1052 Episode 65. The Last Banquet (3)

I immediately activated 'Midday Tryst'. As expected, a message from Yoo Joonghyuk had arrived.

- ■■■ ■■ entrust ■■······.

What was this? This message was also in a filtered state. To be precise, rather than filtered, the record was corrupted.

It wasn't even outside the scenario, but inside a main scenario area, yet this was the first time 'Midday Tryst' hadn't functioned smoothly. The record was so scrambled that it was hard to tell properly, but it roughly seemed to say to leave this to him and get out.

I immediately sent a message using 'Midday Tryst'.

- Are you alive?

Seeing the message transmit, he definitely seemed to be within the same scenario area.

Cha Yerin had left those words for me as she went to treat her injuries after coming out of the ossuary.

Not just any Yoo Joonghyuk, but the 41st regression Yoo Joonghyuk charging into the heart of enemy territory to rescue companions. Before coming into this regression line, I wouldn't have believed it. But right now, my thoughts were different. The 41st regression Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't a monster who had lost his humanity as I once knew. At least, that was true based on what I had confirmed so far.

"Dokja-ssi."

Turning around, Jung Heewon was poking her head out from the tent.

"Why did you come out when you should be resting?"

"Because it's no fun inside."

Indeed, inside were only constellations right now. The other Kings didn't seem like they would match well with Jung Heewon's personality either.

Jung Heewon shook a bottle of alcohol and asked:

"Want another drink?"

"Sounds great."

The alcohol was what Poseidon had provided. Looking at it, it seemed to be a type of sacred liquor like 'Soma' or 'Amrita'. Jung Heewon took a few gulps straight from the bottle first before handing it to me. Feeling somewhat like I had returned to my early twenties, I grabbed the liquor bottle and drank.

"It's delicious."

"Right?"

Was it just my imagination? Sharing the drink, Jung Heewon looked to be in a slightly better mood. Come to think of it, I had never spent a time like this with Jung Heewon.

Thus, we took turns sipping the alcohol one gulp at a time. Watching the drink diminish, the thought suddenly crossed my mind that this moment was precious. Stories flow, and every moment passes. Ultimately, the world moves toward its conclusion. Had I read all these moments sufficiently before the conclusion arrived?

"Shall we run away?"

As if reading my state of mind, Jung Heewon asked in a voice touched slightly by intoxication.

"Just leave the scenario behind like this, and go far, far away together."

"The scenario would cause everything to end in destruction before long anyway."

"Would destruction really come so easily? And who knows? If we hide well, maybe we can survive. At least we might be able to live out the remaining lifespan we have left. Humans don't live that long originally anyway."

I let out a dry laugh. Both she who spoke and I who listened knew. We couldn't run away. Because both she and I were people who couldn't do such a thing.

"Heewon-ssi, is there something you want to do?"

"Something I want to do."

Only upon reaching the final scenario, on the tiny handful of blank space we had barely reached, were we asking each other about what we 'wanted to do'.

"What I want to do is something that can't come true."

"How do you know without trying?"

"Should I just try it?"

Staring at me blankly, Jung Heewon giggled softly and added:

"What I wish for is something impossible now."

Curious about what it was, I asked several more times, but in the end, Jung Heewon wouldn't tell me what she wanted to do. I spoke in a slightly exaggerated tone:

"That's cold."

"Who's the one really being cold to people here?"

"When was I ever cold?"

"You're not really asking because you don't know, are you?"

Looking slightly angry, Jung Heewon held the liquor bottle and tipped all the remaining drink down her throat.

"Heewon-ssi."

"What."

In truth, I knew. What she was upset with me about. But I am that kind of person. And Kim Dokja was that kind of human.

"We will win in the end, and the scenario will be resolved well. I can do it well. Don't worry too much."

At my words, Jung Heewon glared at me with narrowed eyes and said:

"Aren't you thinking that you have to do it, rather than that you can do it?"

"Yes. I have to."

Tapping the empty liquor bottle as if dissatisfied with my answer, Jung Heewon said:

"You're going to use an absurd method again, aren't you?"

"There might be times when I have to."

"Even if I tell you not to, you'll put your life on the line again."

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. Because I felt I had to be honest with her.

Jung Heewon bit her lip tightly.

"Can't we really just run away? What meaning is there in protecting this world to that extent? What even is this world?"

"I am responsible for this story."

I didn't think she would be able to understand this answer. However, everyone has a job they must accomplish, and for me, that was the conclusion of this story.

That was also the reason why I was currently being called Kim Dokja.

Jung Heewon stared at me for a long while before asking:

"If you save all these worlds by going that far, who is going to save you?"

"Pardon?"

"You... who on earth is going to save you?"

For a moment, I was rendered speechless. To be precise, I didn't know what answer to give. Was it because it was a question I had never thought about even once? Jung Heewon was looking at me quietly. Why was that? At that moment, it felt as if Jung Heewon was looking into a story inside me that I couldn't even look into myself.

At that moment, a small commotion echoed from inside the command tent. We immediately exchanged glances and pushed past the tent flap.

Entering the inner area of the command tent, we saw Meihouwang pinning Odin down with both hands.

"What's happening?"

Burning his Fable? I rushed over to Odin. As Meihouwang backed off, I confirmed the Fable fragments scattering from Odin's grip.

It was true. The Fable fragments Odin possessed were scattering away. Moreover, they were all related to the 'Great Disasters'.

Just like when <Asgard> and the constellations used their authority to designate 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' as the 'King of Hell', granting a role to a specific entity required the corresponding 'Fable fragments'. Odin's purpose in destroying the Fable fragments was clear. He was refusing to summon a new 'Great Disaster'.

"Didn't you say you were keeping watch?"

Odin laughed like a madman looking at us.

Having been beaten up by Meihouwang, Odin had bruises scattered across his face. Grabbing the chin of the old Odin who was avoiding my gaze, I asked:

"You saw something, didn't you? With that 'single eye'."

"What did you see? Tell me."

Odin kept his mouth firmly shut and didn't answer. For a certain reason, he had judged that I shouldn't awaken the 'Great Disasters'. Perhaps through his single eye, he had glimpsed something even more terrible than the Great Destruction.

However, I didn't panic. Because I had already anticipated that Odin might act like this.

It was then that a message floated into the air.

Panicking, Odin looked around the empty air and muttering:

What had happened was clear. Someone other than Odin had just awakened a 'Great Disaster' in this scenario.

"It seems even your single eye can't see everything."

With his single eye wide open, Odin glared at me and muttered:

It was just as Odin said. However, there were hardly any stars left in <Asgard> right now, and Odin, having just burned his Fable, could no longer designate a 'Great Disaster' either.

"No, there is one more. An entity capable of doing that."

Realizing who I was talking about, Odin's shoulders twitched violently.

"You were even calculating our chances of victory amidst all this?"

Offering a faint smile, I looked up at the night sky. The surviving stars could be seen moving busily beyond the heavens. The Mass-Production Maker spoke:

I nodded. Excluding Odin, an absolute entity possessing the Fable of 'Ragnarok'. Surely he too was looking down at us from somewhere in this sky.

"It's actually better this way. Since we have to defeat another 'Great Disaster' anyway to create a stage advantageous to our side."

"Can you tell us the location where the new 'Great Disaster' appeared?"

Unexpectedly, Poseidon, who had kept silent all along, stepped forward to help us. Appearing to still be in communication with Hermes's terminal, he closed his eyes briefly before opening his mouth:

Altar of Storms. I repeated the name of the fortress in my mind. To increase even a sliver of victory for our side, we had to defeat the newly appeared Great Disaster before facing 'Snowfield Kim Dokja'.

A hidden scenario. It triggered as expected.

Having checked the system messages, someone pushed past the command tent flap and entered just in time.

"What on earth happened?"

It was Cha Yerin. Having rushed over while receiving treatment, bandages were wrapped around various parts of her body. Calming her down, I conveyed the situation.

"A Great Disaster has been resurrected."

"Pardon?"

Despite the shocking news, Cha Yerin didn't seem greatly shaken. Perhaps she was too exhausted to be flustered any longer.

"Where is it? Did you find out the location?"

"It's a place called the Altar of Storms."

Hearing my words, Cha Yerin's eyes trembled violently.

"We have to go there right now."

I realized what Cha Yerin was about to say.

"Is that the place Yoo Joonghyuk went to?"

Cha Yerin nodded. I let out a groan. Of all places, a new 'Great Disaster' had resurrected at the very fortress Yoo Joonghyuk had gone to. But fortunately, we had an immediate means of transportation.

"Mass-Production Maker. Can we warp to that fortress using the flagship?"

"How long will it take?"

Thirty minutes. Could Yoo Joonghyuk hold out for thirty minutes against a Great Disaster? He had become surprisingly strong, but if the opponent was a 'Great Disaster', there was no certainty.

"Heewon-ssi."

"Yes."

"May I ask you for one favor?"

"You want me to hit you hard enough to knock you out, right?"

Looking at her clenching her fist so naturally, I asked:

"...Have I asked you for such a favor before?"

Looking flustered, Jung Heewon tilted her head and said:

"I don't remember well, but I felt like I had to... Aren't you trying to use an ability that can only be used when unconscious?"

"That's correct, but..."

Come to think of it, Jung Heewon had made contact with the 1,864th regression Jung Heewon in the Third's worldline. Perhaps the memories of both existences had become tangled back then.

"I'll handle knocking myself out. What I need you to do is—"

The ability I was going to use this time wasn't [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint]. Because that required Yoo Joonghyuk to be thinking of this side for it to trigger.

"If anything happens, hit me hard enough not to kill me to wake me up."

Looking at Jung Heewon who nodded with a tightly clenched fist, I closed my eyes with a somewhat anxious heart.

The Archives of Records. Originally a place one could only enter at set times, but once status rose as high as mine, such restrictions vanished. If it was the 'Archives of Records' where all records could be checked in real time, I would be able to observe Yoo Joonghyuk's current state as well.

Within the blurring surroundings, the sentences flowing out of the 'Archives of Records' began to invade my mind.

Come to think of it, the reason 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' could take on the role of a 'Great Disaster' was because <Asgard> used their Fable fragments to designate him as the 'King of Hell'. A question suddenly arose. Currently, in the Disaster Camp, excluding Snowfield Kim Dokja, who else could take on the role of a 'Great Disaster'? Interstellar Devourers or Outer Gods? Or perhaps constellations who had entered under his command, or the actual owners of that role like Odin or Thor.

Likely, the disaster descending this time was 'Fenrir', the Wolf That Swallowed a God. Since Fenrir was a star standing on the side of 'disaster' even in actual mythology, it wouldn't be strange if he descended as this Great Disaster.

Following that, the Fable sentences possessed by the descending Great Disaster surfaced. And the moment I confirmed the first sentence of that Fable, I felt as if I had fallen into a deep abyss.

That was not Fenrir's Fable. Someone else had taken on the role of the 'Wolf That Swallowed a God' in place of Fenrir.

I knew who the owner of this Fable was. It felt like the gears in my mind were grinding to a halt.

If by any chance the 'Great Disaster' descending in place of Fenrir over there was that entity—

Yoo Joonghyuk will die today.