“Kuh-huhk…!”

“Help— Kuhk!”

Lee Gun killed all the angels who told him about the ark, silencing them for good. That wasn’t all.

“This will be enough for me to make a new bedroom.”

“Ahhhhk!”

“Stop plucking— Ahhk!!’

Hugo and the Leo disciples turned pale from fright when they witnessed Lee Gun pluck out the angels’ feathers.

Was he trying to make a baby room for Hugo’s third child? Or was he trying to make his own honeymoon (?) room?

After plucking all the feathers from the angels, Lee Gun smiled as if he felt much better. He lifted a large bundle and laughed. “What are you doing? I opened the gate with the ark. Let’s go.”

“A-Are you sure it’ll be ok?”

“Yes. I got enough ingredients with this.”

“I wasn’t referring to that…”

“Ah! I took out the Divine statuses of those who weren’t worth using as ingredients. I delivered them to Abyss.”

“… That isn’t…. Ah. Whatever.”

Hugo felt as if Abyss was being treated as a food waste disposer. However, he didn’t go out of his way to point this out. He had something to do before that.

“Gun. You might be perceived as a threat by the other gods. So you should designate only the largest colonies amongst the 1,845 locations as your colonies…”

“I’m designating all 1,845 locations as Serpent Bearer colonies.”

“Why don’t you listen to others?”

Lee Gun ignored him as green light emanated from the colonies.

[Do you intend to turn all 1,845 locations into Serpent Bearer territory?]

[Will you take in 2,084,783,478 residents?]

[Managing so many residents with so few Constructs might be a tall task.]

“Yes. I already acquired slaves, who will be in charge of the colonies. It doesn’t matter.“

At this point, Hugo was at a loss for words. He merely massaged his forehead. Moreover, it would be easier to go with the flow instead of asking Yeonwoo to stop Lee Gun.

“You already have a tiny number of troops! What if you expand your territory and make enemies of all the gods?!“

“It’ll be great. I’ll be able to make a living room using them.“

“Damn it!!!”

It didn’t matter in the end.

After he had killed all the witnesses, Lee Gun headed toward the gate connected to the earth.

[Eden’s Ark (SSS) is being activated.]

[Eden’s Ark is creating a new place of departure.]

[Eden Colony ▶ Serpent Bearer Holy Ground]

[If you add destinations to the ark, you will be able to travel to a variety of dimensions (148 slots remaining).]

He still hadn’t figured out whether Eden had brainwashed Sungjae or Jaewon, but it didn’t matter.

‘I’ll just beat them up if they get out of line.’

Finally, their surroundings changed. 

Lee Gun smiled when he took in the familiar air and buildings. “Alright. I’m back home.”

“Hey! This is my house??” Hugo glared at Lee Gun.

Whenever Hugo was about to have a good time with his wife, Lee Gun would suddenly appear on top of the bed using the Holy Ground Return skill. He told the couple to not pay attention to him and carry on, then disappeared afterward.

“Who cares? You have no problems having kids now. In fact, weren’t you able to have your third child because of my blessing?”

Hugo was deciding whether to kill Lee Gun or keep him alive when…

Kwahng!!

“!!”

An enormous monster appeared in front of the Lee Gun tower. This one looked a bit different from the other monsters.

At a glance, it looked like an armored lifeform wearing items made out of metal.

Lee Gun furrowed his brows. “Is it the devil-type monster, which appeared the last time?”

Unconcerned, Lee Gun took out Heaven’s Punishment. He tried to blast away the monster.

Koohng!!

“!!”

However, when Lee Gun met eyes with the monster, as if someone had jarred his brain, he faltered.

“…!”

“Gun!”

Lee Gun felt as if the strength was draining away from his body. The monster used this small window of opportunity to attack him.

‘!’

Hailey and Yeonwoo had just exited the gate, and they flinched. This was especially true of Yeonwoo, who realized what was going on.

‘Isn’t that the being made to neutralize Creators…!’

Yeonwoo was quick to realize what was going on. She was about to step forward, but…

Zzuh-uhng!!!

“!”

Enormous ice pillars shot up from the ground and froze the monster. It was Heiji’s area of effect spell.

She approached Lee Gun as if she was worried. “Are you ok, Gun?”

“In terms of reaction time, you were always the best amongst us.” Hugo said as he lowered his bow.

Yeonwoo and Hailey were aggrieved. They were capable of doing the same thing!

Yeonwoo pouted since she used to be a Zodiac in the past. Until now, she had been using the data given to her by Lee Gun. However, she didn’t possess a Divine status. This was why she felt as if she was falling behind.

On the other hand, Lee Gun massaged his forehead as if he couldn’t comprehend this situation. “Why are you helping me? What is your goal?”

“W-What?!”

Heiji looked aggrieved. She was about to say something. However, Yeonwoo cut in to ask a question. It was because although Lee Gun was picking a fight with Heiji, he looked quite close to her.

“Excuse me, Mr. Hugo. Was she close to Gun in the past?”

“What? No… That is…!” The flustered Hugo didn’t know what to say, so he was sweating.

[That woman is terrible. She is aiming for Lee Gun-nim!!]

“!!”

Men with the head of black insects appeared from Hailey’s shadow. They were Cluders, but they were currently Constructs of the Scorpio temple.

[When Lee Gun-nim needed medicine, she was the Zodiac Saint who requested a steamy night with him as recompense!]

[If it weren’t for our Sage Time skill, Lee Gun-nim would have been…!!]

It was a corrupted version of the story, but it was enough for Yeonwoo.

“Steamy night… Steamy night….”

“M…Miss Yeonwoo?” Taken aback, Hugo looked at her. 

On the other hand, Yeonwoo looked at Lee Gun as if she had come to a decision. 

In the end, Lee Gun ordered Heiji to be monitored. He believed Heiji was helping him as part of a plot.

Then he finally entered the first floor of the Lee Gun tower.

“Lee Gun-nim.”

“Welcome.”

“!”

Goat and the Archer disciples should be greeting him, yet unfamiliar faces stood in front of Lee Gun.

The ones surprised by their appearance were the Constructs of the Scorpio temple, who remained in Hailey’s shadow.

[Those bastards are…!]

“We never expected the Serpent Bearer temple to use the same temple as the Archer temple…”

“As Zodiac Saints, we are now in charge of being caretakers of this place.”

“We are Vince and Anna. We will be serving Lee Gun-nim from now on.”

“…?”

A beautiful man and woman stood in front of them.

Lee Gun furrowed his brows.

‘That woman is…’

He had seen her in the Akashic Record when he was viewing Lee Jaewon’s past. “You’re the woman who fought Jaewon for the Archer Saint’s seat.”

“What? Does Lee Gun-nim already know about me?”

Anna was in disbelief. She looked at Lee Gun as if she was enraptured. She was beautiful enough for Sagittarius to acknowledge her; she had fulfilled the beauty requirement needed to enter the Sagittarius temple.

On the other hand, Hugo’s mouth had fallen open. “The seat of the Archer Saint really changed hands? It happened without my permission??”

Anna laughed as she said, “I do not wish to be rude, but we heard Hugo-nim isn’t part of the Sagittarius temple. We heard you are the disciple of the Serpent Bearer temple. Hugo-nim already lost the right to have a say in our affairs. Moreover, I fought Lee Jaewon, whom Lee Gun-nim is carrying. I won the seat of the Zodiac Saint.”

Her words were oddly antagonistic. Hugo furrowed his brows. However, it didn’t take long for their eyes to widen.

“The Sagittarius temple is an affiliate under the Serpent Bearer temple. While waiting for Lee Gun-nim’s return, I increased the number of Archer disciples.”

Their mouths fell open when they saw the number of disciples.

[Archer disciples: 83,748]

“There are over 83 thousand disciples?!”

“If the support disciples are counted, there are a total of a hundred million disciples.”

“…one…one hundred million…”

It was a number that Hugo couldn’t even dream about.

Lee Gun said, “Wow! She’s better than you. They are quite skilled. Maybe, I’ll be better off with them as Zodiac Saints.”

“What? Hey! That’s not true at all…!”

“How many Archer disciples did you have around the world when you were the Zodiac Saint??”

“…Fifty-eight….” Hugo despaired.

Anna looked at Lee Jaewon. “Originally, I planned on exercising my right as the Zodiac Saint to end the life of the old Zodiac Saint. However, I chose to banish him since he is under Lee Gun-nim.”

“!”

“If Lee Jaewon agrees to serve me as the Zodiac Saint, I am willing to take him back.”

“Alright. You take care of the Sagittarius temple. Who are you?” Lee Gun looked at the beautiful man standing next to Anna.

The man took a knee as if he was beholden to Lee Gun. “I am someone who aspires to become the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer. Originally, I wanted to fight Chun Yooha or Chun Sungjae. However, I couldn’t do so. That’s why I came here for Lee Gun-nim’s permission. This is a small token of my sincerity.”

“Oh.” Lee Gun looked at the man who had used his excellent ability to scrape together disciples and donations. The list impressed Lee Gun.

“When it comes to faith toward Lee Gun-nim, we won’t be found lacking. Please allow me the chance to fight for the seat of the Zodiac Saint!”

“Mmm. I don’t mind it, but Sungjae and Jaewon are unconscious right now.” Lee Gun looked at Lee Jaewon and Chun Sungjae. His Constructs had them over their shoulders as if they were sacks of rice.

It seemed Lee Gun had put too much power behind his attack. The two of them weren’t able to wake up easily.

“Then the disciples of the Serpent Bearer can be chosen according to Lee Gun-nim…”

Boo-hahk!!

“!!!”

Lee Jaewon, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes and rushed toward the Zodiac Saints.

The new Archer Saint Anna seemed to enjoy this fact. She let out her magical energy. “You dare get in my way! It is fine. As the Archer Saint, I’ll be generous. I’ll allow a rematch—”

“I’m the one who’ll become the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer temple!!”

“?!”

However, Lee Jaewon didn't charge toward Archer Saint Anna. He unexpectedly rushed toward Vince, the candidate aspiring to become the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer temple! It seemed Lee Jaewon wanted to become the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer temple. 

Anna was dumbfounded when she was ignored. She looked at Lee Jaewon.

Lee Gun and Hugo seemed surprised too.

“J-Jaewon?”

Was it because he was brainwashed by Eden? As if an instinct buried deep within him had resurfaced, Lee Jaewon attacked Vince. “I’m the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer temple!!”

As if responding to Lee Jaewon’s voice, Chun Sungjae raised his head. “How dare you aim for my seat!!”

Chun Sungjae was out for blood as he sent a close-range flame attack toward Lee Jaewon. Originally, Sungjae was a long-range magician and was squishy like a paper doll. However, it seemed he had become a close-range magician now. He quickly attacked Lee Jaewon.

The new Zodiac Saints were dumbfounded to see this fight.

“What the hell are we watching?”

Chun Sungjae’s eyes flashed as he fought Lee Jaewon. “It’s fine. Since things turned out like this, I’ll take out the Archer Saint and convert them into Serpent Bearer disciples!”

“??!!”

Instead of attacking Lee Jaewon, Chun Sungjae attacked the new Archer Saint Anna.

Anna was surprised. “Who is that crazy bastard?”

“Who else? It’s Sungjae.”

“What?! That huge guy is Chun Sungjae?”

Chun Sungjae ignored them as he shouted, “I’ll combine both the Sagittarius temple and the Serpent Bearer temple! I’ll turn them all into ashes! I’ll take out Uncle too!!”

Hugo had no idea what was going on, so he grabbed Lee Gun.

Lee Gun finally realized what had happened. “Ah! Both of them were brainwashed. In turning them into their servants, Eden brainwashed them into losing control.”

“What?!” Hugo was dumbfounded.

Both of them were brainwashed, yet they had attacked the angels and converted the Eden colonies?

Well, it didn’t matter.

Lee Gun looked at the two, who stated that they were the new Zodiac Saints, and furrowed his brows.

‘How are they able to use magical energy? Which Zodiacs are giving them power?’

It wasn’t him. It also wasn’t the twelve Zodiacs. Neither did it feel like the power of Eden.

‘It feels similar to the monarchs.’

This feeling was a problem.

‘It feels similar to Hailey.’

Was it connected to Hailey’s parents?

* * *

Around that time….

Flash!

Michael and Raphael, the leaders of Eden, appeared in a location that looked to be a jungle. They had mobilized to attack Lee Gun.

They rode Eden’s gate, which headed toward their colony.

“How many angels did you bring?”

“About ten thousand, enough to overwhelm the snake god.”

“Yes. However, the energy over here is annoying me. How much of a rampage did the snake god go on…”

At that moment…

“Uh?”

Michael pushed aside a large leaf, and his face became distorted. “Wait a moment.”

The location before him was filled with monsters, including four monarchs. Their eyes flashed coldly.

“This isn’t our land!”

The eyes of the angels and the monarchs locked onto each other.