Chapter 288: Episode 54 – Demon King Slayer (4)
A day pa.s.sed since I arrived in the 1863rd round.
The Gw.a.n.ghwamun area was wet from the dark rain that had been falling since last night. Soon after the rain started, the monsters crouching between the ruins woke up one by one. There was the monster that looked like an elephant that I saw when I first got here and one that reminded me of a huge octopus. The most frightening thing was the baby that was the size of a huge building.
There were many types of outer G.o.ds but not all of them were named ‘Eater of Dreams’ or ‘Indescribable Distance.’ Most of them were ‘unnamed’ and existed without a proper ego.
I watched the baby in a diaper pus.h.i.+ng through the city like a bulldozer and hid while holding my breath.
…To be honest, I probably needed the diaper more than the baby.
[The constellation ‘Lily Pin of Aquarius’ is looking at you.]
It had been a few hours since the archangels fell asleep, stating that they would save their energy.
The white lily in my coat trembled as if it had regained power. Gabriel.
“Have you woken up?”
[Why did you make that choice?]
“What choice?”
[Do you need to ask?]
“There was no other way.”
I heard a creaking and crus.h.i.+ng sound in the distance. The moment I thought something else had happened, I saw the torn off leg of the elephant monster. There were signs that it was torn off by a powerful force. Someone dragged the severed leg and approached this way. It was the real monster of this scenario, Yoo Jonghyuk.
Like a sigh, the petals shook again. [I thought he would die… why is he holding a sword?]
“He could’ve committed suicide. Well, I don’t think that will happen now.”
I spoke while swinging Yoo Jonghyuk’s Heaven Shaking Sword through the air. It wasn’t surprising but I didn’t kill Yoo Jonghyuk.
Gabriel was silent for a moment before muttering in a small voice. [What does Uriel like about this guy…?]
“Uriel? Ah, is Uriel well?”
[How should I know?]
It was a reaction that seemed a bit excessive. The moment I was about to ask, another indirect message came.
[The constellation ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos’ is looking at you.]
The difficult angel had also woken up. Jophiel woke up and got straight to the point. [Did you decide to keep him alive?]
I accepted the elephant’s leg that Yoo Jonghyuk had brought instead of answering. It was a leg that was very fleshy. It gave off a very rich and clear story. I faced Yoo Jonghyuk who stared at me with empty eyes. Jophiel opened her mouth again.
[Don’t you know that you shouldn’t keep him alive? The scenario you received is…]
“Yoo Jonghyuk’s death.”
It would’ve been nice if I could lie but it was too late to deceive the archangels. They would’ve seen the scenario window that I saw.
-Yoo Jonghyuk’s death.
It was the scenario that Secretive Plotter gave me. I had to kill him in order to return to the original third round.
“As I’ve already mentioned, it is difficult to interpret this scenario as it is.” The death proposed by Secretive Plotter might not be the ‘death’ we thought about.
The archangels were silent. They didn’t seem to understand my words. I flipped the elephant’s leg and calmly declared. “Yoo Jonghyuk can’t ‘die.’ As archangels, you should already know this?”
I could feel the gazes of the two angels on me.
[What does that mean?]
“This guy is a regressor.”
In the early scenarios, the information I just mentioned would’ve been filtered but now it was different. The scenario was a scenario but by now, rumours about the ‘regressor’ should’ve spread quite a bit. Thus, the high-ranking constellations of Eden would know it.
The red cosmos leaves shook uneasily. […Don’t tell me?]
I nodded. “He is a being who repeats his life forever. No one can kill him. If he dies, he will just move onto another round.”
[How do you know this?]
“Why was Uriel keeping an eye on me?”
It was best to respond to questions that couldn’t be answered was with more questions. Jophiel trembled as if controlling his anger.
[Then… what are you going to do now? If you can’t kill him, you can’t return to your original round.]
I shrugged and placed the roasted meat into my mouth. “I have to think about a way. There is plenty of time.”
At my calm response, an unusual air flowed around the two flowers. I was nervous because I thought they wanted to express their ‘status’, only to suddenly hear a strange sound.
It was a growl that wasn’t coming from my stomach. It didn’t seem to be Yoo Jonghyuk either.
…Then? I bowed my head and saw the two flowers looking away.
“Are you hungry?”
***
[Gabriel, how long are you going to stand by?]
[I’m not standing by. I’m just watching. If it wasn’t for Uriel, I would’ve killed him…]
Gabriel, who was stuck in a plastic bottle, answered while sucking up water through his stem. Beside her, the cosmos of Jophiel was likewise inserted into a bottle of water.
In the distance, Kim Dokja was saying something to Yoo Jonghyuk. Gabriel stared at him blankly and asked,
[That Uriel, is she well?]
[Focus on the mission, Gabriel.]
[No, I’m worried. Uriel always gets into trouble when she is left alone.]
[…I see. Do you actually like Uriel?]
[What nonsense! Have you found a way to go back yet? How long are we supposed to stay with them?]
Gabriel’s petals fluttered and Jophiel replied, [I’m looking for a way but it seems hard.]
[Why? No matter how different the world line, there must be Eden here. If you ask the scribe here for help…]
[There is no reply from the scribe.]
[What?]
[It isn’t just the scribe. I can’t contact anyone from Eden.]
Eden couldn’t be contacted? It was strange, no matter how much the world had changed. Due to the constraints of the scenario, it was impossible to return to their original ‘constellation context.’ It was frustrating.
Gabriel sighed and sucked up water again. [What? They were fighting and holding each other by the collar a few hours ago…]
In the distant place, Kim Dokja seemed to be stroking Yoo Jonghyuk’s head. Looking at this scene, Gabriel was reminded of Uriel and herself. It was different but there was some resemblance.
…Comrades.h.i.+p?
For a very short time, Gabriel seemed to understand why Uriel liked them.
***
“Eat the soil, Yoo Jonghyuk.”
Yoo Jonghyuk started to silently eat the soil. I was startled and smacked him in the back of the head. “Why are you really eating it?!”
I wanted to test it but I didn’t know he would actually follow my order. The Yoo Jonghyuk I knew would’ve never done this. However, the regression depression had completely devoured his ego and for the time being, Yoo Jonghyuk was in a stupid state. Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at me blankly.
I sighed with some compa.s.sion. “How good would it be if the usual you was so calm? You are better than the third round b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
“…”
“…Spit it out.”
I watched Yoo Jonghyuk spitting out the soil and remembered another Yoo Jonghyuk that I knew. I didn’t know if he was okay. It would be nice if he hadn’t lost his mind by the time I came back. I entrusted it to Yoo Sangah so I hoped things would turn out well.
“Now lie down there and get some rest, 1863rd Yoo Jonghyuk.”
At my words, Yoo Jonghyuk trudged towards the ruined building. I could see the sun setting in the distance. The sunset of the 95th scenario was still glowing. I looked at the haze and felt strangely peaceful. It was strange. In this horrible scenario, I could indulge in this appreciation.
「 Kim Dok ja needs to kill Yoo Jong hyuk. 」
…No, I didn’t. Fortunately, there was no deadline for the scenario that Secretive Plotter gave me. I turned my head and saw Yoo Jonghyuk curled up with a foolish expression as he waited for my orders.
“Sleep.”
Yoo Jonghyuk understood my words and closed his eyes. Since the scenario started, Yoo Jonghyuk had never slept properly. Maybe this was the ‘first sleep’ for Yoo Jonghyuk. It was the first sleep where he was freed from all his memories.
Once Yoo Jonghyuk was completely asleep, I turned on my smartphone. The phone desktop contained the text of Ways of Survival as usual. However, there was something different this time.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.txt
…What? Wasn’t it the ‘third revision?’ I suddenly got gooseb.u.mps. Was it because I came back to the original round? Then it changed back to the original text, not the revised one?
I opened the file with a confused mind. The file was the original Ways of Survival that I knew. Maybe this was better. It was important to obtain information about this round if I wanted to think properly about the future. I quickly moved the screen to the 1863rd round and read all the information thoroughly.
「 I lost Lee Hyunsung in the 54th scenario. 」
I read the story, read it and read it again.
「 In the 67th scenario, Lee Seolhwa was killed. 」
He lost, lost and lost more people.
「 Lee Jihye died in the 78th scenario. 」
The Yoo Jonghyuk of this round was completely alone. In fact, it wasn’t only this round. In all of Yoo Jonghyuk’s rounds, he had to leave alone. It was the same life even until the end.
“…Poor guy.”
I didn’t know the epilogue of Ways of Survival. The one thing I could be sure of was that Ways of Survival didn’t have a happy ending.
…What if I didn’t go back to the third round? What if I stayed here and helped Yoo Jonghyuk of the last round clear the scenario?
「 The Fourth Wall says, “Kim Dok ja, that…” 」
I know.
「 Ye s. 」
This was the trick hidden in Secretive Plotter’s scheme. Perhaps Secretive Plotter expected this and gave me a scenario. It was why the scenario had no time limit.
Kill Yoo Jonghyuk here and return to the original world. Or see the conclusion of the scenario with Yoo Jonghyuk here.
This was the idea of the ‘outer G.o.d.’ The laughable thing was that I was really shaken by the proposal. If I looked at the person here… I wouldn’t see the ending I really wanted. But if I killed him here, the original ‘Yoo Jonghyuk’ would disappear forever.
My head hurt as I thought about it. If I wanted to kill Yoo Jonghyuk, I had to end Yoo Jonghyuk’s regressions. However, his sponsor didn’t speak and I didn’t know the ident.i.ty. I didn’t know if it was fortunate or not.
I sighed and scrolled through Ways of Survival again. Then I felt a cold feeling down my spine.
[The constellation ‘Lily Pin of Aquarius’ is warning you!]
In the distance, the two flowers in the plastic bottles were shaking. It was a strong alarm. Was it an outer G.o.d?
“You’ve been hiding here, Yoo Jonghyuk.”
The moment I reflexively tried to turn around, I felt an eerie prediction. If I turned around now, I would die. I clearly had this feeling. It was a degree of stealth that could fool my constellation senses. It was clearly an unquantifiable existence. The presence was nearby?
“What are you? Are you Yoo Jonghyuk’s companion?”
I got a sense of deja vu from the voice. It was clearly a voice I knew. I turned my head slowly enough so that the enemy wouldn’t feel threatened. Behind me was a woman with a familiar appearance. For a moment, my mind was awash with panic.
…How on earth? I hadn’t thought about it. It was because this person was already dead in this ’round.’
“Well, there is no need to know. I’ll kill him anyway.”
The smiling Admiral Lee Jihye smiled as she pointed the Double Dragon Swords towards me.