Surviving Among the Entities

“Reversal of information.”

From the ‘World’s Greatest Resolver’ to the ‘World’s Greatest Troublemaker.’
From an ‘Utterly Ordinary Human’ to an ‘Entity that Toyed with the Foundation.’

“It reverses the information a person possesses.”

This was the presumed phenomenon I was currently facing.

“It doesn’t seem to change my own perception, though. I still think of myself as a human and the world’s greatest Resolver. What about you, Sarang?”
[Honestly, while Seung-hoon is human, there are many aspects that exceed the human realm. For the latter case, I still consider Seung-hoon the world’s greatest Resolver.]
“The perception change effect falls short on machines, huh.”
[It’s not that the effect falls short, I’m just telling the truth.]

I nodded without refuting Sarang’s words.
Since perception change makes one accept false information as truth, there was no point in saying more.

“I wonder when it was used? If it was an entity without range limitations, it wouldn’t have needed to resort to a bomb terror attack in the first place. Then the most likely time was when she directly approached me.”
[You mean not for the purpose of conversation, but to satisfy the entity’s conditions?]
“I was glad to have the opportunity for conversation, but unfortunately, it seems that way.”

While the extent of the prophecy was unknown, it was certain that my existence was being interfered with.
Additionally, based on the circumstances, their objective seemed to be right before completion.

“Instead of the risk of betrayal through persuasion, killing me outright would have been far cleaner. The problem is, I don’t know exactly when it was used.”

Since the bomb terror attack, I had been steadily consuming ‘Dried Friendship.’
My physical abilities had reached the extreme, and after she entered, I detected every subtle movement.

[Did you not consider apprehending them before they could act?]
“There was a possibility of resolving it through conversation. And unless they were fools, they would not have approached without any preparation, I thought.”

And that was indeed the case.

“According to my senses, she vanished from the hotel the moment she left. Not just her footsteps, but even her heartbeat was deleted. I likely would have ended up the same even if I apprehended her on sight.”
[I understand.]
“The source of this power bestowed upon me is likely not their own ability, since Baal said they gave objects they directly created. Impure holy relics, symbols of corrupted other religions, it must have been a special kind of object, and that object is……”

There was one.

“The Inverted Cross.”

But it only made less sense.

“But the Inverted Cross is a symbol of Peter.”

The origin of the Inverted Cross was Peter, Jesus’ disciple and apostle, being crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as his teacher during his martyrdom.
Contrary to popular perception, the Inverted Cross is a symbol of Christ, not the Anti-Christs.

[But didn’t the existing information state that they left behind the Reversed Pentagram and Inverted Cross as symbols since ancient times?]
“One of the Anti-Christs’ objectives is blasphemy. In fact, the leader I met also hated God. I thought the Inverted Cross was well-suited for blasphemy, so they used it as a symbol.”

Many people do perceive the Inverted Cross as a symbol of demons or the Anti-Christs, which may be the result of their instigation.

“And the Lucifer Company left our dimension right after Jesus removed original sin. Peter’s martyrdom happened long after that, so the timing doesn’t match.”

Sarang, who had been listening to me, spoke up.

[There is nothing new under the sun. A quote from Ecclesiastes 1:9.]
“You mean the Lucifer Company created the Inverted Cross for blasphemy first, and then Peter coincidentally ended up crucified on an inverted cross?”
[That is highly possible. Or the very act done to Peter could have been the Anti-Christs’ doing.]

If the latter was true, then Christ had been deceived by false history and revered the Anti-Christs’ symbol.

“I should hope for the former. If it’s the latter, then history has been mocked.”
[You judged the Inverted Cross to be an entity?]
“Yes, the effect is likely perception change of the target’s possessed information, with reversal as the change method. The perception change targets everyone except the user and target, and only the perception of information seems to change, not the actual information itself.”

If the actual information itself changed, I would have become an entity instead of a human by now and caused all sorts of problems.

“I show no signs or even inclinations of wanting to cause problems, so it’s certain.”
[But if the false prophet actually prophesied, wouldn’t that mean she became an actual prophet through that ability?]
“Maybe there’s another entity involved? The Lucifer Company created more than just one, after all. Moreover……”

I looked down from the hotel’s top floor.

In the concrete jungle, bright sirens flowed toward me along the river of roads.

“I should start preparing. How are the Foundation personnel? Still being jammed?”
[The jamming has been lifted. Based on surveillance, they appear to be conducting pre-entry checks.]
“Thankfully, they are capable. Thanks to them, humanity can rest easy.”

Alright, how can I resolve this situation?

“It’s not difficult.”

I took something out from my Void Pocket.

“I prepared well in advance.”

It was a Quest Ticket.

I really should only use it to help ordinary people at the office.
That was my evaluation of the Equivalent Exchange Scales when I had just arrived in Australia.
My evaluation has not changed, but there was one occasion each month where it was helpful – the ability to manufacture desired Quest Tickets.

‘Quest Tickets have a high ceiling, but the mission difficulty also increases accordingly. More importantly, the difficult part is that the missions are randomly selected.’

Missions randomly assigned across all fields were the biggest obstacle preventing acquisition of the ticket’s good rewards.

“But I can resolve that part by using the Equivalent Exchange Scales.”

This was the result of an experiment I conducted while preparing before coming here.

[Reward: The ability to have the Quest Ticket’s mission have a short completion deadline and involve paying money]
[Cost]
[1. Both legs, both arms, both eyes.]
[2. All future successes.]
[3. 1 million dollars.]

When I simply wanted the reward, it demanded an impossible cost.
It seemed to be because the reward and cost involved the same entity.
However, the advantage of the Equivalent Exchange Scales was attaching multiple conditions to mitigate the cost.

[Reward: Temporarily possess for 3 minutes the ability to have the Quest Ticket’s mission have a short completion deadline and involve paying money.]
[Cost]
[1. Permanent ingrown toenail on left big toe.]
[2. All beverages consumed from now on will always be lukewarm.]
[3. 1.2 billion won.]

Temporary possession in units of minutes was something I could easily pay.

“Anyway, since I can only draw 10 per month, I just prepared them all in advance to draw at once.”

The Quest Ticket’s completion deadline was also part of the difficulty.
By shortening it to a unit of time, I further lowered the mission difficulty.
Through such experimentation, I succeeded and completed five Quest Tickets that could be resolved with money after some trial and error.

“Tentatively called the Entity Combination.”
[What a dull naming sense.]

I took out one of the tickets created that way.

[Reward: Those chasing or targeting me all fall into a deep sleep in a safe place for 8 hours.]
[Mission: Donate 112 billion won.]
[Deadline: 12 hours]

Money had long ceased to hold any meaning for me as a resource.
In other words, the Quest Ticket had now become a ticket allowing me to use superpowers ten times a month.

“The opponent is a fanatic. It was expected they would brainwash and control ordinary people.”

Straining my ears, I could sense the Foundation personnel gradually preparing to storm in.

“Sarang, donate 112 billion won to a random charity organization.”

I accepted the quest.

[In progress.]

In less than a minute, everything was completed.

[Complete.]

The entire world fell into slumber.

Near Uluru, Australia.
At a temporarily set-up tent with a drawn Reversed Pentagram, Jezebel, the holy woman, false prophet, and leader of the Anti-Christs, appeared.

“You’re back.”
“Was there any major issue?”
“No, there were no issues.”

Greeted by three individuals who had been with her since the distant past, she smiled and spoke.

“It was a success. He can no longer interfere with us now.”
“You succeeded in killing him?”
“No, but he will likely die.”

Jezebel shook the Inverted Cross hanging from her neck.

“I reversed his concept.”

The Cross of Reversal.
An entity of perception change that reverses the target’s information and imprints it on the world.

“But since he rejected me, the effect will be slightly weaker.”

The better one knows the target.
The closer one gets to the target.
The longer one spends with the target, the effect grows exponentially.

“I tried seducing him physically, but it didn’t work.”
“You didn’t spray ‘Scent of the Seductive Woman’, did you?”
“It didn’t seem to work on him. He must be chaste.”

Just as a betrayal from a close one is more painful.
Just as a disciple’s betrayal claimed the teacher’s life.
It was an entity optimized for dragging close targets into the abyss.

“But the Cross of Reversal changes the areas where the target had the greatest impact on the world first, so the Resolver part will definitely change.”
“There was news about it, too.”

One of the three waiting individuals showed his smartphone.
There, it was ranting about Seung-hoon being the world’s greatest troublemaker.

“This is reassuring.”

Jezebel let out a sigh of relief.
No matter how many times she prophesied, Seung-hoon’s existence interfering with them had become a trauma that haunted her dreams.

“But the specifics of how he betrays us didn’t come out, did it?”
“Yes. I could only vaguely sense that he interferes with us, but I couldn’t see the concrete future.”
“How strange. That would be impossible unless one is a transcendent being.”
“Perhaps our new god dislikes watching over themself.”
“A good omen.”
“But I should check once more. Please prepare.”
“As you wish, leader.”

The four entered the tent.
Inside was a massive cathedral.
In the past, there were countless Anti-Christs, but most perished through numerous adversities and hardships, leaving only a few survivors.

“Many apostles have fallen into eternal sleep due to this mission.”

And thirteen who became sacrifices in preparation to summon the new god.
Now, the true Anti-Christs consisted of only her and the three others.

“We cannot let their sacrifice be in vain. First Apostle, prepare the prophecy. Second Apostle, prepare the dance. Third Apostle, prepare contingencies.”
“Yes.”

Shortly after, the one called the First Apostle brought some items.
A large ceremonial chalice decorated with jewels and a shriveled eyeball belonging to someone.
When she shook the ceremonial chalice, rotten blood naturally pooled inside.

“Chalice of corruption, share thy corruption with this foolish prophet’s eye.”

The rotten blood dripped onto the shriveled eyeball.

“Elijah, foolish Elijah, let thine eye show us much.”

The iris absorbed the rotten blood.
Reversing time, the eye transformed as if freshly plucked, immediately allowing her to sense many things.

“……”

Prophecy was not about seeing, but sensing with all five senses.
But this time too, she sensed Seung-hoon trying to interfere with their plan in the future.

‘But why?’

She had already dealt with him, hadn’t she?
Moreover, the future became even more opaque than before, the sensations she had just felt scrambling and vanishing completely into the darkness.

“The future has changed. To a more chaotic future.”
“What does that mean?”
“A feeling akin to multiple transcendent beings intertwined in battle, like a war of gods.”
“The machinations of those who disapprove of our god’s descent?”
“I’m not sure yet. Wait a moment……”

She poured more rotten blood and commanded once more.

“Elijah, foolish Elijah, show me the current state of Australia.”

Australia was reflected in her eyes.
The state of Australia, which should have been in chaos from trying to capture Seung-hoon, was eerie.

[Ugh, sleepy, World’s Greatest Troublemaker or whatever, I’m just going home to sleep first.]
[Ehey! Clocking out for today! Going to sleep!]
[You gotta sleep at night! Police duty? Screw that!]

The police suddenly started going home to sleep.

[Why am I so sleepy today? Ugh, I’ll just sleep in the parking lot……]
[I’ll join you!]
[Okay! Sleepover!]

Even taxi drivers and passengers entered parking lots to sleep.

[Um, let’s return to the Foundation.]
[Ugh, this, perception change……]
[No, this is forced control……]
[Damn it, I can’t sleep, the safest place is the Foundation, the Foundation……I have to sleep at the Foundation……]
[Need to get 8 hours of full sleep……]

The annoying enemies called the Foundation also retreated to their own dimension.

“Everyone’s going to sleep!?”

At that moment, rotten blood spontaneously gushed from the chalice.

“Us too!?”

She and the other Anti-Christs were about to fall into slumber as well, but the expended rotten blood drove away the encroaching drowsiness.

“……We had to expend so much corruption. How dangerous.”

Once more, she dripped rotten blood onto the eyeball.

“Elijah, foolish Elijah, show me what our adversary Seung-hoon is doing now.”

Seung-hoon’s appearance surfaced in her mind.

[Now that I’ve enhanced the Void Pocket, I can put any object inside it.]
[“What principle is this?”]

He was currently conversing with a smartphone.

[Any object I touch automatically shrinks enough to fit inside the pocket. To take it out, it comes out shrunken and grows back to normal size when placed somewhere it can grow. Let me show you. Like this……]
[“That’s the vehicle you received from the Foundation.”]
[I got permission to take it.]
[“I will be the one driving.”]
[Can I at least put my hands on the steering wheel?]
[“No.”]
[I’m just putting my hands on it?]
[“You cannot.”]

Just what means did he employ?
To so easily escape the situation created by the Cross of Reversal?

[Let’s go to Uluru. Wherever the opponent is, everything will ultimately occur there, right?]
[“Understood.”]

She summoned the apostles.

“The adversary is coming.”

The scheduled descent was three weeks away.
In preparation for any contingencies, the Primordial Being to descend had not yet installed the ‘means to forcibly make humans like it’, but the descent itself was possible even now.

“I will begin the descent a bit early.”
“But then……”
“No, even without the means, it will look favorably upon humans.”

She believed in the being that would descend.

“For it is neither god nor demon.”