Chapter 196

This isn’t what I planned…

The set was no longer a place for discussing justice.

“Um…” I began, trying to diffuse the situation.

“Wow, what an exclusive! We’ve captured his ascend to Transcendent Realm on camera!”

“Whoa, they couldn’t get that on a documentary, but here it is on a talk show?”

“Overcoming past pain to reach Transcendent… Such a beautiful image…”

“Excuse me?”

No one was listening.

Refusing to give up, I turned to the last line of defense: the show’s host, Boram.

“Woah… Some people can’t manage it even after nearly a hundred years of trying… Yet this young lad isn’t just a Transcendent—it’s a multiple Transcendent…?”

“Boram-ee?”

But even she was in a daze, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

“That’s truly extraordinary… Could it be…?”

“Excuse me?”

She didn’t respond even when I waved my hand in front of her face.

As the hostess was in such a state, of course, no one could make sense of the situation.

Oh man, I should’ve called the Goddess of Justice… I should’ve brought up the topic of immigration…

Just as I was thinking this…

A voice rang out.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“What the…?”

The boisterous studio fell silent in an instant. I, too, found myself staring blankly at the seat next to me.

Screeeeech!

Zzzzt!

An ordinary leather sofa twisted and emitted rough sounds. I watched as it grew in size like a tree reaching for the sky, its surface sprouting jewels like blossoms or ripe fruits.

From each jewel emanated an immense power.

“My goodness.”

“No way… Is this for real?”

Everyone stared with their mouths agape. There she sat: the God of Justice.

But how… She said she’d come herself.

The game masters were the universe’s supreme beings, unmatched in power, yet when confronted with them, one didn’t feel their transcendence. They originated as humans and still appeared entirely human. Without possessing any extraordinary visual attributes like the magic sword Hyperion, they seemed ordinary.

However, this was no mere human.

She was born a divine being, devoid of any mortal characteristics.

High, high, high, high…

Her mere presence exuded an overwhelming aura. Despite her eyes being obscured, her dazzling beauty shone through. In her hand rested a balance, a symbol of her divine authority.

Her mere words were enough to stir my emotions. I bowed respectfully.

“It is an honor to be in your presence, O Supreme Satya.”

My mind whirred.

Should I… say that things are going well? It’s not according to the original plan, but…

The situation was much more favorable now. The goddess had descended, far more potent than merely glancing down at me.

If I make my position clear right now…

Yet the God of Justice spoke unexpectedly.

“Do you know how many people were killed by my priests in this catastrophe?”

“I… I estimated approximately 32,000 souls have perished,” I replied, keeping my count deliberately low to gauge her reaction.

I had confirmed this figure from the news, but Jinwoo shook her head.

“Huh?”

It seemed impossible. Were the news reports lying?

After looking at my bewildered expression for a moment, Jinwoo turned towards the camera. A cold smile blossomed on her face.

To whom was she speaking? I wondered, just as…

A multitude of [scenes] flashed before my eyes.

These weren’t holograms. I saw them reflected in the mirror hanging on the wall. On the camera lenses facing me. In the light reflecting off the clean table.

What the…? Are these coming from some broadcast channel right now?

How is this image appearing in a scroll…?

Who is filming me without permission?!

I could see countless people. Among them was one of the leaders of the Celestial Society whom I had seen recently: Elizabeth 5th herself.

The God of Justice spoke.

If I possessed the Holy Weapon of the God of Justice, I could erase the stigma of sin. If I did more righteous deeds, it could absolve my sins!

However, at that moment, a new [scene] arose. Videos played from the bodies of pets, whether they were standing here and there or flying around.

M-mercy, please!

Vile beast. How dare you seek mercy?

Vile beast?! It’s not like I had a choice! You—you pushed us into this situation!

Let the wicked be punished.

The overall scene appears dated. In a small, rundown spaceship, ragged-looking refugees are being killed by followers of the God of Justice wielding Justice Weapons. Among them are high-ranking members of the Celestial Society, including Elizabeth.

Off with you! Turn off that screen right now!

M-Your Majesty!” This video is spreading throughout the entire Earth-34! Even in places where communications aren’t connected—

No, this can’t be happening! Have you ever seen anything like this?

It’s an invasion of privacy! This is no different from God monitoring and manipulating us…!

As I observed the demonic figures of the infuriated masses, the God of Justice spoke:

Her words dawned on me as I grasped the full extent of the situation.

The mercenaries didn’t just rescue people willy-nilly. These lunatics… They were guiding the rescued refugees, inciting them to commit atrocities… before even setting foot on Mars or Earth.

It was no wonder these victims weren’t included in the count of 30,000 confirmed casualties. After all, they never made it to either Mars or Earth!

The very individuals the God of Justice sought to eliminate… were doing her dirty work all along.

The God of Justice smiled with an icy expression.

Elizabeth V and the other immigrants were under a great misconception. They didn’t realize that no matter how cunning their plots, no matter how vigorously they struck against me, it would all be in vain.

Do you think I failed to crush all those plots in Ardenia because I was smarter than those noble bastards?

It was only possible because of his overwhelming strength—his power to destroy any unfavorable situation with a single blow, even if he’d fallen into a plot.

I looked at the screens. The ‘Stigmas’ were being carved onto the faces of the priests. Some had only a few, while others had tens.

‘Argh!’

‘This is fucking ridiculous! How could this happen…!’

‘Yes, let’s flee! Justice Weapons work outside spiritual power too! With our strength, we could go anywhere…’

Then, with a whoosh, the space before the hastily moving priests split apart. A golden sword cleaved the air, and a man appeared.

He was white-skinned, with wrinkled skin and snow-white hair—the man was old. He looked to be over 100 years of age, and in reality, he had lived for just as long.

The old man was a figure of great renown. He might have been the human who killed the most humans on Earth-34.

The apostle of the God of Justice.

The Destroyer of Evil. Alex.

Beasts. You dare to sully the name of the God of Justice…

That was the last anyone saw of the screens.

The God of Justice spoke.

“It’s alright. This… was just another pain we had to endure.”

Some might hold the God of Justice accountable. Wasn’t the negligence of the God of Justice partly responsible for the losses of hundreds of thousands of lives?

In the world of Earth-34, the God of Justice was not held accountable to anyone due to the Game Master’s benevolence. It was a cruel truth, but… even in the grand macrocosm of the multiverse that harbored three great civilizations, where there were three Gods of Justice, there was a reason why one was called “Emperor.”

The God of Justice smiled gently.

With these final words, she vanished.

”…”

”…”

”…”

Everyone stared at the empty space she had occupied, as if in a trance.

Hmm. It’s hard to tell whether things will work out or not.

As I pondered this, someone interrupted my thoughts.

“This is going to be a game changer for our broadcasts.”

I turned my head to see Boram pumping her fist excitedly. Despite the absurdity of the situation, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’re still thinking about shows in the midst of all this? Truly a master broadcaster.”

“Oh, don’t worry. This is going to be huge. Heh heh. People will be talking about ‘the God of Justice transcending variety shows’ for ages.”

Boram muttered quietly to herself before shaking her head vigorously. As if by magic, her gloomy expression transformed into a radiant smile.

“Ladies and gentlemen! We had a surprise guest just now!”

“How can you call that a ‘surprise guest’?!”

As I protested, I glanced at the mirror discreetly placed off to the side. The mark of shame had vanished without a trace.

All my stalled plans suddenly began to move forward at full speed. I packed my 24-hour schedule tightly. I appeared on various entertainment shows, including one called “The Truth Room,” and started filming for a movie—or rather, began reading the script.

The advertisements that were on hold resumed, with my pay even higher than before.

I even made it onto the news.

And with the money I earned…

I invested in stocks.

“Ah, it brings back memories.”

This had happened to me before. Once, I realized that owning stocks would allow me to interfere with Ardenia’s system. So, I went crazy with work, throwing all the money I earned into stocks.

During those days, I bought stocks as soon as the money came in—from movie appearances, martial arts tournaments, construction projects on the moon, everything!

And then those stocks skyrocketed like crazy… I ended up making 40 billion won.

One could say that this moment is what forged me into my present self. If it weren’t for that stock market surge in the past, it would’ve taken me far longer to attain my current level of strength.

Meow!

Cheddar yowled. I checked the alarm.

…

In a bygone era, I had frenziedly bought stocks, and when those stocks skyrocketed, I earned 40 billion won—money that, at the time, seemed beyond my wildest dreams. And now? I have made not ten or a hundred times more, but ten-thousand times more.

It’s down to its lowest value in the past year (8,770,110 won), after I bought in the high hundreds of billions…

My heart ached. Yet I refused to wallow in despair.

This is our chance to buy low…!

The lowest price of the year—what wonderful news! Didn’t that mean I could buy when the stock was cheapest?

I poured my entire fortune into Nemesis stock. After all, the money just kept coming in.

I appeared on variety shows and shot commercials. I wrapped up movie projects and settled my royalties. My writing had taken a backseat for a while; I’d amassed enough material to keep me going.

“Meow!”

My cat’s stomach grumbled. I checked the alarm.

“A low buy…”

Lowest price? That meant I had to buy now.

“Ah, I should’ve bought then instead of waiting until now.” Grumbling, I once again invested all the money I’d earned back into stocks.

Time passed.

I appeared on variety shows and shot commercials.

I’d shot a movie and settled my royalties. Now, whenever I turned on the TV, there I was—my face even graced community advertisements.

“Meow!”

Cheddar meowed. I checked the alarm.

“Ah, I should’ve waited a bit longer to buy… This is really our chance now.”

Still unsure, I started researching. I even spoke with Love, the CEO of Nemesis Soft, about various things.

And then I realized:

Nemesis itself has no issues.

It was just that all stocks were falling due to the monster situation.

Well, that’s fine. I need to buy Nemesis stocks anyway… Yes. This is our chance. I’ve suffered some losses so far, but isn’t this truly the lowest price now?

After investing all my money in stocks, I started working again.

I appeared on variety shows, shot advertisements, filmed movies, and settled my royalties.

“Meow!”

Cheddar cried out.

”… You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I opened the stock app, Spike. When I clicked on Nemesis Soft, the shareholder community page appeared.

I turned on the stock community.

The top post looked like this:

Author: Clown

”…”

The community was in a daze, reflecting the overall market downturn.

I checked the stock app again.

“Ah, for crying out loud.”

The vulgar expletive slipped out involuntarily.

My transcendental mind reeled.