Meteor Strike
"Now you're just being completely blatant!"
"But Mari, isn't honesty also a virtue of a Hero?"
Mari froze at the sheer sincerity in his voice. It was true that honesty wasn't a bad thing. In fact, she preferred it over fake pretense. But even though his words sounded right on the surface, something about them felt incredibly off.
"Do you want to end up like that perverted Goddess?"
"Ah! I think I'm rapidly learning how to be shameless thanks to Mamon's Grace!"
It wasn't just the good experience points that were being multiplied by three! Mari let out a deep sigh at his admission that he was actively absorbing Goddess Lupinus's signature shamelessness.
"I knew it. That pervert is the problem."
"Hey! The problem is you talking behind my back!"
And as always, Lupinus materialized out of thin air with a sudden shout.
"Kyaaa!"
Mari, who was startled every single time, practically jumped out of her skin.
When did she even finish her conversation with Ryu Taejun?
"Y-You scared me! You perverted Goddess!"
As Mari clutched her racing heart, Lupinus confidently brushed her hair back.
"Anyway, now that our chat is over, let's head home!"
"You're not even an employee, yet you talk about leaving work so confidently," Mari retorted.
Lupinus simply offered a bright, beaming smile in response.
"Or should just the two of us do some overtime, cutie?"
"Ah! I'm not quite mentally prepared yet...!"
As the Goddess threw out her provocative temptation, Mari quickly stepped in front of Yunjae.
"Leaving right on time is the best part of being an office assistant, you know?"
"That's very true!"
Yunjae, who had refused to become a regular employee precisely because he hated overtime, nodded in absolute agreement.
"Anyway, what did you talk about with the Guild Leader?"
Yunjae asked the question with Mia in mind, knowing she was still deeply anxious. He figured Lupinus and Taejun had been discussing her living arrangements. Lupinus proudly flashed a V-sign.
"We'll keep taking care of her. And I think I know why Mamon sent Mia here!"
"Huh? What's the reason?"
The prevailing theory was that Mamon had made a mistake. Had a new hypothesis emerged?
"...To sow division in the human world."
Having already experienced three failures, Lupinus answered with a rare, serious expression. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned grave.
"Division?"
"Would having a Saintess from another dimension really be enough to cause division?" Mari asked, wondering if they were overthinking things.
Lupinus shook her head.
"There are already people who think Yunjae is the one who killed Trumpkin."
"That's..."
"Mia is someone who crossed dimensions when the portals reopened. It's more than enough for the humans here to mistake her for an enemy or start a witch hunt."
"Hmm..."
"If a girl from a different world and a different race is left abandoned and faces hostility from humans, there's no way Yunjae would just stand by and watch."
That was the most decisive factor.
"...That's true."
He was a man who had protected mere NPCs. If things came to that, he would undoubtedly protect Mia, even if it meant clashing with humanity.
"That's exactly what Mamon is aiming for. If they sow division just as Taejun thought, and a disappointed Yunjae washes his hands of this world, this world will fall too."
Lupinus seemed almost certain of it, as it perfectly aligned with Mamon's petty and underhanded nature.
"...Does that mean I am causing harm to you all?"
Mia, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, asked with a downcast face.
"Ah! No, not at all! That's why everyone is keeping your identity a secret. Goddess Lupinus even hid your ears for you," Yunjae answered in a hurry. He clearly didn't want Mia to carry such a heavy emotional burden.
"We won't let them get to us, no matter what. So please don't worry at all!"
Seeing his bright, reassuring face, Mia seemed to shed some of her guilt and nodded.
"...Thank you so much."
"No, I only did what was right. I just hope you don't torment yourself over it."
In critical moments, Yunjae always showed the true qualities of a Hero. Now was one of those moments. Shaking off his earlier excitement about working at the cafe, he wore a deeply serious expression. Mia nodded, tears welling in her eyes.
"I... I don't know how to thank you enough..."
"Then please show me a smile later! You'll look much prettier when you smile!"
At the beautiful youth's radiant smile, Mia seemed to find a glimmer of hope amidst her despair and nodded with a much brighter expression.
"That's enough!"
"No more flirting!"
"Ah! It wasn't flirting, it was just comfort!"
As Hoshino Akemi and Ryu Taerin suddenly barged in, Yunjae instantly reverted to his usual flustered self, making Mia burst into a soft laugh.
"Anyway, you must all be hungry, so let's get off work. Time for dinner!"
Demon Gods were Demon Gods, but dinner was dinner. Having been influenced by Yunjae over time, Mari had learned not to take things too seriously and led the group out.
"......."
Meanwhile, from atop a building far in the distance, a silver-haired girl watched them in silence before letting out a soft chuckle.
"Why are they overcomplicating things?"
Snap.
She snapped her fingers.
"I like to keep things simple."
At that exact moment, in the cold vacuum of space just outside Earth's atmosphere, a black portal tore open.
Vwoooom!
The black portal, initially no larger than a needle's eye, began to expand at an terrifying speed, accompanied by a low, resonant hum.
Ruuuuuumble!
A thunderous roar echoed through the void.
Something was slowly, agonizingly emerging from the massive black portal.
As it gradually revealed its shape, it became clear that it was a ruined, destroyed alternative world—completely devoid of any life!
With darkness falling over the ground below, leaving the humans unaware of the horror above, the silver-haired girl smiled, her locks fluttering in the wind.
"We can just crush them all to death."
6:00 AM.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Ugh, mm..."
As the alarm blared without fail, Mari reached out blindly, her eyes still tightly shut.
"Ngh..."
Click.
She skillfully turned off the alarm.
"Ah..."
She was slowly adjusting to the office routine, but if there was one thing she could never get used to, it was the mornings. She had never considered herself a heavy sleeper, but ever since she became a regular employee instead of a freelancer, mornings felt incredibly exhausting.
"Mmm..."
Desperate for just a few more minutes of sleep, she hugged her blanket tightly between her legs and let out a soft, whiny sigh, refusing to open her eyes.
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, she felt a strange sense of dissonance and stiffened.
"What is this?"
Six o'clock was early, but it wasn't *that* early. Mari snapped her eyes open and looked around. The room was shrouded in pitch-black darkness, as if it were still the middle of the night. Sensing something was deeply wrong, she bolted upright.
"It really is six..."
The clock read 6:03 AM. Three minutes had passed, and the time definitely indicated morning.
"Why is it so dark?"
Wondering if it was pouring rain, she stood up and looked out the window. But there was no rain. There was only a heavy, silent, and absolute darkness hanging over the world.
"Mari!"
At that moment, Yunjae's voice called out from outside her door.
"You can come in! What's going on?"
Almost before her startled cry could fade—
"I think something terrible has happened!"
Yunjae, who usually greeted her gently with a warm cup of morning coffee, burst into the room with an incredibly grave expression.
"What on earth is happening?"
Startled, Mari rushed toward him. Stepping out of her room wearing only short shorts and an oversized men's shirt as pajamas, she saw Yunjae pointing downstairs.
"Let's go to Goddess Lupinus's place!"
"Okay!"
Though she didn't know the details, Mari could tell it was an absolute emergency and quickly followed behind him.
"What is going on?"
"Mari!"
"Akemi? Suyeon?"
Everyone was already gathered in the living room.
"Guild Leader?"
Even Ryu Taejun was there!
"Damn it."
Lupinus muttered a curse under her breath, her usual playful and cheerful demeanor completely gone. She was biting her nails nervously, looking incredibly anxious and restless. Her tension was contagious, making Mari's heart squeeze with dread. Mari turned her gaze toward the giant screen installed in the living room, customized to Lupinus's tastes.
"...An emergency special report?"
Along with those words flashing at the top of the screen, the broadcast showed outer space. To be precise, it showed a colossal landmass protruding into the void of space.
"W-What is that...?"
It was far too massive to be called a meteor. Only a portion of it had emerged from the portal, but even that fraction looked as large as the moon. It was a barren, giant land, completely devoid of any life. The moment it appeared, an inexplicable terror washed over Mari, and her face paled just like Lupinus's.
She could only ask in utter disbelief,
"What is that?"
"That crazy Mamon summoned Elysium! Mia was just the coordinates! They intend to wipe this entire place out!"
In the dark morning, Mari stared blankly at the screen, completely shocked by the true nature of the encroaching darkness.
"...I never expected this."
Taejun, who had rushed over with his hair uncharacteristically disheveled, couldn't hide his dismay. He had assumed Mia's presence was merely intended to sow division among humans, but it seemed he had severely underestimated the enemy's power. Mia was just the beginning—a tool to pinpoint their location. To think Mamon would summon an entire other dimension to crush Earth!
"This is insane!"
Yet, it was an incredibly effective plan. Even with Yunjae's immense power, if the planet itself collapsed, he would die, or at least be left drifting endlessly in the void of space. Sacrificing an entire dimension to end everything was a logical, albeit ruthless, decision.
"Damn it!"
Lupinus's face contorted in frustration as she felt a familiar sense of defeat against Mamon's overwhelming power. Mia, too, looked completely devastated.
"That place is... Elysium?"
Though the world had already been on the brink of destruction due to Great Demon King Gainax, the landmass shown on the screen was now completely ruined. Mia collapsed to her knees. To think her own world was being used as a weapon to destroy this one! Rosamy quickly wrapped her arms around the trembling Mia, her face filled with sorrow.
"How do we even..."
Even the visible portion was larger than the moon. It seemed impossible to stop. Debris was already falling to Earth, vaporizing cities, and causing tsunamis in some regions. The entire world was plunged into absolute terror.
"We have to destroy it."
Yunjae turned to face everyone, realizing they had no time to waste. He hadn't noticed the changes in space while it was dark, but now that he knew the cause from Lupinus, he had reached a conclusion.
"We just have to destroy it all before it enters the atmosphere and crashes into Earth!"
Everyone stared at him. He remained completely unyielding even in the face of such overwhelming power.
"It's not a hunt, but I'll do my absolute best!"
Flash!
A brilliant light enveloped his body. His comfortable homewear transformed into the glowing Goddess's Holy Armor of the Hero. Seeing him, Lupinus realized hope was not lost and nodded.
"Yes, we have Yunjae! No matter what that thing is...!"
"That's right! With the power you used to blow up the hub space, you can definitely do it!" Rosamy added, drawing confidence from his resolve.
But Mari looked at Yunjae with deep concern.
"But it's too big!"
The sheer scale of the falling world made Mari wonder if this was simply too reckless.
"She's right! That's..." Akemi agreed, her voice trailing off.
"How can we possibly destroy something like that?" Suyeon asked, despairing at the physical impossibility. Even a god shouldn't be able to stop this.
"We do what we can," Yunjae said calmly. "And if we don't give up, we can definitely make it happen!"
He looked at Rosamy.
"Rosamy."
Rosamy nodded, drawing strength from his unyielding resolve. "Yes!"
"W-Wait!" Mia called out, struggling to stand.
"Is that really Elysium? Is there truly no life left on it?"
It hadn't even been a day since she arrived here. How could anyone easily accept that their home world was being used as a weapon of mass destruction? Yunjae looked at Rosamy.
"There might still be survivors on Elysium. Let's rescue them first!"
"We might not have enough time for that!" Taejun objected. Elysium was colossal. Rescuing survivors before destroying it was madness. "And if other races show up, the resulting chaos will fall entirely on your shoulders, Lim Yunjae!"
Taejun's cold, pragmatic voice urged him to just destroy it. But Yunjae shook his head.
"Even so, I believe saving even one more life is the right thing to do."
"But the cost...!"