Hugo couldn’t believe his ears. ‘What the hell did they just say? They want us to kill the Virgo Saint?’
The statement was so shocking that Hugo almost sobered up on the spot.
Goat was also surprised. ‘What kind of disciples want the death of their Saint?’
This was unheard of. It was like asking someone to assassinate the pope or a king. The Zodiac Saints were that special. Moreover, the prince was making the request in front of a large crowd.
The confusion Goat felt soon turned into surprise when he surveyed his surroundings. ‘What the hell!’
All the people in the pub were frozen. It was as if time had stopped. It was the same for the Leo disciples, who had been fussing over their tablet a moment ago.
Yes, this wasn’t a regular magic spell.
‘This is the Virgo’s Divine skill!’
The Virgo was a battle-type god, but also the god of contract. This skill was the Virgo’s <Contract Space> skill.
In other words, Prince Pelio had created a pocket dimension where he could make a contract with Lee Gun. Aside from the ones making the contract, the pocket dimension excluded everyone else. The time for those excluded people within a certain radius would stop as well.
Of course, the people under the skill wouldn’t be aware of the time stop. From their point of view, only a second would’ve passed, the blink of an eye.
The skill should’ve affected Goat in the same way. ‘So why am I….’
It didn’t take Goat long to realize why he wasn’t frozen. Hugo had placed his hand on his shoulder. Goat felt a powerful magical energy. It seemed Hugo had counteracted the Virgo’s influence using his power.
This surprised the Virgo disciples.
‘At the end of the day, he’s a Zodiac Saint.’
The Virgo disciples had wanted to exclude everyone except Lee Gun.
“You’re asking Gun to kill your Saint after you put up this barrier. What are you guys trying to start?” Hugo asked.
The Virgo disciples gulped when they saw Hugo’s hard eyes. A moment ago, the Archer Saint had been praising Lee Gun in a drunken state. Yet now, he was almost like a completely different person.
Of course, it didn’t matter. In the end, the Archer Saint was Lee Gun’s comrade. If he was included in this talk, he might become a big help. There was no downside to this.
Hugo spoke. “Don’t do anything funny— Kuhk!” Hugo grabbed his shin as he fell over.
After kicking him, Lee Gun said, “Talk to me after you sober up.”
“Huh-uhk…!”
“S-Saint-nim!”
“Jeez! Really!”
Hugo felt like dying from pain. The Virgo disciples couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They were having a hard time picking up their jaws from the floor.
They never expected to see a Saint in so much pain. The Archer Saint was considered the weakest Saint, yet he could tank skills sent by a countless number of people. Therefore, they cheered when they saw Hugo, a Saint, in pain.
They had no choice. Why?
In truth, disciples couldn’t attack their Saints. This wasn’t just talk. Accomplishing that using their abilities was impossible, the reason being that their powers came from their god and the Saint.
It was like the creations couldn’t go against the creator.
A Saint could kill another Saint, but their guard was too strong for the disciples to do the same. However, Lee Gun might be able to…
“Please agree to our request!”
“We will return Lee Gun-nim’s holy item! Please kill the Virgo Saint!”
Lee Gun grinned when the disciples got on their knees to beg. His reaction was understandable. ‘They are offering to return the item when I was already planning on killing him.’
That wasn’t all.
“Our Saint stored Lee Gun-nim’s holy item in his treasure room.”
“It’s sealed uptight, but I am sure that item is <Heaven’s Punishment>, the weapon that rages when it drinks the blood of fallen beings.”
The revelation surprised Hugo and Goat.
‘Heaven’s Punishment.’
‘I didn’t expect the item possessed by the Virgo Saint to be that…’
On the other hand, Lee Gun laughed as if he had been expecting it. His weapon was really there. The Gemini Saint had told him that the Virgo Saint possessed his weapon.
Hugo was filled with emotions too. Lee Gun was a maker, yet he regularly fought monsters. He could do so because he had developed a clear battle strategy.
That was <Heaven’s Punishment>. Lee Gun could use any weapon as if it were an extension of himself, but Heaven’s Punishment was his main weapon when he faced monsters.
When people thought about Lee Gun’s weapon, Heaven’s Punishment was what they thought about. Above all else, it was the weapon that had killed Red Eye.
“You can even kill the Virgo Saint with it.”
“We’ll also give you all the Virgo Saint’s treasures.”
They were even offering him treasures.
Hugo had the same thought as Lee Gun. He mumbled as if he was dumbfounded, “We were going to kill him even if they hadn’t— Kuhk!”
Lee Gun kicked Hugo once again. “Sober up.”
“&*!”
It wasn’t hard to understand why these disciples were offering so much. Very few people knew that one of the twelve Zodiac Saints had locked Lee Gun in the tower. In truth, Lee Gun seldom teamed up with the other Zodiac Saints aside from Hugo.
There had been only one exception. The Devil’s Tower! It seemed the image of him joining with the other Saints had stuck in people’s hearts. Or maybe it was his legendary image as one of the first thirteen awakened beings.
People around the world thought Lee Gun was very close to the twelve Zodiac Saints and a comrade-in-arms of theirs.
As expected, the Virgo disciples looked at Lee Gun with anxious expressions.
“Of course, we know it’s rude to ask you to kill a past comrade! I’m sure this gets on your nerves!”
‘Nope. It doesn’t bother me at all.’ Lee Gun laughed. He wouldn’t go out of his way to explain that he was already en route to killing the Virgo Saint. That was unnecessary. He simply said, “Hey, toothpaste royalty.”
“!”
“Are you playing with me?”
“What?”
Lee Gun continued, “The Virgo Saint is a cherished friend of mine.”
“…?!” These words took Prince Pelio by surprise.
Hugo looked disgusted. Lee Gun was doing his snake oil salesman act.
Ignoring his friend, Lee Gun snorted. “You’re bold in bringing a request for me to betray a great friend of mine.”
Prince Pelio started to sweat.
The incident at Sophie’s press conference and the incident with Thousand Legs had made one thing clear. The twelve Zodiac Saints had never directly recognized Lee Gun, but it was clear that his strength had been undervalued for the past twenty years. It was a point of contention that the disciples still argued over.
The twelve Zodiac Saints had kept silent about Lee Gun’s power, so Pelio had assumed Lee Gun might be dissatisfied with them. He assumed it was why Lee Gun was acting in various ways against the twelve Zodiac Saints. According to the rumors, Lee Gun had killed Yang Wei.
‘I thought he had a big grudge against the twelve Zodiac Saints. Is that not true?’
Moreover, the Virgo Saint ground his teeth when Lee Gun’s name came up. There was no way they were on good terms. That was why Pelio had chosen to visit Lee Gun for this task. ‘Shit! Our plan was flawed…’
His train of thought was broken soon.
“However, you have your reasons for doing so.”
“!” The disciples looked at Lee Gun in surprise.
Lee Gun added, “I can make it my business if there’s sufficient reward to do so.”
The disciples’ faces brightened.
“Yes. of course!”
“From what I’ve heard, a Saint is a special existence for their disciples. There must be a reason you’re turning your blades against your Saint. You guys are too respectable to not have a reason,” Lee Gun inquired.
“That’s right! The reason—”
Lee Gun interrupted them. “Ah! I don’t need to know that!”
“!”
“What are they?” He asked.
“What?”
Lee Gun got to the point. “The treasures of the Virgo Saint?”
“Ah! That is…!” Soon, Prince Pelio started naming all the treasures.
Hugo and Goat recognized these names. Their eyes almost flipped when they realized how valuable those items were.
‘Shit. He’s on an entirely different level.’
As the poverty Saint, Hugo had known about it intellectually. However, he once again felt the power difference between him and the Virgo Saint, who was in charge of the empire in the west.
‘I get why he’s called the billionaire Saint.’
In contrast to them, Lee Gun looked unsatisfied. This made Pelio nervous, and he started offering treasures of his country. However, Lee Gun’s expression continued to worsen.
Suddenly, Lee Gun heard something, and his expression changed. Breaking into laughter, he said, “Guide me to the treasure room.”
* * *
Around the same time…
“Lee Gun! Are you here!” The rage-filled voice continued to ring as a man slammed the door open to a pub.
Boom!
The Virgo Saint’s face turned ugly when he looked inside the pub. ‘He isn’t here either…!’
Yes, the Virgo Saint still couldn’t find the pub where Lee Gun was. This was already his fifth dud. So he was close to losing his mind.
‘Why can’t I find Lee Gun…!!’ Of course, Kevin knew he was directionally challenged. However, it was very rare for even him to be this lost. ‘It feels as if someone is interfering with me.’
No, this wasn’t just a feeling. Someone was messing with him. ‘Did Lee Gun make it so that I can’t find him? No, that’s unlikely. He’s not that kind of guy.’
Lee Gun wasn’t one to use cheap tactics like this. ‘Then who is it?’
At that moment. The Virgo Saint’s eyes flashed. His gaze headed toward the back.
“Saint-nim?” As soon as the man met eyes with the Virgo Saint…
Poo-hahk!
A fountain of blood erupted.
“Huh-uhk…!”
One of the Virgo Saint’s subordinates fell over with blood pouring out.
“S-Saint-nim!”
The Virgo Saint was the world’s strongest swordsman. He had used his quick draw skill. The subordinates hadn’t even seen him draw his sword.
The severed head of the disciple fell.
Boom!
Surprised, the Virgo disciples wondered what was happening.
“S-Saint-nim!?”
The Virgo Saint ignored them as he headed toward the severed head. Then, he raised his sword high.
Kwah-jeek!
Exerting strength in his arms, he stabbed down toward the face. This would be a gruesome sight, so everyone closed their eyes. However, that lasted for only a moment.
The sound of metal grating against metal rang out.
Ggah-gahk!
Something flew into the air, surprising the Virgo disciples.
“That’s…!”
The item that fell from the sky was a tooth. It rolled on the ground.
The Virgo Saint had extracted a gold tooth. The problem was that it wasn’t a normal tooth.
“That’s the holy item of the Scorpio Saint!” Kevin was sure of it. This was the Scorpio’s holy item, something needed to make a sophisticated trap.
[Labyrinth (Maze) Fragment]
Somehow, that disciple’s body had this item inside it.
The shocked Virgo disciples covered their mouths in fright.
“Anyone near that item will lose their way…!”
Moreover, this was done by a Zodiac Saint, so the item had been hard to detect.
Of all the Zodiac Saints, this holy item belonged to the Scorpio Saint. Therefore, Kevin furrowed his brows. The Scorpio Saint had a connection to Lee Gun.
He muttered, “It seems some forces want to interfere with what I’m trying to do!”
The Virgo Saint wanted to use his elegant hand movements to clean the blood off the blade. However…
“…!” Kevin quickly turned his head.
“Saint-nim?”
“Someone broke into my treasure room!”
“What?!”
Kevin instantly returned his blade to its sheathe. Then, his steps became hurried.
* * *
“Currently, the Virgo temple is divided into two factions.”
The group was at the Virgo Saint’s main palace. They were headed toward the treasure room within the “Girl’s Palace.”
“The division is between the SS-rank disciple <Black Thorn>, one of the Ten Stars, and the Saint Kevin-nim.”
“Also, Kevin-nim has stopped fulfilling his duties.”
“Duties?”
“Yes. He refuses to listen to the Virgo.”
“Oh! That’s odd.”
The entrance to the treasure room was fancy. From the floor to the ceiling, it was plated with gold. It was reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles. This wasn’t the Saint’s main residence, yet it was ostentatious.
“The goddess ordered the Virgo Saint to kill the Aquarius Saint. For some reason, our Saint refused to listen.”
Lee Gun didn’t care what had caused the rift.
Suh-guhk!
“Kyahhk!”
Suh-guhk!
“Huh-uhk!”
Suh-guhk!
“How dare you, human!”
Transformed into scissors, Lee Gun’s slime ruthlessly cut the curtains in the room to pieces. Of course, these weren’t curtains. They were the Virgo Saint’s familiars.
Suh-guhk!
“Kyahhk!”
Suh-guhk!
“Help!”
Goat, who had been following Hugo, whispered, “Excuse me… what’s Lee Gun-nim cutting?”
“Constructs.”
“What?”
“Amongst the twelve Zodiac Saints, the Virgo Saint possesses the best quality clothes.”
“…?!”
With a bright face, Lee Gun continued to cut the curtains. No, they were the low-rank gods, the Constructs, in the form of curtains. Lee Gun looked satisfied as he laughed. “These are ingredients I’ll use to make clothes.”
He was cutting up the precious familiars that the Virgo Saint had cultivated. These Constructs’ attack attribute was low, but they were gods nonetheless. Their bodies were the world’s best fabric.
Lee Gun kept cutting and cutting.
“Kee-ehhhk!”
“How dare you do this to a god! Kuhk!”
Pelio watched Lee Gun work with an awkward expression. “Excuse me, Lee Gun-nim. I did say you could take all the items within the treasure room, but I said nothing about vandalizing—”
“What? Are you going to do something about it?” Lee Gun shot back at him.
“N-No. Do as you like. I guess they are only clothes. Ha ha ha!”
As he put away the highest-grade corpse, Lee Gun took out a coin from his pocket. This was inevitable. ‘The coin I gave him must have shown a reaction.’ This was a good sign.
“The Saint refuses to listen to his god. He has lost his way. Please help us.”
“Alright, I’ll do that after I get back my item,” Lee Gun replied.
The door to the treasure room was opened.
Ggeeek-
Suddenly…
“Lee Gun!”
He heard a familiar voice ring behind him.
