a/n: why are you still reading this story???

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Kim Dokja was frozen, his thoughts were racing and his heart was thumping wildly in his chest as he pressed his back on the wall behind him, as if he was trying to sink within it and hide.

From afar, the figure slowly approached closer with small steps, as if this was just a normal morning walk around the park.

Dokja could finally see him properly now. The person was wearing a brown robe, his head covered by a hood. The wind blew, revealing the face of a fairly young man with a fiery shade of orange that seems to glow in the sunlight, the locks falling in artful disarray around his face. His eyes are an intense shade of green, with a piercing gaze and framed by dark lashes, seemingly gleaming with something that made Kim Dokja shiver.

His mind was in shambles. This was not part of the plan, and this was something out of his control. His pupils shook slightly as his mind tried to come up with something, running through every single thing that his mind remembered about Ways of Survival that could possibly help him out of this situation. But all he could think of was one thing.

Yoo Joonghyuk's regression.

If he was Yoo Joonghyuk, he could just die and then proceeded to regress.

But he was not Yoo Joonghyuk.

[The exclusive skill, 'Fourth Wall' is shaking ominously.]

His heart was pounding and his breath hitched in his throat as he heard the footsteps getting closer.

Kim Dokja had expected to die somewhere through the scenarios. He wasn't the main character, he knew that very well. But he didn't expect to die this soon, especially with the knowledge he had of the novel.

He held his breath, bracing as the shadow became closer. And then...

"Boo."

The stranger said with a smile, peeking his head from behind him.

BAM!

A loud noise ensued as the person was practically thrown back, causing dust to fly around in the air.

Kim Dokja flinched, his eyes widening in shock as a familiar teenager stood in front of him.

"Na Bori...?"

She turned to face him, her eyes glowing a bright yellow. Her hair was a long golden blonde, reaching her waist. Meanwhile, her Ruyi Bang seemed to glimmer in her hand.

"Ahjussi! Are you okay?!"

Kim Dokja was still in shock, completely speechless as he tried to process what's going on. He blinked, snapping out of his trance rather quickly. "How did you get here...?"

"Donghoon-ah told us that you were in trouble. Didn't know ya were so weak, ahjussi."

Another familiar teenage voice spoke from behind him, and he turned to see Kim Namwoon with his red eyes narrowing as he stared at the person who was flown back.

"..." Kim Dokja blinked again before shaking his head. "Wait, what about the others?"

"Grumpy ahjussi is fine," Namwoon retorted.

"I'm not talking about him."

"Really? I wouldn't have known."

Dokja let out a deep exasperated sigh. "What about Lee Hyunsung and Lee Jihye?"

This time, Bori responded, "They're okay. They're still with grumpy ahjussi. We ran here as fast as we could so we didn't have time to explain to them. They're most likely still helping with taking over the stations."

"I see." Dokja nodded.

Meanwhile, from afar, the person slowly stood up, dusting themselves off with a grumble in a nonchalant manner. "You know, I'm not used to being ignored, but I suppose there's a first time for everything."

The sound of his voice made the three of them wary once again, each of them holding their respective weapon in hand.

The young man scanned the three of them before his gaze landed on Kim Namwoon, and his lips quirked up slightly into a small smirk. "Well, aren't you quite the trouble? At least the sponsor behind you. He's very annoying, you see. Quite the hypocrite, if you ask me."

Namwoon raised a brow, glancing at the blue window beside him.

[The constellation, 'Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed' warns you to be careful and not get involved with this person.]

[The constellation, 'Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed' advises you to run away.]

[The constellation, 'Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed' says his past self was foolish and tries to convince you that he has become a better entity.]

[The constellation, 'Sovereign of Eternal Rest' says constellation 'Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed' is a liar.]

[The constellation, 'Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed' says that someone who pesters their saintess and an innocent person who dreams of being a slacker on a daily basis shouldn't speak.]

Kim Namwoon ignored their argument. He could honestly care less about hypocrisy and everything else. All he cared about was the fact that his obviously strong sponsor deemed this individual as dangerous.

The young man's gaze now landed on Na Bori. "Hm. You can be quite the difficult one to handle too if you team up with the little guy. I guess you are strong in this world's standards... Plus, I hate monkeys, I think they're unruly creatures."

Na Bori tried to not look at the blue window in front of her, but they were too visible for her to not see.

[The constellation, 'Prisoner of The Golden Headband' is cursing this individual.]

[The constellation, 'Prisoner of The Golden Headband' says he will show this individual the true strength of an angry monkey.]

[The constellation, 'Prisoner of The Golden Headband' says he's going to peel this person like he peels his bananas.]

[The constellation, 'Prisoner of The Golden Headband' says he might even peel this person like an orange because of his weirdly flashy ginger hair.]

[The constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' feels disturbed.]

[The constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' is laughing maniacally.]

Na Bori facepalmed. So much for constellations that were said to have a great reputation...

The young man spoke once again, "Oh well, whatever. I don't have business with the two of you. My target is him." He pointed towards Kim Dokja.

Namwoon and Bori narrowed their eyes as they immediately shielded the man.

That made the stranger raise an eyebrow before he laughed heartily. "Bahahah-! How amusing." His eyes met Kim Dokja's, and his smile widened. "The story's gone way off the railings, don't you think so?"

That made Dokja freeze.

Another apostle? It couldn't be. They were dead, mercilessly killed. Was it a reader? No, even if it was, they wouldn't have known about the whole story; not about the constellations and Na Bori's existence because they weren't revealed in the early chapters.

Kim Dokja could not figure out the identity of this mysterious individual. It was both frustrating and frightening.

The young man grinned. "Hm... But you see, I don't like fighting. I'd rather let others do it for me." He flicked his fingers, and there were suddenly many people surrounding them.

The three of them looked around and noticed how the people's eyes were empty. Kim Dokja could only come up with one conclusion: Mind Control.

'A skill like this in the early scenarios? What kind of overpowered nonsense is this?!' He thought in frustration.

Dokja could spot a few kings in the crowd, even Min Jiwon, the King of Beauty that he had met on the way. He subconsciously held his breath. They were obviously outnumbered.

He scanned the crowd as he activated his skill, checking the windows of all available characters that were present. Most of them were weaker than him, Bori, and Namwoon, but the problem was the numbers.

Would the three of them be able to take them all at once?

...

He glanced at Namwoon and Bori.

... They can. Because their sponsors were stronger.

These people's constellation sponsors are historical grade. Meanwhile, The Great Sage is a narrative grade, a very strong constellation. And Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed... Well, considering he's an 'upper-god', whatever that is, he must be pretty strong... right?

Anyways, no matter how many historical grade constellations there are, going up against a narrative grade constellation without a stronger fable would be pointless.

The mysterious young man spoke once again. "Well, that's enough chit chat." He smirked, causing the three to brace themselves. Then he said one simple order to his pawns.

"Go."

At the same time, Namwoon shouted, "Na Bori!"

"I got it!" She instantly replied, standing in front of them in a flash and spinning the Ruyi Bang, creating a strong gust of wind that blew away the incoming wave of people.

Soon, she stopped, making way for Namwoon to charge with his dagger, slicing the opponents with ease.

[The exclusive skill, Close Combat Lv.3 is activated.]

[The stigma, Bloodthirst is activated.]

He swung his weapon, drawing out blood that spluttered everywhere, but they didn't fall to the ground. Instead, they flowed in the air and merged into a blood whip that violently attacked the crowd of people.

"Now!"

Upon hearing Namwoon's cue, Bori plunged the staff into the ground, sending lightning bolts into the whips and spreading the electric shocks in one fell swoop. It caused everyone inflicted to fall limp onto the ground, unconscious.

Unfortunately, there were still many people around them.

"Namwoon, watch out!" Bori called out after seeing another person creeping up towards him with a spear, their presence undetected.

Before the boy could do anything, the hand was sliced, and Kim Dokja stood tall with his blade in hand.

"I can't believe the kids are protecting the adult. I'm a bit worried, but my pride is also hurt," He said nonchalantly, shaking off a bit of the blood from his sword.

Namwoon blinked for a moment before scoffing. "Hmph. Ahjussi, you only have yourself to blame. Who told you to not choose a sponsor at the beginning?"

"I'm starting to regret it," He replied, scrunching up his face. Then he struck a pressure point of another person that came charging, careful to not kill them because of a certain attribute of his.

"Ugh. They're moving like they don't care about what happens to them at all," Namwoon grumbled, plunging his dagger on someone else that came running recklessly. "Are they zombies or something?"

"... They're more like soldiers who would blindly follow their commander's orders, no matter what it is and the cost of it," Dokja commented calmly, raising his sword to deflect a magic arrow.

Namwoon clicked his tongue. "Tch. It's the worst kind of enemies in movies and video games."

As an ex-employee of a gaming company, Kim Dokja had to agree. "Well, at least it's better than fighting the boss of them."

They didn't even notice a strong lightning attack that aimed towards them in a flash, to which Bori immediately deflected it with her staff. "Are you two done talking?!"

"Hey! Have some respect for the adults," Namwoon immediately retorted, his tone laced with smugness as he used his whip to flick away a few people that came running.

Bori scoffed. "Funny coming from you."

"Stop arguing!"

Kim Dokja immediately placed his hands on both of the teenagers heads, forcing them to duck down as a set of arrows came flying past them. As they lied on the ground, a figure overshadowed them, and they slowly looked up to see the ginger-haired man, gazing down at them with a sickeningly polite smile.

"Hello."

They screamed.

• • •

Cale was lying down on the beach lounger under the shade of the umbrella and he frowned, slightly pulling down his sunglasses. In his hand was a glass filled with wine.

Saga was also lying down in a smaller lounger beside him, a glass of some fruit drink in his hand. "What's wrong?" The dokkaebi asked.

The man paused for a moment. "... Nothing. Thought I heard something."

Saga shrugged. "Must be a monster from the ocean."

Cale easily accepted that answer and they went back to their relaxing time at the beach together.

'Ah... Finally. My slacker life...'

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a/n: i'm sorry for taking so long pls. a lot of stuff happened. i have so many college assignments, i got out of a situationship, got into a relationship, went into a spiral of anxiety and depression, and i may or may not be dying el oh el. hopefully i can finish this story before then 🤞 trust me.

but hey, at least cale got the break and slacker life he deserved!! :D but ffs cale, kdj and your two children are fighting for their lives.

also, here's my discord server link! all fandoms are welcomed as long as you're 13 and above!
https://discord.gg/K7Kn5pQyP3