"Open Battle God Instinct."
It was a very familiar voice.
A tone like a tiger glaring and growling.
And the moment that voice pierced his ears, a familiar scene flashed through Stephen's mind.
The man in the mask.
Amid the scorching heat, amid the vicious venom.
The man who laughed as if delighted rather than running away, no matter how many monsters swarmed.
'This is…'
When everyone else fled in terror,
that man whipped up a blade storm among the monsters.
It didn't matter how many came at him. Using their bodies as stairs, the sky as his battlefield, he was a madman who rampaged freely.
And so, the pupils of the Leo Constellation shook.
'Why is he here, of all times?'
But that wasn't the most bewildering part.
"!"
The boy who had been crushing his shoulders vanished.
At the same moment, locating Lee Gun, the Leo Constellation was startled.
Boom!
A strange light erupted from Lee Gun's body.
[Preparation to open Battle God Instinct is complete]
On both forearms of Lee Gun, bizarre patterns gleamed.
It was the constellation mark of the Serpent Bearer.
That tattoo climbed from the backs of both hands up to his wrists.
And at that awe-inspiring sight, the Leo Constellation momentarily felt like collapsing.
[Battle God Instinct (F)]
[Consumes all possessed demonic power to unleash divine majesty for 3 seconds]
[Due to the opening privilege, duration extends to 10 seconds]
That was the moment.
Boom!
In an instant, a force as if pressing down the earth spread out. The ground shook violently.
It wasn't any skill being used.
It was pure pressure.
And at that instant, the armors around surged toward Lee Gun.
But the armors swarming like ants only lasted a moment.
Kugugung!
Every single piece of armor surrounding Lee Gun was shattered. A force as if demanding how they dared approach the master of the divine throne.
Up to that point, 1 second.
But what was more terrifying wasn't that.
"You better get ready for a beating."
Lee Gun vanished in a flash. The place he appeared next was right before his eyes.
"!!"
It was a speed impossible for human eyes to track.
And.
Ppakak!
A fist exploded into his stomach.
The protective barrier wrapped around the Leo Constellation shattered instantly.
"…Keuheok!"
His vision went white.
Pain that felt like his mind would fly away.
But that wasn't the end.
Ppakak! Ppakak!
Steel-like bones were crushed, and blood burst out with his boiling exhale.
Up to that point, 5 seconds.
Covered in blood, the Leo Constellation's mind grew hazy.
But Lee Gun grinned. A vicious smile, as if asking did it look like he'd just let him pass out.
As expected.
Lee Gun grabbed the Leo Constellation's head and shoved it into the wall.
Boom!
The Leo Constellation was astonished. It was a power he'd never seen before, this grip.
This strength!
"You…!"
"Ah, I forgot to mention it. That weapon you bought for a billion dollars from me."
"……!!"
"It's just a piece of dog bone, dumbass."
"?!"
"Well, thanks for the fine purchase."
With that wicked laughter, Lee Gun drove the Leo Constellation's head into the wall.
Then the wall behind the Leo Constellation crumbled.
Kugugung!
With the collapsing wall, the Leo Constellation was shoved right off the floating island.
And that, from a staggering 16,000 feet in the sky!
"Damn…t!"
At the same time, the Leo Constellation plummeted from a height higher than the clouds in an instant.
"Aaaah!"
"Lord of the Constellation!"
The Leo Constellation let out a Tarzan-like scream and disappeared beneath the clouds.
"Lee Guuuuun!"
On top of that, the sight of over a hundred monsters chasing after the Leo Constellation and falling in a line was a spectacle.
Clearly, Lee Gun must have attached the badge using the rental skill, the badge with the aggro skill active, onto the Leo Constellation.
Truly, it was the moment all the disasters that had stormed the Leo Constellation and the auction house were dealt with at once.
[Battle God Instinct state is deactivated]
[Inflicted massive damage upon the apostle of the Beast Master Constellation]
[Gained divine throne experience points]
[Obtained special data (Saint-level)]
[Divine throne experience points reached 100,000]
[Level up! (lv.5)]
[Automatically converted to points]
Soon, as the Leo Constellation fell, his followers fell into chaos.
No matter how saintly, he couldn't be unharmed from this height.
"He doesn't even have a levitation skill!"
"He hasn't rented any skills lately!"
But even amid that, they couldn't take their eyes off Lee Gun.
There was no choice.
"The Lord clearly said this is Lee Gun…"
They seemed confused between the fallen Leo Constellation and the Lee Gun before their eyes.
If that person truly was Lee Gun.
But that was when.
"This is serious! It seems the Lord fell right toward the Red Zone!"
"What?!"
They moved as if this wasn't the time.
When the followers had all finally disappeared without exception, Lee Gun was satisfied.
"Nice kids. Thought at least one would grab my collar."
But then, right at that moment.
"Nice, my ass! They must've lost their minds in this unprecedented situation!"
"!"
* * *
In the empty hall, a familiar voice echoed. Turning around, Lee Gun saw Cheon Seongjae standing there, stiff as ice.
"What, you were still here? Weren't you escaping to the teleport zone?"
At that, Cheon Seongjae's face twisted.
Who was it that said going to the teleport zone would be useless to begin with!
Thanks to that, they should have seen the expression of the Aquarius Constellation Guild Master who was with them.
'That kid, since when has he been active, you said?'
Disasters occurred where humans feared most.
The unknown civilization was made of such bastards.
But only those at the saint level could sniff out their tracks so damned well.
So what had he noticed?
The Guild Master had looked incredibly flustered, but that wasn't what mattered now.
"You'll be targeted by the Leo Constellation followers!"
Without a special reason, there was no way his followers would stay still after hearing about this incident.
And likely, only one person could stand against them.
'But this person…!'
Of course, he had suspected Lee Gun a few times, but his father kept saying that if he had such suspicions, he'd destroy the family register, so he hadn't even dared think about it.
He was sorry, since he probably couldn't forget his dead friend.
The good son firmly believed in his father.
"Anyway, let's get out of here before the Leo Constellation followers come."
"Can't. I have to go get materials."
"Materials?"
"Well, before that."
Lee Gun summoned the piggy bank, Pishu.
"!"
"Here. Go eat up all the auction items scattered around."
Pishu happily dashed around Drachma.
[The piggy bank is very happy]
[Levels up]
But Lee Gun himself had little interest in the ownerless auction items.
Rather, the place where his interest lay was where lightning was surging wildly.
"That's…."
"My friend is trapped there."
"!"
Cheon Seongjae was startled. That was only natural.
"That's the Leo Saint's slaughter prison! If we don't gather people quickly and go rescue that friend, they'll die…!"
"Ah, it's fine. It's fine. So just call the teleporter."
"?"
Puzzled, Cheon Seongjae said he understood and hurriedly disappeared.
But looking at the Leo Constellation's barrier, Lee Gun was very troubled. Of course, it wasn't worry for his friend.
"Ah. That idiot better not hack up my precious monster."
But right at that moment.
Kwang!
"!"
Suddenly, the barrier broke, and a fierce arrow of light burst out.
Tangtangtang!
The arrow flew directly at him, and Lee Gun tilted his head to the side.
And a furious voice rang out from inside the barrier.
"Hey! Is a monster more precious to you than your friend!"
It was Hugo.
And seeing his figure break through the barrier, Lee Gun snickered.
"What, you were alive? This was a perfect chance to take over your building's title."
This jerk!
Whatever.
"Where's the Leo Constellation!"
"Ah, annoying, so I just tossed him outside."
"Good job… What?! Tossed him? From this height?!"
"Why. Can't I?"
"……#*$&!"
Hugo grabbed the back of his neck.
'Only the followers who'll have to search for him are pitiful!'
In the Asian region, the areas of the unknown civilization were spread out so vastly.
'If he falls into the Red Zone, no, even the Black Zone…'
That's how terrible his friend was.
There was no way he wouldn't know that the Leo Constellation, the strongest on land, was a complete sitting duck in aerial combat.
It was the ultimate clean-up, if you could call it that.
But then.
Lee Gun headed toward the barrier Hugo had broken through.
'!'
Inside, nails hammered into walls, a roaring beast was nailed to the wall by Hugo's arrows.
A bizarre state—pierced in vitals by the arrows of the Sagittarius Constellation, yet still intact.
Lee Gun measured the beast's size with his blade and smiled. It was none other than that beast he had his eye on.
"Tough, thick, and big. Looks like it'd be useful as a weapon."
"!"
Hugo was shocked. Never thought he'd hear those words from Lee Gun's mouth.
'A guy who, at the drop of a hat, calls even divine royal treasures trash.'
But Lee Gun was serious.
Though he messed around with dog bones, it was a beast with such toughness that even the Leo Constellation's blow left no scratch.
And after the Battle God Instinct was released, he realized: that skill was powerful, but the muscle aches it brought on were no joke.
He needed a sturdy weapon for everyday use.
But Hugo was worried.
"It's fine as material, but no matter what I do, I can't kill it. We'd better just leave it inside the barrier…."
But Lee Gun smiled and moved his feet.
He breathed demonic power into his blade.
[The Serpent Bearer Constellation's characteristics are granted]
[Sharp, Critical]
In Lee Gun's snake eyes, black acupuncture points became visible.
At the same time, he drew a vertical line with his blade.
Pusuk!
"Keurureuk!"
Finally, along with the roar of the felled beast, a great tremor shook the earth.
Boom!
"There. Solved. No problem now, right?"
Lee Gun smiled and shook the blood off his blade.
Hugo let out a hollow laugh without realizing.
"You creepy bastard."
It was a compliment full of respect.
* * *
Lee Gun's bone-carving work was always neat.
And as Lee Gun slung the massive bone over his shoulder, Hugo said.
"You're not thinking of taking that to the teleport zone, are you?"
"Why?"
"With that size, the travel fee alone will be insane. So even if it's annoying, use a levitation skill…."
Actually, if they headed to the teleport zone, the Leo Constellation followers would try to kill Lee Gun—that was the real reason, but he deliberately didn't mention it.
'Since he'd love a fight and go anyway.'
But Lee Gun nonchalantly pulled out his phone.
"Then it's not a problem. A kid I know went to call a private teleporter."
"Ah. Now that I think about it, you met the Gemini Constellation Guild Master…."
But a moment later, Hugo's expression froze.
Forget the Gemini Constellation Guild Master—it was because of the person Lee Gun called on the phone.
"Ah. Seongjae?"
For a moment, Hugo doubted his ears.
What did he just say?
'Seongjae?'
But as if knowing his friend's expression or not, Lee Gun continued speaking.
"The number of people to bring has increased. And a big item too. Yeah, three people total. Come quickly."
When the call ended and Lee Gun pulled the phone from his ear, Hugo grabbed him.
"Wait! Lee Gun. That person, Seongjae, is he possibly…."
"Oh, you know him? Guess he's really famous if even you know."
"N-no, that's not it, but is his last name possibly…."
"Well, was it Cheon? Still a middle schooler, but judging by his mana alone, he's Guild Master level? He seems similar to them, so I thought he'd be useful."
Hugo nearly collapsed from his blood pressure.
So, it turned out he really did meet his son!
In the end, a panicked Hugo shouted.
"The Gemini Constellation followers are no good! Tell them not to come!"
"What? No good?"
"Yeah! No good! Especially using a private teleporter—just that will give power to the Gemini Constellation's divine beings!"
"Uh… really?"
"And when teleporting, even the carried items all reach the twins' ears! They could be stolen by magic too!"
"Oh, really?"
Of course, it was a complete lie.
"Since you know, let's head to the public teleport zone over there. It's crowded, so they don't even check. Anyway, before my son comes, hurry!"
Then Lee Gun stopped dead in his tracks.
"Son? Your son is here?"
Ah!
Panicked, Hugo broke into a cold sweat and said.
"W-well, I got a text just now. As it happens, he's in Drachma. He's somewhere nearby, so anyway, let's head out first!"
Then Lee Gun tilted his head, as if wondering what the hell kind of nonsense this was.
"Then we can just wait and go together, right? Then I should tell Seongjae to add one more."
Damn it!
"No, just let's go! Come on!"
"Ah, why! I want to see your kids too! You never even show me one photo! Are they that ugly! Did they go through some reverse aging or something!"
At Lee Gun's fierce rage, Hugo fell into deep contemplation.
Which would be more troublesome and become a bigger social issue: letting his son meet Lee Gun or preventing it?
Finally, after much thought, Hugo shouted, as if he'd made a firm resolve.
"I didn't want to say this to you myself, but! My son utterly hates you, Lee Gun!"
Then Lee Gun froze. An expression of unimaginable shock.
"Really? He hates me? For real? Your kid?"
"Yeah! When it comes to Lee Gun, he really goes through seven colors and eight shades! But you'll reveal your identity to my kids anyway! You'll brag about being that hero, won't you!"
Then, as if he really did have that intention, Lee Gun made a face like he'd chewed mold.
"I won't tell then. I'll pretend to be someone else."
"I said no! Geoni really hates you! That's why I deliberately didn't even mention you!"
At that, Lee Gun pouted and became sullen again.
"But I still worked hard. I mean, I never did anything to deserve people's hatred… well, not entirely."
Hugo patted the sullen Lee Gun's back.
"Your self-reflection is excellent, so your bro is happy! Anyway, let's go! Give it up!"
But at that instant.
"Dad."
"……!"
At the voice suddenly heard, Hugo froze.
Turning around, sure enough.
"Since when were you standing there…?"
Cheon Seongjae stood there. And with a face on the verge of exploding.
And.
"So, what did you just say, Dad? Geoni?"
At the phone still held by Cheon Seongjae's ear, Hugo's face went pale.
Oh no. The call hadn't been hung up.
(To be continued in the next chapter)