Chapter 265: Last Dance
Chapter 265: Last Dance
Moonlight Gate is the greatest and most devastating catastrophe of the mid- to late-period of the original story, an event that brought the world to the brink of destruction.
The Moonlight Church, which believes in the moon god, and its leader, Moonlight Lord, breached a portal between the Otherworld and our galaxy, bringing in monsters and causing the world to collapse.
I have been on guard ever since the moment I fell into this world.
"...Phew."
And now, finally, it's upon us. The winter of December.
Now, all the preparations I had made throughout my time in this world were coming together.
With time running out, I walked around and checked them one last time.
"Da-in, we're all set, I've got the politicians ready to declare martial law as soon as something happens, and I've got a good stockpile of relief supplies."
"Really? That's great, I don't know what I would have done without you."
"Huh... If you know, please be nice to me when you're done. I wouldn't want my country to be ruined, so it's the least I can do."
Lee Seola, Chairwoman of the Yuseong Group and the de facto ruler of Korea.
I've been in contact and allied with her since the beginning, before she took over the country and I gained her trust by passing on information that would allow her to quickly gain power, and I soon succeeded in becoming a trusted friend.
She listened to me and prepared the entire South Korean administrative system for a catastrophe and I couldn't have done it without her even if I could have created my own private group of talented people.
"Master Da-in. We're all ready to go."
"Really?"
"Yes. The four of us and the second-term juniors are ready to go at any time."
"That's right, Mr. Da-in. We've been training so hard!"
"...Hmm. We'll show you what we're made of when the time comes."
That's PMC, aka Egosquad.
A group of people with the power of B-grade heroes and below that I had created for the Moonlighting Gate Disaster from the beginning.
Unlike in the original story, they were privately funded and hired in advance to prevent them from turning into villains in the anarchic chaos that followed.
In particular, they were trained as an anti-beasts force, to deal with the monsters after the catastrophe.
And finally, their time had come.
I thought as I looked back at No. 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Lee Se-gum, the main attacker, specialized in swordsmanship.
Alongside him, Heo Da-hee, who would tank and support.
Seo Chae-young, a bow user who could support from a distance.
And San-sua, who will enhance their abilities.
Looking confidently at the four in front of me, I smiled.
That's right. With these four musketeers, we should be able to raid any boss-level monster. They're better than I thought.
The second-term students should be able to handle the smaller monsters now that their Spartan training is complete.
After checking out the PMC, the next stop, of course, was the Hero Association.
"Mr. President, how are you doing?"
"Yeah... We've completed all the underground bunkers..."
The president of the association is almost collapsed in a pile of papers due to the unexpected overwork I caused.
And beside him, Shadow Walker, huffing and puffing, sipping a cup of coffee.
"Don't worry, Egostic. The President and I are perfectly capable of defending our country. No matter how much the monsters rampage, they will not be able to dampen the spirits of our nation!"
...I nodded vaguely, looking at Shadow Walker, whose eyes shone brightly despite the dark circles and whatever medication he'd taken.
...Yeah, I'm incompetent, but it's better than lying around like this.
Anyway, just like that, the President said they were ready.
And Shadow Walker...He looks a little out of sorts, but he seems confident.
Other than that, there was talk of our East Asian Villain Alliance.
Japan and China are both going to have gates, and I've warned them in advance.
[We've got our troops and all our subordinates in place.]
[Fire Dragon is also prepared. The area I'm in charge of should be safe, haha, if it wasn't for Egostic' warning, it could have been really dangerous.]
Since I told them everything directly, they're already fully prepared.
I had warned them that they would only have to hold out for one day, so I think they were both prepared.
As for our Atlas, well, he's under the sea, so it didn't really matter.
...Of course, a few words were exchanged with him, and with his gracious permission, the preparations were completed.
And the International League of Villains, Cathedral.
I warned them that there would be a worldwide attack of monsters at the end of the year but honestly, I wasn't sure if they would listen or not.
[There's been a lot of buzz lately about the recent drop in attacks by high-profile villains in major countries around the world. According to the International Association of Heroes statistical office, villainous associations in the top ten countries have seen their activity drop to less than half their numbers...]
...If I look at what's in the news, well. Everyone seemed to be somewhat prepared.
Yeah.
So everyone in the world, in their own place, in their own way is preparing for the catastrophe that was about to happen.
Unlike in the original, where it came out of nowhere, when no one was expecting it, and they had no time to prepare.
"....."
Yes.
I had prepared as best I could with my own body for the day of the Moonlight Gate disaster.
I collaborated with a giant corporation that would become the black hand of Korea to create PMC to block the actions of B-grade and below.
I convinced the president of the association to prepare for this disaster in advance and I also grew our protagonist, Stardus, to be strong enough to take down the upcoming boss-level monsters.
Formed a coalition of East Asian villains to make the three countries as safe as possible, minimizing the impact on South Korea.
Entering Cathedral, I warned all the leaders of the Villain Alliance of major nations so that they could prepare for this catastrophe in advance.
Our own Ego stream, composed of A-list and above villains, has also been thoroughly trained and prepared.
I've done everything to get through this doomsday scenario safely and now that all the preparations are done I waited for the day when things would begin.
***
The end of the year.
Somehow, in the bustle of the Society, Stardus was alone and silent.
...Is it time for something to come, something that Egostic spoke of?
The thing he said would be a disaster.
"It's snowing..."
As Stardus stared out the window at the sky, she suddenly muttered.
...A hunch.
Somehow, she had a feeling that this was going to change everything.
She didn't know what it was, but after this year she had a feeling that quite a few things were going to change.
...Still.
'You said you'd be there for me.'
Surely, I'll get through this.
With that promise Stardus, too, waited with a steady heart for what would come at the end of the year with the determination to get through it all.
***
Time passed as the year drew to a close.
On a foggy cliff in the middle of nowhere an old man stood there, silently carrying a pack and a man approached him.
"My lord, everything is ready."
The man bowed his head, waiting for the old man to speak.
The Moonlight Lord, who was quietly looking down at the waving sea, soon muttered in a cracked voice.
"....Finally, this moment has come."
"The time for our God to descend and cleanse this rotten world."
With that, the old man turned and walked away, with a cane in hand to see the multitude of worshippers kneeling behind the cliff, facing him and with a crooked smile, he opened his mouth.
"Now.
Fools. Fall in fear.
The hour of judgment has come."
And with that, the great magic circle beneath them glowed purple and soon, there was no one left on the cliffs.
***.
December 30th.
The sun, floating in broad daylight, suddenly disappeared and a giant moon rose alone in the darkened sky.
[BREAKING! Sudden sunset anomaly...]
It had been a long time coming, and people were panicking at the sudden anomaly but we stood calmly in front of the mansion.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"...Yep."
"Haha! Is it finally today?"
[Trust me, I'll show you the power of this body.]
"...I'm a little worried."
"Phew. It's been a while since I've played with fire..."
".... Let's go."
And so, under the darkened night sky, in front of a huge mansion centered around me, wearing a black hat, black cloak, black clothes, and a white mask were:
-Seo-Eun on a giant mecha.
-After buffing everyone, Lee Ha-yul clenches her fist.
-Choi Se-hee, smiling and generating lightning in her hands.
-A Death Knight in black armor, holding a giant sword.
-Eun-Wol, dressed in a white shrine maiden outfit, with a determined look on her face.
-Seo Ja-young, smiling sleepily, hovering in midair with her hands in her hood.
-Shinryong looking at me with her hands folded across her chest in silence.
And Soo-bin, who remained in the mansion, supporting us all.
In my ears, I hear Lee Seola, Shadow Walker, the association president, and the PMC members.
I chuckled and turned to the girls.
"Let's go."
To kick their asses.
And so our Ego Stream set out with one goal.