It was none other than the Cheon siblings and the sacred warriors of Shingungjwa that fell before them like corpses!
When the bewildered Hugo looked up at the sky, there was a familiar face there.
“You…!”
[I never imagined you’d truly go like that.]
“……!!”
He was here.
But he wasn’t in a normal state. His entire body’s skin had been peeled off, and his face was a mess.
Hugo was flustered, but Igeon, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow as he looked at the bastard.
It was because of the marks that looked as if body parts had been attached together.
“What the hell, why did that bastard turn into some kind of Frankenstein?”
“I chopped him to pieces and killed him when I left!”
It seemed to be true; he glared at Hugo with a betrayed face.
[So that was your choice after all. To think you’d so ruthlessly chop up your one and only brother.]
Brother my ass.
Hugo ground his teeth and immediately grasped the situation.
The lords had appeared alongside the gods. What could this mean?
“Damn it, I killed them all, but that dog-like bastard revived them.”
That’s right.
He was Igeon’s brother. They knew each other’s weaknesses and abilities all too well.
That was why Igeon had been able to handle him.
Of course, he was by no means weak. So Igeon had acted thoroughly, prepared meticulously, prepared again, and delivered a decisive blow.
‘I ground him into mincemeat and burned him into cosmic garbage.’
But had undoubtedly found him in that state.
And must have stitched him back together with patchwork to revive him!
As proof of that, [ ] smiled.
[Strangely, our goals align. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It seems we can be of help to each other.]
The leader of Cruder, who appeared to have joined hands with the gods, laughed.
[Those bastards are the price for making me suffer.]
“……!”
Hugo looked at his children and the sacred warriors of Shingungjwa, whom he had reduced to corpses.
The sight made Hugo grind his teeth.
The Earth was shattered. His children and cherished subordinates lay dead.
It was definitely familiar.
It matched one of the two prophetic visions he had seen before.
‘Then could it be that the vision I saw back then….’
Was it this very moment?
A scene of chaos on an entirely different scale from the unknown civilization invasions he had experienced so far.
But when he’d seen that prophecy, Seongjae had been a short little kid, so he had dismissed it as trivial.
Yet now it was different.
The sight of his children and Shingungjwa’s sacred warriors dead, identical to the vision from back then.
And then, wasn’t that young man who looked like some unknown lord saying this?
[The plan succeeded.]
[ ] said.
[With that single strike, I erased the barrier of Ophiuchus and devoured every single Divine Agent and the subordinate gods you had set up across the world. You were too busy protecting ordinary Earthlings to pay attention.]
Hugo’s eyes shot open.
Not long ago, he had worried that these deeds were being committed by his [ ], transformed form.
‘Was it that bastard?’
And with an air of karmic retribution for betraying him, [ ] laughed as he deliberately picked out and threw down only Hugo’s family and those close to him.
[How does it feel? Now do you understand a little of the pain I went through?]
“That son of a bitch…!!”
Just as Hugo was unable to contain his surging rage and was about to draw on his power,
Igeon let out a scoffing laugh.
“Hey. How long are you guys going to keep lying there?”
“!”
“Quit playing dead and get up.”
It was the very moment Igeon said that nonchalantly.
“Gahak!”
Starting with Cheon Seongjae, who had been lying on the ground, everyone began sitting up, coughing.
[ ] seemed slightly surprised.
“That bastard, isn’t he a psycho! He suddenly removed the air to torment us!”
“That’s right. If not for Miss Yuha, it would have been a disaster.”
“!”
That’s right.
While dealing with the monsters, they had encountered [ ].
And when [ ] appeared, those who had been there resisted, but [ ] had smiled eerily.
–If you want to blame someone, blame your father. I’ll torment you right before his eyes.
At those words, Yuha seemed to realize [ ]’s true intentions.
And she must have immediately intuited the reason for the torment.
You’re never going to let us die easily, you’re going to keep inflicting pain and torment us to the very end.
So Yuha quickly used [ ] to put everyone in a state of suspended animation.
Because the trick of reviving the dead—there was no one in this world but her uncle who could do that.
And since he seemed to bear a grudge against Dad, he’d probably take them forward anyway. That would be enough.
And now, at this moment.
Being of the same sacred city, Igeon, who could not fail to notice their suspended state, laughed.
“You monster bastard, don’t look down on my subordinates.”
At his sneer, [ ] tried to move, but Hugo stepped forward.
‘That bastard is my responsibility.’
But Igeon stopped Hugo.
“Enough. Don’t exert yourself.”
“What?”
Igeon tilted his head and whispered to Hugo.
“If you use any more of your lord’s power, the karma will activate. You’ll be annihilated on the spot.”
“!”
The reason Hugo’s karma had been deferred until now was because he was in a human state. And because he was destined to be tormented like an insect by [ ] and die tens of thousands of times.
But now that [ ] had died and his power and memories had returned, that karma was rushing back with terrifying speed.
As if telling him not to forget his own karma.
That was why Igeon said,
“Just wait, I’ll use it for you right after I deal with those bastards.”
“But…!”
“I said enough. Just lend me your power. I’m probably a Grand Deity-level by now, and your faith must be at 1000%. You should have powered up too, right?”
“!”
He meant to use the Serpent Deity divinity that had been granted to Ophiuchus’s subordinate.
But Hugo was uneasy.
‘Saving as many get-out-of-jail-free cards as possible is the best move right now.’
Their opponents were those crazy bastards.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the plan Igeon had set up, but if it failed, they would need to use other tricks.
It wasn’t just that.
‘There’s no doubt. Geon is planning to use the indulgence on me and Hailey.’
And then he intended to sacrifice himself.
Of course, he would deny it, but to Hugo, who had watched him for a long time, it was clear.
–Why are you so hell-bent on not killing me?
Twenty years ago, the day before Igeon went to capture the Red Eye. The expression on Igeon’s face back then was exactly the same.
–There’s a way, so just trust your hyung.
And back then, Igeon had clearly promised to come back alive together, but deep down, he must have sensed that the tower was his final journey.
Because he had known he was living on borrowed time.
And with that same expression, did he really think he’d believe those words now?
Just as he was glaring like that,
BOOM!!!
“!!”
[ ], [ ], and the countless Cruders along with all the remaining gods launched an attack all at once.
It seemed they meant to wreak utter havoc on Earth.
[There is no need for two kings under the sky!]
[Have the humans deal with the Serpent God!]
[Deal with the traitor Manbyeon, and make humanity our prey!]
The moment those maddening bastards joined hands, [ ]’s appearance changed.
WHOOOSH!!
The form of Hwaryunju, which had been a young man, transformed into a giant of red flames.
Along with that, a white flame shot up.
It was Igeon’s [ ].
And at the signal of Igeon’s white giant and Hwaryunju’s red giant clashing, the sacred warriors stepped forward, and from Igeon’s shadow, his follower gods surged up.
There were numerous gods of the Earthly Deity level.
[Do not fear death!]
[We can be inherited and fight again even if we die!]
[Protect the master!]
[Let’s see who wins, even if it takes hundreds of years!]
Yeonwoo and the giant snake Junwoo (Apophis) also threatened him.
He seemed truly displeased at their presence. After all, he possessed a divinity that was inherently incompatible with them.
Indeed, as if disgusted, he raised the corner of his mouth.
[When I mercifully split you into two, you should have just died. Yet you crawl out like maggots.]
At last, the gods and sacred warriors clashed fiercely, and a few Cruders laughed as they secretly disappeared.
Seeing that, Hugo furrowed his brow.
He could see the Cruders moving strangely amidst the clash of gods. As if they had some other plan.
And Hugo, who couldn’t possibly fail to read their intentions, momentarily glanced at Igeon and then secretly vanished using [ ]’s ability.
Sure enough.
When he kidnapped one of their kin, read his memories, and headed to a suspicious location,
Hugo couldn’t help but frown.
‘As expected.’
The place he arrived at was a colony of the Ennead.
The problem was the objects installed in what looked like an underground cave.
‘These are all devices that steal the Serpent Lord’s power.’
In short, it was a system that, the more power Igeon released on Earth, the more it siphoned from him right beside him.
And Igeon wasn’t fighting alone.
Even now, while protecting lives, he was granting power to countless follower gods and sacred warriors.
And yet there were bastards nibbling away at his power from the side?
‘I have to deal with them.’
And it happened right then.
[What! Why is that traitorous bastard here!]
The Cruders spotted Hugo and immediately bared their teeth.
Hugo looked at them and coldly raised the corner of his mouth.
At the same time, the heads of the Cruders who had come burst.
BOOM!!!
[Cough!]
[Ugh!]
In an instant, he killed every single Cruder inside. He was prepared to burn his own body if it meant annihilating all of the Cruder bastards.
As he dealt with the enemies, Hugo furrowed his brow.
‘Well, there is a way to completely wipe out even the lords themselves.’
He didn’t know about naturally occurring Cruders, but it was possible for the lords created by [ ].
And besides, weren’t all the remaining lords at this point nothing more than ones created by him?
But to do that…
[I came because you were looking for me so urgently, and as I thought, it was you.]
Hugo raised the corner of his mouth at the figure that appeared before him.
‘I need that bastard’s heart.’
The Cruder leader, who seemed to have come upon hearing the news, was looking at Hugo with a face full of betrayal.
[After mercilessly chopping me to pieces and disappearing, do you still have business with me?]
“Yeah. This time, I’m going to have to rip out your core.”
(To be continued in the next episode)