1033 Episode 63. Ragnarok (7)

*

The other 'two Kings' are existences I know extremely well?

A few figures flashed through my mind. I wondered if it could really be, yet at the same time, I felt like it made sense. Of course, either way, I couldn't be sure until I met them.

[Are you finished talking?]

When I came out of the drawing room, the Handsome Monkey King, who was leaning against a pillar in the corridor, spoke to me.

[What was there to talk about so much with that boring old man.]

"We share special memories, you see."

Instead of answering my words, the Handsome Monkey King stared at the story hanging on the opposite hallway. As I stood beside him, the story inside the picture frame moved.

It was a story I also knew well. The 1,864th turn, the last war of the stars. The stars filling the night sky shone brightly, and the 'Mass Production Maker' standing below spent his coins. The Black Flame Dragon roared in the distant sky, and as the wave of the end covered the <Star Stream>, Archangel Uriel's wings emitted a brilliant light. Subsequently, with a roaring sound, Sun Wukong's Ruyi Bang cleaved the night sky.

The Handsome Monkey King watched the story in the frame with me, then opened his mouth.

[I read the history of the life you have lived.]

Only then did I realize that the Handsome Monkey King was holding the hair of the Great Sage Heaven's Equal that had been inside the 'Yangji Jade Vase'. Apparently, he had read all the story information contained in that hair while walking down the corridor.

[Don't make the mistake of thinking I will easily trust you just because my brothers from other worldlines trusted you.]

"Aren't you already trusting me?"

[Are you going to look for the other Kings now?]

"Yes. Because we don't have much time."

Twitching his lips as if he had expected it, the Handsome Monkey King quickly pressed close to my side and said:

[Hmph, this time it really won't go the way you want.]

"Why are you following me again while talking like that?"

[Because I must see you fail.]

Although he had a twisted personality, it was reassuring that the Handsome Monkey King was moving with me. The eldest brother probably knew the Handsome Monkey King's personality beforehand and sent his own stories together inside the 'Yangji Jade Vase'.

However, as we stepped out of the corridor's exit, the 'Mass Production Maker', wearing splendid goggles, was waiting, having finished his preparations who knows when.

[I will go with you this time.]

"You're coming with us?"

[You guys don't have a means of transportation to ride anyway, do you?]

I thought there was no reason to decline his kindness, but the Handsome Monkey King, who was eavesdropping beside us, snapped in a sharp voice:

[Hmph, I have the Somersault Cloud.]

[Wasn't that scrap of cloud destroyed on the main battlefield not long ago?]

[Since it's a cloud, a new one will be made soon.]

[Anyway, you don't have it right now, do you?]

The 'Mass Production Maker' smiled and snapped his fingers lightly, and the lower hangar of the 'Recycling Center' opened, revealing a giant flying vessel.

[It's a 'story weapon' I newly made a few years ago. I wondered if I would ever use it, but this is perfect.]

A flying vessel that looked dozens or hundreds of times larger than the one we rode here—it was a weapon of war that was more fittingly called a 'battleship'.

"If we ride something like this, won't they think we're here to fight?"

[Didn't you say you'd subdue them by force if they couldn't be convinced?]

"That was just a figure of speech. How can a person throw punches first? We're not monkeys."

I felt the Handsome Monkey King glaring at me beside us. The Mass Production Maker chuckled and replied:

[If we change the story wavelength to stealth mode, they won't notice even if we ride it. Now, which way will we go? West? Or East?]

Since we met the Monkey King of the North and the Wealth Emperor of the South, this time...

"Let's go to the West first."

[West, huh.]

Seeing the Mass Production Maker's complex and subtle expression, the King of the West also seemed to be an extraordinary existence like them.

[This time, I'll get to watch a fun show indeed. Have you heard who the King of the West is?]

When I shook my head, the Handsome Monkey King shouted with a brightened face:

[I knew it! Don't be surprised, because it's a monster you can't even imagine!]

"I think I'm acquainted with that monster."

[Acquainted?]

Frowning, the Handsome Monkey King turned his gaze toward the Mass Production Maker. It was a look asking what on earth they had discussed. As the Mass Production Maker shrugged without a word, the Handsome Monkey King added with a growl:

[Whether you're acquainted or not, you'll never be able to convince that guy. At least this old man could be reasoned with, but that guy cannot be reasoned with at all!]

"He cannot be reasoned with? Is he a beast?"

[Hehe, if you're that curious, this body can give you a little hint—]

"Well, no. Even beasts seem to communicate..."

[You're not talking about me right now, are you?]

We immediately boarded the 'Mass Production Maker's' battleship. Contrary to its fearsome exterior, the interior of the battleship looked like a party room. Since it was my first time boarding such a large-scale story weapon, curiosity suddenly rose.

"Are battleships of other nebulas like this too?"

[Similar. Though they are older generations than this.]

As far as I knew, many of the 'story weapons' of the giant nebulas were made by the hand of the 'Mass Production Maker'. That was the reason why no giant nebula dared to ignore him despite having only the status of a story-grade constellation. The war munitions contractor with the most coins in this world. That was this old man in a Hawaiian shirt—the 'Mass Production Maker'.

With the sound of the engine starting, the scenery was pushed away in an instant. The battleship began to jump using the power of the hyperdrive. The moment I felt a slight dizziness, the battleship was stopped again.

[We've arrived.]

"Already?"

[It's only within the 'Hall' anyway. A jump of this distance is nothing. However...]

The Mass Production Maker stared beyond the cockpit covered in pitch-black fog. I could tell without listening. Perhaps the 'King of the West' was beyond that pitch-black fog.

[We can't get too close to the habitat of the King of the West. It would be better to disembark and approach from here. He doesn't like anything flying in his airspace.]

"Let's go right away."

I disembarked immediately with the Handsome Monkey King and the Mass Production Maker. Who on earth would be the King waiting for me this time?

Did he feel tension from my expression? The Handsome Monkey King stepped forward casually and said:

[Hmph, no need to be too scared. If worst comes to worst, this body will protect you.]

"Protect me? Weren't you wishing for me to fail?"

[Hmph.]

Looking at the Handsome Monkey King, whom I could not predict at all as he went back and forth, I felt like I could understand a little why Ji Eunyu had been close to him.

[Over there.]

Stopping as soon as we broke through the black fog zone, the Handsome Monkey King pointed to a distant location.

"That is..."

I squinted and looked at the place the Handsome Monkey King pointed. There was a giant nest there.

As if proving the Handsome Monkey King's words, spine-chilling howls echoed one after another from beyond the sky. Sensing the intruders, the dragon race let out wild roars toward us.

[It's been a while since I've seen so many of the dragon race gathered.]

From hatchling-class young individuals to large individuals corresponding to ancient dragons. A pack of dragons, looking to be dozens at a glance, was active in the sky. At a glance, it was a force that could lay waste to a single scenario area in an instant.

"I think I know who the King of the West is."

[Then you would also know that convincing him is difficult. Because the current him is not the star you used to know.]

Instead of answering, I took a step forward. Perhaps my pace was too reckless, as the Handsome Monkey King warned:

[Wait. We must move slowly from here on. Or else—]

I ignored his words and increased my walking speed further. Then, as if waiting, the dragons in the sky looked down at me all at once.

An enormous status poured down on me from the sky. If it had been the past, just receiving that status would have made me cough up blood from my seven orifices and faint. But not now.

[Get out of the way.]

I met the wave of the dragons head-on and burst out a true voice:

[I came to meet your King.]

Surprised by the true voice that vibrated the entire sky, the dragons began to scatter around me. At the same time, a rough story burst out from the distant Dragon Lair.

Ooooooo—!

The supreme lifeforms. The dragon race that stood at the absolute apex of all living things. Among them, the dragon that occupied the throne of the King was waking up from a long sleep.

The Dragon King of the West, looking down at me with pitch-black eyes reminiscent of the abyss of distant antiquity. I met his gaze and opened my mouth.

"It's been a long time, Black Flame Dragon."

But the Black Flame Dragon only stared at me with an inorganic gaze as if looking at an inanimate object, without answering. The Handsome Monkey King grimaced and shouted:

[Foolish guy! Do you really think you can talk with that guy? You've provoked him, so the area will soon be covered in flames!]

"But he is also a constellation."

[Do you think all constellations are the same! You don't know what kind of constellation that guy is! That guy is the head of the dragon nebula, Black Cloud. He's an evil dragon who tramples, ravages, and despises all existences he deems inferior to himself!]

The Handsome Monkey King seemed to have accumulated a lot against the Black Flame Dragon, as he swore at the Black Flame Dragon for a long time. And the Black Flame Dragon quietly stared at the Handsome Monkey King swearing right in front of his nose.

[...So... do you understand?]

Thinking this would be enough to convince me, the Handsome Monkey King stopped talking. I gave a bitter smile toward the Handsome Monkey King, then looked up at the Black Flame Dragon again.

The Black Flame Dragon was yawning. It was a very long yawn.

[Are you done chattering, monkey?]

The Handsome Monkey King turned to the Black Flame Dragon with a blank expression. Then he asked back incredulously:

[What? You—knew how to speak?]

[Are there constellations who cannot speak?]

[When I visited last time...]

[I merely didn't want to exchange words with a trivial beast.]

The Handsome Monkey King released his status as if he could no longer stand it. The Black Flame Dragon also slowly raised his fighting spirit. Thus, at the very moment their untimely war of nerves was about to break out, I cut into the context of the stories.

"Black Flame Dragon. Do you remember me?"

The 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' looked at me. Slowly lowering his fighting spirit, he spoke to me in a deep true voice:

[I remember your story.]

I smiled at the Black Flame Dragon. From the moment I first heard there were four 'Kings' here, I thought that one of those 'Kings' might be the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon. This place was a stage built on the foundation of the 'super-large battlefield' of the Preliminary Battle, and the Black Flame Dragon had descended on the 'super-large battlefield' to face Mitra before.

At that time, I had saved the Black Flame Dragon who was controlled by Asmodeus.

[But I am not the 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' you knew.]

"It seems so."

The Abyssal Black Flame Dragon I knew was a mischievous kid who simulated being '15 years old' by himself. But the 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' in front of my eyes now was by no means a 15-year-old kid. The reason was clear.

The new 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' born from the mixing of the stories of the 1,864th turn and the 41st turn. That was the monster coiled in front of my eyes now.

[I know about the Black Flame Dragon you miss. His stories and emotions still remain inside me.]

Lifting his neck loftily, he stared at the sky of the <Star Stream> where no stars were visible, then added in a somewhat cold tone:

[However, do not expect his warmth from me.]

As if listening to the story was the maximum extent of his favor, no warmth could be felt from the Black Flame Dragon's voice. But instead of being discouraged, I grinned.

"I didn't come expecting that."

The Black Flame Dragon tilted his head as if measuring my intent and asked:

[Why did you come here?]

"Black Flame Dragon. Do you want to end your ■■ here?"

A cold light momentarily lodged in the Black Flame Dragon's eyes looking down at me. Even among the same constellations, their reactions to ■■ are all different. Some constellations like talking about it, while others get angry just by it being mentioned. And perhaps, to the current 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon'—

"I know why you are here."

His ■■ would be his reverse scale.

The 'Great War of Saints and Demons' was prevented by Snowfield Kim Dokja, and thus, the 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' did not even get the chance to become the 'Last Dragon of the Apocalypse'. The dragon born only to reign as a catastrophe had fallen before he could even spread his wings.

"I mean I understand why you signed a recording contract with a recorder like the 'Demon King of the Theater'."

The reason the 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' signed a recording contract with Asmodeus was probably not just because of the instability of his true body. He now had no expectations for the future. The universe of the <Star Stream>, where the starlight he would extinguish had vanished, could no longer excite him.

[No, you do not understand me.]

I nodded.

"I suppose so. Because right now, a blank space as vast as the distance between stars lies between us."

Nevertheless, we were clearly connected. Through stories and stories. That was why I didn't give up. Not understanding each other didn't mean we couldn't converse. Having different species or possessing different stories didn't mean we couldn't talk.

Perhaps Kim Dokja would have thought the same if he saw the current Black Flame Dragon.

"Abyssal Black Flame Dragon."

Staring at his massive body, I felt some strong fate. Coming all the way here, meeting them at this particular time—I felt that perhaps all of it was part of a giant foreshadowing.

And so, if all of this is truly already written, and at the same time, is being written.

Then I, too, with all the capacity given to me—

"Do you want to become the 'Final Dragon of the Apocalypse' once again?"

I will try to become the 'Kim Dokja' of this story.