790 Episode 37 Graduation ceremony (6)
I spat out the bloody lump that had come out, grumbling, onto the floor.
[Your incarnation body has reached its limit!]
That's it. This is how I achieved my goal.
The fact that I was able to hold on even when I would have fainted if I had been normal was proof of that.
[Exclusive skill 'The Fourth Wall' is activating!]
The fact that this wall has activated means that the readers I've absorbed, and my sponsor, have safely entered the 'library'.
[The story 'Heir of the Eternal Name' glares at you with displeasure.]
I smiled bitterly and answered the story, who was grumbling.
'Thank you.'
If that little story hadn't cooperated, it would have been impossible to restore the [Fourth Wall].
[The story 'Heir of the Eternal Name' turns his head while snorting.]
[Your current existence restoration rate is 18.8%.]
The existence restoration rate has increased to almost 20%. In fact, I felt that my soul's level had increased significantly compared to before.
[Nebula <AsIsgard> recognizes your existence as a threat!]
[Nebula <Vedas> designates you as a singularity!]
Now, my level has increased to the point where I cannot avoid the attention of the constellations. This was even though I was still unable to properly control the constellation within me.
[The story 'King of a Kingless World' is running wild!]
[The story 'One Who Stands Against the Fate' is out of your control!]
I have inherited all of the abilities of my brother, the Demon King of Salvation, so perhaps that is only natural.
I tried to calm the stories down and took a deep breath.
[Story Fragment 'Unrequited Love' is shaking unsteadily!]
[Story Fragment 'Young Man Who Speaks Like an Old Man' is shaking!]
[Story Fragment 'The Heart of a Child' is running wild beyond your control!]
Story Fragments that are still awkward to call my own.
Among them, there were Goo Seonah's, Kim Kyungsik's, and even an unknown reader's.
Some of the stories had such severe side effects that they were impossible to absorb, especially Goo Seonah's story.
It was at that time that [Incite] ran wild and spread out recklessly, touching <Olympus>'s 「Hermes System」.
Thanks to that, I was able to annihilate all the great constellations in <Olympus> that had invaded the Recycling Center, so it may have been a good result.
[The constellations of the nebula <Olympus> show their hatred towards you!]
I guess this means there is no turning back for <Olympus>.
Well, it doesn't matter. They were going to kill me anyway.
"Dokja-ssi!"
As I listened to the voices of the group running towards me, I barely managed to hold on to my consciousness that was about to break away.
[Main Scenario #20 — 'Graduation' has ended.]
The scenario was definitely over. However, not everything was over yet.
Just as my future path was more important than graduation, what was going to happen from now on was more important to me.
[You have inherited the modifier of 'Demon King of Salvation'.]
[The <Star Stream> recognizes you as the 'Demon King of Salvation'.]
[The role of 'Great Demon King' is inherited!]
[The delayed fate is activated.]
[You succeeded the scenario.]
[You failed the scenario.]
At the same time, it was clear what it meant.
YouI as an incarnation succeeded in the scenario, but I as a constellation failed in the scenario.
Why—
[The constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' accepts fate.]
Right now, I have become the 'Demon King of Salvation'.
"What the—"
The moment Kyung Sein, whose eyes had become sharp, reached out her hand toward me, I jumped up enormously.
"Uh, uh?"
My energy began to rise into the air.
"Dokja-ssi, why—"
Dokja-ssiKyung Sein looked up at my stomach with his eyes wide open.
"Why Dokja-ssi, the in Cheon Jong-un Sword…..."
Cheon Jong-un Sword was piercing me instead of the incarnation of the Great Demon King of SalvationSarajeon.
"This is the price of reciting the story of 'Salvation's Learning'."
"Isn't the scenarioOmniscient Reader’s story over?"
Kyung Sein and Dansu ahjussi were flustered.
I looked down at the two of them and smiled.
The people who survived until now, I am grateful to them. Now, they have become incarnations that can do one person's work. Even if I am not here, they will somehow survive. They will be able to get through the next scenario, and the one after that.
"Yes. It's all over."
I felt my body slowly being sucked back. The crack that had formed in the air was sucking my body.
「Where does the Demon King who lost to the scenario go?」
If I had been bounddedicated to the scenario like my sponsor, I would have died here.
However, I was not dedicated to the scenario, I just received his [fate].
So even if I was pierced by the Thousand Song Cloud Sword, I wouldn't die here.
"Dokja-ssi!"
"No! Dokja-ssi! Stop!"
I would just be banished to a place where there was a very high chance of death.
I waved my hand to calm the group down and said.
"Don't worry! I won't die! This is just—"
"Do you think we're stupid?"
Killer King, who had shouted, grabbed my arm through the aftershock.
"You, what the hell did you do? Why is the scenario banishing you!"
It seemed that I couldn't fool the readers.
"Everyone, catch him! Don't let him go!"
It was the first time I saw Killer King so passionate excited.
I looked at him and said.
"Cha Sungwoo-ssi."
Cha Sungwoo looked at me in surprise.
I realized that many things had happened since meeting him. However, we had talked a lot, but not that much.
We don't know much about each other.
Where we used to live, what kind of food we like to eat, what games we like to play, what we think about before going to bed after a hard day.
We don't know anything about each other.
The only thing we share is one thing. That we've read the same stories and admired the same characters.
"Come to your senses. You're the Yoo Joonghyuk of those people."
Cha Sungwoo trembled as if he had been struck by lightning after hearing my words.
A person who has the patience to read a story a hundred times. A person with an unwavering spirit that won't waver in the face of any ordeal.
The group needs such a pillar.
"Shut up! Kim Dokja, what do you know—"
With a crack, my sleeve that he was holding onto was torn. The crack sucked me in even more strongly. At that moment, when I was about to be swallowed by the crack, a spider web flying from the air tightly tied my body.
[Arachne's Web].
It was Ji Eunyu.
At the same time, the group holding each thread of the spider web began to pull me.
"Pull! Quickly!"
I saw the group hanging on the spider web and pulling me.
Cha Sungwoo, Cha Yerin, Kyung Sein, Lee Dansu, and Ji Eunyu.
Shin Yoosoung pulling together behind Ji Eunyu. Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung, who joined in late. KimKang Namwoon pulling the rope with one hand as if he was going to die.
And where the words fell, there was Jung Heewon, who was just beginning to shed tears. It seemed that walking was still difficult, as Jung Heewon staggered and reached out herhis hand toward me.
I looked at her like that, then looked back at the things and laughed heartily.
"Come on, everyone, don't worry. I won't die. I promise!"
That's why I didn't want to be 'The Demon King of Salvation'.
"Don't make promises like that! If you say something like that here, you'll—"
I knew how deep and distant the 'salvation' in his modifier was.
Even so, I received that modifier, and unfortunately, the group had now become the companions of the Demon King of Salvation.
The spiderwebs that had slowly grown began to break one by one. Just like the stories we had tied together were coming apart.
"No!"
Ji Eunyu's extended spiderweb broke.
I spoke to Ji Eunyu, who was moving away.
—Ji Eunyu. You always said that.
I really have no intention of dying.
Since I had no intention of dying, this parting had to be refreshing.
—Excessive emotions actually hinder the readers' immersion.
I heard Ji Eunyu shouting something from afar, but I couldn't hear it.
[You have been banished from the scenario!]
Pitch-black darkness covered me. A place where I could see no stars.
A terrible cold air then came. It was a cold that was hard to bear, even with the [Fourth Wall].
[The story 'King of a Kingless World' resists the cold!]
[The story 'One Who Stands Against Fate' resists the cold!]
[The story 'Demon King of Salvation' resists the cold!]
The sharp cold began to dig into the stories that surrounded me. I felt the stories that formed the constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' freezing in real time.
[The movements of the stories are slowing down.]
It was clear what was happening.
「The constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' will die in the story he loved.」
This was the end that the constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' would face. And after I, as a constellation, perished, my weakened incarnation body would also begin to disappear.
At that moment, a voice was heard along with a faint warmth.
—You.
I knew whose voice it was, so I smiled and answered.
'Bihyung.'
—Damn bastard.
[Dokkaebi Communication]. Even that was about to break off, and the voice of the form that came in was unstable.
I simply stated my business.
'Can I receive the item I requested to purchase earlier?'
As the original author of 『Infinite Instructor』, I was able to receive a huge amount of coin royalties while working on the scenario as the original author.
I used more than half of the coins I had acquired to buy one item.
—This… is an item that cannot be sold, you know?
'It is.'
—You will not survive if you buy this.
Bihyung must know. I will die now with a very high probability.
As a constellation, and as an incarnation.
'Please go. If you stay here too long, you will be suspected.'
—Survive somehow, you idiot…!
Bihyung's voice broke off.
A cold air came over me again.
[The story 'King of a Kingless World' stops talking.]
Every time a story lost its function, it felt like every joint in my body was being torn apart. I checked the item that Bihyungthe shapeless man had given me with my pale, frozen hands.
It was a small horn.
'Horn of the Horizon.'
An item that sends the user to the 'Story Horizon'.
I took a few deep breaths and blew my remaining breath into the horn with all my might.
[Using the item 'Horn of the Horizon'!]
Soon, with the sound of a small whistle, my body began to fall somewhere. I fell, fell, fell again, and how long did it take? When I came to my senses, I was on the cold dirt floor.
I suddenly raised my upper body from the floor.
A garbage dump was visible through the blurry sky.
My stomach churned and I felt like crying.
I survived. I somehow made it here.
「Story Horizon」.
I don't know. I will definitely survive and return to my companions. And so, I abandon Kim Dokja's story.
The moment I looked up at the sky with that thought, the sky, which should have been empty, flashed. Several flashes of lightning struck the ground, and something descended on the ground. <Olympus> constellations.
[That's it, young Demon King. No one can protect you anymore.]
I smiled bitterly.
"This is it."
I never thought those bastards would chase me to a place that wasn't even a scenario area—to be exact, this landfill.
"You must be really angry."
I squeezed out the last of my strength and started my story. Then, my heart stopped.
[The story 'One Who Opposes Fate' stops talking.]
[The story 'Demon King of Salvation' stops talking.]
[All the stories of the constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' stop talking.]
I felt the strength drain from my entire body and fell forward. Finally, the stories of the 'Demon King of Salvation' had finished their mission.
[Your destiny is realized!]
[The constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' loses his qualifications as a constellation!]
[The constellation 'Demon King of Salvation'’s modifier disappears from the constellation!]
A coldness different from before pierced my skin.
I could see the constellations laughing at me and approaching me step by step.
They really are vicious. I would die even if they left me alone, but they came all the way here to finish me off.
In the gloomy sky, I could see letters floating around them.
It was a story I knew well.
I understood many things later. The reason why they were able to maintain a healthy castle gate while invading the lower scenarios so recklessly.
「They had already collected a considerable amount of 'Kim Dokja Fragments.'」
And just like Asmodeus, they had figured out how to use them in some way.
A faint sense of despair came over me. I thought that this time, there was nothing I could do. If I had known this would happen, I would have just given my stories to Ji Eunyu or Killer King.
But I couldn’t give up until the end. The moment I thought about somehow activating [Incite]—
"◼️◼️. ◼️◼️◼️ ◼️◼️◼️…!"
I heard someone chattering. I raised my head and saw a familiar new figure. A man in a pitch-black coat and holding a long spear was glaring at me.
Yoo Joonghyuk?
For a moment, I couldn’t understand.
How could Yoo Joonghyuk be here?
He should have cleared the scenario by now and returned to Earth, so why—
[The subject is currently performing a 'personal scenario'.]
Personal scenario. A scenario that the constellation can specially grant to incarnations who clear scenarios after number 10.
If someone had granted Yoo Joonghyuk a personal scenario, it wasn’t impossible for him to appear. But who on earth would take such a risk right now?
There could be no crazy constellation that would chase me all the way to the Scenario Exile Zone and give Yoo Joonghyuk a 'personal scenario' against the will of the constellations—
"Is that the way to live good? You ◼️birds◼️."
Wait a minute. Did Yoo Joonghyuk… swear like that?
I could see white wings fluttering behind Yoo Joonghyuk.
A sigh escaped belatedly.
There was one. One person.
A constellation that spit out harsh curses with a face more beautiful than any constellation I know.
[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' does not wish for your death.]
790 Episode 37 Graduation ceremony (7)
"I've never lent you my mouth, Archangel."
At Yoo Joonghyuk's irritating words, the Archangel's wings fluttered gloomily.
Soon, with the sound of parts, a translucent figure like a butterfly that had just shed its skin from Yoo Joonghyuk's incarnation emerged.
[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' appears in an area outside the scenarios!]
It was the descent of a 'Narrative-grade Constellation'.
Archangel Uriel.
The constellation that gave up all of its stories to protect Kim Dokja.
Warm emerald eyes turned to me.
[I'm sorry. Did you wait long?]
When I heard that voice, I suddenly felt like tears were about to fall.
[It's okay now. I'll protect you.]
Her incarnation body, which had descended halfway, was shaking unsteadily.
She was not a being from this world line, but Uriel from the 1,864th round. Perhaps she made a contract with the 'Uriel' of this world through some kind of covenant, and thus descended here now.
"Uriel..."
Perhaps the Kim Dokja she wanted to protect was not me. The Kim Dokja she remembers is not in this world. Perhaps he is not anywhere in the universe.
Even so, she came here to protect Kim Dokja.
I felt the legacy of the old Kim Dokja in front of that noble determination.
But even with her arrival, things were not easy.
[An archangel protecting the Demon King, how interesting.]
[Do you think you can stop us alone?]
The 12 seats of <Olympus> were before my eyes.
[The constellation 'Pure Moonlight Hunter' reveals her status!]
[The constellation 'Almighty Sun' reveals his status!]
Pure Moonlight Hunter 'Artemis' and Almighty Sun 'Apollo'.
Two of the 12 seats came here.
Just to catch me. No, maybe it wasn't two.
[Uriel, get out of the way.]
The third constellation of the narrative-grade that appeared with a chilling blast of air.
[The constellation 'Spokesperson of Justice and Wisdom' reveals her status!]
The Spokesperson of Justice and Wisdom, Athena.
Uriel frowned, not knowing that she would come too.
[You don't like it? And don't speak informally. I'm not the 'Uriel' you know?]
Only then did Athena notice something and her expression changed.
[You're not—]
[Oh. Right. It's annoying to explain, so if you noticed, get out quickly.]
[Archangel of another world line. Why are you interfering with us?]
[Because you're doing bad things.]
Bad things. Uriel glanced in my direction as she said that.
[Since when did the 'Spokesperson of Justice and Wisdom' become a villain who persecutes the weak.]
[He's not weak. He is the Demon King, and this world—]
[Objections and penalties.Kwonseonjingyak, do you think that boring logic you have is still working? Do you really think that kid is 'evil'?]
Athena co uldn't answer.
[Even that kid is not even a constellation or a Demon King anymore. Because of that damned fate you've called, he's now a mere incarnation that can't resist anything. And yet you're going to kill that kid?]
Athena bit her lips and glared at Uriel.
[Are you really going to fight here?]
[Then what are you going to do?]
[Do you know what will happen if <Eden> and <Olympus> go to war?]
[◼️Eat it. My <Eden> has already been destroyed.]
Athena's eyes looked like she was wondering what she meant, but she soon seemed to have made up her mind and took out her holy relic, 'Aegis'.
[Artemis. Apollo.]
At Athena's signal, the three of the twelve divine seats surrounded Uriel.
Uriel glanced at them and spoke to Yoo Joonghyuk.
[Do you remember what I asked you to do?]
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
[No matter what happens, you must protect him.]
At the same time, Uriel and the three divine seats disappeared.
Following that, a radiance that covered the pitch-black universe burst out. As the red flames poured out by the omnipotent sun Apollo illuminated the universe, Artemis' arrow flew in, leaving a blue trail.
Uriel was also holding a holy relic in her hand.
A sword containing the most sublime flame of [Hellfire].
'Flame of Karma.'
As the archangel's sword split the universe, the sun's corona and the hunter's arrow split apart at once.
Athena's Aegis was the one that stopped her sword from tearing apart space itself.
[Block!]
A fighting power that was on par with the 12 gods of <Olympus>.
The 'Flame of Karma' was not only pressuring the three gods, but also slowly pushing them back.
It was truly astonishing power.
No matter how much Uriel was the Archangel of <Eden>, she was not able to fully use the power of the 1,864th round.
Even a half-body, not an incarnation.
And yet, that's all.
Artemis, whose face turned blue, shouted as if she thought that this couldn't go on.
[Athena, danger—!]
Uriel flew.
As the pure white wings spread out and rippled, leaving a deep shadow in the universe, Uriel's sword, which had cut off countless demon kings' heads, moved.
[Everyone, fall back!]
Athena raised Aegis at the signal. Aegis' immortal defense wall spread out while scattering.
[What the—]
That 'immortal defense wall' was slowly melting away. Soon, the flames of [Hellfire] that completely tore through the outer shell of the defense wall were about to pour down on the heads of the three gods.
"Get out!"
Yoo Joonghyuk shouted.
A pitch-black wave came in silently.
Uriel was swept away by the wave in an instant. Then came the roar of the monsters. The sound of something being torn apart.
The wave disappeared, and Uriel was staring at the direction the wave had come from with a large wound on her shoulder.
Then, as if responding to that gaze, the wave answered.
[Foolish archangel. Do you know what you are up against?]
My heart felt like it was going to burst just from hearing the voice. Sparks exploded fiercely all over the place. As if not caring about such probability, the giant body of the god was swaying in the void.
Just witnessing their true form was enough to take my breath away.
Only after Yoo Joonghyuk, standing next to me, unleashed his status, did I barely manage to catch my breath and stare ahead. There was a mythical constellation of <Olympus> there.
「Where his spear touches, it will soon become the sea.」
<Olympus>'s third god. The spear that draws the boundary of the sea—Poseidon.
Uriel smiled bitterly.
[Oh, the rumor has already spread that far?]
Instead of answering, Poseidon grabbed his beloved Troiana. The waves of the deep sea surged like an active volcano through Troiana's spear.
I staggered up like a crazy person.
"Uriel. No. Uriel—"
Even if it's Uriel, she can't face them all.
I have to stop her.
If this continues, Uriel will die, but my voice didn't come out properly.
I grabbed Yoo Joonghyuk's wrist. Please save Uriel.
But Yoo Joonghyuk spoke in a blunt voice.
"The scenario I received is to protect you."
I wanted to swear at him. But my exhausted body did not listen.
A distant wave crashed down on Uriel. It was a tidal wave that she, exhausted, could not handle alone.
Thump.
That was when the sound of gunfire was heard from somewhere.
Thump.
One shot, two shots, three shots. The continuous barrage of fire directly hit the waves that were coming. It broke, broke again, and the momentum of the tidal wave began to weaken little by little.
Goosebumps ran down my spine.
I couldn't figure out what was going on.
"You're doing well. Be sure to keep that promise, Master."
I knew who that voice belonged to.
Lee Jihye.
As expected, she was someone who shouldn't be here, someone who couldn't be.
Yoo Joonghyuk also looked at Lee Jihye with surprised eyes. He couldn't help it. The 'power' flowing out of Lee Jihye's body right now was clearly higher than Yoo Joonghyuk's own.
"Ahjussi."
The moment I heard the voice directed at me, I knew right away.
Where did 'Lee Jihye' come from?
"I can only help you for a little while. This 'covenant' is really short."
A covenant from another world.
She came here even after making that difficult contract.
"Thank you for saving Gilyoung."
"Gilyoung—"
"Don’t worry. He’s safe."
Thankfully, Gilyoung seemed to have returned safely to <Kim Dokja Company>.
"My dongsaeng got beaten up in a faraway place, so I can’t just sit still as a noona."
My heart kept pounding even though I knew I shouldn’t.
<Kim Dokja Company> was here.
They came not to stop us, but to save us.
Lee Jihye looked at me with calm eyes before turning back to Yoo Joonghyuk and saying.
"Master, I’ll say this once. Run away with all your might, taking ahjussi with you."
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned. The expression on his face was that he didn’t like the fact that she had to 'run away' as the expression said.
But Lee Ji-hye ignored that expression and said.
"You know that if you lose ahjussi, it’s all over, right?"
"…"
"I don’t know how this world will end, but if ahjussi falls to that side, it’s definitely the worst ending. So I have to protect him."
"Even if you don’t say anything—"
"If by any chance ahjussi dies…"
Lee Jihye took out the 'Ssangryong Sword' she had on her waist and added coldly.
"Master, you'll die to me."
Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.
Well, where on earth would Yoo Joonghyuk hear such words from Lee Jihye?
But that Lee Jihye had the right to say such things.
She was Lee Jihye of the 1,864th round.
She was a member of <Kim Dokja Company>, an incarnation of Admiral Yi Sunsin, and the successor of the Breaking the Sky Swordsman who broke the sky after Yoo Joonghyuk.
[The constellation 'Maritime War Godsea messenger' proudly helps its incarnation.]
When on earth did they appear?
There were constellations watching over this world where there wasn't even a scenario.
[The constellation 'Bald General of Justice' cheers on the Maritime War Godsea messenger.]
[The constellation 'Goryeo's First Sword' admires the Maritime War Godsea messenger's spirit.]
[The constellation 'Maegeumjijon' praises the Maritime War Godsea messenger's courage.]
They were constellations.
[Currently, a 'temporary channel' is in operation.]
It seems that Bihyung opened a temporary channel for me.
Poseidon, who responded to their indirect messages, took a step forward.
[Silent!Strongly. This is not a place for the constellations of such low ranks the highest rank to interfere.]
With Poseidon's gesture, waves began to surge from all directions. Top-tier marine species poked their heads out between the waves. Fangs that looked as if they would tear Lee Jihye apart at any moment.
Lee Jihye swung her sword toward the teeth of the waves.
Breaking the Sky Sword.
Breaking the Sky Ryu Seong-gyeol.
The sword light that flashed from the Ssangryong Sword pierced all the marine species in the waves.
Poseidon's eyes widened in shock, and the deep-sea waves that had been engulfing him suddenly stopped.
As if to show respect to another master of the sea.
The constellations of the 1,864th round called her this.
「The monarch of the great sea」.
The sound of crashing waves was heard.
Across the pitch-black space, the sea three, the bows of the ships began to rise one by one behind Lee Jihye's back.
"I heard that our master had a showdown with Odin."
She stood at the front of the lined-up fleet and looked down at the sea god of Olympus with proud eyes.
"If it's you, I'll be able to get some relief."
As the enraged Poseidon swung Traiana, the tidal wave surged again.
The woman standing in front of the tidal wave raised her twin dragon swords. [The Ghost Fleet] moved.
「The monarch of the sea is not defeated at sea.」
Lee Jihye opened her mouth as if to prove that sentence.
"Load the cannons."
7921 Episode 37 Graduation ceremony (8)
Lee Jihye signaled.
"Fire!"
Lee Jihye's ship began to fire.
Poseidon frowned as he was hit by the concentrated fire. He swung Triana with all his might, as if he could not accept the fact that he was tied down by a mere human's fire.
[Get out.]
The blue created by the light of the snow swept across the surface and hit the ghost fleet directly. The ships could not withstand Poseidon's attack and sank.
[Skill, reactivate 'Ghost Fleet Lv.???'!]
However, the ships were revived by Lee Jihye's simple signal. The fleet, which was in perfect condition with not a single bit of damage, began to fire again.
"Load! Fire!"
This was the reason why she could reign as an invincible monarch in the ocean. As long as there was an ocean, her fleet could never be destroyed. Poseidon growled as if he didn’t understand, kicking away the barrage.
[The sea is mine! If you don’t clean up that trash right now—]
"You’re talking just like the old man."
[What?]
"Why is the sea yours? Did you buy it with money?"
Who would dare to make such a fuss in front of a mythical constellation?
Poseidon, who had frozen for a moment, answered in a distorted voice.
[The gods of our <Olympus> created the sea. And I am the great—]
"That’s nonsense. The sea existed before you were even created. Didn'tcreated? Didn’t you learn about primordial soup in school?"
In fact, Lee Jihye doesn’t know much about how the sea was created either. She was wasn't listening in science class.
However, while they were killing time with pointless conversation, there were two people running through the hazy sea of ​​space.
The 41st master. And—
'The 41st ahjussi.'
Lee Jihye knows that he is not the Kim Dokja she remembers. But now, that didn't matter.
No matter what world Kim Dokja was in, Kim Dokja was Kim Dokja.
Lee Jihye accepted that fact.
「Ahjussi chose this world.」
She didn't know why. However, Kim Dokja judged that there was an ending that could only be reached by reading this world completely.
Lee Jihye respected that judgment and decided to reserve her judgment.
She didn't know whether Kim Dokja would return to them or not. This world might be a comedy or a tragedy. However, just as Kim Dokja once protected her, she would protect Kim Dokja's choice.
And at the end of this world, she would grab Kim Dokja's neck, who was laughing stupidly, and say, "I knew this would happen."
'For that to be possible.'
First, she had to take down Poseidon in front of her.
「The mythical constellation, Poseidon.」
A great star that she wouldn't have dared look at in the past. Even the king of the underworld, 'Father of the Rich Night,' had a hard time with it.
'But if it were me now.'
The tension between the two beings across the sea began to rise endlessly.
As Lee Jihye's momentum grew fiercer, Poseidon's expression hardened even more.
"Mr. Sea. I'm going to give it my all from now on. Can you handle it?"
Even if it's a mythical grade constellation, it's burdensome to explode above a certain level.
This is a universe without a 'scenario'.
If one made a mistake, one could draw the attention of the gods of the other world.
In other words, the fight here was a matter of life and death even for a mythical grade constellation.
[Young human, who do you think I am?]
The sea grew angry. As the storm raged, waves swirled around and began to distort all the ships.
A strong gale that even the constellations wandering nearby were swept away.
[Get out of here!]
Artemis and Apollo retreated in fear. It was a disaster that even a mythical-grade constellation would not be able to survive if it was swept away. Only Lee Jihye ran through the storm of disaster. Her [Ghost Walk], which had been developed to its limit, assisted her steps, and her [Kendo], which had reached the realm of transcendence, paved the way. [god killingGhost KillingGwisal]’s eyes flashed in the foam covering her head.
Poseidon’s new form was visible in the distance.
Looking at the shadow that seemed close enough to touch but not quite there, Lee Jihye thought of the old Kim Dokja’s face.
「"Jihye-ya."」
She always felt like an outsider in this story.
She was not as strong as Yoo Joonghyuk, as smart as Han Sooyoung, or as affectionate as Yoo Sangah.
「"Well, so what?"」
She was also not as honest as Jung Heewon, as firm as Lee Hyunsung, or as desperate as Shin Yoosoung.
Even after seeing the end of the world, breaking through the [Fourth Wall], crossing world lines, and finally losing Kim Dokja— she was still an outsider in the story.
「"You worked hard. I know."」
[Sunsal] reached the limit and cut through the waves. The waves that jumped up left cuts on her cheeks and arms like blades, but she didn't stop.
She cut and cut again. How many times did she cut?
"Ahhhhh!"
A blind wave cut through her side. Bright red blood spurted out and she was swept away by the current. The storm of a mythical constellation was ravaging her entire body. She could see the sea creatures that smelled blood coming towards her.
She didn't put down her sword even as she was being pushed here and there.
"I really liked your story."
That day, the 'Lee Jihye' that Kim Dokja had talked about was not her. So she tried. She swung her sword again and again to become the Lee Jihye that Kim Dok-ja had talked about. In order to reach the sentence that Kim Dokja had read, in the end, she hoped that that damned ahjussi would read her alive here someday.
「Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.」
A phrase that was barely obtained after training and training again.
「True God Ouijeolgi.」
There is no such technique in Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
If the master or the great master Breaking the Sky Swordsman had seen it, it would have been greatly criticized, a technique that does not even appear in the 'Ways of Survival'.
「Breaking the Sky Myeol Hwanggeom.」
The swordsmanship that was only possible through Lee Jihye’s swordplay shone.
「A tragic attack to destroy the king of a world.」
She doesn’t know if Kim Dokja is seeing this.
But if he was, she really wanted to tell him.
Kwaaaaaaaaaa—
The exploding sea screamed, and Poseidon’s incarnation body leaped out.
The moment Poseidon, whose side was deeply torn, let out a loud scream, Lee Jihye’s sword cut Poseidon.
Through the flying water droplets, the scenery of the 'Recycling Center' could be seen in the distance. Looking at the school scene that was being torn apart by the storm, Lee Jihye, who had spat out a lump of blood, laughed bitterly.
'You must come to the next graduation ceremony.'
*
「The story was pouring out of Kim Dokja's heart.」
Sentences that appeared in real time above the newspaper.
「Yoo Joonghyuk ran while blocking the story from flowing out.」
If this continues, the youngest will die.
The Demon King of Salvation scolded the kkoma Kim Dokjas around him to calm his troubled mind.
「"Hey, don't you have any other solutions?"」
The kkoma Kim Dokjas looked at the Demon King of Salvation all at once. It seemed as if they were asking him why he was asking that.
「"Wasn't that person the biggest Kim Dokja?"」
「"He's a pitiful hyung."」
When the Demon King of Salvation suddenly opened his mouth in shock after being bombarded, the kkoma Kim Dokja with his hair tied in a ponytail spoke.
「"You said you were the first Kim Dokja."」
As the Demon King of Salvation nodded, Ponytail Kim Dokja asked again.
「"Then there's a 'second' too, right?"」
「"That's it."」
「"I don't know what the circumstances are, but right now doesn't seem like the time to be weighing the pros and cons."」
The Demon King of Salvation twitched his lips and let out a light sigh.
The kkoma Kim Dokja was right. The most important thing right now was the survival of the youngest. For that, the 'Demon King of Salvation' would do anything.
He slowly took a deep breath and opened his mouth in a loud voice.
「"Second. Can you hear me?"」
The 'Second Kim Dokja' is not here.
But even if he's not here, he'll be listening.
「"I know you're upset about my decision. You probably wanted to stay with <Kim Dokja Company>."」
If he can't hear, [The Fourth Wall] will tell him instead. That guy has this skill too.
「"It's all my fault. I'll admit it. So just this once—"」
With his eyes tightly shut, the Demon King of Salvation thought about the 'Second Kim Dokja'.
「"Just this once, can't you help the youngest?"」
He is Kim Dokja who understands the deepest sadness of anyone in this world.
「"If this continues, another sad story you like you will be born."」
And after a while, sentences began to appear on the newspaper again.
*
Yoo Joonghyuk ran with me through the darkness. The universe was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything. We ran through that universe together. To be exact, Yoo Joounghyuk ran alone, with me by his side.
I squeezed out the voice that was barely coming out.
"Yoo Joonghyuk."
"Don't say anything. The stories are leaking."
Yoo Joonghyuk took the angel out of his arms and bandaged my wounds. He used the secret of martial arts, Cheonjangsa, on me. Honestly, I was touched.
"You are a good guy after all. My eyes were not wrong."
As if asking what nonsense I was talking about again, Yoo Joonghyuk glared at me with sharp eyes then put his arm around me. Occasionally, an explosion could be heard from afar.
What happened to Lee Jihye?
Even if it were Lee Jihye, would she be able to defeat Poseidon?
Even if Poseidon was defeated, it wouldn’t be the end. <Olympus> had many powerful gods. Zeus, who was in the upper row, was there, and there were the other 12 gods.
<Olympus> wasn’t all that there was.
And there weren’t just one of them chasing us now.
[The constellations of the nebula <Vedas> are looking for you!]
[The constellations of the nebula <Asgard> are looking for you!]
[The constellations of the nebula <Gwiok> are looking for you!]
…
The story of the 'Demon King of Salvation' had exhausted its power, and I was no longer a constellation or a constellation’s agent. I was just an incarnation with a few plausible stories. Now, all I could do with my weak incarnation body that couldn’t even make a sound was to use an item to convey my intentions.
[You have applied for the 'Midday Tryst'!]
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned for a moment and nodded hesitantly.
['Midday Tryst' connected.]
Anyway, you’ll accept anyway, so don’t be annoyed.
—Just leave me alone and go.
I could feel the presence of constellations chasing us from afar. Even Yoo Joonghyuk couldn’t possibly deal with them all. It would be impossible even if he used all of the story imprints.
—I know you received a personal scenario. But even if that fails, there’s no particular penalty, right?
Yoo Joonghyuk’s personal scenario was established by Uriel’s authority.
There was no way Uriel would suggest a scenario with such an excessive penalty to Yoo Joonghyuk.
—I’m going to die soon anyway.
Of course, I really didn’t intend to die. There is a way to survive.
There must be.
But it would be difficult if Yoo Joonghyuk is by my side. If Yoo Joonghyuk is here, Yoo Joonghyuk will also be in danger.
—Why are you trying to save me?
That’s why I made up my mind.
—Aren’t I a nuisance to you anyway? You’ve disliked me from the beginning.
No matter what happens, let’s get this guy away.
—I’m not the Cheon Inho you were looking for. I’m not the one who deceived the stars, nor am I a great villain who can subdue the Ten Evils. I…
"I know."
—What do you know? Of all the Yoo Joonghyuks I know, you know the least. I…
"You’re not Cheon Inho. I know."
Yoo Joonghyuk cut me off and looked at me.
"You’re Kim Dokja."
Kim Dokja.
"I don’t know if that’s your real name or not, but I’ll call you that for now."
The way Yoo Joonghyuk called that name in the 41st round felt strange. I said with a bitter smile.
—Yes. Please do. And that Kim Dokja, just put him down and run away. That’s what you have to do.
"My job is to save you."
—No, why?
The sound of crows could be heard nearby. It seemed that Odin’s 'night crows' had come nearby.
Now there really was no time.
But Yoo Joonghyuk continued speaking in a calm voice.
"You saved both the mainstream and weak groups of people at Geumho Station."
—Yes.
"It was stupid. In the end, turning people who would otherwise be divided into one group is meaningless and pointless."
I wanted to refute him right away, but Yoo Joonghyuk continued speaking.
"You did strange things at Chungmuro ​​Group, too."
I recalled what had happened at Chungmuro ​​Station.
"You blocked the 'emergency defense' that I had set off. It was worthless. All the people at Chungmuro ​​Station are destined to become subordinates of the Ten Evils."
—No, wait. What on earth are you trying to say…
"When we elected the station representative, I clearly gave you the flag. But you dared to refuse to be the 'representative'. Because of that, everything went awry."
—That’s…
"Even at the Washington Dome, you did something you shouldn’t have done."
Yoo Joonghyuk continued to talk as if he didn’t want to hear my answer.
The point was that I only did things I shouldn’t have done.
"All those things ultimately led to your death."
Is that what he wanted to say?
I nodded with a bitter smile.
—Yes. That’s right. It was a poor choice.
But Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t finish talking.
"Why did you save me?"
—Yes?
"I tried to kill you several times. At Geumho Station, at Chungmuro ​​Station, and in the theater dungeon. But why did you—"
Come to think of it, I saved Yoo Joonghyuk quite a few times in this round. In the theater dungeon, in the Washington Dome.
It just so happened that way.
—You always saved someone, didn’t you? Isn’t the opposite also possible sometimes?
Yoo Joonghyuk licked his lips several times and then opened his mouth.
"You won’t be able to reach the end of the scenario with such a naive story."
I couldn’t figure out what this regressor was trying to say.
Is he trying to criticize me since I’m about to die?
At that moment, I saw my story flowing out through the tightly tied ceiling.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked down at the story without saying anything.
It was only then that I realized what this damned regressor was trying to say.
「How does Yoo Joonghyuk know everything that happened to me?」
I thought maybe no one would read it. No one would remember how I lived and what stories I had built up.
"And yet that pathetic story—"
But there was someone who had read the whole story.
"It was the first time I’d seen it."
He was the main character of this world.
793 Episode 37 Graduation ceremony (9)
There was silence for a long time. The one who finally broke the silence was Yoo Joonghyuk.
"What are you laughing at?"
—Just that.
Yoo Joonghyuk glared at me as if he were looking at a strange person.
Actually, it wasn’t a situation to laugh at.
「The 'Night Raven' legion under Odin who rules the skies of <Asgard>.」
From a distance, I could see the crows charging their magic power and preparing their magic cannons. If they started firing, we would be turned into a beehive in an instant.
Still, I thought it was okay.
「"It was the first time I ever saw such a pathetic story."」
With those words, I felt acknowledged. That the way I had lived was not wrong, that all that time had been meaningful enough.
—You said that you couldn’t go back anymore.
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
—Is that still true?
Yoo Joonghyuk looked up at the sky and answered.
"Maybe."
—You’re not going to run away, are you?
Yoo Joonghyuk agreed with silence.
After all, Yoo Joonghyuk is Yoo Joonghyuk, whether he regresses or not.
In that case, I should also play the role of Kim Dokja.
—Okay. Let’s fight.
As if he was saying, "What nonsense are you talking about?" Yoo Joonghyuk’s hand held me with strength.
"If we fight head-on, you—"
—They can’t kill me.
It wasn’t just Odin’s 'Night Ravens' that were approaching.
Enemies were swarming from all sides.
The constellations of <Vedas>. And the pursuers from <Olympus> who were aboard the 'Argo'.
The vast net spread by the constellations in each region surrounded us without a single gap.
—Because I’m needed.
Now, I’ve become one of the 'largest fragments of Kim Dokja' that exist in this world line.
So from now on, those guys will fight over me.
—Throw me when I give you the signal. You have to throw me exactly in the direction I instructed.
Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to understand what I was saying right away.
"It might not work out the way you think."
—Isn't the <Star Stream> something that doesn't work out the way you think no matter what you do?
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned and muttered.
"Damn it."
—Now!
Yoo Joonghyuk threw me at the signal. I quickly crossed the space and headed to the exact midpoint between <Vedas> and <Olympus>.
[This is a joke! Capture him!]
The heroes of Greek mythology aboard the ship 'Argo' surrounded me. At a glance, they were all great constellations.
Orpheus, Theseus, Castor, and even King Oedipus, who had nothing to do with the ship.
Kukukukukuku!
That was when a thunderous roar echoed through the void.
[What—]
King Oedipus looked around and screamed in shock. At the same time, the 'Argo' collided with something.
I witnessed the wondrous sight of a huge ship and a train colliding in a huge explosion.
[The Supreme God of Light!]
The ship's crew shouted and rushed to Surya's sun chariot.
The brightly shining Surya released his own energy in response.
[The constellation 'Supreme God of Light' reveals his status.]
One of the 'Locapala' of <Vedas>.
'Supreme God of Light' Surya.
The narrative-grade constellation of <Veda> that appeared in the main story's Demon King Selection Tournament was revealing its power.
[Kuaaaaak!]
The great-grade constellations that could not handle Surya's light melted away with screams.
The great constellation, as if it had no interest in the small-timers, turned around and looked at me.
[Are you 'Kim Dokja'?]
I felt really strange. I never thought I would meet Surya like this.
I answered with my voice barely recovered.
"But."
I briefly hoped that this Surya might also be from the 1,864th round like Uriel, but it didn't seem to be the case.
He looked down at me with a curious gaze and said.
[If you follow me obediently, I won't harm you.]
"How polite of you."
Instead of answering, Surya summoned a giant palm from the air. The palm made of stories grabbed my entire body.
I frowned and asked.
"A constellation like you wouldn't move easily. Is this an order from <Vedas>?"
[I have no obligation to answer.]
"Aren't you against the will of <Vedas>? Why do you continue to be the henchman of the nebula?"
At my words, Surya's eyebrows furrowed.
[What is your intention in making such a fuss?]
"Do you know? The person I knew really pulled an amazing train."
Surya, the 'last engineer' who led the train of <Kim Dokja Company>. If he hadn't been there, the characters in the main story wouldn't have been able to overcome the final wall.
"Shall I show you a little?"
I recalled the sentences I had written in detail. Then, the sentences immediately came to mind as story fragments.
「Surya's entire body, sitting in the engine room of the train, was dazzling like the incandescent sun.」
Surya's eyes widened as he touched the story fragments.
「Without showing any sign of it, he ran the [sun chariot] using his own body as fuel. As if it was his mission as the 'god of supreme light' who had lived all this time.」
Surya's grip loosened. It was only for a moment, but it was enough of an opening for me.
"Yoo Joonghyuk!"
Yoo Joonghyuk, who had approached me in an instant with my signal, caught me.
Surya screamed.
The [Fake News], which had reached its limit, crossed the scenario change. It barely managed to break through the encirclement, but it wasn't over yet. The train's engine start sound was heard again from afar, and the constellations chasing us continued to scream.
"We can't run away like this forever."
—It's okay.
I said, keeping an eye on the constellations chasing us.
—Because 'those things' will soon be coming.
This place is not a 'simple scenario outskirts'.
This is the border of the Void Curtain and the outskirts of <Star Stream>.
In other words, it was a place where the boundary with the 'other world' was blurred.
Tsk tsk tsk!
Sparks resonated everywhere as if they had been waiting. Portals began to open one by one in the aftershock.
What appeared beyond the portal were pitch-black hunting dogs.
「Hounds chasing the abyss.」
The hounds of the other world that protect the rules of the <Star Stream> have appeared.
[The dogs are coming!]
The constellations' convulsive cries.
The night ravens of Odin that were wandering nearby had their wings torn off by the hounds' teeth, and the constellations screamed.
Constellations exploding everywhere and hounds trampled by trains.
In the shaking vision, the nebulae and foreign news chasing us were mixed together to form a huge hellscape.
「It seemed as if the entire universe was chasing us.」
I and Yoo Joonghyuk were in that hellscape.
Maybe it was because the situation was so unrealistic. I laughed heartily and then lost consciousness several times and woke up repeatedly.
[There is currently no scenario assigned to you!]
[Your incarnation body is in danger!]
My body trembled several times as if I had been shocked. For a moment, my consciousness went black and I was in a snowy landscape.
「Kim Dokja.」
I called out that name without realizing it. Then, along with the cool air, I saw someone's shadow.
A coat fluttering lightly in the wind.
I instinctively reached out my hand toward him.
Who is that Kim Dokja?
Is it the Demon King of Salvation? The 49% Kim Dokja? Or is it another Kim Dokja I haven't met yet?
The moment I thought about that, I realized that his coat wasn't white.
The eerie Demon King's wings stretched out from behind the red coat.
It wasn't Kim Dokja.
「Are you still looking for that name?」
A familiar face looked back at me.
It was a face I knew well.
「Cheon Inho.」
I got goosebumps. Cheon Inho had never appeared in the snowfield before. Nevertheless, the being before my eyes was definitely Cheon Inho.
He slowly lowered his body and looked at me.
「You've really become a different face now.」
A voice suddenly came to mind.
【Do you really want to know? Even if that truth could ruin you forever?】
A voice I once heard in my fading consciousness.
I was sure of it.
It was definitely Cheon Inho’s voice.
Cheon Inho nodded as if answering my question.
「You’ve really reached the end of the 'Recycling Center'. That’s great. Now you know who you are.」€k
Who am I?
I clearly came here because I was curious about that question.
So did I know the answer?
「Save Yoo Joonghyuk.」
Cheon Inho smiled with his eyes, perhaps finding my request amusing.
「That little bastard hates me.」
「If I die here, you die too, you son of a bitch.」
My current body is Cheon Inho's. So if I die, Cheon Inho’s body will be destroyed as well.
「I won’t die. Above all, aren’t you now 'Kim Dokja' instead of 'Cheon Inho'?」
「I’m not going to play with words.」
「You still don’t know who you are?」
「I—」
I recalled the memory I had seen through Goo Seonah at the Recycling Center.
The confrontation between Kim Dokja and Kim Dokja.
The 49% Kim Dokja who was trying to protect the 41st world line, and the Demon King of Salvation who was fighting against him.
I hesitated and asked.
「Am I… the 49% Kim Dokja?」
Cheon Inho looked at me for a moment and then asked back.
「What on earth does '49% Kim Dokja' mean?」
「What?」
「There must be a Kim Dokja who has 49% of the memory called A, and there must be a Kim Dokja who has 49% of the memory called B. Then can we say that the 49% of those two are the same 49%?」
I was speechless for a moment.
Cheon Inho was talking right now. The concept of total memory content is meaningless when proving a human being.
Cheon Inho nodded his head as if satisfied with my appearance.
「I think you finally found the answer.」
「I—」
「Kim Dokja who didn’t want to remain Kim Dokja.」
Cheon Inho’s sharp eyes were asking me.
「Do you want to save Yoo Joonghyuk?」
I nodded.
「Then do what you can do best.」
What I can do best.
「That’s why you came to this world. Didn’t you want to change the ending of this world?」
Cheon Inho opened his eyes and a vast snowy landscape was captured in his eyes.
「Write it yourself. With your dreams, try to convince the rest of the world.」
With a gasp, I regained consciousness. My vision was intermittently shaking. The screams of the boiling constellations.
I was still riding on Yoo Joonghyuk’s back. How long had I been asleep? It seemed like my incarnation body had recovered a little more than before. Did I take an elixir while I was sleeping? Or,
[The exclusive skill 'Fourth Wall' is being strongly activated!]
Is it because of the [Fourth Wall]?
"You're awake."
Yoo Joonghyuk's tired voice.h
Yoo Joonghyuk's condition was confirmed.
The moment I did, my heart skipped a beat.
Arms and legs torn off by hunting dogs. His entire body covered in blood. Yoo Joonghyuk limped forward in that state.
"How much time has passed?"
"Three days."
I swallowed my breath.
Yoo Joonghyuk had been running away from the nebulae and otherworldly gods for three whole days, carrying me while I was unconscious.
"Why—"
He could have easily run away on his own. If he had been alone, there would have been a way to survive. But Yoo Joonghyuk didn't run away.
I heard the sound of blood and the sound of Yoo Joonghyuk's knees giving out. Yoo Joonghyuk, looking down at his protruding kneecap, slowly put me down on the ground and fell forward.
"…Run away."
As I watched him mutter like that, I took out a summoning tablet from my chestbosom. It was an elixir I had prepared in advance for times like this.
I poured the crushed elixir into Yoo Joonghyuk's mouth. Even while his consciousness was in disarray, Yoo Joonghyuk glared at me.
[Exclusive skill 'Fourth Wall' is strongly activated!]
I slowly closed my eyes.
There were eyes watching us from beyond the wall.
My sponsor. And the readers whose names and faces I don't know, but who were once 'Kim Dokja'.
I thought of them.
"Thank you, Yoo Joonghyuk. You've done enough."
Just as they are Kim Dokja, I am also Kim Dokja.
And any Kim Dokja would have no choice but to make the same choice as me at this point.
"No matter what happens, you must survive."
Yoo Joonghyuk, who glared at those words, miraculously got up.
I activated [Knight Resurrection].
But I didn't give him a chance and released my status.
The moment Yoo Joonghyuk, who lost sight of me due to the temporary shock, moved away, I shouted into the air.
"Demon-like Judge of Fire!"
At my call, a bright star twinkled in the distant universe.
"Uriel! Please return Yoo Joonghyuk to Earth right now!"
794 Episode 37 Graduation ceremony (10)
With a squeak, something bit my sleeve.
It was Odin's night crow.
The crow, with its ominous cry, asked mockingly.
「Have you given up?」
I smiled and answered.
"No."
「There is no constellation that can help you now.」
I know that too.
What constellation could help us, who have become enemies of the entire universe?
「That would be right. If it were a 'constellation'.」
A very old story began to flow out from my body.
The stories that had recovered a little during the three days that Yoo Joonghyuk had given them began to tell their final stories.
[The story 'Demon King of Salvation' begins its storytelling!]
Like the constellations that flickered at the last moment, all the stories of the 'Demon King of Salvation' were awakening.
「"You were the one who said you couldn't do it alone! You were the one who gathered us together! You told us all about this!"」
I listened to the voice of the story without saying a word.
「The group heard the message. Looking at Kim Dokja's fluttering hair. Looking at his long eyelashes and eyes, his white cheeks, and his sadly distorted lips. Realizing anew that Kim Dokja existed in this world with such a face.」
What kind of expression do I have on my face right now? Like Kim Dokja that day, will someone remember my current appearance?
「I want to see the ending with you all too.」
The startled night crow let go of my sleeve and flew up, screaming.
The crow had noticed. 'What' I was trying to call.
"Come! ◼️◼️◼️◼️◼️◼️◼️!"
The sound of the space-time of the universe being torn apart. A massive suction force was generated between the cracks covering the sky.
Constellations, otherworldly deities, hunting dogs. All existences in the area were disappearing into the cracks.
A cleaner that devoured the distorted probability of this <Star Stream>.
「The probability is sufficient.」
The opponent was the disaster of the highest peak of this <Star Stream>.
「If this is really the story you want, I'll show you as much as you want.」
I looked up at it, barely suppressing the trembling of my whole body.
‘Indescribable distance’vastness.
The nameless mist.
Judging by its size, it seemed to be a powder rather than a main body, but for now, the powder alone was enough.
[Run away! Everyone—!]
The constellations began to scatter as the disaster devouring probability appeared. In an instant, the fog of 'Indescribable DistanceVastness' grew in size and swallowed up the entire universe. As I watched the fog slowly approaching to bite me, I thought of the main story of 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.
In the main story, when the 'Demon King of Salvation' was in danger of being eaten by the 'Indescribable Vastness', there was a god from another world who saved him.
「Secretive Plotter.」
It would be a lie if I said I didn't expect it at all.
Maybe he would come back. Maybe he would save me here, just like he did in the original.
However, I knew it was a vain expectation. So I called out more possible modifiers.
"Jecheon Daeseong! Please help me! I offered the meat of the Nagkak!"
Anyone would do.
"Abyssal Black Flame Dragon! Have you forgotten that low-level dragon heart? We're both dragons, so help us!"
I wish even just one constellation would respond. Please, in this damned Star Stream.
I want to live.
I shouted and shouted until my throat burst. The moment the fog that had surged in was finally about to eat away at my entire body, someone wrapped around me.
A hard back.
I spoke while being carried helplessly on that back.
"Why didn't you go?"
Then the owner of that back spoke.
"There's still something I have to get from you."
The 41st Yoo Joonghyuk did not return to Earth. He refused Uriel's offer and stayed here.
Through [Resurrection of the Knight], I could hear the sound of his heart racing.
With all his remaining life, he started to run while limping.
"Is there no other way?"
This guy really seemed to believe that there was something he could do for me until the very end.
I smiled bitterly at that foolish regressor and answered.
"No."
"I see."
"But it's not over, you know? I might go to the afterlife."
"I've never been there when I'm dead."
I wish I had a little more time to write the story.
"Now that I'm not a regressor, I might go this time. Let's start over from there. The goal is to cause a revolution in the underworld and take away the giant soldier 'Pluto'. How is it?"
"That can't be possible—"
Yoo Joonghyuk glared at me as if he couldn't believe it, then muttered as he looked ahead.
"I wish there was."
No matter how much he ran, it was impossible for Yoo Joonghyuk to escape from the 'Indescribable DistanceVastness'.
Even so, Yoo Joonghyuk didn't give up. He ran without giving up, just like he always did.
I felt sorry for him.
I wonder if there are any sentences left for me to save him. But I have to try everything I can.
[Exclusive skill '□□' activates!]
The world's scenery slowed down and the final argument began.
However, I didn't know what sentence to use to save Yoo Joonghyuk. No matter how much I imagined, I couldn't picture a future where we could escape.
I thought that maybe this might be the end of the 41st round. Our fate is to disappear without being read properly, without even being left as a proper story.
[Warning! The skill is not being used smoothly due to the collapse of the incarnation body!]
[You have very little space.]
To make matters worse, the number of characters given to me was less than twenty.
Just twenty characters.
How could I persuade the world with those twenty characters? How could I make them read a story that no one reads?
The moment I thought that far, a light came on in my head.
A story that no one reads.
And I completed a single sentence.
「This is a story about despair that cannot be read.」
That was all I could write.
A sentence that could probably change nothing.
To say that a story cannot be read is a story that cannot be read.
And yet, I thought.
This is enough. I was sure that if it was the reader I knew—if it was him who loved this story more than anyone else—he would definitely read this sentence.
[Successfully recreated the scene.]
[Exiting 'Snowfield'.]
The fog of 'Indescribable Vastness' engulfed us.
Yoo Jonghyuk started running with all his might.
[A new story begins to sprout!]
With each desperate step of his, sentences that I could not write continued.
「Even if it is not read, I will not give up.」
I read that linelife, recalling the footprints of a person left in the snowfield.
「Just by not giving up, a story becomes a tale.」
I hope this story reaches beyond the universe.
But the speed of the fog that was creeping up was faster than I thought, and we were finally caught up by the fog.
"Kim Dokja—"
At that moment, I felt my stomach churn.
Something was coming.
"Yoo Joonghyuk!"
We instinctively crouched down. A vast storm of light surged around us.
My head felt dizzy. Yoo Joonghyuk, who was staggering, lost sight of me.
We looked back, floating in the weightlessness of the scenario. The fog that had covered us until then was dispersing in a dazzling flash of light. Between the magnificently dispersing fog, a magnificent view of the dying universe unfolded.
There was nothing left where the light had passed. It
No constellations, no other worldly deities, nothing.
Soon, a single sentence rose above the universe that had spread out like a new blank space.
「It looked like some kind of period.」
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a period.
A man was watching us in the landscape of destruction.
*
A faint thunderclap was heard in the clear sky. A faint hint of an aftershock. A small spark that popped up and dyed the sky for a moment, then quickly disappeared.
Yoo Joonghyuk, sitting on the bed, muttered as he looked up at the sky.
"Probability aftermath."
It couldn't have happened.
There was no way something like a 'probability aftermath' would have come in here, not in another world.「This is a story about despair that cannot be read.」

"Captain. What are you talking about? Are you half asleep?"
Lee Jihye grabbed Yoo Joonghyuk’s arm and dragged him out of bed.
"Have you forgotten what day it is today? Wait for the kidbaby!"
Yoo Joonghyuk silently got up from his seat and took out his coat from his clothes.
Come to think of it, today was an important day.
Lee Jihye got angry at Yoo Joonghyuk, who was naturally putting on his coat.
"Captain! Are you crazy? Are you going to wear that black coat today?"
"There’s also a white one."
"Black and white! Captain, you can’t wear thate constellation fashion today. You’re no longer 'Secretive Plotter'!"
"I—"
"Please be ordinary! Dress as inconspicuously as possible! All the parents are coming, so you want to show off your baby?"
"…"
"Oh, really. Before Uriel unnie left for work, she told me so earnestly— Why is there only the same coat in the closet?"
Lee Jihye grumbled and naturally started searching through Lee Hyunsung’s closet.
"Why is this guy only in his military uniform!"
"Lee Hyunsung is a soldier."
"No, soldiers only wear military uniforms?"
Lee Jihye finally found a suit that wasn't a military uniform in Lee Hyunsung’s closet. It was a suit.
"Here, wear this!"
Yoo Joonghyuk accepted the suit that Lee Jihye handed him without saying a word.
Lee Jihye nodded in satisfaction as she watched Yoo Jonghyuk quickly get dressed.
"It suits you well."
"It's not a good outfit for combat."
"Why fight? Let's go quickly. We don't have much time."
Today was the day of the parent observation class. In case they were late, the two quickly looked around and started running through the air with [Jujak Shinbo].
"It's gloomy weather."
"It's sunny, what are you talking about, really?"
It took less than 5 minutes to get to school. The two of them, who had lightly adjusted their clothes in order to avoid being noticed as much as possible, entered the schoolyard in a jiffy.
Judging from the mess in the classroom, it seemed like class was already in progress. The teacher who was waiting outside happened to notice the two.
"Are you here to observe as parents?"
When Yoo Joonghyuk nodded, the teacher smiled slightly and asked again.
"Is your kid'skids name..."
"Kim Dokja."
"Oh, you're Dokja's parents!"
Lee Jihye, who thought she would be misunderstood the worst if things continued like this, quickly stepped forward.
"This person is his uncle. I'm his older sister."
"Oh. I see. Would you like to come this way?"
She followed the teacher's instructions.
As they entered the classroom, they saw a group of parents gathered at the back of the classroom.
Some parents noticed Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Jihye and chatted, or even glanced at Yoo Joonghyuk’s face.
However, most of them were just standing there, yawning repeatedly, bored.
The two of them sat down near the lockers and observedd the students.
The students were each drawing on their weown drawing paper under the guidance of the art teacher.
The small backs of their heads were gathered here and there.
Yoo Joonghyuk quickly found the one that was most familiar among the backs of their heads.
"It’s amazing to see sometimes."
Lee Jihye, who happened to be looking at the same back of the head, said.
"It’s amazing to think of so many things with that small head."
Time passed quickly.
The students submitted their drawings one by one. Every time a drawing was submitted, the teacher called the parents over with an exaggerated gesture and talked to them.
"Wow, what did you draw?"
Even as the students who had finished submitting their work were chatting with their parents and leaving the classroom, Yoo Joonghyuk saw a small head still buried in the desk.
Just as he was worried that his head might get sucked into the desk, the teacher made their move first.
"Dokja. Time's up."
"Just a moment."
Now, only Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Jihye were left in the back of the classroom.
The teacher, who had noticed the two, smiled brightly and asked.
"Father. Would you like to come over here and take a look?"
Yoo Joonghyuk approached him.
However, Kim Dokja, who was so focused that he didn't even notice him approaching, was absorbed in his drawing.
The teacher asked.
"What are you drawing?"
"Space."
"Space?"
As Kim Dokja had said, the background of the drawing was pitch-black space. Space with faint starlight scattered about.
Three people were standing ion that space.
The teacher, who had been looking back and forth between the drawing and Yoo Joonghyuk several times, asked.
"Is this by any chance your father?"
"Hmm."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at Kim Dokja's painting. There was definitely a man with the exact same face as him.
A man covered in blood all over his body, glaring at the world with hateful eyes.
Yoo Joonghyuk immediately recognized who he was. He couldn't not know.
'41st.'
Because that Yoo Joonghyuk, was the Yoo Joonghyuk who most resembled himself.
Next to him stood a man wearing a pure white coat.
His hair was a bit lighter than he remembered, but this time, Yoo Joonghyuk immediately recognized who he was.
"Who is this?"
Kim Dokja answered with an embarrassed expression.
"It's me from another world."
"Oh my, this is a profound painting."
The two people in the painting looked very tired, as if they had been fighting someone just a moment ago.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at the two people in the painting for a long time, as if he was reflecting on the old times.
In the meantime, the teacher's gaze turned to the last person in the painting.
"Then... who is the naked person next to him?"
There was a naked man holding a sword.
Yoo Joonghyuk also looked at the man.
However, the moment he looked at the man, he felt as if the man in the painting was looking at him.
"Captain."
Only then did Lee Jihye notice something was wrong, and her face changed. She looked at Yoo Joonghyuk.
Yoo Joonghyuk continued to look down at the man in the painting without answering, and then suddenly looked up into the sky.
Tsk tsk tsk.
The aftershock of the sky that he had witnessed earlier was heard once again.
Looking at that spark, Secretive Plotter opened his mouth without realizing it.
"Still."
At first glance, a longed-for starlight seemed to twinkle across the vast expanse of space.
Staring at that starlight, Secretive Plotter said.
"It seems there are stories left that I haven't read."
795 Episode 38 Chance (1)
「All coincidences are probable from the universe's perspective.」
— Dokkaebi King
*
I don't know if I've ever talked about that writer.
「"Please put coincidences in unconditionally. The more the better. Please give them to the main character."」
The lecturer of the first web novel lecture I ever heard. Because he emphasized 'coinciding with coincidences' in every class, the students used to call him ‘Giyeon’'coincident' for short.
Because he was older than me, I called him 'coincident hyung', but one day, the one I used to call 'coincident hyung' suddenly disappeared from the industry.
Some said that he started writing under a different pen name, and others said that he left the industry altogether. There were also people who mocked him, saying that he must have been reincarnated into another world and met Coincident in that world.
However, no one actually knew what happened to coincident hyung.
But actually, I have something to say about his disappearance. Two years before he went missing, he contacted me.
—Hakhyun-ah. Do you want to work on a project together?
He contacted me right when his next project was a complete failure. I was happy to hear his call, but at the same time, I felt uncomfortable.
—Hyung, our styles are so different.
Collaborating on a project.
Usually, writers in their right minds wouldn’t do something like that. Not only would ‘collaborating’ not work well between writers with strong egos, but it often ends up being a negative when two people write together.
Furthermore, it’s not a structure where you can make more money through collaboration.
—Honestly, I’m not sure I can do it well. It’ll just be a nuisance.
—No. I need your help. Can we work together just once?
Was it because the voice on the other end of the phone was desperate? Or was it because this month’s management fee came to mind?
Even though I knew I shouldn’t do it, I couldn’t resist the temptation.
—I really don’t have confidence… Then how do you work?
—I’ll write the first draft. Then you can look at it. If it fails, I’ll fail, so don’t worry.
—But hyung, you’ll give the main character ten karma from the beginning, right?
—Hey. I’ve changed now. I won’t give the main character karma anymore.
Karma hyung doesn’t use karma?
I thought it was a joke, but I was curious anyway.
—What’s the genre?
—It’s a modern fantasy, but I’ll arrange it with a mix of martial arts and systems. Actually, I haven’t drawn up a specific worldview. Since you’re good at that, I’d like some help.
—You’re not telling me to draw it all, are you?
—I said it’s a collaboration. We’ll draw it together, but you’ll lay the groundwork. What do you think?
—Okay.
—Okay, let me ask you a favor. I think my senses are old now, so I’m not good at making trendy settings, so I’ll give you a decent ratio.
As I listened, it was a tempting suggestion. Some ideas just popped into my head.
—Do you have a rough plot?
—Well, there’s no worldview yet. Just because a tower suddenly appeared in the world…
—The tower climbing genre is a thing of the past.
—That’s true, but wouldn’t it be okay to make the main character a little more unique?
—What abilities are you going to give him?
—Let’s not give him any abilities.
No abilities?
—He trains hard without any abilities and becomes strong. It’s time for the classic hard-working main character to return.
There are many such main characters now, but there weren’t many back then.
—How about training hard in just stabbing?
I guess that’s why.
At that time, I found his idea very interesting.
—Well, yes.
When I think back to those days, I often think this.
Maybe all the stories in this world are connected.
We just don’t notice it, but maybe all writers are contributing to a 'huge piece of work' in ways we never thought of.
—Um, then what about the title…
The moment I heard these words, a title came to mind as if by fate. I thought that no other title would suit this story.
—『The World After The Fall』. How is it?
Several years have passed since that day.
『The World After The Fall』, which we wrote together, was completed with modest results after many twists and turns, but even so, that writer, who could not endure the hardships of life, disappeared somewhere.
I don’t know where he went. However, the royalties that came in occasionally told me that the work we wrote was being read by someone.
"Kim Dokja."
With those royalties, I was able to eat, pay management fees, and pay rent.
I was able to continue my life as a writer.
That’s why a parody of 『The World After The Falkl』 appears in 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』.
Courtesy towards the writer who I wrote with. Or, I hope that he is still reading and writing novels somewhere in this world.
When I think about it now, there are times when all of that feels like a lie.
Was 『The World After The Fall』 really a novel we wrote?
Maybe he and I were just nameless scribes who received and wrote down dreams from some distant universe.
"Kim Dokja!"
I suddenly came to my senses at Yoo Joonghyuk's shout.
"Ah."
I suddenly looked behind me.
The empty void of space lay there. The nebulae that had threatened us until then, and the gods of the other world, were all swept away.
In that magical moment of emptiness, I clearly witnessed the flash of light that swept them all away with my own two eyes.
A stab.
It was definitely a stab.
"Be careful."
With those words, Yoo Joonghyuk stepped forward in front of me. His body had become tattered since he came here. Watching him step forward with such a body, I also stood next to him.
"I've never seen this guy before."
Yoo Joonghyuk's expression, which was sullen, was shaking with agitation.
Have I ever seen 'Yoo Joonghyuk of the 41st round' so tense?
The dot that had seemed like a period was getting bigger and bigger. The dot soon took the shape of a man. What was a little unusual was that the man was naked. I could tell without anyone saying anything. He was the main character who used 'stab'.
The moment our eyes met, I felt like the fluff on my entire body was going to burn. It felt like huge eyes were watching me.
A huge and intense eye that stared into space.
I had never felt this way even when I faced the constellations of the highest level.
"Yoo Joonghyuk. Do you believe in fate?"
"What?"
A naked man holding a sword finally arrived in front of us. He looked back at the two of us with a leisurely gaze and muttered.
"Are you those guys?"
Those guys. It was as if he knew us.
"It's just as he said."
The man's eyes, filled with deep disappointment, stared at me for a moment before turning to Yoo Joonghyuk.
"I expected it to be bad."
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned and twitched his lips.
I stepped forward before anything unexpected could happen.
"The 'Monarch Slayer' Jaehwan! Is that it?"
The man's expression changed subtly at my words.
"Do you know me?"
Of course I could not help but know.
He was the main character of 『The World After The Fall』 that Ihe had written with Kiyeon.
The absolute being of the worldview 《Tree of IllusionPhantom TreeFantasy Beast》.
The monarch killer Jaehwan.
Now, the main character of that story that we couldn't even tell if we had written was looking at me.
"Is there anyone in this universe who doesn't know your name?"
"It's not this universe where I'm famous?"
"Let's say it's the universe next door."
He even had a history of encountering Kim Dokja, who had become the 'oldest dream', while wandering around on the subway.
Well, it wasn't a good memory for either of them.
In any case, the important thing is that he had appeared in 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.
—Kim Dokja.
I could hear Yoo Joonghyuk's [Midday Tryst], which seemed quite tense.
—A being that is on par with a mythical grade constellation.
A mythical grade constellation.
The constellations that occupy the highest positions among the stars in this <Star Stream>. Right now, Yoo Joonghyuk was saying that the man was as strong as them, or even stronger.
I don’t know why the monarch killer came here. But this was our opportunity.
"Please. Please help me."
"What?"
"I need your help."
I never thought I would have to ask him for help. But there was no other way.
[You have been expelled from the scenario.]
With a 'tsk tsk' sound, the probability staggered around.
The incarnation body that had been stable for a moment was shaking once again.
[Enter the new main scenario.]
[If you fail to obtain the new main scenario, you will die.]
I had forgotten for a moment. I died in place of the Demon King of Salvation at the 'Recycling Center', and in return, I became a 'Scenario Exile'.
Just like Kim Dokja of the Demon World, my incarnation body would disintegrate if I didn’t enter the new scenario.
Jaehwan, who was quietly looking at me, asked.
"Why should I help you?"
Judging from the way he spoke, he seemed to be Yoo Joonghyuk's ancestor.
However, seeing that the conversation continued, there was still hope.
"You helped me just now, didn't you?"
"I didn't help you. I just got rid of those who were interfering with my training."
Training?
When I focused my vision, I saw an energy rippling all over his body. A sharp awl extending toward the world. It was an energy that seemed to symbolize 'stabbing'.
It was creepy. Even at this moment, he was repeatedly stabbing the world.
Stabbing hundreds, maybe thousands of times per second.
If I were to visualize the concept of 'stabbing', would it look like that?
"If you guys keep interfering, I'll kill you too."
An eerie warning.
Normally, it would be normal to leave immediately. The opponent was a being that could compete with a 'mythical constellation'.
Kukukukukuku.
A seething noise from the other side of the void. I could feel the tension between the minions of the nebula who had not yet given up on us and the gods of the other world.
Right now, they are keeping an eye out because of this man, but the moment we open up even a little distance, they will come rushing back like lynxes.
My intuition was telling me. I have to buy some more time, somehow.
"Is there a reason you are training so hard when you are so strong?"
Jaehwan did not answer, but I continued to ask.
"Who did you come here to meet?"
I pondered his nature and asked again.
"Or do you want a strong 'enemy'?"
'Jaehwan, the Monarch Slayer' was a man with a stronger competitive spirit than anyone else. He stabbed and killed all the monarchs and gods who reigned over 《Tree of IllusionPhantom TreeIllusionary Beast》, and eventually destroyed the universe he belonged to. Maybe he was interested in the strong people of this universe.
Jaehwan slowly raised his head, and a faint emotion filled his eyes.
"Is there such a being?"
"I'll let you fight them."
I didn't use [Incite]. I instinctively knew that [Incite] wouldn't work on the being in front of me. Right now, the only thing I could trust was my own three-inch tongue.
Fortunately, Jaehwan looked a little interested.
"How?"
"We're being chased by the constellations of the <Star Stream> right now."
Perhaps this might be the perfect opportunity to eliminate our enemies. If only we could make this being, who is approaching the 'god Myth-grade constellation', our ally.
I took a few deep breaths and continued.
"Just by being with us, all the strong people of the <Star Stream> will come looking for you."
"Are you trying to use me?"
"We're just giving each other a little help. Just allow me to stay by your side."
Anyway, if I let him go here, I would be in a situation where I would have no food or shelter. Since the hilt was over there, I thought it would be better to be honest about the situation rather than trying to convince him with nonsense.
Jaehwan looked at me without answering. Then he slowly turned his head and looked behind me.
When did it start?
The nameless things that had been watching from afar were once again expanding their forces and coming forward.
"It's annoying."
He swung his sword into the air, his voice uncertain whether positive or negative. Another flash of light struck, and the surroundings became quiet. It was truly an eerie sense of inaction.
Jaehwan, who had gotten up from his seat, slowly began to move somewhere.
I signaled to Yoo Joonghyuk to chase after him.
But Yoo Joonghyuk didn't respond at all.
When I looked back, Yoo Joonghyuk was unconscious. I belatedly noticed his broken knee and the wounds.
It was only natural.
It was a brave situation to have held out this long even after using [Resurrection of the Knight]. I picked up Yoo Joonghyuk and started chasing after Jaehwan. Fortunately, he moved just fast enough for us to keep up. I took that as his consent.
Was this a coincidence?
What would Kiyeon have said if he had seen that man's back?
[Your incarnation body is unstable.]
[The story 'Heir of the Eternal Name' warns you.]
'I understand, so don't whine.'
The lifespan of my incarnation body was decreasing in real time. From now on, it was a race against time.
While chasing after that 'monarch slayer', I had to somehow find a way to get back to the 'main scenario'.
The monarch slayer Jaehwan muttered without looking back.
"One week. No more."
I nodded while carrying Yoo Joonghyuk, who had become a rag.
"One week is enough."
We will never die. At least not until we change the damn ending of this universe.
I started walking diligently, following his footsteps left in the void.