859 Episode 47 King of Fear (3)

Cheon Inho quickly walked up the stairs.

"Wait a minute, let's go together!"

Anna Croft, who had come to her senses, followed him.

There was no one who could stop Cheon Inho now. Even Cheok Jungyeong and the commander of the Transcendent Alliance condoned him. Now, it was best to at least watch what he would do.

"What is your... purpose?"

Anna Croft couldn't help but ask, even though she knew Cheon Inho wouldn't answer. But unexpectedly, Cheon Inho, who was climbing the stairs, smiled and turned around.

"My purpose is obvious, isn't it?"

Cheon Inho's purpose.

Anna Croft thought for a moment and then said.

"You hated this <Star Stream>, right?"

A man who hated the world of Constellations in a different way than Yoo Joonghyuk. If he had a purpose in this world, it would be only one.

"Do you intend to destroy this world?"

"Similar."

"Why do you have to do that? Haven't you already seen the end of the scenarios? Why are you trying to bring destruction to this world line?"

"I made this decision because I saw the end of the scenarios once."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me put it this way. 'There are things that can only be preserved if this world is destroyed'."

There are things that can only be preserved if the world is destroyed?

Anna Croft tilted her head in confusion and quickly followed him. How far up did she go? Finally, the stairs ended and a small door leading to the upper floor appeared.

Anna Croft unconsciously swallowed.

There was no nameplate or explanation on the door. However, even without an explanation, it was clear where this door led.

"Is there the 'Big House' beyond this door?"

She remembered hearing an explanation from her seniors in the Transcendent Alliance.

'Big house'. The place where the master of this Fear Realm resides.

"Yes."

"Have you ever met him?"

"Strictly speaking, this is my first time."

Cheon Inho opened the door with Anna Croft.

When he opened the door, a wide field spread out before him. No matter how one looked at it, it was a quiet empty space in the mountains that could be used as a campsite for middle and high schools. If this place was a 'Big House', then it seemed like the meaning of the word 'house' needed to be redefined.

"Hmm. So this was the 'Big House'."

"Do you know this place?"

"I've read it."

Cheon Inho frowned exaggeratedly as if he was sorry, then smiled.

"To make a place like this a 'home'... The memories of that picnic must have been very precious to him."

Picnic?

Before she could even ask what that meant, a terrible cry was heard from the sky.

When she raised her head in surprise, there was a giant dragon without a head flying by. There wasn’t just one of them. There was a three-tailed snake, and there were giant babies that I had seen in the End Zone of the Fear Realm.

"Oh my god."

No matter how she looked at it, Outer Gods that were on the level of a Natural Disaster were running around here and there.

However, the Outer Gods didn’t show any particular hostility toward them. It was as if they knew that they were guests here.

Cheon Inho also looked around at the Outer Gods with a calm expression and started walking.

After walking about ten or twenty steps, a chair appeared on the other side of the field. The chair was facing the opposite direction of them.

Cheon Inho looked at the chair and muttered.

"Why is there an 'Absolute Throne' here of all places!"

"The Absolute Throne?"

"That’s the 'Absolute Throne' that appeared in Korea. The funny thing is… 'he' has never sat on that chair."

As he said that and took another step forward, a strong wind blew and someone stood in front of them.

A pitch-black shadow wearing a threatening helmet was there. Cheon Inho said while looking at the shadow.

"There is an old warrior guarding the King of Fear. It is just as I heard."

Then the warrior nodded and said.

"Is that Kim Dokja's will? Did he decide for himself?"

The shadow clashed his huge fists together as if he would forcefully send them back if they didn't listen.

Cheon Inho waved his hand lightly as if he had no intention of fighting.

"But he must be sad."

"I made him sad, so I have a responsibility to appease him."

The moment the fighter's fist, which he had slowly raised, was about to come down, Cheon Inho quickly said.

"I have a sequel to the story I'll tell him."

At that moment, a vibration that seemed to shake the entire space was heard.

The surprised fighter raised his head and muttered.

The fighter hesitated for a moment, then turned to the chair as if he was resentful, lowered his fist, and turned around.

In the end, as if he didn't even want to see the sight, the fighter said without even looking at Cheon Inho.

Anna Croft asked as she passed by him.

"Who is that guy?"

"He's from another world line."

"If it's another world line..."

"A world line where the 'scenarios' ended. That person saw the end of the scenarios and surpassed the level of a Constellation. Just like I did."

When he looked back, the fighter was scribbling something in the air as if it was recording something. As if there was an invisible wall there.

"Is that person also a 'Recorder of Fear'?"

"No. Not everyone who clears the scenarios becomes a Recorder."

Cheon Inho added briefly after saying that.

"The story that person wants is already here."

The two walked past the fighter and to the place where the chair was.

The two stood side by side with the chair and looked at the scenery the chair was looking at.

A cliff spread out below the field.

Under that huge cliff, countless 'Time Faults' screens were spread out. It was literally a 'spectacular view' of Time Faults.

The most noticeable screen among them was the fault that Anna Croft knew well.

The screen of the '40th Round' where Anna Croft had stayed until then.

Cheon Inho, who had been staring blankly at the screen, opened his mouth.

"Do you like that story? 'King of Fear'."

Anna Croft looked around in confusion. However, there was no one who looked like the 'King of Fear' anywhere around her.

The moment she was about to ask Cheon Inho who she had greeted, a hallucination occurred as if all the lights in the house had gone out and come back on. It felt as if someone had turned all the lights in the house off and on at once.

When Anna Croft blinked her eyes feeling extremely dizzy, she was faced with a shocking scene.

"What is this."

The scenery of the area changed.

The ground that she had thought was a field was covered with squishy tentacles, and the screen on the cliff had turned into a giant eyeball. When Anna slowly turned her head with a dizzying sensation, she realized that something was sitting on the 'chair'. Her head didn't turn properly as if it had been pressed by scissors.

The 'King of Fear' was sitting on the chair covered with tentacles.

However, it was not in the shape of a 'person'. What was placed on the chair was a small pupa.

The pupa was beating like a small heart.

When Anna Croft looked at the pupa, the pupa also looked at Anna Croft.

The pupa said.

Cheon Inho answered with a smile.

"I know."

"I know that too. That's the same for all Kim Dokjas."

"That's a lie. There is no Kim Dokja in this universe who loves sadness as much as you do."

"If even you hate sadness, there will be no Kim Dokja in this universe who will love sadness."

"You want to hear a happy story sometimes, too. Are you curious about the 'stories' of the 40th Round? There are quite a few happy stories left, and I can tell you if you want."

The pupa didn't answer. It was a positive silence.

Cheon Inho smiled faintly at the 'King of Fear' and continued.

"But there is one condition."

“Being who is more familiar with sadness than any other being in this universe.”

“I know what your greatest sadness is. You confined yourself here because you hated the strife between brothers, didn't you?”

A new screen appeared on the cliff.

In the screen, two men wearing white coats stood.

Anna Croft knew the face of the man very well.

"Kim Dokja?"

At the same time as that question, the two Kim Dokjas swung their swords at each other.

Anna Croft stared blankly at the screen.

Kim Dokja's story, torn into three pieces, was scattering into space.

She didn't know exactly what this story was about, but Anna Croft instinctively noticed something.

She was now witnessing the truth of this world.

And after a while, a man's face appeared on the screen. The filtering was on, so the man's face was hard to see, but it was a man in a white coat.

Then the screen changed and a snowy landscape appeared.

The man in the white coat standing there was speaking.

A terrible tinnitus rang out.

Anna Croft instinctively covered her ears and sank to her seat.

The world was mourning. The Fear Realm was screaming.

Cheon Inho listened to the scream without any hesitation. Cheon Inho opened his mouth while blood was pouring out of both ears.

"I can solve that sadness. Now, I too have earned the qualification of being 'Kim Dokja'."

"You don't have to choose anything."

"I will dream the dream you deserved for you."

Cheon Inho took a step toward the chair and added with a smile.

"If you lend me your strength, this long fight will end. In the universe I dream of, neither the First, Second, Third, nor concepts like 49% or 51% are important."

Cheon Inho's entire body was overflowing with the power of [Incite].

"Everything in this universe will be dyed with equal 'Fear'. It will be a 'Big House' filled only with the things you loved."

The interval between the pupa's screams was getting faster and faster.

Anna Croft wanted to shout. She wanted to tell him to stop. But her mouth wouldn't open.

"I will make this entire universe a 'Fear Realm'."

At the moment when [Incite] reached its peak, Cheon Inho reached out his hand toward the pupa.

But the moment Cheon Inho's fingertips touched the surface of the pupa, his hand bounced off with a strong spark.

The 'King of Fear' had rejected him.

"Why?"

The moment Cheon Inho, startled, turned around, a fierce flash of wind passed over his head.

Golden hair was cut into small pieces in the air.

In the distance, a man he knew well was standing.

"Cheon Inho."

A unique, heavy low voice.

The moment he heard that voice, Cheon Inho couldn't help but laugh.

"I see. The most important 'afterword' remained."

Another incarnation that had completed the main task of the 40th 'Time Fault'. Just like Cheon Inho, a man who had earned the right to face the 'King of Fear' was there, aiming his spear.

"Did you choose that spear as a reward?"

The spear that had accompanied the end of the 40th Round, 'Hwangcheon-wolguk', shone brightly in Yoo Joonghyuk's hand.

"But you know, right? Now you can't beat me."

The power of stories began to bloom throughout Cheon Inho's body. His true status, which had brought down Cheok Jungyeong and made even the leaders of the Transcendent Alliance nervous, was revealed.

"Because the result of our 'stage' has already been decided."

Cheon Inho had already defeated Yoo Joonghyuk in the 40th Round. And in a showdown between Transcendent beings, the power of 'staging' is truly absolute.

Even so, Yoo Joonghyuk did not back down. Rather, as Cheon Inho's momentum rose, bright stories bloomed throughout Yoo Joonghyuk's body.

"If I were alone, it might be like that."

The moment Cheon Inho opened his eyes in surprise, Yoo Joonghyuk took out half a dumpling from his bosom and bit into it.

"It was good that I saved half."

At the same time, pure white wings sprouted from Yoo Joonghyuk's shoulder and popped out.

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