Chapter 367 - That isn't it! (1)
Time was relatively young amongst the monarchs. Despite him being young, his abilities were excellent.
He could create other monarchs. Moreover, he had eliminated his parents and other monarchs. He was a nasty piece of work. Time seemed infamous in the Divine world too.
Of course, the monarchs had roamed the space and dimensions like pirates. Of all the places they could have gone, they had attacked the earth and met their demise at the hands of Lee Gun.
‘Anyway, the Great Spirits hate the monarchs.’
This was also seen in the incident when the spear made from Abyss had turned the Divine world upside down.
However, the only intact Monarch corpses that Lee Gun had recovered were that of Abundance and Abyss. Oblivion had disappeared into the fog. Negligence and Confusion had possessed human bodies, so they couldn’t be extracted as ingredients.
‘If I have the ability of Time, I can change that.’
He could have the data of Negligence and Confusion. If that wasn’t enough, he could bring back Abyss and Abundance, whom he had fully turned into ingredients.
What would happen if he rewound time using Time’s ability?
‘It will be possible to have an infinite supply of ingredients.’
This was why he had coveted the ability of Time. Unfortunately, the power of Cycle had erased Time’s existence. Therefore, Lee Gun had been unable to acquire anything related to Time, including his abilities.
The only thing he had received was the single-use A-rank abilities that he had acquired by beating up countless versions of Time.
At the time, Lee Gun had been satisfied just from being able to eliminate Time, but at the same time, getting rid of him had been a shame; he was unable to use Time as an ingredient.
However, things were different right now.
‘Time exists here. This is before he was split apart by Cycle.’
Lee Gun’s eyes flashed.
‘If I acquire his ability, creating the spear of Abyss wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, I can make an infinite number of them.’
This would help him since some idiots still coveted his territory and his friend.
When Lee Gun became obsessed with this thought, he dug through his memories as he picked up his folding phone.
At that moment, he called someone.
- Hello? Hyung?
Lee Gun felt a pang of nostalgia when he heard the familiar voice. He closed his eyes for a moment.
Ji Junwoo! He was Yeonwoo’s younger twin. He had sacrificed himself to save his sister and Lee Gun. That wasn’t all.
Unlike Yeonwoo, Lee Gun was unable to find Junwoo’s soul, no matter how much he looked.
Lee Gun felt the yearning for a moment, then he asked, “Where are you, Junwoo?”
- What? Me? I’m….
Lee Gun furrowed his brows when he heard the location. He was sure of it now.
‘This is the day when Junwoo dies.’
To be precise, it was two months before Yeonwoo’s death, the day he had awakened as the thirteenth.
If he thought back on it, he found out that he had a question that he wanted an answer to.
‘Who revealed the location of Junwoo and Yeonwoo?’
The two of them had been Zodiacs for the previous Serpent Bearer temple, and they had successfully remained hidden for over ten years.
‘They weren’t revealed for nothing.’
Time had been obsessed with them, yet even he had been unable to find them easily.
‘So who was it?’
It didn’t matter for now. After he ended the call with Junwoo, Lee Gun’s eyes flashed. Unlike before, he could immediately sense the energy of Time.
‘I found you, bastards.’
Was it because he had grown in power? Lee Gun’s radar could immediately pinpoint the evil intent and energy of the monarch.
‘They are quite close.’
It hadn’t been his intention, but his visit to the Divine world had allowed him to advance his skills and power.
Lee Gun unleashed his Divine power. The darkness became turbulent as he used Warp!
[Pond Walk (Death stage 3)]
- You can move by using darkness, evil intent, and shadow as mediums
- The range increases depending on how much Divine power is consumed.
[You have consumed 10% of your Divine power]
After being swallowed up by darkness, Lee Gun appeared in a back alley in Seoul.
His eyes flashed when the location was closer than he had expected.
‘What the hell? That bastard was already in Korea?’
At that moment, Lee Gun witnessed something unexpected.
‘That is…’
Time was conversing with his underling.
[Master, it seems Scorpio is showing interest in Hailey-nim.]
“Is that so? That’s interesting! That Creator is showing interest in that child?”
[Should we quickly search for the princess? Shall we bring her here?]
“No, let her be. I already have someone I sent as a spy— Kuhk!”
As if their conversation wasn’t even worth listening to, Lee Gun activated Death’s Instinct. Then he stabbed Time.
Since he knew how strong Time was, he had taken the limits off his power. He used Death stage 6.
When Time was stabbed, the monarch’s underling was taken aback, but it was soon ripped apart by the violent energy of Death.
[Master!]
Feeling the danger, the surprised subordinates of Time, who were nearby, started showing up.
Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he shredded them all to pieces.
‘I can’t change fate, so I have to be careful in copying him.’
While his hand pierced Time, he activated Life stage 3. It was the ability of Creation.
[Life Creation (3 star)]
- Divine power is consumed to create Life.
- You can create if you understand the structure. (You must possess the Data of your target.)
- You can create something that already exists.
- Depending on the target that you are trying to create, you need to pay a high price.
If Creation Workshop was a Manufacturer skill, this ability was capable of creating a variety of living substances, including wounds, malignant tumors, and clones.
Of course, it created the same thing as something that already existed. In some ways, it was close to a Life cloning ability.
After his debt had been paid off, Lee Gun had wanted to use this ability as soon as it was returned.
Of course, this move had its risks. If he killed Time, it might change the future. However, Lee Gun shrugged off that worry.
‘He can’t be killed so easily.’
He knew better than anyone how strong Time was. The power of stage 6 hadn’t worked against him, so Lee Gun had to resort to using the power of Cycle.
This meant Lee Gun didn’t have to worry too much. He didn’t have to control his power since Time would survive without any intervention! Even if he used all his power, he would barely be able to make Time half-dead.
‘That’s why I’ll beat him to an inch of his life, then take his ability.’
He just had to erase the memory using Oblivion’s data! However…
[Congratulations! You completely killed Time!]
[You acquired the power of Time.]
Lee Gun’s eyes turned round at the unexpected voice.
“?”
Wait a moment. What did it say? Killed? What?
“????”
Lee Gun looked back and forth between the ability he had acquired and Time’s corpse. The ability was real, and the corpse was also real…
Realizing what had happened, Lee Gun started to sweat.
‘No! What the hell! You aren’t supposed to die so easily!’
* * *
When Lee Gun disappeared, Hugo’s eyes widened in shock.
As soon as the goddess of fate used her ability, Lee Gun’s figure had blurred before he disappeared.
“I sent him down the path of the past, where he’ll be able to change the past. He won’t be able to interfere with us.”
“There is no way he doesn't choose the fate where he gets to save his younger brother.”
Hugo flinched. He immediately realized what those words meant.
‘She sent Gun to the past’
When she mentioned the younger brother, it must be Junwoo.
‘Since he gets to save his younger brother… He was sent to a time before Junwoo’s death?’
Hugo was sure of it. The goddesses of fate were trying to change the fate of the past. They planned on erasing the Snake God, who was the “Hero god.”
Lee Gun was able to awaken as the snake god through the death of Junwoo and Yeonwoo. He had inherited their powers.
As expected, the goddesses of fate laughed.
“He went to the past with his current ability. There is no way he’ll overlook his younger brother.”
“His younger brother suffered such a brutal death. There is no way he’ll let it happen again.”
Hugo’s eyes turned round. What? He was already overpowered, yet he went to the past with his ability?
Hugo’s shock lasted only a moment. Then, he snorted. It was to be expected.
‘The Monarchs and Zodiacs were all present at that time.’
What would happen if Lee Gun went back to the past with his ability intact?
‘He would be like a fox in a henhouse. There is no way he’ll let such an opportunity pass by.’
In the past, Lee Gun had been inexperienced in using his abilities. This was why even though he was able to acquire many corpses, their data had gone to waste. He had such complaints as he made his equipment.
On the other hand, Lee Gun had been unable to go to the past because he lacked the power.
Hugo’s eyes flashed as he laughed. “Idiots. Do you realize what you’ve done?”
Lee Gun wasn’t the type to cling to his past. The incident with his younger brother was unfortunate, but there was no way Lee Gun would touch the past. He wouldn’t change his fate.
‘He’ll somehow use this opportunity to extract all kinds of data.’
Lee Gun could acquire data by beating someone up.
‘Moreover, the weapons that work against the Great Spirits were made using the monarchs.’
Lee Gun knew this.
“You guys made a mistake. You sent that crazy bastard to the past.”
However, the goddesses seemed to have read Hugo’s expression. They chuckled.
“That all depends if he can return here.”
“!”
Past and Present laughed frighteningly.
“How dare that dirty and lowly bastard underestimate us!”
“We are time travelers. We are rulers of fate.”
“!”
They were different from the Time monarch, who only knew how to travel between time.
“Since he’s capable of destroying Olympus, he’s capable of changing the past. However, that’s all he can do.”
“If he can’t get back to the present, that’s all he can do.”
“…!”
The goddesses snickered.
“I am Past. Klotho can pluck the thread of fate.”
The young goddess extended her hands, and a beautiful thread appeared there. It was Lee Gun’s fate.
Present clutched it as she smirked. “I am Present. Lachesis can take the plucked thread and put it into the wheel of fate. I can spin the future.”
“Of course, the snake god’s fate will come to an end if Future cuts the thread. However, we incur too much Karmic debt if we kill a god.”
“If Present doesn’t spin the wheel, his fate won’t be connected to the future.”
Hugo froze when he saw their knowing eyes. The past, present, and future being manipulated by the goddesses of fate was a bit different from time travel.
‘They can hold the entire fate of a single being.’
In other words, his friend was trapped in the past, unable to return to the present.
Present clenched the middle portion of Lee Gun’s thread. She tangled it as she said, “It doesn’t matter if he saves his younger brother or not. He’ll keep going back to the past from this point on.”
In other words, it was an infinite loop.
“It means the snake god can do whatever he wants in the past. He cannot return to the present or the future.”
“Still, we were lenient on him. If he chooses to save his younger brother, he will be able to live happily ever after in the past.”
“Since he entered our domain, it doesn’t matter if he uses the power of Time. He’ll return to the past.”
Hugo was surprised. It seemed they had been aiming for this from the start!
On the other hand, the goddesses of fate looked at Hugo with dismay, then they laughed.
“I can’t believe this happened to you.”
“You used to think of humans as maggots, yet you became human.”
“…??”
The goddesses clicked their tongues in sympathy, but they soon spoke in acceptance.
“Karmic debt is Karmic debt.”
They had read the memories of Hugo and Lee Gun, and they looked at Hugo as if he was a rarity.
“Thanks to your Karmic debt, you stood out amongst the twelve Zodiac Saints. That’s why you became his servant.”
“While you might be the high-rank amongst them, I cannot believe you mingled with the humans. It’s hilarious that you even had children with a human.”
The goddesses soon moved on.
“We’ll stop making fun of you now.”
“The Divine world is in overload thanks to the long war it went through. If war persists, the Divine world will break apart. That is why we need high-quality land like the earth.”
“If you cooperate with us, we’ll help you shed your human shell. We’ll return to your original state.”
“We will also tell you about your Karmic debt. There is no reason for you to suffer next to the snake god.”
“Once you gain that information, you will look at the snake god and the earth in contempt.”
“What nonsense—”
Hugo was about to call it nonsense when…
“Koohk!”
He suddenly clutched his heart.
The goddesses laughed as if they had expected this.
“It seems you chose not to tell the snake god, but isn’t your body unstable?”
“!”
Instead of answering, Hugo furrowed his brows. He had become more and more certain when he had opened his eyes inside the Divine world.
‘I can feel a power that isn’t my power.’
The only thing he was certain of right now was that this power wasn’t good for him.
The goddesses laughed as if they had read his thoughts.
“It’s proof that your Karmic debt is waking up. If you don’t resist, we'll help you. You won’t last long in that state.”
“Hmmph.”
It didn’t matter what nonsense the goddesses were talking about. That wasn’t important.
‘I just have to get rid of Present, who tied that thread into a knot. It’ll allow Gun to return.’
This was Lee Gun that he was talking about. He’d probably come back from the fate of the past with all kinds of stuff.
Hugo just needed to act as support. As he thought about that, he grasped one of the Divine statuses Lee Gun had given to him, aiming to get rid of Present.
The goddesses laughed at this.
“If you’re thinking about using that Divine status, you’re better off giving up on it.”
“Your body won’t last if you use that.”
Hugo clicked his tongue as he put away the Divine status into his pocket. He knew that already.
That asshole should have handed over something of moderate power. Why the hell did Lee Gun give him something that he couldn’t use?
In the end, Hugo took up the bow instead of the Divine status. But he started to sweat.
‘I see zero openings. What should I do?’
Sagittarius was of no help either. Hugo was thinking about abandoning Sagittarius to team up with Virgo when…
‘…???’
Hugo’s eyes turned round when he saw Lime stealthily move behind the goddesses of fate. His reaction was understandable.
‘Where the hell are you going, Lime? You shouldn’t go in there!’
His shock at the direction in which slime was moving lasted only a moment.
Hugo almost scrambled. Lime seemed to have split itself. It appeared from Hugo’s pocket and shoved something into Hugo’s mouth.
“Kuh-huhk— Oohp!!”
It was the Divine status Lee Gun had given to him.
Thanks to the slime, Hugo instantly absorbed the Divine status.
Hugo and the goddesses screamed when they saw the light that exploded forth.
