Chapter 349: The Rocking Bridge

The first time Celeste realized something was wrong with her body was when her powers failed to trigger.

“….?”

She had followed Egostic to the ruins in the middle of the desert, smirking.

…And yet, she had never been wary of him, not even for a moment.

She had realized he was carrying a gun or something, but she hadn’t cared.

The difference between him and her was so obvious.

She was handpicked by the gods themselves, favored by them to the fullest.

The false believer, Egostic, who had been given the power of the stars felt truly weak.

She could destroy him with a wave of her hand, but she stood by because he was chosen by an angel.

Celeste never thought he could do anything to her because she had always been strong.

She had never been deprived of the power that swirled within her, not even for a moment.

Hence, for the first time, when her powers weren’t triggered, Celeste couldn’t help but panic, uncharacteristically.

“Wait…”

And with that, she felt dizzy.

“Ugh…!”

She grabbed her head and staggered for a moment as an unbelievable thing had happened.

‘Wait a minute… My, my power…’

Her power was gone.

The power she’d had her whole life disappeared in a single moment.

She felt all the power she had, all the strength she had built up to this point, gone, as  if the giver of the power had taken it back.

“Ah…”

Celeste realized that this was much worse than she had expected.

She felt great confusion and horror at how weak her body had become because she had never been weak, not even once.

Not as a child. Ever since she’d been chased by starvation, prayed to God in desperation, and been given her current powers and saved her life she had never been weak.

Celeste was always the pinnacle.

That’s why, in that one moment, all of her powers, including her defenses, were blown away.

She felt as  if she had been thrown naked into the middle of a crowd, dizzy from the sudden change in circumstances.

In that state of extreme panic, she wondered what the hell was going on.

“I’ll clean it up for you.”

“No…what the…”

She didn’t even hear the voice in front of her.

She looked down at her hands, muttering in a shaky voice.

Her ability to see through clairvoyance, which had always been her default, had been blocked, and she was seeing the world with her eyes open, unable to close them.

She was confused and disoriented until she finally realized what she was in for.

Only then did she remember that there was another person in this place, right now, besides her.

“Ah…”

She looked up at that fleeting thought and only then did she see the man in front of her.

Dressed in black, with a mask covering half his face, and a sneer on his face, a man who would normally be easier to kill than a bug….now, with a wave of his hand, he could kill her.

An adult male with a gun in his arms.

‘I’m going to die.’

And for a moment, such terror swallowed her whole.

Death. When was the last time she’d thought about it-actually, none at all, except as a very young child.

This place was a trap in the first place.

She shouldn’t have come here.

Why did she ignore Egostic? Even though she already knew that he had been getting rid of things related to God.

It’s over now.

I’ll die here.

Such terror washed over her.

“Shall we continue?”

She merely smiled, and said, “Yes.”

With that, he turned his back on her.

He walked forward, his cloak flapping as if he had no interest in her.

Watching his back Celeste was stunned.

‘…He’s not going to touch me, is he?’

Thinking that, she was relieved.

Suddenly, she felt ashamed of herself, blushing and clenching her fists.

“Ugh… Why would I fall for a weak man like Egostic…’

That’s what she thought….but the reality was cold.

The truth was, she didn’t know how to get out of here, and she was constantly in fear that he might shoot her at any moment…

‘…Still, I don’t know how to get out of here.’

I guess I’ll just have to follow him, for now.

With that thought, she cautiously followed Egostic.

***

Celeste’s worries were unfounded since Egostic didn’t touch her at all.

“Why would I harm you, we’re followers of the same Sun God, haha. I don’t know why you lost your powers, but I’ll focus on getting them back together.”

He only laughed as he said that.

…She didn’t believe it, but it was still true that he wasn’t touching her.

In fact, she could probably put up no resistance if he wanted to kill her right now.

‘You don’t mean to hurt me…?’

And that, to Celeste, was very unfamiliar.

She knew herself well enough. If she lost her power, there were plenty of people who would want to take her down from her perch at the top. Even her own men didn’t trust her, for they only saw and followed her power, not her.

Of course, they might suddenly change their minds and try to kill her…

After giving it some thought, Celeste decided that was highly unlikely for one reason, the prophecy she’d been denying for so long.

‘…Surely, in a future scene, Egostic and me…because we kissed…’

Until she kissed him, she would not die.

It was a simple story and the point at which she would die would be afterward.

At that thought, she was relieved.

…Still, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed, for believing the prophecy was tantamount to admitting that she would be kissing Egostic later.

And she’d just done it, without much resistance. She looked up at him with watery eyes, not quite pushing him away, but hugging him tightly. Mmm, mmm, mmm, over and over again…

“Ugh…”

“…Why are you doing that?”

“…It’s nothing. Shut up.”

You beast.

Swallowing hard on the last word, she sighed and hid behind a wall, away from Egostic.

…It wasn’t that she was afraid of him, but more that she blushed as she remembered the scene where he kept kissing her whenever she was near him…

With that thought, she silently followed behind Egostic across the Sun God’s ruins.

“Ah…”

When they finally reached the depths of the ruins, in a fairly large space, she couldn’t help but let out a gasp and look around at the pure white buildings, dotted with golden patterns.

She couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the murals depicting the sun, the origin of the gods.

No matter what anyone says, she was actually a fan of the Sun God…

‘The records of the gods, so vast…’

Her eyes twinkled as she looked at the mythological paintings on the walls.

In truth, the Sun God hadn’t been written about much.

Apparently, in ancient times, the god had descended and lived among humans, but those records had been all but destroyed.

Only a handful of oral traditions and scriptures remained, carrying on as an ancient religion that no one believed in. Even she could hardly find any left.

But there were writings of the Sun God left here.

“Do you find it amusing?”

As she stared wide-eyed at the murals she heard a man’s voice, right behind her.

Startled, she turned around to see Egostic, who was naturally looking up at the mural she was looking at.

‘…What the hell, when did you get close?’

With her powers drained, she hadn’t even noticed his approach.

…Still, she was now convinced that he was unlikely to attack her so she decided to stay put.

‘…Egostic, what is this guy?’

How does he know more about this than I, a saint of God, do?

She wondered.

…No way. She wondered if the Sun God had really abandoned her and chosen him.

Of course that would never happen, but… But it was true that she wondered if there really was something to this man.

With such mixed feelings, she continued to follow him deeper into the ruins after seeing the mural.

“Hic…!”

Suddenly, she was startled by a roar that came from within, and her body stiffened in surprise.

…Celeste was smart enough to have run the World’s Greatest Villain Alliance for so long.

And as powerful as she was, she was also aware of her current state: she was only a weak woman whose body could be torn apart by a single wolf.

Therefore, the sound of the beast, which she heard in her extremely sensitive state and without any defenses, was enough to frighten her.

Celeste freaked out.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, just hide behind me.”

Suddenly appearing in front of her, smiling as he said that, Egostic hid her behind his back.

“…Hmm, hmm. Of course.”

…It was enough to make Celeste blush, coughing involuntarily.

Somehow, she found it comforting to have him by her side.

***

Deep in the ruins, I shivered slightly, and smiled quietly at Celeste, who was stuck behind me.

‘Alright, just as planned.’

The wobbly legs effect seemed to be working…

World peace requires getting close to Celeste, and in my experience, it’s the classic way to get close.

‘I know it’s a crappy idea, but…’

I can’t help it. Villains have villainous ways. It was all for Stardus’ sake.

She’d understand, wouldn’t she?

‘Of course.’

Thank you, Stardus…!

I nodded, having debated with myself.

Let’s go!