830 Episode 42 Destination (6)

Since that day, my nickname has become 'End'. It makes sense, because the next day, a countdown started to appear above my head.

This is the same no matter how you look at it.

28 days 3 hours later, this 'End of Fear Realm' will be destroyed.

"Hey, that kid said he ended the end of the End of Fear?"

And I'm the crazy guy who pressed that destruction button.

"Is it true that you unlocked the End-level Fear?"

"Wow, I really have to live long enough to see this. That paper was all read?"

But I feel wronged, too. What did I know? I just like reading.

I read it because I'm a reader.

"So that paper can't be used anymore?"

"What did you get in return? If you had interpreted it, you would have gotten a reward."

Reward. Of course I got a reward.

Honestly, I wondered if this was the reward for interpreting the 'Final Tale'.

Then on the other hand, I thought it might be a valuable Story Fragment.

As far as I know, this recipe is now out of print.

I'll give it to Yoo Jonghyuk later when I meet him.

"Kim End-nim."

When I turned around to see who came to pick a fight again, Anna Croft was standing in front of me with two cups of coffee. It was a refreshing sight.

"Yes, Kim Anna-nim."

"You look free."

Now, openly picking a fight, Kim Anna handed me the coffee.

The coffee I drink in the Fear room tastes much more bitter than the coffee I knew.

Of course it is.

This is 'Fear coffee'. It's black water with a strange setting that temporarily increases your immunity to Fear when you drink it.

"Yes, I'm so free, my head's going to explode. Is the work worthwhile?"

It's been three days since I entered the Fear Realm. In those three days, Kim Anna, who entered the first unit, has already been deployed to five 'Time Faults'.

"Yes. It was better than I thought."

Although she is still a newbie and has never been deployed to a Time Fault alone, Anna Croft's recent activities have been a hot topic within this lonely 'End Zone'.

In particular, because her [Future Sight] worked accurately in some Time Faults, the reputation of the 'Prophet' among the Transcendents is once again on the rise.

"You look happy. As if you got a job at the company you wanted."

"You're mistaken."

Anna Croft added, her face hardening in a hurry.

"But Cheon Inho. You haven't been assigned to any missions yet."

"Well, I'm just so great."

Before I was even assigned to the Time Fault, I unlocked one 'End-level Fear', so the Transcendents couldn't possibly be happy about me. If they were to assign it wrong and unlock another 'End-level Fear', it would be a big deal.

So the fact that I'm stuck in the restaurant right now is a kind of disciplinary action.

This is what a new employee who got into trouble right after joining the company does.

I'll say it again, I'm also wronged.

Who wanted to do that?

And the company I wanted to work for wasn't the <Transcendent Alliance>, but <Kim Dokja Company>.

"Our Captain asks a lot about you."

If it's the Captain of the First Division, it's Kyrgios Rodgraim.

"So you told him that I'm the worst villain you know?"

It was a joke to make people laugh, but Anna's answer was unexpectedly serious.

"You're the one who keeps destroying the common sense of 'future' that I was certain of. I said that."

For a moment, I just touched the poor coffee cup, wondering what to say. Anna Croft really seemed to care about me.

"So come to your senses. You don't plan on letting the 'End Zone' be destroyed like this, do you?"

I nodded.

"I don't plan on that either. The problem is that there is a lack of hints on what to do to prevent the End."

After joining the 'Transcendent Alliance', I lost contact with the First Kim Dokja, so I couldn't ask him anything over the phone.

Well... It's not like there were no clues to interpret it at all.

If my guess is correct, the 'King of Fear' mentioned in the prophecy of the end refers to 'the Second Kim Dokja.'

How do I know?

'A smile that is neither light nor darkness.'

Anyone can see that it is an expression meaning 'the Watcher of Light and Darkness', a modifier of the Second Kim Dokja.

My question starts here.

Then why does the 'Second Kim Dokja' appear in the prophecy as the 'King of Fear'. And why does the prophecy refer to his appearance as the 'Prophecy of the End'.

Everything was full of questions.

Would the world turn upside down just by the appearance of the Second Kim Dokja?

"Isn't that a little strange?"

I asked back indifferently.

"What's strange?"

"If that prophecy is true, this 'End Zone' will be destroyed in exactly 28 days."

"Of course."

"That's what's strange."

"So what is it?"

"The countdown to the End has begun, but look at those people."

I looked at where Kim Anna had pointed. The cheerful-looking Transcendents were standing in line, filling their plates with dumplings. In a way, it was quite a sight. The losers of a world that even those Constellations couldn't touch were standing in line to receive their dumplings.

Even Cheok Jungyeong was shouting in a brazen voice, "Master! One of these dumplings is smaller than the others!"

"The dumplings must be delicious."

"Cheon Inho. Do they look like people who are about to end?"

"Those people are Transcendents."

"Even if it's a Transcendent, it's an 'End-level Fear'. I asked the Captain, but he said that the 'End-level Fears' that have appeared so far have never been properly resolved."

Hasn't it ever been resolved?

"He said that the End-level Fears can only be accepted. That's why it's the 'End', and a Fear that no one can avoid."

If it was Kyrgios, who had grown so tall, and not another Kyrgios, who said that, then it must be true.

"Then why are those people so cheerful?"

The clever Kim Anna looked at me with pitiful eyes at my question.

"I think that's something you should figure out."

"Why? Please help me."

"It's something that I can't see even with my [Future Sight]. However..."

Fortunately, our Kim Anna seemed to have caught on to something.

Kim Anna, who was watching the steam rising from the restaurant, slowly opened her mouth.

"When I look at them, I feel like they've already experienced 'destruction' once."

I listened to Anna's words and blankly stared at the backs of the Transcendents.

Among them were the Goryeo's First Sword Cheok Jungyeong, who was more aggressive than I remembered, and Kyrgios, who had grown much bigger than I remembered.

In addition, I saw the Commander–God of Despair, Chunghuh, who was watching them from afar, and the Young Byeondae and Il Byeondae Vice-Captains guarding him.

I stared at them for a moment and then said,

"That's good advice."

"Huh?"

"They've already experienced 'destruction'."

To Anna Croft, who was wide-eyed, I smiled like Kim Dokja and added,

"I think I've found a clue."

Deep inside the first floor of the Industrial Complex where the Transcendent Alliance resides, there is a 'Time Fault Room'.

The very room that Cheok Jungyeong had first guided me to.

The Young Byeondae Vice-Captain, who happened to be guarding the room, greeted me.

"New recruit. Are you here again?"

"Yes."

"There are no 'tasks' to give to the new recruit today either."

"It's okay. I just came to look around."

The Transcendent Alliance has 'tasks to solve' every week.

For example, it goes like this.

According to the Transcendents, these tasks were a kind of earthquake that occurred in the 'Time Fault'.

The Otherworldly Deities, Outer Gods, or Fears that were wandering around the <Star Stream> would wander around looking for a place to hide and become parasites in the 'Time Fault', and from there, problems would occur throughout the Fault.

The Transcendents of the Transcendent Alliance were in charge of eliminating such strange phenomena and managing the 'Time Fault'.

—Kuoooooo!

On the screen, I could see Cheok Jungyeong cutting off the head of the 'Dragon Eater'. It was a refreshing swordsmanship worthy of Goryeo's First Sword.

—He's a guy who drank a lot of dragon's blood, everyone, take out your alcohol. Today, I'm going to make a special Yonghwa wine and drink it!

Since I'm a member of the Third Squadron, I should have gone on that hunt. However, after the 'End of the Fear' incident, I was restricted from entering the Time Fault, and thanks to that, all I could do was look at other Faults here.

Well, there's nothing I can do. Since the Transcendents say I can't, I can't force myself into the Fault.

So what have I been doing these past few days?

"Are you trying to watch the video again?"

"Yes."

"You won't get stronger from watching it."

"I'm just a little interested."

In this Time Fault room, you couldn't only see the 'Time Fault' currently in progress. In short, I could also view the cases of the 'Time Fault' that had already been resolved.

For example, the one I chose was,

Darkness that Descends. It was an Outer God's name that I didn't know well. However, I knew very well who had defeated it.

Baekcheong's swordsmanship that was dazzlingly displayed on the screen. Indeed, it was a skill that gave me goosebumps whenever I saw it.

"Huh? Rookie! Are you watching our Captain's video?"

When I turned around at the noise, I saw familiar faces standing there.

The First Platoon Leader and the Commander-in-Chief—'God of Despair Chunghuh'.

"Yes. I was watching it because it was on the viewing list."

The First Platoon Leader asked with a bright face at my answer.

"Isn't our Captain incredibly strong?"

"He is incredibly strong."

"The Captain still talks about you a lot these days. How on earth did you possess our Captain?"

I looked up at the face of the chattering boy. Although he looked like a boy on the outside, it was clear that the First Lieutenant was also a Transcendent who had lived for a very long time.

The boy's name was Ryunard.

He was called the 'Naked Saint' because he always fought naked.

"You shouldn't trouble a newbie, Ryunard."

The one who intervened was the one guarding the room.

The Captain of the Young Brigade who was there.

Ryunard muttered with a frown.

"Karlton-nim is only picky about me."

"No. According to Article 1, Section 8 of the Transcendent Alliance Residence Law..."

His name, Karlton Xavier, who was reciting laws one after another, was called 'Silver Binding' because of the unique silver aura that shone from his entire body whenever he fought.

"You're reading a good story."

The old man spoke to me instead of the two who were chatting away.

The commander of the Transcendent Alliance.

Chunghuh, the God of Despair.

The old man who was known to be stronger than anyone else in this 'Transcendent Alliance'.

At first, I didn't know, but now I'm starting to realize it. Just standing next to him makes me feel sick.

This old man is definitely strong. He's strong enough to compete with even the Mythical-grade Constellations.

"Kyrgios is a great Captain. If you refer to his videos, you'll definitely learn a lot."

"Actually, it's a little strange. The Captain Kyrgios I knew wasn't that big."

"Oh, there's a story behind that."

"What's the story?"

Chunghuh stared at me in response to my question. It was as if my inner thoughts were written in his eyes.

"I can tell you, but is that really why you came here?"

He really isn't an ordinary old man.

I shook my head with a bitter smile.

"No. I have something to ask the Commander-in-Chief."

"I knew it."

Chunghuh was silent for a moment. I also remained silent for a moment and followed Chunghuh's gaze. We looked up at the Time Fault that had piled up for a moment.

"Is the world inside that Fault perhaps a different 'Worldline'?"

"It may have been so at one time, but it's not anymore. Now, it's literally a 'Fault.' It's a cross-section of events that have already passed."

Chunghuh added, as if he knew what I was worried about.

"That means that even if we change something inside, actual history won't change. Well, there are special Fault lines sometimes."

"It's like a novel that's already finished."

"Similar."

What did the Second Kim Dokja want to find in this world of countless completions?

Maybe he wasn't looking for something, but just couldn't accept that this world was finished.

So maybe he was holding on to events that had already ended and continuing to cause earthquakes.

"I also know a novel that's already finished."

With that thought in mind, I slowly opened my mouth.

"The novel begins with a giant tower appearing in the sky. People climb the tower to survive. They don't even realize that they're being redistributed as commodities while climbing the tower."

The moment I started talking, the surroundings became quiet.

I continued speaking in a quiet voice.

"The protagonist of that novel is a man who has been stabbing for a very long time. He's a man who has stabbed more than anyone else in the world and has become stabbing itself."

Does silence have color? The moment the word 「Stabbing」 came out, I felt as if the silence of the three people had changed to the same color at the same time.

When that color had spread enough, Ryunard asked.

"Newbie, do you know who we are?"

I nodded.

As he said, in fact, I already knew who Ryunard was.

The same was true of Karlton standing there and Chunghuh who was looking at me right in front of me.

Even so, the reason I didn’t recognize them from the beginning was probably because I was afraid of something. But now I had to accept it.

"You guys are."

These were the characters in 「The World After The Fall」 written by Kiyeon and me—

"People from a world that has already been destroyed."

Before coming here, they were the colleagues of 'Jaehwan-nim' whom I had met.

Dear Readers! Are you enjoying your read? Please consider donating to help keep the ORV-Reader running! Thank you for your support! (My rent is due TwT)

• Support ORV-Reader