Chapter 265 - Last Dance
# Moonlight Church Gate.
The greatest and worst disaster that occurred in the mid-to-late original story, an event that nearly brought the entire world to the brink of destruction.
The Moonlight Church, believers of the Moon God, and their leader, the Celestial Moon Emperor, who opened a passage connecting our galaxy to another world, summoning monsters that collapsed the world—this disaster.
I have been vigilant about this since the moment I fell into this world.
"...Sigh."
And finally, now that it's right in front of us. Winter in December.
All the countermeasures I had prepared while living in this world were coming together one by one.
With little time remaining, I went around checking them one last time.
"Ms. Da-in, all preparations are complete. I've arranged for martial law to be declared immediately when the incident occurs, and we've stockpiled plenty of relief supplies."
"Really? Well done. I don't know what I would have done without you, Seol-ah."
"Hmph... If you know that, treat me better after all this is over. Well, I can't let my country collapse, so of course I had to do this much."
Lee Seol-ah.
The chairwoman of Yu-seong Group and essentially the shadow ruler of the Republic of Korea.
From the beginning, I approached her before she even became the shadow ruler and formed an alliance.
I gained her trust by providing information that helped her quickly seize power, and successfully became a trusted friend.
With that, Lee Seol-ah listened to me and prepared the entire administrative system of the Republic of Korea for the disaster.
And thanks to her, I was able to create a private group of ability users, something I could never have done otherwise.
"Master Da-in. We've also completed our preparations."
"Really?"
"Yes. The four of us are now in perfect sync. The second-generation juniors are ready to deploy at any time."
"That's right, Teacher Da-in. You have no idea how hard we've been training!"
"...Hmph. Just wait and see. When things go down, we'll show you what we're capable of."
That's the PMC, also known as the Ego-squad.
A group of ability users with power levels equivalent to B-class heroes or below that I had created from the beginning specifically for this Moonlight Church disaster.
In the original story, after the Moonlight Church incident, various ability users fell into villainy amid the chaos of anarchy. To prevent this, I privately funded and hired these people in advance.
They were especially trained as an anti-monster force to deal with monsters after the disaster occurs.
And finally, it was time for them to shine.
I looked at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4, thinking about their roles.
Lee Se-geom, the main attacker specializing in swordsmanship.
Heo Da-hee, who would handle tanking and sub-attacks alongside him.
Seo Chae-young, who would provide ranged support with her bow abilities.
And San Soo-ah, who would enhance everyone else's abilities.
Looking at the confident four standing before me, I smiled.
Yes. With these four, they could probably raid even boss-level monsters. They've grown better than expected.
The second-generation members have also completed their Spartan training, so they should be able to handle smaller monsters.
After checking on the PMC.
Next, naturally, was the Hero Association.
"Director, how are you doing?"
"Well... all the underground bunkers have been completed..."
The Director, nearly collapsing under mountains of paperwork due to the unexpected overwork I had caused.
And beside him, Shadow Walker was sipping coffee with a smirk.
"Don't worry, Egostic. The Director and I are perfectly prepared to protect the Republic of Korea. No matter how much the monsters rampage, they won't break the spirit of our Korea!"
...I don't know what he's been taking, but despite his dark circles, Shadow Walker's eyes were shining with clarity as I awkwardly nodded.
...Well, at least it's better than lying down claiming incompetence.
Anyway, the Director said his preparations were complete.
Shadow Walker also... though he seemed a bit off, he looked confident nonetheless.
Beyond that, there was the East Asian Villain Alliance.
Since gates would definitely appear in both Japan and China, I had given them advance warnings.
[We've finished deploying our forces and positioning all our subordinates.]
[Fire Dragon has also completed preparations to some extent. I believe the area under my jurisdiction will be safe. Haha, it would have been truly dangerous without Egostic's warning.]
Having directly told them everything, they seemed to have made perfect preparations.
I warned them that they only needed to hold out for one day, so both sides appear to have prepared accordingly.
Our Atlas uncle wasn't much concerned since he's at sea.
...Of course, we had a few exchanges, and with his generous permission, some measures were put in place there as well.
And the International Villain Alliance, Kathedal.
I had warned them in advance too. I told them to be careful about a worldwide monster attack around the end of the year.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if they would listen to me.
[Recently, there has been a notable decrease in terrorist activities by famous villains in major countries worldwide as the year ends. According to the International Hero Association Statistics Office, villain alliance activities in the top 10 countries have decreased by more than half...]
...Looking at the news, hmm. It seemed everyone had made some preparations.
Yes.
Everyone around the world, in their own positions, in their own ways.
Was preparing for the coming disaster.
Unlike the original story, where it suddenly erupted when no one expected it, leaving no time to prepare.
"....."
Yes.
I think I've done my best to prepare as an individual.
For the day of the Moonlight Church disaster. To prevent this terrible event.
I collaborated with a mega-corporation that would become the shadow power of the Republic of Korea and created the PMC to control the impulsive actions of B-class and lower ability users.
I persuaded the Director to prepare for this disaster in advance.
I also nurtured the protagonist, Stardust, making her strong enough to defeat the boss-level monsters that would appear.
I formed the East Asian Villain Alliance to make the Korea-China-Japan region as safe as possible, minimizing the impact on the Republic of Korea.
I joined Kathedal and warned all the heads of villain alliances in major countries so other nations could prepare for this tragedy in advance.
Our Ego-stream, composed of A-class and higher villains, has also trained and prepared thoroughly.
When you think about it, all of this was to safely navigate through this doomsday scenario.
Now all preparations are complete.
All that's left is to leave the results to heaven.
I waited like that.
For the day when it would all begin.
***
Year-end.
In the unusually busy association, Stardust was quietly thinking alone.
...Soon, whatever Egostic mentioned would arrive.
That event he called a disaster.
"It's snowing..."
Looking out the window at the sky, Stardust suddenly murmured.
...It was like an intuition.
Somehow, she had a feeling. A feeling that this event would change everything.
Though she didn't know exactly what it was, she felt that with the end of this year.
Quite a lot of things would change.
...Still.
Egostic had definitely promised to be with her.
Surely.
She would be able to overcome it.
With such determination.
Stardust also waited with resolve for whatever would come at the end of the year.
With a pledge that no matter what happens.
She would overcome it all.
***
Time passed like that.
As the year was coming to an end.
On a gloomy cliff shrouded in fog.
An old man stood quietly with his hands behind his back.
And a man approaching him.
"Grand Master, all preparations are complete."
"...Is that so?"
As the man bowed his head, waiting for the old man's words.
The Celestial Moon Emperor, leader of the Moonlight Church, who had been quietly looking down at the waves below, muttered in a cracked voice.
"....Finally, this moment has come."
"The time for our god to descend and purify this rotten world."
Then the old man, who had been muttering with his hands behind his back.
Quietly turned around, leaning on his cane.
Looking at the numerous followers kneeling behind the cliff.
Quietly.
With a distorted smile, he opened his mouth.
Now.
Children, tremble in fear.
The time of judgment has arrived.
With his brief murmur.
As the massive magic circle below them turned purple.
Soon, no one remained on the cliff.
***
December 30th.
The sun that had been shining in broad daylight suddenly disappeared.
A massive moon.
A massive moon rose alone in the darkened sky.
[Breaking news! An abnormal phenomenon where the sun suddenly sets...]
While people were confused by the sudden abnormal phenomenon that had appeared after a long time.
We were calmly standing in front of the mansion.
"Everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
"...Yes."
"Haha! Is today finally the day?"
[Trust me! I'll show you my power.]
"...I'm a bit worried."
"Sigh. Time to play with fire after a long time..."
"....Let's go."
So under the darkened night sky, in front of the huge mansion.
With me at the center, wearing a black hat, black cape, black clothes, and a white mask.
Han Seo-eun, mounted on a giant mechanical weapon.
Lee Ha-yul, who had buffed everyone and was clenching his fists.
Choi Se-hee, smiling with lightning in her hands.
Death Knight, armed with a huge sword and black armor, standing by.
Eun-wol, wearing white priestess clothes with a determined expression.
Seo Ja-young, floating in the air with a sleepy smile and hands in her hood.
The dragon master, quietly looking at me with hands clasped to his chest.
And Lee Su-bin, who remained at the mansion to support us all.
Hearing the voices of Lee Seol-ah, Shadow Walker, the Director, and PMC members in my ear.
I grinned and said to everyone.
"Let's go."
To beat those guys up.
And so our Ego-stream departed.
With one goal.
To stop the Moonlight Church leader.