Book 1, Epilogue 18 - Rare Genius (1)
Lee Gun could feel a warm power circulate inside him. The excruciating stabbing pain that he felt all over his body started to fade away.
So he wondered if the healer Sophie had come.
‘This isn’t the ability of the Aquarius Saint.’
When he raised his head, the suffering Lee Gun didn’t see the blue light of the Aquarius. He saw the black light of Scorpio.
The black light spoke to Lee Gun.
[You are my only remaining comrade.]
“…!”
A hum was drowning out the voice, so Lee Gun had a hard time hearing the words.
The black light continued to speak.
[Among my blood relatives, Aslan was the most outstanding genius and our chosen one. He decided to sacrifice his life to protect you.]
“…?”
[He begged us not to kill you, so we decided to monitor you. What was the point in that if you are destined to die here?]
The voice sounded as if it had planned on making Lee Gun’s father its successor.
Scorpio looked a bit disappointed as it monitored Hugo. To be precise, it was looking at Sagittarius, whom Hugo served.
[Well, you’re better than the idiot who was enticed to kill his parents and younger brother.]
Sagittarius seemed confused and shaken.
Lee Gun furrowed his brows.
Scorpio was a mysterious Zodiac. It was one of the two Zodiacs that didn’t like revealing itself. According to rumors, Scorpio was a monster.
Scorpio was a mystery even to the other Zodiacs. It refused to reveal itself as if it considered itself above the other Zodiacs. However, while being a Zodiac, Scorpio was also the head of the Creators.
It continued.
[At the end of the day, you’re merely a mayfly with human blood flowing in you. I feel pity since I have to watch my last remaining comrade suffer. That’s why I can put you to rest if you want.]
Lee Gun ground his teeth. The hum in his ears made it hard to hear the Zodiac’s words, and the part that he could hear was hard to comprehend. However, he did decipher one part.
- I can put you to rest if you want.
Lee Gun’s eyes flashed. “Bastard. You want to kill me?”
When Lee Gun got up, Scorpio seemed amused.
[Oh. Are you worth watching?]
At the same time, a familiar voice rang near him.
“Lee Gun! Are you ok? Snap out of it!” Hailey quickly took Lee Gun in her arms and took out a potion.
Scorpio laughed when its Zodiac Saint looked after Lee Gun.
[Well, I guess watching you a bit longer won’t be too bad of an idea.]
Then something poked into Lee Gun’s side.
Kwah-jeek!
“Koohk!!”
“Teacher!!”
It appeared to be a black light shaped like the tail of a scorpion. This was the doing of Scorpio.
Lee Gun felt pain as if he had been injected with poison.
Hugo turned pale as he grabbed Lee Gun. “Teacher!”
“Calm yourself. He’s fine.”
“But…!”
“It’s an anesthetic that’ll reduce his pain."
Hailey seemed to be right. Lee Gun, who had been in extreme pain, started to recover some color to his face.
However, Hailey was soon surprised.
‘It’s the magical energy of my Zodiac that is being given to Lee Gun.’
Besides injecting an anesthetic poison inside Lee Gun, Scorpio also gave Lee Gun its power. Of course, this wasn’t anything special. It was another poison related to “Immunity.”
At the very least, Scorpio didn’t want Lee Gun to die so easily; it had decided to grow Lee Gun’s immunity at the very least.
Now, it didn’t matter if others tried to curse him or made him sick like currently. He’d be able to resist it on his own.
It also made him resilient enough to endure dozens of years of damage. The powerful blessing of Scorpio would allow him to survive even in the worst environment.
As proof of this, Lee Gun, who had been unable to get up, started to groan as he got back to his feet.
“T-Teacher! Are you ok?”
“Yes. I’m alive thanks to you guys.”
Hailey was relieved. “What a relief—”
Her relief lasted only a moment as she realized she was holding Lee Gun in her arms. When she met eyes with Lee Gun, she inwardly screamed as she disappeared.
Lee Gun’s head hit the floor, and he felt like dying.
“*#$&#$*!”
“Teacher!!”
“M-Mask. Give me my mask.”
“What?”
It didn’t matter in the end.
After Lee Gun put on his mask, his eyes flashed as he looked at the rampaging monsters.
* * *
“What?! Monsters are appearing from the east?”
“The west was a failure. Does this mean east failed too?!”
“What did you just say?!”
Central Russia, Novosibirsk—a city located in the vast expanse of Siberia.
It was the only central Russian city that could be accessed by humanity in the land of the monsters. It was also the frontline.
“Yes. It’s as you have heard. Lee Gun must have failed his raid of the east. It’s the price of him being arrogant.”
Jean-Louis’s words at the press conference created a commotion. The reactions were understandable since the raid through the western route had failed already.
The Zodiac Saints who had entered through the western route had many injuries. The western route was thought to be the relatively safer route, yet the difficulty level had skyrocketed as they traveled further in.
After trying to go to the problematic central region, they had to retreat to this city when they got tangled with the monsters of the western region.
And when they failed their raid, Jean-Louis had suddenly called for a press conference as if he needed to notify the public of something.
“We placed a barrier in the west, so there is no danger of monsters invading through from there. The problem is the east where Lee Gun messed with the hornet’s nest.”
“…!!”
“The monsters in the eastern region will soon spread across the world. If Lee Gun were with us in the west, things would have turned out differently. However, he was too stubborn, and things turned out like this. The Russian president gave Lee Gun the power of authority because he trusted Lee Gun. It’s too bad that things turned out like this.”
The government officials and the reporters fell into a state of panic.
“We thought it would be possible if it was Lee Gun…!”
Jean-Louis laughed when he saw the chaos. “In the end, Lee Gun is human.”
The reporters quickly disseminated the news.
As the news of Lee Gun’s defeat spread across the world, Jean-Louis smirked. Crippling a hero wasn’t hard.
“Anyway, we need to rethink Lee Gun’s leadership skills since he put the entire world in danger.”
Some people laughed in derision as they watched the press conference.
“This should be expected from that asshole.”
“He’s in for a rude awakening for being so brash.”
They were Ivan and Sergeyevich. They hated Lee Gun.
“It was obvious he would fail, so why would he go to the east? He wanted to stand out so much that he caused harm to those around him.”
“Of course, the east is in bad shape, so it would be great if we can save it. However, it would be great if he could recognize what’s possible and impossible before he takes action. I don’t know if he is an attention whore or a psycho.”
When Kevin heard this, he let out murderous intent as he grabbed Sergeyevich by the collar. Making a fist, he said, “You don’t have the right to yap your gums. You should be more discerning in who you make fun of.”
“What? You aren't even an adult. How dare you…!”
Jean-Louis let out a smile of victory when he heard the commotion. “Anyway, this incident is very important since humanity might be wiped out. This is unfortunate for the people trapped in the east, but we have to look at the greater good. We must destroy the nest itself. I believe that is the right course of action.”
“T..Then…!”
“We will do as we originally planned. We’ll ask each of the Zodiacs to bombard the eastern region. We will completely destroy the entire region…”
At that moment…
“Do you want to be boiled, crab bastard!!”
Bbah-gahk!!
Lee Gun opened the door as he entered the room and drop-kicked Jean-Louis.
The reporters didn’t even have time to scream.
“L-Lee Gun?!”
“?!”
“We were told you were eaten by the monsters of the east, so how are you here…!”
After sending Jean-Louis flying, Lee Gun took the mic. “I killed all the monsters in the east. If you have nothing better to do than listen to that asshole and write reports, you should take the healing kit to the people I brought out!”
The mouths of the Zodiac Saints fell open, and the press conference turned into a madhouse.
“Lee Gun saved the eastern region!”
“Send this out as breaking news!”
“What the hell?! Did he save the eastern region on his own?!”
The eastern region of Russia had been close to being erased from the face of the world, and it was saved thanks to Lee Gun’s actions.
Jean-Louis looked dumbfounded. He glared at Lee Gun. How could a human have such a malevolent light in his eyes?
Lee Gun ignored him as he exited the press conference room, but the surprised reporters tried to keep him in place.
“Mr. Lee Gun! Where are you going right now?”
“Get out of my way, or do you guys want to join me on the way to the central region? Stop interfering with my work.”
“What?! The others failed in entering that place… They are planning to reattempt the raid in one week…!”
“Who cares about that? I’m going by myself.”
“Ah! Teacher! I want to go with you…!!”
Lee Gun furrowed his brows as he left.
Kevin and Stevens, who had been sitting with their mouths open, quickly got up.
“I want to go too!”
“Me too!”
This raid in the central region would later be dubbed the Great Raid of Russia. It would birth the legendary video that awakened beings around the world would become obsessed with.
* * *
[Lee Gun succeeded in the Russian Raid!]
[The twelve Zodiac Saints also joined in.]
[In reality, Lee Gun was the one who made all the contributions.]
[Good job, mutant!]
The news programs were boisterous.
After the Great Raid of Russia came to an end, the Zodiac Saints gathered at the Notre Dame de Paris to be healed. They all had complicated expressions on their faces as they watched the news.
- The other Zodiac Saints are dashing and they are putting up stronger performances, but Lee Gun…! His personality is terrible, but he’s the hope of humanity!
- No way! Stevens is still the hope of humanity! Did you not see the video from the raid?
- Lee Gun is the best!
After the raid in Russia, the Zodiac Saints had a change of heart. It was understandable since they had seen Lee Gun for themselves in the battle.
Genius!
They saw a genius that no average being could surpass.
Stevens looked appalled as he leaned against the sofa. “Hmmph. Lee Gun is crazy.”
Lee Gun’s actions in the Central Russia raid showed that he wasn’t human. On the battlefield, the monsters were completely in the palm of Lee Gun’s hand.
The Zodiac Saints had encountered monsters that they had never seen before, yet Lee Gun was able to overwhelm them.
Stevens, who had always been confident in saying that there was no ceiling to his potential, felt something for the first time. It was the wall of futility. He realized that he could never overtake Lee Gun.
It wasn’t just him. Everyone probably felt the same thing.
- Ah. He is indeed a “mutant,” and he really is different from us.
Kevin, who was called a rare genius swordsman, possessed overwhelming skill, yet the look in his eyes changed. He also felt something.
Of course, the one with the most extreme reaction was someone else. He was beside himself with anger.
“Oh my! Your plan was a complete dud. What are you going to do, minion of Time?” The Libra Saint Giselle laughed as she looked at Jean-Louis, who was boiling with anger. “You planned on sinking Lee Gun’s image in Russia, yet people are praising him more now.”
It was rare to see Jean-Louis not laugh. He glared at her.
Giselle snickered when she felt anxiousness in him. “Who cares? It wasn’t as if the plan failed because it was a bad one. Lee Gun merely transcended above your plan.”
“It isn’t the time to be laughing. The Faith of the Zodiac Saints isn’t going to the Zodiacs right now. It’s heading toward Lee Gun. Do you realize this? It’s headed toward a mere human.”
“This has caused a big fuss among the Zodiacs, right?”
“It doesn’t matter. I have a plan to deal with that problem.”
“What kind of plan?”
“I’ll have to make some allies first.” Jean-Louis smirked as he picked up the scissors next to the potted plant. Including Hugo, he planned to turn all the Zodiac Saints into enemies of Lee Gun.
An odd light appeared around Giselle when she saw this. The light was none other than the soul of the original Libra Saint, who had been consumed by Negligence. She was anxious as she headed somewhere.
* * *
“H-Have you lost your mind?”
“What about it, bedwetter?”
Sophie couldn’t close her mouth when she inspected Lee Gun’s body. “You were able to fight when your body was in this state? You did all that in Russia?!!”
“Hmmph. What if I did?”
“You crazy orc!!”
The state of Lee Gun’s body was shocking.
‘This is beyond causing harm to his body. His lifespan was cut short too.’
The cysts, which she had warned should never be disturbed, had burst, causing extreme damage to his body.
‘Who would do this…!’
Sophie said, “I told you not to touch your wounds! You are a masochist who can’t hold back— Kuh-huhk!!”
Lee Gun growled after he rapped Sophie’s head. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I’m not the one who broke them open.”
“Then who…!!!” Sophie gasped and started to shake.
Didn’t Jean-Louis ask for Lee Gun’s medical records not too long ago? This strangely bothered her.
Lee Gun seemed oblivious as he calmly asked, “So? How much did I lose?”
“Excuse me?”
“My life expectancy.”
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