Chun Sungjae couldn’t take his eyes away from the items. Even though Lee Gun had especially prepared this present for him, the young man was baffled. His reaction was normal. ‘Uncle. Why this of all things….’
Yes, the things in Sungjae’s hands were figurines of the Archer Saint. One of them depicted the Archer Saint in his twenties, when he had looked the most handsome. Then there was the figurine depicting his current version. It was the Archer Saint in his forties. Typical of the Archer Saint, the figurine showed him pulling back on a bow. It was a very cool pose.
However, none of that mattered to Sungjae.
‘Why the Archer Saint’s figurines of all things?’
Lee Gun's gift had mystified the Archer disciples, too. The only one to feel deeply moved was Hugo.
‘Gun! You son of a bitch. You really are my friend!’ Hugo had asked Lee Gun for cooperation as he wanted his kids to love him. It seemed Lee Gun was going along with his request.
Chun Sungjae stared at his father’s figurines, then nodded as if he understood what Lee Gun wanted. “You want me to use these as dioramas when he gets eaten by a monster, right? Thank you very much!”
“That’s right— Hey! Chun Sungjae! How can you say that about my figurines?” Hugo was about to say that Sungjae was being too much, but Lee Gun just cackled.
“Why would I give the figurines of the lousy Archer Saint to my nephew as a present?”
“Hey!”
Lee Gun continued, “The real present is the content within the figurines.”
“Content?”
Instead of answering Hugo, Lee Gun looked at the figurines in Chun Sungjae’s hands.
[Lee Jaewon] [Chun Jiwoo]
A grin made its way to his lips. “There are souls within them. One is Lee Jaewon. The other one is Chun Jiwoo.”
“…?!”
These familiar names surprised everyone. The expressions of the Archer disciples, Chun Sungjae, and Hugo all changed at once. This was especially true for Hugo, who had just received a call from the hospital. The Archer Saint's hands shook. All of them knew what Lee Gun’s words implied.
Chun Sungjae’s hands shook. The names had sent him in a state of disbelief. “It… it’s Mom and Jaewon hyung?”
This reaction satisfied Lee Gun.
Yes, this had been why Lee Gun hadn’t attacked the toad with his weapon at the beginning. It had to do with the souls within the monster.
In the beginning, the monster was stealing his magical energy, so Lee Gun got to see the monster only once. However, he had prior incidents in dealing with Yang Wei and Heiji. It didn’t take long for him to sense the presence of souls.
Lee Gun could feel countless human souls within the monster, but the energy of the Archer Saint shone more brightly than the others. Two souls stood out.
In truth, Lee Gun didn’t know the name of the two souls, but this lined up with the story Goat had told him. Lee Gun had just made a deduction about these souls’ identities. He wondered if they were Hugo’s wife and subordinate, who the monster had eaten ten years ago.
Therefore, Lee Gun had attacked the monster in a way that didn’t hurt the souls. Then, he had extracted the two souls from the monster. Of course, they were souls, but he couldn’t hear their voices.
Why?
[The souls aren’t fully intact.]
Their souls seeped with the Sagittarius’s power, so he could see signs of the monster feeding on the souls as nutrients. As further proof, Lee Gun could hear the wails emanating from the other souls, while these two souls were dead-silent. Moreover, most of the souls had returned to their bodies on their own. It was in contrast to these two souls.
“Still, these are their souls. I’m sure of it.”
“…!”
Everyone’s face turned pale. These words caused a stir, especially amongst the Archer disciples.
“This isn’t something even the Gemini Saint and the Pisces Saint can do. They can’t extract souls.”
“Don’t you have to be Divine rank to do it?”
“Noona! Don’t talk nonsense!”
The stunned Goat looked at Lee Gun. ‘What is the extent of this man’s abilities?’
Chun Sungjae’s hands shook as he gazed at the souls. ‘If these are really the souls of the two of them…’
The young man clenched his eyes shut in anger. “Ah! As expected, I needed the burned pages of the magic tome!!” If he had the pages, he could manifest the souls. He might have been able to use magic to let the souls possess other bodies. “Why did that son of a bitch have to burn it?!”
“Son of a bitch?” Lee Gun tilted his head in puzzlement but overlooked the matter. “I’m not sure why you’re feeling sorry for yourself, but you don’t have to do anything unnecessary.”
Since the souls were damaged, Lee Gun hadn’t known if returning the souls would be successful. So, he had let the Piggy Bank hold them in its mouth until now. As Lee Gun’s familiar, Pixiu possessed a low-rank version of the Super Regeneration skill.
[All items within the Piggy Bank’s body will gradually regenerate.]
[Once you possess a disciple, your disciple can use the Serpent Bearer’s basic skill <Regeneration> within your holy ground.]
“Anyway, try putting those souls into their bodies. I’m sure they’ll come back to life.”
Despite those words, Chun Sungjae looked like he was about to cry. His reaction was understandable. “Their bodies… We already cremated them 10 years ago!”
He might have their souls, but the souls had no bodies to return to. There was a reason Chun Sungjae had studied subjects like necromancy within the Gemini temple for the past three years.
“Their ashes are at the cinerarium….”
Baffled, Lee Gun glared at Hugo. “Oh really? You even tricked your kids?”
“…!” The sudden words surprised Hugo, and he looked at Lee Gun.
Lee Gun laughed at his reaction. “Cinerarium, my ass! Your wife and subordinate are in vegetative states. They are at a hospital”
“?!”
Chun Sungjae felt a shock of unimaginable magnitude.
Lee Gun scoffed at Hugo’s reaction. “What? Did you think you could trick me? I remember what the bedwetter said. She said they are neither dead nor alive. It doesn’t take much to piece together the story.”
In the end, Hugo pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have known he couldn’t get one over Lee Gun. “That’s right. Both of them are at the hospital.”
“Dad!!!”
“Saint-nim!!”
Chun Sungjae was on the verge of crying. He felt betrayed.
“The chances of them waking up were zero,” Hugo explained. That wasn’t all.
[I want you to pick, Hugo. Choose either A or B.]
The Archer Saint once again remembered that woman’s smile and ground his teeth.
Chun Sungjae yelled as if he had enough. “What about Noona! Does Noona know?”
“…”
When Hugo avoided his gaze, Chun Sungjae angrily took out his phone. “Wow! At the very least, you should’ve told Noona— What the hell is this?”
He had ten missed calls, all from his noona. His sister never called him this much. That wasn’t her personality, so this situation took him aback.
However, he soon became frightened.
[I heard you got scouted to Uncle’s temple?]
Was he imagining things? The question was simple, but Chun Sungjae felt like an underlying threat lay behind the message. It was as if she were threatening to kill him if he joined Lee Gun’s temple first.
“Great! How did she find out? I was going to boast about it to her at a later date….” Of course, that didn’t matter right now. Chun Sungjae turned around. “Anyway, where’s that hospital? I’ll go there right now and—”
“You can’t! Dad will go later— Kuhk!”
Lee Gun kicked Hugo. Then, he bullied the address out of him and gave it to Chun Sungjae. “When you reach the hospital, just twist the heads off those crappy figurines. You’ll be able to put the souls back into their bodies.”
Hugo, who was on the ground, angrily shouted, “You… You put their souls in my figurines on purpose!”
Lee Gun completely ignored him. When Chun Sungjae and the other Archer disciples were about to teleport, he moved. “Hey, Sungjae.”
Lee Gun flicked a coin toward Chun Sungjae, surprising him. “Use it when you’re in need. You’ll know the moment when you’ll need to use it.”
“?” Chun Sungjae tilted his head in puzzlement as he looked at the unknown coin. Engraved on the coin was a snake symbol that he had never seen before. ‘It doesn’t feel like the 12 Zodiacs.’
In the end, that didn’t matter.
“You should go buy some flowers. Also, you’re a big boy. Don’t cry too much because you’re seeing your mom after ten years,” Lee Gun advised him.
“…!”
For a moment, Chun Sungjae felt a surge of emotions. He couldn’t say anything. At that moment…
[His faith has increased explosively.]
[You can locate the location of your zealot.]
As soon as Chun Sungjae disappeared, Hugo spat out the dirt in his mouth and expressed his anger. “Did you give something weird to my son again?”
“It’s none of your business.” Lee Gun touched his pocket full of coins as he laughed in a pleased manner.
After finishing his Trial of Strength, Lee Gun had unlocked this skill to help with the Trial of Reputation. He had created these coins with the <Missionary> skill.
[Five points have been deducted.]
[You have unlocked the Missionary Skill]
[Familiar(Missionary)] (M)
- One human will awaken as the direct familiar of the Serpent Bearer.
- You can create Missionary(Regular) coins.
The reason he had created those coins was simple.
[The current subject has a faith of 300%!]
[Condition satisfied! It is possible for him to become a Missionary!]
[Chun Sungjae: Special A+.]
[You can choose 2 options.]
[<Missionary(Regular)> or <Missionary(Special)>]
[The subject’s abilities have increased. His faith has increased by a lot.]
[The familiar’s value has increased compared to before.]
[If you choose the Missionary(Regular) option, you can immediately bring him in as a familiar. You will acquire rewards up to the A rank.]
[If you choose the Missionary(Special) option, there’s a probability of failure. However, if it succeeds, you will acquire achievement and rewards up to the S rank.]
Lee Gun laughed. ‘What’s good is good.’
As he headed to the Virgo Saint’s city, he asked his friend, “Why didn’t you go with them?”
“I have no right to see their faces. Also…” Hugo’s eyes turned cold. “There is still the Virgo Saint. You can do your thing. I don’t plan on leaving you behind because of personal matters.”
The Virgo Saint was the most eccentric person amongst the Zodiac Saints. He was almost on par with Lee Gun in terms of eccentricity. There was no way a meeting between these two crazies would be quiet. If Hugo sent Lee Gun by himself, anything could happen.
Also… ‘This symbol…’ Hugo was still furious. He had all the reasons to storm the enemy with Lee Gun.
“When we meet him, the first thing we'll do is decapitate him.”
“Call.”
After twenty years, the duo of Lee Gun and Hugo finally joined hands with each other.
* * *
The Virgo Saint’s holy ground was called the <Girl’s Palace>. It was a fancy and old-fashioned place that resembled the Palace of Versailles. From floor to ceiling, it was all painted in gold. Moreover, all the high-rank disciples taking care of the holy ground were women.
The Virgo Saint was a powerful battle-type Saint. All his disciples were gorgeous. They could be mistaken for models, but every one of them was an outstanding fighter.
A very flamboyant man entered the room.
“Saint-nim!”
“Kevin-nim!”
The man was a blonde, handsome young man wearing bloodstained armor. His cape fluttered in the air as he moved.
The Scorpio Saint and the Gemini Saint were two of the most beautiful women in the world. However, if one had to pick the most handsome man, the Virgo Saint would be at the top of the list.
[Even Adonis[1] will be sent packing and crying in front of this era’s most beautiful CG-like beauty.]
[Even Hollywood actors refuse to take pictures with him]
This man was the Saint with the most female fans. Men were jealous of him and called him the narcissistic sultan. The man looked like a prince or a noble, but he had a bit of a temper. He was the Virgo Saint, Kevin Hazard.
Kevin was a battle-type Saint. Considered the strongest swordsman in the world, he was also known as the king of the west.
Today, Kevin had come back from the frontline after killing monsters. He had made his much-awaited return to his holy ground, yet he heard something absurd. “What? Lee Gun entered my land?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“Also, Lee Gun killed the monster at the third dome in my absence?” Kevin asked.
“Yes! The monster was supposed to be unkillable. Saint-nim, you said the monster is a poor matchup for you, so you contracted Lee Gun…”
The Virgo Saint had come into the room with his arms wide open, but his eyes flashed at those words. “Have you lost your mind? Why would I bring him in to defend my land?”
The Virgo disciples, who had been taking off his armor, became silent when their Saint glared at them. The fact that their Saint had contracted Lee Gun to kill the monsters indeed made little sense.
“Why would I do that? Why would I want to do something that’ll put the spotlight on Lee Gun?”
Yes, the Virgo Saint hated Lee Gun.
“Lee Gun… I wouldn’t be satisfied even if I beat him to death!”
The reason for Kevin’s hatred of Lee Gun was quite simple. Lee Gun had always received more attention than him!
“Lee Gun! He died as a hero and was deified for the past twenty years! He received all kinds of attention! As if to make things worse, he turned up out of nowhere after twenty years! He once again stole the attention of the world!”
The Virgo Saint couldn’t hold himself back. He unsheathed his sword. Pandemonium ensued.
“S-Saint-nim!”
“Please calm— Kyahhk!”
“Die Lee Gun!”
Kwahng!
The Virgo Saint planted his blade in Lee Gun’s photo.
When the Devil's Tower had fallen, the angriest Zodiac Saint was the Virgo Saint. It wasn’t for any other reason. ‘My great raid to the Red zone is not even on the front page! It got overshadowed by the fall of the Devil’s Tower??’
That was right. At that time, Kevin had been leading the first successful raid into a Red zone, yet it had gotten overshadowed by the rumors of Lee Gun’s return!
Kevin’s achievement had been worthy of the Guinness World Records! That wasn’t all. He had never won against Lee Gun even before the latter's death twenty years ago.
Who cared if Kevin used his excellent tactical and martial prowess to achieve all kinds of exploits?
<Lee Gun holds the record for the fastest subjugation of the monsters.>
<Kevin, second>
It didn’t matter if Kevin broke records that might draw the attention of the public!
<Lee Gun set a new Guinness Book record for being the fastest eater.>
<Kevin, second>
<Kevin came in first place in a fishing competition. He caught a 300-meter-long fish. He’s in the first place.>
<Wait! Lee Gun shows off by catching a 1784-meter-long monster to set a new record>
<Kevin is in second place!>
<Second place!>
<Second place!>
Had Lee Gun been doing it on purpose?
The Virgo Saint was plagued by the curse of Lee Gun! From the first page of the newspaper to the top story on the news channels, Lee Gun was always number one.
As if to make matters worse, Lee Gun would always be in front of him in the line even when he had to use the restroom! Kevin had never been able to best Lee Gun in anything. The subject of the topic didn’t matter; he always lost the first place to Lee Gun.
“This is true for the YouTube videos too! The video of me participating in the great raid has been in second place for the past twenty years! I’m always lagging behind Lee Gun by a small amount!! Second place!!”
Kahng!
At this point, Kevin wondered if he was cursed. Of course, he had one solace. There was one aspect where the Virgo could always win against Lee Gun. It was his face.
<The Virgo Saint has once again been voted as this year’s most handsome Saint>
<Lee Gun is in the thirteenth place.>
If one was being honest, Lee Gun used to look like an orc. Kevin had almost felt sorry for Lee Gun’s monstrous looks.
However, after Sophie’s press conference a few days ago, everything had been turned on its head.
<Lee Gun has been voted as this year’s most handsome Saint.>
<The Virgo Saint has been pushed down to the second place.>
“Ahk!”
“Saint-nim!”
The Virgo Saint turned violent as he oozed steam. “That bastard Lee Gun once again dares to…”
“Please… please calm down! The gossip rags probably photoshopped him to raise the view count! He probably looks like a squid in real life!”
“That’s right! No one can win against Kevin-nim! We’ll guarantee it!”
In the end, the Virgo Saint overlooked the matter for now. He wondered why a commission was sent to Lee Gun in his name and why did the fourth and the fifth dome fell so easily.
However, he decided that wasn’t important right now. “You said Lee Gun is in my land right now?”
“Yes, that is correct!”
The Virgo Saint’s eyes turned sharp. “Good! It was truly regrettable when he suddenly died twenty years ago.”
Kevin stood up from his seat. “I’ll kill him myself this time around. I’ll take the number one spot from him!”
Full of rage, the Virgo Saint headed toward the town.
1. Adonis was a youth of remarkable beauty in Greek mythology. He was loved by both Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, and Persephone, goddess of the underworld ☜
