“Kuhk!”
Lee Gun opened his eyes as he clutched at his distressed heart.
‘Shit!’
He had taken a gamble to enter Time’s body. Before he was going to get dismantled, he had used Time’s ability to get out of there. That had been his first goal!
Of course, he had no idea how to use Time’s ability since that was the ability of a monster.
‘It can’t be that much different from using the ability of a human!’
Thinking that, Lee Gun had used his magical energy at full power. Then, the power of Time had activated as if it was reacting to Lee Gun’s magical energy.
Flash!
Afterward, Lee Gun kept feeling nauseous; he felt like dying. It was as if he were inside a ball with no gravity and being shaken in all directions.
When that feeling came to a stop, Lee Gun opened his eyes to an unfamiliar location. “Shit! I don’t think this is hell.”
A wasteland appeared before his eyes. It seemed he wasn’t dead since he heard the notification sound.
[You have used the ability of Time.]
[You have crossed to a different timeline.]
Of course, Lee Gun had no idea why he was able to hear the notification when he was within Time’s body.
‘I don’t know who the owner of this voice is, but it might be the Seat of power.’
A Seat of power was like a throne for the Zodiac. It seemed as if the Seat of power made a contract with a god’s soul. That was probably why Lee Gun could still hear the voice. However, that wasn’t important right now.
‘The important part is that I can use Time’s abilities.’
It was obvious to Lee Gun that Time was going to kill and revive his disciples to level up Life. The monarch would try to master the power of Cycle through that method.
‘It means I have to beat him to the punch. Also, I might not be able to handle the power of Cycle very well, but that bastard has experience on his side. He’ll be able to use it well. I have to hurry.’
Lee Gun quickly surveyed his surroundings. However…
[This is where you ran away?]
“Kuh-huhk!!”
Lee Gun vomited blood as he heard an unfamiliar voice. The voice came from behind him. He felt as if a sharp spear blade was digging into his chest.
[A mere cub dares to do this.]
“…!”
When Lee Gun turned his head, he couldn’t believe what he saw.
‘That bastard is…!’
The one standing behind him was a pitch-black monster. Moreover, Lee Gun clearly remembered who it was.
‘Space-Time…!’
He was sure of this. It was the undead monarch that had been trapped in the basement of the Devil’s Tower, which was ruled by Time.
Lee Gun had used the infinite reset to take EXP and the Space ability from him.
‘It was the form that I saw from Time’s past, Space-Time in its heyday.’
Space-Time laughed as he took out the hand that had pierced Lee Gun’s chest.
[You’re a cub who was born not too long ago, yet you thought you could win against us.]
Space-Time looked down on Lee Gun.
Lee Gun groaned as he was kicked.
‘Shit! According to this bastard, I’m in the very distant past.’
Of course, Lee Gun had no idea if he was on a timeline where he existed or not. The only sure part was that this was one of the 18732 times that Time had returned to.
This was the distant past, long before the Space-Time monarch was sealed away in the Devil’s Tower as a weak undead being!
Oblivious to everything else, the Space-Time monarch laughed unpleasantly.
[You act presumptuously. You tried to kill the parents who brought you into this world.]
Lee Gun flinched.
‘Parents?’
That question lasted only a moment as Space-Time savagely attacked Lee Gun.
Koo-goo-goong!
Lee Gun deflected his arm on reflex.
Kwahng!
That wasn’t all.
“How dare you act high and mighty, undead bastard!” Lee Gun instantly disappeared, then reappeared above Space-Time’s head, surprising the monarch.
[What the hell?]
Space-Time seemed surprised by “Time’s” movement, which he had never seen before. The eyes of Space-Time turned menacing as if he had realized something.
[Who are you?]
Lee Gun laughed as he appeared above Space-Time’s head. He didn’t have a weapon, but his current body would become a monarch-rank in the future.
‘He probably has useful specs!’
As expected, something surprising happened.
Kwah-jeek!
“!”
His right arm, which had looked like a human’s, changed into that of a monster. Lee Gun smirked when he felt the power, and he aimed for Space-Time’s head. “Die!”
Although he didn’t have a weapon, he was a monster hunter who had survived the Devil’s Tower without a weapon.
‘It’ll be no problem if I have this.’
It was as expected.
Pahng!!!
Lee Gun’s powerful fist pierced through Space-Time’s face…
[You don’t know your place.]
The monarch laughed disparagingly as Lee Gun’s monster arm changed back into a human arm.
“!!”
That wasn’t all.
“Kuhk!”
Lee Gun was unable to use his magical energy in front of Space-Time. He had no idea why.
At that moment, Space-Time immediately decapitated Lee Gun.
“!!”
The sensation of his head being cut off was horrifying. It was clearly the sensation of death. Lee Gun fell to the floor, unable to move.
He didn’t die immediately, but his consciousness started to fade away. At that moment, Lee Gun reflexively tried to use his ability.
[You have used Time Travel.]
It seemed the power of the Serpent Bearer and Time was quite similar. Lee Gun used the power of Time Rewind to put his head back on.
[Shit! That bastard!]
Space-Time gnashed his teeth as he tried to chase after Lee Gun, but Lee Gun disappeared into the light.
When Lee Gun opened his eyes once again, he was much further in the past.
“Koohk…!”
Lee Gun was surprised when he checked his surroundings. It was to be expected since this was a familiar sight.
[The great twelve Zodiacs have lost their minds!]
[It’s fine! Their Constructs have killed their crazy masters!]
[Peace is here once again!]
“…!!”
He had moved to the time when the original owners were murdered by the current twelve Zodiacs. It was the same scene that the Serpent Bearer’s Seat of Power had shown Lee Gun.
‘Is this the Divine world?’
Lee Gun had been dropped within a desolate forest. However, it was a familiar location.
‘It’s the old holy ground of the Serpent Bearer temple.’
It was the Nameless Land, which Lee Gun had designated as his holy ground. It was the land possessed by Abundance and what the Zodiacs didn’t want to lose at all costs.
The Nameless Land was the holy ground of the original owner of the Serpent Bearer temple.
However, this didn’t matter either. The important part was the scene playing out in front of Lee Gun.
[Dig out the buried corpses of the Zodiacs.]
It looked to be the Space-Time monarch and the other monarchs. They were different from the six monarchs who had invaded earth. Moreover, Space-Time was in disguise. His face was the same, but his body was that of a god.
The monarch of Space-Time ordered his subordinate, who had come with him.
[Hurry up and take it out. The Constructs are having a festival for killing the thirteen Zodiacs. We have to finish our work before they get back.]
[Yes!]
The underling started taking a corpse out of the Serpent Bearer’s holy ground. Lee Gun was surprised when he saw the face of the corpse.
‘It’s the original owner of the Serpent Bearer temple!’
He was sure of it. The corpse that the subordinate had taken out of the ground was the original owner of the Serpent Bearer temple. However, the more surprising part was what happened next.
[A great child will be born if I use a Zodiac of this caliber.]
Space-Time turned the Serpent Bearer’s body into a hunk of meat. Then, at his gesture, a bug appeared on the hunk of meat.
The bug ate the entire corpse. After it was finished, the bug kept growing as it let out a fierce roar.
Space-Time laughed.
[Don’t whine too much. I have more food for you.]
Space-Time looked at the subordinate, who had dug the ground. The subordinate flinched.
[M-Master?]
The subordinate didn’t even have time to scream as the bug ate him. The squirming bug soon turned into something that Lee Gun recognized.
‘That is…!’
It was Time. He looked like a young child, but there was no mistaking his face.
Lee Gun suddenly had an understanding of everything.
‘Time was a monarch born using the body of the thirteenth original owner.’
Was this why Time had developed that particular ability? Was this why he was able to use the power of Cycle? Time had been influenced by the Serpent Bearer.
‘Both abilities feel similar.’
The reason Time was able to use Lee Gun’s power of the Serpent Bearer was…
‘Is it because the original owner of the Serpent Bearer temple is his parent?’
Time was a monarch created using the body of the original owner of the Serpent Bearer temple. That might be why Time was able to use the Serpent Bearer’s power. That wasn’t all.
[Next is this one.]
When the monarch of Space-Time made another gesture, a different corpse appeared in the air. It was a Zodiac Lee Gun had never seen before, but he immediately recognized who it was.
[He’s the original owner of the Sagittarius temple.]
For some reason, the notification sounded frosty. However, that wasn’t important right now.
Flash!
Like what had happened with time, the original owner of the Sagittarius temple became a hunk of meat, and another monarch was born. This one was none other than….
‘Confusion.’
This was how those two monarchs were born.
Space-Time had used the usurpation by the current twelve Zodiacs to his advantage. However, Lee Gun soon felt that something was off.
‘Wait a moment?’
If Time and Confusion were born like that, what about the other monarchs?
‘It was the same for Oblivion, Abundance, and Negligence. Weren’t they all monarchs made using the corpses of the original owner?’
If this time period was when Time was born, it would have been impossible for him to make the other monarchs using the corpses of the original owners.
Lee Gun soon felt a chill run up his spine.
‘Did he go back in time?.’
Lee Gun had seen Time’s memories, and he remembered the words exchanged in the fight between Time and Space-Time.
– Do not be conceited, old fools. You guys are dim-witted beings that cannot move against time.
– !
– You guys are creatures that can live on only a single rail.
It seemed Time had gone back in time and manipulated the past to a small degree.
Space-Time had used the usurpation of the original Zodiacs to stealthily create Time and Confusion.
However, Time had boldly approached the current Zodiacs out in the open. He pretended to give information about events that would eventually happen and, in return, asked for the corpses of the original owners.
He helped them pull off the usurpation more cleanly.
‘It wasn’t a coincidence that Time was able to make the other monarchs from the corpses of the Zodiacs.’
He probably knew about his origins.
‘Now, I know everything.’
Lee Gun knew what Time was aiming for. He also knew why he wasn’t able to attack the Space-Time monarch.
‘When Space-Time made Time, he probably placed several restrictions on him.’
Space-Time had probably made it so Time couldn’t attack the parent who had made him. It was why Time was aiming for the power of Cycle.
‘He can turn it back to the time before the great monarchs were born. It also might be possible to kill them by returning them to death.’
However, Time had imprisoned Space-Time within the Devil’s Tower as a living corpse.
‘Or maybe he already used the power of Cycle to create that state?’
Lee Gun’s guess was probably right. Time had returned 18,732 times into the past and gathered the souls of Yeonwoo and Junwoo. While this method was weaker, he was still able to use the power of Cycle.
As a result, the Space-Time monarch had become a living corpse.
‘However, that was the limit, since the power of Cycle was weak.’
This was why Time was unsatisfied and was trying to acquire the perfect power of Cycle through Lee Gun. However, that wasn’t important.
‘I have a rough idea of how to kill Time now.’
Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he glared toward somewhere. While Space-Time was distracted, he charged toward the newly born Time.
This shocked Space-Time.
[W-Who the hell are you?]
However, he didn’t even have time to be surprised.
Kwah-jeek!!!
Lee Gun blew apart the head of the newly born Time. He killed Time, shocking Space-Time.
[That bastard!]
Lee Gun let out an evil laugh. “That’s one for now.”
In his attempt to get rid of Time, the ones that interfered the most were the Times from the other timelines. They had appeared in droves. So what should he do then?
“I’ll kill all of them.”
This included the Times from all the timelines.
“I’ll kill all 18,732 of them.”