Chapter 369 - I will find you

Lee Gun smirked in a frightening manner. He had always thought something was off.

Yeonwoo and Junwoo were the previous Zodiacs of the Serpent Bearer temple, and they had been raised by the thirteenth original owner. The Serpent Bearer temple used to be considered the leading temple among the twelve Zodiac temples.

The siblings weren’t easy marks who could be discovered by the other twelve Zodiacs. However, it would be an entirely different story if the Divine world conspired against them.

Thoth was the god of knowledge, Hermes possessed absolute tracking, Valkyrie could discern souls, and Anubis was an underworld god who could retrieve the soul.

Divine statuses of such caliber had gathered in one place. Of course, they could find what they wanted.

‘It seems they helped the magic-type temples since they are allied forces.’

Odd expressions appeared on the gods’ faces when they saw murderous intent take over Lee Gun’s face. It was beyond having an odd expression; they felt offended.

“What kind of god are you?”

“Why is a low-rank god showing such hostility toward us?”

This was twenty-five years ago. Naturally, none of the gods recognized Lee Gun.

Moreover, Lee Gun smelled very much like a human. If he didn’t reveal his Divine status, they were bound to mistake him for a human. However, they did sense something was off. They looked toward Thoth and Valkyrie.

“Oh, the differentiator of souls.”

Valkyrie immediately furrowed her brows when she inspected Lee Gun. “You’re a god with three Divine statuses.”

The gods flinched.

Three? Normal gods would have no more than one Divine status. The more outstanding gods had two at most. Three was almost unprecedented.

“It might be possible if he’s a low-rank god with low quality—”

“No. He’s a high-rank god.”

“!”

When Valkyrie gave the short answer, the gods became guarded. A high-rank god possessed three Divine statuses. There could be only one reason for this.

“Is he a ne’er-do-well who goes around hunting for Divine Statuses?”

“No. There is a possibility that he’s an incubator god who grows Divine statuses. It could cause a war between factions if...”

However, the young male god named Thoth laughed at Hermes’s words. “He’s a snake god that only knows how to eat. There is no way he’s an incubator god.”

“!’

Anubis’s eyes flashed. The snake god was the natural enemy of Ennead.

Thoth smirked. “He’s not the snake who wants to overtake our master. However, something is off.”

“What is it?”

Thoth was like Mimir. He was a god of knowledge and possessed the ability to see through the wisdom of all creation.

An odd look appeared in his eyes as if he were breaking Lee Gun down with his eyes. He looked between Lee Gun and Junwoo.

“Why is Ouroboros, which should be over there, with you?”

“...!”

Thoth had a meaningful smile on his lips as if he had figured out Lee Gun’s identity. The gods were surprised by the unexpected information.

“Ouroboros...”

As a Primordial being, Ouroboros had ceased to exist in the past. However, the notorious genius magician Aslan had revived the god.

“He’s the god who accompanies Life and Death.”

“What? Do you mean the Cycle?”

They looked at Lee Gun as if he was an oddity.

“Didn’t Aslan give that power to the twin snakes?”

“We found and tracked down that power right now. Did we find the wrong person?”

“Should I check once again?”

At that moment...

“There is no need for you to check.”

In the blink of an eye, Lee Gun appeared before them. Moreover, he emanated the light of a fighting-type god!

[Death Instinct]

The gods were shocked by the light, but Lee Gun didn’t even give them time to process the information.

“!!”

Infused with Divine power, his fist flew toward the gods.

Kwahng!!!

The gods were surprised by the sudden attack. They scattered.

“Fighting-type god?”

“If he’s a fighting-type god, that’s all the more reason we should know who he is!”

However, they could no longer speak. It was because Lee Gun had released Death stage 4.

The gods tried to use their powers. However, Lee Gun kicked them out of the air, and they slammed into the ground.

Kwahng!!!

The one to crash into the ground first was Anubis. The other three followed him soon.

Kwahng!!!

The gods, who looked like young children, groaned.

“Damn it! We are in our incarnate form, so our power is...!”

“We cannot use all of our power!”

Zodiacs had their power restricted to one-tenths if they were in any location other than the Divine world. This was why they eventually looked at Valkyrie.

While they were restricted, it was a different story for Valkyrie. She was the Construct of the Valhalla Construct. She was one of the goddesses who had trained the Great Spirit’s army.

Unlike them, Valkyrie could and had come here in her true form.

“Get him!”

“You can use all of your power!”

Valkyrie looked dissatisfied as she gazed at the Zodiacs. She didn’t want to do anything outside her mission. In the end, however, she summoned her weapon as if she had no choice.

[Master! You can’t let that weapon touch you!]

“!”

Lee Gun’s loyal Construct appeared from his shadow. Miny (Berserk) violently deflected the spear brought down by Valkyrie.

Kwahng!!!

This made Valkyrie furious.

“You belong to our master’s army, yet you dare follow a different god?!”

Valkyrie summoned the Great Spirit’s weapon. A sharp spear was summoned into the sky.

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed.

[Death stage 5]

Koo-goo-goohng!

Death stage 5 instantly ripped apart Valkyrie’s wings.

The summon was canceled, and the violent maelstrom of Death even swallowed up the nearby incarnates.

“Koo-oohk!”

“We can’t withstand this any longer!”

“Let’s sever the connection for now.”

“You want to sever it?”

Thoth let out a wicked laugh. “We know our opponent’s Divine status. Since we know our opponent is a god, capturing him by changing the rules won’t be hard.”

Thoth spoke like an old fox, and they tried to sever the connection to their incarnate forms. They were about to carry out the severing when...

Flash!

“!!”

Lee Gun used his ability.

[Physical Time Pause]

It was one of Time’s abilities!

While their mental status remained normal, the gods’ bodies came to a stop. It surprised them.

Lee Gun ignored their reactions as his red eyes flashed. “Where do you think you guys are going? I have a lot of questions I want to ask.”

Lee Gun’s eyes were more wicked than that of the god of hell. He grabbed Valkyrie by the neck.

“Kuh-huhk...!”

“You guys are tracking down the Zodiacs of the Serpent Bearer temple. Who ordered it?”

Valkyrie grinned as she used her skill.

[Suicide (Great Death)]

This skill allowed the War gods of Valhalla to end their own lives. At the same time, the gods would return to the palace of the Great Spirit.

Valkyrie laughed as if to say that there was no way she would impart any knowledge to Lee Gun, then her body slumped.

Lee Gun contemptuously laughed at the act.

[All Creation Revival (Life Stage 5)]

Kwah-jeek!!

Accompanying the green light, Valkyrie gasped in pain.

“Huh-uh-uhk!”

When she regained consciousness, she shook in fear.

Lee Gun had a menacing expression on his face. He clutched her neck as if he wanted to wring it. “You dare die without my permission? You can’t die freely in front of me. I’ll revive you again and again.”

Overtaken by fear, Valkyrie froze.

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he interrogated her. “If your master ordered it, just say it. Is it ok for me to assume that the Great Spirit of Valhalla ordered it?”

“That is...!”

Thoth had been frozen up to this point, but his eyes turned round when he had a realization.

“Could it be?”

Kwang!!!

Accompanying an explosion, a young man was sent flying toward Lee Gun’s back.

Koohng!

“!”

It was none other than Junwoo. Lee Gun looked at him in surprise. The young man was bloodied and dying. His head had been cracked open, and one of his arms was cut off. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

At the same time, Lee Gun heard the voice of a Construct who had chased down Junwoo.

[I will ask again. Where is the other Serpent Bearer?]

Junwoo said as his voice faded away. “...I told you. There is only one.”

[Nonsense!]

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. Then, a black shadow surged up from his feet.

[Pond (Death stage 3)]

- Capture a wide area.

- Those with evil intent will be trapped within the deep pit of the snake.

Lee Gun tossed Valkyrie into the pond, then headed toward Junwoo.

Thoth had realized something, so a conspicuous light flashed in his eyes. He stopped Lee Gun. “You’re the new Zodiac of the Serpent Bearer temple. If you mess with him, your immediate future will be changed, right?”

Lee Gun didn’t care as he blasted the Construct of the Pisces, who had been tormenting Junwoo. He used Death.

[Soul Dismantle (Death stage 4)]

Kwahng!!!

In a flash, the Construct was ripped apart.

Thoth sympathetically clicked his tongue. “Ah! I warned you! You can no longer rewind your fate— Kuhk!”

Lee Gun grabbed the head of Thoth, who was unable to run away. “Wait a moment, Serpent B—”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Pah-gahk!!!

He ruthlessly ground down Thoth, Anubis, and Hermes using the Divine status of Death, then brushed off his hands.

[You have acquired the data of the gods.]

[Thoth’s Data]

[Valhalla’s Great Spirit’s Data]

[Death has gained EXP.]

[Your Death EXP is full (100%).]

[You need 50% more Life EXP to use Cycle (stage 6).]

[Life (50%) / Death (100%)]

[When both Divine statuses EXP reaches 100%, Cycle may be changed. It will be able to grow.]

In the end, no god remained around him. The only ones left in the alley were Lee Gun and Junwoo, who looked to be around the age of Sungjae.

Junwoo had one of his eyes gouged out, and his vision was damaged. He asked, “Who are you?”

He was asking Lee Gun what kind of god he was.

Despite his younger brother calling out to him, Lee Gun didn’t approach him. He just extended his hand.

[Eliminate (Death stage 1)]

He couldn’t save Junwoo right now. If he did that, something irrevocable would happen. He had to return Junwoo to the state that he remembered.

Therefore, Lee Gun planned on ending Junwoo’s life in the most painless way possible. If he used Eliminate well, he could create a powerful anesthetic effect.

In fact, it seemed Death was taking effect as the pain disappeared from Junwoo’s body.

After confirming this, Lee Gun immediately turned around.

‘If my guess is correct, someone from the Divine world will come to retrieve Junwoo’s soul.’

He had no choice but to confirm this.

At that moment...

“Hyung.”

“!”

When Junwoo called out to him, Lee Gun flinched and came to a stop.

Junwoo wasn’t in a state where he could discern who the man before him was. He could just tell if someone was male or female or human or not through the silhouette. That was all he could discern.

Moreover, there was no way Junwoo would be able to recognize this Lee Gun in the first place. Lee Gun’s height and body size differed from what they had been at this moment in time.

Therefore, Lee Gun surmised that Junwoo was using the general term of hyung to call out to a nameless stranger. Changing his voice, Lee Gun responded, “It’s fine. You'll be able to live. I called for the ambulance. It’ll be here soon—”

“Gun hyung.”

Lee Gun flinched.

Junwoo let out a faint laugh. “...Gun Hyung. I’m glad you’re alive, and you became an amazing Zodiac.”

Miny (Berserk) read Lee Gun’s emotions and glanced at Lee Gun.

[You can’t, Master.]

Lee Gun couldn’t help himself. He approached Junwoo, calling forth the power of Life, which would be able to save Junwoo.

‘!’

However, Junwoo stopped Lee Gun’s hand. Then he said something unexpected, “You don't need to do that. If Hyung became a Zodiac, it means I am alive.”

“...!”

“Of course, Hyung might not recognize me—”

Lee Gun was about to say something when...

Koo-goo-goon!!

“!”

His surroundings started to shake, and his environment started to shift.

Having caught wind of something, Miny (Berserk) quickly yelled,

[Master! Hurry up and use the ability of Time! Looks like the goddesses used the Loop ability!]

It seemed the meeting with Junwoo was a trigger. The goddesses of fate had planned on sending Lee Gun repeatedly to the past.

Lee Gun grabbed Junwoo as he used the ability of Time.

[The ability of Time has failed to activate.]

[This is a fixed past where you cannot move along the timeline.]

The Constructs became flustered.

[Master!]

Finally, Lee Gun was about to get swept up into the Past loop.

[Gun!]

Accompanying a familiar voice, the loop stopped, and a golden rope fell from the sky. Then, Lee Gun saw it.

In the distance, there his past self was, desperately looking for Junwoo. Unlike his present self, that Lee Gun looked mild-mannered and kind. His body was small and skinny.

Lee Gun laughed as he looked at his past self. Then, he grabbed the golden rope.

“I’ll find you soon.” He disappeared as he stroked Junwoo’s head.

* * *

Around that time...

“Gun!!!”

After making the ideal(?) Lee Gun, Hugo shouted toward a book.

Sagittarius grunted as he glanced at Hugo. “How long do I have to do this? My arms are about to fall off!!”

“Stay like that until Gun climbs up, bastard!”

“Damn it!” Sagittarius had put his hands through the book.

This book was none other than the ability of the goddesses of fate. It was the Akashic Records.

[Already recorded Akashic Records (5 star)]

- The fate and past of each god are written in the book of fate.

It seemed Lee Gun had entered the book. Basically, the goddesses of fate hadn’t really sent him to the past. They had just tossed him into a fate recorded in the book.

It was similar to time travel, but different. The difference was that where Lee Gun had gone was an isolated space that couldn’t be influenced by outside forces.

It meant Lee Gun couldn’t return unless he was taken out of the book.

Lee Gun using the ability of Time inside the book was a trap that the goddesses had set for him.

‘It doesn’t matter if he saves Junwoo or kills Time to return to the present. It’s a trap that leads all paths down a loop.’

So, using Time’s power was useless.

Hugo had felt something was off when the goddess had mentioned the loop. That was why he had found out the truth after defeating the remaining goddesses.

‘Gun wasn’t sent to the past. He was sent into the book.’

The book held the record of the past and a connection to it. However, this record of time was preserved for research purposes.

While one could change the past here, this change altered only the memories of the ones that came into contact with the interaction. However, the future didn’t change. The people involved in the change only felt a sense of déjà vu.

Therefore, Hugo had ordered the two goddesses to take out Lee Gun from the book. However, the only one who could take Lee Gun out was Future, who had keeled over from a heart attack.

This left Hugo with no choice but to order Sagittarius to take out Lee Gun. There was only one reason why he did that.

[Lid for the Bald (SS) is heading toward its parent.]

[Lid for the Bald (SS) is happy since it has located its parent.]

Lee Gun had made Sagittarius’s wig, and the wig could freely increase and decrease its length. It was a special item. Moreover, one of Lee Gun’s babies would be able to find Lee Gun no matter where he was.

This was why Sagittarius’s wig had suddenly come off. The god of the sun had to hide his baldness with his clothes as he put his hands into the book.

As if the book was connected to a different world, his hands went through it easily.

This was when Future regained consciousness from her heart attack. When she caught sight of Hugo and Sagittarius, she yelled in shock, “No! If you extract him like that, the fate of the other gods will be affected—!”

Kwahng!!!

“Ahhk!”

Finally, Sagittarius fell backward as Lee Gun exited the book.

Hugo let out a sigh of relief. “Gun!”

Lee Gun had returned to the present. However, the atmosphere around Lee Gun felt different from normal.

“Gun?”

However, this person had to be Lee Gun since he was holding the golden rope. To be precise, he was holding onto the wig as he dusted himself off.

Future flinched at this sight.

As for the man in question, Lee Gun laughed and looked at her with cold eyes.