Chapter 159 - Round Table

Beneath the enormous chandelier.

Around the large round table sat the most powerful villains gathered from around the world.

And among them, I too was seated, seemingly fragile.

Yes.

'....'

Unlike me, who merely gathered strong individuals around me while my own ability isn't much, everyone gathered here could single-handedly destroy a country with their power alone. In terms of pure individual strength, I'm probably the weakest one here.

Of course, my ability isn't primarily about physical power.

Perhaps the biggest difference between me and these powerful individuals is that I know the future.

Not just that. I know everything about each hero and villain—their weaknesses, personalities, secrets—things no one else could possibly know. Almost as if I were the creator of this world.

And this one difference allows me, despite being weaker in every other aspect, to be their equal or even superior.

With that thought, I glanced at the villains around me.

Uncle Atlas sitting right next to me. And several other villains sitting beside him. From the old gentleman wearing a monocle to the mad scientist with green hair wearing spinning glasses and an oxygen tank on his back.

...All of them are well-known figures among villains that I'm familiar with.

And to my left, and across from me.

They're all characters I've seen in illustrations from the original comic.

From that thug-like guy with a red mohawk to the Japanese yakuza-dressed woman with a black ponytail carrying a sword. And over there sat a man with braided hair wearing a red Chinese-style robe.

And countless other powerful villains scattered throughout.

Indeed, I think I made the right choice coming here.

If all these villains gathered together and suddenly decided, "We're bored, why don't we all invade Korea together?"—different from the original story—it would be catastrophic. Of course, I could somehow manage to stop them, but the damage would be immense.

So to prevent such a disaster, I need to sit here like a totem and keep watch.

It's something only I, a villain, can do—something heroes like Stardust cannot.

Of course, to do that, I need to secure some influence first.

....But I'll think about that later. For now, let me observe them.

With that thought, I carefully observed the yakuza woman and the Chinese man without being obvious.

"...."

The man with a ponytail and a clearly visible forehead.

That person in the red robe is Li Xiaopeng, the greatest villain in China, whom even the Chinese government is wary of.

Looking at him with his intense eyebrows that seemed to emit some kind of aura, I recalled what I knew about him.

As the leader of China's largest criminal organization, Fire Dragon, he possesses the incredible ability to summon dragons. It's said that when a fiery dragon with long whiskers appears, everyone trembles. Whether it's a real dragon or not, I'm not sure... Anyway, he's quite an influential figure in China.

And that woman with a black ponytail sitting on the other side is Katana, the leader of Japan's largest yakuza organization. Her specialty is swordsmanship so divine it's legendary—despite her delicate appearance, rumors say she can not only face hundreds of opponents alone but even cut through buildings. And those rumors are actually true.

Among the many villains, these two caught my attention the most.

As the most recognizable villains from the two countries adjacent to Korea, I need to keep an eye on them. Not that I'm going to confront them now, but later. I have plenty of time anyway.

While I was thinking about this.

Thud-

As the chandelier lights turned on.

"...Is it starting?"

Just as Atlas sitting next to me muttered quietly, the woman dressed like a white saint sitting in the center began to speak.

"Welcome, brothers and sisters."

Her clear voice resonated around the round table. No, beyond clear—it sounded almost divine. With that heavenly voice, she continued.

"I am Celeste. Thank you all once again for responding to my invitation."

She said this while slightly bowing her head, her white hair flowing.

At the same time, everyone's attention turned to her.

And of course, I was no exception.

Though her face was partially hidden by the white veil of her saintly attire, if you looked closely, you could see her seemingly closed eyes. And the mysterious and sacred atmosphere emanating from her body.

Indeed, exactly as Celeste was described in the original work.

Under everyone's gaze, Celeste calmly began to speak.

"The reason I've invited you all here today is none other than to promote friendship and unity among us. Everyone."

With those words, she waved her hand once, creating something that seemed magical in the center of the round table.

A vision of a building appeared on the table.

It appears to be the International Hero Association headquarters.

"The attacks from our enemy, the Association, are becoming increasingly fierce. Additionally, the international situation is quite precarious. That's why I've gathered you all, special individuals among all others, here today. Wouldn't it be beneficial if leaders who can each control a city, a country, or even a continent gathered to discuss the flow of current affairs and share information?"

As she continued speaking, the images of heroes who had been praised as powerful—the archenemies from a villain's perspective—appeared one by one on the round table. Fortunately, Stardust wasn't among them. Well, yes. It's not good to stand out in a place like this.

Anyway, after finishing her words, she waved her hand once more, and all the images on the table disappeared.

Then Celeste calmly asked us again.

"...So. What do you all think? Of course, I guarantee your safety when gathering here. I simply have a pure desire for us to unite. I too will interact with you all as an equal member. Is there anyone who objects?"

"...Hmm."

"Hmm."

"Ahem."

Well, no one objected. No one would want to stand up against Celeste, who is rumored to be able to kill with just a gesture.

...But, even though I knew it from the original work, I'm still not used to this calm and static atmosphere. Shouldn't villains gathered together quickly find trivial things to argue about and start fighting? Everyone's as quiet as well-behaved elementary school students.

Of course, it's not my place to step up, so I just stayed quiet.

Well. Maybe Celeste spoke with overwhelming pressure, and I just didn't translate it properly.

"Very well. Then let's... begin."

And with her words.

Finally, the meeting began.

***

S-rank villains.

Unlike the relatively few S-rank heroes, there are many S-rank villains because the Association uses different criteria for ranking heroes and villains. Even in our Ego-stream, we have two S-rank villains.

As such, not all S-rank villains are created equal.

From those who barely make the S-rank line to those who are fundamentally different in ability at the top—there's essentially a hierarchy even within the same S-rank.

And these are the most powerful among S-rank villains.

Beyond just having strong abilities, they each lead organizations, which shows they're also quite intelligent. In short, they're the Association's top priority targets, truly humanity's greatest enemies.

...And right now, these individuals were gathered together, introducing themselves to each other. What a terrifying and dreadful situation.

"...My name is Katana. I run the Sankyōha in Japan."

She closed her mouth after saying just that.

Well, that's all there is to her introduction. Just her name and which country she leads an organization in.

Somehow it felt more familiar than terrifying or dreadful, but since it was like this in the original work too, I decided to let it pass.

Anyway, regardless of my thoughts, the introductions continued calmly.

"I'm Highkin, the leader of Germany's number one gangster group, Red Motors. Looking at everyone, you all seem weaker than me, but let's get along."

...Of course, there were also lunatics like that.

I wondered who it was, and it turned out to be a man with a very intense red mohawk.

For reference, the reaction of other villains to his provocation was simply to ignore him.

They all had expressions of indifference, as if hearing a dog bark somewhere. Well, naturally, the louder they bark, the weaker they tend to be. And while I don't know about the others, for reference, this guy dies three months later. He appears in the original work.

So, except for the occasional strange outbursts, everyone took turns saying a few words.

"Haha! I'm Atlas, the master of Team Lapis and the ruler of the North Atlantic. Well, pleased to meet you all!"

After Atlas's boisterous greeting, it was my turn.

Well, I didn't plan to stand out from the first meeting, so I decided to greet them normally. I need to take control gradually; things don't work if you step up from the beginning.

So I quietly began to speak.

"Pleased to meet you all. I'm Egostic, operating a villain alliance called Ego-stream in the Republic of Korea. Everyone..."

"Wait."

Just as I was speaking with a slight smile, someone interrupted me. What?

I looked to see who it was, and there was that redhead with the mohawk from earlier, grinning fiercely at me.

"I know you. Aren't you Egostic? That famous... A-rank villain from Korea."

Looking at him as he raised one corner of his mouth while saying that, I smiled quietly and thought.

...Hmm. Is he looking for a fight?

...It seems I'll have to put someone in their place on the first day.