The next day, inside the main palace of the Leo temple.
“Hey, what happened to Zodiac Saint-nim’s room?”
The disciples who had come to work early in the morning stood with their jaws on the floor. The holy ground had been fine the previous day.
“What is this…!”
Stevens’s room, which had been fine the day before, was a mess.
“What the hell? Did a monster appear in the night?”
“That makes no sense. Why would a monster attack only Zodiac Saint-nim’s room?”
It was a valid point.
‘The other locations are fine. Only the floor used by Zodiac Saint-nim was razed to the ground…’
The main palace of the Leo temple was a golden palace, where the Zodiac resided. It was also the building where the first-string members of the temple gathered.
The Leo Temple’s holy ground contained four luxurious buildings with forty floors each. It housed a total of two thousand households, and the top floor of the building was a space used by the Zodiac Saint.
The faces of the disciples turned pale as they looked for Stevens.
“Hey. You guys are being noisy. Go back to your original posts.”
“Zodiac Saint-nim!!”
The disciples were shocked when they saw Stevens. It was to be expected since Stevens appeared with braces around his neck and arms.
“W-What happened, Zodiac Saint-nim?”
“Who did this to you?”
“Who else?! It was that damn bastard Hugo!”
“What?!”
Someone whispered to the shocked disciples, “The Archer Saint came here by himself and destroyed this place throughout the night….!”
“What? He came on his own?! He got past all the security?”
“Yes. The ones in charge of security at night were all sent to the hospital.”
“T…That’s crazy…! This place has the strongest security!”
As expected of a Zodiac Saint, the Archer Saint was on a different level.
However, at that moment, they saw a problem bigger than their holy ground being razed to the ground.
“Zodiac Saint-nim! What is that?”
The disciples who had been at the bottom floor came to Stevens as a group. It seemed they had just come from the training ground.
Seeing their expressions, Stevens lashed out at them. “I told you guys to be quiet! How dare you…!”
“That’s not the problem right now!”
“What is it?!”
“We are talking about the little girl in the training ground!!”
“!!”
The other Leo disciples were surprised by the unexpected news, so they all rushed toward the training ground. And when they reached the training ground, they were shocked.
“T…There really is a little girl here…!”
The girl inside the training ground was a ten-year-old Chun Yooha. She stood out in an organization with rough-looking men.
The small Yooha was bound tight with chains. It seemed she had regained consciousness, and she looked sullen. Her cheeks were puffed up as she pouted. Moreover, Yooha looked cute and very pretty.
The disciples were almost mesmerized by her appearance, but that didn’t matter.
‘That’s the Archer Saint’s daughter!’
‘There are no two ways around it! She was kidnapped!!’
The frozen disciples screamed.
“Damn it! She’s the reason the Archer Saint attacked us!!!”
“Zodiac Saint-nim! You should think about her age! It doesn’t matter if she’s pretty! You shouldn’t take on a child bride— Kuhk!”
After beating up his disciples, Stevens said, “Shut up! That kid will be brought in as one of the first-string members. Teach her well.”
These words shocked the disciples.
Oliver, who was an S-rank at that time, became angry. He would become an SS-rank in the future. “You want to let a female into the Leo temple?”
The Leo temple was quite famous for not letting female disciples enter their temple. Picking disciples for the temple was under the discretion of the generals.
This was why Oliver, a general, was angry when Stevens made this arbitrary decision. “I’m the one who created the guideline for the temple. You may be the Zodiac Saint-nim, but…!”
“I don’t care. Just let her in.”
“…!!”
Oliver ground his teeth. What kind of contribution could a girl like that make to the Leo temple…!
Leo also seemed angry. It threw a tantrum.
[Ahhk! Stevens! I told you not to bring her in! I don’t like having to deal with Libra! Hurry up and send her away!]
“Oh, Master. If we can somehow tame the fragment of the evil god within the child, it’ll become the highest-rank beast. It’ll be a Divine-Beast rank.”
[Uh? Is that so?]
Divine Beast, Predator, Beast, and Herbivore—these were the ranks of the beasts that had a parasitic relationship with the Leo temple.
While the fragment of the evil god in Yooha’s arm posed a great risk, it was still a Divine-Beast-rank being in terms of ability.
Moreover, the only one capable of handling a Divine-Beast-rank being was Stevens. This was why the proposal interested Leo.
“Also, the Sagittarius temple made a pact that they would never cause harm to the Leo temple.”
[What? Really?]
In turn, Stevens was unable to lay a hand on Yooha.
Stevens recalled the events that had occurred in the night.
- Are you here to kill me because I took your daughter?
- I really want to do that.
Despite those words, it seemed Hugo preferred Stevens over Giselle. The only way his daughter would be able to control the fragment of the evil god was to become an awakened being and learn the skills of the Leo temple.
- I’ll leave Yooha in the hands of the Leo temple.
Hugo knew what would be best for his daughter, so he gritted his teeth.
- Instead, I would like to make a contract with you. If you lay even a single finger on Yooha, I’ll immediately kill you.
Hugo growled with a cold look in his eyes.
Anyway, the two Zodiac Saints made a blood pact where both sides wouldn’t touch each other. It offered Hugo a way to protect his daughter, and Stevens would be able to use her power in exchange.
‘Anyway, it was a win-win situation for both sides.’
It was tens of thousands of times better than his daughter being handed over to Giselle.
‘Of course, this will be possible only if the kid can acclimate to this place.’
To suppress the evil god, Yooha would at least need the S-rank taming skill. Reaching that rank would make her a general, and becoming an S-rank in the Leo temple was very difficult.
Among all the Zodiac temples, the Leo temple was one of the three most difficult temples to join. The reason was that the generals of the Leo temple were dreadful and unfriendly.
‘I doubt she can become an S-rank. She might even have a hard time reaching the B rank.’
Oliver’s eyes flashed. He looked at Yooha with a disgruntled expression.
* * *
This was how Yooha grew up within the Leo temple. Her brother Sungjae also grew up, but there was a bit of a problem during his growth process.
Was it because his household was poor? Sungjae was very savvy when it came to economics. He started purchasing and selling items to make money when he was in elementary school.
By the time he reached middle school, he used to do homework for money. He tutored other students and even took mock exams in their place. However, a problem cropped up whenever he did this.
“Hey!! You scored too well on the test!”
“What? What about it? You asked me to do my best since you wanted to dupe your parents. You said this is your third try at your college entrance exam, and your parents can’t find out that you’ve been playing around.”
“The problem is you took it too well! You got the number one score in the country! What the hell am I supposed to do with that mock exam score? What the hell am I supposed to do for my main exam? Anyway, I can’t pay you for this!”
People complained even when he did well on the test! Well, it didn’t matter in the end.
Aside from academics, Sungjae created problems in other fields…
“What?! You received an invitation? You’re being admitted to Harvard?”
“Yes. I made a machine and submitted a dissertation about it. They read it and contacted me.”
“W-What kind of dissertation…”
“Ah! It isn’t a big deal. It was something I was researching in the fan club.”
“F-Fanclub?”
“Lee Gun-nim’s fanclub.”
The disciples were silent.
“Anyway… congratulations! Will you be accepting the invitation to Harvard?”
“Ah. That thing? I already turned it down.”
“What?! Why!”
“The US is busy sucking up to the cat. I can’t buy the latest Lee Gun items there.”
“….”
Chun Sungjae was a fanatic who turned down the opportunity to study at Harvard. He did it for his fandom. It was why everyone was worried about how he would develop. Of course, that wasn’t the biggest problem.
“What?! The Gemini temple? Why would you want to go there?”
This happened after Sungjae became a middle schooler.
Hugo was shocked to hear that his son had joined the Gemini temple. The fact that his son had become an awakened being in secret was also shocking. However, the bigger shock was the temple he chose…!
“If you planned on joining a temple, you should’ve joined your father’s! Why would you join the Gemini temple of all places?!!”
“Dad, you can’t even give your disciples a monthly salary. How can you say that with a straight face?”
“What the hell did you just say?”
Sungjae had become a bloodied mess as soon as he joined the Gemini temple. Hugo was as frustrated as he could be when he witnessed his son’s appearance. Why did he have to join the Gemini temple?
‘Heiji hates Gun more than anyone.’
What would happen if a Lee Gun fanboy went to work under a Zodiac Saint like that?
“That’s all well and good, but you’ll leave that temple as soon as you’re discharged from the hospital. You should study at home! Do you realize how shocked I was when I saw your score? I didn’t expect you to be number one, but how can you get last place in the entire school? How can you get last place when you had a mother who was very smart in school?”
Chun Sungjae pouted.
‘I was dozing off during the entrance exam, so I couldn't bubble in the answer. That’s why I came in last.’
Normally, Hugo wouldn't even check Sungjae’s report card. This was why Chun Sungjae grumbled when Hugo had seen his test score this time. Anyway, Sungjae wasn’t phased at all.
‘I’m sorry, dad! You lost everyone precious to you because of me.’
Chun Sungjae had entered the Gemini temple to search for a way to find his mother’s soul and a way to fix his older sister’s arm.
Hugo was a person traumatized from losing three people precious to him at the hands of the monsters. His daughter’s case couldn’t be helped since she had to learn the skill that would put the evil god to sleep. However, his son…
“Whatever. I want you to leave that temple! I don’t want you getting close to any monsters! If you don’t do as I say, I’ll throw away all the Lee Gun figurines at home!”
“What?! Lee Gun-nim did nothing wrong! Why would you mess with Lee Gun-nim?”
“Anyway, you should give up on being an awakened being!”
“There is no way I’ll give up! I want to be like Lee Gun-nim! I want to become a hero like Lee Gun-nim, who bowed down to no one! I’ll enter the Devil’s Tower!”
“Why are you being like this?”
After having a fight with Sungjae, Hugo threw away all of Sungjae’s Lee Gun collection.
“Dad! What happened to all the Lee Gun-nim in my room?”
“I threw them all away. That’s why you should stick to studying. You shouldn’t look for Lee Gun.”
“What?!”
Due to this incident, an angry Sungjae ran away from home and started living in a villa that his sister used as a storage house. It was the house that Lee Gun would visit in the future.
Anyway, two years had passed since his son had run away from home. Hugo felt complicated emotions as he looked at his son’s Lee Gun collection, which he had hidden in the storage room.
In the beginning, he had been so angry that he wanted to throw them all away. However, he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of these items since he liked Lee Gun as much as his children.
Still, he had mixed feelings in his heart; this would be the twentieth year since Lee Gun had died.
- This is the twentieth year since humanity was freed from Red Eye. It’s the twentieth special anniversary since the death of the thirteenth.
- Some people still claim that Lee Gun is still alive within the Devil’s Tower. What’s your opinion about this?
- It’s nonsense. It’s all wishful thinking.
- I guess you’re right since Lee Gun was a B-rank awakened being. Still, he was an awakened being who did his best with what he got. Ha ha ha.
The world had changed in twenty years. Fake evidence. Fake news. Fake witnesses. Giselle had headed the efforts to fabricate countless pieces of information about Lee Gun. She pulled down Lee Gun’s status as a hero.
In the end, people spoke about Lee Gun in a derogatory manner. Those who were old enough to remember and follow Lee Gun were branded as instigators.
All the Zodiac Saints had their own reasons to either be silent or slander Lee Gun. Some even took his inheritance. Twenty years was enough to change people.
Hailey had disappeared without a trace around five years ago, and all contact with her had ended. In reality, she had been trying to find Time and the true culprit who had killed Lee Gun.
However, Hugo had no way of knowing this. He did his best to stop the misinformation, but it was too late.
- I’m sorry, Hugo-nim… I would like to quit.
- That’s right! Those who have been investigating Lee Gun-nim suffered mysterious deaths! We don’t want to die!
Everyone who had been on Lee Gun’s side was either demoted or went missing.
The media wrote fake articles after taking money. The fake witnesses brought out accounts and evidence that were way too believable.
Lee Gun was erased.
- The Archer Saint is his friend, so he’s delusional. From what I’ve heard, he had been very close to Lee Gun.
- Ha ha. Is he doing all of this to acquire his friend’s inheritance? Birds of a feather do flock together.
Hugo gritted his teeth. Lee Gun was alive. However, a span of twenty years was too long to claim such a thing, and those years had been too long and arduous.
‘I’m past the age where I should be believing in a hero.’
Hugo looked tired as he took out his phone. It was a 2G phone that couldn’t function as a smartphone. An old phone from twenty years ago, it could only make calls or send texts. This made everyone curious.
- Oh my, Hugo-nim! That’s a very old phone. You should hurry up and get the newest model.
- Ah. I have to change my number if I want to use the latest phone…
It was the phone that he had been using since he had met Lee Gun. Basically, it was the number that Lee Gun knew.
Changing his number was easy, but…
‘He might call me someday.’
Hugo knew he was being an idiot. Still, there was a chance that his friend was alive, and there might come a day when his friend would call him. He might call like always and nonchalantly ask Hugo to have a drink with him.
This was why Hugo couldn’t get rid of the phone.
‘Is it time for me to forget about him?’
Despite getting such thoughts, he was unable to get rid of Sungjae’s Lee Gun figurines again. He merely cleaned them before putting them away in storage.
Hugo got up.
‘I’ll get rid of this phone after I finish the commission from England. This time, I will do it.’
It was just in time for the twentieth anniversary. He thought it would be a good time to get rid of the phone and put everything behind him.
However, Hugo experienced something shocking soon after.
“Ah. Yes… I saw it too. I saw the destruction of the Devil’s tower. I saw it, but…”
Two days later, the world was in a state of turmoil; the Devil’s Tower had been destroyed.
Because of his commission, Hugo had arrived at the UK airport, and he was being bombarded with calls.
- Hugo-nim!! The Devil’s Tower was destroyed! Destroyed!!! Could it be Lee Gun-nim’s doing?!
- How do you feel about this?!
Hugo became angry when he heard this.
‘There is no way Gun is alive.’
Moreover, they were the ones who had laughed off the idea of Lee Gun being alive, so why were they acting like this now?
“Such a thing isn't possible. My friend is already dead.”
In the end, Hugo’s mood turned foul, so he got up and ended the call. The reason for his bad mood was the media looking for him.
- Hugo Otis-nim. Please come to the front desk for a moment. We need to check your luggage.
“What is it this time? Is it the reporters?”
He had already given up on everything related to his friend, so Hugo was irritated. He was about to leave his seat for a moment when…
Brrr!
The old phone inside his bag rang.
It had come after twenty years. He had received a call from his friend who he couldn’t wait to see for the longest time.
