845 Episode 45 Ten Evils (3)
I thought about Giyeon hyung all the way to the Blood Demon's base.
Giyeon hyung, who Cheon Inho took and disappeared into the mirror. Maybe Giyeon hyung is watching my story with Cheon Inho right now.
That would be nice.
Because Giyeon hyung's imagination, who likes Giyeon, might bring Giyeon to me.
I desperately needed Giyeon right now.
Giyeon; means conincidence in Korean.
[The owner of the Time Fault is watching your story.]
This 'Time Fault' is the 'Last Scenario' that Cheon Inho experienced.
I guess the 'Time Fault' that the Recorders of Fear had was related to their 'core scenario 0'. Just looking at the fact that Bicheonhori, who was from Murim, had the Time Fault of the '0th Murim', it seems like that.
Then what did Cheon Inho want to see by making me experience this 'Time Fault'?
「 Try writing 'again' from now on. 」
He told me to 'write again'. That means, he didn't like the events of the 'Time Fault' he lived through.
[If you solve the 'Time Fault' task, you can read the 'Final Chapter' of the ■■-level Fear 'Evil Sophist'.]
The final chapter of the 'Evil Sophist'.
If I somehow get to see the ending of this Fault, it means I can also see the history of the 'Original 40th Round' that Cheon Inho lived through.
Suddenly, I wonder.
How on earth did Cheon Inho clear the Final Scenario?
No, did he clear it?
The guy probably didn't even have the revived Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Look straight ahead."
Yoo Joonghyuk caught me when I almost tripped on a rock.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at me as if I was pitiful and added.
"That's what the teacher said. A guy who can't even see the trees in front of him doesn't have the right to imagine the forest."
"That's true, but you still have to imagine the forest to understand the meaning of the tree in front of you."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at the Ten Evils walking away from me and asked.
"Why did you come into this 'Time Fault'?"
"To prevent the End."
"Is that all?"
"I also have to meet the King of Fear."
"The King of Fear? Are you talking about the master of the Fear Realm?"
I briefly thought about whether I should tell Yoo Joonghyuk about the 'Second Kim Dokja'. However, I didn't know where to start, so I just nodded and left it at that.
"Yes, well. I also have to become stronger than I am now."
Yoo Joonghyuk and I both realized this as we escaped the 'Recycling Center'. We were receiving too much attention compared to our strength, and our enemies were stronger than we thought.
"We can't just become a little stronger. We have to become overwhelmingly stronger."
There was a strange tension in Yoo Joonghyuk's voice.
Yoo Joonghyuk's pupils deepened.
Somehow I felt like I knew who the guy was thinking of.
Of course. It must have been the first time he encountered such a strong 'existence' during his 41st Regression Turn.
"That guy said. The Time Fault is my only hope right now. If I don't reach proper 'Transcendence' here, it will be difficult to see the ending I want."
When did Jaehwan-nim say that? Did the two of them have a conversation?
"Aren't you already a 'Transcendent'? What is 'Proper Transcendence'?"
"I don't know either."
Yoo Joonghyuk muttered in a dark voice.
"But judging by the way he stabs, there must be such a state. And..."
"You believe that you can find the clue in this 'Time Fault'."
"That's right."
We walked for a short while in silence. Suddenly, a curiosity arose.
"Have you met Cheon Inho like me?"
This 'Time Fault' is a place that only those who have met the Recorder can enter. That means that Yoo Joonghyuk could have met Cheon Inho, who had become the Recorder of Fear.
"I met him."
As expected.
"What did he say?"
"He said to see for myself."
"What?"
Yoo Joonghyuk stopped walking.
"The end of the world I abandoned and left behind."
A faint light shone through the underground tunnel, and we had finally arrived at our destination.
Ye Hyunwoo, who had gone out to scout earlier, returned and reported the situation.
"That's the Blood Demon's base."
"Is it Seoul Station?"
The Blood Demon's base was underground in Seoul Station. It had been a long time since I visited the Seoul Station platform.
The memories of the 41st Round came to mind. In the 41st Round, the ruler of the Beggar Sect had taken over Seoul Station.
But this time, it was the Blood Demon.
"They've made a pretty strategic location their home."
I also nodded at Yoo Joonghyuk’s words.
Considering the serious level of pollution on the surface, the Blood Demon’s dwelling place had to be underground.
Of these, the station in the center of Seoul and where the lines overlap would be overwhelmingly advantageous for transporting goods.
"Damn, how many corpses did they make…"
In short, this 'underground passage' was a perfect place for the Blood Demon to transport the 'corpses' that he would use for surveillance production.
"Just by glancing at it, there are at least a hundred."
I quickly looked at the group of guards wandering around Seoul Station’s underground. It didn’t look like corpses made with [Deceased Summoning].
They were corpses without souls, moving only with the memories of their previous bodies.
I thought I knew the general principle of their revival.
「 The Tale of David, who was ranked 3rd in the Darkness Ranking, 'King of the Dead'. 」
It seems that the Blood Demon obtained the 'King of the Dead' in the 'Dark Castle' scenario of the 40th Round.
But it seems difficult to deal with all those undead.
"Is it finally time for this body to step forward?"
Kyung Sein straightened her small shoulders and stepped forward.
"Most of the surveillance is 'lower' than me. With my [Insect Massacre]..."
"Not all of them are lower than you, right?"
"Well, I see a few surveillance that are about the same level as me..."
"How many exactly?"
"...Twenty?"
I found the undead that Kyung Sein mentioned without much difficulty.
There were some that looked like they were of the higher species at first glance. Unlike the lower-level guards who were stupidly going back and forth between platform sections and repeating stereotyped actions, the upper-level guards were acting out of turn, such as suddenly turning their heads or sniffing something.
Kyung Sein asked nervously.
"Should we rush in right away?"
"No, wait."
"Oh, set a trap?"
"We're not here to fight."
I said, laying out the cooking utensils that Yoo Joonghyuk had in the center of the subway.
"Kyung Sein-ssi, you'll only come out if there's an emergency."
"Ahem, it's like a secret weapon, right?"
"Similar. So until an emergency arises, let's proceed according to my plan."
"Surely your plan isn't making dumplings again, right?"
Kyung Sein scolded me, as if she was not satisfied with my plan.
"The One Who Deceived the Stars. Are you serious? In fact, your condition has been a bit strange for the past few days."
"No matter how delicious the dumplings are, do you really believe that you can trade with the Blood Demon for something like dumplings?"
Ye Hyunwoo also chimed in.
I shrugged and answered.
"Even guards eat food, you know?"
"That's true, but—"
"Most of the high-level guards seem to be from 'Murim'."
"Some of them tried to take the dead Transcendents as their own corpses."
Transcendents. That's better.
"The ones who were resurrected through the story of the 「King of the Dead」 are in a state close to psychic beings without reason. Especially the more powerful the incarnation, the more simple and strong their desires are."
"So?"
"What food do the dead Murim martial artists want to eat the most?"
Lee Dansu answered my question with admiration.
"So it's 'dumplings', of course you'll put poison in them?"
"No. The guards won't be affected by even the most lethal poison. Instead, I'll put something as deadly as poison in them."
I didn't tell them what it was. Then I started making dumplings in front of everyone.
I made a total of thirty dumplings. It was a quantity that took extra into account.
[Your understanding of the story fragment 'Murim Dumpling Recipe' is quite high!]
[The average completion level of 'Murim Dumpling' increases!]
In the meantime, the skill level of the recipe has also increased a lot.
"You. Is it okay to make this much at once?"
"It's okay."
Because I didn't use my memories this time.
[The Master of the Time Fault looks at you in admiration.]
It seems that Cheon Inho noticed.
The memories I used when I made the dumplings this time were those of 'Cheon Inho of the 40th Round' that resided in this body.
It would be difficult if I used all of 'Lee Hakhyun's' memories.
"I will now give you the operation order."
I looked at the revived Kang Ilhun, Lee Dansu, Kyung Sein, and Ye Hyunwoo, and then asked.
"Lee Dansu-ssi is an expert at setting traps, right?"
"Just say it, I'll set it up anywhere."
"Yes. But what you're going to install this time is a little different."
I said, pointing to the table where the dumplings were.
"Please install this in the center of Seoul Station."
Lee Dansu looked down at the counter as if he had misheard, and asked me back.
"Installing it is not a problem, but it is quite bulky to place quietly."
"Ye Hyunwoo-ssi."
I said, pressing Ye Hyunwoo's shoulder as he quickly tried to disappear.
"Please support Lee Dansu-ssi with your [Erase Existence]."
"How did you know my skill name?"
I don't know. In the Last Scenario, the only thing that would allow that level of stealth is [Erase Existence], unless it was 「Pebble and Me」.
And [Erase Existence] was the ultimate stealth skill that could temporarily hide the presence of two people, including the caster, from the world.
"And lastly, Kang Ilhun-ssi."
"I won't be used as a meat shield anymore."
It was the words of a man who had already lost his head twice since I entered this Fault.
Of course, this time, it wasn't a meat shield that he was going to be.
"Spread the rumor in the <Star Stream> that the 'Head of the Regressor' has appeared at Seoul Station."
Three hours later, the Blood Demon appeared on the platform in Seoul, shouting a plaintive rebuke.
"How dare you!"
The entire platform smelled of fried dumplings.
I sat cross-legged on the table and waved to the Blood Demon.
"Are you here?"
The Blood Demon couldn't help but be astonished at the sight of his skeletons scattered everywhere. No wonder, because all twenty of his precious elite guards were sitting there.
Some skeletons shed tears of sorrow, while others snickered.
They were laughing. Deeply curled up corpses, wailing corpses…The Blood Demon who examined all of them asked.
"What on earth did you do to my corpses?"
"I just made them all a little drunk on perfume."
As expected, the corpses immediately took the bait on the table.
For reference, the dumplings that the corpses who were all from Murim ate were as follows.
「 Chicken Soup Flavored Murim Dumplings 」
「 Dongpa Pork Flavored Murim Dumplings 」
「 Five-Spice Pork Flavored Murim Dumplings 」
So-called 'Murim Specials'.
Completion: ★★☆☆☆
Overall: Made with low-quality memories, but the combination is not bad. The incarnation who eats these dumplings becomes immersed in the memories of the 'most missed food' they have ever eaten.
* When consumed, the abnormal 'Perfume' effect is activated for 30 minutes.
At least for the next 30 minutes, the zombies who were drunk on that taste wouldn't make any moves.
"Heh, heh heh heh."
The Blood Demon let out a hollow laugh, seemingly dumbfounded.
"You, do you really want to die? Do you think you've defeated me just because you've barely subdued these guys?"
"No. This won't be enough to defeat you."
I took a closer look at the Blood Demon's face again. Was that really the face of the incarnation that survived the Final Scenario with me?
Actually, I don't know much about the Blood Demon. In the main story, the Blood Demon is only described as a vile villain who killed the Breaking the Sky Sword Master together with the Heavenly Demon.
So before coming here, I looked through all of Cheon Inho's memories related to him.
And I found out that this guy was a bigger shot than I thought.
"The zombies in this underground city aren't even as big as the zombies you have."
「 The Blood Demon. The Sing of the Seoul Underground City. 」
In this 40th Round, he has thousands of 'watchmen' in the underground passages all over Seoul.
The second villain to rise to the top of the Ten Evils after Cheon Inho.
At this point, I'm starting to think that the Ten Evils are the main characters in this Round.
"Dumplings are for free. They're only like that for now, but when they all wake up, they'll all be stronger?"
"Stronger?"
The Blood Demon, who actually checked the status of the zombies, looked up at me with wide eyes.
"What are you doing here, you idiot?"
"Blood Demon. Are you still curious about the 'Regression Law'?"
I knew why the blood demon was so obsessed with the 'Regression Law'.
The blood demon grinned and asked back.
"Are you finally thinking of offering the head of the tyrant?"
"It's unfortunate, but even if you take the head of the tyrant, you won't be able to regress."
"How do you know that?"
"That's just how this world is set up."
[Someone is activating 'Lie Detection'.]
[Someone has confirmed that what you said is true.]
As expected, [Lie Detection] was on.
The confused Blood Demon asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It means that a small villain like you can never become the main character even if you wake up after dying."
I looked at the Blood Demon for a moment.
In fact, I don't like giving a small villain a story. After all, this guy was a villain who caused pain to many people, and even the incarnations suffered from him even after death.
「 But even a small villain like that could take up a page of a chapter in a world without a main character. 」
Nevertheless, some stories shed light on the hidden story of a horrible murderer rather than the last meal of a petty bourgeois who starved to death.
['The King of Fear' focuses on your story.]
And so the story of the Blood Demon came to exist in this Star Stream.
And I, the 'Evil Sophist'—
"Blood Demon. Do you want to meet your dead sister again?"
In this terrible world, I am a human who makes the 'story' of that villain a spectacle.
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