One Method (1)

6 o'clock.

It was evening, with the sun setting.

After dealing with the monsters, the gymnasium building was packed with citizens and countless Holy City dwellers. Everyone was startled by the shadow that appeared there.

"Lord Igeon!"

"What? Lord Igeon?"

"Oh my god, I’m seeing him in person for the first time…!"

At the same time, the Holy City dwellers who saw Igeon’s shadow broke into bright smiles. It wasn’t just because of his return, but because of the news they had heard in the meantime.

"They said he’s coming with Lord Hugo…!"

"Huh? Then did he reconcile with Lord Hugo?"

"As expected of Lord Igeon, he's brought Lord Hugo back…!"

Even the high-ranking Holy City dwellers gathered with great interest. Whatever anyone said, Hugo was a saint-level force. It could never be good for him to go over to the monarch’s side.

Senior Holy City dwellers, including I Jaewon and Goteu, swarmed over.

"Lord Igeon, welcome back."

"They said you were coming with Lord Hugo…"

"Yeah, here."

"Here…?"

Following Igeon’s chin gesture to an object, the Holy City dwellers screamed.

"Aaagh!! Lord Hugo!!!"

They had wondered what on earth he was dragging along with one hand.

"Aaagh! That wasn’t a dismembered monster?!"

"I said wasn’t that a monster chopped to bits!"

Indeed, the object everyone thought was a butchered monster was Hugo. And wherever he had dragged him from, Igeon seemed to have come dragging Hugo by the leg.

In the end, the senior Holy City dwellers could only scream at the unrecognizable (?) sight of Hugo. It was astonishing that he had pulverized a saint-level body into mush, but…

"Is he really alive?!"

"Lord Hugoooo!!!"

At the Holy City dwellers’ reaction, Igeon, who had been staring blankly at Hugo, narrowed his brow.

"... ..."

And perhaps realizing that this state was not okay even to himself.

Fwoosh!!

Igeon extended his hand and cast the 5th-tier [Resurrection] skill.

"Here. He’s treated now."

"T-treated…?"

"Wasn’t that Resurrection just now…?"

And then.

"Geon, you…!!"

The collapsed Hugo, his mouth flapping, opened his eyes. Trembling with rage, he reached out to Igeon.

"You bastard… you said just once… you’d kill me…!"

It seemed Hugo hadn’t been done in just once.

"You… liar…!!"

Hugo was furious, but Igeon just smiled shamelessly.

"Why? You said dying in human form reduces karma. Then wouldn’t it reduce even more if you die multiple times?"

"#$@%!!!"

Hugo let out an alien noise and grabbed Igeon by the collar. Of course, as his strength returned, his body had also been upgraded to monarch-level stats. In other words, it meant his physical durability had increased. So this was fine if it weren’t him, but still!

Nevertheless, Igeon roughly tossed Hugo aside and checked on the city’s recovery status. And seeing that the Holy City dwellers were handling things well, he said good job and asked.

"Then what about the succession? Was that side successful?"

"Ah."

At that, the follower deities bowed their heads. That was because Igeon had given them instructions in the meantime. It was none other than .

[For now, the succession was successful as you instructed.]

If the divinity remained, a god could be reborn based on it. In that case, both authority and were transferred as is. So-called reincarnation. But this time, the succession Igeon had ordered was not a simple succession. He had scraped up Garan’s divinity and even the soul remaining in the divinity to resurrect it.

[Here is the child.]

When the follower deity brought out a seven-year-old child, the Holy City dwellers all marveled.

"Oh! The Scorching Lord!"

"He’s identical!"

Though he was a young figure, he was unmistakably the Scorching Lord. His abilities matched as well.

However.

[As expected, he remembers nothing. Though you specially put the soul in, my lord…]

"Really?"

[Yes. That’s the nature of succession.]

"Really?"

[But he’s a bit thin-haired, though.]

"Reaaally?"

The reborn Scorching Lord trembled under Igeon’s fierce gaze. Igeon clicked his tongue.

"Too bad. I was trying to restore his memories too."

He had tried it because said succession was possible while retaining memories.

"Then how long does it take for a succeeded god to grow as big as a saint?"

[Each differs slightly… but in the case of succession, they grow to their original form in about five years. Since their data is stored in the universe.]

"Really? Then take good care of him until then."

At that statement, not only the follower deities but also the Holy City dwellers were all horrified.

"Y-you’re not going to torment him, are you?!!"

"Are you going to use him as a slave once he grows up?!"

At their horrified gazes, Igeon said as if dumbfounded.

"Hey. I’m not such a bastard that I’d torment a kid who remembers nothing."

"P-pardon?"

"Just because we were on bad terms in a past life, what kind of lunatic torments someone with no memory?"

Then, everyone looked at Igeon as if they couldn’t understand. Is this some kind of scheme to use him as an eternal slave?

But then.

"Lord Igeon! Big trouble!"

The Gemini Mages who had gone to mark appeared, their faces pale as sheets.

"It seems has been attacked."

"...!"

"And the gods who follow seem to be moving together."

Well, he had expected that. Among the many gods, Igeon had absorbed about half of the factions. Thanks to that, he had also been able to absorb the faction of . Anyway, since he had taken half, who would the other half follow?

‘Suddenly the divine realm is gone, and they can’t enter Earth, so they must be furious.’

Indeed, as if that bothered her, the Virgo Star God asked.

[Aseuran, you said you couldn’t kill the Monarch of the Flaming Wheel either?]

"Yeah."

At that, the Leo Star God, who had been expelled from Earth but could re-enter thanks to Igeon, sneered.

[I’m surprised you even tried to kill him. You were close with the Great Star Gods! Especially with the Monarch of the Flaming Wheel, you were drinking buddies and best friends!]

Then Aseuran let out a cold sneer.

"Well, do I have to call that being close?"

He recalled an incident from the past with the Monarch of the Flaming Wheel. It was just before he carried out his revenge.

- I heard your human wife was killed by ruffians. I’m sorry.

had called the grieving Aseuran to the Ennead, poured him drinks, and comforted him. At the time, Igeon’s mother was a human on another god’s colonial land that Aseuran often visited. But she had been attacked and killed by ruffians. However, Aseuran had been away on a mission for the divine realm then, so he couldn’t protect Igeon’s mother. It was certain that someone from the divine realm was involved, but he couldn’t even know who the culprit was.

But.

- I heard there was a child too.

- Yes…

- Yes, it must be heartbreaking to lose such a precious child too. If he had lived, he would have been an outstanding child. I’ll pray for the repose of mother and child.

At those words from the Monarch of the Flaming Wheel, Aseuran flinched. Of course, anyone else might have glossed over such words in their grief.

- How did you know my child was a son?

-!

- I asked how you knew.

- How would I know? You just said so yourself a moment ago.

- I have no memory of mentioning the child’s gender.

At that moment, filled with murderous intent, Aseuran came to know. Who the culprit was who had killed his wife carrying Igeon. Under whose orders they had tried to eliminate her. Who had leaked his wife’s location and the child’s information to his enemies!

"Well, I don’t know how that bastard found out your mother’s location when no one else did… but anyway, he’s a god I couldn’t kill either. Even I had no way to kill him."

No spell, no power worked on the Ennead Great Star God. And when the gods despaired at the thorough Aseuran saying he too couldn’t find a way to kill him.

"No. There is a way to permanently eliminate that bastard."

[What?!]

[Is that true?!]

"Are you serious?"

"Just one way."

Igeon’s lips curled up.

* * *

"Are you sure that plan is okay?"

After a simple meeting. Hugo, who had secretly heard Igeon’s plan, asked him again for confirmation. Igeon replied as if telling him not to worry.

"It’ll probably work 100%. Well, it’s like changing the rules of the universe itself."

"Not the rules of the divine realm, but the rules of the universe… Is that okay? What about karma?"

Instead of answering, Igeon showed and smiled.

"Because this exists, it’s fine."

Hugo, who had a memory of being hit by the Rulebreaker, trembled from the trauma, but soon pointed at the hammer.

"Th-this? Is this the you mentioned?"

"Yeah. And with this, you can clear your karma too."

Soon, when the hammer turned into a little kid and rubbed its cheek against Igeon, Hugo glared at it with great suspicion. As if sensing that gaze, Igeon replied.

"Don’t worry. If it fails, I’ll make a replacement for you and hand it over to the Cheon family. I’ll make it with much better specs than the real dad, up and down."

"What, man??!!"

"Anyway, with this guy, you, killing the Ennead Star God, and Hailey are all okay."

At that, Hugo tilted his head.

"…Hailey?"

He roughly understood eliminating himself or the Monarch of the Flaming Wheel, but why her name popped up out of the blue.

"Hailey has nothing to do with karma."

Then Igeon wore a slightly bitter expression.

"That kid doesn’t have long to live."

Hugo screamed as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.

"What?!!"

Igeon kicked Hugo and told him to be quiet. The flustered Hugo soon whispered to Igeon.

"Wait, what does that mean…!!"

"Shut up, I only found out not long ago."

Of course, Yeonwoo or Haiji hadn’t told him. But he had already known before that. It was when he was kidnapped (?) by Hailey to the Scorpio Star Domain. When he had mixed bodies with Hailey, by touching her body, he had naturally grasped her lifespan. Since he was a god of and from the start, just by touching he could quickly know the other’s remaining lifespan.

At those words, Hugo, wondering at which point he should be surprised, slapped his own unstoppable mouth.

"Just by touching you can know someone’s lifespan…?"

"…I may look like this, but I’m a god of ."

"Where’s your conscience? You misspoke disaster god… Urk!!"

Igeon kicked Hugo’s shin. Well, the fact that he could read lifespans was something no one knew.

Anyway, he didn’t know which bastard had done the trick, but maybe because she was a child of taboo, her lifespan seemed originally short. And as she grew closer to him, her already short lifespan had shrunk even further. Of course, if it were just that, he could extend it with somehow, but maybe just getting close to a god was considered a sin. Hailey was destined to become an evil god and perish because of karma. Well, whatever bastard had designated even that as karma…

"Anyway, with this indulgence, even already accumulated karma is resolved."

After all, he had remade the rulebook himself, and if he eliminated the karma, Hailey would return to normal too.

At that, Hugo, who knew those rules better than anyone, nodded. After all, wasn’t he the one who had originally gone to the Ancient God intending to die using those very rules? And though he had thought they were convenient rules at the time…

"At least not that, you know. I have to see your nephew. I need to make him into a doting nephew. Absolve it right now. And get married. Make sure I’m the officiant."

At that, Igeon smiled brightly. It was a smile that hinted at some unknown ulterior motive.

(To be continued…)