We sat in the casino hotel lobby waiting for Anna Croft.

Christina, who had timidly brought out some refreshments, bowed her head as soon as she met Kim Dokja’s eyes. It seemed she had learned Korean manners from her “Korean colleague.”

“Thank you for earlier. You saved my life.”

“Congratulations on surviving.”

“I mean it.”

“I sincerely congratulate you on surviving.”

At Kim Dokja’s genuinely warm tone, Christina nodded with a faintly perplexed look.

“Thank you. Anna will be down soon.”

“Tell her to hurry. I don’t like waiting.”

“Um, may I ask one question?”

“No.”

“Were you acquainted with the King of the North?”

“I met him for the first time today.”

I’d had a feeling Kim Dokja would cause trouble even before we came to Las Vegas.

Ever since we signed the contract, I could tell this “Demon King of Salvation” enjoyed incidents.

If there was a magician performing flashy tricks before his eyes, and that magician happened to be an “obstacle” preventing his meeting with Anna Croft—

And if he just so happened to have the power to remove that obstacle—

Kim Dokja was not the type to let that chance pass.

[Some constellations are impressed by your performance!]
[You have received 500 coins.]

Because in this world, even such a circus act earned coins.

The problem was the unexpected reaction from the “obstacle” that had been removed.

―You… are you Korean?

―So what?

―Your name?

―Cheon Inho.

For some reason, Martinez’s expression changed the instant he heard the name.

―For that friend’s sake, I’ll back off for now. I’ll return in half a day.

That was the whole of the “magician incident” earlier.

Kim Dokja had broken Martinez’s magic and taken his gun. Then, after hearing my name, the magician had seemed to understand something on his own and disappeared.

'There’s definitely an important piece missing here.'

Could it be that my reputation had somehow spread to Las Vegas without my knowing? But no matter how I thought about it, that didn’t make sense.

―There’s another Korean who’s more famous than us.

“Ah.”

Of course. Yu Joonghyuk must have made a mess the moment he arrived, so it wasn’t strange that they’d fear Koreans. Still, Yu Joonghyuk wasn’t the type to tell them not to touch other Koreans. Yet they’d backed off far too easily.

―Don’t ask me. Do you think I’m a god or something?

You are a god.

―And not knowing makes it more fun.

“That’s only true when you’re the one watching.”

While Kim Dokja and I exchanged a few quiet remarks, Christina and the laborers began carrying in the earth dragon parts.

I could feel passing incarnations watching us with curious eyes.

Young men hauling the giant dragon bones, children peeking at us from behind the reception desk.

They were probably all part of Anna’s “Zarathustra.”

Perhaps embarrassed by her comrades’ stares, Selena Kim spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Cheon Inho. The headquarters is still a bit disorganized.”

“No, it’s fine.”

And it wasn’t just a polite answer—it really was fine. The “Demon King of Salvation” usually liked attention.

[The constellations of Las Vegas take note of the incarnation ‘Cheon Inho.’]

Of course, depending on the kind of attention, that might change.

Kim Dokja, too, seemed quite intrigued to see “Zarathustra” in this timeline for the first time.

“Looks like you haven’t been settled here for long.”

Surprised by Kim Dokja’s perceptiveness, Selena Kim gave a small nod.

“Yes. We moved to the Las Vegas Dome not long ago.”

“You were originally based in the ‘Washington Dome,’ weren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How’s the situation in Washington?”

Main scenarios always centered around each nation’s capital dome. Just as Korea had the “Seoul Dome,” America’s scenarios would have developed around the “Washington Dome.”

But—

“Washington is already…”

Selena Kim’s face darkened.

What on earth had happened in America during that time?
And why had they abandoned the “Washington Dome” to move to the “Las Vegas Dome”?

“Backer.”

―Yeah.

“Was the Las Vegas Dome supposed to open at this point?”

―The dome itself isn’t the issue.

According to Annihilation Law, certain countries would generate additional domes or summon extra participants depending on scenario progress.

Considering that even Korea had received additional summons during the “Seventh Scenario,” it wasn’t strange that a larger-population country like America would have new domes opening.

But this was the real issue—

―The problem is that the travel restriction between countries has been lifted.

Normally, a dome’s regional boundary wasn’t released until after the tenth scenario was cleared.

Of course, there were global scenarios like “Peace Land” that allowed meeting incarnations from other nations, but in such cases, the stage was usually another planet, not Earth.

Yet this time, the designated scenario area was America.

[For this scenario only, the ‘dome region restriction’ will be temporarily lifted.]
[You are currently participating in this scenario as a ‘mercenary.’]
[A new seventh main scenario will be assigned to you.]

A scenario that even required “mercenaries.”

Meaning that even the Administration Bureau acknowledged this main scenario was impossible for American incarnations alone to clear.

“Where’s Yu Joonghyuk?”

“He should be near the scenario area. The Conqueror’s party headed straight there after arriving.”

The phrase “Conqueror’s party” implied that Yu Joonghyuk hadn’t come alone.

Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Kim Namwoon, Lee Seolhwa… perhaps even Ji Eunyoo and other readers had come with him.

What about the others?
Was Uncle Dansoo safe? Gyeong Sein?

Perhaps because Yu Joonghyuk had been mentioned, Selena Kim asked curiously,

“Are you close with the Conqueror?”

“We shared life and death.”

Selena Kim looked as though she was trying to interpret what that meant. It didn’t seem like Kim Dokja expected a response anyway. His gaze had been fixed on the earth dragon parts being brought deeper into the hotel.

“Earth dragon parts aren’t easy to process.”

“For us, it’s possible. Would you like to see?”

“Sure. Let’s have a look while we wait for Anna.”

We walked down a marble corridor deeper inside the hotel.

This must have been a five-star place. Before the apocalypse, I would never have dared to enter somewhere like this—life was strange that way.

Opening the door at the end of the hall revealed a vast workshop.

“Bring the head over here!”

“Start with bone number four!”

“Pile the hide in front of shelf eight!”

“Eyes! Where are the eyes?”

Craftsmen were dismantling the earth dragon parts in real time, while others worked on processing the materials.

Even at a glance, they were all seasoned, elderly incarnations.

Selena Kim introduced them.

“These are the ‘Supporters’ our Zarathustra is so proud of.”

Even if <Star Stream> claimed that anyone could become strong through effort, there were still innate stats.

Older incarnations naturally had lower base stats, which meant they’d fall behind or be eliminated from competition. And even aside from age, some simply didn’t wish to fight.

“Not everyone can participate in combat scenarios. Each incarnation has their specialty, and some are better suited to support roles.”

I was a bit impressed. What Selena Kim said was obvious, but some kinds of “obviousness” weren’t so obvious in practice.

'So Zarathustra’s reputation wasn’t false.'

No matter how weak they were, these incarnations were still part of the group’s strength. Training their support abilities while accepting the loss of direct combat power wasn’t an easy decision.

Yet Anna Croft had boldly bet on a future that hadn’t yet come. She must have believed that one day their usefulness would return greater profit.

However, our Korean conman didn’t seem pleased with the Las Vegas gambler’s strategy.

Kim Dokja was staring at a pile of dirt in one corner of the hall with an inscrutable gaze.

On a mound shaped like a field, people were scattering something that looked like fertilizer.

“Are you cultivating crops?”

“Yes. It’s time to prepare for future food sources.”

Selena Kim recited the lines as though rehearsed.

“When the scenarios end someday, humanity will have to grow its own food again. Anna is preparing for that era.”

The plants growing in the field were species not native to Earth.

Like “Janaspreta,” which had appeared on Earth during the Chronos Invasion—plants from other planets.

Kim Dokja stared quietly at one plant’s stem, then bent down and picked up a handful of the grayish soil. The moment the soil touched his hand, it decayed and crumbled instantly.

―This isn’t Earth’s soil.

“Otherworldly soil.”

There was only one condition under which “otherworldly soil” could exist—planetary invasion.

In other words, this soil had been created during the fifth scenario, the “Disaster Scenario.”

“This is strange. If the fifth scenario was cleared normally, all this soil should have disappeared.”

Why was this soil still remaining in America?

Shaking the dust off his hand, Kim Dokja looked around the hall once more.

By now, the processed earth dragon parts had turned into roughly shaped weapons.

Staring at those doubtful-looking weapons, Kim Dokja spoke.

“You may already know this, but the ‘Rank-4 earth dragon parts’ aren’t a cost-effective material. Compared to others of the same rank, they’re harder to process and end up less sharp. To be honest, they’re not something worth spending 650,000 coins on this early.”

He suddenly confessed outright that he’d scammed them.

“Normally, you’d buy the more efficient ‘Rank-5 ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) fire dragon bones,’ even if they’re slightly lower-grade. But you chose to buy Rank-4 earth dragon parts anyway, even taking the worse deal.”

And then—

“I know. Anna said the same thing.”

Knowing you were being scammed meant it wasn’t really a scam anymore.

Unexpectedly freed from the title of “conman,” Kim Dokja continued,

“If you bought them knowingly, that means there was a specific reason it had to be Rank-4 earth dragon parts. My guess is—”

Picking up a handful of dragon powder that had fallen during processing, he said,

“It’s probably because of this.”

He sprinkled the powder onto the tainted soil.

[‘Purification’ effect is activated.]
[Corrupted soil has been purified.]

Everyone in the hall froze.

The craftsmen carving bone, the ones tanning leather—everyone stopped and turned to look at Kim Dokja.

Some incarnations even reached for the hammers at their waists.

“Selena Kim. I think you’re a good person.”

Kim Dokja’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“I’m going to ask a few questions, and I hope you’ll still be a good person afterward. Then nothing will happen here.”

A few craftsmen jumped to their feet, but Selena Kim raised her hand slightly to stop them.

Kim Dokja asked,

“Selena Kim. Anna isn’t at ‘headquarters’ right now, is she?”

“……”

“You brought me here to buy time. Because I mustn’t interfere with your plan.”

Realizing she could hide it no longer, Selena Kim lowered her head deeply.

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Did you really clear the fifth scenario properly?”

“That’s—”

“Where is Anna now?”

That was when a small roar came from the hotel entrance.

[Constellation, ‘Terminator of War,’ has entered the channel.]
[Constellation, ‘Thursday’s Thunder,’ has entered the channel.]
[Constellation, ‘Guardian of the Great-Horn Bridge,’ has entered the channel.]

Familiar constellation modifiers entering the channel could be felt.

Through the window, a portal was visible at the hotel entrance.

A portal leading to another region.

Through that portal stumbled a single figure.

We immediately headed down to the lobby entrance.

When we reached the first floor, dazzling golden hair fluttering outside the lobby caught my eye.

Beyond that hair, emotionless red eyes.

There stood the prophet, Anna Croft.

Blood was streaming endlessly from her left arm—apparently she had been injured during the scenario.

As Selena Kim quickly prepared a tourniquet, Anna Croft spoke.

“The earth dragon parts?”

“They’ve been delivered. A small portion can be used immediately. We can start right—”

Anna Croft shook her head.

“It’s too late.”

Selena Kim’s face went pale.

“No way—”

“The operation failed. I don’t know why, but [Future Sight] shows me nothing. It looks like we’ll have to abandon the Washington Dome.”

In my head, the pieces of information came together rapidly.

Rank-4 earth dragon parts and their [Purification] trait.
The Washington Dome.
The Disaster Scenario.
And… our companions.

My heart began to pound violently.

No. It couldn’t be.

「“I can smell a demon king. At first I didn’t sense it at all, but after I fainted and woke up, I could clearly smell it.”」

Why had Anna Croft returned alone through that portal?

As Christina’s earlier words crossed my mind, an ominous premonition filled me.

And I wasn’t the only one who felt it.

“Anna Croft.”

The instant that voice was heard, Anna Croft’s expression stiffened.

With a rigid neck, she slowly turned toward us.

“How… how are you here?”

“Where is Yu Joonghyuk?”

The “Demon King of Salvation” I’d known until now was less a constellation and more like a lazy neighborhood hyung.

He hated boredom, wasn’t serious about anything, and always found a moment to tease someone.

But now that hyung—

“I’m asking you. What happened to Yu Joonghyuk?”

—was truly angry.