Sagittarius couldn’t believe what he had just heard. However, judging by Lee Gun’s expression, he realized he hadn’t heard wrong.

“What’s up with your expression? Taeksoo has Divine status now. He’s plenty qualified. Also, you can use the power of a Zodiac if you become Taeksoo’s Zodiac Saint, right? Despite being human, you will be able to use your power.”

“N-Nephew… You want me to worship my Zodiac Saint as a Zodiac…?!”

“He is your ‘ex’-Zodiac Saint,” Lee Gun said with a cheeky smile. 

Sagittarius became angry. “You’re saying I should serve someone who used to be my servant!”

“Yes. Why? You don’t want to?” Wasn’t it obvious?

Even Hugo was taken aback by those words. Of course, he could understand why it had to be done, but… 

“How can someone I’ve served suddenly become my servant!” Hugo also seemed to think it was a terrible idea. At the end of the day, he had served Sagittarius for a very long time. Of course, he faced Sagittarius only as a spirit or an incarnation. This was his first time meeting him face to face.

“I was able to protect people thanks to him. Let’s reconsider this…”

“That’s right! There is no way my servant can do the work of an exalted Zodiac!”

Hugo became angry as he looked at Sagittarius. When he saw Sagittarius’s shameless behavior, he suddenly remembered some memories.

[Oh, contractor. The criteria for joining the temple shouldn’t be you. Let’s raise it. Their looks have to be on par with Lee Gun’s.]

[Idiot servant, is that all you could acquire?]

[Pitiful servant, what are you doing? Hurry up and set up the alcohol and food.]

[Salary for the disciples? Foolish servant, the Zodiac Saint should take care of that without even asking.]

[Potential? What nonsense are you talking about? I chose you as the Zodiac Saint because your face was decent.]

[Useless servant…]

He couldn’t remember memories about his family, but for some reason, his memories of this Zodiac were vivid. That was why he glared at Sagittarius. 

On the other hand, his old master made it seem that Hugo’s opinion wasn’t even worth listening to. “See? You put my servant in an awkward position. It isn’t easy to change a relationship dynamic that lasted for twenty-five years…”

“Is it possible for me to become the Zodiac of the Sagittarius temple?”

“?!!”

Taken aback, Sagittarius looked at Hugo. “S-servant?”

Hugo ignored him as he let out a bright smile. “Is it possible?”

“There is no reason why it shouldn’t be. It’ll be the same as the time when I placed my Construct into the Aquarius’s seat.”

“W-what?!”

“Since we are doing it, the first thing I’ll do is change that damn condition for joining the temple. Son of a… Old master.”

“?!!”

Sagittarius was dumbfounded when Hugo’s attitude did a complete flip. At the end of the day, he held authority as a pillar god. So he desperately grabbed Lee Gun.

“You can’t, Nephew! The seat of the Sagittarius temple is on the balance. You should think long and hard about it! Your decision will affect the earth! How can the servant… How can you give that seat to Hugo?”

Lee Gun tilted his head in puzzlement. “Doesn’t that make it less important? I have to feel the seat of the Sagittarius temple, and in the end, wouldn’t it be better to place someone who understands and knows our world?”

“!?”

“Above all else, Taeksoo will treat the disciples better than you.”

“No, you can’t! I do not consent to it! You might occupy my older brother’s temple, but you cannot change the seat of the Zodiac without my consent!”

Lee Gun snorted. “Is that so? At the end of the day, I just have to use the ticket I received from you.”

Sagittarius’s face turned pale at the mention of the ticket.

“‘Wish coupon for any wish.’ I received it when I fixed the royal holy items. I still haven’t used it.”

“…!!!”

Lee Gun had originally planned on using that ticket to bring Hugo in as his Zodiac Saint. However, the events had resolved easily, so he still had that item left.

With a bright smile on his face, Lee Gun said, “I already feel sorry toward Taeksoo, so I planned on paying my debt to him. Should I just use it?”

Lee Gun wasn’t really sorry. He merely wanted to torment Sagittarius. 

Sagittarius desperately grabbed his nephew. “You might think highly of Hugo, but he is still a low-rank god! If you aren’t careful, the other gods will steal the seat of the twelve Zodiacs! It will put you in an awkward spot. You’ll have a tough time defending—”

“Who cares? He’ll be better than you. Anyway, you should go around with your wig off. No one will recognize you.”

“Damn it!!”

Annoyed, Lee Gun looked at Hugo. “What happened to your lifespan?”

“Ah! It was extended thanks to you by about ten years.”

“What? I’m glad it was extended, but it grew only that? I gave you the registry.”

Meeny and Miny started to sweat when they heard those words.

“T-That is… Master took down the lifespan of all the gods in Olympus…”

“We tried gathering as much as possible, but only that much came out…!”

Lee Gun’s eyebrows rose, but he accepted the answer. “That should be enough for now. The matter will resolve itself once I kill the goddesses of Fate.”

Since Hugo wasn’t facing imminent death, they had solved a big problem.

‘It’s said a god’s life span can be extended using the goddesses of fate.’

He just had to take their abilities. Then there was something he had acquired from Olympus.

[You have acquired a new Achievement (6 star).]

He hadn’t used it yet, but it would be very useful.

So, Lee Gun looked at Hugo. “That’s why you should go to the earth for now. You have to go to Miss Jiwoo.”

“What about you? Do you plan on staying here?”

Lee Gun snorted. Whether it was Achievements, abilities, or offerings, it was something that could be resolved only in the Divine world. Lee Gun had things to do within the Divine world. “I have to get back the ability of your junior.”

Surprised, Hugo let out a big cough. “Hey, you don’t have to get hung up on that. It’s fine—”

“Fuck off! I have to make your Faith 600%.” Lee Gun ground his teeth.

The goddesses of Fate had ripped apart Hugo’s soul, and the gods had sold off the pieces. There was no way Lee Gun would go easy on them.

However, he suddenly thought about those he had chosen not to bring to the Divine world since he didn’t know what kind of place this was.

‘I should have brought Hailey.’

After all, the gods were frightened by Abyss and the Abyss spear.

‘They hate the monarch ranks.’

Moreover, those under Lee Gun were close to acquiring Construct-rank Divine statuses.

Hugo, who seemed to have read his thoughts, raised his eyebrows. “Do you really think I’ll leave without you?”

“Fuck off, idiot! While I draw attention, you can direct your children to this place. You can also go make your fourth kid!”

“Why would I do that?”

“Or we can go together. We can smuggle ourselves out of here. I’ll help you guys make your fourth kid. I’m the god of Life.”

“Stop it!!”

Lee Gun was about to turn around so that they could head toward the departure gate.

“Master! Look out!”

“!”

Flash!!

A fierce energy wave hit Lee Gun, and his Constructs screamed.

[The tracker god is tracking your location.]

[A powerful curse threatens the Serpent Bearer.]

Everyone was surprised by the power of the curse heading toward Lee Gun.

“This power is Zodiac rank…!!”

Sagittarius immediately tried to use his power, but he was human. He couldn’t dispel the curse. This was why the power of the curse went toward Lee Gun!

“Nephew!”

The power of the curse was about to encircle Lee Gun, but…

Kwahng!!!

“!”

The power instantly dissipated. Someone had destroyed it.

Then, the one who had destroyed it spoke up. “You guys wanting to depart the Divine world is a decent idea, but do you really think you will be able to?”

“!”

The voice came from behind them!

“You!!”

Sagittarius felt his blood pressure rise from hearing that voice. He grabbed the back of his neck as he turned his head. On the other hand, the eyes of Lee Gun and Hugo turned round from surprise.

A beautiful goddess with long blonde hair was accompanying Yeonwoo. She looked to be in her late twenties. The goddess had been enjoying her spa visit until a moment ago, so she still wore her bikini.

[Virgo]

[Divine status: Artemis]

Sagittarius became angry when he saw her. “Ines! Where have you been?”

Virgo burst out laughing. “Oh my! I heard the news, but you really became a human. You were already an unemployed playboy. I wonder, now that you have lost your divine status, will any god be willing to take you in?”

“Hey!”

Virgo put on a beach robe as she approached Lee Gun. She elegantly took a knee as she lowered her head. “Virgo gives her greeting to the Serpent Bearer.”

“!”

This was the first time Hugo had seen the goddess, so his mouth fell open.

‘You lucky bastard…!’

He never knew a goddess of this caliber was Kevin’s owner. It almost made him angry that Kevin badmouthed and hated his Zodiac.

However, Lee Gun snorted. Since she was paying off his debt, he hadn’t touched her lifespan. 

“What’s the problem with going home?”

Virgo looked at Sagittarius as if to reprimand him, as though she couldn’t believe he hadn’t explained it to Lee Gun.

“This is our first meeting, so I apologize for bringing up this topic. You are using the Serpent Bearer’s power of Cycle.”

“My power? What about it?”

“That’s one of the Divine statuses of the Primordial god, who’s the king of gods. It’s a legendary power that disappeared a long time ago and was revived by the Serpent Bearer. Of course, each faction will try to reclaim it.”

“!”

“You were tracked right now for that purpose. Aside from that, the problem is that the Serpent Bearer is a Zodiac.”

“!”

“Once you entered the Divine world, you became incapable of returning to the earth.”

Lee Gun didn’t have to ask her what she meant. He already knew the answer.

‘It’s the same reason why Zodiacs can’t directly visit the earth.’

The gods, who were imbued with the energy of the Divine world, would greatly influence the environment of the earth if they went there. It could destroy the earth.

This was why the Zodiacs descended into the bodies of the Zodiac Saints. It basically meant returning to the earth as a Zodiac would be very difficult.

“I don’t know why such rules were made, but if you try to sneak out of here, you’ll be caught immediately.”

“That is understandable.”

However…

“Let’s say that’s a valid reason for me. Why can’t Taeksoo go?”

Virgo let out a small sigh as she held out a paper. She had been trying to help pay off Lee Gun’s debt, so she took out data on the Serpent Bearer temple. In the process of doing so, she had come across something.

Lee Gun’s eyes turned round when he read the paper.

[Name: Pushover]

[Debt: 1 Billion Talents]

His eyes turned round. “What the hell? I know what I did, but what did he do to amass so much debt?”

Virgo handed over another piece of paper. Hugo reared back in shock when he saw the list. The reasons for his debt were simple.

[Offense: Drunken violence toward a Zodiac]

[Offense: Defamation while being drunk]

[Offense: Blasphemy toward Zodiac while being drunk]

[Offense: Threats while being drunk]

[Offense: Interfering with the work of civil servants while being drunk]

…

[Offense: Insults while being drunk]

[Offense: Cheating while being drunk]

[Offense: Cussing while being drunk]

[Offense: Assault while being drunk]

[Offense: Causing bodily injury while being drunk]

[Offense: Illegal preaching while being drunk]

[Offense: Act of violence while being drunk]

[Offense: Illegal missionary during work]

[Offense: Obscene performance]

[Offense: Flipping the dining table]

[There are a total of 13,945 infractions.]

Lee Gun was dumbfounded. He looked at Hugo. “What the hell is the crime of obscene performance?”

Instead of answering, Virgo pointed at the bottom of the last page.

[Reason: His Zodiac was insulted]

“…???”

Hugo felt aggrieved when he saw Lee Gun’s expression. “They were insulting you. And while I was fighting them, my clothes fell off, you bastard!”

Hugo pressed his hands against his face. Originally, he had planned on keeping a low profile until Lee Gun came looking for him.

‘Who’s the original owner of Pushover?’

‘I don't know. According to Master, he’s a XX and XXX bastard….’

‘What the hell? Gun isn’t XXX! You want to die!’

When the gods had insulted his friend, Hugo had been unable to hold himself back. He had beaten up the gods, which led him to accrue debt. That wasn’t all.

“Those bastards at the auction house kept feeding me alcohol…”

“Ah!”

Just that single sentence encapsulated his understanding of the situation.

‘Did he try to do missionary work against the gods?’

That wasn’t important right now.

‘How much insult and missionary work did he do that it cost 800 million Talents?’

It didn’t matter in the end.

“Does that mean I can go back if my debt is paid and Gun can never go back to the earth?”

Sagittarius shook his head from side to side. “It is possible. If you give money to the Great Spirit, you can go.”

Lee Gun snorted. “Ah! I saw it in the pamphlet. The Zodiacs run a business through their dimensions, and they have to pay tribute to the Great Spirits, right?”

Gods had a variety of ways to make money. They could sell specialty items made within only their dimension. They could run a tourist attraction. Or they could loot the dimension. However, there was one method to quickly make money.

“It says the popular dimensions are broadcast? The investment money and fees charged for transmission all go to the Zodiacs. It says that the number one broadcast gets a favor too.”

“We can do that with the earth! If we use the favor for being number one, we can go back to the earth.”

Sagittarius snorted. “The earth might quickly gain popularity, but it will never reach number one.”

“Why?”

“There are dimensions with popular idols. Are you sure you will be able to leapfrog them?”

Lee Gun became angry. Did he have to dress those under him and do a talent show or something?

Hugo glared at Sagittarius. “So how will we be able to return to the earth?”

“You can get special treatment if you suck up to the Great Spirits. You’ll have to put in work for about 150 years, but you can use it to temporarily travel to…”

“What?! A hundred and fifty years?”

“Why the hell do we have to suck up to them?”

“Moreover, it’s a temporary trip? That’s crazy! You want to die?”

“But there is no other way…!”

Unexpectedly, Virgo laughed. “No. There is a simpler and surer solution to that problem.”

“?”

“You have to go to the goddesses of Fate, and you can change your fate.”

“!”

The goddesses of Fate were beings that could manipulate even the rules of the Divine world. They also held an important position within the Divine world.

“They can change the 'Zodiacs can’t return to the earth' rule, or they can make an exception for only the Serpent Bearer.”

Sagittarius looked at her, aghast. “If it were possible to negotiate with the goddesses of Fate, no one would suck up to the Great Spirits! The Great Spirits will get angry if you try to negotiate with the goddesses.”

“There is no way the serpent god will negotiate with words. He just has to go and take the Rule Book.”

The Rule Book was capable of changing the rules.

Sagittarius flinched, but he soon massaged his forehead. “The goddesses of Fate have hidden the Rule Book. It can’t be found! Moreover, its existence hasn’t even been confirmed, so how can you find—”

Suddenly…

“Ah! I think I saw the Rule Book.”

“!”

Hugo continued, “I’m pretty sure it was used in Hades’s palace when they were searching my body.”

“They searched your body?”

“They said something about checking my Achievements, so they used a book. They called it the Rule Book.”

Virgo immediately understood. “They planned on using it to turn you into their servant.”

“They failed because of my Faith… Anyway, they let a Construct keep the book in its possession. It was the manager of the book.”

“Oh! Who was it?”

If they had a clue to act on, they could steal the Rule Book.

“If things go well, this will be the first time the gods take possession of the Rule Book.”

All gods imagined doing it, but no one had been able to accomplish it. The book possessed that much power.

‘It’s a god entrusted by the goddesses to keep possession of the Rule Book. Nephew can’t even use his skills, so it won’t be easy to take—’

Sagittarius was about to say those words when Hugo said something unexpected, “That is… The one to take the book was a woman named Giselle.”

“Giselle??”

Was he referring to Negligence, who pretended to be Libra?

However, Hugo shook his head from side to side. “It isn’t the one we know… She’s the original human Giselle, who was eaten by Negligence.”

Lee Gun tilted his head in puzzlement as if he was asking who that was.

On the other hand, Sagittarius cheekily laughed. “Ah! It’s that child who liked you, Nephew.”

Lee Gun furrowed his brows. What the hell was he talking about?