Hugo was dumbfounded. His mouth fell open. That bastard abandoned him and ran straight for his wife?
âHe was the one who said I should go to Sungjae since he was in danger!â That little snake.
The Archer Saint was sure Lee Gun had done it on purpose, but he wasnât in a position to even glare at the hospital room.
âDad! Behind you!â
Hugo quickly turned his head at his sonâs desperate warning.
â!â
The woman who he had sent flying with his bombardment should have fallen unconscious. Yet, she was running toward him. Her hands emitted an odd light as she aimed for him.
Flash!
The light gave Hugo an ominous feeling. For some reason, he knew he shouldnât let it touch him. This ominous feeling became reality when the woman got close to him.
â!â
The magical energy of the Saggitarius disappeared. âShit! The power of my ZodiacâŚâ His divine protection instantly disappeared as well. This meant he was completely defenseless!
The woman grinned when she reached an armâs distance from Hugo.
ââŚ!â
Then she touched Hugoâs heart!
Hugo realized something had gone wrong at that moment. Another explosion erupted.
Kwahng!!
The explosion was so incredible that it seemed as though two tanks had collided. Flames engulfed the surroundings, and an orange light spread everywhere.
Kwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
The explosion blasted away the forest, and the strange rays of light melted the birds.
âSaint-nim!â
The disciplesâ shocked voices boomed in the air. It was as if the woman had wanted to self-destruct alongside Hugo.
A deep sinkhole now lay on the floor, and the large coniferous trees had instantly turned into ash. In terms of the power, the explosion was strong enough to disintegrate someone.
Lee Jaewon and Goat had watched it all. Devastated, they sank to the ground. Their reactions were understandable.
âSaint-nimâs protection vanished.â
The disciples received their Zodiacâs blessing through their Zodiac Saint. The blessing would never disappear unless their Zodiac Saint was dead! The disciples knew what this implied.
âSaint-nim!â
Chun Sungjaeâs face hardened. The young man possessed excellent sensing ability, and he had also felt his fatherâs energy disappear alongside the explosion. His legs turned wobbly without him realizing it, and his hands shook.
âDad!â
At that momentâŚ
âKuh-huhk!â
A black object was flung out of the gray smoke.
âCough! Cough!â
It was the woman. She clutched at her stomach as she retched.
Then, Hugo walked out of the smoke. âYouâre still a kid. You shouldnât blow yourself up.â
âSaint-nim!â
âDad!â
The Archer Saint held his bow in one hand and a wristwatch in the other. The watch was what had caused the explosion. It seemed Hugo had wanted to save the woman who had intended to blow herself up.
Soon, Goat and Lee Jaewon approached Hugo in relief.
âAre you ok? That explosion was out of the ordinary.â
âWe were worried because our blessings disappeared.â
Hugo reacted as if they were speaking rubbish. Taking off his ruined clothes, he replied, âThis isnât enough to kill me.â
He was a Saint; his body contained the god of the sun. It would be unharmed even if he jumped into lava.
As expected of his Saint! Goat looked deeply moved by Hugoâs words.
âWhatever! It wonât change the fact that Uncle can defeat him with one punch.â
â?!â
The remark left Hugo dumbfounded. He turned his head and caught sight of the pouting Chun Sungjae.
âDonât try to act so cool, Dad.â
This made Hugo even more dumbfounded. âYou really are going to say that to your father!â
âYou might get yourself killed.â
ââŚ!â Hugo was surprised.
His son clenched his mouth shut as he said, âWhatever! Why donât you fix that broken bow?â
âWhat? Bow?â Hugo turned his head to see what Sungjae meant. Then, a scream escaped his mouth. âAhk! The bow Gun made for me!â
His bow was broken in half. Hugo had haphazardly used the bow to block the explosion, and that had led to this.
The despairing Archer Saint tried to piece together the bow. âFuck! Gun is going to kill me.â
Although Lee Gun didnât look like it, he was a perfectionist. He claimed it wasnât true, but even the items he created in boredom werenât sloppy. That was why he showed great affection toward his items.
Lee Gun had said he would break Hugoâs back if Hugo broke his bow again. And the bow was broken to this extent? Hugo touched his face.
Moreover, it also made this development stranger. Why?
âEven if itâs for temporary use, itâs an item Gun made. Thereâs no way it would have broken easily.â
Lee Gun was skilled enough to satisfy the Zodiacs, who were very picky. How great was his skill?
Amongst the Constructs under the Sagittarius was a one-eyed blacksmith. Even the divine weapons such a being made were chopped liver in front of Lee Gunâs weapons.
It also might be the reason the bow had broken. Hugo wasnât sure of it, but this was probably related to the power that had eliminated the magical energy of a Zodiac.
All the items Lee Gun made were sturdy, but this one was for temporary use.
- I made it in haste, so I didnât pay attention to its durability. Well, the durability will be supplemented a bit once you infuse it with your Zodiacâs magical energy.
This meant that Lee Gun had taken the magical energy of his Zodiac into the equation when making the bow. The process was done without even a 0.00001 mg of error. Lee Gun was perfect in these matters.
The loss of durability was inevitable since the divine magical energy was gone!
âSaint-nim!â
â!â
Seeing the woman move again, Goat and Hugo were distressed. Their magical energies had disappeared.
â!â
This meant the magical arrows they had loaded up had vanished as well. It flustered them.
âShit! I canât shoot my arrows like thisâŚâ
The Archer Saintâs arrows were made from magical energy. Hugo had physical arrows as well, but he couldnât take them out right now. They were within a bag that could only be called forth with divine magical energy.
At this point, Hugo realized that he was right. He glared at the woman. âItâs as I suspected. That woman erases divine magical energy.â
âWhat?!â
âUnsheathe your blades for now!â
The flustered Archer disciples and Chun Sungjae quickly unsheathed their short swords.
âWhat should we do next?â
âI got nothing!â
âWhat?!â
âSaint-nim!â
âI donât have a plan, but you guys have to protect yourselves!â
Chun Sungjae had high hopes, so his fatherâs remark left him flabbergasted. âThis is why Uncle shouldâve come here instead of Dad! Why did Dad have to come here?â
âWhat? Is that really something you should say to your father?â
âI donât know! You suck, Dad! You really suck!â
It didnât matter in the end. There was a reason Hugo had said he didnât have a plan.
âShe is a Secretary.â
âSecretary?â
Hugo furrowed his brows. The Archer Saint knew about âSecretaries.â He had heard about their existence from his Zodiac.
In simple words, a Secretary was like the narrator for a Zodiac and its temple. They were the ones who captured time. They were like the wandering minstrels who spread past heroic tales. The secretaries compiled the history of the Zodiacs and their disciples through written words in a book. This book was called the Zodiacâs âBible.â
Written words lasted longer than oral tradition. What the secretaries did was an effort to make the Zodiacs and their disciples be remembered for a very long time.
No matter what dimension they were in, the Zodiacs didnât want their heroic stories to be erased. Therefore, the stories were engraved on a dimensional level.
The Secretaries were called spectators of history, and they were considered unique by the Zodiacs and their temples. Therefore, all the twelve Zodiacs coveted Secretaries who could record their existence. After all, as the number of their believers increased, their temple became stronger.
âZodiacs are born through the belief of humans.â
The Zodiac perished when there were no believers. This was why the power of the temples faltered just from the disciples leaving them.
The Secretaries could solidify the existence of the Zodiacs. They could help a Zodiac reach the seat of an absolute god.
âHowever, the Secretaries are like double-edged swords.â
While the Secretaries could record the history of a temple, they could erase it too. They possessed special editing and deleting abilities. They could wipe out a Zodiacâs magical energy and achievements.
Amongst a templeâs various roles for the disciples, the Secretary was the scariest. Temples could go extinct without achievements and faith.
In truth, it was said that there had been a lot of Secretaries in the past. HoweverâŚ
âThey tried to erase the Zodiacs from existence.â
The secretaries were an unyielding group. The Zodiacs had asked them to write good stories about them. Instead, the secretaries belittled and forged their achievements.
This led to temples being ruined. The Zodiacs were almost extinguished. And so, the Secretaries were jailed in a special prison.
Even though the Zodiacs coveted the Secretariesâ power, the Secretaries showed a propensity for being dangerous. So, they were either killed or imprisoned. This had happened over twenty years ago.
The Constructs had eradicated all the Secretaries, yet one was standing in front of them.
âWhat happened?â
However, Hugoâs shock lasted only a moment.
âSaint-nim!â
His eyes flashed. Although he had earlier said that there was no way to deal with her, it didnât mean he would sit on his hands.
â!â
At that moment, the womanâs eyes flashed as she used an odd ability.
Hugo felt fear. He had heard his Zodiac dissipate.
***
At the same timeâŚ
âI think something happened in the forest.â
âWhatâs going on?â
The people within the hospital talked amongst themselves. All the doctors, nurses, and patients had gathered around the windows. The forest was quite far away from the hospital, but the situation was unmistakable.
âIt was faint, but I heard an explosion!â
âI think the high-rank disciples are fightingâŚâ
âI saw Chun Sungjae head in that direction earlier!â
âWhat? Chun Sungjae?â
Amongst the crowd gathered at the windows were some anxious people as well.
âSungjae!â One of them was Chun Sungjaeâs mother, Chun Jiwoo.
Suh Jihoon, the youngest disciple of the Sagittarius temple, held her back. âYou donât have to worry about Sungjae. I saw Saint-nim head in that direction.â
In truth, Chun Jiwoo was more worried because Hugo had gone there too!
SuddenlyâŚ
Kwahng!
The sound of an explosion rang out, and the hospitalâs wall crumbled.
âKyahhhhhk!â
A large beast had burst through the wall.
âA bear!â
When the violent bear that was over five meters long appeared inside the hospital, all hell broke loose.
âWhat the hell! How did a monster get inside the hospital?â
âThis place has received the blessing of a Zodiac!â
âThe blessing is gone!â
It frightened everyone.
Suh Jihoon quickly took out his bow. He was about to shoot his arrows whenâŚ
âUhâŚ?!â The surprised Suh Jihoon watched his arrow disappear like smoke. âWhat the hell? My magical energy!â
The beast violently roared.
Boom! Boom!
It was as if the beast was looking for someone. Moreover, finding who that person was wasnât hard.
âKeep back!â Suh Jihoon quickly jumped in front of Chun Jiwoo.
At the same time, the paw of the beast fell on his head.
Kwah-jeek!
Suh Jihoon clenched his eyes shut when he felt the pain hit him.
âKoo-oohk!â
Blood erupted into the air. Suh Jihoon bit his lips. âIs this how it ends?â
The temple of the Sagittarius was always known for long-range fighting, and they were vulnerable to pain caused by close-quarter fights.
Of course, he would feel like dying from pain if a monster like this hit him. This was why Suh Jihoon admired Lee Gun, who could shrug off attacks like these as though they were nothing.
âHuh-uhk! It hurts! It really hurts⌠It is killing me!â Suh Jihoon felt something amiss, so he opened his eyes.
âThatâs odd. I should be deadâŚ.?â He was confused. However, when he saw the scene in front of him, he screamed. âAh!â
Lee Gun was standing in front of Suh Jihoon, grabbing the bear by its neck with one hand.
This confused Suh Jihoon. âWhat the hell? What about the blood? What was the blood earlier?!â
He screamed when he felt blood continue to drip on his head.
âAhk!â
The blood was coming from the bearâs head.
âAhk! Blood! Itâs bleeding from the head!â
Lee Gun looked at Suh Jihoon as if this Archer disciple was pathetic. âDid they gather only idiots in the Sagittarius temple?â
It was said that the Sagittarius picked its disciple by their looks, and seemingly, it had chosen only comedians.
However, Lee Gun didnât have the time to continue clicking his tongue.
âKoo-hoo-uhk!â
The bear twitched as it let out a murderous intent.
Lee Gun laughed and squeezed.
Crunch!
âYou canât even take a single punch. How dare you?â His snake eyes flashed!
Poo-hahk!
Lee Gun instantly obliterated the bearâs head. Then, he tossed the bear without much effort.
Boom!
The surprised Suh Jihoon lay on the ground as he shook.
âSuch a huge beast⌠With one handâŚâ
Lee Gun looked more like a monster than the bear.
When Suh Jihoon turned his head, however, he got more and more shocked.
âAhk!â
The path Lee Gun had taken was littered with monster corpses. It was as if the man was announcing to the world that he had walked this path.
Suh Jihoon shook at the sight. âDid you kill all of them while coming here? What about Sungjae?â
âThings were more urgent over here.â After arriving here, Lee Gun had realized a suspicious person had infiltrated the hospital.
âTaeksoo went to Sungjae. Heâs always grumpy about his son. He deserves to die if he canât even protect his son.â
âThenâŚâ
âItâs fine. What about Miss Jiwoo?â
âAh, ahâŚ! Sheâs fine! Sheâs over there!â
Lee Gun turned his head, and the sight left him surprised.
âKyaaaa!â
A gorgeous woman stood there. She was beside herself. Moreover, she looked very young. If not for her hospital gown, Lee Gun would have mistaken her for a young nurse from the hospital.
The anxious woman looked at Lee Gun. âOh my! This is so sudden. Iâm not wearing any makeup⌠Oh my! Iâm wearing hospital clothes. Before that⌠My husband⌠Lee Gun-nim! My oh my! Kyaaa!â
When Chun Jiwoo met Lee Gunâs eyes, she became shy. She hid behind the door as she sank to the ground.
Lee Gun tilted his head when he saw Chun Jiwoo.
[You feel an unknown yet powerful power from her.]
He was about to look closer at what it was whenâŚ
âExcuse me! What about Mr. Hugo!â Chun Jiwoo asked him with worry.
Lee Gun let out a wicked smile. âHeâs fine. I sent someone trustworthy.â
Trustworthy?
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