How could this be?! Aries shuddered when it saw Lee Gun’s smile. Of course, it had an idea about why Lee Gun had bought it.

‘He wants all of my powers and wealth.’

When one became a common slave, the Divine world confiscated one’s everything. In other words, it was like the community seizing the wealth.

However, Lee Gun had done something cheap by passing on the debt to Yang Wei, and Aries knew why.

[And he still wants a slave fee!]

As if passing on the debt wasn’t enough, Lee Gun wanted to rip off more money from them.

Lee Gun snorted when he saw Aries’s expression. “Why are you making that face? I generously stopped you from becoming a common slave. Of course, you should repay the favor to your master, right?”

[What are you saying? In the end, you didn’t take on the debt. It was returned to my Zodiac Saint— Kuh-huhk!]

“Fuck off! At the end of the day, I did stop it. Moreover, I said I’ll help you with the interest.”

Lying under Lee Gun’s feet, Aries was dumbfounded. Paying off the interest, my ass!

[You want 10% of the principal. After paying off the interest, you’ll have money left many times over— Kuhk!]

Lee Gun let out a light-hearted laugh. “If you don’t like 10%, you can give me 50%.”

[?!!]

“Since you guys have to repay 599.7 billion Talents to the Divine world, I thought it would be too much to take an excessive slave fee. That was why I was generous in making the offer of 10%. What? You don’t like it?”

If he really thought it was too much, he should have abstained from taking any slave fee from them! However, the two of them knew Lee Gun’s true intentions.

‘This bastard wants to earn Talents while doing nothing.’

Lee Gun was trying to be like a damned loan shark that made money on the interest on loans. He was like a noble forcing a peasant to work.

“I know you will have a hard time making a lump sum payment, so I’ll let you pay it off as installments over the next few years. That means you’ll have to pay around five billion. Each of you will pay two and a half billion. It’s cheap, right?”

[?!!]

The slaves from the Aries temple were shocked. Basically, Lee Gun would amass five billion Talents for free each month.

Lee Gun laughed as if this had been his plan from the beginning.

‘Gathering Talents is easy.’

One being looked at the scene with disgust.

[Sagittarius says you are too much.]

[Sagittarius sends a rebuke, saying such figures aren’t possible.]

[He says his entire net worth is 33.8 million Talents.]

“That has more to do with you and Taeksoo.”

[Sagittarius reacts in anger.]

[Even the greatest gods can’t gather Talents in the billions in one month!]

[At best, they can gather a couple dozen Talents in a month!]

“Is that so? However, this is the God of wealth. It’ll manage somehow.”

What if it couldn’t?

“If not, they’ll just have to work it off with their bodies.”

Aries couldn’t stand this any longer, so it looked toward the golden light.

[Oh, Divine world! I’d rather be a common slave! That is why...]

[Your ownership was already transferred. Please refer your question to the Serpent Bearer.]

[Shit!]

Aries and Yang Wei quickly tried to run away, but it was useless.

[Kuh-huhk!!]

The golden light emitted light, and something surprising happened.

[This is...!]

A collar that they had never seen before appeared around the necks of Yang Wei and Aries. At a glance, it looked like a choker.

As if it were a cord, the collar was an exact fit around their necks. The two of them screamed when they saw it.

[No! Not this!]

This was the collar placed around the slave gods. As per its owner’s will, the collar could choke their necks. If they tried to take it off, they would feel a pain much worse than death.

That was why some gods purposefully broke the choker to take their own lives.

To circumvent this, a spell was placed on the collar. If the collar got broken, the spell would kill the being that was most precious to the slave.

It was that dirty of an item.

This made Aries furious.

[Bastard! What are you doing? How dare you put a dog collar around the neck of an exalted Zodiac!]

[Please shut up.]

The one to answer was the golden light. It had been the size of a fist until a moment ago, but now it was the size of a face.

Although it didn’t have a face, it did develop frightening eyes. It looked like a monster with large, angry eyes. Then, it unleashed an unimaginable amount of magical energy.

Boom!!

It was a power that could annihilate a temple in its entirety. Even Aries shook from fear.

Soon, the agent of the Divine world spoke in a low voice, as if it was angry.

[You still think of yourself as a Zodiac, but you’re just a lowly slave god. You should know your place.]

[...!!]

Aries gulped. The agents of the Divine world were like government workers that served the Divine world.

In terms of rank, they were much lower than the Zodiacs. However, they were much better in terms of abilities.

This was why the Zodiacs never treated the agents poorly, despite their ranks. These agents were beings that couldn’t be ignored.

The cold eyes of the agent let out a sharp light.

[You lowly bastards are servants of the Serpent Bearer now. If you refuse to know your place and act out in front of the serpent Zodiac, I’ll drag you to Tartarus.]

[...!]

Aries nodded while gnashing its teeth. At the end of the day, it didn’t want to be sent to the world of torture.

When Aries quieted down, the eyes of the golden light closed and disappeared. Then, the being bowed toward Lee Gun as if it had committed a breach of etiquette.

[I apologize! The slave did not know its place, so I placed the collar around it. I took action before the Serpent Bearer. Since it’s one of the twelve Zodiacs, I have used the best collar. If you do not want it, I can immediately get rid of it.]

“Your best one?”

[Yes. It was made by grinding up a prisoner of Tartarus...]

Sagittarius flinched at those words.

[Sagittarius says it isn’t an item that is easily put on the market. He’s covetous of the item.]

[Sagittarius says you should ask the agent to change the collar into a different one.]

[Sagittarius says that one looks lame. He’s willing to provide something better.]

Lee Gun laughed at Sagittarius’s reaction. “I’ll just keep it.”

[Understood. Ah! However, it’s an item that you have to purchase...]

“How much is it?”

[Five billion Talents.]

[Sagittarius has turned silent.]

[Since Sagittarius’s total wealth is 3.8 million Talents, he’ll just act like he didn’t see it.]

[Sagittarius consoles the Serpent Bearer since his entire wealth is 100 Talent. He’s willing to introduce you to a good item from the same line.]

Lee Gun ignored Sagittarius as he pointed at Yang Wei. “I’ll buy it. Put the money on their tab.”

[??!!]

Yang Wei and Aries screamed.

The divine agent’s voice brightened.

[Thank you! If you draw the mark of the Serpent Bearer in the air, you’ll be able to use it immediately. Ah! Do you by chance need any tools for their training?]

“Training tools?”

[They are used to train a slave god. They range from electric whips to a cold torture chamber. We have a variety of them. At a special price, I can sell them for 4 billion and 10 billion Talents...]

“I’ll buy it all. Ah. Put the money on their tab.”

[Thank you! I am proceeding as you requested! Excuse me. Do you need to purchase their feed...]

“Ah. It’s fine. They ate so well that they have both become pigs. I’ll just make them go on a diet.”

[How dare you say that!!]

In the end, the agent of the Divine world noted the address of Lee Gun’s holy ground.

[The items will be delivered in one day. Thank you for using our service!]

“What is your name?”

The golden light flinched at the question.

“What’s wrong?”

[It’s nothing. It’s just an exalted being like you are interested in learning the name of a lowly being like me.]

This was surprising because the other gods never treated it this way.

[Thank you very much! I am called Yuri. If you need something, please look me up.]

“I will.” Of course, Lee Gun had merely asked for its name for convenience. If something happened later, knowing someone would be better.

‘It seems to have powerful abilities.’

Flash!

The agent disappeared, and Aries’s Seat of power appeared in front of Lee Gun. The throne was like a golden chair covered in gems.

Lee Gun smirked when he saw this. “Only two are left.”

He was referring to the Gemini and Pisces. Moreover, he even had Giselle as a captive to remove the monarchs.

‘I’ll imprison their souls in the new Devil’s Tower, and they’ll suffer the same pain as me. Then, I’ll grind up their bodies to make weapons.’

That wasn’t all.

‘There are a total of 15 Seats of power.’

Of course, besides the rest of the Zodiac temples, the Pisces temple and the Gemini temple each had two Seats of power. And when the Serpent Bearer temple was added, the number of thrones totaled 15.

Lee Gun planned on using those Seats of power to create new lines of defense for humanity. He would create an item that’d allow humans to fight against the unknown civilization even without the help of the Zodiacs. Or maybe he’d just consume them all.

‘Before I do that...’

Lee Gun glanced at Aries. “Tell me about the thirteenth.”

Aries shook when it saw Lee Gun’s gaze. As expected, he didn’t plan on overlooking what had happened to the thirteenth.

“Talk. Why did you try to kill it?”

[That is...!]

Aries’s hands shook. If it spoke about that, the secret of the twelve Zodiacs would be revealed. Therefore, Aries tried to sidestep the question, but the act was futile.

Lee Gun laughed as he drew the mar of the Serpent Bearer in the air. The collar around Aries constricted violently.

[Kuh-huhk!]

The Aries yelled in pain.

[The thirteenth tried to resurrect its owner—!! Kuh-huhk!]

“Owner?”

[Kuhk! T-The original owner that occupied the seat of the Serpent Bearer temple...!]

Lee Gun furrowed his brows. The more he heard, the less it made sense. “Why would you kill your fellow Zodiac for that reason? Will something happen if the original owner had gotten revived?”

[That is— Kuh-hoohk!]

“Unless you want your innards squeezed out of you, you should speak quickly.”

[Huh-uh-huhk! The original owner used to be a famous hero within the Divine world... If the original owner of the Serpent Bearer temple had been revived, it would have found out that the twelve Zodiacs usurped... It would have known we were all fakes...]

[Ahhhk!]

At that moment, a bizarre light emanated from Aries’s body. It was none other than a magic ritual, a magic ritual made by Pisces and Gemini.

[You have violated the soul contract of the twelve Zodiacs. You have divulged the secret. You will be executed for breaking the contract.]

As the voice rang out, Aries exploded.

[Kuh-huhk!!]

That wasn’t all. A poison that Lee Gun had never seen before ripped apart the Divine status of Aries.

Lee Gun quickly used his ability.

[You have used Super Regeneration.]

Super Regeneration was having an effect, but Aries’s body kept getting destroyed. It was unclear as to what kind of curse was placed on the Zodiac. If Lee Gun didn’t purify the curse, Aries would die.

‘No, it wouldn’t die because of Super Regeneration.’

Lee Gun called for his Construct.

[You called for me.]

The voice came from his shadow. It was Iaso (Disinfectant), who now occupied the seat of the Aquarius.

“Purify this first. Then neutralize the magic placed on it.”

[I will carry out your order.]

Iaso disappeared into the shadow of Aries.

Although the words had been cut off in the middle, Lee Gun had received enough information.

‘They are usurpers and fake Zodiacs.’

He wasn’t sure of it, but it seemed the twelve Zodiac temples had other owners and their seats were stolen.

‘Is that the reason they couldn’t do anything against that woman?’

Giselle had been a monarch of the unknown civilization, who was sent to the Libra temple as a spy.

In the process of eating the Libra and the Libra Saint, she must have found out this truth.

Lee Gun wondered if she had threatened them.

‘The twelve Zodiacs are high-rank gods, and their names are held in high esteem.’

Giselle might have threatened to reveal the truth. If that was their origin, his prediction might be right.

‘There is a chance that they are all in it. They might have set up the attack on the earth.’

They had used fear to make humanity believe in the twelve Zodiacs. That wasn’t all. What if they were in cahoots with the enemy to grow their power? What if they were using that to reach the pinnacle of the Divine world?

‘It was understandable as to why they did everything to stop that.’

Moreover, Lee Gun now possessed the power of the thirteenth, whom they were so vigilant against. It was understandable why the Zodiacs had gone mad in trying to kill him.

‘Despicable bastards.’

The Zodiacs were probably the ones who had spread the rumors about him. Moreover, they had benefited so much from this that they didn’t want this secret to be revealed. This was why they had sent the curse in addition.

The curse skill within Aries’s body had been secretly activated, probably by the remaining Zodiacs.

‘I’ll get rid of them all soon.’

Well, it didn’t matter right now.

“Lee Gun!! Do you plan on helping us?”

“!”

Kevin’s voice rang in the distance. He had been nowhere to be seen because he was fighting Lee Gun’s cloned Constructs.

The cloned beings had no character as they moved only according to their owner. This was why they had continued to fight.

Was it because Kevin was an affiliate under the Serpent Bearer, or was it because he killed the Constructs?

[Requirement fulfilled. Affiliate disciple Kevin Hazard has developed a level.]

[Level 1]

Well, half of them seemed to have been killed by Hailey.

Soon, the two Zodiac Saints approached Lee Gun.

“Are you ok, Lee Gun?”

“Are you ok? Your magical energy is completely different....”

Both their expressions changed when they got close to Lee Gun. The reason was Lee Gun’s changed appearance.

Unaware of this, Lee Gun tilted his head in puzzlement. “What’s wrong with you guys?”

“I... It’s nothing.”

Brrrrrr!

“!”

Lee Gun received a call. When he saw who it was, a puzzled look came over his face. He wondered why he was being contacted by this person.

“Hey, kid. What’s going on?”

Unexpectedly, the one on the phone was Hahn Jimin.

– Lee Gun-nim! Is there any way we can save him?!

Because of the incredibly loud voice, Lee Gun pulled the phone away from his ear. “What are you talking about?”

– Hugo ahjussi fought desperately, and he was successful in defending your chair!!

“Oh really? I assumed it would have been damaged. That’s good.”

– But!!!

“But?”

– He was sucked into a weird black hole!

“Ah!” Lee Gun realized his mistake.

‘I never told him to be careful of the trap.’

He started to sweat.

– Do you know where it is connected to?

Of course, Lee Gun knew. Since he was trying to get rid of the intruders, he had used the data that he gathered to connect the black hole to a living hell.

– Since Lee Gun-nim installed the trap, are you able to open an exit? Is there any way to bring back Hugo ahjussi?

“...”

– Lee Gun-nim?

“Ah. Of course. There is a way to bring him back.” In truth, he had no way of doing it.

Lee Gun sweated profusely. What should he do?