1040 Episode 63. Ragnarok (14)

Jung Heewon's face turned pale as she immediately recognized who was taken hostage.

"It's Master Samyeong."

I did not hesitate to pull out 'Unbroken Faith'.

I still remembered his last moments. He took Mitra's blow on our behalf and sent my companions and me to the 'Bush of the Missing'. How could I forget his sacrifice?

King Oedipus had an expression that showed he had nothing to lose anyway. It was the bravado of someone who thought dying by my hand here or dying because the 'door' opened was all the same.

In any case, I didn't need to use a sword. I had a tongue faster than any blade. But just as I was about to raise my status and use [Incite] without him noticing, someone stepped forward before me. It was Jung Heewon.

"Putting you in my 'territory' was out of consideration for the 'Eight-Headed Lord'."

A cold chill emanated from her entire body, and her tone had changed.

"Yamata-no-Orochi, who died by my hand, wanted you to live. That is why I left you alone even when you invaded my territory as you pleased."

At Jung Heewon's words, I felt as if the residual thoughts of Orochi were growling somewhere. The king's status flowing from her entire body. Only then did I personally realize the fact that Jung Heewon was one of the four kings of this 'Hall'.

"But fulfilling his request ends today."

Witnessing even the archangel's halo rising behind Jung Heewon, King Oedipus hurriedly shouted,

Oedipus's head flew off. A strike that left no time to even scream. Seeing King Oedipus's severed head roll helplessly on the floor, the surrounding constellations shrieked in horror.

Almost simultaneously, the heads of the dozen or so constellations surrounding Master Samyeong also disappeared. As if seeking to completely block even resurrection using attributes or stigmata, the incarnation bodies of the constellations whose heads were blown off were cut by dozens of sword qi and torn to pieces.

Jung Heewon's murderous intent, which had reached the supreme realm, had become a blade and brutally slaughtered the incarnation bodies of the constellations.

As the constellations, including King Oedipus, lost their lives in a single strike, the remaining constellations belatedly regained their senses, screamed, and retreated.

Jung Heewon and I did not miss that gap and ran toward the collapsed Master Samyeong. Checking Master Samyeong's condition up close, it was far more serious than I had thought.

"Master Samyeong."

His entire body's stories were almost completely shattered. The star of the Korean Peninsula was barely breathing his last breath, looking like it was a miracle he was even alive.

The starlight that had observed me for a long time was there. An incarnation body damaged beyond repair, where asking if he was okay was already meaningless. Sadly, this was the only thing I could say to the star facing death.

"Master, it's okay now."

I quietly held his crumbling hand. I wanted to sweep away all the stars before my eyes right this instant. Without leaving a single one, I wanted to empty the sky of this 'Hall'.

Then, Master Samyeong spoke.

The last true voice of the star that had gathered all its stories.

For a moment, I couldn't understand his words.

It was those very stars that had put him in this state.

With those words as his last, all of Master Samyeong's stories scattered. I looked down at the empty ground where he had disappeared. A raw emotion that could hardly be refined was surging inside me.

Sensing the ominous momentum from me, the constellations hovering nearby turned around and began to flee in a hurry.

I released a true voice.

Before the true voice imbued with a powerful [Incite], all the constellations in the area froze in place.

Faced with a Myth-grade status and rendered powerless, the constellations were like children. Some burst into tears, while others closed their eyes as if foreseeing their end.

Of course, not everyone was like that. While some stars tried to appear calm because they hadn't run away from the start, others shouted back at me, placing the blame on me instead.

I spoke to those stars.

I continued speaking, engraving the faces of each of the bastards who spewed shameless true voices into my eyes.

Looking at each other with faces wondering what that meant, the expressions of the stars rapidly stiffened. Most of them were constellations who had bet D-Coins on 'my defeat' in the final wager of 'Valhalla Hall'. Among them, there were those who had invested in the wager by taking out unreasonable loans. In the end, they lost the bet, and as a result, incurred massive debt.

I pulled a shining die from my chest.

The star relic entrusted to me by Mitra, the former chairman of 'Valhalla Hall' and the owner of the 'Golden Dice Hall'. Recognizing the die, the stars let out groans of grief.

At that time, by winning the wager, I had lent 10 million D-Coins to the 'Golden Dice Hall'. And the debt that the 'Golden Dice Hall' owed me was also the debt that those constellations who lost the bet had to pay.

The values of the stars' stories and their star relics were rising before my eyes in real-time.

Realizing what that meant, the stars trembled.

An authority that the 'Golden Dice Hall' could exercise against stars that failed to pay their debts on time.

The stories of all the stars who owed a debt to the 'Golden Dice Hall' were scattering bit by bit, turning into D-Coins.

Watching the stars cry miserably, I didn't feel much sympathy. They must have heard the same words from countless incarnations. But how many of them had actually saved the incarnations who begged for their lives?

Nevertheless, looking around at those stars, I suppressed the rising hatred and continued speaking.

At my words, the constellations raised their heads one by one and stared at me blankly.

Actually, I didn't expect much as I spoke. These were stars that had hidden here because they feared the end. I thought cowardice that believed dying on the 'main battlefield' or dying here was all the same wouldn't change with just a word or two of mine.

Indeed, after I finished speaking, the stars fell into silence. As expected, no star stepped forward to volunteer. Just as I was thinking that resuming the 'collection' was the only way, someone's true voice was heard.

He was not someone who owed a debt to the 'Golden Dice Hall'. But I knew who he was. Because he was a constellation I had once met and fought to the death in the 'New Murim Earth'.

The Purifying Flame 'Agni'. One of the Lokapala of the great <Vedas>, he was also hiding here. However, perhaps because he had suffered a fatal wound on the 'main battlefield', his incarnation body was almost half-destroyed, and his revealed status was not what it used to be.

I looked at him and said,

At my answer, Agni seemed genuinely shaken. He fell silent for a moment as if measuring my sincerity, then spoke in a voice laced with a bit of wonder.

Agni bit his lips several times, then continued as if chewing his words,

Agni was a star who had once received a fragment of the 'Snowfield'. Since he would know his strength better than anyone, I could understand the despair he suffered. But in the next moment, he uttered unbelievable words.

Honestly, it was unexpected. I never imagined that he, who had been an enemy until now, would step forward to help me.

I recalled how Surya had rescued Agni in the 'New Murim Earth'. Perhaps Agni wanted to repay the favor from back then.

As Agni declared his join, another constellation stepped forward.

He was also a star I knew.

He was a story-grade constellation of the 'Gourmet Association'. Although he had no particular connection with me, he was a star that had a slight relationship with the original Kim Dokja. He glanced at Agni and me with somewhat indifferent eyes, then spat out a rough true voice.

And so, regardless of good and evil, the stars began to join. Watching the stars declare their participation one by one, only then did I understand why Master Samyeong had asked me to forgive them. Perhaps he thought my forgiveness could become the last spark of this world.

And for the first time, one of the constellations who owed me a 'debt' asked. It was not a constellation I knew. I quietly looked at his tattered incarnation body and slowly nodded.

They were stars that already had nothing left but a handful of starlight. But even a handful of starlight can illuminate the darkness. Perhaps what I needed right now was such a small probability.

The stars, which were few at first, began to multiply. Stars that had sat down in the face of the predestined destruction. The final embers were rising in their eyes.

Of course, not every star was like that. As if throwing cold water on the burning atmosphere, an old star shouted,

The constellation, who was dripping stories from his mouth, kept muttering like gibberish,

As I lightly waved my hand, his stories turned into D-Coins and were collected by me.

I had no tolerance to bestow upon a star that had collapsed in fear of the next scenario. Nevertheless, perhaps because of the curse of the dead star, a brief silence descended on the area. One of the contemplating constellations slowly spoke.

The constellation who had bowed his head in grief suddenly raised his head and asked,

I had no intention of passing my hope even to the constellations. The scenarios ahead cannot be navigated unless they shine their own light. I had no intention of becoming a babysitter for lost stars.

Soon, as all the remaining stars declared they would follow me, the Mass Production Maker, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward.

As if to prove his words, butlers descended from the warship and guided the constellations. Watching the constellations board the warship submissively, the Mass Production Maker said with a complex expression,

"Constellations are originally of no help. They've been a hindrance ever since they started going on about sponsor sponsors."

"Nevertheless, without those stars."

I thought of the stars in the sky that had watched my story for a long time, and then of Master Samyeong, and said,

"All stories would not have flowed to this point."

Sensing whatever I thought, the Mass Production Maker also put on a troubled smile.

After all the constellations boarded the warship, we also boarded. Now, only one procedure remained.

When I took out the key I received from the Mass Production Maker, the Black Flame Dragon, seeing that, also took out his key. Jung Heewon also handed over the key she possessed.

"I didn't know we would actually use this."

Lastly, I looked at the Handsome Monkey King. Because he was the only one who hadn't handed over his key yet.

He stared at me with displeased eyes for a moment, then added with a pout,

As the Handsome Monkey King pulled the last key from his chest, all four keys were finally gathered.

The Ape King's Key.

Wealth King's Key.

Dragon King's Key.

Mad Emperor's Key.

The warship, jumping with warp drive, reached the front of the sealed door in an instant. Perhaps because we gathered the four keys, a translucent lock floated before me the moment we reached the door.

The lock had five holes. I inserted the keys one by one matching the holes. However, even after inserting all the keys, one hole remained.

The Mass Production Maker said with a smile,

I hesitated for a moment. This wouldn't get cut off if I put it in, right? Sensing my thoughts, the Mass Production Maker smiled mischievously.

I put on a bitter smile and slipped my index finger into the lock. Fortunately, my finger was not cut. Soon, with a clatter, the seal of the door began to unlock. The talismans fell off, and the chains made of story metal were unraveled. The Handsome Monkey King's Ruyi Jingu Bang was also retrieved.

The stories engraved on the door were flowing out.

And the door opened.

Was it because of the thought of stepping onto the final battlefield once again? Some stars groaned in fear. But the Kings by my side had calm expressions.

I looked back at them with a renewed state of mind.

Jung Heewon, a Transcendent who had attained the realm of the Mind Sword and was an incarnation supported by the archangel of the 1,864th turn—Uriel, who was once a great commander of <Eden>.

The Handsome Monkey King, who did not become the 'Oldest Liberator', but gathered all the stories of his brothers to finally be reborn as a single existence.

The Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, who could exert status comparable to a 'Myth-grade constellation' if he received the protection of the Recorder.

Lastly, the Mass Production Maker, who could exert probability exceeding story-grade through the power of coins.

The fact itself that I was with them before the final scenario was a miracle to me.

The door emitting an ominous aura slowly opened, and the Mass Production Maker spoke.

The warship accelerated and passed straight through the door. I felt a brief sensation of nausea, and in the next moment, the scenery shifted.

"Is this... the 'main battlefield'?"

We were clearly supposed to have arrived at the 'main battlefield', but something was strange. We were still in the dark space. A sensation of my heart fluttering.

I heard the stars murmuring.

Someone screamed.

Something was looking this way from the other side of space.