The Novel’s Villain

72. Epilogue

Bang bang!

As Jin-woo approached the Door of Truth, they heard a commotion coming from outside the room.

Sounds of footsteps approached their location.

“That was quick. They’re already here.”

“Let’s hurry up and leave.”

Noticing the strangeness of the situation, everyone began rushing towards them.

Jin-woo felt more nervous now than when he was fighting the Devil’s Body. Unlike back then, he currently had cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Chains and locks completely sealed the Door of Truth, their only escape out of this dire situation. Luckily, when he took out the Key of Truth and inserted it into the padlocks’ holes, they all turned into powder.

Creeaaak!

He opened the door without hesitation, finding nothing but white light coming out of it.

Externally, even he couldn’t tell what awaited him inside. He tried to scout ahead using the Devil’s Eye, but it provided not even a hint, much less valuable information.

Crackle!

Their hiding spot’s doorknob shook violently. A large number of people had already gathered right outside the room. Not only the members of the Golden Women’s Association but even Prof. Kim Dae-jin and his team of researchers had come to find him.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yeah.”

Jin-woo and Yoo-na entered the Door of Truth. As soon as they did, it closed on its own and disappeared.

Bump!

The room’s lock soon broke, allowing them to swing the door open.

There was only a brief interval between the results of their actions.

“Huh?”

Se-yeon came in, holding a mechanical device with antennae in her hand. Finding nobody in the room, she immediately panicked while everyone else just looked at her for answers.

The technological marvel she carried was specifically designed to track Jin-woo’s coordinates. It was capable of locating him no matter the dimension he was in, yet it couldn’t detect his presence at all no matter how many times she adjusted its antennae. It was as if something akin to a wall was preventing it from sending out signals.

“I think he’s gone to a place that transcends the concept of dimensions. I’ll need to conduct a couple of researches about this.”

Se-yeon immediately began looking for ways to resolve the problem at hand. Due to the direness of the situation, even Prof. Kim Dae-jin and his research team decided to help the members of the Golden Women’s Association.

* * *

Inside the Door of Truth lay a long hallway. Its walls were painted white, perfectly complimenting its neat marble floor.

Jin-woo and Yoo-na walked down the hallway for a while. Upon reaching its end, they saw another door.

“I don’t think this one will take us to another dimension.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t feel like a portal.”

He couldn’t feel any mana coming out of it. If its purpose were to transport beings to a different realm, he would’ve felt even a minuscule amount of mana emanating from it since crossing from one dimension to another consumed quite a lot of mana.

‘Its rank is also impossible to measure, though…’

There was no such thing as an ordinary door that could send people off to new frontiers, which only made him even more curious about what was beyond the one in front of him.

‘How high are the chances it’ll be a world filled with people like me?’

After standing near it for a while, he finally grabbed its knob. Externally, it looked like a normal iron door that could be seen anywhere. Even its material didn’t seem like anything unique or magical.

He looked at Yoo-na, and she nodded at him in turn, reassuring him that no matter what happened, they’d be alright.

Turning the knob and swinging it open, the two entered whatever awaited them behind it.

“Hmm?”

‘This place…’

It looked like an ordinary street. No, it was way too normal. People kept passing by them, some to enter the stores lined up on either side of the road, which was filled with old-fashioned cars that still used gasoline or diesel as fuel.

Such vehicles had long been phased out due to the spread of G%P’s battery technology.

‘Are we on yet another version of Earth?’

According to what he found out upon using the Devil’s Eye, that didn’t seem to be the case since it couldn’t properly display the information it gathered.

[You have entered the Higher Dimension!]

[The Devil’s Eye begins to process new information.]

[You have perfectly adapted to the Higher Dimension!]

After blinking a few times, Jin-woo found new intel appearing before him.

“Higher Dimension?”

He had no idea what that meant, but he was inclined to find out. He checked his physical condition and subspace first.

With a flick of his fingers, he made lightning strike around him, which meant his powers were still in normal and functioning condition, much like his subspace. The same went for Yoo-na.

“Let’s take a look around.” She suggested.

He nodded and wandered the streets with her, thinking that would be the most logical move right now.

It didn’t take long for them to realize they were in Korea, considering this place used the same banknotes as Earth. However, unlike Another Earth, this dimension had no exceptionally talented people.

Instead of Richard, the president of the United States was Donald Trump, and there was no Religion of Evil. Just like the old Earth, Christianity was prevalent here.

‘Is Earth the Higher Dimension? The concept revolving around this domain is hard to understand.’

It was complicating his thoughts.

Still, none of it mattered all that much. Nothing here could threaten him, which meant it wouldn’t be bad for him to simply enjoy his long-awaited cozy and comfortable vacation here.

“We need to find a place to stay first.”

“Are we going to stay here for a long time?”

“Let’s just take it easy for now.”

Yoo-na nodded and smiled.

Their lack of identity or records in this world didn’t come across as inconvenient since he could just use his powers to solve it. It would be quite a simple process.

The two walked into a nearby hotel.

Money wasn’t an issue either. He could still use the dimensional gold exchange system, after all.

“This is a pretty good love hotel,” Yoo-na said in awe, her eyes scanning their room. The two weren’t new friends to feel awkward being stuck together in a place like this.

Pulling out her cellphone, she turned on her wi-fi. There seemed to be no problem accessing the Internet either.

“I will rest for now. I’m a little tired.”

“Yes, please get some sleep. I’ll investigate for now.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

Jin-woo lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and basked in the silence that he had been longing for while he was stuck amid battlefields and noisy crowds.

He finally felt comfortable. As a result, half a day had passed by the time he woke up. His mind seemed refreshed, and he felt better overall.

Yoo-na was on the bed with him, a serious expression on her face.

It had been a long time since he had seen her look like that.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, we have a pretty serious problem.”

“What is it?”

Jin-woo got up and sat down next to her.

She said they had a serious problem, but he didn’t think much of it… At least until he saw it for himself.

“Take a look at this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a novel publishing site. I found it by chance, but something about it strangely urged me to open it. Anyway, this is what I found…”

She showed him a novel.

“Becoming the Ultimate Villain? What’s with the childish title?”

Its author’s pen name was Credo. Shaking his head in embarrassment, he proceeded to read its prologue.

“… What?”

His eyes grew bigger and bigger. Only then did he truly understand why Yoo-na looked so serious.

The main character of ‘Becoming the Ultimate Villain’ was Jin-woo. The novel detailed what he had been through, though it wasn’t finished yet.

‘Am I in a novel within a novel?’ Jin-woo thought, reading all the parts available for free.

He pondered about it deeply right after.

“Credo’s the author’s name, right? I need to meet up with them.”

“Then we should head over to their publisher. We’ll be able to get their information from them.”

“Alright.”

Yoo-na looked up the publishing company’s address on the Internet, and the two went over to their location. Upon arriving at its entrance, they immediately noticed a man standing in front of it, exhibiting all signs of exhaustion.

Jin-woo looked at him using the Devil’s Eye.

[-] Person-In-Charge S

Credo artist’s representative. Has low alcohol tolerance.

He felt lucky.

They were able to find the person they needed to talk to immediately. When he approached him, Person-In-Charge S just blinked at him in confusion.

“Can I have a moment of your time? I’d like to talk to you.”

“What? Where did you come from?”

Jin-woo grabbed S’s shoulder, causing his eyes to widen.

“I want to know about Credo, one of your writers.”

Person-In-Charge S nodded frantically and wrote down his talent’s address without hesitation. Jin-woo then took out a potion from his subspace and handed it to him, which was his way of paying for the help he provided them.

When the two disappeared, Person-In-Charge S’s blurred eyes returned to normal.

“Huh? What?” He tilted his head, his gaze on the gift he had just received. Drawn to its fragrant aroma, he took a sip.

“Hmm… Woah!”

He could feel his strength rising!

Credo, the author, was in a state of despair.

He had to submit his manuscript by 4 o’clock. However, his computer suddenly went down and stopped working. Lee Jin-woo was just about to fight the Devil.

He was almost done, but his device refused to turn on.

“Ugh, please…”

He prayed for even just his manuscript to be safe as he pressed the power button, wondering if it would boot up.

Push!

Contrary to his wish, though, his CPU began exuding smoke. He hastily pulled out the cable.

“Why on Earth did this happen now of all time…” He let out a long sigh. Looking at his computer’s condition, it didn’t take that long for him to realize it would be difficult to save his manuscript.

He grabbed his cellphone and texted his superior.

Credo: My computer exploded! I think I won’t be able to pass today’s manuscript in time.

Person-In-Charge S: No, that can’t happen. Go to a PC room if you have to.

Credo: Umm…

Person-In-Charge S: I’ll be waiting for the manuscript.

He was left with no other choice. Even if it were to be submitted a little late, he had to serialize it!

Ding Dong!

While he was preparing to leave and head over to a PC rental room, the bell rang.

‘Is it a courier?’

Upon checking the intercom screen, he found a man and a woman standing right outside his home. There was no one else with them, but they looked so handsome and beautiful that they came across as quite suspicious.

People coming over to tell him to believe in Tao had been a frequent occurrence these days.

The author just stood still.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

The stranger continued to ring the bell.

‘Why is he doing something so terrible?’

Credo carefully put his ear against the front door, hoping to eavesdrop on what they were talking about.

“He seems to be inside.”

“Um, should we just force our way in?”

“Sure. I’ll cut through his door then.”

Fusuk!

Blue light passed through the crevices of Credo’s door as they silently destroyed his lock.

“Huh!”

The author fell backward, finding the sight far too unbelievable.

When his door swung open, the duo immediately entered and smiled at him quite menacingly.

“Credo?”

“U-uhh… Yes, but… How did you find me?”

“Forget about that. Let’s talk.”

The way the man’s lips were curved upwards gave him goosebumps all over his body. It was a cool and gentle smile, but it exuded such a domineering pressure that weighed down on him so much he felt inclined to simply nod.

Their conversation wasn’t at all what he expected, but it was still an incredible tale nonetheless.

Jin-woo and Yoo-na had appeared in reality!

At first, he was skeptical of it, but Jin-woo left him no choice but to believe him when he showed him his magical prowess.

According to him, he defeated the Devil with money and absorbed all of its demonic power. What truly transpired and what Credo had in mind for the battle scenes had a lot of differences.

“I want to see the manuscript.”

“Yeah? Oh, I see.”

The author had no choice but to follow and meet his demands.

“Um, Credo, so is there a moon base here…”

“Ah! I don’t want to be sent to any form of moon base, please!” He shouted, to which Jin-woo just nodded.

He felt a little sad, but he decided not to dwell on it. He took a look around the author’s home.

“Quite the nice place you got here. It’s pretty tidy and clean.”

“Well, I just moved in recently, so…”

“Do you own it?”

“Oh, no. I pay rent monthly.”

Jin-woo nodded. Credo just kept staring at him.

“Can I stay here for a while?”

“Huh? Uh… Wouldn’t it be better to go to a hotel?”

“I want to talk to you about a really deep story.”

The author tried to shake his head in refusal, but just as he was about to, Jin-woo took out a dimensional gold coin from his subspace and converted it to Korean won. The huge amount that appeared in his hands made Credo’s eyes flutter and widen.

“Yeah! Feel free to stay. Hahaha!” He exclaimed.

Jin-woo immediately took things out of his subspace as soon as he did, showing not an ounce of care towards him.

‘He’s not a bad guy, though…’

For as long as they wouldn’t do anything wrong, he didn’t seem like the type to bring people any harm.

Quite the contrary, he seemed to be offering great help instead.

‘No, if he really is the real Lee Jin-woo, then…’

Then serious incidents would always follow him, even if he didn’t want them to.

If such dire problems were to happen here…

‘The Earth will be in danger!’

No, it would be more accurate to say it would’ve been destroyed.

He had to return him to his original world somehow!

“This is great. I like this small place.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cozy.”

The two had already started making themselves comfortable in his home, though. And since they did pay him, he couldn’t just easily ask for them to leave and go back to where they came from.

Were they really real?

‘Maybe I’m just dreaming?’

It would have been more comfortable if this was a world in a novel.

The author sighed and looked out his window.

“Huh?”

A flash momentarily enveloped the sky, followed by the appearance of a huge ship. Next to it was a colossal dragon, the identity of which he easily identified.

It looked exactly like how he imagined Arcana would in real life.

Credo’s jaw dropped open.

“This is insane…”

Lee Jin-woo brought the end to Earth.

He truly was evil.