Chapter 391: The Coming Sun

Chapter 391: The Coming Sun

After my meeting with the President of the International Association of Heroes, I had completed a great deal of preparation, and now I was busy waiting for the day of God's declaration of judgment, which was just around the corner.

'...Surely.'

After God's declaration of judgment, the time until the day of destruction will pass very quickly indeed.

In other words. The end of the story is really near.

'It seems like just yesterday, I first fell into this world...'

I couldn't believe that the end of the original story was already in front of me.

Of course, I must do my best not to let the end of the story be the end of the world.

To that end, I was giving a lecture today at Cathedral.

"Do you remember when I told you that there are three gods in this world?"

~The Great Hall of Cathedral~

I stood there, looking out at the villains gathered from all over the world.

With the permission of Celeste, I organized a special lecture.

Everyone seemed to be listening quite attentively, as this information was advanced information that actually approached the secrets of the world.

"These three gods are called the God of the Sun, the God of the Moon, and the God of the Stars..."

I began to describe the three gods with a chuckle.

Of course, the reason for my explanation was simple: when the Sun God's revelation came, I wanted them to not panic, because they would need to be armed and ready for the threat.

Anyway, as I proceeded with my explanation, I looked around the room at the seated villains.

The common thread I noticed was.

'Hmmm...'

They all seemed to be in pretty good shape.

After being threatened by the Association at every turn, they'd gone from being villains to full-fledged revolutionary leaders with the backing of Cathedral.

Especially since some of them had overthrown the existing government and put themselves in leadership positions, they seemed to be at ease in the world with their social status. After all, the world seems happy when you have a warm back and a full stomach.

I looked at them and thought.

'As such, they are more likely to oppose the gods' destruction of this world than to support it.'

This was what I was aiming for.

I didn't want the villains to be like, 'Oh, yeah, let's destroy the world!' So I gave them something to keep, give them a taste of honey and make them want to keep living in this good world.

The world was so fucked up anyway, it didn't matter who was in charge now.

"Anyway...I don't know exactly what a god is. I've looked it up in the old books, and some say they're just ordinary beings like us, just a little more powerful than us."

I explained about the gods, and subtly mentioned that I had this view.

You have to throw this shit out there up front, so they don't cringe when you ask them to fight gods.

"Hmmm."

Of course, Celeste immediately coughed uncomfortably at my words.

I had no choice but to make an immediate U-turn, smile, and speak quickly.

"Of course, it's just speculation, but one thing's for sure, the Sun God was a very good being who cared about humans, which is why you, our leader, Celeste, are following him. A good god who looks out for us is worth following, right?"

I immediately praised the Sun God.

...but of course, I'd already planted the words "the Sun God is good" and "that's why Celeste follows him."

Why, because I needed to build this logical structure so that I could later say, "The Sun God is bad, so Celeste doesn't have to follow him."

"...That's all I have to say for today. Thank you."

And with that, my explanation of the gods, every word of which had been carefully calculated and designed, ended.

I sat back in my seat.

"Hahaha, well said, Egostic."

"...A god. I'm always amazed to hear that there really is such a thing. Why doesn't he ever show himself?"

"Hmph. Egostic, would you care to explore the subject of God more personally with me? I'd like to know more."

As I sat down, I was greeted by a number of villains who spoke to me, the last of whom, a woman in a pink cat belt, seemed most interested in me. She must be a French villain...?

Anyway, she seemed to be quite favorable to me, probably because I'd helped everyone so much.

"...Well, I think we're done here for today."

Celeste, who had been looking uncomfortably at me while talking to the others, ended the meeting and turned to us with her eyes closed.

"Also, Egostic needs to go with me, so please excuse yourself."

"Oh, come on, Celeste, can I borrow Egostic?"

At that moment, the woman with the cat belt said that.

Celeste quietly opened her eyes, looked at the woman with her golden eyes, and said a single word.

"Get out of the way."

"...Yes. Yes...."

The frightening response left the woman who had been shoving her way past me with nothing to do but think...

"I'm just kidding."

"...It is, isn't it, haha. Ahaha..."

"Yeah. But I need Egostic right now, so I'm taking him with me, please understand, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

...Of course, it was Celeste, who closed her eyes again, smiled, and casually said she was just kidding, but that scared me more.

That. It didn't look like a joke at all.

"Let's go, Egostic."

"...Haha. Yeah."

Anyway, I was dragged by Celeste to the Truth Room further back...Or rather, her office.

Anyway, that's the way things are going these days.

I'm now spending more and more time with Celeste in Cathedral. Of course, the rationale was that we were supposed to plan together and lead the organization, but...I wonder if that's all there is to it.

Of course, with the Sun God's revelation just around the corner, I've been paying more attention to Celeste, to make sure she was happy with her current situation, and to make her trust and rely on me even more.

...Though, in truth, it was a good thing she trusted me even more than my original plan.

Anyway, that's how it ended up, an exciting time of work with Celeste.

"Egotistic, what do you think we should do with this?"

"Um...I think this is probably..."

"Oh, we should do it while we eat."

"Mmm, yeah....Mmmmmmm. Anyway, this is..."

While I was doing this and that with her, she asked me this question.

"Oh, right. Egotistic, when are you going to organize the next terrorist attack in your country?"

"...What? My terrorism...?"

"Yes. I was wondering how your occupation of Korea is going these days."

Seeing her ask so casually, I tensed inwardly.

'Has she realized I've been playing games with Stardus?'

At the momentary sense of danger, I opened my mouth quickly.

"Haha, don't worry, it's going well, I'll have the next one in just two days."

"Hmm... I see."

She was silent for a moment at my words.

Then, suddenly, she asked a question out of the blue.

"So, will Stardus be there?"

"...What? Well, since I'm causing the terror, of course she'll be there, she's a hero."

"Hmm. Okay, just asking."

With that, she turned her head again, looked down at her papers, and ended the conversation with those words.

...What? Why did you even ask?

Anyway...I hope I didn't get caught, I guess and that it was just a random question out of the blue.

I patted my chest at the thought.

I should have known what was going to happen...

******

~Two days later in the Egostream mansion~

"Okay, so it's time for our regular terrorization."

I thought to myself, and sat back in my seat.

I didn't have to do much today, because I don't do much terrorizing myself these days.

That's because...

"Da-in, what the hell are you doing with Stardus on every raid? You two are never seen together....Something's fishy. You're not doing anything dangerous, are you?

'...Uh, huh?'

Didn't I tell you that long tails get stepped on?

I've been going on dates with Stardus behind their backs lately, and the members of the Egostream are starting to get suspicious, so I can't help it.

Well. I don't do terrorism anyway, I use the angel soldiers I got from Celeste, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Of course, there was the problem of viewers complaining that the broadcast was a no-jam because I wasn't there, but...It wasn't a big deal.

Anyway, I've been doing this for a while now, and remote terrorism has become somewhat established.

I was doing it with Stardus anyway, so I wasn't too worried about it.

In other words. I don't really care.

...Which is why I was lying in my room, even though it was supposed to be the time of the terror.

Because I ordered all the angel soldiers to be summoned in advance by Mr. Desik, I should do some work at this time. There is not much time left until the revelation.

"Da-in!"

Seo-eun suddenly burst into my door.

"We're in trouble!"

"...What is it?"

Seeing her sudden panic, I frowned and said, "What?"

What? There's nothing going on.

"Celeste. That Celeste villain is here in front of Stardus, in our country?"

"...What?"

I gasped.

Seo-Eun's voice sounded so ridiculous that I doubted my ears were hearing her, and I jumped to my feet.

No. What does that mean, why is Celeste suddenly here?

I rushed out to the living room, and what I saw on the TV was.

[[Breaking News] Celeste, head of Cathedral, one minute away from confrontation with Stardus!]

The subtitle was written in big letters against a red band.

Stardus and Celeste, glaring at each other, facing off.

"Oh, my God..."

I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes shut, clutching my face.

No. This is not happening.