“Ah, you retards. Can’t you even catch a single octopus?”
At that voice, Sergeyevich was startled.
The sound came from nearby. But the speaker was nowhere to be seen.
‘Was it an auditory hallucination?’
And then. Sergeyevich’s subordinate urged him.
“Holy Lord! Quickly! The Leo Saints are being attacked right now.”
At this, Sergeyevich grabbed the remote. He meant to activate the Capricorn relic installed in the sea area.
But the moment he tried to press that button.
“Look at this.”
“!”
Along with a menacing voice, the saint’s switch was completely smashed.
Crunch!
“……!”
With no time to be surprised, something came aiming for Capricorn’s jaw.
Shing!
It was a hand that looked as if it could tear through boulders.
“……!”
The flustered Capricorn managed to dodge, but the opponent let out a sharp laugh.
He had changed the direction of his hand.
Smack!
Capricorn’s vision shook violently. It was the jaw.
“…Ugh!”
“Holy Lord!”
Capricorn quickly put some distance between them.
His head had been rattled, but fortunately it was just a glancing blow.
Capricorn was the Production Saint Seat. In other words, a craftsman, but he was fundamentally a powerhouse capable of matching Igeon.
But this chilling power.
Sergeyevich glared at his opponent.
There stood a tall man wearing a black hat.
“I was wondering where all that phone chatter was coming from. So you were here?”
At that sharp smile, Capricorn’s eyebrows twisted fiercely.
‘So it wasn’t a hallucination after all.’
The face was different, but that insolent tone.
The voice, far too mature for his youthful appearance.
“Could it be Igeon?”
It was unquestionably the voice he had just heard over the phone. Even his subordinate was shocked.
Yet for some reason, Capricorn was more disconcerted than anything.
Of course, it wasn’t because of Igeon’s abilities.
“This is ridiculous, he’s even better-looking than on screen.”
“!”
Indeed.
Ever since Igeon appeared on TV, Capricorn had checked every photo of Igeon floating around the internet.
But he was strikingly different from the circulating videos or photos.
The camera utterly failed to capture his real appearance, to the point that the screen actually made him look like a squid.
“Wow, if you don’t benefit from the camera even a little, you’re literally not human. On screen he was practically a squid… Gah!”
Bam!
Igeon sent the subordinate flying and cracked his knuckles as he approached.
“You were trying to go to Virgo, so I came to you first. Just be grateful and suck it up.”
“Wait. Just wait a moment.”
Igeon laughed readily, as if he understood.
“Okay. One stab per second.”
“……!”
Igeon strode over. At the same time, he transformed the slime into a giant hammer.
It was an item he’d used in the past.
[Hammer of Achievement Bestowal]
That hammer was famous as one of Igeon’s Eight Great Relics.
Of course, since Igeon himself wasn’t known as its creator, everyone thought it was a buff-type tool, not a smithing hammer.
After all, something peculiar always happened whenever it was swung.
And though this was a counterfeit transformed from slime, the pressure was entirely different just by being held by its original owner.
“This.”
“!”
“I hear you’ve taken it and are using it for weapon crafting.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Igeon released his magical power.
Battle-ready from the get-go.
Igeon’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
“Hand it over. I need it to fix the Eojeon relic.”
At those words, Capricorn narrowed his brow.
The Eojeon relic must surely refer to Sagittarius’s bow.
So he responded calmly.
“A red-grade monster is invading. Shouldn’t catching that thing be the priority right now?”
But Igeon, as if he couldn’t comprehend the question, changed the hammer into a knife.
It was the Sky-splitting Knife, used for tearing leather. It resembled a square spatula-shaped knife, but it was so menacing it looked like it could flay skin right off.
“Didn’t you say you gathered ten thousand people? With that many, can’t you even slice one damned octopus into sashimi?”
“It’s not at an octopus level. We might not be able to catch it.”
“Aren’t you handing out holy funds and telling them to catch it? If they can’t earn their keep, shouldn’t they just go die?”
At that lunatic smile, Capricorn thought, ‘This is really him.’
So he said,
“I have no intention of fighting you.”
“One hit.”
“You said there was an accomplice who trapped you. I’ll help you find them.”
“Two hits.”
“I’ll return all of your belongings. Right now, immediately….”
“Ten hits.”
He was utterly unreasonable.
The Sky-splitting Knife he had drawn had completely transformed into a sashimi knife.
But just then.
Igeon gazed toward the sea.
He sensed Cheon Yuha’s energy not far away.
But soon, that energy vanished.
The screams echoing from the sea were a bonus.
However, Capricorn, who had no way of knowing that, gestured as if things had gone in his favor.
In fact, he had prepared a countermeasure for just such a confrontation with Igeon.
And as expected.
“Good.”
Capricorn grinned viciously.
[Warning. Capricorn’s saint has opened the summoning gate of Capricorn’s Holy God.]
[Warning. The presence of a natural enemy is felt from within the summoning gate.]
But that very moment.
“Lime.”
For some reason, Igeon suddenly released the slime’s transformation.
And then.
“Eat that thing.”
At the same time, the slime opened its mouth wide as if delighted.
“Gasp!”
Igeon even threw the bewildered Capricorn’s Holy City to the slime.
“Holy Lor… Aaargh!”
[ has devoured the energy of Capricorn.]
[ has devoured the belongings of Capricorn.]
That wasn’t all.
“Torch.”
[Prisoner, Torch (Status: trembling in fear) has been summoned.]
Igeon fed Torch to the slime. The inside of the slime’s stomach turned into a fiery hell.
“You little bastard, stay there for now.”
Igeon leaped down to the shore.
Screams were coming from the sea.
Most of them were the Recording Saints who had come to document this event.
Journalists.
“I-is that really okay?”
“How could it possibly be okay?!”
Could it be that Cheon’s Legs had summoned them?
The sea was teeming with swarms of octopuses.
Even one had been enough to knock out saints, but now there were ten, no, twenty of the same ilk.
“It’s over now. This place will become a red zone too!”
“What do you mean, Igeon’s reenactment…!”
It was then.
When Igeon headed toward the sea, the journalists were aghast.
“Hey! If you go that way, you’ll die!”
But Igeon ignored them. The journalists stamped their feet in frustration.
“We mean it, you’ll die!”
“Who is that guy!”
“Is he out of his mind, wanting to die?”
But just then.
As the journalists tried to follow Igeon, someone hastily grabbed them.
One of the journalists was deathly pale.
“What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”
“It’s Igeon…!”
“Huh?”
“That man is Igeon!”
“What did you say?!”
* * *
“Vice Sect Leader Cheon Yuha!”
Screams rang out over the sea.
And Cheon Yuha, having saved another saint, fell into the sea and furrowed her brow.
“Vice Sect Leader! Are you all right?”
Having risen above the water, she looked uncharacteristically troubled.
‘My weapon.’
Yes.
Her gaze was fixed on the octopus’s leg. It was good that she had saved her comrade and escaped with a flash of light, but her weapon had been seized.
What’s more.
Crack!
“Ah!”
The giant octopus leg snapped Cheon Yuha’s red spear as effortlessly as breaking a twig.
The saints were horrified.
“The Red Flash’s S-rank weapon…!”
The weapons of the Sect Leaders were famed legend-grade relics of indestructible property, crafted by SS-rank saints.
And yet.
That wasn’t all.
Splash!
“Eden!”
The Hunters of the Sea, having multiplied in number, snatched up the saints.
Splash!
“Guhak!”
The saints were frozen with terror.
Ahead, Cheon’s Legs.
Behind, the minions summoned by Cheon’s Legs.
There was nowhere to flee.
So only one option remained.
“Let’s do it exactly the way Igeon did it, down to the last detail!”
“Huh? Do you think it’ll work?”
“We have no choice!”
The sect leaders stepped forward with blazing eyes.
“Get into formation!”
The saints charged forth.
It was a joint skill, no less.
[Joint Skill]
[Procession of a Hundred Beasts]
A skill created by the gathered Leo Saints of the Cheon.
Magical power in the shape of a divine beast surged upward.
Crack!
True to their Combat Saint Seat status, their offensive skill was second to none. The energy momentarily matched that of a saint.
“From here on out!”
“Aim over there!”
In the footage, Igeon had definitely charged toward the thickest leg.
‘That must be its weak point!’
Of course, a single sucker was as tall as a saint, and merely grazing it seemed like it would kill them, but it didn’t matter.
“It’s fine! We’re S-rank! Stick to the left, just like in the video… Gasp!”
Boom!
The giant leg sent the saints in the front line flying.
“……!”
The formation collapsed in an instant.
S-rank, A-rank.
High-grade saints were mercilessly knocked into the sea.
“Save me!”
They were utterly frozen stiff.
To hell with the video.
‘We can’t even approach it!’
Far from approaching, the formation crumbled and they became the monsters’ prey.
“Aaaagh!”
That very moment.
Shiiing!
With a sound that shook heaven and earth, a flash of red light blasted away the octopus legs.
She had wrapped lightning around the weapons she’d picked up and hurled them like spears.
Boom! Boom!
As if fired from a laser cannon, the projectiles tore through the enemy’s legs.
“Cheon Yuha!”
At the same time, Cheon Yuha charged.
The only one among the sect leaders to penetrate into Cheon’s Legs’ bosom.
Shing!
“As expected of the Ten Saints!”
Cheon Yuha’s eyes flashed.
She had watched her uncle’s footage so many times she could replay it with her eyes closed.
And she had honed her physical abilities to make that possible.
The Red Flash weaved between Cheon’s Legs and soared into the sky.
Thus, 50 meters.
30 meters.
20 meters.
At last, 10 meters!
Just as she pushed through the thousand legs and was about to pierce the creature’s gap.
“Ugh!”
“Cheon Yuha!”
Sent flying, Cheon Yuha used a breakfall to regain her balance.
‘It’s just too fast!’
Cheon Yuha furrowed her brow and steadied her breathing.
It had only grazed her, but the destructive force was immense.
‘Breaking through is impossible.’
The saints, their faces drained of color, collapsed to the ground.
“Even though they’re S-rank, even the Ten Saints can’t approach it…!”
“As expected, without blessings from saints like Igeon…!”
But among the gathered sect leaders, someone thought,
‘Are you kidding me?’
‘Do you seriously think this can be overcome with blessings?’
Watching and doing are two different things.
Igeon’s movements in the footage had looked simple and easy, but they realized the truth when they tried it themselves.
Even with blessings, they could never pull it off.
It wasn’t that it looked easy; it was that Igeon was insane for making it look easy.
And then, at that very moment.
“Aaagh! Above!”
Cheon’s Legs straightened its body and raised both arms.
There was no hope.
“Dammit, it’s the end…!”
It was the moment when a tearful scream erupted.
“Move, you little bastards.”
“……!”
Along with a familiar voice, they thought they heard the sound of wind splitting.
And with it, something astonishing happened.
Crunch!
The demonic octopus leg fell into the sea.
“Kee-ee-eek!”
For the first time that day, they seemed to hear the creature’s wail.
Cheon’s Legs writhed in agony and retreated.
Simultaneously, the people were horrified.
“Who just did that!”
“Over there!”
Turning her head, Cheon Yuha could only doubt her own eyes.
‘…Uncle!’
There stood Igeon, on the sea.
Moreover, his attire was extremely light—contrasting starkly with the other saints who wore heavy equipment.
A hoodie and sweatpants.
The saints were aghast.
“What kind of madman wears something like that…!”
But the commotion was brief; someone yelled out.
“That’s Igeon!”
“What?”
“It’s certain! I saw him in person at the press conference!”
The saints screamed.
Most reacted as if the real hero had truly appeared.
And amidst those reactions, the hero clicked his tongue as if they were pathetic.
“Kids these days can’t even take down a damn octopus head like that.”
At the same time, the indignant saints shouted out.
“It’s too strong! It’s unbreachable rank!”
“It’s completely different from that video! We have to run!”
“What a goddamn shame.”
The very moment Igeon snorted.
Boom!
“Aaagh!”
Roaring, Cheon’s Legs fully erupted from the sea.
The saints collapsed where they stood, but Igeon’s eyes flashed.
“Well, it works out fine anyway. That bastard’s legs are pretty useful.”
As Igeon approached the octopus, a warning sounded.
[Caution. Penalty is being applied.]
[If the ability of the Ophiuchus is not used, physical strain may occur.]
At the warning, Igeon smiled as if telling it to screw off.
He didn’t need to use his ability against a bastard like that. After all, he’d caught this thing long ago without any such ability.
“Igeon-nim!”
“Forget it. You all just watch.”
(To be continued in the next episode)