Hugo couldn’t believe his ears.
No, what did they just say?
‘Kill the Virgo Saint?’
It was so absurd it even sobered him up.
Gote was just as shocked.
Holy knights asking someone to kill their own Saint? Unheard of.
It was an impossible occurrence.
It was practically like asking someone to kill their sect leader or king.
That’s how uniquely significant the Saint’s existence was. And they were bringing up such a grave matter in front of all these people?
When the bewildered Gote looked around, he was taken aback.
‘…No!’
The people inside the tavern were frozen. As if time had stopped.
Even the Leo knights, who had been causing a ruckus with their crystal tablets moments ago, were stiff.
That was it.
It wasn’t an ordinary magic skill.
‘The Virgo Zodiac skill…!’
It was a skill of Virgo, a Zodiac of both combat and contracts.
Simply put, it meant an isolated space had been opened to form a contract with Igeon.
Everyone except those directly involved was completely excluded. Time stopped for anyone within a certain range.
Of course, when the skill was undone, they wouldn’t even realize time had stopped.
To them, it was a single second. A fleeting moment.
Gote should have been no different.
‘Then why am I….’
But he quickly realized the reason.
It was because of Hugo’s hand resting on his shoulder.
An immensely powerful magical force could be felt. It was neutralizing Virgo’s influence.
Even the Virgo side seemed quite surprised by that.
‘As expected, a Saint is still a Saint.’
They had intended to exclude everyone except Igeon.
“So. You set up this kind of barrier and ask me to kill a Saint. What’s the scheme?”
They swallowed hard under Hugo’s sharp glare.
It was hard to believe he was the same man who had been dead drunk and praising Igeon moments ago.
Of course, it didn’t matter.
Sagittarius was Igeon’s ally anyway. As long as he became a great asset for what they’d talk about next, there’d be no loss.
Just then, Hugo spoke.
“Don’t try any tricks… urk!”
Hugo immediately clutched his shin and collapsed. It was Igeon who had kicked him.
“Sober up before you talk.”
“Heuk…!”
“S-Saint Lord!”
“Ah, you!”
Watching Hugo writhe in pain, the Virgo legion couldn’t help but be speechless.
To see a Saint in agony.
Even if Sagittarius was the lowest-ranked Zodiac, he was still someone who could endure millions of skills unscathed.
So seeing Hugo in pain, they cheered.
They couldn’t help it.
Why?
The truth was, holy knights could not attack their own Saint.
This wasn’t about morality; it was literally impossible by their very abilities.
Because the Holy God and the Saint were the ones who had given them their power.
It’s like how a creation cannot defy its creator.
A Saint from another Zodiac might kill a Saint, but the holy knights’ guards were formidable and powerful.
But if it was that Igeon…!
Sure enough.
“Please, accept our request!”
“We will return your holy relic, Igeon-nim! Please kill the Virgo Saint!”
At the sight of them kneeling, Igeon smirked.
He couldn’t help it.
‘I was going to catch him anyway, and now they’ll even return my stuff.’
That wasn’t all.
“The Saint has stored Igeon-nim’s holy relic in the Virgo treasure vault.”
“It is under strict seal, but without a doubt, it is the
Hugo and Gote were stunned.
Naturally.
‘The Heaven’s Judgment?’
‘Don’t tell me, the thing Virgo has is…!’
Igeon grinned as if he’d been waiting.
So my weapon was here after all.
Hadn’t Gemini already said?
That Virgo held his weapon.
Hugo also felt a rush of emotion.
Though Igeon was a production class, he was an Awakened who faced monsters. He certainly possessed combat abilities.
And that was the
Igeon could wield any weapon like his own limbs, but this was his primary weapon against monsters.
The weapon people thought of when they heard the name Igeon.
Above all, it was the weapon that had captured the Red Eye.
“With that, you should be able to handle the Virgo Saint as well.”
“And we will also give you the Virgo treasures stored there.”
They were even offering treasures.
As if sharing the same thought, Hugo muttered in disbelief.
“I was planning to go kill him even without all that… urk!”
Hugo was kicked again.
“Sober up.”
“……&*!”
Well, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
Few people knew that one of the 12 Saints had trapped him in the tower.
And in truth, aside from Hugo, he had hardly ever worked as a team, except for just one time.
Was it because of the image from when they joined hands at the Demon Tower?
Or because of his legendary image as the first 13th Awakened?
It seemed the world thought he and the 12 Saints were quite close comrades.
Sure enough, the Virgo knights were anxiously watching Igeon.
“Of course, we know that asking you to kill a former comrade is rude and may offend you!”
No, it doesn’t offend me at all.
Igeon smiled.
But there was no need to tell them he was already on his way to take that bastard’s head.
And as expected.
“Hey. Toothpaste royal.”
“!”
“Are you joking?”
“Yes?”
“Virgo is my precious friend.”
“……?!”
Prince Perio seemed flustered. Hugo was disgusted.
There he goes peddling snake oil again.
But regardless, Igeon sneered.
“You come so boldly asking me to betray a dear friend?”
Prince Perio broke out in a sweat.
No, from Sophie’s press conference incident to the Sky Bridge incident.
The 12 Saints hadn’t officially acknowledged it, but anyway, Igeon’s abilities had been undervalued for 20 years.
To the point where even now, holy knights were fighting over Igeon.
And maybe he harbored resentment toward the 12 Saints for turning a blind eye—Igeon had done all sorts of things to them.
Rumor had it he even killed Yang Wei.
‘Anyway, wasn’t he holding a massive grudge against the 12 Saints?’
Moreover, the Virgo Saint especially was grinding his teeth at Igeon.
There was no way their relationship could have looked good.
That was why they’d thought of entrusting this task to Igeon, of all people.
‘Damn. If this goes on, the whole plan….’
But then it happened.
“Still, there must be a reason, right?”
“!”
The knights looked at Igeon in surprise.
“Or you’ll give a reward that’s worth the reason.”
The knights’ faces lit up.
“Yes. That’s right!”
“I heard the Saint is a special existence to the holy knights. There must be a reason to point a sword at your Saint. Surely, good kids like you have a reason.”
“Yes! That’s not it, the Virgo Saint is…!”
“Ah, enough.”
“!”
“What is it?”
“Huh?”
“The so-called treasure of Virgo.”
“…Ah! That!”
Soon, the names of treasures began pouring from Prince Perio’s mouth.
They were so rare that Hugo and Gote nearly went cross-eyed for a moment.
‘Damn. The difference in scale is just too enormous.’
They’d known it, but compared to themselves, the bottom-ranked Zodiac, they felt anew the dignity of the great western Zodiac.
‘Who would call them anything less than a Zodiac of a billion holy knights.’
But Igeon wore an expression of utter dissatisfaction.
Because of that, a flustered Perio escalated to national treasure-level, but Igeon’s expression grew increasingly worse.
But then came that moment.
Having heard something, Igeon burst into a pleased smile.
“Lead me. To the treasure vault.”
* * *
Around that time.
“Is Igeon here!”
With a furious voice, the tavern door burst open.
Bam!
But after looking inside, the Virgo’s face turned grim.
‘This isn’t the place either…!’
That’s how it was.
Virgo still hadn’t found the tavern where Igeon was.
This was already his fifth wild goose chase. So, naturally, he was going crazy.
‘Why on earth can’t I find Igeon…!!’
Of course, it was true he had no sense of direction. But losing his way to this extent wasn’t normal.
‘It’s as if someone is obstructing me.’
No, it wasn’t a feeling.
It was really happening.
So he thought.
Could it be that Igeon was playing a trick to keep him from finding him?
But the likelihood wasn’t that high.
‘He’s not that kind of man.’
He wasn’t the type to use such petty tricks.
‘Then who on earth….’
But then it happened.
‘!’
The Virgo Saint’s eyes flashed. And where his gaze fell was behind him.
“Saint Lord?”
And the moment he locked eyes with Virgo.
Puhwak!
In an instant, a fountain of blood erupted.
“Heuk…!”
At the same time, one of the subordinates vomited blood and collapsed.
“S-Saint Lord!”
It was the iai art of Virgo, the strongest swordsman of humanity.
The unsheathing of the sword was completely invisible.
And by his swordsmanship, a holy knight’s head was instantly severed and flew away.
Thud!
The shocked Virgo knights wondered what was happening, but…
“S-Saint Lord!?”
Unconcerned, Virgo approached the severed head.
Then, raising his sword high.
Kwajik!
With force, he stabbed the face.
Everyone shielded their eyes at the utterly brutal sight, but only briefly.
A sound like metal digging through gravel rang out.
Kkagak!
When something shot into the air, the Virgo knights were astonished.
“That’s…!”
What sprang into the sky and plopped onto the floor was none other than a tooth.
A gold tooth that Virgo had gouged out with his sword.
The problem was, it was no ordinary object.
“That’s definitely a Scorpio holy relic…!”
There was no doubt.
It was a Scorpio holy relic that specialized in creating traps.
[Fragment of Labyrinthos]
It had been embedded in the body.
The horrified knights covered their mouths.
“Isn’t that an item that makes everyone lose their way just by being nearby…!”
Moreover, because it was a holy knight of the same Zodiac who had played the trick, noticing it had been even harder.
But Virgo, having realized the relic belonged specifically to Scorpio, frowned for some reason.
It was because Scorpio was connected to Igeon.
“There seems to be a force trying to obstruct me however they can.”
But then.
At that moment, as Virgo was wiping the blood from his sword with clean, elegant hand movements.
“……!”
Virgo’s head snapped around.
“Saint Lord?”
“Someone has infiltrated my treasure vault.”
“What?!”
In a flash, the sword was sheathed.
Virgo’s steps grew urgent.
* * *
“The Virgo constellation is currently divided into two factions.”
Within the main palace of Virgo’s sanctuary, Eulnyeo Palace.
It was the path leading to the treasure vault.
“There’s SS-class and 10th Saint, Saint Kevin.”
“And Kevin-nim has lost his way.”
“Way?”
“Yes. He is utterly disregarding the words of the Virgo Holy God.”
“Oh. That’s unusual.”
The entrance to the treasure vault was incredibly splendid.
Truly, from floor to ceiling—a golden Versailles palace.
And this wasn’t even the main palace.
“The Holy Goddess commanded the death of Sophie, that is, the Aquarius Saint. But for some reason, the Saint did not obey.”
As for that, Igeon couldn’t care less.
Sweok!
“Kyaak!”
Sweok!
“Heuk!”
Sweok!
“You human!”
Having transformed his slime into scissors, Igeon was recklessly cutting down the castle’s curtains.
Of course, their true nature wasn’t curtains, but subordinate gods.
Sweok!
“Kyaak!”
Sweok!
“Save me!”
Thanks to that, Gote, who was following, whispered to Hugo.
“Um… excuse me, but what exactly is Igeon-nim cutting right now?”
“Gods.”
“…Huh?”
“Virgo has the highest quality fabric among the 12 Zodiacs.”
“……?!”
And with a bright face, Igeon—cutting down curtains; no, the lowest-grade gods in curtain form—smiled deeply satisfied.
“Got materials to make clothes.”
What he was cutting down were the precious subordinate gods bred by Virgo.
Their attack power was low, but they were gods nonetheless.
Their bodies were the world’s best, top-grade fabric.
He cut and cut again.
“Kieek!”
“How dare you do this to a god! Urk!”
And Perio, watching awkwardly, spoke.
“Igeon-nim. Even though we said you may take everything from the treasure vault, even so, the fixtures…”
“Why. You got a problem?”
“Ah, no. Do as you please. It’s just a measly scrap of cloth. Ha, haha.”
Shouldering the gleaming top-grade corpses, Igeon pulled a coin from his pocket.
He couldn’t help it.
‘That coin I gave to Seongjae earlier seemed to react.’
Not that it mattered.
“The Saint doesn’t even heed the Holy God’s words. He has lost his way. Please help us.”
“Got it. First, let me get my stuff.”
The treasure vault door opened.
Creeeak—
But then it happened.
“Igeon!”
A familiar voice came from behind.
(To be continued in the next episode)