“Hyung! Get out of the way”

A large rock fell from the sky.

Lee Gun laughed as he cleared the debris falling from the ceiling..

Boom!

He then looked at his hands with interest. His gaze fell at the green magical energy emanating from his hands. It seemed different from his usual power. ‘This feels like divine power.’

Something incredible happened then.

Koo-goo-goong!

“Kyahhhhhk!”

An earthquake erupted at the mart.

“Kyahhhhk!”

The violent earthquake made people lose their balance, and they fell to the floor. They wondered if it was a simple earthquake, but they were soon proven wrong.

A dark swarm of bugs erupted out of the cracked floor. At a glance, each of them looked as big as a person’s arm!

All hell broke loose within the mart.

“Ahhhk! It’s a Calamity!”

“Monsters”

“What the hell! Why is this happening in a safe zone!”

“That’s right! Our local government bought protection from the Saints!”

The people fell into a state of panic. The only one calm was Lee Gun.

Chun Sungjae and his friend, who were awakened beings, were taken aback.

“S…Sungjae!”

“It’s fine! Calm down! It’s a Calamity, but it’s only an evacuation advisory level event—”

Chun Sungjae whipped his head around, and he had no choice but to scream.. A large centipede was crawling on his friend’s shoulder. To make matters worse, four more were nearby! The centipedes were so large that he lost his cool despite being a high-rank disciple.

He froze for an instant.

‘What the hell? Why are the rank 1 danger classification monsters here!’

He was sure of it. Several of the monsters that had appeared here needed at least ten S-ranks to deal with them.

This wasn’t an evacuation level event. However, these were high rank monsters that would cause a mandatory evacuation order.

‘Shit. Why is this happening in the middle of the protected city…!’

The monsters didn’t even give them time to think.

“Ahhk! Sungjae!”

“Jimin!”

The enormous centipede’s mouth opened wide towards the young man.

Kwahng!

Suddenly, the centipede’s head blew apart. 

Clank!

“!”

A can of coke had blown off the centipede’s head.

“These bastards should brush their teeth.”

Chun Sungjae was startled when he heard the voice.

The one to blow off the centipede’s head with the can was none other than Lee Gun.

This scene shocked Sungjae even more. ‘D-did he just blow off a high-rank monster’s head with that?’

There was a wide range of danger from calamity level to safety level. The danger was differentiated through color. Green was [Safe Zone], yellow was [Full Alert], orange was [Evacuation Advisory], red was [Evacuation Order], and black was [Completely Off Limits], a total of six categories.

At a glance, the centipedes were of a level that would categorize them into the Red Zone(Evacuation Order). Every time the S-rank Users had tried to clear a Red zone, they had failed. ‘How could he!’

Lee Gun let out a savage laugh as he tossed the can between his hands. 

The divination said he should prepare a weapon. He wondered if it was referring to this.

“You bastards! Do you have nothing to eat that you're going for kids?”

“!”

A scary amount of strength entered Lee Gun’s arm, then he threw it! Infused with magical energy, the coke can flew through the air. They flew in a straight line. 

Kwahng!

“Ggeeeeeeek!”

The noise sounded as if cannonballs had exploded. Flying like bullets, the cani obliterated the heads of three centipedes.

Kwahng! Kwahng!

“Keeeeeeeek!”

That wasn’t all. Whenever the insects tried to move against the nearby humans, Lee Gun deftly threw an item to draw their attention and then slaughtered them.

Kwahng!

“Ggeeeeeeek!”

Chun Sungjae’s legs turned to jelly. The man in front of him was accomplishing something impossible unless he knew the vital parts of each type of monster. 

That wasn’t the only surprising thing.

Kwahng!

“Ahhk! What the hell! He sent the human-sized monster flying with his bare hands!”

Everyone was shocked by the performance put on by Lee Gun.

Is he affiliated with a battle-type temple? Is he an S-rank?’

“However, I’ve never seen him before…! Ah! They are coming here again! Ahhk!

Boom!

Lee Gun destroyed several large beetles, then landed on the floor. Everyone looked at him as if he was a monster. 

On the other hand, Lee Gun was taken aback as he looked at the light emanating from his hands. ‘As expected, this doesn’t feel like the power that I normally use.’

In fact, it felt like the power that the Zodiac Saints used whenever they borrowed power from the 12 Zodiacs.

However, he still couldn’t feel the presence of the 13th Zodiac. It felt as if this power had always been his.

Above all else, it was the power of his skills.

‘The power of my normal skills wasn’t like this.’

He wondered what was going on, but the reason became known to him in short order.

[The requirement to unlock Death Instinct (F) has been met!] 

[Requirement: Has to be used in battle] 

[You can now use the Death Instinct (F) skill. It allows you to partially activate a locked-away physical ability.]

[As a bonus for releasing the Death Instinct, you will be able to use it for 3 seconds.]

[You have used Death Instinct.]

[Bull Instinct▶Death Instinct (F)]

-Your remaining magical energy will be consumed to release the divine state for <3 seconds>.

Lee Gun laughed when he received the notification.

‘It did say my skills had evolved when I exited the tower.’

A simple mental elevation skill had changed into a powerful special move.

This was why Lee Gun found it to be interesting.

‘I can oppose the Zodiacs with power of this magnitude.’

The Zodiacs were the biggest impediment in his effort to kill the 12 Zodiac Saints.

Also, the skill was powerful, but it seemed he couldn’t use it whenever he wanted.

[A specific condition has to be met from now on if you want to use the Death Instinct. ]

[If you use it properly, you will be able to use 100% of its power.]

Of course, he hadn’t wished for this disastrous situation, but it had worked out in his favor.

Why?

[ 13th Sense (Special) ※ Need battle to release.]

[Creation Workshop (Production) ※ Needs S rank or above manufacture holy item]

Even if he put aside the manufacture skills, all the other skills could be released through battle!

That wasn’t all.

‘’I wondered how much the penalty is affecting me. This is great.’

Lee Gun laughed as he sent all the monsters flying.

Kwahng!

“Keeeeeeek!”

Chun Sungjae couldn’t speak as he watched the scene.

It was to be expected. He had seen S ranks up close. He had seen several Zodiac Saints including his father, who was the Archer Saint, in action. 

‘He is entirely different from them.;

This person was on a different level compared to them.

‘What the hell is he?’

Chun Sungjae trembled. His friend desperately yelled out to him as they moved away from the centipedes. “H-hyung! Be careful! The insect-type monsters are really dangerous!”

Lee Gun liked the fact that these monsters weren’t normal. He had been collecting ingredients for his weapon when he came to a halt. In a rarity, he agreed to heed the warning.

Why?

‘Insect type..’ Monsters always brought along change and uncertainty. Some types of monsters had the talent of causing the most mayhem to humans. One of them was the parasitic monsters. They could cause abnormal changes within the bodies of humans and animals, leading to diseases.

“They don’t care if the host is a human or an animal. The parasites make the hosts kill themselves or harm others!

“I know. That's why I hate them.” Lee Gun said.

“Huh? I guess you know about it. If you get the parasite...”

“I couldn’t eat chicken for a month thanks to those bastards. They even killed all the baby chicks.” Lee got angry.

“?!”

“Moreover, they also killed all the baby pigs. That was my bacon!” The enraged Lee Gun threw the corpse of a monster toward the bugs.

Kwahng! Kwahng!

It was clear that Lee Gun was venting his anger. The two young men looked at Lee Gun with baffled expressions. In the past, there had been an incident where insect-type monsters had almost wiped out all the livestock. However...

‘That was more than twenty years ago.’ Unlike the current society, humanity didn’t have the protection of domes back then. Chun Sungjae knew about that incident only because his dad had reminisced about it. Now, livestock was reared inside the dome of the Zodiacs. Therefore, humanity wasn’t completely defenseless against calamities anymore.

It was the reason Lee Gun's words were out of place.

'Why is he talking about something that happened when Lee Gun-nim was still alive?’ Although he had his doubts, Chun Sungjae didn’t have the time to be confused.

“Kyahhhk!”

A scream rang out not too far away.

* * *

“Help!”

A scream rang out near the butcher’s shop where swarms of small black spiders had gathered. The spiders weren’t very strong, but they were strong enough to make around twenty people shrink away in fear. This group of people was huddled inside a translucent ball that exuded a golden light. 

[The baby spiders do not like approaching the light.]

It seemed that the group had rented a protection skill.

The relevant information about this skill appeared in front of Lee Gun’s eyes.

[Scent of a Beast! (Rank D)! (Leo)!]

- Duration: 00:13:54

- It emits an odor that repels monsters.

- Caution! It only stops monsters from getting close. It's highly effective, but it can't physically defend against monsters.

- Protection Type

Rent: $10,000 (Each person)

Lee Gun furrowed his brows. With a glance, he could tell this skill hadn't come from those disgusting bastards. They couldn't come up with something like this. He found the smell and the description familiar.

‘What the hell? Why does it emit the same smell as the item I made?’ He had needed a special process to make that item, so there was no way this other skill could have the same smell as that of his item.

In the end, Lee Gun let out a burst of laughter in disgust. ‘Those bastards... They even stole this skill and made money off it!' It was absurd, but that wasn’t important right now.

“The spider ate the child!” the civilians shouted.

“!”

The corners of Lee Gun’s mouth as he looked towards the direction pointed out by the crowd.

An enormous spider was shuffling around the wall. The other little spiders, which were as big as a person’s finger, couldn’t hold a candle to this spider. This spider's size and level were much higher than normal.

‘Is this the arthropod mentioned in the divination?’

Of course, he had no idea what connection this monster had with the Sheep Saint Yang Wei.

‘It’ll be dangerous if I let it be.’

 Most importantly, a child’s leg was sticking out of the monster’s mouth.

“Shit! The kid!”

The child who was struggling for her life seemed to be an elementary school kid. The child’s mother was inside the skill's protection, and she was losing her mind. If not for the others holding her back, she would've rushed toward her child. 

It happened at that moment.

Lee Gun started walking towards the spider, surprising Chu Sungjae and his friend.

“Hyung! It’s too late…!

“No. She’s still alive.”

“What?”

They didn’t even have time to question him.

Kwahng!

Lee Gun threw frozen meat towards the spider. 

At the same time, the surprised spider dropped the child from its mouth. 

Screams rang out.

“It’s the kid!”

The child fell to the floor. She was wrapped like a piece of meat with spider threads.

“Ah…! She is still alive! She is moving!”

“My god!”

Chun Sungjae and his friend looked at Lee Gun in surprise.

Lee Gun laughed. 

“This monster doesn’t eat its prey immediately.”

“.....!”

They were very surprised. It seemed Lee Gun was very knowledgeable about how to deal with the spider.

“Well, the kid will be eaten eventually if we don’t quickly retrieve her.”

This was why Lee Gun infused his hands with magical energy.

At a glance, the spider looked like it had high defense. It would hurt his hands if he fought with his bare hands, but he had no choice.

‘It isn’t as if there is someone useful that I can use as a tank for the damage.’

Kwah-jee-jeek!

“!”

Someone blocked Lee Gun's path with a terrifying ice wall.

[Caution! It's a powerful magical energy spell!]

[The two-faced Gemini’s power can be felt.]

Then, he heard a voice. “Hey, I told you a worker ant shouldn’t act out of line.”

“!”

Lee Gun didn’t react, but Chun Sungjae furrowed his brows when he heard the sharp voice. Unsurprisingly, the other S-rank disciple stood in front of them. It was Frost Min Sunghoon, who had been with them inside the store.

‘He became an S rank just a while ago, yet he’s acting arrogant.’ 

Of course, it wasn’t the biggest reason he hated the man.

‘He dared take Lee Gun-nim’s holy item saying it was perfect for him.’

Chun Sungjae looked at Ming Sunghoon as if the latter were a cockroach. 

Unlike him, his friend was overjoyed; Min Sunghoon was a hero praised widely within Korea. So, Hahn Jimin immediately requested, “Please help us! We have to save the kid! A red zone level monster showed up in a green zone!”

However, the young man flinched when Min Sunghoon looked at him with contempt. “Red zone? Stop spreading that bullshit.”

“!”

“The blessing of the Zodiacs protects downtown. Red rank? How dare you look down on the twelve Zodiac Saints like that!” Min Sunghoon snorted as he unsheathed a knife. “Get out of the way. You can’t kill it unless you are an S rank.”

“Oh… As expected of someone that is an assistant to the Gemini Saint!

At that moment, a voice could be heard from the place cordoned off by the ice wall. “Hey, idiot ostrich egg head. You can't do anything against it. Get out of the way.”

“!”

When Min Sunghoon heard Lee Gun’s words and his laughter, he glared at the ice wall. “What... what did you just say?” 

“Fuck off before I break you to pieces, bitch!”

Min Sunghoon was baffled by his words, so he burst out laughing. The man couldn’t do anything because he was trapped behind the ice wall. So what was he talking about? ‘That ice contains divine power…’

Kwahng!

“!?”

The ice wall fell apart in an instant. At the same time, a hand reached out from between the shattered ice.

“…?!”

He didn’t even have time to be surprised. In a flash, Min Sunghoon was grabbed by the collar and thrown toward the spider.

Kwahng!

“Kuh-huhk!”

 When Min Sunghoon met Lee Gun’s murderous eyes, he became frightened. 'How could he destroy the ice from the Zodiacs like that!’

* * *

At the same time, in Incheon...

The Sheep Saint had arrived in Korea to solve the problem around the constructs. As soon as he got in the car, Yang Wei heard something hard to believe.

“What? What did you just say?”

    - A calamity appeared in a large store near the Bucheon area.

“That’s not important right now. Tell me what kind of calamity appeared there.”

    - It… It might be a Spider Queen.

Yang Wei cursed. It was to be expected. ‘We failed to kill that bastard in the red zone not too long ago!’

The twelve Zodiac Saints were officially dispatched near Bucheon, but they had come back with their butts kicked. Amongst the calamity-type monsters, the spider types were easy prey for Lee Gun; in contrast, Yang Wei was incapable of killing them. The best he could do was seal them.

‘Did it escape?’ The media didn’t know that the Zodiacs had failed the raid. Officially, the Zodiacs had advertised that they had killed the Spider Queen. This truth couldn’t get out to the media; there could be no witnesses.

If the monster he failed to kill showed up in Korea, it would cause a massive headache for him. Yang Wei had only one option left. “I want you to gather all of our disciples in Korea. Tell them to bury that place alive, and inform the media that everyone inside died.”

    - What? The people inside!

“Bury them alive.”

    - W-what if someone inside kills the Spider Queen? The press is going to be all over the place….

Yang Wei burst out laughing. It was the funniest joke he had heard in recent days. “That’s not possible. Even one of the twelve Zodiac Saints failed to kill it, so who else can?”

    - I stuck my own foot in my mouth. It isn’t as if Lee Gun is inside that place.

“Do not bring up his name.”

    - I’m sorry.

Yang Wei didn’t pay much attention to the words again and ended the call. His driver then asked him, “Where should I take you, Saint? Do you still want to go to the auditorium?”

Yang Wei laughed without hesitation. “No! Let’s go toward the location where the calamity broke out. I want to make sure they clean up the mess.”

“Understood.”

Yang Wei looked out the window in a carefree manner. He had no idea what would happen if he were to meet Lee Gun there. ‘As expected, Korea is a great place without Lee Gun.’ 

Under a delusion, he hummed to himself.