They arrived to meet a deserted station of Dongmyo. The place was eerily silent with no sign of a living person. The group could only hear the sound of their own breathing and occasional messages from the constellations.

This made Kim Dokja very confused.

He half-expected that he wouldn't meet the mysterious masked man, but for some unknown reason, he couldn't help but be disappointed. He was quite anticipating the appearance of someone strong who was never mentioned in the novel. Still, a small part of him felt relieved. Perhaps this meant they have successfully dodged a dangerous obstacle.

"What now, Dokja-ssi?" Jung Heewon asked the man in front of her.

He was momentarily silent before answering, "There's no one here so I guess we'll just leave."

As they turned around, a familiar stoic voice was heard from behind them.

"Without even saying hi? Isn't that just rude?"

The teenagers abruptly spun with wide eyes, and their chests tightened at the sight of the black-haired man slowly walking toward them but stopping before he could get close.

"Cale...?" Dokja called out in shock, almost whispering.

"That's me. Did you already forget my name? I've only been away for a week or so."

It was quiet for a while.

"KYANG!" Igneel was the first to leap towards him, flying and crashing onto his chest.

"Oof-" Cale wrapped his arms around the dragon upon receiving the impact. "You're getting heavier. Kim Dokja fed you well, didn't he?"

Igneel purred in agreement, crawling upwards to curl his body around the man's neck.

The group was still processing Cale's sudden presence, completely missing the way he had pulled something from his bag. He threw the purple flag, and it landed near Kim Dokja's feet.

Meanwhile, Dokja looked down. He didn't make any movement to take it. After a while, he blinked, snapping out of his daze as he lifted his head to look at Cale again. "... What is this?"

The other man smiled, it almost looked like a pleased smirk. "Payment."

"Huh?"

"For taking care of the children. Besides, didn't you ask me whether you'll get something out of it?"

Kim Dokja began to stammer, "Well, yeah, but this is-"

Isn't this too much?

Of course, Kim Dokja liked to reap benefits from others, but it was a purple flag. The moment he takes it, he would be able to complete the King's Road scenario, and it would make his plan much smoother. But at the same time, doesn't this mean Cale had claimed the other stations? He's not that heartless and greedy to take something that others worked so hard for.

"I can't take this."

Cale narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"

Kim Dokja sighed. "Because it's yours, you dumbass. Also, shouldn't you take my flag instead? You'd be able to complete the scenario and be qualified as the king."

However, the response he got was a small shrug. "That's too much work."

"... What?"

Dokja frowned and tilted his head in confusion. 'Then why did he-'

"Kim Dokja," Cale said apathetically. As they stared at each other, onyx starry eyes meeting brown, he spoke, "I did this for you."

He was rendered speechless.

"So just take it, idiot."

Dokja let out a breath that oddly sounded like a short laugh. "You've always been the cheekier one, huh?" He said as he bent down to take the flag.

The purple flag was soon absorbed, and his own flag turned black.

Almost immediately, notifications flooded in.

[Your flag has evolved into a black flag.]

[You are able to use the perks of the black flag.]

[Congratulations! You have completed the first king's qualification.]

[You have succesfully occupied the 'target station' of the fourth scenario, 'Changsin Station'.]

[Congratulations! You are qualified for the 'Last King's Qualifications'.]

Kim Dokja stared in astonishment.

That was... very satisfying for some reason.

"You better not regret this and take it back," He said with a sly quirk of his lips.

Cale scoffed. "I won't."

Soon, multiple blue windows popped up in front of the younger man.

[Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed greets you enthusiastically!]

[Sovereign of Eternal Rest weeps and says he missed his child.]

He stared at the messages blankly, unimpressed. "Shut up."

[Sovereign of Eternal Rest is sad.]

Cale ignored it. He was thinking of asking about the Sun God, but the others are still present, so he made a mental note to ask later.

He abruptly snapped out of his thoughts when he felt two people crashing onto him, pulling him into a tight hug. As expected, Kim Namwoon and Na Bori would be the ones to do this.

Meanwhile, Han Donghoon calmly approached, and when Cale was released from the hug, he smiled slightly towards the younger male.

"You're not even shaken even though you've directly walked into a place you hate the most," He remarked as he remembered that Dongmyo Station is indeed something that would certainly bring bad memories to the teen.

Donghoon chuckled sheepishly. "It's a bit overwhelming, but the prophets are gone, everyone is here, and... this is where I met you, so I suppose it's not necessarily the worst place to be in."

Cale's gaze subconsciously softened for a second, which everyone missed but it didn't escape from Kim Dokja's watchful eyes. It disappeared as soon as it surfaced. His sharp eyes scanned the group. "Let's go back quickly."

"Huh? To Chungmuro?" Namwoon asked.

Cale nodded.

Sensing his urgency, Lee Hyunsung spoke seriously, "What's going on, Cale-ssi?"

"... Nothing. I just have a bad feeling."

He might've prevented Kim Dokja's first death, but this is just the beginning. There was no time to celebrate.

Besides, he couldn't possibly just say that the remaining apostles are currently attacking the base, can he?

Though, he supposed he shouldn't worry too much. He had prepared something in advance, after all.

• • •

Chungmuro Station

They heard a voice from the tunnel.

"As expected, Hamelin's Flute isn't enough?"

"How can the 9th grade species compare to a place eaten by Yoo Jonghyuk?"

A group of people appeared from the darkness. Four men and one woman.

Gong Pildu's expression hardened. He didn't know the reason. However, one thing was for certain. These guys were different from the ones they had dealt with so far.

"Dammit... quickly call the samurai girl!"

"I'm already here." There was a cold feeling as Lee Jihye came down from where she had been. "And don't call me a samurai if you don't want to get beaten up."

Despite the grumpy answer, Gong Pildu felt a bit calmer. Lee Jihye was a great power. Yet Gong Pildu still felt uneasy. He was anxious and growled like a frightened beast.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"It's real. The Maritime Admiral and Armed Fortress Master has become a team."

It wasn't an answer that came back but words that were close to mocking.

Gong Pildu asked, "What nonsense are you saying? Quickly go back. Otherwise I will shoot to kill!"

However, the five men and women didn't look at Gong Pildu. They just continued talking to each other.

"Who is on the other side?"

"Number 5, 6, 8 and 9. With the exception of the one outside Seoul, there are five of us left."

"... Are you sure this is a good idea? That man might-"

"You worry over nothing. Those people are at that place at the wrong time. Nothing bad will happen."

"Quiet. It doesn't matter. The five of us are enough. Quickly sweep them away."

The first one who came forward was a man in his 30s with a bulging belly.
He was a man with the number '7' on his shoulders. He had thick eyebrows and looked at Lee Jihye's white legs like they were to his taste. (a/n: i'm gonna be sick. this f*cking bastard.)

"I will take the Maritime Admiral. She isn't a big deal without the sea."

"What are you bastards saying?" Lee Jihye cried out sharply and rushed forward.

Gong Pildu realized it couldn't be helped and infused magic power into the turrets.

"Damn, just go to hell!"

Shortly, chaos ensued.

Lee Jihye's sharp sword pushed the 7th Apostle back little by little. It was natural. The current Lee Jihye was much stronger than the Lee Jihye in the original 'third turn.'

Number 3 and 4 were in trouble because of Gong Pildu's turrents. The 2nd Apostle playing Hamelin's Flute was also struggling due to Yoo Sangah's Binding Thread and Lee Gilyoung's Mjolnir's Thunder.

However, there was one other person, the 1st Apostle, standing idly at the back, watching the fight from the sideline. He frowned, and his mind drifted to something that had occurred a few days ago.

{ It was a mistake.

The woman had stumbled into Changsin Station, ready to execute her plan and claim the place, but her brain short-circuited at the terrifying sight of blood tainting the walls and floors.

The Tyrant King was dead, and a masked figure stood tall on top of his corpse, a stolen sword in hand that dug deep into the lifeless man's chest.

She took a step back, eyes widening in horror while her knees began to weaken. But that caused the man to lift his head, and her eyes met his cold gaze as she supressed a shudder.

The killing intent... was strong.

Fortunately, it ceased after he observed her. His reddish pupils subtly flashed upon recognizing the new individual.

On the other hand, she seemed to think that he was contemplating whether to kill her on the spot or not.

The mysterious man approached her, and she resisted the overwhelming urge to run.

Her writer's instinct is telling her that she won't come out unscathed if she made the slightest thoughtless movement.

He stopped a few feet away and smiled coldly, his intense gaze unwavering.

"I expected that you would come here," He said monotonously, but his chilling voice was almost filled with amusement. "Let's talk, shall we?"

Han Sooyoung gulped. }

'Damn it, I shouldn't have arrived there that day,' The avatar, simultaneously a disguised Sooyoung, cursed internally.

He came forward before pulling something out and lighting it. Then he threw it at the other apostles.

Kwaaaaang―!

There was a loud roar and Chungmuro's platform was covered with explosions.

• • •

Meanwhile...

[A very strong constellation has been detected within the facinity!]

The sole ruler of Eden abruptly stopped. His whole body tensing as he stared blankly at the warning.

Suddenly, someone barged into the room. The Archangel, Raphael, scurried inside, his usual sleepy, half-lidded eyes could no longer be seen and instead replaced by a conflicted expression.

Without even waiting for permission to speak, he said urgently, "It's... It's-" He seemed to have difficulty in speaking for once.

He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence as a strong presence could be sensed from miles away.

With her long wavy golden hair flowing down her back, she walked in leisurely with the utmost elegance, and her silver eyes met Metatron's.

"Excuse me for suddenly coming unannounced. May I request for an audience?"

Metatron knew. It wasn't a request, rather a demand.

He looked at Raphael, and the latter nodded in understanding before leaving the room and shutting the door closed.

"... What is the meaning of this, Angelina?"

The Sun God, Angelina, smiled.

"I have a proposal for you."

Metatron raised a brow, suddenly feeling intrigued. An upper god offering a proposal is almost unheard of. It probably happened once every thousands of years. To see it happening to him felt quite bizarre.

"... I'm listening."

"Have you seen that masked man on the star stream's channel?"

The Archangel wasn't expecting that question, but readily nodded nonetheless. "I have."

"Good. Then never make him your enemy."

Hearing the icy tone caused him to grip the armrest. "... Is that a threat?"

She laughed lightly. "Ah, of course not. It's merely a suggestion, Scribe. That is, if you truly want the Absolute Good to live on."

He narrowed his eyes slightly in hostility. "You and the other upper gods would make your move if I make that incarnation my enemy? You know that's quite impossible. The world is close to deeming him as evil if he keeps continuing on his acts, which I assume he won't stop doing anytime soon."

"Hm, that's true," Angelina hummed, nodding slowly, but it doesn't seem as if she accepted his words seriously.

In all honesty, she's simply trying to avoid telling him that it won't be the upper gods who would start destroying the constellations, but Cale himself.

At her lack of response, Metatron pursed his lips tightly, but said nothing for a short while. His mind was racing.

"What do you want?"

Angelina's bright smile widened.

---

a/n : finally published a chapter again. also, let me just state something so the readers won't be confused.

only the upper gods (god of death, god of war, sun god) know that cale is the masked man. none of the others know about it, not other constellations nor cale's family. if i didn't make it clear enough, saga had cooperated to hide his other identity, so no channels focused on him whenever he took off / started to wear his mask. such as chapter 23 unfulfilled role (3), he was alone, no one could see him being in pain.

anyways, wow, i can't believe people are actually STILL interested in this story. imagine people actually liking something that you wrote??? i'm honestly a bit scared that it would get boring for you guys, but thank you for the support you've shown me so far.

have a nice day.

edit: i forgot cale's family knows how the white star looks like 💀 i have no idea why i said that, it's like 3 a.m. but anyways, only the upper gods AND his family knows about his identity.