“What? Were you looking for me?”
“……!”
A sharp voice rang out from the left side of the platform. It was a weighty voice.
And the first one to freeze at that voice was Sophie.
‘This is…!’
She’d thought there was no way, but he’d actually shown up here!
Of course, people were already in an uproar over the boy who had sent a Saint flying.
Who the hell was he?
“What the? Who is that?”
“Did that guy just throw that?”
“More importantly, is the Sage of Cancer okay?”
On the other hand, Cheon Seongjae, who had come with Yi Geon, was deathly pale. Cheon Yuha was also shocked.
That was only natural.
‘Uncle. Today, he definitely said he’d just watch quietly…!’
Well, his temperament of never thinking things through when he got angry was something she’d already gathered from Father’s heroic tales.
But right now, that wasn’t what mattered.
Thud!
“Kieeeek!”
People shrieked and recoiled from the fire-breathing lizard. They couldn’t believe the sight before their eyes.
“Crazy! That’s definitely that monster from four years ago!”
“Was that thing actually captured?”
“Don’t tell me that guy caught it?”
It was unmistakable.
The creature writhing on its back on the platform was definitely that one.
The Lord of Fire.
Because of it, the citizens stirred, and the high-ranking astral disciples summoned as guards couldn’t help but be appalled.
There was no way they wouldn’t remember that elephant-sized lizard.
‘The Lord of Fire that annihilated the north.’
‘The nightmare of Seoul.’
The one even the high-rankers couldn’t capture, turning tail and fleeing, now like that.
But even more ridiculous was the boy’s actions.
“Kieeeek!”
“Shit.”
Yi Geon, walking towards the platform, felt his blood pressure spike.
“I told you little punk not to breathe fire!”
Crunch!
“Kiek!”
The Lord of Fire, having its belly stomped, howled. Trying to cover its own mouth with its short arms was a sight to behold.
At that scene, neither the reporters nor the high-ranking astral disciples could close their mouths.
They wondered just what they were witnessing.
But regardless, Yi Geon looked toward the center of the platform.
Sophie, meeting his serpent-like eyes, collapsed to the ground. The Sage of Cancer who had been sent flying didn’t even cross her mind.
As expected.
“The person you’re looking for is right here. What? Got a problem?”
“……!”
At his words, silence descended, and the troublemakers on the platform froze.
Especially worth seeing were the expressions of the Aquarius astral disciples who had barged in following the Sage of Cancer.
“The person himself.”
“D-don’t tell me it’s Yi Geon?”
At those words, the plaza of hundreds of thousands erupted in a massive commotion. It seemed his voice had been amplified loudly by the microphones on the platform.
“Hey, what did he just say?”
“Yi Geon?”
However, amid the uproar, Yi Geon seemed to realize his mistake.
‘Tsk, if my face gets known, I can’t even game.’
He sneakily pulled up his mask.
But it was one step too late.
As if in shock, people screamed.
It was mainly the reporters near the platform. They were pale as if they’d seen a ghost. Some had fallen flat on their backsides.
“D-don’t tell me it’s really that Yi Geon?”
“Don’t talk nonsense! The age is completely different!”
“But if he really is the one…!”
But right at that moment.
[Touch of Rejection]
An explosion occurred on the platform.
Bang!
“Kyaak!”
Along with it, the thrashing lizard soared into the air.
“Kieeek!”
Someone had blasted the lizard into the void.
“Goodness, Yi Geon, you say.”
“!”
It was the Sage of Cancer, who had been pinned under the lizard.
The Sage of Cancer, having sent the lizard flying, revealed himself upon the collapsed platform.
“You should say things that make sense.”
The revealed Sage of Cancer looked like a mouse thoroughly coated in dust.
His expensive brown suit was already a complete mess. His subordinates rushed over in surprise.
“Lord of the Star! Are you alright!”
The Saint leaped up as if it were nothing. His movements were incredibly light.
At this, Yi Geon raised an eyebrow.
Cancer (巨蟹座).
‘That rotten crab bastard.’
Jang Rui Morang.
He looked like a gentleman, but among the twelve Saints, he was the slimiest of the slimy.
‘That bastard worse than food waste.’
That was it.
The guy wasn’t on the level of a bothersome fish bone you could tolerate, or a pest to be exterminated.
‘Waste level.’
Simply put, he was the type Yi Geon hated the most.
In a word, should you call him a creature of darkness?
If the Battle Star Lords fought on the front lines, this guy was a Star Lord who fought from the rear using special abilities.
Meaning an assassination-type Star Lord.
[Caution. The magic power of the darkest star reveals itself]
[Will you open the Sanctuary?]
Reporters swallowed nervously, looking back and forth between Yi Geon and the Sage of Cancer.
After all, it was a confrontation between a mystery boy and a Saint.
They had no clue what would happen.
And in that silence, a gentleman’s laughter burst forth.
It was a laugh dripping with loathing.
“They say the world is full of all kinds of people, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone so utterly brainless. Student, does your IQ exceed 50?”
“What?”
The Sage of Cancer laughed, dusting off his top-quality suit.
“If you want to claim to be Yi Geon, you should fix that face first. That Yi Geon wasn’t that handsome.”
Snap.
Simultaneously, voices burst from the crowd of gossip reporters.
“Right! There’s no way Yi Geon was that good-looking!”
“What kind of attention seeker is that?”
“Go fix your face first!”
Snap!
The Sage of Cancer smiled as if that was plausible.
“So, this bullshit about being Yi Geon is….”
Finally, Yi Geon, his veins popping, exploded.
“You bastards on the same level as this brat!”
Enraged, Yi Geon charged out in an instant.
And then, fiercely drop-kicked the Saint’s face!
Crack!
It clearly sounded like the noise of a neck bone snapping.
“……?!”
At the same time, the lanky man fell backwards.
Thud!
The moment he collapsed, screams echoed from all around.
“Lord of the Star!”
But that wasn’t all.
“You sons of filthy rags!”
Yi Geon also rampaged through the crowd of gossip media.
The plaza instantly turned into utter chaos.
“Crazy! Call the police!”
“Senior! Please save me!”
People shouted to call the police or astral disciples, but the reporters were rigid, unable to even think about reporting it.
There was no helping it.
Of course, the age and face were completely different.
‘His actions are Yi Geon…!’
‘It’s Yi Geon.’
‘It’s Yi Geon!’
The older reporters and cameramen, especially, were frozen in terror.
There was no way veteran journalists wouldn’t remember Yi Geon.
“Who else but Yi Geon would act that way towards a Saint!”
“……!”
The Saints were inviolable beings no one could treat carelessly.
Regardless of skill level, the only ones who could inflict harm on each other were former comrades.
In other words, only the thirteen original Awakened ones.
Especially, Yi Geon was famous as the most eccentric among them.
‘Never thought I’d see that kind of sight again.’
Eventually, the surroundings grew noisy.
“Breaking news, get it out as breaking news! Yi Geon is back!”
The Cheon siblings gaped. It seemed their uncle had forgotten that he was currently on a live broadcast worldwide.
Finally, at that point, Yi Geon seemed to give up, squeezing himself down among the reporters.
He didn’t seem to care about the blank stares the reporters and cameramen were sending him.
“Ah, anyway, keep going.”
“What?”
Having claimed a prime spot, Yi Geon smiled leisurely at Sophie on the platform.
“You were in the middle of a press conference. Weren’t you talking about that Yi Geon?”
“……!”
“Don’t mind me and continue. Actually, this is good. Now you’ve got two witnesses.”
Sophie’s face twisted.
But whether she liked it or not, Yi Geon smiled mischievously.
“What? The story about how you guys ran away after seeing the red eyes twenty years ago? Or how you sold me out and became heroes? Or that the face is actually thanks to medical science, but they couldn’t fix the personality? Come on. Hurry up and spill it, won’t you?”
Sophie trembled violently.
No, he’s saying everything himself, so what!
And at Yi Geon’s words, the reporters nearby even dropped their cameras.
They wondered just what kind of conversation was unfolding.
Soon, Yi Geon’s eyes flashed.
“Why don’t you want to talk?”
“It’s not that…!”
Sophie swallowed hard and scanned her surroundings.
More than one Saint was currently watching this press conference.
‘I definitely felt the presence of the Star God.’
And the biggest problem was that the Sage of Cancer had appeared here.
The guy was commonly called the Star of Darkness.
‘For an Assassination Star Lord to appear here…!’
There was no way Sophie didn’t know that while outwardly a contract Star Lord, he was secretly called a murder Star Lord.
It was just as Sophie was trembling.
“If you don’t want to talk….”
Right at that moment.
“My goodness. I never thought it would really be the man himself.”
Suddenly, the lights at the press conference venue went out.
“!”
As the light in the plaza vanished, people screamed.
“What the! Did the power cut out?”
Just as the commotion grew in the pitch-black darkness.
Rumble!
“Kyaak!”
The darkened press conference venue shook.
Along with it, an alarm blared.
Beep beep beep-
“What’s that? A disaster?”
But Yi Geon furrowed his brow. This wasn’t a disaster; it was a skill.
Then, right at that moment.
“Kyaak!”
A deafening roar echoed through the plaza. The sound waves swept the front of the exchange like a typhoon.
Boom!
“Aagh!”
The broadcasting vehicles, cameras—everything exploded from the sinister sound waves.
But the enemy’s target wasn’t the citizens.
The energy of the darkest star threatens you
Simultaneously, the light returned to the plaza. And Sophie was startled by the sight that unfolded.
“……!”
The Cheon siblings, who had been watching the scene, were just as slack-jawed.
[All directions are filled with enemies]
Every single person in the plaza was looking at Yi Geon.
[Caution. The Star of Darkness dominates the mind]
Even their gazes had changed.
“Grraaaah.”
And the people began charging at Yi Geon.
Seeing this, Cheon Yuha’s eyes flashed as she emitted lightning.
However, Star Order leaders blocked Cheon Yuha. They were being mentally dominated.
“Seongjae!”
As Cheon Yuha threw her banner, Cheon Seongjae, who caught it, urgently shouted.
“Uncle! Reach out your hand! The people!”
But Yi Geon himself was looking elsewhere.
“Those people aren’t what’s important.”
“……?!”
People swarmed towards Yi Geon like zombies.
That was the moment.
“This rotten crab bastard. Still pulling this shit.”
Yi Geon reached out his hand. He then grabbed the arm flying at him from within the mob.
Grab!
He seized it so it couldn’t escape.
“!”
And then.
Squelch!
Yi Geon tore off the head of the Sage of Cancer.
(Continued in the next episode)