Ch.138Side Story 8. Peaceful Morning

I woke up to the sound of Boksil scratching at the door.

The city was in complete chaos when I emerged from underground.

Damn old geezer.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen this much damage to the city and civilians under my watch.

I’ll finish this in one go.

Jade had already disappeared.

Lu-a spotted me and flew over immediately.

“Lu-a.”

“Tracking complete. I’ll move right away!”

We shifted to the quantum realm to pursue Lord Jade.

In an instant, my vision changed and my skin burned with a tingling sensation.

We were in Egypt, in front of the pyramid ruins.

Looking down at the ground, tourists were being evacuated under the villains’ control.

Jade was flying through the air, infusing the pyramid with dark energy.

“You’ve appeared already, as expected. That has its conveniences.”

Jade, having spotted me, exuded an arrogant, intimidating presence from midair.

“But you’re too late, degraded evil. The Great Lord who will bring complete dominion to this planet will soon arrive.”

Kuguguugu—!!

Lasers shot out from the pyramid where he had infused his energy.

The laser aimed at the sky was trying to resonate with the pointed part of the moon’s pyramid.

Once the moon rotates a bit more, his objective will be achieved.

“Well, well.”

Seeing my reaction, Jade laughed roughly.

“Are you consumed by fear? Behold. This is the source of evil.”

“Everything from your setup to your lines is incredibly outdated. Great Lord because you’re a Lord?”

“Do not speak so carelessly with that weak mouth of yours. He is…”

“I know, man. He’s some great monster from somewhere in the dark nebula. His finishing move is ‘Hell Bomb.'”

“Hmm. It seems you’re not just here by chance.”

“It’s troublesome when you bring in settings from over 50 years ago. The naming sense creates too much dissonance.”

“Then take this, boy.”

Jade fired a massive energy blast at me.

Black, huge, and fast. I crossed my arms to block it, but the power was immense.

Kugugung!!

The energy I barely deflected exploded, creating a massive crater in the ground.

“That was just 10% of my power.”

My arms are stinging.

He’s definitely strong.

If he went all out, he could probably destroy Earth.

He was at the pinnacle of villainy, but he’s over 50 years old. Why does he still boast such powerful strength?

I can guess the reason.

It’s what you’d call “nostalgia correction.”

He holds the title of the first Lord of Evil, an arch-enemy of legendary heroes.

If he appears in modern times, it’s natural that he’d be strengthened by receiving such respect.

Well, it could simply be that there are no surviving heroes or villains from that era to measure against, so they might all have been incredibly strong.

“That’s the rule of this world.”

This actually works out well.

It makes things simple.

Fortunately, I won’t need to use what I showed to Kang Yerin of the Yellow Dragon. She probably saw the end of the world.

“I can hear your thoughts all the way from here.”

“You wouldn’t know since you have no brain to think with. No brain cells or hair either.”

“You mistake cunning for wisdom. To think the world is ruled by someone like you.”

“The world doesn’t run on brute force alone, old man.”

There’s a reason Lena and I spend all that time doing paperwork every day.

It’s because the world is structurally designed to function that way.

Collective intelligence didn’t create a system requiring simple office work because it’s stupid. After trial and error, this was the best conclusion.

Efficient and stable governance.

That’s what adult rule means.

“None of that matters when you have overwhelming power.”

Jade spread his arms to display his energy. Every movement was so classic it was completely outdated.

“Power, huh? Power is good.”

A belt wrapped around my waist.

“Then I’ll just use the old method of destroying with power too.”

I held a single card.

It was a bit different from usual.

A red card.

“Transform.”

I inserted the card.

[The End RULES—]

I equipped the Armaggedon form.

However, not the original silver and black one, but an Armaggedon as red as blood.

“Armaggedon Last Page.”

I clenched my fist. Dark red particles spread from my body and flashed. Thunder and lightning struck, and every substance in the world was overwhelmed by this transformation.

I concentrated my power.

No need for skills.

I charged forward and threw a punch.

“Here you come.”

Jade surrounded himself with energy more powerful than ever before.

A pure contest of strength against strength.

I broke through in one strike, compressing and exploding all my muscle power.

I grabbed Jade’s energy with my fist. We collided. We opposed. I broke through. I tore out his heart and released the trapped energy, making it explode.

Kwakwakwakwang—!!

“—Ooh.”

Jade, with a hole in his torso, groaned. I lightly dusted off my fist.

“What is that power?”

I pulled out the Armaggedon Last Page card.

The design wasn’t much different from the regular Armaggedon card. The oily red color glistened in the light.

“I colored it myself with a red marker.”

“…What?”

“The rule is that movie villains must be defeated with a special enhanced form. Budget constraints often mean just changing the color like this.”

“…I don’t understand any of this.”

“It’s wisdom you don’t need to know. Just cunning.”

Jade began to disintegrate into ash from the hole in his body. Soon nothing remained.

I turned my gaze. The pyramid was still active.

Energy was being fired from its pointed top, breaking through clouds and the atmosphere toward the moon.

I don’t know how to turn it off.

Might as well destroy it.

“Hup.”

I jumped in and applied moderate force.

Kugugugugung! Kwarurung!

Dust rose as the bricks collapsed magnificently.

It feels good to do something truly villainous for once, destroying a world heritage site.

“Geo, are you okay?”

Lu-a, who had been assisting with flight, approached with cold sweat. I lightly embraced her and kissed the top of her head.

“Yes. Good job.”

“Mm. You worked hard too, Geo.”

“Let’s go home.”

I returned with Lu-a.

***

Pak pak pak pak—

I woke up to the sound of Boksil scratching at the door. My head itched, but I couldn’t move either arm. I couldn’t lift my upper body or move my legs freely.

“Tsk.”

Left side, Somi.

Right side, Lena.

On top of me, Lu-a.

All three were sleeping peacefully. All naked with only blankets covering them. Traces of last night were scattered all over their bodies and the bed.

It’s been three months since Lord Jade’s resurrection. Since then, I’ve also married Somi and Lu-a.

After that, we outsourced work here and there and made more personal time.

And it’s always like this.

I have no complaints.

No, I’m actually quite satisfied.

“Ui-seok, are you awake?”

Lena whispered in my ear, pressing her body closer. As I tried to answer, she silenced me with a kiss.

“You’ll wake the others. I don’t want to be disturbed. Hold me a little longer.”

Lena squirmed under the blanket. I pulled her shoulder with my arm.

“It’s already too late. Really, Ms. Lena, I need to point out your bad habits.”

Somi muttered with her eyes still closed.

“You can sleep more, Somi. Aren’t you tired? You need a lot of sleep.”

“Thanks for the consideration. But I’m with Mr. Ui-seok, and that’s too precious to waste.”

Somi also turned her body and pressed against me.

“Ouch. Hey, your horns! How many times have I told you to be careful?”

“You used them as handles last night, only complaining when it suits you. Keep it up.”

“H-hmm. I’m sorry.”

Lena has become more honest with Somi, or rather, more obedient.

“Somi, have you been training Lena behind my back?”

“Oh my.”

Somi answered with a broad smile instead of words.

Hmm.

“…Don’t worry, Ui-seok. Ms… Ursula is kind…”

She’s even using honorifics.

Honestly, it’s hilarious.

I decided not to openly enjoy Lena’s misfortune.

“Mm.”

While enjoying the morning with the three of them, I felt a strange pleasure from below.

Feeling something squirming, I looked down to find Lu-a playing with my body.

“Lu-a.”

“Playing without me again. Is this a 30-something club? Should I go play with Emma?”

“Sorry. Come here.”

Lu-a jumped up, snuggled against me, and rubbed her face against mine. She’s always so energetic and cute.

“What are we going to do for fun today?”

“Lu-a, do you really want to go out and play again?”

“We’ve been on a four-person date for two weeks now, right?”

“Why? Don’t you like Lena and Somi?”

“It’s not that I don’t like them, but sometimes it’s okay to rest at home…”

“This is why I can’t stand people in their 30s! Really!”

Lu-a slapped my chest repeatedly, expressing her frustration.

She’s at an age where she wants to play.

“Let’s discuss it over breakfast.”

“Will you make it for us, Ui-seok?”

“Sure, sure. I have to be diligent if I don’t want to be a beaten husband.”

I shrugged and got out of bed.

“Geo?”

Lu-a looked up at me expectantly.

Realizing what I’d forgotten, I hugged her and gave her a morning kiss.

Then a kiss for Somi too. I tried to keep it light, but she entangled her tongue with mine and gently bit my tongue. She smiled mischievously.

Naughty girl.

“Geo, about our date location.”

“Yeah?”

“I found a strange exit while wandering the quantum realm.”

“A strange exit?”

“Yes. If it’s okay, would you like to explore it with me? I think the connected place is quite unusual.”

“Where is it?”

Lu-a grinned and said the words.

“A parallel world.”

At those words, we all momentarily froze.

As if by agreement, we all waved our hands in refusal.

“No, no.”

“I’m sick of incursions now.”

“Meet another version of Mr. Ui-seok? Ugh, I’m tired of that.”

“Hey, no matter what, ‘tired’ is a bit much.”

“Hmm, really? I thought you’d find it fun. That’s too bad. Then let’s go to a concert! A concert!”

Lu-a jumped up and down excitedly.

The four of us linked arms amicably and headed to the shower to start our morning.