The Novel’s Villain

65. Covert Invaders (1)

Jin-woo couldn’t rest that much earlier since he had tasks he had to accomplish. Hence, after finishing his work on Olympus, he took a short vacation.

The space development and deep-sea city construction project couldn’t progress without him. Since it was still somehow related to New World, he had to pay attention to it.

The spacecraft G&P presented was quite similar to that of the game’s. Although it was far ahead of existing science and technology, the general population still found it easy to accept. It didn’t come across as suspicious, mysterious, or surprising since they had experienced playing in the Sci-Fi World beforehand.

Once they announced that G&P was its inventor, everyone unconsciously lowered their guards and abandoned their common senses, allowing them to swiftly believe it.

‘I don’t have to develop Mars, but…’

It served as a symbol that heralded the space age.

They recruited people to build and develop a base on the planet, all of them selected through extremely competitive tests and trials then trained at the G&P Space Development Center.

But they were simply ordinary folks, not geniuses or prodigies by any means.

Progressing the deep-sea projects was far simpler than the spatial ones. When Se-yeon announced that she had made a rough draft of the city, Jin-woo immediately headed underwater using Triana.

With a swing of his new weapon, the sea moved freely and the ground surged according to his will. He commanded the waters to cut stones like blades, which he then used to build the city. Installing the barrier stone they had looted from Atlantis into it instantly turned its surrounding environment similar to aboveground.

Through Triana, the underwater city’s construction, the core of their deep-sea development plans, proceeded rapidly. That proved it to be as useful as Astrafe, one of the sources of all lightning.

It could even cover the moon with seas and rivers, and it didn’t have to use others’ water sources for it. Rather, it could create its own.

The way Poseidon used such a godly item now made him seem foolish beyond comparison.

“Good.”

The sweet aroma of coffee permeated the room, mixing perfectly with the sunlight coming in through the window. Jin-woo liked its calmness much more than Olympus’ intense sunlight.

He went to the G&P headquarters, handled the delayed paperwork, and greeted the afternoon leisurely. He liked vacations, but this was just as great in its own way. Days like this made him feel like he had been productive.

While enjoying his free time, Yoo-na came in carrying a bottle of wine in her hands.

“I heard the third generation trainees’ education has been completed.”

“They finished faster than I expected. What about that drink you’re carrying?”

“Dionysus made it.”

Yoo-na poured some of it into a glass, which Jin-woo then drank. Though not a fan of wine, he still found it quite delicious. Dionysus truly deserved to be called the god of alcohol.

“This is their test report card.”

According to the test scores the General Manager submitted, Aphrodite was the top of their class, followed by Dionysus. Artemis came in third.

Within the file were long reflection letters as well, all of them bearing sincere apologies when he read them, the only exception being Aphrodite’s, which she had filled with praise for him. It was terrifying.

“… I think it won’t be a problem if we’re to give them their godly powers back.”

As he had expected, the General Manager’s education was efficient and effective. Now that they had grasped the concept of morality, it seemed unlikely for them to cause any incidents in the future.

“He told me to ask you to keep that part on hold for now.”

“Why’s that?”

“He thinks they don’t deserve it yet, so he politely requests for you to wait until they actually become useful.”

The gods of Olympus came out of the JW Gate penniless and with only their ID card, but they were given a great start since Persephone and Hades helped them a little.

The couple currently stayed in Bread Jam’s house.

‘Bread Jam… I’m really sorry.’

Now that he had become a goddess, his settings proved difficult to change. If he were just a minor deity, Jin-woo could easily alter it by consuming dimensional gold coins and using his power. Unfortunately, he was quite famous since he frequently appeared in the God of Evil’s mythology.

He was probably the most famous goddess on Earth at this moment.

Although Poseidon kidnapped him, he resisted and kept his purity. Moreover, through his wise judgment and bravery, he managed to offer Triana to Jin-Woo, changing the entire flow of the battle.

That was how his myth was told.

Wisdom and justice, purity and beauty.

Those words became equal to his name, Lee Jae-mi.

As a result, changing his settings was no different from altering the God of Evil’s entire myth, which was known to all dimensions. If he were to proceed with it, the side effects he’d experience would be enormous.

Bread Jam grew desperate. On the other hand, Luna loved that she now had a junior goddess.

To apologize for this inconvenience, Jin-woo decided to grant him his wishes for as long as it was within reason.

Yoo-na continued, reporting several issues to him. Most of them were minor details, however.

“You got a call from Richard.”

“Richard?”

“Yeah, he said it’s pretty important.”

Richard never contacted Jin-woo first until now. With his curiosity piqued, he decided to find out what was going on by meeting him in person. He had nothing else to do anyway.

“I’ll go there now.”

“You’re going there in person?”

“He’s the President of the United States. He should be quite busy, shouldn’t he?”

Richard was also a member of the Sanctuary, making Jin-woo feel a little sorry for not paying him any attention lately.

He opened a portal and moved to the moon base. Getting to him from there was simple.

Jin-woo had Triana, after all. It allowed him to move anywhere for as long as there was water, just as how Poseidon found and made his way to Hades before the war.

He surveyed the Earth for a few moments then took out his weapon, which immediately reacted to his power and mana. Its surface glowed red.

‘He’s at the White House, huh?’

Since Richard was currently alone in his office, Jin-woo decided to go to him directly.

It might be seen as trespassing, but what about it?

The Earth itself was already his property anyway.

Activating Triana’s ability, it created a portal in front of Jin-woo using huge amounts of water. The moment he entered it, he saw Richard looking at him with a blank expression.

“Woah.”

Jin-woo looked around the President’s Office in admiration, which he had only ever seen in movies. Richard stood up from his seat and hastily knelt before him.

“I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Hmm… Did I interrupt you?”

“No, you didn’t. I was just surprised by your sudden appearance… It will complicate things if people see you here.”

He nodded in reply, permitting him to do what had to be done.

The US President dialed a number and told them not to let anyone into his office.

“Is that Triana?”

“Oh, you know of it?”

“Of course! The God of Evil acknowledged Lee Jae-mi and she became a goddess due to her dedication to bringing that weapon to him! I still can’t believe that bastard Poseidon could use that to summon gigantic tsunamis and whirlpools.”

“So you’ve read that as well.”

“Yes, I’m a fan of it!”

Since he belonged to the Sanctuary, he too knew the truth behind the myth. However, he appeared to have liked the altered version of it more.

He definitely seemed to be an avid enthusiast of it, considering he had a collection of items related to the God of Evil in his office.

Americans, in general, were apparently quite fond of it. They even made several cartoons and released a hero movie about it.

On another note, Richard’s attitude had changed subtly.

He was just full of fear before. Although he behaved almost similarly, he now showed a hint of longing.

Jin-woo decided to let it pass since it brought positive effects on him.

“That aside, did you contact me?”

“Ah, yes! Please give me a minute.”

Richard pressed a button on his desk. After going through fingerprint recognition and iris recognition, the secret safe underneath it opened, revealing a briefcase labeled ‘Top Secret.’

“It’s because of people going missing.”

“People going… missing?”

He carefully handed the briefcase to Jin-woo as he explained the situation.

“Yes. I initially thought the God of Evil took them, but… Ah! I apologize for having such blasphemous thoughts…”

“No, it’s okay. That notion is realistically possible.”

“Thank you.”

He continued, feeling a bit moved.

“This year, more than 50,000 people have gone missing. They initially disappeared mainly due to terrorism or major accidents. Unfortunately, I can’t find any traces of their bodies… almost as if their deaths had been properly planned and executed.”

Until a few years before Richard became president, the number of missing persons was small enough to be overlooked. He even made the matter confidential since he thought Jin-woo was the reason behind it all, but it soon grew to a scale strange enough for him to find it necessary to ask his subordinates.

The moment he learned it wasn’t the God of Evil’s fault, he immediately contacted him.

Jin-woo looked at the documents.

“Well…”

There were quite a few missing persons who disappeared without a trace in a single night, and the victims didn’t seem to have been selected at random. They were all smart people in their teens and 20s, bearing great physical condition and academic performance.

That made the entire incident unlikely to be a terrorist attack or simple mass kidnapping. After all, some parts of it were physically impossible to do.

“Under the previous president’s directions, we established a research institution in Area 51. That’s where we’ve been keeping all the evidence we found at the site.”

The civilians were bound to learn about the truth due to the scale of this incident. In fact, various conspiracy theories had already emerged, ranging from UFO abductions to government-conducted human experiments.

“Can I see them?”

“Of course. Please let me guide you.”

They’d have to pass several procedures, but Richard could solve them all.

‘Area 51… Are there really UFOs in there?’ Jin-woo thought, a smile spreading across his lips.

They headed to their destination, with the US President guaranteeing the safety of his identity. Because of the many leading entrepreneurs and politicians under his influence, he easily accomplished such a feat.

Area 51 was located in the state of Nevada. Civilians could never enter this place, which only made them all the more skeptical and curious. That gave birth to multiple conspiracy theories revolving around numerous topics, including UFOs and the creation of superpowers.

Jin-woo and Richard entered the underground laboratory underneath this highly confidential facility.

The researchers busily moved back and forth, conducting several studies and experiments. Soldiers viciously guarded their surroundings, saluting Richard as he passed by.

The head researcher came rushing at them.

He was also one of the talents that Richard recruited. Knowing Jin-woo’s true identity, he was moved to tears as soon as he saw him. After all, he, too, was the God of Evil’s fan.

“Come on, let me guide you.”

“Alright.”

He led them to where they had been keeping the evidence, a room with immense security measures installed. They immediately saw white feathers and pieces of metal upon entering it.

“There’s not a lot of them, but that’s all we could find in the field. They’re not substances that are native to Earth, considering we couldn’t even analyze them.”

The energy they emitted felt familiar. It was similar to the one in the World of Gods and even contained the deities’ power.

Jin-woo used the Evil Eye of Information on the feathers.

[C] Valkyrie’s Feather

A feather that fell off the wings of a Valkyrie, the beings that lead dead warriors to Valhalla under Odin’s commands.

‘Valkyrie?’

They found the feathers six years ago and the metal fragments twelve. All available evidence pointed to the disappearances of people on Another Earth to be closely related to the World of Gods.

The Earth belonged to Jin-woo.

That wasn’t the case 12 years ago, but it was now. He was the only one who could manage it properly, after all. That was why it offended him even more that he wasn’t aware of this until now.

He looked at Richard.

“Can I take them?”

“Of course.”

He deposited them into his subspace, then patted the US President’s shoulder. He wouldn’t have noticed it had it not been for his help.

“Great job. On another note, are there any UFOs in Area 51?”

“There isn’t.”

“I see.” Jin-woo nodded then opened up his subspace once more, hoping to give him a present for his neverending efforts. He took out a spherical spaceship of the Lainez Kingdom and set it down on the floor. Rather than a mana engine, it was powered by old technology.

Yet it still astonished Richard and made the head researcher’s eyes pop out.

“That’s…”

“I’m giving this to you to match Area 51’s reputation.”

There should at least be one UFO in this place.

Richard could only nod blankly as the head researcher flopped down on the ground. Jin-woo opened a portal and went through it soon after, thoroughly investigating what had happened.

* * *

Jin-woo went to the underworld, met Faro, and checked the list of deceased together, but they couldn’t find any of those who had gone missing. That meant that even if they died, they couldn’t go to the underworld he ruled.

Faro tracked them down, discovering that their affiliations seemed to have been transferred to the Northern World. If they died there, they would go to the underworld the Norse deities ran independently.

The underworld of all dimensions belonged to Jin-woo, but that didn’t apply to the World of Gods.

‘Helheim, right?’

That was their afterlife’s name, as far as he recalled.

He shook his head in disappointment.

‘Why do they keep kidnapping others?’

The scale of their operation was far different from when Poseidon abducted Bread Jam. They had taken 50,000 people in the United States alone.

If they made the range global, that number would probably be a lot higher. Unfortunately, Earth’s lack of talented individuals made it difficult to respond and defend against external forces. As a result, it became a helpless victim.

At sunset, Jin-woo returned to Another Earth.

He took out the feathers from his subspace and tracked the energy within them. Upon identifying its owner’s location, he swiftly used Triana to move to it.

Within an instant, he had transported himself to the roof of a building in New York.

‘I’m here.’

He looked down at the city, then turned his head sideways.

Sensing the Valkyrie’s energy, he moved to where it was coming from.

Woosh!

Flames burst out of the gym building in front of him. Firefighters tried to put them out, but they proved strangely inextinguishable, even by water. On the contrary, their attempts only seemingly made them even stronger.

They were certainly beyond ordinary. Considering the fires had traces of the Valkyrie’s energy, they were most likely the ones that caused them in the first place.

Jin-woo stashed Triana in his subspace and entered the building, moving fast enough to prevent the firefighters from noticing him.

An interior in perfectly great condition dawned upon his eyes the moment he went through the fire. People were lying all over it, from the hallways to the changing rooms and stairs.

‘This place has an unusual scent.’

It smelled of incense and insanity.

Jin-woo walked down the hallway, closing in on the location where he could feel the Valkyrie’s presence from. Soon enough, he entered a gym full of exercise equipment.

A woman with white wings stood amid it.

She was armored and carried a shield and a sword, but the barbaric aura she exuded made her seem different from angels. Rather, she simply looked like a winged female warrior.

The Valkyrie looked at the people who had fallen on the floor using what looked like a magnifying glass.

“Their quality is great,” She mumbled, most likely sorting and selecting people.

Tuk Tuk Tuk!

Jin-woo approached her, startling her enough to make her turn around.

“A human?”

She couldn’t even sense the divine power he possessed, which was probably caused by her half-human genes and her low rank.

He tried to establish a proper conversation first.

“Let’s talk about this.”

“I see you’ve woken up. Unfortunately for you, I’ll have to put you back to sleep!”

She raised her sword, her eyes fixating on him. Her wings then spread open, allowing her to close the distance between them with enough speed to leave behind afterimages in her path.

Whik!

The Valkyrie swung her blade at him. Luckily for her, she attacked him with no intention of killing him.

Whoosh!

Jin-woo leisurely stretched out his arm and grabbed her weapon.

“W-what?!”

Applying a bit of strength to his grip, he shattered her weapon with ease, enveloping her with enough shock to make her lower her guard. Taking advantage of the opening she showed, he balled his hand into a fist and gently punched her in the face.

Bam!

His attack made the Valkyrie’s neck bend awkwardly and sent her flying to the side, breaking multiple concrete walls before she skidded to a stop on the floor. Her wings had been broken, and blood now covered her face.

Jin-woo walked ever so slowly towards her.

“Ughhh…”

Trembling, she tried to step away from him, but her ruined limbs prevented her from even moving an inch.

“O-oh…”

Even her jaw seemed to have been shattered.

If she swung her sword against him with murderous intent, she would have suffered an even worse fate.

He stopped in front of her.

“I want to talk to you. Do you mind?”

The Valkyrie could only shake her head violently in reply.

“You’d better answer my questions properly.”

“A-ah…”

“I don’t like cracking people’s heads open, either. I don’t find it pleasing at all.” He said, pointing to her head. That only made her tremble even stronger.

Jin-woo had grown quite curious about what they were doing with the people they took from Earth.