Cheon Seongjae couldn’t take his eyes off the object Lee Geon had tossed.
It was a gift Lee Geon had prepared specially for Seongjae.
But for some reason, Cheon Seongjae seemed incredibly confused.
That was only natural.
"Uncle... why in the world would you give me something like this..."
There it was. In his hands was none other than a Saggitarius seat figurine.
There were two versions—one of his twenties from his Terryus days, and one of his current forties. True to the Saggitarius seat saint, the pose drawing the bowstring was incredibly impressive.
But what was the point?
"Why a Saggitarius seat figurine, of all things?"
The other saints found it strange too. Of course, the only one among them who was moved was Hugo.
"That rascal Lee Geon. He still considers me a friend...!"
Surely he was granting Hugo's request to help his children come to love their father.
But Cheon Seongjae, who had been staring intently at the figurines of his father, nodded as if he understood perfectly.
"You mean I should use this as a diorama where a monster gets eaten? Thank you!"
"Golㄹ...Hey! Cheon Seongjae! Even so, using your own father's figurine like that!"
Just as Hugo was about to protest that it was too much, Lee Geon burst out laughing.
"No matter how I look at it, would I give my nephew some shabby Saggitarius seat thing as a present?"
"Hey!"
"The real gift is the contents inside."
"Contents?"
Instead of answering, Lee Geon glanced at the figurine Cheon Seongjae was holding.
[Lee Jaewon] [Cheon Jiu]
Seeing that, Lee Geon grinned.
"There are souls inside. One is Lee Jaewon, the other is Cheon Jiu."
"......?!"
At the familiar names, everyone was shocked.
Not just the saints, but the expressions of Cheon Seongjae and Hugo completely changed.
Hugo, especially, who had gotten that call from the hospital, was trembling even down to his hands.
There was no way he didn't know what those words meant.
Cheon Seongjae's hands also shook, as if he couldn't believe it.
"M-My mom and Jiu hyung?"
At that reaction, Lee Geon smiled with satisfaction.
The truth was, the reason Lee Geon hadn't used the toad's attack from the very start was because of those souls.
Since its power was drained, he had only been able to see them once when he first spotted that thing, but—
Because of the incidents with Yang Wei and Heiji, he could now quickly grasp the presence of souls in his own way.
And although there were the souls of many people inside, there were two that particularly radiated a strong Saggitarius seat aura.
There were two.
And honestly, he didn't know their names, but he had simply deduced it by pairing it with the story Gote had told.
Wondering if those two might be Hugo's wife and subordinate who were said to have been eaten.
So Lee Geon had attacked in a way that wouldn't damage the souls, and pulled out the two souls from inside its body.
Of course, even though they were souls, he couldn't hear their voices.
Why?
[The condition of the souls is somewhat unstable]
Perhaps because they were permeated with Saggitarius energy. Or maybe there were traces of having been drained for nourishment.
As proof, he could hear the weeping voices of the other people's souls, but not those two.
It was also in contrast to the souls of others, which found their own bodies back on their own.
"Still, those are definitely the two people's souls. I'm sure."
"......!"
Everyone's faces turned completely pale. The saints of the Saggitarius seat especially were stirring restlessly.
"Pulling out a soul isn't something you can do even with Gemini or Pisces magic, right?"
"Wouldn't you have to be at Saint God level for that?"
"Noona...! Say something that makes sense!"
Even Gote looked at Lee Geon in shock.
Just how many abilities could this person actually wield?
On the other hand, Cheon Seongjae's hands trembled as he looked at those souls.
If they really were the souls of those two people.
As if resentful, Cheon Seongjae squeezed his eyes shut.
"Ah, as I thought, I should've had that burnt page from the magic tome...!!"
If only he had that page, he could use a spell to materialize or possess a soul.
"Of all things, that bastard had to burn it...!"
"That bastard?"
Lee Geon tilted his head, but soon spoke as if it didn't really matter.
"I don't know what you're regretting, but there's no need for any pointless actions."
He wasn't sure if it would work well since the souls were damaged, but anyway, he had placed them in the piggy bank's mouth.
Since Pishu was his vassal deity, it had the low-rank regeneration skill.
[Items inside the piggy bank's body regenerate little by little]
[When a saint is established, the Ophiuchus Basic Trait can be activated in the Sanctuary]
"Anyway, put those souls into the two people's bodies. They'll definitely revive."
But Cheon Seongjae wore an expression close to tears.
Perhaps that was only natural.
"Bodies, you say...! The two were already cremated 10 years ago...!"
Yes.
Even though the souls were here, there were no bodies to return to. That's why he'd uselessly researched things like necromancy in Gemini for three years.
"Even now, they're in the columbarium..."
At that expression, Lee Geon glared at Hugo as if dumbfounded.
"Well, well. So you even fooled your own kids?"
"......!"
Hugo looked at Lee Geon with a flustered expression. But Lee Geon smiled sharply.
"Columbarium my ass. Your wife and subordinate are in the hospital, in a vegetative state."
"?!"
The most surprised one was Cheon Seongjae. At Hugo's reaction, Lee Geon sneered.
"What, did you think you could fool me too? That bed-wetter told me. They're neither dead nor alive. So I got the gist of it, you see?"
In the end, Hugo pressed his forehead.
To think that he dared to try to deceive him.
"Yeah, that's right. Both of them are in the hospital."
"Dad!!!"
"Saint Lord!!"
Especially Cheon Seongjae was on the verge of tears. He felt as if he had been betrayed.
But.
"The possibility of them waking up was zero."
And it wasn't just that.
[Well, Hugo. Choose. It's one or the other.]
At the smile of a certain woman, the memory rising again, Hugo gritted his teeth.
Seeming to have had enough, Cheon Seongjae shouted.
"What about Noona! Does Noona know?"
"......"
As Hugo averted his gaze, Cheon Seongjae pulled out his phone, looking pissed off.
"Wow, at the very least you should have told Noo... What the heck, what's this!"
A full ten missed calls.
And all of them were from his noona.
It was bewildering since it wasn't in Noona's character to call this much, but soon, catching sight of something, Cheon Seongjae was stricken with terror.
[You got scouted into the sacred altar by Uncle, didn't you?]
It was an ordinary question, but somehow it seemed like a threat that if he went in first, he'd be dead. Was he mistaken?
"Ah, crap, how did she know? I was going to brag about it later..."
But of course, none of that mattered now.
"Anyway, where is that hospital! I'll go right away and...!"
"You can't! I, your father, will handle that late... Ack!"
Hugo was kicked by Lee Geon.
Then Lee Geon extracted the address from Hugo and tossed it to Cheon Seongjae.
"When you get there, just twist the neck off that shabby figurine. Then you'll probably be able to insert the souls."
Hugo, who had been slammed into the ground, got angry.
"You... you did it on purpose, putting them into my figurine!"
Lee Geon completely ignored him.
And just as Cheon Seongjae and the Saggitarius saints were about to teleport away.
"Seongjae."
"!"
Lee Geon flicked something towards Cheon Seongjae.
It was a coin.
Cheon Seongjae was shocked.
"Use it when you need it. You'll know when the time comes."
"?"
Cheon Seongjae tilted his head at the coin of unknown identity.
Because a snake pattern he had never seen before was engraved on the coin.
'It doesn't feel like the 12 Star Gods.'
Whatever, it was fine.
"Buy some flowers. Don't cry like a sniveling brat just because you're seeing your mom for the first time in 10 years, big as you are."
"......!"
A surge of overwhelming emotion left Cheon Seongjae momentarily speechless.
That was the moment.
[Faith is explosively increasing]
[Learned of deeds worthy of a fanatic follower]
As Cheon Seongjae disappeared like that, Hugo, who had been spitting sand, got angry.
"What kind of suspicious thing did you give my son this time?"
"Your brat doesn't need to know."
Touching the coins filling his pocket, Lee Geon smiled with deep satisfaction.
Yes.
Actually, those were a skill he had unlocked for the Trial of Honor after finishing the Trial of Strength.
Items created by the skill.
[5 Points deducted]
[Proselytizing Skill unlocked]
[Subordination (Proselytize)] (M)
- Awakens 1 human as a direct vassal of the Ophiuchus seat
- Can create special mission proselytizing coins
And the reason he made them was simple.
[Current target's Faith is 300%]
[Conditions met. Target is proselytizable]
[Cheon Seongjae: Special A+]
[2 methods can be selected]
[]
[The target's ability stats are high, and his Faith has risen further]
[Due to this incident, the vassal's value has increased compared to before]
[With standard proselytizing, he can be made a vassal immediately and you can obtain rewards equivalent to an A rank.]
[With mission proselytizing, there is a probability of failure, but you can obtain Karma and rewards equivalent to an S rank.]
Lee Geon smiled.
'Since it's come to this, the better one is better.'
As Lee Geon headed towards the city of the Virgo seat, he asked.
"Why didn't you follow them and stay behind?"
"I don't have the right to look those two in the face. And."
Hugo's eyes turned murderous.
"The Virgo seat still remains. Your matter comes first. I have no intention of breaking away for personal reasons."
Moreover, the Virgo seat saint was a peerless eccentric alongside Lee Geon among the saints.
There was no way a quiet face-off between such twisted characters was possible. He didn't know what might happen if Lee Geon went alone.
And above all.
'That pattern.'
Hugo was also in a considerably enraged state.
The culprit who attacked Lee Geon and the culprit who attacked his wife and subordinate were the same person.
There was no reason not to invade.
"First, when we meet, let's just cut his head off."
"Got it."
For the first time in 20 years, the Lee Geon and Hugo combo joined hands.
* * *
Meanwhile, around that time, the Virgo seat Sanctuary .
The space was splendid and antique, like looking upon the Palace of Versailles.
From the ceiling to the floors, everything was golden.
What's more, the high-ranking saints managing the sanctuary were all women.
But the Virgo seat was an extremely powerful war-deity seat. Though their beauty was so outstanding that they might be mistaken for models, all of them were excellent defense forces.
And a very magnificent person entered that place.
"Saint Lord!"
"Lord Kevin!"
Sweeping in with a bloodstained armor and cape was a handsome young man with blond hair.
If the Scorpio and Gemini saints were counted among the world's peerless beauties as women, then among men, the Virgo seat saint was unparalleled.
[The most beautiful CG handsome man of this era, enough to make Adonis himself weep]
[Hollywood actors refuse to take two-shots with him]
In reality, he was the zodiac seat with the most female fans, while by men he was criticized for acting like he was some sultan of narcissism.
And despite his appearance like a prince or noble, the man with a somewhat high-strung impression—that was the saint of the Virgo seat.
Kevin Azar.
The war-deity seat saint and the supreme ruler of the West, renowned as humanity's strongest swordsman.
But after suppressing the very front lines, having finally returned to his sanctuary, he was dumbfounded.
"What? Lee Geon is entering my territory?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"And what's more, while I was away, Lee Geon even caught a Monster in the 3rd Dome?"
"Yes! It was a siege-impossible species, as reported. Saint Lord, you requested it from Lee Geon, saying the compatibility wasn't right for us... "
At those words, the Virgo seat saint, who had been extending his arms, snapped his eyes wide open.
"Are you insane? Why would I ever entrust the protection of our territory to that bastard!"
At those piercing eyes, the Virgo seat saints who had been removing his armor also fell silent.
Because the claim that the Virgo seat entrusted this particular subjugation to Lee Geon was absolutely absurd.
How could it be otherwise...
"Like hell I would ever do something that would get Lee Geon attention!"
Yes.
The Virgo seat loathed Lee Geon intensely.
"Lee Geon...! That bastard wouldn't be satisfying even if I beat him to death!"
The simple reason why he was so disgusted by Lee Geon was.
Even whenever that bastard Lee Geon received more attention than him!
And as expected.
"Lee Geon! He died as a hero, was deified for 20 years, and hogged all kinds of spotlight—wasn't that enough?! Then he pops up out of nowhere after 20 years and snatches all the world's attention again!"
Unable to contain himself any longer, the Virgo seat saint drew his sword, plunging the surroundings into chaos.
"S-Saint Lord!"
"Please calm down...Eek!"
"Die, Lee Geon!"
Bam!
The Virgo seat saint stabbed his sword into a picture of Lee Geon.
Even without this, the Virgo seat was the saint who had raged most fiercely during the Tower of Demons collapse incident.
There was no other reason.
'My great Red Zone subjugation only got page 2! Because of something trivial like that Tower of Demons collapsing??'
Yes. At that time, he was the very first to subjugate a Red Zone, yet he was pushed aside by the rumors of Lee Geon's return! And it was even a Guinness World Record-worthy feat!
And was that all?
Since 20 years ago, the Virgo seat had never once beaten Lee Geon.
What was the point of building up all kinds of achievements with outstanding civil and martial prowess?
What was the point of setting new records that could draw public attention?!
Whether Lee Geon did it on purpose, or perhaps some curse of his had been cast!
Starting from page 1 of the newspaper, to the top title of the news, even down to lottery order, and for heaven's sake, even the bathroom order!
He had never stood before him in anything. Literally, in every category, 1st place was snatched away by Lee Geon.
"Even the YouTube videos now are like that! This noble body's great strategy video is 2nd place for 20 years! 2nd place! I'm pushed aside by that bastard Lee Geon every time by a narrow margin!! Second place!!"
Bam!
At this point, it was enough to wonder if he really was under a curse.
Of course, there was still one area where Kevin could beat Lee Geon.
That was his face.
Frankly speaking, Lee Geon was such a monster that even comparing him to an orc seemed pitiable.
But even that was completely overturned after Sophie's press conference this time.
"Aagh!"
"Saint Lord!"
The Virgo seat saint spewed forth a blood-tinged fury.
"That Lee Geon bastard, he's finally gone and done it again...!!"
"P-Please calm down! It's merely a technique used by gossip magazines to boost views! Surely the real thing is something ugly and monstrous!"
"That's right! There is no one who can defeat Lord Kevin! We guarantee it!"
Well, whatever.
Why a subjugation request he never asked for went to Lee Geon, and why the 4th and 5th Dom were destroyed in such a futile manner—none of that mattered.
"So Lee Geon is in my territory now, is that right?"
"Y-Yes, that's correct...!"
At this, the Virgo seat saint's eyes shone menacingly.
"Good. It was truly regrettable how he died so futilely 20 years ago."
The Virgo seat saint rose from his seat.
"This time I'll kill him myself and finally seize the front page!"
Filled with rage, he headed for the town.
(Continues in the next chapter)