Chapter 360: Foreshadowing the Advent

Gap in knowledge.

When I know something that others don’t, that knowledge can be used as a weapon.

In other words, the information I possess, “The approach of the Sun God strengthens all abilities,” is a weapon.

And the weapon was directed at Celeste, of course.

Because she’s a saint obsessed with the Sun God, and she can maximize this information.

In other words, to others, this information is a weapon in and of itself, but I can sell drugs on where I got it.

Yes. Right in the middle of my plan to pretend to be a faithful apostle of the Sun God.

Ah! The Sun God told me about this. He didn’t tell you, did he?

That’s why I’ve come here to the Cathedral now, to meet with Celeste once again.

A pure white cathedral filled with a mystical atmosphere.

A regular meeting of villains at the pinnacle of their respective nations.

I’ve grown accustomed to this place, which means so much to me.

It was the same old place, the same old villains, just a place where they came once in a while to socialize and gain new information.

“Egostic!”

“Yes. Hello.”

And I, too, smiled at the group of people I had met through this Cathedral.

Katana, leader of Japan and Li Xiaofeng, leader of China, the members of our East Asia Villain Alliance.

And

“Kahaha! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Egostic!”

 Atlas appeared in the Cathedral after a very long time, smiling cheerfully as usual.

…Somehow, he looked a little more scarred than usual.

I smiled at him and walked over to greet him.

“It’s been a while, Mr.  Atlas. How are you?”

“Yes. Yes, I am fine! It wasn’t easy cutting up all those black monstrosities, but I did it.”

He says with a big smile.

Atlas was unable to come to Cathedral the last few times because he was busy defeating the monsters that invaded the sea. He then told me that it was a pity that the sea expansion project could not be carried out due to defeating the monsters.

Then he sighed and said to me,

“And…Hah. Ariel has been pestering me to let her see you again, my pain….”

He sighs, and I can only smile wryly at his words.

Anyway, that’s how we talked for a long time, until a woman entered the round table.

A woman with long silver hair, dressed in a pure white saint’s habit. Celeste was coming this way.

“…..”

She entered with her eyes closed, exuding an air of intelligence as always.

We hadn’t seen each other since the last time we were alone in the Sun God’s temple, and she was kind of cute when she was all drained and shaking.

When I was thinking about it.

“Well…”

“….”

The villains around me began to alternately stare at me and Celeste as she entered.

They were probably waiting for it, since lately she started to argue with me whenever she came in.

But what they were expecting didn’t happen.

“Let’s start the meeting.”

She said in her usual clear voice.

…The difference was that she didn’t look in my direction at all.

What is it?

“……”

Anyway, the meeting went on peacefully like that.

Celeste didn’t argue with me at all….No. Rather, she seemed to be deliberately ignoring me.

…Hmm. I hope it’s not because she’s embarrassed about what happened last time.

It’s not like we had a bad breakup last time, but the way she’s gritting her teeth and not looking this way, it’s possible…

Anyway, the meeting ended peacefully.

…Considering what happened to Cathedral after Phase 4, this was probably the last time we had a peaceful meeting.

Celeste, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to want to talk to me today, judging by the way her head is turned away and her eyes never leave mine when I speak.

But I can’t let that happen.

“Thank you, everyone, this is the end of the meeting.”

And with that, Celeste ended the meeting.

“Egostic, you’re not leaving, are you?”

“Uh, yeah. Celeste and I need to talk.”

“…Really? Haha, I don’t know what it is, but have fun!”

With that, I parted ways with them and waited for Celeste as usual.

Then everyone left.

Celeste and I were the only two left.

She sat there, alone and silent, with her eyes closed.

Only after everyone had left did she speak up.

“…What is it?”

For some reason, she was cold to me.

…Of course, she’d been cold to me the whole time, so it wasn’t exactly threatening. If she really didn’t want to talk to me, she would have left first.

“Yes, of course. I wanted to talk to you about the Sun God.”

“Hmph.”

She replied coldly, her back still turned to me.

I chuckled, opened my mouth, and said.

“Has God been speaking to you lately?”

“…No, why?”

“Well, because God spoke to me again the other day.”

“…….”

I said it so plainly, without a hint of falsehood.

She turned her head away, then slowly turned her face back towards me.

…Silently, she opened her eyes slightly, her golden gaze fixed on mine, and opened her mouth.

“…Tell me.”

She can’t take this, can she?

I smirked, seeing Celeste so interested in me.

Okay, I’ll spill the beans.

After the tour of the Temple of the Sun with Egostic, Celeste shuddered in embarrassment.

“Ugh…”

“Hic…!

“…Boo, who said anything about being insecure, it’s just a case of just in case. It’s ridiculous.

“Ugh…”

Celeste is the strongest villain in the world, and ever since she awakened her powers, she’s been in a position of dominance… She’s never been under anyone’s thumb.

And here she is….clinging to and relying on Egostic, who was far weaker than her, making terrified noises…

It was a shameful memory that she wished she could erase from her mind.

‘Haha…but at least it’s not like I don’t have any income.’

Of course, despite that shameful experience, she still had income.

She found an artifact of the Sun God in the temple and kept it.

And…Aside from the shame.

‘…Egostic, I see.’

It was also the moment that changed her perception of Egostic.

Not only did he know the location of a Temple of the Sun God she didn’t know, but…

‘He had no intention of harming me.’

Even when she was weak and could have been killed by a single shot, he smiled and protected her until the end.

…His appearance like that caused quite a stir in the heart of Celeste, who thought that if she was at the top and let her guard down, anyone would rush in and take her down.

It was enough to make her wonder if Egostic might actually be her ally.

“…..”

And so she sat in her prayer chamber, her silver hair in a bun, not praying, but mulling over Egostic’s thoughts.

…He had claimed to be a follower of the Sun God, but she hadn’t believed him until now for two simple reasons.

First, he went about eliminating the Sun God’s creations at will. Second, he is a person who received the power of the Star God.

There was a third reason, that he always smirked, which made her think he had something up his sleeve…but that seemed too far-fetched, so she decided to leave it out.

After all, she was the one who didn’t believe in Egostic and labeled him as an enemy…

‘Do you really…?’

His behavior since then has gradually changed her mind.

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

Three forgotten gods: sun, moon and stars. Among these, unlike the believers of the moon god who were quite widespread in the shadows, information about the Star God was extremely limited. There were very few people with her powers.

The strongest wielder of the power of the stars so far was  Ex Machina, but beyond that, she knew little. There are a few in Europe and Stardus in Asia.

Anyway, when someone with the power of Star God claims to be an apostle of the Sun God, it’s natural to be skeptical.

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

But…

‘Really, what if the Sun God chose him?’

She began to think differently.

Perhaps the Sun chose him because he possessed the power of Star God, and an ally turned enemy is the most terrifying thing, and it would be a great help to educate him.

This thought was especially reinforced when she saw the color of Egostic’ hair.

Even though she knew very little about the power of the stars, she still knew more than most.

‘Surely, from the information left in the books…’

It was said that those who had received the power of the Star God all had brilliant blonde hair.

However, Egostic’ hair is black. Even so, he possesses the power of the stars…

‘…Because he is corrupted, is it?’

Yes. Maybe the power of the stars is corrupted because he believes in the Sun God.

It was a pretty good guess.

She thought to herself, and was persuaded.

‘Honestly…’

To be given an angel of the Sun God as a servant, to know the location of the Sun God’s temple without his knowledge, and then to keep accusing him of being a spy for the stars…it was a bit much, even for her.

Especially since he wouldn’t even touch her, it was obvious he thought she was an ally…

“Ugh…”

…She didn’t know why the Sung God was silent to me, but spoke to him.

Egostic really is…Could he be the Sun’s chosen apostle?

She silently wondered about that.

…A full-blown delusion, just as Egostic intended.

As she continued to think about it.

“…Wait a minute.”

…and she found herself thinking about the future again, this time with Egostic kissing her.

It kept her awake for several nights, thinking that at this rate, it might actually happen…

When she saw him in Cathedral afterward, she gritted her teeth and avoided his gaze. She had a nagging feeling that if she made eye contact with him, she would blush…

Of course, that didn’t stop him from staying and waiting for her, as if he had something to say.

Eventually, she was forced to confront him and talk to him….and she heard something shocking.

“…What?”

That’s right. He said that there would come a day when all those who received the Sun God’s power would become many times stronger.

And with that, he said.

“You heard me right.”

He smiled as he said that.