At Yigeon’s words, the room buzzed with commotion.
That was only natural.
“Th-the Holy See?”
Their faces were painted with disbelief.
Of course, there had already been talk of a new Constellation emerging from Magaljwa’s mouth.
“C-could it really be that a new Divine Throne has appeared?”
“That’s insane! Truly a 13th?”
If a new Divine Throne had truly emerged, it was an event that would turn the world upside down.
‘The 12 Star Gods grant abilities to humanity.’
Though one had to pay a price, it was an era where the entire world, adults and children alike, lived at least as laity or higher.
The already solidified order of the twelve could absolutely not be ignored.
And yet, a Holy See for the 13th Divine Throne!
As a result, the Holy See members of the Divine Archer Throne looked at their Constellation Lord with bewildered expressions.
And sure enough, Hugo also stood with his mouth agape in shock.
“Geon, you…! How could you not say a single word to me!”
“See, even the Constellation Lord didn’t know…!”
“My son, absolutely not! You bastard!”
Ah, was that the issue?
Hugo jumped up in horror.
“Where did this brat learn such things!”
Of course, he could understand Yigeon wanting to bring in a Holy See.
A Holy See was an element that strengthened a Divine Throne.
Though, granted, that bastard seemed like he could sweep through armies even without a Holy See, but having one wouldn’t hurt.
No, rather, he’d become a transcendent being!
But my son, of all people!
‘Is he crazy? My hands are already more than full as it is!’
As if that guy would just end up an ordinary Holy See. It wouldn’t be strange if he immediately founded the Yigeon Church, established a holy family, and started reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
But regardless of that, Cheon Seongjae wore an expression of disbelief.
“I-is it really okay for me to do that?”
Seeing his deeply moved face, Hugo beat his chest in frustration.
Okay, my foot!
Finally unable to hold back, his father shouted as if making a decisive stand.
“Seongjae, don’t be fooled! Isn’t Daddy’s Holy Altar obviously better?!”
At that, Cheon Seongjae looked at his father.
His expression seemed to ask what that old man was talking about.
But Hugo did not yield, and roused his magical power.
“Look! Daddy can even do things like this!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Yigeon frowned deeply.
Poof!
Because an immense heat bloomed within the room.
[The Prestige of the Scorching Master blazes towards the heavens]
It was a scorching fire.
Rising in the sky was a sphere as if flames had coalesced.
It was like a sun.
The blazing red specks were as brilliant as jewels, yet as menacing as magma.
But it was so cool, like gazing at a microcosm, that anyone would be captivated.
Indeed, the Holy See members of the Divine Archer Throne opened their mouths in apparent admiration.
That was a special technique usable by Saint-level beings.
“Look! It’s a sun! Cool, right! Seongjae, a long time ago, you saw this and said Daddy was cool and you wanted it! Back then you were too young and it was dangerous, but you’re grown now! If you come to the Divine Archer Throne, I’ll let you play with it!”
Cheon Seongjae’s face looked like he was chewing on dung.
Just how old did this father think he was?
“What do you use that for? Besides playing.”
“What? W-well… with this, there’s no problem even in dark places! Like when our Seongjae is studying…!”
At that, Cheon Seongjae looked at him as if he was pathetic.
“Why not just turn on the lights?”
“If you put it in a steel drum, you can even make the whole chicken dish our Seongjae loves!”
“What about the oven?”
“Didn’t you know? You can cook chicken even without oil, amazingly. It’s cutting-edge technology.”
“Just use the air fryer.”
“……!”
In the end, Hugo, having given up on the sun, pulled out a bow.
“W-well, look! The Divine Archer Throne also increases your accuracy rate! You’ll get first place in shooting games too! Hidden enemies, one by one…!”
“Nah. I don’t play FPS games, and I specialize in wide-area skills on the battlefield, so it’s useless.”
“The Divine Archer Throne can also track! Even if you lose your phone, you can find it in no time!”
“Are you unaware phones have GPS?”
“The Divine Archer Throne actually lets you play musical instruments well too!”
“I don’t need that.”
“You can even write great poetry…!”
“Yeah, I get it. Divine Archer Throne totally sucks. And Dad, never, ever try to proselytize.”
“……”
Hugo slumped down. Seeing this, Yigeon clicked his tongue.
He couldn’t understand why they weren’t emphasizing the point that the Divine Archer Throne was a combat Divine Throne.
Eventually, Hugo cried out.
“That’s not it! Even if you go under Geon, there’s nothing helpful! Frankly speaking, you’ll learn nothing but beating up people and monsters! Just fighting skills…!”
At those words, Cheon Seongjae seemed shocked.
“Isn’t that freaking awesome?”
“What?”
“Becoming a Holy See of a combat Divine Throne was my long-time dream. It’s super cool?”
“Seongjae!!!!!”
“Uncle is a combat Divine Throne! I didn’t even think of that, as expected of Yigeon-nim…!”
“No! Daddy won’t allow it! No, right now, quit being an Awakened altogether… Ugh!”
Yigeon stepped on Hugo’s foot.
“Yeah, you’re finished.”
Simultaneously, he summoned one of the skills he had just put up.
[Skill can be used]
[Subordination (Proselytization) (F)]
-Proselytization Skill
-Can awaken a human as a follower of the Serpent Lord Throne
-When used on subordinate gods or magical beasts, taming effect.
Subordination was an essential skill for taking in human followers.
It was then.
[Caution. Subordination (Proselytization) can only be attempted once on the same target]
[Please decide with caution.]
[A Holy See’s betrayal can threaten a god’s prestige]
[You must closely examine if they will become a loyal follower of the Serpent Lord Throne]
It didn’t matter.
For someone of Seongjae’s caliber, there was no particular need to check.
Hadn’t it already been proven during the Heiji incident?
And it wasn’t just that.
‘Seongjae is a top-class talent.’
Yigeon could see it clearly.
He was young, and other Holy Sees were treating him as just mediocre, but well.
‘He’ll grow to at least SS-grade or higher.’
Heiji probably considered him merely a Ten Stars grade talent.
‘How clumsy.’
That wasn’t even the half of it.
-Cheon Seongjae’s
[Genius] Learning effect 200%
[Future Foresight] Detection of 1 second into the future
[Tenacious Obsession] Tracking specialization, completion increase, success rate increase
[Idol Worship] When with the target, all personal traits are strengthened.
Personal traits that continuously form depending on personality and environment.
In Cheon Seongjae’s case, the Genius trait was noteworthy, but above all, Idol Worship was excellent.
It was a rare, cheat-like trait.
‘He’s smart too, so it seems he’d be able to command other subordinate gods well.’
By this point, Hugo was in despair.
Of course, it wasn’t a bad thing for his son to become Yigeon’s Holy See.
He actually felt relieved. He knew Yigeon’s skills better than anyone.
It was a million times better than the Gemini Throne.
But if he became Yigeon’s Holy See, his son would probably not even glance at his dad anymore.
Yigeon wore a smile of victory. A truly devilish smile.
‘This is a piece of cake.’
To clear one of the three trials so easily.
“Alright. Then you shall become your uncle’s Holy See.”
But it was at that moment.
Thud!
Cheon Seongjae suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
Yigeon smiled.
“Seongjae? There’s no need to even kneel….”
“I’m sorry!”
“What?”
Yigeon’s eyes widened.
But Cheon Seongjae, with his head bowed, wore an expression that looked like he was truly about to cry.
An expression as if the world was crumbling.
A face that really didn’t want to speak.
“Thank you so much for offering! But I can’t do that!”
“?!”
Cheon Seongjae wailed and ran outside.
The expressions on people’s faces were something to behold.
* * *
It was an insane incident.
“It’s a definite sign. A sign the Earth will end tomorrow.”
The one who spoke first was a Holy See member of the Divine Archer Throne.
They all wore expressions as if they’d seen a ghost.
“Seongjae, refusing Yigeon-nim’s offer!”
“Are you crazy? It’s obvious he must be a fake!”
“It’s definitely a spy sent by the shapeshifters of the Pisces Throne!”
“We must initiate an inspection immediately!”
Hugo’s subordinates were seemingly ready to prepare for war.
However, whether his subordinates were serious or not, their father himself was elated.
“Hahaha! As expected of my son! Geon’s follower? Ridiculous. Awesome!”
So elated was he that he was doing the tourist bus dance.
Flailing his arms and tap-dancing—it was quite a sight.
Meanwhile, Yigeon fell into contemplation. Of course, he wasn’t upset or shocked.
It was just strange.
‘Why on earth did he say he can’t?’
No, with that level of faith—
unless he was insane, wasn’t there no reason to refuse?
Of course, Seongjae didn’t necessarily have to be the Holy See, but still…
“Hahahaha! It means beings like Geon aren’t even worth serving!”
Hugo kept tap-dancing in front of Yigeon, teasing him.
“Hahaha! Geon-ie got rejected. Geon-ie got rejected!”
“Taeksoo. While I’m asking nicely, just stop at the first verse.”
“Geon-ie got rejected~ Got rejected~”
Was it just his imagination, or was this the most joyful Hugo had looked since Yigeon’s return?
“Hahahaha! Even the great Yigeon is nothing special…”
Whack!
Yigeon’s kick slammed into Hugo’s solar plexus.
“Heeugh…!”
Hugo, flying back mercilessly, clutched his stomach.
It hurt.
It really fucking hurt.
“G-Geon you…! You put real force into that!”
But whether Hugo was dying from pain or not, Yigeon picked up his phone.
“Yeah. Yuha. It’s Uncle. Yuha, won’t you be my Holy See? Yeah, your dad strongly recommended it.”
At those words, Hugo let out a desperate scream.
His face was begging for mercy.
“Geoo…!”
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll stick with you 365 days and train you.”
“#$&#$*!”
“Yeah. Withdraw from the Leo Throne and come~”
Alien language followed, but the call was mercilessly disconnected.
Hugo despaired. Then, as if he’d never been acting up, he sat down politely.
“Yigeon-nim. Please, not Yuha. Please spare Yuha.”
“Well, we’ll see, depending on what you do.”
Yigeon grinned, putting his untouched cellphone back into his pocket. Well, whatever, it was fine.
‘There must be some circumstances.’
Honestly, for someone with that level of faith to run away—it didn’t make sense.
‘He was in the negative from the start.’
He didn’t know why the kid was attached to another Holy Altar.
Hugo dismissed it as simple teenage rebellion, but Yigeon scoffed.
Did he really think that even the most disobedient kids would abandon their father to follow another Constellation Lord?
And it was the same for Yuha.
‘Seeing that she’s in the Leo Throne, there must be a reason for it.’
So, though he hadn’t suggested it yet, the likelihood that Yuha would also not come, just like Seongjae, was high.
‘It might not have been 100% from the beginning anyway.’
So he would give up on those two for now.
Yigeon coolly stood up.
‘First, let’s finish the Trial of Power.’
Yigeon picked up his hammer. It was a tool for making weapons, but it was his indispensable partner in battle.
However, Yigeon, who was about to leave, stopped abruptly.
Then he rolled his eyes around again.
‘Well, since I’m curious anyway.’
Yigeon wiggled a finger.
[Take the Hit for Me (F)]
The skill activated, and in an instant, a startling figure appeared before Yigeon.
“The Gemini Constellation Lord!”
The Holy See members of the Divine Archer Throne were horrified and immediately entered a combat stance.
But the overwhelming, peerless beauty screamed the moment she saw Yigeon.
“I was wrong! I’m sorry! If you tell me to crawl on the floor, I will!”
Heiji prostrated herself flat before Yigeon. She was indeed Leriqueen.
He had sent her back to the Gemini Throne for now to watch Yongtae.
Of course, the Take the Hit for Me skill could only remember up to 3 people, resetting from the oldest summon first.
And Leriqueen was the most recent. To summon her, he had to be careful not to touch anyone else with his left hand.
And then.
“Send me to Europe. And while you’re at it, find out why Seongjae is in the Gemini Throne. Oh, and tell me everything you know about the Scribe.”
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time, in Montreal, Canada.
Caw! Caw!
Deep within a coniferous forest where not a single ray of sunlight penetrated, tension hung thick in the air.
That was only natural, as this was the location of the Scorpio Throne’s main base. On top of that, they were surrounded by the ferocious beasts the Scorpio Throne raised.
“Stay alert. This is the Scorpio Throne’s den.”
And above all else.
“From now on, you will encounter the Scorpio Constellation Lord.”
“If you let your guard down, you could be seduced by her beauty and die, so be careful!”
Everyone holding a torch swallowed hard. Those in the forest were the executives of the Leo Throne.
“The deal with the Scorpio Throne today must succeed. Since it concerns Yigeon’s 8 Sacred Objects.”
“Yes!”
Mission rank S-Class.
It was a dangerous mission where they could be annihilated if they slipped up.
And naturally, the SS-Class and Cheon Yuha had also participated in the escort mission.
Partly because she came upon hearing the trade items were her uncle’s Sacred Objects.
But it was at that moment.
Buzz!
Yuha, who had received a text, tilted her head quizzically.
It was because of the sender.
‘Dad?’
She had told him she was on a mission, so if he was contacting her, was it urgent?
Cheon Yuha opened the chat window.
And then.
[Hugo: Yuha!]
[Hugo: Not Geon’s Holy Altar, absolutely not!]
[Hugo: Seongjae might be okay, but you can’t!]
[Hugo: There’s also the matter of the Libra Throne, so being in the Leo Throne is safer for now!]
[Hugo: Anyway, absolutely not Geon’s Holy Altar!]
Receiving the message, Cheon Yuha tilted her head seriously as if hearing something for the first time.
“Uncle’s Holy Altar?”
(Continued in the next episode)