Chapter 399:
Chapter 399:
Chapter 399:
[Death is all you deserve.]
Since the Sun God's proclamation of destruction echoed across the world, the people of the world have descended into pandemonium.
"Ugh, ugh, what the… what the… what the…"
"Haha, am I the only one who misheard this? This is real?"
Even with baseless doomsday theories, it's human to feel a little anxious.
They've all been told by God himself that they're all going to die in exactly half a year, with the threat of their heads exploding.
At the moment, they're just confused because they're not really thinking straight, but after a while, when they realize that they're going to die…
Once humans realize they're going to die, there's no telling what they'll do.
*
[I'm scared shitless right now.I hid in the house like a dog after hearing about it.
Now that I'm outside, the streets are chaotic and crazy…
It's like everyone's freaking out and it's like it's about to happen.
What the hell, so are we really screwed because of that god or something?]
=[Comment]=
[I don't even know what's going on, it's crazy.]
[What is going on in our company right now…new female employee crying.]
[We're about to see the bald head of the department crying.]
[Everyone is so shocked that they're holding still…It looks like it's about to explode…The broadcasters are all silent and it's scary…I'm shaking right now]
*
While everyone is freaking out and panicking, not knowing what's going on….There are a few people who are soberly analyzing the situation.
"Damn it, why the hell would that Sun God want to kill us now? …I mean, it's true to what he said, but…Damn it!"
These were Cathedral’s executive-level villains. To be precise, they were the ones who, according to Egostic, knew about the existence of the gods beforehand.
Although they knew that three gods existed in this world-the Sun God, Moon God, and Star God-they didn't think that information would be useful in their daily lives.
However, when the Sun God appeared, just as Egostic had said, everyone was surprised.
What they didn't expect was that the Sun God would want to kill them all.
"Damn, damn…we got this far, and now we're just going to die?”
“Now that I think about it, Celeste said she believed in the Sun God. …How the hell did this happen?”
So there they were, in their lair, wondering what to do.
The call came, and it came quickly.
"…What?"
In a flash of white light, a white letter appeared before their eyes and it was all too clear who it was from.
"Cathedral…"
Not long after the Sun God's declaration of destruction, an urgent summons from Cathedral had arrived.
"…Quick."
Each of the villains received the letter in front of them, and with relieved expressions, they activated it without hesitation.
That's right…In a chaotic situation like this, just being in the company of people like yourself can be reassuring.
Maybe, something can be done. With that, they tore the letter open, their bodies engulfed in light, and traveled to Cathedral.
"…Good evening, everyone."
Uncharacteristically, instead of smiling, he stood with a serious expression behind his mask.
It was the S-class villain, Egostic.
***
After convincing Celeste, the first thing I did was to convince her to summon the Cathedrals executives.
"…So, Egostic. What do you think we should do now?"
~The prayer chamber~
There she was, red-eyed, still in my arms, whispering at the nape of my neck.
I grabbed Celeste by the shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and said.
"First, we need to muster the members of the Cathedral. We must come together, unite, and stop the god."
"…Yes. We followed the Sun God because…we believed he would save the world, and now that it turns out he didn't, we'll have to save the world ourselves."
As I said that, Celeste, who looked a little groggy from crying so much smiled faintly at me, grabbed my hand, and said.
"…Yes, I know, I know, I said I would follow you now."
"Still… I'll try to get everyone together, but you'll be the one to do the work afterward, Egostic….I… I think I need to get some rest. I've been through so much in such a short time.”
She sounded tired, and I couldn't help but nod.
"Okay. Take a break and come back. I'll take care of the rest."
"…Okay. Thank you."
Celeste replied to me once more with a smile that seemed to fade away, and then she gathered her clothes and left. The rest of the day was uneventful, until I was called upon to assemble Cathedral’s men.
~Back to the present~
I stood in the conference room of Cathedral, staring at the many villains seated around the large table.
“Egostic, what the hell is going on here?"
"The gods are trying to kill us all! Ha, what the hell am I supposed to make of this?"
"Worse than that, it was a real god, don't you think it was a hoax?"
"I thought Celeste said she was following the Sun God. What the hell is going on?"
The villains were ranting and raving….Perhaps, in the original story, they were eventually manipulated by the fallen Celeste to begin destroying the Earth but not now.
Celeste has changed her mind and gone to rest in her room.
The villains gathered here, each with something to protect, have more will to live than ever so now is the time to change it.
The original was doomed but we can save this one.
I opened my mouth, heavily.
"At ease, everyone."
I spoke in my usual, low voice, my voice amplified by the magic I had prepared.
It made my voice ring out louder and heavier than usual.
"…"
There was a lull in my words, and the villains watched me silently.
I opened my mouth, slowly.
"…Celeste said that she could not agree with the Sun God's actions and went to investigate the situation further.
Anyway…To answer your question. Yes, you're right. As far as I can tell, it is the Sun God I know who just left us a message."
With that, the room erupts into commotion again.
In the midst of it all, a Latin villain in sunglasses asked me in a loud, booming voice
"Egostic, I thought you said the Sun God was a good god who gave power to humans…Well, that's not the problem. More like…If he really wants to destroy us all, do we have any way to fight him, since he's a god?"
The villain says that in a serious voice and there's an undeniable concern in his voice.
How on earth could we, how could we stop a god-?
The other villains nodded in agreement with him.
And to them, I answered.
"There is."
"How the hell are we supposed to do this…Wait, you have?"
"Yes."
I said, and then looked at everyone and said calmly.
"Gentlemen…Just think about it: if the Sun God had the power to wipe us out straight away, why would he do it in half a year instead of right now?”
"…Yeah. No, no, no. Maybe to give us one last chance…"
"I'm afraid not, because Celeste told me something."
I said, giving them all a crucial clue.
"She told me that Sun God wanted her to destroy the world before he arrived. She refused, but…what does this mean?"
"…No way."
"Yes, given the circumstantial evidence, the Sun God doesn't have the power to destroy us right now for some reason.
My best guess is that it's some ancient battle between the three gods recorded in the ancient texts. Whatever the case, one thing is certain, the Sun God seems less powerful now than he once was.
…Perhaps, it is true that he is a god but maybe he's just a particularly powerful being."
I said, and took a long drink of water. Now I have to tell them something important.
"Besides, I know of one way to stop God."
"….! What is it?"
They asked urgently. I spread out my hand, holographically displaying the Milky Way in the center of the table.
"Did I not tell you that in this world, there are other gods besides the Sun God?"
"Especially among them, the power of the Star God…is said to specialize in countering the power of the Sun God, and Cathedral already knows who possesses such power."
"But of course, he won't take it lying down, he'll try to thwart us in various ways, as he did with Celeste, but if we join forces…what's to stop us?…So, before we do that, there's something I want to tell you."
And so it is. …In the midst of despair, there was hope that they might live.
I spoke calmly to the villains, who looked at me with a strange fervor.
"Yes. I think you all know my plan now."
"I believe that if we and all the powerful people in the world work together…we can protect our world from that god…I dare say, my friends, are you willing to give up what we've built?
With Cathedral on the verge of ruling this world, are we going to let that monster who calls himself a god take it all away?
As it is, are you going to sit idly by and die a death worthy of a dog?"
As my words continued, I could feel the villains' heat rising.
I can't die like this. Yes, we will. Let's do something, even if it means dying. That's the way of the villains. Gradually, the emotions of the villains increased.
And then, at the peak, when they're in a different state.
"Therefore, I dare to speak on behalf of Cathedral."
With fists clenched in my hands, I looked at everyone and in a cold voice, I declared.
"We, all of us, together, we are going to kill a god."
That was the new resolve of Cathedral.