953 Episode 56 Myth (5)

The Demon King of Salvation scanned the headlines on the newspaper on the table.

『Today's Kim Dokja』.

The newspaper was worn and torn here and there. Nevertheless, it remained faithful to his duty: to tell Kim Dokja's story.

Several kkoma Kim Dokja, seeing the sentences neatly appearing on the newspaper, had tears in their eyes. The Demon King of Salvation looked at them for a moment and said,

Just because he'd reached mythic status, it didn't mean it was over. The Youngest had never failed to reach the realm of myth in the fights he'd faced.

Furthermore, the Youngest had less time accumulating stories than them, so he was bound to be at a disadvantage in actual combat.

A stage adaptation of「Returnee War」. If even one of the three—the World Tree of Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, and the appearance of Yoo Joonghyuk—had not been in place, the Youngest would have lost his life in this fight.

Furthermore, the help of the recorders who actively protected the Youngest's records was also significant.

One was the assistant Recorder the Youngest had taken in: And—

The other... seemed to be one of the Recorders the Youngest had met in the 'Record Archives'. He was likely nicknamed 'Moral'.

Even then, he had shown favor towards the Youngest, so it was not surprising that he assisted in this record. In any case, it could only be explained by good luck.

A scenario where even the slightest deviation would lead to certain death. The Demon King of Salvation finally recalled the time when he had finally become a 'Myth-grade Constellation'.

Turning his head at the reprimand, he saw the face of the Second, who had been sleeping, his blanket rolled up like a mat.

The Demon King of Salvation chuckled at the Second, who blinked absentmindedly, and gestured to the newspaper with his chin.

As if he already knew, the Second Kim Dokja—the King of Fear stretched slightly and stood up. The Second, who had flown in with his fairy-like wings fluttering, examined the words the Youngest had left behind.

The Outer Gods who had accompanied the second in the Fear Realm were there. The forgotten beings of the <Star Stream>. The Fears, having lost their 'Time Fault' and their hiding places, finally exhaled in the Youngest's shadow.

The King of Fear read and reread the sentences on the newspaper with unreadable eyes. He discerned the blank space beyond those sentences—the breath of the Outer Gods nestled within the shadow of the vast World Tree. Only then did he exhale softly and say,

The Fear Realm was destroyed, and the world the King of Fear dreamed of vanished. Yet, the Outer Gods were still recorded in this story.

A story too eloquent to be described. The Youngest's story was neither a narrative of 'Salvation' nor a narrative of 'Fear'.

However, it could be expressed this way. If someone had written everything in this world, yet something remained unwritten—the Youngest would be the one to write that 'leftover blank space'.

Both Kim Dokjas knew this well, and therefore, they understood that the Youngest would inevitably be the protagonist of this worldline.

The Youngest had grown stronger, but he was still practically alone. Meanwhile, the other Constellations already possessed immense power.

The birth of the 'World Tree' was an equally momentous event. A story that embodies the birth and destruction of a world. The Youngest had seized the power of the World Tree, and those who would surely target him would emerge. And most of all...

The King of Fear nodded slightly at the words of the Demon King of Salvation. At that moment, every Kim Dokja present was thinking of a single Kim Dokja.

The mastermind behind this world's story, the Demon King of Salvation, and the King of Feae, had both encountered him before.

The King of Fear spoke, and the Demon King of Salvation nodded, as if already knowing.

Given the circumstances surrounding the intervention of Constellations like Agni, Vidar, and Apollo in the 'New Murim District', 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' was clearly aware of the 'World Tree Scenario'. Nevertheless, he remained hidden until the scenario concluded.

The Demon King of Salvation thought. If 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' hadn't intervened in this case, it meant this was the case he wanted.

The reason wasn't clear.

Perhaps the Youngest's presence was necessary for the ending he desired.

The King of Fear, who had been contemplating something nearby, suddenly spoke.

The Demon King of Salvation turned to the Second as if he asking what he meant, then flinched and realized something. All eyes of the other Kim Dokjas, excluding the King of Fear, were focused on the incident.

It made sense. This incident was the largest the Youngest had ever caused.

But here's the problem.

The Demon King of Salvation, his face flushed, pulled out his smartphone. He immediately pressed the '3' button.

He hadn't expected the Third to answer. He was always in airplane mode, and he knew he'd hear a message saying the phone was off or in a no-call area.

Nevertheless, the Demon King of Salvation dialed the number with a strange premonition, and to his surprise—

The ringtone began ringing.

Someone answered the phone with a 'call', followed by an unidentifiable noise and a scream.

And—the voice of the man who once answered the phone in place of the Third.

—...We...need...

Continuing with a distorted voice, the call ended. But that was all it took for the Demon King of Salvation to realize what had happened to the Third. Glaring at the disconnected call, the Demon King of Salvation slowly raised his head, his expression tinged with faint anger.

I stared blankly at the message that was repeatedly echoing through the air.

Even after the main and sub-scenarios had concluded, the message of the 'Destruction Scenario' continued unabated.

Namgung Myung, who was also looking up at the message, muttered,

"Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to continue living in longing."

Namgung happily told everyone about it, as if he had gained some profound insight from the message. As if this was the moment they had all been waiting for.

"Our Murim was liberated from the Constellations by facing destruction."

Three days had passed since the 70th main scenario ended. During those three days, I practiced handling the 'World Tree' and observed the status of the new 'Giant Tale'.

I also checked the scenario rewards. Some of them would be of great help in future scenarios.

However, I deliberately left some of them unopened. I decided to save them just in case, in case something happened in the higher-level scenarios.

The martial artists who had relied on D-Coins now seemed to be struggling to regain their former Murim.

They voluntarily returned their D-Coins, and I used them to grow the World Tree.

Perhaps the reason I didn't feel any particular emotional turmoil while watching them was because I had now become a being slightly different from an ordinary human. I briefly contemplated the round table that seemed like a hallucination the moment I ascended to the myth-grade, then turned to Namgung Myung and said,

"What happened to Sein-ssi?"

"Ah, Divine Doctor is waiting."

With Namgung Myung's help, We were able to invite Divine Doctor, who was in another scenario area.

As we headed straight to the Namgung family's manor, Divine Doctor's face came out to greet us.

"It's been a while."

Divine Doctor smiled brightly, as if remembering me. I had been indebted to him before entering the Fear Realm.

After a brief handshake, I asked about Kyung Sein.

"How is she?"

"Unfortunately..."

As expected. Even Divine Doctor's power seemed too much to restore Kyung Sein. I went straight into the manor to examine her condition.

Her incarnation body was pierced by the arrows of the Constellations, pierced with holes. The malice of the Constellations stained Kyung Sein's entire body black.

"Dokja-ssi."

Kyung Sein slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.

"I'm fine. Don't try any harder."

"..."

"You know it's not just a wound, right?"

Since we first met, Kyung Sein's 'soul' had been damaged.

It was as if a part of her soul had been ripped away by someone. Perhaps it was a scar left when 'Kim Dokja fragment' she possessed was taken.

And who could possibly do something like this...

"Is that from Snowfield Kim Dokja?"

Kyung Sein shook her head weakly at my question.

"No."

Kyung Sein took a deep breath and spoke in a straight, precise voice.

"I gave it to him."

She gave it to him. Kyung Sein said.

"Dokja-ssi, I think you're right, but I don't think he's wrong either."

I knew what Kyung Sein meant.

"But can that be the reason your reading should end?"

Kyung Sein coughed.

With each successive attack, her incarnation body gradually opened. At this rate, her incarnation body would dissipate in less than thirty minutes.

I had no intention of leaving it like that.

I had summoned Divine Doctor to buy three days of time in order to use this skill I learned from Han Sooyoung in the 1,863rd round.

"Don't worry, Sein-ssi."

A skill that sealed a near-death incarnation body, delaying its demise.

"You will not die."

It wasn't my favorite method. Nevertheless, this method, used by Han Sooyoung in the 1,863rd round, was the only way to prevent her death.

After hearing my brief explanation, Kyung Sein asked,

"If you use that, my time will stop, right?"

"Yes."

"No."

I hadn't expected Kyung Sein to say that, so I was taken aback. Kyung Sein lightly grabbed my hand and continued.

"Then I won't be able to read this story."

I was about to ask what she meant. For a moment, I felt Kyung Sein's grip tighten. A faint, yet powerful emotion flickered across her retina.

"I heard a story about a library."

"…"

"A library only the 'Kim Dokjas' who entrusted their lives to you can enter."

I stared blankly down at her. Who on earth had told her that?

The culprit was clear.

Kyung Sein smiled at me.

"I want to enter that library too."