Flash!

Light erupted from the doll Yeonwoo had left behind.

This light surprised the mysterious astral bodies that were approaching Lee Gun. Their voices were indistinct, but what they were saying was clear.

[That’s...!]

[That’s the baby snake that followed Master...!]

Since they used to follow the same master, they recognized Yeonwoo. They were about to say something when...

Jee-jeek!

“!”

The ghost-like Constructs started to fade away.

The Virgo Constructs immediately realized what was happening.

[Since the holy ground was revived, they were temporarily summoned. It seems they have been dismissed once again!]

Their words seemed correct. Every one of the indistinct Constructs took a knee in front of Lee Gun.

[We were able to see our exalted master, but it was so brief...!]

[We were given contracts against our will, and we were spread across the other Zodiacs. However, this doesn’t change our loyalty toward the Serpent Bearer!]

[I’m sure the best Constructs among us, who can’t be here, feel the same way...!]

Lee Gun clicked his tongue. “I’m sorry, but I’m not the person you used to know.”

[We already know this. This doesn’t change that you are our master.]

“!”

[Being able to be present in your audience is a miracle. We are satisfied with seeing the Serpent Bearer’s countenance even if we will never see you again...]

Lee Gun let out a good-natured laugh. “Why won’t you be able to see me? I just have to go find you guys.”

Moved by those words, the Constructs trembled. They were holding their tears back as they deeply lowered their heads.

[We will look forward to the day we get to meet you again. Until then, please be healthy...!]

They wanted to see Lee Gun a bit more until the end, but they had something more important to do. They spoke.

[Evil conspirators are aiming for the Serpent Bearer! Please be careful of them!]

[You cannot be like those who are buried in this land...]

[We hope this will be of help to you...!]

At last, the Constructs of the old Serpent Bearer disappeared. Then, a light appeared from Lee Gun’s body.

[The Divine status of the Ruler of Serpents has awakened.]

[The pledge has raised the level of the Divine status.]

[You have leveled up.]

[The servants of the Ruler of Serpents have left behind special items and abilities.]

Lee Gun laughed when he felt something from his body. It was the item that they had left behind.

In contrast to his earlier magnanimous laughter, he started laughing in a wicked manner.

‘At a glance, I can tell that they are powerful. The matter regarding their original owner no longer matters. They will be very useful to me.’

Them being under the delusion that he was their owner was beneficial to him.

On the other hand, Hugo seemed worried by the words those Constructs had left behind. “Those who are buried in this land...?”

As if it was reacting to his words, the ground shook.

[The Serpent Bearer’s old land reacts to its owner’s will. It reveals all the items hidden within the island.]

As if it wanted to show Lee Gun something important, the ground split apart.

Zzuh-uhng!

The enormous wild land split apart. It was light watching the miracle of Moses! The object seen beneath the earth surprised everyone.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“That’s...!”

Lee Gun laughed in interest. “Aren’t those corpses?”

The hole clearly contained tangled monster corpses.

Chun Sungjae jumped in, only to be surprised. “At a glance, they look like monsters...! What is this? I can feel Divine status from them! Was magic used on them?”

“If it’s magic, the one behind this must be either Pisces or Gemini, right?”

“Why would the Zodiacs hide this?”

Why else? Lee Gun contemptuously laughed. “These are probably the original owners that they killed.”

“?!”

“After killing something, the hardest task is getting rid of the corpse. It’ll be troublesome if someone investigates. That’s why the original owners were buried here before this land was handed over to a monarch. This was a spotless way of getting rid of the evidence, a win-win situation”

“...!!”

Hearing that, Kevin called forth Virgo, but she also seemed surprised. She seemed to be unaware of this.

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed. “From the energy left behind here, this is the doings of the Zodiacs of Magic. Another thing that bothers me is that these corpses aren’t whole.”

Lee Gun immediately took out his phone.

“Uncle?”

“I got the right man for an investigation like this.”

That person would be able to investigate the Constructs who had shown up here.

After he had made the call, Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as if the important part would start now. “A Monarch is nearby.”

“What?!”

As if to prove this, the doll Yeonwoo had left behind started flashing.

Hugo’s expression completely changed. “The doll flashing means Miss Yeonwoo is nearby, right?”

“Yes. To be precise, the bastard that’s keeping Yeonwoo is nearby.”

Hailey and the Chun siblings tilted their heads in puzzlement.

“Who is Miss Yeonwoo?”

The answer came from Kevin. “She’s Lee Gun’s lover.”

“?!!”

Hailey’s and the Chun siblings’ expressions were a sight to behold.

“She isn’t my lover.” Lee Gun clarified.

“That’s right. Uncle is single for life!”

Chun Sungjae still couldn’t forget it. After Lee Gun had returned, a large corporation had approached them, saying they wanted to use Lee Gun in a commercial.

“This project makes no sense, Assistant Manager Chang. Who the hell is perpetually single at an age over forty in this day and age?”

“You’re right! I’m sorry! I guess forty was a bit too much. Should I make it around twenty-five years old?”

“Yes. Unless the person has lost their mind, there is no way for them to be single until the age of forty...”

“I’m sorry for still being single over forty.”

“?”

The employees were puzzled since they saw Lee Gun’s youthful appearance. Soon, they screamed and realized their situation. They monitored Lee Gun, trembling.

Of course, Sungjae’s uncle had kept it cool, but the deathly pale employees had groveled for his uncle’s forgiveness. It was a sight to behold.

“W-We have committed a grave sin!! Yes, that’s right! It’s the trend these days to be single until a hundred years old!! Yes! Of course!!!’

“That’s right!!! Who the hell told you to bring such a plan!! Get rid of it right now! Burn it!!! Melt it!!!”

“Yes!!!”

The employees didn’t know what to do with themselves as they shook from fear.

As penance for their sins, Lee Gun received assurance for presents for the next five years. This included the latest consumer electronics, home appliances, and chicken. He also received all kinds of gift sets on top of it.

The eyes of Kevin, Yooha, and Hailey flashed when they heard those words. On the other hand, Hugo didn’t care about that.

He glanced at Lee Gun. “Is Time nearby? It’s the one that went after you at the Devil’s Tower.”

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed. “No. It’s Oblivion.”

“What?!”

“Really?”

Hugo was surprised by Lee Gun’s answer.

Lee Gun furrowed his brow. “I recognize it now that it’s closer. It’s familiar to me.”

“!”

The incident had occurred twenty-four years ago. Lee Gun still couldn’t fully remember what had happened, but a single memory had been left behind.

“On that day, I remember being swallowed by something like a fog.” He wondered if that was Oblivion.

These words shocked Hailey and her Constructs.

[What? Did you just say you were swallowed up by Oblivion?]

[That can’t be...!! There’s no way you’re still alive if it had swallowed you!]

[Even the other Monarchs are afraid of Oblivion!]

Oblivion was an unknown being that didn’t possess many emotions and rational thought. It moved freely throughout the world. If one was swallowed by it, one would be erased from the world.

‘Just brushing it can erase memories and faith...!’

[Also, if it had swallowed you, why can people remember you?]

“Ah. I might have been forgotten. Anyone I had met before my awakening couldn’t remember me. Aside from the items on my person, most of the data about me had disappeared.”

[??!!]

This surprised Hugo and Kevin.

“No wonder nothing came up when I tried looking into your past!”

After Lee Gun had first shown up on the scene, every country in the world had tried to look up his background. They wanted to find anyone related to him to rope him toward their country.

Of course, some Zodiac Saints tried to find Lee Gun’s parents to take them as hostages. However, all of them had failed.

It was why a lot of people were still curious about Lee Gun’s past. Yet, no one remembered him.

“Is it all because you were eaten by Oblivion before? Is that the reason?”

“Maybe?”

Lee Gun nonchalantly replied, but the Chun siblings looked shocked. They looked at him with sadness. How could he be so nonchalant about it? Not being remembered by anyone was a terrible thing.

“That’s why not even your schoolmates came looking for you when your face was revealed....!”

Some swindlers had shown up, but that wasn’t important right now.

‘Since no one can remember Abundance’s face, Oblivion must have swallowed it a while ago.’

Of course, humans and monsters still remembered the existence named Abundance. Digesting a mighty Monarch probably took a lot of time.

“That’s odd. There is no way Oblivion would show itself so readily.” Hailey was worried.

‘Did someone call for it to target Lee Gun?’

Zzuh-uhng!

Hugo became unsteady on his feet as if his head had been hit.

“Taeksoo?”

“Dad!”

Hugo massaged his temple. He knew what this sensation was; he was sure of it.

‘Future prediction.’

It seemed his skill had been transferred to the Serpent Bearer temple. This wasn’t a simple transfer. The skill had evolved to fit the nature of the Serpent Bearer. However, since it was still in development, Hugo couldn’t check what kind of future it was.

[Warning: Serpent Bearer, Juice, Lose something important, Zodiac chance, crunchy, oh yeah!]

Hugo didn’t know what most of these words referred to. However, what else could they mean?

‘Something will happen to Gun.’

Did it have to do with the Zodiacs of Magic?

Lee Gun smirked when he received a notification.

[The Zodiac of Magic has summoned the Monarch of falsehood.]

“I wondered why this was emitting light. It seems one of the Pisces twins called forth Oblivion.”

“What? Are you referring to the Zodiacs of Magic?!”

They wondered how those Zodiacs could call forth a Monarch, but it was a plausible scenario.

‘It might be possible if it is the Zodiacs of Magic.’

“Anyway, I’m going toward those bastards. You guys don’t have to follow me.” Lee Gun placed the newly born baby snake on his head as he turned around.

The Virgo Constructs quickly tried to hold him back.

[Baby snake-nim! It’s too dangerous!]

“!”

[Did you not hear the warning that those Constructs gave earlier...!!]

[That’s right! You might have guessed this already, but the Zodiacs of Magic killed the previous Serpent Bearer!]

[These Zodiacs have a power that can weaken the Serpent Bearer!]

[That’s right. It’s the reason Lee Gun-nim had a hard time getting through Taurus’s defensive wall!]

[If that happens, Lee Gun-nim will suffer the same fate as the previous Serpent Bearer...!]

Lee Gun smirked. “Hey.”

“!”

“Why do you think I went after Taurus?”

“You’re a masochist, so it doesn’t matter. However, your disciples aren’t, so you wanted defensive abilities for them, right?”

Hugo took another beating.

“A-Anyway, you did it because your defensive gears were shredded by a Monarch?”

The Serpent Bearer temple didn’t even have a single defensive skill. It instead had incredible amounts of blessings related to offensive abilities. In terms of defensive blessings, the situation was akin to having nothing on at all.

That wasn’t all.

‘A body part has to survive for Super Regeneration to work.’

And beings like Monarchs and the Zodiacs of Magic could destroy the entire body with one attack.

“You have to block at least one attack, even if your regeneration ability is strong. That’s why you got the defensive abilities...”

“That is one reason. However...” Lee Gun let out a menacing laugh. “You know this. Taurus’s defensive ability also has an innate resistance to magic.”

“!”

Lee Gun always hated the Zodiacs of Magic and their Zodiac Saints. If it were up to him, he would’ve chopped them up with an ax since the various magic spells they possessed were annoying to deal with.

There was a reason the Leo temple’s relationship with the Gemini temple was like oil and water. Leo was a Zodiac similar in type to the Serpent Bearer.

However, those Zodiacs wouldn’t be a problem if Lee Gun had a defensive ability. That wasn’t all.

‘As the level of Life rises, my defense gets stronger.’

That would mean he could block the Monarchs’ attacks.

After hearing those words, the Virgo Constructs looked at Lee Gun with reverence.

[My god! The dream of getting rid of the difficult Zodiacs of Magic isn’t a dream anymore!]

[As expected of Baby snake-nim...!!]

“No. I can’t get rid of them.”

[What?!!]

“Taurus’s abilities haven’t been transferred to the Serpent Bearer yet.”

[!]

As if it were reacting to those words, Lee Gun heard a notification.

[To transfer all of the merged Taurus’s abilities to the Serpent Bearer, you need the Primordial Power.]

[Transfer (Random) needs Talents.]

[Each Transfer needs 10,000,000 Talents.]

[VAT: 1,000,000 additional Talents]

[The total number of Taurus’s abilities that can be transferred is 287.]

Even if he put aside the VAT, Lee Gun needed a total of 2.8 billion Talents.

‘It’s quite expensive for being random.’

Lee Gun glanced at Aries, who had a choker on it.

Aries was frightened when it felt a familiar gaze. It was being picked on again.

[This particular slave has too much debt. It can no longer take on more debt.]

“Tsk!”

Unless the Divine world was stupid, it wouldn’t let Lee Gun continue to slide like this.

“Ten million Talents are needed to transfer just one ability.”

“T-Ten million?!”

The surprised Hugo looked at the rich Kevin.

“I can’t give away Talents for nothing. I need to receive something equivalent...”

“Ah! It’s fine. I have a way of making all those Talents for free. I can get them all at once.”

“What? No way! Even you can’t get 2.8 billion Talents at once...”

Lee Gun glanced at the sky. “Hey, Miny!”

[Yes! Master!]

Aries’s store room housed several hundred Berserk clones.

The Berserk clones got happy as they approached Lee Gun.

[For what reason have you called us...!]

“If you guys are to be sold, which master would you like to be sold to?”

[What?]