Ch 370: Ep. 70 - A Story that Can't Be Shared, II

⸢"I shall kill you, Yoo Joonghyuk."⸥

Everyone within the Library was looking at that text.

⸢(…Looks like all of us might end up perishing at this rate.)⸥

The entirety of the Library was shaking around. The books that had been neatly arranged tumbled down and created a mess. However, no Librarian tried to clean it up.

⸢(How frustrating. Why aren't they communicating with each other? As I thought, these two lack enough desire to become one being.)⸥

⸢(Our Sooyoung didn't do anything wrong, yet…)⸥

The 'Squid' used one of its tentacles to lightly poke the round eye.

Meanwhile, the text continued on; every time Yoo Joonghyuk's and Kim Dokja's blades clashed against each other, Nirvana's teeth issued clattering noises.

⸢(Oii, newbie. What do you think?)⸥

When Yoo Sangah heard that, she stopped catching the books flying over her head and looked back at the Librarians. Her hand was full of Kim Dokja's memories – the book she'd been reading up until just now.

⸢(Mm. I have two opinions about it.)⸥

⸢(You have two of them??)⸥

⸢(One. Sooyoung-ssi isn't dead. I know her very well and she's not someone to risk her life for a problem like this one.)⸥

The Squid's tearful eyes opened much wider from her reply.

⸢(What? But, you also read it, didn't you?)⸥

⸢(Looks like you still don't know how it works. The heroine loses her consciousness, her hand falling away. And the male hero awakens! You see, in all the movies I've seen so far…)⸥

Not minding what the Squid or the Simulation were saying, Yoo Sangah composedly carried on.

⸢(Two. They are currently talking to each other.)⸥

Yoo Sangah spoke as she stared at the texts that continued to pile up.

⸢(Even though no one in this world would call that a 'conversation', but still.)⸥

Fragments of Stories poured out from the cracked arm. They were stories that we had created together.

Like a dragon and tiger getting into a tussle, Stories collided with other Stories. Yoo Joonghyuk, possessing the exact same 'Giant Stories' as I, used the exact same power to fight me.

Even though my share on the Stories was supposedly higher, the shares held by Yoo Joonghyuk didn't listen to my commands. Maybe that was due to all those years Yoo Joonghyuk had gone through already. He had been telling his story far more fiercely than anyone else in <Star Stream>, after all.

Ch-chuchuchuchut!!

The Probability of the 2nd generation was suppressing us. However, some things still managed to escape its suppression.

The exact same Stories created by experiencing the same history collided against each other.

The voices of the Constellations were getting fainter and fainter now.

We both swung our swords, fully prepared to kill each other in the process. The blade that I desperately swung brushed past Yoo Joonghyuk's waist, and his own blade attacking right back, stabbed into my shoulder.

His combat intuition was higher, but my 'Status' was much higher than his.

The Transcendent's sharp aura pierced past the thick layer of 'Status' and flew straight in. From that sword energy, I was able to read his true intention. I saw how desperately he was standing his ground right now.

He didn't bother to ask, and I didn't bother to reply. No, we just swung our swords again and again. And instead of our mouths, our Stories told the tales for us.

The memories from the 'Paradise'…

Traces from the [Peace Land]…

The moments from the revolution…

⸢None of those existed within the pages of the 'Ways of Survival'.⸥

The times we've lived through didn't match up with any of the pages I read in the past.

Wings broke past my shoulder blades. My Status instantly increased and permeated into Unbroken Faith.

Issuing a loud, explosive noise, Yoo Joonghyuk's body flew up in the air after being unable to withstand the impact force.

"Come at me with everything you've got, Yoo Joonghyuk. Because I'll do the same, too."

The light in his eyes changed. The outline of his Status rising up around him began distorting visibly. It was powerful enough to twist the space itself. The true power of the high-level Transcendent was being unleashed for real now.

Yoo Joonghyuk's figure, wrapped in the brilliant golden light, disappeared from my view.

His blade moved so fast that my eyes couldn't even follow it.

Claaaang!!

One sword, against another. The louder the grinding metallic noises became, the heavier my wrist got. Stories poured out from my thigh, and Stories flowed out from Yoo Joonghyuk's shoulders.

And naturally, his voice could also be heard.

Yoo Joonghyuk had begun telling his story now.

⸢You…⸥

I tried to guess which words would follow that. Without a doubt, he'd blame me. Just as Han Sooyoung had said, you were that kind of a person, after all.

⸢Why did you choose to remain in that particular turn?⸥

Memories of the 1863rd regression brushed past my head.

⸢"I won't return to the 3rd turn. I'll remain here and see this thing to its end with the people of this place."⸥

The decision I made was coming back to me in full. The Unbroken Faith was now issuing cracking, breaking noises.

Back then, that was the best choice available. I thought that, after witnessing the end of the 1863rd turn, I would be able to return to the 3rd turn safely. That was why I tried to find the story where everyone could be happy.

However, what if Yoo Joonghyuk of the 1863rd turn didn't help me out back then?

What if Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd turn carried murderous intentions towards me?

Would I have been able to return to this world unscathed?

Even though I thought that I knew the scenarios better than anyone, could it be that I just got lucky and managed to survive until now?

⸢Your companions are here.⸥

Yoo Joonghyuk's first sword slash sliced apart my shoulder. And…

⸢Your own world-line was here.⸥

His second strike split open my elbow.

⸢You told people to live their lives in this world.⸥

The third strike punctured a hole in my wing. It hurt like hell. But what hurt even more than that, though, was the rage and disappointment contained within Yoo Joonghyuk's voice.

⸢Incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk' is refusing to regress.⸥

Yoo Joonghyuk who gave up on the path of regression and decided to live out his 3rd turn because of me was now looking back. The being who loved this world more than anyone, and wanted to protect it because of that, was staring straight back at me.

⸢But then, you…⸥

Certain types of rage and some types of betrayal couldn't be described in mere words. No matter how omniscient one was as a reader, one would never be able to read them.

Yoo Hoseong said as thus:

– A Story may not look all that amazing at first glance, but it'll present a maze-like abyss to all those who dare to peek deeper into their inner core. It's the same story, regardless of how small a Story is.

What I was seeing shouldn't be Yoo Joonghyuk's everything. I'd never get to fully understand the reason why he was so furious like this. Because everything could be his reason, or conversely, nothing could be his reason, too.

But, one thing was for certain, and that would be Yoo Joonghyuk had decided not to be under the thumb of anyone anymore.

Not controlled by me, and not controlled by himself. And, maybe not even by those damn Constellations who should be watching right us now.

⸢Answer me, Kim Dokja.⸥

While receiving the outpouring of the sword strikes, I began faltering. Most likely, Yoo Joonghyuk was aware of the truth – that I was still reading him even right now.

But, even though he knew that I was reading him, he continued to think non-stop.

⸢Answer me.⸥

Just like how I observed him past this 'wall', he too was ceaselessly writing something just beyond it, hoping that someone would get to read it sooner or later.

Unfortunately, I couldn't reply. Because if I do, then…

…Then, you'd end up becoming a mere character of the story.

Because… you definitely couldn't become a mere character.

Ku-gugugugu!!

Yoo Joonghyuk glared at me with his trademark blazing eyes. Here he was, existing in this place and time, destroying me in order to prove that he wasn't just a mere character of a story.

⸢Is that so.⸥

His words floated up above the 'wall'.

⸢So, that is your choice.⸥

⸢Even during this regression, I didn't have any companions, then.⸥

If I were to say something, anything, as a reply, it was possible that he'd have forgiven me. Maybe, a miracle might happen and he'd accept me, even.

However, even if that happened, Han Sooyoung wouldn't return, and the hurt we inflicted on each other would not be erased, either. We would never become companions ever again.

Whether it was Yoo Joonghyuk or me, we both knew that truth all too painfully well.

And that was why we held our swords as we dashed towards each other.

The full-on attack collided with another full-on attack and issued a loud explosive noise. Thick, choking dust was kicked up in the air; neither of us could withstand the impact force and crumbled to the ground.

The first one to stand back up was me.

I staggered towards Yoo Joonghyuk lying on his back, his entire body now looking like a torn rag, and pointed my blade at him. He didn't offer any resistance, but instead, looked up at me to speak.

"…I've persisted with this regression for far too long. So, end this."

Yoo Joonghyuk murdered Han Sooyoung. He had already crossed the line that shouldn't have been crossed.

The sword aura of the Unbroken Faith trembled noticeably. And the moment I raised my sword up high, I recalled what Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd turn told me.

– If my novel was a rip-off of 'Ways of Survival', then whose rip-off are you?

The answer to that question was right in front of my eyes now.

⸢Kim Dokja had learned how to live from this man.⸥

This man was my father; my brother; and my oldest friend.

For a long time, I had been looking at him through this thick, thick wall. I was saved by him many times, and while looking at his story, I managed to survive.

The Unbroken Faith slowly clattered back on the ground. I couldn't kill this guy. Nor could I beg for his forgiveness, either.

I had never learned to be that cowardly. No, I was taught to pay the price for the things I've done.

Yoo Joonghyuk was still looking up at me. And I too, stared back at him.

⸢I'm right here, in this place.⸥

I know.

⸢Even then, you only chose to read and nothing else.⸥

…Because that is our way of living. You acted, and I read you doing it.

⸢If you're unwilling, then I shall do it myself.⸥

Yoo Joonghyuk slowly got back up and grasped his blade tightly.

I thought I could hear the sound of a story coming to an end. The 'Mass Production Maker' once told me this – that a certain Story would end without ever getting closer to the ■■. However, if this place was the endpoint for all the stories, and if I was destined to die right here, then wouldn't it be fine to at least say one thing?

"…Hey, Yoo Joonghyuk."

He stopped his actions when I spoke up.

"You probably know this already, but I'm not a prophet. No, I am as far removed from such a being as you can get."

Ever since we got into a tussle back on the Dongho Bridge, I had never introduced myself properly once. To Yoo Joonghyuk, I was the prophet, a man with a mysterious background.

"I'm not the 'Demon King of Salvation'."

"I'm also not the 'King of a Kingless World'."

One by one, my Stories stopped their stories. Excluding my own, everything else became dead still.

"My name is Kim Dokja."

The wings on my back disappeared, and the ballooned-up muscles shrunk back, too.

"Twenty-eight… No, wait. I was twenty-eight, and I was an employee of a game company. My hobby was reading web novels…"

As if I was talking to someone I met for the first time, I continued to tell my own story.

"It's pathetic, right? Well, this is who I am… Yoo Joonghyuk, who are you?"

To me, Yoo Joonghyuk was someone I 'knew' since from a long time ago. To be more specific, he was someone I read about all by myself.

That was why I had never heard about his story in his own words.

He finally opened his mouth.

"I am Yoo Joonghyuk."

His blade slowly moved and cut me down.

"Yoo Joonghyuk, a former Regressor."