Chapter 388

〈 Chapter 388 〉 Part 1, Chapter 16, Section 23

After having a drink with the Spirit Dragon.

I didn’t bother to erase my tipsiness with magic power. Thanks to that, I managed to evade whatever shady hands were trying to grab the drunken me and made it back to my lodgings. At the entrance, I stationed a bodyguard.

“Whoa, you’re reeking of booze. How much did you chug?”

“…Not that much?”

“I saw you blowing the bottle whistle on that rice wine like there was no tomorrow.”

Deokbae stood by the door in his usual ragtag outfit.

While the guardian of a king’s chamber should be a royal knight, Deokbae wasn’t even close to being one—more like someone who’d get his neck chopped off by a knight. And as for me, I wasn’t exactly a proper king either but more like some pretender sitting on the throne.

“Hmph, just feeling a bit uneasy.”

“Again? What complicated matter is bothering you this time?”

“…”

When talking to the Spirit Dragon, I had discussed matters regarding Blazing Phoenix, but with Deokbae, I could spill everything about this world without any burden. Not only does he not share these stories with others, but it’s also just easier to talk to him.

“Seongju.”

“What now with Seongju?”

“Just wondering when he’ll show up.”

“Does death come with an announcement? You die whenever and wherever. Look at me. I got into trouble because some crazy woman came out of nowhere while I was aimlessly wandering.”

“You’re not talking about me, are you?”

“Nope. That lawyer dude. He turned out to be a villain, right? So, once he went down to New Seoul, he was done for. Though I didn’t expect something worse than him.”

Deokbae mockingly drew a line across his neck.

Having already died well over a hundred times, Deokbae seemed to have grown accustomed to death. Most of those deaths were caused by me, though he was genuinely killed by enemies a few times too.

“So, do you still want to die?”

“Hmm… Even if I die, I wanna stick around till the end to see all your antics. Man, it’s entertaining watching you wield ridiculous power while constantly stressing over trivial things like ‘What do I do with this?’ or ‘How do I handle that?’ Seriously, what would you have done without me?”

“Not that you’re absolutely necessary, but I admit you’ve been helpful in many ways. Congratulations, Underling #2. You’ve been assigned the task of being the trash can for my irritation and anger.”

“Heh. Alright then, keep going. What kind of garbage are you throwing this time?”

“Seongju.”

I pulled out a calendar through the Magical Gear.

“The day of annihilation, December 25th, 2025. But signs will start appearing around four months before that. The sign of Seongju setting the Boatman in motion.”

“Last time, you said three months, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Three months to start and arrive, plus a month spent hiding to check the situation. Since he’s super cautious, it takes a whole month to observe Earth’s state before unleashing full strength.”

“Why?”

“Because I wasn’t there.”

I mimicked Deokbae and jokingly slashed my neck with my hand.

“When Seongju arrived, I was already gone. Scared out of his wits, huh? I mean, if Earthlings managed to capture Blazing Phoenix, whom even I couldn’t fully subdue, how easy must they be? Freaked him out.”

“So, if you die, we secure at least a month?”

“That’s the gist. Given Earth’s current strength compared to the future, it might not be exactly a month. Qualitatively, there are many superior individuals, but quantitatively, far fewer than in the future.”

Seongju spent a month observing all the special ability users on Earth. As November transitioned into December, localized Dimensional Gates began opening worldwide, spewing out monsters never seen before.

Dragon hybrids and Chimeras.

The failed experiments created during Seongju’s attempts to replicate Yuna using Tera materials. In the original timeline, after defeating Blazing Phoenix, the enemies that emerged possessed unique traits such as immunity to elemental weaknesses or taking only half damage from attacks.

“To counter them, we need top-tier special ability users. Underling #2, what do you think about monsters pouring out daily by the tens of thousands from Dimensional Gates, where even A-Rank fighters barely make a dent?”

“What? Are you insane?”

“That’s what happens when Seongju arrives. It spreads globally. To mercilessly slaughter resisting humans. Knowing that Blazing Phoenix fell to humans, he adjusts the difficulty level accordingly. This leads to a significant decrease in Earth’s population.”

Survivors gather under S and SS-Rank Heroes to protect urban areas, while the protagonist’s group forms an elite squad to directly take down Seongju.

“If Seongju isn’t stopped, this endless war continues indefinitely. Humanity may not survive.”

“In that case, once the signs appear, we’ll need to convert key members into Spirits or enhance special ability users by any means necessary. You should also work on that synchronization thing.”

“That’s correct.”

“So, what are the signs? Haven’t heard them yet.”

I briefly lowered my head before projecting a hologram. The image showed planets orbiting a blue sun, clearly representing our solar system.

“Let me test your astronomical knowledge, Underling #2. What about the planets in our solar system?”

“Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?”

“Don’t know?”

“And what am I supposed to do if you don’t?”

That’s true. I nodded in agreement with Deokbae’s point.

“Then let me teach you. From the Sun outward: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. You know this, right? No need to elaborate further.”

“…? One’s missing, isn’t it?”

Deokbae tilted his head and scrutinized the holographic planets. I chuckled as his finger reached Neptune.

“Ho ho. One’s absent, right?”

“Yeah. Wait, hold on. I remember this vaguely. Let me search real quick.”

Deokbae fiddled with his Magical Gear and found the last planet in the solar system.

“Got it. Pluto.”

“Correct. Pluto, the dwarf planet.”

“Planet’s a planet. Why call it a dwarf planet? Is it a sidekick planet?”

“That’s stretching it. Think of it as a small-sized planet. Relatively tiny. Hence why it was removed from the planetary lineup… not exactly, though.”

That’s another universe’s story; in this world, Pluto still holds its planetary status. The scientists who attempted to reclassify it were eaten by monsters, leaving people with no time to debate Pluto’s status.

“Pluto will eventually be removed from planetary status. It’s not just about size, though.”

“Then what?”

“The Boatman.”

Originally referring to a square-shaped vessel, but imagine coating it with rock fragments to form a spherical exoskeleton for concealment.

“Why would Seongju be called ‘Lord of Stars’? Because he truly owns stars. Technically, he’s borrowing the title, but ownership belongs to him.”

“Wait, hold on. Pluto has been orbiting the solar system since ancient times, right?”

“Right. And it’s also one of the self-driving starships scattered throughout the universe since ancient times. Sort of like coordinates for interstellar travel. Simply put, it’s this.”

I manipulated the hologram of Pluto into a bizarre design resembling a hexahedron, akin to an oversized Cube.

“Deokbae. Do you know the theory that dinosaurs, the previous rulers of Earth, went extinct due to asteroid collisions?”

“…No way.”

Deokbae paled and shook his head.

“…Are you saying Pluto is a UFO?”

“Exactly what I was about to say. Now, do you understand the signs of Seongju’s arrival? And why I insisted on keeping Oracle alive and making her an ally, despite her ability to read futures?”

“…Oracle reads celestial omens by studying stars?”

“Not exactly, but she enjoys stargazing. Plus, she owns the largest observatory in the world. Ho ho, once she gets the intel, there’ll be chaos.”

I slowly moved the holographic Pluto towards Earth.

“How could Oracle, deeply connected with NASA, not notice a stationary planet suddenly heading towards Earth? She’d know immediately.”

The signs of Seongju’s arrival are incredibly obvious if you pay attention.

“Therefore, Miss Baek Hee-a is essential for the final battle. Without her, things get tricky. Underling #2, do you recall me telling you to invest in aerospace via Miss Eun Yuhwa?”

“…You mean that time you suggested investing in space exploration so we could escape Earth? Wasn’t that just a plan to run away?”

“People. While escaping is part of the plan, the main goal is combat.”

I tossed a small flame into the sky from Earth.

“The final battle will be in space, aboard Seongju’s Boatman, Pluto. We’ll use Miss Baek Hee-a’s special ability, <Synchronization>, to create a spacecraft capable of reaching it.”

“Bai Gnaroh?”

“…I definitely plan to change that name.”

It feels like the ship would explode mid-flight if we don’t.

“Baek Hee-a’s ability lets her turn anything into a vehicle, right? So, you could ride it yourself. Or develop something else. Rocket? Cannon? Aircraft carrier? Hmm, how about a steamship flying through space?”

“Ugh. What do you think I’m saying? Time for bed.”

I tossed Deokbae out and returned to sleep. Despite the lingering buzz of alcohol, I drifted off feeling as if I were walking among clouds.

* * *

Tap. Tap tap tap.

Oracle woke up. Thanks to the conveniently placed sex toy before bed, Oracle woke up refreshed, sans the toy, after relieving himself in his sleep.

“Ugh… I’m losing my mind.”

Oracle’s eyes were sunken.

In the past ten days alone, he had dreamed over a hundred different dreams featuring sixteen different women. Sometimes involving tender love with two people, other times raucous affairs with four, leaving Oracle no choice but to rely on diapers and sex toys.

“But I can’t stay awake forever.”

Without sleep, Oracle cannot predict the future.

Although inconvenient, the fact that his prophecies mainly revolve around a man and various women provided Oracle with valuable information.

Seongju. The Boatman. Interdimensional Deity. And the Priest.

Most of Oracle’s dreams revolve around the Priest and his women. Despite a few failures, the Priest, with the help of his women and allies, successfully defeated Seongju, the great evil, restoring peace to the world.

“I am the one and only sponsor of such a person… hehe.”

Through their conversations, Oracle indirectly learned about his own future, which filled him with pride. Although he didn’t directly appear in their discussions, he was grateful to learn about his destiny through them.

“But things are different now.”

Oracle’s dreams are chaotic. Some events follow the current timeline, while others involve entirely different scenarios involving the Priest.

After an intense bout of self-reflection, Oracle synthesized the contents of his dreams and arrived at a conclusion.

Blazing Phoenix.

“Did the Priest send someone back in time? Thus completely altering the future?”

The Priest certainly has the power to reverse time. While Oracle doesn’t know the method, Blazing Phoenix starting activities earlier than expected completely disrupted his dreams.

As a result, armed with information from the various dreams involving Blazing Phoenix, Oracle worked tirelessly behind the scenes. In America, where he held influence, he actively manipulated events to prevent such occurrences.

Otherwise, half of America would burn.

“South America, though.”

He threatened the U.S. President face-to-face, declaring he’d set half of America ablaze. However, Blazing Phoenix burned South America instead. Ultimately, the U.S. President had no choice but to surrender, despite not shedding a single drop of blood.

“Why did the Priest send that idiot back in time?”

Oracle reviewed his dream journal. For every dream featuring the goddess-like Yuinah, there were numerous instances where Blazing Phoenix’s actions led to the world’s destruction.

“…”

Perhaps another nap would reveal more clues. Oracle caught a glimpse of something significant in his last dream.

Beeep! Beeep!

His smartwatch signaled an urgent message, but he ignored it.

“Probably Gale Guest again.”

Oracle grabbed a handful of sleeping pills.

* * *

Rustle.

I opened my eyes.

Night had fallen, deepening the darkness.

“…”

And there, someone was staring down at me intently.