“Oh, really? The Serpent God has arrived?”
Eden.
Michael, the commander of the Heavenly Army and angel of the throne, smiled at the unexpected news.
He was the one responsible for sending angels to Earth.
Of course, due to the nature of Eden as the one and only god, he was merely registered as an affiliated deity. In terms of skill alone, he was already a Great Holy God.
And upon hearing that Lee Geon had arrived on Earth, the head of Eden laughed coolly.
“Now that he’s already infiltrated, it doesn’t matter. It’s not worth bothering about.”
“But the Zodiac... among the star gods connected to the Earth dimension, we have the Mahabharata, Olympus, the Ennead, and Valhalla. They might try to interfere for no reason....”
Even though they were independent, the Zodiac members each belonged to the eight major factions.
At that, Michael’s eyes glinted as he smiled.
“If anything, wouldn’t they have no grounds to say anything? They’ve taken plenty of benefits from Eden. Where would they get the nerve.”
“……!”
“Well, the Mahabharata might not go as planned, but it’s the rule among star gods to seize colonies from one another. That’s the rule.”
“!”
“They’re not the kind to act for the sake of some small dimension.”
The gods of the divine realm were all territorial rulers and great lords.
The more and better territory they possessed, the stronger they became.
If they had complaints, they should have done the same themselves.
“Rather than facing the Serpent God in the divine realm, they should’ve rightfully seized his territory first.”
“Your words are correct, but I’m not so sure. The territory of some nameless god like that... I doubt it would be of any benefit to our Eden.”
At his subordinate’s words, Michael laughed.
“No. The Earth dimension is a land the sovereign had his eyes on. Because of that, a system of faith and holy cities beneficial to the gods is already in place, and the state of offerings and faith is excellent.”
A place like this might even awaken their own Great Holy God, the Father, from his long slumber.
“Conveniently, didn’t the Ennead trap the master of Earth in a dimensional rift for us.”
Of course, he’d never imagined that decrepit old cunning snake of a Great Holy God would do anything to help them.
‘He must have stuffed the Serpent God into the dimensional rift, knowing full well what our purpose is.’
Soon Michael smiled.
“It doesn’t matter, so proceed.”
“Then….”
From the start, did they really think they’d simply end this by seizing the territory called Earth?
“The gods always need a battlefield.”
“!”
The world of the gods put on airs of nobility, but it was always a continuous slaughter reeking of blood.
Yet no god wanted their own land defiled, nor did they wish to deal with the corpses.
Would they be insane enough to let their own property be destroyed? The same went for their colonies.
‘War is originally meant to be fought on someone else’s land, not your own.’
“And the moment the divine realm and all dimensions connect to Earth, it will become the new battlefield for gods of all dimensions.”
Eden was simply the first to establish a garrison on that territory.
If anything, the Serpent God should be thanking them.
After all, they’d turned a remote backwater like this into a focal point for the gods.
* * *
“So... you stored my body here?”
Hugo stared at a certain room as if dumbfounded.
It was none other than a large room in the house.
But at the sight inside that room, Hugo’s blood boiled.
“Damn it! Why has my study become this bastard’s fangirling shrine!!!”
Indeed.
This place was originally Hugo’s room, where he usually handled the affairs of the Sagittarius Saint.
But.
“Ha, haha. With the Saint Lord away, the young master took it over….”
“Saying his own room wasn’t enough anymore….”
“Saying it had the best environment structurally in the house….”
The wallpaper, the display cabinets, the lighting, humidity, temperature, even the interior decoration.
At the sight of what was effectively a perfect museum, Hugo despaired.
‘Should I at least commend them for not throwing away my things in the process?’
Moreover, perhaps new Lee Geon series items had been released after his death. Merchandise he’d never seen before was piled up in mountains.
Of course, why wasn’t there a single piece of merchandise for his beloved father in all this? That was highly questionable!
Well, whatever.
“Why is my coffin in a shrine full of this obsessive crap?!”
Hugo pointed at his coffin placed in the corner. And when Lee Geon relayed Hugo’s words exactly, Cheon Ji-woo and Gott beamed.
“It just seemed like Sir Lee Geon might protect it better here.”
“We thought it’d be better than shoving it underground….”
“The young master specially permitted it.”
Hugo clutched the back of his neck.
To top it off, figurines stood guard atop his coffin.
“Dammit, so why is my coffin here?!”
“What’s this brat saying. This is the safest place, isn’t it.”
Well, that might be true, but!
“Aish! And if you bought Lee Geon limited editions, you should buy some for Dad too! How can you only buy your own stuff!!”
But regardless, Lee Geon headed toward where the coffin was.
“Anyway, I’ll put you back in quickly, so wait....”
However, upon opening the coffin, Lee Geon’s eyes went wide.
“What the. Where did this bastard go?”
Hugo wasn’t inside the coffin. At that sight, both Gott and Cheon Ji-woo were shocked.
“We definitely checked while wiping it this morning…!”
“Yes. I checked every day as well…!”
Before Lee Geon had departed for the divine realm, Hugo’s body—
—had been preserved by stopping the time of his physical form using .
But now it had vanished.
[Master, could it be that Eden took him…?]
At his follower’s words, Lee Geon furrowed his brow.
It was highly likely.
Though he was a friend inferior(?) to himself, Hugo was still the Saint of the Combat Deity Seat.
And with just his physical body, he was already an excellent combat weapon!
It was just as Lee Geon’s eyebrows were about to twitch.
“Hey, hey! Hurry up! They’re already here!”
“I want to too, but since that bastard Lee Geon returned, the security of the holy domain has tightened….”
“!”
At the voices coming from behind the curtain, Lee Geon raised an eyebrow.
And then.
Pow!
“Aack!!”
Pulling back the curtain, Lee Geon’s eyes rounded at the unexpected faces.
The others were equally surprised.
Sure enough, upon seeing them, the veins bulged on Gott’s face.
“You little bastards…!!”
“Aack! The Sagittarius Ten Saints!!”
They were the children who had been trying to sneak Hugo’s body out through the wall behind the curtain.
And judging by their clothes, their age, their identity was one.
“What, aren’t these the saints from that eunuch’s place?”
Indeed.
They were none other than the saints of .
Originally, the Virgo Holy Domain had only women, but this posed an inconvenience for Kevin.
So he had taken in young boys before their secondary sex characteristics emerged as pages. While also looking after war orphans with nowhere else to go.
But why would such kids...?
“Are you little shits trying to steal Taek-su’s body because you have a death wish?”
As Lee Geon roughly grabbed their heads, the children burst into wailing tears.
“Le-let go, you bastard! Just because you’re a god! You’re just going to collude with Eden and wipe us out anyway! Just like you killed Master Kevin!”
“What?”
“Master Kevin’s saints, his affiliated gods, they all went over to the new Saint... urk!”
“Your speech is too short, you little brats.”
After being smacked by Lee Geon, the children continued speaking while sobbing loudly.
“Anyway, that wicked Saint bastard! Defeated Master Kevin so despicably!!”
At that, Lee Geon furrowed his brow as if finding it strange.
“You’re saying the Virgo Saint just watched that happen?”
“What do you know, you bastard! For all we know, she got some compensation from Eden and is staying put!”
“You’d know better since you went to the divine realm in the first place... urk!”
After beating the children half to death, Lee Geon dragged Hugo’s body over like hauling a sack of rice, with an air of not caring anymore.
And then.
Beckon, beckon.
As Lee Geon beckoned with his finger, Hugo approached.
“What is it— Uk!!”
Without mercy, Lee Geon kicked Hugo into his physical body.
Crack!!
Overcome by the immense pain as if coughing up blood, Hugo cursed first.
“You bastard! Do it gently—!”
But at the same time, a scream sounded as if about to burst into tears.
“Lord Hu-Hugo!”
“Honey!”
“……!”
At the voices heard around him, Hugo was startled.
Had he returned to his original body?
With a face about to cry, Cheon Ji-woo embraced Hugo first.
Hugo too seemed to have reddened eyes at the warm feeling from her embrace.
He had returned to his family’s arms.
It was the moment he felt it for certain.
And while the couple called each other’s names, having a tearful reunion.
Watching the scene with satisfaction, Lee Geon spoke.
“Well, it’s nice that you’re having a good time, but the problem isn’t entirely solved yet.”
“Huh?”
“You might not be able to have a fourth child.”
“What?!!”
“What?! Wasn’t I fixed?!”
Well, it was precisely because Hugo had no memories.
‘The soul containing his memories is insufficient.’
Currently, the soul gathered for Hugo was about 70%. The remaining 30% was missing.
Originally, they had planned to extend his lifespan by interfering with fate through the goddesses of fate, even if it was a bit risky, but it hadn’t worked.
[They are not opponents whose fate the goddesses of fate can alter.]
[The current life expectancy of
Most of his memories and lifespan were likely concentrated in that remaining 30% of his soul.
Finding it was essential.
‘Well, one of the factions targeting Taek-su probably has it anyway.’
So they’d meet eventually. Thus, while it was urgent, that wasn’t what was important right now.
“More importantly, what about the other Saints?”
“!”
At Lee Geon’s question, Gott’s eyes rounded.
Lee Geon’s eyes sharpened as he spoke.
“Seong-jae, Yu-ha, and even Jae-won are nowhere to be seen.”
“Tha-that’s…!”
Gott hesitated, wondering where to start, then continued.
“Miss Yu-ha, after following you, Sir Lee Geon, we haven’t been able to see her yet. And Seong-jae….”
Gott bowed his head.
“Not long after the angels appeared, Seong-jae suddenly vanished as if possessed.”
“What? Vanished?”
“Yes. And about Brother Jae-won….”
With a grave expression, Gott continued.
“Actually, as you, Sir Lee Geon, might have guessed, new Saints appeared, and Brother Jae-won took the Sagittarius Saint position.”
“What? Jae-won did?”
Gott nodded.
“Those bastards were trying to usurp the Saints’ positions. It seems he thought I, being a temporary Saint, was in danger.”
Indeed, the other Saints had been attacked and gone missing. And Lee Jae-won cherished his younger siblings immensely.
“So Brother Jae-won transferred the Saint position to himself and went to face the new Saints. Up to that point, it was fine. Actually, Brother Jae-won had the upper hand.”
Indeed, as expected of a disciple who had learned combat techniques directly from Lee Geon and Hugo, he had been about to think so, but.
“During the battle, it was as if his power was suddenly cut off; his mana and skills wouldn’t activate…!”
“!!”
At those words, Lee Geon flinched as if struck by something, and Hugo looked at Lee Geon with a face that said ‘don’t tell me.’
Sure enough.
“Suddenly, the mana of the Sagittarius Saint vanished. In an instant, he was rendered powerless, and in that state, he was defeated… ugh!”
Ah. Oops.
Lee Geon broke out in a cold sweat.
It was certain.
‘That was when I turned that bald guy into a human using .’
Since the Saint, who was the source of power, had become a human, all the Sagittarius Saints, his followers, had their abilities sealed.
So it happened that Lee Jae-won, who was in the middle of a fight then, couldn’t use his power.
‘That timing really….’
Hugo also seemed to have noticed, as he subtly glared at Lee Geon, but Gott, who couldn’t possibly know, lamented while pounding the ground.
“Anyway, after being defeated so unjustly, Brother Jae-won was dragged into the angels’ den…!”
He said that now he couldn’t even be contacted, let alone know whether he was dead or alive.
In the end, feeling a tiny bit sorry, Lee Geon scratched his cheek and coughed.
“Then what about Yeon-woo? Do you happen to know about him?”
“Well, he’s currently in the enemy’s den.”
At Cheon Ji-woo’s words, Hugo was startled.
“Don’t tell me he was captured…!!”
“No! It’s that he went there himself.”
“!!”
“It seems he knows who the enemy is and went intentionally to wreck the place.”
At that, Lee Geon nodded.
“If that’s the case, then that’s a relief.”
Hugo was rather surprised by that reaction.
“Is it okay for you to leave Yeon-woo alone?!”
“I’m not leaving him alone, and there’s no need to worry from the start. In some ways, he’s stronger than me.”
“…Wha, what??”
It was just as he was about to ask what that meant.
“First, I have to go find my Saints.”
Then Cheon Ji-woo whispered worriedly.
“Sir Lee Geon. Yeon-woo asked me to tell you that the enemies are angels and they’ll be extremely threatening to us humans….”
At that, the affiliated gods swallowed dryly and whispered.
[Master. Eden’s objective is likely to awaken their Great Holy God.]
[They would be able to obtain large-scale offerings from Earth, after all.]
[Moreover, Earth’s humans are particularly weak against .]
[Furthermore, from what I hear, they intend to meddle with ’s previous life as well…]
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering, Lee Geon smiled.
* * *
It was around that time.
“Move quickly! Transport Earth’s resources to Eden through this dimensional gate!”
Asia.
Eden’s angels were sending Earth’s humans through the gate to colonies belonging to Eden.
In short, it was a kind of manpower export.
This was because many excellent Awakened already existed on Earth.
In other words, they intended to send the existing Awakened to their own colonies as labor.
And the angels asked.
“The situation is smooth, but is it alright for us to secretly occupy Earth first like this?”
“Well, it’s a bit tricky, but we have to move everything before Valhalla arrives. This place will soon become a sea of fire.”
“A sea of fire?”
“Yes. The Commander-in-Chief said he’ll use to turn this place into a sea of fire. That way, Valhalla can bring those plants over.”
“Then we need to hurry and move the prime specimens.”
“Right, they say the humans here are of good quality. Called Holy City followers, was it?”
It was just as the two angels in charge of manpower transport and supervision were moving the selected personnel.
Flash!
When a woman emerged from the gap of the light-emitting dimensional gate, the angels smiled.
It was because of the familiar energy.
“This energy is... the master of ? Aren’t you Athena?”
“What’s this. You Olympians, I heard you went to break the curse that made you human, but you’ve already resolved it and come here?”
“It’s fortunate; we were just about to call for yo—.”
But at the sight of the woman who emerged from the light, the angels recoiled in extreme shock.
“Yo-you are…!”
There was no time to be surprised.
In an instant, a human figure shot upward, flashing its eyes in the sky.
The moment it struck down from the sky like a bolt of lightning in the blink of an eye.
Flash!
In an instant, the heads of the two angels were shattered.
Puwaak!!!
And the woman who killed them in an instant dusted off her hands.
“They had a death wish.”
She was Yu-ha, who had consumed the divinity of .
(Continues in the next chapter)