Right before the fog of Oblivion covered East Asia, Carly was visiting the holy ground of the Capricorn temple in Australia. She furrowed her brows within the World Workshop.
“What did you just say?”
“Hand over Lee Gun-nim to us.”
“What?” Carly scoffed.
After receiving an order from Lee Gun to seize the Cancer’s Seat of Power, she had come here, looking for the master craftsmen to repair her weapon.
Of course, she could ask Lee Gun to repair it, but she didn’t want to be a burden to him. This was why she was unable to speak up.
While Lee Gun had taken her in, there was no way Lee Gun would be happy with her existence. She didn’t want to bother him with something trivial.
That was why she had visited a master craftsman she was normally close to.
“The Serpent Bearer! Hand over Lee Gun-nim! Lee Gun-nim has the Midas touch. The master craftsmen will serve him!”
“That’s right! There is no way we’ll let lowly battle fiends take care of Lee Gun-nim!”
These little bastards…! It was fine that she had come here to fix her item, but humanity’s greatest master craftsmen had brought up some unexpected words.
“Do you know this? Lee Gun-nim is the Zodiac of manufacturing. That is his profession! If he stays in a temple that isn’t suited to him, his abilities will erode!”
“That’s right! He should come here and become the Zodiac of the Capricorn temple! He’ll acquire abilities related to manufacturing!”
“Yes. The lowly battle-type disciples should leave! Don’t let Lee Gun-nim’s abilities waste away!”
Unable to take the harassment from the master craftsmen, Carly became angry. “Hey, Taylor! You should keep your guys in line!”
Carly raised her voice toward someone who stood in front of the cauldron. The star master craftsman Taylor stood there. He was the one who had lost and fallen for Lee Gun in the manufacturing battle.
At the same time, he was the colleague of Carly, Yooha, and Goat, one of humanity’s strongest and a Ten Star (SS rank).
Angry, Carly looked at Taylor, who was repairing her sword. “Hey. Are you listening to me? Your guys are talking nonsense!”
“It isn’t nonsense, right?”
“What?!”
“It’s the same for the Zodiacs. Depending on which temple they join, the skills that they develop differ too. It’s the same for Lee Gun-nim.”
“…!” Carly flinched.
It was as he said. The twelve Zodiacs grew through their disciples, and they developed skills that fit the disposition of the Seat of power they occupied.
For example, the Aquarius temple was known as the healing temple. However, Aquarius only released healing-type skills. It was incapable of releasing skills related to fighting.
“Lee Gun-nim doesn’t have any special manufacturing power, yet he’s that skilled. If he joins the Capricorn temple, he’ll gain abilities related to manufacturing.”
“!”
“He’ll be beyond imagination at that point. How can we let a treasure like him stay in a battle-type temple? It’s like burying talent under mud.”
It didn’t matter in the end.
“Anyway, I will become the Zodiac who’ll serve Lee Gun-nim”
“Hey! That’s your goal! I will become the Zodiac Saint, idiot!”
At that moment, a suspicious fog encircled the over-100-story-tall World Workshop tower. Then, unrest rose amongst the disciples.
“Hey, what were we talking about right now?”
“What else… It’s about the person we serve…”
“Who?”
“Who were we talking about?”
* * *
‘Texts from Sungjae and Yooha are missing. Gun’s name is completely gone from the SNS.’
Hugo was seriously looking at his phone.
‘It means the fog covered the entire world.’
Hugo had tried to contact people far away from this place.
[Gun’s Stalker: Lee Gun? Who is that?]
[Cat Butler: Serpent Bearer temple? No one is there. I heard you acquired a really good weapon.]
[False Saintess: Ahhhhk! I’m sorry! I don’t know who I wronged, but I’m sorry.]
[Just Marry Gun: (No Response)]
“…!”
Hugo became serious. He was sure of it.
‘The fog has spread all across the world.’
Even those in the US and Europe had forgotten about Lee Gun now. This was the doing of the Zodiacs of Magic.
‘They plan on getting rid of Gun for good.’
That wasn’t all. They were trying to erase the past of the twelve Zodiacs! Of course, Hugo understood why they were taking such steps. His side had planned on casting doubt on them through the media.
[The twelve Zodiacs tried to kill humanity’s hero Lee Gun.]
[The twelve Zodiacs used the unknown civilization to usurp the original owners. That is how they became gods.]
[They used the method at the time to get acclimated to the earth. They tried to fulfill their own self-interest and desire.]
[It means a segment of the twelve Zodiacs might already be cooperating with the unknown civilization.]
[The invasion itself might be the plan of the Zodiacs.]
[That is why they tried to kill Lee Gun, who had a connection to the truth.]
This was why all the Secretaries had been murdered in the past. Like the time with the Secretaries, the Zodiacs that knew the truth about them had taken action.
‘However, Gun isn’t easy to deal with.’
They wanted to get rid of Lee Gun’s existence, and they chose a method that was deadly even to the Zodiacs. It was also a way where they didn’t need to get their hands dirty. They had chosen Oblivion.
It was a different form of death where one’s existence was erased.
‘On the other hand, nothing has happened to Gun yet.’
A god needed to be worshiped by someone else. One became stronger by maintaining this connection. Moreover, a minor god that people would forget soon and a major god that had established itself as a state religion were two different stories.
When the subject disappeared through Oblivion, belief itself couldn’t be established. In the end, the power of the god vanished since a god lived off the worship of others.
‘That is why I have to break this spell, so the memories about Gun come back.’
Despite knowing this, Hugo almost had second thoughts about doing it. Why?
“Dad is the best! You’re too cool!”
“Marry me, Dad…!”
Yes. His daughter, who didn’t display any affection, had hugged him. She started love bombing him.
The reason behind it was unknown, but the cause had to do with Lee Gun’s existence being forgotten. Maybe, the faith heading toward Lee Gun was being directed toward him.
“Dad, you really are the best in the world.”
“I love you, Dad.”
It was something that would never happen if things were normal.
“Yes. Why should I recover memories about Gun? Things are fine as is— Kuhk!!” Hugo became angry when he was hit twice by Lee Gun. “Why did you hit me!!! I said we are friends!”
“I can’t stand you grinning like that.”
“You do remember me, right?!”
Lee Gun picked at his ear.
Brrrrr!
Hugo was surprised when the phone started ringing. It was a familiar number. He picked it up as if he had been waiting for the call. “Hailey!”
– Is Lee Gun there?
Hugo became relieved when he heard the familiar name. “I knew you would remember Gun!”
– Yes. I was registered as Time, who’s Oblivion’s peer. It might be the reason I was able to avoid it.
“Time?”
Hailey became silent.
– It’s nothing. Also, I cannot enter the fog since I was recognized as a monarch.
“What? Why?”
– That fog is made using the Monarch by the Zodiacs of Magic. Scorpio and I are forbidden from interfering.
Hugo flinched when Scorpio was mentioned. Unlike the other Zodiacs, nothing was really known about Scorpio.
Normally, Hailey was always front and center, so no one knew the identity of her Zodiac.
‘The fact that it designated someone from the unknown civilization as a Zodiac Saint means it isn’t a normal god.’
However, that wasn’t important right now.
– Lee Gun will be in danger if people’s memories of him disappear. However, I have an idea about how the power of Oblivion was used since I’m from the same side. I’ll tell you how to resolve this.
“How to resolve it?”
– The fog is a part of Oblivion’s body. There must be magicians drawing in the fog. There is a high probability that the fairies of the Pisces temple are doing this.
The light in Hugo’s eyes changed. That wouldn’t be too hard.
– As their divinity grows stronger, the Zodiacs also receive a good deal of influence from those who deify the gods. If those who remember Lee Gun disappear, the power of the Serpent Bearer will weaken, and Lee Gun will eventually be unable to use that power. This is why Zodiac Saints are a must for temples; they have the highest faith. They are like the religious leaders who will gather people to deify the Zodiacs.
“Wait a moment. Why the hell did they register me as the Serpent Bearer? Do you know why?”
– This is only a guess.
“?”
– It’s difficult to erase the existence of the thirteenth Zodiac. It would be easier to erase the memories of Lee Gun.
Erasing the existence of a god was hard, but Lee Gun had been a human who had operated as a hero.
– The thirteenth Zodiac will be swapped out for an insignificant human as their standards. Then they’ll try to get rid of Lee Gun, who won’t be able to use his power.
“Hailey… Did you just say I’m an insignificant human?”
It didn’t matter.
“It seems Gun also forgot about me. Do you know why?”
[A god doesn’t have faith in oneself. This is why the faith should be 0%, and you were registered as the Serpent Bearer…]
“That’s why he forgot about me? The mighty Lee Gun fell for such a tactic?”
Hugo looked at Lee Gun as if this made no sense. Lee Gun was in the distance, yawning as he took out a beverage from a vending machine.
‘Still, this is the great Lee Gun we’re talking about.’
Hugo looked at Lee Gun as if something was off.
On the other hand, Hailey became serious. It seemed she had an idea of what was going on.
– Lee Gun was eaten by Oblivion once before, right?
“!!”
– Since he was eaten before, Oblivion’s power must work on him.
“No way…!”
– Anyway, you should be quick about this. All the records about Lee Gun are disappearing around the world. If the Zodiacs of magic can kill Lee Gun, you will be the next, since you were designated as the thirteenth Zodiac…
Boom!
Hugo furrowed his brows when he suddenly heard a sound through the phone.
“Hailey?”
– Why is Time here—
The call abruptly ended.
“Hailey? Hailey!” Hugo couldn’t reach Hailey again. Moreover, the holy item of the Scorpio temple Hailey had lent him disappeared.
Hugo flinched.
‘Did something happen on her side?’
At the same time, Hugo became surprised as he looked over an article on his phone.
‘All the articles related to Gun are gone.’
This confirmed that the fog had covered the entire world.
Hugo looked into the distance at Lee Gun and was surprised.
‘The power of the Serpent Bearer is gone.’
The divinity he could feel from Lee Gun had become faint.
Lee Gun had been deified twenty years ago through the memories of the people who remembered him as a hero. This was why his divine status had taken a big hit.
‘Shit! This is dangerous.’
As if they had timed it so that they could attack a weakening Lee Gun…
[Oh! We found you.]
“!”
Being resembling fairies appeared in the distance. Hugo became desperate when he saw them.
‘They are here to kill Gun since his divinity weakened.’
They spoke.
[If we toss him to Oblivion, we’ll tie all the loose ends.]
Hugo quickly took out his bow. Since Gun was weakened right now, he had to quickly kill the enemies.
[Let’s hurry up and get rid of him.]
[Ah! Wait a moment. Let’s call Master before we…]
Suddenly….
[Uh?]
The eyes of one of the fairies turned round, the reason being Lee Gun, who had appeared above their heads.
[?!]
The fairies were surprised and frightened at the same time.
Lee Gun had been several hundred meters away a moment ago! They didn’t even get to scream. “I was wondering when you guys would show up. I was about to die from boredom.”
[?!!]
Lee Gun, who had appeared in the air, punched the fairies in their faces before they could scream.
Kwahng!!!!
The fairies crashed into the overpass, and the overpass collapsed.
[H-Huh-uhk!]
[What the hell! He didn’t lose his memories? Master was sure Oblivion ate his memories and that he won’t be able to use his power!]
However, they didn’t even have time to be flustered. Lee Gun cracked his knuckles as he approached the fairies. His expression was vicious.
The fairies were gripped by fear. They frightfully asked.
[Do you know us?!]
“Not at all.”
[You don’t know us, yet you’re doing this to us?!]
“Yes. I have no idea who you guys are, but somehow, it feels like I should hit you guys.”
[What— Kyahhhk!!]
The fairies were immediately sent flying. They had come here without much worry, but they realized the seriousness of their situation. They tried to use their summoning magic.
[Attack him!]
[What? Are you sure? Master said he lost his memories, so we should put him into Oblivion alive…!]
[He might have lost his memories, but he’s still a psycho!]
[No human in this world remembers Lee Gun. The loss of his divinity means his power should have fallen at least by half!]
[He can probably use only brute force]
As if to ridicule those words, an earthquake erupted from the ground.
Boom!!!
As if he had been waiting for them to crawl out, Lee Gun emitted a deadly magical energy!
[Kyahhhk!]
It was clearly the power of the Serpent Bearer. Shocked, the fairies almost fell to the ground in fright, as they saw this intimidating sight.
[What the hell?! Why is his power still the same?]
[Since his divinity fell, there is no way he should be able to use the power of the Serpent Bearer!]
[D-Does he perhaps have a disciple left?!]
[What are you saying? The condition was set as a faith of 500%— Oohp!]
Lee Gun’s hands grabbed the fairies’ faces. Letting out a harsh laugh, he held the head of the fairies. “I have one. His name is Taeksoo, and he’s a disciple with a faith of 600%.”
Poo-hahk!!!
He ruthlessly crushed their heads.
At the same time, Hugo’s face looked like that of an oni. “Hey! I thought you lost your memories?!”
Lee Gun let out a cheeky smile. “Yes. I don’t remember anything.”
