"Lee Geon! Is he here!"
The door was roughly thrown open.
Even the front and back doors opened simultaneously.
"Lee Geon! We've come to find you!"
The people in the tavern stood up in alarm.
"Wha, what! What's going on!"
The ones who entered through the back door were a black-clad group. Of course, they all wore black coats as if to conceal their identities.
On the other hand, those entering through the front door wore peculiar pure white armor. The armor was engraved with the symbol of Virgo.
It looked vaguely like two 'm's connected together.
And together with the white-clad group, white-clad soldiers surrounded the tavern.
Clack clack!
They held guns in their hands.
Though useless against monsters, they were effective weapons against humans.
At this, the people inside stirred greatly.
"That white...! They're the Holy Knights of Virgo!"
"High-ranking holy knights have come?"
Even the holy knights of other zodiac orders immediately became wary. That was understandable; they were the guardians of the sanctuary.
They were people who wouldn't show up in a place like this unless it was an unusual matter.
But that wasn't all.
People pointed at someone in the white group.
"Those guys, they're the Inquisitors of Virgo...!"
"!"
Their gazes turned to those wearing white leather armor.
Though it varied by zodiac order, most orders had a tripartite internal power structure.
With the Saint and the Holy God at the top, that is.
First, the field team with the Order Commander and holy knights.
Second, the internal management making rules and handling the order's affairs.
Last, the ones who monitor and punish them.
Of course, there were orders like Sagittarius that couldn't even establish such a system... no, there were small elite orders, and then there were eccentric orders like Gemini that abolished both the council and the Inquisition, moving solely as a knight order...
"Anyway, what business does the Inquisition have in a village...!"
"Didn't they just call for Lee Geon?"
"What?! No way!"
They gulped.
These guys were already shady characters who hunted deserters, criminal knights, and knights of other orders.
And this was Virgo, no less.
Virgo was already a great empire in the west, an order with a far more thorough tripartite system than others.
Among those, the Virgo Inquisition was famous for its cruelty.
Naturally, they had reason to be wary.
"Could it be that Virgo is trying to steal Lee Geon's achievements this time?"
"If it's the Inquisition, that could be..."
But then.
"Wait. Then what about those dark guys?"
"!"
Someone murmured, looking at the intruders from the back door.
"Are those dark guys also the Inquisition?"
"That's strange. I've never seen them in Virgo before..."
"They must be a team newly added to Virgo."
But as if to shatter that thought, the white group got angry at the black group.
"Who are you!"
"Who dares to seek Lee Geon!"
"We will punish you depending on your answer!"
Then the black group got angry in return.
"What business do you have seeking Lee Geon!"
"How dare you follow us. If you interfere, we'll deal with you first!"
"......?!"
People wondered what on earth was going on.
However, Gote alone had his mouth agape.
With his keen eye, he instantly figured out who the black group was.
'Th-that's Leo...!'
They were all wearing coats as if to hide their identities, but come on.
'That look, where is it hiding?'
The Leo knights had their distinctive trait. All knights above B-rank were muscular macho men.
Even their faces were rough.
It wasn't for nothing that the incredibly beautiful girl Cheon Yuha stood out in Leo.
Sure enough.
"Lee Geon is ours, Leo got here first! Get lost, harem order!"
"What?"
"Or else you're enemies too!"
"These ignorant muscleheads!"
At the same time, both groups drew their weapons.
Clang!
"Consider everyone an enemy!"
"If you don't leave in 10 seconds, we'll eliminate you all!"
At this, Hugo on the stage also became wary, and Gote tried to draw his bow.
However.
'!'
Gote's face turned pale as he tried to draw his bow from his back.
'What the. Where did it go!'
The bow was gone!
He kept groping, but it really wasn't there.
Just as he wondered where his bow had vanished to.
A man in his thirties who seemed to be the leader appeared from the white group.
"Knights of Leo. It seems we both have business with Lee Geon, so how about we take turns?"
"Good. Then we'll naturally go first, right?"
"Yeah, it doesn't matter."
"Haha. You're reasonable..."
That moment.
Boom!
"Kyaak!"
"Ack!!"
In an instant, an explosion erupted. It was where the Virgo troops were.
As people looked on dumbfounded, there was a boy leisurely lowering his bow.
"You're dead, you guys."
It was Lee Geon.
Not only had he stolen Gote's bow, but he had even devastated the enemies, and he was laughing.
"Because of you, my faith that was rising nicely stopped."
The attacked people cursed.
"What the...! Which crazy bastard!"
"Geon!"
At that shout, both the Virgo and Leo sides reacted simultaneously.
"What? Lee Geon?"
"Lee Geon?"
"Where is Lee Geon?"
Again, arrows flew.
Boom! Boom!
Stunned and unable to counterattack, the two groups shouted.
"N-now wait...! Lee Geon! We didn't come to fight..."
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
Arrows flew again as if telling them to shut up.
Before they could even finish, half of the Virgo and Leo knights were blown away in an instant.
"Come on, just listen!"
Boom!
The arrow that absolutely refused to listen was a magic arrow.
And that blue-green arrow was smashing the ground with truly tremendous destructive power!
Boom!!
"Retreat!"
"Damn, how can he do this without even being the Saint of Sagittarius...!"
"I taught that bastard Saint, that's why! What!"
Boom boom boom!
"Argh!"
They looked where the arrows were coming from.
"That way! Lee Geon is over there!"
The faces of the Leo knights turned sharply.
The same went for the Virgo side.
"Elder! Over there! That boy!"
"!"
The Virgo commander was startled. Then he raised his hand as if pleased.
"Wait, please! Lee Geon-nim! It's me! I'm Perio..."
"I told you to get out!"
Boom!
"Urgh!"
Then Lee Geon said, looking pissed off.
"Both of you get out, you bastards! I'm trying to raise my faith!"
"......?!"
Though they had no idea what he was talking about, the Elder of Virgo who had come seeking Lee Geon, Perio, grew urgent.
"Lee Geon-nim! Do you not remember me?"
"Get lost before I put one in your head. 10, 9, 8..."
Right then.
"Wait!"
For some reason, Gote was shocked.
"That person, he's Prince Perio, the prince of Belgium!"
"That's right! It's me!"
Everyone looked at the man in surprise. The man in his thirties with a stylish beard removed his hood.
"Lee Geon-nim! Don't you remember! Twenty years ago, when you came to Belgium, we ate together...!"
"Do you think I'd remember!"
"...Huk!"
"Elder!"
Lee Geon pulled back his bowstring as if angry. Gote was horrified.
"Lee Geon-nim! That person is still royalty...!"
"What do I care? Does being royalty mean my arrow can't pierce him?"
"......?!"
At the unabashed words, Gote was at a loss for words, and Prince Perio was horrified.
At that, as if taking advantage, the Leo side stepped forward.
"See!"
"Virgo, get out of the way!"
They quickly turned on the LCD screen they had brought.
And a shout burst out.
[Lee Geon!]
"!"
It was a familiar voice.
Hugo and Gote were also surprised. A familiar face was appearing on the LCD screen they were holding.
[What? Why can't I hear?]
[Ah, Lord! That's the microphone...! You mustn't break it! Just speak like that...!]
[Lee Geon! You're there, right!]
"!"
Lee Geon's brow furrowed.
It was the Saint of Leo.
Judging by the patient gown, was he in a hospital?
Seeing the knights in front of him holding small cameras, it seemed to be a live broadcast.
And beyond the screen, the Leo Saint shouted confidently.
[Lee Geon! Make my weapon...!]
Crash!
The screen shattered in an instant.
The knights holding the screen broke out in a cold sweat.
Lee Geon muttered grimly.
"This bastard is still alive."
The knights trembled.
Why did they feel like they had come to make a request, only to end up all dying on the way back?
No, it even seemed like they had turned their lord into a target.
They wished none of this mattered.
"It's fine if you don't remember!"
Prince Perio stepped forward.
Against Lee Geon, it seemed he would die if he didn't get straight to the point.
"Please, kill the Saint of Virgo!"
"!"
"If you accept the request, we will return Lee Geon-nim's holy relic that Virgo is holding!"
* * *
And around that time.
While Lee Geon was confronting Virgo and Leo in the tavern.
"Lee Geon! Are you here!"
The Saint of Virgo entered a shop.
But there were no people inside. Only the shopkeeper, surprised to see him.
At this, the Saint of Virgo ground his teeth.
"Why isn't he here! I was definitely told Sagittarius was proselytizing here...!"
The directionally challenged Saint of Virgo was taking a bit of time to find Lee Geon.
* * *
A remote island off the coast of Canada.
It was a beautiful island where the refreshing sound of waves could be heard.
At the same time, it was the domain of the Saint of Scorpio.
There was a white building there. It was a hospital.
And.
"It's really the Lady and the Order Commander...!"
Cheon Seongjae's group finally found the people they had been searching for.
It was a clean hospital room with pure white curtains fluttering in the wind.
Beyond a screen, two people were clearly lying as if sleeping.
Cheon Seongjae, looking at them, couldn't say anything.
They were relying on life support, but they were unmistakably the two.
And as Cheon Seongjae only bit his lip, unable to even dare approach, Eun Yerin, who had come with him, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Seongjae. Hurry...!"
Reluctantly, Cheon Seongjae nodded and approached the two.
From his bag, he took out the Hugo figurine Lee Geon had given him.
And.
Crack!
He twisted and split the figurine.
Then a surprising thing happened.
Swoosh!
The light from the figurine seeped into the two.
It was as if souls were returning to their rightful places.
"Did it work?"
They looked down at the two with eyes full of hope.
But 30 seconds.
60 seconds.
5 minutes.
As time passed, they didn't even twitch. At this, the three's faces contorted.
"...Is it really not working!"
Of course, Lee Geon had said it was a fifty-fifty chance. But as much as they had hoped, they couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Still, let's try again...!"
But right then.
"It's useless. Stupid."
"!!"
The voice came from the door of the hospital room.
And as soon as he saw the person standing at the door, Cheon Seongjae's face twisted.
"Yun Taeu...!"
At the same time, the Sagittarius knights immediately drew their bows and shot.
The speed of drawing was invisible to the eye.
Boom!
But the arrows of light could not pierce Yun Taeu.
"......!"
A barrier shimmered in front of Yun Taeu.
It was magic.
At the same time, he laughed as if it were too much.
"Attacking suddenly like this won't do. I'm Seongjae's comrade from the same pot, and a senior like an older brother to him. I just came to visit."
The knights were dumbfounded.
Was that kind of person entering the hospital room with such murderous intent?
Sure enough, Yun Taeu raised his hand.
"Get lost, you high-and-mighty Sagittarius nuisances."
"Seongjae... ugh!"
Thud!
The knights screamed and collapsed to the floor. It was a binding spell.
The problem was that the binding spell was not of Gemini.
'Libra...!'
It was problematic.
Libra was the number one order among the twelve. Sagittarius, last in both quality and number of knights, could never catch up.
Even if individual skills were similar, they were suppressed by the order's power like this.
'Unless it's someone like Gote or Commander level...!'
Soon, Yun Taeu walked toward Cheon Seongjae. Cheon Seongjae recited a magic spell, but Yun Taeu didn't care.
"You little punk, you learned nothing good. Enough, hand over the stolen spellbook while I'm being nice. Then I won't kill you."
After saying that, Yun Taeu grinned eerily.
"Of course, I'll definitely kill those two over there."
Startled, Cheon Seongjae hastily erected a barrier.
As a blue glow surrounded the Sagittarius knights and the two on the bed, Yun Taeu smirked disdainfully.
"What's the use of a barrier from someone like you? What good is being a genius if you're only A-rank."
No sooner had he spoken than Yun Taeu threw a punch at the barrier.
Boom!
Tremendous energy pushed back Yun Taeu's fist.
It was just one hit, but they had managed to block it somehow.
Cheon Seongjae gritted his teeth, and Yun Taeu smirked.
"Still, you've grown a lot? I never imagined that kid from back then was you. I really didn't recognize you until they said you were Sagittarius's son!"
Boom!
The barrier shattered instantly.
From the impact, Cheon Seongjae coughed up blood and collapsed.
At the same time, Yun Taeu walked toward the two lying down.
At that sight, Cheon Seongjae, who had gotten up again, stood as if protecting them.
Breathing heavily as if in great pain.
"Stupid, don't bother. I don't know what you're trying to do, but do you think those people will open their eyes? That's something even the Holy Gods of Gemini or Aquarius can't do."
"......!"
Just as Cheon Seongjae squeezed his eyes shut.
Someone from the bed grabbed Cheon Seongjae's hand.
The coin Lee Geon gave shone.
(Continued in the next installment)