Since the beginning of Cataclysm the Villains Council has been as peaceful as ever. In fact, its a very strange sight. All of the worlds top S-class villains are gathered together, but they dont fight or argue with each other, and things go smoothly? Its a mysterious story just thinking about it.

In fact, there was a reason for that.

First, the villains gathered here are not just S-class villains, but bosses of villain organizations with other subordinates under them, which means they are socialized to a certain extent.

Second and the biggest reason.

.

Right there, a silver-haired woman sitting in a somewhat distant and mysterious manner, as if she can see everything with her eyes closed.

Thats because shes Celeste, the most powerful of all villains.

Testeus, who has built an underground kingdom beneath the Americas and plans to bring about the collapse of the Earth and Atlas, who controls all sea creatures and rules the entire North Atlantic Ocean. When asked to name the most powerful villains, these two are usually in the top three.And it was Celeste who was said that even if they attacked together, they could not defeat her.

She is the one who wrote a new myth in the history of villains, and is considered to be stronger than anyone else at the moment.

Hmmm.

And there she was, blatantly staring at me throughout the meeting.

Over and over again.

..

Shes so blatant that even the other villains are taking notice.

Egostic, is this okay?

I could feel her gaze, so much so that Katana, sitting next to me, whispered in a cold sweat as she tugged at my clothes.

And I turned to her.

Dont worry. Its no big deal.

I just gave her a reassuring, calm smile.

Actually, I was nervous, too, but if I showed it out loud, Id be treated like an idiot. I smiled calmly, as if I was used to it. Whenever I made eye contact with Celeste, who was staring at me like that, I would smile broadly. Of course, she didnt react.

Anyway, the meeting ended with that uneasy feeling.

And, Egostic. Why dont you stay and talk to me for a bit?

Finally the words came out of Celestes mouth as she stood up.

When she said it, the other villains looked at me and her, as expected. They all looked curious because they didnt know what she was doing today. Only my companions looked at me with concern.

Dont worry, you should go ahead.

With that, they all turned and walked away, uneasy. Even if they were there, they wouldnt be able to stop Celeste if she wanted to do something.

Anyway, with all the villains gone, the two of us are alone in the Cathedral.

At the front of the room where the round table sits, illuminated through colorful stained glass.

Leaning back slightly in the chair next to me, she smiles at me, waiting.

Coldly, she opened her mouth.

Egotistic, what do you want?

She asked me with a sharpness in her voice that she had never shown me before.

I smirked at her as if to say, Whats the matter?

I dont know what youre talking about.

Of course you dont.

She replied, as if she was full of energy.

Then Celeste turned to me and said coldly.

Im asking you why you harmed Influx. I dont think youre going to pretend you dont know. You got put there on purpose.

Shes very outspoken.

Thats why shes calling me. Why would I hurt Wish Granter, a creature of the Sun God? As a devotee of the Sun God, it would be unforgivable to her.More than that, Ive always been concerned about the Sun God.

As I was thinking about that, Celeste spoke up, her eyes still closed, her fingers gently touching the top of the back of the antique chair she was sitting in.

He was a loyal messenger of our god, conserving his power in the safety of East Carqueas. It was a fortress for him, in the first place.

And yet, Egostic, you crawled in and murdered him in a horrible way, as if you had a grudge against him.

So, Egostic. Ill ask you right here and now.

Are you, my enemy?

And as she said it.

For the first time, her eyes lit up.

Just like that.

..

I met her blazing golden eyes like few people in this world have ever seen.

And then, in an instant, I felt an intense fear of life and death as the room freezes.

This atmosphere of fear was exactly the same as the last time, but the difference was that the pressure was much tighter than before, a do-or-die atmosphere. Considering the difference in strength between Celeste and me, I could die at the snap of her fingers.

A culprit like that would run away crying, and even the bravest of men would tremble and open their mouths.

I acted as if I felt no such pressure at all.

I shifted casually, nodded my shoulders, and smiled sheepishly.

How could that be?

With that, I walked over to her, still smiling broadly, as if to say that I wasnt nervous at all.

On the contrary, like I said the last time, Id be your colleague.

Hmm. So, because you were my associate, youre telling me you killed the Sun Gods messenger?

As if to tell me not to bullshit, she says that while staring straight at me with eyes that are burning with gold.

I met her mysterious eyes head-on.

Calmly, I opened my mouth again.

That, too, was Gods will.

Now. Are you saying that you know Gods thoughts better than I do?

Now her patience was wearing thin, and she spoke even colder.

No, literally, when I looked again, the round table was freezing. Its actually getting colder. Maybe shes intentionally creating an atmosphere of fear Or shes really pissed off and cant control her power. The problem was, it was more likely the latter

Given the circumstances that led to my life ending, I clapped lightly, breaking the ice, and then spoke.

Celeste, heres what were going to do.

Do what?

Lets make a bet on who has more faith.

When she rolls her eyes as if Im talking about something stupid, I smile wryly and open my mouth.

Until the next Cathedral opens Ill prove Im closer to God than you are, and if I cant, well, kill me, torture me, whatever. Im confident. If you arent, well. Kill me right here and now.

Me saying that with my arms wide open.

Celeste stares at me with her beautiful golden eyes, not sure what Im thinking.

Fuck it. Kill me. If you want to kill me, kill me.

Actually, I had a contingency plan that would kick in if she really tried. One should always be prepared for anything but knowing her character, I was confident that she wouldnt do that to me now.

She was silent for a moment.

Then she spoke, quietly, in a low voice.

Very well, very well, Ill do it.

Okay.

And with that, I nodded my head coldly in response to her next words.

This boldness, this smirk, this unflinching acceptance, even with the number one ranked villain trying to tear me apart. Its things like this that make me seem like theres something more, like I have a secret because even the strongest Celeste cant read minds.

Im busy, then, so Ill leave you to it.

Before she could change her mind, I decided to hit the hollandaise line. Busy, busy.

Just like that.

.

Celeste watched me leave, silently, as I walked away.

Good, I survived another day.

Yay.

***

After Egostics departure, the Cathedral Roundtable was empty.

Celeste stood there still for a moment, and then, without batting an eye toward the aisle where Egostic had gone, she opened her mouth and spoke quietly.

Arthur, are you there?

Yes. Celeste.

As she spoke, a knightly man in armor quietly stepped out from behind the curtain.

Without meeting his eyes, she asked softly.

So. What did you think of him today? Did he still seem dangerous?

Such was her question.

After a moment of silence, Arthur spoke again.

Yes. He still seemed more dangerous than any other figure Ive ever seen, Celeste.

Ha Alright, you should go.

With that, Celeste disappeared back behind the curtain like a shadow.

Once again alone at the empty round table, she stared silently at the reflection of her silver hair in the stained glass and muttered to herself.

I suppose Ill have to find out more.

Egotistic acted as if he knew the future, thwarted the plans of the followers of the Moon God, and was unusually obsessed with one hero.

Despite this, he is close to Atlas, who is the second strongest of the group, and has directly eliminated one of the gods creatures.

In other words, he is a strange figure who knows as much about the gods as she does.

Perhaps, I should go find her.

Celeste thought quietly, and left the round table.

For today, she let him go. You never know what he might do, what tricks he might be hiding behind that regal demeanor. And then, after he shows something off shell kill him.

But

Now, she thought quietly, she must prepare herself to face him head-on.

Crushing those no bigger than insects was something she was used to.