Oblivion was a monarch that not even the highest-ranked gods in the Divine world wanted to approach.
Multiple monarchs had meddled in the affairs of the earth. However, to enter the domes, they needed to possess a human’s body. This had backfired in Abundance’s case, who had died when it tried to attempt this move.
Then there was Abyss, who had sent one of its entities to eat a Zodiac. That had resulted in helping Lee Gun merge with Taurus.
Time was considered the supreme commander in charge of the invasion of the earth, and it had been leeching off Space as a nutrient.
Giselle, the monarch named Neglect, had entered the human territory as a spy.
The remaining monarch was hiding somewhere unknown.
Anyway, several monarchs were connected to the twelve Zodiacs, but above all else, the ability of Oblivion threatened the gods the most.
Even Lee Gun couldn’t escape from the threat Oblivion posed. It was also why the magic Zodiacs had used the power of Oblivion in this fashion.
‘The existence of gods is threatened if people can’t remember them!’
If no one remembered Lee Gun, it would be a critical blow to him in maintaining his Bible. Even if that didn’t happen, the Zodiacs will be at an advantage with memories of Lee Gun being stolen from the people.
Still, this was too much!
“Hey! How can you forget about me?” Hugo felt aggrieved and angry. He grabbed Lee Gun by the collar. “Damn it! I was steadfast in remembering you! How can you do this to your best friend??”
Hugo yelled, but it lasted only a moment.
“Kuh-huhk!”
A kick sent him flying.
“That hurts…! What the hell are you doing?”
Lee Gun, who had been eating his chicken, rubbed his ear when he heard Hugo scream. “Ah! I’m sorry! You might not know this because we are meeting for the first time. However, I do not like someone grabbing me like this. My personality won’t allow it.”
“#$*&$*#!” Hugo seemed pissed off. “Hey! How can you do this to a friend?”
“Friend?”
“Yes! Friend! You and I are friends! We’re brothers in arms, who went through life and death together!”
Lee Gun flinched. Did he realize who Hugo was?
Lee Gun looked over at Hugo. “No way! Why would I be friends with someone old like you? That’s offensive.”
When Lee Gun continued to eat the chicken, flames erupted from Hugo’s mouth. “Then why the hell are you eating the chicken I bought!!!”
That meant Lee Gun had boldly ordered someone he didn’t know to go buy him some chicken?
Hugo’s blood pressure was through the roof. He was about to faint. However, that wasn’t important right now.
‘Even Gun lost his memories?’
Hugo seemed shocked by this truth. To confirm it, he asked, “Do you know who I am, Gun? Do you know who these kids are?”
Hugo quickly took out his phone and showed Lee Gun the wallpaper on his screen. It was a new family photo that he had taken after Chun Jiwoo had returned.
Of course, the photo studio offered dolls of the twelve Zodiacs as props. So everyone except Hugo held a Lee Gun doll in the picture. Hugo was the only one who firmly held his own doll.
However, Hugo couldn’t believe his eyes. The Lee Gun figurines were no longer there in the picture. His wife had been holding two dolls, one of Hugo and one of Lee Gun, but the Lee Gun doll was gone.
However, that wasn’t important right now. Hugo showed the picture to Lee Gun. “Do you know who they are?”
The words seemed to have made Lee Gun angry. He looked at Hugo. “Are you playing with me? Of course, I know them. That’s Miss Jiwoo, Yooha, and Sungjae.”
“What about me?!”
“I don’t know you.”
“So why can’t you remember me?!!”
“Who cares? You must have a forgetful face.”
Hugo despaired. He was angered by the situation, but from the energy this man gave off, he was definitely Lee Gun. Moreover, Heaven’s Punishment would never stay next to someone who wasn’t its owner.
It might be the influence of Oblivion or a spell concocted by the Zodiacs of Magic, but Lee Gun had indeed forgotten him.
Lee Gun didn’t care if Hugo was lamenting or not. He just picked at his ear. “Ah! I’m thirsty after eating chicken. You said you’re my friend, right? You should go buy some drinks and ice cream for me. I want 100% fruit juice for my beverages and 100% milk-based ice cream.”
Hugo let out a violent roar. “Hey! Tell me the truth! You remember me, right? You’re doing this on purpose.”
“I have no idea who you are, but I have a feeling that I should take advantage of you.”
“Hey!!!”
Well, it didn’t matter. The situation was annoying, but Hugo realized this might be to his advantage. “Yes! My faith probably fell off the cliff with this!”
He used the black reflective display of the phone to check his own faith. “Wow! Crazy! This will be big. I can feel it. At the very least, it’ll be -500% faith. It really is -500—”
[Serpent Bearer Faith: 600%]
“Why didn’t it change?” Hugo threw his phone. As if throwing it wasn’t enough, he stomped on it.
After taking deep breaths, he then asked Lee Gun, “Do you remember anything about yourself? What about your name?”
“I don’t know.”
“Good. Listen to me well. Your name is Lee Gun, and you’re my friend… At the same time, you’re my underling.”
Lee Gun looked like he had bitten into a lemon. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so? You said you couldn’t remember anything.”
“Yes. I just know that’s not true.”
“I… I guess calling you an underling was taking it too far. In truth, I’m your teacher. I’m the one who developed you”
“Yeah. That’s not true either. I clearly remember things related to me.”
“Is that so? If you’re so sure about remembering such things, you must remember borrowing a million Won from me a month ago. Do you remember that?”
“Ah… Sorry! It doesn’t ring any bells.”
Lee Gun had really borrowed money from him, so Hugo let out killing intent. “Bastard! You’re selectively forgetting stuff!”
After filling up his stomach, Lee Gun picked up Heaven’s Punishment. It seemed he had somewhere else to be. “Anyway, I’m going. I have to kill some bastards.”
Soon, he started walking deeper into the fog.
This surprised Hugo. “Hey! You don’t know your name! Do you know who your enemies are?”
“Nope. I don’t.”
“You don’t, yet you want to kill them?!”
“Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?”
He had a lot of problems with it!! In the end, Hugo was about to return to his wife in anger, but…
“Hey! Wait a moment! Your teacher will show you the way!” Hugo quickly ran after Lee Gun.
* * *
Each of the twelve Zodiac temples possessed its own territory.
The Virgo temple was the emperor that ruled over Western Europe. The Aquarius temple ruled over land that stretched from Western Europe to Eastern Europe.
The Taurus temple ruled over the sand, which included Egypt, the Middle East, and West Asia.
The US had the Leo temple, and the Scorpio temple ruled over the cold regions, such as Canada, Russia, and Finland.
The south, including South America, Africa, and Australia, was represented by the Cancer, Capricorn, and Libra temples.
Then there was the Pisces temple. Any region touching the Mediterranean sea was their territory.
Since the Mediterranean sea existed in Southern Europe, it competed with the Aquarius temple.
Therefore, this place was supposed to be a region of conflict, yet it was unusually quiet. The reason was that it was a country of magic, closed off from outsiders.
In fact, Italy received protection from the Zodiacs of Magic, and it contained one of the cities of magic. Apartments, roads, and other facilities combined to make a fortress of magic.
One of these cities was Venice, and the city of water was a bit restless at that moment.
“Hey! Did you hear what I said?”
The subject was Lee Gun.
“My god! A fog is covering the entirety of East Asia.”
“East Asia? Aren’t the territories of the Serpent Bearer, Gemini, Aries, and Sagittarius temples located there? There is a fog there?”
“Yes. It’s big enough to cover the entire territory. Moreover, something strange is happening there. I’m calling over there, and no one seems to remember Lee Gun-nim.”
“What? Really?!”
“Is Lee Gun-nim fine?”
“It’s the power of a monarch. They are sure of it. That’s why the armed Pisces magicians will be heading toward that region.”
“What? Is that a good idea? Lee Gun-nim designated East Asia as a place where armed disciples are forbidden from entering. All the presidents forbid their armed disciples from entering that place.”
“There is no choice, since we have to subjugate the monsters.”
“It should be fine since they are trying to save Lee Gun-nim.”
They looked toward the lake where the magic city had been built, at the highest point of the city, where the headquarters of the Pisces temple was located.
In this temple made out of the water, a familiar face appeared.
[Are you listening to me? You went too far in bringing in Oblivion!]
It was one of the Pisces twins, who looked appalled. She was the one who had appeared at Lee Gun’s holy ground to save her Zodiac Saint. She was the Zodiac who had fallen into the blast furnace. She had come here to warn her older twin sister.
[Answer me! I can’t believe you sealed the memories about the Serpent Bearer using Oblivion! You went too far!]
Someone sat atop Pisces’s Seat of power. She furrowed her brows when she heard her young sister’s words.
[Are you listening to me?!]
It seemed her little sister’s words had gotten on her nerves. The eyes of the young woman on the throne flashed.
[Kyahhhk!]
The younger sister, who had been floating on top of the water, screamed when lightning flew toward her. She sank into the water.
It didn’t take long for the young woman on the throne to fish out her young sister using her power. She then furrowed her brows as she propped up her chin with her hands.
[You went to Lee Gun by yourself. You’re the idiot who became a holy item. Don’t you dare talk about this!]
[…!!]
Yes, the young woman on the throne was none other than the Pisces Saint Liv Rich. Although she looked like the Zodiac Saint from the outside, the one inside her was the older Pisces twin.
She was the culprit who had brought the monarchs to Seoul twenty-four years ago. She had also knocked out Kevin at the Devil’s Tower and changed the appearance of Jean-Louis, who had assassinated Lee Gun.
The older sister looked at her pathetic younger sister, who had become Lee Gun’s holy item. No, she had become Hugo’s bow.
[At least, your sense of self seems safe since you’re a Zodiac of Magic. Still, how could you allow yourself to become the bow of an enemy?]
[…!]
[Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll get you back after I kill your owner.]
The younger sister’s sense of self was the only thing left now, so she had become a phantom-like figure. She ground her teeth.
[That isn’t important right now! What were you thinking about bringing in Oblivion?]
The older sister’s eyes flashed.
[Kyaaaa!]
Angry, she walked toward her younger sister and stepped on her head.
[If you hadn’t lost the real Serpent Bearer twenty-four years ago, this wouldn’t be necessary!]
The older sister trembled in irritation.
After stealing the Seats of Power in the distant past, the twins had placed a spell on the thirteenth. They had framed him before killing him as the God of calamity.
Of course, they hunted down the thirteenth over and over again when they learned of the reincarnation. However, things had been different this time around.
For some reason, they had a very hard time finding the reincarnated body in the current cycle. After looking hard for it, they were able to kill the Serpent Bearer twenty-four years ago. This time, it had been a male.
This was why the situation had been unexpected.
– I never expected it to reincarnate as a boy.
Since they had a hard time finding him, they had decided to have some fun. They had burned and drowned the boy. His arms and legs were crushed and then severed. The twins had tortured him and played with him until he died.
Since he was the reincarnation of a Zodiac, he didn’t die easily. This was why he was an ideal candidate to have fun with.
Of course, the news of them killing the boy couldn’t spread, so they had transformed themselves into monsters. This was why there was no news about their involvement.
On the other hand, the twins always had a question about that incident.
– He isn’t putting up much of a fight compared to normal. It’s odd that he’s accepting his death.
It was long after that they had found out that the boy had been trying to hide the existence of his older sister and Lee Gun.
‘Yes. I never expected it to reincarnate as two this time around.’
That was why they had a very hard time finding the Serpent Bearer.
And so, they had been pissed off when they found out about the existence of Yeonwoo. Because of that, they had brought in a monarch to finish the job in no uncertain terms.
For some odd reason, however, Time had taken a great interest in the Serpent Bearer. If one looked back on it, it seemed the younger brother had wanted to protect Lee Gun.
‘Did he know that Lee Gun was his owner?’
It might have been a coincidence, but their powers had returned to Lee Gun.
‘The power of Life and Death is the power of the thirteenth original owner, so it isn’t out of place.’
The thirteenth original owner had received the Divine status of Aesculapius since its seat was empty.
When he recognized the potential of the snakes he had picked up, he had added his power to them. He was able to grow Ouroboros, who represented the cycle.
‘That isn’t important right now.’
The older Pisces gnashed her teeth as she propped her chin up.
[Those contemptible bastards are mere humans, yet they want to dig into the past of the twelve Zodiacs?]
She seemed to have realized the tactic Lee Gun’s side was going to use. In the past, the insolent Secretaries had looked into the Zodiacs’ past instead of creating the Bibles. They used their past as a threat to make the twelve Zodiacs leave earth.
[Lee Gun and anyone who follows him will be crushed like the cockroach Secretaries.]
They had planned on using a ridiculous plan, yet the older Pisces twin just had to erase Lee Gun’s existence using Oblivion to solve the problem.
As proof of this, the older twin smirked.
[The magic has already been activated, and the fog will keep expanding until it’ll cover the entire world.]
[However, the risk of using a monarch’s power is high. If the condition fails— Koohk!]
[Shut up! I put 500% faith as a condition.]
[!]
[I’ve never seen a faith that high even amongst the most devoted Constructs. No one will remember Lee Gun.]
Some disciples did have 100% faith toward the Serpent Bearer, and the highest faith amongst the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saints was 400%.
Although Giselle had warned her about Hugo, when the older Pisces had checked his faith recently, it had been 450%.
If it did go up, it would probably max out at 500%, which was within her prediction range.
[Unless a human has lost their mind, there’s no way a higher figure of faith would come out.]
[!]
[That’s why this plan cannot fail.]
The Zodiac of Magic laughed coquettishly.
