Novel Full Ch 82 - Trial of Reputation (2)
Ch 82 – Trial of Reputation (2)
“Lee Gun! Are you here!”
Someone slammed open the door. In fact, both the front door and the back door opened at the same time.
“Lee Gun! We are here for you!”
The commotion surprised the people in the pub.
“W-what the hell! What’s going on!”
A group of men dressed in black entered the pub through the back door. To hide their identities, all of them had worn black coats.
Another group stepped in through the front door. The men in this group wore pure white armor. Their armor suits were unique with the symbol of the Virgo Saint engraved on them. The symbol looked as if someone had connected two “m”.
Alongside the group wearing pure white, soldiers clad in pure white uniforms surrounded the pub.
Clank clank!
The soldiers held guns in their hands. Although guns were ineffective against monsters, they worked on regular humans.
This development caused a stir inside the pub.
“Those pure white… They are the holy knights of the Virgo temple!”
“High-ranked Virgo disciples?”
The disciples from the other temples became vigilant. Troops supposed to be guarding the Virgo Saint’s holy ground had come here. They weren’t supposed to show up in a place like this unless they were on special business.
The crowd pointed at the group wearing pure white.
“They are the inquisitors of the Virgo Saint…!”
“!”
Their gazes then headed to the ones wearing white leather armor.
All the Saints were different, but most of them had similarly divided their temples into three internal factions. Naturally, the god and the Saint resided on top of this structure.
The first faction was field troops; they were called the Cluster, which contained the generals and disciples. The second faction was the Elders; they wrote the rules and managed the temple’s internal affairs. The last faction was the Inquisitor; they monitored and took disciplinary actions.
Of course, the Archer Saint didn’t have such a system. His temple was made out of a small number of elite disciples. The Leo Saint had decided to get rid of the elders and the inquisitors. However, they were the exception to the rule that only had the Clusters. The temples of these two Saints were considered eccentric…
“Anyway, why have the Inquisitors come into town?”
“Didn’t they just say they were looking for Lee Gun?”
“What? No way!”
The crowd gulped. The inquisitors were a somber bunch that hunted down disciples who were deserters or criminals. They also hunted down disciples from other temples.
Moreover, these inquisitors belonged to the Virgo Saint. The Virgo Saint’s territory was called the great empire of the west, and the Saint was very strict about the separation of the three powers. His inquisitors were famous for being cruel.
Therefore, everyone raised their guard.
“Is the Virgo Saint trying to steal Lee Gun’s achievement?”
“Since the inquisitors have come here, you might be right!”
“Wait a moment! What about the dudes wearing black?” someone asked as they saw the intruders that had entered the pub through the back door.
“Are the ones wearing black part of the Inquisitors?”
“That’s odd! I’ve never seen that group at the Virgo temple….”
“I’m sure they are a team under the Virgo temple.”
This assumption was ruthlessly shattered the next instant.
The group wearing pure white angrily spoke toward the group in black, “What the hell are you guys?”
“Who are you to look for Lee Gun?”
“We’ll settle this depending on your answer!”
The group in black responded in anger.
“What business do you have with Lee Gun?”
“How dare you follow us! If you interfere with our matters, we’ll take care of you first!”
“…?”
The crowd had no idea what was going on.
On the other hand, Goat’s mouth fell open. His eyes were sharp, so he had discerned the identity of the group wearing black.
‘They are from the Leo temple!’
These men had worn black coats, but…
‘How are they supposed to hide that?’
The Leo disciples were unique. All Leo disciples over Rank B were muscular, macho men. Moreover, their faces were menacing too. There was a reason Chun Yooha, who was considered the height of beauty, stood out within the Leo temple.
The words from the Leo temple’s group were unsurprising.
“The Leo disciples found Lee Gun first! Fuck off, harem disciples!”
“What did you just say?”
“If you don’t back off, you’ll become our enemy too!”
“You stupid muscle-brained idiots!”
The two groups unsheathed their weapons at the same time.
Cheng!
“They are all enemies!”
“If they don’t leave in ten seconds, we’ll kill all of them!”
Hugo, who still stood atop of the stage, became vigilant. Goat took out his bow; well, he attempted to.
Goat’s face turned pale when he tried to draw the bow on his back. ‘What the hell? Where did it go?’
His bow was missing! Goat continued to grope at his back, but the bow really wasn’t there. He was starting to wonder if his bow had combusted into thin air.
Then, a man in his thirties, who looked to be the leader of the group wearing pure white, stepped forward. “Listen, Leo disciples. It seems we both have business with Lee Gun. How about we go in order and take care of our business that way?”
“Alright! Of course, we’ll go first.”
“That’s okay! We don’t mind.”
“Haha! You’re speaking my language…”
Suddenly…
Boom!
“Kyahhk!”
“Ahk!!”
An explosion erupted amongst the legion of the Virgo disciples.
Dumbfounded, everyone turned to look at a young man nonchalantly lowering his bow.
“You guys are dead.” It was Lee Gun. He had stolen Goat’s bow. As if that wasn’t enough, he had lain waste on his enemies.
Laughing, he said, “You guys stopped the faith. It was rising so well.”
The targets of the attack cussed him out.
“What the hell? Have you lost your mind?”
“Gun!”
The Virgo disciples and the Leo disciples reacted to the shout at the same time.
“What? Lee Gun?”
“Did he say Lee Gun?”
“Where is Lee Gun!”
Arrows came flying once again.
Kwahng! Kwahng!
The two groups were flustered. They were losing before they could even attack.
“W-wait a moment! Lee Gun! We aren’t here to fight—”
Kwahng!! Kwahng!! Kwahng!!
As if Lee Gun wanted to shut them up, arrows came flying in once again. The disciples didn’t even get to finish what they had to say. Almost half of the Virgo disciples and the Leo disciples had suddenly gone down.
“Let’s talk! Please!”
Kwahng!
The arrows infused with magical energy refused to hear their voice. Emitting green light, the arrows smashed the ground with their incredibly destructive power!
Kwahng!!
“Retreat!”
“Shit! He’s not the Archer Saint, so how can he do this?”
“I taught him how to shoot the bow! What about it!”
Kwahng kwahng kwahng!
“Ahk!”
The disciples finally tracked the trajectory of the arrows.
“Over there! Lee Gun is over there!”
The Leo disciples desperately turned. It was the same for the Virgo disciples.
“Elder-nim! It’s that young man over there!”
The leader of the Virgo disciples was surprised.
Lee Gun waved his hand as if he was glad to see them.
“Please wait! Lee Gun-nim! It’s me! Pelio….”
“I told you guys to get out!”
Kwahng!
“Kuh-huhk!”
Lee Gun spoke as if he was angry. “I want both sides to get out! Let me raise my faith!”
“…?!”
He didn’t know what Lee Gun was saying, but the elder of the Virgo temple had come looking for Lee Gun.
Pelio became desperate. “Lee Gun-nim! Do you not remember me?”
Lee Gun didn’t care. “Fuck off before I send an arrow to your dome. Ten! Nine!
“Eight….”
“Wait a moment!” For some reason, Goat was shocked. “That person is the prince of Belgium. He’s Prince Pelio!”
“That’s right! It is me!” Pelio responded. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Pelio was a man in his thirties with a stylish beard.
Taking off his hood, Pelio continued, “Lee Gun-nim! Do you remember me? I shared a meal with you twenty years ago when you came to Belgium!”
“How the hell would I remember that?”
“Huhk!”
“Elder-nim!”
Lee Gun drew back the bow in anger.
Goat was taken aback. “Lee Gun-nim! He’s royalty—”
“Who cares? Do you think him being royalty will stop my arrow from piercing him?” Lee Gun replied.
Lee Gun’s instant hesitation left Goat speechless. As for Belgium’s prince, Pelio was frightened.
As if they preferred this development, the Leo disciples stepped forward.
“See!”
“The Virgo disciples should get out of the way!”
The Leo disciples quickly brought forth an LCD. Then a loud sound rang out from the screen.
[Lee Gun!]
The voice was familiar, surprising both Hugo and Goat. Then, a familiar face appeared on the LCD.
[What? Can you hear me?]
[Ah! Saint-nim! That’s the mic— You shouldn’t break it! Just speak into it!]
[Lee Gun! Are you there!]
Lee Gun furrowed his brows. The man on the screen was the Leo Saint. Stevens was wearing a hospital gown, so he had to be in the hospital. One of his disciples was holding up a minicam, so this was being shot live.
The Leo Saint yelled confidently through the LCD.
[Leek Gun! Make me my weapon…!]
Crash!
The display instantly broke. The disciple holding the display broke into a cold sweat.
Lee Gun harshly said, “That bastard is still alive.”
The Leo disciples shook. They had come here to make a request, but for some reason, all of them felt like they would be sent back in body bags. As if to make things worse, the Leo Saint seemed to have become a target again, which the disciples were ok with.
“It’s fine even if you don’t remember me!” Prince Pelio stepped forward. It seemed the prince was dying to speak as he got straight to the point. “Please kill the Virgo Saint for us!”
“!”
“If you agree to our request, we’ll return Lee Gun-nim’s holy item, which is in the Virgo Saint’s possession!”
* * *
While the Virgo and the Leo disciples were confronting Lee Gun at the pub…
“Lee Gun! Are you here!” The Virgo Saint entered a shop. The shop was empty, however. The only one to look up in surprise at Kevin was the owner of the shop.
The Virgo Saint ground his teeth. “Why isn’t he here? I heard the Archer Saint was doing missionary work here!”
The Virgo Saint was directionally challenged, so it was taking him a bit of time to find Lee Gun.
* * *
An isolated island near Canada!
This island was a beautiful island where one could hear the sounds of the waves. It was located within the Scorpio Saint’s territory. The island housed a white building, a hospital.
“They really are Madam and the general!”
Chun Sungjae’s party finally found the people they had been looking for. The group was in a clean hospital room with white curtains fluttering in the gentle wind. Two patients lay there with a screen in between them. The two looked like they were asleep.
Chun Sungjae couldn’t formulate any words. The people in front of him were relying on life-prolonging treatments, but it was clear that they were the two he had been looking for.
The young man could merely bite his lips. When Chun Sungjae didn’t move for some time, Yoon Yeorin placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sungjae. Go on…!”
Chun Sungjae finally nodded, then approached the two of them. He took out the Hugo figurines from his bag. Then…
Bbah-gahk!
He twisted the figurines to break them open. Something surprising happened.
Shweek!
Lights appeared out of the figurines and sank into the bodies of the two people lying there. It was as if the souls were returning to their right places.
“Is that all we have to do?”
The group looked down at the two of them with eyes full of anticipation.
Thirty seconds!
Sixty seconds!
Five minutes!
Time continued to pass, yet those two showed no signs of movement. This made Chun Sungjae and the two Archer disciples scrunch up their faces.
“As expected, it isn’t working!”
Of course, Lee Gun did say the probability of this succeeding was a coin toss. Despite that, they had been hopeful. Thus, their disappointment was expected.
“We should try it again!”
Suddenly, they heard an unfamiliar voice.
“It’s useless, idiot.” The voice came from the doorway to the hospital room.
Chun Sungjae’s face distorted when he saw the person standing in the doorway. “Yoon Taewoo!”
At the same time, the Archer disciples took out their bows and shot their arrows. Their loading speed was so fast that it was invisible to the naked eye.
Kwahng!
However, the light arrows failed to pierce Yoon Taewoo.
“…!”
A barrier pulsed in front of him. This was a spell.
Yoon Taewoo laughed as if he found them too much. “You shouldn’t attack someone so suddenly like that. I’m practically a family member of Sungjae. I’m a senior who’s like a big brother to him. I’m only here to pay my respect to the sick.”
These words left the Archer disciples baffled. How could he speak such words when he had entered the hospital room with such killing intent?
As if to prove this point, Yoon Taewoo raised his hand. “You Archer disciples are getting in my way. Fuck off!”
“Sungjae— Koohk!”
Boom!
The two Archer disciples screamed as they fell. A restraint spell took hold of them. The problem was that the restraint spell wasn’t under the domain of the Gemini.
‘Libra!’
They were in a tough spot. The Libra was a top god amongst the twelve Zodiac gods. In terms of quality and quantity of disciples, the Sagittarius was last. So, the Archer disciples could never measure up to the Libra disciples.
While their personal skills were similar, the power difference between the gods created a crushing difference.
‘Also, we don’t have a general or someone of Goat’s caliber here!’
Soon, Yoon Taewoo walked toward Chun Sungjae. Chun Sungjae started to chant a spell, but Yoon Taewoo didn’t pay any attention to it.
“You really learned all the bad habits. Whatever! I want you to give me the magic tome you stole. Do it while I’m being nice. If you do, I won’t kill you.” Frighteningly laughing, Yoon Taewoo added, “Of course, I’ll have to kill those two.”
The surprised Chun Sungjae quickly put up a barrier. A blue light surrounded the Archer disciples and the two people in the beds.
Yoon Taewoo grinned as if he found Sungjae’s actions laughable. “It won’t matter if you put up a barrier. Who cares if you’re a genius? You’re only an A-rank.”
Then, he punched the barrier.
Kwahng!
However, an enormous amount of energy pushed back Yoon Taewoo’s fist. It was only one blow, but the barrier had succeeded in stopping it.
Chun Sungjae gritted his teeth, while Yoon Taewoo grinned. “You’ve grown a lot. I never expected that little kid was you. I didn’t recognize you until they said it was the Archer Saint’s son!”
Kwahng!
The barrier instantly broke. Due to the backlash, Chun Sungjae vomited blood and crumpled to the ground.
Yoon Taewoo headed toward the two people in the beds.
Chun Sungjae got up as if he was going to protect the two. Even breathing seemed painful for him as he gasped.
“Idiot! Don’t waste your energy. I don’t know what you planned on doing, but did you really think they would wake up? This is something even the Gemini or the Aquarius can’t fix.”
“…!”
Chun Sungjae had clenched his eyes shut as he stood near the beds. However…
Someone beside him grabbed his hand. Then, the coin Lee Gun had given to him shone.