Chapter 360 - The Harbinger Of Descent

# Knowledge Gap

When I possess knowledge that others don't, that knowledge can be used as a weapon.

In other words, the information I have that "all ability users will become stronger with the approach of the Sun God" is something I can definitely use as a weapon.

And the direction that weapon would point was, naturally, toward Celeste.

Why? Because as a priestess obsessed with the Sun God, she could maximize the impact of this information.

So while this information alone is a weapon against others, I can also leverage how I obtained it.

Yes, this is part of my plan: "Operation Pretend to be a Faithful Apostle of the Sun God."

Oh! The Sun God told me this. He didn't tell you, did he?

That's why I came to Kathedal again today, to meet Celeste once more.

The pure white cathedral filled with a mysterious atmosphere.

The regular meetings of top villains from each country.

This Kathedal, with all its significance, had become familiar to everyone.

The same villains, the same place. It was just a venue to socialize and gather new information.

"Mr. Egostic!"

"Yes. Hello."

I smiled and approached my companions whom I'd met through Kathedal.

Katana, the leader from Japan. Li Xiaopeng, the leader from China.

Members of our East Asian Villain Alliance.

And...

"Hahaha! Egostic, it's been a while!"

Atlas had also come to Kathedal after a very long time.

With his beard grown, laughing cheerfully as usual.

...Somehow he had more scars than before.

I approached him with a smile and greeted him.

"It's been a while, Mr. Atlas. Have you been well?"

"Yes, absolutely! It wasn't easy cutting down all those black monster fish-heads, but I managed."

He laughed heartily while resting his shoulder on the chair's backrest.

Atlas had missed the last few Kathedal meetings because he was busy defeating sea monsters called Cthulhu that had invaded the ocean. He told me he was disappointed that he couldn't continue his ocean expansion project because of fighting those monsters.

Then, sighing to me, he said:

"And... sigh. You have no idea how much Ariel keeps begging me to let her meet you again. It's exhausting..."

I could only offer an awkward smile in response to his words.

While we were catching up after so long...

Click. Click.

A woman entered the round table.

A woman with long silver hair wearing pure white priestess robes. Celeste was approaching.

"....."

As always, she entered with her eyes closed, exuding an intellectual aura.

Is this the first time since we met alone at the Sun God's temple? She was kind of cute then, trembling and exhausted.

While I was thinking that...

"Hmm..."

"..."

The surrounding villains began glancing back and forth between Celeste and me as she entered.

They were probably waiting for her to pick a fight with me, as she had been doing recently whenever she showed up.

However, what they expected didn't happen.

"Let's begin the meeting."

She spoke in her usual clear voice.

...The difference from her usual behavior was that she wasn't looking at me at all.

What's going on?

"......"

Anyway, the meeting proceeded peacefully.

Celeste didn't provoke me at all. ...No. Rather, she seemed to be deliberately ignoring me.

...Hmm. Surely she's not embarrassed because of what happened last time?

We didn't part on bad terms, but seeing how she's stubbornly avoiding looking at me, it's possible...

Anyway, the meeting ended peacefully.

...Considering what will happen to Kathedal after Phase 4, this was probably the last peaceful meeting.

Meanwhile, Celeste kept turning her head away and avoiding eye contact even when I spoke, so she apparently didn't want to talk to me today.

But I can't let that be.

"Thank you everyone for your hard work. This concludes our meeting."

With that, Celeste ended the meeting.

"Egostic. Aren't you leaving?"

"No. I have something to discuss with Celeste."

"Is that so? Haha, I don't know what it is, but good luck!"

After saying goodbye to everyone, I waited for Celeste as usual.

After everyone had left...

With just Celeste and me remaining.

Celeste, who had been sitting quietly with her eyes closed...

Only after everyone had left did she coldly speak.

"...What is it?"

For some reason, she was being cold toward me.

...Of course, despite her words, the fact that she waited while I was there meant she wasn't really threatening. If she truly didn't want to talk to me, she would have left first.

"Well, I have something to tell you regarding the Sun God."

"What is it?"

As she continued to face away from me and respond coldly...

I grinned and opened my mouth to speak.

"Has the God given you any messages lately?"

"...No, why?"

"Well, the God gave me another message just yesterday afternoon."

"......"

At my words, spoken calmly and without a hint of deception...

She slowly turned her face back toward me...

...Quietly, opening her eyes slightly, she looked at me with golden eyes and spoke.

"...Tell me."

Can't resist this, can you?

Looking at Celeste who was now showing interest in me, I grinned.

Alright. Let's spill some information.

***

After her previous temple exploration with Egostic...

Celeste had been trembling with embarrassment.

"Ugh..."

'Eek...!'

'...W-who said I was anxious? I was just being cautious. Ridiculous.'

"Ughhh..."

Who was Celeste?

She was known as the strongest villain in the world, someone who had always been in a position of dominance since awakening her abilities... someone who had never been beneath anyone else.

And for her...

...to cling to Egostic, who was much weaker than her, making frightened sounds and depending on him...

It was truly a shameful memory she wanted to erase from her mind.

'Sigh... Well, at least it wasn't without gain.'

Although she had experienced such humiliation, there was still something gained.

She had discovered and obtained the Sun God's relic from the temple.

And... apart from the embarrassment.

'...Egostic, huh.'

It was also the moment her perception of Egostic changed.

The Sun God's temple. Not only did he know the location of a temple she herself was unaware of...

'He had no intention of harming me at all.'

He even protected her with a smile until the end, when she was so weakened that a single bullet could have killed her.

...Such behavior caused quite a stir in Celeste's heart, who had always thought that anyone would rush to pull her down from her position at the top if she let her guard down.

To the extent that she began to think Egostic might really be her ally.

"....."

She absently stroked her silver hair in her prayer room, not praying but thinking about Egostic.

...He had claimed to be a follower of the Sun God all this time, but the reasons she hadn't believed him were simple.

First, because he went around eliminating the Sun God's followers as he pleased. Second, because he was someone who had received power from the Star God.

There was also a third reason—that his perpetual sly smile suggested he was up to something—but that seemed too forced, so she decided to omit it.

Anyway, she had not believed in Egostic and classified him as an enemy...

'What if really...?'

But after his subsequent actions, her thoughts gradually began to change.

The biggest reason she hadn't believed him until now was that he possessed the power of the Star God.

Of the three forgotten gods—Sun, Moon, and Star—unlike the followers of the Moon God who were quite widespread in the shadows, information about the Star God was extremely limited. Very few people had her power.

Among those with the power of stars, the strongest had been Ex Machina. She didn't know much about others. Just a few in Europe, and someone called Stardust in Asia.

Anyway, it was natural not to believe someone with the extremely rare power of the Star God claiming to be an apostle of the Sun God.

She had thought he was a spy sent by the Star God.

But...

'What if the Sun God really chose him?'

She began to think differently.

Perhaps the Sun God chose him precisely because he had the power of the Star God. After all, an ally turned enemy is the most fearsome. Converting him would make him a great asset.

This thought especially began to solidify when she observed the color of Egostic's hair.

Although her information about the power of stars was extremely limited, she still knew more than the average person.

'According to the information recorded in the texts...'

Those who received the power of the Star God all had brilliantly shining golden hair.

However, Egostic's hair was black. Despite this, the fact that he possessed the power of stars...

'...Could it be because he's fallen?'

Yes. Could it be that the power of stars had fallen because he believed in the Sun God?

It was quite a plausible speculation.

Convincing enough for her to believe it herself.

'Honestly...'

Receiving an angel who was an attendant of the Sun God, knowing the location of the Sun God's temple that even she was unaware of... it seemed a bit forced even to her to keep accusing him of being a spy for the Star God.

Especially seeing how he didn't even try to harm her, it seemed certain that he considered her an ally...

"Ugh..."

...Although she didn't understand why the God remained silent to her while speaking to him.

Could Egostic really be... an apostle chosen by the Sun?

She quietly pondered this.

...A magnificent misunderstanding, exactly as Egostic intended.

As she continued these thoughts...

"...Wait a minute."

...She unconsciously recalled the future vision of Egostic kissing her again.

The thought that this flow of events might actually lead to that kept her awake for several nights...

Later, when she saw Egostic at Kathedal, she stubbornly avoided his gaze. She felt anxious that her face might flush if their eyes met...

Of course, making that meaningless, Egostic stayed behind waiting for her, saying he had something to tell her.

Finally forced to face him and talk...

...She heard something shocking from Egostic.

"...What did you say?"

That a day would come when the power of all those who received the Sun God's ability would become several times stronger.

And after saying that, he...

"You heard me correctly."

He said with a grin on his face.