696 Episode 24 Expert (6)

Why is Kim Dokja, the neighborhood brother, so angry?

The first word that came to mind was 'colleague'.

He saw the end of the scenarios with Yoo Jonghyuk in the third round.

Watching Yoo Jonghyuk in the 41st round, the neighborhood brother may have recalled memories of those days. Even though he knew that the Yoo Jonghyuk of this world line was not the 'Yoo Jonghyuk' he remembered, the neighborhood brother became shaken by his crisis.

It was a very romantic reason, but honestly, it didn't make sense to me.

This is because Kim Dokja, the neighborhood older brother I observed so far, had a corner that was tightly twisted.

I don't know if all the separated Kim Dokjas are like that, or just the 'Demon King of Salvation'...

Kim Dokja, who likes 'Ways of Survival'.

Kim Dokja, who thought Yoo Jonghyuk was a psychopath and kept a strange distance from the characters.

Kim Dokja, a scenario expert.

If my assumption is correct, this is why Kim Dokja is angry now.

Sparks bouncing lightly in the air. Even though it was a possession through [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint], the level of emotion was revealed in blue.

Anna Croft's pupils shook in surprise.

The moment I saw Anna's burning red eyes, I wondered if I should stop her at this point.

If I leave it like this.

Because Anna Croft will die before we can confirm whether Yoo Jonghyuk is alive or dead.

"Tsk—"

With a crackling sound, blood vessels burst from Anna's eyes. Anna, holding one of her eyes, took a step back.

"How could you—"

"I’ll ask you one more time."

Kim Dokja's hand slowly moved to the hilt of his sword.

"Where is Yoo Jonghyuk now—"

Lights in the area flickered as if there had been a power outage. And in the next moment, the light disappeared from Kim Dokja's eyes as if the factory's power was turned off.

I immediately realized what was happening.

—Oh, I forgot the duration.

'Constellation-nim?'

—I'll exchange some coins for you. Hang in there.

'Kim Dokja-ssi! Kim Dokja! You human!'

Kim Dokja had no answer.

If you disappear like that, what are they going to do to me?

Before we knew it, the forces of 'Zarathustra' were gathering one by one, centered around Anna Croft.

The tense expressions of the incarnations showed an evil and murderous look, and Selena Kim was also watching the confrontation with a troubled expression.

And my body stood tall, unconscious.

'Shit.'

It was also surprising that the fainted body was able to stand still.

Does Kim Dokja have a 'balance artist' narrative?

To make matters worse, because my eyes were narrowed, she didn't even notice that I had fainted.

"You... what the hell are you?"

Anna glared at me and continued her words.

"It definitely didn’t feel like this before... Are you really Cheon In-ho? Even then—"

"..."

"Are you going to continue to be silent?"

Despite Anna Croft's questions, my body remained silent and motionless.

Anna Croft's expression hardened, as if she thought that was some kind of answer.

Because I fainted while holding the hilt of my sword, it seemed like I was contemplating whether or not to kill the incarnations in front of me.

Anna Croft spoke again with a determined voice.

"I don’t know what you’re thinking, but this place is Zarathustra. If you try to destroy this place—"

"Anna!"

Selena Kim, whose complexion turned pale in real time, eventually intervened.

"You shouldn’t fight with Cheon Inho-ssi. He is not a bad person."

"Selena?"

"This person... served me a Korean drink. It was delicious."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Selena Kim, who had been rolling her eyes nervously, turned to look at me.

I wondered why I was so nervous, but when I thought about it, there was a good reason.

"Cheo-Cheon Inho is the demon king."

Shit.

"Demon king?"

"Well, Christina…"

A commotion spread throughout the hall, and several people sat down and screamed. They only heard one word, 'demon king' (마왕), but the panicked people looked at me and took a step back.

It was a situation that could not have happened under normal circumstances.

There is no way that the incarnations of the seventh scenario would know what the 'Demon king' is.

But they were different.

There was something I could guess about this.

But no matter what they went through, I am not the demon king.

My sponsor is a demon king, but I am not one anyway.

A smart Anna would of course know this.

Probably, 'I am the demon king' is an impossible story at this point.

However.

"Did you ultimately choose 'that path' in this round as well?"

The prophet suddenly started talking frantically.

"Everyone, step back. As of this time, we are abandoning Zarathustra’s temporary headquarters."

The hall became a chaos. People running out of the hotel screaming.

"Selena Kim. Put on level 1 alert. I'll buy you some time. In the meantime, you—"

I couldn't wait any longer for Kim Dokja to return. But what can I do after being thrown out of the body?

'No.'

When I thought about it, there was a way to move my body even while unconscious.

A method I have used before.

Fortunately, the body listened.

As I let go of the hilt, I saw Anna Croft, who had been leading the people, stop.

But this alone is not enough.

Would more specific incite be possible?

For now, I had no choice but to give it a try.

The next moment, a voice miraculously came out of my stunned body.

"I can’t believe the mere word 'demon king' is enough to make you go crazy. That’s where Zarathustra’s fame ends."

Anna Croft looked at me with an expression of disbelief on her face.

Squinted eyes with a subtle smile. Distinctive smirking lips.

Anna Croft asked.

"Cheon Inho. Could it be... your memories have come back?"

This wasn't the first time I encountered 'Anna Croft'.

At the beginning of the scenarios, I had already met Anna through 'Phantom Prison'.

If I think about it, Anna doubted me even back then. Perhaps because she is a prophet and has a great sense of insight?

Anna, who was sitting on her chair in her living room and glaring at me, opened her mouth again.

"The one who deceived the stars. Is it really you? Please answer clearly."

The one who deceived the stars.

Even hearing it again, it is still a grand nickname. What did Cheon Inho do in the 40th episode to be called that?

"Is it really that important who I am?"

Anna Croft frowned at me as I whirled around.

"How did you get your memories back? There’s no way Yoo Jonghyuk shared the story..."

I received a fragment of the story, but it wasn't the story.

I answered honestly.

"I am not the 'Cheon Inho' you remember. All memories were reset with Yoo Jonghyuk’s [return]."

"That..."

"Isn’t it the same for you? You will not be the Anna Croft from the previous round, but the new 'Anna Croft' who has taken over the memories from the previous round through [past tense]."

"I guess it’s you, seeing as you’re coming up with plausible sophistry."

Anna Croft shook her head as if she had a headache and drank the tea on the table in one go.

From afar I saw Selena Kim watching this way with worried eyes.

I waved my hand in that direction as if to reassure her.

"What is this about the 'demon king'? Why do Selena and Christina think you are a demon king? Did you really make a contract with a demon king?"

He's a demon king, but if you ask if he's really a demon king, it's a bit ambiguous.

"Did you choose 'that path' again like last time?"

That past?

"Are you sure you want to talk now?"

Since the conversation was likely to be tense from the start, I decided to lighten the mood a bit.

"Just calm down and think of me as the 'new Cheon Inho' from now on."

"New Cheon Inho?"

"Not all evil people are evil from the beginning, you know?"

"You are a villain."

"By stigmatizing them like that, the world’s evildoers cannot be rehabilitated."

"What..."

"From now on, think of me as a newborn. Depending on your choices, this newborn may later become a vicious killer or a good deceiver."

"You are not a newborn."

I thought about inciting myself as a 'newborn', but instead I said this.

"But Yoo Jonghyuk must have thought that every time he saw me."

"..."

"Should I kill this guy or save him? Which one will be more helpful to the future of this world? If I make the wrong choice, how much tragedy will happen in this world?"

I looked out the window at the streets north of Las Vegas.

A desolate city swept away by a disaster.

Anna jumped up from her seat and drew the curtains on the window.

I said this to Anna.

"Just knowing about some futures is a sin. In that case, I will just live as a newborn who knows nothing."

"Why on earth did you come here?"

Anna said without looking at me.

"If you got your memories back, you can live your life as you please. The intention is to make this round a mess—"

"I came because Yoo Jonghyuk called me."

"Why on earth are you saying such a blatant lie...?"

Anna Croft's expression became strange.

"You said you came because the King called you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because we’re on the same side."

"You’re on the same side as the 'king'?"

I turned to Anna Croft, whose lips were quivering, and nodded my head with a shameless face.

"If your curiosity has been answered, I will now ask a question. There must have been other Koreans besides Yoo Jonghyuk, but what happened to them?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"Because they are my colleagues."

"Colleagues?"

Anna Croft looked like she was about to lose her mind.

"You care about your colleagues?"

"Of course I’m worried."

"Cheon Inho, who on earth are you?"

Anna Croft's face, distorted with anger and sadness, shelooked almost like that of a madman.

"I can’t trust you. I just don’t understand the King. How could something like that happen and he hires you?"

"I don’t think that’s what you want to say."

Anna Croft's eyes slightly widened at my words.

"As expected, you obtained the memories from the 'previous round'."

I gave up denying it and decided to adjust to Anna Croft's misunderstanding.

Anna said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts.

"The king is still safe. And so are your comrades."

"Are they safe?"

"For now."

I nodded, somewhat relieved.

"Are they in the 'Washington Dome' now?"

Anna nodded with a miserable face.

"That's right."

I knew it. I immediately checked the scenario log.

From the moment I checked the seventh scenario, I thought it was strange.

Even when I arrived in Las Vegas, a message appeared telling me to move to the 'scenario area'. This meant that the actual setting of the seventh scenario was not 'Las Vegas'.

"The seventh scenario is underway in Washington."

"What kind of 'disaster' is this?"

"...It looks like everyone already knows."

"Did you fail the fifth scenario?"

"I hate to admit it, but I do."

As expected, the United States failed to hunt down the final disaster of the 'fifth scenario'.

And in return, the 'Washington East' was lost.

The 'Administrative Bureau', which judged that the American incarnations could not hunt down the disaster on their own, must have moved the probability of the <Star Stream> to stimulate the interest of the constellations.

As a result, the disaster scenario was extended to the 'seventh scenario' and transformed into a global scenario.

By now, incarnations from all over the world are probably moving over to the American scenario.

If we do something wrong, a world war could break out in Washington.

"It’s pathetic. You couldn’t properly deal with a disaster with [future sight]?"

If nothing else, this disappointment was real.

I didn't know 'Anna Croft' was going to fail the fifth scenario.

Moreover, in the '41st round', every character exceeded my expectations.

"It’s annoying to hear that from you, but something was different about this world line. Things that I couldn’t figure out even with my [Future Sight] kept happening."

Something that cannot be known even with [Future Sight].

In the main story, such things usually occurred when Kim Dokja intervened in the scenarios.

However, in this round, Kim Dokja was a constellation, and he never intervened in the story until he signed a contract with me.

But at that moment, a hypothesis popped into my head.

Why didn't I think of that?

Come to think of it, it exists in this world line.

People who can change the future of the world even if they are not Kim Dokja.

"Cheon Inho. Have you ever heard of a group called 'Apostles'?"

Even on this continent, there were readers who read Kim Dokja's story.