Chapter 429 - Karmic Debt (3)

The Great Spirits glared at him, as if he was irritating.

[Did you call in the monarchs?]

Mahabharata’s Lord of Cycle spoke first.

The Great Spirits seemed to be under the impression that Lee Gun had called in the monarchs to attack them.

Lee Gun scoffed. “What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I call them here? Have you lost your minds?”

Why the hell would he ruthlessly cut down the monarchs if he had called them here?

[If not, why would they leave the humans alone? There is no way they would only attack us.]

Olympus’s Great Spirit, who was close to death, objected. After his Divine item of In had been destroyed, his Divine status had been mauled by the monarchs. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

Lee Gun didn’t seem to be connected to the monarchs’ moves. This made the Great Spirits furrow their brows.

[So Wind indeed sent them here.]

[This is the land where Time died. There is no way they’ll help out the snake god.]

Wind was one of the monarchs who had put a lot of effort into raising Time. Moreover, Time had killed his parent, the second-generation monarch Space-Time. Yet, Wind had been ecstatic about that.

Earth was the land belonging to the person who had killed Time. There was no way Wind would order the monsters to leave humans alone.

When Lee Gun gave a definite answer, the Great Spirits started laughing for some reason.

[It’s great that you didn’t join hands with the monarchs.]

“!”

If Lee Gun hadn’t joined hands with the monarchs, they would encounter no further complications in trying to get rid of Lee Gun. However...

“Who cares about that?”

[!]

Humanity had been brainwashed using the power of a Divine item. Therefore, the humans were enraged at the Great Spirits.

The six billion humans as well as the disciples, who had been brainwashed, ground their teeth.

“We caused harm to Lee Gun-nim...”

After regaining their memories, the humans had developed a deep-seated anger toward the Great Spirits.

“How dare you try to take the accomplishments of another in such an underhanded manner? Is that something gods should do?”

The Zodiac Saints lowered their heads as if those words had hit a sore spot.

The whole world was expressing their anger toward the Great Spirits, yet they seemed unfazed.

[It doesn’t matter if we can’t brainwash you, slow-witted colony residents.]

[We tried to rule over you humanely, yet you spurned our goodwill. You have made a mistake.]

[Humans are like farm animals. We shouldn’t even bother trying to guide them.]

“What?”

When the disciples became incensed...

Boom!!

“...kuh-huhk!!”

The energy of the Great Spirits, whom they had thought were injured, changed. An intense killing intent that only gods could withstand pressured down toward the Constructs and the disciples.

[Respect? Mercy? Those shouldn’t be given to livestock.]

[All beings are equal in front of fear.]

It was as if they had revealed their true selves. Humanity and the gods shook when the Great Spirits emitted an overwhelming power.

The gods and the disciples couldn't understand something.

‘Why are they so confident when Lee Gun-nim is here?’

‘The brainwashing was negated, so all the Fath returned to Lee Gun-nim.’

Moreover, they had suffered greatly at the monarchs’ hands.

‘Are they underestimating Lee Gun-nim?’

‘No, that doesn’t seem to be the case.’

In their current situation and given the amount of force they possessed, the Great Spirits shouldn’t be acting in such an overbearing manner.

The Chun siblings and the Constructs of the Serpent Bearer temple were sweating since they were connected to Lee Gun.

‘Those bastards know Uncle’s status.’

Yes, although Lee Gun looked normal, he wasn’t fine inside.

[Karmic debt is eating away at the Serpent Bearer’s body.]

[His life is in danger.]

[His Divine power is being continuously eaten away.]

[His fever is severe.]

[His body and organs are wasting away.]

Thankfully, the Faith had returned to him, but the Karmic debt that the Great Spirits had transferred to him remained undiminished.

Lee Gun’s frighteningly strong mental state and power might have reversed his change into a monster, but his body was continuing to deteriorate.

‘Uncle is sick right now.’

Lee Gun was acting fine in front of them, but his breathing was breathing oddly fast.

‘Just stopping himself from becoming an evil god should be causing him enormous pain.’

The power of Cycle could be used only if Death and Life were combined. Even thinking that Lee Gun would be able to use it was unimaginable.

Balance was important to Cycle. Any slight imbalance could cause the power to go berserk and blow up the earth.

The Great Spirits seemed to be aware of this.

[You are probably in so much pain that you want to die.]

[The fact that you can maintain this state using only your mind is amazing.]

Lee Gun wanted to shut them up, so he summoned Fetters of the Underworld. The weapon let out black flames and transformed into a sword.

The Great Spirits smirked when they saw blood flowing from Lee Gun’s mouth.

[Don’t try so hard.]

[How long do you think you can hold out against the pain and your deteriorating body?]

[Just give up. It’ll be easier to go through the process of inheritance. Ah! I forgot you can’t do it.]

Lee Gun couldn’t stop his destruction unless he resolved the Karmic debt that had been transferred to him.

The gods and the disciples were surprised.

‘How the hell did they transfer the Karmic debt to him?’

“Is it the Rule Book?”

“Did they put in a rule that says the Karmic debt of the Great Spirits will be transferred to someone else?”

Someone answered Lee Jaewon’s question.

[That can’t happen. Such a rule doesn’t exist within the Rule Book, so it can’t be modified.]

[Only the Primordial god can add a new rule.]

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The one to answer him was one of the goddesses of fate who had taken on Lee Gun’s appearance.

If they wanted to stop the Great Spirits from changing the rules of the universe, the Rule Book had to be destroyed, but...

[They must have something else.]

[It allowed them to transfer their Karmic debt.]

If they could discover this method, they could transfer the Karmic debt from their uncle to the Great Spirits.

At that moment, Mimir, who had been observing the Great Spirits, suddenly gave a solution.

[Divine item....]

“What?”

[They have an “item” that transfers the Karmic debt.]

“Item?”

[Yes. It seemed to be a type of Divine item containing an ability... The Great Spirits might be using this item right now. However, I don’t know what that item is.]

“If we bring it back, we can reverse the Karmic debt!”

“!”

Valhalla’s Great Spirit raised his eyebrows as if the conversation between Mimir and Chun Sungjae bothered him.

[It seems you refuse to be helpful until the end, Mimir.]

Valhalla’s Great Spirit immediately transformed into a giant and attacked them.

Flash!!

When he saw the enormous power of Valhalla’s Great Spirit, Kunlun’s Great Spirit’s eyes flashed. He used his ability.

The other Great Spirits used their power at once in contempt. Lee Gun’s eyes flashed, and he also used the power of Cycle.

Finally, the incredible power of the Great Spirits clashed against each other.

Koo-goo-goong!!!

Aslan, Virgo, Sagittarius, and the other high-rank Zodiacs quickly raised their defensive barrier.

The clash of the Great Spirits’ powers was strong enough to destroy the earth.

[Koo-oohk! As expected of power being used by five Great Spirits...!]

[Kuh-huhk!!]

They kept trying to minimize the damage, but the mere backlash was enough to destroy a country.

Aslan immediately used “Ability Creation” to create a barrier, which weakened the destructive power.

Koo-goo-goong!

Thankfully, the destructive power was dampened, but Aslan looked at Lee Gun with worry in his eyes.

‘It won’t last long.’

Lee Gun would be at a disadvantage the longer they fought on the earth.

It was surprising that Lee Gun was able to move this much in so much pain. However, he would encounter a limit if he fought while protecting humanity and this land.

‘He’ll be able to suppress the pain for several hours at most.’

The Great Spirits had indeed been weakened because of the monarchs’ attacks, but they stood at the zenith of the gods for a reason.

For Lee Gun to win, acquiring the Rule Book was a must. The Karmic debt had to be transferred back.

Thankfully, the Great Spirits wouldn’t be able to use their full power for a short time because of the monarchs!

Mimir seemed to have a similar idea. He asked,

[Regarding the item capable of transferring Karmic debt, an item of that magnitude was probably created by a Creator. Did you make it, Old Master?]

Aslan furrowed his brows. “Even I can’t create a skill that can transfer Karmic debt. As soon as I try to create a skill for that purpose, Karmic debt would crush me.”

[That means...]

“It was an item made by someone that already possessed that ability.”

The Constructs looked taken aback.

[An ability capable of transferring Karmic debt? If someone like that had appeared in the Divine world, it would have caused a commotion!]

“Or maybe it isn’t specific to Karmic debt. It might be an ability that can move certain types of matter or power.”

Chun Sungjae gave an answer befitting a teleporter.

Sagittarius scoffed.

[Move? Such a Creation ability doesn’t exist.]

“Or maybe it can create a tunnel...”

[I’ve never heard about that either...]

Suddenly, a peculiar expression appeared on Mimir’s face when he heard Sagittarius’s words. Mimir possessed the ability to see through all the knowledge of the world, and he seemed to have realized something.

Aslan, who had been listening to them, spoke up. “I think this is related to me and Hyung-nim”

[...what? Me?]

“I was too young, so I don’t remember it too well. However, you were decent at using your Creator ability. I remember liking that ability a lot.”

Sagittarius looked at Aslan, dumbfounded.

[Hmmph. It might be possible for you because you’re a genius. However, I didn’t have any abilities as a Creator. That is why I couldn’t join the Creators...]

Suddenly...

- Galan. You are a disgrace to the Creators. You must never use that ability.

As if the image of a ghost had flashed by, Sagittarius flinched.

[Just now... What was that?]

The Great Spirits also flinched for some reason when they saw this.

Lee Gun’s eyes flashed as he kept the Great Spirits occupied. “Sungjae! Use the third skill on that bastard!”

“What? Third? Are you sure? You want me to use it on an ally? Uh... Damn it! Whatever!”

Chun Sungjae activated his skill and immediately charged toward Sagittarius.

[Pain Revival]

[Wait...!]

The lightning bolt looked painful. The frightened Sagittarius tried to dodge, but Chun Yooha grabbed hold of him.

Pain Revival was one of the skills belonging to Life.

When it landed on Sagittarius's head, the god of the sun screamed as he vomited blood. At the same time, he saw an odd memory. The timeline was unclear, but a blonde Creator was looking at him with disgust in his eyes.

- I am Galan, and I am the eldest son. Why am I not being accepted as a Creator?

- You cannot be acknowledged as a Creator with an ability like that. Leave.

- But...!

- You must never use the Steal ability ever again.

Sagittarius clutched his forehead in pain. He was sure of it. They were coming back in bits and pieces, but he was recovering all of his memories of Galan.

Valhalla’s Great Spirit had also realized this. He looked very displeased.

[That useless...!]

Babylon’s Great Spirit, who had been held in place by Kunlun’s Great Spirit and Lee Gun, suddenly flew toward Sagittarius.

Kwahng!!

Everyone screamed at the sudden move. The Great Spirit tried to kill everyone, including the robust young man and Sagittarius.

Flash!

The gods were taken aback by his movement and attack.

Lee Gun chased after Babylon’s Great Spirit, but the Great Spirit’s target was Sagittarius. He risked being stabbed in the back by Lee Gun, yet he continued forward. It meant this task was more urgent.

It looked as if he was trying to stop Sagittarius from regaining his memories.

Lee Gun burst out laughing. “There is something to this.”

[!]

“There was a reason you were in a rush to execute that baldy”

He had always considered it odd. The Great Spirits could have used Sagittarius—he was quite useful—yet they tried to execute him using some nonsensical reason.

Babylon’s Great Spirit snorted.

[You are a snake god on death’s door.]

Babylon’s Great Spirit was about to attack Lee Gun when...

[Ahhk...!]

Sagittarius clutched his head in pain. He felt as if his head would crack open.

As pain racked his brain, memories started to rush through. They were the memories of the time when he was a Creator.

- Why does Father not want you to use your ability, Hyung-nim?

- My ability is to steal. Creators create from nothing. I cannot create. I can only steal from others. Even if I try to make something, I merely move what belongs to someone else to me. Creators create to save and protect life. This might be a shameful ability to the Creator tribe.

- I don’t know. I think Hyung-nim’s ability is great...

-Creator Galan. I heard you have an awesome ability.

- Oh Great Spirits. I don’t have any abilities.

Sagittarius ground his teeth when he remembered a particular memory.

[...I made sure I disposed of all the items I made....!]

When they heard Sagittarius’s mumbling, the Great Spirits became desperate.

[That bastard....]

While his mumbled words were a problem, the bigger problem was that Sagittarius had started to emanate the power of a Creator.

‘We are dead if he regains his memories.’

Babylon’s Great Spirit changed his course and now headed straight toward Sagittarius. Then he used an ability that made approaching them impossible. Sending the gods and humans flying, he shouted,

[Vish!]

Mahabharata’s Great Spirit used his ability when he heard the shout.

[Mahabharata’s Great Spirit has used the power of Maintain.]

[Chun Sungjae’s power has been stopped.]

[All phenomena have been stopped.]

[The memories have stopped returning.]

This power stopped everything when one was about to acquire what one wanted.

Everyone was surprised by the silence. It was as if the power had stopped time.

Sagittarius also stood still as if he was frozen in time.

Babylon’s Great Spirit smirked.

[I’ll kill him first.]

He was about to head toward Sagittarius.

“!”

Bbah-gahk!!!

It was unclear as to when he had arrived, but Lee Gun moved at a speed that exceeded that of Babylon’s Great Spirit.

Lee Gun kicked Sagittarius’s head. “You are driving me crazy! Just remember everything, asshole!”

Bbuhk!!!

[You have used Time’s “Fast Forward.”]

Light exploded forth.