Kang Woo shook his head slowly, resting his chin on one hand, gaze unfazed. He looked like someone watching circus animals hurl themselves against the cage bars.
Makima, sitting beside him, leaned in again with a teasing glint in her eye.
"Your call, Kang Woo," she murmured. "Should we sell it… or find the Sevastopol ourselves?"
Kang Woo leaned back, arms crossed loosely over his chest.
"I call for a vote," he said, voice casual. "Who wants to sell it—" he held up the cruciform key, letting it gleam under the cafeteria lights, "—and who wants to go on a crazy, probably fatal, adventure?"
Without hesitation, three hands shot up.
Himeno.
Denji.
Power.
"Sell it!" they shouted in chaotic unison.
Aki crossed his arms and glanced at Kang Woo. "You didn't raise your hand, Are you trying to respect Makima-san's opinion… or are you just being a douchebag?"
Kang Woo tilted his head with a blank stare. "I was aiming for a draw."
Himeno groaned. "Oh, come on! I want to get rich! This is my big break!"
Kang Woo gave a thoughtful hum, then snapped his fingers.
"Then we can do both," he said smoothly. "We sell it… then we steal it back. Or better—just give them a fake key."
Everyone turned to stare at him. Like he'd just proudly announced he invented a new flavor of evil.
"…That's cheating, Kang Woo," Denji said, blinking.
"Seriously," Himeno added, slapping the table, "congrats. You're officially worse than a devil."
Makima laughed softly—an amused sound as rare as snowfall in July. She rested her chin on her hand, eyes glinting.
" Captain Kang Woo, . How much are we going to bid this cursed little key for?"
Kang Woo's grin widened—mischievous, sharp, and just a bit too sinister. "How about we go big?" he said, voice velvet. "One billion dollars."
Himeno choked on her drink."Kang Woo, are you joking?! I mean, that's crazy! That budget could buy an island !"
Aki rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Himeno-senpai… Kang Woo's a maniac. If he says a billion, he'll find a way to make the world pay up. And he'll probably pull some insane stunt while doing it."
Meanwhile, Kang Woo's attention shifted toward his ROG laptop on the side table.
Its screen lit up with search results he had queued earlier — half-buried reports and obscure clippings.
A flight 180 plane accident.
A roller coaster crash at Devil's Flight.
And… a disaster that was prevented by a woman named Iris Campbell atop something called Skyview Tower.
Kang Woo's eyes narrowed. . Final Destination's force of causality of this timeline.
His lips curled faintly as a thought flickered across his mind. That completes the final piece for my Kaisergesang.
Without a word, he turned back to the laptop, hands flying across the keyboard. In an encrypted dark web terminal, he typed in a single message:
[SEVASTOPOL KEY]
Auction Inquiry: Active.
Response Delay: 5 Minutes.
He hit ENTER. The upload pulsed once, the delay set.
Kang Woo then casually closed the lid of the laptop, letting the silence stretch. He turned his gaze back to the others, eyes gleaming like a tactician already seven moves ahead.
"So," he said smoothly, "where should we hold the auction?"
Denji looked around like he'd just been asked to host the Olympics. "Uh… McDonald's?"
Power slammed a fist on the table. "NO! A meat auction! Or a karaage palace! With thrones!"
Himeno leaned back, laughing. "How about somewhere less stupid?"
Makima rested her cheek on her hand, voice light. "I assume you already have a place in mind, Kang Woo?"
Kang Woo didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled free the sleek white frame of his portal pistol, its chrome gleaming faintly under the cafeteria lights.
Makima's eyes narrowed instantly. She recognized the intent in his stance. "…At least not on Japanese soil,. "It'll make my life very difficult if this happens here."
Kang Woo just gave her a small shrug and a smirk. Without a word, he drew his Doom Slayer super shotgun from his shadow, cocked it once, and aimed it downward—right at his own laptop.
BOOM The half-crushed ROG exploded in a flicker of sparks and shattered casing, its display splintering like black glass.
Before anyone could react, Kang Woo raised the portal pistol and fired it beside him. A transparent ripple tore open reality, revealing a portal that led directly into the courtyard of Godolkin University.
A pristine, sunlit view of the campus flashed briefly—calm, serene, empty… for now. Then, with a casual flick of the wrist, Kang Woo threw the half-destroyed laptop through the portal like garbage into a bin. The moment it landed in the grass with a muted clack, Kang Woo closed the portal behind him.
Himeno blinked in disbelief. "Kang Woo, that was a nice laptop. And ROG, that's expensive!"
Kang Woo tilted his head and replied dryly, "Tomorrow, every faction that wants the Sevastopol key will be sniffing around that university ."
He turned toward the table, voice calm as if nothing had happened. "Besides, not one of us is going to show up. We'll control the bidding remotely."
Makima folded her arms with a slow nod, eyes thoughtful. "You're trying to bait them out…"
Denji leaned forward, eyes wide and hopeful. "So, uh… how do we help?" he asked, scratching his head. "We're still getting the money, right?"
Aki exhaled slowly, arms crossed. "That's assuming Kang Woo even plans to share it."
Makima added with a faint smirk, "So far, all he's done is flash that key around and brag about how filthy rich we'll become."
Without a word, Kang Woo reached into his coat and pulled out the complete cruciform key. He handed it directly to Makima, placing it lightly in her hand.
Makima blinked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Why? , you haven't made a copy yet? Why give me the original?"
Kang Woo tilted his head with that infuriatingly smooth grin and said, "Because you're my specialz."
Makima stared at him. Her face unreadable. But then—slowly, too naturally—she leaned forward, resting her chin on one hand.
"…Kang Woo," she said softly, dangerously, "I'm inviting you to my apartment."
Makima's smile widened—predator and temptress combined. "And I very much insist… since you've given me sooo much."
Power choked on her juice.
Denji's eyes nearly exploded.
Aki looked away and muttered, "Why do I feel like something catastrophic's about to happen…"
Himeno just grinned and poured herself another drink. "Oh, I am staying awake for this."
A dull echoed from the kitchen wardrobe near the cafeteria entrance.
Kang Woo's head tilted slightly. He walked over, opened the cabinet door—revealing two very guilty faces.
Arai froze mid-crouch. "I… I didn't hear anything. Isn't that right, Kobeni?"
Kobeni, voice trembling with forced cheer, added, "Yeah! We… we were suddenly teleported here! By the uh… Teleport Devil! Total accident!"
Kang Woo gave them a flat stare. "Yeah, yeah. Come out."
Himeno turned in her seat, raising an eyebrow as Arai and Kobeni shuffled sheepishly toward the group. Her eyes narrowed with mock accusation.
"Well, well… a peeping tom," she said with a grin. "I thought you didn't like Kang Woo, Arai. Did money change your mind?"
Arai pointed straight at Kobeni. "It was her idea!"
Kobeni gasped, turning toward him in betrayal. "You encouraged me, Arai!"
Kang Woo ignored the bickering and casually asked aloud, "2.4 billion pounds sterling—converted to USD. How much?"
Makima answered instantly,. "Roughly 3.07 billion dollars… in 2019's currency."
Aki blinked, then turned slowly to Kang Woo. "Wait. Did you just say that key… could be worth three billion dollars?"
Himeno didn't wait. She lunged forward and grabbed Aki by the collar, face lit with manic glee.
"OH FUCKKKK, AKIII—WE JUST GOT FILTHY FUCKINGGG RICHHHH!" she screamed.
Aki just stared at her in silent despair.
Denji raised both hands in the air and yelled, "WOOOOO! MEAT AND TIDDIES MONEY, BABY!"
Power slammed both hands on the table with full force. "MEAT FOR LIFE! I'LL BATHE IN GRAVY!"
Kang Woo sighed as if dealing with toddlers, resting a hand on his chin.
"Under normal circumstances," he said calmly, "it can't be sold that much ."
Himeno's joy evaporated like spilled beer on hot pavement. "Noooooo… my moneyyy…" she slumped into her seat, dramatically devastated.
Aki adjusted his collar, exhaling. "Himeno-senpai… it's Kang Woo's money. We're just suddenly floating in a flood we didn't build."
Kang Woo leaned back in his chair, tone casual but deliberate. "I wasn't finished. Like I said—under normal circumstances."
His eyes slid toward Makima, a sly grin curling across his lips.
Makima didn't even need to look back. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose with a tired smile.
"Like I told you all, Kang Woo dragged me into this. And now I'm forced to chase him wherever he goes."
Kang Woo tilted his head, mock confusion in his voice. "But you like it, right?"
Makima chuckled, not answering right away. She let the silence linger, then murmured with a laugh under her breath. "Kuhuhuhuu… I wonder… if one day our positions will switch."
The room fell quiet for a moment, a tension both playful and unnerving settling into the air.
Then Denji blinked and blurted out, "Wait, does that mean I get a billion yen too?!"
Power immediately headbutted him. "STOP MAKING IT ABOUT YOU, WORM!"
Makima spoke next, her tone crisp as always. "After conversion, the $3.07 billion will be split among the eight of us… since Arai and Kobeni are also here and listening."
She held up a hand, calmly listing the math. "That means each of us receives ¥41.9 billion."
Himeno exhaled like a woman whose sins had been pardoned. "That's… that's a lot of money. A lot." She gave a crooked smile. "I'm very grateful to earn it thanks to my hard work."
Kang Woo raised a hand, wagging a finger. "No, no. You guys are the cheer squad. Makima and I are the ones doing the actual lifting."
Makima leaned over, whispering so only Kang Woo could hear. "I know we'll get it. But 2.4 billion pound sterling is plenty. If it were just 1 billion dollars, I could handle it through some backdoors at Vought… but this?" Her tone softened with rare sincerity. "This is overwhelming. We might get caught. It's like we're selling multiple battleships under the table."
Kang Woo's eyes flicked toward her, unreadable. Then he lowered his gaze to his glass, swirling the liquid with lazy calm. He whispered back. "I'll take care of that. Or, more precisely… no one will even notice we have that amount."
He looked at her fully now, something sharp curling behind his smirk.
"And besides," Kang Woo added, low and teasing, "I think you Control Devil really need to stop acting like me. There's only room for one weirdo in this universe. And it's me. Don't give me that face—you were never actually surprised about the money, You just wanted to see how crazy I'd get trying to make that kind of money happen."