"Cough...!"
"Save... j... cough!"
All the angels who informed Igeon of the Ark's existence were silenced by him.
And that wasn't all.
"This should be more than enough to make a new bedroom."
"Aaaah!"
"Don't pluck... m... aaah!!"
Hugo and the Leo saints turned pale at the sight of feathers being plucked right before their eyes.
Was he planning to make a nursery for Hugo's third child? Or was he setting up his own bridal chamber(?)?
Having plucked all the angels bare, Igeon grinned cheerfully while holding a bulging bundle.
"What are you doing? The Ark opened a gate, so let's go."
"A-are you sure it's okay?"
"Yeah. This is plenty of material."
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant…."
"Oh. For the ones whose material value dropped, I extracted all their divinity and sent it to Han via courier."
"…That's not… ah, whatever."
Hugo felt the whole thing had degenerated into a food waste bin, but he didn't bother pointing it out.
There was something else to do first.
"Igeon, we might draw caution from other gods, so just designate the territory for the largest of the 1,845 locations…."
"Designate all 1,845 locations as Ophiuchus colonies."
"Listen to what I'm saying!!!"
Whether he listened or not, a jade-green light shot up over the Eden colonies.
[Do you truly wish to claim all 1,845 Eden colonies as Ophiuchus territory?]
[Will you accept the 2,084,783,478 residents?]
[To manage such numbers, Ophiuchus lacks enough subordinate gods, which may prove burdensome.]
"Yeah, I've already secured slaves to handle the colonies, so no problem."
Hugo clutched his forehead as if at a loss. Asking Yeonu to stop him seemed like inviting more trouble.
"Your faction is already pathetically small! If you recklessly expand your territory, what if you become the common enemy of all gods!"
"Great, I can make a living room too."
"Argh!!!"
It was all the same to Igeon.
Having finished destroying the evidence, he headed straight for the gate to Earth.
[Activating the Ark of Eden (SSS)]
[The Ark of Eden generates a new point of departure.]
[Eden Colonies ▶ Ophiuchus Sanctuary]
[Adding destinations to the Ark allows travel to more dimensions (remaining slots: 148)]
Well, he still hadn't figured out whether Seongjae and Jaewon had been brainwashed by Eden, but it didn't matter.
'If they try any nonsense, I'll just beat them up.'
Finally, his view changed, and at the familiar air and buildings, Igeon smiled.
"Good, home sweet home."
"You brat, it's my home??"
Hugo glared at Igeon.
Whenever he tried to have a good time with his wife, Igeon would pop right onto the bed using Sanctuary Return and say, 'Oh, just continue what you were doing. Don't mind me,' before vanishing.
"Well, it didn't stop you from having a kid, did it? If anything, wasn't the third one conceived under my divine blessing?"
Should I kill this bastard or let him live?
But right then.
BANG!!
"!!"
A gigantic monster appeared in front of Igeon Tower.
Its appearance was somewhat different from a beast—it looked almost like a metallic object, an armored lifeform.
And upon seeing them, Igeon frowned.
"Are those the new demon species that showed up?"
Nonchalantly, Igeon drew Celestial Judgment to blast the creature, but—
BOOM!!
"!!"
The moment their eyes met.
Igeon staggered as if struck in the brain.
"…!"
"Igeon!"
It felt as if strength drained from his body.
So a brief opening formed, and just as the monster aimed for it—
'!'
Hailey and Yeonu, who were just emerging from the gate, flinched in surprise.
Especially Yeonu, who seemed to realize what was happening.
'That thing, could it be designed to neutralize Creators…!'
Just as she noticed and hastily stepped forward—
CRAAASH!!!
"!"
A massive pillar of ice shot up from the ground, freezing the monster solid.
It was a wide-area spell from the mage, Heiji.
She approached Igeon worriedly.
"Igeon, are you okay?"
"As expected, your reaction speed is the best among us."
As Hugo lowered his bow, Yeonu and Hailey looked inwardly indignant.
They could do that much too!
Especially Yeonu, a former Holy God, pouted.
She had been using the data Igeon provided, but without her divinity, she felt she was lagging behind.
But regardless, Igeon, who had been touching his forehead, seemed unable to grasp the situation.
"Why are you helping me? Are you after something?"
"W-what?!"
Ultimately, a wronged Heiji was about to retort, and perhaps because the sight of Igeon picking a fight looked oddly friendly, Yeonu asked.
"Uh, Mr. Hugo… Is that person… close to Igeon?"
"Huh? Huh? No… that's..."
Just as a flustered Hugo broke into a sweat, trying to explain—
[That woman is a very wicked woman who is after Lord Igeon!!]
"!!"
From Hailey's shadow, men with black insect-like heads revealed themselves.
They were members of the Cruder, but now officially subordinate gods of Scorpio.
[When our Lord Igeon said he needed medicine, she demanded a hot night with him as payment, that so-called saint!]
[Had it not been for our skills!! By now, Lord Igeon would be!!]
It was a story heavily distorted, but it seemed sufficient for Yeonu.
"Hot night… hot night…."
"Y-yeonu?"
Hugo watched her with alarm, but Yeonu looked at Igeon with a determined gaze.
In the end, Igeon, convinced there was some scheme behind Heiji helping him, ordered her to be interrogated.
And when Igeon finally entered the first floor of Igeon Tower—
"Lord Igeon."
"Welcome."
"!"
In the sanctuary where Goteu and Sagittarius saints were supposed to greet him, unfamiliar figures stood.
What startled them most was none other than the Scorpio subordinate gods in Hailey's shadow.
[Those bastards…!]
"I never imagined Ophiuchus and Sagittarius would share the same building…."
"We have become the saints and the custodians here."
"And from now on, we are Bins and Anna, who shall attend Lord Igeon."
"……?"
A beautiful woman and a man stood before him. Seeing them, Igeon's brow furrowed.
It couldn't be helped.
'That woman….'
He had definitely seen her before when he examined Lee Jaewon's past through the Akashic Records.
"Aren't you the woman who fought Jaewon for the position of Sagittarius saint?"
"Oh? Could it be that Lord Igeon knows of me?"
Anna looked at him with an expression of blissful disbelief.
She was indeed a beauty worthy of the Scorching Sun Lord's acknowledgment, meeting the strict standards of Sagittarius. But Hugo's jaw dropped.
"The Sagittarius saint really changed? Without my permission?"
Anna smiled and said.
"Pardon me, but I heard that Lord Hugo is now a saint of Ophiuchus, not Sagittarius. You have already lost that qualification. When I fought Lee Jaewon—whom Lord Igeon is carrying over there—for the position, I claimed the saint's seat."
Her words held a subtle hostility, making Hugo narrow his eyes, but soon they all had no choice but to widen them in shock.
Not for any other reason.
"Sagittarius is already a constellation under Ophiuchus. While waiting for Lord Igeon's return, we have greatly increased the number of Sagittarius saints."
Seeing the roster of saints, they gaped.
[Sagittarius Saints: 83,748]
"Eighty… eighty-three thousand saints?!"
"Including our supporter saints, it's over a hundred million."
"…One… hundred million…"
At numbers they had never dreamed of, Igeon said.
"Wow, better than you. Those guys are amazing. Maybe they'd make a better saint."
"What? Hey! No matter what, that's not—!"
"How many Sagittarius saints worldwide when you were saint?"
"…Fifty-eight…."
Hugo was devastated.
Anna looked at Lee Jaewon and said.
"By saint's authority, it would be proper to expel the former saint Lee Jaewon and banish him from the sanctuary, but he is Lord Igeon's man."
"!"
"If Lee Jaewon is willing to serve me as saint, I will accept him."
"Well, fine. Handle Sagittarius affairs on your own. So what's your deal?"
Igeon looked at the handsome man standing beside Anna.
The man immediately knelt reverently.
"I am one who aspires to be the Ophiuchus saint. Originally, I wished to duel Cheon Yuha or Cheon Seongjae, the Ophiuchus saints, but as I could not, I have come to seek Lord Igeon's permission. This is a small token of my sincerity."
"Oh."
Igeon marveled at the list of saints and supporters the man had gathered from all over the world with extraordinary capability.
"We too believe our faith in Lord Igeon is second to none. Please grant us permission to contend for the saint's position!"
"Hmm. I don't mind, but Seongjae and Jaewon are still unconscious."
Igeon glanced at Lee Jaewon and Cheon Seongjae, who were being carried like sacks of rice by subordinate gods.
Perhaps because his own power was too strong, they hadn't woken easily.
"Then the Ophiuchus saint shall be decided according to Lord Igeon's choice…."
But right then.
Whoosh!!
"!!!"
Lee Jaewon, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes. With a flash, he charged at the saints.
At that sight, the new Sagittarius saint Anna eagerly exuded mana.
"Interfering, are you! Fine, as the Sagittarius saint, I shall generously grant you another duel…."
"I am the one who will become Ophiuchus saint!!"
"?!"
Lee Jaewon wasn't aiming for Anna, the Sagittarius saint, but unexpectedly, Bins—the new Ophiuchus saint candidate!
In the end, perhaps desiring the Ophiuchus saint seat, he attacked Bins instead.
Thus, the ignored Anna stared at Lee Jaewon blankly.
Igeon and Hugo were equally bewildered.
"J-jaewon?"
Could it be due to Eden's brainwashing?
As if a deeply suppressed instinct was bursting out, Lee Jaewon targeted Bins.
"I am the Ophiuchus saint!!"
And at that moment.
As if responding to Lee Jaewon's voice, Cheon Seongjae raised his head.
And—
"Who dares covet my positioooon!!!"
As if asking if he wanted to die, Cheon Seongjae launched a close-range flame attack at Lee Jaewon.
Originally a long-range mage who looked like a paper doll, he now attacked Lee Jaewon rapidly as if he'd become a close-quarters mage.
At the sight of Lee Jaewon and Cheon Seongjae fighting, the new saints could only stare in shock.
"W-what… what is this scene."
Just then, Cheon Seongjae, who was fighting Lee Jaewon, flashed his eyes.
"Forget it! In that case, I'll aim for the Sagittarius saint and absorb all those saints into Ophiuchus!!"
"??!!"
Cheon Seongjae bypassed Lee Jaewon and targeted the new Sagittarius saint, Anna.
Anna looked bewildered.
"Who the hell is that madman!"
"Who else? Seongjae."
"What?! That big guy is Cheon Seongjae?"
But regardless, Cheon Seongjae shouted.
"Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, all will be merged! I'll turn everything to ash!!! Uncle's a stuffed trophy too!!"
At that scene, Hugo grabbed Igeon and asked why they were acting like that. Igeon then seemed to realize something.
"Ah. So both of them were brainwashed by Eden. Looks like it's the kind that turns them into Eden's minions but also makes them go berserk."
"What?!"
Hugo was flabbergasted.
So while both were under brainwashing, they had been attacking angels and doing missionary work in the Eden colonies?
Well, whatever.
Igeon narrowed his eyes as he watched the two, along with the ones claiming to be new saints.
It couldn't be helped.
'Those bastards, which god's power are they drawing to use mana?'
It wasn't him.
Nor was it any other god of the twelve zodiacs.
And to call it Eden's power…
'That's power close to a Lord.'
But the sensation of that Lord's power was the problem.
'It resembles Hailey.'
Could Hailey's parents be involved?
* * *
Around that time.
Flash!
The heads of Eden, Michael and Raphael, appeared in a jungle-like place.
They had moved personally to strike against Igeon.
The place they arrived at via Eden's gate was one of their own colonies.
"How many angels did we bring?"
"About ten thousand. Enough to subdue the Serpent God."
"Good. Though I find the aura here terribly irritating. How much havoc did that Serpent God…."
But right then.
"Huh?"
As Michael pushed aside a giant leaf, his expression twisted, something rare for him.
It couldn't be helped.
"Wait a moment."
Before them, monsters filled the view. And among them, four Lords were glaring with deadly eyes.
"This isn't our land!"
The angels and the Lords locked eyes.
(To be continued in the next episode.)