“What? Were you looking for me?”
“…!”
A sharp, deep voice rang near the left side of the platform.
The one to freeze first was Sophie. ‘Lee Gun!’ She had expected it, but at the same time, she couldn’t believe he had actually appeared in this place!
The crowd became noisy when everyone realized a young man had sent a Zodiac Saint flying. They wanted to know who he was.
“What the hell? Who is he?”
“Did he just throw that monster?”
“Is the Crab Saint all right!”
On the other hand, Chun Sungjae’s face turned pale. Chun Yooha was also surprised.
‘Uncle said he’d quietly observe the press conference!’
Due to their father’s stories, the siblings knew that Lee Gun threw caution to the wind whenever he got angry. They should have expected this. However, that wasn’t important right now.
Koohng!
“Keeeeeehk!”
The crowd screamed as they moved away from the fire-breathing lizard. No one could believe this.
“Crazy! It's the monster from four years ago!”
“Did someone really defeat it?”
“Did that person tame it?”
Everything was plain to see.
A <Fantastic species> monster called Flame Monarch was struggling on its back on top of the platform. The crowd was thrown into turmoil, and the high-rank disciples were shocked. Of course, all of them remembered this elephant-sized lizard.
‘It’s the Flame Monarch that razed the north to the ground.’
‘Seoul’s nightmare.’
Even the high-rank Users hadn't been able to kill it; they had run away.
That monster was here. However, the more surreal part was the young man’s action.
“Kee-ehhhhk!”
“Fuck!” The angry Lee Gun walked toward the platform. “I told you not to use your flames, bitch!”
Bbah-gahk!
“Kee-ehhhhk!”
The Flame Monarch cried out when Lee Gun stepped on its stomach. The monster tried to shut its mouth using its short arms. This was a ridiculous sight.
The reporters and the high-rank disciples couldn’t close their mouths. They wondered what they were witnessing. On the other hand, Lee Gun didn’t pay attention to the crowd as he looked toward the center of the podium. Sophie had collapsed to the floor when she had met Lee Gun’s snake eyes. She didn’t even have the presence of mind to think about the Crab Saint, who had been sent flying.
“I’m the one you guys are looking for. Do you have a problem with me?”
“…!”
Silence descended as the disrupters on the platform froze in place. The expressions on the disciples of the Aquarius temple were quite the sight. They had followed the Crab Saint’s directions to rush to the platform.
“You are him?”
“You are Lee Gun?”
A loud commotion broke out amongst the hundreds of thousands of people in the plaza. It seemed the mic on the platform had picked up the voices on the platform.
“What did he just say?”
“Lee Gun?”
Lee Gun realized his mistake when he heard the commotion. ‘Tsk! I can’t play my game if my face becomes well known.’
He discreetly put his mask on. However, he was a step too late. The people in the crowd, who had been in a state of shock, started to scream. Most of the people near the platform were reporters. Their faces turned pale as if they had seen a ghost. Some people fell back on their rears.
“Is he really Lee Gun?”
“Nonsense! The ages don’t match!”
“What if he is the real deal…”
Suddenly
[Hand of Denial]
An explosion erupted on the platform.
Kwahng!
“Kyahhk!”
The explosion caused the struggling lizard to surge into the air.
“Kee-ehhhhk!”
Someone had sent the lizard flying.
“You are Lee Gun?”
“!”
The Crab Saint, who had been crushed by the lizard, reappeared. After sending the lizard flying, he revealed himself through the broken platform. “You should say something more believable.”
The Crab Saint looked like a rat covered in dirt. His expensive brown suit was a mess.
His surprised subordinates ran toward him. “Saint-nim! Are you ok?”
The Saint nonchalantly jumped up onto the platform. He looked quite agile.
Lee Gun raised his eyebrows. The Cancer Saint! ‘That rotten crab cake bastard.’
Jean-Louis Morain! He looked like a gentleman, but he was the most shameless one amongst the twelve Zodiac Saints.
‘He’s worse than decomposing food waste.’
Most of the Zodiac Saints were like a fishbone that had gotten stuck at the back of one’s throat. They were annoying, but it could be endured. However, the Crab Saint was beyond annoying. He was beyond being a parasite.
‘He is toxic waste.’
Basically, he was the type of person Lee Gun hated the most. In other words, he was a human who was darkness personified. If battle Saints fought at the forefront, the Crab Saint used his special abilities to fight from the rear. He was a Saint that was more like an assassin.
[Caution! The magical energy of the darkest star is being unleashed.]
[Will you like to open up your holy ground?]
The reporters gulped as they looked at Lee Gun and the Crab Saint. It was a confrontation between an unknown young man and the Crab Saint. The reporters had no idea what would happen.
Amid the silence, the dandy burst out laughing. It was a hateful laugh. “I know many types of people exist in the world, but I’ve never seen one this stupid. Do you have an IQ over 50, kid?”
“What?”
The Crab Saint laughed as he dusted off his expensive suit. “You can state that you're Lee Gun, but you should have gotten rid of that face first. Lee Gun isn’t that handsome.”
Bbah-jeek.
The gossip columnists amongst the crow of reporters yelled.
“That’s right! There is no way Lee Gun could be that handsome!”
“Is he an attention whore?”
“Come back after you fix your face!”
Bbah-jeek!
The Crab Saint dismissively laughed. “The claim that you're Lee Gun is bullshit…”
In the end, Lee Gun exploded in anger. “You're the same as the Leo bastard!”
The enraged Lee Gun rushed forward. He ruthlessly landed a dropkick on the Saint’s face!
Bbah-gahk!
It sounded as if the Cancer Saint’s neck bone had broken.
“…?!”
The slim man fell over backward.
Boom!
As soon as the Crab Saint fell, screams erupted from the surrounding area.
“Saint-nim!”
Lee Gun didn’t stop there. “You filthy scums!” He then rampaged toward the crowd of gossip columnists.
The square instantly turned into a scene of pandemonium.
“This is crazy! Call the cops!”
“Sunbae-nim! Help us!”
The crowd called out for the police or the disciples. However, the reporters stood frozen. They didn’t even have the presence of mind to call for help. They had no choice. His face was completely different, but…
‘He acts like Lee Gun…!’
‘Lee Gun.’
‘He is Lee Gun!’
The older reporters and cameramen were scared out of their wits. Of course, the veteran members of the media remembered Lee Gun.
“Only Lee Gun acts that way toward the Zodiac Saints! Who else can do that?”
“…!”
Zodiac Saints were sacred figures no one dared to disrespect. This wasn’t a matter of skills. Only the thirteen original awakened beings could treat each other with irreverence. This had especially been true with Lee Gun, who was famous for being a freak.
‘I never expected to see such a spectacle once again.’
The surroundings became noisy once again.
“Breaking news! This is breaking news! Tell them Lee Gun is back!”
The Chun siblings' mouths fell open. It seemed their uncle had momentarily forgotten that this press conference was being broadcast live all over the world. At this point, it looked like Lee Gun had given up the pretense.
Lee Gun then pushed aside the reporters to sit amongst them. The reporters and cameramen gazed at him with dumbfounded expressions.
However, Lee Gun didn’t pay any attention to them. “Whatever! Continue.”
“What?”
After finding the perfect spot, Lee Gun let out a lazy smile toward Sophie, who was on the platform. “You were in the middle of your press conference. Weren’t you talking about Lee Gun?”
“…!”
“Don’t pay attention to me. Continue! In fact, this might turn out better. We have two witnesses now.”
Sophie’s face crumpled.
Lee Gun let out a wicked laugh as he ignored her reaction. “What? Why don’t you tell everyone about the time you guys ran away from Red Eye twenty years ago? What about the story of you guys becoming heroes by selling me out? How about the fact that your face was made through medical science? They did fix your face, but they couldn’t fix your personality. Hurry! Why don’t you speak?”
Sophie shook like a leaf.'He's saying everything himself, so why does he need me!'
The reporters who stood close to Lee Gun had heard his words. They were so shocked that they dropped their cameras. Meanwhile, the rest of the crowd wondered what words were being exchanged.
Soon, Lee Gun’s eyes flashed. “You don’t want to talk?”
“That’s not it!” Sophie gulped as she looked at her surroundings. Some of the Saints were monitoring the press conference. ‘I’m pretty sure I felt the presence of a god.’
Above all else, the problem was the fact that the Crab Saint had shown up. He was called the Dark Star.
‘The Assassin Saint's presence here means…!’
The Crab Saint was commonly known as a hired gun, but in secret, he was known as a professional killer. Of course, Sophie knew this, and that was why she was trembling.
“If you don’t want to talk…”
Suddenly...
“My god! I never expected it to really be you.”
All the lights went out within the press conference hall. Faced with sudden darkness, everyone screamed.
“What the hell! Is it a blackout?”
The unrest continued to grow within the pitch darkness.
Koo-goo-goo-goohng!
“Kyahhk!”
The dark press conference hall shook. The alarm started to ring.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
“What the hell? Is it a Calamity?”
Lee Gun furrowed his brows. This wasn't a Calamity. It was a skill.
“Kyahhk!”
An ear-splitting sound rang out through the plaza. The sound wave hit the exchange center like a typhoon.
Koo-goo-goohng!
“Ahhhk!”
The cameras and the production trucks blew apart as the odd sound wave hit them. However, the enemy’s target wasn’t the civilians.
[The darkest star’s magical energy is threatening you]
Suddenly, the lights returned to the plaza.
Sophie was surprised by the scene in front of her. “…!”
The Chun siblings watched the scene with their mouths open.
[Your surroundings are filled with enemies.]
Everyone in the plaza was looking at Lee Gun.
[Warning! The Dark Star is trying to control the minds of others.]
The light in the eyes of those people had changed.
“Koo-uhhhhhhh.”
People started to rush toward Lee Gun. Chun Yooha’s eyes flashed at this sight. She emitted lightning. However, the generals got in her way; it seemed their minds had been taken over as well.
“Sungjae!” Chun Yooha threw her badge toward her brother.
Chun Sungjae received it and desperately yelled, “Uncle! Give me your hand! These people are…”
Lee Gun was looking in a different direction. “Those people aren’t important.”
“…?”
The crowd started to rush Lee Gun like zombies.
“That crab cake bastard is still doing this shit.” Lee Gun extended his hand. Then, he grabbed the arm that was coming toward him from within the crowd.
Tuhk!
He made sure the Crab Saint couldn’t run away. Then…
Suh-guhk!
Lee Gun severed the neck of the Crab Saint.
