‘The only ones who can bring that thing down are the three great superhumans…!’

Hugo tried to report it to the police so they could alert them.

But it was right then.

“Hugh!”

“!!!”

Hugo jumped in shock at the familiar voice.

“Noona!”

The ones calling him were his sister and parents, traveling in a car.

“Hugh! Hurry up and get in!”

Shaking and trembling, Hugo unsteadily rose.

“H… how are you here….”

But in that moment, Hugo coughed up blood.

“Gahhak…!”

A monster hiding beneath the ground had pierced him through the stomach.

Shocked by the sight, his sister and parents got out of the car.

“Hugh!!”

And it was then.

Seeing his family charging toward him, Hugo screamed.

“No! Get away from there, quick!”

“!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a black sphere plummeted from the sky.

And the place where that hemisphere fell was right above the heads of his family!

Hugo couldn’t see what followed.

*Crunch!*

Because a black sphere had also fallen over his own head.

In the end, drenched in his own blood, Hugo wept.

‘I’m going to die too.’

But it was then.

[Oh. Still, in this city, you seem to have the most passable face.]

“……?”

[Good. I choose you.]

“……?????”

That was the start of a life of slavery, worse than a worm’s.

(To be continued in the next episode)

**Side Story Episode 2. Please Accept Me as Your Disciple (2)**

[Good. I choose you.]

Twenty-five years ago.

Hugo never dreamed he would end up as a narcissist’s servant.

Even until the moment he first awakened his power.

“Ugh…!”

In the end, Hugo’s eyes shot wide open at the black sphere that vanished before his eyes.

‘The monster’s attack… disappeared?’

But there was no time to be surprised.

[Foolish servant. Look behind you.]

“!”

Hugo was startled by the voice that suddenly rang out.

And the moment he whipped his head around, Hugo screamed.

“Aack!! Move!!”

“Aack!!”

Screech!!

It was because of a taxi hurtling toward him like a madman.

And the taxi driver, his eyes rolling back, was about to just drive past Hugo, who was sitting collapsed in the road.

“Move!! You idiot!!”

At that, the people fleeing in a panic screamed.

“Aack! It’s dangerous!”

But without even a chance to dodge, the taxi plowed into Hugo.

Bang!!!

“Kyaaack!!”

At the tremendous crash, people squeezed their eyes shut.

But.

“Aaaack!!”

When they opened them, they nearly fainted for a different reason.

Because Hugo, who had been struck by the car, was perfectly fine.

As if that weren’t enough—the thing that was crumpled was the car that had come rushing like a madman!

“C-cough…??!!”

“Kyaaack!! What is that person?!”

And in that situation, the most flustered one was Hugo himself.

‘What? Why is the one that rammed me getting thrown back?!’

I mean, he’d been hit by a car that must have been doing at least 120 kilometers!

And all the wounds he got were a few bruises and a trickle of blood?!

But right then.

[Look above, my insignificant servant.]

‘In… insignificant?’

Hugo looked skyward as if dumbfounded, but soon could only grit his teeth.

Crunch!!

“Ugh…!!!”

A gigantic monster was stomping on him as if trying to turn him into a pancake.

[Kieeeek!]

“Ugh…!”

Hugo reflexively threw out his arms to block the monster’s foot, but his veins bulged as if he were about to die.

‘Damn, this is on a whole other dimension from getting hit by a car…!’

An immense weight, as if he were holding up a building!

‘At this rate, I’m going to be crushed…!’

That was when Hugo squeezed his eyes shut.

[Foolish servant. What are you doing.]

“????”

The bizarre voice came again.

But that voice spouted something even more absurd.

[Hurry and praise me. Then even a lowly wretch like you will be able to use my great power.]

No, praise you… what kind of crap is that!

[I am the master of the great Scorching Lion. Hasten and worship.]

“Aish!!”

In the end, Hugo, who seemed about to be stomped to death by the monster, hollered with veins bulging.

“Hail, hail, hail, hail to the great master of the Scorching Lion!!! I love you! I’ll do anything!”

At the same time, something astonishing happened.

Sizzle…!!!

“!”

It sounded like meat sizzling on a hot plate.

And in that moment, lava boiled up from Hugo’s hands as he held up the monster, and a scream echoed out.

[Kieeeek!!!]

The monster that had been stepping on Hugo suffered severe burns on the soles of its feet and toppled backward.

Thud!

The dumbfounded Hugo looked at his hands.

Surprisingly, they were red, as if holding bright crimson lava.

And that glowing light looked like the very core of the sun.

At that, people around him could be seen panicking.

“Huh, huuh…! H-he’s not human!”

“C-could that person also be a monster?”

Yet people cheered as if they’d been saved.

“That person saved us!!”

“What is his identity?!”

In the end, Hugo gritted his teeth.

‘Damn. I don’t know what’s going on.’

Hugo charged at the monster.

After awakening, most attacks left him with only superficial wounds.

His muscle strength, his senses, his reflexes—all had risen beyond human levels.

Of course, his experience and movement were still nothing more than an ordinary person’s.

“Ugh!”

Even his running was something you’d see in a high school fitness test.

Thanks to that, he got hit by every incoming attack and piece of building debris.

“Ugh…! This hurts like hell!”

But maybe because his basic bodily functions had reached the realm of a superhuman.

Crack!!!

[Kieeeek!!!]

The moment Hugo poured all his strength into a punch, intense flames coiled around his fist and the monster burst apart.

Boom!!!

Of course, there were aftereffects.

“Aaaack!! My arm!”

Perhaps because he wasn’t trained yet, Hugo clutched his broken shoulder and writhed in agony.

And at the sight, the voice let out a hollow laugh.

[Where on earth did this stupid fool see such a thing, to commit such an ignorant act…]

“What! You bastard! Are you disrepecting the northern superhuman Steven right now?! He’s a total man!”

Well, whatever. It was fine.

“Noona! Father! Mother!”

Hugo hurriedly headed to where his family was.

* * *

The hospital was full of people.

And originally it should have been full of patients’ groans, but right now it was different.

“We’re from ABC!”

“Herald Sun!”

The hospital was packed with reporters.

It was because of none other than Hugo.

“I heard another superhuman has appeared?”

“Could that person be the one who called the monster here?”

“That person is a devil!”

People treated Hugo like a demon. Thanks to that, he almost got dragged off to jail, but it was settled in one blow by someone’s statement.

“That person is a superhuman, like us.”

“!”

In front of the operating room, Hugo, who had almost been hauled off by the police, lifted his head in surprise.

And at the face that appeared before his eyes, Hugo and his noona gaped.

“Th-the Saintess of the West!”

“S-Sophie Mardi, wasn’t it? She’s an incredibly famous person right now…!”

That was right.

She was none other than Sophie Mardi (20). The saintess who would later become the Aquarius Saint.

“I have already treated your parents for the time being.”

“!”

Sophie took an interest in Hugo.

‘That person is the southern superhuman chosen by the holy god of the Sagittarius constellation.’

But seeing Hugo rushing toward her, Sophie’s eyes went round.

It couldn’t be helped.

‘A pretty boy…!’

Even though he was a bit shabby, Sophie’s heart pounded when she saw Hugo.

But Hugo, who couldn’t possibly know that, held Sophie’s hands and smiled.

“Thank you so much for saving my parents!”

Sophie nearly died of heart failure.

“Ah, not yet! It’s too early to be relieved! The areas hit by the monster are too severe…! Th-th-the contamination is so bad they could worsen at any time!”

“No! Saintess! That alone, I’m truly grateful!”

“……!!!”

Well, in reality, Hugo’s parents would die before long, but at this moment, Sophie was fidgeting.

‘Actually, the reason I came here was also because of the holy god…!’

It wasn’t for any other reason.

Wasn’t it to treat the victims and also to acknowledge a fellow comrade?

But then…!

‘Oh my, to think there would be such a wonderful person…!’

Perhaps because of that.

Fidgeting with her fingers, Sophie shyly tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Um, if it’s all right with you, would you like to have some tea with me…?”

But when she turned her head, Sophie’s face contorted.

“Hehe. If you’d like even me, then anytime….”

“?!”

That was right.

The one smiling bashfully in front of Sophie wasn’t Hugo—it was a reporter who had come to cover the story.

In the end, Sophie screamed.

And around that time.

“So what did you say?”

Hugo, who had gone out to the hospital rooftop at the mysterious voice, was startled.

No, it was surprising that eight more superhumans were going to appear in the future, but…

“Servant? I’m an aspiring novelist! Exterminating the monster was bewildering enough, and now you’re telling me to work for a god out of nowhere…!”

But regardless, the voice spoke.

[You are my personally chosen servant. Therefore, you must work as an apostle for me.]

No, but why servant?

‘And why did you make the contract on your own?’

Well, it wasn’t bad.

‘Didn’t a god—a god, no less—personally choose me?’

Out of all those many people.

So Hugo clenched his fist firmly.

“With this, I can protect my surroundings no matter what happens. Since you chose me after seeing my potential, I’ll work hard!”

[Potential? What are you talking about?]

“…Pardon? I mean, the holy gods are looking for agents to manifest their power on their behalf, right? In other words, you chose me because I have the talent to handle that power….”

[What nonsense. I just chose you because your face is decent to look at.]

“…Pardon?”

[Since you’re a human representing my constellation, the representative face should be pleasant to look at, so that followers also increase. And you’ll be an attendant I see every day, so if you’re too ugly, well….]

What is this, that?!!

“This crazy god, really…!!!”

So that’s why he picked me? Just for that stupid reason?!

[Enough. Prepare wine and a feast.]

“Huh, why should I prepare stuff like that for you!”

[It’s the price for lending you my power. And only by doing so can you continue to use my strength.]

“Ah, forget it! I’m not doing it! Find someone else… ugh!”

As soon as the words finished, a stigma was engraved on Hugo’s shoulder.

And that was the stigma!

“……!”

But it wasn’t a completed form. As if divided into five parts, only one section was glowing.

In other words, Level 1 of 5 Levels.

And it was then.

Flutter!

A crow that appeared amid flames summoned a bow.

[The Scorching Lion is a constellation that uses flames and bow as weapons! I bestow the basic weapon!]

“Um… I have no intention of doing it!”

[Enough. Hasten and prepare a feast, and compose a song for your great master! The cooking must be the finest delicacy under heaven! Prepare jewels and rings befitting your master too!]

At those words, Hugo, who caught the falling bow, shouted with veins bulging.

“Wa-wait a moment. Isn’t this a children’s toy?”

And that too, arrows with squeaky toys attached.

But.

[Currently, you are a lowly servant who can’t even spit! This bow is perfect for you! If you want something good, work harder!]

“As if I would!!”

[If you don’t, you’ll live your whole life as a baldie!]

“Agh, really!!”

Thus, Hugo became the apostle of the Scorching Lion… no, a forced slave.

And it was a year later that he met Lee Geon.

When all twelve superhumans had appeared and his own stigma had filled to the 4th stage.

Half a year after the 13th awakened, who should not exist, appeared.

“Damn…! Is this my limit…!”

Hugo was caught by a monster and dying.

‘Damn it all. This is a place even the highest-level Mr. Steven and Mr. Ivan gave up on….’

That place was Saudi Arabia, blockaded because of monsters.

In the end, several superhumans were called, but even the strongest level 5 superhumans clicked their tongues and turned away.

‘We don’t even know its attribute. If we fight that thing, only we die.’

‘But…! A hundred people have been captured!’

‘If it just eats a hundred people and disappears, that’s a bargain. How many lives do you think we’re worth?’

‘……!’

At the words of the smiling Taurus, Hugo ground his teeth and entered the blockaded zone.

‘Hey! Archer! Come back! It’s only a hundred people! Let it eat that and it’ll get full and pass out on its own!’

In the end, was he being punished for brushing off their dissuasions and coming in?

‘Damn it. Am I being punished for acting cocky at just level 4?’

But that day, Hugo met someone.

“What’s this idiot?”

“……!”

“You’re not even dead yet, so why are you making a face like you’ve given up on the world?”

The 13th awakened, with a completely different atmosphere, a completely different face, completely different eyes from a year ago.

An existence of a god that could never be forgotten.

(Continues in the next episode)

Side Story 3. Please Accept Me as Your Disciple (3)

Actually, Hugo had heard something too.

About the 13th existence.

It was definitely half a year ago.

It was January 2001.

“What?! A request for mercenaries in Korea?”

Because monsters had covered Seoul, Hugo had received a request for support.

But.

“Ack! Hey! Do you think I can go there in this situation?!”

[Eui-gu, you moron!]

“What?! You and the holy god are the ones who told me to go this way in the first place!”

Hugo, who had received a telegram from the crow, was shooting his bow like crazy.

At that time, he was surrounded by monsters in Africa.

And with the number of monsters swarming in, he couldn’t leave the cave for several days.

But at the news that soon came, Hugo had been relieved.

[Other heroes have decided to go to Korea!]

“Really? That’s a relief…!”

But that day.

At the very place the heroes were supposed to go, the 13th awakened appeared.

Thanks to that, even the heroes and the holy spirits were shocked, weren't they?

[Oh my god, a 13th Apostle! Absolutely impossible!]

[There must be 12 heroes! It's ominous! Ominous!]

Usually, the Scorching Lord, who would be bossing around, was quiet for that moment, and the demon was frantically excited and uneasy.

Probably the other Apostles were the same.

But what do you know.

Hugo couldn't hear news of the 13th.

Other heroes also seemed to have inquired about him, but it seemed they couldn't find him because he was so elusive.

So during the half year he disappeared, one of the 12 heroes said:

- The 13th? He's just an ordinary person. He only gained power because he was accidentally exposed to the Holy Spirit's power.

- And why do you think he isn't showing himself? Because he's already dead.

- There cannot be 13 superhumans.

- I know you're hopeful, and I understand why you're interested, but that person is not an Apostle of the gods.

- Unnecessary interest is not good. The greater the hope, the greater the despair.

Clearly everyone said that.

Well, the heroes heard from the Holy Spirits, so they knew better than anyone that a 13th could never exist.

In fact, afterward no one claimed to have witnessed the 13th, so everyone thought the 13th was dead.

It was definitely so, but…

Puhak!!!

"Heuk...!!"

Hugo trembled at the sight unfolding before his eyes.

In the middle of a ruined city.

Hugo had been caught by a monster attacking a house and was being swallowed in its mouth.

And right before being chewed by its teeth and going down its throat.

But then.

"What's this idiot?"

Just before dying, a man's voice was heard.

It was someone prying open the monster's mouth with his bare hands.

And he, silhouetted against the sunlight, frowned at Hugo.

"You bastard who isn't even dead yet, why do you have a face like you've given up on the world?"

"……!!"

And Hugo, who was looking at him, trembled.

'That person is….'

Because of his groggy mind and backlight, he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.

His ears were ringing, so he couldn't even distinguish the voice.

All he could see was long hair indistinguishable from something else and the surrounding flames.

But Hugo clearly saw.

"You bastard. If you can't tell what's edible and what's not, what use are you."

The moment he said that, the monster's palate was torn off.

Kwa-jik!!

[Kieeeek!!!]

The monster's palate flew off, and Hugo, who had been tangled in its tongue, opened his eyes wide.

The man, backlit by the sun, held a weapon larger than himself and cut off the monster's arm.

Puhak!!!

It was a bizarre weapon, whether an axe or a greatsword, its identity unknown.

In a way, it looked like a greatsword shaped like a stone tool. Yet its handle was very long like an axe.

But what was more surprising was that he could move it as if it were a feather even while holding such a large object.

Moreover, the speed was such that it was invisible to the eye.

'Good heavens.'

He felt this wasn't a human.

He himself was a speed-type archer and took pride in being the fastest among the twelve, yet.

'The movements were completely different.'

The world considered the twelve superhumans as the hope to save humanity.

In fact, the other eleven were very strong.

Of course, all eleven were solo players, and Hugo himself had only counted on one hand the ones he had seen directly, but still.

Seeing their exploits, you couldn't help but feel that Level 5s were different indeed.

Especially Stephen, who made a name as the Northern superhuman, and Ivan (the Bull), who appeared last but possessed destructive combat power.

The Virgo Apostle, called a genius among geniuses.

The wizards who were said to be humanity's ultimate weapon.

They were the superhumans humanity most looked forward to.

It was no wonder each country was in an uproar trying to scout them.

But.

'He's incomparable even to them.'

He was only Level 4 himself, so he wasn't one to talk, but the difference was tremendous.

You could almost say it was like comparing a human imitating a superhuman to a real god.

Thud!!!

So Hugo could only stare blankly.

He didn't feel the monster's roar or the sting of the poison gas.

All he could see was the sight of a god of light descending from the sky and dismantling the monster.

And how much time had passed?

"Hey. You okay? You alive?"

Lee Geon approached Hugo, who was on the verge of fainting.

Hugo saw a brilliant light from Lee Geon.

So he unknowingly murmured.

"…God."

"What?"

"…Lord."

Lee Geon's expression was something to behold.

"This guy's lost it. Hey. Snap out of it. This is water. Drink up. Ah, you can't drink water because your intestines are hanging out? Ah, whatever. Drink."

Lee Geon took out a water bottle and roughly shoved it into Hugo's mouth.

And Hugo, who had somewhat regained his senses, finally coughed.

At the same time, he clutched his belly where his intestines were protruding, but still held on tightly to Lee Geon.

"…Take me as your disciple."

"What?"

"…So disc…."

It was the moment he was about to ask to be taken as a disciple.

[Kieeeek!!!]

A monster flew in over their heads.

It was a monstrous bird that looked like a black eagle.

And at the sight of that huge monster, Hugo trembled in fear even in his groggy state.

'That's…!'

It was one of the ones called the most dangerous among the current monsters appearing.

And that thing was an uninvited guest that appeared in the sky and cut off people's heads!

'Damn it, there's no answer if you get caught by that guy.'

But right at that moment.

"Ah. That's very annoying."

With those words, Lee Geon picked something up.

And that was not a weapon, but a frying pan!

At the same time, the frying pan slammed down on the uninvited guest's head.

Ppakak!!!

[Kieek!!]

The monstrous bird's head flew off and it collapsed to the ground.

Lee Geon casually cut open the monstrous bird's belly and took out eggs.

"You can't eat monsters, but you can eat these eggs."

"……."

Hugo was silent.

'Hoo, that uninvited guest with one hit of a frying pan.'

Even that skill of calmly procuring food in the middle of a battlefield where food was scarce.

And Lee Geon said as he gathered the eggs.

"So, what did you say just now?"

"Please marry me."

"…What?"

Hugo grabbed Lee Geon's leg firmly.

"Please marry me!!!!!! I'll do anything!"

As Hugo dangled with his intestines protruding, Lee Geon's veins popped.

"Hey, you gonna let go of this?!"

"Please marry me!! Ma'am!"

"This crazy bastard, for real!!!"

Ppakak!

* * *

Lee Geon had a dream.

It was a memory of losing his beloved family.

- Please save me. There are still people here!

- Mom! I want to go outside…!

- Let's just hold on a little. They said it's more dangerous outside. They said the heroes will come if we wait a little.

The area was truly a fire hell.

And in the flames, voices tormenting Lee Geon kept coming.

- It seems like there are still people, is it really okay to leave?

- It's fine. The more we drag it out, the more the Korean government will get anxious and raise the money. We just have to do as the Apostle says.

- Haha. Is it okay to say that here like this?

- It's fine. One's deaf, and the other guy is already dead.

- True. The other floors are hopeless anyway.

- But are the other Apostles really coming here?

- No? They say the monster that appeared here is on another level. Would they come when they clearly know they'll die?

- Huh? Then why did they tell us to take shelter inside the building?

- That's….

And after those voices disappeared, Yeonwoo was inevitably devoured by the mist monster.

And the end of the nightmare was Yeonwoo being torn apart right before his eyes.

In the end, Lee Geon woke up gasping for breath after having the same dream again.

"…Damn it."

An abandoned ruin.

Lee Geon, who had treated Hugo in the temporarily borrowed ruin, frowned deeply.

Because Hugo, who had been unconscious until now, was causing a ruckus.

"Aack! My stomach! My stomach! Why are there stitch marks?!"

Finally, Lee Geon sighed and approached him lying on the bed.

And.

"You're awake. Your intestines were hanging out, so I performed emergency surgery."

"Surgery??!!!"

"Well, don't worry about complications. I've gotten good at it by practicing on myself."

Hugo's eyes widened when he saw Lee Geon.

It couldn't be helped.

"Uh. But who are you?"

Lee Geon's veins popped.

"You don't even know the person who saved you?"

"…You were a man?"

"I'm letting it slide because you're a patient."

At the same time, Hugo understood.

Earlier, when I wasn't in my right mind, I saw the long hair and thought you were a woman.

'Now that I look, it's not hair but monster leather….'

And his build, now that I see, is that of a normal man.

'Anyway, he's a scary man who doesn't smile at all.'

Especially his burned face was really scary.

Well, that didn't matter.

"I'll do anything!! Please take me as your disciple!"

"!!"

Lee Geon seemed flustered by the sudden declaration.

"No, you..."

But regardless, Hugo prostrated himself flat.

"Please accept me! Because my skills are lacking!! I can't catch monsters well!"

"…Monsters? A civilian… why…."

"Civilian? Ah, that's right! My skills are so lacking compared to the other eleven that even civilians would be surprised!"

"…Eleven?"

"Yes! Ah!! But still, I have the most confidence in speed! Other Apostles can't match my speed…!"

Right then.

"You were an Apostle?"

It was a voice so cold the air seemed to freeze.

But Hugo, not noticing, smiled brightly.

"Yes! So I never expected to meet the famous 13th…."

However, Hugo couldn't finish his sentence.

"Aack!!"

A murderous axe aimed for Hugo's neck.

Kwa-jik!!

"Shit, what rotten luck. I didn't feel the Holy Spirit's aura, so I was fooled."

"Th-th-thirteenth?!! What's this all of a sudden!"

"Enough, just die again."

"What??!!!"

(To be continued in the next episode)

Side Story 4. Please Take Me as Your Disciple (4)

"Enough, just die again."

"What??!!!"

Hugo was flustered.

But without even time to be flustered, a hand axe flew at him.

Kwa-jik!!

The hand axe lodged precisely beside the fallen Hugo's head.

Truly a movement without any hesitation.

Thanks to that, Hugo almost had his ear cut off and nearly cried.

"Damn! I'm really dying! I'm really dying!"

It was probably the axe Lee Geon used for splitting firewood.

And in that moment of realization, the axe deeply embedded in the bed rose again.

Whish!

And again the axe came down to hack Hugo's body!

"Aack!"

Hugo quickly bent his waist to the side and dodged.

Kwa-jik!

"Aack! After saving me, why are you doing this all of a sudden!"

"That's why I'm telling you to die again. You bastard, where do you get off lying about being a civilian?"

"I didn't lie?! Isn't it weirder that you didn't notice I was an Apostle from the start! What kind of crazy person can survive with their intestines bursting out!"

"Ah. That's true. But still, it's your fault."

"What the… Aack!!!"

Bang!

The axe struck the bed again. But when Hugo dodged like an eel again, Lee Geon's eyes flashed.

And as if he was pissed off, the axe relentlessly struck the bed!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was truly like a game of whack-a-mole.

But when he didn't get hit even once, Lee Geon frowned.

"It seems the claim of being fast isn't a lie."

"Yes! It's useful, right? So stop this meaningless act and take me as your disciple… Aack! Using the weapon you used to catch monsters is cheating, sir!"

However, as the attacks didn't stop, Hugo felt aggrieved.

"What on earth did I do!! I only came here and hunted monsters, that's my only crime… Ugh!"

"Right. Did you come to make money off it again? To receive business trip expenses without even intending to catch them?"

"Huh? What are you talking about! I'm an Apostle who saves people…!!"

At those words, Lee Geon's eyes flashed more ferociously than ever.

"You save people? You?"

As if asking where he got such a ridiculous lie, Lee Geon strangled Hugo by the neck.

Bang!

Since he kept dodging like an eel, he restrained him so he couldn't evade.

"Well, either way doesn't matter. If you're a guy who gets eaten by such a small fry, you're no help. You're already dead by the monster, I'll finish you off here."

"……!!!"

That was when Lee Geon was about to eliminate Hugo.

Bang!

"Hey! Otters!"

The door of the ruins opened.

And the face that smashed through the door surprised both Hugo and Igeon.

“Mr. Ivan!”

Appearing was a muscular man with silver hair.

And he was none other than the Apostle of Taurus, Ivan Kruger (26).

Among the Twelve Apostles, along with the Leo, he was one of the two tallest, boasting macho muscles.

If Steven had a free-spirited beast image, Ivan gave off a monk vibe.

And a brown-skinned man different from Steven glared at Hugo.

It seemed he had been looking for Hugo.

And sure enough.

“You maggot. How dare you barge in there, not knowing your place?”

“!!”

As Ivan approached with his blue eyes flashing, Hugo trembled all over.

That was because he had deliberately entered a zone Ivan had told him not to, to hunt a monster.

‘He said that if I went in, he wouldn’t let me off…!’

But he couldn’t follow his order to let a hundred hostages be devoured.

Anyway, as Ivan barged in, the grip of Igeon who had been strangling his neck was released, but now there was Igeon with a knife in front, and Ivan about to draw his knife from behind!

‘Either way, it’s the worst!’

And as if furious, Ivan approached Hugo.

“You’ve made things difficult for us! Who are you to lower our dignity?”

“……!”

Looking at Ivan, Igeon frowned.

Hugo, with his shaggy hair and shabby appearance, didn’t match his TV image at all.

But Ivan was completely different.

He looked exactly like he did on TV, so one could recognize him immediately.

And had Ivan spotted Igeon? Ivan smiled brightly.

Because seeing the bandages wrapped around Hugo and the medical tools around, he could instantly tell what had happened.

“So you saved our comrade. Thank you for that. But seeing that ugly face, you must have gone through a lot. How pitiful.”

Seeing Igeon’s ragged state, he clearly mistook him for a beggar from this place.

But as if his previous smile had never happened, Ivan looked at Hugo with loathing.

“You worthless weakling among the twelve of us.”

“!”

Ivan’s language switched from English to French.

He definitely didn’t want Igeon to hear their conversation.

“You go around saving civilians and making us look weird.”

And although the Twelve Apostles usually communicated in English, they often centered around the healer Apostle Sophie, so French was the second most spoken language.

“Because you barge into every place to save people, don’t you realize we can’t do business?”

“……!!”

As if understanding the French, Igeon glanced at Hugo.

But when the indignant Hugo tried to speak, Ivan laughed as if disgusted.

“Why look at me like that? We risk our lives to save people. If we save you, it’s only natural to receive compensation. So if you’re worthless, act like it and stay low.”

“…But!”

“.”

“!”

“You’re so weak that even that title is too much for you. Got it? You’re not a divine archer, you’re a water gun, a water gun! You can’t even properly catch one monster!”

Hugo bit his lip tightly.

His teeth ground in shame, but he couldn’t even refute.

It was understandable, since Sagittarius was nominally a combat apostle. In short, a combatant.

But he couldn’t hold a candle to other combatants, and sometimes even fell behind non-combat apostles.

Of course, his stats themselves weren’t lacking. He had enough ability to hunt monsters. He just lacked know-how.

But since it was true that he had the least results among the twelve, Hugo remained silent.

And at his expression, Ivan smiled and took out his wallet.

At the same time, what he took out was fifty bundles of hundred-dollar bills.

“Well, you did some useless things, but anyway, good work. In exchange, hide the fact that this guy got hurt, and don’t mention you came in here.”

He handed the money to Igeon as if being generous.

But.

“Get lost, you bastard.”

“?!”

Smack!

Ivan was startled.

But regardless, Igeon disgustedly slapped his hand away.

“Put your hand away, you soy-sauce-shrimp-looking bastard. You’re bad luck.”

“……!!”

Ivan seemed flustered.

Because of the look in Igeon’s eyes.

‘Hostility.’

So he couldn’t understand.

Because most of humanity looked at them with admiration as saviors.

‘Why would a civilian… to us…?’

So he asked.

“What’s this? You don’t know who I am?”

At those words, Igeon picked up an axe, as if disgusted.

Then, at the moment Ivan was flustered.

“13th! You can’t!”

“!”

Sensing Igeon’s killing intent, Hugo became urgent.

But Ivan himself was surprised for a different reason.

‘What? The 13th?!’

Ivan’s face, which had been full of bravado, rarely turned bewildered.

‘Could it be the one who appeared half a year ago and then vanished?’

He couldn’t help but remember.

‘The 13th, whom even the Holy Gods said absolutely could not exist.’

Of course, that guy who turned the world upside down had suddenly disappeared.

So everyone thought he had died or lost his power.

‘Why is that guy here?!’

But there was no time to be surprised.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

As Igeon attacked fiercely, Ivan was taken aback.

‘This guy, what kind of movement…!’

Eventually, Ivan’s eyes flashed.

Simultaneously, his thick brown arm smashed Igeon’s weapon.

Crack!!

“!”

When the newly made prototype 2 was destroyed, Igeon’s eyes widened in surprise.

In fact, Hugo was the first of the Twelve Apostles Igeon had seen fight. So he had just estimated combat power based on Hugo.

‘It’s different.’

And at the sight, Hugo went pale as well.

‘A-as expected of a Level 5 Apostle…!’

The Twelve Apostles had levels (1 to 5).

And those who reached Level 5 (Transcendent) had power on a completely different dimension.

Of course, Hugo hadn’t met all twelve.

But.

‘Level 5 (Transcendent) is on a whole different level from Level 4.’

And according to Sophie, who was the communication hub, only four among them were at the highest Level 5.

‘Taurus, Leo, Gemini, and Scorpio, it was said.’

In short, Ivan was one of the four strongest humans!

‘And moreover, that person is a superhuman with an adamantine body that boasts the ultimate defense…!’

But just then.

Suddenly, Igeon picked up a bundle of cloth leaning against the wall.

‘!’

And at that moment, both Hugo and Ivan frowned.

Because they felt something ominous.

And sure enough. At that moment.

“Awaken.”

“!?”

At Igeon’s voice, the long object glowed.

As the cloth wrapping it fell away, everyone was shocked.

“Wh-what! A weapon?”

In its early days, Heaven’s Judgment was not in its current form.

It was still a long weapon almost like a staff, but more of a blunt weapon than an axe, a flint tool.

But the moment Igeon grabbed that weapon, Ivan felt a chill.

It was on a completely different dimension from the greatsword-like weapon from before.

‘A weapon given by a god?’

He didn’t know, but it felt dangerous. In the end, the flustered Ivan quickly reached out his hand.

‘It’s better not to take this guy alive, but to just eliminate him.’

A brown light burst from Ivan’s hand.

Flash!

[Sacred Bull’s Worship (Unique Skill)]

- Absolute invincibility for 1 minute. (Reflects all attacks.) Counter function, powerful charge buff when moving

Having activated his Unique Skill, Ivan aimed at the weapon.

‘A mere weapon!’

He would smash it like he did with Steven’s.

But.

“!!”

The weapon didn’t break.

That wasn’t all.

“……!!”

As their eyes met, Ivan felt a chill.

Igeon was smiling.

Igeon, who hadn’t smiled even once until now!

But that smile was a bone-chilling eye-smile, as if asking if he really thought it would work.

And sure enough.

Hmph!

Not holding the Judgment with his left hand, Igeon clenched his fist.

And in an instant, that fist smashed toward Ivan’s thick arm!

Crack!!!!!

At that explosive sound, Hugo nearly went deaf.

But the surprising thing wasn’t the sound.

Crumbling.

“……!!”

Ivan froze for the first time.

The forearm that Igeon’s fist struck cracked like shattering stone.

And the skin peeled off like powdered candy, finally revealing the raw red muscle.

The adamantine body, the strongest flesh, had been pierced.

And Igeon spoke.

“You call that an adamantine body that breaks from a punch like this? Even a passing mutt would laugh!”

For the first time in his life, Ivan felt fear.

(Continued in the next episode)

Side Story 5. Please accept me as your disciple (5)

The world’s strongest shield.

The ultimate flesh that nothing could pierce.

But right now, at this moment.

That ultimate flesh had been pierced.

With a bare fist. By a mere mutant, without even a god or anything!

Thud!

And the mutant lifted the corner of his mouth and muttered.

“It’s so embarrassing, don’t go around bragging you’re a shield, you glass-bodied bastard!”

It was a tremendous insult, a humiliation to Ivan.

So Hugo couldn’t shut his mouth.

‘That flesh that remains unscathed even when kicked and trampled by monsters…!’

In fact, didn’t Ivan always mock Leo?

- Hey, wild beast. Broke your weapon again? You’re a helpless cripple who can’t do anything without a weapon.

- What? Wanna see if I’m helpless?

It was routine for the top two combat leaders to clash, ready to smash each other’s skulls.

But whether it was Steven who boasted savage destructive power, or Heiji the mage who boasted weapon-like destructive power.

They couldn’t leave a single scratch on Ivan’s body.

That’s why everyone inwardly acknowledged him as the leader.

But then.

“Oh my god, that damn stone Buddha body got wrecked! As expected, the 13th!!”

Hugo sobbed.

And normally, Ivan would have gotten angry at Hugo, telling that wimp to shut up, but now he didn’t even have the energy to crush Hugo.

‘What is this guy…!!’

Ivan hadn’t paid any attention to the 13th.

Since he wasn’t even an apostle, and not worth caring about, he had thought.

‘But what is this power?’

So Ivan ground his teeth.

‘My body, which none of the apostles could scratch!’

He was someone who took pride in his body being a weapon.

Thus, enraged, he was about to summon a god’s descent, but at that moment!

Pow!!

“Ugh!”

A hammer-like pain struck the back of Ivan’s head.

And realizing the culprit of the attack, Ivan flared up.

“You water gun bastard, for real!”

Meanwhile, Hugo, who had kicked Ivan, was sweating profusely.

‘A-as expected, I can’t even leave a scratch…!’

He had kicked with his maximum output, but still.

And sure enough.

Ivan immediately grabbed Hugo by the collar and slammed him to the ground.

“Cough!”

The force was so strong that a cave was formed in the floor.

And the depth created by the impact was a full 5 meters!

At that destructive power, Ivan smiled contentedly, as if boasting that he was indeed great.

And Igeon, who had seized the opportunity thanks to Hugo, sneered.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of you both together, nice and cozy.”

At that, the surprised Hugo quickly crawled out of the hole and latched onto Igeon.

“Ack! Master! You can’t kill him!”

Because of that, Igeon, who had been aiming at Ivan, was taken aback.

This guy, to think he could keep up with my combat speed!

But the surprise was brief; Igeon kicked Hugo away.

“Don’t interfere, you bastard! You said you hated him for being money-hungry, so are you protecting him because he’s your comrade after all?”

But as if there was a reason, Hugo clung on stubbornly.

“Damn it, yeah! He’s an asshole and has no manners! So I hate him too, but if they’re gone, all of humanity will die! From the monsters!”

“……?”

Igeon looked at him as if dumbfounded.

“I’ll just catch the monsters myself.”

“That’s impossible alone! You’re not even a god!”

“Alright. I get it.”

At the seemingly understanding look in Igeon’s eyes, Hugo’s face brightened.

“Then!”

“I’ll kill you first, you little shit.”

“Aaaack!!”

Igeon brought down the Heavenly Judgment upon Hugo.

Hugo dodged again like a flying squirrel, but as soon as that power struck the ground.

Rumble!

“Gah!”

The floor split, and Hugo fell into the underground.

“Aaaaaaah…!”

The depth seemed to exceed 100 meters.

And with a Tarzan-like scream resounding, Iban felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the pit.

‘This crazy bastard, what kind of power…!’

It was impossible to tell if he was even human or a monster.

Since his attack went wide, it’s only this much.

If he had aimed for the floor from the start, wouldn’t it have bored through hundreds of meters?

And though he hated it, Iban couldn’t help but compare the pit he had dug himself with Igeon’s pit, and he shuddered.

It was the first humiliation he had ever felt in his life.

So it was terrifying.

But regardless, Igeon, having dealt with the annoying Hugo first, dusted off his hands.

“Alright. Next is you, you bastard.”

“!!”

“Well, if you’re worth keeping alive as that husk said, I’ll spare you. However.”

Igeon’s eyes flashed menacingly.

“Only on the condition that you’re stronger than me.”

“!!!”

Was he confident in his own skill?

It was the moment Igeon was about to take Iban’s head.

“…Aaaaaaah!!!!”

Igeon suddenly became wide-eyed like a startled rabbit at the Tarzan yell he heard.

The sound came from beneath the 100m sinkhole.

And the instant that Tarzan-like voice reached the surface!

“!”

Igeon’s jaw dropped.

That was because a gigantic monster burst out of the pit.

Even with Hugo in its mouth!

“Aaaaak!! Masterrrr! Please save meeee!”

“……???! ”

It was a monster like an earthworm. And as soon as it emerged, a stream of water burst out of the hole after it.

Boom!!!

At the same time, the worm devoured Hugo, who was in its mouth.

Crunch!

Because of that, Iban couldn’t help but tremble.

‘That bastard is a ＜High-Risk＞ monster!’

At this time, the grading systems like Red Zone, Black Zone had not yet been established.

The apostles divided monsters into ＜Low-Risk＞, ＜Medium-Risk＞, and ＜High-Risk＞.

And ＜High-Risk＞ monsters were ones whose subjugation chance was less than 40%, so they were given up on attacking.

But such a thing was here!

But the more shocking thing wasn’t that.

“Oh, jackpot. The thing I’ve been chasing for a month while staying here came out?”

“?!”

Iban doubted his own ears.

‘What? Chasing for a month? That thing?’

Why a ＜High-Risk＞ monster??

It seemed as if they didn’t even think about the devoured Hugo for a second.

And Igeon, as if he had been waiting, immediately grabbed the Celestial Executioner and jumped.

He looked extremely excited.

“You little shit who wouldn’t come out no matter what tricks I used to make you come out!”

With just one Hugo-bastard, it came bursting right out!

“What good bait he is!”

At last, Igeon swung the Executioner and cut the worm in two.

Crunch!

Like gutting an eel, he sliced from head to tail in one stroke.

Slick!!

Thanks to that, Hugo, who had been stuck in the worm’s esophagus, was also able to see the light of the world.

“Guh…!”

Hugo, fallen onto the ground, floundered in the sticky liquid-covered mess.

But even so, he looked at Igeon with emotion as if deeply moved.

“Oh heavens, Master…! Still, even as your disciple, you’re saving me… Aaak!”

Igeon stomped on Hugo’s head and jumped high.

Kugugung!

Because another worm burst out from the same pit.

This time it was purple instead of brown.

[Kieeek!]

And at the sight of the differently colored thing, Igeon furrowed his brow.

‘A thing I can’t use as food ingredient.’

On top of that, it had a vicious poison that could corrode weapons and was annoyingly tough.

‘If I’m unlucky, my weapon might break instead.’

What to do then.

And then it was.

Iban, as if dumbfounded, was heading out of the house.

‘Damn it, that crazy guy is one of a kind!’

His bizarre strength aside, chasing a High-Risk monster for a month as well, and it was better to just avoid it here.

‘I didn’t see that bastard today.’

He hated that bastard’s very existence.

Even mixing words was unpleasant and dirty.

‘The Constellation God has already started demanding compensation anyway.’

Even though it got canceled, he had already started making a fuss just because he tried to use that one skill.

[Bring me drink and beauties.]

If left alone, the god would immediately run wild.

‘Anyway, it’d be best to report that bastard’s existence to the government and bury him.’

But it was right then.

Grab!

“?!”

Igeon grabbed Iban’s foot as he was about to leave. There was no time to even spit out a curse.

“Aaaak!”

His scalp being scraped along the ground as he was dragged, Iban became bloodshot with rage.

“You crazy bastard!”

He immediately tried to raise his body and grab Igeon by the throat.

But at that moment, Iban let out a groan.

“Guk!”

Igeon had tied up Iban tightly with the rope at his waist.

‘!!’

The speed and knot technique were far from ordinary.

And then.

“Good. If it’s this hard, it’s roughly usable as a club.”

And at that instant, Iban almost spat blood.

Crack!!!

Igeon, charging at the worm, swung Iban like a baseball bat.

And perhaps it was because he was a Taurus apostle who needlessly boasted the strongest hardness.

“Keuheok…!!!”

Iban, turned into a baseball bat, pierced the purple worm’s hard shell and dug into its inner flesh.

Splat!

It was possible because Igeon’s power was behind it.

But as the worm’s shell peeling, a liquid stinking horribly gushed out.

And that was the worm’s poison skin.

In the end, Iban’s skin, exposed to the poison skin, melted away.

Of course, being the Taurus, said to have the strongest defense, it didn’t melt straight to the bone.

But the blow was still significant.

As proof, impaled into the monster’s body, Iban felt his consciousness grow dizzy.

However, Igeon didn’t care at all and poured mana into his foot.

And as if kicking a soccer ball, he kicked it into the sky!

Bwooong!!

As the two finally soared into the sky, Igeon looked extremely pleased.

“Good. The bastard that would stink up the house was dealt with early on.”

Igeon looked satisfied at the worm he first grabbed and the hot spring water.

Because with this, he could make the ＜Celestial Fortification Hot Spring＞ and ＜Magic Iron Furnace＞, one of the blueprints he swiped from Capricorn.

And Hugo, seeing him like that, sparkled his eyes.

“A-as expected, you’re amazing! I respect you, Master… guk!!!”

Hugo was kicked aside by Igeon.

And Igeon, as if he had never been pleased, swung his hand axe murderously.

“Don’t pretend to be chummy, bastard.”

“……!!!”

“Well, unlike that guy from before, you don’t seem like the type to do business, but.”

“Uh… d-don’t tell me you understood what I said earlier?”

Igeon looked at Hugo disapprovingly.

Languages—having traveled from one land to another, he could understand a fair amount.

“Anyway, I don’t raise disciples or anything. If you don’t want to die, get lost.”

As the hand axe flew, Hugo screamed and collapsed.

He couldn’t understand why Igeon hated apostles so much.

* * *

And around that same time.

“Really? The 13th apostle, you say?”

One of the four Transcendents said to be the strongest among apostles.

Hayley furrowed her delicate brow.

Of course, she too had heard the talk of a bizarre mutant appearing in Korea.

‘Something about dragging those subordinates away, was it?’

She was in another dimension so she found out late, but still.

And when she thought of Korea, all that came to mind was that nameless boy.

Three years ago. The high school boy who had tenderly healed her when she was hurt.

And Hayley, recalling him, reddened her face.

In truth, until she became the saint of Scorpio, she had lingered around him and kept watch over him, but the boy had vanished at some point.

Because of that, she was worried about where he might be now and whether he was even alive.

‘If only he could be safe and well, without any injuries.’

But for now, that wasn’t what was important.

“I’ll have to confirm this first.”

[Then…!]

“I will go meet this 13th one myself.”

(Continued in next episode)

Side Story Episode 6. First Love (1)

Perhaps it was four years ago.

Igeon had picked up a cat.

It was a black kitten with blue eyes.

And after barely saving that dying black cat, Igeon raised it with great care.

“Our kitty, do you like your brother that much? Then when you grow up, will you marry your brother?”

It was a cat that was extremely shy. And its appearance was somehow different from ordinary cats, but such things didn’t bother him.

It was the hardest time, when a close friend had died from a bad incident, and he couldn’t even show his feelings to Yeonwoo and Junwoo.

It was a precious thing that had become his only comfort back then.

But even that precious cat had died, or vanished leaving only blood behind….

In the end, his beloved little brother Junwoo died after that.

“Hyung… don’t cry…. I’m okay. It’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry, if only I had come to get you just a bit earlier…!”

“…No, I just hope you won’t cry.”

Junwoo was killed by a monster.

Of course, the truth was it was the Pisces and Gemini Constellation Gods who had transformed into monsters, but at that time, there was no way Igeon could know.

And after that, even Yeonwoo, the one who remained, died.

“…Geon-ah, it’s okay. Those people you really like, they’ll definitely come.”

Yeonwoo said that as he died, but Igeon, within those flames, saw faces he could never forget.

“Out of the way. Are you deaf? Do you know how busy our apostle-sirs are?”

“But they said they’d definitely come…! Told us not to worry….”

“Do you think your lives are the same as the apostle-sirs? They said none of them are coming.”

“……!”

Those who received enormous donations from the citizens said with devilish smiles.

“But why did the apostle-sirs tell us to take shelter inside the buildings if they’re not coming?”

“Because, if we get eaten by a monster, it becomes their responsibility. But dying from a building collapse is an accident, you see.”

“Guess so. Anyway, report that there’s no one here, and let’s go where the apostle-sirs went first. Not Seoul but the next country. That side is rich, so the cash amount is no joke. And unlike here, the monsters are ＜Low-Risk＞ so it’s easy.”

Igeon still cannot forget their faces and words.

And the next day after he awakened, the kind of article those apostle bastards put out.

[Monsters blocked the way, arrival delayed]

[“Traffic was impeded so they couldn’t arrive in Seoul.”]

[Thanks to the mutant awakener]

Seeing that, Igeon’s heart changed as much as his altered face.

‘Trash bastards wearing the mask of heroes.’

I’ll kill them all.

I’ll wipe out everything I set my eyes on!

And now.

“…Sss…r.”

“…….”

“Mas…ter….”

“…….”

“Master!!”

“……!!”

Igeon, who had been asleep in the hot spring water, opened his eyes.

And that place was a city in Jordan.

Having crossed over from Saudi Arabia after finishing his business, Igeon frowned at the young man in front of him.

“What, why is this pest here?”

“Masterrrr!!”

It was.

The one before Igeon was none other than Hugo Oters.

The guy he had definitely left behind in Saudi Arabia.

And he had abandoned him in the middle of the desert since he kept chasing like crazy….

‘How is this bastard alive??’

He had thrown him into quicksand to die for sure.

But regardless, the ragged Hugo beamingly waved something.

It was none other than Igeon’s torn t-shirt.

“I! Even though I look like this, I’m the Apostle of Tracking! As long as there’s a scent left on an object, I can chase it to the opposite side of the earth! Wherever you go Master, I can find you all!”

Damn it. Is he some kind of dog bastard.

Igeon became bloodshot as if pissed off.

But Hugo seemed instead interested in the stone bathtub Igeon had entered.

“Doesn’t seem like something from the inn, what is this?”

Igeon’s face crumpled deeply.

What was it.

[Bathtub for Skin Treatment (D)]

It was an item made from the monster byproducts that appeared in Saudi Arabia.

Since he had stolen the blueprint from ＜Sagittarius＞, he had been able to craft various holy objects.

And the number of those prototypes was nine in total.

But after making the very first one, not a single piece of usable equipment came out.

‘Both power and durability are weak, so they break quickly.’

The only ones with decent effects were odds and ends like this bathtub or the furnace.

It must be that they turn out flimsy because there aren’t good kilns and materials.

So that was why he had been aiming for that worm monster in Saudi Arabia.

Because that monster was said to become an S-grade ＜Material＞.

Well, whatever the case.

“Wow, this hot spring water. Could it be the hot spring water I dug out back then? I feel magical energy, does it have a special function?”

Igeon furrowed his brow.

Perhaps this time he’d have to throw him into the ocean instead of the desert for him to die.

But Hugo, as soon as Igeon got out of the bath, immediately brought something forth.

"Master! Please eat! I brought some decent food in case you were hungry before I came!"

"……!"

Lee Geon was startled by the items covering the entire table.

Steak, wine, bread, pastries, fruit—it was filled with all kinds of delicious dishes.

So Lee Geon looked at Hugo strangely.

"Why did you…."

"What do you mean, why! To serve my master, this much is an essential virtue, isn't it?!"

This kid is crazy, isn't he?

Of course, it wasn't that he usually refused the reward money for hunting monsters, but it all went to food expenses, leaving him practically a beggar.

Eventually, when Lee Geon emptied his bowl in an instant, Hugo was shocked.

He even had his own food stolen.

"Y-you already finished it?! I brought a generous three servings each…!"

"That's not enough. I need to eat at least fifty servings a day."

"…Are you even human?!"

Hugo got beaten until he was drenched in blood.

"Anyway, if you're done, get lost. I have to go out."

"D-don't you need dinner or a late-night snack?!"

"……."

"Cleaning, laundry! Securing lodging! Providing meals—I'll do everything! I'll cover all the expenses out of my own pocket, too!"

"Hah. You think that'll make me accept a brat like you as a disciple?"

"Then you don't have to accept me! I'll just serve you diligently by your side, so please don't send me away!"

"!"

As Hugo clung to the hem of his pants, Lee Geon glared at him in disbelief.

No, why is this guy so desperate to learn combat skills that he's going this far?

"Anyway, guys like you just grab the easy jobs, get paid, and call it a day."

"No! I want to save people! So that there are no people left neglected!"

At those words, Lee Geon fell silent.

A video he had once seen on TV surfaced in his mind. It was footage of three superhumans who saved dying humanity.

[Do not worry! We will save all of humanity! Every single one, without exception!]

- Wow, Junwoo. Did you see that? Those people are really cool.

For some reason, feelings he had now forgotten resurfaced.

Perhaps because of that.

"Do as you like. But I'm not going to teach you a thing."

"Thank you!!!"

"I really won't teach you anything. But you have to provide meals without fail. Fifty servings every time. And two hours later, a snack… Ah, my watch is broken."

When Lee Geon looked at his wristwatch with irritation, Hugo promptly took off his own watch and handed it over.

"Use mine!"

Lee Geon, who casually took the watch, was startled.

'P-Patek Philippe?'

It was a famous ultra-luxury watch that even he had heard of. The cheapest one cost more than a car….

"My grandfather gave it to me when I was in middle school, so it's a bit old, but it should be usable!"

"???"

What kind of grandfather buys something like this for a middle schooler?

But Lee Geon forced himself to stay calm.

"Still, a gift like this is precious, isn't it? Giving away something like that…."

"Ah. That's fine. I had a lot of similar things, so I got sick of them already."

A surge of anger.

Lee Geon kicked Hugo.

"You rich bastard. Just die!!!"

"Aagh! I'm not that rich!"

"Not rich my ass! I already didn't like you, and now I'm even more disgusted! Forget monsters, just live as a mama's boy, you brat!"

"Aagh! I can't! My parents both passed away because of monsters, and my grandfather's business went completely bankrupt! The only blood relative left is my older sister, and we're all beggars… Aaagh!!"

"Shut up! You freeloader!"

Hugo's slightly improving image plummeted to insect-level in an instant.

* * *

"What? A Level 5 superhuman?"

Lee Geon, who was tearing into bread, frowned.

Hugo was drawing upon all his knowledge to give information to Lee Geon, who had asked about the Apostles, but….

"That club-wielding guy who came last time was also called a Level 5, wasn't he? They say they're strong, but aren't they just total trash?"

"Ah…! But the other three are different. Especially the Apostle of …!"

"Scorpio?"

"Yes! A cold-blooded Apostle with no blood or tears! Her skills are monstrous, and anyway, she's incredibly strong! Well… and she's also a peerless beauty, as if not of this world, so all the male Apostles went crazy over her. Ah! Excluding me! I have only my master!"

"Really?"

Strong enough for that much hype. Lee Geon grew interested.

And around that time.

"Is this the place where the 13th is?"

The very person who had caught Lee Geon's interest, Haily, was in the city where Lee Geon was.

It was to see the 13th, whom her subordinates had discovered, with her own eyes.

But it was then.

"What, what a coincidence. Meeting you here."

"!"

Haily turned her head at the voice coming from the market.

There, the Apostle of Leo, famous as the superhuman of the north.

Stephen Marker (23), was approaching.

And Stephen, along with Haily, was one of the top Level 5 Awakeners among the Apostles.

"Haily. Have you eaten y—…."

"Did you come looking for the 13th too?"

Her cold attitude, devoid of any humor, made Stephen feel awkward.

"Ah, the 13th? I heard anyway. Taurus called the Saintess, right? But the 13th was handed over to the Eastern wizard. I'm here for other business."

"Other business?"

"They say bizarre incidents are happening around here. I think it might be ."

"Ah."

.

The only eccentric Apostle who never reveals themselves.

No one had seen their face, and their whereabouts were completely unknown. They weren't even cooperative with the other Apostles.

"What's been roughly figured out is that they're a high school student from France. From what I hear, they're an incredible genius swordsman…."

Indeed, a subordinate who was the only one to witness the face of the Virgo Apostle said,

- I-it was a golden-haired ghost, I tell you!

- And it tried to kill us!

"Well, they're so it's probably a girl. So I've been searching, mainly looking for a blonde girl around high school age."

"So that's connected to the bizarre incidents happening here?"

"Yeah. They say all the people around here who believe in the Holy God, all those who praise the Holy God, are being attacked. And that matches the Virgo Apostle's pattern."

"…What? So an Apostle is attacking Holy God worshippers?"

It was a completely incomprehensible point, but Stephen, as if that wasn't important, glanced at Haily and smiled.

"Anyway, since we met like this, it's fate. Want to grab a meal together?"

"Can't you read a clock? It's already well past 3 o'clock."

"Ah, no! Then at least some tea…!"

"I don't like tea."

Just as Haily was about to ignore him and turn away.

"Yaaaaa! Give it back! That belongs to our master!! It's a whole barbecued meat I bought to prepare for my master!"

"!!"

A suspicious duo came running in front of them.

It seemed one was a pickpocket chasing a thief. But soon, they were completely shocked by the face of the person chasing the thief.

"Wh-what? Why is that water pistol here?"

"Hugo?"

But Hugo, not noticing either of them, pounced on the thief.

"I said give it back!"

Then the thief, looking like a beggar, as if unwilling to lose the meat, hunched over and ravenously tore into the barbecue.

"Hey! No! Don't eat it! This is for our god!"

At those words, the thief who had been devouring the meat flinched.

And then, as if they had never intended to eat it, they looked at Hugo with a menacing glare.

"What. Are you a Holy God worshipper too?"

Blue eyes hidden beneath long blonde hair were ferocious.

And just as expected.

"Die!!!"

"???!!!"

The thief suddenly pulled out the skewer stuck in the meat.

And just like that, tried to kill Hugo.

But soon, everyone was shocked by the sight of the thief wielding a weapon(?).

"Ah…!!!"

Understandably so, because silver magical power blazed fiercely from the thief's body.

And the pattern flashing on the back of the hand holding the iron skewer was unmistakably the Holy Stigma of .

And that person was none other than Kevin Azar (18).

"What! This thief! Don't tell me he's the Virgo Apostle?!"

But regardless, Kevin tried to attack Hugo.

"Believers, Saints, all of you, just die!!"

And it was then.

"What is this, you freeloading brat. You said you were going to buy meat, what are you doing over there?"

Haily was startled by the familiar voice.

(Continued in the next episode)

Side Story Episode 7. First Love (2)

[Look over there, it's the Princess.]

[The one the Monarch brought back as a prisoner from the Monarch of last time?]

[Prisoner? No, they said she was his daughter.]

[What?]

Haily Orga Elstein.

She was the daughter of , called the Monarch. And Haily was originally of the highest rank even among the General class, one of the 13 Knights.

As one of those 13 Knights, she was guarding the Monarch of , but one day she was dragged away by , who claimed to be her father.

Her mother, , had been defeated by . Of course, she barely managed to survive, but fell into a deep, near-death sleep to recover.

And dragged to , her power of was sealed, and she was forced to work endlessly as an incarnation of battle.

She met Lee Geon around that time.

It was when , deeming Haily useless, sent her to human society as a self-destruction tool.

The pretext was to eliminate the camps of other Monarchs targeting Earth.

[I noticed there was someone meddling in my domain.]

Earth belonged to and the faction Monarchs he commanded. It was understandable he was furious that other alien beings were trying to crawl in.

Thus, in the end, she became a self-destruction tool of and dealt with the enemies, but perhaps because she was General-class, she didn't die instantly.

So, having lost all power, wandering and collapsing, just waiting for her breath to cease.

"Hey kitty, are you okay? Are you alive?"

She met a high school boy.

He was a very kind, affectionate, and warm boy.

"My cat is strange. I wonder why it tries so desperately to run away whenever I try to give it a bath."

Well, although he had zero sense.

Anyway, Haily was happiest during that time.

Even though she couldn't reveal her identity, she wanted to stay with this affectionate and warm boy forever.

But it didn't last long.

Because the subordinates of who had noticed she was alive came dangerously close.

In fact, Lee Geon had also been threatened outside.

"Yeah kitty, it's okay, it's okay. Don't worry. I just got caught up in an explosion accident. It'll get better in a few days."

Lee Geon, his arm wrapped in bandages, didn't make a big deal of it, but if this continued, even Lee Geon, who lived alone, might get caught up in it.

'I must leave.'

So she had no choice but to leave Lee Geon. Besides, she had already recovered all her power.

But even after that, Haily lingered around Lee Geon and killed monsters that tried to approach him.

However, she felt the limits of that too.

Because , , , and had brought monsters in earnest that began to devour humans.

And it was right at that time.

That the Holy God of Scorpio came to Haily.

[Young descendant. Become my Apostle.]

Why a God chose not a human but her—and even an enemy at that—she couldn't understand.

But Haily chose the path of becoming a Saint.

Well, at the time, gave her the command: 'In place of me, who traverses dimensions, kill the other Apostles.'

'If I become an Apostle, I can protect that person better.'

Lee Geon had a family.

And she thought that for Lee Geon to be happy, rather than just eliminating monsters one by one at his side as a temporary measure, it would be better to pull out the roots entirely—in other words, to save human society itself.

So, to protect Lee Geon from a place unseen, she ignored 's orders and directly became an Apostle.

Even though it was definitely like that….

"What is this, you freeloading brat. You said you were going to buy meat, what are you doing over there?"

"????"

Haily's expression was something to behold at the familiar voice.

She doubted her own ears.

And as she saw Lee Geon getting closer, Haily's pupils dilated.

It was unmistakably him.

'That person…!'

He was taller than back then, his once-neat hair now shaggy. His skin was completely ruined from his left eye to his cheek, making him hard to recognize, but she was certain.

The scent was the same.

And.

"Excuse me, passing through."

As Lee Geon passed right by Haily's side, Haily almost screamed involuntarily.

And as Haily's expression changed, something which was rare, Stephen, who was beside her, looked puzzled.

"He-Haily?"

Seeing the cold, bloodless princess's expression shift so unusually, Stephen was instead restless with a worried look.

"Haily, what's wrong? What's the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"

But Haily, completely ignoring him, blushed and smiled without realizing it.

'It really is him!'

After becoming an Apostle, she had secretly visited Lee Geon's house, but Lee Geon's whereabouts became unknown, leaving her in despair.

‘She’s alive…! Thank goodness….’

But that was only for a moment.

The girl who was so happy just now suddenly turned serious. Because of none other than the sight of Igeon.

‘Wait. What on earth happened to that face?’

A hideously scarred burn mark that made it impossible to believe he was the same person.

And that aura coming from him….

‘…Superhuman?’

It was just as she was wondering what could have happened.

[Princess! It’s that guy! The 13th one we told you we saw!]

“……!!!”

At her subordinates’ voices coming from the shadows, Hailey could not help but be greatly startled.

The 13th one…!

That person is?

At the same time, Hailey’s face froze.

But regardless of that, Igeon approached Hugo.

“Hey. Rice-maggot. What are you doing? I told you to go buy food, and you’re here playing with your friend?”

At those words, Hugo, who was pinned down by Kevin, looked ready to breathe fire.

“In what possible way does this look like a friend?!”

“Sacred gods and god worshipers all must die!! All die!!!”

“Well. Your friend’s personality is a bit unique.”

“I’m telling you, he’s not my friend!! What kind of friend comes at you with a weapon trying to kill you?!”

“He didn’t pay back money he borrowed?”

“Masteeer!!”

“He stole your fiancée?”

“Who is that! That utter bastard!”

And it was then.

“Kk!”

Steven, who had been watching, launched himself at Kevin.

It was because Steven’s original goal had been to find him.

And then.

Thud!!

Steven climbed on top of the fallen Kevin and activated the golden power of the lion.

Because the only thing that could suppress an apostle’s demonic power was another apostle.

And it actually had an effect.

“Hey, you’re not stopping? You bastard, it really is true that you’ve been going around attacking gods and their worshipers!”

“……? What are you?! Let go?!”

“Forget it, just come with us guys for now!”

At those words, the scrawny wolf-girl-like Kevin’s eyes flashed.

And in an instant, Steven almost blew a nosebleed.

“Kahk!”

Kevin had headbutted Steven in the face while forcing himself upright.

Despite his much smaller build, Kevin’s strength was considerable.

In the end, kicked aside by Kevin, Steven became dizzy.

‘My ribs are broken…!’

It was a devastating power, even enough to make someone like him, who was top-tier in combat skill, dizzy.

But that wasn’t what was more startling.

“What the hell, this bastard! He’s only Level 1!”

“What?!”

Indeed.

All the other apostles were at least Level 4 or higher. But looking at the stigma engraved on the back of his hand, Kevin was unmistakably Level 1!

“This is insane! How low must your faith be to still be Level 1!”

“No, more than that, a Level 1 can produce this kind of power?! Level 5 level… Kahk!”

In the end, it was Steven who was first knocked away by Kevin, who, despite being Level 1, was displaying Level 5 power.

Crack!

“Kahk…!”

The ice cream stall that Steven crashed into was smashed to pieces.

Perhaps because of that. Steven urgently shouted.

“Hailey! I’m sorry, just help me out for a moment!”

Startled by this, Hailey reached out her hand to catch Kevin.

“?”

But as Igeon tilted his head and stared directly at Hailey, Hailey screamed.

“Kyaaaak!!”

And then.

“Kahuurgh!!”

Ultimately, the magic whip that burst from Hailey’s hand struck Steven instead of Kevin.

Charred, Steven gaped and fainted.

And it was then.

With Steven collapsed, Kevin, holding the knife, now targeted Hugo.

“You’re next!!”

Just as Kevin’s knife was about to cleave between Hugo’s legs.

Wham!!!

“?!”

Kevin was struck by someone and sent flying.

Bam!

It was literally with the speed of light.

And the culprit who sent Kevin flying was none other than Igeon!

Ultimately, kicked in the face, Kevin flew into the shop across in an instant.

Thud!

Thanks to that, Hugo couldn’t help but have his jaw drop.

Because that genius who had been reacting to his and Steven’s movements at the nanometer scale!

Couldn’t even react at all to Igeon’s movement and was taken down in a single blow…!

“As expected of Master!!”

Hugo wept.

At the same time, his heart swelled with the thought that Igeon had saved him.

“To save me because I’m your disciple, after all…! I’m truly gratefu….”

“That little bastard. Why did he eat my barbecue and flip out? And on top of that, he’s just going to dodge apologizing?”

Ah. Barbecue.

Hugo became solemn.

So Igeon’s action was purely retaliation for stealing his barbecue.

In the end, Hugo let a tear roll down.

“It’s, it’s fine. I’ll buy you more.”

“You maggot!”

“Ah, even the way you ignore my words is cool.”

But regardless, Igeon headed towards Steven, who was pinned under the ice cream stall.

And in that shadow, Steven smiled as if relieved.

“Oh, it’s the citizen who was with Otus? Good timing. Just help me up for a moment.”

However.

Wham!!

“Kahk!!”

Steven was kicked by Igeon.

And then.

“Who do you think you are, destroying the ice cream shop I was about to go to and flipping out?! Huh?! Wanna die?!”

“……?!!”

Suddenly being kicked in the legs by Igeon, Steven’s mind went blank.

The pain was on the level of being kicked by a monster.

So he was dumbfounded.

‘Wh, what is this bastard?’

In the end, being hit all over his body by Igeon, Steven flared up at Hugo.

“Hey! Water Gun!! What kind of psycho are you hanging around with!!”

“Not a psycho, he is my master!”

“M, Master?!”

What kind of nonsense was this, he wondered, but Hugo was diligently filming.

To think you could beat down a Level 5 apostle like swatting a cockroach like that.

“The 13th one, you really are amazing! Even showing demonstrations one by one! I’ll learn well…!”

At those words, Steven was horrified.

‘What? The 13th? This guy?’

This crazy psycho?

‘No, more than that… What is this? How can an ordinary human overwhelm the powers of apostles?’

But regardless, Igeon now approached the one remaining person.

“Are you an apostle too?”

“……!!”

At that low voice, Hailey flinched.

It was an intensely cold gaze.

A gaze so different it was impossible to think he was the person she knew.

That warmth that had been in his eyes was gone, leaving nothing but hatred and disgust.

Because of that, Steven freaked out, raising his voice.

“Hey! You get away from Hailey! I won’t let it go if you touch her!”

Hailey’s gaze also wavered heavily.

‘What on earth happened. What could have happened in the meantime….’

But it was then.

The face of Igeon, who had been staring at Hailey as if something was odd, came closer.

“!”

And Igeon sniffed near Hailey’s neck.

“Have we met somewhere before?”

“Wh, what?”

“Strange. It’s definitely a familiar scent.”

“……!!”

In the end, at a distance where their breaths could touch, Hailey’s face turned crimson red up to the top of her head.

And it was then.

“Hailey…!”

Ultimately, unable to endure it, Hailey fainted.

Thud!

“!”

And Igeon, who unintentionally caught Hailey, became wide-eyed.

(Continues in the next episode)

Extra Episode 8. First Love (3)

Steven was now looking at a madman. No, it was more than just a regular madman.

“Aaaagh!! Dying! I’m dying! Stop it!”

Steven freaked out as he looked at the boiling lava pond.

It was because of none other than Igeon.

And as he watched Steven struggling not to go into the lava, Igeon frowned.

“What. Do apostles actually die if they enter lava?”

“Isn’t that obvious for a human?!”

Indeed.

The apostles they had met at the Jordan market were all taken as prisoners by Igeon.

And the first target of torment was Steven.

As a region invaded by monsters, mysterious lava ponds had formed everywhere.

Like puddles after rain. Of course, the size was incomparable to a puddle, but at least they were deep and wide enough for two people to fall into.

And Steven was on the verge of falling into that lava.

Because of none other than Igeon!

“What, I was going to boil an apostle in lava to extract their demonic power, but if that happens, he’ll be completely useless.”

“No, why would you boil a human?! Why!!”

“Because that one’s fine?”

“!”

Following Igeon’s gaze, Steven freaked out.

Because Hugo was cheerfully enjoying a lava bath inside the lava.

“Steven, it’s warm and nice. Come in quickly.”

“No, your face is burning! Your head is on fire! Aren’t you getting out?!”

“I cannot. Master told me to stay inside.”

“No, I’m telling you, your master is a crazy psycho bastard?!”

“My master’s words are always right.”

“No, what on earth did he see in the meantime to become like that?!”

Even though he was the weakest among them, still, he hadn’t been such a spaced-out… no, fanatic before!

Steven was appalled, but regardless, Igeon was satisfied looking at the Sacred God’s light shining in the lava.

‘As expected, when the chosen apostle faces a great danger, the Sacred God sends all sorts of things generously.’

Igeon smirked at the various protective gear floating around in the lava.

In fact, Igeon was a completely penniless beggar with no Sacred God, no gear, and no items.

So, as if he intended to torment apostles to rip items from them, he quickly fished out the gear with a pole and net.

“Hahaha, a big catch! This will last a month of hunting! Indeed, my little wallets!”

At Igeon’s demonic laughter, Steven became enraged.

Sure, Hugo that bastard, in his own way, is an apostle of the Sun God, so his fire resistance is off the charts and he’s doing well taking a lava bath or whatever.

“Look! That bastard is using you!”

“Hahaha. My master’s words are always right.”

Steven decided to give up talking.

And just as he was about to run away, Igeon glanced beside himself.

“If you eliminate apostles, do gods die too?”

Beside Igeon was a giant slime. And the unconscious Hailey was being eaten by the slime.

At the sight of only Hailey’s head being visible, Steven screamed.

“Aaaagh! So that’s where she went! Hey! You touch Hailey and you’re dead!”

“What. You like this person? Our apostle is a total true-hearted mannn~”

“Shut up! You savage robber!”

And just then, Hugo shouted boldly.

“Master! Steven’s weakness is his sense of smell! You could do him in with just a scent!”

“Hey, hey! Water Gun! Whose side are you on?!”

“Ah! If it’s Hailey, she should have a stimulant mixed with poison…! With that, you could really torment him to death!”

“Shut up! You think Hailey would sell out a colleague?!”

But it was right then.

Slip.

“?!”

Hailey, who had been feigning unconsciousness, subtly held out a poison bottle.

It was none other than a poison specifically for apostles.

And Steven, who could not fail to recognize it, fell into mental collapse.

“Ha, Hailey?!!”

Eventually, at that point, Igeon stared directly at Hailey.

“What. You were awake?”

However, even so, Hailey still pretended to be unconscious. Sweating profusely was a bonus.

So Igeon approached that Hailey again.

He had been finding it strange because the scent coming from Hailey was incredibly familiar.

He couldn’t remember exactly where from, but it was a very calming scent.

Yet the moment he approached, she fainted.

‘Was she feeling unwell?’

In the end, Igeon tapped Hailey’s shoulder.

“Hey. Are you listening to me?”

Hailey steadfastly refused to lift her head and played dead.

It seemed she couldn’t even bear to meet Igeon’s gaze.

So Igeon pouted his lips sulkily.

‘Is it because of my face again.’

She wouldn’t even look at his face at all.

Well, I suppose, it was true that his face was monstrous. Since his awakening, the number of people he had startled was not just one or two.

No wonder they were terrified, thinking he was a monster that had escaped from a haunted house.

Well, whatever, it didn't matter now.

Crunch!

Igeon stomped on Steven.

"Enough. I'll ask the questions."

"Gah! You bastard, what is this... Kheuk!!"

Igeon glared at him fiercely and said.

"Half a year ago, during the invasion of Seoul. You were supposed to come then, right?"

"……!!"

At the unexpected words, Steven's face froze.

After all, the 13th was an Awakened who was born from the Seoul invasion that they were supposed to go to.

Of course, he didn't know what circumstances led to this bastard appearing that day….

'Could it be that the reason he's hostile to us...!'

Though simple, Steven wasn't stupid.

As expected.

"You told tens of thousands of people to wait, and they waited. Why didn't you come? People died because of that, you know."

'As I thought, this bastard was one of the citizens there?'

So Steven hurriedly shouted.

"It's not that we didn't go, we couldn't! The monsters were blocking the road from the middle... Urgh!"

"People donated a lot so you could use teleportation. What did you use that for?"

"Teleportation didn't work!!"

Igeon curled his lips as if disgusted. It was a smile mixed with sadism.

"Then why did you save the rich bastards?"

"…What? What are you talking about?"

"The rich bastards from the neighboring country. You said it was a lower rank, easy to handle and easy to make money. You said Seoul was dangerous so you withdrew."

Hugo was horrified.

"Sir Steven! Did you really do that?!"

"I don't know! I was catching monsters at the entrance of Seoul the whole time! And if it's about the neighboring country, that's Cancer's job! I don't know!"

"…Cancer?"

Igeon narrowed his brow.

Perhaps there were some particularly shitty bastards among the Apostles?

But regardless, Steven ground his teeth, harboring hostility toward Igeon.

"Anyway, don't act all high and mighty just because that idiot made you his master! We will never acknowledge your existence! Right, Virgo girl?"

"Beat it!! Shut up! I'll turn all Apostles into eunuchs!"

"…What the hell is wrong with this bastard??"

But just then.

Hailey, who had been pretending to be dead, flinched.

And at that moment, the ground shook violently, and buildings in the city crumbled down.

Rumble—!!

Everyone was startled and looked outside.

* * *

The epicenter of the earthquake was none other than the government building.

The suddenly appearing monsters roared ferociously and destroyed the city.

"Aaaack! The royal palace is under attack!"

"His Majesty the King!"

"Aaaagh! Save me!"

The monsters destroyed not only the government building, but also the building where the king was.

It was truly pandemonium.

Perhaps because of that, the Saints who happened to be in the same city arrived at the epicenter.

Of course, Igeon, who felt the earthquake, disappeared first, and the rest were able to come because Hugo freed them.

And Steven and Kevin, who had barely chased after Igeon, were huffing and puffing.

"What's with that bastard? Why is he so fast?"

"Where is he! I'm going to pick him off too!!"

"No, more importantly, where is that guy…"

But right at that moment.

Crash!!

Suddenly, a monster fell from the sky.

"?!"

It was none other than the head of a monster as big as a building.

So they couldn't help but be shocked.

Because the monster's head had been cut off so cleanly.

"Wh-Who could have..."

But Hugo immediately cheered.

"Who else! It's our master!"

"What? That guy from earlier caught it?"

Kevin and Steven looked on in disbelief. That couldn't be.

"What kind of crazy bastard could take down something that big…"

"I'm telling you it's true! I didn't make him my master for nothing! If I just learn combat techniques from the master, I can escape being the eternal last place...!"

But just then.

"Hey. What did you say?"

"……!?"

A voice as cold and murderous as ice came from behind Hugo.

And just as Hugo turned around in surprise, Igeon roughly grabbed him by the neck.

"You said you wanted to learn techniques to save people. So what? Escape from last place?"

"!!"

"You little shit, you lied to me?"

"N-No! That's not it...!"

Igeon seemed angrier than ever. Indeed, he roughly shoved Hugo away.

"Enough, get lost! Call me master one more time. And the moment I see you, you're dead."

Igeon was glaring at Hugo as if feeling betrayed.

"Ah! Stop it! These are not your share!!"

"!"

Someone rushed toward them. And everyone was surprised at the face.

Those who rushed over were men in suits, people from the government. And...

"The Prime Minister of Jordan?"

At the same time, they hurriedly shooed away Igeon's group.

"We have already summoned the strongest weapon. Don't touch anything unnecessarily, you'll get tainted!"

"The strongest weapon?"

Unlike Igeon, who frowned, Steven had an 'oh no' moment.

"Could it be the Witch of the East?"

Heize.

Among the four who had reached Level 5, the only one worthy of being called the strongest weapon among the Apostles was that woman.

She was a weapon said to possess the strongest destructive power in the world.

As expected.

"What, that thing is nothing special."

"!"

With a haughty smile, a beautiful woman with long hair appeared in the sky.

Floating in the sky, she was the Witch of the East whom the world called humanity's strongest weapon.

Her refreshing, peerless beauty and features were like seeing a glamorous top Chinese actress.

At the same time, the Destruction Mage who boasted the greatest firepower among the 12 Zodiac Apostles unfolded a magic circle.

"Then I'll gladly take the prey here."

Smiling seductively, Heize snapped her fingers.

Then, powerful destruction magic based on the Fairy King was activated.

Boom—!!

And powerful flaming meteors fell from the sky.

At the same time, with a tremendous impact, the politicians who had summoned Heize cheered.

"As expected of the strongest weapon! The power is on a different level from the other Zodiac mercenaries... Huh?"

But they turned pale.

Because Heize's attack had not worked at all.

"Wh-What! Why is it fine!"

And the one flustered was Heize herself as well.

"My attack didn't work, that monster... what's going on?!"

"What's this. Some crazy bitch shows up and can't even scratch it?"

Kevin looked disgusted, but Steven was surprised.

'She's someone who can blow away a country in one shot. And even that attack doesn't work?'

In the end, Heize continued to attack, but the turtle-like monster destroyed the city even more violently.

At that moment, Hailey, who had been watching, was about to step forward.

Whoosh!

"!!"

At that moment.

Kevin, Steven, Hailey, Hugo. Even Heize, and the prime minister of the country that had invited her.

Everyone couldn't believe their eyes.

Igeon, who had leaped up like a flying squirrel, landed on the turtle's head as lightly as a feather.

And then, he swung the Sky's Judgment, cutting the turtle in half in one blow.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-gwang!!!

All those movements seemed inhuman.

And that incident was precisely the event that first made the name Igeon known to the world.

The reporters forgot to even press the shutter.

The Apostles who saw that scene with their own eyes were all speechless.

"Crazy bastard..."

Even Steven, who had denied Igeon, was captivated.

Hailey also blushed at the sight of Igeon's fighting, which she was seeing for the first time.

Of course,

"Wow... that guy is so cool. I think I'm falling for him."

"That man, he's not bad. I want to make him mine."

"……!!"

Because of Kevin and Gemini, who had fallen for him, Hailey had to immediately put up her alert antenna, but...

As expected.

Heize, who seemed to have fallen for Igeon at first sight, was approaching him.

As expected.

Heize, who seemed to have fallen for Igeon at first sight, was approaching him.

"Then I'll call dibs first."

Hailey grew urgent.

(To be continued in the next episode)

Side Story Episode 9. First Love (4)

"What? The 13th?"

"Is that person's name Igeon?"

"Oh my god. We thought he was dead because he went missing, but he was hunting monsters?"

"But before, they said the 13th wasn't an Awakened?"

"What do you mean no! He's clearly hunting monsters! Look at the video!"

Summer of 2001.

Igeon's name spread quickly throughout the world.

Of course, until now, the existence of the 13th had been called a mutant, a one-time Awakened, but now it was different.

- Igeon seems to be a proper Awakened like us. His abilities are flawless.

The world was surprised by the interview of Leo's Steven, famous as the Superman of the North.

Finally, the world learned about Igeon's existence.

And Steven said.

- All 13 of us will do our best for humanity. Just call us. We'll go anywhere and help.

- Steven! Steven!

- Please send your support to the new 13th Apostle as well.

And other Apostles began to take great interest in Igeon's existence.

All 12 were extreme individualists, but perhaps at that moment, they were all watching Igeon with one heart.

In fact, Cancer's Zhang Rui couldn't take his eyes off the TV even in a busy situation.

"The 13th, how interesting."

And so, the nation, society, and the Apostles all took interest in Igeon.

But one person in particular.

For Hailey, the Apostles' attention being focused on Igeon was truly troublesome.

Well, it couldn't be helped.

"Oh, that person is cool. His face is a bit scary, but he's full of guts."

Heize Grey (25).

She seemed to be quite taken with Igeon.

Of course, half of the 12 Apostles were men, but there was not a single man who caught her eye.

After all, Yang Wei was a money-grubbing pig. Cancer had a decent face and was very smart, but he was sinister and unpleasant.

Hugo had a cute face but was the weakest, like a paper doll.

Of course, there were Taurus and Leo who weren't the weakest, but the Taurus guy was narrow-minded, and the Leo guy was too overbearing.

In comparison, Igeon's face was ugly, but if you thought of it as scars of glory, it wasn't unbearable, and above all, his skill was outstanding.

"Well, after seeing that skill, how could I not fall for him?"

Heize liked strong people, whether man or woman. It didn't matter if it was strength, knowledge, or mindset.

But when she looked at Igeon, it was clear.

Courage without a hint of hesitation. Judgement that minimized damage.

Intelligence to grasp the monster's weakness at a glance and exert maximum power with minimal force. Anatomical knowledge to slaughter a monster in one blow!

And the overwhelming power that made all that possible!

So Heize bought two drinks from a beverage stand.

And she approached with a friendly smile.

"You're Igeon, right? Want to talk for a moment? I have something to ask."

"Something to ask?"

At that sight, sparks flew from someone's eyes. It was Hailey, who was hiding peek-a-boo next to the stand.

And just as Heize handed the drink to Igeon and was about to drink hers!

Pang!!

In the blink of an eye, Hailey flicked her finger.

It was like shooting a finger flick. At the same time, a small pellet went into the drink cup Heize was about to drink.

Plop!

But no one noticed, as not even a presence was felt.

And it was the moment Heize drank that beverage.

"Keu, keuk...!?"

Heize suddenly clutched her stomach.

"Ah... my stomach, my stomach!"

Thanks to that, the politicians and bodyguards who had invited her were horrified.

"L-Lady Apostle!"

"Q-Quickly, take her to the hospital!"

As Heize was carried away in a black van, Hailey, hiding at the stand, gleamed.

The drug Hailey had flicked was a medicine made from Scorpio's poison.

From simple sleeping pills tailored to the opponent, to poisons that could kill a monster instantly with a single drop.

It was a skill to manufacture all poisons in the world.

And in Heize's case, it was a laxative.

Well, it was for monsters, but roughly, she wouldn't be able to leave the bathroom for three days.

Anyway, having dealt with Heize, next was...!

Soon, Hailey's eyes turned to the second opponent, Kevin.

And that Kevin was clinging tightly to Igeon.

To be precise, he was hanging onto the giant Sky's Judgment that Igeon carried on his shoulder.

Anyway, you could say he looked like a koala.

He must have really taken a liking to Igeon, because he clung to him like a possessing spirit.

In the end, even when Igeon shook Cheongong as if annoyed, Kevin—clinging like a koala—absolutely refused to fall off.

What's more, at this time, Kevin was at most 162 cm with a scrawny build and a generally mini size.

Despite the physical mismatch with Igeon, his strength was that of a brute, so even when they tried to pry him off by hand, he was utterly immovable.

Eventually, Steven, who couldn't stand the sight, approached and tried to pull Kevin away.

"Enough of being a nuisance, come with me! I came here to pick you up! Let's go!"

But Steven, attempting to tear Kevin off, cursed foully as he ran out of strength.

"Ugh! How is this tiny little runt so strong! Hey, get off… Aagh!! This bastard bit me!!"

In the end, having been bitten by Kevin to the point of bleeding, Steven was livid.

"Hey! Are you some wolf cub?! This runty little girl, seriously!"

"What are you yapping about since earlier, you moron!"

"AAAGH!!"

The pissed-off wolf-boy bit Steven's arm again.

"I said I'm not a girl!!"

"?!!"

Steven, along with all the apostles present, was startled.

Even Hayley, hiding behind a stall, and Igeon blinked.

At that, Steven let out an empty laugh.

"Are you kidding? How can the Virgin Apostle be a male bast—"

Then Kevin, furious, climbed down from Cheongong's punishment and grabbed Steven's arm.

"If you don't believe me, confirm it for yourself! You muscle-brained bastard!"

"??!!"

Finally, upon an unwanted sensation to the touch, Steven screamed first.

"Oh, crazy!! Why is this attached!"

"!"

Simultaneously, they seemed shaken.

"Why is the Virgo Apostle a man?"

"I-is that even possible?"

The Star Gods had said that apostles are selected from those who best harmonize with each Star God.

And the Virgo Star God is a cruel goddess who absolutely forbids men.

Why, then, was the Virgo Apostle, who prohibits any approach by men, a...???

But soon, to Steven, who was in mental collapse, the Leo Star God spoke.

[Serves him right, a male bastard being so filthy nice! All of Virgo's divine retinue are women!]

Moreover, they were all beauties with formidable powers.

Thus, even the gods covet Virgo's retinue deities.

[He's probably surrounded and managed by goddesses.]

And Hugo, having seemingly heard the same from the Scorpio Star God, dropped his jaw.

"Surrounded by beautiful goddesses…."

"Managed…."

Honestly, it was insanely enviable.

And that's why it was incomprehensible.

"Agh! Die! I'll kill them all, Star God and apostles alike!"

"I can't grasp why this blessed bastard is acting like this."

"Right. If I could, I'd swap our Star God in a heartbeat."

When Hugo pouted, the Scorpio Star God raged, and so did Kevin.

"Blessed? Did you just call this blessed?"

"?"

Kevin appeared incredibly wronged. Sure enough, he grabbed Hugo by the collar.

Even desperation could be felt in his eyes.

"Do you know this?? Those Star Gods are complete psychos. The Virgo Star God kidnaps a guy about to finally have a good night for the first time in his life, out of the blue, and then suddenly tells him he must maintain eternal virginity! That he can't even hold hands with the opposite sex ever again!!! And if he breaks it, he'll fall ill and die!"

"……!!?"

"On top of that, using your own power changes your gender?? And why did they choose me?! Because my looks matched their taste?"

Kevin looked ready to breathe fire.

"Die!!! Star God, die!!"

Igeon, Hugo, and Steven felt like they could now understand why Kevin had turned out this way.

Especially Hugo and Steven, who had each been chosen for utterly worthless reasons—"You were the most passable in appearance, at least," and "You looked like you'd be good at deboning fish"—even felt a strange sense of kinship.

No, being unable to even hold hands with the opposite sex for life at such a young age was pitiable.

'Anyway, for Virgo to have conditions like that….'

The other apostles were also bodies that followed their gods.

Naturally, each had different prohibitions, but a restriction like that would make anyone want to refuse.

Of course, that didn't mean Igeon, who harbored hostility toward all apostles, would be lenient with Kevin.

Indeed, Igeon was eyeing Kevin, who was trying to make them his comrades(?), with suspicion.

Well, Kevin hadn't attacked Igeon just now, but he had fiercely ambushed him earlier—likely the reason.

However.

"I'll let this one slide."

"?!!"

At Igeon's indifferent attitude as he turned away, Steven looked at him as if it were unfair.

"You tried to shove me into lava; why is he different?"

"He's a eunuch."

"??!!"

At that, Steven, dumbfounded, shot a hostile glance at Kevin.

"You too! Why are you letting him go? I thought you said all apostles were to become comrades?"

"It's fine. That guy is already a comrade. He looks like he's never had a girlfriend."

At that, Igeon, who had been walking away impassively, stopped dead in his tracks.

And turned his head murderously.

"What did you just say?"

"Your face says it all—you've probably never been in a relationship."

A throb of fury.

Igeon's blood pressure shot up.

Well, it was true… but somehow it pissed him off.

Perhaps that was why.

"I'm not single! I have experience!!"

When Igeon flung Kevin aside, Hayley was startled, and the flung Kevin seemed to receive an immense shock.

No other reason.

"You're not? For real?"

Hayley also pricked up her ears at the existence of a former lover(?).

And the young Kevin, who had no way of noticing Igeon's lie, dropped his jaw.

It seemed as if respect for all parts had bloomed.

And then.

"Hyung! I'll serve you as my master!"

A rival for Hayley and Hugo was born.

* * *

A few days later, Greece.

"Maaasteeerrrr!!"

Arriving near there over land, Igeon was scrunching up his face.

It was because of none other than Hugo, who was pursuing him.

"Master… cough!"

"Didn't I tell you not to be seen? I'll kill you."

"N-no, it's—!"

Hugo was aggrieved. So, first, he had to clear up the misunderstanding—it was just the moment he approached Igeon.

An attack flew at Hugo.

Crack!

"!?"

The attack came from none other than above a tree!

"Th-that bastard is...!"

Hugo was taken aback.

For the one sitting on the tree like a sloth was none other than Kevin.

"Don't come near my hyung, you little shit."

"N-no! Why the hell is that guy there... Aagh!"

Hugo was busy fleeing from the incoming attacks. And at a truly dangerous moment!

"Come over here!"

"!"

Someone hiding among the bushes pulled Hugo in.

"!"

And she was none other than Hayley.

"You were in danger."

Thanks to that, Hugo couldn't help but be shocked.

"Wait, why are you here, Lady Hayley? You said you were heading east."

"Why do you think; I…."

"Ah! Don't tell me you're also chasing after Master...?"

At that, Hayley's face turned red as she jolted in alarm.

"…N-no! That's not it!"

But right at that moment.

A boy appeared in front of Igeon.

"Hyung, please buy one of these."

"!"

His name was I Jaewon (16).

A boy who would later become the Commander of the Sagittarius Star Order—and a swindler.

(To be continued in the next episode)

Gaiden Episode 10. It's Mine (1)

It was around that time.

- Igeon seems to be a proper official Awakened, just like us. His abilities leave no room for criticism too.

- Please send your support to the new 13th Apostle as well.

France, Notre-Dame Cathedral.

France and Western Europe would later be devoured by Ege, but at this time, it was still a place occupied by the Aquarius Saintess.

And in that cathedral, Ivan of Taurus was gnashing his teeth.

No other reason.

- The 13th is a new superhuman acknowledged by the Lion Apostle himself!

- The 13th! Mr. Igeon has also become a hope for humanity!

- Waaaaah!

Ivan seemed to be boiling with rage at Steven's interview and the news on his phone's DMB.

Sure enough.

"What kind of dogshit behavior are you pulling right now?"

"What about?"

Steven looked at Ivan as if baffled.

No, he'd merely arrived at the cathedral to report, and now he was suddenly being attacked out of nowhere.

But Ivan, boiling with rage, flung the DMB at Steven.

"So you're telling me you recognized that kind of mutant as our comrade?!"

"What's the problem? He fought well."

At that, Ivan looked incredulous.

"Are you joking? That bastard is a fake with no Star God! So how can you make him an apostle...!"

"What's it matter?"

"What?"

Steven let out an empty laugh.

"Right now humanity is suffering. Regardless of origin, isn't it a good thing to gain a reliable ally?"

"Hah, you dumb ass who can't grasp the situation...!"

"What, are you scared?"

"……?!"

Grinning maliciously, Steven closed in on Ivan.

"Why. Did you chicken out because that guy cracked your precious iron wall, you little bastard?"

"……!!"

Feeling an unbearable insult, Ivan immediately released demonic energy.

And stretching out his hand, Ivan tried to kill Steven.

"You worthless piece of shit who can't do anything without a weapon!"

"Shut it! A guy who's nothing but a meat shield at best!"

The moment the powers of the two main combatants were about to tear each other apart finally came.

"Stop it, both of you! What are you doing? Before the presence of the divine!"

"……!"

At Sophie's sharp cry, both flinched and backed off.

This cathedral was a kind of headquarters where the scattered apostles from around the world gathered.

Sophie always stayed here, supplying necessary items or acting as a middle-contact.

In the end, once Sophie mediated, Ivan ground his teeth and glared at Steven.

"So you're acting smug. Are you going to stay quiet even when your abilities and your god are denied because of that Igeon bastard?"

Then Steven frowned, as if it wasn't even worth conversing.

"I'd rather there be a guy so strong I want to catch up to him, wouldn't you? Because then I can get stronger too."

"……!"

Ivan gritted his teeth audibly.

Steven didn't even feel him worth dealing with.

"Well, I know why you're so anxious. It's because monsters that even you—at max level—can't handle are increasing, right? Anyway, belittling an outstanding guy because of your own inferiority complex is real jackass behavior."

At that, Ivan's eyes flared wide.

"Fine. Let's see how long you can keep talking that shit."

"Why, planning to dispose of Igeon too? It'll be impossible. That guy's seriously strong."

"!"

"And I won't just let him die either."

At that easy-going smile, Ivan grew venomous.

* * *

"Hyung, please buy one of these."

"!"

A forest path at the entryway to the city.

Igeon's eyes rounded at the boy who suddenly appeared before him.

The boy looked like a wanderer. But his appearance was far too ragged and excessively beggarly to be a gypsy from this region.

That wasn't all.

'An Asian?'

I wasn't sure of his exact nationality, but he didn't seem like a local here.

Well, that wasn't the important part.

'Buy what exactly?'

And at the item I Jaewon held out, Igeon's eyes widened.

It had to.

Squish!

The slime riding on top of his head was trying to eat the star candy the boy was offering.

And that slime was the mutant created when he'd made the anti-hair-loss shampoo.

The startled Igeon hurriedly pulled the slime back.

"Hey. Do you even know what that is before you gobble it up?"

Of course, the slime never tries to eat anything unless it looks good.

Sure enough.

"Ah!! That's a stamina recovery item!"

Hugo's exclamation came from afar. At Hugo's voice, Igeon shot a glare as if asking 'you're still here?', but that wasn't important.

"Stamina recovery?"

At that, I Jaewon smiled brightly and held out the star candy.

"Yes! You're an apostle, right? Then this should be helpful...!"

Indeed, a powerful wave of demonic energy could be felt from the candy.

And just as Igeon was about to question why a child like this had such a thing.

"There are monsters whose bodies help with stamina recovery!"

Hugo came over holding his wallet, as if good fortune had fallen into his lap.

"The Saintess said that if you extract certain parts of monster corpses, a substance aiding stamina recovery comes out, and she asked us to collect and sell it...!"

"That's right. I worked hard collecting it to make these. Each one has a concentrate of 1,000 parts, so it should be very effective."

“Oh! A whole 1,000 of them! Master, I’ll buy them all! I guarantee their effectiveness! When I ate just 100, I could fight for three days without sleeping!”

That was when Hugo approached Lee Geon.

“Aaaack!!”

Hugo screamed from an attack flying out of the tree.

“Ah, you really!”

Kevin, flinging tree berries like weapons, flashed his eyes.

“Get lost. I’ll be the one to buy them for Master.”

“What?”

“So I said get lost, you weakling!”

When Kevin finally drew his sword and attacked Hugo, Haley appeared.

And Haley, who seemed like she would rescue Hugo, unexpectedly pulled out her wallet.

“Buy all of them.”

“H-Haley-nim?!”

Evidently, she intended to give them to Lee Geon.

Kevin’s veins bulged at the sight of Haley.

“Hey! Who are you to interfere!”

Haley shot a sharp glare at Kevin. In truth, Haley’s one reason for following Lee Geon was this.

‘The Gemini Seat will be wandering on the brink of death in the bathroom for a while.’

If so, Kevin was the only one left.

Of course, since Kevin was a man, he didn’t need to worry, but well.

For another reason, Haley didn’t want to let Kevin near Lee Geon.

And that was when—

Flash!

In the end, when the enraged Kevin instinctively tried to use his magical power, Haley flinched.

It was because the Kevin who was about to use magic was about to turn into a very pretty young girl.

At the time, Kevin couldn’t control his power. He would frequently transform into the gender Seongsin had set for him.

And the appearance Seongsin had mischievously crafted was one that most men would fall for.

So Haley had come to get rid of Kevin as well(?).

Because among them, only she had seen that face!

‘Dammit! Before that person sees…!’

Ultimately, the moment Haley, filled with venom(?), was about to fling Kevin into another space-time—

“I’m not buying anything. And blondie, you come here.”

At Lee Geon’s call, Hugo trotted over like a puppy, but Lee Geon’s veins bulged savagely.

“Not you, you punk.”

“I’m blond too…!!”

Lee Geon cleanly kicked Hugo away and stroked Kevin as if he found him adorable.

At that sight, Hugo felt utterly wronged and aggrieved.

After all he’d done to serve Lee Geon, this was discrimination?

Actually, had Lee Geon ever tolerated someone sticking close like that?

“With just me alone, I suffered so much….”

But soon, watching Kevin and Lee Geon, Hugo felt a chill down his spine.

Because Hugo could see it clearly with his own eyes.

‘M-Master! He’s stealing that guy’s magical power!’

While pretending to pet him, he’s sucking it all up!

Of course, Kevin himself was oblivious and was just happy to be acknowledged.

And that was the moment.

Perhaps he had sucked up every last bit of Kevin’s magical power.

“Master! I’ll go buy something to eat… guhk!!!”

Crack!

Having finished his business, Lee Geon kicked Kevin straight off a cliff.

“Uwaaaaaah!!!”

In the end, as Kevin disappeared beneath the cliff, Lee Geon dusted off his hands.

“Well, he probably won’t die.”

Hugo gaped, and as if his errand was done, Lee Geon looked at Lee Jae-won.

“Then, about that thing from earlier—if you have a magic-powered version, I’ll buy it, so let me see….”

But when Lee Geon turned his head, he was startled.

“What the? Where did this kid go?”

That wasn’t the more surprising part.

“Aack!! What the, my wallet! Where’s my wallet!”

Hugo, who’d been about to pay in Lee Geon’s place, rummaged through his pockets.

At that, Lee Geon reflexively checked his own waist.

‘My stuff disappeared too.’

Right then, Haley was surprised, looking at some star candy fallen on the floor.

“Wait. Now that I look, the item that kid was trying to sell is fake too, isn’t it?”

“What?!”

There was no need to wonder who the thief was.

* * *

An empty warehouse hidden on the outskirts of the city.

“Hey! Why’d you bring this kind of junk!”

Lee Jae-won groaned as objects were hurled at his face.

Before him were rowdy gangs with wicked looks.

And they brandished violence at Lee Jae-won.

“We told you to bring a holy relic that the Apostles have! A holy relic! We sent you because we heard an Apostle appeared near here, and this is what you bring?!”

“And what good are these herb scraps!”

“Do you think we don’t know you just picked up whatever around you because you failed?!”

Beaten down, Lee Jae-won eventually collapsed, covered in blood.

“Dammit, Apostles’ items sell for a fortune!”

“You useless brat! You’ll have no meal tonight!”

At the same time, they grew anxious.

Because they were supposed to steal Apostles’ items and send them to Zhang Rui, the Apostle of the Cancer Seat.

And Lee Jae-won was the kid who’d been near Seongsin when the deity descended, accidentally absorbing some of that power.

He hadn’t become an Awakened, but his ability to erase his presence was monster-level.

—Perhaps, he will be useful.

Wasn’t he a kid thrown their way by Zhang Rui, the Cancer Seat’s Apostle?

But now this.

“What do we do? If this goes on, we’ll…!”

“No choice. Then let’s use this brat to lure out the Apostles.”

“Right. Apostles always lose their minds when they see someone about to be eaten by a monster.”

With that, they seized Lee Jae-won’s leg. Shaking, Lee Jae-won desperately tried to flee.

‘Dammit…! I’m going to be thrown to the monsters!’

Just like the others.

‘Please, somebody help me…!!’

But that was the very moment.

“No matter how much Apostles are total losers, they don’t help pickpockets.”

“?!”

Startled by the sudden voice, the ceiling collapsed in an instant.

Crraaack.

Crushed under the ceiling in a split second, they screamed.

“Aaaaack!!”

At the same time, Lee Jae-won flinched in shock.

The collapsed warehouse ceiling. And the sunlight pouring through the broken gap.

Bathed in that sublime golden light, Lee Geon had appeared before his eyes.

Thanks to that, Lee Jae-won couldn’t tear his gaze from Lee Geon.

‘He’s like a god.’

But right then—

Snatch!

“Gurk!”

“You punk. How dare you steal someone’s bag? You’re asking to get beaten to death.”

Whether a hero or a disaster, this guy grabbed Lee Jae-won.

(To be continued in the next episode)

Side Story 11. It’s Mine (2)

“Ah. I take back the ‘like a god’.”

Lee Jae-won grimaced, watching the scene before his eyes.

And the sight unfolding before him was a torture scene he couldn’t bear to watch.

“Aack! Stooop!”

“Keuheok!! Save me!”

It was just that.

Before the young Lee Jae-won, there was the gang, hung upside down and being beaten. The very thugs who had tormented him.

Of course, it wasn’t dispensing righteous judgment because they’d exploited a kid.

And the one beating them half to death was none other than a hero….

Definitely the new hope who’d appeared on the news just a few days ago to save humanity….

Furthermore, the one he’d just thought was like a god….

“Hahaha! Hand over the money! You dumb bastards!”

“…I really take back the ‘like a god’.”

Pale with shock, Lee Jae-won averted his gaze.

But regardless, Lee Geon kicked the thugs tied upside down with rope and ripped away stamina recovery potions.

Well, among them, there were things that shouldn’t have been brought out.

“Ah geez, why the hell do you bastards have drugs and nude magazines!”

“Aack!!”

“On top of that, you have crappy taste! This is confiscated!”

“Noo!”

In the end, Lee Jae-won realized that even if he’d grabbed the wrong person, he’d picked out a total lunatic.

So he tried to sneak out of the warehouse, avoiding Lee Geon’s eyes.

‘At any rate, I emptied this gang’s safe long ago.’

And after today’s business, he’d planned to run away from here too.

Anyway, to be caught by Lee Geon of all people.

‘Well, it’s still okay.’

Lee Geon’s attention was elsewhere; wasn’t it a good chance to escape?

That was when Lee Jae-won was about to slip outside without Lee Geon noticing.

Thwip!

“!?”

Lee Jae-won was instantly snared by a lasso rope that flew at him.

“Where do you think you’re going!!”

“Guk!!”

The Sagittarius Seat was the Constellation of the Hunt.

With unparalleled target tracking and capture, it never let go.

And having looted the gang to his satisfaction, Lee Geon frowned at Hugo.

“What’s that? Why’d you drag that dirty thing here. Dump it. It’s useless now.”

“Useless?! Master, you may have recovered your stuff! But I haven’t yet!”

“Ah. You said your wallet was stolen.”

“Anyway, I need to get back the money this kid took! So hand it over!”

The captured Lee Jae-won snorted.

“When do you think I stole it? I sold the whole wallet long ago. There was barely 30 dollars in it anyway.”

Well, the wallet itself was a luxury brand, so it sold decently.

At those words, Hugo grabbed Lee Jae-won by the collar.

“You brat, who gave you the right to sell it—to sell that! It was one of the few things I kept until the end, even after I sold off all the household goods!”

“Then you should’ve taken better care of it…”

“What did you say?!”

In the end, at Hugo’s desperate roar, Lee Geon sneered, calling him a fool.

“He’s right, you reap what you sow. Who told you to get your wallet stolen because you can’t manage it? That’s why you’re a pushover….”

“That wallet had Master’s precious ID inside!!”

“??!!!”

Lee Geon’s head, which had been sneering, turned mechanically with a crick.

Then, after checking his empty wallet, Lee Geon grabbed Lee Jae-won by the collar.

“You rotten brat! Why the hell did you steal a quiet person’s wallet and cause this mess!”

Lee Jae-won choked as if dying.

At the same time, Lee Geon also seized Hugo by the collar.

“You wanna die! Why the hell did you have my ID!”

“Master, you left it with me! You told me not to wake you because you were annoyed!”

Lee Geon flinched.

Indeed, before fighting Hugo. He’d been sleeping pleasantly after drinking, and they’d woken him up annoyingly to book tickets, so it did seem like he handed it over.

Maybe because of that.

Lee Geon glared savagely at Lee Jae-won.

“You light-fingered brat!”

But Lee Jae-won clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t understand.

“Can’t you just get the ID reissued?”

At Lee Jae-won’s words, flames of fury erupted in Lee Geon’s eyes.

Reissue or not, that ID was one of a kind in the world.

—Hyung! I pasted this on!

It was a sticker photo taken by the three of them.

One of him with Yeonwoo alone, one with all three. And that was the only remaining photo of Yeonwoo and Junwoo.

Junwoo had stuck it on the back of the ID, telling him not to lose it.

Maybe because of that.

Lee Geon shook Lee Jae-won by the neck, as if trying to kill him(?).

“Tell me right now where you sold it, you little shithead!”

Lee Jae-won immediately smiled brightly.

“If you let me go, I’ll guide you right aw—ack!”

As if asking where he got the nerve to bargain, Lee Geon squeezed Lee Jae-won’s tiny face.

“Who doesn’t know you’ll try to run? From the looks of it, you seem to have a talent for hiding your presence like a ghost.”

“O-oh, is that so?”

“Idiot, why do you think we got our stuff stolen by a runt like you?”

“!”

That was it.

They weren’t ordinary people.

They were superhumans whose five senses were over ten times sharper than normal humans.

But from Lee Jae-won, there was no human scent. As if he were a dead person.

He didn’t know why, but because of that, even he had trouble sensing Lee Jae-won’s presence.

Lee Jae-won’s expression darkened slightly.

There was even a strange killing intent in his eyes.

But Lee Geon immediately dragged Lee Jae-won along.

“Never mind that, just tell me where you sold it. And once we find the wallet, I’ll hand you straight over to the police.”

But right then—

Swoosh!

Something traced a parabola in the sky and fell.

And at that object, Hugo was startled.

“Ah! My wallet!!! There’s money too!”

“!”

Both Lee Jae-won and Lee Geon were surprised.

And Lee Geon, looking toward where the wallet had come from, rounded his eyes.

Because the one who’d thrown the wallet was none other than Haley.

Surely she had retrieved it for them.

And with her hat pulled low, she pretended she hadn’t thrown the wallet, acting aloof while examining a chubby statue.

Well, though she was disguised as if trying not to be noticed by Lee Geon and doing everything else to look away, she still couldn’t escape his eyes.

So it was puzzling.

‘Why is she constantly tagging along?’

Well, she didn’t feel hostile, so he just let her be.

And when her eyes met Lee Geon’s, Haley flinched in surprise and pretended to scrub the chubby statue vigorously.

So Lee Geon, watching with a dumbfounded look, shook his head.

‘Well, I don’t care either way.’

“Anyway, since we found it, it’s fine. If there’s money inside, my ID should also be….”

“I don’t have it! I just don’t have Master’s ID!”

“What do you mean, what?!”

“Huh?? Why did the money increase??”

Lee Gun grabbed Lee Jae-won by the throat, flames practically shooting from his mouth.

“This little bastard, I really should just harvest your organs and sell them!”

“!!”

That was when a furious Lee Gun was about to drag Lee Jae-won away.

“Why don’t you leave that child alone?”

“!!!”

At the unfamiliar voice, Lee Gun’s expression twisted with irritation, and Lee Jae-won froze.

And the one who appeared before them was none other than a young man in his twenties.

It was Zhang Lui of the Giant Crab Seat (26).

Dressed in a polished suit, he was smiling as he looked at Lee Gun.

On the other hand, Lee Gun’s face scrunched up.

“What, who’s this slimy bastard?”

“Ah! This is Zhang Lui. He’s a fellow apostle, like us! From the Giant Crab Seat…!”

“What? The Giant Crab Seat apostle I knew wasn’t some brat as fresh-faced as this bastard.”

“Ah, the faces shown in the media are mostly proxies….”

Well, whatever.

Lee Gun glared at Zhang Lui as if deeply displeased.

And he had every reason to be. Hadn’t he heard it from Steven?

That during the Seoul invasion, this was the bastard who said he’d come, then abandoned them and shamelessly went off to rescue some rich guy in the neighboring country.

Whether it was truly connected or not, there was no way he’d look favorably on him.

However, Zhang Lui himself seemed to harbor good feelings toward Lee Gun, as he beamed brightly.

“It’s an honor to meet you for the first time, the 13th. I have absolutely no intention of becoming your enemy, so please do not be wary.”

At that time, Zhang Lui had simply followed orders without knowing anything about his own situation.

So he held no ill will toward Lee Gun either.

‘Rather, he’s a talent who will be useful to us.’

He instead sought to get close to Lee Gun.

“If that child has caused you trouble, I will apologize on his behalf. I will provide ample compensation for the damages and take care of the cleanup, so please hand him over to me instead.”

But as Zhang Lui approached, Lee Jae-won trembled like crazy.

At the same time, Zhang Lui’s voice fell upon Lee Jae-won’s shoulder.

“Hey, kid. Earning money is fine, but doing bad things is problematic, isn’t it?”

His words were laced with a chilling murderous intent.

And Lee Jae-won was terrified by the presence of this Zhang Lui.

Because there was no way he didn’t understand the meaning behind this man’s words.

- I told you to earn money, but getting caught is a problem, isn’t it?

Soon, overwhelmed by immense fear, Lee Jae-won reflexively tried to grab Lee Gun and Hugo’s sleeves, but stopped himself.

And just as Zhang Lui was about to drag Lee Jae-won away, that happened.

“No! We can’t let him go. This kid has to find Master’s ID.”

As Hugo pulled Lee Jae-won back, Zhang Lui made a displeased expression.

“So this is where you ran off to. I didn’t even know you were here because you’re so pathetically weak.”

Hugo felt a surge of anger, but Zhang Lui lifted the corners of his mouth as if disgusted.

“Stop your unnecessary meddling. Why don’t you mind your own business? You should hurry up and reach Level 5.”

“!”

“If you quickly become the same rank as us, won’t you also get a position in the government? It seems like you’re the only one who hasn’t secured a spot yet. If it takes too long, all the good positions will fly away, you know?”

“……?”

Lee Gun glared at Hugo.

It was a look that asked if it was true.

So Hugo immediately tried to deny it.

But.

“How strange. It seems like just the other day you rushed out in such a fluster. Ah! So that’s why you asked the 13th to take you as his disciple, right? Our weakest link.”

Lee Gun turned away as if disgusted.

Well, it wasn’t that he believed the words of the Giant Crab Seat guy.

“Bastards crazy for money and power.”

Flustered, Hugo grabbed Lee Gun.

“No! You’ve been misunderstanding me from the start! I keep telling you it’s not true!! I only act like that because I want to save people…!”

Lee Gun let out a scornful laugh as if dumbfounded.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes!”

“Then how about you try saving this?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lee Gun shoved Lee Jae-won toward the cliff.

At the same time, Lee Jae-won screamed as he fell off the cliff.

And below that cliff was a massive lake of poison, deadly enough to kill even an apostle instantly!

Zhang Lui seemed surprised for a moment at the sight, but soon smiled.

Perhaps it meant that Lee Jae-won was just a stray cat with no parents who would come looking even if he died.

“Thank you. You’ve saved me the trouble by handling it yourself.”

At those words, Lee Gun looked at Zhang Lui as if repulsed.

“That’s exactly like you bastards.”

At the same time, Lee Gun looked at Hugo.

“Anyway, you….”

But when he turned his head, Lee Gun’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.

“What the, where did he go??”

“Aaaah! It’s dangerousss!!”

“?!”

Lee Gun was appalled by the sound coming from below the cliff.

For whatever reason, Hugo had jumped off the cliff to catch Lee Jae-won.

Because of that, Lee Gun also panicked and hastily jumped off the cliff.

And kicking off the ground, he leaped down in an instant, overtaking Hugo with a speed faster than a missile.

The ground Lee Gun stomped on shattered from that tremendous force, whipping up a blast of air pressure.

Bang!!

It was a speed that truly wasn’t human.

Thanks to that, even Zhang Lui was staring with round eyes, as if he was rarely surprised.

But regardless of that, Lee Gun snatched the crying Hugo and threw him toward a tree.

Bang!

“Keuk!!”

Thrown mercilessly, Hugo collided with a tree trunk and nearly broke his back.

“Keuk! M-My back!!”

Landing beside him, Lee Gun smacked the back of Hugo’s head.

“You crazy bastard, for real!”

“Keuk!! Stop! I did it reflexively! If you, Master, keep hitting me, I’m really going to die… Keuk!”

“You’re crazy, jumping down for that!”

“No!! Why would you, Master, try to kill a perfectly fine kid….”

“You moron! Who said I was killing him!”

Lee Gun pointed down with his finger.

And looking down, Hugo couldn’t help but flinch in shock.

Because there, a slime had formed into a giant ball and was bouncing Lee Jae-won up and down.

It seemed Lee Gun had planned this from the start to figure out that guy Zhang Lui.

But…

“Why did your stupid ass jump down! If you die, you won’t get a position from the government!”

“No! I keep telling you I’m not interested in that! It’s true that I want to beat the other apostles, but that’s because I think if I become stronger, I’ll be able to make my voice heard too…!”

“Voice?”

“Right now, because I’m the weakest, no matter what I say, no one listens. Even when I argue against giving up hostages… they just ask if I think I’m so great, and I end up nothing more than a punching bag every time….”

You needed to be strong to have your voice heard.

Lee Gun looked at Hugo with a peculiar gaze.

It seemed he had taken a liking to Hugo.

But without saying anything, Lee Gun took the two of them and stepped up the cliff face, bouncing upward.

“That slimy bastard ran away, huh.”

And then it was then.

“!”

Lee Jae-won, who they thought had fainted, silently held something out.

It was none other than Lee Gun’s ID.

“Ah.”

It was the item with a sticker photo attached, though Lee Gun’s face was almost erased.

Perhaps because he had seen the photo, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to dispose of that one, even though he got rid of the rest.

“Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

Receiving it, Lee Gun silently smacked the top of Lee Jae-won’s head.

At the same time, as Lee Jae-won slipped into a state of unconsciousness(?), Lee Gun looked at Hugo.

“Hey. Freeloader. Starting tomorrow, bring me the things I tell you to.”

“Huh?”

“Weakest link. I’ll get you out of that pathetic title.”

“……!”

It was the moment Hugo would become a top-tier combatant, and simultaneously, the gates of hell opened.

(Continued in the next episode)

Side Story 12. The Pushover Maker (1)

“Hmm. I really don’t get it.”

Lee Gun frowned at the sight before his eyes. And what he was looking at so pathetically was none other than Hugo.

Eventually, Lee Gun let out a long sigh.

“Is he an idiot? Why can’t he do this?”

Hugo looked wronged by those words.

“Agh! Of course I can’t do it!! How could anyone shoot an arrow at a person!!!”

That was it.

Hugo was currently shooting a bow according to Lee Gun’s orders.

It was just that the target wasn’t an object, but a human.

And a 16-year-old kid at that!

Because of this, Hugo yelled at the target, his veins bulging.

“Hey! Jae-won! Why are you the target! Are you crazy?!”

Then Lee Jae-won tilted his head as if wondering what nonsense he was talking.

“The target isn’t me. It’s this apple on my head!”

“That’s the same thing! You brat!”

And unable to bear it any longer, Hugo looked at Lee Gun.

“Master! No matter what, a living target is way too dangerous!”

“Why? Other master archers hit the apple in one shot, zing, don’t they?”

“No! That’s in the movies! How many hundreds of meters do you think the distance is right now?”

“What, you can’t do it? Aren’t you from the Divine Archer Seat? Doesn’t that make you a sure-shot archer?”

“That’s right. Why can’t you hit it? Are you stupid?”

“Hey!! Lee Jae-won! You shouldn’t say things like that! In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to run away right now!”

“No. It’s fine. Mister Gun said he’d pay me a hazard fee of 1 million won per arrow, from Mister Hugo’s money.”

“Hey!!”

Hugo ground his teeth.

In truth, Lee Jae-won was a kid Lee Gun had started bringing along, thinking he might be useful.

Of course, being an ordinary person, given the kinds of places they went, one wouldn’t have thought to bring him.

But.

‘Monsters can’t sense Jae-won’s presence.’

He wondered what the reason was, but the cause was simple.

‘Didn’t he say he accidentally got grazed by the Giant Crab Seat’s Holy Power while running away at a subjugation site?’

It was the very case they had analyzed as the cause of the 13th’s birth.

Because of that, Zhang Lui had been raising him with interest, like a stray cat.

But unlike Lee Gun, who awakened as a perfect superhuman, Lee Jae-won was just an ordinary human with heightened senses.

It seemed Lee Gun figured this Lee Jae-won could be useful.

‘You said your parents went on a business trip and you ended up an orphan? Then help us out as a porter. I’ll at least feed you.’

Anyway, Hugo was secretly moved looking at Lee Gun like that, but.

“What kind of target is this, a target!!! Give me a proper target! It’s way too dangerous….”

At those words, Lee Gun irritably snatched Hugo’s bow away.

And without a care, he shot the arrow at Lee Jae-won.

Swish!!

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation.

And in the blink of an eye, the apple on Lee Jae-won’s head was destroyed by the arrow.

Thwack!!

Lee Jae-won and Hugo looked startled.

“D-Did you hit it?”

And to the shocked Hugo, Lee Gun threw the bow back and spoke.

“A distance like this. Anyway, the safety is guaranteed, so you can do it too, right? Hurry up and shoot.”

Despairing, Hugo pounded the ground and wailed.

“Damn it, that’s cool… No, shooting at a person is dangerous… No… Master is a close-range type, so why are you so good with a bow too… No, it really is dangerous… No, truly Master…!!!”

And seeing Hugo like that, Lee Gun frowned.

‘He really is strange.’

The test results showed Hugo’s ability scores weren’t bad.

Well, by his standards they were total garbage, but still.

‘It’s not to the point he can’t catch monsters.’

Above all, Hugo’s speed was the highlight.

And wasn’t that speed often enough to surprise even him?

‘Well, his accuracy isn’t bad either.’

He’d thought because he was called the weakest link that he’d be some half-wit who couldn’t hit anything, but he was surprisingly good with a bow.

He was still unskilled at very long distances, but within 300 meters, his accuracy was 100%.

That’s not something to be cursed out for.

But the problem was.

“Aaaagh!”

“!”

Eventually, Lee Gun narrowed his brow looking at Hugo, who had shot the arrow.

The distance between Hugo and Lee Jae-won was at most 100m.

Meaning, it was within Hugo’s 100% accuracy range, but the arrow flew off in a completely wrong direction.

So Lee Gun had no choice but to click his tongue.

‘As expected, his accuracy turns to shit when a person is there.’

That was it.

Hugo’s accuracy dropped extremely low when a living creature was on the target.

So he asked.

“Why are you so scared of shooting a bow when a person is there?”

“Huh?”

“Your accuracy when shooting objects versus when a person is involved. The difference is way too severe, you dumb bastard. Is there some reason?”

Then Hugo awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, well… I don’t know if it’s related, but I made a mistake once in the past.”

“Mistake?”

“I was trying to save a hostage about to be eaten by a monster, and I shot an arrow, but by mistake it hit the hostage’s leg.”

"There was no threat to life, and we did manage to rescue the hostage, but ever since then, whenever living things are around, my accuracy keeps dropping..."

Igeon immediately understood.

*So that's what it was? No wonder.*

In monster subjugation fields, there was no choice but to inevitably come across fleeing people.

And in a chaotic scene where monsters and people were mixed together, Hyugo's accuracy must have plummeted drastically.

*So that's why they call him a loser.*

A sniper with poor accuracy was worse than having no sniper at all.

Well, even so, for close combat...

"Hey. Sit."

"Yes!"

Igeon brought over a small table and assumed an arm wrestling stance.

And as Hyugo awkwardly sat opposite him, Igeon's lips curled up.

"I'll keep my strength relaxed. And if you can bend my arm even 1 degree with all your might, you win."

"Huh, 1 degree? Wow, seriously, this is way too much. No matter what, we're both superhuman...!"

With that, Hyugo grabbed Igeon's hand and, with a smile, applied his strength.

*An arm that hasn't even put in any proper strength!*

"I'll flip it right away and get acknowledged...! Aaaargh!!!"

Hyugo, who had been trying to push over Igeon's arm, ended up screaming instead.

"Aack! It won't budge...! Master!! Using your strength is cheating!"

"What are you talking about? I'm not using any strength at all."

"Not using strength?! Aaaargh!!"

With veins bulging on his forehead, Hyugo mustered every ounce of strength he had ever had to push Igeon's arm.

In the end, his strength failing, he tried using both hands—no, even his shoulder—to overturn Igeon's arm, but Igeon didn't budge an inch.

All that was left were the agonized footprints Hyugo dragged across the floor.

"Huff, huff...!! Master, are you some kind of boulder?"

Watching the exhausted Hyugo, Igeon clicked his tongue.

That was it. Hyugo's other problem was strength!

Hyugo was ridiculously weak!

*So that's why they called him a water gun.*

Well, I did expect it.

*So no matter how good his accuracy is, he's useless.*

To put it metaphorically, it's like repeatedly hitting a monster with 10 million HP for damage of 1, 1, 1, 1, 1...

And the final problem was...

"Aaack!! I'm getting eaten! Save me!"

Meanwhile, Igeon shook his head as he watched Hyugo being chased by a slime that had transformed into a rabbit monster.

*Anyway, only his speed is fast, he has zero combat sense...*

In other words, Hyugo's problems were threefold.

Strength, combat sense, fear.

In short, he was trash that was only fast... no, an idiot.

Well, the solution was simple enough.

"Alright. Starting today, you're going to be a power archer."

"Po-power?"

"Yeah. Just raise your power. So start with the strength training I order you. And I'll somehow beat that damn combat sense into you."

"Yes, yes! Then what about the last one, the fear? How can we solve that?"

At those words, Igeon gave a gleaming grin.

"That? That's damn easy."

"E-easy? Wait, Master, why are you raising your fist...?"

"Fear, you see, can be treated with a fear greater than the one you already have, can't it?"

"Huh? What do you mea... Aaargh?!!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a skull-cracking sound rang out.

*Crack!*

At the same time, Hyugo, on the verge of becoming a vegetable, collapsed vomiting blood.

"Courgh, cough..."

"I'll be attacking without warning from time to time, so if you don't want to die, keep your wits about you. And as soon as you finish today's strength training, prepare the meal. After that, laundry. Skill enhancement training starts tomorrow morning."

"Cough, courgh... Understood... Ah, but what do we do? Jaewon took all the money, so we can't buy today's ingredients. The bank is closed...!"

And just as Igeon was about to say something at that—

*Thud!*

"!"

An enormous amount of ingredients materialized not far away.

From 10 kg of top-grade beef to lamb, vegetables, ham, fish, even frogs jumping about.

"Wha-what? Who would do something like this...?"

And then Igeon saw it.

Heilli passing by with her face buried in a newspaper, pretending to be a passing pedestrian.

At that sight, Igeon tilted his head and shouted.

"Hey! You! What is this!"

Startled by the call, Heilli acted as if nothing had happened, sitting down on a nearby bench and flipping through the newspaper.

"Found it on the way! Just left it there because I had nowhere to throw it out!"

Igeon tilted his head.

"...Were food ingredients something you can just pick up on the street?"

Well, it's good for us, so does it matter?

But that was when.

*Bang!*

"!"

A light burst from the sky, and something fell.

It was none other than a letter.

And the letter fell precisely on the heads of Igeon, Hyugo, and Heilli.

"What's this?"

Simultaneously checking the contents, Igeon frowned.

"...?"

* * *

And it was around that time.

[Apostle-nim, as you instructed, I have sent letters to all the apostles. Everyone has expressed their intention to attend the meeting.]

"Oh my, really? That's a relief."

Apostle of the Libra Constellation, Jijel Lorens (27).

Jijel, who had heard the news of Igeon, was greatly pleased.

"That person will become the hope of humanity."

Jijel, who had replayed the videos of Igeon's exploits countless times, smiled brightly.

As the daughter of a long line of politicians, she had more interest in monster subjugation than anyone.

And how her heart had ached, watching the government helpless before monsters.

But.

"If Igeon-nim is present, we can even achieve humanity's impossible wishes."

[Yes, then we too will follow Apostle-nim's opinion and give Igeon-nim our full support.]

"Thank you."

Thus, having sent invitations to the apostles, she was elated at the thought of meeting Igeon.

However, that very day.

"......!!"

Jijel, who had been looking in the mirror, was taken aback.

Because her reflection in the mirror was smiling differently from her own expression.

And then.

[Yes. You'll do nicely.]

A monster burst out of the mirror.

"Aaack!!!!"

In the end, the monster killed Jijel.

That was the day the Lord of [...] became the apostle of Libra.

(To be continued in the next episode)

Side Story Episode 13. Pushover Maker (2)

A month since training began.

"Uwaaaaaaa!"

Hyugo was screaming, vomiting blood.

It was pure hell.

One day, because Igeon said he wanted to eat patbingsu, he had to climb Everest bare-handed; another day, because he suddenly said he wanted coffee, he had to swim across the sea in the dead of night to procure coffee beans from Papua New Guinea.

Another day, with a monster's breath smelling so bad he couldn't subjugate it, he was thrown into the monster's mouth to brush its teeth.

Another day, Igeon didn't want to walk, so he had to carry Igeon and ingredients on a rickshaw over a mountain and across a border.

And today, by Igeon's request, he was digging the ground like mad.

No other reason.

—Make it. Disneyland.

—...Make what?

—Disneyland.

—Make what?

—Disneyland.

—So what do you mean...

—Just make an amusement park that can fit about 10,000 people, you bastard!

In the end, unable to protest those words, Hyugo had to till and dig a wasteland that had been swept by monsters.

And he transported several tons of monster bones and stones, and stacked them diligently.

He installed water channels to make something resembling a flume ride, laid train tracks and somehow made something resembling a train.

He was handling work that required thousands of laborers all by himself.

And after a week like that, having at last completed the amusement park, Hyugo roared toward the sky.

"It's dooone! Master! It's completed!"

And looking at the completed Disneyland(?), Igeon picked at his ear.

"Well, it's passable to look at."

"Isn't it? I worked hard building it!"

"Right. You did well, so now tear it down."

"...Yes!! Underst— Huh? Do what?"

"Tear it down. I've seen it well enough."

Hyugo's face was a sight to behold.

"No, wait a s—... Tear it down?! Not invite the citizens?!"

"Citizens? Why invite citizens?"

"What do you mean why! Isn't that why you had me build it?!"

"Why?"

"Because all the cultural facilities were destroyed by monsters... thinking of the children..."

"Are you joking? You actually plan to dangerously allow people onto rides made by an amateur?"

"Huh?! Then why did you make me build this...!!"

"Just because? I've never been to an amusement park before. So I was just curious what it felt like."

Hyugo was crushed.

And so Hyugo's dog-like training continued.

"Uwaaaaa Master! I'm at my limit with breathing fire! My hands will burn beyond this! How long do I have to keep doing this!"

"About 8 more days?"

"Aaagh!!"

Hyugo was breathing fire from his hands, melting monster bones.

Of course, Hyugo was an awakened who handled fire.

Claiming he was a good fire furnace, Igeon had him melting materials for his own weapons.

That wasn't all.

"You brat, you're slowing down. Are you not doing your squats properly?"

"Cough! Master, if you strangle my neck with your legs... I-I can't breathe...! Cough!"

Hyugo, in that situation, was even doing squats while giving Igeon a piggyback ride.

It meant to train his strength without rest.

Of course, Igeon himself was comfortably reading a comic book, using Hyugo's shoulders as a sofa.

Well, even so, Igeon's training didn't seem to be ineffective.

"Kuaaaaaaa!"

A month later, an arm wrestling match with Igeon to measure strength.

Hyugo finally succeeded in moving Igeon's arm.

"Good. It bent 0.01 degrees. Well done."

"Th-thank you..."

Hyugo cried bitterly that he could only bend it that much, but Igeon was satisfied.

*Well, still has a long way to go.*

Of course, it was like this because Igeon was the opponent.

*Those guys who ignored this kid would flip out if they saw this.*

Igeon smiled smugly, as if looking forward to it.

But there was one thing bothering him.

"Now that I think of it, you. I have something I'm curious about."

"Yes!!"

"What's your name?"

Hyugo fell silent.

"...What did you just say..."

"I asked what your name is."

In the end, Hyugo screamed as if in shock.

"Master!! You didn't even know my name until now?!"

"What's it to me? Your name, of all things."

"...S-still, my name must have come out a lot on TV?"

"Not at all? You were overshadowed by others and never even appeared."

Hyugo was crushed.

Well, he was the weakest, so he was ignored and outside the interest of reporters and citizens alike.

And so Hyugo said, crying,

"It's Hyugo Otteoseu...!"

Hyugo was sad, but it was only for a moment.

"Ah! Then from now on you'll call me by name?! Indeed, you just didn't know my name...!"

However, as Hyugo was rejoicing, Igeon's expression looking at him was rotten.

"Hyugo? Ah, that's so unlucky. Sound all high and mighty."

"Huh, huh?"

"Forget it, you're just a freeloader."

"No, that's a bit...!!"

"Then Otaeksu."

"Tae-taek-su?!"

"Yeah. Otaeksu from Otteoseu. Why, don't you like it?"

"N-no!"

"Then..."

And just as Igeon was about to say something.

"Ugh...!"

When Igeon clutched his chest, Hyugo was startled.

"Master, what's wrong! Are you unwell?"

Igeon told him not to worry.

"It's occasional chest pain. It's fine."

"Y-you don't have a chronic illness, do you?"

"I don't... Might be the aftereffect of healing my body recklessly before I met you."

In fact, right after he awakened, he too was a combat novice like Hyugo.

Because of that, daily his stomach was pierced, bones crushed, innards burst out; it was truly a repetition of hell.

*Well, these pains are probably aftereffects of using my ability...*

Whatever, it didn't matter.

Igeon looked at his scars, which forced him to wear long sleeves even in summer.

"Chest pain aside, I wish I could get skin regeneration medicine. Absolutely no medicine works on these. It really needs proper treatment."

"Ah! Then would you like to come with me? It happens to be nearby."

"Nearby?"

* * *

Meanwhile, around that time.

"...Hyu, Hyugo!!"

Sopi, who had encountered Hyugo, was so happy she didn't know what to do.

And Hyugo, who had visited Notre Dame Cathedral for the first time in a while, scratched his cheek.

No other reason.

"Oh, if you were coming, you should have said something!"

"Ah, yes, yes. I'm sorry. But first, please let go of my hand..."

Sopi couldn't take her eyes off Hyugo.

*'Who on earth made him like this?'*

Hugo, who was undergoing training under Igeon, had transformed from a bookworm type to a more manly appearance.

His once scrawny shoulders had broadened, and his arms and legs had packed on quite a bit of solid muscle.

‘In just the brief time I haven’t seen him, he’s become so cool…!’

So Sophie hugged Hugo, slipping in a bit of personal desire.

Of course, from the outside, it looked like a saintess benevolently patting him on the back in greeting.

“You must have had a long journey. You’ve grown so much in the meantime!”

In Hugo’s embrace, she almost drooled.

‘Hugo, you don’t look it, but your body is so firm…!’

And so, Sophie lifted her head in rapture.

“Anyway, welcome bac… ack.”

But as she raised her head, Sophie froze.

Because the person who met her eyes was not Hugo.

And the one in front of her was none other than Igeon, frowning.

“What is this, some kind of hussy?”

“Kyaaaaaa!!!”

Indeed.

The one Sophie had embraced was none other than Igeon.

So upon seeing Igeon’s face, Sophie was practically foaming at the mouth.

“Aaaack!! Monster! Monster! Aaaack!!!”

“???”

Igeon was bewildered by Sophie’s sudden terror at the sight of him.

But regardless, Sophie, on the verge of passing out, screamed out.

“Aaaack!! Get away! Get away right now! You beast!!! Do you know where you are?! H-h-holy water! Holy water! Where is the holy water?!”

“N-no! Lady Sophie! That person is!”

“Aack!!”

In the end, the panic-stricken Sophie threw the holy water in her cup at Igeon.

Thanks to that, Igeon, baptized with water upon meeting, had veins bulging, while Hugo froze.

“M-Maaasteeer!!!”

“Ah, what rotten luck. First you hug me without permission, now suddenly what is this?”

The expression on Igeon’s face as he swept back his wet hair was something to behold.

And the murderous intent emanating from Igeon’s body sent Sophie crashing onto her backside.

“Hugo!! What is that monster?!”

“Pardon? …Monster? That person is not a monster, he is my master…”

“What?! That can’t be! Where does that face look human?!”

Pop.

What’s wrong with my face?

Igeon’s veins bulged.

‘My face, it’s at least passable…’

But regardless, sounds came from the surroundings.

“Aack! What is that monster!”

“S-scary!”

“D-don’t look! It’s rude!”

Pop, pop.

There was no malice, but seeing people turn their heads in fright, Igeon’s veins bulged further.

‘My face… w-well, not enough to avoid looking…’

And as Igeon turned his head, he met eyes with a peerless beauty.

It was none other than Hayley, sitting there pretending to be a believer of the sanctuary.

And Hayley, after meeting Igeon’s eyes, whipped her head away.

“!?”

Igeon flinched.

The finishing blow came from the screams of girls looking at Hugo.

“Kyaa, are you really the Sagittarius Apostle? You’re much more handsome in person!”

“Last time I saw you, you weren’t much!”

“Kya! So cool! Please give me an autograph!”

“Heh, heh heh. Thank you. I’ll work even harder.”

Pop, pop, pop!

Finally, Igeon exploded.

“Hey! You food bug!!! Who told you to stand there grinning like an idiot! Aren’t you going to train?!”

“Eh, what?! But today you said since we’re seeing the saintess, we could rest…”

“Shut up with that nonsense! Start running!! No, I’ll personally oversee your training today!”

“Aaaack!”

* * *

“Uwaaaa!!!”

In the end, at the echoes of Hugo’s screams, I Jaewon shook his head.

At the same time, I Jaewon tilted his head, looking at Igeon seething with anger.

He couldn’t help it.

“Mister Igeon… why are you wearing a mask?”

“Shut it. I always wore one in crowded places.”

“There aren’t many people here…”

“Shut up.”

Igeon pouted and pulled his mask down further.

And it was then.

Igeon stopped abruptly.

“Hey. Why do you keep following me?”

At those words, Hayley, who had been following Igeon, was startled.

Reflexively, she shoved something into her pocket. It was none other than the skin treatment cream for Igeon she had bought from Sophie.

But Igeon, unaware of that, looked at Hayley.

“I said, why do you keep following me? You’ve been doing it for a month.”

“Wh-what do you mean? I haven’t been following you.”

“You have. Leaving food, dropping toiletries. Dropping blankets and such.”

“Th-that…”

Hayley looked around, trying to slip away, but Igeon frowned.

“I used them gratefully, but don’t tell me you’re following me for surveillance purposes too.”

“!”

That was because Igeon had recalled what Sophie had said earlier.

-Immediately place someone to watch him! He’s definitely a monster!

Even so, isn’t treating someone like a monster a bit too much?

So he asked.

“What did you put in the food you gave me? What’s your goal?”

At that, Hayley stopped trying to flee, as if something had gone wrong.

“No. That has no particular meaning!”

Igeon narrowed his eyes fiercely.

“What? No meaning?”

“No. That’s not what I meant! I-I thought you must be having a hard time teaching.”

At that, Igeon’s fierce gaze softened slightly.

“Having a hard time teaching…?”

Hayley, as if confessing, spoke with a flushed face.

“Yes. Teaching an awakened one can’t be easy…”

He then thought he understood why Hayley had been following them.

‘Because of our food bug.’

After all, wasn’t that obvious from the reactions of the saintess and citizens earlier?

He had just learned that the food bug was unexpectedly popular.

So Igeon, feeling a bit emotional, nodded as if convinced.

“Hmm, okay. I’ll relay the message well.”

“……???”

Igeon’s eyes glinted.

Hayley felt an ominous energy for some reason.

And the next day.

“M-Master? Wh-what is this?”

Hugo froze at the object placed before his eyes.

(Continued in the next episode)

Extra Episode 14. Hoarder Maker (3)

“Hey! A handsome guy like you can’t even do this one thing right?!”

“Aack!”

“You’re so happy because the female apostles love you, aren’t you?”

“Aaaaack!”

“Hey, this is the food sent by Scorpio because she likes you. Finish it all in one minute! If you can’t, 100km march!”

“Uwaaah!!!”

And so, it had been months since Igeon began tormenting the hoarder.

- What? What did you just say?

The person on the other end of Igeon’s call asked back, dumbfounded. Igeon snapped at him in irritation.

“Are you deaf? I said, did you guys steal our food bug!”

In the end, the caller nearly grabbed the back of his neck in disbelief.

- I mean, why would we steal your food bug!

Igeon’s caller was none other than Leo’s Stephen.

In fact, Stephen had been thrilled when Igeon called him first.

After all, wasn’t he the one who wanted to get close to Igeon, giving him his number and sending regular texts?

Of course, they were all ignored, but anyway, Igeon had actually called first!

So he quickly answered, only to be suddenly told to hand over their food bug!

- Who is this food bug in the first place!

“Who else. Our household’s archery-mad parasite!”

- What, Hugo Oters? What the hell, why are you looking for that guy from me!

“Why else. A few days ago, I gave our food bug an order. To go to you guys. But after that, he went completely incommunicado.”

Irritated, Igeon recalled what happened a few days ago.

Probably, he had panicked at seeing clumps of hair falling out while brushing his hair and called Hugo.

‘Hey. Food bug! Go buy some hair loss medicine from that pervert!’

‘H-hair loss medicine?’

‘Yeah, something effective! Ah, and put it on credit again this time.’

In the end, Hugo headed straight for China. It was because he heard that Sophie was on a business trip there.

But where Hugo had gone, the very monster Igeon was targeting had appeared.

It was a monster that spat out special gold.

However, those monsters were under contract with the Chinese government, entrusted to Stephen and Kevin.

So he had ordered Hugo:

‘Steal it. Steal it no matter what. Even all the gold they’ve collected.’

Anyway, after making him steal, Hugo had gone silent.

So Igeon, unable to hold back his fury, had contacted Leo.

“Isn’t it that you guys kidnapped our food bug for revenge! So hand him over quick!”

But Stephen seemed flabbergasted.

- Good heavens, it was you who stole the gold?! Hey! Do you know how much our relationship with the Chinese government has soured because of you…

“I don’t care! Anyway, if you so much as lay a finger on our food bug, I won’t let you off!”

- Oh my? Since when did you become so close?

“Because without him, I’m surviving on instant ramen three meals a day right now! Do you know how well our food bug cooks?!”

He could picture Stephen’s expression beyond the phone.

But that wasn’t important.

- We’re not the ones who took him!

“What? Then where did he disappear to!”

- How would I know! Obviously, he ran away from home!! I hear you’ve been tormenting him like crazy!

“What? When I’ve been treating him so well, who said that crap?”

- Sophie did!

Igeon’s veins popped.

That hussy really?

But Igeon couldn’t readily curse back.

After all, hadn’t he been grinding down the food bug considerably lately, claiming the brat had gotten too popular?

For instance…

‘Hey! You have fans and do autographs at your level! Go buy baguettes from France, now!’

‘France? We’re in Korea right now!’

‘Hey! I want grilled clams, so dive and get some.’

‘What?! We’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right now!’

‘Open up. It’s a gift. It’ll help your physical abilities.’

‘This is poison!! Uwaaaah!’

Well, they were all noble training (?) for Hugo’s growth, but still, Igeon inwardly felt a bit guilty.

So this thought occurred to him:

‘…Did he really run away?’

Maybe because he had been tormenting him too much recently. Hugo, who had always bawled saying his master was the best, had started constantly talking back and rebelling.

But that was when.

Stephen, as if with a different purpose, laughed.

- Anyway, Igeon. Why don’t you leave that weakling and come buy weapons with me?

“Weapons??”

- Yeah. Among us is the one called Lago. He’s the only creator. All our gear is made by Marga. I can specially introduce you…

“Not interested. Everything those bastards make is trash.”

Stephen scoffed in disbelief.

He thought Igeon was just being arrogant.

- Anyway, please, let’s just meet once. It’s good for apostles to get along…

“Get lost! As if I’d want to see your faces! If you don’t have our food machine there, hang up! Our Jaewon is starving, saying the food I made is trash!”

- Ah! Wait! Hold on! Okay! Food!! I’ll buy you food! 50 servings of top hotel steak!

Igeon, who was eating ramen, frowned.

“100 servings.”

- Fine! Then instead of buying food, how about after that we discuss a subjugation…

Click.

As if nothing beyond food was worth listening to, Igeon hung up.

Because a call from a familiar number had come in.

“Yeah, food bug. Where are you right now…”

- Master!!! Why aren’t you answering my calls!! I heard you taught techniques to that water gun guy!!!

“…….”

Igeon’s veins bulged.

The caller was none other than Kevin.

Well, it was good that he shed his wolf-boy image after meeting him, but somehow he got hold of his number and started pestering him endlessly. He seemed to want to get close.

Of course, most of the texts flying in were high-level intelligence, and if he ignored them, gifts or coupon texts would be sent, so he didn’t block him exactly, but…

“So why do you have our food bug’s phone? Don’t tell me you captured him?”

- Come here and you’ll find out! Anyway, Master! I’ll buy you a house, so just let me see your face once…

“Get lost. It’s my mealtime.”

Click.

Igeon’s iron wall was beyond imagination.

* * *

“Good heavens, how did you manage to bring him here?”

Hayley, who arrived at the hotel, seemed shocked by the sight before her.

After all, right in front of her eyes was Igeon, munching away at a steak.

“Unbelievable. That man who wouldn’t budge no matter how much I tempted him…!”

She wasn’t the only one surprised.

“He’s someone who wouldn’t show up even if you tempted him with money and women.”

Jang Rui also looked at Igeon in disbelief. Even Ivan, Yang Wei, Sophie, Giselle, and Hayley were surprised by Igeon’s appearance.

Setting aside Ivan, who utterly despised Igeon, some had tried to get close to him.

But no matter what they did, Igeon never showed.

But now.

“Master!! You didn’t react when I called! But you respond immediately when this brat calls? What’s the deal?!”

At Kevin’s words, Igeon chewed his steak as if it were noisy.

“Don’t bother me, get lost. I need to eat.”

“If it’s food, I’ll buy you meals every day!!! So spar with me!”

“Fine. Deal.”

At that, the other apostles seemed shocked.

‘So he could be tempted with food?’

Well, whatever. Igeon looked around.

“So where’s our food leech? You said I’d find out if I came to you.”

At that, Kevin beamed.

“Of course it was a lie! If I hadn’t done this, you wouldn’t have shown up in front of us... kuhuk!”

“Call me that one more time and you’re dead.”

As Igeon stood up irritably, holding his packaged steak from Jaewon, Steven hastily grabbed him.

“Wait! You came all this way, just wait a little! He should be here any moment...”

“What is it, punk? I’m going to sleep...”

And then it happened.

Boom!

‘!’

The hotel restaurant door opened.

At the same time, a familiar face appeared.

“Sorry I’m late. There were quite a few things to bring.”

“!”

Igeon’s eyes widened.

Because the one who appeared was an apostle of Capricorn.

Sergeyevich (37).

He smiled at Igeon.

“As Steven said, I’ve brought some usable weapons for the 13th, so please take your time looking. Prices start at 1 billion.”

At that, Igeon glared at Steven.

Steven clicked his tongue.

“If I didn’t do this, you’d keep using those old, shabby equipment. A guy like you needs to change weapons often.”

It seemed he truly found Igeon’s skill a waste.

And at those words, Capricorn approached with a smile.

“That’s right. Since the 13th doesn’t even have a patron god, it must be difficult to acquire items, so why not entrust production requests to our subordinate gods?”

At that, Igeon suddenly emitted killing intent.

“What? Entrust something to your subordinate gods?”

At that murderous glare, the apostles flinched, and Hayley asked.

“What? Did something happen between you and Capricorn?”

Yeah, a lot did.

It must have been right after he awakened.

He was chased by monsters for no reason.

And back then, he was a total newbie who didn’t even know the basics of combat.

‘Aack!! Get away!’

Being a superhuman, he didn’t die in one hit, but Igeon, who didn’t even know how to hold a sword, became the perfect punching bag for monsters.

But during that time, worried about involving citizens, even with a high fever he couldn’t go near cities and barely scraped by.

In that monster-infested land, Igeon had met Capricorn’s subordinate gods.

[What’s that? Could it be a human?]

Igeon, caught by a monster, thought it was a stroke of luck and asked for help.

But.

[Puhahaha, how hilarious that you’re getting beaten by a monster!]

[What’s that toy-like weapon? Looks like you made it yourself?]

[Hahaha, can you deal with monsters with such a crude club?]

[Hahaha! Look, he’s getting hit as expected. I was tired from running errands for our lord, but this is entertaining.]

Capricorn’s subordinates laughed and watched as he became a monster’s sandbag.

And there’s no way this bastard or his patron god wouldn’t know what their own subordinate gods did.

Indeed, as if he’d heard, Sergeyevich laughed heartily.

“I also know that you took our blueprints and learned crafting on your own. The equipment you’re wearing now are those items, right?”

“!”

Sergeyevich looked at the clothes, gloves, and shoes Igeon was wearing.

“For an amateur, you made them look decent, but they can’t compare to a professional’s work.”

He confidently took out dazzling axes and greatswords.

“You mainly use heavy equipment, right? These turned out well for power-types. Starting at 3 billion. Especially the one for Steven, I paid more attention to the exterior.”

As Sergeyevich pulled out a stylish axe, Steven admired it.

“Yeah, this is great! Hey, I’ll chip in for this. Let’s go with this one!”

But Igeon snorted.

“Take this trash away. What I make is ten million times better.”

Sergeyevich’s expression subtly twisted.

“Look here, 13th. You’ve been crossing the line since earlier, but we’re professionals. No matter what, you should compare things properly...”

“What? Professionals?”

Igeon, as if dumbfounded, took out a fountain pen from his pocket.

And that was the fountain pen he would later give to the scribe.

At the same time, Igeon struck down on the axe with it.

Then an incredible thing happened.

Crunch!

Just by hitting it with a fountain pen, the axe shattered.

Sergeyevich was shocked, but Igeon looked at him with disgust.

“What? A cheap piece that breaks from just a fountain pen?”

“What? Cheap?”

Incensed, Sergeyevich raised a greatsword.

“Fine, then bring out your fancy weapon. Let’s see if you can block this!”

Finally, as he swung the greatsword, Igeon sneered and raised the fountain pen instead of Judgment.

And an incredible thing happened.

Crash!!!

“……!!!”

The greatsword that Sergeyevich blocked with the fountain pen shattered.

Thanks to that, everyone there couldn’t help but gape.

Igeon smirked as if to say, ‘See?’

“With durability like this, it’ll break after cutting a few monsters. Ah, maybe it’s good for you if it breaks quickly? Professional, my ass.”

As Igeon stood up with a contemptuous look, the flustered Steven hastily grabbed him.

“Wait, hold on! What is that fountain pen? A weapon?!”

“What bullshit. It’s just a signature pen. I made it to give autographs when I become famous later.”

“??!”

Finally, as Igeon tried to go home, the apostles stirred.

The first to grab Igeon was Kevin.

“Master! I’ll buy you a month’s worth of meals!! Make me a weapon too!!”

“A month’s worth? Fine, deal. Let me see your weapon to measure the size...”

It was when Igeon, tempted by food, readily extended his hand.

“Uwaaah! As expected of Master!!!”

“?!”

Everyone was startled by the sudden shout.

The sound came from the hotel window.

“What the, a water gun?!”

“Hugo!!”

That’s right.

The one pressed against the window cheering was none other than the missing Hugo.

And in truth, he had been abruptly kidnapped to the future and had only just returned now.

And as if his faith had changed, his eyes were different as he ran to Igeon.

“Uwooow!! I don’t really get it, but Master! I will follow you forever!”

“What, what? This punk ran away and now he’s acting like this?”

“I momentarily doubted you, Master! Please marry m— kuhuk!!!!”

Igeon mercilessly kicked Hugo.

At the same time, as Igeon threw away Kevin’s sword, Kevin seemed dumbfounded.

“What! You said you’d make a weapon in exchange for meals!”

“Ah, no need. Our household’s food provider has arrived.”

“?!!”

“Anyway, don’t look for me. Idiots.”

Kevin choked up, glaring at Hugo as if he were an enemy.

Meanwhile, the apostles became noisy.

“Igeon! Can you make magic equipment too?”

Ivan was flabbergasted that Igeon even had crafting ability, and Hayley and Haze seemed even more smitten.

That wasn’t all.

“Igeon! Wait! Can you make a sword too, not just a fountain pen?”

Capricorn’s best customer.

Even Steven abandoned his weapon and chased after him, and Sergeyevich ground his teeth.

(To be continued in the next episode)

Side Story 15: I Like You (1)

[Huh? You’re concerned about Igeon?]

.

Commonly known as Cancer, the constellation of Karkinos, which tried to kill the great hero Hercules.

Moreover, since Cancer is a constellation located in the season when days grow shorter, it is also a divine seat associated with the image of death.

Anyway, Cancer’s subordinates were bewildered by their lord’s words.

[To think you see Igeon unfavorably...]

[My lord, when have you not liked Igeon?]

“Well, I merely considered him useful; I’ve never really liked him.”

[Then...]

“That person is gradually threatening our abilities.”

[……!]

Jang Rui was a saint who infiltrated the human camp under Cancer’s orders.

And it was probably possible because Cancer’s patron god was a corrupted evil god.

Instead of paying a price to an evil god, he made a deal to be appointed as an apostle.

The outer gods, who would later be connected to Yuha’s arm, were good negotiation partners for unknown civilizations.

Anyway, Jang Rui was effectively the leader in charge of Cancer.

At the same time, called the greatest strategist among the 12 apostles, he was concerned about Igeon.

It wasn’t for any other reason.

-Igeon! Once again, Igeon saved a quarantined city!

-Does the word impossible even exist for him?!

-Fans around the world are increasing for the unbeatable Igeon!

“Igeon is really popular with people.”

[Yes... Because he has no patron god, he gets injured more, but on the contrary, that seems to move the hearts of citizens.]

[It’s really fortunate he has no patron god. Otherwise, people’s faith might have all been drawn to him.]

However, Jang Rui frowned.

Well, faith aside.

“Igeon is too good at killing monsters.”

[Yes. That’s the condition for a perfect hero. Isn’t that why he helped with the plan?]

[We need a star role for money...]

At that, Jang Rui sneered.

Helps with the plan?

“Lately, it’s been a bit ambiguous.”

Whether intentional or not, he wasn’t sure yet, but Igeon had killed even monsters related to his plan, causing damage.

Well, the damage wasn’t large yet, but what’s annoying is annoying.

‘Besides, the 12 apostles have started following Igeon excessively.’

“Especially those useful for combat power having favorable feelings toward Igeon is not a good thing.”

The examples were Kevin, Steven, and Haze.

They had great firepower and were very useful for the plan in many ways.

And as if reading that expression, the subordinates gulped.

[Speaking of which, it’s the same with Capricorn. Capricorn was a good source of money, but because of Igeon, Capricorn’s position seems to be narrowing...]

They were referring to the incident a few days ago where Igeon humiliated Capricorn at the hotel.

[Who would’ve known his crafting ability was better than Capricorn’s apostle.]

[Steven was the biggest spender, and it seems he’s still trying to stick to Igeon.]

They were in a position where they illegally supplied weapon materials to Capricorn and took a commission.

[As losses occur, is it okay to leave Igeon as is?]

At those words, Jang Rui smiled subtly.

“Well, who knows. I’ve heard that those too outstanding don’t live long.”

[...Pardon?]

Jang Rui shrugged and turned away.

“Never mind. Igeon hasn’t crossed the line yet, but there’s a need to watch him carefully.”

Jang Rui’s eyes became sharp like a monster’s.

“But if he does cross the line, that’s a different story.”

* * *

Around that time.

“Uwaaah!!!”

With Hugo’s bloodcurdling scream, Lee Jaewon gaped.

“Oh. It moved!”

Hugo was currently arm-wrestling with Igeon.

At the same time, seeing Hugo’s face turn bright red, Igeon chuckled.

“Good. Today you moved about 0.05 degrees.”

As soon as he let go, Hugo screamed.

“Aack!! That’s all I can do! Even after everything, I couldn’t even bend Master’s arm 5 degrees...!!!”

“Well, that’s because you’re an idiot.”

“Aaaack!! Master taught me so much! Why!!”

He wailed that he couldn’t even raise his voice properly like this.

But inwardly, Igeon smiled smugly.

Well, there didn’t seem to be any growth now, but who knows.

‘Probably when you fight those guys, you’ll definitely feel your strength increase.’

But Hugo, with no way of knowing that, screamed.

“This won’t do! Like this, I’ll just be a burden to Master!”

At that, Igeon frowned as if to say, ‘Here we go again.’

That’s understandable; Hugo, who had been missing (?) for a few days, had changed a bit (?) as a person.

“Master, you are someone who will become great in the future...!!!”

“Oh great, this bastard’s spouting weird nonsense again.”

I didn’t know why, but Hugo, who suddenly returned, kept babbling incomprehensible things.

For example...

‘Master will become an even greater figure!’

‘Oh, really? What will I become?’

‘Uh, I don’t know that either!’

‘...What?’

‘I can’t remember, but anyway, Master will become a great person!!! So please marry me!’

‘Ugh! What is this bastard saying! Why’d you suddenly go back to how you were when we first met!! Did you lose your memories too!’

‘It’s okay! This time I even got a gender-swap potion!! You can use it, Master! Here!’

‘Do you want to die, you bastard!!!’

Whether it was the aftereffect of a skill or his memories had gotten jumbled and his head turned strange, I thought I was going to die trying to snap Hugo back to his senses.

‘Ah seriously, what kind of son of a bitch made this like this!!’

If I ever catch him, I’ll really kill him.

Of course, after a few days the faith that had temporarily skyrocketed to 1,000% gradually dropped and Hugo returned to normal.

“You’re still suspicious as hell, this bastard....”

Even when I asked where he went, he just kept saying he couldn’t remember.

Well, it didn’t matter anyway.

“I’ll massage your shoulders! You’ve suddenly been feeling a lot worse lately. Maybe it’s stress, but your forehead has suddenly started to bal... koff!!”

“No need for unnecessary words.”

“Ah, anyway, because of you, Master, I’ve been learning physical therapy and manual therapy recently. It’ll be a great help.”

Well, that part was true.

Igeon, as if finding it quite convenient, entrusted his shoulders to Hugo.

‘Well, I knew that the more I use my ability, the more it burdens my body...’

Before, I used to feel like my body recovered after sleeping, but now, far from recovering, it felt like it worsened every day.

Actually, Igeon’s body was slowly breaking down.

Of course, Igeon in those days didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘There’s still no problem with hunting monsters.’

That was all that mattered.

‘If only I could find that fog monster and retrieve Yeonwoo’s body.’

That was his only wish for now.

And during the manual therapy, when Igeon was in great pain due to his twisted bones, Hugo asked with concern.

“Are you okay? You’ve been destroying all the facilities related to Jang Rui lately, too. Isn’t it like picking a fight with an Apostle for no reason...?”

At those words, Igeon furrowed his brows.

“That dog bastard. He smells rotten.”

“......!”

All of the Apostles were distasteful, but some gave off a particularly dangerous scent.

One of them was Jang Rui.

‘The fact he tried to use Jae-won bothers me too.’

“It feels like he’s making money using monsters. So don’t go easy on him either. I’m also pretending it’s coincidental while deliberately destroying his plans.”

“...Uh, then what about that?”

“What?”

Instead of answering, Hugo pointed outside the lodging, at the living room window.

There, unexpectedly, Hei-ji and Hei-li were standing facing each other.

But the atmosphere was quite odd.

* * *

“Hmm... So, you didn’t hear me?”

Hei-ji smiled brightly and looked at the beauty opposite her.

“If you didn’t hear, I’ll say it again. I said move aside.”

However, Hei-li, who was blocking Hei-ji, glared with a completely expressionless face.

“Why should I?”

At her razor-sharp reply, Hei-ji’s face flushed with anger as if pissed off.

Seriously, why was the cold-blooded witch who normally had zero interest in men making such a fuss?

As expected.

Though smiling alluringly, a menacing killing intent radiated from Hei-ji’s face.

“Got it? I have business with the man inside, not with you.”

“What a coincidence. I had business with that man too.”

At those words, the smile vanished completely from Hei-ji’s face.

It was because the two knew each other’s purpose all too well.

That was why it made no sense.

“Hei-li. You originally have no interest in men. Just do as you always do and play by yourself with your monstrous subordinates.”

“Why don’t you do as you always do and go frolic with fairies in a flower field with flowers in your hair?”

Is this woman serious?

Hei-ji flared up while never losing her elegance.

At the same time, Hei-ji couldn’t understand why Hei-li was acting like this.

Hei-li had always been popular with the men among the 12 Apostles. She had probably been courted by all of them except Jang Rui and Kevin.

But true to her nickname, the Ice Princess, they were ruthlessly rejected and treated like they didn’t exist.

No, it seemed more like she had no interest in humans at all.

‘Was I mistaken?’

Well, whatever.

Even if they were colleagues, there was nothing good about having a rival.

Perhaps that was why Hei-ji smiled and asked.

“Could it be that you’re interested in that person?”

Hei-li, flinching at the killing intent, looked at Hei-ji. And perhaps misinterpreting that silence, Hei-ji laughed.

“Right, of course not. Indeed, there’s no way you’d be interested in that person of all people....”

But seeing Hei-li’s expression, Hei-ji’s eyes flashed.

At the same time, Hei-ji’s fingers, which had been crossed over her chest, rose.

And that was the summoning sign for the Fairy King of the mage with the greatest firepower!

Along with that, Hei-li also flicked her fingers.

As expected.

Boom!!!!

A violent explosion erupted at the lodging.

Of course, because a defensive barrier was cast, the lodging wasn’t greatly affected, but the two fiercely battered and fought each other.

When the mage Hei-ji used telekinesis to float and hurl objects, Hei-li destroyed them with sword energy.

In the end, amid the chaos, Hugo had no choice but to scream.

“Aagh! Master! Please stop those two!”

“Why me? If you want to stop them, you stop them. They’re both your guests, aren’t they?”

“...You’re right, what??!!”

Dumbfounded, Hugo stared at Igeon.

“Why are they my guests? Obviously they’re your guests, Master!!”

“Ah jeez, you idiot. How are you going to get married with no sense like that? That maiden keeps sending you gifts. You should get the picture right away.”

“Huh?? Miss Sophie? I haven’t received a single thing, though?!”

“Of course not. I returned them all.”

“?!!”

Chuckling, Igeon recalled the times he had opened Sophie’s gifts.

She had sent loads of them, even writing sickeningly sweet handwritten letters for Hugo’s sake, so Igeon and Jae-won had a good time packing bugs into the box and sending it back.

“Well, I sent a courteous rejection gift on your behalf, so don’t worry.”

“What?! What did you send!”

“None of your business. Pick one of these two beauties. Absolutely not that bed-wetter.”

At those words, Lee Jae-won, who was munching on a rice ball next to Igeon, fell into thought.

‘Would it be better to tell him the truth.’

No matter how I looked at it, Hei-ji and Hei-li liked Igeon.

But because it was bothersome, Jae-won decided not to and kept nomming on his rice ball.

And it was around then.

Boom!!!

In the end, as if things weren’t getting settled, Hei-ji burst through the smoke and appeared before Igeon.

Her sorceress outfit with a slit thigh and her confident stride were extremely beautiful.

And.

“Igeon! Want to team up with me? There’s a big request from Russia this time! You got it too, right?”

When Hei-ji grabbed Igeon’s arm, Hei-li, who had chased after her, grabbed Hei-ji’s arm.

“Hei-ji! If it’s a team with you, I’ll happily accept!”

Thanks to that, Hei-ji seemed dumbfounded.

“Hey, I’m not talking to you!”

At the same time, Hugo let out an ‘Oh no.’

“Ah. Could it be the reason you two came here is because of that Russia request...?”

There was a legendary subjugation battle that would later be called the Great Russian Suppression.

And because of its scale and danger, it was a situation where even Saints who usually played solo were trying to form two-person teams.

Igeon scratched his head.

“Well, I was thinking it’d be nice to have a support when going there. A buffer type....”

At those words, Hei-li and Hei-ji simultaneously grabbed Igeon’s arms.

“I will!”

“I will!”

The two glared at each other.

“Hei-li. You’re the Thief Throne. Isn’t that pretty far from support?”

“Aren’t you more suited to smashing things up rather than supporting?”

At that sight, Hugo groaned.

“Ah, well... For your information, Master is currently injured, so it was decided that I would go to that subjugation... .”

Hei-ji jolted in shock.

“What? A weakling like you? Are you crazy? Do you not know the difficulty of that place? If you go, you’ll die instantly!”

As Hei-ji shook her head worriedly while looking at Hugo, Igeon patted both Hugo and Hei-ji as if he knew it all.

“Right. I’ll go with Jae-won, so you two, man and woman who fancy each other, team up.”

Then Hei-ji grabbed Igeon as if asking what he meant.

“What do you mean! The one I’m interested in is you!”

At those words, Igeon’s eyes widened.

(To be continued in the next episode)

Extra Episode 16. I Like You (2)

“What do you mean! The one I’m interested in is you!”

At the unexpected words, everyone flinched in surprise.

Lee Jae-won dropped his rice ball thinking, ‘Oh, she finally said it,’ and Hugo’s jaw nearly dropped.

Especially Hei-li, who was beside her, seemed never to have imagined Hei-ji would come out like this. She wore an expression that said this was bad.

And the person in question.

Igeon also blinked in surprise.

He seemed to find it very unexpected.

“Uh... the one you’re interested in... is me...?”

“Yes.”

Sweeping her hair back, Hei-ji looked at Igeon with a hint of expectation.

Though she was always confident, even so, she seemed a little shy in this moment of revealing her true feelings.

And perhaps sensing Hei-ji’s heart. Igeon, who had been blinking while looking at Hei-ji, soon nodded in understanding.

“Oh, I see.”

“!”

At the not-bad tone of his voice, Hei-ji’s face brightened a little.

And as if he understood, Igeon nodded.

“I get that you’re interested in my ability, but our Bob... I mean, Taksoo has also gotten really strong. He’s worth using as a team member, you know?”

“?!!”

Hei-ji’s face hardened. At the same time, Hugo freaked out and grabbed Igeon, as if it were not that.

Maybe because he knew Hei-ji’s temper; when she got angry, she would smile while summoning meteors from the sky.

“M-Master!!! She’s not talking about party members, Hei-ji is... kack!”

Angry, Hei-ji first grabbed Igeon by the collar.

“You idiot! That’s not the kind of interest I’m talking about!”

As if furious, she continued speaking close to Igeon’s face.

“I’m saying I like... kyaaak!!”

Before Hei-ji could even finish, Hei-li kicked her and sent her flying into the sky.

And Hei-li panted heavily as if a disaster had been narrowly averted.

Though Igeon’s eyes were wide open.

“Wha-what, Scorpio?”

“A monster!!”

“?”

“There was a monster. Yes. A monster appeared, so I struck it. Don’t mind it.”

“...F-for real?”

No matter how you looked at it, he hadn’t felt any monster’s energy.

“It was a monster! A monster that humans! Humans cannot sense.”

“...Aren’t you human too?”

Just as Hei-li, flustered at those words, was about to say something.

Flash!

“?!”

Hei-li screamed because of Hei-ji falling from above her head.

“Kuh!”

And Hei-ji, who appeared via teleport, fumed as she placed her hand on Hei-li.

“Don’t interfere!”

At the same time, Hei-li instantly vanished somewhere.

She had teleported the nuisance away.

And then she said to Igeon.

“Listen carefully, I like you! Your ability is good too, but I like you in a romantic sense! I like your bold actions, and your filthy personality, and your appearance, and your face, everything! Got it?”

Igeon’s eyes went round.

...Was this some kind of mental attack?

He seemed extremely confused.

And while Igeon was spacing out, Hugo poked him.

“Master...!”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks.”

“!”

Hei-ji’s heart pounded as she anticipated the next words.

But 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds.

No matter how long she waited, there was no follow-up answer, so eventually Hei-ji blinked.

“Th-that’s it?”

Igeon, who had been silent, tilted his head.

“...Hope you meet a nice person?”

“……!!!!”

Hei-ji seemed to have received a shock.

And when the shocked Hei-ji staggeringly disappeared via teleport, the one who screamed was Hugo.

“Master!!”

“What?”

“What do you mean what! Why are you so calm?!”

“What is?”

"You just received a confession of love!"

Igeon wore a rotten expression as if asking what nonsense this was.

"Do you really think that was a confession?"

"Huh?"

"Aren't they going crazy asking me to make their stuff? They'll say anything. But they need to say something believable before I'll listen."

"Believable words..."

- I like your bold decisiveness, your filthy personality, your appearance, your face, everything! You got that?

Hugo froze.

N-no way.

Igeon shook his head side to side.

"Who would like a face and personality like this? Anyway, let's go. The air in this neighborhood isn't good."

"......!!!"

Hugo looked at Igeon as if shocked. Perhaps because he couldn't understand Igeon's expression after receiving such a confession.

In the end, it was when Hugo disappeared after Igeon, leaving only questions.

[Phew. Success!]

Someone poked their head out from the floor where the two had been.

They were none other than the monster subordinates of Scorpio.

They looked at Igeon's back, who had kicked Heiji, and were greatly delighted.

[Good. We have protected that human in place of the Princess!]

[If we hadn't used our trick, he would have fallen for the confession right away!]

[Well, was it Gemini? Even so, they can't even compare to our Princess's toenail grime... but for a human, they are indeed a great beauty...!]

[Moreover, that human is undoubtedly a forever-alone virgin! Left alone, he would have fallen 100% for the allure and atmosphere!]

Indeed.

They had used a trick to ensure Igeon would not fall for Heiji.

[Scorpio's ultimate secret technique! Poison that dulls affection!]

[Commonly known as !]

Scorpio's follower spirits cheered.

[Before this poison, no pink-hued delusion or lust! It will not dominate Igeon's thoughts!]

And finally, as they cheered and disappeared, there were those watching the scene.

[My, these cunning Scorpio scoundrels.]

[To wound our Apostle with such wiles...!]

They were none other than the fairies of Gemini, the same faction as Heiji.

[Hurry, report it!]

The fairies' eyes flashed.

* * *

"What did you say? Heiji confessed to Igeon!?"

Harbin, China.

Sophie, who was on her way to Russia, almost screamed at the shocking story.

It was because of Yang Wei's words.

"Is that true?"

"Yes, I clearly heard it, I tell you!"

Before the Red Eye had appeared.

They were moving in team formations for what would later be called one of the Four Great Suppressions.

Because the monster that had settled in Russia was threatening not only Russia but the entire continent.

That was why all twelve had been invited.

The Iron Wall of Vajra Invulnerability

The Ultimate Human Weapon

The Supreme Strategist

The Wild Man of Destruction

The Unprecedented Swordsmanship Genius

The Material Producer

The God's Forge

The Magician of Infinite Change

The Savior of Healing

And finally, the one in charge of supplies under the title of

Yang Wei whispered to those who had teamed up with him this time.

"I'm telling you, that human weapon seriously confessed to Igeon!"

"Wait, does that woman have no eyes?! How can she like such a monster!"

"More importantly, you pig bastard. How do you know about this?"

At the woman's voice from behind, Yang Wei triumphantly rubbed his nose.

"Ahem! I've had watchers tailing Igeon continuously because he seemed like a money-maker! I'm stealing and selling things like Igeon's clothes, anyway, this story would also sell to the media for quite a bit of money... Aaack!!!"

As he was rambling on, Yang Wei suddenly screamed.

That was because the one who had spoken to him was Heiji of Gemini.

"Aaack!! Y-you... C-cough!"

"Shall I roast you whole and sell you at the market?"

With a bright smile, Heiji breathed fire and grabbed Yang Wei's face tightly.

But seeing her like that, Sophie burst into laughter.

"More than that, Heiji, is it true that you like Igeon? Has your eye for men rotted beyond being merely low? Goodness, with such a handsome man right next to you! Who in the world would like such an orc... C-cough!!!"

Sophie collapsed after being hit in the back of the head by a flying cellphone.

The thrower was a familiar face.

"The more I listen, this bed-wetter really spouts endless nonsense, doesn't she?"

"I-Igeon! Hugo Otter!"

Yang Wei was surprised.

And as soon as Igeon appeared, Heiji was happy but also seemed extremely embarrassed, wanting to avoid the place.

But with no time for that, familiar faces popped up all over the square.

"What? Why is that punk here?"

"Didn't they say he couldn't participate this time because of his arm injury?"

"!"

Steven, Kevin.

And Taurus Ivan, Zhang Rui. Pisces Liv and Sergeyevich. Finally, even Libra Giselle.

All the Apostles had gathered in one place.

Heiji and Heilli glared at each other.

But it was brief; Ivan looked at the gathered members and became annoyed.

"What is this? Why are there so many starved-looking bastards? This cuts down the shares coming back. They already said distribution would be differential based on contribution."

Maybe that was why. Ivan smirked as he looked at Igeon, who had his arm wrapped in bandages.

"Igeon. You don't seem like you can even throw a punch this time. Stop hanging around uselessly and just go home, won't you?"

At those words, Igeon sneered.

"I received this personally, so how could I ignore it?"

Everyone was astonished at the object Igeon presented.

It was none other than a personal letter stamped with the seal of the Russian President.

Not only did it permit free passage throughout restricted areas across Russia, but it was a delegation of presidential authority to mobilize the military in emergencies.

There was even a letter earnestly asking to save Russia. It was virtually the status of a commander-in-chief.

Because of this, Ivan widened his eyes.

"What, we never received anything like that...!?"

"You guys must not be trusted."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Why? Just comparing our achievements so far says it all, doesn't it?"

"Why, you little...!"

As the atmosphere between them sharpened, Hugo interjected as if to stop them.

"Ah! Don't fight! Master is here as a supporter this time! For this mission, Master delegated his authority to me!"

At Hugo's cry, everyone's mouths gaped open.

They knew exactly what that meant.

"What? So effectively, Hugo becomes the leader for this mission...?"

So this time, even Steven and Kevin, who had been silent, looked unconvinced.

"Hey? Are you kidding? The weakest one who can't even deal damage dares to...!!"

"No matter what his master said, you can't!"

"Igeon!! What on earth are you thinking handing over the proxy to that guy!"

"It's hopeless, give it up."

Zhang Rui tutted pitifully, and even Heiji and Yang Wei shook their heads.

Even Sophie, a fan of Hugo, couldn't say a word.

Because they all knew.

Hugo was of a Battle God Constellation, but he was called a water gun for a reason.

Even among combatants, his strength was so weak; wasn't he always a weakling who got beaten and sent flying by the brute-force-wielding Ivan?

Even non-combatant Apostles found him pitiable to that extent.

Thus, Sophie cautiously dissuaded.

"Hu-Hugo. For this mission, just delegate it to Ivan..."

Originally, Ivan was a Defense God Constellation.

As a tanker, he was the vanguard who stood at the very front.

But Igeon sneered.

"Don't you know how high the attack power of the one that appeared in Russia is? It's unprecedented. Entrusting it to a guy with a glass body who'll run away first? What are you entrusting?"

"Igeon, you mannerless bastard, seriously!"

In the end, the enraged Ivan threw a punch at Igeon.

The surprised Heiji and Heilli hurriedly tried to stop Ivan, while Zhang Rui raised the corners of his mouth as if amused.

But then.

Grab!!

"......?!"

Someone grabbed Ivan's arm. Simultaneously, all the Apostles who confirmed the culprit gaped in shock.

"Hu-Hugo?!"

The one who grabbed Ivan's arm with one hand was none other than Hugo.

The Hugo who normally, far from grabbing the top one-or-two power-ranked Ivan, would have been knocked out just from a slight touch!

"Use words. I won't stay still if you lay hands on Master either?"

Ivan, momentarily flustered, ground his teeth.

"You all-talk, patsy punk! The guy who got beaten up every day, now dares to block me!"

This time, Ivan put mana into it, intending to half-kill Hugo as usual.

And as always, Hugo flinched as if terrified at the incoming fist, but soon looked surprised at Igeon's gaze.

'!'

Actually, shortly before arriving here,

Igeon had already anticipated this situation and said this to Hugo.

'Don't be scared even if that bull bastard gets mad and charges. Deal with him with your fist.'

'Huh?! Fist? Are you joking? Do you know how strong Ivan's power is! In terms of sheer muscle power, he's vying for first or second among the Apostles...!'

'It's fine. Trust me. You just do nothing but swing with all your might.'

Remembering those words, Hugo opened his eyes fiercely.

Originally blessed with excellent speed and dynamic vision, dodging Ivan's fist was not difficult.

'!'

And then, clenching his fist and swinging!

Crunch!!!

Finally, Hugo's fist accurately hit Ivan's face.

Having taken a rock-like punch, Ivan flew away like a paper doll.

Silence ensued.

Everyone's expressions were a sight to behold.

It was the moment the weakest blew away the strongest.

(Continued next episode)

Side Story 17. I Like You (3)

Crunch!!!

A tremendous sound resounded.

Along with that sound, Taurus Ivan collapsed, and the other Apostles gaped as if their jaws would drop.

"Th-that weakling..."

"Blew away Ivan?!"

Especially Zhang Rui, with his usual smile gone, was checking them.

But even after rechecking, it was Ivan who had fallen and Hugo who had thrown the punch.

Thus, they had no choice but to be shocked.

"It doesn't make sense...!!"

"We know that guy's skill level best...!"

Wasn't Hugo the one with the nickname Paper Doll anyway?

Despite all that, overflowing with justice and all talk, he got beaten up by monsters.

And yet!

"Hugooo...!! So cool!"

Sophie covered her mouth as if about to have a nosebleed, and Ivan couldn't easily get up from the spot.

It was probably more from the psychological shock than injury.

'Me, of all people. Got hit by some punk like him and flew away??'

Hugo was merely his sandbag, after all. One who couldn't even escape when face-grabbed, just getting beaten!

And the very one who had sent Ivan flying was looking at his own fist in disbelief.

After all, hadn't he been unable to bend Igeon's arm even five degrees?

But now...!

"Master!"

"Yeah, I told you so. Just do as I taught you."

"As expected of Master! He was definitely slower than you!"

"Right. It's a good thing all that getting hit paid off."

At Hugo's exclamation of joy, Zhang Rui glared at Igeon, and the Apostles looked at Igeon as if horrified.

"Getting hit... no, as you taught...?"

"Goodness, I did hear he was learning from Igeon..."

"But wasn't it only four months ago?"

People couldn't change like this in mere months.

"Igeon, what kind of magic did you pull there...?"

At Steven's words, Zhang Rui narrowed his brow as if displeased.

"How could that be possible through mere teaching? Didn't you all secretly buff him?"

Under Zhang Rui's gaze, Heiji and Sophie got angry as if asking what he meant.

"If something like that were possible, I would have sold the buff skill to you ages ago!"

"If it were possible, I would have switched to melee too, wouldn't I?"

Well, that's true indeed.

There was no sign of a buff anywhere.

So that was why they got goosebumps.

To have made that weakling like that.

"...Then, could I become like that if I ask Igeon to teach me too?"

"Shut it, cat! I'll be the one asking our master to teach me first, you know?!"

And looking at Ivan, who still seemed unable to overcome the shock, Igeon sneered.

"You dumb bastard. The archer would make a far better tank."

"......!!!"

"The delegation will be handed over to Taek-su as originally planned."

Ivan choked up but could say nothing.

He seemed to have mentally collapsed just from the fact that Hugo, whom he had always used as a sandbag, had counterattacked.

And then.

Zhang Rui smiled subtly while watching Igeon.

"A stone that sticks out too much is bound to get hammered."

Simultaneously, as if reading his thoughts, Zhang Rui's shadow wriggled and moved.

'Better deal with this before they cross the line.'

And had he witnessed that scene?

Heiji furrowed his brow.

* * *

It was that night.

Just before entering Russia.

Late at night, as the Apostles dispersed into teams, each tending to their own equipment.

Sophie pressed her lips tightly together as she looked at Zhang Rui, who had called her out.

"So, what did you just say?"

Sophie glared at Zhang Rui.

At that, Zhang Rui smiled as if asking if she was deaf.

"I don't believe I asked a difficult question. I merely inquired about Yi Geon's physical condition."

Sophie frowned warily at the question.

"That orc... Ah, no, why are you asking about Yi Geon's condition?!"

"Naturally, because I'm curious?"

"D-Do you think I don't know that a patient's medical records absolutely cannot be disclosed to outsiders?"

"I was under the impression you weren't such a model citizen."

"Excuse me?!"

Sophie bristled, but then glared at Zhang Rui as if something bothered her.

Zhang Rui was the greatest strategist among them.

It was always thanks to his strategies that they could conclude various difficult subjugations without major casualties.

As such, Zhang Rui was a figure to be grateful for, but, well.

'A frightening man.'

Having encountered countless people, Sophie was a master at reading a person's aura.

And Zhang Rui, while outstanding, exuded a dangerous scent.

So she spoke.

"It's true Yi Geon is receiving treatment from me, but I can absolutely never reveal the details."

"Oh my, you're so wary it's almost hurtful. The monster in Russia is strong. I'm merely trying to calculate whether Yi Geon can be included as a full force when devising the strategy."

"If that's the case, shouldn't you ask him directly?"

"You know Yi Geon's personality, don't you? He's an insane man who rushes in like a moth to a flame even if his arm is shattered. What kind of normal answer could you expect from such a madman?"

"And if I tell you, you're not planning to use that to trap Yi Geon, are you?"

"!"

At the sharp point, Zhang Rui's eyes widened.

And then he burst out laughing, *Puhaha*.

A sneer that he hadn't expected her mind to reach that far.

"Weren't you someone who dislikes Yi Geon? I thought you wouldn't care whether he gets hurt or not."

"No matter how much I dislike him, I don't play games with people's lives!"

"Oh?"

"In any case, don't call me out for matters like this again. It's unpleasant."

Sophie turned around, clearly huffing.

Seeing that scene, Zhang Rui chuckled *kekeke* as if amused.

Well, it was probably because of Hugo, anyway.

"Pathetically trying to play the hero."

Besides, there were plenty of ways to ascertain Yi Geon's condition without Sophie.

'I'll just confirm it with the Aquarius Star God anyway.'

Everyone was only looking at Yi Geon, everything revolving around him. The atmosphere had gone to hell because of a single mutant.

So Zhang Rui smiled as he summoned his minion.

[Come. O creature that traverses the Reverse World.]

At his call, a black whale surged up from his shadow.

This whale was a special subordinate god capable of moving through the world of gods.

Just as Zhang Rui was about to enter the whale's mouth—

*BANG!!!*

"!!"

A laser shot from the sky pierced through the whale's temple.

The whale let out a terrible scream as it retreated back into the shadow.

Simultaneously, a woman's voice rang out.

"Where do you think you're laying a hand on Yi Geon?"

At that familiar voice, Zhang Rui let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.

"Well, well."

That was because the one who had erased his subordinate god was Heiji.

Moreover, the magical power of Heiji, possessed by the Fairy King Leriquinn, was considerable.

And then.

"If you try any nonsense on Yi Geon, I'll really kill you first."

That threat seemed to make laughter utterly impossible for Zhang Rui to hold back.

"What's this. Could it be you actually liked Yi Geon?"

"!"

Heiji's face flushed as she chewed on her lip.

"Pfft. I heard from Yang Wei, but was it true? For someone seemingly normal, your standards are remarkably lo—"

*BANG!!!*

Before he could finish speaking, a meteorite fell upon Zhang Rui's head.

He was lucky to dodge it quickly, or he would have truly been crushed to death.

Heiji glared at Zhang Rui, clearly enraged.

"You're dead, for real."

"Ooh, how scary."

"Anyway, I don't know why you hate Yi Geon, but don't mess with someone who's sick. Just leave him alone."

At Heiji's words, Zhang Rui sighed as if he had no choice.

"Fine, understood. I'll do that."

"Do you really mean it?"

"What good would it do to purposely antagonize someone who rivals for the top spot in destructive power?"

As Zhang Rui shook his head, Heiji lowered her hand.

"You promised."

As Heiji teleported away, seeming to trust him, Zhang Rui raised the corner of his mouth as if vexed.

"That's one more to take care of."

* * *

The next day.

Blockaded Eastern Russia.

Yi Geon, who had passed through China and was trying to enter Russia, was bursting a vein.

"What? What the hell did you just spout?"

"So, I am telling you to abandon the East and head to the capital in the West."