Chapter 260 - Warning

# The Most Influential Villain Alliance in Each Country

The Kathedal, an S-class villain conference where only the leaders of villain alliances gather.

Time passed, and the day of the conference arrived once again.

Under Celeste's leadership, the information-sharing meeting took place as always at the sacred altar, around a round table beneath a massive chandelier.

It was an ordinary meeting, no different from usual.

Until it was my turn.

Whoosh

In the center of the massive round table, a hologram displayed numerous cities being consumed by flames and monsters, falling into ruin.

"...And that concludes my presentation."

After stopping the projector showing the disaster forecast, I closed my mouth.

And then.

The conference hall immediately sank into another sudden, heavy silence.

......

After enough time had passed for everyone to gather their thoughts.

"I don't understand."

A muttering came from one side of the room.

Looking over, it was an elderly gentleman wearing a shining golden monocle.

An S-class villain from Italy, if I recall correctly.

After muttering that he didn't understand, he looked straight at me and spoke.

"Cities—no, countries—will fall because of mere monsters? I doubt the Association would be pushed back that far. Aren't you making too great a leap in logic?"

He asked me this as if he genuinely couldn't understand.

It was a reasonable thought.

Everyone here is the strongest villain in their respective country.

They can cut through mountains, easily destroy entire cities if they put their minds to it, and in terms of raw power, they're far stronger than someone like me.

Because of this, they all have absolute confidence in their own strength.

And they never underestimate the abilities of heroes strong enough to stand against them.

That's precisely why they couldn't understand what I was saying.

With heroes standing firm, what? Countries falling and Earth facing extinction? Is this some conspiracy theory?

Even if monsters invaded as I described, wouldn't heroes prevail? That kind of hopeful thinking.

And I could only smile and deny such hopeful thoughts.

"No."

"..."

"As I mentioned, what makes these monsters frightening isn't simply their strength."

Saying this, I turned on the projector again.

The white, round projector cast a hologram onto the center of the round table.

In the center appeared countless monsters lined up like a swarm of ants.

"There are three main reasons why these monsters are threatening."

"First is quantity. This is the biggest problem. An overwhelming number of monsters will emerge all at once, at the same time."

"No matter how exceptional the heroes are, it will be difficult to protect all regions from them. Especially since these gates are said to appear more frequently in densely populated areas."

"Second is their continuity."

As I said this, I changed the projector's image again.

What appeared were cities under invasion.

And as if time were accelerating, the cities changed rapidly. Yet ominous gates remained visible in one corner.

"The monster attacks won't end in a day. Probably three days, a week. At most, a month. Invaders from another dimension will keep coming through those gates."

"And unlike humans, they won't tire. They'll all be endless, new entities."

By the time I'd said this much, the expressions of those seated around the round table weren't looking good.

Of course. Even villains wouldn't be happy to hear the world might end when they've been living comfortably. They're all leaders of alliances and heads of households.

"The third issue is certain special entities among them. What I call boss-level monsters. Some can suck out souls, others can nullify all abilities—monsters different from ordinary ability users. Again, the problem is their overwhelming numbers..."

"...I get it. I get it."

After listening to me, the elderly gentleman grimaced and rested his hand on his forehead.

Apparently, he was starting to get a headache.

And the expressions of everyone else around the table were the same.

It was hard to dismiss, given my track record of correctly predicting everything I'd shared so far.

From the existence of time travelers to the first portal appearing in France—I had predicted it all.

Especially since that portal incident had continued and led to the current situation.

Katana, Li Xiaopeng, and Atlas all had calm expressions since I'd already warned them and they were preparing. But others must be shocked. Suddenly hearing that the Earth will nearly collapse in a few months.

Of course, some still looked skeptical, but there was a hint of anxiety visible on everyone's faces. The anxiety of "What if these unbelievable words turn out to be true?" just like everything else I'd said before.

"So..."

And then.

The elderly gentleman who first questioned me looked at me and asked in a dull voice.

"So, what are you suggesting we do? Just watch as everything falls apart?"

Yes. This is what needed to be asked. Thank you.

"Well... I suppose it's up to each person to decide."

After saying that much, I moistened my throat before continuing.

"If things go well, there's a possibility this could end within three days. Or a week. When the incident occurs, solutions that aren't visible now will probably emerge. I... and probably others here, have plans."

As I said this, I glanced toward Celeste.

She still had her eyes closed, her expression unchanging.

I wasn't particularly curious about Celeste's reaction.

It was just a message to remind others of Celeste's presence.

"Anyway, if that happens, the biggest impact will be on the first day of the disaster. Before anyone can prepare, major cities in each country will be reduced to ruins by the sudden large-scale invasion."

"So, isn't the most important thing to stop their initial attack on the first day?"

Yes.

My words implied two things.

First, if you don't want to be screwed, discreetly inform the associations or heroes in each country about the invasion. Secretly, of course, since we don't know who might be behind it.

Second, help out on the first day of the attack. You need cities and citizens to terrorize—what will you do if everything's destroyed and everyone's dead?

"..."

At my words, everyone's expressions hardened as they contemplated.

Yes.

The reason I could step up like this was because this was the Kathedal.

Kathedal. A gathering of leaders from the most powerful villain alliances around the world.

As such, they're all intelligent...

Most importantly, their goal is "conquest," not "destruction."

If they were lunatics who wanted world destruction, they might enjoy this situation, but all the villains here want to rule their countries, not destroy them.

Katana's goal was to conquer his own country, and the same goes for Li Xiaopeng. Others are similar. Especially those at Atlas or Celeste's level—their dreams have expanded to world domination.

And they want a functioning world, not one half-destroyed and in ruins. What would be the point of that?

In the original story, many countries were taken over by villains after the Moonlight Church Disaster. But they weren't particularly happy. That's why, in the original story, the Association and Kathedal cooperated to clean up monsters from the middle of the disaster onward. Though it was too late.

Anyway, looking at everyone's troubled expressions, I spoke one last time.

"Well."

"That concludes my presentation."

The rest... figure it out yourselves!

With that, my speaking time ended.

By great coincidence, since I was sitting close to Celeste, the meeting ended quickly after my information sharing.

And as soon as Celeste announced the end of the meeting, I stood up. To disappear quickly.

"..."

And during that moment.

I felt as if my eyes met with Celeste, who was sitting next to me.

...It must have been my imagination. She wouldn't open her eyes.

Anyway, I walked back down the corridor I had come through.

Li Xiaopeng and Katana somehow followed me, standing on my right and left sides. And Atlas followed behind me, as if blocking others.

Soon, we each tore our letters and returned to our original meeting place.

Good. The Kathedal matter is finished.

Now there should be some preparation not just in our country, but elsewhere too.

That's partly why I joined Kathedal in the first place.

As I was thinking this,

I heard Katana, who was standing beside me, ask:

"Good work, Egostic. But..."

"Yes?"

"Why did you tell them the disaster would take three days to a week? You told us it could end in a day."

"Ah, that's because, obviously..."

If I said it would end in a day, they might think differently.

If it's just a day, even if the country collapses a bit, it would be easy to recover. They might have dangerous thoughts like "Let's use this opportunity to take down all the heroes..." The balance of power must be maintained. If I say it will take longer, they'll think about cooperation. At least, that's how it was in the original story.

"Anyway, now everyone will prepare on their own."

I muttered.

Yes, I've done my best as a villain. I joined Kathedal, built trust with various information, and based on that trust, predicted the disaster, making everyone believe my words.

Now it's really up to fate after the incident occurs.

"It's getting to be autumn."

I sat down in a nearby chair and muttered.

After autumn, winter will come.

And by the end of the year.

That day will come—the day that completely changed the original story.

The day when everyone died and the world collapsed.

The day I've been most wary of since the moment I fell into this world.

"Now we wait."

Once preparations are complete, we must wait.

Time will probably fly by from now on. Just as time passes quickly when an exam is approaching, this will be the same.

...My next attack on Stardust will be the last before the disaster.

I quietly thought.

The day of the Moonlight Church Disaster.

Time remaining until the incident: three months.