[It's me.]
A voice that seemed absolutely impossible to hear was heard.
Igeon was inwardly surprised.
‘This voice.’
Familiar. And it’s been quite a while.
That’s because this voice belonged to one of those bastards.
‘A Sage’
A powerful, resolute voice.
It was the deep, elderly voice that seemed to make the cave echo.
And as soon as that voice was heard, a warning voice followed.
[A contractor of another god seat has infiltrated the trivial Sagittarius Seat’s sacred territory]
[Note. He might even sneak into the Serpent Holder Seat’s sacred territory]
Well, it’s only a one-pyeong sacred territory, so he’d probably be executed by my followers before he can even hide, but anyway.
It was right then.
“Igeon-nim! Are you alright!”
Bursting open!
As if she sensed a suspicious aura, the beautiful holy maiden of the Sagittarius Seat threw open the door and entered.
In one hand, a kitchen knife; in the other, a live sea bream was clutched.
Eun Yerim. As Igeon’s superfan, she must have been trying to make steamed sea bream for Igeon.
Of course, the sea bream, just before entering the pot, was flailing about.
“Ah damn! Let go of me! You mere holy maiden! Do you know what kind of body I have! Agh! That slime bastard even gnawed off my ribbon so I can’t even talk!”
But regardless, the voice came again.
[Igeon. Aren’t you there?]
This time, both the Sagittarius Seat’s holy maiden and the sea bream were horrified. That was only natural.
“What! This voice…!”
“No way, a Sage…!”
At this, the divine followers revealed themselves from Igeon’s shadow.
The killing intent, as if about to draw swords at any moment, was a bonus.
[How dare you carelessly utter the master’s revered name!]
Most of all, an enemy had invaded the sacred territory.
And among the Sages, there were bastards who could encroach on an enemy’s sacred territory through objects.
‘If they went as far as to secretly send an object that emits a voice…’
It was dangerous.
That’s because, though few, the Sagittarius Seat’s holy maidens were wolfish mercenaries.
The holy maidens were scattered across various overseas locations under Hugo’s orders. Therefore, only two people, including himself, were guarding the main palace.
‘The sacred territory could be breached.’
Eun Yerim, now urgent, stepped forward with a fierce glare.
“We’ll summon the Sacred Lord immediately and conduct a search!”
“It’s fine. I already found it.”
“Huh?!”
Igeon headed toward the door.
There, it was filled with delivery boxes Igeon had ordered various things in.
Of course, perhaps due to news of his return, all sorts of bribe boxes had also arrived, but those had long been tossed into the Sagittarius Seat’s incinerator before even being brought in.
And.
Bang!
As Igeon kicked the boxes, the delivery boxes scattered everywhere.
And among them, what Igeon picked was a styrofoam box.
Crunch!
When Igeon smashed the box, luscious meat appeared inside.
It was no less than top-grade beef.
But what mattered wasn’t the meat.
“I wondered what kind of bastard kept persistently sending deliveries.”
Amidst the meat was an object that looked like a speaker.
Clearly, they had kept sending objects wanting to talk to Igeon.
Sure enough.
[I have finally managed to speak with you.]
Hearing that voice, Igeon smiled as if it were ridiculous, while the female holy maiden and the sea bream were appalled.
“As expected, the Capricorn Sage!”
Indeed.
That profound voice was none other than Magaljwa (磨羯座). The Sage of the Capricorn constellation.
He was also the original maker of the missile that had recently turned the Yin-Yang Palace into a wasteland.
But most importantly, he was the head of , who made weapons and armor for all the world’s holy maidens and soldiers!
That wasn’t all.
‘It’s said that he made Igeon-nim’s weapons and armor…’
“Anyway, why is that damn… I mean, Sage Sebastian…!”
But it was right then. The other party suddenly radiated killing intent.
[My name is Sergeyevich the First.]
“Huh?”
[Not Sebastian, Sergeyevich.]
At this, the female holy maiden looked greatly bewildered.
That’s because, in the news, newspapers, and official occasions, the Capricorn Sage’s name wasn’t that.
“Even the encyclopedia says….”
[No. My name is Se…]
“Sebastian, you bastard, it’s been a while?”
[……!]
Along with those words, a notification sound rang out.
[The Capricorn’s energy surges fiercely]
[The Capricorn’s energy shakes violently]
As the opponent’s anger was felt, Igeon cackled.
Indeed. The Capricorn’s real name was Sergeyevich Ivan.
But when they first met, Igeon had made a face like he’d chewed dung.
‘Sergeyevich the First, huh.’
‘Se… what?’
‘Sergeyevich Vladimir Ivan…’
‘Ah, piss off. You’re just Sebastian.’
It meant the name was too long.
It was the same case as calling Hugo Otters “O Taeksu.”
Well, in Hugo’s case, it was because he looked needlessly cool(?) so they renamed him that, but anyway.
Of course, Igeon had called the 12 by nicknames like ‘Pisspants, Dungfur, Rotten Gejang.’
Still, for a few, he preserved their official image.
One of them was Hugo.
Of course, was that when they first met and Igeon saved his life? When Hugo clung to his pants begging to be accepted as a disciple, Igeon called him by a nickname, but after they became friends, he called him by name(?)
And the second was Sergeyevich.
It was in the spirit of respecting the elderly.
In any case, currently.
The Capricorn, who had lived as Sebastian for over 20 years, ground his teeth.
[I wanted to converse with you, but the divine archer blocked me.]
Well, that would be so. These bastards had predictable things to say.
Sure enough.
[Igeon, I want to apologize to you. And I want to form a cooperative relationship.]
He spouted such pretty bullshit.
* * *
Even the sea bream was surprised at the Capricorn’s words.
That was only natural.
‘That old fart.’
He’s apologizing now?
And most of all, the holy maiden Eun Yerim was bewildered.
In fact, what Igeon had uttered at this press conference was a massive topic.
‘It was Igeon-nim who caught the Red Eyes.’
Of course, most people laughed, saying how could someone like Igeon catch the Red Eyes?
But rumors had been circulating.
If Igeon really did catch the Red Eyes.
Could it be that the 12 Sages intentionally imprisoned Igeon in the tower and stole his achievements?
Furthermore, could the 12 Star Gods have even covered that up?
Sure enough.
[I apologize. I’m sorry that we couldn’t save you that day and escaped the tower on our own. I’m also sorry for stealing your achievements.]
“……!”
Eun Yerim was shocked.
For no other reason.
‘Th-then, was it really Igeon-nim who caught the Red Eyes?’
She had always heard of Igeon’s greatness, but still thought Hugo’s over-exaggeration was 90%.
But it wasn’t strange. Much like the archery skills he showed when he dueled Hugo recently.
[Anyway, I too will go before the media and reveal the truth. Like Sophie.]
At this, the sea bream Yang Wei, who had been cackling, was thrown into shock.
‘Huh? Huh? W-wait a minute…!’
It’s shocking that the old fart admits his wrongdoing, but wouldn’t such a thing put them in a difficult position?
Not wanting the other god seats to be screwed over either, but they didn’t want the entire god seat system to collapse.
Whether he knew that or not, the Capricorn spoke.
[All the gifts sent so far are tokens of sincerity. I will return all the items taken. I will also compensate as much as you desire, just say the word. I will pay for my sins.]
Yang Wei was dumbfounded, just gaping.
But the Capricorn was serious.
[Please, give me a chance to apologize. And I’ll reveal everything…]
“What is this shit-smelling black goat bastard rambling on about.”
[……!]
Igeon smiled viciously.
“Look at him pulling pathetic tricks because things are turning unfavorable?”
[What did you say?]
“ ‘We couldn’t save Igeon in the tower. And we stole his achievements.’ You think I don’t know what you bastards would say next?”
“……!”
“ ‘It was a necessary lie to protect the citizens at the time.’ You were going to say something like that. Or perhaps.”
Igeon smiled as if disgusted.
“ ‘It was all the scheme of the deceased Yang Wei. We were threatened and had no choice but to comply with his demands’?”
Yang Wei let out a shriek.
“What the hell!”
Igeon picked up the speaker stuck among the meat.
“Now that I’ve appeared, you can’t hide the truth any longer, and you’re thinking of cleaning up the aftermath somehow, but I won’t let that happen.”
The Capricorn let out a deep sigh.
[Igeon. I understand your feelings, but don’t be so distrustful. We were comrades, weren’t w…]
“Yeah, fuck off. I was originally aiming for the Virgo Seat first, but next is you. Clean your neck and wait.”
[……!?]
From the Capricorn’s perspective, he tried to negotiate and suddenly became prey.
“You must be worried, huh. Called the crafting god seat, right? I wonder how much better the holy relics you made are compared to my stuff.”
[No…!]
“You wanted to join hands with me, make good weapons, and also preserve the numbers of your holy cities.”
[Igeon! This is truly a misunderstanding…]
“You made two mistakes. One, you took my property and stole my credits.”
[……!]
Igeon’s eyes gleamed viciously.
“And the other one is….”
Crunch!
Igeon smashed the speaker in an instant.
Eun Yerim and Yang Wei were horrified.
“Wh-what! Why smash the speaker all of a sudden! You should at least finish talking!”
Then Igeon raised the corner of his lips.
“This way that bastard will be frustrated to death, no?”
“……?!”
At the same time, having cut off contact, Igeon narrowed his brows as if peeved.
‘A piece of garbage like that showing up.’
He hadn’t caught him only because there was no evidence, but this guy was also someone who could sacrifice humanity for selfish greed.
And above all, Igeon hated the Capricorn.
‘Making things for me, my ass.’
He was a guy who begrudged even giving a worn-out weapon to me. When I had no way to obtain a weapon to fight and started self-sufficiency with great difficulty, he grew jealous and played dirty tricks.
‘After I disappeared, he fraudulently claimed that he himself made my weapons.’
And so they said that the combat power of came from weapons and the Sages’ strength, right?
So I need to drag that bastard out and expose his true colors.
‘Well, that’s not hard.’
Given the bastard’s behavioral pattern, there must be some ulterior motive.
It was then.
The slime who had been playing outside rushed into the room.
And as if trying to show something to its master, it hastily turned on the TV.
It was a bonus that it had the yellow ribbon in its mouth.
[People all over the world, can you see!]
[This is currently Manila, the Luzon Island area!]
[From that demonic sea, the Bridge of a Thousand finally revealed itself!]
[It has dyed the entire South Pacific region it passed through into a red zone, and is now crossing the equator and rising up!]
At that cry, Igeon’s eyes went round.
“That bastard….”
Eun Yerim screamed, looking back and forth between Igeon and the TV scene.
“Oh my god, th-that! The one Igeon-nim caught!”
It seemed the slime had come in a hurry to inform that the creature its master had caught had reappeared.
Igeon was quite intrigued.
“Oh. A kin of that one from back then?”
It was just at that moment.
[Here, the famous Bridge of a Thousand has appeared!]
[What’s even more surprising is that all the direct-controlled holy orders, which normally have no reason to gather, have assembled here!]
[Especially the Leo Seat! At the Leo Seat, not a single direct-controlled group is missing!]
[Let’s hear the aspirations of the holy order leaders!]
[That famous fellow from one of Igeon’s legends.]
[It may be an opportunity. An opportunity to finally shake off the shadow we could never erase.]
[Like in that footage of Igeon! We too will recreate it exactly!]
[We will clearly show the abilities of the southern god seats’ holy warriors.]
[The difference in skill compared to the hero from 20 years ago!]
At those words, Eun Yerim glanced at Igeon’s expression.
But Igeon laughed heartily.
“That thing probably won’t be so easy, though.”
It didn’t matter.
Right then, a commotion could be heard from the TV.
[The Bridge of a Thousand…! Huh?]
[The Leo Seat holy order leaders are starting to move urgently!]
[Co-could it be the one hanging from the Bridge of a Thousand…!]
[Isn’t that the Leo Seat Sage?]
[He’s hanging from bones, bones! Could it be an illusion?]
“!”
And then it was.
[Ah, there comes the noble person!]
[It seems he came to cheer on the holy warriors!]
[Or perhaps it’s related to the appearance of the Leo Seat Sage?]
Amidst the holy warriors, a stately old man appeared.
It was the Capricorn Sage.
And at that familiar face, Igeon raised the corner of his lips.
“Ah. That thing was there?”
(Continued in the next episode)