On My Way to Meet You
On My Way to Meet You
After my conversation with Atlas, I spent a while going through my diary and personal notes again, refreshing my memory on the original story.
I had memorized pretty much everything related to Stardus, of course, but some of the minor side characters were getting a little fuzzy.
With that in mind, I drilled myself on information about the other villains before we all met up at Cathedral, where practically every leader of a villain organization on Earth would be gathering.
After being dropped into this world, I'd had a rough time, but once I got my head together, I hurried to write every last detail down in full before I could forget. Reading it back made the memories all come flooding back fresh.
"...Javaposis, Reitere. Seriously, why are the names all like this?"
Maybe it was because they weren't domestic villains, but these guys had some seriously obscure names. Still, I had to memorize all their names, appearances, abilities, and deeds from the Original Work before we went, since I couldn't afford to look clueless at a Cathedral meeting.
"Ah! Thank you. Yes, I'll come see you then. Yep. Goodbye."
Right as I was in the middle of those preparations, Atlas contacted me.
He said he'd been invited to Cathedral, the villains' meeting, by Celeste, and that he'd taken the opportunity to strongly recommend me and get me in. He gave a booming laugh and told me the date to show up. I hung up the phone and sighed. Phew. Still, the biggest hurdle had been cleared. Connections really were everything. I was lucky Atlas was suspiciously friendly toward me...
When you think about it, what I did for this guy Atlas wasn't even that big a deal.
I'd simply sympathized deeply with his maritime-expansion project. Oh, and as a bonus, I'd warned him that his city would be destroyed and saved his daughter when she was on her deathbed. That much, I guessed?
Hmm, thinking about it now, it actually does seem kind of significant.
Anyway, the date was set.
I told the others in advance that I'd be going overseas for a while.
"Yeah. Have a good trip. Bring me back a Melona."
Seo Ja-yeong waved her hand and saw me off coolly.
"Dain, isn't that dangerous?"
"Big bro, they say every villain in the world will be gathering there. I’m worried..."
Soo-bin and Seo-eun seemed slightly concerned, and I had to reassure them not to worry.
When you actually thought about it, they had reason to worry. This was a gathering for the elite of the elite S-rank villains, and the representatives who led the others. With all those powerful ability users swarming in one spot, it wasn't strange to worry about getting your head chopped off at the slightest misstep.
"It's fine, don't worry."
"But still..."
Of course, I told them everything was fine, no need to worry.
Because, well, I roughly knew the atmosphere of that conference room from the original work.
People might imagine fights breaking out and bombs going off when villains get together, but it actually proceeded in a fairly calm atmosphere.
To begin with, the ones who showed up were all smart people who led entire organizations and still hadn't been caught by the Association. They definitely had the brains to tread carefully in front of the world's most dangerous villain. The ones who couldn't and acted up all died later, anyway...
On top of that, I wasn't going alone. I was going with Atlas, who held a lot of influence even among those villains, so I had even less to worry about.
Time passed, and the appointed day finally arrived.
Before heading to Cathedral, I was supposed to meet Atlas, so I departed for the ocean city.
Phew, a meeting of villains, huh...
The thought honestly gave me a headache, but for Stardus's sake, I had to do at least this much.
Having made up my mind again, I called up the Lepis Squad for the first time in a while and flew off in an airship.
Old man Atlas, long time no see since our last meeting.
***
Somewhere under the North Atlantic Ocean.
There lies a secret underwater city, designed so that no one can find it.
Atlas City, built by none other than the S-rank villain Atlas.
A mysterious city where stone buildings resembling turquoise ocean ruins coexist with buildings built entirely of transparent glass.
This city serves as the base for Latis, the group seeking to expand the ocean's domain. In a stone building constructed at the city's heart, I was meeting with a certain middle-aged man.
"Ha ha! Egostic! Our Egostic! Good to see you. Have you been well?"
"Yes, and you, Atlas? Long time no see. Sorry I haven't been able to visit."
"Not at all, not at all! You're a busy man, of course you couldn't. But still, it's good to see your face again!"
Atlas let out a booming laugh as he spoke.
Soon after, he stroked his long, bushy blue beard and spoke to me with a serious tone.
"And if you ever have spare time, feel free to come here anytime. Latis is always open to you. My daughter wants to see you too."
"Ha ha, understood. You should come visit Korea sometime, too, Atlas. I'll treat you well."
"Gahaha! I'll do just that."
I smiled back at Atlas as he laughed heartily.
There I was, deep in the ocean, laughing with a muscular man in something like a blue bodysuit.
This place looked like a giant temple. Outside, ocean fish could be seen swimming past the glass walls.
It felt like a fairy-tale underwater kingdom. No, seeing old man Atlas actually sitting on a throne, it kind of was a kingdom. The only issue was he hadn't conquered the surface yet. It was no exaggeration to say the sea was practically his.
"Right. So, are you all prepared?"
"Yes."
"Good, then let's get ready to go."
Just as Atlas was lifting his heavy body from the throne, his gaze suddenly fixed on a point somewhere farther back.
Wondering what it was, I turned my head to look over my shoulder and saw a figure hiding behind a pillar.
Long blue hair that was half-visible because she hadn't managed to hide it fully.
Atlas shouted loudly toward that figure.
"Ariel! What are you doing back there! Daddy's leaving now!"
Ah, so that was who it was. Ariel.
Even after Atlas called out, she still stayed hidden behind the pillar, showing no intention of coming out.
"Ho ho, I do apologize. She's normally not like that. She only gets shy when she sees you."
"It's fine, ha ha. I'll have to get to know Ariel better next time I visit."
I answered with a smile while still glancing at Ariel, who was hiding behind the pillar.
Ariel. Atlas's daughter, and a character who, in the original work, grew sicker and sicker and died. I saved her life, which earned me Atlas's favor.
Anyway, watching her hide behind the pillar, I thought to myself.
Ariel. I hadn't known it, but her ability was actually quite powerful: control over water. Even among top-tier elemental abilities, water was especially valuable, so I secretly had my eye on her. It would have been wonderful if I could persuade her to join Ego Stream.
...But wait, last time we met, she talked and laughed perfectly fine with me, so why was she acting like this now?
Puzzled, I waved at her when she poked her head out slightly. At that, her ears went a little red, and she hid again.
...Why was a grown woman acting like that? Were all the people here like her? Now that I thought about it, I'd only seen fish-people around, so I didn't really know.
"Well, in any case. Let's be off now. Take hold of this letter."
Atlas said that and handed me a letter.
A piece of stationery, with nothing but a red seal in the center.
So this is the thing that can take you straight to Cathedral.
As soon as Atlas finished speaking, I grabbed one side of the letter, and he unhesitatingly tore it right in two.
In that moment, a blue energy scattered around us.
Whoosh—
Along with a sudden scattering of white smoke, we who had been standing on marble moments before now found ourselves standing on hard black brick.
"Hmm... so that's the principle."
Atlas swiped away the smoke with his hands. Once our view cleared, a black space opened up before us.
"Welcome, Lord Atlas. And... Egostic."
As we looked around, a person in a white robe appeared beside us.
Hmm, so this is one of Celeste's famous white priests.
"Yes. Where are we?"
"We are in the grand cathedral, the meeting hall of Cathedral. Follow the corridor straight ahead, and you will come directly to the audience chamber. When you return after the meeting, please be sure to come back this way."
"Understood."
I answered in response to his words.
The person bowed and retreated backward, and Atlas and I began to walk the long corridor.
"Hm. It seems I'll be meeting Celeste this time. Egostic, do you know of Celeste?"
"To some extent, but this is my first time meeting her like this as well."
"Ha ha! There are probably many villains here as powerful as she is. Don't be nervous. Well, I'm sure a capable man like you'll manage just fine! Ha ha ha!"
"Ha ha..."
Atlas looked at me with eyes full of deep trust. I could only return an awkward smile. Just what made that man think so highly of me? Still, Atlas could control the entire ocean and attack the whole world simultaneously, so he was certainly one of the strongest people here.
Lost in those thoughts, I suddenly saw a wide-open, circular door appear before us.
As we stepped out through it...
"Oh ho..."
A giant room spread out before us.
Stained glass lined both walls, and a large chandelier hung above.
And in the center of the room sat a huge round table.
A fair number of villains were already seated inside.
On the far side, I saw a white-haired woman dressed like a saintess from a fantasy game, her eyes concealed behind a white veil.
So that woman is...
Celeste. The woman evaluated as the most powerful of all the S-rank villains, and at the same time, the most secretive. The same woman who only appears in the very late stages of the original story.
Around her, seated encircling the round table, were villains who could each single-handedly annihilate a nation with ease.
And standing there among them, I thought quietly to myself.
'Hmm...'
So how should I have gone about taking control of this place?