This world will end one day, and that time is not far away.

At most, the world has only 15 years left before its demise.

If this statement were made public, the people of the world would laugh and dismiss it as a ridiculous doomsday conspiracy.

But it was the truth. And SSS-class villain So Kang-seok had uncovered this truth, which no one else had yet reached.

“This world will end? Hah! What an incredible secret I’ve stumbled upon!”

So Kang-seok, a hedonist to his core, initially intended to use this truth purely for his amusement.

If the world was doomed anyway, wouldn’t it be better to indulge himself as much as possible in the meantime?

Revealing this truth to the world, bit by bit, and creating chaos wherever possible seemed like it could be entertaining.

Even if not everyone believed him, the few who did and acted upon it would undoubtedly create some fascinating incidents.

That was his initial thought. But this resolve didn’t last long.

“Kyahaha~! Wouldn’t it be more fun to try something even bigger?”

A mischievous female voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

“Who’s there?”

“Who else? Someone who’ll help you start something much grander! My name is Hee-ah. Let’s play a bigger game!”

At first, So Kang-seok planned to interrogate the voice, intending to demand proof of her ability to entertain him.

But he didn’t even get the chance to voice those thoughts.

“Urgh?!”

A white haze seemed to envelop his mind, and his consciousness began to fade.

“I must… perform the ritual….”

So Kang-seok muttered blankly, his dazed state prompting laughter from the entity calling herself Hee-ah.

“That’s right! Exactly! Kyahahaha! Perform the ritual! The results will be oh so entertaining!”

With Hee-ah’s guidance, So Kang-seok mobilized all his forces and moved to Somalia.

A monster field teeming with rampant gates—an area most people wouldn’t even approach or care about—was the perfect place to gather all the necessary ingredients for the ritual.

Using the volatile mana from the gates spread throughout the region, the plan would unleash extreme chaos and terror on humanity.

For Hee-ah, merely observing the resulting fear and anxiety would be immensely entertaining.

***

“This is going to be a headache.”

Baek Seo-jun rubbed his temple, gazing toward the location where So Kang-seok had set up shop.

The ostentatiously built temple-like structure, unusual for a villain in hiding, was filled with ominous energy.

“Seo-jun, if you don’t stop the ritual powered by the <Fox That Devours Worlds>, its descent could accelerate.”

“I know. That’s why I’m here to stop it.”

In this world, the <Fox That Devours Worlds> could only interfere indirectly, typically by using villains as pawns.

The sins committed by these villains would accumulate as karma, and the Fox could manipulate them in proportion to the weight of their transgressions.

But even this method couldn’t be used frequently.

If it had exerted enough power to dominate the consciousness of an SSS-class villain like So Kang-seok, it wouldn’t be able to control any other villains for the foreseeable future.

In other words, it had pooled all its resources to take over So Kang-seok’s mind and orchestrate a massive disaster through the ritual.

“If I stop this ritual, its ability to interfere will weaken, right?”

“That’s correct. However, at best, you’re only delaying its intervention.”

Even if the Fox couldn’t directly control someone, it could still whisper into their minds, enticing them with words and manipulating them indirectly.

‘Still, it’s better than the original storyline.’

In the original plot, the Fox had villains orchestrate chaos by controlling them. With this preemptive strike, at least the Fox wouldn’t be able to use that method anymore.

As for verbal manipulation, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“The ritual is being held in the central area. The medium… is So Kang-seok himself?”

The truly insidious aspect of this ritual was that, whether it succeeded or failed, So Kang-seok would die.

To complete the ritual, every ounce of So Kang-seok’s life force would be consumed. Conversely, the easiest way to stop the ritual was to kill him outright.

Either way, So Kang-seok was doomed.

‘But his soul won’t get an easy escape.’

Simply killing him wasn’t enough for me.

Letting him die without suffering would only leave me fuming with rage.

I still vividly remembered the moment when I screamed in agony, writhing in pain.

During the endless human experimentation conducted solely to satisfy the researchers’ curiosity, So Kang-seok had stood by, laughing gleefully at my suffering.

“No need to overthink this.”

When the answer was so clear, there was no point in hesitating or weighing options.

My immediate goal was to secure evidence from that day.

‘The evidence is likely among So Kang-seok’s personal belongings.’

His possessions wouldn’t be stored in some elaborate vault or high-security safe.

They weren’t treasures, so why would he bother?

They were probably stored in an inventory-like spatial storage item.

“First, I need to secure those items.”

Ensuring the items remained undamaged was my priority. Sorting through them could wait until later.

Once I had So Kang-seok’s soul in my grasp, extracting the location of the items would be simple.

‘No need to physically infiltrate the scene.’

I silently extended my energy, maintaining a level of stealth that would evade So Kang-seok’s detection.

Sweeping through the possible storage locations, I discovered abandoned spatial rings that seemed to house his belongings.

‘Found them.’

My energy infiltrated the rings, allowing me to examine their contents.

Typically, spatial rings functioned by projecting a complete inventory list into the user’s mind once accessed.

But I could peer inside using only my energy.

‘Executing stored video files directly would require reality-warping powers.’

Although possible, using such powers here would immediately alert So Kang-seok—or worse, the <Fox That Devours Worlds>.

‘Capturing his soul is the key. If I can’t torment his body, I’ll finish this swiftly.’

With that resolve, I moved to hunt So Kang-seok, disguising myself thoroughly.

Unless Hee-ah manifested directly into this world, there was no way she would uncover my identity.

***

“It’s almost time.”

Ten days. Only ten days remained.

In ten days, an event of tremendous magnitude would occur.

In Ethiopia and Kenya alone, over 120 million people would die in the ensuing explosions. Gates across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East would enter a frenzy.

As the world succumbed to the corrosive mana seeping from the gates, Hee-ah, the entity controlling So Kang-seok’s consciousness, would find it much easier to descend into this world.

“Kyahahaha~ Just ten days left. And no one’s even tried to stop me yet! This world is so poorly defended!”

Hee-ah’s laughter rang out, full of glee.

Hers was a voice that only So Kang-seok could hear.

The voice of the one who controlled him and orchestrated this plan to amuse herself. So Kang-seok nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it’s soon. Soon everything you desire will come to pass, Hee-ah.”

Under Hee-ah’s control, So Kang-seok had become utterly loyal to her.

“Indeed. Keep up the effort. Of course, when the time comes, you’ll die, but don’t worry—I’ll convert your soul into an energy source.”

“Yes, Lady Hee-ah. It will be an honor.”

“Fufufu~ How delightful that Terenity is dead! Ah, in the past, I had to sneak around to avoid that cursed lizard’s gaze. But now? Everything’s so much more entertaining!”

So Kang-seok had no idea who or what this “Terenity” was.

In the past, he might have been curious, but under Hee-ah’s control, he didn’t even think to ask.

All he needed to do was follow her commands, die, and be consumed.

The once-feared SSS-class villain So Kang-seok had become nothing more than a puppet.

Thunk—!

A sharp, piercing object suddenly skewered his chest multiple times.

“Huh?”

Even Hee-ah, who controlled So Kang-seok’s consciousness, noticed the sudden attack.