CH 317

Monsters! No one could pinpoint their origin. However, it was assumed that their ancestors were the leftovers of the universe, the ones that had fought each other and survived.

Moreover, they possessed a disposition toward Gluttony. They ate all living beings, including gods and humans. They grew up to become a class 1 dangerous species in the universe.

In other words, they were like the devils of consumption.

They were so dangerous that even the great Zodiacs and the evil gods avoided them. They were beings everyone in the universe feared.

Anyway, Time was from the third generation of monsters, and for a very long time, he had tried to kill the monarchs from the previous generation.

[I cannot win against the previous generations no matter which method I use.]

They were beings akin to his parents, who had made him. Of course, he couldn’t kill them using his own technique. However, Time had finally found a way to kill his parents. It was possible because he was capable of traversing time.

[Ah! My god! They are the origin of my parents?]

At the same time, he understood why the twelve original owners had been usurped in such a baffling manner.

[Yes. They are all fakes except for the thirteenth.]

In this process, Time learned about the power of Cycle. While none of his attacks worked against the previous generations, the power of Cycle could turn them into nothing.

‘I can use that power to turn anything back to the state before their birth. I can rewind it to their genesis.’

It was why Time had made his plan.

‘I’ll revert them to the time of their genesis and consume the body that is my parent.’

Therefore, Time had acquired the power of Cycle and grown the power by returning to the past 18,732 times.

At the same time, he had skillfully conspired with the twelve Zodiacs to torment humanity. However, it didn’t matter. In the end, he was met with failure after failure!

No matter how many times he upgraded the power of Cycle by killing Yeonwoo and Junwoo, he was unable to turn his predecessors back to the state before their genesis.

This was why he became a great monarch and imprisoned his parent inside the Devil’s Tower. 

At his actions, his parent, Space-Time, had laughed mockingly.

[Oh, great monarch. It doesn’t matter what you do. You cannot get rid of us.]

[What?]

[You act as if your ability to traverse time is something amazing, but you’re merely a nomad who travels through time.]

[!]

[You belong to no world. You’re an irritant and an unwanted guest— Kuh-huhk!!]

That was why Time despaired for his future and decided to switch up the plan.

[After I return to the past this time, I’ll end this plan.]

He finally arrived in the 18,733rd world. After ending 18,732 worlds, Time decided to end everything on this timeline. He planned on getting rid of humanity and going to a different dimension, the divine world.

It was the year 1995, five years before the invasion where he would always take down humanity as his prey. However, when Time tried to acquire the power of Cycle this time, he felt something was off.

[Something is wrong, Master. The Serpent Bearer isn’t in her cage!]

[!]

At this point, Yeonwoo should be in a cage within a zoo. Yeonwoo and Junwoo had always been reborn as snakes belonging to the zoo. However, something strange happened in this timeline.

[What? The Serpent Bearers were born as humans?]

It was a huge change. Until now, Yeonwoo and Junwoo had never reincarnated as humans, not even once in the past 18,732 times!

Then, Lee Gun showed up.

Time felt his heart beat faster.

‘The future is changing.’

He had never seen Lee Gun before. 

Time was delighted after Lee Gun received the power of the Serpent Bearer. It was why he ordered Jean-Louis to trap Lee Gun inside the Devil’s Tower.

Then he kept resetting Lee Gun’s time within the Devil’s Tower and carried out various experiments to grow Lee Gun’s power.

When Lee Gun used his own power to break out of the tower, it had shocked Time, but he was also satisfied.

At the end of the day, that power would be his. That was what was supposed to happen…!

“You’re the only one left.”

“…!”

After killing all the Times from the other timelines, Lee Gun appeared as he eerily laughed.

Lee Gun placed a blade on his neck. “Will you die if I kill this body?”

The Zodiac Saints were shocked to hear those words.

“Wait a moment. That flippant way of speaking…!”

“Are you Lee Gun?!”

This man had the face of Time, yet he spoke in a tyrannical and flippant manner! Those were the hallmarks of Lee Gun!

However, someone got angry at those words. “Hey! Who are you saying is flippant? How dare you say such thoughtless words to my teacher! No, before that, are you sure that’s my teacher?”

Hugo huffed in anger, but in reality, he was stunned at this situation.

Lee Gun ignored them as it looked like he was about to cut his own body’s throat. “Will you give me back my body willingly, or do you want to die like this?”

Time scoffed as he made a gesture with his hand. At the same time, the mark of the Serpent Bearer appeared on Time’s hand, emitting light.

[Zodiac Lee Gun has used the authority of the Serpent Bearer to summon his Constructs]

Accompanying the light, all the Constructs of the Serpent Bearer temple were summoned.

[M-Master!]

They immediately recognized which one was Lee Gun, but Time possessed Lee Gun’s body. So, laughing, the monarch used Compulsory Order.

“It doesn’t matter what you do to that body, because it would be suicide for you. You cannot return even if you kill that body. You cannot kill me.”

“Is that so?”

“I may be surprised by what you have done, but that is all. You cannot use any other abilities.”

Time could tell just at a glance. Despite entering his body, Lee Gun could use only the Time Travel ability and that too only by instinct.

However, Lee Gun mockingly spoke as if Time was speaking nonsense. “That’s not true? I can do this too?”

“!”

The next moment, a large magic circle appeared beneath Lee Gun’s feet. Time’s face hardened when he saw what was being summoned. And he wasn’t the only one to be surprised.

“That is…!”

Constructs appeared along with enormous lightning bolts flashing in the sky. Moreover, they weren’t normal Constructs.

“Aren’t that…. aren’t they the highest-ranking Constructs?”

“They are the Constructs that the Zodiacs of Magic possessed!”

The ones to yell out loud were the Zodiac Saints. 

Sophie shook in surprise when she recognized one of those Constructs. “They are the highest-ranked Constructs that Gemini imprisoned because they wouldn’t take orders…!”

She was sure of it. The beings emitting the white light were the highest-ranked Constructs that the Gemini Saint Heiji was incapable of controlling! It was something Heiji had been sad about!

Eeny, Meeny, and Miny had switched sides from the Gemini temple, so they roared in joy.

[Boss!]

[You are alright!]

When they had ignored the Gemini to give fealty to Lee Gun, they had talked about a Construct who wanted to meet Lee Gun.

[I apologize! You sent us first to the Serpent Bearer to serve him, but…!]

[We should have accompanied Master to look for you. We apologize for being late…!]

[I am glad you’re ok!]

Time looked taken aback as Lee Gun’s eyes flashed.

“After I got rid of the magic temples, you secretly took away the Constructs possessed by Pisces, right?”

“…!”

Time had been in league with Pisces, who had basically led the usurpers.

The Pisces temple was also a magic-type temple, the same as the Gemini temple. When the Gemini temple had fallen, Pisces had cut them off as if she were severing a tail. Then she had taken all the Constructs.

When even the Pisces temple was eradicated, Time naturally siphoned away their Constructs.

Lee Gun laughed. “I extensively searched for Constructs within the Pisces temple’s holy ground, yet I couldn’t find a single one. I found that odd.”

“…!”

Time furrowed his brows. He had put away those Constructs to use them as food at a later date, yet Lee Gun was able to take them out.

However, Time just snorted. It didn’t matter since they were mindless gods of destruction. “You might now know this, but they are the ones that broke down the ego of the magic-type Zodiacs. They are destroyers that take orders from no one…”

At that moment…

Boom!!!

A portion of the summoned Constructs kneeled toward Lee Gun.

“…!!”

Time flinched. 

Those Constructs then shouted as if they had yearned for him.

[Master.]

[We get to meet the great master once again.]

The Chun siblings were surprised, since this was a familiar sight.

‘In the past, some Constructs had shouted in joy toward Uncle. They had called him Master.’

These Constructs doing the same while looking at Lee Gun meant…

‘They are the Constructs of the old Serpent Bearer?’

It was similar to Iaso, who had been under the Aquarius temple, and Fairy King Mimir, who had been under the Gemini temple. The notification spoke.

[Servants of the Ruler of Snakes wail in joy when they see the Serpent Bearer.]

[They say they are the Constructs of the old Serpent Bearer temple.]

The thirteenth original owner had been famous within the Divine world for ruling over the strongest Constructs.

When he died, numerous Zodiacs had become greedy. They had forcefully stolen away the Constructs. This was true of the Constructs taken by the Zodiacs of Magic.

Time furrowed his brows.

‘They have lost their sense of self, yet they recognize their owner?’

Lee Gun grinned. “You guys, fight them!”

The summoned Constructs flew toward the Zodiacs and monsters threatening the disciples.

Lee Gun, who was stripped to the waist, ran toward Time as his eyes flashed. “Come! Heaven’s Punishment!”

Time became desperate as he quickly extended his hand. Time had the same thought as Lee Gun.

“Come!”

He activated the Imprint skill. The contracted body should be prioritized over Lee Gun’s voice. And as expected, the weapon flew toward Lee Gun’s body.

Kwahng!

“…!!!”

However, Lee Gun arrived before Time at that moment, and Heaven’s Punishment flew into his hand. Then he grinned. “That’s my Heaven’s Punishment.”

After flying toward its real owner, Heaven’s Punishment changed into its stage 3 form as it let out a fierce roar.

At the same time, Lee Gun stabbed Heaven’s Punishment toward his body.

Kwah-jeek!

“Kuh-huhk!!”

He didn’t go easy because it was his body. After piercing the shoulder with precision, he shouted as he lifted Heaven’s Punishment. “Hugo!!”

“!”

“Retrieve it! It’s exactly five centimeters above the belly button!”

“What?!”

“You have to do it exactly after 0.1 seconds!”

They didn’t even have time to be dumbfounded.

Lee Gun changed the direction of Heaven’s Punishment to decapitate his body.

Kwah-jeek!!!

The Chun siblings were shocked by the sight of Lee Gun’s head being decapitated, while Hugo immediately drew back on his bow.

Tahng!!!

There was no way he would miss. His arrow accurately pierced the location pointed out by Lee Gun.

Then, something surprising happened.

“Koohk!”

The decapitated head reattached itself as Lee Gun let out the light of Super Regeneration. Time, who had been hit by the arrow, vomited blood.

“Whew! I’m back.”

“U-Uncle?!”

As if he were showing off a grotesque trick, Lee Gun got up. When the Zodiac Saints looked at him for an answer, he snorted. “My soul gets ejected if I’m decapitated.”

“What?!”

“I experienced that in the Devil’s Tower when I killed the undead monarch…. When a soul is ejected, you inevitably have to go back to your body.”

It was all done to set up the next attack. Lee Gun had ordered Hugo to shoot the location where the monarch’s core was located.

“I have to take back my EXP.”

A flame appeared above Hugo’s hand, and a crow landed on his hand. Earlier, it was the Crow Arrow that he had sent flying.

[Crow Arrow (S)]

- The crow accurately takes an item that it likes.

- Retrieval skill

The crow spat something out on Hugo’s hand.

[Time’s Core]

It looked like a gem.

Hugo wailed in ecstasy when he was able to retrieve the core as ordered. “My god! Teacher didn’t call me a good-for-nothing for the first time! He called me by my name…!!!”

Time clutched at his stomach. His eyes flashed as he got up.

[How did you know the location of my Core…]

Lee Gun laughed in contempt. “I cut you apart 18,732 times. Of course, I’d know.”

[…!]

After taking Time’s core from Hugo, Lee Gun smirked. “Thanks for the EXP.”

Then he crushed the core with his hand.

Kwah-jeek!

[Number 18,733 Time’s EXP is entering you.]

[You have received all the stored Life energy at once.]

[Life has risen to level 6.]