“M...My god! What is all this?”

“Teacher...!”

Hugo and Sophie were sweating. The reason was the items Lee Gun had brought along.

Sophie’s face froze as she looked at Lee Gun. “What the hell are these mysterious pastes....”

“What else? They are the fairies you asked for.”

“Ahhhk!!! These are fairies?!” Sophie thought Lee Gun was out of his mind as she looked at the enormous jar.

The jar contained lumps of flesh in a variety of colors, including yellow and blue.

Sophie knew Heiji would have never allowed this to happen, so she shook as she grabbed Lee Gun. “I told you to negotiate with them to bring the ingredients! Why did you bring the ingredients by killing them?!”

“I tried to negotiate with them, but they attacked me with the intent to kill.”

“They attacked with the intent to kill you?!”

“They were rotten to the core. They even attacked a city and almost killed Juwon.”

“It’s Jaewon... When will Teacher’s poor memory improve— Kuhk!”

After kicking Hugo, Lee Gun looked at Sophie. “Anyway, is it possible to revive them? It’s possible, right?”

“What?? You aren’t going to turn them all into medicine?”

“I have enough left to make my medicine.” Lee Gun took out a small bottle. “I don't need their corpses to heal myself. Since I still have their Core, reviving them should be possible, right?”

“Well... It should be, but... why would you want to do that? You said they tried to kill you, right?”

“They did, but this goes against the promise I made.”

“Promise?”

Originally, Lee Gun had promised to go with Heiji, and they were supposed to collect the blood together. But he had gotten rid of the fairies before that could happen.

“That’s why I want you to save them if you can.”

A dumbfounded Sophie looked at Lee Gun. “I should have known from the start when you refused to take on work for money. Now that I get to know you, you really are too nice

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’ll revive them and use them as paint this time around.”

“?!!”

Sophie looked shocked, but Hugo merely smirked. He knew this was how Lee Gun liked to joke.

“Anyway, I want you to revive them

Kwahng!

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the Notre Dame de Paris.

“Ahhhk!”

Everyone was surprised to see who had entered the damaged building.

“Ms. Heiji?”

“Heiji!”

Moreover, this Heiji looked different from usual.

Kwahng!!

A terrifying attack flew toward the side of Lee Gun’s face.

“Teacher!!!”

Lee Gun dodged the attack like usual, but his face hardened. This wasn’t just a threat. The attack was infused with murderous intent.

If he hadn’t dodged, the attack would have 100% killed him. Moreover, the attack was dangerous enough to cause collateral damage to the people near him.

Lee Gun’s eyes turned fierce. “Hey, what the hell are you doing right now?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Die, bastard.”

“Why....”

He was going to ask why she was suddenly going crazy, but Lee Gun furrowed his brows as he sighed. From Heiji’s perspective, her precious fairies had been killed.

While they did try to kill him first, it didn’t change that Heiji had lost her subordinates.

So he changed what he had been about to say. “Damn it! They are the ones who broke their promise and tried to kill me! I get why you are angry, but you should wait a bit. The mutt who likes to mark her things will revive them

Heiji attacked once again.

Kwahng!

Lee Gun was taken aback.

Heiji let out a cold smile. “I don’t care about the fairies.”

“What?”

“I don’t care if you use them to heal your body or not. All I want to do is kill you.”

“!!”

Hugo, Sophie, and Lee Gun screamed as soon as she spoke.

A spell flew toward Lee Gun; it was a caliber of spell that should never be used against a human.

Lee Gun became angry as he dodged the attack. “You want to kill me! I thought you liked me! You said you’ll show me that I can trust you!”

“?!”

Lee Gun’s words surprised Hugo and Sophie. Who liked whom?!

Heiji didn’t care what he said. She gnashed her teeth as she glared at him. “Idiot. Did you really believe that?”

!”

“Who would like a monster like you? Don't get it twisted. I don’t like you. I just said it because I wanted to use you. I merely found your abilities useful.”

Lee Gun was beyond speechless. He was dismayed. He remembered how Heiji had acted earlier. Lee Gun wasn’t naïve enough that he couldn’t differentiate if someone was acting or not. Heiji’s expression had been something that couldn’t be faked.

“Did your Zodiac— Kuhk!!”

“Teacher!”

This time, Hugo and Sophie were surprised.

When Heiji wagged her finger, Lee Gun vomited blood and sank to the ground. His cysts, which Sophie had barely sealed off using her power, had ruptured once again.

Lee Gun clutched his stomach in pain since his organs were being ripped open. “Huh-huhk...!”

His life was truly in danger.

Sophie ran toward Heiji and glared at her. “What are you doing right now, Heiji?”

“What? He messed with my fairies. I merely paid him back. What’s the problem?”

!!” Sophie flinched.

Lee Gun tried to keep the blood down as he glared at Heiji. “Didn’t you hear from the fairy monarch? Those bastards were tapping your power— Kuhk!”

“My god! You are pretending to be kind because you’re in front of Hugo and Sophie. It’s too bad that I can’t kill you with my fairies.”

!” Lee Gun ground his teeth.

At that moment, Heiji brought her hand down. Lee Gun fell to the ground and vomited blood.

Hugo couldn’t stand back anymore. He charged Heiji. “Please do it in moderation, Miss Heiji!”

Heiji glared at him. Only hatred was left within her. “Get your hands off me!”

When Heiji tried to strike Hugo, murderous intent appeared in Lee Gun’s eyes. “Have you really lost your mind, you crazy bitch?” He had lost his patience.

Lee Gun and Heiji clashed against each other. Lee Gun used Heaven’s Punishment, and Heiji used her magic spells.

Both of them had lost their ability to reason, and they were about to kill each other when...

[No!]

Someone appeared between them. It was the real Libra Saint Giselle, who had been eaten by Negligence. Of course, she was a soul, so others couldn’t see her.

But although she didn’t have much, she could still use her power. It was possible because her contract as a Zodiac Saint hadn’t ended yet.

The monarch Negligence had eaten Libra and absorbed its power. In simple words, Giselle was contracted to Negligence. Of course, Negligence and Jean-Louis had yet to notice this.

Giselle quickly used her ability.

[Equivalent Exchange]

The Libra Saint was able to acquire something new in exchange for sacrificing something. It depended on what she sacrificed, but at times, she could create something out of nothing.

At that moment, Giselle gave up on her lifespan and her vision.

Jean-Louis’s ability allowed him to see the connection between people, which couldn't be seen using a normal ability.

After paying the price, Giselle was given a new reward.

[Clairvoyance]

A strange sight unfolded in front of her. She saw the Thread of Connection, which only Jean-Louis was able to see.

Giselle flinched at the sight. The threads related to trust and love toward Lee Gun had been severed from Heiji.

Moreover, the connection severed by the Cancer Saint couldn’t be repaired. The Cancer’s ability to cut wasn’t normal. It meant...

‘Ms. Heiji will forever hate and curse Mr. Lee Gun.’

The only emotion left inside Heiji was the feeling that made her want to kill Lee Gun. One could try to mend their relationship in the future, but the severed connection would never reattach itself.

However, it was too early to despair.

‘That’s...!’

Giselle discovered something within the severed bundle of thread that represented love. The single strand was very thin, so she hadn’t been able to see it.

Although this thread hadn’t been severed yet, it looked like it would snap at any moment.

[With this, I might be able to...!]

Giselle used her power to tie the thread. She made sure it wouldn’t break. Then something surprising happened.

Flash!

“!”

Heiji’s hand, which had been trying to kill Lee Gun, flinched. It was the effect of the strand that had barely survived.

!”

The hand squeezing his throat started to loosen. Lee Gun was having a hard time moving his injured body. And when he opened his eyes...

Kwahng!

Instead of killing him, Heiji let go of Lee Gun.

“Teacher!”

“Yes. I’ll be a laughing stock if I kill an opponent who can’t even put up a fight.”

“!”

Heiji ground her teeth as she turned around.

Thanks to the single thread that Giselle had weaved together, Lee Gun had avoided death. However, Heiji’s hatred was too high to call it love. Her relationship with Lee Gun had turned into a love-hate relationship.

Still, the thought of killing Lee Gun at all costs had dissipated from inside her.

Giselle and Jean-Louis were watching this, and they had different reactions to this. Giselle reacted with joy, and Jean-Louis reacted with anger.

The reaction was stronger for Jean-Louis since he had intended to use Heiji to kill Lee Gun. He couldn’t understand what had just happened.

‘She was supposed to kill Lee Gun, yet she spared him?’

“Did I not cut all the threads?”

His Royal skill “Cut of the Abyss (SS)” couldn’t be used against the same person again. In other words, he couldn’t cut the connection between Lee Gun and Heiji anymore. He couldn’t do it even if he wanted to cut the thread of hate instead of the thread of love.

Therefore, Jean-Louis had to be very careful in choosing the thread to cut. But it didn’t matter in the end.

“It isn’t as if her desire to kill Lee Gun is gone.”

He had achieved his goal.

Unlike the happy Jean-Louis, someone was shaking in fear.

‘This problem started because of me.’

It was Sophie.

“I gave him the information. I told him to acquire the blood of a fairy...!”

She still couldn’t forget the sight of Heiji trying to kill Lee Gun.

[Do you understand now? It’s useless to struggle.]

“!!!”

Aquarius laughed while hugging Sophie closer.

[You are unnecessarily being dumb in fighting against me. That’s why you are in this position. You broke up the relationship between your comrades. You are solely responsible for this.]

Sophie trembled. Her Zodiac seemed angry since she had taken independent actions.

The Zodiac’s eyes flashed.

[If you dare do this again, I’ll tell everything to Hugo Otis. I’ll tell him everything you did to Lee Gun in the past.]

It caused Sophie to cry as she prostrated herself. “I’m sorry! I’ll never do it again...! I will never get involved with anything related to Lee Gun. Please...!”

[You promised.]

Aquarius smirked.

* * *

Around this time, within Notre Dame de Paris, Jean Louis approached Hugo, who was with Lee Gun.

Jean-Louis’s next target was Hugo, who was always with Lee Gun. The Cancer Saint wished to sever the connection between them.

‘I don’t know why, but there was a small hiccup with Heiji.’

He would never make the same mistake again. With a laugh, Jean-Louis activated his skill.

[Thread of Connection (SS)]

He was aiming for Hugo’s thread. It was none other than the thread of Faith. As soon as he cut it, Hugo and Lee Gun would split.

‘This will hurt Lee Gun a lot.’

Jean-Louis took in as much power of his Zodiac as possible, planning on cutting the thread in one fell swoop.

‘I won’t make the same mistake as I did with Heiji.’

He wouldn’t make the mistake of not cutting it all the way. This was why he kept sharpening the blades. Finally, he smirked as he activated his cutting skill.

Koo-goohng!

However...

Kwah-jeek!!!

koo-ahhk!”

When Jean-Louis tried to cut the thread, he clutched his hand and screamed.

‘My arms...!’

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The arm trying to cut the thread had been destroyed. His fingers were supposed to act as the blades of a scissor, but the bones in them were broken, dislocated, and crushed.

Jean-Louis fought through the extreme pain. Gritting his teeth, he activated the skill again.

Ting! Ting! Crunch!

“Ahhhk!”

Jean-Louis moaned as he sent a death glare toward Hugo. “What the hell?? Why can’t I cut it??”

It seemed this was the benefit of Hugo visiting the future.