Chapter 252: Fair Deal (1)
[You have forfeited your Divine status. According to the risk, you will be demoted to slave rank.]
Aries almost screamed. A cold sweat ran down its back. Of course, it knew what those words meant.
‘I was demoted to a slave!’
The gods had ranks. Zodiac-ranks were treated like nobles. Constructs were treated like knights. Regular divine-rank gods were treated like civilians. And the slave-rank gods were treated like the lowest class.
Knowing how the slave gods were treated, Aries was frightened. This was beyond being ignored by everyone. It was another different level.
Slave gods were treated like bugs. They were entitled to no rights. Above all else, they could fall into a world of torture called Tartarus. The pain one would experience then was beyond imaginable.
That was why a lot of demoted gods took their own lives, afraid of going to that place.
Moreover, a Zodiac that had been treated like nobility had turned into a slave overnight! Of course, Aries would not become a private slave of a Zodiac; it would be a common slave in the divine world. However, that didn’t mean it would receive better treatment.
‘They are difficult bastards to deal with.’
At the very least, it won’t be able to live the same life as it did before. Then there would be the ridicule and scorn from the others! It would never stand for all that.
Therefore, Aries pushed off from the ground with force.
[There is no way I’ll let myself get demoted!]
It was flustered as it quickly tried to run away. The God of Wealth thought it might be able to do something if it reached a location the divine world’s power was unable to reach.
However, something suddenly grabbed Aries. The surprised Aries looked at the hands holding it.
[Bastards!]
The ones to grab it were none other than the outer gods who it had hired. The shadowy figures of the outer gods grabbed Aries as if to ask where it was going.
This made Aries lash out.
[What are you doing? Let me go! Do you not realize what is going on?]
[It seems you’re the one who doesn’t realize what is going on.]
[What?]
[You didn’t pay the price, yet you plan on running away?]
Aries angrily responded.
[I already paid the price!]
[You paid only half. You had said you’d pay the other half after we get rid of the Serpent Bearer.]
[You know this, yet you’re doing this to me! If you want the rest of your money, you should be killing him instead of holding me! What nonsense are you—]
The outer gods let out cold laughs.
[Isn’t it obvious?]
[I’ll be faster to take your throne than his.]
[…?!]
The starved outer gods rushed Aries.
[Since you were one of the exalted Zodiacs, we overlooked your abuse.]
[Someone with as high stature as you have fallen to being a slave. You’re on the same level as us. No, you’re in a worse situation.]
[Just the act of catching and having you under our thumbs will raise our reputation.]
[If we raise our reputation, we will be able to acquire our own temples.]
[We’ll be able to use the Primordial power if we have that. We’ll be able to have subordinates under our command. We won’t be ignored.]
The outer gods let out their alien magical energy as they clung to Aries. The outer god’s magical energy was rough, but it was also powerful. The power that all of them could generate in an instant could swallow up a Zodiac.
However, as the outer gods were about to swallow the Aries…
Kwahng!
[…!!]
An incredible power sent them flying.
The outer gods who were able to withstand the attack turned their heads in surprise. Lee Gun stood there. Cold sweats appeared on their backs when they saw Lee Gun let out that nefarious magical energy.
The nefarious power of Death was choking them around their necks.
[You want to die? How dare you touch my prey!]
The divine voice that the outer gods heard almost made them clutch at their heads.
‘He’s completely different from before.‘
They knew that Lee Gun was formidable even before this, but he had completely awakened as a god now. Moreover, he was completely different, now that he had released the power of Death.
[Death (Jun) is having a lot of fun.]
[Death (Jun) became stronger once it felt its owner’s emotions.]
Death always reacted to Lee Gun’s rage and murderous intent. However, its power was fiercer right now than it had been at the time Lee Gun fought the Abundance general.
At the time, Death had grown limbs and waddled like a baby. That sight was nowhere to be seen as it turned into a savage demonic god.
[Death (Jun) says it doesn’t care if they are gods or humans. It wants to hurry up and destroy them all.]
The power of Death grew in size, as if it wanted to destroy the entire world. Anything that touched the black light was extinguished.
The nameless outer gods ceased to exist when they brushed against the black light.
[Kuh-huhk!]
Nothing was left behind, neither data nor ingredients. If Lee Gun weren’t careful, this power could even turn his surroundings and world into null.
In fact, it was about to cause harm to Lee Gun, the owner of the power.
[Life says to stop pulling crap like that.]
[Death (Jun) has been hit once.]
[Death (Jun) sniffles as it shrinks.]
Life kept death in check. In this world, Life was the only one capable of that.
‘If the level difference widens even by a bit, Death will get eaten by Life.’
At that point, it would be the end of Lee Gun too. It looked like a pushover, but it was a being that couldn’t be underestimated and a wild beast that might bite its owner.
‘As its level rises, it’ll be harder to control it.’
Lee Gun was feeling the two divine statuses fight within his body.
[!]
Since he had stopped taking wounds, he stepped toward the outer gods.
When Lee Gun arrived right in front of them, the outer gods froze as they remained on the ground. An unknown pressure was coming from his flashing red eyes.
Therefore, the sweating outer gods pushed the captured Aries toward Lee Gun. As if they were sorry for touching Lee Gun’s item, they did their best to put together Aries’s hair and body before pushing it forward.
Lee Gun furrowed his brows. Then, his eyes flashed. “Fuck off right now unless you guys want to die.”
As if they were reacting to those words, the outer gods disappeared like smoke.
Lee Gun could have captured them, but he didn’t feel like doing it.
‘There is no reason why I should eat such filth.’
As Sagittarius had said, the outer gods Aries had called forth were of poor quality. They weren’t good candidates to become Constructs. Eating their abilities wasn’t recommended either. For comparison, it was like drinking spoiled milk left out for the whole summer.
Moreover, someone was more important than these small fish.
“You were the one.” When Lee Gun spoke, Serpent Eater immediately caught Aries, who was trying to run away.
[Ahhk!]
Lee Gun glared at Aries with menacing eyes. “You will tell me all kinds of things after you become my slave.”
[N…No!]
Lee Gun was about to use both Gluttony and Designated Prisoner at the same time.
[The owner of the Aries temple has been demoted to a common slave of the Divine world.]
[The Divine world will confiscate all the assets belonging to the Aries temple.]
A voice rang out. The one speaking was the golden light hovering over Aries’s head.
Lee Gun furrowed his brow when he heard the unfamiliar voice. He tried to use “the Gaze of a God,” yet not much information came up.
From what the voice had said, it must be an agent of the Divine world.
‘It must be the bank of the Divine world.’
However, something else was more important than its identity. Wealth confiscation? Common slave?
“Hey. Wait a moment. I can’t make this my slave?”
The golden light looked at Lee Gun. Despite it having no eyes, Lee Gun could feel its gaze.
[Oh, Serpent Bearer! Nice to meet you. I’ll get to the point. You can make him your slave, but it’s a god that took on the risk.]
It continued.
[Moreover, Aries used Primordial Power to generate the Winning Bid ability. And there is a rule for that. While this risk is currently active, everything belonging to the Aries temple, including its abilities and Constructs, will be given to the Divine world. That is Aries’s punishment.]
Lee Gun furrowed his brow. He didn’t mind the punishment, but this wasn’t fine. “What if I buy them from you?”
The light seemed surprised. It was to be expected.
[In that case, the wealth and abilities of the Aries temple will be handed over to the exalted Serpent Bearer. The debt is 599.7 billion Talents. Will you be able to handle it??]
“What if I can’t pay it off?”
[You will become the third party guarantor, and you’ll take on the debt too.]
Lee Gun smirked.
‘In other words, it’s like secured debt.’
When Lee Gun checked something, his eyes flashed. “Alright. I’ll make a bid for it.”
Aries looked baffled.
Yang Wei, who had been watching the scene in hiding, screamed. He had his body ruthlessly ripped apart by his owner, so he was having a hard time moving. Moreover, the gods had been fighting around him. That was why he had hidden.
[Has Lee Gun lost his mind?! Does he not realize how much 599.7 billion Talents is?]
The richest gods were known to have around just 100 billion Talents!
But when Yang Wei actually saw Lee Gun, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
[Hey! That’s—]
Yes, Lee Gun had taken out a piece of paper from the inventory.
<Contract – Yang Wei>
It was the contract Lee Gun had made with Yang Wei after just returning. After killing Yang Wei, Lee Gun had stolen the Soul Contracts.
‘It’s the one that was supposed to be used on Hugo…!’
After a scuffle, Hugo had ripped apart the one meant for Yang Wei. And Yang Wei had been forced to sign it. That had expelled the Aries temple from Korea and caused much humiliation.
Why was Lee Gun taking that out right now?
Lee Gun paid no attention to anything else as he waved the contract toward the golden light. “Here. It was annoying, so I let it be. However, this contract allows me to designate Yang Wei as a guarantor. He signed it himself.”
[What are you saying?! There is no such stipulation in that contract!]
“There is.”
Yang Wei rushed forward since Lee Gun was speaking nonsense. However, he soon screamed.
<Yang Wei will become Lee Gun-nim’s slave.>
<Yang Wei will always vouch for Lee Gun. If Lee Gun becomes delinquent on the debt, Yang Wei will take on all his debt for him.>
[What the hell? These were never there before! When was it written?]
“Right now.”
[What?!!]
Lee Gun had put some lines in the contract using his Manufacture ability. He laughed as he looked at the golden light. “Is it possible to designate him as a guarantor?”
The light turned silent as it looked at the signature on the contract. For some reason, it responded in this fashion.
[It has some problems, but that shouldn’t matter. In the end, it was the failed risk of trying to bid for the Serpent Bearer.]
[What the hell?! Hey!]
Lee Gun smirked. “Good. I’ll buy Aries from you guys.”
[We accept. The wealth and power of the Aries temple, including the Zodiac, will be transferred. The Serpent Bearer has incurred a debt of 599.7 billion Talents. From this point, the Serpent Bearer temple—]
Lee Gun let out a bright smile. “I’m sorry! I’m poor, so I can’t pay it off. I don’t plan on paying it off.”
[Understood. The debt is passed on to the guarantor, as per the Contract.]
Naturally, Lee Gun’s debt was transferred to Yang Wei.
Yang Wei screamed.
[Hey!!! What the hell is this?]
Something surprising happened then.
[Aries has become the personal slave of the Serpent Bearer.]
[The wealth, Seat of power, and skills of the Aries temple, including the Constructs, will be transferred to the Serpent Bearer.]
[You will be able to use a part of Aries’s abilities.]
[Soul Judgment (Price check), “Winning Bid”]
Lee Gun laughed, since his plan was successful. Since Aries had gone bankrupt using these methods against him, this much discretion was being shown to Lee Gun.
On the other hand, Yang Wei looked aggrieved, since he had to take on the sins of his Zodiac.
[I’m not a god! I’m a human! How can I take on the debt of a god…!]
[It is fine if you are human. We can work you in the afterlife as a slave in the divine world. You will do it until the debt is paid.]
[Hey! That’s not fair!]
[The rank of Yang Wei’s spirit has been demoted to slave.]
[The bank honors the existing contract. It will be written that you are attached to the Serpent Bearer.]
[Periodically, a proxy will appear in front of the Serpent Bearer. It is done so that Yang Wei can settle his debt.]
[The Serpent Bearer gained a slave spirit.]
Lee Gun smiled. He hadn’t gone through this process just for this.
‘I never knew Talents were this useful.’
Moreover, he never expected the bank to notarize everything.
‘I’ve acquired the Winning Bid ability. Now I just have to hit the rest of them. I think having Talents will help me grow in size.’
However, even the best gods had a hard time gathering Talents. It wasn’t easy to earn even 100 Talents.
Therefore, Lee Gun looked at the golden light. “I’m guessing there is interest on the debt.”
[That’s correct. The annual percentage rate for the interest is.1% Talents of the original amount. However—]
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay the interest instead of him.”
Yang Wei raged.
[Do you think I’ll be thankful because you chose to do that?]
“Instead, you will have to pay the annual slave fee to me. It’ll be 10% of the principal. I’ll be generous. You and your Zodiac can split it.”
[??!!]
This time, Aries reared back in shock. What kind of nonsense was this?!
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