"Such… crazy!"
No matter how much I rubbed my eyes, the divine realm was nowhere to be seen.
As if Olympus being blown away was just a cute prank, the central district, Valhalla, the Ennead, and all other divine zones had been swept away.
Only special regions like the underworld, the Wheel of Samsara Hell, and a few others remained.
But even those remaining zones were barely clinging on, as if hooked to an oxygen respirator.
In other words, everything that could be blown away without requiring special dismantling magic had been obliterated.
It was only natural that the gods would be so horrified they'd lose their minds.
But whether he knew their shock or not, Igon, who had reverted to his original small human form, was laughing away.
"Hahaha, damn refreshing! So clean now that everything's gone!"
"...?!!!"
He was lying in what used to be the central district—or rather, what had been the central district.
Sprawled on the ground, Igon giggled as he gazed at the visible void of space.
[A new achievement has been created]
[Erase the divine realm (6-star)]
"Ah, I should've done this sooner."
In the end, the star gods of the 13 Palaces, driven beyond shock into a mental breakdown, screamed.
"You crazy bastard! You could've at least left us a place to live!"
"How could you think of blowing up the whole Pantheon, no matter what!"
"My property! Pay it back!"
"Why should I care? It's your home, not mine."
"#*#$&*#!"
At those words, the gods clutched the back of their necks.
The thought that this scumbag was both a star god of the same Zodiac 13 Palaces and their master sent their blood pressure soaring.
Not only had he wiped the divine realm out without a trace, but...
‘Is this even possible?’
The Pantheon was the largest gathering place of the gods, a sacred ground that couldn't be destroyed by brute force.
It was a fortress that even repelled invasions from outer gods with its special protective authority.
And yet he obliterated it in an instant!
The power of a Great Star God was beyond imagination.
Of course, it was probably possible because of the combined 6-star destruction achievement, but...!
‘Is this guy really capable of handling the karmic consequences?’
Looking at Igon, however, he seemed perfectly fine. There wasn't the slightest hint of him turning into an evil god.
And so they realized.
‘Could it be that destroying the divine realm doesn't count as karma?’
‘No way...!’
‘Maybe it is possible if you have the Great Star God's license of forgiveness.’
In any case, it was fortunate that Igon showed no signs of trouble, but...
"This brat was utterly insane."
"!"
The gods around him began to draw their weapons as they stared at Igon. They had barely managed to survive without being swept away, but they had lost all their assets and land.
There was no way they wouldn't be furious.
And Igon seemed to have exhausted a fair amount of his power; having returned to his original form instead of his giant one, he must have looked like an easy target.
In fact, Igon was lying down and couldn't get up, apparently tired.
Just as expected, the gods approached.
"Do you think you'll be unharmed after pulling this off?"
But Igon looked at them as if he didn't see the problem.
"Why? You can just fix it yourselves. What, you got no hands? No feet?"
The gods glared at him.
As expected, this punk had clearly destroyed everything without knowing anything.
"The structures of the divine realm can't just be fixed by anyone!"
"Oh, really?"
"Minor repairs of the outer walls are possible, but you blew away the very foundation!"
"Oh. Is that so?"
"Yes. The divine realm was created by a now-vanished race of creators called the Creators. Without them, it can neither be repaired nor rebuilt..."
"Aha, so that's it. So it can't be fixed unless it's a Creator."
"Now you understa..."
But soon the gods fell silent.
That was because Igon was chuckling to himself for some reason.
The gods, who had intended to hold Igon accountable, gave him a look of what's-wrong-with-this-jerk. But they soon screamed because of the gods who had followed behind.
"Wh-What? Creators?!"
"That guy?!"
The gods who hadn't yet heard the news fell into mental chaos at the unexpected revelation, and the majority were left dumbfounded.
‘In other words, that means the buildings, the property...’
‘He's the only one who can repair them...!’
As if reading their thoughts, Igon smirked.
"Well, good luck with the restoration."
At this point, the gods clutched the back of their necks.
"First, to the territorial gods!"
"I'll go see the Great Star Gods!"
The gods vanished immediately. A few tried to grab Igon, but they didn't dare attempt it.
It seemed like he was lying down from exhaustion, but in reality, it was different.
An oppressive divine aura oozing out slowly choked the gods' necks.
Not to mention Jun, who bristled fiercely even from just being looked at.
‘If that man truly is at the Great Star God level...’
They couldn't even lay a finger on him.
And as the gods did nothing but stare before vanishing, the saints collapsed, saying they nearly died.
"Dragged to the divine realm out of nowhere and nearly executed...!"
"If it hadn't been for Igon-nim..."
But Igon just tilted his head at their appearance.
"But why are you guys here? Here for a visit?"
"How could that possibly be?!!"
There were seven humans who had been dragged along (?): Lee Jaewon, Goth, Kali, Sophie, Taylor, and even Kevin, plus an unnamed journalist.
"Dammit, they said we were suddenly chosen as substitutes for the Magaljwa star god...!"
At Kevin's words, who had been hiding, Igon acknowledged them as if finally realizing.
"So that's why you were dragged here."
"Yes, why?!"
Igon nonchalantly pointed at the saints and said.
"I ate up all the other star gods, didn't I? Since there were no star gods, the second-in-commands got automatically dragged in. A pheasant instead of a chicken, so to speak."
"Excuse me?!"
Kali, suddenly recognized as the star god of the Libra constellation, screamed, while Goth tilted his head.
"If that's the case, why am I the Bull constellation...?"
Lee Jaewon also grabbed onto Igon tightly.
"I-I'm the Crab constellation?!"
His expression screamed, 'Why, of all things, am I recognized as the damn Crab constellation star god?' But Igon smiled.
"My whim. And besides, the more star gods who follow me, the higher the chance of becoming a Great Star God."
"Huh?!"
In short, he had been setting up the conditions to become a Great Star God. Just as Igon had designated Iaso as the star god of Aquarius, he'd done the same for the others.
Since registering them on the throne made them recognized as star gods even without divinity. At those words, Sophie spoke as if moved.
"Then I'm here because you designated me as the Aquarius star god. Finally, my skills are being recognized...!"
"Nah, you just got dragged here to be executed in place of our disinfectant."
"?!"
Everyone despaired at Igon's words.
Lee Jaewon, still staggered from the shock, asked.
"By the way, is it okay that you didn't bring Hugo-nim? Seems like you left him behind in a den of gods..."
"Why should I care?"
"Ah. So you trust Hugo-nim after all..."
"No, I cut ties with that bastard."
"...Huh?"
"HUH?!!!"
The others all fainted, but Igon only frowned.
The other saints thought it was a lie, but his eyes didn't seem like he was joking.
‘D-Did he really cut ties?’
‘No, why??’
But Igon turned away as if none of that mattered. There was a more important matter at hand.
"Master! This is serious! The gods are moving this way."
At that shout, the star god of Leo cackled.
"Since the Snake God is the only one who can repair the divine realm, they're coming to kiss your feet! They should've done that from the start!"
"What nonsense! As if they'd come to bow to the very person who destroyed their homes!"
The Guardian of the Blazing Star Constellation was red with fury.
Their goal was obvious.
‘War.’
The Great Star Gods would try to pressure Igon by joining forces.
If what the evil gods said was true, the Great Star Gods had assassinated the Primordial God through some method.
But Igon now even possessed a Primordial God.
‘They won't just charge in recklessly.’
And where would gods who had lost their home base prepare for a perfect war?
"They'll each retreat to their colonies and accumulate strength."
The so-called territorial worlds of the star gods weren't just called that for nothing.
Igon was the exception; in truth, the star gods merely extracted benefits from their colonies, not caring whether the colony residents lived or died.
To the star gods, colony residents were nothing more than slaves.
It was only natural for believers to be sacrificed for the gods.
"Their numbers exceed tens of thousands. If we assume each has at least ten colonies, it's no joke. But you only have Earth as your colony."
"Even though you've gained Eden's colonies, it's still too few. The difference in war resources will be astronomical."
That wasn't all.
"Master, some colonies are lands filled with overwhelming warriors."
"If we don't prepare quickly..."
But Igon only smiled.
"Why do you think I stalled for time in the Valhalla prison?"
"!"
Igon pulled something out from his bosom.
It was a pouch filled with something. Inside were jewels that looked like divinities.
But his subordinate gods were startled when they saw them.
"Those are the Hwansu gods, aren't they?!"
Among the gods, there were beast gods, and these were beings close to spirit beasts.
And they, like the Creators, were gods directly affiliated with the Primordial God. While Creators were crafting gods, the Hwansu gods served as the god's eyes, acting as observers and inspectors.
In other words, they were upper-rank gods among the upper ranks.
‘But they all disappeared at some point.’
Mimir looked stunned upon actually seeing them.
"How did you obtain those...!"
"You told me, didn't you? That the Hwansu species were originally the ones who managed the colonies."
"Yes, I said that..."
But to actually bring them.
His subordinate gods approached in confusion.
"We heard rumors that Valhalla was holding them..."
"Those wretched bastards. Did they kill all the Hwansu and then keep them without allowing succession?"
"No. I killed half of them."
"...Huh?!!!"
"They tried to kill me on sight, saying I stole the Primordial God."
"......"
The gods buried their faces in their hands.
But Igon, unconcerned, used the power of the divine artifact.
Everyone grew worried at the sight.
"There are so many; you're going to revive them all at once? The energy drain from Hwansu god-level beings would be tremendous...!"
"While you're recovering, if the enemies invade, it'll be dangerous!"
But Igon just beamed, raising the Sky's Judgment.
And then he drove it into the ground.
Crunch!!
"Kwahak!!"
At the same time, a god hidden beneath the ground screamed and spat blood. He had been secretly spying on Igon to pass information.
And as that one enemy died, a massive light burst from the pouch Igon was holding.
[The divine artifact of Life is exerting its power.]
[Slaying one enemy activates the power of resurrection.]
Along with that notification, beasts revived from inside the pouch surged upward.
[Hwansu awaken.]
[Hwansu awaken.]
"This way, I don't even need to use my own power."
Everyone marveled at the sight.
He was reviving the Hwansu solely using the effect of the divine artifact of Life.
And seeing that spectacle, the gods who had been observing Igon from afar were terrified.
'He's reviving the Hwansu!'
'No! The Hwansu can reclaim colonies!'
'Quickly, before he revives them all, we must inform...!'
But at that moment.
'...!'
A chill ran down their spines.
They had made eye contact with Igon, who was holding the Sky's Judgment.
Igon raised the corners of his mouth and immediately hurled the Sky's Judgment.
Kwaaang!!!
Like a boomerang, the judgment flew and lodged into the gods' heads.
With that, the light of life burst several times.
Flash! Flash!
Finally, all the Hwansu inside the pouch revived.
Kugugung!!
"...!"
They were gods with shockingly powerful strength.
But the gods looked on with concern.
"The Hwansu are high-and-mighty creatures. Whether they will bow their heads to you, master..."
However, something unexpected happened.
(Continues in the next chapter)