Omniscient Reader

- Scribe, for how long am I supposed to repeat this war? A war that doesn"t have any victors… .
The times when he threw that question out, or how many times he asked it – he couldn"t recall them .
- Michael, there"s no need to ponder too deeply about this .
The Metatron of his memories would always return the exact same smile . For several hundreds of years, or maybe even for thousands of years .
Metatron continued to carry that grin from the far side of time that Michael couldn"t even remember anymore .
- Please, focus on hating the "Evil" in front of your eyes, instead . That is your "scenario" .
"… . My scenario .
Just how long have I been hunting down the demons?"
Michael, for a long time now, could no longer remember his birth .

[The power of "Fruit of Good and Evil" is going berserk . ]

His memories were always incorrect, incomplete . All he could remember were the final words of the Demon Kings dying at his hands .
- How lamentable, oh, the pitiful disciple of . Do you really need to go this far?
That was from the master of the 21st Demon World .
- Uwahahahahat!! You are now the same as us! Finally, Metatron has gone mad!!
And that was from the master of the 9th Demon World .
- Which "number" Michael are you?
And finally, from the lips of the master of the 4th Demon World .
Past the faces of the Demon Kings with names he"d forgotten, he could see the dead Archangels, his comrades, that fought alongside him .
- Michael, you must regain yourself . Please… . This, this is wrong .
An Angel and a Demon, that"s what he was .
Faces breaking down like debris scattered away in tens of thousands of puzzle pieces, before gathering back together to create one giant form .
"Good" and "Evil", in conflict against each other for eternity itself . And Metatron"s face, the one who had managed to endure all those years, continued to carry the exact same smile for thousands of years .
- You need to be careful about one thing . When using this power, you must never… .

[The power of "Fruit of Good and Evil" is going berserk!]

All of his memories were swept away in one go; Michael was enveloped in horrifying pain akin to his head being ripped to tiny shreds .
Aaaaaaaaah-!!!!
All "Good" in the world cried out in sorrow . From the blades of gra.s.s to trees; from small insects to every type of "Good" living in Creation fell into a state of sorrow and cried out in grief .

[You have directed a fatal attack at an opponent on the side of Absolute Good!]

[Fable, "Evil that destroys Evil", is roaring out in bitter sadness!]

[You have broken the taboo!]

[You have been handed a terrible penalty!]

A grey-coloured angel covered in blood was smiling at Michael .

*

The moment I bit into the [Fruit of Good and Evil], the view of the world changed .

[You have consumed a forbidden "Star Relic Fruit" . ]

[You are currently a "Demon King" . ]

[The power of "Fruit of Good and Evil" has whispered the secret of the "Absolute Good" to you . ]

As the ginormous storm of magical energy raged around me, my ears were inundated by the continuous stream of messages .

[You have experienced all facets of "Good and Evil"!]

[You have achieved an impossible accomplishment!]

[You have acquired the Possibility of a brand new Fable!]

[ is stunned by your accomplishment . ]

[ is pondering what your second Modifier should be . ]

I felt the sensations of being a Constellation, the one I couldn"t feel for a long time after becoming a Demon King, once more .

["Demon King Transformation" has been cancelled . ]

[ has completely restored your constellation . ]

I saw a beautifully sparkling star high up within the pitch-black sky above . That was my star .

["Angel Transformation" is activating . ]

My body began to glow brightly after receiving the starlight . The feathered wings dyed in black morphed into pure white ones, and the demon"s horns growing on top of my head withered away . Warm, pure energy filled up the entirety of my Incarnation Body .
Unfortunately, I wasn"t permitted enough time to relaxedly enjoy the "Status of an Angel" . The [Judgement Field] had shrunk down around me and had begun crus.h.i.+ng my body .
Kwdudududuk!!
My new wings were crushed and folded as I felt this horrifying pain . My arms and legs, that couldn"t endure against the pressure of the compacting s.p.a.ce, got crushed helplessly .

[Great Fable, "Torch that swallowed the Myth", is protecting you . ]

[Great Fable, "Demon World"s Spring", is protecting you . ]

I was able to barely hold on against that enormous pressure, powerful enough to almost crush me in an instant, with the aid of my Great Fables .

["The 4th Wall" is protecting your mental state!]

[Probability of 2nd generation is weakening the ability of "the 4th Wall"!]

It felt like several bolts of lightning were going off in my head . I thought that I"d blackout at any given moment, and my vision darkened before reverting back a few times, too .
However, I endured . I simply had to . So that I could grasp that one and only chance soon to be coming my way .

「As the price for being strong against "Evil", the "King of Corrupted Angels" possesses one weakness . 」

The power of the [Judgement Field] crus.h.i.+ng and wringing my body was gradually weakening . The only weakness of this frightening monster capable of destroying all "Absolute Evil", was… .

「The "King of Corrupted Angels" cannot attack an opponent leaning towards the "Good" spectrum . 」

If he broke this rule and attacked "Good", then… .
Craaaaack!!
The absolute Stigma [Judgement Field], capable of crus.h.i.+ng a Demon King to death, began splintering into pieces . Like a moth escaping from its coc.o.o.n, I destroyed this barrier and spread out my wings .

Michael squatted down on the ground and grasped his head with both of his hands while screaming at the top of his lungs .

[Demon King, "King of Corrupted Angels", is writhing in great pain!]

This was my only chance .
"Anna Croft!!"
As soon as my words resounded out in this forest, a blonde woman ran towards the rear of Michael . Her eye was now dyed in that crimson hue . She had seen something through [Precognition] and was now in full sprint while unleas.h.i.+ng all of her Status .
Meanwhile, I gathered my remaining strength into my two legs and dashed forward as if I was falling over . Now, normally, killing Michael with only this much combined firepower was impossible, even if he had been rendered defenceless like right now .
However, the story would be different while we were on this island .

[Character, "Anna Croft", has activated "Physical Sword Aura Lv . 9"!]

As if we had a prior agreement, she unleashed several strands of powerful energy from the tip of her shortsword like clockwork . I unsheathed [Unbreakable Faith] with my tattered right arm .

[Fragment of a Fable, "Right Arm of a Pitiful Sword Master", has activated!]

I had no clue that a Fable acquired through the special attribute of [Lamarck"s Giraffe] once upon a time would come in handy like this . (ED: Lamarck"s Kirin → Lamarck"s Giraffe . TIL this is a real thing . )

[Probability of 2nd generation has reinforced your apt.i.tude!]

The explosive magical energy of [Purest Sword Force] extended by over ten-plus metres from the tip of [Unbreakable Faith] . (TL: "White Pure Star Energy" → "Purest Sword Force")
I managed to barely hold the sword level as it sunk about half-way into the left side of Michael"s neck . Almost at the same time, Anna Croft"s shortsword sliced into the right of his neck .
A fountain of blood shot up into the air and Michael"s severed head flew up .

[You have killed the 176th Incarnation Body of "King of the Corrupted Angels" . ]

[You have acquired a Myth-grade Fable . ]

[ is stunned by your accomplishment!]

[You have brought the "Fake Revelation" to reality . ]

[You have achieved an unbelievable accomplishment!]

[You have acquired an ungradable Fable . ]

[You have acquired the Fable, "Architect of Revelation"!]

As the stream of messages cascaded down, my barely-maintained consciousness finally let go and scattered away .

*

When I reopened my eyes, I found myself all alone within a white s.p.a.ce . A single sentence was floating up in the empty air .

「The being who consumed the "Fruit of Good and Evil" will face the truth he had been avoiding . 」

"… . Where am I?"
Before I had a chance to ask that, images suddenly popped up on the left-hand sidewall . Those were scenes from "Ways of Survival" .
It depicted Yu Joong-Hyeok and his companions clearing out various scenarios . That was the world of "Ways of Survival" where I didn"t exist . The companions who didn"t buckle under all sorts of hards.h.i.+ps and continued to defeat their enemies . . . existed there .

["Fruit of Good and Evil" speaks to you . "That story was your life, wasn"t it?"]

I nodded my head . Indeed, that story was my life . I grew up while reading those events .

["Fruit of Good and Evil" speaks to you . "However, this is also definitely your life, too . "]

The right-hand sidewall rippled and a new screen appeared there . It now showed a boy, around 15 years old . He was looking at a computer monitor while inputting something with the keyboard .
- What will happen to Joong-Hyeok next? Is he going to die again?
This was back when Yu Joong-Hyeok was going through his 164th turn . I was in the 3rd year of middle school, and in love with Yi Ji-Hye back then . And I was busy typing a comment . (TL: Lee Jihye → Yi Ji-Hye)
- Argh… . Really . . . I"d like to stop chomping on the sweet potatoes now, please . (TL: Sweet potatoes = Korean slang for being frustrated/stifled)
And then, when Yu Joong-Hyeok was going through his 488th turn . I was in the 2nd year of high school, around the same age as Kim Nam-Woon; again, I was typing a comment within the screen .
…
… .
… . . .
As Yu Joong-Hyeok went through more and more regressions, I too, grew older and older . While reading about his deaths, my beard began sprouting . I graduated from high school while spectating on his sacrifices .
And again, as I read his story… .
- Wouldn"t it be fine for him to just die during this turn, instead?
… . Wait, did I ever write a comment like that before?
- The story is going down the drain, so maybe it"s time to go back? ㄱㄱ
Now, it was Yu Joong-Hyeok"s 662th turn .
I was a university student by then, still typing away on a keyboard .
- Joong-Hyeok is going to die again, yes?
The words I committed to record were in full display here . All those words that I spat out under the excuse of being hurt by life and exhausted by living itself, they were coming back inside my brain .
- Please, can you skip the earlier scenarios? It"s getting repet.i.tive .
… . I couldn"t say anything, not anymore .

["Fruit of Good and Evil" speaks to you . "That is the total worth of the story you told as if it was your entire life . "]

The tips of my fingers began trembling .
On the left wall, Yu Joong-Hyeok and his battles; and on the right wall, there was me, staring at Yu Joong-Hyeok . And right in the middle wall, the scenes of me glaring at the stars in the sky played out .

「"Enjoy the show while you can . The fee for your entertainment shall become your lives in the end . "」

["Fruit of Good and Evil" speaks to you . "Do you really have the qualification to tell ■■?"]

My own words continued to float up above the screen .

「"Yu Joong-Hyeok, I know the "future you don"t know" . "」
「"Hey, Joong-Hyeok, we can save this world . You know this, right?"」
「"I"ll finish your story in your stead . "」

My voice, sounding so brazen and with not a speck of hesitation in it .

["Fruit of Good and Evil" speaks to you . "You, who have deceived the entire world by relying on the story only you know, and lived until now… . Do you possess the right to be saved?]

From some place deep in my chest, I thought I heard something break . The whole world seemed to be shaking in my eyes .

["The 4th Wall" is glaring at the "Fruit of Good and Evil"!]

["Fruit of Good and Evil" is startled and is shrinking back . ]

Tch-chuchuchuchut!!
A storm of Probability swept up my surroundings . As I stumbled and faltered about, someone"s voice cried out to me .
「( . . . . . Dok-Jssi! You need to move, now! Michael is still . . . . !)」

*

After I opened my eyes again, I found myself leaning against a cavern wall .
" . . . . I was going to abandon you if you didn"t wake up in the next minute or so . "
A blonde woman was looking down at me . Bandages were tightly wrapped around my belly and chest areas, and there were some crushed herbs applied to my thigh that had suffered a penetration wound .
Warm liquid then flowed into my mouth . It tasted bitter, acrid .
I quickly regained my wits and after discovering the ident.i.ty of the liquid, nearly got scared out of them again . Because . . . Anna Croft had cut her palm open to feed me her own blood .
"What the h.e.l.l are you . . . . ?!"
She used her other hand to calm me down and explained herself without a hint of fl.u.s.ter .
"I possess the attribute [Elixir Maker] . My blood possesses the same medicinal effects as all the elixirs I"ve consumed so far . "
" . . . . But, drinking a lot of this blood will place me under your control . "
"That happens only when your Status is lower than mine . "
She stemmed the blood flow from her palm and turned her head away .
It was nighttime already . I couldn"t sense any presence or movements . I sucked in several slow but deep breaths and asked her .
"What happened to Michael?"
" . . . . . He"s dead . No, I"m not sure whether to call him dead or not . . . . "
"By any chance, did his Incarnation Body get enshrouded in a blackish fog?"
" . . . . How did you know that?"
I wish I could explain to her, but this crippling pain a.s.saulting my head prevented me from easily recalling the contents of "Ways of Survival" . I was pretty sure that Michael wasn"t dead . To be more specific, he did die, but would revive again .
There were "two moons" up in the sky outside the cavern, the symbol of Fables from the 2nd generation . I must"ve drank a fair amount of her blood, because under the pale blue light, Anna Croft"s complexion was just as pale and wane .
"Why didn"t you abandon me and leave?"
"I thought that, by saving you, I"d earn a Fable like [Prophet who Pays her Debt] or some such . "
She probably knew very well that such a Fable wouldn"t get created so easily . Suddenly, I was overcome with this sense of rejection to this whole idea in my head . The Anna Croft I knew was not like this . The woman I knew was definitely a cold-blooded type of a person who, for the sake of her cause, would not hesitate to sacrifice even her most precious comrade .
That was supposed to be the case, but… .
"You should be able to move again in a few hours . "
However, was the information I know of her, everything there was to know about Anna Croft?
「Anna Croft is an Incarnation of "Absolute Good" . 」
… . I couldn"t be sure why I was thinking up such things . Maybe, it was possible that I began thinking about lots more things after consuming the [Fruit of Good and Evil] .
I spoke as if I was sighing . "We should part ways around here . You must"ve collected all the words necessary for your Modifier target, after all . "
"It doesn"t matter to me, but will you be fine?"
"Not sure who should be worried about who here . Even if you don"t look after me, let me a.s.sure you, I won"t die . These injuries weren"t severe enough to kill me . "
"No, if you were left alone, you would have been dead . "
Not "could have died", but "dead", straight up . And I knew the precise moments when Anna Croft would say something like that .
"But, you shouldn"t have been able to see my future?"
" . . . . Until recently, yes, I couldn"t . "

[Exclusive skill, "Lie Detection Lv . 7", has activated!]

[You have confirmed that the applicable a.s.sertion is the truth . ]

"Starting from yesterday onwards, I could see little bits of your future . Some "things" past an indistinct, faint wall . . . . "
… . She could see my future?
"What did you see?"
" . . . . It"ll be better if you don"t know . "
"Just say it . "
Anna Croft"s [Eye of the Great Demon] again emitted a crimson light . She then spat out a soft sigh before slowly opening her lips .
"Twelve hours from now, you will die at the hands of the "Conquering King", Yu Joong-Hyeok . "

< episode="" 69:="" archangel="" hunting="" (3)=""> Fin .