“You crazy…!”
The soldier commanders, meeting eyes with the beasts, cursed first.
Before them were clearly Cruuders!
The angels were bewildered.
Though it seemed like a similar place, this was not their colony.
And as if realizing where they were, the young man beside Michael, Raphael, urgently shouted.
“Michael, from the look of those things, this is the Lords’ territory!”
“I can see that, you idiot!”
Michael hastily summoned his sword.
“You morons, what are you staring at! Return at once!”
He urgently looked toward the gate, at the ten thousand angels who had followed them here.
But in that instant.
Kwajak!!
“Kaak!!!”
Kwajak!
“Aack!”
“K-Keheok!”
As if daring them to even think of retreating, the beasts snatched the angels’ throats in a flash.
There were monsters that looked like four-legged animals, and some with the shapes of insects or octopuses.
“Mi-Michael-nim… Aack!!”
Throats torn out, arms ripped off, bellies gouged open. In an instant, the area around the gate where the angels had crowded turned into a living hell.
Gritting his teeth, Michael swiftly stabbed the ground with his sword and spread a defensive barrier.
“Deal with the ones inside the barrier first!”
Flash!
The monsters could no longer approach, but now there was something far more serious than those vermin.
And sure enough.
[Who do we have here? Aren’t these the pretentious sparrow brats and decrepit old archaeopteryxes?]
“……!”
It was none other than a Lord.
The angels’ eyes flew wide at the presence that rivaled a Great Divine God.
‘Those damn Predator Pirates.’
They were scoundrels who used every possible means—tongue, appearance, scent, traps—to lure in their prey, violate them, and devour even their flesh and soul.
[What is this? Did you come here just to be eaten?]
“Shut your mouth! You insect bastards with nothing in your heads but eating and screwing, where do you think you…!”
As if asking how such vulgar, lowlife pillagers dared challenge gods of ancient history, Michael’s eyes flared, but he forced himself to endure.
Because clashing with them would only bring losses on their side.
“What are you doing! Open the gate again!”
“Michael, the gate is closed; we can’t return.”
“What?”
“The Ark isn’t responding either. It seems someone manipulated the Ark…”
Michael immediately snapped.
“Crazy, what kind of lunatic would do that…!”
But realizing who the culprit was, Michael hurled a torrent of curses toward the sky.
“That’s why I said we should burn every last snake bastard in the Divine Realm to death!!”
It was undoubtedly Lee Gon’s doing.
And to screw Eden over, he must have messed with the teleport destination.
Yet something was strange.
‘Only the Great Divine Gods and those they’ve granted authority to—we Archangels—can manipulate the Ark.’
But soon Michael clicked his tongue.
“Forget it. These half-baked Lords. We wipe them all out and move.”
But that very moment.
Ku-gu-gung!
“!”
Suddenly the ground began to shake.
The Lord farthest inside started to move its body.
‘……!’
At the same time, the massive monster shrank down, taking human form.
And what walked out was a silver-haired man.
But seeing him, Michael and Raphael broke out in a cold sweat.
‘That bastard is…!’
The Lords.
In truth, they were said to all possess such striking beauty that they were called gods of beauty, every one a handsome man or woman.
Like a carnivorous plant dazzling its prey with splendid appearance.
Of course, even those Lords were no match for Michael, who stood at the level of a Great Divine God.
But.
‘Isn’t that one a 1st-generation…!’
That’s right.
The Lords ranged from 1st to 3rd generation.
And the
It wasn’t that they were weak, but Michael was an elder who had existed since the primordial era when the Divine Realm was established.
Meaning, however strong the Lords, he was not a god who would fall to brats barely a few hundred years old.
However.
‘The 1st-generation Lords are monsters that even tore apart ancient gods.’
In short, it meant they were unimaginably, terrifyingly powerful beings.
And in that moment.
[What good timing. The clever one died, and I’ve been worn out raising the young. An archaeopteryx, now that’s substantial nourishment.]
“……!!”
[I was already raising new ones since the baby Lords all got wiped out.]
Shiver.
Michael and Raphael, meeting eyes with the creature, felt chills crawl up their spines.
After all, gods were the most delectable prey that drove Cruuders wild.
And then it happened.
Flash!
The 2nd-generation Lords who attended
[Feast.]
Instantly, the angels’ screams and the sound of shattering bones echoed.
Boom!
“Aack!!”
Crunch!!!
“Damn snake bastard!”
“You sons of bitches, you think it’ll go your way… kkeok!”
Arms torn off by the merciless fangs of the feasting Lords, Michael spat curses.
* * *
Meanwhile, around the same time.
Lee Gon’s expression as he looked at the Holy Knights turned odd.
‘What’s this? Holy Knights can’t use skills without a Holy God’s magical power.’
That is, there was a god supplying power to those bastards.
Indeed, an unknown entity was sending them strength.
But why did it give off a presence similar to Heilli?
However, that wasn’t the priority right now.
Boom!!!
“Exterminate the entire Singungjwa! Wipe out the whole population! Bring them all to the Serpent Lord’s Holy City!”
“I’ll be the Serpent Lord’s Holy Knight!”
“First, breaking the brainwashing on those guys takes priority.”
Lee Gon cracked his knuckles, looking at the crazed (?) Lee Jae-won and Cheon Seong-jae.
Meanwhile, at the sight of his subordinate trying to take out Cheon Seong-jae and become the Serpent Lord’s Holy Knight, Hugo desperately grabbed hold of him.
“Aack! Jae-won! Snap out of it! That’s Seong-jae! Seong-jae!”
“And Hugo-nim, you were planning to slip off alone to the Serpent Lord’s side!”
“Wha-what?”
“Honestly, I don’t care what happens to Singungjwa!”
At those words, Hugo, holding onto Lee Jae-won, seemed deeply wounded(?).
“Jae-won, you always said Singungjwa was the most precious. Said you’d never even think of leaving it… How could you! Singungjwa, which we guarded together…!”
“Down with Singungjwa!!!”
“?!”
“The Serpent Lord’s Holy Knight spot is mine!!”
As if demanding how he could say such a thing, Lee Jae-won shouted.
“Lee Gon-nim never once offered it to me either!”
“What? Then do you want to become Singungjwa’s Holy God?”
“I wouldn’t take Singungjwa if they gave it to me!”
“What? Then you want to be the Serpent Lord’s Holy Knight? Defeat Seong-jae, and I’ll give you the spot.”
“Your grace is boundless!!!”
As Lee Jae-won bolted forward, Hugo despaired.
“Th-that bastard… All along, he really wanted to be the Serpent Lord’s Holy Knight… that much…”
All that smiling and asking why go to the Serpent Lord’s side, claiming Singungjwa was the most precious—apparently a lie.
In the end, leaving the betrayed Hugo behind, Lee Gon was about to crack his knuckles when.
“Brother Jae-won…! Are you really going to hit me?”
As Cheon Seong-jae put on a pitiful expression, Lee Jae-won flinched.
No matter what, Cheon Seong-jae was the child Lee Jae-won had practically raised.
And sure enough, the instant Lee Jae-won hesitated.
Boom!!!
Cheon Seong-jae immediately kicked Lee Jae-won and sent him flying.
Then, as if he’d never faked being hurt, he cheered.
“Wah! With this, I’m the sole Cult Leader—no, the Pope of the Serpent Lord! And I’ll be the one to stuff and mount Uncle!”
But right then.
Pabak!!
“Heok…!”
Along with a flash from the sky, Cheon Seong-jae went flying.
Someone had kicked him away.
And at the familiar face that appeared, both Hugo and Lee Gon’s eyes went wide.
“Yu-ha?”
The one who’d kicked her brother flying was none other than Yu-ha, brimming with divine power.
But they couldn’t help being startled for a different reason.
“That feeling of divine power is….”
“Isn’t that Athena, who we saw in the Divine Realm?”
“Is it fake?”
Yet whether Hugo or Lee Gon’s subordinate gods were surprised or not, Yu-ha trampled her brother.
“You had this coming. I’m the Pope. And more importantly, who is this annoying brat?”
“…Seong-jae.”
Seeing her brother, who was now larger than her, Yu-ha seemed shocked.
“Disgusting! You weren’t cute before, and you’re even less cute now! Why’d you get so big!”
He had grown into a perfectly popular type, but it seemed Yu-ha preferred her little brother tiny.
And that moment.
“Now that Cheon Yu-ha is here, it’s all settled.”
“!”
Vince, eyeing the new Serpent Lord’s Holy Knight position, sparkled with intent.
“Lee Gon-nim! Please permit a bout with Cheon Yu-ha for the new positio… keheok!”
Lee Gon smacked Vince on the head.
Boom!!!
With the illusion of an earthquake, Vince collapsed.
“I don’t need some male.”
Blood streamed from Vince’s head, but Lee Gon paid no mind and looked at Yu-ha.
“Yu-ha, how did you obtain Athena’s divine power?”
“The Virgo Holy God told me how to catch her.”
“Oh. Virgo did?”
Lee Gon smiled with interest.
For her to harbor the divine power of a ruling god, she would be an immense force.
“Then maybe I’ll stick Zeus or Ares or Hermes’ divine power into Seong-jae or Jae-won.”
“What about me?!”
“You’ve already got one. Hugorodite.”
“No, that… Geez, trade mine out too!”
Though Hugo looked on with hopeful eyes, Lee Gon utterly ignored him and grabbed the fallen Vince’s head.
Perhaps because Yu-ha, bearing Athena’s divine power, had appeared, something in Vince’s body now looked different than before.
[Due to the influence of
It was a strand of light like a cord.
Surely, it connected to whoever was sending power to these bastards, just as a Holy God and Holy Knight were linked.
‘I was already curious who was giving power to the new Knights.’
Because that very entity might be why Earth perished twenty years from now.
And once he identified the enemy, he might also be able to undo the brainwashing on Seong-jae and Jae-won.
Thinking that, Lee Gon’s eyes flashed as he activated
Then shadows surged up from the ground and coiled around him.
Through the cord connected to Vince, he teleported toward the other party.
And in that instant.
Flash!
Moved to an unknown location, Lee Gon surveyed his surroundings.
It was a space that seemed vast as the cosmos, yet enclosed in all directions.
But as he turned his head, Lee Gon flinched in surprise.
‘That is.’
There, bound in that space, was a beautiful woman.
But that woman was neither a god nor a human.
Yet that wasn’t the reason Lee Gon was surprised.
‘Who is it? She resembles Heilli.’
And that woman was being monitored by the gods, her power forcibly extracted.
‘The ones guarding her… Are they Eden and the Ennead?’
A smirk lifted the corner of Lee Gon’s mouth.
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time.
Right after Lee Gon vanished into Vince’s body, Hugo brought the unconscious Seong-jae and Jae-won indoors.
His wife, whose delivery was not far off, was resting while assembling Yu-ha and Lee Gon figures.
And Hugo, waiting for Lee Gon, was just about to go to his wife when.
Flash!!!
“!”
Light erupted from the ceiling and someone came crashing down.
Thud!
Hugo was startled at the fallen objects.
“You…!”
The fallen objects were none other than angels drenched in blood!
About three of them. He couldn’t tell who had done it, but their wounds resembled those left by monsters.
“Heok, heok! We barely succeeded…!”
“Damn snake god! Where is he!”
“Lord Raphael! Stay with us!”
“Damn it, while he was protecting us…!”
“Lord Michael is still there!”
They looked like high-ranking angels at a glance.
And just then, as the surprised Hugo approached.
“That one is!”
The angels guarded against Hugo, and Hugo immediately frowned and grabbed their arms.
It meant, don’t come into someone else’s house reeking of blood.
“I’ll give you recovery potions, so get out of our house ri—.”
“Get off me! You filthy Cruuder scum!”
“!”
The angel shook off Hugo’s hand and looked at him with revulsion.
“This filthy Lord, shamelessly parading as a human.”
“Right. Where is the snake god? Summon him at once!”
What?