Chapter 57: What in the world? (3)

The gods put great importance on their followers. This should be obvious. No king could exist without subjects. There was no god without believers.

From the beginning, manpower symbolized infinite possibilities for the military and religion. If the quantity and quality of the people increased, an organization’s influence would also increase. This was a common truth.

The system applied to the gods too in an equitable manner. This was why the Saints cultivated disciples. They also stole each other’s disciples.

The Gemini Saint had grown her power like that. Heiji had scouted Constructs and human subordinates and fiercely fought to grow her power base. However, at a time, all that was proving to be useless.

‘The Gemini temple has no SS rank disciples.’ Of course, Heiji had many excellent generals with whose power she rivaled the other Zodiac Saints. However, the presence of an SS rank disciple made a great difference to a Saint and their temple.

[Black Thorn]

“Gemini Saint, we lost our contribution to the Virgo Saint!”historical

[Golden Rule]

“This is not good! We can’t defend against the bombardment from the Libra Saint!”

[White Lion]

“We can’t win against the Leo Saint! We have to entertain his demands for now!”

The Ten Stars(SS rank Users) were Users worthy of being the next Zodiac Saints. Any Zodiac Saint with one or more of the Ten Stars in their ranks boasted incredible power. The temples with a member of the Ten Stars always seized victory; they took all the wealth and fame.

No matter how crafty the Gemini Saint tried to be in leading her temple to victory, the other Zodiac Saints always snatched the rewards for meritorious deeds from under her. However, things had changed when she was close to losing the east region of her territory after barely acquiring it.

“What? A monster appeared in Korea?”

That monster was Chun Sungjae.

“Yes! He’s just past the minimum age. He’s an immature kid.”

The current international laws said that an awakened being had to be at least thirteen years old and in the seventh grade to join a temple. Those below the age limit couldn’t participate in raids against F-rank monsters even if they had potential.

The special thing about Chun Sungjae hadn’t been his age, however. It was his abilities.

“No one that young has passed the main temple’s entrance test. Moreover, the result from the assessment said he has the potential to become an SS rank...”

“Moreover, he has zero percent faith toward the gods?”

“Cough! How can that be... Cough!”

In truth, Chun Sungjae’s faith had been in the negative, but Choi Sunghyuk had been unable to bring himself to tell this to the Gemini Saint.

“Anyway, he has the potential of an SS rank. Even if the assessment was an error..”

“No. It isn’t an error.”

Heiji’s expression changed when she saw Chun Sungjae’s awakened name. It was as she had expected.

After that..

“We’ve recovered our contribution from the Virgo Saint!”

“We were successful in our defense!”

“What the hell is up with that stupidly strong kid? Is he a general?”

“No. They said he is a C-rank.”

“What?!”

Something was even more amazing than this.

“Why is he the only one not to go into battle mode? Has he lost his mind?”

The Gemini Saint’s battle mode meant “Soul Invocation.” When one entered the Soul Invocation state, one experienced mental elevation and rage. The other temples also called this the <Berserker Mode>.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t use Soul Invocation. According to rumors, he can’t use it. I’m not sure if he’s choosing to not use it or that he’s unable to. Anyway, I’ve never seen him use that skill.”

“What? How the hell did he learn magic without Soul Invocation? We learn it by using the Fairy’s senses.”

“I have no idea. He has pretty much read all the books related to magic in the Gemini temple’s library. He has read them over ten thousand times. I guess it’s possible to learn magic through theories.”

“Is he out of his mind? I get he’s putting in the effort, but how could anyone understand those alien mathematical formulas!”

“If he were capable of Soul Invocation, I wonder whether he’d be on Heiji-nim’s level.”

“..!”

Of course, Chun Sungjae’s faith toward the Gemini god was still at rock bottom, but that didn’t matter.

“He’s going through puberty. He’s still developing his values, so his lack of faith is understandable.”

If Chun Sungjae became a Saint, his faith would probably skyrocket.

‘This child is a prospect who’ll one day become the leader of the Gemini temple.’

***

It had been determined that Sungjae had pretty high loyalty toward the Gemini temple. Of course, the Gemini god and Heiji had full trust in this prospect. This was why the words Chun Sungjae said were like a knife in the Saint’s back.

“Why would I?”

Everyone became shocked when Sungjae, a disciple of the Gemini temple, calmly said that.

“S..Sungjae!!” Hahn Jimin looked like he was about to faint. “D-do you realize who is in front of you right now!”

“The Gemini Saint. What about it?” the young man replied.

“What..!”

Heiji was so shocked that she couldn’t formulate words. However, she soon came around due to the words Chun Sungjae spoke to his roommate in rebuke. “What? Do you really think I can attack my uncle?”

“Uh! That’s true, but..!”

Heiji realized her mistake. ‘That’s right! Sungjae’s father is Hugo.’ She could see it now. Hugo was probably a Lee Gun fanboy and had probably bragged about his friend when he was drunk. So, of course, Sungjae had probably heard about Lee Gun’s skill too.

Therefore, the Gemini Saint said, “Yes, Sungjae. I did teach you not to attack a foe clearly stronger than you.”

“!”

Heiji coolly accepted that. Sungjae had probably grown up listening to Hugo’s drunken stories and became afraid of Lee Gun. If she had to be honest, in that case, Lee Gun might be a god in Chun Sungjae’s eyes.

She continued, “Don’t worry! It’s fine. Lee Gun won’t be able to win if I use my ninth skill! Hurry up and help me out of here...”

Chun Sungjae furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t understand what the Gemini Saint wanted from him. “That has nothing to do with it. Why would I attack him?”

Heiji was further at a loss for words. “You’re a disciple of the Gemini temple! Lee Gun is our enemy..”

“No, I mean..” Chun Sungjae looked at the sculpture with a sour expression. “If he’s the Gemini temple’s enemy, you’re saying Uncle is my enemy.”

“What?”

“In that case, I’d rather have the Gemini temple as my enemy.” Chun Sungjae finished his sentence.

Heiji was completely frozen. She finally realized the meaning behind his words.

At that moment, someone burst out laughing. “Ha ha ha ha.”

Lee Gun laughed as if he had heard the funniest thing ever. “You’ve never entered Sungjae’s room, right?”

“..!”

“Idiot! Sungjae is a superfan of mine.”

“..!?”

“He doesn’t even listen to his father regarding me, so why would he listen to you?”

At this point, there was no way her god would take this slight. Heiji felt humiliated at Lee Gun’s laughter. She was hearing the meanest and nastiest laughter in the world, and of all the people, the one laughing at her was Lee Gun.

“Whatever! It’s time for me to take the other soul of the Fairy King,” Lee Gun suddenly said.

“!”

“I have use for it right now.” He immediately swung his fist at the sculpture.

Crash!

“!”

[The Goat Saint’s rental skill has been destroyed.]

[The special attribute of ‘The Man Who Pounds on All Creations’ has been activated.]

Lee Gun immediately picked up the two souls.

As soon as she was picked up by Lee Gun’s hand, Heiji felt something. ‘Yang Wei!’ Through her outstanding senses, she could feel Yang Wei’s presence in Lee Gun’s hand. Lee Gun had used this method to extract and make use of Yang Wei’s soul. This made her desperate

“Sungjae!” Heiji decided to change her plan. “Sungjae! Look! Lee Gun is more of a bully than you think. It was revealed to the world, but the innumerable things he did—”

“What are you talking about?” Chun Sungjae cut her off.

[He is no longer listening to your appeasement.]

[The faith of the high-rank Gemini disciple has descended into negative territory.]

Boom!

[A crack has appeared in the power of the Two-faced god]

[The owner of the Two-faces is taken aback.]

[All its faith is headed toward the Serpent Bearer.]

As expected, the Gemini god raved with anger.

Boom!

An incredible power circulated within the house.

[Warning! The Two-faced god’s magical energy is trying to cease your bodily functions.]

[The Two-faced god’s punishment is headed toward its human disciple.]

[Target: Chun Sungjae]

Lee Gun laughed at the foolishness. Well, he had been prepared to fight the god from the start. It had just happened sooner than he had expected. However..

“Wait a moment!” Heiji stopped her god from doing anything. She looked desperate. “He didn’t do enough to deserve a punishment!”

In truth, her action was a bit unexpected. With her personality, it wouldn’t have been strange to see her abandon Chun Sungjae. This meant she had a reason she wanted her god to leave Chun Sungjae alone. Moreover, Lee Gun had a guess as to why.

Heiji

– Gemini(Two-faced) Saint

– Awakened Name (Baptized Name): (One Who Punishes)

– Punishes evil that escapes justice.

Effect: Deals critical blow or gives paralysis status to anyone with evil tendencies.

It was a description Lee Gun was already familiar with. The problem was that he had seen the same description on someone else.

Chun Sungjae

– Gemini(Two-faced) Saint

– Awakened Name (Baptized Name): [One Who Punishes]

– Punishes evil that escapes justice.

Effect: Deals critical blow or gives paralysis status to anyone with evil tendencies.

That was right! The awakened names and their abilities were the same, not even a single difference. The concerning part was the extra line in Heji’s info.

[Former Name]

It was as if he were looking at an inheritance system. Of course, Lee Gun couldn’t read further into that.

[The level of Piercing Eye is too low to read it.]

However, he had enough information. ‘This is why she’s making such a fuss.’

Heiji yelled out loud. She had just one card left to use. “Sungjae, I’ll have to expel you from the Gemini temple if you keep this up!”

Chun Sungjae’s eyes turned round. “Ah! Yes, you can do that. It’ll be great if Uncle takes me in. If not, I can join up with the Leo Saint.”

“..?!” Heiji was lost at this unexpected development.

[The owner of the Two-faces has grabbed the back of its neck]

[It is about to unleash its blade of anger.]

The god hadn’t intervened even when the holy ground of the Gemini Saint was being razed to the ground. After all, there were enormous constraints when a god took direct action. Above all else, the move consumed a massive amount of EXP.

Until now, the Gemini god had stood back because it didn’t want to lose its precious EXP, which its disciples had gathered. However, this situation was different.

Koo-goo-goo-goohng!

[The betrayal from a high-rank disciple has caused a crack in the Two-faced god’s power.]

[The betrayal of a disciple is a blacklisted event.]

[Warning! Faced with the betrayal of a disciple, the Two-faced god is revealing its fierce power.]

Accompanying the god’s anger, an incredible amount of magical energy descended on the house.

“Huh-uhk..!”

Hahn Jimin started to have trouble breathing and fainted soon. Cold sweat appeared all over Chun Yooha, and she felt like she was about to lose consciousness. Chun Sungjae vomited blood; since he was contracted to the god, carrying out revenge was easy for the god.

“Kuhk..!”

“Sungjae!” Chun Yooha wanted to look after her dongsaeng, but the power of the god was too strong. Even she fell to her knees.

“Koo-oohk..!”

She felt as if something was pressing down on her head! ‘As expected, it’s impossible to fight a god..’

The god triumphantly laughed.

[The Two-faced God is willing to give another chance.]

[It is willing to forgive if the disciple kills Lee Gun.]

As if she had heard the condition, Heiji yelled, “Sungjae! Kill Lee Gun! You’ll be forgiven if you do!”

Chun Sungjae gritted his teeth as he spat out blood. “I’d rather die than attack my uncle!”

“?!” Heiji was taken aback. “Lee Gun isn’t someone you should be that loyal to—”

“Shut up!” Veins popped out on Chun Sungjae’s neck. The gods only cared about profit. They didn’t care about their people even if they died. “Don’t belittle my hero!”

This caused a big disturbance in the Gemini’s power.

[The faith of the high-rank Gemini disciple is headed toward the Serpent Bearer.]

[This is a critical hit to the Gemini.]

[The power of the Two-faced god has weakened.]

[There is unrest amongst the Constructs under the Gemini.]

[You have acquired Reputation.]

[Reputation helps toward the achievement and power of a god.]

The god felt humiliated, and the ground shook.

[The Two-faced god is raging as it asks how you could do this to it.]

Lee laughed at the foolishness while pulling up his magical energy. ‘You are a god that imprisons souls to use them as slaves. You have no right to complain.’

Lee Gun hated all the gods, but he thought the Gemini was especially cruel. Why? ‘The Gemini put forth his Saint and gleefully created slaves.’

Of course, the Gemini god claimed it didn’t touch humans in such a way. But.. ‘How could Korea turn out this way without the gods directly influencing humans?’

The greedy politicians were understandable.

Hugo would never do such a thing.

During Sophie’s press conference, before the explosion in Cheongwadae, the presidential aide had detonated a bomb as if he were being controlled.

‘Unless he was an idiot, there was no way he would blow himself up.’ That wasn’t all. ‘The man in charge of managing my assets..’ Even though that man served the Gemini, he was a government employee of Cheongwadae. There was no way that man could speak up about Lee Gun’s assets belonging to the Japanese government in front of the heads of state. Basically, there had to be someone behind him.

‘That means even the president is on the Gemini’s side.’ However, Lee Gun was very familiar with the current president. The president would never hand over Lee Gun’s assets to Japan. Of course, the man could have changed in the past 20 years. But..

‘There‘s a high probability that the president’s soul is enslaved.’ This would make it easy for the Gemini temple to manage everything. How else would the Gemini Saint act that way in Korea without repercussions?

With all that in mind, Lee Gun let out a cold smile as he activated his skill. ‘I’ll break your hateful mind first.’

The other half of the Fairy King, which had been in the sculpture, screamed as Lee Gun’s hand moved toward it. Heiji also felt fear. The problem was Lee Gun’s hand. Contained within it was an entirely different power.

Suddenly, Heiji felt the god’s power become distant from her body. “Wait a moment.. Lee Gun!”

She had never felt this ominous feeling before. It was as if she had become a normal person again.

[Your connection to the Gemini god has been severed.]