In a dimension far, far away…

“What? We lost all of our colonies?”

A young man who had been giving orders from a distance furrowed his brows. He was Michael, the supreme commander of Eden.

Micheal was displeased to hear that the colonies were taken from them. He narrowed his eyes. “Who’s the culprit? Is it the snake god?”

The angel giving the report trembled because of the cold voice.

“Yes. We believe the residents were converted, and all the offerings were taken.”

“Should we let the court handle this? We can claim that he committed an illegal act as a Zodiac. He looted us.”

“That is… He didn’t steal from us. The offerings were voluntarily given to the snake god. I do not believe it can be sent to the courts…”

Kwahng!!

The angel couldn’t speak any further. 

The commander kicked him in the head and sent him flying. Micheal then let out a sharp laugh as he roughly pulled back the subordinate’s head. “This isn’t an arcade.”

“!”

“This isn’t the time to tell such jokes.”

Faced with the red eyes of the commander, the angel shook. He was sure he was going to be decapitated soon. A blasphemous act had been committed.

‘Since the offerings haven’t arrived, the Great Spirit won’t be able to wake from his sleep. In fact, he’ll lose his power and cease to exist.’

Eden had a system where it had only one god. The Great Spirit was the only Zodiac that existed in this faction. All the angels voluntarily claimed to be either Zodiac-rank beings or Constructs.

It was also why all the angels of Eden were desperate to awaken the Great Spirit, who had been asleep for a very long time.

“Our Great Spirit became like that because of the presumptuous Creators. Yet Eden suffered another humiliation by the snake god?”

The bloodied angel couldn’t raise his head.

“Imbeciles.”

“…!”

“It’s fine. We’ll send the earth’s offerings to Father (Great Spirit) as a substitute.”

This time, the angel couldn’t raise his head. “That is…”

“What’s wrong now?”

“A god is interfering with our work on the earth.”

“God? Who?”

“According to the report, it’s the goddess of wisdom and war…”

“Athena?” Michael scoffed as if he wanted to kill at that moment. “Olympus shouldn’t be in a spot where they can interfere with us.”

“It isn’t the Athena we know. It’s a new god…”

“Doesn’t that mean the power was given as an inheritance?”

“No. It was transferred. Moreover, it was given to the human girl who is the Zodiac Saint of the snake god— Kuhk!”

The subordinate was being choked. He could no longer speak as he vomited blood.

“Idiots, are you tired of living? Do you want me to give your powers to others as an inheritance? Why the hell do you keep making work for me? Do you guys want to die?”

“That isn’t it— Huhk!”

Michael let out a bright yet violent smile as he choked his subordinate. “Is that all you have to say for your will?”

The subordinate shook. In Eden, the supreme commander was the highest-ranked leader, who was a proxy for the Great Spirit. He carried out the Great Spirit’s function. Moreover, his power almost rivaled that of the eight Great Spirits.

In other words, the angel might really die if he spoke the wrong words. Unfortunately, he still had more to say to the supreme commander. It was the most important part.

“When the snake god invaded, the alarm bell started ringing, the alarm bell that should never be rung.”

“Bell?”

“Yes. It rang last when the Great Spirit fell into a deep sleep…!”

That bell rang whenever Eden’s future was in danger. It had rung only once, when Eden was in danger of being destroyed.

It was a bell that should never be rung, a sound one should never wish to hear.

‘In the past, that monster invaded us and committed a great outrage against the Great Spirit. The sound was heard on that day.’

“If it weren’t for those underhanded Creators, the Great Spirit would have never gone to sleep…”

Creators were technician gods, who worked directly under the Divine world. They had been small in number, and they weren’t beings that fought battles. But they were a precious tribe that could never be replaced. They were the only ones who could fix the Divine world.

‘Only they can awaken our Great Spirit.’

“Since the bell was rung, you have to go there quickly…!”

“It’s fine. I know why it was rung.”

“What? You know why it was rung?”

Michael snorted. “It’s the archer who stands with the snake god. He’s the reason the bell rang.”

“The archer…”

“Why do you think Sagittarius picked him as his Zodiac Saint? Is he that big of an idiot? Is he bored of living? Is he choosing a new way to kill himself?”

The angel, who was vomiting blood, shook again. Only one such person had accompanied Lee Gun. It was Pushover, who had been chosen as a Zodiac Saint by Sagittarius.

“The bell really rang because of him?”

“Damn Mahabharata! Why the hell did they let that monster be reborn? I was against it.” Michael narrowed his eyes as if he detested Hugo.

In the past, Hugo had been a monster that had killed and eaten many gods.

“How dare a shameless sinner like him live again pretending to be a human?” Michael clasped his hands behind his back as he said in a low voice, “Come out, Raphael.”

Like the twelve pillar gods of Olympus, Eden had five archangels. This included Michael.

However, only two of them were left. The rest had been eaten by the monster who stood next to Lee Gun.

‘I’m sure their Divine statuses were hidden by that monster. That’s why we couldn’t find them.’

Well, it didn’t matter.

“Let’s go. I’ll take care of him myself.” Michael disappeared toward the gate of Eden.

* * *

At the colony of Eden…

“Huh….”

The muscular men looked almost mesmerized by the scene in front of them. They saw a destroyed land, with mounds of angel corpses stacked there. Then they saw a large population of residents cheer at the sight of the corpses.

The Leo disciples clicked their tongues.

“Let me get this straight. Lee Gun-nim…”

“You forcefully took their land and the almost two billion residents…”

“The land from 1,845 locations…. He turned it all into the colonies of the Serpent Bearer temple…”

“You want us to help you steal?”

These words angered Lee Gun. “Steal? Hey! The land and tributes were all given to me by my disciples!”

“Yes… In the process, you destroyed all of their civilization.”

The Leo disciples had arrived here after Lee Gun had called for them, and Lee Gun’s new land had left them dumbfounded.

Lee Gun had even summoned Red Eye to destroy all the items belonging to Eden and had stolen all their resources.

The Leo disciples were at a loss for words.

‘As expected of Lee Gun-nim….’

‘He’s great at invading too.’

‘At this rate, you can call him a pirate.’

Lee Gun raised his eyebrows when the Leo disciples looked at him as if he were a thief. He had called for them to colonize this place and to move resources. That was all well and good, but…

“I called for the cat bastard. Why are you guys here? What happened to him?”

The Leo disciples flinched. Lee Gun didn’t seem too interested in the Zodiac Saints, yet the Leo disciples gave an answer.

“S-Stevens-nim went missing.”

“What? He’s missing too?” Lee Gun had planned on killing Stevens because he had harassed Hailey in the past.

The disciples were unable to raise their heads.

“He lost to the new Zodiac Saint.”

“He was barely able to stay alive, but his whereabouts are unknown…”

The Leo disciples looked at Lee Gun with hope in their eyes. It was the main reason they had agreed to come here at Lee Gun’s summon.

“Still, we are glad to see Lee Gun-nim.”

“Me? Why?”

“Why else?! Lee Gun-nim is the strongest person on the earth.”

“If it’s Lee Gun-nim, you will be able to save Stevens-nim!”

“That’s right. We’ll be able to save Stevens-nim if we have Lee Gun-nim!”

Lee Gun snorted. “Have you lost your mind? Why would I rescue him?”

“What?”

“Y-You guys used to be comrades. Currently, he is a subordinate Zodiac Saint…!”

Lee Gun let out a bright smile. “They look more useful in terms of fighting ability. They also seem to have more sense. Above all else, they seem to be my fans.”

“L…Lee Gun-nim!!”

“He lost a fight. Since I planned on filling the empty seats, this might be better for me. It’ll be the changing of the guard.”

“Ahhhk!!!’

The Leo disciples were shocked. They quickly grabbed onto someone.

“Say something to him, Hugo-nim!’

“What?”

“Kevin-nim is also gone!”

“Hugo-nim, weren’t you best friends with Stevens-nim and Kevin-nim?”

Hugo’s actual best friend kicked the Leo disciples. “Moreover, I left them alive for my EXP! You guys should become my EXP too!”

“Ahhk! Hugo-nim!”

The Leo disciples called for help, but Hugo wasn’t listening to them. He looked nauseous as he covered his mouth.

When Kevin was mentioned, Hugo remembered his vision. He felt the sensation of eating someone who looked like a person he knew. Of course, it wasn’t a good feeling. He remembered the being had wings.

At a glance, he looked like a high-rank angel. Did the angel merely look like Kevin? Or were they related by blood?

‘Or are they the same person…?’

That wasn’t all.

‘I thought I saw someone that looked like Jiwoo too.’

Bbah-gahk!

“Kuhk!!”

Lee Gun suddenly hit the back of Hugo’s head since Hugo had been lost in thought.

A strength that could send monsters flying hit Hugo.

Hugo became angry. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Why aren’t you saying anything, asshole?”

“What!!!”

“You should say I’m your best friend! Are you embarrassed about me?”

“???!!”

What the hell???

“I think of you as a brother, yet you can’t even say I‘m your best friend!”

The dumbfounded Hugo vomited blood. Lee Gun’s words and actions didn’t match up!

After beating Hugo half to death, Lee Gun spoke as he brushed off his hands. “It’s fine. I have to find them either way.”

“A…As expected of Lee Gun-nim!”

“You’re going to save the Zodiac Saints….”

“They might be the reason the earth falls in twenty years.”

“What??”

It felt as if their goals differed. However, their puzzlement lasted only a moment.

[You took out an item from the Pond.]

Lee Gun took out an item, which he had stored in his shadow. It was an ark.

[Eden’s Ark (SSS)]

- It manages all the gates to Eden and the related territories.

- Only those chosen by the Great Spirit may use it.

He had found this item when the angels had volunteered(?) their help.

In simple words, this was an overall system that managed the entrances and exits to Eden. Lee Gun would be able to send offerings anywhere he wanted with this. He could also gain control of the gates placed all over Eden and choose the points of entry and exit.

[You can use the attribute of the Designer to analyze and decipher the item’s information.]

[The coordinates of the transportation routes have been changed.]

[You have changed the coordinates.]

[Offerings] Eden Colony ▶ Eden (Before change)

[Offerings] Eden Colony ▶ Earth (After change)

He fixed it so that any accumulated offerings would now head toward the earth.

[All Inbound Travelers] [Eden ▶ Abyss(Monarch)] (After change)

“Oh yeah. Eden also has a gate.” He laid hands on the gate connecting Eden and the earth.

[All Inbound Travelers] [Eden ▶ Earth] (Before change)

[All Inbound Travelers] [Eden ▶ Monarch Populated Area] (After change)

The captured angels turned pale from fright when they saw the change.

‘Wait a moment! The angels of Eden will be sent toward the monarchs….’

They realized what Lee Gun was planning, so they tried to alert their headquarters of this truth.

‘We have to tell our comrades! They must not take the gates!’

At that moment, Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he lifted Heaven’s Punishment high. Blood and feathers flew into the air!

Bbah-gahk! Bbah-gahk!

[You have acquired Data.]

[You have acquired Data.]

[You have acquired Data.]

[You have acquired Data.]

Lee Gun started destroying all the evidence.