At that very moment, a soft ping echoed next to Kirschtaria's desk.
He looked down at a glowing glyph—an urgent transmission. The sender: Alien God.
Kirschtaria's read it . "All Lostbelt expansion and infiltration operations toward Proper Human History are to be halted until further notice."
Kirschtaria's eyes narrowed. He slowly turned his head toward Jin-Woo.
"…Did your Offensive Bias just blackmail a god?" he asked quietly.
The other Crypters didn't speak.
They just stared.
Ophelia froze.
Hinako lowered her eyes.
Peperoncino didn't even smile.
Kaddoc looked like he wanted to disappear.
And Beryl leaned back and whispered, "Well. Shit."
Jin-Woo said nothing. He just smiled.
Then, without a word,
Daybit reached into his coat and flicked a small black card toward Jin-Woo.
It slid through the air .Jin-Woo caught it mid-spin.
Written on it in silent ink: Do you know who the true enemy is?
Jin-Woo looked up, his expression unchanged. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he summoned a tendril of ink-black shadow.
The darkness slithered silently across the floor and crawled up Daybit's hand, forming a simple sigil—just for him.
Without a word, Jin-Woo extended one finger. Shadows slithered from it like ink bleeding through paper.
The tendrils snaked forward and wrapped gently around Daybit's hand—marking it with a fluid sigil.
It shifted, then settled into a clear message:
CHALDEAS will be weakened enough for you to destroy it—personally.
You won't need to summon ORT.
With enough firepower—especially through the Force—you can end it without risking earth annihilation.
Daybit stared at the message . …A good courtesy, huh.
Jin-Woo turned his gaze toward Kirschtaria, tone light, but edged.
"Kirschtaria. You don't mind if the English Lostbelt removed from this world, right?"
Kirschtaria leaned back, thoughtful.
"The main objective of every Crypter is to nurture their own Lostbelt. Eventually, we were meant to clash… compete. That was the directive ."
He paused, then added without hesitation,
"And between all of us, Beryl Gut's Lostbelt is by far the most dangerous. Twisted, unstable… even for him."
Kirschtaria then looked back at Jin-Woo.
"At least I appreciate you, Jin-Woo. Because of you, every Lostbelt gets a chance to exist—even if it's just for a short while."
He waved his hand toward the side, already sending a silent directive.
"Beryl. Move to the Indian Lostbelt. The English one's already lost anyway."
Beryl, still watching from his projection, threw his arms up.
"Come on! I was the first one to step foot here!"
Pepe laughed, folding his arms.
"No buts, Beryl. Besides—if you're gonna be a backstabber, at least die with your friends, yeah? Sounds poetic."
Ophelia turned toward Beryl, her voice flat.
"Technically… this whole mess—being hacked, overridden, blindsided? It was because of you. You gave that crazy AI the crack it needed to hack us all."
Beryl groaned, rubbing his forehead.
"Shit, man… I didn't even know there was something like that. I just wanted to pass some intel… not open a damn gate to hell."
Kirschtaria exhaled softly, then gestured toward another projection.
"Koyanskaya. Do your thing. Evacuate Beryl from the English Lostbelt."
Koyanskaya snarled through clenched teeth.
"At least give me back my heart, you fuck. Shadow magecraft bastard… and I want compensation—money, interest, hazard pay—"
Before she could finish, Jin-Woo raised one hand.
The spatial cube holding her heart shimmered, hovering gently in the air between them.
At the same time, he ignited vectivus lightsaber the black lightsaber—its hum low and unnatural, the blade swallowing light rather than emitting it.
Koyanskaya's eyes widened. Her lips parted, and she paled.
"…Shit. Shit. *Bitch—*okay, I get it! I'm going!"
She vanished with a flicker—jumping between Lostbelts to evacuate Beryl to the Indian Lostbelt.
As silence returned, Daybit glanced at the weapon still humming in Jin-Woo's hand.
"That sword… comes from your galaxy?"
Jin-Woo retracted the blade with a soft hiss, the shadows folding inward.
"Yeah. Blue and green maybe purple are for the good guys. Red's for the bad."
He paused, holding up the now inactive hilt. "As for black?"
A faint grin tugged at his mouth.
"…It's very rare. Even over there."
Peperoncino clapped once, smiling wide.
"I've decided—I'll join you on your little adventure, Daybit~ Sounds fun~"
Daybit turned his head slightly, calm.
"Anyone else? Aside from Kirschtaria—since I already know he'll either study our enemies or fortify his Lostbelt."
Kirschtaria gave a single nod.
"That's correct, Daybit. I'll strengthen my Lostbelt. And prepare."
Kadoc raised a hand lazily, already reaching for his terminal.
"Leave me out of this. That's uncharted territory—outside the systems we know. I'm not risking it."
He tapped a command. His hologram blinked out immediately.
Ophelia spoke up with quiet firmness.
"If Kirschtaria-sama is going… I'm accompanying him."
Akuta Hinako folded her arms.
"…I'm still undecided."
Jin-Woo glanced across the remaining projections.
"Then that brings the total to double the amount of players," he said. "Since their Servants will probably come along too."
He paused. "And that's not counting the Lostbelt Kings."
Ophelia nodded.
"The Lostbelt Kings will probably stay to guard their domains. It's too risky to leave them exposed."
Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly toward her.
"Your Scáthach-Skadi has a very strong motherhood instinct. Best you keep that under control, yeah?"
Ophelia nodded in silence, taking Jin-Woo's warning seriously.
Jin-Woo turned to Daybit, his tone casual but direct.
"Daybit, if you want to contact me—do it through Offensive Bias. Just go to your communication room, or the Crypter council chamber like this one. The moment you enter, he'll notice."
From his projection feed, Peperoncino let out a playful sigh.
"Oh~ all of our tech just got hijacked by your AI, my dear sweet Jin-Woo. At this point, he probably knows what brand of tea I like."
Jin-Woo didn't reply. He only gave a slight glance, then turned as the dark portal behind him twisted open—his return path to the English Lostbelt.
He stepped through silently. No parting words.
As the shadows swallowed his form, only Daybit and Kirschtaria remained in the physical chamber.
A long moment passed.
Kirschtaria finally broke the silence.
"Do you trust him, Daybit?…Once you become his Surefire?"
Daybit looked toward the faint ripple left behind by Jin-Woo's exit.
His voice was steady.
"His AI is pure logic. Cold. Calculative. It has a very clear hatred for lying—almost like it sees deception as corruption."
He tapped the table softly once.
"What Jin-Woo relieved that AI from… its primary duty—must've been unimaginable. Even your Olympus Gods, Kirschtaria... I don't think they could've handled it."
Kirschtaria said nothing.
Because deep down, he agreed.
Then Ophelia broke the silence, a little surprised.
"I never expected that coming from you, Daybit. Usually you ignore everything—but now you're interested in that thing called the Force and the midichlorians Jin-Woo mentioned?"
Daybit leaned back.
"When I was a kid, I loved sci-fi anime. Stories with aliens, other worlds, different systems. That stuff always stuck with me."
He rested one elbow on the chair.
"And when Jin-Woo said there's another galaxy… with its own rules and structures? Yeah. That caught my attention."
"And probably… it's in all of your minds too, right? That power of his… that Shadow Monarch thing—it's tied to the Force somehow, isn't it?"
Hinako nodded, thoughtful.
"Of course it is. It feels like real magic—like what's lost to our world. Ancient. Pure. Raw."
Kirschtaria chuckled slightly.
"For someone who's lived a very long time, Hinako… you're still incredibly clumsy."
Hinako immediately pouted and bared her sharp vampire teeth.
"Hmph. That was uncalled for."
Peperoncino smiled warmly.
"Don't be like that, Hinako~ That part of your identity is something worth protecting. Even if you're a little adorable when you're embarrassed."
Daybit raised his hand slightly, bringing the focus back.
"Let's stay on topic."
"They're different. His Shadow Power—the army of millions, all immortal, all tied to him—that isn't the Force."
He tapped his fingers again.
"But the black lightning he shot from his fingertips? That is. That's Force energy. It behaves like something else ."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Which means Jin-Woo isn't just one thing. He's two systems fused. Or maybe more."
From the projection, Ophelia began tapping her own fingers against the table.
"Can you be more elaborate?" she asked, voice focused.
Daybit nodded slightly.
"His first power—Shadow Monarch—that's primary. He manipulates it naturally. Effortlessly. It feels like it was always his. The way his army responds to him, how they chant, line up in the sky, form ranks without a word… that's not a spell or contract. That's loyalty. That's dominion."
He glanced toward where Jin-Woo once stood.
"And then there's the Force. That's his secondary power. I'm absolutely sure it needs some kind of condition or trigger. When he used the lightning—I'll call it Force Lightning for now—it wasn't like his shadows. There was effort. Focus."
Ophelia raised an eyebrow.
"So I was right… it's similar to magecraft. But… more robust."
Kirschtaria leaned in slightly.
"Magecraft has layers of conditions. Even my Anima Animusphere can't function without the framework of a Lostbelt. It requires the Tree of Fantasy, the domain's structure. But the Force… it probably doesn't need anything that complex."
He paused.
"Except, maybe—emotion."
Daybit nodded once.
"Yes. That's one of the conditions."
He stared forward, thinking aloud.
"When Jin-Woo used that lightning… it was with arrogance. Calm, yes, but confident—like he wanted to show his superiority. He embraced the power without hesitation. That intent, that feeling—it was part of it."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"The Force doesn't obey a spell formula. It obeys will. Presence. Emotion. That's why it's terrifying."
Behind him, a slipspace portal had already formed—quiet and pulsing with faint distortion, waiting to take him back to the South American Lostbelt.
Just as he was about to step through, Peperoncino called out with a soft laugh.
"Daybit~ be a darling. If you get the Force formula… and maybe those lovely midichlorians… share them with your friend, hmm?"
Daybit glanced back once, expression flat but not hostile.
"You should've asked when Jin-Woo and I negotiated. That was your chance."
"But if my role as his Surefire exceeds expectations… he might grant it to all of you."
"All Crypters. Except Beryl."
"Jin-Woo already considers him dangerous. I'm certain he would've killed Beryl if Koyanskaya hadn't evacuated him from the English Lostbelt to the Indian one."
He looked to the side—Beryl's hologram had gone inactive five minutes ago.
Peperoncino sighed with exaggerated flair.
"A shame. I wish Beryl could've heard that himself. About how much of a bastard he really is."
The portal pulsed once more. Daybit turned and stepped through, gone without another word.
Peperoncino turned to the rest of the projections, twirling dramatically.
"Till next time, my lovely comrades~ When we meet again, I'll be using Force Lightning while AI dances around me~"
With a wink, he waved his fingers and deactivated his hologram feed.
Hinako Akuta glanced forward, voice quiet.
"If possible… that Force ability might help fulfill one of my wishes."
She didn't elaborate. Her eyes dimmed slightly, and she turned off her projection in silence.
A pause hung over the room.
Then Ophelia spoke softly.
"Kirschtaria-sama… will the Force also grant your objective?"
Kirschtaria looked up from his chair, gaze steady.
"That, I don't know. But what I do know… is that Jin-Woo is confident it can destroy an entire planetary surface."
"And that might be exactly what I need—for humanity to stand a chance against the Alien God."
Ophelia's eyes flickered. Her breath caught slightly.
She knew. She knew the meaning behind those words.
His true plan. The betrayal of the very being that granted them all the Lostbelts.
But she never expected him to speak it so… openly.
"Kirschtaria-sama…" she said, voice almost trembling, "why would you say that so—"
Kirschtaria waved one hand dismissively.
"Don't worry. That overpowered AI of Jin-Woo's has likely already shut down all surveillance. We have more privacy now than ever before."
Ophelia didn't respond immediately.
Then nodded.
"…I wish you luck with your impossible mission, Kirschtaria-sama."
With that, her hologram blinked out.
The chamber was now silent.
Kirschtaria, alone, turned toward the grand doorway of his council chamber. Only footsteps echoing through the stillness as he walked out—calm, deliberate, resolute.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
English Lostbelt
Jin-Woo stepped out of the swirling darkness of his portal, the shadows closing behind him as he returned to the now-silent arena—the very place where Barghest had fought his Grand Marshal, Bellion, and lost, even after unleashing her Trump Card .
The air still held the weight of that overwhelming battle.
At the far edge of the stone platform stood Morgan le Fay, regal and composed, despite the tension in her voice. Beside her, Barghest remained quiet, her pride wounded but her stance firm. Baobhan Sith stood close, arms crossed and watchful, while Melusine hovered just behind them, eyes narrowed, guarding the queen from the rear.
Morgan stepped forward, her voice measured and graceful.
"I am aware, Sir Jin-Woo… that this world, the English Lostbelt, is a mistake in the grand order. A dead end. But…" She paused. "Please… grant us more time. Time to enjoy what little remains of it."
Jin-Woo stood still, his presence alone making the air feel heavier. His voice was calm.
"Did I say this world needs to be destroyed? Pruned?"
He shook his head slowly, a faint smirk touching his lips.
"No. I never said that. I said I would remove it from Proper Human History. That's different."
"But most people… they have a habit of misinterpreting things. It's a common mistake. One I enjoy watching."