[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ begins its story!]

A powerful alien sensation rippled through my head. In the seat where my consciousness should have been, someone—some story—was sitting. It was giving me orders.

「On ly I」

The moment I heard the first syllables, goosebumps ran up my spine. I knew exactly what sentence it was.

「know the end of this world」

The introduction of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.

The line I once wrote myself had now returned to me as a curse.

「I alone am the only Kim Dokja」

Before my eyes, the universe opened, and an image of dozens, hundreds, thousands of shooting stars scattering all at once unfolded.

「If I cannot become Kim Dokja」

「then I would rather wish that Kim Dokja did not exist in this universe at all」

I didn’t know whose wish that was, or where that line had come from. What was certain was that I’d never written it, and Han Sooyoung would never have written it either.

The fact that this Tale contained that sentence meant that this Tale, too, originated from “Kim Dokja.”

“Inho!”

I saw Uncle Dansoo running toward me.

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ licks its lips.]

The Thoughts that had been shaped as a bracelet changed into the Damaged Monk Samyeong’s Staff.

The hand gripping the staff trembled violently.

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ commands a feast.]

I seized my own wrist that held the staff and said,

“Shut up.”

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ glares at you.]

I had indeed declared that I would become “Kim Dokja.” But that meant taking on Kim Dokja’s responsibility, not obeying the unreasonable orders of a Tale.

“Mister―”

Maybe meeting the “Demon King of Salvation” Kim Dokja had changed me as well.

I would not be swayed by a world that tried to seize and shake me, nor by this irrational story.

If I could not control the story, then the story would control me.

“You’re my Tale. You listen to me.”

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ sneers at you.]

Looking at the readers rushing toward me, I bit down hard on my lip.

This Tale was one I could not handle in my current state.

Kim Dokja’s name was too heavy, and I was far too weak.

“I am.”

But I had sworn it. I had promised the one who wrote the story, Han Sooyoung.

“I am Kim Dokja.”

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ seizes control of your right arm.]

As if it couldn’t hear me at all, my right arm began to fill with magical power.

The Tale was manipulating my right arm. It intended to use my right hand to kill and take in the other readers.

“I warned you.”

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ frowns.]
[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ says that unless you devour another ‘Kim Dokja,’ you will disappear.]

I didn’t want to survive that way.

If that was the only way—

“Ah, Mister! No! Don’t, Mister!”

Sensing something ominous, Shin Yuseung clung desperately to my waist.

“It’s all right.”

I used [Agitation] and changed the Damaged Monk Samyeong’s Staff into Broken Conviction. Along with a brilliant radiance, the Blade of Conviction activated.

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ glares at you!]

Sparks raised by the Tale tightened around my body as if trying to control me. I gathered all my magic power and resisted it.

Fine, let’s see which of us wins.

You, or me.

[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ is astonished.]

Gripping Broken Conviction in a reverse hold, I drove the blade straight into my own stomach.

.
.
.

Even amid the distant pain, I didn’t let go of my consciousness. If I lost it, the Tale could seize control of my body.

“He stabbed himself?”

“The Tale is rampaging through his body!”

“Bring the transfusion packs, quickly!”

“A transfusion won’t be enough. Use this.”

“This is—”

“My Tale.”

Voices drifted over the fragile surface of my fading awareness.

“Inho! Inho! Damn it, how did this happen to him!”

“Save him right now. If you don’t, I’ll kill every one of you, got it?”

Intermittent explosions echoed.

“What’s happening? All of a sudden—”

“Damn it, an unexpected scenario just started!”

“My God. The monsters—”

“We don’t have the luxury to waste strength here. The main of the Seventh Scenario is America.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“We abandon Gwanghwamun.”

“But Inho—”

.
.

[The <Midday Rendezvous> connection has been restored.]

―Get up now, youngest.

I opened my eyes with a jolt. A searing pain surged from my lower abdomen. I exhaled several times, enduring the feeling of my insides being twisted.

Gradually, my mind cleared.

I could feel that the presence of the Tale that had been controlling me moments ago had vanished.

Relief slowly bloomed in my chest.

[Your backer is watching you.]

Kim Dokja’s exasperated voice came from the air.

―Even Yu Joonghyuk doesn’t control Tales like that.

“This was the only way.”

The only way to stop the Tale.

It had been an extreme method, but it was the strongest action I could take.

Judging by the Tale’s silence, it seemed I had succeeded somehow.

“What about the other readers?”

―They’re fine. But did you have to use that method? You could’ve just used [Agitation].

“It might not have worked.”

―So you thought that far ahead and decided to put a hole in your stomach?

“Now I’m a bit more like Kim Dokja, right?”

―Oh, sure.

Kim Dokja’s voice sounded amused. I gave a wry smile myself.

Slowly scanning around, it seemed I had been hospitalized in a ward of a temporary shelter. When I pulled the IV from my arm, my fingertips trembled ominously, like they would shatter at a touch.

The foundation of my existence was shaking.

Was this how the 49% Kim Dokja had felt?

A booming thud resounded in the distance. The roar of a collapsing building, people’s screams and groans.

I pulled aside the tent flap of the shelter and looked outside.

The people who had been training until just before were scattered across Gwanghwamun among countless monster species.

Grabbing Thoughts in a hurry, I asked, “What’s happening?”

―A scenario’s started.

Almost at the same time, a message log surfaced in my head.

[Current sub scenario in progress.]

+

<Sub Scenario — Monster Invasion>
Classification: Sub
Difficulty: A++
Clear Condition: The Dragonkin, who bear deep resentment toward humankind, have invaded the Korean Peninsula. Stop the invasion and protect your world.
Time Limit: ―
Reward: Low-grade Dragon Heart, ???
Failure: ―
+

It wasn’t a main scenario.

It seemed to be one of the derivative scenarios branching from the main.

“If it’s Dragonkin, what rank are they?”

―At least Rank 5.

My heart dropped.

I remembered almost dying back in the Fourth Scenario while hunting a Rank-5 Poison Dragon species.

But the surprise soon faded.

Come to think of it, this was already the Seventh Scenario.

During the time I was unconscious, my companions had surely faced multiple mid-catastrophe-class monsters.

That meant they could probably handle Rank 5s easily by now.

―There’s even a Rank 4.

“A Rank 4?”

A Rank 4 was a monster I’d never fought before. Compared to Rank 5, Rank 4 was on a completely different level.

But.

“Where is Yu Joonghyuk?”

I thought of the Yu Joonghyuk of the 41st round—

A monster with power far beyond even his third-round self.

If he had cleared all the “Disaster Scenarios” during my absence, he could surely handle a Rank 4. But—

“Uwaaaah! Stop them!”

“Save us! Please save us!”

“Aaaaagh!”

No matter where I looked across the battlefield, Yu Joonghyuk was nowhere to be seen.

―That guy was just now forcibly summoned into the final chapter of the Seventh Scenario.

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, the one hour I’d promised Yu Joonghyuk had already passed.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, none of the readers were visible either—Uncle Dansoo, Killer King, Ye Hyeonwoo, Gyeong Sein.

Even Yu Joonghyuk’s comrades like Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, and Lee Seolhwa were gone.

They had probably all moved to the main scenario area.

“Then the people left here—”

―Only the chosen incarnations can participate in the main event of the Seventh Scenario. These people……

Those who hadn’t been chosen.

The problem was that there wasn’t just one or two of them.

“Aaaagh!”

Among them were faces I recognized—Bang Cheolsu and the Mother-Daughter Duo.

“Push forward! If we stop now, we’ll be overrun!”

“Da-young! Over here!”

Sergeant Kim, and Jeong Eunho, who had fought beside me at Seoul Station, were there as well.

“Over there! That side’s breached!”

“I’ll handle it!”

Jeong Eunho’s «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» thrown chopstick shuriken felled a couple of ghouls with shrieks. Behind them, Shin Yuseung was summoning her Na-gak units to cover the people.

“Play! Keep playing!”

With the incarnations’ fierce resistance, the ghouls collapsed one after another. But even more ghouls trampled their fallen kin and rushed forward.

At the center of the horde was a Dragonkin commanding the monsters.

“Don’t let them reach the shelter! Stop them!”

A woman stood at the center of the battlefield, confronting the Dragonkin.

The <Kim Dokja Company> I had first met when I possessed this world.

[Incarnation ‘Jeong Heewon’ activates ‘Swordsmanship Lv.10’!]

With every swing of Jeong Heewon’s sword, five or six ghouls fell dead.

I forgot even to breathe as I watched her fight. I could tell how she had spent the last forty-five days carving her bones with effort.

Each step, each arc carried magic that rippled through the battlefield’s balance.

Kroarrrr―!

A panicked Rank-5 Earth Dragon lashed its tail in counterattack, but Jeong Heewon’s momentum did not falter.

Riding the tail in an instant, she drove her sword strike down.

A sword strike imbued with formidable magic power.

In less than five seconds, dozens of consecutive blows pierced the creature’s eyes and brow.

Guaaaaaaa!

With a roar, one Rank-5 fell, and the incarnations’ faces brightened.

“It’s down!”

“We can win! We can win!”

As their morale rose, the ghoul horde wavered, letting out terrified cries.

Jeong Heewon did not hesitate and rushed toward the next Dragonkin.

Her charge sweeping through the battlefield stopped only when a dragon the height of a ten-story building appeared before her.

[Rank-4 Earth Dragon species ‘Earth Python’ roars!]

With a single howl, nearby incarnations screamed and fell. Even Jeong Heewon staggered, blood flowing from her ears.

But she did not kneel.

[Madness.]

A destructive gleam flared in her pupils. The unique trait of the “Mad Butcher” protected her consciousness.

“Everyone, stand up.”

At her voice, the fallen people rose as if infected by madness.

They were all people who could no longer fight.

I couldn’t understand it.

Why weren’t they running?

This “Sub Scenario” had no penalty for failure.

That meant they didn’t need to fight—they could abandon Gwanghwamun if they wished.

Yu Joonghyuk must have known that too; that’s why he had left without taking further measures.

“Don’t tell me……”

―You’re right.

Before I knew it, people were forming a circular formation centered around my temporary shelter.

―They’re protecting you.

Looking closely, every face was familiar.

Geumho Station, Chungmuro, Seoul Station—faces I had crossed paths with at least once.

“Sir Inho!”

A middle-aged man who spotted me shouted with joy.

“Everyone, look! The Captain―”

With a wet crunching sound, the man was bitten in the neck by a ghoul and collapsed.

“Mr. Kim!”

The woman holding him screamed.

Before I could even say anything, the rushing ghoul horde engulfed the two. I gripped Broken Conviction in my hand.

Use [Agitation].

Agitate myself into believing I’m Yu Joonghyuk. No, Jeong Heewon. Kim Dokja. Anyone will do.

Anything at all—

[You cannot activate this skill.]

It felt like someone was striking a bell inside my head.

[Your incarnation body is unstable.]
[Obtain a ‘Kim Dokja fragment’ within five minutes.]
[If you fail to obtain a new ‘Kim Dokja fragment,’ you will die.]

I was dying.

Perhaps even faster than they were.

[Time remaining until death: 4:49]

The Tale’s rampage had subsided, but the penalty remained.

I wanted to save them, but no method came to mind.

I couldn’t.

Even as the people protecting me were dying before my eyes, there was nothing I could do.

―Yu Joonghyuk made you his comrade.

My backer’s voice whispered in my ear.

―Yet he left you behind. Why do you think that is?

Slowly, I raised my head.

The reason Yu Joonghyuk had left me here.

“He thought I could resolve this scenario?”

Kim Dokja didn’t answer.

As my emotions calmed, the situation became clear.

Yu Joonghyuk was gone.

People were dying.

[Time remaining until death: 3:08]

I had three minutes of life left.

To activate any skill, I first had to remove the penalty of this “Tale.”

「On ly I」

A penalty that would vanish only by devouring “Kim Dokja.”

Then there was only one way to suppress this Tale.

“Successor of the Eternal Name.”

The only “Kim Dokja” in this world that I could offer as the Tale’s prey—myself.

I brought my right arm to my mouth and commanded the Tale.

“Eat ‘me.’”