All the gods hostile to Igeon were dragged into Ea.
[Argh!]
Even trying to flee was useless.
With the power of Chaos in hand, Ea mercilessly sucked in those with divinity, not letting a single one escape.
Crunch! Crunch!
That wasn't all.
Even the Cruders, who had barely clung to life and were playing dead, were all dragged away.
Boom!
[Damn that cursed snake bastard!!]
Ea took every last one of Igeon's enemies without leaving a trace.
Igeon entered Ea's interior to confirm them.
And when he entered that space of darkness and stars like a universe, the Taegoshin looked at Igeon as if asking if he was truly all right.
[Turning them into tools is fine, but inside Ea time is already different from Earth's time.]
In other words, no one knew when those dragged-away bastards would be reborn.
That wasn't all.
[The inside of Ea is already like a universe, connected to countless dimensions, countless timelines.]
It meant the places where the bastards would reappear might not be this Earth where Igeon currently was.
It could be an Earth of another timeline.
Past, or future.
Perhaps they might fly off to an even more distant past and appear on a timeline where monsters never existed at all.
[In other words, they could run wild beyond your sight.]
At that, Igeon laughed.
"Well, that's why I also granted Ea space-time and time abilities."
[!]
Simply put, it meant that in any dimension, any time, those who tried to move freely and pull their crap would be shoved back inside Ea.
"If it comes down to it, Ea will just annihilate them."
If they pull nonsense, annihilate them and then rebirth them as tools, an infinite cycle of confinement.
'God bastards. Do you think I'd give you a chance to escape quietly?'
Well, the moment they entered Ea, the bastards were essentially being passed down as inheritance. Their memories would naturally vanish, so there'd be almost no chance for them to pull nonsense.
But at the same time, as if suddenly realizing something, Igeon looked at his attendant gods.
"Ah. If you don't want to be turned into tools, tell me beforehand. I'll release you."
Since he had turned all the gods into tools, his attendants couldn't avoid it either.
But the attendant gods smiled as if there was no need.
[Wasn't this something you heard from Master in advance and carried out after everyone unanimously agreed?]
[We can still use our powers as they are, and it's not like we have to stay only in object form.]
[As attendant gods, being Ea or whatever is the same as before anyway.]
[It's just fascinating, like we gained a transformation ability.]
[It's not just a transformation ability?! Look! We gained new abilities too!]
[We've become more handsome!!!!]
[We've grown bigger!!!!]
[Rather, it's comfortable not having to manage divine rank or lifespan.]
The gods had excited faces. They were actually worried about something else.
[Rather than us, I wonder if the humans who will come into contact with the tools inside Ea will be all right.]
"!"
Would those bastards who became tools really stay obedient?
Of course, they themselves, who took on the role of overseers, would block them as much as possible, but those beings still harbored grudges against humans.
They'd try to torment and tempt humans beyond Igeon's sight to return to their original state.
[Can ordinary humans, not even holy ones, truly handle tools imbued with a god's power?]
But Igeon smiled.
"I believe in the power of humans. Even if they are discovered, they'll manage to use them well somehow. And."
[!]
Igeon shook Ea.
"From the start, I designed it so that even ordinary humans can command those bastards."
[Huh?!]
[Is that possible?]
"Yeah."
He didn't show it, saying the details were a secret, but still.
"Well, anyway, those bastards who became tools can never disobey humans. Still, we need safety measures."
[By safety measures, what kind...]
With those words, Igeon gestured. Then the jade thrones of the 13 Shinshwa appeared.
Wa and were two holy gods, so there were two jade thrones each.
A total of fifteen chairs.
'These jade thrones originally belonged to the holy gods who were the masters of the zodiac's 13 Shinshwa.'
Fundamentally, they had the function to suppress attendant gods and bring them in as attendants.
'I'll create the safety measures with these.'
And as Igeon gestured, the fifteen chairs transformed into the shape of a nucleus.
[Ma, Master. What is that?]
But instead of answering, Igeon summoned someone.
And what appeared at the call was none other than the Hwansushin.
[You called, Master!!!]
"Yeah. Cutting to the chase, pick fifteen volunteers among you."
[Huh...?]
[What kind of volunteers... are you talking about...]
At the sudden request, the Hwansushin seemed flustered, but Igeon raised the corners of his mouth.
The Hwansushin were originally beings who discerned corruption, distinguished things invisible to the eye, and punished corrupted gods.
And if it's those guys, it would be certain.
"You guys, sneak among the bastards who became tools, and pick out some humans who are at least somewhat usable."
[Huh??]
"I'm telling you to pick the human leaders who will manage the tools that went over to that side."
[Huh?!]
"To those you pick, grant this. The power of the seat of authority."
[This is...]
"You can roughly consider the ones who became tools to be at the level of attendant gods. And this is a divine artifact that turns them into holy gods. Just as a holy god handles attendant gods, they can press down and suppress those bastards, and just possessing it will already grant them power beyond that of humans."
The attendant gods were astonished.
No matter how much of a safety measure, they couldn't understand why Igeon would go to such lengths.
[Master! There's no need to request such a thing from us; can't Master simply directly handle the tools yourself?!]
[Because Master is the sole Great Holy God existing in the current universe!!]
"!"
That was true.
Igeon was the creator of the tools. Naturally, he hadn't become a tool.
He had separated and as Ea, but they were still Igeon's attendants, and if he so desired, commanding them wasn't even a task.
[That's right. Even more, if you so desired, you could move to any timeline... Why insist on human managers...!]
[Couldn't you just directly handle the tools yourself and protect the humans?]
At that, Igeon frowned as if they were spouting nonsense.
"Are you crazy? Hey. I'm the maker, not the user."
[!]
The bastards were weapons, tools.
And he himself was the producer. There would be someone better at handling them.
"And after doing this much, haven't I done my duty? I made the weapons; using them is up to the user. You want me to do after-sales service too?"
[Master?!]
And at that moment, Mimir looked at Igeon with a slightly concerned expression.
But the Hwansushin, who couldn't possibly know that, trembled as they spoke.
[But to tell us to pick fifteen... you don't mean you'll pick as many as fifteen human managers...?]
"Yeah. You guys pick fifteen humans who have the guts to face off even against the gods who became tools. If it looks like we're making the Twelve Holy Ones, narrow it down to the strongest one like me. Rules are free."
[Ah, wa, wait a moment! For such a task, even among us Hwansushin, we'll ask the highest-ranking gods!]
[They may all be strong-willed, but they are strong. Well, a big fight might break out as they try to be acknowledged by Master, but...]
"Sure. Do that. If they fight and die, they'll just pass down the inheritance, so tell them to do it in moderation."
Mimir still seemed concerned.
All of them were safety measures that even he as Ea would find flawless when checking, but was it just his imagination that it felt like Igeon was preparing for things after his own death?
[Master, with all due respect, perhaps...]
So he was about to ask something, but Igeon immediately called and .
, in the form of a girl and a boy, clung to Igeon like koalas as if they liked him.
Especially , with eyes sparkling as if asking if he had seen what she had done.
[Master, did you see? Did you see? I got rid of all your enemies!]
At the words as if asking for praise, Igeon stroked their heads as if to say they did well.
"Well done. From now on, just manage in my stead like that."
[?]
The smiles on the two divine entities' faces slightly disappeared.
[Master?]
"And a new owner will appear in my stead. Take good care of that owner and protect humanity."
and , which were Igeon's divine entities, were in some sense also his avatars.
So it meant he entrusted them as the most reliable, but for some reason, burst into tears in a flash.
, who hurriedly grabbed him, seemed to sense something.
As expected.
[I don't want to. I don't want a new owner! I like Master! I don't need another owner!]
"Well. Sure. You might hate it since you're suddenly sending me off. Then I'll give you a choice."
[!]
"If the new owner doesn't satisfy you, you don't have to follow them. If they seem like someone who will harm humanity, you can deal with them. Just keep picking owners on my behalf like that. You can just watch over things."
said nothing and just held Igeon, and cried and cried.
[I won't ever choose one. I'll keep waiting until Master comes back to us.]
Igeon stroked their heads and sent them back as if telling them to get to work.
He also dismissed all the other gods to handle the cleanup of the destroyed lands.
And it was that moment.
Throb!
Left alone inside Ea, Igeon frowned at the pain in his arm.
Perhaps because of that, Igeon immediately returned the Taegoshin to the form of a book.
'Shall I try writing an indulgence soon?'
As a way to resurrect that foolish friend and to save Haily as well.
At those words, the Taegoshin spoke worriedly.
[Are you sure you don't need to write an indulgence for yourself?]
"Yeah. It's what I decided from the beginning."
[But...]
"It's fine. I can't last long anyway."
He hadn't told others, but it was a problem with his physical body.
'Indeed, a body not even 100 years old makes a big difference.'
Gods grow stronger the longer they are aged.
But it seemed that the power of the Great Holy God that Igeon possessed was too excessively great and strong for a body not even 100 years old to endure.
Because of excessively fast growth, excessively strong power, the body like a newborn couldn't hold out.
Even using , it was like pouring water into a bottomless pot, hard to handle.
'Well, unless my data gets somewhat engraved in the universe, that's another matter.'
He thought he had caused quite a lot of incidents, but unexpectedly, from the universe bastard's perspective, was it like dust? Or was it asleep?
Anyway, as things stood, his body would collapse, and along with it, his divinity and all the attendant gods he commanded were fated to collapse together as one.
That's why he separated and , and also separated even the attendant gods as tools. So that they wouldn't get dragged into his collapse along with him.
'Well, since I'm going to collapse anyway, it's more profitable to save those who can be saved.'
So he had originally held such a heart, but unexpectedly, Hugo had gone ahead first, dragging the Cruders himself to save his friend, which left him with mixed feelings.
At the same time, that sentiment was quite grateful.
So, intending to quickly write an indulgence for the two, he even set up a barrier so no one could interfere.
Especially before the perceptive Mimir came, he had to resolve the matter.
But right then.
"!"
At the presence, Igeon's brow furrowed.
And as he immediately unleashed his power, along with a blue light, the hidden figure lurking was revealed.
At the same time, at the face that appeared, Igeon flinched in surprise.
"Yeonu."
Yeonu was crying quietly with her head bowed.
"...You heard everything, huh."
Having dealt with the gods and learned new skills, she had been planning to surprise Igeon, but she couldn't lift her head.
Igeon walked over to Yeonu with a bitter smile.
And he hugged her as if patting her.
"Yeonu, I'm sorry. It seems I won't be able to marry you."
When Igeon said that, Yeonu, buried in his embrace, pressed her face against him and said.
"You don't have to accept it, so please, just don't die...!"
Igeon smiled bitterly.
Now he felt like he finally somewhat understood his father's heart.
When he had been dying, he had said the little snakes kept lingering in his eyes.
"Mm, I'll try my best for now."
"Igeonn..."
Igeon pressed his lips to Yeonu's forehead. And then he held her face.
[Fall asleep.]
At the same time, Yeonu's body stiffened. That was natural, since Yeonu was Igeon's attendant god. And as such, she couldn't disobey her master's command.
As expected, Yeonu's eyelids grew heavy and fell.
She tried somehow to endure, to stop Igeon, but it was useless.
Flash!
A pool spread beneath Yeonu's feet, and she fell into the pool and disappeared within.
At that time, Igeon called forth his own attendant god.
It was none other than the piggy bank .
[Buoo!!]
Seeing Lee Geon, Pishu was afraid his belly would be split again, and immediately broke out in a sweat and tried to run away.
But Lee Geon, as if apologizing for having split his belly before, patted him soothingly and held out eight crystals.
They were all of the Ancient God’s nine powers, except for the one Hwaryunju had taken away.
[Buoh?]
“These. Keep them nicely in your belly and later give them to Yeonwoo. Tell him to hold onto them for me.”
[Bu, buoh???]
Pishu was flustered. His face asked why he had to give them to someone else.
“Because someday they might come in handy in a dangerous moment. Well, it would be nice if they were a set of nine, but I couldn’t get one. Anyway, that one already overlaps with that… I guess it doesn’t matter if I don’t have it. It’s not like you get a bonus effect just because you have the full set.”
Lee Geon tried to put his hand into Pishu’s mouth, but feeling something ominous, Pishu clamped his mouth shut and refused to eat.
“What’s this? Hey, hurry up and swallow them! You pig-bastard, you love eating stuff!”
[Bwoooooh!]
Finally, just as Lee Geon was about to force Pishu’s mouth open and feed him—
Bang!!!
“!”
From within the Chaos, which looked like outer space, a black silhouette burst out.
[Hand it over, that authority!!!]
“!”
The one who appeared was none other than Hwaryunju!
Was this his final struggle? Or was there some other reason?
Though the power was already turned into a tool and useless, Hwaryunju frantically tried to snatch the Ancient God’s power that was about to go into Pishu’s stomach.
He was already on the verge of death, his form half-turned to bone, yet the venomous energy with which he grabbed Lee Geon’s foot was full of sincerity.
‘It’s the resentment of the godhood.’
The power of the godhood itself, with almost no rationality left!
In the end, though he didn’t understand, Lee Geon grinned fiercely at the sight.
“Well, this works out.”
Hwaryunju had possessed the [ ].
Well, since Hwaryunju’s divinity had also entered the [ ], it would turn into a tool, so he thought it didn’t matter, but when it appeared right before his eyes, things changed.
“I’ll make it a full set of nine for you!”
As if this was even better, Lee Geon shoved the eight crystals of authority into Pishu’s mouth.
Moreover, that bastard was a variant who could break the rules!
Lee Geon swiftly put him in a headlock.
Crack!!
At the same time, Lee Geon shouted.
“Piggy bank! I’m pulling out the divinity, so keep your mouth open!”
[Buoh?!!]
At last, Lee Geon ripped the divinity right out of Hwaryunju’s body.
Thump!!!
“Eat!”
[Bu, buohh!]
Flustered, Pishu chomped down on Hwaryunju’s crystal.
Hwaryunju despaired at the sight. He tried to kill Pishu and escape the Cradle, but Lee Geon snatched his head.
“Where do you think you’re going? Now you’re coming with me to the underworld.”
[?!]
Lee Geon grinned with a glint in his eye.
At the same time, he shouted at the Ancient God (the book) that Pishu was holding.
“Activate the indulgence now! Two of them!”
[Are you really okay with that?]
“Yeah.”
Lee Geon smiled.
From the beginning, he had intended to save Hugo and Hayley.
If he was going to die anyway, that was the better choice.
He was ready to jump into the [ ] along with him.
‘Well, meeting my end in something I made wouldn’t be so bad.’
Of course, even if he threw himself into the [ ], he wasn’t sure if he would turn into a tool.
Still, becoming a tool he himself had made wouldn’t be a bad life.
But just then, Mimir’s voice rang out.
-Master, master? What are you doing right now? Please, let me enter the Cradle!
Apparently, his actions had been discovered, but Lee Geon ignored it.
He had set up a barrier anyway, so no one could enter this place.
‘Now then.’
But it was at that very moment.
“That, at least, I cannot allow.”
“!”
A familiar voice came.
It was a voice echoing from inside Pishu’s belly.
(To be continued in the next episode)