1022 Episode 62 Snowfield Kim Dokja (12)

"Only one person can go this time."

At Yoo Sangah's words, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Jihye were the first to raise their hands.

"I'll go."

"What nonsense! This time, I really have to go!"

Lee Gilyoung and Lee Jihye, having raised their hands simultaneously, glared at each other. Normally, this would have been the moment for Yoo Sangah to step in and mediate between the two. However, today, something was different about Yoo Sangah as well.

Looking at the portal swirling in the air, Yoo Sangah spoke.

"I'm sorry, but this time, I'll go."

It was a passage opened by none other than her own incarnation, using her own story as a sacrifice. Therefore, if Yoo Sangah said that, there was no one who could stop her.

Except for the doctor at <Kim Dokja Company>, who was more worried about her than anyone else.

"But Sangah, you're not in good condition either."

Lee Seolhwa, who had remained silent the entire time, gently wrapped her arm around Yoo Sangah's shoulder and spoke.

"Because you have been staying connected to communicate with that world."

The story's pulse could be felt through her shoulder. Yoo Sangah was not showing it, but Lee Seolhwa could clearly feel it. Yoo Sangah's state of stories was extremely unstable at the moment.

As she had been connected to the 41st round and peering into the story without a single moment of rest, the fatigue accumulated within Yoo Sangah was immense.

Lee Seolhwa added again.

"Let's send someone else this time."

"But—"

"If it is your [Lotus Platform], Sangah, it can offset the probability to some extent."

With [Lotus Seal], one of the powers of the Lotus Platform, she—or rather, another incarnation—could be disguised as her and deployed into the worldline.

The problem was who to send.

With a light sigh, Yoo Sangah opened her mouth.

"There will be powerful enemies we have never faced before. As soon as we are deployed, even the myth-grade constellations will notice."

"…"

"If Sooyoung-ssi had been here, I would have sent her..."

Yoo Sangah slowly lifted her gaze from the portal and turned around. Then, one by one, the other members of the group also looked in that direction.

In truth, everyone there knew.

Yoo Sangah asked.

"Can you do it?"

To Yoo Joonghyuk, such a question was meaningless. But even knowing it was meaningless, she had to ask. Because they were now comrades.

"You are asking the obvious."

"Your injuries haven't healed either."

"It is no problem."

Yoo Joonghyuk removed the bandage wrapped around his torso. The wounds sustained in the fierce battle with Odin still lingered from his back to his neck.

"You know what you have to do, right?"

"To rescue Kim Dokja."

"What are you going to do?"

"I will drag him here by force."

"You can't bring him here by killing him. You know that, right?"

Yoo Joonghyuk, who had been hesitating, nodded.

"You can't beat him up too much, either."

"…"

"Answer."

Instead of answering, Yoo Joonghyuk donned the 'Coat of Infinite Dimensions'. Next, he carefully wrapped bandages made by a Heavenly Master around both hands and strapped on the 'Black Heaven Demon Blade' sharply forged at his waist.

As Yoo Joonghyuk raised his head, having fully assumed his stance, Yoo Sangah spoke.

"Go, Joonghyuk-ssi. Please—"

Without even listening to Yoo Sangah finish, Yoo Joonghyuk threw himself into the portal. With a dazzling beam of light, [Lotus Platform] activated, and a lotus bud protected Yoo Joonghyuk's body.

Watching Yoo Joonghyuk vanish in an instant, Yoo Sangah muttered in a distant voice.

"Save all of Kim Dokja."

Oh, ohhhh...

A sound of crying was heard from somewhere. At first, it sounded like a low, faint sob, but as time passed, it gradually grew thick and resounding.

Ooooooh—!

The Outer Gods who had seen Yoo Joonghyuk were wailing. Some cries were awe, while others were terrifying fear.

There were Outer Gods who writhed in the void, unable to control their emotions, and there were 'Nameless Ones' who melted away on the spot, unable to control their agitation.

The constellations were no different.

Bloody stories poured from the eyes of Yophiel, who had activated [Eyes of Sin], and the other Archangels wore dazed expressions.

Everyone was weighed down by silence. Stars who knew who Yoo Joonghyuk was, and those who did not, trembled just by meeting his gaze. Just by looking, one could recognize his presence at a glance.

The stories flowing unadulterated from Yoo Joonghyuk's entire being dominated the battlefield.

Reading those stories, Metatron sighed faintly.

Yoo Joonghyuk took a slow step. Even though the direction he was heading was clear, no one could stop him.

"Yoo Joonghyuk."

It was Cha Seongwoo. From a distance, he could hear Ji Eunyu, Cha Yerin, and Ye Hyunwoo shouting something. But nothing reached his ears.

"Yoo Joonghyuk."

He called out that name like a madman.

"Yoo Joonghyuk!"

He called out once more. Yoo Joonghyuk paid no heed to such calls and glanced at the Archangels of <Eden>.

Was Uriel absent?

As if he had completed all necessary verifications with that, Yoo Joonghyuk muttered as he walked toward the barracks.

"Kim Dokja is..."

Before Yoo Joonghyuk could even finish his sentence, the spear of light held in Cha Seongwoo's hand flew. With a sharp slapping sound, the spear bounced away. The lightly swung 'Black Heaven Demon Saber' had blocked the spear.

"The Kim Dokja you are looking for is not here."

Cha Seongwoo, positioned behind Yoo Joonghyuk, spoke in a chilling voice. The relics of the Archangels rose behind Cha Seongwoo.

'Punishment of Madness'.

'Staff of the Pilgrim'.

The relics of Raguel and Raphael activated simultaneously. A light that blinds the eyes of the living. Subsequently, a thunderous light bursting from the staff pierced Yoo Joonghyuk's face.

Swoosh.

Yoo Joonghyuk did not close his eyes even against the power of 'Punishment of Madness'. He had shattered the Archangel's power solely through the sheer physical strength of stories. The light sword strike he then swung tore apart even Raphael's thunderous light.

Of course, Cha Seongwoo had anticipated that far.

Gabriel's Story, 「The Revelation of the Apocalypse」.

A story that borrows the power of the apocalypse to absurdly amplify the user's story grade. The stature of divinity, which only an archangel could handle, surged through Cha Seongwoo's entire body.

Cha Seongwoo let out a monstrous roar, accompanied by the pitch-black horns sprouting from his head. Gabriel's Divine Spear, clutched in his hand, aimed forward. The moment the spear, imbued with the light of demon slaying, flashed toward Yoo Joonghyuk, Yoo Joonghyuk muttered.

"Is it the 'Scales of Favoritism'?"

Cha Seongwoo's eyes were filled with astonishment.

A speed so fast that he could not even feel the distance closing.

Yoo Joonghyuk, having come right up to his nose, held it as if it were a child's toy. He grabbed the spear with his bare hands. The light concentrated within the spear faded with a thud.

As Cha Seongwoo screamed while gripping the divine spear with both hands, Yoo Joonghyuk spoke.

"That is not how you use this."

With immense grip strength, Yoo Joonghyuk lightly swung his arm, sending Cha Seongwoo's body spinning around and crashing into the ground.

Having snatched the spear, Yoo Joonghyuk swung it toward the sky as if testing its performance.

Kugugugugu!

A bundle of energy radiating from the spear flew straight toward the battlefield of the angels and demons. As the nine rank angels and demons struck by the energy bundle died without even being able to scream, the high-ranking demons and high-ranking angels joined the fray. They were the Archangels commanding the battlefield, and the Demon Nobles.

The Archangel commander at the front was cut in two before he could even finish his sentence. Terrified, the angels and demons belatedly scattered to avoid the bundle of powerful energy, but the energy split apart as if possessing a will of its own, slaughtering every single one of the fleeing angels and demons.

Eventually, the archangels and demon lords who had been watching the battlefield stepped forward.

If the Giant Story shatters, the very reason for their descent into this 'Ragnarok' will vanish. They could not let that happen.

Marbas, the highest-ranking demon lord, roared and transformed into a giant lion, while Barbatos also summoned his main fleet.

At the same time, the Archangel Kamael, clad in pure white armor, activated the Holy Relic.

As Kamael's holy relic activated, the Trial Seat began to list Yoo Joonghyuk's 'Deadly Sins'.

Yoo Joonghyuk's sins were listed endlessly.

Kamael's holy relic, the 'Trial Seat of Strict Judgment', imposes ceaseless 'penalties' on the target's overall stats in proportion to their sins. Due to the nature of the holy relic, which imposes stronger penalties the more evil the target, Yoo Joonghyuk's 'penalties' could stack almost infinitely.

Kamael and the Demon King met as they confirmed his incomprehensible deadly sins. It was the moment the Archangel and the Demon King, who had been gnashing their teeth at each other until the end of the war with disaster before their eyes, joined hands.

Barbatos loaded his battleship with magic.

Marbas, transformed into a colossal lion, mounted Kamael, who was clad in pure white armor.

As Kamael raised his dazzling sword with all his might, the Archangels and High Demons following behind them rushed toward Yoo Joonghyuk.

Yoo Joonghyuk's incarnation, having suffered immensely compounded penalties, was now as fragile as a sheet of paper. To finish off Yoo Joonghyuk, Barbatos's battleship spewed fire, and Kamael's sword strikes moved.

Yoo Joonghyuk gazed intently at the entire scene and swung his spear once again. A blinding light flashed, and the sound of something shattering was heard.

And.

It was just a single strike. Not even a strike delivered with full force, but just a spear swing swung indifferently.

Unable to withstand Yoo Joonghyuk's narrative, the bent 'Scale of Favor' rolled across the ground, discolored pitch black.

No one on the battlefield dared to open their mouths. A monster capable of slaughtering three narrative-grade constellations with a single blow. Everyone there was clearly perceiving it.

The next moment, Cha Seongwoo, who had been slammed into the ground, reappeared covered in dust.

"What is everyone doing?"

Cha Seongwoo shouted as if to awaken the silent battlefield.

"Eden! Get your act together! Have you forgotten whom you descended upon this battlefield to protect!"

It was then that Metatron, the scribe of heaven who had been hesitating all along, opened his book.

Only Ji Eunyu recognized the greatness of that story in that very spot.

Metatron's story, which had never been described even in the main story. A story that abnormally amplified the abilities of the archangels by grinding in the entirety of the massive story of <Eden>, which had only manifested in a select few 'Holy War of Good and Evil' events.

All the archangels were enveloped in a dazzling radiance, as if they had all become a single star.

At the center of that light stood Cha Seongwoo.

Controlling all the archangels with his controller, he spoke to Yoo Joonghyuk.

"You may not know me, but I know you well."

Unable to withstand the story of <Eden>, Cha Seongwoo's entire body began to burst into flames.

"Because I have lived to become you."

Using all of Cha Seongwoo's stories as fuel, the story of <Eden> began its storytelling. The archangels connected to the main controller scattered in perfect order, pouring out attacks like a single army.

Raphael soared into the sky once again and scattered thunderbolts, while Yophiel's [503 Unit] surged toward Yoo Joonghyuk. Raguel's 'Punishment of Madness' emitted light. Gabriel also aimed his broken 'Scale of Favor'.

Even Michael, who had remained hidden in the darkness until the very end, moved.

The single sword of Michael, the strongest battle angel boasted by <Eden>, plunged directly into Yoo Joonghyuk.

The moment the stories of the archangels destined to annihilate all life on Earth converged at a single point—

The world's time stopped.

The regressor, having seen the end of the scenario, gazed at the sky.

Finally reaching the 'final phase of the scenario', Yoo Joonghyuk, freed from the penalty of probability, revealed his true power.

As if engraving a single sword strike into a vast blank space, Yoo Joonghyuk's sword was drawn.

Time, which had stopped, began to flow again.

Cha Seongwoo looked up at the sky with vacant eyes. At that moment, Cha Seongwoo recalled the 'Radiance of Creation'.

A power utterly incomprehensible in terms of causality. A power that gauges what has happened solely by the result.

Now, Yoo Joonghyuk, too, was using such a power.

Stars were falling from the sky.

Only two stars survived.

Michael, with his eyes wide open and his wings torn.

Metatron, clutching his half-torn book.

Just as the enraged Michael was about to lunge at Yoo Joonghyuk once again, Metatron moved.

As if declaring that he would no longer be involved in this matter, Metatron stepped back, lightly raising both hands.

The Nebula's 'Great story' was dismantled by a single incarnation.

Amidst the overwhelming grief of all beings witnessing this unbelievable miracle, Cha Seongwoo smiled and muttered.

"As expected."

Having exhausted all his sacred flames, Cha Seongwoo's incarnation body began to slowly crumble.

"That is the very Yoo Joonghyuk I wanted to see."

Cha Seongwoo realized. With this, his role, which would never be acknowledged by anyone, had finally come to an end. As he raised his head, gray snow began to scatter in the air. Looking closely, it was not snow.

It was his story.

Slowly, his vision darkened, and pitch-black darkness descended. In the darkness, Cha Seongwoo muttered a final line from a story he loved.

In the darkness, he heard the sound of Yoo Joonghyuk's footsteps approaching.

Having understood Yoo Joonghyuk better than anyone, he knew exactly what was about to happen to him.

Yoo Joonghyuk would likely either slaughter him mercilessly or pass by indifferently, paying no attention whatsoever.

Indeed, Yoo Joonghyuk's footsteps passed him by indifferently. The moment he wore a bitter smile, the sound vanished from his ears. He wondered if he had lost his hearing as well, but strangely, his own rough breathing was still clearly audible.

And how much time had passed?

With a shiver running down his spine, Cha Seongwoo realized.

From the darkness, the voice of the man he had long admired was heard.

"I know you, too."