Chapter 330: Never

A meeting of S-class villains organized by Celeste, also known as Cathedral.

The meeting is held at the round table in the cathedral.

“So, everyone has arrived.”

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere was chillier than before.

Compared to the last meeting, this one was held quite quickly.

And, of course, there didn’t seem to be anyone here who didn’t realize that it was because of me.

Because Celeste is giving me a scary look.

“…..”

Even though Celeste’s eyes were closed as usual, I could feel the glow of her eyes through her eyelids. Oh, scary.

The other villains are unperturbed by this, of course, but I can tell by the way they’re all glancing in my direction that the angel thing has caught their attention.

They already let me know that there is a god, well I know about the three gods. In particular, I must have been convinced by Celeste’s reaction to me. Oh, I really did take God’s angel with me.

It seemed like everyone was curious about me and the angel… but even during the session where information was shared, no one asked me or anything like that happened. While Celeste is radiating such deep anger, it seems that no one has the courage to bring up the topic.

“That’s right, Mr. Egostic, I heard you got that descended angel, is that true? You’ve been all over the place lately.”

…Nope. There was a big one.

That guy with the red Mohican…what was his name?

He was the one who was asking me with such innocence in his eyes even as Celeste glared at me and gave me a look of displeasure.

“…Hmph. You.”

Of course, the villains next to him coughed in surprise at his insensitive remark and pretended to restrain themselves… They weren’t actively trying to stop him. Judging by the way they glanced in my direction, they must have been wondering what was going on.

And then, before I could open my mouth to respond to his words.

-Bang.

From where Celeste was sitting, there was a thud.

Everyone jumped and turned to their right to see Celeste slamming a white bible-like book on the round table and organizing it.

“Now, enough of that, let’s get this meeting started.”

She sounds calm, but there’s no mistaking that it’s an act.

After all, all of the villains here are pretty much tyrants in their own countries, so…I know it’s weird to watch Celeste, but what the hell.

The world of villains is a world of even more powerful villains. No one here wanted to pretend to anger Celeste, who was rumored to be able to move continents by herself.

And so, the meeting began.

The main section of the Cathedral meeting, where everyone shared information they knew advanced.

Then my turn came.

“This is a story from Mr. Atlas, who is not here today…the sea has recently been inhabited by monstrous creatures that have evolved from the old lunar beasts.”

I filled in for Atlas, who was also absent today, battling some deep-sea beasts called the Deep Ones or something, with some of the information he gave me.

Some of the more inquisitive villains were disappointed that I didn’t go into more detail about the angel, but… I couldn’t help it. It’s not my place to provoke Celeste further.

After giving them a general idea of the beasts’ patterns and how to deal with them, I spent the next hour listening to the others speak.

Then, finally, the meeting ended.

“Egotistic, you stay.”

“Yes.”

Turning to me, Celeste, who spoke in a cold voice, smirked.

I bite back the gazes of the other villains, who are watching us curiously, and Celeste turns her head away, eyes closed.

I also sent back Katana and Li Xiaofeng, who were worried about me.

Once again, Celeste and I were alone in front of the round table in the cathedral.

Afterwards, we were alone.

“…Egotistic!”

Celeste abandoned her calm demeanor and strode angrily towards me.

As soon as she stood in front of me, she opened her eyes, which had been closed until now, and looked straight at me.

Her golden eyes burned with rage as she stood before me, dressed in her saintly robes, her white and silver hair flowing.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down.”

“Calm the fuck down… What the fuck did you do, tell me the truth.”

As she finished speaking, four giant silver spears formed in front of me.

Looking at the holy spears floating in the air, aiming at me with such ferocity, I raised my hands and opened my mouth to laugh hysterically.

“Haha, why are you doing this, what did I do?”

“You…! You’re too shameless to speak, you dare to steal the Sun God’s servant without permission, and then say such a thing?”

She said that while staring at me as if to devour me with her fiery golden eyes.

Dressed in her holy white saintly robes, with her mysterious silver hair and sculpted features, she looked so unbalanced as she glared at me and spewed her anger. Perhaps this is the real her hidden behind her Saint title.

Regardless, I smirked as I watched Celeste behave exactly as I expected.

Still smiling, I opened my mouth as if to state the obvious.

“Who did that?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Celeste, I have officially received a revelation from God and brought her as He intended.”

Her fair brow furrowed at my calmly spoken words.

“Nonsense….He would not have left me and given you a servant.”

“It is not nonsense, Celeste; I heard His voice in my dreams, and I did as He commanded; otherwise, would an angel obey me? Let us see, Halo!”

As I shouted that, gravity shifted beside me, and a blonde angel appeared out of thin air.

“I have arrived, my lord.”

“You see?”

As soon as she saw me, the angel bowed her head.

An angel with golden eyes just like her own, no doubt a servant of the Sun God…

Celeste made a face of disbelief.

“…Impossible. He would not send her to a follower of the God of the Stars.”

She muttered in confusion.

She’s served the Sun God all her life, lived by his voice, and was even recognized as one of his incarnations. And now she’s sending down an angel to a kid who believes in some other god? It’s ridiculous.

Even so, she can’t just blindly suspect me.

To her, the Sun God is an omnipotent deity who never makes mistakes. Would he be so stupid as to give an angel to a former A-list villain? That would be even harder to believe.

Of course, at this rate, she’s likely to jump to the conclusion that I’ve somehow conspired with the God of the Stars, and then call me names.

So I’d better get my mouth out of the way.

Before Celeste could say anything, I opened my mouth.

“Celeste, do you remember the bet I offered you the last time?”

“…..”

“I said I’d prove to you that I was closer to God than you were, before the next Cathedral, and I proved it.”

“…You must be up to something…”

“Celeste. Did the Sun God tell you that an angel would descend?”

“…”

“He didn’t give it to you, but he gave it to me a long time ago. Why do you think an angel descended on Korea in the first place?”

Actually, I think the reason was that the comic book writer did it to put Stardus and Celeste together, but I sold it as if I was the reason the angel descended on Korea.

And it worked pretty well.

She acted nonchalant but I could see she was shaking.

Then I glanced at the angel standing right next to me. I smirked and drove the final wedge.

“My powers may come from the God of the Stars, but I truly believe in and serve the Sun God, which is why he has recognized my loyalty and appointed me his apostle, and why it was his command to remove the wisher from his prison.”

“You’re lying–”

“I’m not lying. You just don’t want to believe it, for fear of jeopardizing your one and only place of devotion.”

“You…!”

I chuckled, raising my hand again as if to calm her as she was about to summon her spear, momentarily inflamed by my provocation.

“Anyway… I guess what I’m trying to say is, let’s try to get along as business associates now, as apostles of the same Sun God.”

“…..”

She glared at me as if my words would tear her to shreds, but she didn’t say much more than that.

Because, first of all, no matter what, that angel of the Sun God is following me.

And to just touch me, kill me, and torture me? Indeed, if I am the Sun God’s authorized apostle, she couldn’t handle the fallout. God forbid, especially when she has so much respect and faith in the gods.

No. Anyone who knows anything about gods knows that the Sun God and the Star God don’t get along in the first place, and she knows I’m the embodiment of the Star God, but the Sun God giving me an angel? Unbelievable.

But now I have proof. This angel calls me master and follows me wholeheartedly.

So now, even though she’s 99 percent sure, the 1 percent doubt is holding her back.

What if, just maybe, I’m right? She couldn’t ignore the one in ten thousand possibility.

She was silent for a moment then she turned back to me, her face stoic and cold, and said.

“You… One day, when that ugly lie is exposed, you won’t die a pretty death. I’ll kill you myself, tear you apart.”

“Yes, yes. Okay. Can I go now?”

“…..”

“I’ll get in touch later, haha, we’re partners now, right? Bye then. Halo, let’s go.”

“Yes, my lord.”

With that, I turned my back on her and walked with the angel to the exit of the round table while feeling the prying eyes behind me.

Phew, funny.

***

“Damn… Ha.”

After Egostic left Celeste was left alone, closing her eyes and tidying up her sticky hair.

“…Sun. What on earth are you thinking…?”

Celeste swore, something she never did as a holy and chaste saint.

She summarized the situation.

Egotistic, that ridiculous worm, impersonating an apostle of God, selling and deceiving in the name of an angel.

The chances of the Sun God choosing such a frivolous, unlikable man were zero.

…Of course, the will of the gods is beyond human comprehension. There was only one possibility… but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.

‘…That’s Okay. Anyway, he’s a weak human being who will explode at the touch of my finger if I put your mind to it.’

As she pondered that, she quickly organized her thoughts.

That’s right. Whatever he was, the difference in power was already obvious. She could take him out in an instant if she wanted to.

Egotistic. Once she realized his lies, his deceit, how he’d brainwashed the angel… it would never be too late to deal with him.

That’s what Celeste thought.

Her henchman Arthur opened the door after a knock.

“Excuse me, Celeste. None other than the woman you called for the other day has arrived.”

“Oh… Let her in.”

Arthur’s words eased Celeste’s mind.

The woman she’d called for when Egostic had eliminated the Wish Granter. The Oracle.

…Well, not exactly a seer of the future, since it’s impossible to have that ability.

However, if it’s not a prophecy, but a “prediction” of a particular relationship or person…there was someone who could do it.

With that, Celeste pushed open a door to one side of the room.

Sitting there, in the small room, was a green-eyed old woman with grayish-blond hair, draped in a tattered robe.

“…Long time no see, Oracle.”

“Hmph… Lady of the Sun. Is there a reason you have summoned this lowly fortune teller?”

At the old woman’s words Celeste opened her mouth, and spoke calmly and clearly.

“Egostic a.k.a. Da-in, show me how he will be involved with me.”

“Very well, place your hand on this crystal…”

At the old woman’s words, Celeste sucked in a breath and placed her slender hand on the crystal ball on the desk.

The Oracle, Delphi.

A power beyond even Celeste’s control, a power that bordered on the divine. With the ability to spy on limited and fragmented possibilities of the future, she was the most ‘prophetic’ of the world’s powers.

She could see the future, the fate of those who were related to her, and what would happen.

With that thought, Celeste placed her hand on the crystal ball.

The next moment, her vision flipped, and she saw a scene.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A room made of bricks.

In it, a silver-haired woman dressed in a saint’s robe was pinned to the wall by a man in a black hat.

With her back to the wall, the silver-haired woman looked up at the man in front of her with golden eyes and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Wait… Egostic, calm down, we can’t do this here, okay?”

“I don’t think so. I can’t take it.”

“No, just calm down, I like it, okay? We can’t do this here… Ugh.”

But the silver-haired woman’s words didn’t last long.

Before she could finish her sentence, the dark-haired man kissed her.

“Uh… Paa, wait…! Ugh…”

And just like that, he kissed her again before she could say another word.

She kissed him back, looking like she didn’t hate it as much as she said she did.

“Mmm…”

“Mmm… Paah. Haah, ugh…..”

Eventually, she gave up trying to pull away.

She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his waist, and concentrated on making out with him.

Just like that.

…The scene before her was over.

*

“…..Ha, ha, ha.”

“What did you see, Celeste? …Celeste?”

“Wait, wait, wait…”

In a dark room, with her hand still on the crystal ball, Celeste cleared her throat, her face flushed.

“….”

After a moment, she calmed down.

She sat up quietly, then opened her mouth to speak.

“…Thank you Delphi.”

“Tsk tsk… Come anytime. The next oracle…won’t be for another three years.”

With that, Celeste walked out of the oracle, looking ahead.

…No problem.

It’s only a possibility, anyway. A future that may or may not come depending on what she does. That future will never come.

She can’t imagine herself looking like that. Never, never, never, never, never.

“Never…”

Celeste slipped outside.