Chapter 1366

<Chapter 1366> 1366. Spirit’s Atlantis

I sat in the chair.

David was kneeling in front of me, while Jackson stood quietly in the corner, nervously glancing at me.

David wasn’t dead yet.

Originally, I had planned to torture him for about three hours before killing him… but upon reflection, David seemed like a somewhat useful guy.

‘Nar Enter. Alongside Venus Enter and Lilius Enter, one of the top entertainment agencies in sectors 6,700. Meaning, they’re my competition.’

David had been handling all the dirty work at Nar Enter. He knew every single corruption within the company.

In other words, by using David, I could take down Nar Enter, one of Povitz’s strongest rivals. This would make things several times easier.

‘I’ll hold off on killing this guy right away. Let’s use him first, then kill him later.’

I told him I’d let him live.

If his Unique Trait, Lie Detector, was functioning properly, it should’ve detected that my words were false. However, he didn’t struggle or argue. He simply bowed his head and accepted my statement.

‘Hmm… Maybe he was going to lose an arm if he argued with me, but this guy’s either lucky… or perceptive.’

He might think escaping this situation and running away will be enough.

“Pledge your loyalty.”

“I shall pledge it. I would gladly lick your boots.”

“Lick my feet? You? That thought alone makes me feel nauseous.”

“…Apologies.”

“Regardless, you’ve pledged your loyalty to me, correct?”

“Yes. I’ve pledged it. Please, spare my life.”

「Conditions for transmitting Mahou Shinkou have been met.」

I extended my hand toward David. A black energy swirled above my palm like steam, then flew toward David and was absorbed into him. Tattoos resembling swirling winds appeared on both of David’s wrists.

Transmission of Mahou Shinkou (Demon Wind Divine Skill).

This was my SSS-Rank skill. Its effect: Transmits Mahou Shinkou to a target who has sworn loyalty.

The target can rapidly grow stronger using Mahou Shinkou, but there are some side effects.

One of them is the emergence of demonic nature (Majou), which may cause the person to become a demon if they lose control to it.

Another side effect is that the target will prioritize orders from the Heavenly Demon (Tenma) above all else.

‘Simply put, he becomes my slave. Though compared to Domination, the compulsion isn’t as strong.’

I stared silently at David. After being forcibly transmitted Mahou Shinkou, David not only knelt but prostrated himself at my feet.

‘Not getting excited and perfectly restraining himself… Quite talented.’

I was slightly impressed.

That was all. My plan to kill him once his usefulness ends remains unchanged.

His Unique Trait, Lie Detector?

I don’t deny it’s a useful trait. Just considering its applications, it’s incredibly valuable – during interrogations, negotiations, etc.

But it’s not something worth clinging to.

‘There must be things the Lie Detector can’t detect… And it’s only A-Rank, not even S-Rank.’

I had no attachment.

“Why did you choose to install hidden cameras? Were you planning to blackmail Lilith Enter with the footage? Surely you weren’t thinking of directly blackmailing Povitz?”

“That kind of video wouldn’t be sufficient for blackmail. Even if it showed nudity, it’d likely just be underwear. The moment we obtained the footage, we planned to immediately release it…”


“Ah, I did that.”

“Why?”

“In order to deal a blow to the pure idol image.”

“…That’s true. Image is important for pure idols… Is that all?”

“Yes. For now, that’s all.”

I suddenly got irritated. I kicked David in the shins repeatedly. It relieved some stress.

“You’re David, right? No need for long talk. Pobitz must reach number one within a month in Zone 6,700. Make sure you cooperate. Get rid of any obstacles. And if Pobitz doesn’t make it to number one? You’ll live forever.”

“……Living forever means…?”

“Curious? I promise not to disappoint.”

“…….”

David trembled with fear.

Anyway, the situation was settled for now. I looked around at the scattered bodies and told David,

“Clean this up on your own.”

“…Yes. Leave the cleanup to me.”

“Did you say you can offer tribute? I’ll be at a nearby hotel, so bring some women. Popular actresses would be nice.”

“I need time.”

“How much?”

“Please wait two hours.”

“It’s not something I can’t wait for. But if you bring an ugly woman… I’ll kill her immediately. Seriously.”

I waved at Jackson, who was shaking in the corner, and went out of the house.

D-day.

The day of debut has come.

The dormitory was bustling from 7 a.m. They woke up much earlier than usual and were running around non-stop.

“……”

Joo Seohyun sat stiffly on the sofa, staring at the TV. The morning news was reporting Pobitz’s debut. Though it seemed like information that would make the news, this was Zone 6,700. Here, entertainment news is more important than anything else.

She turned her head.

A delicious smell wafted through the air. Yuria, wearing an apron, was preparing breakfast. The savory seaweed soup aroma stimulated appetite.

“Producer!”

Miling called me. Her hair was wet from a fresh shower, and her body was barely covered by a towel. In both her hands, she held a hanger with lingerie.

“Which underwear do you think would be better? Please choose for me!”

“Underwear… does it matter? Anyway, you’ll wear stage clothes and pants during performances.”

“But you’ll see it, Producer! So it’s important to me. Which one do you prefer?”

I looked at the underwear more seriously. Both were slightly see-through mesh panties, similar in design. The difference was color. Black and red. My finger pointed to black.

“This one? I was thinking of black too… We’re on the same wavelength.”

“Isn’t this lingerie too revealing for an idol?”

“People won’t see it anyway.”

Miling went back into her room.

Bang. Bangbang. Bangbangbang.

My gaze shifted toward the dining table. Elena, who woke up last, sat there without even fixing her messy hair. She was pounding her fists on the table. Her eyebrows were furrowed without mercy.

“What’s wrong?”

“…How can I, the head of Valderth, dance on stage in a few hours… Become a singer-dancer… How could such reality exist?”

“Don’t you think it’s too late to escape from reality? Besides, no one will recognize you. You have your illusion magic.”

“…Illusion magic. Right. Fooling the entire Zone 6,700 with my illusions.”

“Even so, you can’t deceive ten million people all by yourself. Why are you suddenly feeling anxious?”

“Hmm. Don’t you think our practice was excessively insufficient? Debuting like roasting beans under lightning… If we had more practice time, it could’ve been more perfect… Yeah. Since we’re doing this, we should become perfect idols, right? But we only had a week, and half of that was just memories of making love with you… What kind of idol is this…?”

Elena’s lamentation, driven by perfectionism, continued for about ten more minutes. An unexpected side was revealed.

After finishing breakfast, I took the Pobitz members to a beauty salon. They received professional hair styling and checked their stage costumes.


“Is this… a stage costume…?”

Joo Seohyun staggered in shock at the sight of the stage costume.

“Pull yourself together, Onee-san!”

Mireung supported Joo Seohyun’s back.

“This is… serious.”

Elena sighed deeply and shook her head.

“……Do we really have to wear these kinds of clothes?”

Even Yuria squinted her eyes in disdain.

I deeply empathized with their feelings. It was so ugly I wanted to tear the stage costume to shreds.

“What is this? A fairy?”

It was a shiny dress that looked like something a fairy from a fairytale would wear. The design was overall childish and tacky. The cherry on top was the wings attached to the back of the dress. Because of those wings, it looked more like a cosplay outfit than a stage costume.

Ettole designed this stage costume. Due to a promise with him, we had to wear the stage costumes no matter what.

“There’s nothing we can do. We have to wear it.”

“…At least let’s remove these wings.”

Joo Seohyun reached out to grab the wings.

“No way! Onee-san! Without this outfit, we won’t be able to debut!”

“Hiiik! W-what are you grabbing?!”

“Onee-san does have quite the bust… still smaller than mine though.”

“Let go…!”

“Come on, why are you being like this? Haven’t we already seen everything there is to see?”

“Gyahh…”

Joo Seohyun glanced at me, silently asking for help while her pride kept her from outright asking. I approached the girls from behind and touched Mireung’s chest.

“Kyaa!”

Though Mireung screamed, she didn’t step back.

Squish Squish.

I massaged Mireung’s chest as she did the same to Joo Seohyun’s.

Swish.

Yuria approached from behind me. She extended her hand and touched my chest.

“Haa… Master…”

Yuria’s sweet voice whispered into my ear, making me feel aroused.

“What are you doing?”

Elena, sitting with her legs crossed on a chair, sighed exasperatedly at us.

“Playing train game! Let’s get Elena-sshi involved too!”

“Tch. Who would play such a vulgar game…”

“We did it on the bed last time though.”

“…That was when I wasn’t in my right mind. Forget it.”

Elena shook her head.

TKT Broadcasting Station.

Pobitz will debut on TKT Broadcasting Station. More specifically, on the music show ‘Music Kingdom.’

The first stage.

Though the final stage would make more of an impact, the last stage was reserved for Music Show number ones.

‘Next week onwards, Pobitz will stand on the final stage.’

While it’s slightly unsatisfying, debuting on a music show is essential. The viewership rating of this district’s music shows reaches a staggering 50%.

‘50%… A ridiculous viewership rating by Earth standards… but here, in a district where entertainment is the center of everything, it’s possible.’

“That’s good. Normally rookies share waiting rooms with other teams…”

Samara looked curiously at the waiting room door. On the paper stuck to the door, only the word ‘Pobitz’ was written.

Pobitz received a fairly decent waiting room. It was proof that TKT Broadcasting Station cared about Pobitz. There was even an attached bathroom and shower room, along with a TV and fridge.

“Pobitz isn’t your average rookie.”

We entered the waiting room. The members lounged on the couches, each showing off their unique personalities. I checked the time. There was still 50 minutes until rehearsal.

“Sung Yoojin.”

Joo Seohyun called out to me.

“Call me Producer.”

“…Producer.”

“Why? Seohyun.”

“I heard that rookies usually visit seniors to greet them… Is it okay for us to just stay here?”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to do that. Rest well.”

Conventions? Screw ’em.

About 20 minutes passed.

Knock knock knock.

Someone knocked on the waiting room door.

“Who is it?”

“Pink Love! We came to say hi!”

A cheerful female voice responded.

Pink Love.

An idol girl group under Venus Entertainment. They’re the most popular girl group currently in the 6700th district and Pobitz’s biggest competitor.

I gave Samara a nod. Samara opened the waiting room door.