Chapter 176
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Goodness is Strong
‘Is this the place?’
I pushed through the crumbling ruins toward the location marked on the blueprint.
After passing through a remote corridor, an old-fashioned elevator greeted me.
‘The password is 1234qwer!’
The elevator only had buttons for going down and going up.
I descended underground and reached the end of the corridor, where the Ulysses Chairman welcomed me in a bright flower garden.
“Impressive. I never thought I’d see you again.”
“It was quite an entertaining place. Thanks to you, I gained some valuable knowledge—though I’m sure that wasn’t your intention. Still, thank you for sending me there.”
“I truly regret that incident.”
Ulysses Chairman.
Or should I call him the Ulysses Cult Leader?
Standing in the center of the flower garden with his arms spread wide, he looked like a pure and devout religious figure.
“But what I told you was not a lie.”
I have to kill him.
His words have the power to deceive people.
I need to deal with him before he can use that power again to make even me—and Sari—unable to doubt him.
“I sincerely…”
I kicked off the ground, rushed forward, grabbed his neck, and twisted.
With the sound of bones breaking, his face rotated 180 degrees.
“…wanted to fulfill everyone’s wishes.”
But his voice didn’t stop.
It didn’t stop, so I struck his heart next. This time, I grabbed his jaw and squeezed.
“Of course, I knew it would cause harm to the original world. But I had prepared a way to resolve that as well.”
His jawbone shattered, and his lower jaw tore apart.
Yet his voice still didn’t stop.
“What I did to you was unavoidable. To prevent harm from reaching the original world, someone had to be sacrificed. The dark space you entered serves as an altar, using the soul and spirit of the offered one to sever the connection between the original world and ours.”
It was as if the voice itself was his true body.
And in the blink of an eye, he vanished from my grip, reappearing a short distance away.
“Oops, I died once.”
And in perfect condition, no less.
The way he said he’d died once suggested he could resurrect after death.
“Is that the faith of your followers?”
“No follower believes the Savior can die. Just like Jesus, resurrection is essential for the Savior.”
“Hmm.”
“I can even resurrect intentionally. So, no more futile attempts.”
Damn, how did he know?
I was planning to just beat him enough and tie him up.
‘But now that I know it’s impossible to stop him from talking, it’s pointless anyway.’
More importantly, what he did to me was supposedly unavoidable.
Sacrificing one cow to save the herd—a plan to save more people by sacrificing me.
‘I did meet Raphael there, but even so, his words don’t raise any suspicion of lies.’
This isn’t mere brainwashing or mind control.
The longer this drags on, the worse it gets for me.
‘Then I just won’t listen.’
I shoved my pinky finger into my ear.
With intense pain, the world’s noises vanished.
“Your reputation as the world’s top fixer isn’t unfounded.”
I can still hear him.
Even if I smash his mouth, he speaks; even if I kill him, he doesn’t die; even if I tear my eardrum, his voice comes through. What way is there to counter it?
‘I’ll solve the problem at its root.’
The root of this issue is the entity that materializes the beliefs and fanaticism of the Flat Earth believers.
It’s also the source of the power that allows Ulysses to resurrect.
‘What if I use that power myself?’
I’ve already used it once.
By believing that scientific laws allowing humans to adapt exist even on a flat Earth, I’ve been able to move properly here.
‘Anyone can use the power to turn belief into reality.’
However, to resolve this world, wouldn’t I need a belief stronger than the prayers of their overwhelming number of followers?
“You’ve gone quiet. You can still hear my voice, right? What are you thinking? I’ll hear your troubles. If it’s something I can resolve, I will.”
“I was thinking that if everything started from belief, maybe everything can be returned to normal with belief.”
Ulysses laughed.
“If you can generate a belief and desire greater than those of our followers, then yes, it’s possible.”
I pulled a paper boat from the Void Pocket.
What I wished for were those who firmly uphold goodness even in dire circumstances.
“For reference, our followers number 128,765. The faith they’ve poured out without fail every single day is not something you can easily surpass.”
Since this was a parallel world rather than another dimension, it was connected to them.
“Sorry, but in faith, what matters isn’t numbers—it’s will.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Good and evil.
Which has the stronger will?
I want to proudly say it’s goodness.
‘Evil only exerts its power under limited conditions.’
Someone wants to wield violence but bows their head in fear that the other is stronger.
They want to steal but fear being seen, so they obediently open their wallet.
They want to kill but fear losing their freedom afterward, so they quietly suppress their murderous intent.
‘Evil is selfish.’
A pathetic will that crushes its own desires out of fear of personal loss.
Even if it acts, most cases involve giving up on future hopes and life, acting out of desperation.
‘But what about goodness?’
In flames scorching their skin, they risk their life to save another.
Living in a slum, scraping by collecting trash, yet donating their small savings to the needy.
On their deathbed, they donate their organs to help others.
‘Goodness does not break under misfortune.’
A steadfast will that acts altruistically even in pain.
The will of fanatics who can achieve nothing without their savior Ulysses can easily be shattered by the will of the good.
‘I can feel it—connected to those I desired.’
They read parts of my memories.
I read parts of theirs.
Someone struggling to make ends meet yet donating to others.
Someone who sacrificed their body to save another, left with a frail form, yet never resenting the world.
Someone who devoted their life to caring for patients.
A total of ten people shared consciousness with me.
They read my memories and sent prayers and faith.
“I believe.”
That the flat Earth no longer exists.
That this world does not merge with our own.
That the faith of those who disregard others’ lives to prove their own does not come true.
‘Goodness triumphs.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘…something like that, right?’
Ulysses chewed his cheek.
He’d chewed it countless times since earlier to hold back laughter.
‘Why are they all so naive and foolish? Must be the media’s fault.’
Villains look sinister and greedy.
Villains are blabbermouth idiots who spill every detail of their plans.
Good people always get rewarded with happy, vibrant futures.
Justice triumphs, and evil falls.
‘The mental strength of the good is stronger than that of the wicked.’
Evil crumbles easily, while the good endures trials and tribulations.
So, the good’s faith will win.
Having long been a cult leader, Ulysses could easily see through people’s hearts.
‘Sorry, but the world isn’t a movie.’
Reality is cruel and merciless.
Stories of good triumphing over evil with sheer mental fortitude to save the world only happen in films.
‘Go ahead and try. I’ll make you one of mine once you fail and despair.’
Impressive mental fortitude, befitting the world’s top fixer.
Any other follower would have fallen for his words long ago and become a loyal devotee.
Realizing Lee Seung-hoon wouldn’t bend easily, Ulysses aimed to plant despair in him.
The more despaired, the better his silver tongue worked.
‘I want to wield the power from Purgatory myself. And with the fame of the world’s top fixer, the survivors of the flattened world would trust us even more.’
Faith flowed from Lee Seung-hoon’s body.
Seeing it, Ulysses finally couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
‘Just as expected.’
Ten strands of faith emerged.
Strong, sure, but equivalent to just ten followers at best.
It couldn’t change this paradise built on the faith of 128,765 devotees.
Faith to return the world to normal.
Faith to reshape the world as desired.
The conflicting faiths clashed, and Lee Seung-hoon’s lost.
‘Crushed effortlessly. Pathetic.’
But…
Why were the flowers changing color?
Golden flowers, never seen before, were blooming everywhere.
“Ah.”
Only then did Ulysses notice another faith.
An immense will, too vast to notice at first glance, instantly overtook the flower garden.
‘What the hell is this!?’
Unbelievable in scale.
A faith that lightly crushed and blew away the long-poured devotion of 128,765 fanatics.
“You! What have you done!”
“The steadfast justice of the good crushes the pathetic justice of the wicked.”
Lee Seung-hoon, wearing a ridiculous paper boat on his head, replied.
“Isn’t that just common sense?”
Only then did Ulysses realize.
The identity of that massive faith.
‘The crystallization of the belief that goodness wins.’
And he belatedly recalled the words of the one who had entrusted him with the commission.
The one who revealed the world’s secrets.
[The world has those who take human form but are not human. So, don’t let your guard down just because they look human.]
Ulysses shouted.
“No way! Fanaticism! Shattered by one person’s faith alone!? Impossible!”
“It’s possible. Don’t deny it just because there’s no precedent in history.”
“You—you! You’re not human!”
Faith poured down like a waterfall.
“No.”
All the flowers in the garden turned golden.
“I am human.”
The world collapsed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘Oh no.’
The world was collapsing.
The world itself split into layers like an earthquake, on the verge of total ruin.
‘No need to worry, right?’
My wish included 「May the good ones escape this place safely」.
“Speak of the tiger, and it appears.”
My body turned semi-transparent.
Probably heading back to the original world.
‘But there’s one more thing I wished for.’
Then, a scream rang out.
“Gaaah!”
Ulysses clutched his head.
Sulfur flames erupted from the ground, burning his flesh.
Soon, burning skeletons latched onto him and dragged him away in an instant.
“I thought ‘may the wicked be punished,’ but I didn’t expect a trip to Hell.”
Real Hell?
Or a fake one created by this world?
“Even the fake Purgatory was connected to the real ones. A fake Hell would connect too.”
A moment later, with a blink, I was back at the North Pole.
“Cold.”
『Well done.』
“I didn’t do much. It was all thanks to the good people who helped.”
『……』
I stored the paper boat in the Void Pocket and shoved my hands in my pants pockets.
“?”
Something caught; when I pulled it out, it was a tulip bulb.
‘Why is this here?’
Maybe from the flower garden?
As I pondered, a shadow fell from the sky.
“The Foundation’s back too.”
This ends the threat of the Flat Earth believers.
“Once I get back, there’s something I want to do.”
『Donate? Or enlighten Flat Earth supporters?』
“No.”
Watching the landing Foundation airship, I etched the must-do into my heart.
“I’m going to build a museum.”
To honor them on behalf of humanity.
“The world’s largest, grandest, and coolest dinosaur museum.”