763 Episode 33 Ball (2)

The concentration of attention was burdensome.

Light laughter was heard from the second floor. It seemed like someone was muttering,”Is that Kim Dokja?"

Monsters on a different level from the great-grade were sitting there. Each and every one of them calls themselves the winners of the whole world.

Cold sweat formed on my neck and I slowly began to feel suffocated.

Kim Dokja has been fighting against such monsters until now.

I pursed my lips and raised my hand toward them. It was because I thought that if I got discouraged here, I wouldn't be able to face the others later.

I was the one who brought them on this stage in the first place.

I created a story by changing the 'animal tales' of Zone 13, and distributed the stories to the Gourmet Association through Bihyung.

The fact that they came this far means that they fell for the bait I spread.

Messages heard in real time.

It was proof that our stories were being steadily consumed in the <Star Stream>.

If so, great. Spend as much as you want. I will feed you stories until your stomach explodes and you die.

It felt like blood was flowing from my lips that had been so tightly pressed. The moment when it became difficult to bear the gaze of the constellations.

As soon as I received the message, the pressure that had been weighing me down seemed to have disappeared.

I barely breathed a sigh of relief and nodded lightly toward the evaluator behind the curtain.

However, despite the evaluator's restraint, there were still constellations looking at me.

The constellations of the <Zodiac> on the first floor were like that.

It wasn't a threatening gaze like the constellations on the second floor, but I could feel resentment in their gaze for some unknown reason.

Euphrosyne spoke again.

To summarize, is it true that I designed the scenario stage inspired by the 'animal stories' that I changed?

For some reason, I didn't have a good feeling.

A reenactment of an old tale.

Since this is the <Zodiac Ball>, the background of the dance was likely to be famous animal tales, including the 'Zodiac Race'.

However, the variable was that the

'Gourmet Association' directly intervened.

Since there are many stubborn constellations in the Gourmet Association, there was a possibility that something like the 'Bracelet Expedition', which was the stage of the Gourmet Association in the main story, could be recreated.

It isn’t the zodiac race?

So is it really the Bracelet Expedition?

I don't think it's the Bracelet Expedition either.

So what on earth is it?

Euphrosyne waved her hand lightly into the air. Although I can't see it, there are probably dokkaebis from the management bureau, including Bihyung, there.

Some whispers were heard from the zodiac signs:

Euphrosyne seemed to have heard them and nodded.

The ominous premonition was gradually becoming a reality.

The moment when a cruel smile appeared on Euphrosyne's lips.

The balance of the world began to creak.

There were just scenario messages being exchanged, but probability was flying out of thin air. A transfer that has occurred only a few times in 'Ways of Survival' and 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint'.

And I knew when this 'miracle' would occur.

I felt dizzy and felt like my stomach was turning. It was difficult to move my body as if the gravity of the area had been reversed.

When I shook my head several times and finally came to my senses, a message appeared before my eyes.

The banquet was halted for a moment.

This is because the constellations of the Zodiac and the incarnations each needed time to recover from the shock.

The twentieth main scenario.

Suddenly the scenario level rose by eleven levels. Although it was rare in mid- to late-game scenarios, I've never seen this happen in the ninth scenario.

The fact that the scenario level has risen by 11 levels means that the scenario difficulty has also been upgraded accordingly.

Some high-ranking constellations began to protest.

The constellations in the zodiac, unable to bear it, pointed their pointed fingers at the dokkaebis in the air.

I waited for the next message without reacting in any way.

This level of dramatic change in scenarios will inevitably bring about probability repercussions. So, if it were as I expected, the management bureau would have put in place a safety device to prevent any repercussions.

I knew it. No matter how bad the Star Stream is, it was reasonable.

In other words, you are free to choose whether to participate in a new scenario or not.

Constellations from all over began to leave the 'Recycling Center', taking incarnations with them.

It was an obvious choice.

No constellation would want to participate in this unpleasant scenario.

At least, unless there is corresponding compensation.

The constellations on the <Zodiac> side, who were leaving the scenario, stopped as Euphrosyne muttered to herself.

Maybe there is no freedom in this world. The idea of ​​free choice is nothing more than a mirage.

A muffled laugh could be heard from beyond the curtains on the second floor.

They probably already knew. The fact that the constellations on the first floor would never be able to reject this proposal.

In the end, the destination of the stars' desires is the same. It's the same whether it's a great-grade, a narrative-grade, or a mythical-grade.

And maybe me too.

The moment I saw the image rising behind Euphrosyne, time seemed to stop.

'Kim Dokja', who had the same face as me, was sealed in the tank.

He sacrificed himself to save me, my brother who was consecrated to the scenario.

The Demon King of Salvation.

In the pitch-black night sky, Lee Gilyoung rewrote those words with his fingers several times. The trace imbued with pure white magic was quickly erased, but Lee Gilyoung constantly filled in new traces on top of the disappearing trace.

"What are you doing?"

Lee Gilyoung turned his head halfway in response to the question and then fixed his gaze on the sky again. Then the owner of the voice took Lee Gilyoung’s hat off.

"Now, when your noona calls you, you don’t even look at her."

"What. Why?"

“Teen angst?”

Lee Jihye, who took Lee Gilyoung's hat, placed his hat on her own head. The hat fit well without any need to adjust the size.

Lee Gilyoung grumbled and said.

"If you came here to start a fight, just leave."

Lee Jihye looked down at the back of the boy's pouty head. Lee Jihye actually knew why the back of this boy's head was so prickly.

Lee Jihye, who was looking down at Lee Gilyung who had stopped, drew her sword and wrote letters in the air.

The Demon King of Salvation.

Letters engraved like a calligrapher’s calligraphy.

Lee Gilyoung asked with his mouth slightly open.

"Do you know how to do that too? Teach me too."

Lee Jihye sighed lightly and said.

"Even if I write it like this, you’re going to read it to me."

"Still."

"Let’s stop and go in, it’s cold."

"…Hyung."

A tremor at the end of words.

Lee Jihye's steps suddenly stopped.

"Does hyung think of me sometimes?"

"Well, maybe sometimes?"

"I’m not someone else, I’m Lee Gilyoung."

"It’s a circle sound."

"Shin Yoosoung is the incarnation of hyung, and Sangah is hyung’s best friend."

Lee Gilyoung hesitated for a moment and then continued.

"The sooty bastard, Seolhwa, and the noona are characters from a novel that hyung liked."

"Hey."

"But I am nothing."

The magic flowing from Lee Jihye's blade dimly illuminated Lee Gilyoung's face.

"Why did he save me?"

How long has the child been pondering that question alone?

"I wish I could ask him just once. It’s okay if I can’t ask him any other questions, so I wish I could ask him just once. I should have asked then. I shouldn’t have given in to Shin Yoosoung."

The energy of the story slowly flowed from Lee Gilyoung’s whole body.

It was a story of the demon god Abaddon.

Lee Jihye’s expression hardened.

"Hey, calm down."

"It’s okay just once—"

"Stories are leaking!"

The moment Lee Jihye held onto Lee Gilyoung's shoulder after her urgent shout, sparks flew out in the air. At first, she thought the story of Abaddon had gone wild.

But it wasn't.

The spark was hovering in the air nearby, not at Lee Gilyoung.

"That one over there."

Not long ago, Kim Dokja, who used [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], disappeared.

A place where the world line opens and closes.

Something was flowing through that place.

The moment a nervous Lee Jihye grasped the hilt of her sword, a message was heard.

A message that somehow feels like déjà vu.

They knew this feeling of déjà vu well.

A 'scenario'.

But they already cleared all the 'scenarios' a long time ago.

But why now?

Why did a 'scenario' message appear before their eyes once again?

"What is this?"

It was an invitation that they would have naturally declined under normal circumstances. There was no way they would respond to such a suspicious invitation.

They would have immediately shown the message to Yoo Sangah and Lee Seolhwa and then judged the situation.

But the moment they saw the scenario message that followed.

There was only one option left for them.

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