978 Episode 58 Myth-grade Constellation (10)

Asmodeus's eyes were etched with pure disbelief. The white arrow of the divine being, still buried in his chest, pulsed with a blinding radiance as it unleashed its intended authority.

The strike was an undeniable success. Yet, seeing Asmodeus’s bewildered expression and hearing the tremor in his voice, a cold sense of foreboding washed over me.

It was Asmodeus. Could that twisted Demon King, the architect of the Cinema and a veteran of the records, truly have been caught so completely off guard?

I knew it. Asmodeus glanced toward Hou Yi, who was watching from the horizon, before shifting his gaze back to me.

Asmodeus’s entire presence began to vibrate with a sinister frequency. Despite the arrow piercing his origin, he showed no sign of agony. Instead, he gripped the shaft with a steady hand, his eyes locking onto mine with an intense, predatory focus.

I was reminded once more why he was the 'Recorder of Fear'. Even other recorders trembled at his name.

His words weren't even imbued with [Incite], yet each one felt like an arrow of its own, piercing through my mental defenses.

For a moment, his face looked strangely mournful. Beneath the mocking facade, I sensed a simmering, ancient rage. Just as my own emotions were inextricably tied to Kim Dokja’s, Asmodeus held a chaotic mass of feelings within him that had never been fully recorded—a melting pot of unwritten grief.

The sentences overflowing from his status began to suppress the light of Di Ku.

Even I had to admire his sheer tenacity. If even the Emperor's arrows couldn't subdue him, what options were left? Would I truly have to face the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon in a fight to the death? Could I even pull off the 'Great King of Fear' form in my current state?

Asmodeus’s voice faltered. A faint sound echoed through the achromatic field.

It was thin, like the buzzing of an insect or the distant chirp of a bird. No. As I listened closer, the sound took on a heart-wrenching clarity.

It was the cry of a child. Asmodeus’s brow furrowed as he glared into the empty air.

Who was he talking to? His expression shifted rapidly—from anger to frustration, and finally, to a weary resignation.

A strange premonition gripped me. Was he actually talking to that being?

The murmur echoed one last time, and Asmodeus let out a heavy, defeated sigh.

Asmodeus’s incarnation body began to blur, losing its definition. He was voluntarily withdrawing from the stage.

I reached out as he faded.

His inscription manifested before my eyes one last time.

He vanished completely, leaving only a faint afterimage that slipped through my fingers.

The moment he disappeared, a deluge of messages erupted in my mind.

I must have lost consciousness for a few minutes. When the world finally stopped spinning, I felt someone roughly shaking my shoulder.

"Kim Dokja!"

Anna Croft's face was ashen. She was gripping my shoulder with enough force to crack the bone.

"It... it hurts, Anna."

"Are you awake?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Mostly."

I gently pried her hand away. My shoulder felt like it had been through a hydraulic press. Anna supported my weight as I tried to steady my breathing.

"Are you certain you're alright?"

"Yeah. What about Asmodeus?"

"Asmodeus?"

I realized she didn't know his true name. In this worldline, he was only known by the title 'Demon King of the Cinema'. I didn't have the energy to explain the complex history of the 1,864th round.

"What about the Black Flame Dragon?"

Anna pointed toward the ground. There, curled into a defensive posture, lay the pitch-black form of the dragon.

With Asmodeus's probability withdrawn, the dragon had lost its anchor. It was dispersing slowly, its presence no longer justified by the scenario's rules.

I felt a strange, hollow longing in that message. I couldn't tell which version of him was looking at me—the one from the 41st round or the one I remembered—but the goodwill was unmistakable.

"Dokja-ssi!"

Jung Heewon had emerged from the 'Exposed Bush' and was rushing toward us. She checked my face with frantic eyes.

"Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Heewon-ssi. Are you safe?"

"I'm alright. But... how did you do it? That dragon looked like it was going to destroy the world, but the moment you stood in its way, it just... stopped."

I couldn't exactly explain that I’d just had a high-stakes debate with a primal demon king.

"I just held his attention for a while. A staring contest, you could say."

'Adversary of the Dragon' was a rare prize, usually reserved for those who survived the Apocalypse scenarios. The staring contest one was... well, a bonus.

But the peace didn't last.

"Kim Dokja!"

Anna Croft’s voice was sharp with warning. I turned to see the surrounding constellations closing in. These were the hunters of the various nebulae who had been lurking, waiting for the myths to exhaust each other.

The real battle was only just beginning. Every star here wanted a piece of a Myth-grade target. The first to step forward were the Narrative-grade stalkers from <Papyrus>.

The air grew thick with aggression, but the constellations held back, eyeing each other warily. No one wanted to be the first to draw the 'Demon King of Salvation's' ire.

It was Anubis, the Black Wolf Reaper, who spoke first.

The arrogance was staggering. Even Olympus had learned to tread carefully around me.

"And if I decline?"

I still held the status of my 'Demon King' form. I wasn't about to bow to a wolf just because he was baring his teeth. Anubis didn't seem surprised.

His eyes shifted away from me, settling on Jung Heewon and Anna Croft. Both women tensed instantly. Anubis hadn't given up; he had simply changed his leverage.

I felt a cold smile touch my lips. It wasn't exactly a subtle threat. I gripped my scepter, weighing my options. I was outnumbered, and my stories were fraying.

I was prepared to pay the price, but then—

A giant wreathed in light stepped between us.

Mitra, despite his tattered wings and broken status, stood as a shield before me.

He was still a Myth-grade constellation. There wasn't a Narrative-grade being on the field willing to gamble their life against him. Anubis snarled, his teeth clicking together.

As the <Papyrus> forces retreated into the shadows, the other constellations followed suit. They had realized that, for today, I was untouchable. Mitra turned back to me once the field was clear.

I faced him, my guard still up. He was a constellation of <Veda>, after all. They were just as greedy as the rest. But instead of an attack, the massive entity slowly lowered himself onto one knee.

The staff of the Golden Dice Hall followed his lead, prostrating themselves in the dirt.

It was a surreal sight. The records of the 'Unchanging One' flickered in my mind. This was the moment—the formal recognition of the 'Demon King of Salvation' as a true Myth-grade existence by the Master of Valhalla.

My heart hammered in my chest. I felt a tectonic shift in the rules of my reality.

The world felt suddenly distant, a dizzying sensation pulling at my soul, much like when I had first ascended.