Ch.527Chapter 20. American Doblin (17)

I cross through space.

Just a moment ago, I was in my home in Seoul—the living room of a luxury apartment in Banpo-dong, but now I’m in a completely different place.

Perhaps the most appropriate description would be the center of the universe.

Below me stretches a transparent glass floor, and beneath it is a mixture of blue, green, and yellow.

Anyone seeing this from here would immediately answer that it’s “Earth.”

Of course.

Because it is Earth.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Since you’ve been to ‘the Gap.'”

“It’s the first time since I met you in person last year, Chairman.”

I’ve only been here once before.

That was before 2025, and I hadn’t visited this place since infiltrating Sejong Academy.

Well, I haven’t even been to America, so that’s only natural.

“Though barely half a year has passed, it feels like so much has happened during that time.”

“Looking back, it doesn’t seem like much happened. I made four S-class women my allies and eliminated two demons from Pandemonium.”

“That’s why I called you here.”

The Chairman grinned and pointed upward.

“It’s three.”

“…Pardon?”

“You wouldn’t have known, but while you were unaware, another demon died.”

The sky the Chairman pointed to is a space filled with complete darkness.

Within that space, countless stars twinkle, and among them, a few shine particularly bright.

“This one burst first.”

Where the Chairman’s finger points is a blue-green star.

No, let me correct myself.

Even though I’m not scientifically inclined, I know that’s not a “star.”

It’s a planet.

And among planets that glow blue-green like that, without rings, there’s only one that I know of.

“Uranus?”

“Uranus, deceased.”

BOOM!

“Chairman Death Beam.”

“…No, Chairman.”

“Hehe, I’ve always wanted to try that.”

As golden light erupted from the Chairman’s fingertip toward the sky, Uranus exploded.

“You know this is all just visual effects, right?”

“…It would be quite troubling if you said that while actually being capable of it.”

“My, how could you say such harsh things to a delicate woman like me?”

“……”

She is delicate, but the Chairman before me is merely an “avatar.”

“Hehe, and next, ‘Mercury’ was also destroyed.”

The Chairman extended her index finger downward.

Soon, the golden beam flowing from her finger—the Chairman Death Beam—grazed past Earth below and headed somewhere.

BOOM!

Another planet, painted gray, exploded.

The Chairman Death Beam pierced through the center of the planet, splitting it into thousands of pieces, and all fragments vanished like ashes.

“And one more. ‘Mars,’ destroyed.”

The Chairman pointed her index finger directly above me.

Though the planets are very far away, the reddish-brown planet that was twinkling closest to my position exploded.

“All of these are Goblin’s achievements.”

“When did I ever kill a demon?”

“On Jeju Island.”

“……”

A demon I killed on Jeju Island?

“Was there a Pandemonium demon possessing Seon Ga-eul’s remains?”

That’s the only answer that makes sense.

“That’s possible. That woman would have been capable of devouring a Pandemonium demon instead. She must have been hiding somewhere or concealing her form while trying to destroy the country, and then ascended when I disturbed the urn containing her remains.”

“……”

“If I had known that, I would have gone and completely shattered that urn long ago.”

“It wasn’t Seon Ga-eul, but that. The red giant that appeared off the coast of Jeju Island.”

“……Ah.”

So that’s what it was.

“…I thought I defeated it quite easily with Hundun’s help.”

“It was because Goblin fought with good compatibility; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been strange if Jeju Island had been destroyed.”

“…No, what kind of Pandemonium demon would…”

If it had at least identified itself as a demon, I might have felt some reassurance.

“You could have told me…no, I suppose you had no choice but to tell me here. There might be listening ears down there.”

“I was going to tell you right away, but you went off to serve your country, then to Japan. It’s fortunate that you naturally came to America now.”

“I apologize for that.”

“It’s fine. Actually, this isn’t something to discuss over phone or text, since other demons don’t know about it either, just like you didn’t. Hehehe.”

“……”

To deceive the enemy, first deceive your allies.

That saying suddenly came to mind, and a pleasant sense of betrayal sent chills down my spine.

“Does even Pandemonium not know that one of its demons died? One of the Seven Deadly Sins?”

“That’s right. I know because I’m ‘observing’ from here, but they don’t even know among themselves. They know two have died because I announced it.”

“I see. Who else knows?”

“You and me.”

“……Aha.”

I understand now.

“You intend to keep it a secret that one demon remains until the end.”

“As expected of you.”

“That’s quite devious?”

“The fact that you immediately noticed that deviousness means you have thoughts comparable to mine.”

“I’m not as wicked as the leader of a villain organization. I don’t keep secrets from my husband to that extent.”

“You’re casually reciting the most embarrassing secret in the world.”

The Chairman pouted.

Under her brightly shining golden hair, a slight blush appeared on her white skin.

“The crisis needs to continue until the Syndicate defeats all demons and implements a method to prevent more demons from appearing. At least until we make Korea completely ours.”

“I understand.”

Seven demons have been killed.

All of Pandemonium’s demons are dead, and humanity has regained peace.

But ordinary people won’t know this truth.

They’ll continue to believe that one final demon remains, living with a sense of anxiety and fear.

“As someone who loves novels, how would you describe this situation?”

“Tossing away the hunting dogs after catching the rabbits. The idea of a hero party being celebrated after defeating all seven demon lords is just an old fairy tale.”

“Hehehe. That’s right. In reality, a hero party that defeats all demon lords gets eliminated by those in power. Perhaps accused of being traitors in league with the demon lord and beheaded.”

“…Somehow my head…”

“Ahaha. Did I touch on a trauma? Hehe.”

The Chairman nodded at me with a bright smile.

“Humans are all the same. Both in stories and in reality. Since stories are creations of human thought, naturally the people in those stories must resemble human nature.”

“If humans are left with a crisis they cannot solve themselves, they must continue to be conscious of that crisis.”

“Even if that crisis has already been resolved, they live without knowing it. To use an analogy…”

“Apocalypse.”

I pointed down at Earth.

“Isn’t it a common cliché in stories about worlds destroyed by nuclear war and radiation? People kill each other in shelters until they decide they’d rather die outside than inside, so they open the doors and…”

“Ta-da! It turns out it was safe to go outside all along!”

“You know it well.”

“Thanks to someone. Hehehe.”

Whoosh.

The Chairman’s appearance changed.

Not her original form that I know well, but the adult form she first took when I embraced her, now standing before me.

“The crisis will continue. It’s unfortunate for Earth’s inhabitants, but the existence of demons will only truly disappear when we have the power to suppress all humans who learn the truth that demons no longer exist.”

“When will that be?”

“When the lives born from you become adults. When you can… leave with some peace of mind?”

“……Chairman.”

I approached the Chairman directly and stood before her.

“You shouldn’t speak carelessly about leaving.”

“……”

“If the person who captured me says such things, what does that make me?”

I took the Chairman’s hands in mine.

“You made it so I couldn’t leave you. You made it so I couldn’t die recklessly, couldn’t disappear, couldn’t leave. Yet you’re still anxious?”

“Of course I am. Do you know? Men and women are programmed to never fully understand each other for their entire lives.”

“Who did that programming?”

“I wouldn’t know. It wasn’t me.”

“Is that so?”

I pulled on the Chairman’s hand, but she applied force and maintained her distance.

“Chairman. There’s no need to be anxious. I’ve already resolved to live in this world.”

“……”

“So I’ll execute the demons of Pandemonium, the villains, and the evildoers in my homeland. Honestly, I could continue living in America, but…”

If I were to indulge in one desire while living in this world.

“I prefer reading novels written in Korean rather than translations of English novels.”

In America, I can’t fully enjoy my preferred hobby.

“That’s why you indulged my selfishness. Kidnapping novelists, showering them with money to write works, ensuring creative freedom even in a censored world. Well, apart from such complicated matters… you let me see the sequels and conclusions to stories I wanted to see.”

Living in this world as a powered individual is one thing, but I also want to continue living as a reader trapped in this world.

“If you attacked me with pregnancy, shouldn’t you take responsibility for that much?”

“…That might have been the most terrible and cruel thing I could have done to you.”

“That may be true, but I’m not the kind of villain who would abandon everything and ask to terminate a life that’s been created.”

I embraced the Chairman in my arms.

“When you tell me not to leave this world and offer me everything you have, how could I possibly leave?”

Well.

“If there ever comes a moment when I leave, it would be when I die and cease to exist, or when this world is destroyed by demons and villains, or when you no longer love me.”

“Love…”

“Betrayal is death, Chairman.”

You could call it hypocrisy, but I have the right to say this.

“I believe that having bound a possessed person to this world through love, you wouldn’t betray that love.”

“Betrayal…”

“It’s simple. Since you’ve decided to love me, just keep loving only me until the end. Like now. But if you betray that love. If you ever look at another man.”

I stroked the Chairman’s head as I held her in my arms.

“I will become the demon of the apocalypse, destroy this world, and leave.”

The Chairman is omnipotent.

She knows I’m a possessed person.