Igeon’s lips curled up eerily.
He had found it strange to begin with.
After all, Yeonu and Junu were the previous Ophiuchus star gods, raised by the thirteenth original master.
And Ophiuchus is the leading divine seat among the twelve zodiac signs.
They were not pushovers who would be easily discovered by the other zodiacs.
But if the divine realm had conspired to assist, the story changed.
Especially with Thoth, the god of wisdom; Hermes, the absolute tracker; Valkyrie, the discerner of souls; and even a god of the underworld for retrieval.
With divinities of that caliber gathered deliberately, it would have been impossible for them not to find them.
‘Looks like they helped the Magic Divine Seat as an allied force.’
And at Igeon’s killing intent, the gods wore strange expressions.
No, beyond strange, they looked clearly displeased.
“What kind of god is this?”
“Why would a lower god show such hostility toward us?”
This was twenty-five years ago.
Naturally, it was a time when the gods could not possibly recognize Igeon.
Moreover, Igeon was brimming with the scent of a human. Without revealing his divinity, his identity could be mistaken.
But perhaps they sensed something odd, because they looked at Thoth and Valkyrie.
“Soul Discerner.”
Then Valkyrie, who was examining Igeon, immediately frowned.
“You are a god with three godheads.”
The gods flinched in surprise.
Three?
Normally, gods cannot possess more than one godhead. The exceptional ones might have two, but three was unprecedented.
“But if it’s a lower god of diminished rank, it might be possible....”
“No, a higher god.”
“!”
At Valkyrie’s short reply, the gods immediately went on guard. A higher god possessing three godheads meant only one thing.
“A thug going around hunting godheads.”
“No, he could be a foster god raising godheads, so an unnecessary faction war...”
But at Hermes’ words, Thoth, the young male god, snickered.
“I doubt it. A violent snake god who only knows how to consume could not possibly be a foster god.”
“!”
At that, Anubis’ eyes flashed.
It was because the snake god was the natural enemy of the Ennead. However, Thoth raised the corners of his mouth.
“It is not that snake who covets our master. But it’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
Thoth was a god of knowledge who, like Wa, peered through the knowledge of all things.
Observing Igeon as if dissecting him, he looked at Igeon and Junu with an exceedingly peculiar gaze.
“Why is the Ouroboros that should be there, here instead?”
“……!”
With a meaningful smile, Thoth seemed to have realized Igeon’s identity. And at the unexpected remark, the gods appeared surprised.
“If it’s Ouroboros...”
A primordial being that had perished in the past, but was ultimately resurrected by the unprecedented genius mage, Asran.
“It is a god who harbors both life and death.”
“What? That god of circulation?”
They looked at Igeon even more strangely.
“Is not that power the one Asran bestowed upon those twin snakes?”
“We tracked that very power to find them. Could it be we found the wrong person?”
“Shall we verify again?”
But right at that moment.
“Verify what?”
In the blink of an eye, Igeon had appeared before them.
And the light of a combat god blossoming from Igeon’s body as he appeared before them!
[Combat God’s Instinct]
The gods were thrown into confusion by that light flaring from his whole body, but Igeon gave them no time to think.
“!!”
Infusing divine might into his fist, Igeon recklessly threw a punch at the gods.
BOOM!!!
And at Igeon’s sudden strike, the gods scattered as if bewildered.
It wasn’t for any other reason.
“A combat god?”
“If he’s a combat god, isn’t it even stranger that we don’t know him?!”
But they could not finish their words.
Because Igeon had just unlocked the Fourth Stage.
At that sight, the gods tried to use their authorities, but Igeon immediately slammed them from the sky to the ground with a kick.
BOOM!!!
The first to crash to the ground was Anubis.
Next, Hermes, and Thoth. Last was Valkyrie.
BOOM!!!
The gods, in the form of young boys, groaned.
“Damn it, we’re in incarnation state so our power...!”
“We cannot use our full strength!”
Star-god-level beings were restricted to one-tenth of their power outside the divine realm.
So in the end, they looked at Valkyrie. Whatever their own state, Valkyrie was different.
After all, she was none other than a subordinate god of the Great God of Valhalla. One of the goddesses who trained the Great God’s army.
And as a subordinate god, unlike themselves, she had come here in her true body.
As expected.
“Capture him!”
“Can you not wield all your power?!”
Valkyrie looked at the star gods, seeming greatly irritated at the task outside her mission, but she summoned her weapon as if she had no choice.
But it was then.
[Master! You must not touch that weapon!]
“!”
From Igeon’s shadow, his loyal subordinate, Samnami (Berserk), burst forth.
At the same time, he violently knocked aside the spear that Valkyrie was about to strike down.
BOOM!!!
Valkyrie was greatly enraged.
“A mere soldier of the master’s army dares to follow another god?!”
Valkyrie immediately raised her hand and summoned the armaments of the Great God. And as a sharp spear began to be summoned from the sky, Igeon’s eyes flashed.
[Death • Fifth Stage]
RUMBLE!
The fifth stage of death instantly tore Valkyrie’s wings to shreds.
Soon, the summoning was canceled, and the violent vortex of death swallowed even the nearby incarnations.
“Gah!”
“I can’t hold on any longer!”
“Then let us disconnect for now.”
“Disconnect?”
Thoth smiled wickedly.
“We know the opponent’s godhead. If he uses the rule preventing gods from touching mortals, capturing him won’t be hard.”
At Thoth’s nonchalant words, they tried to disconnect from their incarnation bodies.
But it was then.
The moment they tried to sever the link with their incarnation bodies.
Flash!
“!!”
As if asking where they thought they were fleeing, Igeon used an authority.
[Physical Time Stop]
It was none other than authority!
As their bodies stopped while their minds remained perfectly clear, they appeared bewildered.
But regardless, Igeon flashed his crimson eyes.
“I’ve got plenty to ask, so where do you think you’re going, you brats.”
With eyes even more vicious than a god of hell, Igeon seized Valkyrie by the throat.
“Keok...!”
“You were tracking the Ophiuchus star god. Whose orders?”
Valkyrie smirked and activated a skill.
[Self-Annihilation (Glorious Death)]
It was the self-annihilation used by the battle gods of Valhalla. But simultaneously, it was a skill that allowed one to return to the Great God’s castle.
And as Valkyrie’s body went limp, together with a smile that seemed to ask if she looked like she’d spill information, Igeon laughed as if finding it despicable.
Just as he thought.
[Resurrection of All Things (Life • Fifth Stage)]
CRUNCH!!
With a burst of green light, Valkyrie gasped painfully.
“Heok...!”
When Valkyrie regained her senses, she trembled. It was because of the menacing face of Igeon, who was clutching her neck as if to wring it.
“Where do you get off dying on your own, you brat? You can’t just die in front of me. Because I’ll bring you back and bring you back again.”
Valkyrie froze as if gripped by terror.
But Igeon’s eyes flashed as though conducting an interrogation.
“If this is your master’s doing, can I take it to mean that the Great God of Valhalla ordered it?”
“Th-that is...!”
At that scene, the frozen Thoth’s eyes went wide, as if he had realized something.
“No way.”
And it was right at that moment.
BOOM!!!
With a violent burst of noise, a certain boy was flung right behind Igeon.
Thud!
“!”
He was none other than Junu.
Igeon looked at him in shock.
The boy was bleeding profusely and dying. His head was cracked, one arm severed, and it was a wonder he was alive.
At the same time, Igeon heard the voice of a subordinate god sauntering after Junu.
[Will you not ask? Where the other Ophiuchus is.]
Junu spoke in a fading voice.
“...I told you, it’s just me.”
[Don’t spout nonsense!]
Killing intent rose in Igeon’s eyes at the sight.
And at that moment. From beneath Igeon’s feet, black shadows surged up.
[Quagmire (Death) (Death/3-Star)]
– Wide-area capture
– Imprisons those with ill intent in the deep snake pit (mire).
Igeon shoved Valkyrie into the quagmire and headed straight to where Junu was.
At that sight, Thoth, who had caught on to something, displayed a gleam in his eyes and stopped Igeon.
“New star god of Ophiuchus. If you touch that one now, the future will immediately change, you know?”
But regardless, Igeon hurled at the Pisces subordinate god who was tormenting Junu.
[Soul Decomposition (Death 4-Star)]
BOOM!!!
Ultimately, as the subordinate god was ground down in an instant, Thoth clicked his tongue as if finding it pitiful.
“Ah! I know nothing! Now your fate is irreversible... grk!”
Igeon tightly seized the head of Thoth, who couldn’t even flee.
“No, wait. Snake god, y-....”
And then.
CRUSH!!!
After mercilessly grinding Thoth, Anubis, and Hermes with the death godhead, Igeon dusted off his hands.
[Obtained gods’ data]
[ data]
[ data]
[Obtained experience for ]
[’s experience is full (100%)]
[50% experience remaining to use ]
[Life (50%) / Death (100%)]
[When experience for both godheads reaches 100%, conversion and growth of become possible]
In the end, not a single god remained in that place.
Left in the alley were now only Igeon and Junu, who appeared to be around the same age as Seongjae.
Soon, Junu, with one eye gouged out and his sight ruined, spoke.
“Who are you.”
It was a question asking which god had come this time.
However, Igeon did not approach despite Junu’s call, and merely extended a hand.
[Erasure (Death 1-Star)]
He could not save Junu here. Because then, truly irreversible events would occur.
At the same time, he had to leave him in that exact state he remembered.
Therefore, he intended to at least ensure he felt no pain.
If the of removal were utilized well, it could produce the most powerful anesthetic effect.
Indeed, perhaps it was the effect of , for the pain seemed to vanish from Junu’s body.
Confirming that, Igeon immediately turned away.
‘If my guess is correct, they will soon come from the divine realm to retrieve Junu’s soul.’
He had no choice but to confirm that.
But it was then.
“Hyung.”
“!”
Igeon, who had turned at Junu’s call, flinched and halted.
But Junu was not in a state to discern his counterpart.
He could only distinguish whether it was a man or a woman. Or whether it was a person or not, to the extent of a silhouette.
And to begin with, this Junu could not recognize him.
Because the him from that time and the him now were different in both build and height.
Calling him “hyung” was not specifying who he was, but addressing a nameless stranger.
Therefore, Igeon changed his voice and spoke.
“It’s alright. You can live. I’ve called an ambulance, so it will come soon....”
“Geon-i hyung.”
Igeon was startled.
But Junu smiled faintly.
“...Geon-i hyung, I’m glad you’re alive. You really became a cool star god, huh.”
And as if having read Igeon’s emotions at those words, Samnami Berserk urgently looked at Igeon.
[Master, you must not.]
But as if unable to restrain himself, Igeon approached Junu.
The power of that could save Junu was merely a bonus.
But it was then.
‘!’
Junu blocked Igeon’s hand. And then he spoke unexpected words.
“There’s no need. Because by the time you became a star god, I’m already alive.”
“……!”
“Well, you might not recognize me, but...”
As Igeon was about to say something, it was just then.
RUMBLE!!
“!”
Suddenly, the surroundings shook, and the environment began to change.
Samnami Berserk, noticing something, urgently shouted.
[Master! Quickly, the authority of ! It seems the goddesses are using a loop authority!]
Perhaps meeting Junu was the switch. There was no doubt they were trying to send Igeon back to the past and force a repetition.
Igeon grabbed Junu and immediately used the authority of .
But.
[The authority of does not activate]
[This is a fixed past where the timeline cannot be moved]
It was just as the subordinate gods grew panicked.
[Master!]
Finally, as Igeon was about to be swept into the past loop.
[Geon-a!]
Along with a familiar voice, the loop stopped, and a golden rope dropped from the sky.
At the same time, Igeon saw.
His own appearance from twenty-five years ago, urgently searching for Junu in the distance.
Unlike himself now, he seemed neither ill-tempered nor bad-natured, small-built and skinny, yet a kind-looking figure.
And as Lee Geon watched him, he smiled and grabbed the golden string.
"I'll find him again in no time."
He ruffled Junwoo's hair and disappeared.
* * *
It was around then.
"Geon-ah!!!"
Hugo, who had created an ideal form of Lee Geon (?), was raising his voice at some book.
And glaring at him while groaning was none other than the Jakyeolsaju-in.
"You brat! How much longer?! My arm is about to fall off!!"
"Keep it there until Geon climbs out, you little shit!"
"Argh!"
The Jakyeolsaju-in had his hand shoved deep inside the book.
And that book was none other than the authority of the Goddesses of Fate: the [Already Recorded Akashic Record (5-Star)].
-A record of fate containing the destinies and pasts of each god.
It was the very book Lee Geon had entered.
In other words, the Goddesses of Fate had not flung Lee Geon into the past, but had cast him into an already recorded fate of Lee Geon.
It was similar to time travel, but the difference was that it was an isolated space unaffected by external influence.
Meaning, unless he was pulled out of the book, he could not return.
And Lee Geon using his authority inside was the goddesses' trap.
'Whether he saves Junwoo or attempts to return by killing time, it's a trap that creates a loop no matter the path.'
That was why they had said even using the power of time would be useless.
And Hugo had felt something strange about those words all along.
So after defeating the remaining goddesses, Hugo uncovered the truth.
'The place Geon went wasn't the past, but inside that book.'
Of course, it was a record of the true past, and while it was connected to the past, it was merely a permanently preserved record of time.
Even if the past were changed, or memories altered through contact with figures of the past, it would only amount to a feeling of déjà vu—the future would not change.
That was why Hugo had ordered the two of them to pull Lee Geon out.
But since Lee Geon had collapsed from a heart attack and could only be retrieved, Hugo had tasked the Jakyeolsaju-in with pulling him out.
Of course, there was one reason he was chosen.
[It flew toward this parent]
[It is delighted to have found this parent]
The Jakyeolsaju-in's wig was a custom-made item created by Lee Geon, capable of freely adjusting its length.
And if it was one of Lee Geon's little ones, they would surely be able to find Lee Geon no matter how complicated the place.
Thanks to that, the Jakyeolsaju-in, whose wig had been abruptly snatched off, had his head covered with clothing as he kept his hand inside the book.
The book swallowed his hand whole, as if connecting to another world.
And then it happened.
Perhaps she had noticed them.
The Goddess of the Future, who had been having a heart attack and just regained consciousness, cried out in horror.
"No! If you pull him out like that, even the fates of the other gods will be twisted...!"
But at that moment.
BANG!!!
"Argh!"
At last, the Jakyeolsaju-in toppled backward, and Lee Geon was yanked out from within the book.
Hugo looked at him with relief.
"Geon-ah!"
Lee Geon had returned to the present.
Yet the aura of the Lee Geon who had emerged was different from usual.
"Geon-ah?"
But Lee Geon, who had come out clutching the golden string—or rather, the wig—dusted himself off.
At that sight, the Goddess of the Future flinched.
It was for no other reason.
It was because of the chilling gaze of Lee Geon as he smiled at her.
(Continued in the next episode)