Chapter 219 - Stirring

Somewhere in the Republic of Korea, a hidden, secret place.

In that dark place resembling an empty church with dim light filtering in.

A man wearing priestly robes with a blue aura bowed his head and delivered a message to an elderly man who stood with his hands behind his back, quietly gazing out the window.

"...Grand Master, the experiment has concluded successfully. The foreign missionaries have opened the dimensional gate that connects to where God resides."

After delivering detailed figures and results, he showed images of monsters and explanations about the extra-dimensional space on a screen floating in midair.

Then, bowing his head once more, he withdrew.

The elderly man, the Moon Light Cult Leader, who had been listening quietly with his eyes closed, released his hands from behind his back and muttered in a cracked voice.

"Yes... finally, that day approaches."

Moon Light Cult Leader, Celestial Moon Emperor, raised his clenched fist and continued speaking quietly.

Finally, the moment to purify this wretched world is drawing closer bit by bit.

The moment when a new god will descend upon this universe to judge those who worship the wrong deity and destroy the old world.

The world will understand to its very core who their true god is and what the meaning of moonlight truly is.

"Kuhehe. Kuhahaha. Kuhahahahaha!"

And so.

Like a dry cough, the elderly man's cracked, maniacal laughter filled the empty church.

"Cough, cough. Yes... the day of judgment approaches. I wonder how those children will struggle when that time comes... I look forward to it...."

As he spoke, he opened his hand.

In the elderly man's cracked palm was a small black sphere, humming like a black hole, seemingly sucking in everything around it.

The experiment was successful.

For now, there is only one, but soon, they would be able to create dimensional connection passages all over the world.

And when that time comes, everyone will be helplessly crushed under the judgment of the other dimension. The priestess who betrayed him and left, and that bastard who took her away—all of them. They'll be swept away in an unexpected moment.

In the end, it will be the Moon Light Cult, guided by the Moon God, who will have the last laugh.

"Kuhehe. Kuhahahaha!"

No one could imagine what he was doing. Unable to recognize the dimensional passage, they would die helplessly on the day of judgment, not even suspecting that destruction was approaching.

With such thoughts.

The Moon Light Cult Leader, alone in the empty church.

Was simply wearing a sinister smile by himself.

***

[Monsters emerging from a portal that opened in France have become a major topic. The French Association has stated they will "conduct a rigorous investigation" into this incident, which appears different from typical abilities. A social media post by the British Association in response to this news has also become a hot topic...]

"Ah. Is that the dimensional passage or whatever Da-in mentioned?"

On the top floor of Yu-seong Corporation, in the chairman's office.

Lee Seol-ah, watching the news, immediately recognized the Moon Light Cult's secret weapon and nodded.

"So this... must be what those Moon Light Cult guys were preparing on their own."

With her long sky-blue hair flowing down, she quietly muttered something that would have made the Moon Light Cult Leader grab the back of his neck if he had heard it.

Looking at the enlarged photos of the incident, Lee Seol-ah crossed her arms and fell into thought.

The image in the photo, floating in the sky, what Da-in had called a portal or dimensional gate.

Like a child who just learned Photoshop pasting a circular universe onto a sky photo, the scene looked out of place.

She fell silent for a moment.

'...So. Eventually these will appear all over the country, he said?'

According to Da-in, these were extra-dimensional gates opened by the Moon Light Cult. He said that someday these would cover the entire world. And monsters would emerge from everywhere. He said there would be too many for just a few heroes to handle.

'That's why he's been saying we need to increase the number of heroes from before.'

Strong supernatural ability users would be needed more as society became more chaotic. Stardust, Shadow Walker, and herself wouldn't be enough to stop all the monster attacks.

That's why Da-in's first preparation was that PMC.

He said the training was almost complete, and they just needed some practical exercises. And then they would recruit a second batch.

As Lee Seol-ah was lost in thought.

Just then, her secretary knocked and announced her schedule.

[Chairwoman Lee Seol-ah. It's time for your appointment with your acquaintance.]

"Ah, yes. I should get going now."

Right. Today was the day she was meeting Ha-ru after a long time.

Lee Seol-ah smiled and got up from her seat.

Though she always had a busy schedule without gaps, she always made time for her few precious friends.

And...

'Da-in also asked me to, after all.'

He had asked her to casually inquire why Stardust, Ha-ru, had looked so troubled during the terrorist attack he had caused, and if she was okay now.

With that, Lee Seol-ah got up and headed to where Ha-ru would be waiting.

***

A few hours later.

Lee Seol-ah was having coffee and dessert with Shin Ha-ru at a café.

"Isn't this place nice?"

"Yeah, it's delicious."

Shin Ha-ru smiled faintly as she took a bite of cake with her fork. Lee Seol-ah watched her with a satisfied smile.

The area around them was completely empty. Lee Seol-ah had simply rented out the entire café.

Even if they both concealed their identities, two beautiful women with blue and golden yellow hair sitting together would attract everyone's attention. But the main reason was obviously that they couldn't discuss hero-related matters in crowded places. Shin Ha-ru, who had been with Lee Seol-ah since childhood, knew her personality and accepted it without comment.

After meeting, having a meal, and then chatting over dessert at the café for quite some time.

Shin Ha-ru, perhaps because she was meeting a friend after a long time, seemed quite relaxed and occasionally laughed.

After discussing various topics, Lee Seol-ah casually brought up the question she was curious about.

"By the way, Ha-ru."

"Hmm?"

Ha-ru put down her fork and answered with a slight smile.

Lee Seol-ah then got to the point.

"It's nothing big, but that terrorist attack from before."

"That terrorist attack? The villain with golden wings swinging a spear?"

"No... not that one, the attack Egostic carried out."

"Ah."

Hearing that, Ha-ru's smile faded slightly.

But Lee Seol-ah, pretending not to notice, continued naturally.

"When I saw you at the association after the attack, you looked troubled. Did something happen?"

Lee Seol-ah asked naturally, as if concerned, in passing.

Shin Ha-ru stirred her iced drink with a straw for a moment, then opened her mouth.

"Just...."

"Just?"

"Just. I had some concerns at that time."

She said that and then stared blankly somewhere.

After taking another sip of her drink through the straw, Shin Ha-ru continued with a somewhat serious expression.

"I was troubled. I felt suffocated, and sometimes negative emotions would surge for no reason..."

Her voice trailed off, then she smiled faintly and looked at Lee Seol-ah.

"Now, I've found a solution. So you don't need to worry. Thank you."

"Oh... I'm glad you found a solution. If you ever have any concerns, you can tell me too."

"Yeah."

Ha-ru smiled again and drank her beverage.

Watching her, Lee Seol-ah quietly fell into thought.

....It seems clear she won't say anything more. She emphasized not to worry, so that probably means I don't need to ask further.

Well, at least she seems fine now.

With that, Lee Seol-ah naturally changed the subject and started talking about other things.

After chatting about various topics, the two began discussing hero work, starting with the mention of Egostic.

"Right. Busan and this area hardly have any villains, but for some reason, Seoul has a lot? I feel bad that you're the only one working hard because of it."

"Don't be. I actually think it's fortunate. Rather than incidents happening far away, I prefer when they happen nearby."

Lee Seol-ah naturally brought up the PMC topic as well.

"Right. Did I tell you before? That I'm gathering and training some strong ability users."

"Ah... yeah. I think I remember."

"I'm thinking of deploying them in the field soon. Could you help out when you have time?"

Lee Seol-ah added that these people could handle enemies that were too weak for Ha-ru but too strong for B-rank heroes when Ha-ru was busy, and asked casually.

"Yeah. Of course. It's about protecting people, right? I'll help when I have time."

"Really? Thanks."

And as expected, Shin Ha-ru readily agreed.

No matter what anyone said, she was more heroic than anyone and genuinely cared about protecting people, so there was no reason to refuse something that would help public safety.

After chatting for several more minutes, they parted ways, having spent a considerable amount of time together.

Back in the car's rear seat, escorted by security personnel, Lee Seol-ah.

"Phew...."

She smiled, recalling the conversations they had today.

Meeting Ha-ru after a long time and chatting with laughter had been a great source of strength. Nothing relieves stress like chatting with a friend. Plus, she got a promise that Ha-ru would definitely visit the PMC later.

However...

"...Hmm."

Lee Seol-ah fell into quiet contemplation.

Ha-ru had answered that she had many concerns when asked why she looked troubled after Egostic's terrorist attack where he appeared holding Katana's hand.

She had looked somewhat dark when saying that...

But after saying she found a solution, Ha-ru smiled brightly again.

'....What could that solution be?'

Just as she didn't know what the concern was, the solution remained a mystery.

However, Ha-ru looked very relieved when she said that.

"...."

Lee Seol-ah felt a slight sense of foreboding with her unique business instinct, but deliberately ignored it.

Come on, surely nothing serious could happen?