994 Episode 60 Star Fragments (2)

"We're going to die. We're all going to die!"

The terrified constellations were flopping about like fish. Star fragments from which it was impossible to tell just how damaged the original form of the story was, or whose fragments they were.

"You bastard! This is all your fault!"

"You damned Zeus!"

"I shouldn't have listened to him!"

The constellations, who had been excited by Zeus's instigation, were now busy cursing him.

Zeus, slumped over, remained silent, appearing to have suffered a great shock.

Blood was still dripping from his right arm, which the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had hastily bound. It was a wound where an average old man would have already died from excessive bleeding. Yet, the fact that he was still alive—was it because he was, after all, a fragment of Zeus?

"This way! Let's bolt this side!"

Dansu ahjussi and the constellations dragged in the broken machinery and firmly sealed off the entrance to the abandoned factory. The constellations gasped for breath and wiped their sweat.

"They won't be able to get in with this, right?"

Of course, such measures were unlikely to ensure safety. However, the myth-grade constellations, having been imprisoned for so long, seemed to have lost some of their basic judgment.

Whoosh.

A pungent smell wafted from somewhere, and soon smoke began to roll in from the front of the abandoned factory. The surrounding temperature was rising.

"No, they set it on fire!"

The terrified constellations cried out.

Looking hurriedly beyond the bars, the front of the factory grounds was already engulfed in flames.

"Burn it harder! Burn them all to death!"

At this rate, they were doomed to burn to death along with the abandoned factory. Flames were already spreading inside the factory, and loud explosions, both large and small, could be heard from all directions.

"Come this way!"

Dansu ahjussi and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven hurriedly evacuated the constellations to the back. Just as I, too, was about to pull away with Jung Heewon, the figures of Poseidon and Zeus appeared through the flames.

"Get up quickly, Zeus."

Poseidon reached out his hand toward Zeus, who was still slumped in his seat.

"It's not over yet. Have you forgotten who you are? The Great Throne of Lightning, the strongest god of <Olympus>—"

"You're wrong!"

But Zeus's eyes already showed a loss of will.

"This is the end for us all. We're going to die here."

With a crashing sound from somewhere, the ceiling began to collapse. The steel structure slammed onto the floor, trapping Zeus's leg under part of it.

Zeus looked up at Poseidon without a hint of pain, then closed his eyes in resignation.

"You fool."

In the end, even Poseidon gave up on Zeus. Immediately, shouts from the constellations echoed from all directions.

"The smart farm is on fire!"

"Recover the crops!"

"No, there are still guys who haven't managed to escape!"

A terrified Poseidon ran toward the smart farm, shouting.

"Demeter! Demeter! Where are you!"

Demeter, the guardian of agriculture and the seasons and the caretaker of the smart farm, was the wife of Poseidon.

I glanced at Jung Heewon.

"Heewon-ssi."

Jung Heewon hesitated for a moment, then nodded in response.

"Understood."

Jung Heewon ran straight toward the smart farm.

"Everyone, take cover this way!"

The stinging smoke was growing thicker and thicker. There were hardly any constellations left in the vicinity. If the flames grew just a little larger here, I, too, would be in danger. I had to make a choice.

I stared at the steel structure on the collapsed floor for a moment, then grabbed a cutting stick from nearby and inserted it between the structures like a lever. With a click, I applied force, and the structure began to move slightly.

The scorching heat scratched my cheeks, and the pain was excruciating as if my soles had been burned, but I did not give up.

How long had I been applying that force? With the sound of metal sliding, the structure twisted. Following that, the half-baked face of Zeus was revealed amidst the debris.

Zeus, spotting me, opened his mouth in surprise.

"What... are you doing?"

"Stay still."

I dug through the wreckage and dragged Zeus's body out. Zeus, now an old electrician, was light enough for me—with my terrible strength—to support him.

Carried on my back, Zeus struggled slightly and said,

"I don't need any help..."

"Shut up."

I started running, carrying Zeus, who was left with only one arm.

I couldn't understand myself either. Why had I saved Zeus?

<Kim Dokja Company> and my comrades were struck by his fleet. The incarnations of the Fear Realm lost their lives. In this iteration, and in other iterations, he was always my greatest nemesis.

I saw the doors of the restaurant district closing in the distance.

"Don't close them yet! Open the restaurant! Hurry!"

Fortunately, a constellation spotted us. It was Odin.

Odin, who was still carving sculptures, looked at me and Zeus with a blank expression; then, as if having made a decision, he put down his carving knife and grabbed the dining room door.

I entered the dining room with Zeus by a hair's breadth. With a thud, the door slammed shut, and I dropped Zeus onto the floor as if tossing him down.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven looked at me with wide eyes.

"What? When did you rescue this guy?"

Zeus glared at me, panting heavily. Dansu ahjussi, who had rushed over, briefly checked on Zeus's condition before approaching me and asking.

"Friend, are you alright?"

I looked up for a moment at Dansu ahjussi as he extended his hand, then took it and stood up. As if turning a blind eye to the subtle emotion in his eyes, I opened my mouth.

"I do not agree with your method, ahjussi."

I know why Dansu ahjussi sympathizes with the stars. We, fragments of Kim Dokja, are like the stars. I understand the feelings one cannot help but have toward these fragments of the constellations.

"It is simply to use these guys."

Dansu ahjussi is certainly right. The tragedy of this world originates from scenarios and is dominated by stories.

One cannot hate every star, nor can one love every star. In the end, even Kim Dokja could not do so. Nevertheless, we might be able to embrace all this tragedy. And thus, we might be able to contemplate the act of forgiving someone.

Of course, doing so would not make this world run its course properly, but at least through that, I would be able to understand why Dansu ahjussi is making that expression.

So, Dansu ahjussi is just—

"That is why I like my friend."

He must be trying to speak of a possible ending.

We looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Even though we had been apart for eight years, he and I were still each other's friends.

"When did I ever ask you to save me?"

Zeus, who had been glaring at us with piercing eyes, screamed in a fit of rage.

"Your help is of the essence—"

"You're really going to end it here... Is that it?"

"What?"

"You wouldn't give up over something as trivial as this."

Watching Zeus get agitated, I actually became calmer.

I imagined the 'constellation of Lightning' I knew.

"I remember clearly just how terrifying an enemy Zeus was. The constellation of Lightning in <Olympus> that I know isn't this quick to give up. It is a constellation that is endlessly persistent and cunning."

"What do you know about me—"

"You are a truly vicious and terrible star."

The constellation of Lightning, 'Zeus,' survived until the very end of the scenario in every worldline. He held Yoo Joonghyuk back time and time again and tormented <Kim Dokja Company>. I, too, nearly died at his hands several times.

"Are you going to die here at the hands of a mere guy like Perseus? Are you going to end your life with such a conclusion?"

I don't know how to persuade the stars. I didn't want to persuade them in the first place. I simply need their strength, so I just offer words to lift them up.

I turned to look at the constellations staring at me with agitated faces.

"You are the same. Do you really want to give up on ■■ right here?"

■■. The end of all stories.

I could feel a faint flame flickering in the eyes of the myth-grade constellations.

"But what can we do right now?"

It was Poseidon who spoke those words. Poseidon, his face smeared with soot from supporting Demeter, added in a dark voice.

"You should know, seeing this state."

Even while being humiliated by a mere Perseus, the eyes of the myth-grade constellations remained nothing but resentful.

"We haven't even fought properly yet."

At that, Zeus interrupted once again.

"There are things you can know without fighting."

"You managed to rise to myth-grade with that kind of will."

"You managed to reach myth-grade? You, who haven't even set foot on a shadow of a mythical being, dare to mention 'myth'?"

I pouted and retorted.

"I am myth-grade, too."

"You? Don't lie!"

Just then, Odin, who had been silently sculpting something in the corner, suddenly lifted his head and spoke.

"What he said is true!"

"What?"

"I know."

Odin bowed his head low again and began sculpting. What on earth is he sculpting so diligently in a situation like this? Is he trying to create the final masterpiece of his life?

In any case, at Odin's remark, Zeus glared at me once more and scrutinized me from head to toe.

"So what? Even if you are myth-grade like us, aren't you just as trapped in that body as we are? Being trapped in a small prison and unable to do anything—"

"Is there nothing you can do when you're locked up?"

"What?"

"To 'Zeus' outside who threw you into a place like this—"

I looked at the thumping dining room door.

"Don't you want to show who the 'real one' is?"

With a crunching sound, the door began to crumble little by little. The enemies had already started pushing their way inside.

"I'm abandoning this place and escaping."

Making a quick decision, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven tore off the iron bars near the dining room ceiling, threw himself out, and spoke.

"Hold on just a little longer. I'll be back soon."

The constellations swarmed through the bars from which the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had escaped, screaming to somehow pull themselves out.

"D-Don't push!"

"Aaaargh! I can't get out! I said I can't get out!"

However, for their aging bodies, even grabbing onto the broken bars and climbing up was a struggle.

"Everyone, stay calm! The Great Sage Equal to Heaven will be back to rescue you soon! We can all escape together!"

Despite Dansu ahjussi's encouragement, the constellations were not easily calmed.

"Don't make me laugh! That guy ran away alone!"

"We're all going to die! We're all going to die right here!"

This was their true nature. They had entered this place as myth-grade constellations, but all they possessed were trash stories thrown away by their true forms.

Unnecessary greed and arrogance, wariness, weakness and fear…

All kinds of stories of defeat, which myth-grade constellations regard as a disgrace, were seething together like a blazing inferno.

I thought and thought about the constellations of the Round Table who would have cast those stories aside without hesitation.

Crunch!

Finally, the door broke down, and men in black suits appeared. As the men boldly entered the dining area, swinging their batons and machetes, Jung Heewon stepped forward as if she had been waiting.

"I'll stop them."

Displaying unbelievable superhuman strength, Jung Heewon began to take on the men in suits at the entrance all by herself.

"Argh!"

"What is this woman—"

The men screamed and collapsed at the dazzling trajectory of her wooden sword.

Astonished by Jung Heewon's fierce performance, the constellations widened their eyes.

"How—"

I was just as surprised. Even if we excused it since the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was a monster to begin with, Jung Heewon's performance right now was truly on a level comparable to that of the Great Sage.

"Break through! Quick!"

"There's a gap!"

However, even Jung Heewon began to miss her enemies one by one. The men in suits, having finally entered the restaurant, rushed toward the constellations.

Unluckily, the first to be targeted was me, who had been loitering near the entrance. A man in a suit swung a machete menacingly, and as I stepped back, I ended up landing on my butt. The blade of the machete fell on my head.

"Friend!"

Dansu ahjussi rushed over in an instant, pushed me aside, and took the machete blade instead. Watching the blood splatter unrealistically into the air, I reflexively threw myself forward and pushed the man with the machete with all my might. The man tumbled to the ground with a scream. I plunged the fallen machete into his chest with both hands. Vivid blood gushed out, and soon the man breathed his last. Gasping for breath, I turned around. Dansu ahjussi lay there, his chest slashed.

I hurriedly lifted the bleeding Dansu ahjussi to his feet.

Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep. However, it was a dangerous injury that needed immediate treatment.

Now, it was truly no longer a situation where I could worry about the constellations.

I supported Dansu ahjussi and looked around. I had to find a place to hide. Anywhere—

"Kill them!"

But the number of men in suits surging in was too great. A telescopic baton flew from somewhere and struck my thigh. As my knee buckled from the impact, the baton flew straight toward my head. An unavoidable blow. Biting my lip tightly, I raised my arm to protect my head. Sparks flew right before my eyes. Shards of plastic shattered. A broken recorder spout rolled across the floor.

With a dazed expression, I stared at the back of the head of the old man who had saved me. Clutching the broken recorder tightly, Poseidon was blocking the way.

"This is your reward for saving my brother."

An arrogant, intimidating, and merciless constellation toward the incarnations who worshipped him. Of all the Poseidons I knew, none had a back view like this.

"Take that guy and escape quickly."

For a moment, I wanted to ask. What on earth was he thinking?

"I just thought you were right. I can't die in a place like this."

As if answering my question, Poseidon shouted.

"I am Poseidon of <Olympus>. The spear that marks the boundaries of the seas, and one of the three great main gods!"

Poseidon let out a lion's roar and charged at the men. However, it was a fight no match for an old man. Being unilaterally beaten all over his body, Poseidon quickly lost his strength and slumped down.

Along with the sensation that the flow of space-time was slowing down little by little, I felt as if my surroundings were turning colorless.

A sentence describing a predetermined ending.

I glared at that sentence. I hate Poseidon. I hate the constellations of <Olympus>. But they, too, were characters in this story. At least—

A dazzling beam of light settled in my hand. I reached out my hand toward the sentence before me.

I gripped the end of the sentence and applied force as if inserting a lever.

A fierce spark shot up right before my eyes. The sound of a predetermined ending twisting. The sound of a completed destiny shattering. And then,

The machete blade missed Poseidon and struck the floor. The panicked man in the suit struggled with all his might to pull the machete out of the ground. And Poseidon, having witnessed all of this right before his eyes, turned to look at me. He must have seen it. The very moment his destiny was changing.

"How—"

It works. Although it consumes mental energy, my 'Revision' ability works here.

"How can you wield such power here—"

Poseidon muttered, looking at me with trembling eyes.

"To handle such probability… Surely not—"

Looking at Poseidon, I was reminded of Mithra. Mithra, who could not bring himself to jump into the 'Bush of Missing People'. Like him, the other myth-grade constellations likely felt the same way. That is why they were able to send only fragments of themselves into this world.

"That is right."

But I was different.

The story residing within me was speaking. I have a duty to perform here.

"I have staked my entire being here."

I slowly rose from my seat, gazing at Poseidon and the constellations. Then, the abandoned star fragments looked up at me as well.

Story fragments that could have become stories, but were cast aside by the Main Body.

I do not particularly pity them. I simply felt it was a waste for a story to end in such a predictable way.

And so, I imagine. A dream in which these fragments somehow survive. Those cast aside by the Main Body in this prison. A story of venturing into the outside world.

The world I slowly opened was filled with sentences.

"I."

Reaching out my hand toward one of those sentences, I said.

"Will rewrite your myths."