Igeon was genuinely surprised.
"!"
The slime, which had been wriggling as if annoyed, suddenly swelled in size.
Then it opened its mouth wide and swallowed the armor whole.
Crunch!
"......!!!"
A horrified Hugo doubted his own eyes. And not for any other reason.
'Did that thing even have a mouth?'
But whether anyone was surprised or not, the slime clamped down on the armor and stretched it out.
The swallowed armor was thrashing wildly.
Crunch! Crunch!
From within, the armor's teeth jutted out like awls piercing through.
Of course, being highly elastic, it stretched like rubber for now, but Hugo couldn't sit still.
After all, the slime was a crafting tool as essential to Igeon as his own limbs.
If it broke, it could disrupt Igeon's weapon production.
"That thing! It's going to get pierced through!"
However, unlike the frantic Hugo, Igeon merely frowned.
"That little bastard."
In fact, he seemed angry at the slime for an entirely different reason.
Perhaps that was why. Igeon approached his excited holy object and pulled on its face.
Then he shouted at the slime, which was stretching out like cheese.
"Limey. Spit it out! That's dirty. Ptooey!"
In response, as if saying 'I understand,' the slime simply digested the armor completely.
"......!"
It even let out a small belch.
'This brat, I told it to spit it out.'
Even Igeon was flustered by the bizarre sight.
The slime could memorize objects it put in its mouth and transform into their shape. It even ate anything that looked good to it without hesitation.
So normally, he didn't care what it ate, but items from the Unknown Civilization were an exception.
'Anything that touches the monsters' miasma melts away.'
Special light, liquid, gas, and particulate with a potency similar to radioactive toxicity.
Their poison was a substance unknown on Earth, making it a real headache. And the time it took to self-decompose was comparable to the half-life of radioactive waste.
That's why the skills of the Defense God-Thrones sold for such high prices.
Because the Defense God-Thrones were the only things capable of blocking that miasma.
And it digested that?
He wondered what was going on, but the question didn't last long.
[The Holy Object has been granted the master's skill]
[Poison Resistance]
[It is granted as a basic effect]
"!"
Igeon was inwardly surprised.
Poison Resistance? Could it be the Hundred Poisons Body skill?
'Well, I could grant a sense skill to a 13 object, so.'
And with this feeling, he might be able to grant Poison Resistance as a basic effect to all his creations.
Considering how his hard-made holy objects used to be corroded by the Unknown Civilization's special miasma, this was a considerable gain and achievement.
But it was right at that moment.
"Hugo!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted.
The mere sound was at a level that could rupture eardrums, and the clergy felt like they were dying.
Hugo, whose ears were similarly ringing, looked to see what it was, and saw the red-faced Throne of Leo.
"Just where did you steal that slime from!"
The Throne of Leo was glaring, eyes wide, from atop the beast's shoulder.
He must have recognized Igeon's holy object.
Of course, it was only natural since it was one of the holy objects the Throne of Leo had been constantly searching for, but...
"I heard it crawled into Aries' lair. Don't tell me you stole it from there!"
Steal? Who stole it!
'Its owner snatched it away!'
Feeling wronged, Hugo grimaced sharply and looked at Igeon.
Plus, the idiot didn't even recognize him even though the owner of that object was right in front of his eyes.
'That dumbass.'
But regardless, sparks flew from the Throne of Leo's eyes.
"That thief dared to eye my property from earlier?!"
He left the beast to his subordinates and charged at Igeon.
But at that moment, an arrow flew in.
Shwiik!
'!'
Pak! Pakpapak!
One shot to the flank of the Throne of Leo. Then two shots each right beside his neck and face.
At that vicious attack, the Throne of Leo screamed.
"Sagittarius! Where the hell are you shooting?!"
"Ah. I was aiming for the monster, but it missed."
At those words, the Throne of Leo glared. There's no way a saint of the great Throne of Sagittarius could miss a target.
Of course, Hugo, drawing his bowstring, was displeased.
He had packed it full of magic and shot it because the bastard dared covet Igeon's holy object.
But he couldn't even pierce the Throne of Leo's skin. That's how vast the difference between clergy and saint was.
Yet even that was more than enough to be a thorn in the Throne of Leo's side.
"Even after being beaten down like that 10 years ago, you still haven't come to your senses!"
Even as the fallen Throne of Sagittarius, he was still one of the 12 saints.
No matter who he was himself, if that guy got serious, it would be troublesome. So before dealing with that insolent young punk, he needed to handle him first.
Thus, the Throne of Leo arrived in front of Hugo.
'!'
It was at the moment he was about to snap Hugo's limbs.
Kung!
The beast he had left to his subordinates came flying in.
Igeon had kicked the beast towards the Throne of Leo.
The bound beast lunged at the Throne of Leo's bones.
And on top of that, an arrow from Hugo, who had already slipped away.
"You bastards!"
The Throne of Leo stretched out his hand towards the beast. A golden chain extending from his hand seized the beast.
"Keureuk!"
He hurled the beast towards Hugo. And then he clenched his fist tightly.
"A waste to use it on the likes of you, but."
In that instant, the Throne of Leo used his skill.
[Battlefield for the Victor]
"!"
That was the Throne of Leo's SS-grade Throne-exclusive skill. A type of Unique Barrier skill.
Kwakwang!
Golden lightning struck down from the sky.
The destructive force shattered Hugo's dagger that Igeon had been using.
Jjang-gang!
"!"
The beast and Hugo, caught in the light, were sucked away into it.
"With this, those two are taken care of."
The Throne of Leo smiled as he approached Igeon.
He didn't care about the other two, but he had absolutely no intention of letting Igeon off easily.
And at that look in his eyes, the clergy of Leo watching turned ashen.
"...That guy is dead now!"
The armor monsters they were holding off weren't even in their sight.
"That's why! Why target Igeon's holy object, of all things...!"
"Even the other holy shrines don't lay a finger on Igeon's stuff in front of him...!"
But it was right then.
"Listening to you yap on and on since earlier."
"......?"
"No, who the hell are you? Blabbing on and on about my stuff being yours since earlier?"
At those words, the clergy were appalled.
"What are you talking about now! You'll really die at this rate!"
"Did you forget that man is a superhuman who even caught the Red Eye?!"
Igeon was dumbfounded.
"Caught? Who caught who? A little rabbit was the first to scamper off."
At those words, the clergy all burst into incredulous, derisive laughter.
"Heh... there's always a guy like that."
"Yeah. Belittling the achievements of a saint...."
But at Igeon's words, the expression on the Throne of Leo's face became rather strange.
It was only natural.
"What the hell are you?"
"?"
"Who the hell did you hear that from, and who are you babbling in front of?"
Wondering what he would say, Igeon tilted his head, then seemed to remember and laughed.
"Ah. Rabbit? It's true. Could you even last 3 seconds?"
Veins bulged on the Throne of Leo's face.
But regardless, Igeon gave a ferocious smile.
"Getting smacked right there and becoming a rabbit, that's also true. And as I recall, you were the first one to suggest running away when we were catching the Red Eye, too?"
"......!"
In an instant, a strange tension flickered across the Throne of Leo's face.
So his question changed as well.
"Who are you."
At that, Igeon grinned fiercely.
"Igeon."
"......!"
For a moment, a silence seemed to descend upon the holy realm. The clergy defending against the monsters widened their eyes, and the Throne of Leo froze as well.
But it was right then.
"Heh."
A scoff burst out.
"I wondered what you'd say."
The Throne of Leo raised his voice as if completely flabbergasted.
"There's no way a guy named Igeon could be as handsome as you!"
Ppajik.
Veins stood out on Igeon's face.
This little bastard, really.
Igeon laughed menacingly and cracked his knuckles.
Watching him run wild swinging a bone was so ridiculous he'd let it slide for a bit, but this wasn't working.
Only one way to make him believe if he doesn't.
But regardless, the Throne of Leo stood before Igeon, bone club in hand.
He had been momentarily flustered by Igeon's name, but it didn't seem to matter.
"Consider it an honor. You'll be my first opponent since I started using this on people."
Along with an arrogant laugh, the bludgeon rose high.
At this, his subordinates screamed.
From the start, the Throne of Leo was a God-Throne who could turn a human into a pancake with his bare hands.
Disabling a young whelp like that was nothing.
But it was right then.
"This dumbass."
The moment the bludgeon came down, Igeon extended his arm. And simultaneously, a sound rang out.
Ppajak!
At the tremendous boom, people squeezed their eyes shut.
They thought that idiot was about to sacrifice his own arm.
"You're still so young, you...!"
But a moment later, people's eyes went wide.
"......!"
Igeon was holding the Throne of Leo's weapon.
And with just one hand!
"......!"
Thanks to that, the Throne of Leo, swinging down the bone club, looked extremely flustered.
The guy was holding the bone club above his head with one hand.
Great forces clashed, making the bone club tremble minutely, but his expression didn't change.
"Damn mongrel bastard, seriously."
No sooner had the words fallen than an unbelievable sound echoed.
Ppadeudeuk!
People were appalled at the sound.
It was unmistakably the sound of the bone cracking.
And sure enough.
"...A crack on that legendary weapon!"
"Good heavens! That thing wouldn't break no matter how many monsters it struck...!"
At the sudden turn of events, the Throne of Leo froze.
The bewildered Throne of Leo hastily retreated.
He was so worried his weapon might break that his bulky frame treating it delicately, like handling a chick, was a sight to behold.
And then.
"A repairman!"
At that trembling shout, the clergy were dumbfounded. The Throne of Leo shouted, veins popping in his neck.
"Can't you hear me? A repairman! Find a repairman right now!"
"......!"
Without Igeon, there was no way to restore a completely broken holy object. Not even a Crafting God-Throne could do it.
"Before it breaks, hurry!"
But that was only for a moment.
Igeon's lips curled upward ominously. And the moment they noticed, all hell broke loose.
Ppajak!
Right before their eyes, the bone club snapped in two.
And that too, worth a staggering 1 billion dollars!
"......!!"
The Throne of Leo's expression was something to behold.
"Holy Lord!"
His unfocused eyes spoke for his heart. The appalled clergy looked at Igeon, but well.
"Breaking a 1-billion-dollar item is hella fun."
"......?!"
The subordinates' expressions were something to see.
And sure enough.
"You insect!"
A beastly roar shook the castle. It was such a fierce rage that the earth trembled.
Finally, the Throne of Leo, his eyes rolling back, unleashed his power. The magic he hadn't used while trying out Igeon's holy object.
Teong!
[Warning. The power of
At the terrifying surge of magic, cracks began to form in the castle.
Jjeo-eok!
Kugu-gung!
"Holy Lord!"
The subordinates were panicked.
It had been one thing when he was only trying to do something with the bone club, but if the Throne of Leo started using his actual abilities, the story changed entirely.
In an instant, the Throne of Leo reached right before Igeon.
[
[The power of
[The God-Throne trait
[Without a holy realm, power is stolen from
[Caution. Failure to defend may erode your divine rank.]
[Abilities may be halved.]
At that notification, Igeon laughed as if it were contemptible.
So a holy realm was a means of protecting divine rank.
It seemed area-of-effect skills like that held considerable power.
But that wasn't what was important now.
'This brat, where does he get off.'
Igeon walked towards the Throne of Leo with a menacing laugh.
The clergy tried to block him, but it was useless.
Ttik!
Igeon grinned and pressed something firmly in his pocket.
In that instant, something appalling happened.
[You have used a Rental Skill.]
"!"
At that voice, everyone nearby was shocked.
'The emblem!'
Simultaneously, waves of armored calamities swarmed in from all directions.
Kugu-gung!
Even the ones the clergy had been holding off turned around and headed for Igeon.
So it was unmistakable.
'Aggro skill!'
It was a taunt skill that drew enemies aggro.
But the clergy were horrified.
They couldn't help but be.
'Crazy, that's not a skill to use with these numbers!'
'Why use it at a time like this!'
Even if it was to obstruct them, that was a skill used when there were only one or two enemies.
The Unknown Civilization was absolutely not to be trifled with so lightly as to casually use an aggro skill against them.
'He'll be in danger himself too...!'
So they wondered if he was going on a suicide attack just to stop them, but.
[Divine rank accumulates]
[Divine rank accumulates]
[Divine rank accumulates]
[Divine rank accumulates]
The Throne of Leo doubted his own eyes.
Tugak!
"!"
Igeon had revealed himself, breaking through the blocked path.
And the pile of armors collapsing beside him.
[Current divine rank state: 70%]
[Minimum state for divine rank release met.]
[Battle God Instinct skill can be used.]
But the clergy's shock was short-lived.
"!"
Igeon disappeared.
And the place Igeon appeared was none other than atop the Throne of Leo's shoulder.
"?!"
The Throne of Leo was appalled.
An intimidating presence completely different from before was felt.
He couldn't see his face, but the feeling was as if a God-Throne were pressing down on his shoulder.
But.
"Well, the view's not bad."
Igeon stomped on the crown of the Throne of Leo's head with his dirt-covered foot.
Thanks to that, the clergy screamed.
It was astonishing enough that he was keeping his balance like that, but.
"What is that crazy bastard doing right now!"
"Was that teleportation just now?"
"What? This place is a teleportation-prohibited zone!"
But the Throne of Leo had seen it.
It wasn't teleportation or anything like that.
'He stepped on the monsters and leaped up here.'
They might not have seen it through the dust cloud, but that was what happened.
And in this world, wasn't there only one single person capable of such a feat?
The Throne of Leo's face went pale.
And it was right at that moment.
"Battle God Instinct, release."
(Continued in the next chapter)