581 Episode 5. Villain (6)

This was how a criminal caught in an absurd place felt.

I was a little resentful of Dansoo ahjussi, who had passed out, oblivious to my anxiety. If he had picked Jophiel back then, none of this would have happened.

I turned to the oncoming Killer King and said,

"Wait a minute. Listen to me. You asked me if I had anything left to say."

"I didn't say I'd listen. I wasn't interested in hearing your excuses for slaughtering a dozen people in the first place."

Apparently, [Eye of Sin] had recorded the nineteen people I killed via incitement as a 'sin'.

It was unfair.

I wanted to tell them everything.

I was actually the one who wrote Omniscient Reader, and the people I killed were the ones who would later become the evil 'Life's Teachings' cult.

"You look upset. You must think your killing was justified because that's how this world works."

In a sense, it was the truth, so I had nothing to say.

"The Misreading Association was just like you."

"Misreading Association?"

Killer King looked wordlessly in his sister's direction, and LiteratureGirl64 shook her head stubbornly. It seemed like she didn't want to fight me.

"Yerin, we have to kill him now. The Eye of Sin isn't wrong, he's dangerous."

"......."

"We'll do it like we did with the Misreading Association guys, I'll finish him off."

The moment I heard those words, the back of my head tingled.

"Wait."

Suddenly, an unpleasant sensation crawled up my spine.

"Did you kill a 'real person'?"

"Are there real people and fake ones?"

"You know what I mean. Did you kill other readers?"

I didn't entirely disagree with Kyung Sein. There were certainly good and bad people among the readers.

But whether they were good or bad, there was a bond shared only by those who had read the story.

I wanted to believe that there was a promise, at least between fellow 'readers', that we wouldn't turn a blind eye to anyone who knew the tragedy of this world.

"The 'Misreading Association' deserves to die."

However, right in front of me, there was a reader who disagreed.

A reader who had read this story 99 times, a reader who probably understood this world better than anyone.

I told him.

"If you die here, you're really dead."

"Good. They were sociopaths to begin with."

With those words, I was convinced. This Killer King was out of his mind.

If I let him go, he would ruin the whole scenario, not to mention endanger the other readers.

But could I win against them?

As if Killer King wasn't bad enough, LiteratureGirl64 over there was a monster who could deal with the Dark Keeper alone.

It was then that the surroundings began to turn colorless.

These were the signs of the skill '■■'.

However, I couldn't see anyone performing any 'unexpected behavior'.

Why then?

The reason was quickly apparent.

Perhaps because I had used the skill so much, a new condition to trigger '■■' had been added. If the skill was triggered now, it meant that an important 'event' branch was coming. And in Omniscient Reader, 'important' was synonymous with 'dangerous'.

Judging from Killer King and LiteratureGirl64's attitude, it was unlikely that they would charge straight at me.

That said, the danger wasn't coming from them.

The next time I looked up at the ceiling, I saw the culprit.

Since when?

Through the shadows of the 'Edge of Darkness', three shadows slid down the wall, clinging to it. The moment I saw the series of footprints on the wall, I realized how they had managed to come so stealthily.

[Thief Rat's Footprints].

A stealthy maneuvering skill that, while not as spectacular as Lee Jihye's [Ghost Walk], allowed them to literally move like 'dead rats' in the dark.

All three of them had small tear gas canisters in their hands, so it didn't look like they were approaching with good intentions.

Judging by the distance, they would attack in about 1.8 seconds.

At this rate, Killer King and LiteratureGirl64 would die, or at least be mortally wounded.

Killer King was going to kill me anyway, so I might as well leave them be.

However,

I looked at the scene title and thought.

I began to type a sentence.

"What—?"

The startled Killer King and LiteratureGirl64 rolled out of the way to avoid the attack.

However, my spike wasn't aimed at them.

Swoosh!

As my level 20 strength turned into kinetic energy and pierced through the darkness, the shadows lurking between them let out sharp screeches and scattered.

Something dripped through the darkness, and then something exploded in the air.

Psssssh!

Thick purple smoke billowed out. I immediately recognized the smoke for what it was.

Poisonous fog.

Killer King's complexion turned blue.

"Yerin!"

The younger sister, who was very agile, quickly picked up her brother and took refuge near me.

I raised my hands in a sign that I had no intention of attacking. LiteratureGirl64 dropped Killer King on the ground and began to vomit. She must have inhaled the poisonous fog.

I asked Killer King.

"Who are they?"

"You would know better......."

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking."

Before he could answer, Killer King began to bleed.

His poisoning seemed worse.

Apparently, this was no ordinary poisonous fog. It was poison taken directly from the anal sac of a 'Poison Rhino'.

I took out my emergency supply of Elain Monkey Lungs and popped one into my mouth, then handed the other to Killer King.

Killer King's eyes shook for a moment.

"Bite down on this. Quick, before you die."

Just before he took the lungs and bit them, Killer King spoke in a low voice.

"They are the Misreading Association."

The Misreading Association. I see.

So that's who they are.

The Seven Apostles had the clever trick of utilizing Dionysus's indirect messages as a code, but these guys didn't seem to have anything like that.

Sssssst.

Through the thick violet fog, the men emerged, Elain Monkey Lungs in their mouths.

Upon closer inspection, all three had grayish hair sprouting from their faces.

I immediately activated 'Readers' Comments List'.

That's strange.

Wasn't 'Misreading Association' the name of a readers' community?

I activated 'Character List' just in case.

Then.

Surprisingly, all three men were 'characters'. They even had the same sponsor and attribute.

Plague-Carrying Rat.

And Ratman.

All incarnations of the same constellation, all choosing the path of the outcast (人外).

Even though the outer species were strong in the beginning, would readers who had finished the novel choose the path of an outer species?

It couldn't be.

They're not readers.

Then why did the Killer King call them the 'Misreading Association'?

It was then that I heard a squeak in my ear.

And then a voice said.

—How's Killer King?

—Poisoned.

—His sister.

—Same. She can still move, but not for long.

—There are others I haven't seen.

I'm getting more and more confused.

I thought only the readers could know that.

But how could people who had only been in this world for three days know that?

"Hey, excuse me. Guys."

The men were talking amongst themselves, as if they couldn't hear me.

—I can tell he's an apostle because he has monkey's lungs.

—Is he a member of the Seven Apostles?

—Most likely.

—We'll have to get rid of him.

I was no match for the three of them.

At that moment, Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi, who were sprawled on the floor, began to twitch.

It looked like the poisonous fog was slowly spreading to them.

Fortunately, the two of them had eaten a lot of ground rat meat before falling asleep, so they should be able to hold out a bit longer with the antidote effect.

I turned to see a gasping Killer King staring back at me through narrowed eyes. His entire face was colored a deep purple, as if the Elain Monkey Lungs couldn't keep up.

He was even weaker than he looked. Hadn't he leveled up his stats?

"Are you sure...... you're not from the 'Misreading Association'?"

"I don't know such people."

Killer King opened his mouth.

"I'll believe you. You are certainly—"

"I'm no prophet, but I do know that it's not time for us to fight amongst ourselves."

Nodding, Killer King handed the Elain Monkey Lung he'd been biting to his sister.

"Yerin, I'm sorry, you'll have to do it alone this time."

LiteratureGirl64 shook her head hard, but finally took the lung with trembling hands.

Killer King coughed and spoke.

"The enemy is a low-ranked outer species. Around an 8th or 9th grade archetype, but...... you should be able to deal with them by yourself."

I could recognize the siblings' fighting style. Apparently, the older brother, Killer King, was the brains, while the younger sister did the actual fighting.

Killer King looked in my direction and said.

"I don't trust you. But......."

"You'll owe me a favor."

"I'll pay you back if I can."

With those last words, Killer King closed his eyes. He didn't seem to be dead, just trying to survive his poisoning by minimizing his energy consumption.

I turned to the younger sister.

"I need you to take care of one. We need to finish this before your brother dies."

LiteratureGirl64 staggered to her feet, as if she would do anything.

Meanwhile, the Ratmen's side had finished analyzing this side's power.

—Random item box secured.

—We have a variable, should we rush in?

—Killer King must be eliminated here. If we don't get rid of him now, we might not have a chance in the future.

The Ratmen exchanged sullen glances.

The next moment, I felt a chill down the back of my neck.

It felt as if hundreds of rats were glaring at me through the purple fog.

The Ratmen sprang back up like toy tumblers and surrounded me.

A Ratman was an 8th-grade outer species.

All three of them had excellent stats, and their attribute bonuses made them extremely fast.

Luckily, LiteratureGirl64, who ran like a flash, took on one of the Ratmen, and an unconventional hand-to-hand battle ensued.

LiteratureGirl64's movements were slower than before due to her poisoning, but it seemed to be enough to take down one Ratman.

That left two.

A Ratman's elongated nails sliced into my skull with obvious murderous intent.

I was terrified. One wrong move and I would die.

I muttered an incantation to make myself stronger.

Of course, just inciting myself to be Yoo Joonghyuk didn't really make me Yoo Joonghyuk.

But it would at least make me brave like him. And maybe I could even imitate him a little.

Sugagak!

My strength level 20 blow sliced through the air, tearing the arm of one of the Ratmen in two.

Surprised by my strength, the Ratmen jumped back.

—Dangerous. The variable's strength level exceeds 20.

—He's not afraid to get hurt. He's not an ordinary guy.

—Stay away. We'll change the operation.

In an instant, the Ratmen had closed the distance and drawn out a long bamboo pole.

I had an ominous feeling.

"Dodge!"

I reflexively jumped out of the way and swung my sword. I heard the sound of something bouncing off a Ratman's blade. But I didn't manage to deflect them all.

"Ah."

When I looked around, LiteratureGirl64 had a dagger stuck in her thigh.

I quickly supported her and stepped back.

LiteratureGirl64's complexion immediately turned purple.

Damn.

—His agility level is over 20.

—Is there ever an apostle with two stats over 20?

—Maybe he's an apostle possessing a Named.

—Is he from <Kim Dokja's Company>?

The Ratmen craned their necks and looked up into the air at the same time. Like terminals waiting for a signal.

—Says no.

—Then let's get rid of him.

In that moment, I came up with a creepy hypothesis.

The Ratmen in front of me were not 'readers', but they knew information that only 'readers' could know.

That means someone is feeding them information.

Maybe someone who could communicate with them in real time.

I reflexively looked up into the air.

From across the pitch-black darkness, I felt a gaze upon me.

I thought with a bitter smile.

Sooyoung-ah, isn't this a probability problem?

Author's Note

Hakhyun-ah, Sooyoung is also busy right now