Meanwhile, around that time.
“O noble servant of Ophiuchus.”
“A-are you truly alright?”
Hugo, abandoned by Lee Geon, was groaning and heading somewhere.
Hugo had been caught in Lee Geon’s divine realm explosion and nearly died along with it.
‘That bastard. I wonder if he ever thinks before using his powers.’
Lee Geon had pulled all allies to his side to save them, yet deliberately left Hugo out. Thanks to that, Hugo was now a bloody mess.
Nevertheless, the Virgo attendant gods followed Hugo with worried faces.
“Noble servant!”
“We heard you’re quitting being the young serpent’s servant!”
“Even now, if you change your mind…”
“Argh! Can’t you stop calling me ’servant’… ugh!”
When Hugo collapsed, the Virgo attendant gods who had been trailing him with medicines swarmed around the ragged Hugo.
They had come chasing after Hugo under the orders of the Full Moon Lord.
Virgo’s Sacred God, though Hugo was a first-generation monarch, seemed worried about him as a saint of humanity before that.
As expected.
“Even now, if you apologize to the young serpent…”
“No, that’s absolutely impossible now.”
Hugo recalled Lee Geon’s profanities and broke out in a cold sweat.
It must have been before Lee Geon raided Valhalla’s prison.
Lee Geon had asked Hugo.
—I don’t care whatever your past life was. But there’s one thing I want to confirm. So don’t even think about lying and answer honestly as a friend.
It seemed Lee Geon wanted to verify something with Hugo.
—You’re on humanity’s side, right? No, you’re on my side, right? I just need to confirm that one thing.
Hugo hesitated to answer. As if greatly displeased by Hugo’s reaction, Lee Geon drew out Judgment.
It seemed Lee Geon sensed that Hugo was gradually regaining his memories and grew uneasy.
—You have a family, you son of a bitch. You’re not going to spout bullshit about suddenly seeking out your biological family, are you?
—…If you ask while holding that, isn’t it already a threat?
—Choosing the human Jiwoo from the start proved that your past life and you are separate. You’ll be on humanity’s side, right?
—Who knows. It doesn’t seem like I met Jiwoo because we’re separate.
—What, you little shit?
—It seems you and Jiwoo both just chose by instinct.
—What, you bastard?
Hugo spoke to Lee Geon, whose eyes were glaring.
—Since you told me to speak honestly, I’ll say it. Jiwoo is also a god.
—…What?
—He’s a bit different from Kevin, but he’s a low-level god born as a human in the reincarnation hell, bearing karmic debts.
A low-level god who once served the Creators.
Hugo then spoke as if annoyed.
—Gods make good prey. So I guess I chose Jiwoo instinctively. You go crazy for anything divine, don’t you?
—Are you joking? By that logic, you should’ve gotten close with that eunuch too. Not the other saints, but he was a Sacred God-level too.
—He’s a pigeon. Too stinky, hard to eat.
At Hugo’s monstrous remarks, Lee Geon looked instantly enraged.
But Hugo paid no mind and revealed his true colors.
—If you heard from Scorpius’s Sacred God, you’d know. As a price for invading the Ancient God’s domain, I was captured by you Creators and bound to an unbreakable slave spell until every last one of those Creators died.
—So?
—I killed all the Creators, barely got free from the spell, and the damn Aslan survived. So I rotted in prison for hundreds of years, finally got freed when that one bastard croaked too, and then you showed up?
—…!
—When you were born, that curse resurrected, what the hell. So I couldn’t do a thing to you and got worked like a dog. So I quietly waited, planning revenge once you spawned a kid. Because you have no idea how shitty and sickening it is to be pushed around by Creators like a bloody dog.
Lee Geon looked at Hugo as if asking if he was serious, but Hugo clicked his tongue and said,
—If you don’t believe me, check the faith yourself.
Lee Geon checked Hugo’s faith.
[Hugo Otterus]
[Ophiuchus Faith 0%]
Seeing that, Lee Geon smiled murderously.
—The little bastard even erased his faith. So is this all? If this is all, I’m disappointed. Is that all you have to say?
—No.
—?
—I can even wipe out your roots, you son of a bitch.
After that, perhaps because he recalled the sight of Lee Geon, enraged, raising Judgment…
Hugo trembled to the point of breathing difficulties, and the Virgo attendant gods looked at him curiously.
“Servant! Servant! Are you alright?”
“What’s wrong?”
Hugo still shook in terror, as if the event from that time haunted him.
Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn’t died at Lee Geon’s hands. Lee Geon had been so furious that Hugo thought, ‘So such profanities exist in the world.’
—So, in other words, you have no intention of being on humanity’s side. That faith is the proof.
—Yeah, honestly, now that I’ve even regained my memories, being around you is so disgusting I can’t stand it. Just die alone forever, forever a loner!
—Are your last words over?
Hugo trembled like a mouse, feeling he’d almost really died after having said that himself.
‘If I didn’t have kids, I’d really have been dead.’
It was only thanks to Lee Geon’s reluctance to make his nephews orphans that he barely survived.
Of course, in return, they severed ties completely.
“S-servant? If you apologize even now…”
“No. This is better anyway…”
“Pardon?”
It was best not to get any closer to Lee Geon.
Especially if Lee Geon was a god of and .
And though Hugo gave no answer, the Virgo attendant gods immediately caught on to the reason.
‘It’s because of the karma bound to !’
‘Because of the karma placed by the Great Sacred Gods…’
‘Back when he was caught by the Great Sacred Gods…!’
That was when.
Hugo rose from his spot. The startled Virgo gods asked,
“Servant? Where are you going?”
“I have to go to .”
* * *
Around the same time.
All gods except the Ennead and Eden’s Great Sacred Gods were gathered in a temporary dimension.
But.
“Excuse me? You’re giving up searching for Aslan?”
At the Great Sacred Gods’ words, the gods looked shocked. After all, in this situation where the divine realm was shattered, the only one who could restore it was the Creators.
And even though he had turned into a slime, hadn’t they clearly discovered Aslan?
“If not Aslan, we must entrust the divine realm’s restoration to that snake god!”
“You know very well he’d never fix it obediently with that personality!”
“Even the craftsmen say there’s no hope of restoring it and have thrown up their hands completely…!”
They would rather die than kneel to Lee Geon.
At the very least, if they found Aslan, wouldn’t something work out?
But the Great Sacred Gods knew.
‘Aslan won’t work.’
Using creation abilities, it might be possible to restore the divine realm by utilizing , , and other things, but now he was strictly Lee Geon’s item.
And Aslan was a handler of abilities, not of objects.
There was no way he could perfectly restore the divine realm.
But Lee Geon was a top-tier expert in crafting items.
‘That bastard aside, there’s no one else who can fix the divine realm.’
But would they kneel to a mere newborn snake brat?
There was a way.
[Use the colonies.]
“!”
The source of the Sacred Gods’ power lay in the colonies. They made the colony residents labor to extract tribute and received faith to grow their strength.
[Tell all Sacred Gods to bring every last tribute from all colonies.]
At those words, the gods panicked.
Faith is the measure of a god’s power.
‘If we use that method, the gods’ power will rise even more.’
‘And the level of divine artifacts and authorities will also increase.’
But.
“Even now, we’re scraping by at a precarious level.”
“Won’t there be resistance?”
[It’s not worth answering.]
“!”
Those who do not obey, those who do not believe in the gods, will be executed.
That was how the ruled over the creations.
[The colony residents of all dimensions exist solely for the gods.]
[Who do you think keeps the creations alive?]
“Then…!”
[Tax rate 100%.]
[Seize everything, souls and bodies, and convert it all into divine power.]
[At times like this, the colony residents must sacrifice for the gods all the more.]
[Are they not creations that exist for this very time?]
At that undeniable logic, the gods immediately bowed their heads.
“We will depart at once.”
Yet even they seemed to have something on their minds.
[We received reports that the snake god took phantom beasts from Valhalla.]
At the name , the gods’ mood shifted in an instant.
And for good reason, given the role of the Phantom Beast Gods.
They were direct servant gods of the Ancient God like the Creators, and they were on bad terms with the Sacred Gods.
“Aren’t they the ones who oversee the gods?”
In short, they were inspectors akin to secret royal inspectors.
Like spirits, they judged gods and could forcibly reclaim colonies.
So,
“They’re all dead now, but if the snake god revives the Phantom Beast Gods…”
[He will revive them.]
“Then it’s dangerous…!”
The Great Sacred God smiled.
[The Phantom Beast Gods will never act to benefit the Sacred Gods. And reclaiming colonies right now would benefit the snake god. There’s no way they’d cooperate.]
[Moreover, they are the Ancient God’s dogs who hate the Sacred Gods. Now that the Ancient God has been passed down to the snake god, they’ll see him as an enemy and never cooperate.]
If anything, having revived them, Lee Geon would end up having his colonies seized.
[The Phantom Beast Gods are lofty beings whom no one can tame.]
At the words of the supreme gods, the gods bowed their heads.
* * *
And around that time.
“Heh. Look at these bastards.”
Lee Geon looked at the phantom beasts before him as if disgusted.
The attendant gods were alternately watching Lee Geon and the phantom beasts with anxious faces.
“M-my lord…!”
“What’s so good that these bastards are sprawling on their bellies?”
“……!”
Indeed.
Before Lee Geon’s eyes, dozens of Phantom Beast Gods were lying flat with their bellies exposed.
As if showing submission to the leader of the pack.
Because of that, the attendant gods could only look on in horror.
“Th-those Sacred God-haters…!”
“Look here! Why are you doing something you’ve never done before!”
Those who harbored deep grudges against the gods would attack Lee Geon if anything, never expose their bellies.
So much so that Lee Geon’s attendant gods cursed at them, but the beasts lying flat were trembling violently.
The sight made the attendant gods laugh in disbelief.
“Look here!”
[Shut up! Damned gods! Before we kill you!]
“!”
They had been passed down through Lee Geon’s power of resurrection. Because of that, their appearances were all like young cubs.
And gods that were passed down were essentially reincarnated, so it should be normal for them to have no memories of their predecessors.
But the Phantom Beast Gods were like spirits, sharing memories with one another, and like beasts, their predecessors’ instincts accumulated in their souls.
Thus, they alone remembered the instincts of their predecessors.
And.
‘I must not mess with that madman.’
That was the instinct of a beast!
Surely, memories of being mercilessly slaughtered by Lee Geon remained.
At that sight, Lee Geon laughed hollowly.
Perhaps the effect of having cracked the heads of phantom beasts who wouldn’t listen even to , the Ancient God, was at work.
“I don’t know what this is, but there’s no need to discipline them further.”
Lee Geon spun the bowl breaker he had taken out.
At that sight, the Phantom Beast Gods flinched and lifted their bellies even higher.
At the same time, the passed-down Phantom Beast Gods whispered among themselves.
‘I don’t know what this is, but isn’t this a bit much!’
‘I-it’s fine! Bear with it until we can bring back the Ancient God!’
‘The instinct tells us to do this, what can we do!’
It wasn’t certain yet, but they clearly felt the aura of the Ancient God from Lee Geon.
So they decided to watch for an opportunity.
[F-for now, we will follow you!]
[Please, put away the weapon!]
Seeing that, the attendant gods looked at Lee Geon in astonishment.
“It seems they are pledging loyalty because you possess the Ancient God.”
[Correct. And this is a great gain…]
But at that very moment.
Poohahk!!!
Lee Geon mercilessly fired the Abyssal Shackles at the Phantom Beast Gods lying on their bellies.
As a result, several Phantom Beast Gods collapsed, vomiting blood.
The Phantom Beast Gods looked at Lee Geon as if wronged.
[N-new master…! Why on earth!]
[We pledged our loyalty…!]
But Lee Geon laughed scornfully.
“Yeah. I don’t trust others easily.”
[Pardon??]
“Every single one of you hates me with a passion just seeing me. There’s no way anyone would approach without some ulterior motive.”
[Show some trust, you bastard!]
[We’ve already surrendered! Well, we’ve surrendered, but our leader wouldn’t surrender!]
Lee Geon smiled lightly.
“Well, whatever.”
[!]
“Follow one command I give, and I’ll acknowledge that loyalty.”
Lee Geon raised the corner of his mouth.
War preparations from the colonies, my ass.
I’ll make them grovel flat and grovel, begging me, with no choice but to ask.
(To be continued in the next chapter)