NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13 - Eve (2)
The Manmajeon meeting.
While the participation method of ‘dimensional movement through spirit division’ was one thing, the meeting itself was problematic if anything.
“….This isn’t what I had in mind when I joined the Demon Lord Gallery”
Why bother saying more? To be honest, I was reluctant about the very idea of having to face other Demon Lords and have a meeting with them.
Of course, Odin and Wolf Viscount, whom I had met so far, were extremely normal, but I knew well that they were a tiny minority among Demon Lords.
Moreover, if you combine the contents I’ve seen in the gallery so far, if something like an after-party or duel were to happen after the meeting…..
‘I don’t think I can handle it’
For me, who was only a Demon Lord in title and still close to human, I didn’t have the confidence to face their malice directly.
“Is there no way to avoid it….?”
With a bit of hope, I searched through a lot of data in the gallery related to not attending the meeting, but there was only one case that came up.
In other words, in the millions or billions of years, only one person had received permission to not attend.
On the other hand, there was quite a lot of data about punishments, such as Demon Lords who didn’t attend without permission being torn apart along with their dimension, or being forcibly summoned and confined in the depths of Manmajeon, so the only choice I had was to attend.
Sighing and facing reality, when I opened the file attached to the message, several windows opened and filled my view.
“Spirit division movement method, movement time and recommendations, Manmajeon meeting schedule, response to special situations… Why is there so much?”
Even skimming through, documents of over dozens of pages poured out.
As I grumbled and read through them for a while.
Soon, I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation.
“So this is what spirit division is?”
According to the content written in the document, due to the uniqueness of the dimensional depth where I’m located, direct dimensional movement after freezing dimensional time like other Demon Lords is quite difficult.
Therefore, rather than going through a difficult and troublesome process, they create a soul entity that copies all my personality/knowledge/experience etc., and move that dimensionally.
The main content of the attachment was that when the meeting ends, the spirit division naturally returns to the main body and the experiences and knowledge are combined, so there’s no problem for the main body.
However, if there was something a bit unsettling, it was this:
[※In case of some incident during dimensional movement, there are cases where the spirit division may be lost or damaged/destroyed. Even in such cases, there is no problem with the main body, so please don’t worry.]
This item.
‘If it’s a soul entity with all my personality/knowledge/experience, isn’t that also a self?’
Thinking a bit from a philosophical perspective, the spirit division was no different from a self and a life, and if such a spirit division dies, wouldn’t that also be the death of ‘me’?
Of course, the main body would be fine, but could another ‘me’ with all these useless thoughts calmly choose to disappear saying ‘I’m just a clone, so it doesn’t matter’ when faced with the situation of its own annihilation?
“….Stop these useless thoughts.”
It took some time to bring my thoughts, which kept drifting off topic, back to normal.
Am I going crazy? For the past 20 years, I’ve been living mechanically without much thought, but why am I suddenly like this these days?
I guess the human mind is truly unfathomable.
“Anyway, is it just over a week left?”
According to the document, the spirit division dimensional movement for the Manmajeon meeting would start in about 8 days and 6 hours in this time.
Then what I should do in the remaining time is.
“Just browse the gallery”
As always, it’s just repeating gate cleaning-eating-browsing the gallery.
*
It’s been 8 days since the main manager’s notice was posted.
Those 8 days really passed in an instant, and now the Manmajeon meeting was right around the corner.
That’s not to say those 8 days passed meaninglessly in a flash.
Rather, you could say they were somewhat valuable 8 days.
The reason for this was none other than the more peaceful and wholesome atmosphere of the Demon Lord Gallery than ever before.
[Demon Lord Drama Gallery on after a long time][8]
[Whew, this house writes good scripts][11]
[Don’t do it?][21]
[Why on earth is this such a mess?][13]
[Thumbs up if you think female hero<<
[ㄴhero spy][22]
A peaceful gallery to the extent that you could tell just by glancing.
The troublemakers and duel maniacs who used to stay in the gallery 24 hours a day had long disappeared, and even the arena board was quieter than ever.
The reason was simple. Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation of the fight that would break out at the Manmajeon meeting.
Perhaps because of this, the gallery’s topics over the past 8 days consisted of more normal subjects than ever before, and especially the current rolling topic could be enjoyed pleasantly without any resistance.
No, how could anyone resist when a makjang drama-level scenario was unfolding in the gallery?
[Title: I’m going crazy because of my son….]
[Author: MenopauseDemonLord]
[I apologize in advance for writing a complaint post as soon as I come to the Demon Lord Gallery after a long time.
It’s nothing else, but these days I’m really going crazy because of my son. He was pretty good when he was young, and until recently, the successor training lessons were all going well.
All that was left was my son’s engagement ceremony, but my son ran away.
And it wasn’t just a simple engagement ceremony, it was an engagement ceremony with my close aide’s daughter, and they had been childhood friends since they were young….
I’m in shock now and can’t focus on work.
Moreover, it wouldn’t matter if he just ran away, but he ran away after falling in love.
What’s worse, the one he fell in love with is the female hero who attacked the Demon Lord castle a few months ago.
Since she was about the same age as my son, I just let her off easy and sent her back without much injury… if I had known this would happen, I really regret not killing her there.
What should I do about this?]
[Concept: 471] [Downvotes: 1]
[Comments]
[ㅇㅇ(666.419): This uncle comes to the gallery after a long time and brings a huge topic]
[ㅇㅇ(666.741): Demon Lord family tree in 5 minutesㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(666.741): You’ll be seeing grandchildren soonㅋ]
[MalignantRainChungus: Newbie… watch carefully. It’s a romance flag]
[Goodnight: Forbidden love, what what]
[ㅇㅇ(444.104): This is why I don’t get married, ahㅋ]
ㄴ[White Skull: Now, repeat after me. It’s not ‘don’t’, it’s ‘can’t’]
ㄴ[MostBeautifulInTheWorld: Ah, demon otakus should refrain from commenting]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(471.439): AOE attack evannnn]
This post was the source of the current gallery topic.
It was only natural for the gallery to instantly burn up over the unprecedented situation of female hero x Demon Lord (son).
Of course, most Demon Lords thought of others’ misfortunes as their own happiness, and almost 99% of the gallery members who commented were just continuously bringing in topics and firewood instead of offering comfort and solutions to the original poster.
There was even an incident where the original topic creator, ‘Menopause Demon Lord’, appeared and briefly uploaded a dimensional image file, which contained photos of the female hero and son’s fiancée, among other things.
Naturally, it was deleted by the armband wearer within seconds, but it couldn’t escape the eyes of the gallery addict Demon Lords, and the information had already been extracted by them.
The unintentionally revealed personal information of the female hero and the fiancée naturally led to a dispute, creating the current state of the gallery.
[Title: Thumbs up if you think female hero<<
[Honestly, in this day and age, what’s the need to distinguish between Demon Lord, hero, or whateverㅋㅋ If the hearts match, that’s the end and the best.
Shouldn’t we think positively that the son didn’t run away with the hero, but rather subdued the hero with superior Demon Lord genes??
And if you’ve seen the female hero’s photo, don’t you all acknowledge her as the legal wife?]
[Concept: 101] [Downvotes: 99]
[Comments]
[BigChin: The human-like bastards are going crazyㅉㅉ]
ㄴ[Equilibrium: Now, repeat after me ‘humanoid Demon Lord’]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(666.602: Non-humanoid Demon Lord bastards, if you’re jealous, don’t come to posts like thisㅋ]
[魔王: The world is in its last days. How could a Demon Lord with a human…]
ㄴ[High School Girl: The world has changed, hawawawa…]
[Title: Don’t you know childhood friends are invincible?]
[Author: Scarecrow]
[Childhood friend + fiancée + succubus race = legal wife power surge.
Are those bastards who ignore this and push for the hero in their right mind??? Am I the only one disgusted by the hero spy bastards running wild???
It’s really time to clean up the gallery]
[Concept: 107] [Downvotes: 100]
[Comments]
[ByconIsPure: Yeah, succubi are our friends~ The whole race is like that~]
ㄴ[ByconIsPure: It’s a race that’s been riding on my back since birth, what’sㅋㅋ A race that constantly cheats]
ㄴ[Goodnight: This is succubus discrimination!!! Ack!!!!]
ㄴ[Goodnight: I’m really in tears at this instigation and fabrication…]
[Bookworm: Honestly, her looks were pretty top-tier too. And her bloodline]
[ㅇㅇ(666.207): Wouldn’t it be okay to just? set up? a harem?]
ㄴ[VoyeurismLover: ……]
[Title: I wish they’d all die]
[Author: EternalVirgin]
[I understand the gallery member who posted is having a hard time, my head understands, but my heart and body just can’t fucking understand.
Why worry about something like that?
No, fuck.
Isn’t all this legal wife and concubine stuff just masturbation for bastards who have someone to date in the first place????
Hey, you gallery bastard, isn’t it better for your son to end up with a hero than to live as a virgin for life???
Come to think of it, that gallery bastard also had a relationship and had a child
The world is really fucked up, seriously]
[Concept: 421] [Downvotes: 2]
[Comments]
[ㅇㅇ(666.314): Bro.. my head is spinning..]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(666.278): We were being gaslighted by couples’ masturbation?]
[Bookworm: The level of the solo squad pressing thumbs up while shedding tears of resentment]
ㄴ[EternalVirgin: Die]
ㄴ[Bookworm: I’m single too, dammit]
[MostBeautifulInTheWorld: Want me to date you?]
ㄴ[EternalVirgin: Fuck off, bitch. Blockedㅗ]
[ㅇㅇ(111.432): Are they single because they’re crazy or crazy because they’re single?]
ㄴ[RedWine: Don’t? know?]
“Pfft…!”
A chuckle escaped every time I read the posts.
Is this what happens to the gallery when there’s no fighting?
If this atmosphere continues, enduring the remaining 30 years might not be so difficult.
“It’s fun”
There’s a small but emotional campfire, a cozy tent, countless stars spread across the night sky, and a community that smells of humanity in front of me.
I can say with certainty.
It was the best night among all the nights I’ve spent over the past 20 years.
“If it could be like this every day.”
It was a night when a small and modest, yet at the same time more luxurious than anything else, wish flowed by.
A heavy metal corridor with a near-future design.
A researcher was running quickly through it.
“Why is the Chairman suddenly calling me?”
-We’ve received new information about E_0’s recent movements.
“Wasn’t that still inconclusive?”
-Didn’t you know there was a regular Council meeting today?
“…Sorry, I was too busy researching.”
-Haah.. Chief Sara. I wish you’d at least check your diary.
“I’ll be careful.”
The woman called Chief Sara continued to sprint through the corridor.
After passing through several doors and walking for quite a while.
Eventually, Chief Researcher Sara arrived in front of a small door.
“This is Chief Researcher Sara.”
“Come in.”
The room Sara entered after opening the door was a study.
A study with numerous paper books that could be considered luxury items and antique bookshelves.
This was as good as a symbol of wealth in the Human Alliance, and it showed that the room’s owner possessed both power and wealth.
And in the center of that study, a middle-aged man could be seen smoking a cigar.
“Chairman, you called for me.”
“Yes. Chief Sara. There’s a matter decided at the regular Council meeting.”
The man called Chairman stubbed out his cigar and stood up from his seat.
“Project Inhuman. We’re entering the final stage.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I’m telling you to restart the Inhuman project that was paused with only the final stage remaining.”
“But….! Chairman, the success rate of the final stage of that project is very low!”
Chief Researcher Sara shouted as if it was absurd, questioning the Chairman’s order.
And for good reason, the final stage of the Inhuman project, which had been simulated hundreds of millions of times, had a success rate of just over 1%.
“We can’t sacrifice countless lives for a 1% gamble, Chairman. You should raise an objection and put it back on the meeting agenda….”
“Do you think I don’t know that? What can we do when this is the only answer? You’re not unaware of the current situation with E_0 and Earth, are you?”
“…….”
Chief Researcher Sara couldn’t refute the Chairman’s words.
Because not a single thing was wrong.
Even just looking at the data recently sent by ‘Argos’, this fact was clear.
“Just looking at what Argos has caught, wasn’t a strange structure resembling a Colosseum observed briefly appearing and disappearing on Earth? Anyone could see that was related to abilities, or related to gates.
What’s your judgment?”
“…Clearly, a phenomenon related to abilities or something equivalent did occur─”
“You think it won’t be dangerous? Do you think I’ve only heard such words once or twice? Wasn’t that the very reason our humanity was driven out to space 20 years ago?”
The Chairman’s tone as he spoke was rising higher and higher, but in the end, it slowly settled down. Like someone who wants to pour out their frustration but forcibly suppresses it.
It couldn’t be helped.
It was none other than the Chairman himself who had lost half of humanity by showing leniency towards the ‘ability phenomena’ of ability users.
That’s why he was more sensitive and angry about ability phenomena and ability users than anyone else, and hated himself.
“Moreover, E_0, no, the traitor ‘Shin Suhyeon’ is the strongest ability user in human history. Right now, he’s probably quietly hiding on Earth because he’d be powerless if he came out to space… but what if he grows stronger? Can Chief Sara handle that?”
“…No.”
“If the abandoned gates go berserk and the resulting monsters adapt to space and start invading our humanity, can you handle that?”
“No, sir.”
“Then let’s discuss countermeasures for that. Instead of babbling about the ethics of test subjects’ lives or whatever illusion. It seems you can only see protecting those measly test subjects, but can’t see the hundreds of millions of humanity.”
“……”
“Isn’t it at least better than executing Project Armageddon? I wonder if I’m the only one who thinks so.”
The moment she heard the words Project Armageddon, Sara’s face turned pale.
That can’t happen. That project had to be stopped no matter what.
That project literally had the final goal of blowing up Earth, an absurd plan with no consideration for follow-up measures.
Compared to that, Project Inhuman was better. Of course, this too was by no means the best option, but merely the lesser evil.
“…I’ll proceed with the project.”
“Good then. Good work.”
“Yes..”
As Chief Researcher Sara finished the conversation and turned to leave the room, there was a call from the Chairman calling her back.
The meticulous Chairman who rarely calls someone back.
Sara turned around again with curiosity.
“Chief Sara? There was something I forgot to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“There’s an operation name attached to the execution of this project. Those Council gentlemen gave it a childish name.”
“What’s the name?”
“Operation name ‘Hero’. Isn’t it ridiculous?”