Surya approached and stood in front of me. He was at least 20cm taller than me. I opened up more of my status to counteract the pressure he was emitting. The office was suddenly flooded with Surya"s energy.The conversation from now on was between constellation and constellation. "The ruin of Olympus... is that your meaning or Vedas" meaning?"
[Is it important?]
"It is important."
I expected the troubles between big nebulae to be in full swing by now. They pursued cooperation with me in order to ruin each other but originally, Vedas, Olympus and Papyrus weren"t solid alliances. All big nebulae were in a potentially compet.i.tive position when pursuing "A Single Story."
Surya thought for a moment before replying. [I don"t like Olympus and Vedas. Is this enough for an answer?]
It was a vague answer. Yet in a sense, it was the answer I wanted. Based on the original Ways of Survival, Surya was definitely a heretical constellation of Vedas. "It is an answer."
[I have enough authority to give one Soma. Don"t you know who I am?]
Surya was the source of Soma, an immortal beverage. If I got his promise then obtaining Soma definitely wouldn"t be a problem. By the way, this... things had become interesting.
Metatron"s finger moved like it was pleasant to hear our conversation. I watched the finger moving like a metronome and spoke, "I still have one question left. The ruin of Olympus is precisely―"
[The 60th scenario, Gigantomachia.]
"That is just a theme park event. They will summon a few giants to hunt and...
[If they aren"t serious, you would make them serious.]
...Since when had he been listening to me? Did he subscribe to Biyoo"s channel?
[Olympus won"t suddenly be destroyed because of the scenario. However, it is possible to provide a stepping stone to the ruin.]
"How?"
[Haven"t you already thought about how to do this?]
The third eye on Surya"s forehead was white. I gazed at his eyes. Indeed, I couldn"t step back and pretend ignorance.
"It is absurd with my power or the power of my nebula. Of course, this didn"t mean I had no way."
Metatron"s finger stopped moving at my words. I watched Metatron. "Scribe. Take responsibility for calling this person here."
[What responsibility do you mean?]
"Be a witness for this agreement."
Metatron made an intrigued expression. His wait and see expression was transformed into a schemer.
[What are the benefits of being a witness?]
"I will give you a stake in the giant story I will obtain this time."
A stake in a giant story. No matter the scenario, the giant story was a temptation that couldn"t be ignored by a nebula. In addition, the archangels of Eden needed an enormous number of giant stories because incidents occurred every day and they needed to diffuse the probability storm.
Metatron nodded with satisfaction.
"Naturally, your mouth can"t be empty."
[What do you mean? It is enough to stand witness...]
"You want to take a stake in a giant story with just that? Where did an archangel"s conscience go?"
[The Fourth Wall is nodding.]
[The "Wall Dividing Good and Evil" is looking closely at its master.]
Faint embarra.s.sment crossed Metatron"s face. Sometimes justice would devour its master.
Surya shook his head and muttered. [Truly a demon king.]
[...Demon King of Salvation, is there anything you want in Eden?]
I nodded. There were many things I wanted. It was because one or two preparations wasn"t enough for the future Gigantomachia.
「 Kim Dokja recalled the 1863rd round. 」
I wouldn"t lose anyone.
「 In Kim Dokja"s mind, the information of Ways of Survival appeared and disappeared. 」
From now on, it was likely that high ranking constellations would join the battle. It wasn"t just Surya but the other Lokapala of Vedas and some of Olympus" 12 G.o.ds could partic.i.p.ate in the scenario.
Was that all? It might be possible to encounter senior demon kings like the Demon King Selection. Maybe Michael as well.
...Michael.
「 Finally, Kim Dokja made a decision. 」
I looked at one of the items arranged on a shelf behind Metatron. "Give me one of Eden"s star relics."
***
A few minutes later, Kim Dokja finished his contract with Surya and stood at the entrance of a portal. Unlike when he came in, this was the front door. Several angels came to see him off.
[...Already?]
Uriel was full of regret as she grasped Jung Heewon"s hand. Jung Heewon looked at Uriel and hugged her tightly.
[Uh...?]
The initially embarra.s.sed Uriel soon hugged Jung Heewon back. Her face was full of emotions.
[The constellation "Lily Pin of Aquarius" is looking at Incarnation "Jung Heewon".]
Gabriel"s indirect message came from somewhere. Kim Dokja looked at the sky as if thinking about something. Then he told Jung Heewon, "I"m sorry to interrupt the emotional farewell but Heewon-ssi will stay here for another week."
"Huh?"
"Don"t worry, I already spoke to the scribe."
Uriel"s eyes widened at the words. [Really? Is that possible?]
"Of course. Instead, please train Heewon-ssi. You"ve been absent for the past three years."
[Yes! Leave it to me!]
Kim Dokja turned away from the widely smiling Uriel towards Jung Heewon. "Heewon-ssi, I"ll meet you a week later in Olympus."
"...I understand. I"ll be sure to become stronger when I go back."
A short handshake later, Kim Dokja disappeared into the portal. Some angels looked disgruntled while others sighed.
The brief event ended and the angels returned to their positions. Gabriel watched from a distance.
[Gabriel.]
[Scribe.]
Gabriel bowed towards Metatron who appeared behind her.
[Why didn"t you meet him and talk?]
Gabriel didn"t answer.
[Jophiel"s matter isn"t your fault.]
[But...]
[Jophiel is strong. She is doing her job properly. Her choice will be the first step in preventing Eden"s destruction.]
Gabriel"s clear eyes shook at the word "destruction." Her lips opened like she wanted to ask something.
[A message has arrived.]
In the sky, a message for Metatron arrived. Surprisingly, the sender of the message was Commander of the Red Cosmos.
-This is a report on the ident.i.ty of the outer G.o.d, Secretive Plotter.
Metatron spoke while reaching out for the report. [Soon, the real war will begin.]
***
It was a bustling street reminiscent of a battlefield. On the way to the auction house, countless merchants were selling all types of items.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke behind him. "Go quickly."
Despite his harsh words, Yoo Jonghyuk was constantly concerned with Lee Seolhwa"s movements. He blocked the front of her like he was worried she would be hurt by the pa.s.sing incarnations and constellations. Some of the incarnations cursed him but Yoo Jonghyuk didn"t care.
"You should be avoiding us..."
"Pedestrians first."
Yoo Jonghyuk"s shamelessly was so high that Lee Seolhwa laughed. Yoo Jonghyuk asked, "...Why are you laughing?"
"Jonghyuk-ssi said that you are a regressor."
"That"s right."
"Then did you meet me in your previous life?"
Yoo Jonghyuk had no answer for a moment. "No."
"...I see."
An awkward atmosphere formed between the two people. Lee Seolhwa glanced sideways at Yoo Jonghyuk. He was someone who seemed to be walking in the far distance, despite being by her side.
Lee Seolhwa smiled bitterly. "Slow down a little bit. There might be items or skill books that you want to buy."
"There"s no time for that."
"I already bought one?"
Lee Seolhwa smiled and waved the skill book in her hand.
[Skill — Preserve Humidity].
Yoo Jonghyuk confirmed the skill book and narrowed his eyes. "You bought a useless skill."
Lee Seolhwa was already using the skill as her cheeks and lips were moistened. It was harder to find the daily necessities after the scenario began and these life skills were gaining huge popularity, regardless of gender. Lee Seolhwa glanced at Yoo Jonghyuk"s face and spoke, "Jonghyuk-ssi, don"t you need it? The back of your hand and your lips are dry. This city"s temperature is low overall so
your skin becomes dry quickly."
"You don"t need skills that aren"t for combat.
"But Dokjssi has this skill as well?"
Yoo Jonghyuk"s eyebrows twitched. "Kim Dokja has this skill?"
"Yes, he said this is required if you want to be popular with constellations..."
"That guy wants to be an idol." Yoo Jonghyuk gritted his teeth and kept moving.
Lee Seolhwa looked at Yoo Jonghyuk like he was funny. She didn"t know why but this cold-hearted man became angry whenever he heard Kim Dokja"s name.
Yoo Jonghyuk"s eyes s.h.i.+fted towards a stand.
-50% discount on skill books.
Lee Seolhwa couldn"t help laughing. "Do you want to buy one?"
Yoo Jonghyuk"s steps stopped. She wondered if he liked an item but something was wrong. His fists were trembling. Anger overflowed from Yoo Jonghyuk"s eyes and dominated his expression.
"...Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi?"
The entrance to the auction house could be seen in the distance. A group of incarnations was entering it. A girl with blonde hair. Lee Seolhwa felt her heart sink. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn"t control his killing intent as his hand moved towards the Black Demon Sword.
"Jonghyuk-ssi, wait!" Lee Seolhwa instinctively grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk"s arm. She knew the ident.i.ty of the blonde girl.
Asgard"s prophet. She remembered the story. Yoo Jonghyuk of the last round died after being betrayed by her.
"No. This place... the other members...!"
Her heart was in a hurry. No matter how strong Yoo Jonghyuk was, this place was the auction house of constellations. It was a place where low-grade and great-grade constellations gathered. Moreover, Yoo Jonghyuk"s enemy wasn"t alone. If he rushed over now...
"I thought it would be like this." There was a sarcastic voice and Han Sooyoung was standing there. "Have you forgotten? Kim Dokja told you not to get into trouble."
Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue like he was pathetic and flicked a coin around her fingers. Yoo Jonghyuk replied in a cold voice, "This is none of your business."
"None of my business? Aren"t we companions?"
"Companions?" Yoo Jonghyuk"s expression distorted. "You aren"t."
"This is the bottom line... hey, you might be the protagonist but...!"
"Sooyoung-ssi."
The words of the latecomers caused Han Sooyoung to touch her forehead and mutter. "Sigh... I can"t live because of Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk..."
"Anna Croft should be removed here."
"Well, Kim Dokja doesn"t want that."
"It has nothing to do with Kim Dokja."
"You just want to deal a blow to her?"
Yoo Jonghyuk paused and glanced at Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung stared back at Yoo Jonghyuk for a moment before turning her gaze to the entrance of the auction house.
"What if I have a good idea?" There was an item in Han Sooyoung"s hand.
Yoo Jonghyuk"s eyes shook. "That...?"
"I sneaked it out from Kim Dokja"s coat." A wicked smile formed on Han Sooyoung"s face. "Let"s test it once, the prophecy ability of the prophet."
TL: Rainbow Turtle