793 Episode 37 Graduation ceremony (9)
There was silence for a long time. The one who finally broke the silence was Yoo Jonghyuk.
"What are you laughing at?"
—Just that.
Yoo Jonghyuk glared at me as if he were looking at a strange person.
Actually, it wasn’t a situation to laugh at.
「 The 'Night Raven' legion under Odin who rules the skies of <Asgard>. 」
From a distance, I could see the crows charging their magic power and preparing their magic cannons. If they started firing, we would be turned into a beehive in an instant.
Still, I thought it was okay.
「 "It was the first time I ever saw such a pathetic story." 」
With those words, I felt acknowledged. That the way I had lived was not wrong, that all that time had been meaningful enough.
—You said that you couldn’t go back anymore.
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded.
—Is that still true?
Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the sky and answered.
"Maybe."
—You’re not going to run away, are you?
Yoo Jonghyuk agreed with silence.
After all, Yoo Jonghyuk is Yoo Jonghyuk, whether he regresses or not.
In that case, I should also play the role of Kim Dokja.
—Okay. Let’s fight.
As if he was saying, "What nonsense are you talking about?" Yoo Jonghyuk’s hand held me with strength.
"If we fight head-on, you—"
—They can’t kill me.
It wasn’t just Odin’s 'Night Ravens' that were approaching.
Enemies were swarming from all sides.
The constellations of <Vedas>. And the pursuers from <Olympus> who were aboard the 'Argo'.
The vast net spread by the constellations in each region surrounded us without a single gap.
—Because I’m needed.
Now, I’ve become one of the 'largest fragments of Kim Dokja' that exist in this world line.
So from now on, those guys will fight over me.
—Throw me when I give you the signal. You have to throw me exactly in the direction I instructed.
Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to understand what I was saying right away.
"It might not work out the way you think."
—Isn't the <Star Stream> something that doesn't work out the way you think no matter what you do?
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned and muttered.
"Damn it."
—Now!
Yoo Jonghyuk threw me at the signal. I quickly crossed the space and headed to the exact midpoint between <Vedas> and <Olympus>.
[This is a joke! Capture him!]
The heroes of Greek mythology aboard the ship 'Argo' surrounded me. At a glance, they were all great constellations.
Orpheus, Theseus, Castor, and even King Oedipus, who had nothing to do with the ship.
Kukukukukuku!
That was when a thunderous roar echoed through the void.
[What—]
King Oedipus looked around and screamed in shock. At the same time, the 'Argo' collided with something.
I witnessed the wondrous sight of a huge ship and a train colliding in a huge explosion.
[The Supreme God of Light!]
The ship's crew shouted and rushed to Surya's sun chariot.
The brightly shining Surya released his own energy in response.
[The constellation 'Supreme God of Light' reveals his status.]
One of the 'Locapala' of <Vedas>.
'Supreme God of Light' Surya.
The narrative-grade constellation of <Veda> that appeared in the main story's Demon King Selection Tournament was revealing its power.
[Kuaaaaak!]
The great-grade constellations that could not handle Surya's light melted away with screams.
The great constellation, as if it had no interest in the small-timers, turned around and looked at me.
[Are you 'Kim Dokja'?]
I felt really strange. I never thought I would meet Surya like this.
I answered with my voice barely recovered.
"But."
I briefly hoped that this Surya might also be from the 1,864th round like Uriel, but it didn't seem to be the case.
He looked down at me with a curious gaze and said.
[If you follow me obediently, I won't harm you.]
"How polite of you."
Instead of answering, Surya summoned a giant palm from the air. The palm made of stories grabbed my entire body.
I frowned and asked.
"A constellation like you wouldn't move easily. Is this an order from <Vedas>?"
[I have no obligation to answer.]
"Aren't you against the will of <Vedas>? Why do you continue to be the henchman of the nebula?"
At my words, Surya's eyebrows furrowed.
[What is your intention in making such a fuss?]
"Do you know? The person I knew really pulled an amazing train."
Surya, the 'last engineer' who led the train of <Kim Dokja Company>. If he hadn't been there, the characters in the main story wouldn't have been able to overcome the final wall.
"Shall I show you a little?"
I recalled the sentences I had written in detail. Then, the sentences immediately came to mind as story fragments.
「 Surya's entire body, sitting in the engine room of the train, was dazzling like the incandescent sun. 」
Surya's eyes widened as he touched the story fragments.
「 Without showing any sign of it, he ran the [sun chariot] using his own body as fuel. As if it was his mission as the 'god of supreme light' who had lived all this time. 」
Surya's grip loosened. It was only for a moment, but it was enough of an opening for me.
"Yoo Jonghyuk!"
Yoo Jonghyuk, who had approached me in an instant with my signal, caught me.
Surya screamed.
The [Fake News], which had reached its limit, crossed the scenario change. It barely managed to break through the encirclement, but it wasn't over yet. The train's engine start sound was heard again from afar, and the constellations chasing us continued to scream.
"We can't run away like this forever."
—It's okay.
I said, keeping an eye on the constellations chasing us.
—Because 'those things' will soon be coming.
This place is not a 'simple scenario outskirts'.
This is the border of the Void Curtain and the outskirts of <Star Stream>.
In other words, it was a place where the boundary with the 'other world' was blurred.
Tsk tsk tsk!
Sparks resonated everywhere as if they had been waiting. Portals began to open one by one in the aftershock.
What appeared beyond the portal were pitch-black hunting dogs.
「 Hounds chasing the abyss. 」
The hounds of the other world that protect the rules of the <Star Stream> have appeared.
[The dogs are coming!]
The constellations' convulsive cries.
The night ravens of Odin that were wandering nearby had their wings torn off by the hounds' teeth, and the constellations screamed.
Constellations exploding everywhere and hounds trampled by trains.
In the shaking vision, the nebulae and foreign news chasing us were mixed together to form a huge hellscape.
「 It seemed as if the entire universe was chasing us. 」
I and Yoo Jonghyuk were in that hellscape.
Maybe it was because the situation was so unrealistic. I laughed heartily and then lost consciousness several times and woke up repeatedly.
[There is currently no scenario assigned to you!]
[Your incarnation body is in danger!]
My body trembled several times as if I had been shocked. For a moment, my consciousness went black and I was in a snowy landscape.
「 Kim Dokja. 」
I called out that name without realizing it. Then, along with the cool air, I saw someone's shadow.
A coat fluttering lightly in the wind.
I instinctively reached out my hand toward him.
Who is that Kim Dokja?
Is it the Demon King of Salvation? The 49% Kim Dokja? Or is it another Kim Dokja I haven't met yet?
The moment I thought about that, I realized that his coat wasn't white.
The eerie Demon King's wings stretched out from behind the red coat.
It wasn't Kim Dokja.
「 Are you still looking for that name? 」
A familiar face looked back at me.
It was a face I knew well.
「 Cheon Inho. 」
I got goosebumps. Cheon Inho had never appeared in the snowfield before. Nevertheless, the being before my eyes was definitely Cheon Inho.
He slowly lowered his body and looked at me.
「 You've really become a different face now. 」
A voice suddenly came to mind.
【Do you really want to know? Even if that truth could ruin you forever?】
A voice I once heard in my fading consciousness.
I was sure of it.
It was definitely Cheon Inho’s voice.
Cheon Inho nodded as if answering my question.
「 You’ve really reached the end of the 'Recycling Center'. That’s great. Now you know who you are. 」
Who am I?
I clearly came here because I was curious about that question.
So did I know the answer?
「 Save Yoo Jonghyuk. 」
Cheon Inho smiled with his eyes, perhaps finding my request amusing.
「 That little bastard hates me. 」
「 If I die here, you die too, you son of a bitch. 」
My current body is Cheon Inho's. So if I die, Cheon Inho’s body will be destroyed as well.
「 I won’t die. Above all, aren’t you now 'Kim Dokja' instead of 'Cheon Inho'? 」
「 I’m not going to play with words. 」
「 You still don’t know who you are? 」
「 I— 」
I recalled the memory I had seen through Goo Seonah at the Recycling Center.
The confrontation between Kim Dokja and Kim Dokja.
The 49% Kim Dokja who was trying to protect the 41st world line, and the Demon King of Salvation who was fighting against him.
I hesitated and asked.
「 Am I… the 49% Kim Dokja? 」
Cheon Inho looked at me for a moment and then asked back.
「 What on earth does '49% Kim Dokja' mean? 」
「 What? 」
「 There must be a Kim Dokja who has 49% of the memory called A, and there must be a Kim Dokja who has 49% of the memory called B. Then can we say that the 49% of those two are the same 49%? 」
I was speechless for a moment.
Cheon Inho was talking right now. The concept of total memory content is meaningless when proving a human being.
Cheon Inho nodded his head as if satisfied with my appearance.
「 I think you finally found the answer. 」
「 I— 」
「 Kim Dokja who didn’t want to remain Kim Dokja. 」
Cheon Inho’s sharp eyes were asking me.
「 Do you want to save Yoo Jonghyuk? 」
I nodded.
「 Then do what you can do best. 」
What I can do best.
「 That’s why you came to this world. Didn’t you want to change the ending of this world? 」
Cheon Inho opened his eyes and a vast snowy landscape was captured in his eyes.
「 Write it yourself. With your dreams, try to convince the rest of the world. 」
With a gasp, I regained consciousness. My vision was intermittently shaking. The screams of the boiling constellations.
I was still riding on Yoo Jonghyuk’s back. How long had I been asleep? It seemed like my incarnation body had recovered a little more than before. Did I take an elixir while I was sleeping? Or,
[The exclusive skill 'Fourth Wall' is being strongly activated!]
Is it because of the [Fourth Wall]?
"You're awake."
Yoo Jonghyuk's tired voice.h
Yoo Jonghyuk's condition was confirmed.
The moment I did, my heart skipped a beat.
Arms and legs torn off by hunting dogs. His entire body covered in blood. Yoo Jonghyuk limped forward in that state.
"How much time has passed?"
"Three days."
I swallowed my breath.
Yoo Jonghyuk had been running away from the nebulae and otherworldly gods for three whole days, carrying me while I was unconscious.
"Why—"
He could have easily run away on his own. If he had been alone, there would have been a way to survive. But Yoo Jonghyuk didn't run away.
I heard the sound of blood and the sound of Yoo Jonghyuk's knees giving out. Yoo Jonghyuk, looking down at his protruding kneecap, slowly put me down on the ground and fell forward.
"…Run away."
As I watched him mutter like that, I took out a summoning tablet from my chest. It was an elixir I had prepared in advance for times like this.
I poured the crushed elixir into Yoo Jonghyuk's mouth. Even while his consciousness was in disarray, Yoo Jonghyuk glared at me.
[Exclusive skill 'Fourth Wall' is strongly activated!]
I slowly closed my eyes.
There were eyes watching us from beyond the wall.
My sponsor. And the readers whose names and faces I don't know, but who were once 'Kim Dokja'.
I thought of them.
"Thank you, Yoo Jonghyuk. You've done enough."
Just as they are Kim Dokja, I am also Kim Dokja.
And any Kim Dokja would have no choice but to make the same choice as me at this point.
"No matter what happens, you must survive."
Yoo Jonghyuk, who glared at those words, miraculously got up.
I activated [Knight Resurrection].
But I didn't give him a chance and released my status.
The moment Yoo Jonghyuk, who lost sight of me due to the temporary shock, moved away, I shouted into the air.
"Demon-like Judge of Fire!"
At my call, a bright star twinkled in the distant universe.
"Uriel! Please return Yoo Jonghyuk to Earth right now!"
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