833 Episode 43 Transcendent Alliance (2)

With the addition of stage buffs to Cheok Jungyeong's incarnation, the fight gradually became more even. And the fact that this confrontation was even seemed to be a huge shock to the Outer God.

For a moment, a mere Constellation possessed the same power as the Outer God. Perhaps that alone was enough to bewilder the 'Founder of the Absolute Throne' who had reigned in the void for thousands of years.

Even the guy felt something unusual in my story, and he even backed away, his huge body trembling.

But in the end, both he and I knew. There was no place to retreat in this fight. The one who runs away will definitely die. The moment he let out his final roar, we clashed once again. His sword cut my flesh, and my sword tore his bones.

In the midst of that flurry of sword strikes where flesh and bones were scattered, I was Cheok Jungyeong, and I was the Swordsman of Goryeo.

The next moment, the movement of the Outer God became strange. An unusual energy was gathering from his entire body.

I also realized instinctively. The next strike would determine the end of this fight.

Watching the guy's swirling energy, I also prepared my final technique.

The strongest technique that Cheok Jungyeong can use with his body.

It wasn't originally a technique that Cheok Jungyeong was allowed to use— but if it's just a little bit, it might be possible to imitate it.

"I—"

My right arm, filled with strength, swelled as if it would burst. The pages of the main story flipped over in my head.

The strongest Cheok Jungyeong I know. I think of the way Cheok Jungyeong holds his sword, the way he looks at the world.

And I recall his worst enemy at the end of his gaze.

"The one who cut the Indescribable Distance—"

An enemy that was much scarier, stronger, and more terrifying than the being in front of me now.

"It's Cheok Jungyeong!"

Finally, Cheok Jungyeong created a technique to cut it.

His four-sword method.

Four-swords swordsmanship.

Was my skill lacking? Along with the feeling of my grip being torn, an incredible sense covered my entire body. The sensation of all the legends contained in my incarnation body being squeezed out.

I drew my sword with a scream. The space before my eyes tore and my vision turned white.

The soul that had been in the incarnation body of Cheok Jungyeong was unable to overcome the shock and bounced off.

When I returned to my incarnation body, it felt like someone had hit my head with a hammer. I felt dizzy and had difficulty breathing. For some reason, my legs wouldn't move. I tried to raise my upper body, but everything below my knees had disappeared.

Did I get caught in the aftershock?

It was quite a clash. It was a clash between Cheok Jungyeong's strongest secret technique and the Outer God.

I saw Cheok Jungyeong's incarnation collapse in the grayish dust. It seemed to have taken a huge blow.

I wonder what happened to the Outer God.

An eerie laughter could be heard from somewhere. The shadow of the Outer God staggering in the dust storm was visible. It seemed like the last blow was not enough. Even so, the guy must have taken a fatal blow, because his height had decreased drastically. The guy's gigantic body that had filled the sky was now the size of an adult male.

Since the 'stage transformation' hadn't ended yet, there was still a chance.

However, the guy seemed to know that.

Maybe that clever Outer God had anticipated this moment. That's why he had already destroyed the legs of my returning incarnation body.

Just ten steps. I could have just walked ten steps and stabbed the guy in the heart with my sword, but I didn't have the strength left to do that.

Even the stage transformation, which was my last hope, had disappeared.

I watched the guy approaching me step by step, thinking and thinking in my head.

It was strange.

Even in a life-threatening situation, I strangely didn't feel nervous.

That might be.

—Youngest. It could be because there is a Kim Dokja inside you.

"Yes."

It could be because I have become like Kim Dokja to that extent.

—Let's use that.

I nodded and looked around.

The ruined landscape of Seoul. Collapsed buildings. A place where 'civilization' once existed.

Finally, I had a 'Fear' that I could use in such an environment.

For a moment, the guy who was approaching across the road stopped. He must have instinctively realized that something was wrong.

"Did you notice?"

The moment the guy standing on the four-lane road looked around in confusion, I smiled and said.

"Don't jaywalk, you idiot."

Along with the red signal light shining from afar, something invisible came running and hit the guy's whole body.

The original guy wouldn't have flinched at this level of shock, but it was different now. The guy's body, hit by the Four Swords, was already like rags.

A terrible scream and a loud noise erupted in front of my eyes. I saw the broken stories leaving long skid marks on the floor.

The 'Founder of the Absolute Throne', who was being horribly broken in real time, reached out to me.

The cause of death on the Outer God was 'traffic accident'.

It was an absurd ending for an Outer God that had commanded the world.

I saw the dead guy's stories scattering into the void.

The old stories were being released from him. I blankly looked up at the stories that rose to the sky like falling snow.

Forgotten Fears, Fears that are being forgotten.

In the spaces between sentences, words that had turned into Fear and could not be read were shining as if dancing in the air.

This world is full of Fear Realms.

At that moment, I felt like I understood a little bit why the Second Kim Dokja was staying in this 'Fear Realm'.

My consciousness became blurred as the Fear landscape collapsed. It must be because I spilled too much blood.

I heard the recorders' message through my blurred consciousness.

…

It was a week later when I opened my eyes again. How did I know that fact as soon as I opened my eyes?

The countdown in the air told me.

The moment I saw the numbers that appeared, my mind was filled with mixed emotions.

The thought that there were only 21 days left until the end. And.

When I lifted the blanket, the two legs that had been cut off were reattached. Was this also the power of the 'Fear Realm'? Or was it treated with another special Fear? I don't know. Seeing that both legs were still intact, I couldn't be more certain.

Did I really kill the 'Founder of the Absolute Throne'?

Of all people, that terrifying 'Outer God'?

As expected, the message blinking in the air proved that what I had done was real.

Even though I had borrowed the incarnation of Cheok Jungyeong and used the trick of 'staging', I had definitely killed the Outer God.

And this was a sweet reward for my courage.

With trembling hands, I reached out to the story message.

Even though the Constellations weren't watching, the story's fame would decline, but I would still have gained an incredible story.

But.

I checked the message again and again, thinking I had seen something wrong.

What the hell?

I couldn't believe it. This damn bastard just ate the new story I just got?

"You bastard! Throw it up! Throw it up!"

But the story didn't respond at all.

Come to think of it, I had forgotten to feed him for quite some time. I hadn't gotten any new Kim Dokja fragments in a while, and I hadn't gotten any stories to give him.

I thought that maybe I had borrowed a lot of strength this time, so he had gotten a story in return.

And of course, not getting a new story wasn't necessarily a loss. After all, 'Heir of the Eternal Name' is also my story.

In short, it meant that I hadn't gotten a new story, but my existing story had gotten even stronger.

I could tell the moment I slowly got up from my seat and looked at the mirror in the ward. The rank has risen.

If before, I was barely able to compete with the 'Great-grade Constellations', the rank flowing out of my entire body was clearly approaching Narrative-grade.

Now, I could properly use the power of the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

Since I had not yet obtained a powerful incarnation body, it would be difficult to abuse the power of a Narrative-grade Constellation, but the fact that I had reached the full rank made me strangely excited.

That was when the door to the hospital room opened.

"Master."

It was Cheok Jungyeong and Anna Croft.

I listened to Anna Croft for a full 10 minutes about what had happened. To summarize, the content itself was simple.

The Transcendents of the Transcendent Alliance who had seen my fight were greatly shocked.

Some of the lower-ranking Transcendents were even shocked by my fight and jumped back into the 'Time Fault' to train.

"It's not something that can be summarized so simply. Do you know how surprised everyone was?"

"Ah, that's enough. I didn't do it alone."

It was a strategy I wouldn't have been able to try if Cheok Jungyeong hadn't been there in the first place.

I glanced at Cheok Jungyeong. He probably had a lot of questions.

What was the 'Four-Swords' technique I used? How was I able to empathize with his incarnation?

But he didn't ask anything. I couldn't tell if it was his original personality or consideration, but either way, it was a happy thing for me.

Cheok Jungyeong, who had been harassing the people in the next ward for a while, turned to me when the Transcendents, tired of him bragging about his disciple, slowly backed away.

Is it finally time?

"Reward. They're giving me something?"

My goal was simply to meet the 'Recorders of Fear', not to extract anything from them.

But from what I heard, it seems that 'interpretations' of Fear are treated quite preciously in this Fear Realm.

Hidden Time Fault.

Cheok Jungyeong looked at me with a worried expression for a moment, then continued.

That's possible just by experiencing a Special Time Fault?

I was surprised, but I didn't show it on the outside. It didn't.

Power gained quickly always comes with a price. Even if it was the 'Recorder of Fear's' Time Fault, there was no guarantee that it would be an exception to that rule.

We soon followed Cheok Jungyeong to the Recorder's room.

"Why are you following me, Kim Anna-ssi?"

"I also decided to see the Recorders this time."

"You've also solved a Natural Disaster-level Fear?"

Honestly, I was surprised. I had high hopes for Anna Croft, but she had already interpreted a 'Natural Disaster-level Fear'?

Anna Croft answered with a somewhat dispirited expression.

"Not as much as you, but I have my own unique interpretation of Fear."

It seemed that Anna Croft had solved quite a few Fears during the week that I had passed out. Among them, there was one interpretation that was 'Disaster-level' enough to catch the attention of the Recorders, even if it wasn't a 'Natural Disaster-level' one.

"Kim Anna-ssi."

"Yes?"

"I think you've done well at work."

"What does that mean?"

"You must have spoken Spanish well, too."

"Is it that weird joke from last time again?"

As I walked through the ward, I felt the nearby Transcendents whispering to me. It's been so long since I joined the Transcendent Alliance that I feel burdened by this kind of gaze.

I hid behind Kim Anna and followed after Cheok Jungyeong.

After a while, we arrived at a small door in the room of the Time Fault. On the black door, there were various hieroglyphs that reminded me of stars, moons, suns, birds, and wolves.

"Can I open this door?"

I recalled the messages I had heard just before I fainted.

Messages from the Recorders of Fear who wanted to meet me.

Cheok Jungyeong added a word, perhaps worried about me.

There is only one Recorder I can meet.

I checked the list of 'Recorders of Fear' I could choose.

My choice was already decided.

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