841 Episode 44 Evil Sophist (4)

At first, I thought I heard it wrong.

What are you going to resurrect?

"Why are you looking like that? Have you changed your mind now?"

I quickly took a deep breath and hid behind Kang Ilhun and said.

"Kang Ilhun-ssi."

"Yes."

"Do you know what kind of being Yoo Joonghyuk is?"

Kang Ilhun tilted his head and looked back at me as if he didn't understand the intention of my question.

"Is there anyone who doesn't know Yoo Joonghyuk?"

"You know that Yoo Joonghyuk is a Regressor, right?"

"Of course I do."

Of course, if it's the latter half of the scenarios, everyone would know that much. Then the conversation would be easy.

"Then you must know how much Yoo Joonghyuk doesn't fit with the word 'resurrection'."

The concept of 'resurrection' definitely exists in this crazy <Star Stream>.

For example, Kim Dokja successfully resurrected several times by using his own characteristics, and Nirvana also used a similar ability called 'reincarnation' by combining the power of the backstory and the story. Shin Yoosoung, who did not have the resurrection trait in the 41st Round, was also reborn as a dokkaebi by Kim Dokja's design.

Considering these cases, it seems that in this world, if you can somehow preserve your 'soul', there is a possibility of resurrection.

However, Yoo Joonghyuk is an exception.

"That bastard, he already regressed. Have you forgotten?"

It is different from the cases of Kim Dokja or Shin Yoosoung.

Yoo Joonghyuk's soul does not go to the 'Underworld' even if he dies. This is because his soul belongs to the 'Oldest Dream'.

In short, Yoo Joonghyuk's soul is no longer in 'this worldline'.

But Kang Ilhun looked like he didn't know anything about such things.

"So?"

"Yes?"

"Did you get hit in the head by the Blood Demon? Wasn't it your plan to revive Yoo Joonghyuk?"

I sighed inwardly.

My plan?

Cheon Inho, what on earth were you thinking while living in the 40th Round?

"The One who Deceived the Stars."

Kang Ilhun's voice calling me contained a subtle murderous intent.

"Me, Lee Dansu, Kyung Sein, Ye Hyunwoo... We came here only believing in you."

"Yes?"

"You didn't become weak-hearted after coming this far, did you? Of all people, you?"

Suddenly, too much information poured in, so I couldn't figure out what was what.

Let's say Kang Ilhun was like that. Why did Lee Dansu, Kyung Sein, and Ye Hyunwoo's names come up again?

I first organized the newly acquired information one by one and looked closely at the man in front of me.

Kang Ilhun. There was no doubt about it.

This person was the incarnation of 'Killer King'. The extra villain of Chungmuro ​​Station—'Rumor Expert' Kang Ilhun.

However, there was one strange thing.

Kang Ilhun had a scar in the shape of a line on his neck. It was as if someone had attached the head and torso, the skin of a subtly different color. Looking closely, the color of his hands was strangely blue.

Oh my. No way.

Kang Ilhun's eyes strangely glowed as he looked at me.

"To find out the secret of this world, to destroy the final scenario, I sacrificed my soul. I came here trusting only you. But now you—"

A voice like a flowing stream of water.

Just as I was thinking that this human might be better at [Incite] than me, a shout erupted from the cover in front.

"Give me Yoo Joonghyuk's head!"

The Blood Demon, who had regained his momentum, was running toward us.

"Head! Head! Head! Head!"

The sight of dozens of incarnations running toward us while shouting "Head!" was truly a sight to behold. If Yoo Joonghyuk's head hadn't been dangling from my waistband, I would have clapped my hands.

I quickly hid behind Kang Ilhun and said.

"Do something about it."

While Kang Ilhun was looking at me with a look of astonishment, the Blood Demon who had discovered us shouted.

"Kang Ilhun? You bastard Cheon Inho! It's true that you revived the Ten Evils! How dare you revive the Ten Evils with the body of the Blood Demon that I created—"

At the moment when I wondered what that meant, the Blood Demon's subordinates shot arrows.

Arrows with powerful energy.

The moment I thought I was about to die, Kang Ilhun stopped me.

Push, push.

Over a dozen arrows pierced Kang Ilhun's body in an instant.

I shouted in surprise.

"What are you doing?!"

"Are you worried about me right now?"

"I'm sorry, but you just became an arrow skewer? It's strange that I'm not worried."

Kang Ilhun looked at me as if he was looking at a strange creature and then added.

"Run now."

"There's nowhere to run, so where am I going?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Have you really forgotten the plan?"

At the same time as Kang Ilhun spoke, a portal opened behind us.

"Go. I'll buy you some time."

"Let's go together."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry into that portal— ugh!"

I carried Kang Ilhun and jumped straight into the portal.

"You can't go, you guys!"

The long, stretched out hands of the Blood Demon barely managed to grab Kang Ilhun's nape.

Startled, I instinctively grabbed Kang Ilhun's head and pulled with all my strength.

"Kuaaaaah!"

For a moment, a scream that I couldn't tell if it was the Blood Demon's scream or Kang Ilhun's scream resonated. There was a sound like something was being torn apart.

I was rolling around inside the portal. My stomach turned inside out, and then I saw the portal's entrance closing in a whirlwind. The transmission had ended safely.

I held Kang Ilhun's torn head in my hands.

Kang Ilhun's head spoke. "Please put it back on."

With those words, Kang Ilhun's head closed his eyes.

Suddenly, I felt a sudden surge of fatigue.

I could see the faces of several people running towards me from afar. Was it an illusion? I could see the face of Dansu ahjussi, the face of Kyung Sein, and the face of Ye Hyunwoo.

I waved my hand in joy.

My consciousness went out.

I slowly regained consciousness at the sound of a commotion. The first thing I heard was the man's voice.

"He waved at us earlier, right?"

"Yes. Yes."

"What do you think?"

"Hmm."

"He finally turned around?"

"He might have hurt his head."

"No, it must have been a ruse. He's trying to set the stage in advance so that he won't keep his promise to us."

"You're going overboard with just one wave. Kyung Sein."

When I opened my eyes, I saw the three people backing away in surprise.

I stared blankly at their faces. At first, I thought I was dreaming. They were all faces I knew.

Lee Dansu.

Kyung Sein.

And even Ye Hyunwoo.

The first to react was Kyung Sein.

"Are you awake, Cheon Inho?"

Not only was the way she spoke, but I could tell the moment I saw Kyung Sein's eyes. He wasn't the 'Judge Heewon' Kyung Sein that I knew.

"What a pitiful sight. Kang Ilhun, whom I saved with great effort, ended up like that."

Lee Dansu and Ye Hyunwoo added a word each.

"Don't scold him too much. He went all the way to <Olympus> like that."

"At least Yoo Joonghyuk's head was recovered safely."

I stared blankly at the three of them before opening my mouth.

"Excuse me."

Was it because of my tone? Or was it because of my changed mood?

Ye Hyunwoo asked with an anxious expression.

"What are you planning? Cheon Inho."

"Yes?"

"Did you develop a new [Incite] method?"

"No, that's not it."

I was wondering how I should explain this situation, and then I noticed Kang Ilhun's head on the table next to me.

Come to think of it, Kang Ilhun had asked me if I had been hit in the head.

I decided to take his advice.

"I had a slight head injury. That's why I don't remember well."

"A head injury? You?"

The three of them made expressions as if it couldn't be true.

Ye Hyunwoo asked with a more serious expression.

"Did you get hit by the Blood Demon?"

"No."

"Then Poseidon?"

When I nodded, the three of them looked at each other and soon gave each other a look of agreement.

"If he had definitely been hit in the head by that bastard's trident, he wouldn't be in his right mind."

"I'd like to hear an explanation of the situation. What did I do to end up like this, and why is Yoo Joonghyuk's head here? Who are you—"

"You forgot even such basic things?"

"I'm sure I'll remember them anyway, but to save time, could you give me a brief explanation?"

The three of them still looked suspicious that I was acting. However, whether it was acting or not, Ye Hyunwoo realized that proper communication was impossible, and eventually opened his mouth.

"Okay. I'll explain it to you once, so listen carefully."

For about 10 minutes, I heard about the current status of the 40th Round.

After listening to Ye Hyunwoo, I chewed over the information several times. Then I slowly opened my mouth.

"So... the only humans left are me and the Blood Demon gang, and you are the 'Ten Evils' that I resurrected. Is that right?"

I had roughly expected this, but it was shocking.

"Yes."

"How did I revive you?"

"You used [Deceased Summoning]."

Deceased Summoning.

I never thought that Cheon Inho, in the 40th turn, would have that horrible skill.

I also knew a lot about [Deceased Summoning]. This skill was originally used by Yoo Joonghyuk, in his 1208th Round, who had transitioned to the 'Lord of Death'.

A skill that borrows the souls of a Giant Nebula by making a contract with its Underworld.

Depending on how you use it, it is possible to create a one-man army by gathering powerful incarnations of past lives as immortals.

It seems that these people were also revived by planting the souls I borrowed through [Deceased Summoning] into their blood vessels.

"But that skill isn't that easy to use."

One was that there had to be a 'head' of a dead person. And the two—

"[Deceased Summoning] can only be used when there is a special contract with the Underworld. It’s not like I can summon just any soul and plant it in your body."

No matter how corrupted the Giant Nebula was, there was no way a piece of trash like Cheon Inho could make a contract with the Giant Nebula and the Underworld.

"Have you forgotten that there is no Underworld in this world?"

I looked at him with a dumbfounded face and asked back.

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn’t you destroy the <Underworld> by causing discord among the Nebulas?"

I gaped.

Ye Hyunwoo looked at me pitifully and added.

"The 'Underworld' doesn’t exist in the current world."

Ye Hyunwoo walked toward me and held out the tablet he had taken out from his bosom.

"Thanks to you, the world became like this."

The tablet was showing the CCTV screen installed nearby.

Countless evil spirits roaming the dead land. From the 8th level Specter to the 5th level Night Ghost, the entire Korean Peninsula was a paradise for Evil Spirits.

Is this what a world without the afterlife looks like?

What on earth did Cheon Inho want to do in this world, committing such acts?

"Why did I save you?"

"Because you couldn't clear the 'Last Scenario' alone!"

One memory came to mind at Ye Hyunwoo's words.

Ten Evils.

I didn't mishear. The people in front of me right now were the 'Ten Evils' of the '40th Round'.

And.

It was amazing that the small villains survived and became the Ten Evils, and it was strange that Cheon Inho was determined to clear the Last Scenario by saving them.

I checked the log messages to see what the Last Scenario was.

Scenario #99 of the main story was 'Destroy the Ark', but here...

I read and reread the main scenario. And I cursed inwardly.

Damn it.

Destroy the ark guarded by the Constellations and reach the 'Final Wall'?

Easier said than done. Is this really the Last Scenario of the 40th Round? There is no <Kim Dokja’s Company> or Yoo Joonghyuk in this world line?

I asked again, trying to hold onto a glimmer of hope.

"Are there any Constellations that side with the incarnations? Like Uriel or Jecheon Daeseong."

"That's stupid. Where is a Constellationss that sided with an incarnation?"

"The ones who sided with humans all died during the last 'Apocalypse Dragon', right?"

Oh my. It was a truly hopeless situation.

Ye Hyunwoo said.

"But this time, you defeated Poseidon and brought back 'Yoo Joonghyuk's head', so we have a chance of winning."

Is it Yoo Joonghyuk's head again?

I sighed and shook my head.

"Yoo Joonghyuk's head is of no help."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you say that if only you could revive the Supreme King..."

"Resurrection itself is impossible."

I didn't know whether I should tell them the truth.

These extras who could finally dream of the end of this world. Could I tell these incarnations who had never been given proper ground in the main story that Yoo Joonghyuk's soul was not here, so we could not receive help from the tyrant, and that the destruction of this world was set in stone?

Wait a minute.

I looked at Yoo Joonghyuk's head that was neatly placed on the table, then hurriedly looked up into the air. As if there was someone I couldn't see there.

Ye Hyunwoo, surprised by my actions, asked nervously.

"What's going on? Is this an attack?"

"Is there a body to connect to Yoo Joonghyuk's head right now?"

"There is a body, but didn't you just say that resurrection is impossible?"

That's right. If it's as I think, Yoo Joonghyuk can't be revived even if [Deceased Summoning] is used. This is because Yoo Joonghyuk's soul from the 40th Round has already left this world line.

But.

I thought of the monitor of the '40th Time Fault' that was completely dark.

What if that black screen didn't mean Yoo Joonghyuk's failure or death?

"Let's start [Deceased Summoning] right now."

So what if, in the '41st Round', Yoo Joonghyuk hadn't found a suitable 'Possession Target' yet?

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