993 Episode 60 Star Fragments (1)

—The Evil Sophist.

At Zeus's words, several constellations stirred up here and there.

"That's right! <Olympus> could not possibly forget us!"

Not everyone had lost hope just because they were trapped in this world. While some, like Odin, dismissed the <Star Stream> as a delusion, and others, like Poseidon, had adapted in their own ways, there were conversely stars who still could not forget their stature.

"Then <Veda> might come, too."

"No, perhaps <Asgard> will come first!"

I looked at the culprit who had created this whole situation.

Zeus, leaning against a table and wearing a relaxed smile, was looking at me with a somewhat triumphant expression.

To think that even 'Zeus' himself would be trapped here.

Come to think of it, there was no way the gentleman who was obsessed with 'collecting Kim Dokja fragments' the other day wouldn't join this feast.

"Release us quickly! You damned monkey!"

Several excited constellations came right up to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and caused a ruckus. I was worried that an accident might occur, but unexpectedly, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven wore a calm expression.

"What are you going to do if I let you go?"

"What?"

"Do you really think your Nebula will come to rescue you? Why would they bother with losers like you?"

"What nonsense! We are myth-grade constellations!"

The thunder echoing from outside grew even louder.

Even though [Incite] is my specialty, this was not a situation where I should be getting involved. Besides, there was already someone here who was more suited to [inciting] the stars than I was.

"Dansu ahjussi."

Dansu ahjussi, who had been sitting beside me with a somewhat pale face, nodded and approached.

I remembered the man named Lee Dansu well. He was an incarnation living in this world to save his daughter. A father who had steadfastly built his true history to be able to face his daughter with dignity.

The constellations must have recognized Dansu ahjussi's character as well. After all, the legend of a good person is bound to show through.

"I need help."

I thought Dansu ahjussi would understand immediately if I said that. However, his reaction was unexpectedly lukewarm.

"What kind of help do you need, my friend?"

"I mean the constellations."

While the Great Sage Equal to Heaven held off the constellations, I briefly whispered the plan to Dansu ahjussi. Fortunately, he seemed to grasp it quickly.

"The stratagem of killing by using a sword… Are you suggesting we rally the constellations to stop the intruders?"

"Yes. I thought they would listen to you better than me. The constellations seem to follow you well."

At this, Dansu ahjussi replied with a bitter smile.

"I was just telling them a story about the past with my friend."

I heard it too. Even after so much time had passed, he still cherished his memories of me. It is rare to find someone who keeps another person's story so preciously and tells it to others like that. Dansu ahjussi was such a rare and good person.

"Then please make use of that story."

And I must make such a good person do something a little bad.

"Please persuade the constellations to help us. You can set a plausible bait. Like, if they help us, we will let them escape this worldline—"

"Are you really going to do that to the constellations, my friend?"

I was speechless for a moment. It was because ahjussi's gaze was serious. But this was not a matter I could compromise on.

"Even if you can't do it, you must say that you can do it now."

I know that ahjussi is a good person. However, those standing there now were the 'constellations'.

"Hyunsung-ssi is in danger. We cannot save him with our own strength alone."

I know that those constellations might not be of much help. Judging by the fact that they were all captured by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, most of them must have had their powers sealed. Still, we were in a desperate situation where every hand counted.

"They cannot fight. To be precise, they are not in a state to fight."

For a moment, I couldn't quite understand. Why is this old man protecting those constellations to this extent?

"That doesn't matter."

Those words slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it. That doesn't matter. Is my feeling right now mine, or is it the Third's—or is it the nameless Kim Dokja's?

Perhaps this is an old, deep-seated emotion of Kim Dokja's.

"You monkey bastard! If you don't let us go right now, I'll—"

I glanced at the constellations once more. From marine Poseidon to the master sculptor Odin, and even the electrician Zeus. That scene, resembling a nursing home filled with retired elders, was somehow delightful and comical.

But that was as far as it went.

I remembered clearly what they had done. In the scenarios, in the Fear Realm. I remembered every single thing they had done to the people I loved.

Nevertheless, Dansu ahjussi shook his head.

"My friend, you still don't know."

Dansu ahjussi gazed at me with strangely sorrowful eyes and said.

"Those stars..."

The moment I heard that voice, I, too, felt a sense of unease.

At first, I simply thought they were stars gathered to claim the 'third Kim Dokja'. Just as they had done before, constellations gathered to obtain the 'Oldest Dream' and control the 41st worldline.

The pinnacle of the <Star Stream>—the stars of the 'Round Table' that rule over everything.

Mitra's voice wavered in my mind.

Did the stars of the Round Table, more cautious and cunning than any other constellation, really risk their lives and jump into this worldline solely because 'the third Kim Dokja' was here?

Thump.

It was then that a deafening roar echoed from the front of the abandoned factory.

The flashing headlights outside the window.

Poseidon muttered.

"They have arrived."

Several constellations pushed aside the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and ran toward the entrance of the abandoned factory.

As expected, the first to run was Zeus.

"My children have come."

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Dansu ahjussi, and Jung Heewon exchanged glances and followed behind the constellations. As I approached the entrance of the abandoned factory, a sense of foreboding grew. An unprecedented energy was gathering in this world where stories could not exert their power.

The constellations, having rushed ahead, combined their strength to forcefully open the factory gates. Soon, amidst the bright beams of car headlights, men in black suits appeared.

"Oh! Come in! Over here! Quickly!"

The men in suits looked surprised as they watched the constellations welcoming them.

"What are these people?"

The men in suits stopped in their tracks, wary of the situation. In particular, the muscular man in sunglasses at the front line restrained his subordinates as if he had sensed something unsettling.

"Wait."

The moment I heard his voice, I, too, instinctively sensed something.

Just like the constellations here, 'something' was possessing the man in the suit who had just appeared.

"Well done, you managed to make it this far."

As if recognizing him, Zeus approached and spread his arms.

As he stepped out of the abandoned factory gate, sparks continuously flew from the leash Zeus had fastened with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, but true to his nature as the God of Thunder, Zeus endured the pain and continued walking.

As Zeus, who had strode forward as if welcoming a welcome family member, stopped right in front of him, the man in the suit also flinched and muttered.

"No way?"

The man, having removed his sunglasses, was widening his eyes.

I had never seen him before, but strangely, I felt as though I knew who he was. The shimmering stories of <Olympus> were telling that record.

Zeus took hold of him by the shoulder, welcoming him.

"My son! Perseus!"

Perseus. The legendary hero who defeated Medusa was standing before my eyes.

Perseus’s expression changed as he finally recognized Zeus.

"Father? You were really here?"

"Yes, my son."

"To think the rumors were true... It is an honor to meet you."

As a smile spread across Perseus’s lips, Zeus’s complexion brightened. He turned toward the constellations and shouted.

"Come out, all constellations. My son has come to take us."

At Zeus’s words, the constellations, who had been hiding in the doorway of the abandoned factory, poked their heads out one by one. As if asking why they were acting so frightened, Zeus shouted.

"The time we have been waiting for has come. It is time for us all to escape this damn worldline together—"

The moment he said that, a stream of blood shot up from the air. The strong smell of blood spread through the drizzling raindrops. As the stars held their breath, Zeus turned around with a foolish look on his face. There stood Perseus, still smiling.

"Father."

Perseus struck Zeus's arm once again with the thick machete in his hand.

"It is truly an honor to be able to kill you."

With a whoosh, one of Zeus's arms shot up into the air.

Zeus, his eyes wide, screamed as he watched the blood gushing from his arm.

"Aaaargh—!"

It was an unbelievably weak scream for a myth-grade constellation.

Perseus, who had been looking at Zeus with curiosity, soon turned toward the constellations with a cold gaze.

"It was true that the myth-grade constellations are all trapped here."

Perseus was not the only one. The men in suits lined up behind him were glaring at us, their eyes gleaming with menacing intensity.

Perseus let out a booming voice.

"The opportunity to achieve the impossible has arrived."

A strange burning desire blazed in his voice.

"If we successfully complete the mission of this worldline, we will leap into the realm of myth that we have so long awaited!"

The men in suits, united in spirit, began to approach us. The myth-grade constellations, trembling helplessly, slumped to the ground one by one. It was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who lifted them up.

"What are you doing, you fools!"

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who swiftly reached out and snatched Zeus by the nape of the neck, retreated into the abandoned factory and joined the constellations.

"Everyone, go inside! Close the front gate first! Do you all want to die?"

The constellations, having come to their senses belatedly, followed the command of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven in panic.

Several men in suits rushed to open the door, but they could not withstand the Great Sage's kicks and were sent flying.

The abandoned factory door closed by a hair's breadth, and the shouts of the men in suits could be heard from outside.

"Hiding is useless! You cowardly constellations!"

"Hahahaha! Serves you right!"

The myth-grade constellations trembled as they heard that mocking laughter.

It was a very strange sight to me.

I, too, knew that the aspiration of many constellations was to reach the status of 'myth'. But to kill the 'myth-grade constellations' belonging to their own nebula like this?

It was impossible. No matter how blinded a star was by the desire to elevate its status, it could not so easily turn its back on a star old enough to be its father.

It was because the history they had lived through had imposed a taboo upon them.

If they annihilated Zeus and the other myth-grade constellations now, while their individual statuses might rise immediately, the power of the nebula would weaken.

This meant that they had a justification for going beyond even the restraining force of that 'Giant Story'.

"I told you, friend."

Dansu ahjussi, who had approached me before I knew it as if he knew my curiosity, spoke. ahjussi's calm eyes were gazing at the constellations.

"Now, my friend will be able to see them too."

I, too, gazed at the constellations. Stars abandoned by the nebulae. The constellations, clutching narrow shoulders, were trembling in the bodies of old men.

"…Yes."

Grains of stories drifting unsteadily over Zeus's injured arm. Only then did I feel a sense of understanding in my mind.

The reason those 'myth-grade constellations' were so helpless. The reason they had to become old men. The reason they were easily subdued by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and imprisoned in this prison without being able to exert any significant power.

I spoke, gazing at the shadowless old men.

"So, all the 'myth-grade constellations' here were their 'fragments'."

Perhaps it was only natural. After all, the 'myth-grade constellations' ruling the Great Round Table would never risk their own lives to directly enter this worldline.

"Ahhhh! Have you finally betrayed us!"

"I will not forgive you! Damn it, you children!"

Therefore, these old men were the very 'fragments' chosen by the myth-grade constellations themselves. Clone-like figures deployed on the most dangerous missions. Beings who could be sacrificed without consequence in this world where a single wrong move could cost one's life. In other words, they were—

The abandoned fragments of the stars were howling in a bright light right before my eyes.