1030 Episode 63. Ragnarok (4)

With a slight dizziness, I arrived in the scenario area, and a desolate land unfolded before my eyes.

I wondered if something had gone wrong and looked around several times. But no matter how much I looked, the only thing that caught my eye was the 'Yangji Jade Vase' I had ridden here.

The 'Yangji Jade Vase' shrank again after spitting me out. I picked up the star relic of the Great Sage Heaven's Equal and strapped it to my waist. I wondered if I would have a chance to return it someday. I hoped so.

Tsssss.

It was then that a light spark ran through my body.

It was a message I had never seen before in my life. The limit of acquired 'Loss'. Did it mean I could no longer absorb 'Kim Dokja fragments'?

Frowning slightly, I stared into the air, wondering what it was, when a welcome message arrived.

Thinking that maybe this guy would know the answer, I readily spoke to it.

"Hey, do you know what that means?"

I guess it didn't want to answer. I asked another question.

"Is there anything else you feel? Do you know where this is?"

Actually, it was strange. If this place was really the 'main battlefield' of 'Ragnarok', and if 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' was here, the Successor would have definitely reacted strongly. But it didn't show any particular reaction. Fluttering for a moment as if thinking, it sent a message.

Since it didn't seem like it would give me advice that would harm me in the current situation, I followed its advice and started walking.

Walking through the quiet ruins covered in sparse gray fog, I thought of the people I liked and the people who might be waiting for me. And I thought of my readers who would be reading this story beyond [The Fourth Wall].

Now the end of the story was approaching.

Would I be able to write the conclusion of this world safely on my own? And could that conclusion really be the ■■ that all Kim Dokjas wanted? As if in response to my question, the 'Yangji Jade Vase' at my waist trembled.

I stopped in my tracks after walking for a while because of a sign visible in the distance. A strange sense of déjà vu crossed my mind.

Memories came back one after another. I had already been here once with Jung Heewon. This ticket booth... there was no doubt about it.

As I approached the ticket booth, I saw corpses scattered in the fog. From lower-grade warriors to upper-grade warriors. The bodies of warriors who died, regardless of whether they were incarnations or constellations, were there. Even the ticket booth clerk was dead. It was the very clerk who had used [Cool-headed Observation] on me and rated me as a 'lower-intermediate warrior'.

The words he left me were still clear in my ears.

The moment I checked his lifeless eyes, I knew. Perhaps in this scenario, 'the thing where everyone dies if it starts' had happened.

Behind the ticket booth, the ruins of the broken colosseum—'Valhalla Hall'—were visible.

The events that had occurred in Valhalla Hall flashed quickly through my head. Meeting Anna Croft with Jung Heewon. Winning the Preliminary Battle, and meeting Mitra and the gang from the 'Golden Dice Hall' also came to mind.

The face of Samyeongdaesa, who sacrificed himself on behalf of my companions and me at the last moment, also came to mind.

Come to think of it, what happened to the 'super-large battlefield' after I left? My companions and I had escaped the battlefield through the 'Bush of the Missing', but the other participants...

It was then that a message arrived.

Returnee Scenario. It seemed that the scenario system of the <Star Stream>, which had been suspended for a while, had regained its function.

Let's see. Originally, a 'Returnee Scenario' should be 'Returning Home in Glory'...

The contents of the scenario were simple. Join one of the King's forces. What was ominous was the message written after it.

No scenario had ever used such expressions in its 'clear conditions'. After all, there was no need to write phrases that crushed the incarnations' hopes before they even started. All scenarios were harsh anyway, and the Administration Bureau had an obligation to encourage the incarnations as much as possible to create 'interesting stories'.

Therefore, the dokkaebis, who knew very well that the constellations were more crazy about stories created by incarnations eager for hope, would not write such a buzzkill phrase from the beginning...

The moment my thoughts reached there, a terrible imagination crossed my mind.

What if there weren't many 'constellations' left in the <Star Stream> to enjoy the stories of those incarnations? What if even the storytellers had given up on the conclusion of this story?

I struggled to maintain my composure and continued to check the additional information of the scenario.

* Currently, there are a total of four Kings in the 'Hall'.

* The King of the East.

* The King of the West.

* The King of the South.

* The King of the North.

That was the end of the information.

Perhaps there was one 'King' for each region of 'East, West, South, and North'. It was confusing. Why on earth did something like a 'King' appear in Valhalla Hall?

Right after the last 'super-large battlefield' I participated in opened, all the constellations of 'Valhalla Hall' were dragged to the 'Preliminary Battle' or went straight to the 'Main Battlefield'. But the existence of a 'King' meant that there was also a group following him. Could it be that there were still constellations who hadn't entered the 'Main Battlefield'?

I hesitated for a moment, then stepped toward the entrance of the Hall. There was no way to verify the situation without seeing it with my own eyes first.

As soon as I entered, a familiar landscape appeared. A vast prairie. Except for a strange burnt smell brushing the tip of my nose, this was the 'battlefield' I knew.

There was no doubt about it. The exact same scenery as the 'super-large battlefield' I had participated in. What could it be? Had the inside of 'Valhalla Hall' completely vanished, leaving only the stage of this 'super-large battlefield'?

I smiled bitterly. There were no signs of life nearby to call them surviving stars.

Was it because I had entered a familiar stage? The story I obtained by clearing the 'Preliminary Battle' squirmed inside me. At the same time, the silent Successor also reacted.

It seemed the Successor had found the way to the main battlefield of 'Ragnarok'.

I continued to move in the direction guided by the Successor. Incarnation bodies of dead constellations were visible here and there. Some were constellations I knew well.

The 'God of Peace and Relief' was a constellation struggling with gambling debts, and the 'Nurturer of Light and Compassion' was a constellation that took over incarnations from such debtors and trafficked them. Even those guys ended up caught in the 'super-large battlefield' and lost their lives.

In certain areas, giant scorch marks remained. It looked like the place where a 'sanctuary' capable of mass transporting to the 'main battlefield' had occurred.

Did <Emperor>'s sun hunter 'Yi' safely enter the 'main battlefield'? What happened to Mitra and the remnants of the 'Golden Dice Hall'?

Thinking of Mitra, who had asked me to call his name at the round table, I kept walking. How long did I walk? I finally arrived at the target location.

A gate of truly enormous size, looking as if even the true body of a myth-grade constellation like 'Mitra' could pass through it. The gate was wrapped tightly in giant chains as if sealed by someone. Surprisingly, each chain was made of 'story metal'.

That wasn't all. At the entrance of the gate, talismans written in an unknown otherworldly language were attached, and even the giant 'bar' inserted to seal the entrance of the gate was the star relic of a constellation I knew well.

The Ruyi Jingu Bang.

I got goosebumps. Who on earth sealed the entrance to this gate? The desperate traces of sealing the gate seemed to prove how desperate the sealers were.

Approaching near the gate, I felt the stories inside me react.

Even with such a thick gate in between, there was a vivid despair felt from beyond.

I let out a light sigh.

"I'm sorry, but..."

I didn't have the luxury of humoring the scenario's tantrums right now.

"I'm not in the mood for games."

I had to go to the 'main battlefield' right now. What happened to Ji Eunyu, how many surviving readers were there, what happened to <Kim Dokja's Company>. What my last brother had become. I had to find out everything.

I opened my stories. And I put my hand on the giant chain surrounding the gate.

Kudududuk.

Harsh sparks began to strike the area, and a strong warning rang in my ears. But I ignored all of them and kept injecting my stories.

Eventually, the chain, which seemed like it would never break, began to crack, and the sound of it snapping resounded. I succeeded in breaking the first chain solely with the power of my story.

A wild wind of massive sparks blew from the sky. And a true voice was heard from somewhere.

[That guy! What is that guy!]

[He's trying to open the gate!]

[Report to the King! We must report to the King!]

Were there still beings alive in this 'super-large battlefield'? A group of constellations came riding weirdly-shaped bikes in the distance, staring this way. The guys who sped across the desolate prairie were all wearing something like monkey masks on their heads.

It seemed they were all broken somewhere, as their modifiers were abnormal. Thinking it was actually a good thing, I stopped injecting stories and called them.

"Hey."

When I spoke to them, the monkey masks shrank back in surprise.

[D-Don't go near! Don't go near him!]

Perhaps it was natural. From the moment I unleashed the power of my stories, ordinary constellations had no choice but to be crushed by the pressure.

Perhaps because I was using a semi-myth-grade story that fit this stage, the monkey masks screamed as if they were almost suffocating.

[Hyaaaaaaaah!]

Just by witnessing me, the afterimages of the stars I had killed were visible in their eyes.

[T-The one who killed the bird!]

[Monkey! Monkey slayer!]

During the Preliminary Battle, I had defeated many of <Vedas>' constellations, including 'The Bird Who Eats Thunder' and 'General of Banara'. Perhaps they were glimpsing that history now.

It was then that a sound like beating drums was heard from the distant sky.

[The King's... story!]

At the same time, the constellations wearing monkey masks all looked up at the sky. And I saw an unbelievable sight.

Giant wings covering the sky. A bird scattering pitch-black feathers was descending toward this place.

No, looking closely, it wasn't 'Garuda' flying toward us, but 'Garuda's shadow'. Someone was flying while riding Garuda's shadow.

Kwakwakwakwa!

Lightning struck from the air. A lightning strike so immense that I momentarily wondered if Zeus or Odin had descended poured down on me.

I immediately activated my story.

The 'Demon King of Salvation' mode, which I could now use easily at any time. I activated [Character Transformation] and easily dodged or brushed away the pouring lightning.

Shortly after, Garuda's shadow landed amidst the thick dust. The moment the dust cleared as the wind blew, I was able to confirm the true identity of the star who had thrown lightning at me.

When I first saw him, I thought Hanuman, the 'General of Banara' whom I had killed, had been resurrected. But looking closer, he was merely wearing Hanuman's hide.

After observing me for a long time, he asked.

[You... what on earth are you?]

For an instant, a corner of my chest seemed to creak.

The story embedded in one side of my heart throbbed. I could know instinctively. The being in front of me now was one of the 'Kings' of this ruin.

Only now did everything seem to make sense. Why my brother—'The Oldest Liberator' had sent me here riding the 'Yangji Jade Vase'. Why I had to arrive at this ruin first instead of the 'main battlefield'.

With burning eyes, he asked.

[How do you have my star relic?]

Now in front of my eyes stood the 'Great Sage Heaven's Equal' of the 41st round.