In truth, over half the reason the siblings came to like Lee Gun was their father. Growing up, they had listened to their father tell vivid heroic tales of Lee Gun.
When their mother had disappeared, Yooha had stepped up to fill the role of the head of the household. She became the perfect child, but when it came to stories about Lee Gun, her eyes would still twinkle like a child’s.
In Sungjae’s case, the final nail in the coffin came when his father spoke after that incident with the toad monster.
‘If it were Gun, this would have turned out differently.’
Although their father had done it for them, he had to bend his knee to the enemy. It had been a source of disappointment for the young man. Hugo not expressing his grievance to the enemy had angered Chun Sungjae.
The young man had believed his father could do anything, but at that moment, he realized his father was just like them. Moreover, when his father didn’t believe his words, Sungjae became distant from him. However, those words had struck his heart.
If Lee Gun were alive, would things have been different? Could the two people who had to die in his place have been saved?
It was around this time when Chun Sungjae had seen a Lee Gun video, and he completely fell for Lee Gun.
[Look! You’ll die if you go in right now! Have you lost your mind?]
[We’ll shoot if you move! Please get back here!]
[I told you to open it before I shove you in there first!]
Lee Gun spoke with courage and a sense of justice(?)! Calling him a righteous hero would be a stretch, but Lee Gun was completely different from those who acted like merchants.
Of course, Chun Sungjae didn’t know the exact reason why his sister had become a fan of Lee Gun. In the first place, she wasn’t someone who liked to talk about herself. Instead of talking about her problems, Yooha was the type to listen and solve the problems of her father and brother.
The two of them were siblings. They didn’t want to know each other’s inner feelings as if they were a couple.
His sister was praised as a world-class beauty in school and the temples, but Chun Sungjae didn’t know anything about that. He had once seen a picture of a swimsuit model, and he thought it was amazing. He had been thrilled, but when he looked at the face, it was his sister’s.
Anyway, the reason his sister liked his Uncle probably did not differ too much from his.
Now that he had seen Uncle for himself, he knew Uncle was amazing.
At that moment
Boom!!!
An incredible light fell above Chun Yooha’s head. It was a green light. Others might associate this with an ominous light of a disaster, but Chun Sungjae was sure.
‘Uncle!’
When the light poured onto his sister, Chun Sungjae inwardly let out a yell of delight. This had happened to him too. He was sure Uncle was lending his power to his sister.
In the Missionary mission, Lee Gun had helped Sungjae just once. Either an item or a power was lent out. Of course, it was up to the disciple’s ability to use this help to complete the mission or not.
[The temple’s contribution has been used to activate the power of the Serpent Bearer.]
[Anyone belonging to the Serpent Bearer can use one’s full power near it.]
Lee Gun’s voice rang once again. Chun Yooha felt her heart tremble.
Boom!!!
Then, a large serpent made of light surged into the sky. The enormous light serpent savagely choked the neck of the enormous lion and the tiger.
Crunch!!!
A roar rang through the plains.
The Zodiacs hadn’t descended, but this seemed to be a materialization of the power of their temples. They were all using the contribution accumulated by their temples.
Chun Yooha didn’t let this opportunity go to waste.
Hweek!
She instantly ran atop the serpent. When she infused the spear with powerful magical energy, red lightning appeared.
Kwah-jee-jeek!
It was as if the red beam of light drew a straight line across the sky.
Too-gwahng!!!
Chun Yooha’s attack pierced through Oliver’s body.
An enormous sound reverberated in the air, and heaven and earth shook.
Koo-goo-goo-goohng!
Chun Yooha had displayed a tremendous amount of force.
[Missionary: 60% complete]
However, the attack didn’t end there. The ray of light in the sky fell on the Leo Saint too.
Too-gwahng! Too-gwahng!
[Missionary: 80% complete]
This scene impressed Chun Sungjae. At the end of the day, his sister was amazing at fighting. Of course, he didn’t stay still either.
[End it before I arrive there.]
Chun Sungjae quickly used his teleportation spell when he heard Lee Gun’s voice. He appeared on top of the lion’s head!
[!]
At the same time, the young man summoned something in the air using his teleportation spell.
[Eeny’s sword]
[Meeny’s sword]
[Miny’s sword]
They were the precious weapons of the Constructs who had fought him! These were trophies that made it worth being chased by the Constructs.
Chun Sungjae had secretly placed spells on the weapons so that he could steal them whenever he wanted.
When Chun Sungjae waved, the summoned divine weapons disappeared.
Kwah-jeeek!!!!
The missing weapons reappeared after they pierced through the necks of the monstrous lion and tiger.
[Kuh-huhk!!!]
[You have made an Achievement.]
[You, a disciple, have inflicted enormous damage to a Zodiac Saint.]
[Divine status of 15% is headed toward the Zodiac.]
Even a battle-type Saint would get injured facing an attack from a divine rank weapon.
Chun Yooha didn’t miss this opportunity. She brought down a beam of light from the sky, applying the finishing blow.
Too-gwahng!!!!
Due to this, the divine power around the Leo Saint lashed out.
“Ahhk!!”
Taking a direct hit from the enormous energy, Chun Sungjae screamed as he was sent flying into the distance.
“Koohk!”
It was the Demigod state, but it still meant Stevens was in a god state.
Chun Sungjae was in extreme pain.
[You have learned about Demigod state technique.]
However, even as he rolled on the ground, his lips curled up. He seemed to have gained an epiphany.
‘I somewhat get what this technique is about.’
One of the personal attributes Chun Sungjae possessed was “Genius.”
He was about to use it again when…
Boom!!!
“Koohk!”
A sharp piece of ice dug into Chun Sungjae’s shoulder. It wasn’t normal ice. This ice never melted, and the cold killed the blood vessels and tissues in his shoulder and arm.
Chun Sungjae wondered who had attacked him.
“You must have lost your mind. You don’t have the luxury to pay attention to what’s going on over there.”
Chun Sungjae scoffed when he saw the people standing in front of him. Twenty people stood in his way.
The interesting part was that they weren’t just the members of the Gemini temple. It seemed they had joined forces with the Aquarius temple.
‘Is it an alliance?’
The Aquarius Saint, Sophie Mardi, had been sent flying to some unknown location, and the Aquarius temple was looking for her.
With the Gemini temple’s teleport, they would be able to search the lands occupied by the unknown civilization at a reduced risk.
What about the Gemini temple?
Their goal was obvious. And it was as he had expected.
“We’ll kill you, and we’ll take back the precious Fairy Monarch you stole.”
Chun Sungjae snorted as he listened to the sound of his sister’s attacks. ‘It seems the Fairy Monarch was very important to them.’
Everyone in front of him was a well-known figure within the Gemini temple. That wasn’t all.
‘They all have high contributions.’
They were the disciples capable of filling up the top one percent of the Zodiac’s divine status through their achievements. Achievements made by several thousand regular disciples could only raise 0.5% of the divine status. So, one person capable of filling it up by 1% was a big deal.
Basically, these disciples wanted to kill him, and they planned on dedicating the contribution to their Zodiac.
However, Chun Sungjae didn’t betray any emotion as he got ready to use his attack skill. “Hmph! I called forth something even your Zodiac Saint couldn’t. You plan to repay good with evil.”
Chun Sungjae had thought it was a good way to provoke them, but for some reason, the disciples laughed.
“Hey, kid. You better not get on our nerves.”
“?”
Chun Sungjae thought they had lost their minds, but the next moment, he reared back in shock. It was to be expected considering what he saw.
“Oohp. Ooh-oohp!!”
“?!”
His friend, who was the same age as him, had been captured. It was his roommate, Hahn Jimin.
After Chun Sungjae had decided to move to Lee Gun’s holy ground, his friend was supposed to be working on sending his possessions to his new place.
Chun Sungjae’s confusion at his friend being here lasted only a moment.
‘Cancer!’
The ones who had captured his friend were the Cancer disciples.
‘In the end, they decided to ally themselves with the temple of crime.’
To those affiliated with the temple of crime, kidnapping was nothing.
Therefore, Chun Sungjae said, “Do you think the Gemini Saint will forgive you guys?”
“!”
That’s right. Currently, the Gemini Saint wasn’t Heiji. Although she looked like Heiji, that body contained the Fairy Monarch Raeriqueen, whom Lee Gun had put there. Moreover, Raeriqueen was his uncle’s minion now.
“Didn’t the Gemini Saint give the order that Lee Gun-nim shouldn’t be messed with?”
The Gemini disciples panicked when they heard his words. Their Saint had gone so far as to tell them to not follow her.
“In fact, didn’t she use the Virgo Saint’s contract too?”
This was why the Gemini temple had stopped their pursuit of him. In normal times, they would have tried to assassinate him as soon as possible. However…
“This little kid is trying to swindle us.”
“!”
They let out menacing laughter.
“We already know that she isn’t Heiji-nim.”
“!”
“Also, we don’t care what happens to Raeriqueen now.”
“What?”
“The Gemini already sent us a different Fairy Monarch.”
“…!!!”
“The new Fairy Monarch is probably rescuing Heiji-nim right now.”
Shit! Chun Sungjae quickly drew the holy symbol for the Serpent Bearer.
[Dragon Head Serpent Tail (S)]
He tried to send his attack fast, but the Cancer disciples pushed Hahn Jimin to the front.
Chun Sungjae hesitated. The other disciples sent their spells flying as if they were waiting for that moment.
Chun Sungjae was surrounded, and magic circles appeared from all directions. At the same time, a gate opened in the sky.
Koo-goo-goo-goohng!
Terrifying attacks appeared, splitting the sky.
‘Shit!’
These were S-rank and above spells. Normal defense skills could barely block them. In truth, Sungjae’s ability was telling him what he already knew.
[<Eye of Distinguishment> has been activated.]
[You need a defense rank of SS-rank or above.]
If he was a general rank, he would have one or two decent defensive skills that he could use here. However…
‘I don’t have any defense skills that can block those attacks!’
This might be a weakness of the Serpent Bearer. For some reason, he hadn’t gained any new defense skills. Moreover, his new awakened name was <Serpent’s Mediator>.
As expected of someone with such a name, most of his awakened skills were attack magic. It could be the reason Lee Gun had made a defensive gear for him, but Sungjae would still be in danger if spells of that magnitude hit him. After all, the amount of damage he could absorb depended on the size of his magical energy.
So he thought about using a rental skill. ‘Shit! The Taurus Saint’s magic defense skill is really expensive!’
Chun Sungjae had just transferred to a different temple, so he hadn’t received any salary. He didn’t have the money to rent a skill in the first place.
Moreover, his teleport skill needed a high degree of concentration. The pain he was feeling right now might make him teleport into some unknown place. This left him just the Serpent Bearer’s common skills.
‘Shit! Is there a defensive skill amongst the Serpent Bearer’s common skills?’
Thinking of something, Chun Sungjae quickly drew the holy symbol. His memory was spotty, but he had seen this when the Secretary was trying to organize the Bible.
Amongst the Serpent Bearer’s common skills was one that looked like a defensive skill!
Chun Sungjae activated this skill.
[Get Hit Instead of Me]
The young man didn’t know what the skill did, but the name implied that it was a defensive skill! His guess was correct.
[The <Get Hit Instead of Me> skill has been activated.]
At the same time, a green light swept over Chun Sungjae. Then some unknown black substance appeared above his head.
The bombardment fell from the sky at this time.
Kwahng! Kwahng-kwahng-kwang!
The timing was sublime.
Chun Sungjae, who was hunched up, groaned as he looked up. Thankfully, it seemed the defense skill was over SS-rank. The skill had blocked the numerous attacks as if they were nothing.
However, the ones who had attacked him looked at him with their mouths open.
“C-Crazy!”
Wondering what was going on, Chun Sungjae looked up. Surprise appeared on his face as well. It was to be expected.
“Gun, you son of a—”
The one to be summoned above him was the Archer Saint, Hugo.
“D-Dad!!”
Having taken the attacks head-on, Hugo stood there with a twitching face. He looked as if a bomb had hit him. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were ruined in various locations.
This flustered the magicians who had attacked Sungjae.
“Why is the Archer Saint here…”
“No! Why is he fine after being hit by our attacks?”
Hugo became angry. “Do I look fine right now?! My hair and clothes are a mess! My skin is scorched too!”
That wasn’t the definition of being fine!
As Chun Sungjae wondered what was going on…
[An SS-rank shield suitable for the situation has been summoned. It is capable of blocking the attacks.]
[Each disciple can summon a different shield.]
[Please use it according to the situation at hand.]
Chun Sungjae was sweating. His father had an SS-rank and above defense, but…
Hugo had experienced being summoned by Lee Gun through the same skill. The Archer Saint grated his teeth. In the end, he didn’t mind becoming his son’s shield. Wasn’t this the father-son relationship that he had wanted?
He wanted to be the one to protect his children. It was also the reason Lee Gun had chosen Hugo to be in charge of Sungjae in the first place. However…
“You should have said something before you sent me!!”
