“You are going to die tomorrow.”
The day before they entered the Devil’s Tower, his best friend said those words. Moreover, it seemed Hugo wasn’t satisfied with just handing a death sentence to Lee Gun.
“Do you understand me? If you go to the Devil’s tower, you will die after being hit by a beam that’ll make you lose your hair!!! You must not go there!”
“Do you want to die?!”
“Kuh-huhk!!”
Hugo tried to stop Lee Gun for three hours straight, and in the end, Lee Gun exploded in anger. “Why are you being like this? Your prophecies about me never come true, so why are you being so adamant?”
“No! It’s different this time!” Hugo was frustrated. Even his own Zodiac had been serious.
[Idiot servant. You have to make sure Lee Gun never enters the tower.]
A Zodiac was giving such a stark warning; something was guaranteed to happen.
Moreover, Hugo had seen it for himself.
‘I saw a bleeding Gun fall over inside the tower.’
Of course, Hugo didn’t know the time and floor at which this event would happen. He had no idea whom Lee Gun had fallen to. But what caused it didn’t matter.
The vision had merely reinforced the fact that Lee Gun would suffer a grievous injury inside the Devil’s Tower.
That was why Hugo was tenaciously trying to stop Lee Gun.
“Anyway, we’ll be the ones killing Red Eye”
Lee Gun became angry at Hugo’s shout. He threw a chicken bone at him. “Buzz off! Do you really think you guys will be able to kill that monster on your own?”
“!”
For a change, Lee Gun didn’t laugh; he glared at Hugo. “Why do you think I’m insisting on taking all twelve of you into the Devil's Tower?”
“…!!” Hugo flinched when he saw the contempt in Lee Gun’s eyes.
If he were being honest, it was a unique situation where Lee Gun would team up with all twelve Zodiac Saints.
Aside from Hugo, Lee Gun hated all Zodiac Saints.
Sergeyevich and Ivan were evil men Lee Gun didn’t like to be associated with. Yang Wei was a trader at heart; he only thought about money. Heiji was a psycho who wanted to kill him on sight.
Sophie was obsessed with Hugo and tried to pick a fight with Lee Gun whenever she opened her mouth. Stevens and Kevin got on Lee Gun’s nerves and kept pestering him.
Also, Lee Gun didn’t know when, but at some point, he started to feel a coldness coming from Liv and Giselle.
Among all eleven of the remaining Zodiac Saints, Lee Gun had the least trouble with Hailey, but she hated him so much that she always averted her eyes from his.
Of course, the other Zodiac Saints and Lee Gun had worked together before, but those occasions had been coincidences.
They had never intentionally teamed up, yet Lee Gun was talking about entering the Devil’s Tower with them.
“You guys are acting this way because you have no idea what Red Eye is like.”
The mighty Lee Gun was saying that all the twelve Zodiac Saints had to be present in the raid.
The Devil’s Tower was that dangerous, yet they wanted to take care of it on their own?
“It’s a precarious situation where we might not make it past the tenth floor even if all thirteen of us are there. Do you really think you guys have the instinct needed to reach the hundredth floor on your own?”
Lee Gun had already scouted the tower’s difficulty. The tower had several floors that they had to bypass without fighting. The only one who could lead them to the hundredth floor was him.
However, Hugo clutched at his face as if he was losing his mind. He wasn’t oblivious to their current situation. He wasn’t being naïve in saying they would go to the tower on their own.
“Gun. If we rehabilitate you, you might be able to live ten more years. No, it might be possible to live for more than twenty years. However, if you use your abilities, you won’t last a year…”
“…!”
“If you go to the tower, it doesn’t matter if the raid was successful or a failure. When you come out, you might not be able to last even a day.”
Hugo wanted Lee Gun to have even a little bit of happiness in his life. He had been by Lee Gun’s side. He knew better than anyone how much damage and pain Lee Gun had suffered.
“Gun. If you retire, you’ll be able to live at least twenty years.”
“Bullsh—”
“If I’m honest, it’s what I wish. I would like to have alcohol with you even after twenty, thirty years.”
Hugo had met Lee Gun when the latter was the strongest. Lee Gun was his friend and idol. His heart had ached as he watched his idol gradually weaken.
“I want you to be alive.” Hugo’s head was lowered, so his face wasn’t visible. However, the wetness in his voice was apparent.
Lee Gun, who had been about to lash out, remained silent as he looked at Hugo. Then he solemnly said, “It doesn’t matter if I live. If the world ends, the end result is the same.”
“!”
“Also, it’ll be fine. I’ll do my best to not use my abilities if possible. I did as you asked. I made a plan with the idea that I would provide support from the backline.”
“Even if it’s a plan with you in the rear—”
Lee Gun cut off Hugo with a chuckle. “After we kill that lizard, let’s have a drink once again.”
“…!”
“This is my promise to you. As soon as we leave the tower, we’ll have a drink here once more.”
Hugo gritted his teeth. “Alright. In return, I won’t let you have my chicken leg next time.”
“Just order a chicken leg combo, idiot.”
* * *
The night before the raid to the Devil’s tower, an odd scene was unfolding in a mansion in the US. This mansion was the residence of the Libra Saint.
[Finally, it’ll happen tomorrow.]
The Zodiacs had gathered at the mansion. It was for no other reason.
[I never expected it. He awakened because he had inherited the power of the thirteenth.]
All the Zodiacs were present there except Virgo and Scorpio.
[If we let Lee Gun live, the thirteenth Zodiac might be born again.]
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Capricorn, and Aquarius were the ones raising their voices.
[Above all else, Lee Gun is too good at killing monsters.]
[That’s right! The Faith, which should be coming to us, is all directed toward him! This includes my Zodiac Saint…!]
[How dare a human receive worship over a god?]
[We don’t need a real hero who’ll get rid of all the monsters.]
[Humans are naturally stupid, so they only look for someone they want to worship when they are terrified. It’s the only way they’ll acknowledge and serve the gods.]
Gods were beings that could exist only if humans believed in and worshiped them. This was why Lee Gun was considered a hindrance in the Zodiacs’ attempt to rule over the humans.
[My Zodiac Saint was elated that we wanted to get rid of Lee Gun. He’ll give his full cooperation.]
When she learned that Ivan and Sergeyevich would cooperate with their plan, Giselle smirked. “That is good news.”
For Negligence, Lee Gun was a nuisance too. She had been living the good life after finally attaining the power of Zodiac when Lee Gun had suddenly asked her one day,
- Are you really human?
- W-What? W-What are you talking about? You’re too much, Mr. Lee Gun.
Yes, Lee Gun was suspicious of her. If things went wrong, it’d endanger the honest peace that she had barely scraped together for herself.
‘I have to get rid of him before he figures everything out.’
Time seemed to be eyeing Lee Gun for himself, but that didn’t matter to her.
“I doubt Lee Gun will be able to climb past the tenth floor, but as an insurance policy, I would like you guys to place curses on him.”
[Curse?]
Sagittarius had come here by possessing Hugo’s body. He flinched. It was to be expected since he had no choice in coming to this scene of treachery.
He spoke as he ground his teeth. “He’s going to die soon even if we let him be. Do we have to go through all of this to kill that human?”
Giselle’s eyes flashed. “Sagittarius. You have been favoring Lee Gun for some reason recently.”
Sagittarius furrowed his brows. He wasn’t favoring Lee Gun. He just couldn’t kill him.
‘That child is my nephew.’
It had been only a week since he had recovered his memories.
‘If only I had recovered my memories earlier…’
The current situation would have developed a bit differently.
“Anyway, this has nothing to do with me. I won’t go along with such a vulgar plan…”
At that moment…
[Stop talking nonsense. You have to walk the walk. Each of us will place ten curses on him.]
“!”
The eyes of Gemini and Pisces, the magic-type Zodiacs, flashed.
[Do not forget that the twelve of us are under a pact.]
[If you betray us, you and your Constructs are dead.]
In the end, Sagittarius let out a sigh as he tossed black seeds into the brazier. These were the gods’ curses.
[Hair Loss], [Erectile Dysfunction], [Decreased Attractiveness], [Stench], [Ugliness], [Obesity], [Repulsiveness], [Rhinitis], [Bad Breath], [Athlete’s Foot], [Hemorrhoid], [Dandruff].
Among the curses that he could place, he picked the ones that wouldn’t threaten Lee Gun’s life.
‘I’m sorry, Aslan.’
He would also do his best to protect Lee Gun in the tower. Above all else, he believed in Lee Gun. It didn't matter if they ran interference on him. His nephew would survive. He must.
* * *
That was what he had thought.
“Hey, bedwetter! Hurry up and heal me properly!”
“Ahhk, Lee Gun! You stink too much! Get away from me!!!”
“You want to die!!”
“Kyahhhh!! Your breath stinks!!”
“Ahhk!!”
“Gun!!!”
The group was on the fiftieth floor of the Devil’s tower.
Sagittarius was sweating as he watched them. He had placed curses on Lee Gun, thinking they wouldn’t cause any threat to Lee Gun’s life, yet…
“Hey, cat! Why did you join in on that attack? I almost died!”
“Ah… I don’t know why, but you’re very repulsive today.”
“You want to die, bastard!!”
After receiving the curses from Sagittarius, Lee Gun was experiencing a struggle of a different nature. This made Sagittarius nervous.
‘At this rate, Lee Gun really might die.’
Of course, at times, the effects of the curses showed their effectiveness in unexpected ways.
[Kee-ehhhhhhk!!!]
“What the hell? Why is it running away from me? Hey! Come back!”
[Kee-ehhhhhk!!!!]
Some of the monsters started to run away because of the stench emanating from Lee Gun. The curses saved Lee Gun’s life in those times.
Moreover, he was the only one who didn’t fall to the monsters that used charm to entice their enemies…
In reality, the monsters showed zero interest in Lee Gun. He was able to safely cut down those monsters to advance to another floor. Of course, Lee Gun was losing his mind at that moment.
“My god! Look at that. He lost the lid on his head…”
Heiji looked at him with contempt.
Lee Gun ground his teeth as he further pulled his hood over his face.
Sagittarius trembled as he watched the rage swirling within Lee Gun.
The other Zodiacs were frightened for a different reason.
[What’s going on? You said he won’t be able to get past the tenth floor!]
The Zodiacs were shocked when Lee Gun was leading their Zodiac Saints to the fiftieth floor.
[They are supposed to exit the tower as soon as they kill Lee Gun!]
[If they climb further, our Zodiac Saints will be in danger too!]
Two of the Zodiac Saints were reacting the same way as the Zodiacs.
‘What the hell? How is that zombie still alive?’
‘Didn’t the Zodiacs place curses on him?’
Ivan and Sergeyevich were dumbfounded as they looked at Lee Gun. Ivan had gone as far as to redirect monsters toward Lee Gun from time to time, yet Lee Gun didn’t back down at all.
Of course, it helped that Sagittarius and Hugo were supporting Lee Gun.
Hugo let out a sigh of relief as he watched Lee Gun.
‘At this rate, Gun will be able to leave unharmed.’
However, Hugo’s relief lasted only a short time. They soon reached the seventieth floor of the Devil’s Tower.
“Lee Gun! This is bad! The tower’s monsters are starting to head toward the city!” as if on schedule, Sergeyevich yelled.
Lee Gun glared at him. “What nonsense are you talking about? I thought we made sure the tower’s monsters wouldn’t be able to go anywhere!”
“How should I know? T-The monsters must have been too strong! They must have pushed through the barrier to escape!”
“Damn it!”
Lee Gun gnashed his teeth as he turned around.
Sergeyevich smirked.
‘You must be frustrated that your plan went awry.’
As the leader, Lee Gun had created the perfect plan for the raid. He had even made sure the nearby cities wouldn’t suffer any damage.
However, Sergeyevich wanted to mess with Lee Gun’s plan, so he had installed a holy item in the city. It was an item that let out something like a pheromone to attract the monsters.
Lee Gun wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye to the people.
‘Let’s see you wrack your brain. Will you be able to clear the tower like this?’
The leader of this raid and the one to come up with this plan was Lee Gun. Of course, the world was focused on him. What would happen to Lee Gun’s honor and pride if he failed?
‘Genius, my ass! I hope your honor falls as much as mine fell.’
For a moment, Lee Gun looked like he was in a predicament, but he unexpectedly didn’t panic at all.
“Hey, Taeksoo. You should go and stop them.”
“What?! Have you lost your mind?”
“You’re the only one who can do it.”
Sergeyevich laughed when he saw this. Lee Gun planned on sending out Hugo, which was within Sergeyevich’s expectations.
‘Do you think Hugo will be able to defend the city by himself? It means Lee Gun’s raid is a failure.’
At that moment…
“Take this.”
“!”
Lee Gun unexpectedly tossed a bow toward Hugo. “I thought giving you a new item would be bad luck, so I planned on giving it to you after we left this place. This is an early birthday present from me.”
“Gun!”
“You always complained that you wanted to solo fights. I made this bow with that in mind. You’ll be able to become a solo player.”
It seemed Lee Gun had planned on doing as Hugo had asked. He was going to retire after this matter came to a close.
Therefore, he had created a graduation present. It was payment for all the hardship that Lee Gun put Hugo through.
On the other hand, Hugo seemed frustrated. “No, I don’t need to become a solo player! I’ll always be your support! I’m not going to leave this place! Since the barrier was placed over this place, I can’t come back in if I leave…”
“Hey, Taeksoo.”
“!”
“Wait for me. When this all ends, we’ll go have a drink together.”
In the end, Hugo accepted the request and left the tower.
The group then reached the eightieth, ninetieth, and finally, the hundredth floor.
“Ha ha! Stand back, Lee Gun! I’ll be the one to kill Red Eye!”
“Ivan!”
“Hey! Come back!”
“Hmmph. You must be scared because you were the only one beaten up by Red Eye. However, we are different!”
With Red Eye in sight, Ivan and the other Zodiac Saints confidently activated their skills.
“I don’t know how strong it is, but Lee Gun was able to live after taking a hit from it…”
[Kee--ehhhhhk!!!]
“W-what the hell is that?”
“Ahhhk! Run!”
Everyone ran with Red Eye in sight.
The Zodiac Saints had ignored the plan set up by Lee Gun, so everything turned into a mess.
Among all the commotion, Lee Gun glared at the rampaging monster. “Alright, bastard. Let’s do this.”
It was January 15th, 2005, the day when Red Eye died.
