951 Episode 56 Myth (3)

Since the outbreak of the 'Destruction Scenario', the incarnations of small and medium-sized corporations, who had been stationed in the southern region, finally began to move.

"Let's save the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint!"

The constellations of the companies, sensing their movements, also sent indirect messages to the incarnations.

Normally, the incarnations of the companies would have been frightened by the constellations' messages. But today's incarnations were different.

"Hmph, you cowards who couldn't even descend to the scenario region—"

"Get out! It's embarrassing to have been affiliated with your company!"

The incarnations knew now.

Those constellations would not interfere with the 'New Murim District' scenario.

Right now, a 'destruction scenario' was unfolding in the 'New Murim District'. If this scenario were to be confirmed as a disaster, the constellations caught up in the scenario would face eternal destruction, along with their own legends.

On the other hand, the incarnations gathered in the southern district of the 'New Murim District' were ones who had prepared themselves for even such a death.

Rather than choosing another 'sponsor', they chose to remain in this 'New Murim District' and witness its end.

Nevertheless, they still hesitated.

It was then that someone's cry rang out.

"The expansion of technique has stopped!"

The power of fear emanating from <Tamra Junggong> was weakening.

"The power of the technique is weakening!"

It was Namgung Myung who spoke those words.

The incarnations nearby, coincidentally, questioned Namgung Myung's words.

"The technique's power is weakening? Is that true?"

"How do you know that? Who are you?"

The people asked, and Namgung Myung, who had been hesitating, stepped forward.

"I am Namgung Myung, the head of the Namgung family."

"Namgung family…"

A short sigh escaped the martial arts community at the mention of the now-extinct family. Everyone here remembered the name.

"The head of the Namgung family. I heard you were infected by the legends of the Outer Gods. You're still alive?"

"They say you can sense the power of fear, and it's true."

"I've heard of the Namgung family's reputation. Eight years ago, during the Fear Realm incident, he was the one who fought until the very end."

Short murmurs erupted everywhere. Confused eyes, one by one, focused on Namgung Myung, and someone asked.

"Namgung sohyeop, do you have something to say to us?"

He asked that question not because Namgung Myung was the strongest incarnation here.

The incarnations who had been protecting the 'New Murim District' until now were now without a place to go.

They were tired of searching for another 'sponsor'. They had somehow managed to adapt to the 'New Murim District', but not because they loved the new Murim, but because they could not leave this land.

"All of you gathered here were once 'Murim people'."

For their sake, Namgung Myung opened his mouth.

"I often miss Murim, but I cannot bear to say that the Murim I remember was a good place."

The crowd listened to him in silence.

"The 'Murim' I remember was brutal. The weak were despised, and the powerful ruled everything. Where today's corporations once stood, there were powerful families. There were many who acted violently because they possessed martial arts prowess or had supporters."

A few of the incarnations nodded. They, too, remembered those days.

"But even in a forest overflowing with such rascals, stories were ours."

Namgung Myung's gaze slowly swept the crowd. There were those who had once been members of the Five Great Families or the Nine-Fold Faction, and the remnants of the Blood Cult or the Demonic Cult. There were also martial artists from small and medium-sized sects who had fought for regional hegemony.

Now, in a world where all those groups had vanished, people stood on a single stage.

"Even as we harmed or saved each other, fought or reconciled—that forest was undeniably 'ours'."

Throughout the long history of martial arts, the forest had been a stage solely for humans.

Someone bit their lip, and someone lowered their head in shock.

Only then did the incarnations realize what they had lost, and one by one, their anger erupted.

"I don't know what corporation you all gathered here belong to. However, if you were at least martial artists, please don't ignore this world's aspirations. Please—"

As if sensing their anger, Namgung Myung spoke.

"Please protect this breath."

The martial artists raised their heads and looked toward <Tamra Junggong>. It wasn't the Murim they remembered. Nevertheless, at that moment, the incarnations all recalled the same story.

"We will likely die. Perhaps this place will become the ■■ of which the constellations speak. But even if that happens—"

Namgung Myung turned his back and began to move toward <Tamra Junggong>.

"I want to see my end as a martial artist here."

With those words, a cheer erupted.

The martial artists began to run toward the forest.

"Reclaim the God of Murim!"

"Let's save the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint!"

"Everyone, follow the family head!"

Namgung Myung also roared with an agitated expression. Perhaps he knew this was all a futile endeavor.

Nevertheless, this stage was the last tribute the current incarnations could offer to the forest that protected them.

Some constellations sympathized with the will of the Murim people, and from somewhere, recorders who showed interest appeared.

Have they heard rumors that a 'giant story' will be born here? The recorders, who had arrived belatedly to offer even a single sentence, were recording the lives of the incarnations.

As the forest's power weakened, the 'justice' that had brought them together vanished. Now, no one was forcing them to agree.

It didn't matter who had ignited the fire in their hearts. At this moment, they were the forest's indigenous people, fighting to protect their ancient homeland.

A bolt of fire fell from the sky, and several martial artists running at the forefront were slaughtered.

The South Sea Dragon King, a legendary constellation from Tamra, was warning the incarnations.

And that wasn't all.

Some of Tamra's five hundred generals had not ventured deep into the forest. And the constellations of other major corporations were gathered at the forest entrance, keeping the incarnations in check.

Among them was a constellation from <Asgard>.

A narrative-grade constellation from <Asgard>, dispatched in a hurry after hearing that contact with Vidar, the 'Terminator of War', had been lost.

The 'One Who Became a Saint in a Day'—Bala—calls out, carelessly detonating the rushing incarnations.

Not all constellations feared the 'destruction scenario'. Some even saw 'destruction' as an opportunity. The narrative-grade constellations gathered here were no exception. Growing the World Tree to reach 'mythical' status would be a good strategy, but if that proved difficult, sealing the World Tree for practical gains wouldn't be a bad idea either.

The constellations, gathered to feast on the crumbs of such a grand tale, unleashed their ferocious rage upon the humans.

Namgung Myung glared, watching the incarnations melt before his eyes.

The Murim people, barely gathered together, were dying in vain.

He had to clear a path somehow. All these deaths couldn't be in vain—the moment he reached that point, someone clapped him firmly on the shoulder and stepped forward.

Along with the feeling that the surrounding air was being sucked in, a thunderous Lion's Roar, reminiscent of the mantra of a constellation, rose and rang out.

Some of the constellations, overwhelmed by the force, stammered out their words.

Savior Nirvana.

The strongest ascendant, having recovered from his injuries, stood at the forefront of the Murim community.

"The Savior has arrived!"

As Nirvana's [Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara] began to slaughter the constellations in front of him, the Murim community, their spirits lifted, continued their charge.

The South Sea Dragon King, watching this, asked the surrounding constellations,

No matter what the constellations babbled, Nirvana pushed forward without hesitation, plunging through the waves of constellations.

That sentence alone dominated his mind.

In a hazy memory, the disciple’s voice carrying him into the manor.

Nirvana knew. The disciple had clearly been drawn in by this stage. So now, it was his turn, the cult leader, to save him.

Kugugugu.

It was then that a harsh vibration rose and spread through the forest. For a moment, the forest’s interior split open, releasing a sage.

Nirvana instinctively raised his head and muttered in a commanding voice. Slowly, his eyes began to dilate. It was unmistakable. There was no way he could have confused the scent of this story.

An excited Nirvana wandered through the forest.

He continued to run towards it.

The constellations stopped him as he ran with a mad expression.

A torrent of ripples, resembling waves, swept over Nirvana, and a mass of magical energy reminiscent of Mount Tai fell upon his head.

Nirvana, fully activating [Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara], roared.

Nirvana was a powerful incarnation. However, the constellations were too numerous for him to handle alone.

Finally, he, who had been on the defensive, gathered the palms of [Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara] and received the power of the constellations.

"Move."

An incarnation leaped forward, using his [Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara] as a stepping stone.

The momentum of [Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship] slicing through the sky.

Nirvana's complexion brightened.

Jung Heewon's sword strike, slicing through the air, began to cut through the constellations.

Jung Heewon roared, and Nirvana roared. But they could not defy the individuality of the constellations.

The moment the seal, which had spread in ten hours, was about to cover the tree, a dog barked from somewhere.

Breaking the Sky shingun let out a long question and leaped toward the seal. Kyung Sein, riding on her back, gained momentum and soared into the air.

A small gap, like the gap between two sentences. Kyung Sein, who had squeezed into the gap, spread her arms and legs wide to complete the seal. She blocked it.

Tsutsutsutsut!

A fierce storm of probability swept over her, burning her entire body. Terrible pain surged through her, but Kyung Sein bit her lip and endured it all.

She wasn’t as sincere or outstanding as the other readers.

Kyung Sein’s exclusive trait activated, and her entire body hardened like story metal. A level of hardness comparable to Lee Hyunsung’s [Steel Transformation].

Some might say,

"The Gyeongsein used all the D coins he had to strengthen his incarnation."

Someone will say.

Didn't you just read this story once?

With Cha Yerin's voice in her head, Kyung Sein's story began to unfold.

Perhaps reading a story is simply… It doesn't just mean reading the story.

Memories of staying up all night chatting with unknown people. People she met simply because she happened to like a certain story.

"Euaaaaaaaaaa!"

All the stories she had accumulated resisted the seal of <Tamra>.

The South Sea Dragon King, his expression hardened, gave an order to the Five Hundred Generals.

Arrows slashed through the air.

The arrows of the constellations struck her cracked skin. Despite spitting out endless streams of crimson blood, Kyung Sein remained conscious. Blocking the narrowing passage, Kyung Sein resisted, and resisted.

The end of this world was predetermined.

She knew it, and perhaps all the other readers knew it too.

Someone, upon that margin, drew a different interpretation. If only they could write it.

"CEO!"

Namgung Myung's shout was heard from afar.

The moment she saw Namgung Myung's expression, Kyung Sein smiled bitterly.

She was in that story.

Sentences were being written just for her.

Namgung Myung's expression, the astonishment of the constellations, dictated the next sentence.

With the sound of [Fate] coming from somewhere, Kyung Sein's body began to crumble little by little.

Her vision was charred black by the aftershock of probability. Her body disappeared like a page torn by someone.

However, there was a certain sensation enveloping her.

As if written just for her, someone was carefully holding her in his arms. Now, blind, Kyung Sein could not see his face. There was none.

The sound of a seal breaking.

Beyond the seal, fears were awakening.

Amidst the shadows of the forest, ancient Outer Gods soared, flapping their wings repeatedly.

Fear began to howl, devouring the constellations in the sky.

Reading the sentences that seemed to end in a flash, Kyung Sein imagined another version of herself somewhere, reading this entire story.

In that world, she would be reading this scene, biting or laughing, rejoicing or saddened.

Without a single clue as to how long it had taken for these words to be born, she would simply blink like an excited constellation. Without even knowing whether she liked this story or not, she would simply read the next sentence.

Imagining herself like that, Kyung Sein followed the story's end with eyes that could no longer see.