Ch 386: Ep. 74 - Great War of Saints and Demons, I

Bluish arcs of electricity danced in the air and the last android rushing towards them collapsed on the ground.

Pu-shu-shuk.

Lee Jihye yanked her sword out from the bisected cables and wiped her forehead.

Gilyoung, watching her from the sidelines, picked his nose and spoke to her. "Noona, you've gotten really good at this, haven't you?"

She oh-so-badly wanted to smack the boy in the head after listening to his sky-high ego-filled words, but had to stop.

Regardless of what else, these two kids were invincible in this worldview. Nothing good would come from rubbing them the wrong way.

She alternated her gaze between Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung before throwing them a question. "What are your levels now?"

"84."

"I'm 87, unni."

"What?! But, you were 83 a few days ago!!"

"I lied, you dummy."

Lee Jihye watched the two kids bicker and replied with a lengthy sigh. "I'm still 79, though…"

Still, she was able to level up quickly thanks to these two kids. Just as the slang implied, her levelling-up was lightning fast, as if she was riding on a bus, and that placed them on the list of the most wanted individuals of Next City.

More correctly, it was her alone. From the get-go, the kids couldn't be attacked anyway, so they didn't even show up on the wanted list.

"I guess it's about time we escape from this worldview."

"I think it'll be over if we bring that down, unni."

There was a huge tower occupying the centre of Next City where Shin Yoosung was pointing at. There was a battleship parked on top of that tower, and every time she looked at it, Lee Jihye would receive a message from her sponsor.

"…Now that is surprising. Especially from our miserly general, no less."

It wasn't as if she couldn't understand her sponsor's heart, though. Anyone who clapped their eyes on that battleship's appearance would indeed understand where he was coming from.

"I just can't figure out why that thing's parked over there…"

If they manage to commandeer that ship, then the skies of all the worlds would become the 'Maritime War God's' ocean.

Lee Jihye tightly grasped the hilt of her sword and spoke. "Yeah, it might be fun to shock the socks off ahjussi and my master. Hey, guys? Why don't we clear this place now?"

"Sure! It was getting boring using the bug all the time, too!"

"Yes, let's."

The three arrived at a mutual agreement and began walking towards the tower, only for a completely unexpected message to enter their ears.

Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung merrily running forward side by side suddenly began faltering precariously.

The boy muttered in a flustered vice. "N-noona, I'm sleepy…"

"Unni, run…!"

The two kids plopped down after saying that and fell into slumber. Lee Jihye placed her hand near their noses and confirmed that they weren't dead.

For Lee Jihye, this was one flabbergasting situation.

"What the hell? I thought this worldview was 18+ from the get-go? Why is this shutdown thing even introduced??"

Too bad, there was no time to relaxedly stand around and complain; the tower's gates opened up wide and hundreds of drones began sortieing simultaneously in order to kill her, that was why.

"…Oh, shit."

It seemed that this night was going to be a very long one for her.

This particular skirmish had no victors or losers. Heavily-wounded Demon Kings supported each other and retreated, while panic-stricken Uriel vanished from here along with the lower-ranked Angels. The only people remaining in the empty battlefield were Reincarnators strewn about like the remnants of a defeated army, plus five men and women among them collapsed on the ground.

"…I had no idea this would happen," muttered Han Sooyoung in a dumbfounded voice.

What <Kim Dokja's Company> did after entering the regional conflict was pretty simple – participate in the war between 'Good' and 'Evil', and suppress every other participant beside themselves. And then, the remaining folks would go for it and slug it out for the war with no winners.

The battle of <Kim Dokja's Company> was not a life-or-death fight but a game, a sparring session, something with no determined winners or losers. And that was why it was not a war between 'Good' and 'Evil', and naturally, was not the 'Great War of Saints and Demons', either.

The strength to forcibly break up a battlefield – that was the power <Kim Dokja's Company> possessed right now.

"…My sponsor should be really sad and disappointed by now."

"It couldn't be helped this time, Heewon-ssi."

"If it's at all possible, I don't want to fight against Uriel."

"It's the same story for me."

With a slightly regretful face, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung looked at the Reincarnators of the battlefield. Although many had died and returned to the cycle of rebirth, there were a few who still managed to survive.

They split the [Ellaine Forest Essence] in their possession and distributed it to the survivors. Kim Dokja too, supported the surrounding Reincarnators one by one and stemmed their bleeding by pressing their pressure points.

Han Sooyoung spoke while looking at him. "You started this whole thing with a definite plan, right?"

"I always have a plan before starting anything."

"Then you should know that we can't keep this up forever."

The timing for this particular conflict proved to be fortunate for them, but there was no guarantee that their luck would be as good the next time.

Besides, there were definitely beings among the Constellations on the side of 'Good' or Demon Kings that the strength of <Kim Dokja's Company> couldn't handle, and if they rushed into a battle with a too-great disparity in combat strength, they might find themselves in mortal danger, as well.

However, Kim Dokja maintained a composed expression.

– We don't need to hold out for long, so it'll be fine.

Han Sooyoung heard his relaxed Midday Tryst voice and hushed her own in reply.

– Okay, what then?

– We just have to hold on until the Chaos Points go past 90.

As if it was waiting for this moment, the message floated up in the air and Han Sooyoung shot a glare at it.

– What's this point thing about? It sounds different from the 'Good/Evil' Points, though?

– You're right.

Kim Dokja briefly explained what this 'Chaos Points' thing was – that it would rise up when neither the 'Good' nor 'Evil' claimed victory and the world's order collapsed as a result.

– What happens if that gets to full?

– The Calamity of Revelation will start.

– The Calamity of Revelation? …Hold up, are you talking about the 'Apocalypse Dragon'?

The Dragon of Destruction from the Book of Revelation, also known as the Final Dragon of the Revelation – a being referred to as the so-called 'Apocalypse Dragon'.

A humongous calamity that descended on the 95th scenario during the 1863rd turn, it was capable of sweeping away the Constellations of the <Star Stream> with just a single flick of its tail.

Kim Dokja grinned and nodded his head.

– Right. You knew about it?

– …You want to increase these Chaos Points even after knowing that? Are you insane?! What will you do if the Apocalypse Dragon is revived?? Have you forgotten what happened during the 1863rd turn?

If the Apocalypse Dragon did wake up during this scenario, then it'd bring forth a scale of destruction incomparable to that of the 'Great War of Saints and Demons'.

However, Kim Dokja carried a determined expression.

– It won't revive.

– And how do you know that??

Kim Dokja shrugged his shoulders and turned around as his reply to her question. She was about to fly off her handle and yell out at him, but someone suddenly butted in.

"You're supposed to be a writer, yet you lack imagination."

"What was that, you bastard?"

Yoo Joonghyuk easily caught Han Sooyoung's small fist flying in.

She growled menacingly. "Why are you butting in on someone else's conversation?"

"I couldn't endure any more of your pathetic mutterings, that's why."

"What bullshit are you talking about now?"

"He's not the only one who knows about what happened in the 1863rd turn regression."

Han Sooyoung immediately understood what he was saying.

Indeed, Kim Dokja didn't hop over to the 1863rd turn alone; he departed along with two Archangels in tow, and came back with one of them.

And what that implied was…

"…<Eden> also knows about the stuff in that place, then. And he's using that fact to his advantage."

Kim Dokja's plan was pretty clear-cut.

Once the Chaos gauge reaches 100, the Apocalypse Dragon would be unleashed. And <Eden> was well aware of what would happen if that creature is released, since it had the information from the 1863rd turn.

If they wished to avoid the fate of being destroyed, then they should immediately stop the 'Great War of Saints and Demons'.

That was the crux of the message Kim Dokja wished to convey.

Han Sooyoung felt ever so slightly flabbergasted while looking at him consoling the Reincarnators with an utterly calm expression on his face.

Just who in this world was capable of threatening a large Nebula?

"That evil dude, he… He's basically telling them to choose between surviving together, or perishing together!"

"If things work out well, that's what should happen. However, a future where only we are killed could happen, instead."

Yoo Joonghyuk's expression was hard as he polished the 'Black Heavenly Demon Sword'. It was the most dignified, serious expression he had in a while.

She could see his resolution from that expression. Most likely, his head was filled with thoughts of the worst potential situations – Kim Dokja's plan ends up as a failure, then the members of <Kim Dokja's Company> are annihilated in this place, and finally, he'd have no choice but to regress once more.

Han Sooyoung complained loudly. "Is imagining horrible futures a unique habit of regressors?"

"Only by thinking of the worst will you be able to prepare for the aftermath."

"Someone might think you've regressed ten thousand times if they hear you."

"In some other universe, that might have happened already."

"…Didn't know you could say stuff like that," smirked Han Sooyoung, and she shifted her eyes back to Kim Dokja in the distance.

Him still wobbling about like that reminded her of looking at an inflatable tube sky puppet shaking around against the wind.

Just as she couldn't read the inner workings of an empty sky puppet, she also couldn't read Kim Dokja's inner thoughts. She sometimes felt as if she could, but that was nothing more than some air leaking out from the puppet, instead.

Why was she even trusting that guy, anyway?

Maybe, the one she couldn't really understand was herself. Why was she fighting together with Kim Dokja?

She might find an answer if she used [Predictive Plagiarism], but Han Sooyoung purposely didn't. She thought that she should not do that.

She looked to her side to discover Yoo Joonghyuk staring at the same spectacle as her.

"Hey, I wanna ask you something."

"It's mystifying that you still mistakenly believe I'll answer you earnestly."

"Right, you were one hell of a stubborn dude. I mean, you didn't even moan in pain once after you got tortured that badly during 'Kaizenix Archipelago'."

His expression stiffened. "I thought as much. You were behind that, weren't you?"

"I didn't order it, but my kind Yuri understood my heart, that was all."

Yoo Joonghyuk never once revealed his identity or information related to him even when subjected to Yuri's horrifying torture.

Han Sooyoung dusted her butt off and stood up. "In any case, you really okay with this? You were trying to kill Kim Dokja earlier, right?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"A guy like you doesn't easily change his mind, so. That means you didn't have a change of heart, but never planned to kill him in the first place…"

"…"

"Well, then. Who was egging you on? Metatron?"

Yoo Joonghyuk's thick eyebrow twitched slightly when Metatron's name was brought up.

"H-mm, so, it was related."

"…It seems that you've done your homework."

"I don't have spare time to do crap like that. Nah, I just brought it up because you suddenly mentioned <Eden>, you know… But, after seeing your reaction, I guess 'Metatron' wasn't the main instigator, then."

Han Sooyoung's power of deduction caused both of his brows to quiver this time.

"H-mm, who could it be… Who could have upset our precious Regressor like this…?"

"He's not a being that someone like you would know."

"Yup, I knew it. It's the 'Secretive Plotter', right?"

Yoo Joonghyuk looked up at the standing Han Sooyoung.

Her lips twitched a little as if to say, why are you so surprised like that. "Hey, I'm not a moron, I'll have you know! I can easily guess the stuff your head manages to come up with."

"More correctly, it's the multiple 'mes', though."

A Story where hundreds, thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of Han Sooyoungs gathered together to predict the upcoming events.

It was Yoo Joonghyuk's turn to ask this time. "Do you know something about the 'Secretive Plotter'?"

"A really powerful Outer God, right?"

He formed a disappointed face for a bit before speaking in a convinced tone of voice. "…I see that even if thousands of morons gather, they can't become a single genius."

"Wanna die?? Fine, you know who that is, then?"

"There is one being that I can think of."

"Ho-oh? Who is it?"

Rather than answering her right away, Yoo Joonghyuk recalled his memories, instead. "…That bastard knew all of my histories. From the 0th regression to the far-flung futures, the ones I haven't even experienced yet."

"H-mm…"

"If my guess is correct, then there can only be one such existence in this entire world-line."

Han Sooyoung nodded her head in agreement. "That sounds about right. There's only one with high enough probability."

The two of them stared at each other for a little while, before muttering out the answers they thought of.

However…

"…Who did you say it was?"

"What kind of bullshit was that?"

Their answers were different from each other's.