654 Episode 19 People of the Past (6)

With Shin Yoosoung, I held my breath and hid between the underground passages.

Then, a group of people jumped out from the opposite street corner.

"This way!"

Did they notice us?

Looking at the movement, there is a feeling that they are intentionally directed this way, but the target is us.

I used 'group chat' with Shin Yoosoung.

—Shin Yoosoung. You should run away immediately.

I felt that no matter what happened, I had to save this child.

If Shin Yoosoung dies here, the 41st round will end with the worst ending I can think of.

—If ahjussi runs away too.

A formidable answer came back.

I hesitated to answer, but Shin Yoosoung sent another message.

—But maybe we can win?

ㅡIt could be.

Maybe it's because of 'Beast Lord? Shin Yoo-seung seemed to be able to know the talents of incarnations just by looking at them.

The number and skill of the running enemies were excellent. It is only natural that they are the elite of the 7 kings of Seoul.

But do you think I will lose? If you ask me, I wouldn't.

Does that mean I've become stronger?

At first glance, I thought that I was stronger than Kim Dokja of the same period, but I hadn't had a chance to properly check my skills in the meantime.

However, it wasn't just that we were talking about the enemies.

—Those two over there are strong.

I could feel it too.

Two extraordinary auras were felt among them.

"Gu Taesung! This way! Move!"

Gu Taesung.

One of the 7 kings of Seoul. A person who has Gyeonwon, the king of Later Baekje, as his background.

He was a man called 'The Dragon King'.

Next to him was an incarnation wearing a black night suit, but I couldn't guess who it was just by looking at his face.

"Assassin King. What's the target?"

"Now it's intelligent."

Assassin King.

At the entrance to the dungeon, the assassins who tried to harm us told us this name.

Somehow, that man in the night suit seemed to be the leader of the rookie hunters.

A message I’ve seen before.

It was the same case as the text book writer I met in the 'Theatre Dungeon'.

Those who possessed characters here after illegally reading the novel.

From what I could see, both Gu Taesung, the Dragon King, and the Assassin King were all on that side.

ㅡbig star.

The Dustman's reaction also changed.

It probably means that the two of them have a 'star jewel'. Shin Yoosoung, who was by my side, turned to the Dustman, placing her finger on her lips as if telling him to be quiet.

—Ahjussi, what should I do?

—Let's observe the situation for a moment.

Bang Cheolsoo's warning came to mind.

Until now, I thought so. It was important to collect star jewels, but I had no intention of taking unnecessary risks with Shin Yoosoung.

However.

When I asked why that thought came to my mind, I was comparing them to someone without realizing it.

Come to think of it, the king of beggars I faced at Seoul Station was the body of a constellation.

No matter how strong the 7 kings of Seoul are, they are only the incarnations of a great constellation.

In a sense, I've already had a record of dealing with a first-class incarnation.

I was thinking about whether to attack now, but I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"What about troop losses?"

"There were a few minor injuries, but no fatalities."

"No fatalities?"

Intermittent murmurings could be heard from a distance.

It was a vibration I had heard before.

"Did you not hear? He said he doesn't kill anyone."

"He’s not killing anyone."

"There are rumors that they are members of the apostle side."

Apostle?

"I don't like their hypocrisy. It's just like them and us who read a damn novel anyway."

"That's true. What's the point of spending a few hundred won on that?"

I resisted the urge to go right away and slap him in the back of the head.

By the way, are you insane for talking about things like that?

It's a conversation that is filtered anyway, so they don't have any intention of hiding it.

"What happened to the possessed constellation? Have you been contacted?"

"No. Not yet. It looks like it's been a bit of time."

"You damn bastards. Then why mess with the First Sword of Goryeo?"

"They don't even know the contents of their novels. We should have done the constellation possession."

As the vibration that resonated with the labyrinth approached, the two men shut their mouths at the same time.

"It’s coming."

The faces of the two people had a strange tension. Then came the sound of flesh being torn from the aisle and an horrible scream.

Then, with the sound of gasping for breath, incarnations appeared. An incarnation with one arm ripped off. An incarnation with a broken shin. The incarnations who lost all their weapons ran this way in a hurry.

Even seeing the injured men, the two did not look too surprised.

As if they had foreseen this situation.

"Is that what happens when you collect three star jewels?"

"If you're jealous, I'll hand over my star jewel to you."

"I decline."

A gigantic figure swayed behind the avatars.

At first glance, a gigantic creature that appears to be twice the size of an ordinary incarnation.

Could that be the Labyrinth Keeper?

The Dustman, who was spinning around, couldn't control himself and shivered.

ㅡBig star!

Not a Labyrinth Keeper.

In other words, that monster is also an 'incarnation' like us.

However, was there such an incarnation in Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint?

Shin Yoosoung, who was next to me, was also holding on to my sleeve, as if surprised.

A slight tremor passed through the child's fingertips.

"That can't be won."

The hairs on the backs of my hands were warning me.

I couldn't see the form properly yet, but the giant in the darkness was stronger than Gu Taesung and the assassin king combined.

Who the hell is it?

At this point, if it is an existence with a level of combat power that exceeds the '7 kings of Seoul'.

"Light!"

Along with Gu Taesung's cry, someone lit a light in the darkness of the underground passage.

The giant's face was revealed to the whole world.

Arms filled with strong muscles.

Empty pupils as if he had lost his mind. Lips moving repeatedly as if chanting Buddhist prayers.

"I will not kill you. I won't kill you."

The moment I heard the voice, I got goosebumps.

—Ahjussi?

I forgot to reply to Shin Yoosoung and ran out.

"Wow! What is it?"

One of the incarnations that spotted me jumping through the aisle brandished a blind knife.

After receiving the blade as it was, I tripped the incarnation.

The incarnation let out a small scream and fell down on the back of his head before making a pack sound.

Did he die? I don't know.

However, now was not the time to be immersed in sentimentality.

I was looking at a giant.

"Looking for someone. I'm looking for someone."

Why is that person here?

I could see her man's thick hand poking through the air.

It was a different size, but it was a hand I knew well.

The person who asked me where the bugs were. With that hand, he found the bug under the vending machine.

"Find someone."

It felt like a part of my chest was about to collapse.

The first reader I met after possessing someone in this world.

A man who was brought into this world for reading a novel his daughter was reading.

"Noh Jiyoon. Noh Jiyoon."

Jiyoon's father.

"Dansu ahjussi!"

However, as if he couldn't hear my voice, he only repeated vain gestures toward the air.

If you look closely, you can see that the old man's eyes are black.

My breath choked, and deep anger and sorrow rushed at once.

What the hell happened in the meantime?

Why did Ahjussi become like that?

What the hell kind of people made you like that?

Could it be because of the life that flowed out in an instant? A group of incarnations looked back at my width.

I could see Gu Taesung and the Assassin King frowning at me.

I saw them face to face.

Are these guys the ones who made you that way?

"Are you a hindrance?"

The assassin king who found me muttered in a calm voice.

At the same time, the sound of flesh breaking was heard from the front of the aisle.

Every time Dansu Ahjussi swung his giant hand. The incarnations were helplessly swept away.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The incarnations who were hit by ahjussi were injured, but did not die. Moderate to minor injuries that do not end life.

"I won't kill you. I won't kill you."

Come to think of it, Dansu ahjussi was like that from the first scenario.

The man who killed a bug in the first scenario has never killed a person.

That's what he said, but I knew why the old man didn't really kill people.

A man who is always looking for his daughter.

There is only one reason why such a man does not kill people.

"Dansu ahjussi! Calm down!"

He looked around as if he still couldn't hear me.

One of the incarnations that had been paying attention suddenly attacked me from behind. However, the incarnation was struck in the neck by a dagger flying from the side and fell down.

"Ahjussi."

It was Shin Yoosoung. I nodded and looked around at the incarnations around me. No matter how I look at it, these guys are the ones who are aiming for Dansu ahjussi, so it was urgent to deal with these guys first.

It was then that Gu Taesung, who was checking his watch, raised his head.

"I think you misunderstood. We don't intend to fight."

You don't want to fight?

The guy looked back at the members of his group who had fallen to me and Shin Yoosoung, then clicked his tongue and said.

"You don't know what's going on right now?"

"Old Taesung. Don't talk nonsense."

Despite the Assassin King's warning, Gu Taesung looked at my width and continued.

"Looks like you’re on the edge. Let me give you a piece of advice. You'd better get away from here quickly. Or you'll get run over by that monster too."

"Gu Taesung. He's here."

With those words, Gu Taesung and the Assassin King moved. I nervously grabbed the hilt of my sword. If I had to, I was thinking of cutting the backs of the kings to save ahjussi.

However.

"Just throw food and it will fall."

Instead of grabbing weapons, Gu Taesung and the Assassin King reached out for their own Dustmen.

ㅡLight up.

Two shining white jewels protruded from the little Dustman's mouth.

It must have been. It was the 'Star Jewel' that we had been looking for all along.

It was the continued actions of the guys that made it happen.

"Eat it, you bastard!"

They threw their star jewels at Dansu ahjussi.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

A star jewel flew towards the man who was repeating his apology into the air. After that, the Dustman, who was flying near ahjussi, opened his mouth wide.

At the same time, cracks began to appear all over ahjussi’s body.

With a crackling sound, ahjussi’s muscles were torn and swollen.

The Assassin King let out an unpleasant laugh.

"It's a success."

"Now just feed two more and we’re done. Everyone withdraw!"

The Assassin King and Gu Taesung's group seemed to have finished their mission and didn't look back.

I heard it everywhere in the labyrinth.

As if, from the beginning, they had no intention of hunting him.

I couldn't understand what the hell was going on.

I sorted out the situation in the confusion.

One, Dansu ahjussi already had three star jewels.

If I were to simply summarize the situation that was happening right in front of my eyes, that would be it.

"They gave the star jewel to Dansu ahjussi on purpose."

Why? He already had three star jewels.

If he gets two more star jewels in that situation, the old man will only become ridiculously strong.

"By the way, was that all?"

Belatedly, the rules of this dungeon came to mind.

No way.

I approached Dansu ahjussi who was kneeling.

"Ahjussi! It's me! Ahjussi!"

Dansu ahjussi, who had grown even bigger than before, had now grown to the point of being reminiscent of a small giant.

I could feel his presence just by getting close.

As if reminiscent of Yoo Jonghyuk, a sense of heavy pressure that chokes your breath.

To the old man who was crying and scratching the floor as if in pain, I stretched out my hands and shouted.

"Me, Cheon Inho! Take a seat!"

At the word Cheon Inho, the man raised his head. For an instant, hope welled up.

Does he recognize me?

Ahjussi’s lips were saying something.

Jiyoon.

The next moment, ahjussi’s huge palm flew towards me. It was a relentless blow with no chance to escape. If Shin Yoosoung hadn't pulled my back just in time, I might have been crushed by it.

I looked down at the floor where Dansu ahjussi’s palm had been planted. The floor was severely cracked with the palm at the center.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

I was about to die. Really, I almost died.

Shin Yoosoung, holding onto my sleeve, was shouting something, but I could only hear what ahjussi said.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

A man who repeats an apology. The man who had lost both eyes looked at me with wide open pupils.

Madness level 5.

Only then did I understand why the 7 kings abandoned the star jewels and fled.

The tenth rule came to mind soon after.

Goosebumps ran down my spine.

The 'star jewels' in this dungeon were a trap.

'Star Jewels' that made one lose their reason in return for gaining strong power.

In other words, in order to properly collect 'star jewels', you should never collect 'star jewels'.

Therefore, the goal of this dungeon was as follows.

Dansu ahjussi, who became a monster, slowly got up and started walking towards me.