[The faith of those looking for the Serpent Bearer can be felt.]
[Hundreds of millions of beings with strong faith are calling for the Serpent Bearer.]
[Will you answer their call?]
Lee Gun’s face brightened when he heard the notification, and his body stopped breaking down at once. That wasn’t all.
[A god is born through human faith and need.]
[A god is immortal if disciples believe and remember the god.]
The Zodiacs wanted disciples and faith for a reason. It didn’t matter if thousands of years had passed and the Zodiacs changed their locations. If they had disciples who kept believing in them, they would never disappear.
That was why Secretaries had been made to create Bibles. It was to make sure the gods’ existences wouldn’t disappear even if thousands of years passed.
Was it because the call for him was so strong? A change occurred to Lee Gun’s body, which had been about to disappear.
[The faith of hundreds of millions has revived the existence called Lee Gun.]
[Hundreds of millions of disciples do not want to lose the existence called Lee Gun.]
[Most of the faith on the earth is directed toward Lee Gun.]
[It is enough to embed his presence through all dimensions.]
[Lee Gun has been recognized as an essential being that is needed on the earth’s timeline.]
[The dismantling will be stopped.]
Flash!
Accompanying the light, Lee Gun’s body returned to normal. His dispersed torso, arms, and legs returned to their normal states.
When his body was reconstituted, Lee Gun vividly felt the energy of his disciples.
‘It isn’t just one or two disciples.’
Of course, his disciples boasted a unique presence that stood out, but this was different.
‘This number is almost the entire population of the earth.’
Yes, most on the earth missed Lee Gun and wanted him back. Moreover, regeneration of this magnitude couldn’t be done without true faith.
This was why Lee Gun’s heart was swollen with pride and warm feelings. A lot of things had happened to him, yet this signaled that his work hadn’t been meaningless.
On the other hand, Time was shocked. It was to be expected since the timeline and the power of the dimensions couldn’t be violated by gods and living beings. They were the powers of the universe.
In the past, Time had used this principle to get rid of the great Zodiacs…!
“That’s too bad. Your plan went down the drain.”
[…!!]
Laughter could no longer be found on Time’s face.
Lee Gun savagely laughed when he read the despair on Time’s face. “It’s time to take the spoils of war!”
[!!]
Lee Gun immediately grabbed Time’s head. Then, an incredible light surged forth.
[The dismantling of Time has been completed.]
[The parental figure making up Time has been revived using the power of Cycle.]
The power of Cycle turned in the opposite direction. It reverted to a time before Time was made. In other words, the thirteenth original owner was being revived.
In fact, a humanoid shadow started appearing where Time used to be. It was the first Serpent Bearer, who Yeonwoo and Junwoo had tried to revive in the past.
At that moment, Lee Gun witnessed something odd within the enormous light of Cycle. He saw two things.
First, he saw one of Time’s memories.
– If you use this, you will be able to kill your masters. You will be able to usurp their seats.
In this memory, it seemed Time had brought the corpses of the original owners from a different timeline and was trying to entice the Zodiacs by using them.
However, the next scene was the one that caught more of Lee Gun’s attention.
– What? What did you just say? You have a child?
– Yes, Hyung-nim.
It was a scene where two men were fighting. Both of them had golden hair. One was the thirteenth original owner, and the other was probably the original owner of the Sagittarius temple.
For some reason, the original owner of the Sagittarius temple looked furious.
– You have a child?
– Yes. Why is it so surprising?
The older brother shook when he heard the thirteenth answer coldly. He looked more fearful than angry.
The original owner of the Sagittarius temple grabbed his younger brother’s arm as he spoke.
– Did you have this child so that you can get revenge on us?
The thirteenth looked dumbfounded. Then, he shook off the hand. Until now, the thirteenth’s face had been playful and warm. However, it turned frigidly cold.
– Are you that afraid of that incident?
– Where is it? I have to find that child right now.
– You won’t be able to find the child. Never.
– You…!
The two continued to speak to each other, but Lee Gun couldn’t hear the rest.
[You have accepted the call.]
[You’re flying toward your disciple.]
Lee Gun was being moved before he could see the scene unfold further. It was as if he were bungee jumping. He felt the sensation of falling, and their voices faded away.
The only thing he could hear was the voice of Time, who had seen the same thing. Time spoke in a slightly mocking manner.
[I guess this will lead to a father-son reunion.]
As his consciousness faded away, Lee Gun furrowed his brows. Father-son reunion?
* * *
Kwahng! Kwahng!
The other timeline was destroyed according to Time’s will. This was the only timeline containing the existence of Lee Gun. Humanity was bleeding as they blocked the fallen Zodiacs and the monsters Time had left behind.
“Block them! We have to get rid of them until Lee Gun makes his return!”
“If we retreat, humanity will end here!”
The Zodiac Saints gnashed their teeth as they fought the fallen Zodiacs.
As expected of Zodiacs, the fallen Zodiacs were incredibly strong, yet they didn’t retreat at all.
While their will was strong, the reason was that powerful allies had been summoned.
[The Constructs of the old Serpent Bearer have appeared once again after sensing his presence.]
They were the Constructs of the old Serpent Bearer, which had been held captive by the Gemini temple. It was all thanks to the white god, whom Eeny, Meeny, and Miny called boss.
Moreover, the old Serpent Bearer Constructs, which had been under the service of other Zodiacs, were starting to show up sporadically.
They were pining for the Serpent Bearer as they helped the Chun siblings, the Zodiac Saints of the Serpent Bearer temple.
This gave humanity a chance to win against the monsters and the fallen Zodiacs. Yet, they looked anxious.
“Is Lee Gun not here yet?”
“If we don’t hurry up and call for him, Lee Gun will cease to exist!”
Since they were affiliates under the Serpent Bearer temple, they were able to hear the notification. It allowed them to hear what was happening to Lee Gun.
[Warning! Lee Gun is about to cease to exist in the other timeline.]
[Warning! When the Zodiac ceases to exist, the affiliate contract will be canceled after a minute.]
[Lee Gun has been determined as a useless speck of dust. The dimensional power is trying to get rid of him as a foreign matter.]
It seemed those words made them realize Lee Gun was in danger. Flustered, they had desperately tried to stop the monsters. Then they sent all their EXP to Lee Gun. However, it wasn’t enough to stop a Zodiac from ceasing to exist.
In the end, the Chun siblings desperately used the Zodiac Summon skill.
‘Uncle will be safe if we call him here!’
They kept calling for their uncle with all their heart.
Of course, they had to stop Lee Gun’s demise and summon him across dimensions. The prayer of two Zodiac Saints wasn’t enough.
– Can you hear my voice?
The civilians were confused when they suddenly heard the voice.
– It seems those with a certain amount of faith will be able to hear this…
Originally, only the disciples could hear the notification. Yet, for some reason, everyone around the world could hear it now. The reason was simple.
[Guisoon has edited the Bible.]
[The edit has made it so that those with a certain amount of faith toward the Serpent Bearer can hear the notification.]
Quick on the uptake, Guisoon had realized Lee Gun was in danger, so she had quickly edited the bible.
She thought Lee Gun could be saved if their numbers could be boosted. This was why she edited it so that everyone who had even a bit of faith in Lee Gun could hear the voice.
It was like the voice of a god. When people heard the warning that Lee Gun would cease to exist, they all thought about Lee Gun as if they had made a promise to do so. However, it was too hard to dodge the order of the universe.
“Ah…! I can’t feel Uncle’s power!”
“What?!”
In the end, Lee Gun’s power was severed. The notification’s voice could no longer be heard.
The blessing of the Serpent Bearer temple coming toward them was severed too. That wasn’t the only thing that made them hopeless.
“Huhk…!”
One of the fallen Zodiacs had yet to reveal itself.
Ouroboros, which had been slowly moving within the gate, finally stuck its head out from the gate. The Constructs knew what thighs meant.
[It…It is the Cycle! The preparation has been completed!]
[The Serpent Bearer from the different timeline will revert the earth to a time before it was born!]
“What?!”
The disciples despaired. They had no way of stopping it.
After revealing its face, Ouroboros let out a menacing energy. It was a signal that signified that the earth was about to be destroyed.
The subordinates of the Scorpio temple looked at the unconscious Hailey as they despaired.
[I’m sorry, Princess. It seems we made the wrong choice—]
Flash!
At that moment, an enormous pillar of light fell from the sky. Everyone clenched their eyes shut as the blinding light surrounded the city.
“W-What the hell is this?”
“I can’t see anything!”
In a flash, the light washed over the monsters, and they started to scream.
[Kee-ehhhhhk!]
[Kee-ehhhk!]
What looked to be cancerous masses and tumors popped out from the monsters’ bodies, and they fell over as they screamed in despair.
The expressions on the faces of the Chun siblings brightened when they realized what the light signified.
“C-Can it be!”
A sound akin to lightning rang out.
Kwahng!!!
At the same time, a despairing scream reverberated in the sky. It was a scream coming from Ouroboros and was accompanied by an enormous light falling from the sky.
[Cycle]
The light was like a black hole as it sucked in the fallen Zodiacs, who had been summoned by Time.
The very first one to be sucked in was the fallen Leo, whom Stevens had defeated. Next, the fallen Zodiacs that had been suppressed by the current Zodiac Saints were sucked in. The last one to be sucked into the black hole was Ouroboros.
The Zodiacs screamed as they were sucked in, and their bodies started to change into body parts.
“That is…!”
“It’s an arm?”
“They weren’t Zodiacs?”
They were like Oblivion, whom Time had made using the body parts of the Zodiacs. It meant they were monsters despite having the same powers as the Zodiacs. However, it didn’t matter at that moment.
“Ah…!!”
All of humanity almost cried when they saw who had appeared on top of a building.
“Lee Gun!!!”
“It’s Lee Gun!”
Lee Gun had returned thanks to his disciples’ calling him back. He stood there laughing.
The Constructs, the remaining Zodiacs, and the gods of the Divine world were shocked at his appearance.
[The gods of the Divine world say this shouldn’t be possible. They are shocked.]
[They cannot believe a Zodiac ignored being disassembled by the universe. They ask how his existence could be accepted like this.]
The Chun siblings didn’t care about that as they wailed in joy.
“Uncle!!”
“Unclllllllle!!!”
Relieved, they immediately headed toward Lee Gun.
Kevin and Stevens, who had been riding Constructs to fight in the sky, approached Lee Gun as well.
“Lee Gun! What happened to Time?!”
“You chased after Time, right?”
Instead of answering, Lee Gun bought out Time’s head. Of course, only the chin and nose of the monarch were left, but that was enough.
“Lee Gun killed the leader of our enemies, who threatened humanity!”
“Lee Gun saved humanity!”
Cheers filled the city when they heard the words shouted by Stevens and Kevin.
“Waaaaaaa!”
“The monarch is dead!”
On the other hand, Lee Gun ignored the happy people. He scanned his surroundings.
His reaction was to be expected since Time was deposed. The remaining monsters could be hunted down in a leisurely fashion.
So Lee Gun quickly looked for someone.
“What happened to Hailey?”
“Ah…!”
Their expressions worsened a bit. A city that was missing Lee Gun had been a fierce battlefield.
They were getting rid of the Zodiacs and monsters called forth by Time, so they didn’t have the bandwidth to keep tabs on each other.
Despite this, they were aware of what had happened to Hailey.
“Hailey is….”
Lee Gun discovered Hailey at that moment. He jumped off the building.
Boom!
The subordinates who had been protecting Hailey became surprised.
[Lee Gun-nim!]
“I’m not too late.”
[W-What?! You aren’t too late? She’s already…]
They were going to say that she was dead, but Lee Gun suddenly placed his hand on Hailey’s chest.
“Why do you think I went through the trouble of controlling stage 6 to come here?”
[!!]
The powerful light of Life erupted. For some reason, Lee Gun felt a sense of nostalgia accompanying the light.
– Jeez, you ugly little thing. Stop moving. I have to put medicine on you. You have to endure it even if it hurts!
At the same time, Hailey heard something.
[Come back]
When Hailey opened her eyes, she saw something.
“I can’t call you ugly anymore.”
It was the laughter of the boy that she remembered from a long time ago.
