799 Episode 38 Chance (5)

Second Kim Dokja can't be contacted?

"No way."

A constellation, which was in perfect health, suddenly lost contact. Just like me, the 'Demon King of Salvation' was chased by the nebulae, maybe something similar happened to the second one.

Even so, it wasn't a situation to be at ease. It meant that the constellation was in such a state that it couldn't even use indirect messages.

The Demon King of Salvation waved his hand as if to tell me not to worry and added.

That's right. In order to find the second one, I have to be fine first.

"Isn't that a line that you absolutely shouldn't say?"

In a dying incarnation body, being chased by giant nebulae, if I don't get a new scenario right away, I'll be destroyed.

But 'the situation isn't that bad'?

"Who? That naked guy?"

"You haven't seen what's been going on lately."

I thought of Jaehwan's expressionless face. Those sharp eyes that looked like they'd stab me 100 times if I offended him even a little.

But the Demon King of Salvation seemed to have a different opinion than me.

"Huh?"

It was true.

"That's not certain. He didn't pat me, he beat me to the point where I was almost dead."

That's true.

When I thought about it, it all sounded plausible, so I couldn't say anything to refute it.

My mind was confused by the continuous gaslighting of the Demon King of Salvation.

Is that so? Is he actually a good guy?

If it weren't for the Demon King of Salvation who insisted on that opinion, I might have been convinced.

"No, but he's not someone you can feel safe with. Just looking at his personality, he's arrogant and shameless, just like—"

"That's right. Like Yoo Jonghyuk."

The Demon King of Salvation smiled brightly.

"Yes?"

Unfortunately, the voice of the 'Demon King of Salvation' gradually became hazy. I felt myself slowly regaining consciousness, and the Demon King of Salvation tightly gripped my shoulder.

When I opened my eyes again, the surroundings were noisy. An ominous cracking sound could be heard.

When I turned my head, I saw two naked men swinging their swords at each other in the pitch-black darkness.

One of them was Jaehwan, the monarch slayer, needless to say, and the other was...

Am I still half-asleep?

I rubbed my eyes repeatedly out of fatigue before closing them again.

It seems I'm still half-asleep. Let's just go to sleep.

I woke up with a "Huk!" sound. Come to think of it, it wasn’t time to fall asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, the surroundings were quiet.

Was it a dream?

I felt like someone was staring at me, so I suddenly raised my upper body and saw Jaehwan staring at me from afar.

"You’re finally awake."

I rubbed my eyes again. Jaehwan was wearing clothes.

"You’re wearing clothes?"

"Is that so surprising?"

No, he was naked until recently.

"I just forgot to put on clothes for a moment."

I wanted to ask if there were people who would forget that, but I stopped because I thought I’d get stabbed 1000 times.

The smartphone in my arms vibrated. When I turned on the screen, a specific chapter of 'Ways of Survival' was loaded. It seemed like the chapter of 'Ways of Survival' that the 'Demon King of Salvation' mentioned was this part. As I was quickly reading that part, Jaehwan spoke again.

“"You broke your promise."

"What promise?"

"Didn’t you say that if you were nearby, strong guys would come?"

"That’s right."

"No one came."

"Hasn’t it been a few days?"

To be honest, I didn’t know that no one would come this far. Still, the constellations of the giant nebulae that are chasing us are supposed to at least show their shadows.

The good news is that there’s still time left until the promise.

"The week we promised has already passed."

"Huh?"

Did I sleep that long?

"Today is the eleventh day. Don’t you know anything?"

A cold sweat formed on my back.

That much time has really passed?

Then why is that human still here? Even…

Why did my incarnation body suddenly get better? At first, I thought it was because I absorbed the story fragments through the 'Lamark Giraffe', but that didn't seem to be the only reason.

It felt like someone had reassembled the joints of my broken soul.

"I thought you were going to die soon, so I did a little bit of work. That should be enough to last another week."

This time, I really thought I had misheard.

Was that 'Monarch Slayer' saying something right?

"Did you save me?"

Jaehwan didn't answer.

I was a little touched and impressed, and asked.

"Did you also have the ability to repair stories?"

"Repair stories?"

Now that I think about it, I guess we don't use that word because our worldviews are different.

"I just applied a little bit of the technique called [Dead Man Slash]."

"[Dead Man Slash]?"

"It's a technique I learned from the old man Cheongheo, the God of Despair. It restores souls polluted by time..."

I wonder if he was recalling old memories.

Jaehwan's eyes deepened for a moment before returning.

"Stop it, you won't know anyway."

"Since I don't know, I want to hear more details."

"That's not interesting?"

"But I still want to hear it."

Jaehwan looked at me clearly and said.

"You're a strange guy."

"I hear that often."

"That guy over there was just as strange as you."

That guy?

I turned my head following Jaehwan's gaze and saw Yoo Jonghyuk lying on a small floating stone.

But Yoo Jonghyuk's condition was a bit strange.

"Why did this strange guy get so small?"

Yoo Jonghyuk was back to being a small boy. His coat was torn here and there, as if he had been in a fierce battle, and he was repairing himself.

What on earth happened?

"He attacked me."

I don't know how many times I doubted my ears today.

Yoo Jonghyuk attacked him? That person? Why on earth? I thought that Yoo Jonghyuk could do that, but on the other hand, I couldn't understand why he would make that choice.

Yoo Jonghyuk has a fiery personality. However, his flames burn endlessly and coldly. He's not the kind of guy who would pick a fight he has no chance of winning.

That guy attacked Jaehwan. He even risked the side effect of becoming a kid again.

"I made a bet."

"A bet?"

"I said I'd spare your life if he hurt me even a little."

Upon closer inspection, I saw a faint scar on Jaehwan's hand.

I shivered.

That Yoo Jonghyuk had finally succeeded. He had won a bet with that absolute being that could even beat a mythical-grade constellation.

No, wait. Then could that scene in my dream have been real?

I thought of Jaehwan and Yoo Jonghyuk swinging their swords naked, and touched my temple.

What on earth was that bastard Yoo Jonghyuk thinking? I could have really died.

Why did he make a bet with someone who could tear us apart at any time if he wanted to?

"I hate regressors."

Jaehwan, sitting on the floating stone and cleaning his sword, opened his mouth.

"I hate those who don't try. I hate the rotten spirit that gives up on life without even fighting to the end."

It's been a while since I felt like I was going to be cut by words. Quiet and refined anger.

Jaehwan held back his anger and looked at me, then at Yoo Jonghyuk.

"He's a strange guy. He really attacked me with the intention of killing me. He knew he was no match for me, but he used all his strength to attack me again and again."

I thought of Yoo Jonghyuk, who was rushing at me like an animal while activating story fragments.

He told me that this was his last round. He said he would never be able to regress again.

Even so, he risked his life and faced Jaehwan.

"There must be a reason why he has to save you."

I knew it the moment I saw Jaehwan's face. Jaehwan wasn't talking about me or Yoo Jonghyuk right now.

I recalled his history. The sentences that Kiyeon had written. It seemed like old events were coming back to life in my head along with Jaehwan's voice.

"I had a comrade."

Before Jaehwan was called the 'Monarch Slayer'. It was when he was climbing the terrible tower called the 'Tower of Nightmare'.

On the last floor of that tower, he lost his old comrade.

"The guy was injured beyond recovery."

Before the last floor of the tower, Jaehwan's only comrade leaned against the window and looked at the sky.

Only Jaehwan would walk to the next floor.

He slowly put his hand into his bosom, imagining the next and the next floor.

"In my world, there is an item called the 'Regression Stone'."

The Regression Stone.

"It was an item that sent the user back to the past."

I also knew about the existence of that item. Jaehwan's colleagues also used that item and abandoned the world.

"My colleague who was about to die took out the stone from his bosom, knowing how much I hated that stone."

"And?"

"He said he was sorry that we couldn't go to the next floor together."

"What did you say?"

"I told him to get out right away."

I smiled bitterly.

"But was it really necessary to say that? You said he was a precious colleague."

"The stone he took out wasn't the 'Regression Stone'."

His colleague made a choice. To touch Jaehwan's sore spot in order to ease his guilt.

To risk his life to open the path to becoming the 'Monarch Slayer'.

"You believed your friend's lies."

Jaehwan didn't answer and stared into the air again.

I looked at him. Before, I had no idea what he was looking at, but now I think I have some idea of ​​what kind of scenery he was looking at in the void.

"Sometimes I think about that. What if I had somehow saved that guy instead of climbing the tower?"

All humans constantly regress to the past. They regret the choices they didn't make. It was the same for Yoo Jonghyuk and the Monarch Slayer.

I looked down at the sleeping little Yoo Jonghyuk.

It was ironic. Yoo Jonghyuk, the 41st time, had been hated by the 'Disaster of Floods' for using his comrades like consumables.

That Yoo Jonghyuk had found favor with the Monarch Slayer for protecting his comrades.

Jaehwan continued to speak.

"I owe a debt to that guy called 'Yoo Jonghyuk.'"

"You mean this guy?"

"No, to the guy named Yoo Jonghyuk from another 'worldline'.

I blinked my eyes blankly and then suddenly came to my senses.

"No way—"

Scenarios came to mind.

Washington Dome. The shaking Void Curtain.

At that time, the 'Demon King of Salvation' said, Yoo Jonghyuk is beyond that Void Curtain.

The Yoo Jonghyuk from <Kim Dokja Company> that we remember.

"Where is that Yoo Jonghyuk?"

"I don't know either. He went crazy like a madman and fought the constellations and disappeared."

"Ah…"

"He brought me all the way here and then disappeared on his own."

Huh?

"The worldview is different, so my abilities don't manifest properly here. If it weren't for that bastard, I wouldn't be in such a faraway place."

"Were you lost and wandering around?"

Jaehwan didn't say anything for a moment.

"I didn't say anything like that."

There is no such thing as a lost person.

"I know. Everyone is confused when they first come to a place."

Maybe this is an opportunity given by Yoo Jonghyuk?

"Is there a place you want to go? You probably want to meet strong guys, right? It'll take some time, but if that's the case, leave it to me. I'll show you around."

"You've completely lost my trust."

"But I'm the one who knows the <Star Stream> better than anyone else?"

It was true. In this world, the only one who knows the <Star Stream> better than me is Kim Dokja.

And now, that Kim Dokja is me.

"Where do you want to see? Olympus? Asgard? Ah, do you want to experience Journey to the West?"

I talked as best I could, but I really couldn't take Jaehwan there. Even if it was Jaehwan, he couldn't protect us in the context of the constellations where mythical-grade constellations were flying around.

I wanted to chase after this guy with Yoo Jonghyuk and destroy all of the <Star Stream>, but probability didn't work that way.

However, I thought that this meeting might be a chance for Yoo Jonghyuk.

Yoo Jonghyuk in the 41st round. Yoo Jonghyuk who no longer returns.

What if the 'Monarch Slayer' who hates regression teaches Yoo Jonghyuk?

If that's possible, maybe I'll be able to see Yoo Jonghyuk, the strongest in the world, in this round.

It was then that Jaehwan's expression changed as he listened to me. Jaehwan slowly moved his hand to the handle of his sword and began to radiate a scary aura.

I sighed and took a step back without realizing it.

Damn it, should I have just shut up and stayed still?

Then came the sound of thunder from afar. Jaehwan laughed coldly amidst the loud noise that seemed to split the entire universe in half. Only then did I feel something was wrong.

"It seems the guest you were talking about has finally arrived."

When I suddenly turned my head, a dazzling legion of constellations was approaching from the distant void.

It was the eleventh day since I met Jaehwan, the monarch slayer.

<Eden> came to see us.

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