Chapter 288 - Long Time No See

# The Cathedral

In the cathedral where Kathedal was held.

In this empty room with a round table, where the only windows were stained glass that emitted their own light, making the outside invisible.

I was having a private meeting with Celeste.

"Hmm, why is she calling for our Egostic? Can I join too?"

"I'm sorry, Atlas. I'm afraid that won't be possible as we have matters to discuss privately."

"Sigh. That's not..."

"Atlas, please don't worry and go ahead. It's not like having a conversation is difficult..."

"Hey now! Still..."

...After finally managing to send off Atlas, who stubbornly refused to leave until the end, and Katana, who kept looking at me with concerned eyes.

With everyone finally gone after giving us curious glances before leaving the round table.

I sat across from Celeste, racking my brain.

'I'm screwed.'

That's what I thought as I watched Celeste calmly bringing me a cup of tea.

After I stopped the Moonlight Bridge incident, I expected Celeste would mention something related to it. After all, I had mentioned gods and dimensional beings, and during the Moonlight Bridge incident, I had used magic at Eun-wol's command and traveled between dimensions.

...But I never thought she would so blatantly ask to meet me alone like this.

I felt my mouth go dry sitting with her—considered the strongest character in the original work—in her unknown home ground without any allies on my side.

Of course.

On the outside, I never showed any sign of this.

I remained completely relaxed, as if I knew exactly why she had called me.

With a smile on my lips, I casually observed her while drinking the tea she had served.

A woman sitting quietly with a smile, eyes closed, wearing holy priestess clothes with flowing white hair.

As I was observing her face, which had a mysterious beauty that seemed to draw people in...

Celeste put down her teacup and spoke.

"Egostic. I'm glad you stayed."

"The pleasure is mine. May I ask why you called for me, Celeste?"

"Well..."

As she briefly closed her eyes and smiled gently while looking in my direction.

Whoosh-

Suddenly, with a chill as if the temperature had dropped several degrees.

Still smiling gently, but with a distinctly colder aura.

Celeste asked me in a soft voice.

"Egostic."

"How much do you know about the gods?"

And so.

In the suddenly solemn, cold atmosphere.

"Haha."

I simply laughed casually.

Interlocking my fingers, I smiled as I answered.

"...I know as much as I need to. That three gods created this world in the beginning, and that they've now disappeared."

I said that much and continued to smile brightly as I looked at Celeste.

Since she started being rude first, this much should be fine.

Although some strange sensation still enveloped my body, I just kept smiling without giving any other answer. Yeah, go ahead and use your abilities all you want. They won't work on me.

As I stood my ground without budging.

Eventually, she smiled broadly and spoke to me in her still angelic, beautiful voice.

"...I see. Very well. Then could you perhaps tell me how you came to know about the existence of the gods?"

"Well, I'm not really sure myself. I just happened to find out somehow."

I answered with a smile.

It was a bit evasive, but essentially the same as directly saying "No, I won't tell you."

While I was smiling casually like that.

Inside, I was already extremely tense and thinking frantically.

What was the true identity of this seemingly vulnerable, beautiful white-haired woman smiling with her eyes closed before me?

Celeste. If you had to name the most dangerous villain in the world, she would almost certainly be number one.

She reigns as an absolute terror in America, a villain so threatening that even the most seasoned heroes dare not touch her. While others have one or two abilities, three at most, she has dozens. Looking at her old footage, she's practically a walking catastrophe.

But, precisely because of that.

I had to bluff. I had to smile confidently in front of her, as if I knew some tremendous secret. As if I were as strong as she was.

This was entirely possible given what I had accomplished so far.

As a follower of the Sun God, she probably wouldn't know much about the Moonlight Bridge, which was related to the Moon God. And I knew that precisely.

After quietly observing my reaction with her eyes closed.

She smiled briefly, then took another sip of tea before speaking to me.

"...I see. Understood. I called you today because I had something else to ask. So, Egostic."

"Yes."

"I won't ask how you knew about the matters related to the Moonlight Bridge. Everyone has their secrets, after all."

Hearing her words, I momentarily froze.

...Wait, wasn't that what she called me here to ask about? I had prepared all those excuses for nothing.

As I was thinking that.

She spoke with a warm smile on her face.

"However, I want you to know that I wish to continue cooperating with you in the future. I am not your enemy."

"Haha. How could I possibly consider Celeste, the leader of our Kathedal, my enemy?"

I replied with a smile, matching hers.

You smile, I smile... completely forgetting how she had dropped the temperature earlier to intimidate me.

I understood what she meant, more or less.

It was a kind of warning. Whatever I had done, it was a warning to someone who knew so much about the gods, excluding herself.

That's probably why she called me today. To gauge my thoughts through conversation and to tell me this. Whatever I did, not to do anything that would anger her.

...She too was approaching me quite cautiously. Probably because she didn't know how much I knew or how powerful I was.

It wasn't a bad conversation, all things considered.

If she had confronted me more directly here, things could have developed quite awkwardly.

I took another sip of tea and smiled brightly.

...I should ask Ha-yul to detoxify me when I get home, just in case she put something in the tea.

Anyway, after that, I exchanged a few more words with Celeste.

Mostly meaningless conversation, but well. I'm used to smiling and saying things I don't mean.

And after a few minutes had passed like that.

"Oh my, look at the time. It's gotten quite late."

Fortunately, Celeste was the first to suggest wrapping things up.

"Indeed. I should be going too. My colleagues are waiting. Haha."

"Yes. Take care."

So I got up from my seat.

I smiled, said goodbye, and left without looking back.

...I felt mentally drained even though we barely talked. All I wanted was to lie down in bed.

As I always say, being a villain is never easy...

After leaving the round table.

I reassured Atlas and the East Asian Villain Alliance members who were worried something might have happened, then went straight home.

...Come to think of it, I haven't been to Atlas's city recently. I should visit sometime.

***

In Lattice City, the city built by Atlas.

Atlas, sitting on the temple throne there, was having a hard time calming his daughter.

"...So Egostic couldn't come today either?"

"That's right. He said he had a lot to think about after talking with that Celeste. I don't know what he discussed with that white woman who just laughs all the time. Next time I'll ask..."

Atlas's words fell on deaf ears as far as his daughter Ariel was concerned.

"...I see. He can't come today either."

Ariel, with her blue hair hanging limply, wore a dark, lifeless expression.

It had been a long time since she asked to join his villain alliance, Ego-stream, only to be rejected because of her weak constitution.

Since then, Ariel had trained diligently, dreaming of proving her abilities to Egostic and asking him again...

But that would only be possible if he came here first.

Because Egostic had been busy with various matters from the Moonlight Bridge disaster, she kept waiting for him... but in the end, he couldn't come even on the day he had a villain alliance meeting with her father.

Meanwhile...

[Egostic. You have big hands...]

"...Ugh."

Already knowing the situation in Korea through TV and the internet, Ariel knew what he was doing, and that at this rate, she would be forgotten.

After contemplating for a long time, Ariel.

"...That's it."

With the light gone from her eyes, she muttered.

"...If he won't come to me, I'll go to him directly."

She was already beyond rational judgment.

Go to the Republic of Korea. In a way that he couldn't possibly ignore her. To show him that she had become stronger now.

And so Ariel disappeared somewhere, her blue hair fluttering.

"...Is my daughter going through late puberty?"

Seeing her walking purposefully somewhere while muttering to herself, Atlas could only sigh.

...Not knowing what kind of trouble his daughter might cause later.

***

"...Why do I feel this chill again."

"A chill? Are you sure you're okay, oppa? Should I heal you again?"

In the bedroom of the Ego-stream mansion.

Feeling an untimely chill, I involuntarily shuddered at the ominous sensation burning through my body.

...Celeste, did that woman really put something in the tea?