The Novel’s Villain

60. Spring Day (2)

Jin-woo returned to Earth. Being around a modern civilization after so long made him feel refreshed.

Tall buildings, cars, and streets.

The city he was in was already quite advanced and well-developed, but it still felt rural to him due to the universe’s influence.

Compared to the vast expanse that allowed battleships to fly and machines to roam freely, this place was nothing but an underdeveloped countryside.

Sights and atmospheres as friendly as this were no longer common for him, though, since he decided to introduce the Sci-Fi World’s technology to Earth under G&P.

The technological gap between the two dimensions was so huge that they had no choice but to downgrade the inventions, but they still proved to be great additions to their arsenal.

‘It’s been a long time since I did this kind of work.’

Jin-woo headed to the G&P Cultural Center, which was within JW Gate’s jurisdiction, to hold a G&P business presentation. When he arrived, James Dean and his fake regressors began their activities.

‘They’re still here.’ He thought, looking at the knights who followed him from the time of the international convention.

Lilith’s dreams made them believe they were regressors. Despite their tremendous reputation, he completely forgot their existence.

They had been training and defending JW Gate and its territory. It was all thanks to them that they hadn’t been suffering from incidents.

“So this is Earth, huh? Incredible! In this place awaits the secret to crushing Hades!” Persephone cried out.

Se-yeon looked at her with a smirk.

“Let’s go to my lab.”

“Yes, Master.”

She had become the goddess’s teacher after Persephone learned of her vast knowledge, turning her into a sincere follower. That was how deep her virtue was. Even Hades expressed her mind as a bottomless abyss.

Unlike his fellow deity, who was full of energy, Hades crouched down in a corner, playing a handheld game console like the reclusive loner that he was.

When the two left, he got up and went to Jin-woo.

“Thank you for accepting my request, but I didn’t know she was coming as well…”

“You two are in a relationship. Have you ever heard of the saying, ‘Married couples have one mind, body, and soul?'”

“W-what? That’s a terrible quote…”

Hearing Jin-woo was going to Earth, Hades urgently insisted on coming with him. For him, this was his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Harem Town 3’s setting wasn’t based on this planet, but it had multiple similarities. Combined with the fact that he could find many other games here, this place truly deserved to be called his Holy Land.

When he said he was going, Persephone naturally followed him.

Since then, she had been keeping some distance from him, just like Se-yeon instructed, as part of her preparations for a special move.

‘It seems rather counterproductive…’

Jin-woo decided not to care anymore.

The signboards across the streets surprised Hades.

[Is she Jin-woo’s saint?]

[Hidden heroine Lee Jae-mi is finally here!]

Bread Jam’s images were on each board, accompanied by those phrases.

“Ah!”

Jin-woo left him in the underworld, completely forgetting about him due to how busy he was. Having the Underworld Conquerors around didn’t help since their intensity overshadowed him, who was relatively weak.

Considering he had already dealt with all the matters in the underworld, he had no reason to stay there anymore.

Unleashing his abilities, he summoned Bread Jam to Earth. He was also a member of the Sanctuary, making that feat possible.

He purposely transported him to his side within the building to avoid prying gazes.

“Ugh!” Bread Jam fell on his bottom, then looked around blankly.

His eyes glistened when he finally realized where he was.

“Hey, I’m back! Sniff… Great Emperor… Wahh…” Grabbing onto Jin-woo’s pants, he cried out all the pain he had accumulated all this time.

He felt a little sorry for him.

“Don’t worry. With our work done, you’re safe and okay now.”

“Oh, thank you! I’m free now, but… my body still hasn’t reverted to normal.”

“Ah! I’ll fix you right after this event is over.”

Unfortunately, it was hard for Jin-woo to tend to his request because of his heavy schedule.

Lee Jae-mi brightened. He had currently become so beautiful that anyone would envy him, but he liked his original appearance more.

All this new figure gave him was suffering, from running away from a terrible metamorphosis to being transported to a world of zombies. It even made people believe he was a saint.

He didn’t want to suffer anymore. He just wanted to broadcast at home in peace.

That was all Bread Jam wished for.

His gaze fell on Hades.

“Who…?

“Hades, the god of the underworld.”

He didn’t look the part, though. He more closely depicted a really skinny Westerner.

“I’m no longer the god of the underworld. I passed that responsibility to Jin-woo and retired.”

“Really?”

Bread Jam noticed the gaming console in Hades’ hands at that moment. His eyes twinkled.

“Is that the NT Station 2? That’s a discontinued product!”

“You know this?”

“Yes, I played with it often before. It’s my favorite game console, so I have a lot of rare titles!”

“Oho? Spoken like a true gamer…”

Their conversation deepened.

“You came all the way to Earth for Yuki-chan… That’s amazing.”

“The things I do for love…”

“I understand how your heart feels. At some point…”

Due to the similarities in their personalities, they quickly became close friends.

‘Would this scene anger Persephone?’

Tuk!

Finding Hades having fun conversing with Bread Jam, she let go of the clothes in her hands, which she seemed to have gotten from Se-yeon’s lab.

Persephone’s eyes darkened, causing Bread Jam to tremble due to the chill they inflicted on him.

Jin-woo couldn’t wait to get out of this situation. With one gaze on Yoo-na, she immediately understood what he needed.

“It’s time to go, master.”

“I’ll be going ahead. Feel free to look around.”

He hastily made his way to the cultural center, finding many celebrities already seated in its presentation hall.

This event would also be broadcast on the Internet, making it readily available for others.

When he went to the waiting room, Ella, Lee Min-woo, and his grandfather were already waiting for him.

“Uncle!”

“Wow!”

The twins ran to him and hugged him. It had been so long since they last saw each other that they had grown up so much without his knowledge he almost didn’t recognize them. Fortunately, they became as cute as their mother.

Lee Min-woo and Ella still looked young. Min-woo seemed skinnier, but he maintained his tough appearance.

Jin-woo’s grandfather smiled as he looked at the twins, eliminating Chairman Lee Hee-Jin’s heavy presence.

He coughed, then approached him.

“Hmm, Jin-woo.”

“Yes?”

“I need a spaceship. I made a promise with my cute grandchildren to tour them across the universe.”

Smiling, he nodded. That wasn’t a difficult request.

“I heard what happened in the underworld. This old man wants to live a little longer. I want to see Elie and Elon get married.”

“Don’t worry. If you die, I’ll bring you back to life.”

“Heheheh, thank you!”

That, too, was easy to do.

Signaling the beginning of the event, G&P’s vice-president climbed onto the stage and announced their plans for space and deep-sea development businesses. Jin-woo then briefly appeared and discussed his major core projects according to the script Yoo-na prepared, which focused on his plans to build a city in space and underwater.

The moment he finished his presentation, deafening applause echoed across the hall.

With that out of his way, he no longer had any agendas left to attend to. Jin-woo thought about staying on Earth for a while.

He had conquered all twelve Emperors and absorbed the Demon Fragments, which ultimately prevented the Devil from being resurrected.

That left him no reason to rush to the World of Gods.

‘I should go home and sleep.’

Jin-woo thought that was the perfect plan, at least until the commotion arose.

* * *

Hades and Bread Jam roamed the streets. James Dean and the fake regressors secretly escorted them, recognizing the two as important figures.

They were known as the god of the underworld and a saint, after all.

‘Doomsday is approaching,’ James Dean thought. When he heard the word saint, his intuition awakened. He also knew of a saint before he regressed.

A black cloth covered her face, preventing him from identifying her, but he was certain she was a saint. If the woman he now guarded grew up a little more, they’d most likely look identical.

Of course, he had no evidence to back up his claims. Nevertheless, he believed his gut feeling.

The end was nigh.

A lot had changed thanks to their chief’s efforts to stop it. Unfortunately, it seemed not even he could defy fate itself.

‘Protecting the saint should be our top priority.’

That was probably why Jin-woo brought her here in the first place!

James Dean swiftly issued orders to the fake regressors.

Hades and Bread Jam’s surroundings grew noticeably quiet, but they didn’t pay it any heed and continued talking about games instead. Persephone tried to intervene, only to fail due to her lack of knowledge on their topic.

“M-master! He has another woman… A new lover!”

Chewing on her clothes, she ran to Se-yeon for help.

Bread Jam smiled pleasantly.

After a while, the event ended. The time had come for him to return to his original form.

He talked and ranted to Hades about it, who in turn earnestly listened. He patted Bread Jam on his shoulder, letting him know that he understood him since he, too, had suffered quite a lot.

“I hope you get to return to your normal body soon. Can I visit your house and check out all the games you have there while you wait?”

“Of course! Let’s go today!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah!”

Hades was touched. He found a true and understanding friend.

Their camaraderie continued to bud.

“It’s a bit hot today. Would you like some ice cream?”

“Sure.”

“Please wait!”

As Bread Jam ran to the store, Hades sat down on a bench beside the nearby artificial pond, took out his handheld console, and played a game under the warm sunlight.

In his perspective, this place was like paradise.

However, just as he became more and more absorbed in his game, bubbles began to rise to the artificial pond’s surface. It started small, making him think a fish caused it, but it soon gradually increased until it turned into a vortex.

“Mom! Look!”

“What?”

People sitting around the pond watched it appear in great shock. As his surroundings grew noisier, Hades finally looked up and stared at the source of the chaos.

‘That’s…’

He blinked.

He knew that entrance all too well. There was only one being that could do such a feat.

When the swirling pond split open, a golden trident soared.

Triana. Poseidon’s weapon.

It provided the god of the seas with the power to move wherever there was water.

He came up from the pond, revealing his glowing blue scale armor. Holding up his trident with all his might, he let his majesty explode.

The people around them clapped enthusiastically instead of being afraid. They were within JW Gate’s territory, after all. Street performances were common here.

“Wow! Great performance!”

“I heard there’s already an ongoing G&P event, yet they still managed to do this!”

“Mom! Is that a fish?”

Hades blinked.

“Poseidon?”

He kept his pose, his hand still holding his glinting trident. After a while, his lips twitched, seemingly satisfied with the pouring applause.

“The citizens here are polite. I am Poseidon, god of the sea and ruler of all waters!”

He thrust his weapon to the skies, causing the water in the pond to soar into the air. The people cheered, watching the sudden yet welcome water show.

With a contented nod, he landed next to Hades and vigorously tilted his head back, wiping the moisture from his long, long hair.

“Brother! What are you doing here?”

“Did you not hear the news?”

“What news?”

Poseidon was one of the three major gods, but news always did reach him late since he was always at sea. When he couldn’t contact the underworld, he came to find him.

This place was so far that traveling all the way here consumed a lot of the power stored within Triana.

“I’m now just a gamer, not the god of the underworld. I handed that role to Lee Jin-woo, the Great Emperor.”

“So you’ve retired?”

“Well, pretty much, yeah.”

Poseidon couldn’t quite understand the situation.

“What is that?”

“A gaming console.”

“Ummm…”

He sat down next to Hades, then looked at the machine’s screen.

“Oh, what a beautiful woman.”

“Right? I’m targeting her right now.”

“Target? You’re courting her?”

“You can say that, yes.”

“Hahaha! Spring has finally come for you, I see!” He laughed loudly.

Hades shook his head.

“I’m loyal to Yuki, so this makes me feel a little guilty. It’s like I’m having an affair.”

“Affair?”

His words confused Poseidon, but he decided not to bother him about it since he was doing well anyway.

Still, it was rare for the underworld to be passed on to a different deity.

When he asked his brother about Jin-woo, he went on to say he was an incredibly powerful god. So powerful in fact that he defeated Hercules and enslaved him.

‘A foreign god… I should go back to Olympus.’

“Sorry for making you wait. The line was so long.”

Just as Poseidon was about to activate Triana’s ability to return to the World of Gods, Bread Jam returned, carrying ice creams. Noticing Hades’ company, he was startled.

The god of the seas’ jaw had dropped, and he couldn’t take his widened eyes off him. It was the first time such intense emotions soared within him.

“Who might he be?”

“This is Poseidon, my brother.”

“As expected, he’s an extraordinary being.”

He handed an ice cream to Hades, then turned his attention to the other god.

“Would you like some?” Bread Jam offered.

Poseidon was impressed.

The woman before him was as kind as she looked!

He recklessly took her hand, causing her to feel embarrassed.

“I’ve fallen for your glowing pearl-like eyes!”

“Huh?”

“No goddess can compare to your beauty!”

“W-wha…?”

“Marry me. All the seas will be yours as they are mine!”

“Ah, wait…”

His words confused Bread Jam.

Hades stood up out of sheer shock and discomfort. His brother had always been quite the bastard.

“Poseidon, he’s–”

Whik!

He tried to stop him, but his words got cut off by a sword that flew in and collided with Poseidon’s arm, scratching his scale armor a bit.

James Dean, holding a sword emitting blue light, and the fake regressors appeared and surrounded him.

“Get away from the saint!”

“Saint… That title indeed suits this divine woman!”

Bread Jam was puzzled. He just left for a bit to buy ice cream, and now he was in the middle of this crazy situation.

“This is so exciting!”

“Their acting is top-notch.”

The people around them just watched casually.

James Dean and his fake regressors charged at Poseidon, who swung his trident, releasing a high-velocity water stream to blow away his opponents.

“Ugh!”

James Dean staggered, barely managing to block the attack. Clenching his teeth, he went back into the offensive, only for his opponent to easily deflect his strikes.

Burning red, the trident then released a thunderbolt that pinned him on the floor. Poseidon raised his weapon afterward, wrapping him and Bread Jam with water.

“Come on, let’s talk about-” Bread Jam’s shout stopped abruptly.

“Ah… .”

By the time the stream of water settled down, they had already disappeared.

Poseidon kidnapped Bread Jam!”

“No…”

Both James Dean and Hades were stunned.

“That was awesome!”

“It was a great show!”

Clap clap!

A huge round of applause poured in for the brilliant ending.