episode_0019

*****

The season was early October, when the weather outside was slowly getting colder. But even so, the man’s attire would have made anyone walking down the street look at him with disgust.

A coat as thick as armor, a scarf wrapped so much that you can’t see the face, and even a fedora on his head. Even in the middle of winter, not many people dressed like this.

“Once again, it’s a damn dark place.”

“Don’t worry too much. Isn’t this the leader’s preference? I like the atmosphere.”

“Hmph. I am proud of my work. There is no reason to hide in the shadows like this.”

“You’re joking. Even if you go near New York, you can find dozens of heroes trying to kill you.”

The person talking to the man wrapped in a coat was an old man with many signs of age etched on his face. The old man, wearing a wide black robe, had a small body that made him look dwarfed compared to the man next to him.

Of course, the man had no intention of evaluating the old man in front of him based on his size. A teenage swordsman with a reputation for being able to cut anything in the world as long as he has a sword. This is because the old man in front of him was none other than Jin Hao, one of the ten.

Whether or not they were being polite in their evaluation was a different matter.

“There is no need to consider idiots who don’t understand my work in the first place. This is why I can’t talk to people whose brains are also filled with muscles.”

“On the outside, you will look more like that.”

“I just have the minimum physical strength needed for research!”

“Of course you will. Now, instead of doing this, why don’t you just sit down?”

The place they were in was like an auditorium with the lights off. It looked like a movie theater, except there was no screen.

Numerous seats lined up in steps and a single podium at the lowest level. It has a simple and practical form that can also be used as a presentation hall at academic conferences.

The people around them were divided into people like them, leaning against the wall and talking, and people who sat down early. Occasionally, a human figure would appear in the darkness like ink spreading, but they would look around and choose one of the two.

” Since we already arrived, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to watch it together, but just wait a moment. Because I have a prior agreement.”

“Who are you looking for?”

“It won’t be a bad story for you either. You both use the same unfamiliar tone of voice, right? It is a concrete shrine. I heard that this research achieved significant results.”

“Me and him are just being polite… . Still, it’s not that bad. The talk about additional compensation hasn’t ended with him yet. Last time, I helped him test his research results.”

The man in the coat and the swordsman in black talked for a while. There was enough time before the full-scale meeting began, and the chemistry between a man who ignored most people who were not scholars and a swordsman who was tolerant of most people’s words and actions was not bad, so it happened often.

“Anyway, why doesn’t the sphere come like this? Hey, can’t you see it?”

“What difference does it make whether I see it or you see it? It would be hard to go wrong with such a unique silhouette.”

It was dark in the hall, so anyone who was close could only see the shape, but as the name suggests, the head of the Sphere Shrine was completely spherical, so there was almost no way to see it wrong.

However, the only strange shapes that were noticeable in the hall right now were a figure walking around with horns, a figure sitting in the front row with horns on its head, and a figure that was constantly changing into various shapes.

While one was waiting leisurely and the other was waiting anxiously, a figure that had been moving around approached them as well.

“Aha, aha, isn’t this the Sword Demon and the Strange Scholar? It’s been a while since I saw you both.”

“Don’t call me that nickname!”

“Sorry, I forgot. Mr. Mayer. Now, is it okay to do this?”

“Hmph! Such dirty words.”

What came out after lifting the veil of darkness was one of the horned figures, a female demon. Originally, it would have been quite an outrageous statement from the court man—Mayer—but looking at his actual appearance, it was clear that no one would be able to deny it.

There are very few people who wouldn’t think of ‘umma’ when they see her with voluptuous breasts and buttocks, skin that looks really soft, revealing clothes, and even a cute curved tail.

Of course, the person involved puffed out his cheeks and expressed his dissatisfaction.

“Wow, that’s too much~! I called you by your real name correctly. This isn’t fair.”

“Do you think you will remember your real name?”

“It’s Lilith, Lilith. This is the name I received from my lord Belial, so please remember it properly.”

For the Sword Demon, it was common for Mayer to fight when he talked to someone other than himself and the Sphere Gentleman. The Sword Demon intervened by force between the two, who immediately started arguing.

It was obvious that if left as is, it would continue to be like that until the opening.

“Now, now. You both leave it there. What’s going on, Miss Lilith? It’s quite rare that you come to visit us.”

“Ah, that’s right. It’s none other than receiving a message from Guche. They said they would not be able to participate in this committee.”

“No, why is that kid again!?”

“Well? Me too, in detail. While testing the results of the experiment, you seemed excited that you had discovered something amazing. I haven’t seen him so happy since he received the dragon’s body about 10 years ago.”

“Keuung… , that research idiot! I came here with high expectations… .”

As soon as Mayer finished saying that, he turned around. The Sword Demon and Lilith’s eyebrows rose at the sight of him not even showing the slightest regret.

“Are you going? The committee will be in a little while.”

“Hmph, I came here to hear the results of that bastard’s research anyway. If I don’t have that, I guess I’ll participate in something like this.”

“Genesis’ committee? Would you really not regret it?”

“Regret? Regret~? Can you say that even after seeing this?”

Cheoeok. Mayer stretched out his thick finger and pointed to the seat. The only people sitting there were probably more than ten people. Including the figures talking on the wall, there were less than thirty.

“There are 300 seats, but now it’s less than half of that number! The name Committee of 300 makes me cry. Aren’t you still mistaken that it was 10 years ago? The current Genesis is not worth wasting my time on!”

“Still, it is an important position to set Genesis’ policies… .”

“The last few years have been nothing but reporting on the current status of the religious leader! The researchers stay away and don’t even come out.”

“They just haven’t gotten the results yet. And there are also books of prophecy.”

“That damn prophecy! Of course, I admit that I predicted the coming of the era of great chaos, but it was wrong a long time ago, right? Among those who remain now, there is no one who believes in the prophecy… , huh? Who said that just now? Hmm, is it your year?”

“I hope you were watching me keep my mouth shut.”

“It’s me, Mr. Meyer.”

“… !”

Behind Lilith. A small girl jumped out from there.

White hair, white eyebrows, and even pale lips. The girl, who was pale overall, had her eyes closed unusually.

“Well, I, I… .”

“… ? You don’t have to be so nervous, right? You didn’t say anything wrong, right?”

“See you, the contractor.”

Mayer frowns and Lilith pays respect with no trace of the frivolous attitude from just moments ago. Only the Sword Demon nodded with an unchanged attitude.

The girl walked straight ahead and headed to the podium in front. Every time she took a step, the people on the wall also began to sit down one by one. When she arrived at the podium, there was no one standing.

The attention of everyone in the room turned to the girl. In a dark room, only human silhouettes can be seen, and the girl was no exception. However, people’s attention did not deviate from the girl one bit.

The girl’s presence was too great to be obscured only by the lack of light.

“Thank you all for coming. From now on, uh, what episode was it? Sebastian?”

“This is episode 147, leader.”

“I declare the holding of the 147th Committee of 300 in the name of Ymir.”

Committee of 300. At one time, it was no exaggeration to say that they were a group that was manipulating the world to their will behind the scenes.

A gathering of numerous intellectuals, politicians, scientists, and warriors. They have been stockpiling their strength in preparation for the period of great chaos even before the time of great chaos.

“Mr. Meyer said good things. It has no value to us now. Well, that could be possible.”

Mayer’s shoulders flinched as he sat down when his name was mentioned. But it didn’t flinch. Of course, everyone in the hall was listening to what Mayer said just now, and when he brought it up, no one refuted it.

The lack of refutation does not mean agreement, but it must have been because there were at least some parts that were agreed upon, no matter how big or small.

“10 years ago. It was the day when our base was discovered by the Allied Forces and we were completely destroyed. Five years later, I acquired the qualifications to be called the leader of the sect. By the time we finally got the 300-person committee back together… , there were less than 10 people gathered here.

When we gathered our strength and declared war three years ago, I thought many people would come back to us. We thought that our ideology would not be forgotten by people in less than 10 years.”

Over the past three years, Genesis has not done much notable work. Individual members worked actively in the shadows to secure the necessary resources, but the only large-scale action in the name of the organization was the declaration of war video.

This is because there was a calculation that even if it was not noticeable, people who needed Genesis would come back just with that level of activity.

“But people forgot about us.”

Since Genesis’ ideology is an ideology, it is not something that has been talked about by anyone. However, their activities were intense, and at least until the organization was destroyed, everyone who knew about them knew about them.

The world has erased many of those traces. Those who remember Genesis’ crushing defeat did not sympathize with Genesis, and those who did not know Genesis’ crushing defeat did not receive Genesis’ ideology. The mere mention of it in the declaration of war was far from sufficient.

“We lost again.”

It was her first failure as a religious leader.

“Once again, what Mr. Meyer said is correct. The current Committee of 300 is shabby compared to the past, and the prophecy went astray and was eventually burned down. Until last time, the committee was just a meaningless status report, just checking to see if each other was doing well. Wow, this looks serious even to me.

──Still, those of you who have remained in such a cruel organization must have had your own reasons, right?”

Slightly, very slightly. Ymir’s eyes opened. It was a small narrowed eye that seemed to be visible through a gap in the eye, but something that leaked out from there swept through the hall.

Some people trembled with fear, some people’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, some people laughed with a desire to win, and some people were thrilled with expressions that were no different from before.

“I’m done with shrinking. Everything you need is provided. If the world has forgotten us, all we have to do is make it remember us again. What we will discuss today is advertising. An advertisement to announce in a flashy way that we are back.”

Seeing each figure showing their motivation in their own way, Ymir said a word to start the meeting.

“Now. Let’s create the world again. With our hands.”

***

It was very impressive. That’s how the Sword Demon commented on the committee that was just being held. Considering that Genesis had declared war, it had been relatively calm so far, but he could be sure that the battlefield he wanted would once again unfold around the world.

Satisfied that he had achieved the result he most wanted, the Sword Demon was about to leave, but he stopped when he heard someone calling him. Meyer. He was a typical Genesis scientist who was ready to do anything for research.

“What’s going on?”

“The pussy bitch just said that. The Sphere Gentleman discovered something during his testing. And you said you helped the Sphere Shrine with its tests. Can you guess what he discovered?”

“Okay. I only heard about the flames of the apocalypse… . Ah, but there it was.”

“Uh, that! Okay, what on earth is that?”

His eyes were shining with greed for knowledge. Of course, that in itself was a good thing for the Sword Demon. Of all the executives at Genesis who were part of the 300-person committee, the man in front of me was of the lowest class.

However, there was room for even such underachievers to be utilized. More precisely, not to him, but to Eumma who helps him.

Hoping for stronger strength and a more desperate struggle. The Sword Demon told everything he had heard from the Sphere Shrine.

About the flame of the apocalypse and the dragon girl beside it.

*****