Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Reason the World Ends
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The world is ending.
『Ugh, we've taken care of so many today. Alright, that's it for today's stream, folks! Bros and sis! See you tomorrow night!』
The broadcast ended. Staring at the black screen, I remembered one thing I'd overlooked.
‘What exactly is the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation's bad ending?'
I'd never encountered the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation myself, but I knew what the ending was from screenshots users had posted online.
[Super OP Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation made an incarnation! Argh! Total dom! Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation's incarnation is going out! Super OP Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation is bawling! Waaah! And then Earth is destroyed!]
That was it—just a few lines on the black screen. No clue why or how it ended.
'At the time, it didn't seem like an issue.'
The Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation was a ridiculous entity created to mock the community incident back then, and many said the childish phrasing suited it perfectly.
[Transparent dragon lololol]
[Crying waaah and Earth hurts! lololol]
But now? Who knows. I jotted down what I knew in chronological order on a notepad.
[1. The constellation arrives on Earth, and after 5 turns—five days—it creates an incarnation.]
[2. The incarnation starts at superhuman level but gradually gains full access to the constellation's power over time.]
[3. From the ending text, the constellation makes an incarnation, does various things, and ultimately Earth is destroyed. No exact date.]
'My predictions so far were off.'
I'd figured the incarnation would adapt to the constellation's power, then the capricious constellation would rampage wildly through the incarnation's body, treating Earth like a toy until it got bored and wrecked it—like some preschooler's tantrum.
'But today's broadcast changes things a bit.'
The constellation wanted to protect Earth. Like a hero from an American comic, it used its incarnation to erase a supernova that would one day destroy the planet.
'The incarnation's power is already enough to destroy Earth. If it wanted to puppet the incarnation and play with the planet like a toy, it could do it anytime.'
Hadn't it already destroyed the Foundation, Earth's only defense system? And thinking back, during the first broadcast, the incarnation said this:
[All I wanted was to carry out the constellation's will and bring peace to the world, but some shady secret society called the Foundation or whatever tried to kill me!]
I looked up at the night sky. A yellow full moon illuminated the darkness.
"Bring peace to the world? The constellation has no intention of destroying Earth?"
I stepped out for a smoke and returned to find a business card on my desk.
「Golden Almighty Co., Ltd. / Suit Guy / Directions: OO Gold Pawnshop, Osan-si, Gyeonggi-do / Chant: Oh gold, pure beauty, pinnacle of all things.」
"Perfect timing."
A way to get information had opened up.
"Welcome......"
I entered Golden Almighty Co., Ltd. Unlike before, the interior was a wreck.
"Was there a war?"
"Yes...... something like that."
Smashed lobby here and there, Suit Guys wrapped in bandages or hobbling on crutches—probably lots injured—shattered walls, office supplies scattered everywhere.
"Shall I show you to the trading room......?"
"Please do."
I entered the trading room carrying bags with thirty gold bars.
"Ugh, it's been a while, Lee Seung-hoon."
Inside waited a Suit Guy with his head bandaged. Suit Guys all looked similar without gender cues, but his words confirmed he was the one from last time.
"Sorry to come at a bad time. Feels awkward."
"No, it's fine. We've handled all the dangerous stuff."
"Mind if I ask what happened?"
"I need 5kg of gold."
I pulled a gold bar from the bag and handed it over.
"Overkill. Shall I trade 15kg worth of info on this incident?"
"Please."
"First off, the company's in this state because of the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation."
Just the info I wanted.
"Think of it as an entity from the highest dimension that creates a conduit called an incarnation to mess around in lower dimensions—like a pervert."
"So it attacked here through its incarnation. Bad blood normally?"
"Yes. It always calls us 'evil villains buying and selling human lives with money!' and attacks. Real headache. No issues for trillions of years lately, so we got complacent, and then dimensions overlapped."
The Suit Guy buried his nose in the gold bar I'd given him.
"Sniff! Hoo, sex...... golden sex......"
"I thought you'd all left."
"Not quite. The Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation is strong, but not against our chairman. This time, it threw a tantrum until the chairman showed up, then bolted in surprise."
Knowledge gained.
Golden Almighty Co., Ltd.'s chairman is stronger than the constellation.
"May I have the chairman's name?"
"Bring 593 metric tons of gold."
"Back to the point."
"Yes, well, that's how it went. We couldn't contact you while fixing the damage it caused."
I slid over another gold bar.
"Questions about the constellation."
"Ooh! Yes! Got it!"
He tapped the gold bar with a finger, turning it to powder on the desk.
"Excuse me a moment."
He rolled up a bill, snorted the gold dust.
"Yes, yes! Golden cocaine! Golden sex! Golden fantastic!"
"Does the dimension where the constellation descends, or the planet where it makes an incarnation, always get destroyed?"
"Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's fickle and lacks stamina—if something goes wrong with the incarnation, it just gives up and leaves. We've chased it off early that way before. This time we were too lax......"
"'Something goes wrong with the incarnation' meaning?"
The Suit Guy pulled a syringe from his suit pocket.
"If the incarnation's mind breaks, or if it screws up and its reputation tanks, it runs."
"The constellation cares about reputation?"
"Yes, it's a dumb, obtuse thing that wants to play hero."
He stabbed the gold bar; it liquefied and sucked into the syringe.
"Pretty childish for a highest-dimension entity."
"Humans often misunderstand. They think higher-dimensional beings are superior and noble. Not at all. Comic heroes are nobler than real criminals—dimensions don't affect intelligence or nobility."
He'd rolled up his right sleeve at some point, tied off his arm with a rubber tube, and jabbed the syringe in.
"Ooh, go, golden! Golden fuck yeah! Golden super doobi-doobap!"
"Then how does it end when it does end?"
"No idea. We evacuate the dimension or planet first. And the incarnation from a destroyed one is beyond our perception—too strong to observe."
"Got it. The current incarnation seems super strong—full power access?"
"No, not even 1%."
Erasing a supernova with one clap is less than 1%. Shocking.
"How long to full power?"
"Six months. Over time, the incarnation's body restructures to match the constellation's. Restructuring accelerates progress. But as a lower-dimensional being, never fully identical."
I'd experienced something similar.
'The girl with closed eyes.'
Just from contact and talking with her, I gained this power.
'......Then what if the incarnation keeps harboring the constellation in its body?'
I think I get it. Why Earth ends—not tied to the constellation's personality, but what kind of end awaits.
"Finally, entities that can affect the current incarnation."
I dumped all remaining gold bars.
"Five right now."
"Of them, how many can I safely use and control?"
"If 'safe' assumes faithful contract compliance, one."
"What's it called?"
"The most convenient, simple contract for you—lets you wield divine power freely. Fantastically, truly fair."
Exactly what I had in mind.
"With the gold I just gave, can you tell me its location?"
The Suit Guy said,
"Of course."
[Next stop: Dongducheon, Dongducheon Station.]
Autumn fading into approaching winter. I got off the subway, phone in hand.
『Bros and sis! Light content today! Where's this? Jongno 3-ga! Word is, there's a terrifying legend here!?』
Watching the incarnation's stream while moving—ten-odd minutes later, I entered an antique shop near the US base here and found what I wanted.
『What legend? A psycho driver lives on Jongno 3-ga highway! Called the Lane-Swapping Magician! Tail-chasing snake! Master of reverse and forward driving! Gonna see if he shows today!』
As intel said, it was here. I bought the clean parchment scroll, then boarded the subway again.
『What if he doesn't show? Psh, already planned for that.』
"No celebrity quite like him."
The incarnation fed on attention. Maybe the constellation's orders.
'But attention isn't matching the scale.'
Bad attention, yes. Post-supernova space trip, people treated it like a troll.
[Photoshop. That magic trick last time too.]
[lolololol supernova lolololol deleted lolololol]
[This is peak brainrot......]
Acts too grand to believe.
[Magic last time was fake too?]
[Duh lol. CG looks so real tho.]
[Deserves effort award. Acting synced perfect to CG.]
Aware of online sentiment, the incarnation seemed miffed but didn't clarify.
『Alright, if he doesn't show! What to do!? Easy......』
Snap—chair, desk, placard appeared in the paid parking lot.
『My fan meet!』
Placard: 「BJ Constellation's First Fan Meet! Only chance for first autograph!」
『Bros sis, seriously! Miss this, regret forever? My sig! Gonna be priceless! Major leaguer 100th homer ball? Nada!』
'Good opportunity.'
Didn't want the sig, but needed to meet for real.
'Right eye that sees the future.'
Since yesterday, I instinctively knew I could activate it again.
'If I don't know how the future ends, I'll see with my own eyes.'
Subway to the spot from the broadcast. Took time, but luckily, the incarnation was still there.
"Aw, bros sis, too much! Told you you'd regret! Missing money chance like this!"
Far off, the incarnation appeared.
"My sig's value is...... Ooh! First viewer here!"
And something else too.
"First fan of my first fan meet! Ooh! Interview okay?"
"Yes, of course."
That's it.
"Hello?"
The world ends so absurdly.
"I'm Lee Seung-hoon."