“Stop lying, you bastards!! Stop trying to scam us!” An angry Hugo held a bloodied Jean-Louis by the neck and stormed into the room.
Pandemonium erupted within the press conference room.
“H…Hugo-nim!”
“Hugo!”
They were surprised by Hugo's sudden entrance, but above all, they were shocked by who he held.
“C-Cancer Saint?”
“Jean-Louis!?”
Jean-Louis seemed to have taken a beating from Hugo. His face was smashed, and he was groaning. Him being a bloody mess was a surprise, but also…
“W-What the hell? Jean-Louis is over there?”
The Leo Saint and the reporters naturally looked at the platform in the front. The Zodiac Saints were sitting on this platform, and Jean-Louis had been holding the mic.
However, Hugo was dragging Jean-Louis in from the other side of the room.
This baffled the reporters.
“Wait a moment! What the hell? There are two Jean-Louis…?!”
The Jean-Louis who held the mic looked shocked.
Of course, the other Zodiac Saints immediately realized that Jean-Louis had split himself.
‘What the hell? Which is the real one?’
However, the answer came immediately.
“Ah! The Jean-Louis in the front is…!”
“He’s melting!”
The version of Jean-Louis near the other Zodiac Saints melted into mud.
The only one left was the bloodied Jean-Louis, whom Hugo was holding.
Jean-Louis had said he wanted to personally deliver the news of Lee Gun’s death to Hugo.
‘That bastard didn’t make a call? He went to meet Hugo in person?!’
Of course, Hugo knew that he had beaten the real one close to death.
‘There is no way this bastard would let a clone deliver the news of Lee Gun’s death.’
Jean-Louis was the type of man who enjoyed others’ pain. He was a nasty piece of work who felt pleasure and a sense of superiority when he saw someone crumble in front of him.
Clearly, Jean-Louis wanted to see the despair on Hugo’s face when delivering the message of Lee Gun’s death.
That was why Hugo had pummeled Jean-Louis as soon as the latter had opened his mouth.
The bloodied Jean-Louis had been unable to move an inch as he coughed up blood.
‘Damn it! I never expected him to suddenly punch me in the face.’
He had been beaten to the point where he had broken bones and was having a hard time breathing.
The surprised doctors and nurses had rushed forward, trying to stop Hugo. However, they couldn’t stop him.
After he barged into the press conference while dragging in Jean-Louis, Hugo’s eyes flashed. “What kind of scam is this?! What did Gun do? He sacrificed himself for you guys?”
“H-Hugo!”
Hugo was threatening to do the same to them if they continued talking this nonsense.
“Stop the bullshit! Tell the truth! Where did you abandon Gun?”
The Zodiac Saints were surprised since Hugo normally had a bubbly personality. He was always polite and didn’t like causing any inconvenience to his comrades. So his current actions shocked them.
“Hey, we understand what you’re going through. Let’s talk outside.”
“That’s right. We are being broadcast live now…”
Ivan and Sergeyevich tried to take Hugo outside. However, Hugo swung his fists toward the other Zodiac Saints as if he wanted to shut them up.
Puh-uhk!!!
Ivan and Sergeyevich lost their teeth as Hugo’s hits landed on them. They spat blood.
“Wait a moment! Hugo! Kuhk!!”
“If he fell into a trap, the first thought on your mind should have been to find him! Bastards! In the first place, Gun isn’t someone who would fall into a trap!”
In a flash, pandemonium descended into the press conference room, as this scene was being broadcast live.
This mess caused an uproar around the world as people watched the broadcasting accident live.
[Lee Gun’s death caused a fight among his comrades.]
[Did Lee Gun really sacrifice himself for his comrades?]
[Did they exit the tower after abandoning Lee Gun?]
[The opinion of Lee Gun’s best friend lends weight to that idea.]
In the end, Hugo and the other Zodiac Saints got into a big fight in this state of confusion. The power of the Zodiacs transported them to the outskirts of the city, and they started to fight each other.
Kwahng!!!
It was for no other reason.
“Hurry up and unseal the Devil’s Tower! I’m going to find Gun!”
“Have you lost your mind?! Do you realize what the Zodiacs went through to seal that place?”
“Are you saying you don’t care if monsters come out of the tower?”
“Then are you saying that it’s fine to leave behind Gun in the tower?”
“!”
“They don’t have to unseal it. Just open the entrance! I’ll go there by myself!”
“We aren’t crazy enough to—”
As soon as those words were spoken, arrows flew toward the other Zodiac Saints.
Kwahng!!!
This was a fight between Zodiac Saints; the only way they could fight each other on equal grounds was by using their Royal holy items and Royal skills.
The battle destroyed the uninhabited island they were on, and the continent shook. The exchange of terrifying attacks continued for some time.
Kwahng!
The Zodiac Saints shook when they were barely able to dodge Hugo’s attack.
“Have you lost your mind? Do you intend on killing us?!”
“What? Are you afraid that the media will talk about you guys if I went looking for Gun? In fact, I bet you guys weren’t the ones to kill Red Eye, right?!”
All the Zodiac Saints flinched.
Ivan glared at Hugo. “A-Are you really doubting us about that?”
“If I’m being honest, you guys probably conspired to kill him.”
“You have lost your mind!” An angry Ivan charged Hugo with the intent to kill.
Stevens and Heiji didn’t want to fight Hugo, but they had to stop Hugo from entering the tower.
‘It’ll be suicide if he enters that tower.’
Sophie and Yang Wei, the non-fighters, trembled from fear. Ivan, Sergeyevich, and Liv tried to get rid of Hugo.
“Kuh-huhk!!”
After being kicked by Hugo, Ivan and Stevens clutched their broken ribs and coughed up blood.
‘That bastard…!’
Hugo had been Lee Gun’s student, and he was very strong. They hadn’t noticed it because he always acted as Lee Gun’s support.
However, something ground on Hugo’s nerves. Kevin, whom he trusted, said he didn’t remember anything. The others kept saying Lee Gun fell into a trap.
“You guys are traitors! Hurry up and open the door right now!”
Faced with Hugo’s anger, a bloodied Ivan gnashed his teeth.
‘At this rate, we’ll all be defeated by Hugo.’
The Zodiac Saints battered by Hugo were strewn about around Ivan.
Hugo pulled back the head of a bloodied Yang Wei. “Follow me. You were in charge of sealing the tower, right? You open it.”
“Hoo-Hoo-ahhhk! N…No! I…!”
Ivan jumped Hugo when he saw Yang Wei being dragged away. “Why are you pulling this nonsense on us? Why the hell did you go out in the middle of the raid?!”
“…!”
Ivan put a headlock on Hugo from behind.
Hugo let out murderous intent as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What kind of bullshit—”
“If you were so dissatisfied, you should have stayed behind!”
“What?”
“Lee Gun’s chance of survival rate would have gone up if you hadn’t left.”
“…!”
“While you were sleeping away your exhaustion outside, Lee Gun died. You should have protected your friend.”
Hugo was about to push Ivan aside when he flinched. Of course, he knew those words weren’t worth listening to, yet for a moment, his heart inevitably shook.
When strength started to leave Hugo’s hands, Ivan grinned. In a battle between Zodiac Saints, a 0.1-second opening was enough. Naturally, Ivan wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.
Boom!!
“Kuhk!”
Ivan used this opportunity to strike Hugo’s head.
Puhk!
“Kuh-huhk!”
It didn’t end there.
Kwahng!!
Ivan ruthlessly kicked Hugo in the head and sent Hugo and his bow flying in different directions.
“Koo-oohk…!”
When Hugo went to pick up his bow, Giselle wagged her finger. White vines burst out of the ground and encircled Hugo.
Kwah-jeek!
Ivan triumphantly approached Hugo’s bow. It wasn’t just him. Sergeyevich, Liv, and Giselle went there too. They all stood in front of Hugo’s bow with their Royal holy item in hand.
The bloodied Stevens and Kevin glared at them. It was obvious what those four were about to do.
“Hey! Stop!”
“I know what you guys are trying to do!”
Ivan smirked as he looked at Hugo. “Do you understand now? You are just like us. You are responsible for Lee Gun’s death too!”
Then the Zodiac Saints attacked Hugo’s bow. Hugo’s Royal item, the Sun’s Bow, was broken at this moment.
Kwah-jeek!!
Despite being a Divine treasure, it couldn’t win against superior numbers.
Hugo coughed up blood. This Royal holy item was one of the pillars that supported his temple.
If a pillar of a building was destroyed, the building would become unstable.
As the blessing of the Sagittarius temple weakened, Hugo’s power also weakened.
When Hugo fell over, Ivan let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over.
“This should make him behave a bit…!”
However…
“Fuck off!”
“!!”
Ivan felt faint. Hugo was supposed to be powerless. He was supposed to be down on the ground, yet he was charging toward them.
In the end, Ivan lost consciousness.
An enraged Hugo beat up Ivan, Sergeyevich, and Liv. He stood there panting afterward.
Yang Wei shook from fear as he looked at the bloodied Hugo and the fallen Zodiac Saints.
Hugo being able to smash the other Zodiac Saints on his own was scary in itself, but him remaining standing even when his body was in such a mess was the most terrifying part.
Hugo ignored them. He wiped away his blood as he walked toward the tower. “I don’t need any of you. I’ll go rescue Gun on my own.”
Sophie sobbed when she saw this. She grabbed Hugo. “N-No! Hugo! Your injuries…!”
Hugo contemptuously pushed her aside. “You disgust me. Get out of my face.”
“…!”
Sophie froze when she saw his cold eyes. She realized that the relationship between Hugo and the other Zodiac Saints had come to a complete end when they had decided to leave behind Lee Gun.
At that moment, the bloodied and fallen Stevens threw something toward Hugo.
‘!’
It looked to be a key.
“You’ll be able to enter the tower using it. Don’t die there. Come back out alive.”
It was an item of the Leo temple—one of the eleven keys used to seal the tower.
Hugo ground his teeth as he looked between the key, Stevens, and Kevin.
‘What the hell happened in there?’
In the end, Hugo took the key. Gritting his teeth, he headed toward the Devil’s Tower.
However, he had a realization when he entered the Devil’s Tower. He understood why Stevens had sighed as he handed over the key. Stevens wanted Hugo to enter the tower and see it for himself.
‘The interior layout of the tower changed completely.’
The layout seemed to have changed after Lee Gun had fallen into the trap. Hugo had entered the first floor, yet the monsters had become unimaginably stronger. Moreover, the layout was more complicated. It was like a maze.
In the end, Hugo continued to roam around. He was finally able to find Lee Gun’s arm when he was close to death.
Hugo roared in sadness after having experienced it for himself. No one could survive in this place. His friend was already dead.
In reality, Lee Gun hadn’t died. He was madly cutting down monsters in some unknown location within the tower. Naturally, Hugo had no way of knowing this at the time.
In the end, Hugo was about to die in the Devil’s Tower when Hailey rescued him.
During the raid, as she had gone to save Sophie, the only healer of their group, the minions of Time had attacked her. Hailey’s life had been in danger, so she had to leave the tower with her subordinates.
As soon as she regained consciousness, she had re-entered the Devil’s Tower despite not being in great condition.
But she didn’t find Lee Gun. Instead of Lee Gun, she found an unconscious Hugo and rescued him.
Then she realized that the Zodiac Saints were camping outside the tower, waiting for Hugo to come out to get rid of him.
Therefore, she left them behind to bring Hugo to the territory of the Scorpio temple.
* * *
Lee Gun’s state funeral surprised the world. It started in Korea, but the other countries did their own tributes. It continued for a fortnight. The largest crowd had gathered for Lee Gun’s funeral, and that was enough to surprise the media around the world.
Moreover, the media continued to be loud despite the ongoing funeral.
“It’s odd. Why did the twelve of them come out without Lee Gun?”
“Did the twelve Zodiac Saints really kill Red Eye?”
“The dead cannot speak.”
The Zodiac Saints were rewarded for killing Red Eye. They became stars, but they couldn’t escape the suspicion related to Lee Gun.
Lee Gun’s stature among the populace seemed to be larger than anyone had imagined.
* * *
Around a month after the state funeral, in the national cemetery…
“Oh man! That person is here again.”
“What? He came again?”
“Yes. He comes every morning and leaves only at night. Sometimes, he’ll stand in the same place for several days.”
It was a day when rain was pouring down. A woman encountered Hugo, who stood in front of Lee Gun’s grave without an umbrella.
“Excuse me. You shouldn’t be here like this every day.” Chun Jiwoo gave Hugo an umbrella.
Hugo sighed. “Ah… You don’t have to worry about me. This might look idiotic, but I’m scolding myself as I self-reflect.”
“I don’t care about that. I want you to get out of the way.”
“W-What?”
“I want to pay respects too.”
This was how Chun Jiwoo and Hugo met for the first time.
