When the Scorpio Saint saw Lee Gun, she did not move a muscle.

This made the Secretary tense. ‘Yes. I’m sure she’s surprised.’ He had suddenly called her here of all places.

‘She’s facing two Zodiac Saints and an SS-rank.’

Despite this, the Secretary believed in the Scorpio Saint. The Scorpio Saint was strong, and not just strong in terms of power.

Ten years ago, when the Constructs were hunting down the Secretaries, the Zodiacs had deemed the Secretaries, their own disciples, as threats. There was a chance that the Secretaries could betray the Zodiacs, so all the disciples with the ability to transcribe were being killed. In this era, even unborn babies weren’t spared.

This Secretary had also been labeled as a heretic by the Zodiac he served, and he had almost been killed.

“Find them all! Kill them!”

“Shit! Damn you! The Zodiacs were the ones who needed us! They helped us develop our abilities, so why...”

“Shut up! Anyone who can threaten the Zodiacs is an enemy!”

In the end, the Secretary had been mercilessly chased until he collapsed within the forest of the Scorpio Saint.

“If you don’t want to die, eat this.”

The only one who had hidden him at that time was the Scorpio Saint Hailey.

At that point, the Secretary’s faith in Zodiacs and Zodiac Saints had disappeared. However, he had trusted her as a human.

Of course, the pushback was fierce. The familiars of the Scorpio Saint had objected to the act.

“Saint-nim! Do you realize how much bounty there is on the Secretaries?”

“That’s right! We’ll receive unimaginable amounts of money if we hand over a Secretary!”

However...

Poo-hahk!

Hailey had decapitated any underlings who protested against her. “Yes. If you like money that much, you should enjoy it after death.”

She had then hidden the Secretary. If she had been found hiding a Secretary, she would have been in big trouble. Yet she did that.

Anyway, she was a strong person outside as well as inside. Above all else, she was aloof and unshakeable.

In truth, after the Secretary summoned the Scorpio Saint, a smile of relief had appeared on his lips.

‘As expected of Hailey, she’s unflappable.’

Even in front of Lee Gun, she was beyond calm. It was as if time had stopped for her.

‘Even if she’s surrounded by Saint ranks, she’ll soon find her composure!’

As expected of someone he admired! The corner of the Secretary’s mouth rose.

On the other hand, this unexpected appearance surprised Hugo.

‘Hailey.’

The Scorpio Saint was Hugo’s benefactor. Ten years ago, they had chased away the toad that had caught Hugo’s wife and subordinate. However, the Zodiac Saints had only watched. Hailey had been the only one who had saved Hugo. And that wasn’t all.

‘Is that so? If you need it, I’ll lend you my land.’

After that incident, the victims of the incident had been chased out of hospitals under the government’s orders, and Hailey had accepted them into her holy ground.

Therefore, she was Hugo’s benefactor, but at the same time, she was his friend’s enemy.

‘For some reason, she was involved with Gun’s death.’ Did she have an ulterior motive in saving Hugo? ‘In the first place, her temple is dangerous.’

The Scorpio Saint was known as the Thief Saint. However, she was on a different level than a common thief.

‘In terms of fighting ability, she’s on par with the battle-type Saints.’

If one included her ability to make traps and control monsters, she might be above them. In a one-on-one fight, she would be in the highest class.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that no one could ever come back alive out of the Scorpio Saint’s territory.

Of course, everyone had raised their guards.

‘At this point, a fight is inevitable.’

Goat held up his bow. However, he was sweating for an entirely different reason than Hugo was. It was to be expected.

‘I... I was told that she likes Lee Gun-nim...’ Goat glanced at Hugo.

Realizing the meaning behind his subordinate’s gaze, Hugo looked at Goat as if the latter had lost his mind.

Goat had also told this story to his Saint. It was a story that said that the Scorpio Saint had a crush on Lee Gun.

Hugo sent a threatening look toward Goat. “Have you lost your mind? No way that’s true!”

“But! Big brother Jaewon wouldn’t make such a story out of nothing...”

“Jaewon is mistaken! Do you realize how much she hates men?”

That wasn’t all. Back then, Lee Gun’s face had been at the peak of its ugliness. Men reacted accordingly to this, but the women, all of them, would run away from Lee Gun. Even if the women might not act like it in front of him, behind his back, they said they couldn’t date him. Many people made fun of Lee Gun by calling him a monster.

Moreover, the Scorpio Saint was an absolute knockout.

‘She has high standards!’

In truth, she had never looked Lee Gun in the face. She would always run away.

‘She got so offended that she couldn’t even meet his eyes!’

Well, it was understandable. Thankfully, Hugo had met Lee Gun when the latter’s face had been less messed up. If he had met Lee Gun around the time when the Scorpio Saint met Lee Gun for the first time, even Hugo wouldn’t have been able to make eye contact with the man.

While Hugo and Goat were whispering amongst themselves, Lee Gun approached Hailey. “It has been twenty years, right?”

His eyes turned menacing as he looked at her. “I don’t like dragging this out, so let’s get to the point..”

“!”

“I want you to cooperate with me before I make you scream.”

The Secretary scoffed at the murderous intent in Lee Gun’s voice. “What nonsense! There’s no way she would scream in such an unrefined manner...”

“Kyaa!!!”

Huh? For a moment, the Secretary could hardly believe his ears.

Hugo was taken aback. Kyaa?

“Was that a scream from the Scorpio Saint?” Goat was surprised as well.

“There is no way. She’s not someone who would scream.”

“She sounds like she just saw a monster...”

Lee Gun grabbed Hailey’s shoulder with one hand.

“Kyahhhhhk!!!”

“!!!”

Hailey quickly covered her widened mouth.

The eyes of everyone, including the Secretary, turned round.

‘The Scorpio Saint screamed?’

Hailey spun her head as she started to tremble. She had no other choice.

‘Why?’

Why was Lee Gun here? It wasn’t as though she could not process what was going on as she looked at the Secretary.

‘That child summoned me because he crossed a monster he shouldn’t have...’

Hailey suddenly realized something. ‘Lee Gun is the monster he shouldn’t have crossed!!’

Hailey felt like dying. She felt like her heart would burst. When she made sense of what was going on, she resented the Secretary, who had summoned her.

‘Of all the times he could have called for me...!! Why did it have to be in front of Lee Gun?’

Whenever Hailey looked at Lee Gun, the inside of her head turned blank. If Lee Gun was in front of her, she would see only Lee Gun; she would hear only his voice. The circuitry that governed her thoughts would short circuit.

For some reason, Hailey could never hide her true feelings when she saw Lee Gun. This was why she always ran away!

‘He’s so close...!’

Anyway, it didn’t matter.

‘Yes. It’s fine.’

Lee Gun looked completely different from twenty years ago. At the very least, she could reprogram her brain to think of Lee Gun as a different person.

Pretending to be composed, Hailey finally turned her head. “Yes, Lee Gun. I heard you were—”

However, she almost screamed again. It flustered her. Once again dodging his gaze, she spoke. “... alive. I heard you were alive, and I confirmed it through the news.”

She had turned her head so abruptly that it seemed her neck would break.

Was that the reason? Lee Gun menacingly glared at Hailey. He looked to be in a terrible mood. “Hey, I’m talking to you, yet you’re ignoring me like this?”

She wasn’t ignoring him! The flustered Hailey looked at Lee Gun once again. However, she immediately jerked her head back once again.

Then, she inwardly screamed. ‘Oh dear! Oh my! It really is Lee Gun!’

She was sure of it. His angry voice, the tone in which he spoke, the speech pattern, the look in his eyes, and even his smell... It really was him.

‘What should I do? At this rate, my expression...’

At that moment.

Flash!

A black pillar surged up from the magic circle where Hailey was summoned.

“!”

Hugo, the Archer disciples, and Chun Sungjae, all raised their guards.

The black pillar was emanating enormous killing intent. Something with incredible power was within the pillar. Suddenly, a bleak voice exploded forth from the pillar.

[Oh my king! Why did you leave your home to come to this place?]

[Is it an enemy that the king has to personally handle?]

“...!”

Something walked out of the pillar of light. There were four of them, all emitting incredible killing intent.

[Warning! They possess a power similar to the Constructs’ power.]

[Please unleash your holy ground right now. You have to get ready to fight.]

The voice gave a warning.

Hugo gulped when he saw those four creatures.

‘Monsters?’

Two of them looked like large scorpions. The ones that spoke looked humanoid, but their appearances were horrific.

Their skin was entirely black and like a hard exoskeleton. There were scorpion tails on their butt.

Moreover, they had the face of a scorpion-type monster.

Hugo ground his teeth. ‘I’m sure of it. They are monsters.’

These creatures weren’t Constructs. Besides, the Virgo Saint had once seen the Scorpio Saint communicate with monsters.

‘It seems she really is connected to them.’

The monsters ignored the Archer Saint as they glared at Lee Gun. It seemed they had sensed the murderous intent Lee Gun was emanating.

[Who is this man, my king?]

[He’s letting out a very dangerous murderous intent toward you, my king.]

When her subordinates asked her, Hailey turned toward Lee Gun. “That person is...”

Of course, her gaze was still planted toward the sky. Her loyal subjects revealed their teeth as they observed Lee Gun.

[Lee Gun...!]

[As expected, he’s the target.]

Ooh-dohk.

When the monsters violently raised their tails, the disciples also raised their guard.

“Lee Gun-nim!”

[We will kill him!]

As soon as the creature spoke, the two scorpions charged toward Lee Gun.

However...

Poo-hahk!

“!”

One of the scorpion monsters was instantly sliced off.

Hailey’s loyal subjects were confused. The Scorpio Saint held a black whip as sharp as a blade.

[My king?]

“My hand slipped.”

[What?]

“Who told you to get in my way like that?”

Surprised, the Scorpio Saint’s subordinates immediately retreated. Her loyal subject quickly gave the command.

[I’m sorry! Then we’ll...]

The scorpion monsters went around Hailey to head toward Lee Gun. However...

Poo-hahk!

This time, she sliced away her subordinate’s head!

It surprised her loyal subjects.

[...?!!]

[My king?!]

“The sound of his breathing got on my nerves.”

[What?!]

“Who told you to make such sounds as you passed me?”

[Princess?!]

All her loyal subjects were in shock. Chun Sungjae’s and Goat’s mouths had fallen open. Hugo also couldn’t hide his shock.

As for Lee Gun, an odd look entered his eyes while he wondered why the Scorpio Saint was acting this way.

Hugo suddenly had a realization. He had heard that the Scorpio Saint liked Lee Gun. ‘It really is true?!’

* * *

About that time in Asia...

Boom!

The land of blood and iron was blowing steam. It was crying toward the sky.

Boom! Boom!

This place was the territory of the unknown civilization. It was the black zone, which humans could never breach.

Of course, this place used to be a big human city a couple of years ago, but the unknown civilization had swallowed it up. It was now a land of death.

Normally, monsters would be at each other’s throats here. However, an odd sense of tension had permeated this black land today.

Boom boom boom!

It was as if the monsters were waiting for someone. They roared toward the sky.

At that moment, a black light descended from the sky.

Boom!

It was as if this was a phenomenon predicted to happen at this time. A pillar of black light descended on the ground.

Puhng!

The first pillar was the beginning. Soon, black light fell from all quarters.

Puhng puhng puhng!

Someone appeared in the black light. This someone looked like a phantom knight riding a flying horse. Moreover, their existence was a power that had never existed on Earth.

Red zone! Black zone! No, it was a power that made even the black zone rank look laughable. It was a power that exceeded the worst humanity had suffered.

Finally, the monsters of the black zone pointed their heads up high as they roared toward their lord.

Soon, a signal was sent to the sky.

“Ooh-ohhhhhhhhhhh!”

The signal notified the invasion. This invasion would take place in sixty-seven hours, just a bit before Lee Gun’s penalty would end.