Chapter 262 - Talk to me straight (3)
Virgo seemed shocked. First, she had never expected Kevin to recognize her old self. Second, she never expected him to show killing intent toward her. It wasn’t an idle threat.
‘He really has intentions of killing me.’
There were two ways of killing a god. One way was to rip out their core, as Lee Gun had done, a brutish method. A weak human couldn’t use this method.
However, the second way allowed even a weak human to kill a Zodiac. It was to destroy the Bible, which contained the genesis of a god.
Kevin laughed. “After you guys eradicated the Secretaries, you put the Bibles in the care of the Zodiac Saints. You know this, right?”
“…!”
Virgo flinched and shook.
Gods were beings that could exist only if they had beings that revered and served them. If there was no memory of an event, gods couldn’t exert their influence.
The prime examples were beings like Buddha and Jesus. They continued to be remembered. If the memories about them weren’t passed to future generations, they would eventually be forgotten.
And when gods get forgotten, they lose their power.
This was why the Zodiacs kept Bibles, which recorded their genesis and achievements. These Zodiacs made sure memories about them would be left behind through written words even if they ceased to exist.
In the past, some wretched low-rank gods had disappeared without even a rumor. They didn’t even have Constructs to worship them.
This system was made by some unknown beings for those gods. And when this system left the hands of those that had made it, it kept evolving and evolving. It reached its current form.
So what would happen if Kevin destroyed the Bible?
“The Virgo temple will cease to exist. Furthermore, the achievements, honor, and Constructs that you gathered will all be gone.”
When Kevin made the deadly threat, a goddess holding a blade shot out from his shadow.
[Kevin! How dare you say something so sacrilegious…!]
“Don’t move. I’ll really destroy it.”
[!]
“Get back in there if you understand me. You guys didn’t see it, but the human affiliates of the Serpent Bearer saw it clearly.”
[…!!]
“Those of the unknown civilization snatched away the lives of humanity and Lee Gun’s family. You guys did all of this to grow yourselves after collaborating with the unknown civilization to usurp the seats of your masters. You should be thankful that my faith didn’t bottom out after seeing such a thing.”
[…?!]
The Constructs were shocked. They looked in the direction where they could feel the power of the Virgo. It was as if they were asking whether what he was saying was true.
“Speak. You were the one to kill the thirteenth, right?”
[Kevin! There is no way our master would…!]
[No. It’s fine.]
[Master!]
Virgo sighed. She had never expected her disciple to take these steps.
[You guys must be confused.]
[No. We are…!]
[You don’t need to deceive me. Your faith has already fallen. All the affiliates saw the vision.]
[…!!!]
The gods hidden inside the shadow gulped as they trembled. Virgo soon continued.
[He’s right. We are the ones that killed the original owners.]
[Master!!]
[However, I swear that we never dragged the Monarchs to the earth.]
“Really?”
[At the very least, I didn’t.]
“You didn’t?”
[The ones to arrive in this land first were the Zodiacs of the two magic-type temples.]
“!”
She was talking about Pisces and Gemini.
[I had the intention of gathering disciples here, but I also had to check up on someone.]
“You wanted to check up on someone?”
[It was the thirteenth Zodiac, called the God of Calamity. I’m the one who reincarnated Lee Gun’s beloved.]
[What?!]
“What!?!” Kevin and the goddesses were shocked.
[Master was the one who hid her?!]
“That’s crazy! Lee Gun really had a girlfriend?!”
They were surprised for different reasons, but it didn’t matter.
[Why would you do something so dangerous…!]
“Lee Gun… You traitor… I thought he was an eternal bachelor like me…!”
[If the Zodiacs of the magic find out about this, they won’t let you be!]
“He had one, yet he acted like he didn’t have one. I won’t let him be.”
[Kevin!!]
The Constructs knew what this meant. The Zodiacs of magic were the most difficult beings amongst the twelve Zodiacs. Moreover, they were twin gods. Each of those two temples had two Zodiacs, and they were the ones to build the Temple system. They were the ones to change the earth.
They had also stolen the magic of the Divine world so that they could use forbidden techniques. It was why none of the other Zodiacs challenged them.
[They are the ones who stole the power of the thirteenth Zodiac. They were the ones who drove the thirteenth to his death, right?]
[There was no guarantee Master would have been safe…!]
However, the Constructs were unable to continue their words. They came to an understanding.
‘If Master is a usurper, did she kill the thirteenth Zodiac to keep its mouth shut…’
‘Then why would she reincarnate…?’
As if he could read their curiosity, Kevin asked, “You were the one to kill the thirteenth Zodiac, right? The one before Lee Gun?”
Virgo became lost in her thoughts.
Yeonwoo, who had been the thirteenth Zodiac, had been attacked while Virgo, Sagittarius, and several other Zodiacs were away. The reason behind it was unknown.
Except…
[The god of Cycle was trying to destroy the Divine world!]
[That bitch revived and spread the virus that made the past original owners sick!]
Virgo couldn’t forget the madness in Pisces’s face as it had shouted those words. When she had realized the seriousness of the situation, she had gone to visit Yeonwoo, but Yeonwoo had already been executed at that point.
Thanks to the power of Life, Yeonwoo had been barely clinging to life. Therefore, Virgo had made a request to Leo and Sagittarius, whom she was friendly with. She asked them to draw the attention of the other Zodiacs, and then, she reincarnated Yeonwoo.
Kevin furrowed his brows.
In the end, Virgo’s action toward the thirteenth Zodiac had allowed Lee Gun to become an awakened being.
“Did you revive the snake god because you felt guilty toward the original owner of the thirteenth seat?”
Virgo laughed at Kevin’s cold voice. She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel any guilt. She had always been close to Yeonwoo, but her true reasons for doing it were separate from that.
When she and her fellow Zodiacs had usurped the original owner of the Seats of Power, Virgo had volunteered herself to head toward the thirteenth original owner.
After seeing the original owner, she had immediately said.
[Oh, Ruler of the snake. Please make a clone of yourself. I’ll pretend to execute you, and I’ll help you hide in a different Divine world.]
However, the thirteenth had just laughed.
[It’s fine. Hurry up and kill me. This body is at its end.]
[!]
The power of Pisces was killing his body. The involvement of the Monarchs was a certainty.
Pisces and the others had made odd moves, such as trying to find the recent whereabouts of the monarchs.
The original owner soon mumbled something. The words surprised Virgo. However, her surprise lasted only a moment when she heard the original owner’s next words.
[… That is why I have no regrets except one. I worry about my baby snake. I wish she would be able to meet her brother and live a happy life.]
These words had bothered Virgo, yet she had decided to follow his last wishes. She had secretly taken and hidden Yeonwoo.
Kevin furrowed his brows. “What’s Lee Gun’s relationship to the thirteenth”
He had accurately guessed that their magical energy felt the same. Virgo knew this, so she spoke.
[I’m not sure either. They might be related by blood. I’m also trying to find that out.]
“Mmm. Alright. I accept all you have to say.”
[Then…!]
Kevin turned around in a cool manner. “Lee Gun! Let’s merge the Virgo temple too! Put me under the Serpent Bearer temple!”
[Kevin!!!]
Virgo became desperate.
Hugo was dumbfounded by Kevin’s shout, which he could hear from far away. “Why does that bastard want to join Gun’s crappy temple? What’s so good about it?”
“Well, he’s better than a certain someone…”
Hugo felt a surge of anger as he went through his phone. He played the video of a YouTube channel, which he had subscribed to earlier.
If fans existed, haters were bound to exist too.
Since Lee Gun’s personality wasn’t that great, several thousand incendiary videos that disparage him existed on the internet.
Of course, the Chun siblings and Carly wouldn’t let such videos stay up, but they couldn’t keep up with the speed at which those videos were uploaded. Moreover, they couldn’t catch the live broadcasts that circulated underground.
Hugo was pleased to see these incendiary videos. “Yes. I should have done this from the start. Human beings are creatures that can be brainwashed. My faith will be no problem with this.”
Hugo’s children looked at him with dumbfounded expressions. Did he really hate being under them?
“Dad. You should get ready to receive baptism as a disciple. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”
“What? Chun Sungjae! Did you just say this is unnecessary? Look! This young friend is speaking the absolute truth!”
- Everyone. Lee Gun is a violent man. Even if he’s the hero of humanity, you shouldn’t forget his true nature.
“Yes! He’s a violent man!! We shouldn’t forget his true nature!!”
- Moreover, Lee Gun frequently puts his purchases on the tab. There are many instances where he ran away without paying for his food. We’ve gathered witnesses.
“Yes!! Gun eats food without paying the bill! He’s rotten!”
- He even stole money from children.
“Yes! He’s shameful for taking from children— Uh? Gun never did that."
- Do you understand? Lee Gun is a scoundrel who steals money. While the other Zodiac Saints protected the world heritage site, he stole money from them!
“Hey, you bastards are instigators! Gun did everything! Hey, Sungjae! Get me a lawyer! I’ll have to sue these guys for defamation!”
“…”
His children looked at him, speechless.
“Wow! These guys are crooks. Why are the comments like this? I’ll have to flag these as malicious comments. Gun took advantage of every woman that approached him? They all ran away when they saw his face and personality!”
[Hugo Otis]
[Serpent Bearer Faith 580%]
Lee Gun just shook his head when he saw this. At the same time, he came to a stop. The place he had stopped was at the heart of the Nameless Land.
Lee Gun laughed as he watched the light of Life surge up from the center.
[Someone is calling for the Serpent Bearer.]
The Nameless Land was previously ruled by Abundance. It was a mysterious magical territory. No one knew where it came from and why the Zodiacs wanted it.
“God-nim. I believe something is hidden in the Nameless Land... It’s something God-nim can’t afford to lose.”
“Is that so? Something I can’t afford to lose?”
“Yes. That’s why Taurus wanted this land and showed up at Drachma. Of course, it suffered defeat on that day at the hands of God-nim…”
The Secretary had been having fun as she went through the Bible of the Taurus temple, which had merged with the Serpent Bearer temple. She had successfully decoded the records of the Taurus temple, and in turn, Lee Gun had received good information.
‘They were slaughtered by the Zodiacs because they possess such abilities.’
All the Secretaries had been killed in the past for one reason.
‘The Zodiacs didn’t want their secrets to be revealed.’
Secretaries could read the past, and they must have learned the truth about the usurpation. Moreover, they must have learned why the Zodiacs had killed Lee Gun.
As if to prove this, a vision brushed through Lee Gun’s mind.
[Lee Gun taking an active role is fine, but it’ll be a problem if he kills all the monsters.]
[Lee Gun is too good. If left alone, he might eradicate the unknown civilization.]
[We have to stick to our initial goal. We have to raise people’s faith toward us through fear.]
Lee Gun became angry at the unbidden memories that the Seat of power had brought up. It also felt like there was a ringleader amongst the Zodiacs.
“Those wretched bastards!”
Hugo’s body shook when he heard Lee Gun’s words.
‘I’ve never heard such a voice from him.’
The killing intent contained within Lee Gun’s voice was on a completely different level. Hugo had thought Gun had turned a bit more mild-mannered after meeting Yeonwoo, but that thought was dispelled in an instant.
‘For some reason, his personality got much worse.’
Was he mistaken? Hugo shook from fear.
Lee Gun ignored him as he immediately activated his skill.
[Holy ground designation!]
[The Nameless Land has been designated as the Serpent Bearer’s holy ground.]
[You feel an incredible amount of Life energy.]
[Life has gained a massive amount of EXP.]
[The Nameless Land greets its new owner.]
Boom!!!
As the ground shook, something started surging up from it.
[The hidden item is being revealed.]
‘It came out..’
The Zodiacs had interfered with him acquiring this land because they didn’t want him to have this item. Lee Gun let out a sharp laugh as he headed toward the items that had emerged from the ground.
Pah-jee-jeek!
“Uh!”
At that moment, Sungjae cheered.
Accompanying the enormous power of life, the egg he possessed started to crack.
[Serpent Bearer’s Construct (SSS) is reacting.]
Lee Gun flinched. It somehow felt familiar.
* * *
Around that time, Pisces’s holy ground.
“Is that so? Aries became Lee Gun’s slave?”
A Zodiac that had taken on the form of the Pisces Saint started to laugh. She had learned what had happened through an agent of the Divine world.
“It seems Aries bought that cube from Time. Why did it fail in killing Lee Gun?”
[Ah! I believe Sagittarius stole it.]
“Sagittarius?”
[Yes. However, it doesn’t make sense. Sagittarius is our accomplice.]
Pisces let out an odd smirk.
“It’s understandable. He can’t kill his nephew.”
[What? What did you just say?]
“It’s nothing. Anyway, you should get ready. The only Zodiacs left are the Zodiacs of magic.”
[!]
“I know Lee Gun’s weakness.”
[Then…!]
“I’ll bring Time.”
Kwahng!!
Suddenly, Pisces’s holy ground shook. They felt a powerful impact as if they were being bombarded.
