I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers - Chapter 40: Finals group stage (7)

In the city of Graheel, a small antique shop sits quietly mixed in with all the other shops. Its unassuming appearance is easily overlooked by many. However, this store and its owner has a terrible secret. A devil lives in that building. The owner of the store, John Li, an enigmatic figure whose origins and intentions are unknown. The desperate from around the world, often unknowingly, come to him in search of salvation.A red witch thinks the owner is an ancient creature, a white fox calls him a wizard of eld, a warrior believes him to be a spirit, and a holy woman declares him a god. This mysterious individual and his customers would stand at the center of a strange series of events. From the store owner John's perspective, he has no idea what's going on. He really was just an unlucky dude that got caught up in some crazy stuff.

The world froze.Literally froze. The chattering students, the falling cherry blossoms outside the window, even the dust motes in the air – all suspended in perfect stillness.“Oh wonderful hero,” a melodious voice echoed through the room. “Your world faces a terrible crisis, and you have been chosen to—”“No,” he said flatly.A pause. Then a shimmer of golden light coalesced into the form of a beautiful woman in flowing robes. She blinked at him. “I... what?”“I said no. I'm not interested in whatever quest or destiny you're selling. Pick someone else.”The goddess's perfect features creased in confusion. “But... but you've been chosen! The prophecy speaks of a warrior with a fierce spirit, one who—”“Lady, I don't care about your prophecy. I've got enough problems here without adding some fantasy world's issues to the mix. Now un-freeze time and leave me alone.”“You don't understand,” she pressed. “Our world is being ravaged by the Demon King's armies! Millions will die without—”

Humanity achieved dominion over the galaxy long ago.Once that was accomplished, they turned their ingenuity inwards. With their prowess over biological engineering, they transformed themselves into deific beings now called the Gene Tyrants. For centuries, the Gene Tyrants terrorized the galaxy, designing and abusing their genetically engineered servants and serfs as their whims took them.No tyranny can last forever, though, and the Gene Tyrants were eventually overthrown. The rebels discovered a strange light of the mind called Aether, which gave them the strange and fantastical powers they needed to eradicate their creators. Once that was done, however, that by no means meant peace.In the thousand years since, the face of the galaxy has changed. The most powerful human civilization is called the Supremacy, the homeland of 'might makes right'. In the Supremacy, a crime committed by the strong is no crime at all. With their military strength and mastery of Aether, the Supremacy has spread across the galaxy -- with the other powers able to do little but stall their advance. This struggle has developed into a cold war, and that cold war has frozen over for years now.Dragan Hadrien, a low-level administrator in the Supremacy, cares nothing for any of this. Dragan's primary concern is getting himself a promotion and taking it easy for the rest of his days. When a mysterious prisoner is brought aboard his ship, he thinks he has found the means to do just that.How naive of him.

Before they got married, Laurent already knew that Dave Washington had another woman in his heart, yet she still chose to marry him because Dave had always been the one she loved. She loved Dave, but his heart belonged to another woman. It was said that this woman loved another man, who happened to be Dave's illegitimate half-brother. Laurent believed that having a child would secure their shaky marriage.Until one day, the woman Dave loved finally told him, “Actually, the person I love is you.”Laurent had devoted her youth and energy to this sensational and messy love story, only to helplessly watch it collapse. Heartbroken, she chose to divorce.She thought Dave's infidelity would make her easily give up on the house, car, and property during the divorce, with the only request being custody of their daughter. But to her surprise, Dave insisted that she was unfit to raise their daughter and refused to give her custody.In order to fight for her daughter, she embarked on a long and exhausting legal battle.She said to him, “You're so persistent—aren't you worried your lover is waiting for you anxiously?”Dave smiled and replied, “If you have time to worry about her, you might as well get a new lawyer.”In a fit of rage, she threw a cup of water in his face. “Dave Washington, you're despicable!”Yes, every lawyer she hired was bought off by him with large sums of money. Finally, disheartened, she gave up custody of their daughter and decided to leave the country to heal.But he sent someone to intercept her at the airport...