“She fell down the stairs. It looked like she was having a fit.”

“Huh.” The Leo Saint burst out laughing. ‘What? She fell by herself?’

It was an absurd statement. The Leo Saint looked at Sophie. ‘What kind of tumble did she take that made her look like a bloodied corpse?’ In the end, his eyebrows rose in a sharp manner.

Hugo became tense. ‘It seems he won’t fall for the absurd lie. I should’ve just tossed her over the roof when I had the chance.’

When the Leo Saint looked at him with suspicion, Hugo was about to get ready to fight.

“Whatever!” Unexpectedly, the Lion Saint snorted. “That woman is not my problem.”

She was the Aquarius Saint. Before they became allies as the Zodiac Saints, the two of them had a bad relationship. They used to steal each other’s Divine Status and EXP. Moreover, the Aquarius Saint had a lot of disciples, so she was a thorn to his eyes. Her god also had a far-reaching power. If the Aquarius suffered, it would be a boon to the other gods.

This was why the Leo Saint didn’t care. In fact, someone here was more important than Sophie. The Archer Saint, Hugo, had never made an appearance in the past even when the Leo Saint had asked for his presence. So why was he here of all places? ‘I threw all kinds of carrots at him to tempt him to betray Lee Gun, yet he completely ignored all my advances.’

On the other hand, Hugo’s presence was understandable. The Leo Saint spoke, “It seems you came here alone to acquire Lee Gun’s holy item. That’s mine! A beggar Saint like you has no shot at acquiring it.”

Hugo was surprised, but he said, “I see nothing has changed. You’re still obsessed with Gun’s items. But remember: you will never be Lee Gun!”

“What?”

“Anyway, you won’t be able to take possession of that item today,” Hugo continued.

“What did you just say?” It seemed the Leo Saint was oblivious to the fact that the owner of the item was present in the auction.

That was why Hugo had said that it would be impossible. He had mocked the Leo Saint, touching a very sore point.

“You’re an archer with a broken bow.”

‘Why is Hugo being so confident today?’ The Leo Saint’s eyes flashed as golden magical energy flowed out of him.

[Food Chain] A chain made out of golden light appeared and floated into the air as if it were looking for prey.

In response, red energy erupted from Hugo’s body.

Boom!

[Bloody Makeup] A flame tattoo appeared on Hugo’s face.

Both of these men were battle-type Saints. Their power was rough. Their incredible magical energies were about to clash when it happened.

[Yes! One hundred million dollars! A hundred million dollar bid for Lee Gun’s holy item!]

“!”

[Moreover, this is the fourth straight item they have bid on! The Gemini temple is flexing its incredible power. They are buying every item that has appeared so far in the middle of the auction!]

The coverage of the auction was being announced.

The surprised Leo Saint turned his head. His magical energy fizzled out. It was to be expected. He had instructed his underlings to purchase any item related to Lee Gun. Moreover, the Gemini temple was doing this! ‘There is no way the Gemini temple would covet those items. No, I don’t have time to think about such things.’

“What the hell are they doing?” Killing intent swirled around the Leo Saint as he quickly turned around.

On the other hand, Hugo’s face scrunched up when the Gemini temple was mentioned. The Gemini Saint was a very calculating person. The Leo Saint was also his client, so there was no way the Gemini Saint would cross the Leo Saint. It also couldn’t be Lee Gun since he didn’t have 100 million dollars.

‘It can’t be...’ Hugo’s prediction turned out to be correct.

* * *

“A-are you sure he can do this?”

At that moment, Chun Sungjae and his guard couldn’t close their mouths. Their reactions were understandable. Numerous bottles of alcohol lay in front of them. Dom Perignon, Armand Brignac, Krug...

“How much is that... Isn’t the general going way overboard?”

Lee Gun didn’t care if they were shocked or not. He nonchalantly opened another expensive bottle of alcohol. The person sitting on the other side of Lee Gun was the general of the Gemini temple, the number one ranked temple in Korea.

Currently, the group was above 16,000 ft in the air. They were in a floating castle called . Drachma was an enormous castle that roamed around the world to escape the power of the mysterious civilization.

Lee Gun was in an enormous room inside the castle. He sat in the royal seat. The reason for this was simple.

‘I was invited by the Korean general of the Gemini temple.’ Lee Gun shamelessly laughed. That was right. He was taking advantage of the goodwill shown by the Gemini temple. In truth, he had been able to enter the VIP lounge thanks to the man in front of him.

And that had allowed him to catch Sophie. ‘I wonder how he’ll react if he finds out that I’m responsible for Sophie’s current state.’

Lee Gun had earlier received an invitation to the auction sent by the general of the Gemini temple. ‘It’s a welcome development since I don’t have money.’

This was how he was getting the most out of this situation. Lee Gun grinned. On the other hand, Chun Sungjae and his guard were taken aback.

‘The general has never acted this generously before.’ It wasn’t just alcohol. ‘The general had offered to purchase any item that he wanted.’

The general hadn’t acted this way even when he had recruited the S-rank Min Sunghoon.

The guard felt troubled as he approached Lee Gun. Even though the general had said it was ok, the guard wondered if it was really ok to purchase all the items Lee Gun wanted. He said, “You chose to bid for all the items...”

“Why shouldn’t I? He never said to choose one.”

It was true. The general had not specified this. However, from a common-sense point of view, the guard had never expected this man to bid on all the items.

‘A junk item in this auction is worth millions!’

Moreover, the guard wouldn’t have said anything if the items being bid were holy items. Holy items would be useful in raids and other tasks. However... “Why did you buy Rockstar Huin’s ballpoint pen?”

“What do you mean why? I’m a fan.”

“What about that weird-looking sculpture of a woman?”

“It looked unique!” Lee Gun explained.

“What about that unnecessarily gaudy cup!”

“I want to use it when I brush my teeth.”

“What about this back scratcher!” The guard was getting frustrated.

“Are you an idiot? Of course, I bought it to scratch my back”

“#&*#$*!” The guard grabbed the back of his neck. ‘He spent millions of dollars just for those reasons...’ The guard wondered if this man was sane or not.

It happened at that moment.

“Haha. It’s fine. It’s fine.” The man in front of them laughed. This man looked to be in his mid-thirties and had the features of an elite. He was none other than the general of the Gemini temple, Choi Sunghyuk. “It’s fine. We receive support from the Gemini Saint when we incur a large expenditure. If you want to drink more alcohol, you can order more to your heart’s content.”

Of course, the cost of alcohol wasn’t a big deal. An expenditure of that magnitude was nothing for a general. Above all else...

– Hey, Sungjae.

The general of the Gemini temple laughed as he called out to Chun Sungjae.

Silence!

No sound came out as he had used a telepathy spell. Chun Sungjae had a bad feeling as he looked at his general. The general just smiled at him and telepathically said,

– I’m sorry, but I forgot to bring my company card. I want you to make the payment for me as a short-term loan.

“...” Chun Sungjae was baffled.

A calculating look appeared on the general’s face as he smiled. He had planned on doing this from the start. The general never planned to borrow the power of the Gemini Saint. He wanted to tie himself to Chun Sungjae with a debt. Chun Sungjae was a talent, and keeping him tied to the temple no matter what method he used was paramount.

– I’ll settle the loan at a later time. Do me this favor?

Chun Sungjae furrowed his brows as he glanced at his superior. ‘He has already borrowed a lot of money from me in this way.’ Despite that, he couldn’t refuse an order from a superior. Chun Sungjae had no choice. He took the receipt and headed toward the employee.

However...

“Uh? The payment has already been settled.” The employee smiled as he returned a black card, shocking Chun Sungjae.

This card belonged to none other than the general. The most surprised one was the general. His eyes turned round as he searched his pockets. ‘Why is that there?’

At that moment, the sound of a glass cup being placed on the table rang out.

“Why are you so surprised? I took the card out beforehand.”

The shocked general looked at Lee Gun.

Lee Gun had a nasty smile on his face. “I can’t have the host be too drunk to settle the bill, right?”

“...!”

“Also, I know your subordinate will be put in a tough spot if he has to settle the bill.”

‘This bastard...’

Lee Gun didn’t pay attention to the other man as he patted Chun Sungjae’s back. It seemed Chun Sungjae realized the meaning behind the gesture. His eyes turned round. At that moment, Lee Gun looked cool to him.

However, something happened at that moment.

[The Serpent Bearer’s ability has become stronger.]

[The requirement for the special skill has been satisfied.]

Lee Gun was surprised.

On the other side, the general uproariously laughed. “I’m not the type of person to place my subordinate in such a position.”

‘This young bastard is oddly getting on my nerves.’ However, that wasn’t important right now. ‘He’s a talent who can erase that detestable Lee Gun for good.’

Power and authority of a god! Basically, fame and honor could increase the power of a god. If this man joined their temple, the Gemini’s power would rise. The man’s impudent attitude could be fixed once he entered the temple.

The general of the Gemini temple pushed up his glasses. “Would you like to worship the Gemini? You’ll be one of the direct disciples.”

Chun Sungjae and his guard were surprised. It had nothing to do with the general’s words. It had to do with Lee Gun’s reaction. As soon as the general stopped speaking, Lee Gun started laughing his head off.

“H-hyung?”

“...!”

Lee Gun suddenly cut off his laughter. “Are you suggesting that I become a minion of your Saint?”

“Why not serve under him? He’s a wise and beautiful person.”

Lee Gun started laughing again. ‘He has balls.’

It had looked to him as if the Gemini temple was flush with cash, so he had kept his mouth shut. He had done it to skim some money off the top. However, he could no longer do so. ‘He wants me to play second fiddle to whom?’

Of course, it wasn’t a bad idea. He could pretend to get scouted and meet various Saints, who remained hidden in their holy grounds. It was a chance to beat them in person.

The general laughed as he tried to flatter Lee Gun. “You’re very talented. You don’t need to mimic Lee Gun like that. I’ll guarantee it. You will be able to receive the blessing of our God.”

The general thought he had just given the highest compliment.

However, Lee Gun reacted oddly. “Is that all you have to say to me?” He raised the alcohol bottle. His movement was oddly combative, and he even broke the bottle.

The general was a bit taken aback. ‘Why is he reacting like this? Did I make some mistake?’ There was no way he had made a mistake.

The standard attributes given to the disciples of Gemini were Sensing and Observing. At his rank, the general could tell his opponent’s disposition with just a glance. This man was truly different from Sungjae. He wasn’t a Lee Gun fan. In fact, it seemed like he didn’t like Lee Gun.

‘I have no choice.’ The general thought.

[Caution! The two-faced Gemini has activated his skill.]

[It is a magic skill!]

Choi Sunghyuk used his skill. Of course, it wasn’t a skill used to harm his opponent. ‘It’s a Persuasion spell.’ This spell didn’t control his opponents, but increased their trustworthiness toward him instead.

Lee Gun seemed very amused as he laughed. ‘It’s as Takesoo said. The general class is strong.’

In front of a general directly under a god, even Hugo had to be on his toes. The general class was very dangerous. Even Lee Gun couldn’t be careless. However...

Crash!

The alcohol bottle next to Lee Gun broke.

The general was taken aback when he felt an overwhelming presence.

Boom!

He instantly felt a wave of ominous energy and a deep chill in his bones. It felt as if a snake was going to swallow him whole.

Choi Sunghyuk was under the magician Saint, who was most sensitive to magic. That was why he sensed that feeling much more clearer. However, it lasted only for a moment as the frightening energy disappeared soon. He tilted his head in confusion. ‘Was I mistaken?’

Shooohk!

Choi Sunghyuhk’s magical energy vanished, and the magic spell he had been activating unraveled. Surprised, he looked at his surroundings. ‘Why did my magic energy suddenly disappear?’

Lee Gun cackled and drank the vodka as if it were water.

[You have absorbed magic energy.]

Lee Gun’s gaze headed toward the general’s wallet. When stealing that card, he had left something behind in the wallet.

B rank replica

– Periodically absorbs 10% of the magical energy of anyone who makes contact with the item (B rank)

– The magical energy of the person who touches the item will flow into another. The name of the subject (Lee Gun) has to be written on the item.

It was a replica he had created using the Sheep Saint’s Imperial holy item called . He had given its original to Hugo and tried to mass-produce it. The one that he was using right now was a prototype.

‘This is a good opportunity.’

The magical energy of a general rank User would make a great magic charging station. The general expended magical energy just from moving, so he was the greatest repository for magical energy. In the end, General Choi couldn’t figure out what had happened.

“Congratulations!” Suddenly, an employee of the auction team approached Lee Gun. He was here to deliver the item that Lee Gun had won in the auction.

“This is the last item you won with a successful bid.”

When the employee handed Lee Gun a black wooden box, the general’s face instantly hardened.

“This certificate guarantees this is Lee Gun’s item.”

The general was shocked by the employee’s words. He looked at Lee Gun. “Wait a moment! You made a bid for Lee Gun’s holy item?”

“What? Didn’t you hear us make the winning bid?” Lee Gun laughed as he opened the expensive box. The item mentioned by the appraiser hadn’t come up yet, but this was also an important item.

[Pendant]

The sight of the item surprised the general of the Gemini temple. This was beyond being a money problem. He didn’t care about the alcohol and the other items. However, Lee Gun’s items were a different story. This was an item that the Leo Saint from the US had planned on purchasing. It would be a huge headache if they messed around with the Leo Saint.

“You cannot take that. It’s an item we have to hand over to the Leo Saint.”

‘Leo Saint?’ “Why— ” Lee Gun was about to ask why they had to hand over the item.

“Hey, Gemini bums.”

Lee Gun blinked when he heard a familiar voice. The general became surprised as well. Chun Sungjae and his guard turned their heads around at the same time, and their mouths fell open.

“Leo Saint...”

“Do you know whose item you are messing around with?” The Golden Lion was already in the room, and he looked angry.