776 Episode 35 Demon King Qualifications (2)

"This, this, Private Lee Hyunsu—!"

Lee Hyunsung, foaming at the mouth, had a seizure and collapsed.

Goo Seonah's eyes, watching from afar, widened.

"How—"

I poked Lee Hyunsung's shoulder as he collapsed. Lee Hyunsung, who had completely lost consciousness, only repeated faint convulsions.

As I watched him drooling, I thought that this operation would not work. Even if breaking Goo Seonah's hypnosis was the most urgent task, the characters also had human rights.

I quickly passed Kim Namwoon, Lee Jihye, and Shin Yoosoung and said.

"From now on."

"You all will wake up from hypnosis."

The characters that touched my fingertips convulsed like Lee Hyunsung. But they didn’t foam at the mouth or scream in trauma like that.

A spark of probability flew from the air, and soon the characters collapsed on the spot like puppets with their strings cut.

Goo Seonah, who only then realized what I had done, approached me and said.

"[Incite], I guess you can use it like this."

"Let’s stop now. I can subdue you in the same way."

"Me? It won’t work on me? Because [Incite]—"

Goo Seonah, who had closed the distance in an instant once again, reached out to me.

"It’s only effective against opponents with a lower 'rank' than you, right?"

"You are now—"

The skill was nullified with a sound of 'Tsutsut'.

Goo Seonah was laughing.

"I told you it wasn't possible?"

In fact, it wasn't impossible. If her rank wasn't that far behind, it was theoretically possible to resist [Incite] using 「Insect Massacre」.

But even if she had collected a lot of 'Kim Dokja Fragments', would she have a rank that wouldn't be pushed back by me, the agent of the 'Demon King of Salvation'?

I held 'Unbreakable Faith' tightly with both hands and released my magical power.

This was a quick and easy decision.

I had consumed 'Dae-Hwan-Dan' and had sufficient magical power. It would be best to subdue Goo Seonah as quickly as possible and go deal with the Demon Tribe.

However, Goo Seonah was not about to be easily defeated.

"Kim Dokja insisted on that weapon until the very end. I really didn't like that."

The pure white 'Ravelinger' glowed in Goo Seonah's hand.

"Why did he insist on that one when there were so many items?"

The 'Blade of Faith' and 'Ravelinger' clashed, bathing the place in bright light.

'Ravelinger' is a weapon that exerts power beyond that of a holy relic in this world.

Moonlight Sword Technique.

The sword technique that Bihyung first recommended, and one that Kim Dokja did not purchase.

Goo Seonah chose that sword technique and learned it. As if to prove that Kim Dokja was wrong.

"The path that Kim Dokja took is not the only right one."

Her main weapon that made her known as the 'Iron Club Lady'.

The iron club flying in from a certain direction narrowed my range of movement, and there was no room to dodge [Moonlight Sword Technique].

As if it had been waiting, the Ravelinger emitted light.

A vein burst from my chest and pain consumed my mind.

"Your physique is terrible. Your combat proficiency is also low. How on earth have you survived until now?"

Goo Seonah continued to push me as if mocking me.

"Are you by any chance a one-trick pony like Kim Dokja?"

I realized something new.

We all read the same story of the world, but the way we understand it is different. There is no guarantee that someone who reads the same book repeatedly will necessarily 'read' better.

Perhaps someone who reads it once can understand the story better than someone who reads it a hundred times.

And this was Goo Seonah's reading.

The reading that only 'Goo Seonah' experienced, and that I and other readers did not experience.

She survived in this world with that experience. Learning the Wolyeonggeom method with one hand and Cheonchu with the other.

At the point where she was competing on equal footing with me, the agent of the 'Demon King of Salvation', her reading was already proven.

She barely achieved the same level as my story after fighting with 'gods of the other world' and fighting a life-or-death battle. Of course, the way she formed her 'level' was somewhat different from mine.

The small stories embedded in her entire body were talking to me as if they were screaming.

The Tiger Eating Rice Cakes. The Rat Eating Nails. The Dog Throwing Itself into a Flame. The Pig Living in a Brick House...

The stories of the <Twelve Zodiac Signs> constellations were inhabiting her body and forming a single constellation.

That was the story she had.

The story, 「Master of the Twelve Zodiac Signs」.

A story that ties together the stories of the <Twelve Zodiac Signs> that were scattered everywhere.

Thus, the leader of the <Twelve Zodiac Signs>, who had never been born in the main story of 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint'—was momentarily revealed before my eyes.

"I won't lose."

The moment I heard those words, I felt a sense of realization. How long had she planned this stage?

"I will never do that to you. Even without items! Even without colleagues!"

Goo Seonah, gritting her teeth and swinging her blade and iron club, was fierce. The history she lived left fatal scars all over my body.

One, and then another, as each and every slash increased, I thought of the comments she left.

She was the reader who liked Kim Dokja more than anyone else—Kim Dokja's choice.

I didn't know what made her so sad. That's why I wanted to understand her anger.

I was curious about her purpose and motivation.

Even at this moment, when I was enduring such intense attacks.

"Aaaaaaaah—!"

Goo Seonah's kick, seizing the opportunity, struck my abdomen. The moment my breath caught in my throat, the iron club aimed at my heart moved.

All of her actions turned into sentences in my head. I even thought that it wouldn't be bad to die here.

Strangely, what came to mind at that moment was the face of Yoo Jonghyuk in the 41st round.

I still haven't kept my promise from back then. I promised not to make this story a tragedy, so I can't die yet.

I can't die.

I concentrated my saved magic power and struck the iron club with the blade. I put strength into my heel and took a stance, then felt the wind blowing.

Goo Seonah's body staggered in the fierce wind that swept in.

"You—"

The stories of the <Twelve Zodiac Signs> howled loudly throughout Goo Seonah's body.

...

When the fragments of the stories of the <Twelve Zodiac Signs> simultaneously raised their voices, my head felt dizzy. However, I also had a 'story fragment' for moments like this.

Story fragments obtained in exchange for clearing Zone 13.

There, I helped animals that had lost their homes, had lost their way, or had lost their stories.

And in return for that help, I barely managed to obtain a line of understanding.

Goo Seonah's muscular strength, which had been running towards me, rapidly weakened.

Her feet, which had been positioned at the right place at the right time, slowed down.

Her movements as she jumped back became dull.

I didn't miss that gap and struck her hand holding the iron club hard.

The iron club rolled on the floor in vain.

The effect of the story fragment 「Understanding of the Overthroned」 is very simple.

Becoming the 'only understander' of the beasts.

As long as I have this story fragment, the constellations of the animal kingdom cannot truly be hostile to the being with this story fragment.

…

The moment Goo Seonah, who was watching the futile collapse of story fragments, suddenly came to her senses, I grabbed her shoulder without missing a moment.

"It's the end, Goo Seonah-ssi."

Goo Seonah's knees buckled as she heard the voice filled with [incite]. Nevertheless, she resisted until the end.

Her lips were tightly clenched. Tears of blood flowed from her eyes glaring at me.

"This is unreasonable."

That's right. This fight is unfair.

This is because our 'reading' and the text given to us were not fair in the first place.

"I know it would end up like this anyway, that expression is annoying."

I had nothing to say in protest about this unfair fight. I just hoped she would give up.

After struggling for a long time, Goo Seonah finally lowered her head.

"Stop wasting time and kill me."

"I won't kill you."

"You're going to kill me anyway, just like you did to Kyungsik."

"I didn't kill Kyungsik-ssi."

"Don't lie. You—"

Goo Seonah looked up at me blankly.

"Really... You didn't kill him?"

"How many times have I said I didn't kill him?"

"Why? You're Kim Dokja. Didn't you want to be the only Kim Dokja?"

It's true that my story keeps talking about such things.

However, just because my story says so, it doesn't mean I have to act accordingly.

"I just don't want this world to end in tragedy."

But Goo Seonah seemed to find my answer funny.

"Do you think you have the right to say such things?"

"Huh?"

"You... Do you really not know how this 'world' came into being?"

"How could I know that?"

"I see. You still don't have a fragment of 'that memory'…"

Goo Seonah muttered, looking up at the distant sky.

"I don't know if you haven't gotten it, or if someone is preventing you from regaining that memory…"

"Do you know how this world came into being, Seonah-ssi?"

"Are you curious?"

Goo Seonah began to laugh as if she had just thought of something. As if what was about to happen would be some kind of refreshing revenge against me.

"Absorb me. Then you will know the answer you were looking for."

I frowned.

"Why? You don't like it?"

"Seonah-ssi."

"Aren't you curious? Why did your sponsor, which you were looking for so desperately, end up like that? Why did 'Kim Dokja' have to be torn apart into several pieces?"

A cool breeze blew down my spine.

Goo Seonah was smiling brightly as if she already knew what choice I would make.

"Why didn't the 'Kim Dokja' we knew return to <Kim Dokja Company>? Aren't you really curious?"

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