The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero
chapter-213

[You will awaken as the Zodiac Saint of Death.]

The notification rang out in Lee Gun’s voice. It was a voice that only the Serpent Bearer’s disciples could hear.

Normally, a designated Construct in charge of managing the disciples spoke through the badges. However, the temple of the Serpent Bearer was unique in that Lee Gun’s voice rang out directly into the disciples’ heads. It was like a divine message.

Was it because of the voice? Carly, who was suffering from the shock of having her soul pulled out, flinched.

Since the Sagittarius temple was an affiliate of the Serpent Bearer’s temple, Goat could hear the voice, too. He looked at his surroundings in surprise. “What the hell? Is that Lee Gun-nim’s voice?”

Although it was Lee Gun’s voice, the voice was kind and warm. This was the reason for their surprise.

Boom!

The green light emanating from Chun Yooha’s body mixed with the black light and raged. The winds lashed out because of the lights, and breathing became harder.

Carly and Goat were surprised by the familiar energy.

‘That is…!’

It was the power of Death, the power of the god of calamity, which the Zodiacs avoided.

Lee Gun’s power had manifested by borrowing Yooha’s body. The Zodiac Saints possessed bodies capable of doing this.

Because of that, Goat couldn’t close his mouth. Although he hadn’t said it, if he were being honest, he didn’t think there was too much of a difference between the Serpent Bearer’s Zodiac Saints and the Ten Stars(SS) like him. At a basic level, the two Zodiac Saints’ bodies seemed greatly fortified. However…

‘They don’t feel like Zodiac Saints.’

That was why the other Zodiac Saints and the other intermediate-rank awakened beings treated the siblings like novices. A big part also had to do with Sungjae’s appearance. It was why they looked down on them, but it seemed they had it all wrong.

[Death is showing a reaction.]

The thing they had sensed was the absence of the color. It was because the siblings hadn’t awakened yet!

Kwahng!

Goat and Carly almost screamed as the black light surged into the air. It was as if Yooha’s body had been fortified for this moment.

[You have become a vessel that supports the great Serpent Bearer’s “Death.”]

[You have received the power of Death from the Serpent Bearer, and you have awakened.]

[Your magical energy and skills will change into the color of Death.]

[You will develop skills befitting the properties of the Divine status of Death.]

[You have developed attributes.]

[Death is elated that its side awakened its Zodiac Saint.]

[Death says that Life cannot satisfy the Serpent Bearer. Only it can satisfy the Serpent Bearer.]

Unlike the other Zodiacs, the Serpent Bearer was a god that possessed two Divine statuses. It was different from the other Zodiacs, where their Zodiac Saints immediately displayed their color.

When Chun Yooha chose her path, her appearance suddenly changed. Like how Lee Gun’s eyes would turn red when he used his power, Chun Yooha’s eyes changed too. Her black hair fluttered as her red eyes glared at the monarch. She was like a reaper.

This amused the monarch.

[That is quite the useful power.]

Abundance smirked.

The Serpent Bearer was a Zodiac that the Time Monarch was obsessed with. However, for Abundance, the Serpent Bearer was merely a newly born baby snake. This was why it didn’t think the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer would be this powerful.

[I planned on giving this brat’s body as a reward to eat, but I’ve changed my mind.]

Abundance tightened its grip around the soulless Chun Sungjae’s neck.

Crunch!

“Sungjae!”

The sound of the young man’s neck bone being broken rang out.

Goat was shocked. He wanted to retrieve Sungjae’s body, but the monarch wasn’t an easy opponent.

Boom!

“Koo-oohk!!”

Its menacing power descended.

They felt as if they were being crushed to death. From head to toe, they felt as if their internal organs were being pressed down. This wasn’t a skill. It was pure overwhelming power! The horrifying part was the sensation touching their skin.

Coldness! It was fear. They felt as if the cold hands of corpses were touching all over their body.

Goat, Carly, and Yooha couldn’t move their bodies in front of this power.

The monarch’s face changed as if it had finally decided to come out.

Kwah-jeek!

The kind eyes of Chun Jiwoo changed into the eyes of a monster. Then, the monarch’s appearance changed from Chun Jiwoo to Chun Sungjae. It seemed capable of changing its face according to the souls it ate.

[If you’re Death, this brat is Life?]

Abundance opened its wicked mouth. In truth, the monarch wasn’t interested in Chun Yooha’s power of Death. This was to be expected since Abundance was in charge of producing monsters. It was the monarch that increased the number of monsters and developed their abilities.

In many ways, Abundance was a monarch that had a plan. There was no way it would look kindly at the attribute of Death, which was the entire opposite of what it grew. In fact, it was more interested in Life!

[This Zodiac Saint’s body is infused with the power of Life. It’ll allow me to get stronger.]

Abundance had lost all its generals. It planned on using the body of the Zodiac Saint to make new generals.

The normal disciples were low rank, but the power of their Zodiacs was embedded all over their bodies. On the other hand, the meat of a Zodiac Saint could be considered top-shelf. It would be enough to create a general.

The monarch grabbed Chun Sungjae like a piece of meat for convenience. It was about to take a bite out of the flesh when…

Kwah-jeek!

A black light surged forth.

Flash!

As if it didn’t want to be bothered, the monarch jumped on top of the four-story building with Chun Sungjae.

Chun Yooha’s eyes flashed as she jumped as well.

Kwahng!

When they saw this, Carly and Goat had a realization.

‘She can’t do it alone.’

Her opponent was a monarch. They hadn’t known it before, but when it started to emit its power, they had realized their opponent was on a different level.

‘Zodiac rank!’

They were sure of it when they saw the power difference. A newly awakened Zodiac Saint’s attack wouldn’t work against it.

A streak of light landed in front of the monarch.

Kwahk!

The red-eyed reaper appeared in front of it again. Her demeanor said that she wanted to kill it even if it touched her brother with its fingertip. She swung her spear.

Flash!

The spear moved at a terrifying speed that fit the name lightning! That wasn’t all. As if it had sensed its owner’s anger, Crimson Earth’s Judgment, which Lee Gun had made especially for her, let out a fierce roar.

[Crimson Earth’s Judgment has changed its appearance through the Divine status of Death.]

[Crimson Earth’s Judgment has evolved into its second stage.]

The black light surrounded the spear blade, and the weapon suddenly folded in a different direction. Then it elongated to look like a scythe.

As he had done to Heaven’s Punishment, Lee Gun had made sure the spear had the property of transformation.

[Crimson Earth’s Judgment exhibits the Serpent Bearer’s “Death.”]

The transformed spear came crashing toward the monarch.

Kwah-jeek!

Killing intent oozed from the black semicircle. Speed, destructive power, and location! Everything was perfect as the black semicircle collided with the monarch’s body.

Kwahng!

The monarch in the form of Chun Sungjae got surrounded by the black light. The monarch lost grip on Sungjae, and Sungjae’s body fell from the sky.

Since the height was significant, the body could get damaged. Therefore, Goat quickly whistled, despite not being able to use his body.

Hweek!

Fire exploded next to him!

Puhng!

A black figure appeared in the exploding flame.

Shweek!

It was a crow. The enormous crow of the Sagittarius temple flew into the sky and intercepted Chun Sungjae.

The monarch didn’t want to lose the body of a Zodiac Saint, so it unleashed its black power. However, that was useless.

Pahng!

Carly used her ability and offset the black power.

The Golden Rule was a technique that could return an attack’s power to its sender. Of course, the ability wasn’t something she could use freely. The price she had to pay was dependent on how strong her opponent was.

‘Hahh!’

Carly pressed down on her shoulder. However, it seemed her efforts were enough.

The crow dodged the monarch’s attack and dropped the body toward Goat.

Plop!

“Sungjae!”

The SS-rank Archer disciple quickly received and held Chun Sungjae in his arms. Goat flinched as his body trembled. Chun Sungjae was limp like a doll, his heart still.

However, Super Regeneration had fully healed his broken neck bone. The only thing the body lacked was his soul.

‘If Lee Gun-nim were here, he could do something about this.’

There was no way Lee Gun would have let his Zodiac Saint die.

[That was surprising. Not bad.]

“!”

Goat trembled as he watched the monarch walk toward them.

“Koo-oohk…!”

Chun Yooha was caught in the monarch’s hand.

[Weakness grown by Abundance!]

The debuff skill didn’t work directly against the unconstrained Abundance.

Despite being held by her neck, Chun Yooha gnashed her teeth as she used the power of Death.

Koo-goo-goong!

This made the monarch furrow its brows, and it threw Chun Yooha.

Kwahng!!

“Miss Yooha!”

As if it was really annoyed, the monarch sent Chun Yooha and Carly to its pocket dimension.

Kwah-jeek!

In the end, the only one left in front of it was Goat.

Goat’s body shook when he met eyes with the monster. He remembered the incident with Chun Jiwoo. If he could somehow get the soul, Lee Gun could solve this problem.

Last time, Lee Gun had bisected the stomach of the toad monster to extract the souls. Goat wondered if Lee Gun could do something similar this time. However…

‘Damn it! How do I take back the soul?’

After taking a stab from Yooha’s scythe, the monarch was emanating a more menacing energy. Moreover, its body had returned to its original state even after being sliced by Death. Of course, this wasn’t regeneration.

[Abundance has produced its body once again.]

Abundance was the monarch that produced the monster army. It could also endlessly proliferate its own body. Missing parts could be replaced by producing more parts.

If its heart was gone, the monarch just had to add and connect another heart. If its leg was gone, another leg could be made and attached once again.

Of course, the monarch’s outer appearance looked more monstrous. However, that wasn’t important now.

‘I can’t even run away.’

The monarch wanted the body of the Zodiac Saint. Even if Goat somehow escaped, it would continue to track them down.

That was why Goat was in a bind. He wanted to find another method, but the barrier was a problem.

‘Shit! The Zodiacs won’t be able to enter this place unless the barrier can be broken.’

The Zodiac Saints as well as the Zodiacs couldn’t approach this particular area. Although Goat’s perception wasn’t as good as Lee Gun’s, he was an SS-rank disciple of the Sagittarius temple. He could sense it if anyone was nearby.

‘I do not feel Lee Gun-nim’s energy….’

Of course, there was no way Lee Gun would have missed a monster invasion of this size. He wasn’t one to remain a spectator.

The fact that Goat couldn’t feel Lee Gun’s energy made it likely that Lee Gun was hiding his power as he approached them. However, Lee Gun hadn’t shown up in front of them. That meant…

‘He isn’t able to enter this place because of the barrier.’

So, Goat couldn’t expect help. The monarch wanted Sungjae’s body, so it would keep coming after them. That was also the reason it had put up this barrier. No one could enter or leave this place.

‘We’ll die here today.’

If he had known this would happen, he would have confessed his love. Goat’s hands were shaking, but he took a firm grip on Sungjae. There was no way he would let Sungjae go.

[Alright. If you hand him over, I’ll spare all of you.]

“…?!” The surprised Goat looked at the monarch.

[I’ll give you the head. Leave the rest. The head is the tastiest part, but I’ll allow you to have it for the funeral.]

“…!”

The monarch’s eyes curved in mirth when it saw Goat’s expression.

[What? I think it’s an incredible offer. He’s a corpse now. If you give me the body, I’ll let you live. A scaredy-cat should act like a scaredy-cat. Get your ass over here!]

Goat’s eyes became bloodshot. “How dare you!”

He was about to charge forward as he emitted the magical energy of the Sagittarius. However…

Koo-goo-goong!

“!”

As if to shut everyone up, Chun Yooha appeared, having sliced through the space with her scythe.

The monarch was taken aback. It wondered how she was able to break through its pocket dimension.

‘This feeling…!’

Although this feeling was masked by the smell of death, the smell of the Space-time monarch was there.

The monarch was proven right.

[Regardless of the place and the time, Death swallows space.]

[Everything is equal in front of Death.]

[Death can dominate and pass through places that it perceives as space.]

[The Zodiac Saint of Death is indiscriminate when it comes to space. She can cross through any space.]

In other words, Yooha just needed the power of Space, which belonged to Death. She was like a reaper where even her physical body could pass through space.

The monarch laughed in contempt.

[Do I have to rip away your legs to stop you from coming at me like a flea?]

The monarch was about to split Chun Yooha into two as she charged toward it, but…

Flash!

Suddenly, a light exploded forth from the monarch’s body.

[…!]

It was none other than the power of Life!

[Life is surging forth.]

A light welled up inside the monarch’s mouth. The light was a warm green light with some golden light infused in it!

The monarch felt tormented as the light surged up inside it. This light agonized the monarch.

Chun Yooha, who had been emanating killing intent, flinched at the sight of this light.

‘Uncle?’

She was sure of it. She could feel her uncle from the power.

Finally, the surging light ripped apart the monarch’s body. Then, someone appeared while ripping apart the body. It was a familiar face.

Chun Yooha was surprised.

“Uncle?”

Kwah-jee-jeek!

Then, something surprising happened.

[You will awaken as the Zodiac Saint of Life.]