Chapter 42: My God, it wasn’t a made-up story (2)

“Wow! You are persistent.” Lee Gun spoke to a man in his thirties as if the man were pathetic. “I don’t want a dude to stalk me like this.”

This left the man in front of him dumbfounded.

“I’m not trying to stalk you.” The man blocking Lee Gun’s path was none other than the Gemini general, Choi Sunghyuk. He was accompanied by a hidden person, the guard who had accompanied Chun Sungjae that day. The guard was a pretty well-known power mage. 

Choi Sunghyuk was preventing Lee Gun from heading toward the cafe, and that was why Lee Gun looked at him with contempt. ‘Didn’t they say he’s one of the two strongest people in Korea?’

Lee Gun had been the hero of Korea. After his death, Korea continued to gain a strong batch of S-rank Users. One of the two strongest of them was the Leo general; he was under the Leo Saint, who was considered the strongest in close-quarters combat. The other one was the Gemini general. He was under the Gemini Saint, who was the strongest in magic.

The Gemini general was known as a go-getter. He was famous for dragging the Gemini temple to the first rank in Korea when Korea had been adversarial toward the Gemini temple in the past.

‘In other words, he’s tenacious.’

However, this piece of information didn’t matter to Lee Gun. He chewed on a baguette and kicked toward Choi Sunghyuk. “I’m busy, asshole. Get out of my way!”

Choi Sunghyuk laughed in an easygoing manner. A simple kick was nothing in front of his strongest magical barrier. “I’m also a busy man. I have to guard the Saintess today— Kuhk!”

When the general caught Lee Gun’s foot, his face immediately turned pale.

‘What the hell.’ He had used a magical barrier, yet he felt extreme pain wash over him.

Lee Gun tilted his head. “You’re guarding the Saintess? You?”

Lee Gun had held back when after hearing Choi Sunghyuk’s words. If he hadn’t held, the ribs of this man would have been crushed into pieces. He had put very little power in his kick, yet the kick had still caused damage.

It was unknown if Choi Sunghyuk was aware of this; he just smiled through his pain as he spoke. “The Saintess’s press conference will start at seven in the evening. It will be held at the Gangnam exchange. At the request of the Saintess, the generals of the temples will gather to guard her.”

The Saintess was going to speak about what had happened to Lee Gun twenty years ago. In truth, the generals had quickly accepted her request because they were curious as to what she was going to say.

Sophie had wanted to do the press conference at her holy ground. However, Lee Gun had rejected that idea. The conference was now being held in Korea, but…

‘She called in the generals to be her shield?’

In the end, It didn’t matter. Lee Gun was about to leave when Choi Sunghyuk desperately kept him in place.

The general said, “You’re going to sign a contract with the Gemini temple, right?”

“What?”

“The Gemini temple spent millions of dollars to purchase auction items for you. You wouldn’t go back on your word, right?”

These words surprised Lee Gun, and he looked towards the hidden guard. ‘Did he not have a talk with Choi Sunghyuk?’

The guard was on the same team as Sungjae. The previous day, he had gone looking for Lee Gun. He had been worried about Sungjae, and so, he had desperately asked that question to Lee Gun.

‘You aren’t Lee Gun, right? Please say you aren’t!’ At that time, the guard had a desperate expression on his face. He hadn’t spelled it out, but his expression had indicated that if Lee Gun was the real deal, he would be in trouble.

‘I can see why he would be screwed.’ Lee Gun thought.

The problem was the Gemini Saint. The Gemini Saint was one of the Zodiac Saints who truly hated Lee Gun. Actually, the only Zodiac Saint who liked Lee Gun was Taeksoo. 

However, the Gemini Saint considered Lee Gun a sworn mortal enemy. The two of them were like cats and dogs. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they tried to kill each other whenever they met. Blood had been shed several times.

Thanks to their leader, most of the Gemini temple’s disciples hated Lee Gun. It had become a culture. Therefore, Lee Gun found it funny when a general of the Gemini tried to scout him. Moreover, the Gemini temple fund had been used in Lee Gun’s favor. Millions of dollars had been poured into him.

‘Anyone involved will be in big trouble if it gets revealed that I’m Lee Gun.’

Of course, Lee Gun had known this but decided to be shameless. He had taken a slice of the pie. On the other hand, the guard was keeping his mouth shut because he might take the blame for this debacle. He didn’t want to be the scapegoat.

The guard wanted to tell the truth, but he had missed his timing. This was why he was groaning.

Well, it didn’t matter. 

‘This is good. My next target was that man.’ Lee Gun had been annoyed that government facilities in Korea had been taken over by the Gemini Saint.

A total of three assholes had invaded Korea. Lee Gun had taken care of the asshat and the dog bone, leaving only one. The only problem was that the Gemini Saint was a genius magician. He had reached the pinnacle of mastering all types of magic. The Gemini Saint’s powers would even cause him trouble. Moreover, the government facilities and his holy ground had powerful defensive magic placed on them. There was only one way to pierce through the barrier.

“Alright! I’ll enter your temple.” Lee Gun let out a bright smile.

The guard looked at Lee Gun as if the latter had lost his mind.

Choi Sunghyuk was very happy with his answer. “The Gemini Saint will be very happy”

‘No, he won’t! In fact, he’ll probably faint!’

The guard couldn’t speak up, so he pounded his chest in frustration.

“Let’s go sign the contract right now.” Lee Gun urged the General. Choi Sunghyuk might find out his identity once Sophie conducted her press conference. He had to suck them dry before that happened.

However, Choi Sunghyuk started beating around the bush. “This is a bit late to say this, but the Gemini Saint doesn’t like Lee Gun…”

“I don’t care! I’m not a Lee Gun fan.” Lee Gun replied.

Choi Sunghyuk was very surprised by the answer.

Lee Gun was telling the truth. ‘I am him.’ 

“In fact, I really don’t like him.” Lee Gun was talking about his face from twenty years ago.

“You used the sword technique of the Thirteenth when you killed the Spider Queen…”

“Ah! I had no choice but to learn it.” Lee Gun had developed the move during a part-time job when he had been short on money. “In fact, I want to wipe out the videos of Lee Gun’s exploits from the internet whenever I see them. I want to kill the uploaders.” They always uploaded weird videos of him. 

Lee Gun continued, “Also, the assessment of his skills is completely wrong.”

Choi Sunghyuk had heard what he wanted to hear. So, he moved close to Lee Gun in a friendly manner. “That’s surprising to hear, but I agree with you. Lee Gun’s true skills were around B-rank.”

“Yes. He was a nasty piece of work,” replied the man himself.

The guard, who stood hidden next to them, was dumbfounded. ‘This is ridiculous.’

Choi Sungyhuk, who had been closely assessing Lee Gun’s words and actions, laughed. ‘He’s not lying.’ The Gemini’s perception skill allowed the general to determine that Lee Gun was telling the truth.

“???” The guard was baffled as he looked at Lee Gun. He had no idea why the truth-determining skill didn’t trip up this man.

Lee Gun just laughed.

[Your opponent dares to use his perception skill.]

[It doesn’t work against a Saint rank]

Choi Sunghyuk relaxed when he got no reaction. “It’s agreed that you will be joining the Gemini temple…”

“I have a condition.” Lee Gun interrupted him.

“Condition?”

“I want that.”

The guard and the general were surprised by the item Lee Gun pointed out. It was the badge pinned on Choi Sunghyuk’s collar.

The guard was shocked by the request. He pulled Lee Gun to the side and whispered, “Listen here! That’s a special badge given only to generals! How can you—”

“Shut up! You already know about me. I’ll snitch if you say anything.”

‘Damn it!’ The guard was close to crying. Lee Gun was the hero of Korea. Even he respected Lee Gun. There was no way this person would do something truly bad, yet… ‘Fuck it. I know nothing.’

When Lee Gun returned, Choi Sunghyuk readily handed him his badge. “You can have it. I can get a new one made. Ah! Please don’t sell it. You’ll get caught.”

A high-rank badge boosted magical energy just by its presence. Choi Sunghyuk assumed that Lee Gun wanted to boost his status with the badge. Anyway, only Saint-rank Users could properly use the badge.

Lee Gun laughed as if his plan had worked out. It was understandable.

[You have activated Gaze of a god!]

<Gemini Badge> S rank

– Contains body tissue of the Gemini Saint.

One of the conditions needed to break the Gemini’s magic was the tissue from the caster’s body. With this tissue, one could create holy items capable of breaking the magic of the Gemini. ‘What a naive bastard.’

The situation wasn’t done yet.

Choi Sunghyuk then brought out his tablet. He didn’t want Lee Gun to change his mind, so he had immediately brought out the contract. “These are the perks you’ll receive if you join the Gemini temple.”

The guard discreetly took a glance at the contract. It shocked him. ‘That’s crazy! What kind of a special contract is this!’

Basically, Lee Gun could name anything, and it would be free. 

The general laughed. ‘He’s a prospect worth that price.’

This young man was a type of prospect called the King’s Hand. It meant that he possessed the left and right hand. It meant he had the possibility of becoming an SS rank disciple, a user directly under the Zodiac Saints. Only ten such people currently existed in the world.

The power difference between a god with a King’s Hand and a god who didn’t possess one was pretty great. Basically, if a King’s Hand was stolen from a god, the god’s power could be almost halved.

The Leo Saint had a female King’s Hand amongst his core fighting force. The Gemini Saint didn’t possess one. Chun Sungjae had a small potential to become a King’s hand, so Choi Sunghyuk had secretly recruited him.

Lee Gun laughed. “I want to add another condition. No matter what happens, I want all the benefits to be maintained during the contract period.”

These words made Choi Sunghyuk put his guard up once again. “Why?”

“How come? You might retract the benefits if I get into trouble. This should be no big deal to the number one temple in Korea, right?”

Choi Sunghyuk accepted the explanation. A lot of awakened beings operated in that fashion. “Please don’t cause too big of a mess.” He modified the terms of the contract.

The guard was about to stop Choi Sunghyuk, but he gave up when Lee Gun glared at him.

“This is the contract. Let us work hard to unseat Lee Gun,” the general said.

Lee Gun replied, “Alright! As a favor, I’ll work for the Saintess as a guard. Put me right next to her so that I can show off my abilities.”

“Alright! I’ll discuss this with the Gemini Saint.”

The guard couldn’t take it anymore, so he was about to approach Lee Gun. However…

[You have received a contribution.]

[Someone is using your holy item.]

“?” Lee Gun turned his head. He had discovered something.

***

“Are you sure he is Uncle Lee Gun?”

“Yes! He changed a lot, but he really is our uncle! He’s amazing!”

Chun Sungjae was sitting in a cafe with his sister. He had met up with her before meeting with Lee Gun. The young man was having a hard time tamping down his excitement.

It was really rare for the woman to see her prickly brother make such an expression. She sulked a bit as she spoke to him. It was to be expected. “If he’s amazing, why didn’t you send me a single picture?”

Chun Sungjae screamed like a dolphin, “Damn it. I forgot to take pictures! I was too mesmerized…” He quickly took out his phone. “Shit! I’ll ask him to take a picture and send it to me!”

“No. It’s fine.” Her idiot younger brother was the type of guy who had bought a limited figurine with scratches on it. “I don’t have to see a picture. I’m sure Uncle will be cool.” ‘Of course, he has probably changed a lot. He probably looks much older…’

“Ah! You have to prepare yourself. You’ll faint from surprise once you see Uncle’s face.”

“!” Chun Yooha’s eyes shook. ‘Is he perhaps beyond being an old man? Is he unimaginably hideous?’ It was understandable. ‘He spent twenty years inside a hellhole.’

It was probably why he refused to reveal himself to the press. Everything fell into place. Even her young brother, who had a strong stomach for anything repulsive, was warning her. ‘How bad is it?

‘Yes. I won’t be surprised. I cannot show bad manners to him.’ Chun Yooha became serious. As she was getting ready, she received a text. 

[Scarlet Light-nim! We received an S rank assignment. We have to guard the Saintess. Where are you?!]

Her uncle was more important than a mere assignment. Chun Yooha was about to exit the cafe with a sullen expression to make a call. However…

“The whole cake is packaged and ready, Customer. It’s a three-tier red velvet cake with two XL size oreo shakes.”

“Oh! What great timing.”

Chun Sungjae was about to pick up the items Lee Gun had ordered when…

“Hey, Chun Sungjae. Why are you here?”

“!” He heard a familiar voice as he reached the pickup stand.

“You must be loving it right.”

“The world is plastered with the news of that bastard.”

The people provoking Chun Sungjae were disciples of the Gemini Saint. Lee Gun was hated in the Gemini temple, yet Chun Sungjae was dumb enough to be his fan. Therefore, this group of senior disciples always made fun of the young man.

“You know what he did today? He said he had to go meet Lee Gun-nim. He skipped his senior’s anniversary.”

“He’s merely an A-rank disciple. Nothing scares him because he’s more famous than an S rank.”

Chun Sungjae furrowed his eyebrows at those words. These people were the direct descendants of the Gemini Saint. Even the generals didn’t dare to mess with these family members. If one messed with them, it would buy the Gemini Saint’s anger. Therefore, Chun Sungjae didn’t even bother dealing with them.

Flash!

‘!’

However, something suddenly flashed in Chun Sungjae’s pocket. It was the weapon Lee Gun had given to him. 

<Janus’s Desire! Rank A (Gemini)>

Special attribute: Summon Two-Faced Soldiers(Rank A)

Summon soldiers that like to follow the disposition of the summoner (M)! Summon soldiers that like to attack (S) (Change)

Random skill activation (Additional)

A skeleton appeared alongside a blue smoke. It came along with terrible instruments of torture in its hands. The raging magical energy frightened everyone.

Chun Sungjae freaked out too. ‘Uncle! You never said “that” will come out!’ Lee Gun had advised him to not be surprised by whatever came out with the knife!

Chun Sungjae’s seniors were all frightened by the sight. 

‘Is that a red zone monster?’

‘Is it a Construct?’

Usually, the gods created holy items and gave them out to their disciples. This was why there were a variety of holy items. Yet, no one had ever heard of such a nefarious holy item.

Chun Sungjae was flustered. He quickly unsummoned the skeleton.

Shweek!

The skeleton turned into smoke as it disappeared. The other disciples, who had almost fallen to the ground in fear, became angry. They had no idea what Chun Sungjae had done, but he would pay.

“Chun Sungjae.”

“Come with us.”

As they spoke those words, they drank the oreo shakes for Lee Gun, which Chun Sungjae was holding. The sudden terror had made them thirsty.

“Today is the day you die, bastard.”

Chun Yooha, who had just exited the restroom, was surprised as she witnessed this. She was about to run toward her brother.

“Hey, friends.”

“!”

However, someone grabbed the heads of the two disciples. “Who said you can touch my stuff?”