Chapter 202 The World Before Doomsday

Its been weeks since the last terrorist attack I met with Stardus.

Now, its slowly getting closer to winter

I murmured as I felt the noticeably chillier wind outside on the veranda. The end of the year was approaching, and in terms of the original story, it felt like we were crossing the middle point. It had been a few years since I arrived in this world, and I couldnt help but feel sentimental on days like this. It had been quite a while since I started my actual villain activities.

Aaaaaaah!

While lost in my thoughts, I heard a voice from below. It was Seo-eun, riding on some sort of mechanical contraption. It seemed she got bounced here while training in the forest.

Oh, Da-in!

As Seo-eun spotted me and waved her hand excitedly, I smiled and waved back. After exchanging greetings, she rushed back to her training. Probably, our new spirit had been watching her training.

Watching Seo-eun running again, I was caught in memories.

I first met Seo-eun when she was in middle school. In just one or two months, she would be a senior in high school. Time flew so fast. Seo-eun used to seem like a kid, but now she looked quite grown-up compared to before. And if I only considered the time we started the terror together It had been nearly three years.

Phew.

After deciding to become Egostic and start terror activities, we had come a long way. We recruited Egostream members, developed Stardus, and even met with villains from other countries. There were so many things that had happened.

In other words, it meant that the world was about to become hardcore. In fact, even now, it was an abnormal world, with more villains than heroes, and each villain possessing powerful abilities. It was just that most of them were concentrated in the United States, so other countries were relatively peaceful.

And speaking of our country, it was practically taken over by the mega-corporations. They had control over finance, politics, and everything else. I heard that a single word from Lee Seola could change even the Prime Minister. Of course, the chairman of the corporation had teamed up with villains. That villain was me.

In conclusion, this world was never normal, and anything could happen at any time.

And soon, something was about to happen.

Quite a big one.

Da-in?

Yes?

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly heard a voice from behind. When I turned my head, I saw Soobin holding a cup of tea with a warm smile.

Its cold outside, you might catch a cold. Have some warm tea.

Oh, thank you.

I expressed my gratitude to Soobin and took the cup of tea in my hands. It was warm and comforting.

What are you thinking about so deeply?

After handing me the tea, Soobin leaned against the railing and asked me with concern.

Well, I was just thinking about this and that, what to do next something like that.

Mm.

As I spoke, Soobin remained silent for a moment, then she lightly smiled and turned her head to me.

Da-in Even though you know a lot and work hard for this world, try not to overdo it too much.

Soobin spoke with a warm voice. Hmm, did I look like I was overdoing things lately?

As I was contemplating my words, Soobin continued to talk to me.

I know youve been doing a lot, Da-in. And its natural to work hard for this world But sometimes, isnt it okay to take a break? If you get too immersed in your work, it might even lower your efficiency.

Soobin smiled again, giving me a gentle reminder. Well, I dont really think Im overdoing it. I mean, I take breaks whenever I can, right?

Youre right. Ill keep that in mind.

Despite feeling like I shouldnt say it that way, I simply nodded with a smile.

Soobin smiled softly and then went back inside. It was getting colder, so I followed her back into the house from the veranda.

As we returned to the living room, Soobin jokingly spoke, Well, no matter how unstable the world is these days, its not like its going to end tomorrow.

Haha, youre right.

I tried to laugh as she said that, but I couldnt help but glance at the calendar hanging in the hallway.

Well, Soobin.

Of course, the world wont come to an end tomorrow.

But, in truth, its going to end once next week.

Of course, I kept my mouth shut and didnt say such things.

Anyway, its going to become non-existent.

***

The original [Stardust!] was quite worn-out up until the middle part, but there were still quite a few readers who followed it with hope. From the beginning, the breadcrumbs about Starduss unique and special power, as well as the authors mention of the difference in her powers origin compared to other heroes, kept readers intrigued.

As such, readers had hope even though they saw Stardus rolling among villains every day. Yes! One day, Stardus will suddenly awaken her hidden power and beat up all the other villains!

However, an issue that shattered the readers mentality was an episode that suddenly unfolded in the middle of the story without any prior hints. The episode about the end of the world.

The content of the episode was simple. Suddenly, the associations, governments of various countries, and superpower holders began attacking the world. Nuclear bombs were flying, cities were burning, and even heroes went mad, destroying the cities.

So, this episode depicted the process of the world collapsing in an instant. It suddenly appeared without any prior context. The world started to crumble rapidly, yet Stardus seemed to be the only one unaffected, fighting against the chaos.

Naturally, readers went crazy. The fact that the world collapsed in just three episodes while it took three weeks for those episodes to be released made the situation even more intense. During that time, rumors and wild speculations about the author going insane were spreading. Although there were breadcrumbs about the worlds destruction through Moonlight Wolgwangs dimensional experiment and the existence of a god, those were unrelated to the sudden and abrupt end of the world.

Finally, after three weeks of agony, everything comes to an end in the last episode. S-class hero X Machina from the United States, who regained his sanity, sacrifices himself to manipulate time and prevent the apocalypse. This way, everything becomes an unseen event, and the episode concludes. Of course, almost everyone, including Stardus, loses their memory of it all, and the world returns to peace.

Anyway.

The shocking episode is about to begin, and theres not much I can do. I have no idea what the trigger is. Based on the situation, I can only speculate that an S-class villain with a crazed ability that induces mental contamination in a chain reaction might be behind it. However, since that part was mostly narrated from Starduss perspective in the original manga, theres no way to know for sure.

In any case, as they say, if you cant avoid it, enjoy it. I decided to take advantage of this situation. After the time reversal in the apocalypse episode, the identity and death of the time-manipulating X-Machina are exposed and reported worldwide.

I used this opportunity to reveal X Machinas information to the Villain Conference, Cathedral. They might be skeptical now, but when the official information comes out, theyll believe me. That way, I can gradually expand my influence.

Honestly, I didnt need to prepare much else.

Everything will become a non-existent, and Ill just go on living a normal day. Of course, Ill experience the apocalypse, but since time will reset, Ill forget about it all anyway.

So, I spent my days as usual until then. Coaching each member of our PMC Egosquad, preparing for the next terrorism, selecting full information for Cathedral, choosing villains to deal with in advance and assisting in training the members. Just ordinary days.

Of course, I also made some minimal preparations. Even though no one will remember the worlds destruction this time, its still something that will happen, technically speaking. In the original, Stardus tried desperately to stop the collapsing world all by herself, not knowing that time would be reversed eventually, shedding tears as she struggled.

I had no intention of reproducing that crazy scene.

So what? It will be deleted from the timeline, and no one will remember it. It doesnt matter. Its just for my own satisfaction, even if Im the only one who knows.

I cant bear to see Stardus suffer again. Even if I cant prevent the destruction with my own power, I can at least do that much.

So, I slowly prepared small things.

The reason I told Stardus that we would meet again soon after the last terrorism was because of this day.

Anyway, time passed quickly, and before I knew it

Finally, the day has come.

Da-in, what are you doing?

In the living room during the morning.

At that moment, everyone gathered there, and I was focused on watching the TV.

[At this hour, the United States is celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of the US branch association, with festivals still taking place in front of the Statue of Liberty.]

With the anchors words, the Statue of Liberty appeared on the screen.

I was watching it intently.

Yes, there are only five minutes left now.

The beginning of all this destruction.

[The head of the Statue of Liberty suddenly explodes, and the tragedy begins.]

Yes.

If the head explodes here, it means the start of all destruction.

However, if it doesnt explode, it means the apocalypse has already happened, and time has been reversed due to X Machinas sacrifice. I have experienced all the destruction, but now, I sit here without any memory of it happening.

Now, will it explode or not?

I watched the TV intently, and when the minute hand hit twelve, that moment

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM-

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

On the screen, the head of the Statue of Liberty exploded, breaking into pieces.

Oh, what happened? What just happened?

Our Ego Stream members were also startled at that moment.

Hmm.

I stood up from my seat and casually took out something I had prepared in advance from my pocket.

It seems like I got caught up in a timeline where I need to deal with this.