My Lord. Theres been quite a bit of rebellion so far, and not a lot of territory has been taken, but I dont know how long theyll last. In time, it will all be a matter of moonshine.

The Moonlight Lord resides in the center of Seoul, in a tall tower surrounded by magical guards.

The tower, built with the power of magic, offers a panoramic view of the burning city.

His eyes glowing strangely as he connected to the many magical circles, and the Moonlight Lord silently thought that something was off.

Strange

According to the plan by now, Seoul should have collapsed after the all-out assault through the Gates, and the less-prepared provinces should have already been wiped out.

Assuming they hadnt already used the rest of the peninsula as a base

Why is the number of souls not enough?

In that state, his white hair slightly floated by the violet smoke connected to it.

The Moonlight Church Lord was muttering to himself that the currently observed number of deceased and wandering souls was far too low.

For a man who thought he would have easily passed the millions mark by now, this was an incomprehensible figure.

Something was wrong.

The lowly worms, still clinging to life, should have died long ago.

It was a surprise attack, and they couldnt have been prepared for it, even if they had tried.

As he pondered this, the Moonlight Lord stood in the wind, his mind racing.

From behind him, amongst the chanting of his followers, a man hurriedly rushed up to him and told him the news.

Lord, the Seoul area has completed the opening of the third phase of the Moonlight Gate, and the second phase of the Moonlight Gate is about to be opened to the rest of the country.

The devotee reports that the catastrophe is progressing slowly and orderly.

They wont be able to hold out anyway.

Lunar creatures will keep coming through the gates to the New World endlessly, like an immortal army that never tires.

One year, ten years, a hundred years and eventually, they and this hateful planet will be destroyed.

With that thought, the Moonlight Lord turned his attention back to manipulating his energy.

The acolyte who hadnt left yet spoke up hesitantly.

Oh, and my lord. I have something else to tell you.

What is it?

It is this.

And with that, the devotee pulled out something.

Huh

A man in a black hat and a white mask and Eun-woo, a shrine maiden of the Moonlight Church, was flying in the sky with him.

This Egostic and that traitor are coming herewhat should we do?

You

At the sight of the abominable laughter of the man who had kidnapped Eun-woo, a useful tool, the anger buried deep in his heart surged.

Right, right, thats not bad.

I rather like it.

They are coming here?

Yes. Theyre heavily armed, though they wont be able to break through easily

The lord smiled coldly as he listened to the acolyte words.

He then waved his hand and spoke.

There is nothing more to see. Summon the Soul Devourers.

Them, yes, I see.

After a moment of questioning his masters words, he quickly bowed and left.

Soon, the Moonlight Lord turned his head back to the darkened sky and focused on controlling the Moonlight Gates again.

Egostic. Ha.

What can he do?

We can offer him and the bitch as the first sacrifice.

Thats what hed thought at that time.

A pair was flying toward the city center where he stood, smiling coldly.

***

Dark skies, burning cities and The broadcast of Egostic!

Hello, everyone. Its me, Egostic!

I turned on the broadcast with my usual smirk, despite the gloomy skies and bombed-out cities.

I wonder if its the opening line in my usual chuckling voice or maybe it was the fact that they were sitting in an underground bunker with nothing to do but as soon as I opened my stream, the number of viewers and the chat window started to grow exponentially.

*

[Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick!]

[heroic giggle] [heroic giggle] [heroic giggle] [heroic giggle

[Aaah~ Dont tell anyone youre Egostic, or theyll ask you to play the Hero~]

[S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango! S-Grade Hero Apple Mango!]

[Chat window firepower just goes crazy]

[Is he a mango? Is he a mango? Is he a mango? Is he a Mango? Is he a mango? Is he a mango? Is he a mango? Is he a mango? Is he a mango? Is he a mango?]

[If no one is as happy to see a mango broadcast notification as I am today, Ill be damned if I dont get a taste of K-Internet]

[God, why dont you start the meeting? Because the mango hasnt come yet.God, why dont you start the meeting? Because the mango hasnt come yet.God, why dont you start the meeting? Because the mango hasnt come yet.]

*

And with that, I looked away from the crappy chat window. Youd think Hero was on the air.

I asked Seola to wire everything up with the Meteor Groups technology because I thought people would get nervous if they were stuck in the basement.

Well, actually, I hadnt connected anything to make my broadcast look like this, so I decided to just accept it.

Anyway,

I grinned again, looked at the camera in the air, and said.

So I went outside to do something because I heard something happened again, and it was just plain crazy, you know, monsters just coming out of the woodwork I mean, its all over.

[Gulp!]

Look at this. Ew.

As I speak, a purple, pterodactyl-like monster flies toward me but I crushed its skull with my natural telekinesis.

Anyway, thats what all the fuss is about, huh? All because of that demented old mans cult, the Moonlight Church or something.

I had just used up a lot of energy with that attack, so I was exhausted in an instant, but for the time being, I naturally said that.

Ill leave it to Eun-woo, whos following behind

Anyway, yes. At this point, you all know what Im talking about, right?

Yes. How dare he invade my territory, the Republic of Korea, without my permission? Shouldnt he be punished for this? It looks like he has no land to conquer.

I smirked at the camera as I flew through the night sky.

With that, I turned to the camera, the chat window exploding once again.

I casually turned back to the camera and asked

First of all, does anyone know where Stardus is?

I need to find Stardus.

As the chat popped back up quickly after my words, I realized I was getting nowhere. Not surprising, since most of them are underground.

Anyway, Stardus, if you happen to be in the area, could you come over here? We need to talk with you Moonlight Maiden

As I said that, I glanced at Eun-woo behind me, then back at the camera and spoke clearly.

I have a plan to take the Moonlight Lord down and end this mess Stardus.

So why dont you act with me, just this once?

Okay. That should be enough to get the word out to Stardus and Im sure the Association staff will see it.

Im not sure why everyone else in the chat is going nuts when Im the one who called Stardus, though I guess theyre all lively because theyre talking about this weird open courtship crap.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I turned off the broadcast and took a moment to look around.

There was still smoke everywhere, monsters running around on the ground, the purple gates still spewing out monsters from the sky and at the far end, surrounded by a pink haze, stood a black tower that reached to the moon.

Surely, the Moonlight Lord had built it.

Hes finally revealed himself.

Eun-woo, do you think hes there?

Yes. I can feel his aura strongly over there. An ominousmagical aura.

Floating beside me, Eun-woo says that with a stony face.

I see. Well go with Stardus once she gets here.

In the meantime I fly over the center of Seoul, looking around.

There are more black gates now than before. In Moonlight Church words, a second-level moon gate.

And near them, giant lizardlike creatures the size of half a building, unlike any other were scuttling about in their fleshy bodies.

Yeah. Theyre immune to firearms, and theyre much stronger than the others.

So, theyre

[Hey, Da-in, Im the last one, but were here! Can we get started?]

Were going to have to deal with them.

Just as I was thinking that, Choi Se-hees report came in my ear.

-Kaaaaaah!

In the distance to the west, there was a yellow flash of lightning and the sound of something exploding.

Electra must have started a fight.

Just in time, my ears began to pick up reports from all directions, including Seo Jae-young and the PMC.

Soon, a dragon so large that it could be seen with the naked eye in a city fairly close by probably Ms. Shinryong was seen firing her brass.

Great, weve conquered Seoul!

Wow. Thanks for watching this far.

That cant be right.

I smirked and, satisfied that my plan was working, grabbed Eun-wol again and took to the skies, toward the tower where the Moonlight Lord would be.

Egostic.!

From the other side a voice, so familiar and welcoming, called out to me.

Welcome. Stardus.

Ha, ha.

And there she was, with her blond hair whipping around, Stardus, our hero, flying in, while breathing heavily.

Ha, ha, just a second

Okay. Breathe.

It was a dramatic reunion of Heroes and Villains, reunited in the midst of all this chaos.

She had been fighting, as her clothes were slightly torn, and she was sweating with an unrecognizable face.

It was a little heartbreaking to see her, but still. There were more pressing matters at hand.

I had to end this, so she could rest.

And with that, I soothed Stardus, who was breathing heavily in the sky, then looked at her, adjusted my hat, and began to explain.

Stardus, were short on time, so Ill just get to the point. I have a plan to stop this catastrophe.

Ha, ha. Are you sure?

I said, and she asked.

Then she glanced to the side, a little anxious, apparently worried about whether she could fix this mess.

Yes. I really do.

I didnt have time to go into details, and it would be too long to explain how. Wed better get going now to save time before a bigger gate appears.

Of course, there was a good chance she wouldnt be convinced right away, but I said it anyway. If she asks, Ill explain.

Anyway, thats how she responded to my rambling

. Okay. Thanks Ill trust you.

Stardus gasped and smiled slightly, meeting my eyes and responding in kind. Her eyes were full of faith in me, without a hint of doubt.

.And with that look, I paused for a moment.

Okay. I see.

I quickly regained my composure and replied.

Okay. Its probably because she doesnt have a choice but to trust me when everything is going to hell. Is that the rocking horse effect or something? Yeah. This is not the time for sentimentality. I have to do what I have to do.

I coughed, then quickly summarized the situation.

Once we fly to the tower, Ill be able to stop the gates. My colleagues are taking care of any monsters that come out of the area, and I need you to come with us and take care of any monsters that come out of the black gate around the tower.

Sure.

Good, then lets go right away.

I said, and immediately took to the skies.

The target was the tower of the Moonlight Church.

.

Behind me, Stardus was silently following, looking in my direction.