The black beast looked down upon the city of Washington with cold, distant eyes. Anyone else might not have noticed, but there was no way I could fail to recognize that figure. Without a doubt, that creature was Yu Joonghyuk.

[You have confirmed a new ‘Sub Scenario.’]

+
<Sub Scenario – Beast Hunt>
Classification: Sub
Difficulty: ???
Clear Condition: Subdue the ‘black beast’ ruling over the city of Washington.
Time Limit: ―
Reward: Legendary-grade Tale, 300,000 Coins, S-grade Skill Selection, ???
Failure: ―

+

What on earth was happening right now. I had clearly come here to subdue the ‘ruler of the Washington Dome.’ Then why had a scenario arrived telling me to subdue Yu Joonghyuk instead?

‘Backer-nature, sir?’

But Kim Dokja did not answer.

Instead, a faint voice echoed inside my head.

―Constellation-nim. So, about how this happened……

Bihyung’s voice.

It seemed Kim Dokja was already questioning Bihyung about the scenario.

―This wasn’t our intention…… It’s true that we sold your epithet, Constellation-nim, but……

From the sound of it, this scenario wasn’t Bihyung’s doing.

In any case, the situation was turning bad. The incarnations’ eyes were beginning to change.

“Hey. Did you check the rewards?”

“Yeah.”

“If we pull this off, we’re going to strike gold.”

The incarnations who had first feared the black beast were now returning one by one toward the capitol. A legendary-grade Tale and 300,000 Coins. And even an S-grade Skill Selection. Those were rewards no ordinary ‘sub scenario’ could ever grant.

―Kid. Listen carefully from now on.

Right on cue, Kim Dokja’s voice came back to me.

―That bastard has two ‘Tale Engravings’ activated right now.

‘What exactly are Tale Engravings?’

Since ‘Tale Engraving’ was not a concept that appeared in ORV’s mainline, I quietly listened to Kim Dokja’s explanation.

According to him, there were three Tale Engravings currently inscribed on Yu Joonghyuk’s body.

「Constraint of Truth」
「Constraint of Emotion」
「Constraint of Life」

―‘Constraint of Truth’ is a power that can be used by paying a price in a portion of one’s past memories. An ordinary human who overuses it turns into an idiot, but that guy has more than enough memories to spare, so it isn’t much of a burden to him.

I had also heard about the first Tale Engraving from Anna Croft. When he activated it, Yu Joonghyuk had slaughtered four viscount-class demons in a single instant.

The problem lay with the second Tale Engraving.

―‘Constraint of Emotion’ is an engraving that consumes your emotions as the price. Using that one causes you to gradually lose your identity as a human. In other words……

‘You become a beast.’

―Exactly.

Could it be that Yu Joonghyuk’s transformation into a beast was because of that?

―But normally, even if you use ‘Constraint of Emotion,’ beastification never progresses that far. At most, an arm or a leg would change a little. But that bastard has reached full beastification, and on top of that, his physical class has risen several tiers.

‘I think I just found a clue.’

A shard was glimmering faintly on the ground near the capitol.

―Grab it! Quickly!

I darted forward and bent down to snatch up the fragment.

[You have acquired a very small ‘Kim Dokja Fragment.’]
[The fragment is too small to be recognized as ‘Vanished.’]
[The Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ devoured the fragment with a displeased expression.]
[Your lifespan increases.]
[Five minutes have been added to the time limit.]

My lifespan had increased, if only slightly. And then—

「……」

A story began to echo.

It was the story of a demon. Born as a Dark Watcher, it evolved by collecting ‘Kim Dokja Fragments.’ The memories of a being who only wanted to escape the fate of being an extra.

「“You die here.”」
「[Incarnation ‘Yu Joonghyuk’ activates ‘Constraint of Truth’!]」

The Yu Joonghyuk of the 41st round was terrifyingly strong. Combat power equal to that of a marquis-class demon. The two exchanged more than a hundred blows in an instant, then caught their breath while probing for openings.

Slash, tear, cut, stab. The more wounds covered its body, the more the demon shrank back.

It had thought it had become strong enough. It had killed and devoured countless humans. It had taken their power. Yet what was this ‘human’?

「“So one engraving alone isn’t enough. I hadn’t planned to use this power here, but……”」

As Yu Joonghyuk muttered, his entire body was enveloped in pitch-black light.

「[Incarnation ‘Yu Joonghyuk’ activates ‘Constraint of Emotion’!]」

Finally, Yu Joonghyuk’s second Tale Engraving had been activated. Jet-black fur began to spread over his entire body. His chest and thighs bulged, veins protruded, and the coarse muscles beneath his skin rippled.

After that, the demon’s memories were partly ruined. Scenes of something black racing, scenes of the demon’s body being torn apart, shredded, devoured. Only emotions smeared with fear and horror remained, congealed inside the fragment.

「The demon was unlucky. Its opponent happened to be the ‘Conqueror.’」

The demon, torn to pieces, stretched out a hand as if begging for life. It was something it had learned from the countless humans it had killed.

「The demon was lucky. Its final opponent happened to be ‘Yu Joonghyuk.’」

Ordinarily, Yu Joonghyuk would never have taken that hand. But at that moment, he had two Tale Engravings activated.

Because of ‘Constraint of Truth,’ part of his memories was controlled; because of ‘Constraint of Emotion,’ part of his reason was paralyzed. With only instinct remaining, the instant he saw the fragment shining at the demon’s fingertips, Yu Joonghyuk reached out as if possessed.

「Kim Dokja Fragment.」

When Yu Joonghyuk’s hand touched the fragment, his eyes went blank. His soul wavered; [Sage’s Eye] opened a gap, and his [Mental Barrier] collapsed. The demon did not miss that final chance.

「At last, the demon obtained the opportunity to become the protagonist of this story.」

Goosebumps crawled down my spine. I reflexively murmured toward Yu Joonghyuk standing atop the capitol.

“Yu Joonghyuk?”

The black beast looked down at me. It was not the gaze of someone recognizing me.

「Demon.」

A black beast left with nothing but deep mistrust and hatred toward the world. The beast released a long howl toward Washington.

The soul-shaking howl made several incarnations blanch white and collapse on the spot. Yet there were also those whose morale ignited instead.

“Kill it! The rewards are ours!”

The ones who charged first were a group of incarnations from the Middle East. Wearing worn combat uniforms and keffiyehs over their heads, they shouldered their firearms and opened fire at once.

“Fire!”

As mana bullets reminiscent of [Gangmashi] formed a mesh of light, the entire capitol soon filled with a pale haze of dust.

“Wait! Stop! I said stop!”

I shouted as I ran toward them. Of course, the one I was worried about wasn’t Yu Joonghyuk.

“Guaaah!”

Through the whitish haze, spurts of blood burst upward. Incarnations with only their lower halves remaining crumpled like dolls.

—We’re screwed, kid.

‘That demon really is inside Yu Joonghyuk, right?’

—Yeah.

‘Do we need to perform an exorcism or something?’

—The Vatican people aren’t here. And even if some average exorcist came, it wouldn’t matter. That demon’s a ‘marquis’ too.

‘Then what do we do?’

—We have to release the Tale Engravings first.

I was just about to ask how we were supposed to do that when—

[This ‘Sub Scenario’ has special clear conditions.]

A scenario message appeared before my eyes.

+

   1. To subdue the ‘black beast,’ you must remove the ‘eight fragments’ embedded in the beast’s back.

   2. If you successfully remove a fragment and offer it to your nebula, you can obtain a great reward.

+

It was obvious what those eight fragments sprouting from Yu Joonghyuk’s back were.

‘Kim Dokja Fragments.’

I recalled the abnormally powerful Grade-4 Earth Dragon species. Even that dragon, having absorbed only one fragment, had been Grade-4. How powerful would Yu Joonghyuk be after absorbing eight?

At that moment, the beast’s golden eyes turned this way. To be exact, they weren’t looking at me, but at the woman standing beside me.

「The demon felt an unknown murderous intent.」

The instant I turned toward her, the beast’s form vanished almost simultaneously. That ‘black beast’ was in a state with reason erased and only instinct remaining.

“Anna!”

And the incarnation at my side was the enemy Yu Joonghyuk hated most.

The beast’s forepaw, which had reached us in an instant, aimed straight for Anna’s head. At the moment Anna widened her eyes and stumbled backward, the king’s guardian waiting in the rear moved.

“Goddess!”

On the back of Selena Kim’s hand, the ‘Aegis Shield’ was summoned.

In the 3rd round, Selena Kim had received the blessing of the goddess Athena. She must have received the divine relic again this time as well.

Kwaaaang!

The ‘Aegis Shield’ clashed with Yu Joonghyuk’s forepaw.

A divine relic of a constellation at the Tale grade. And Selena Kim, the one wielding it, was a powerhouse who would later be counted among the ‘Top 100 Extermination Specialists.’

“Argh!”

Yet even she couldn’t withstand a single strike and was sent flying dozens of meters away.

Her knee twisted as if broken; struggling to rise, Selena Kim shouted.

“Anna, run…!”

“Step back, Prophet!”

Charging forward next with fierce bravery was the incarnation of Lancelot, Elliot Haston.

Drawing a sword that scattered pure white light, Elliot galloped forward on his steed, Griffith. A dozen knights followed close behind him.

“Stars of the Round Table!”

[At the request of the character ‘Elliot Haston,’ ‘Justice of the Round Table’ is activated!]
[The ‘Round Table Council’ is convened.]

The Round Table Council.

I widened my eyes and asked,

‘Backer-nature, sir, is that—’

—Wow, even I’ve never seen that one before.

Just as the ‘Judgment of Sin’ constellation could activate [Hour of Judgment] with the consent of other constellations of absolute good, the ‘Knights of the Round Table’ could manifest [Justice of the Round Table] through the Council’s approval.

[The ‘Round Table Council’ agrees to the skill activation.]
[Character ‘Elliot Haston’ activates ‘Justice of the Round Table’!]

A majestic aura of the Round Table surged from Elliot Haston’s entire body. In response, radiant brilliance flowed from the bodies of the gathered knights.

“Slay the monster!”

Forming a wedge formation, the knights charged fiercely toward Yu Joonghyuk. For a moment, it seemed that might actually deal him some damage.

Then explosive mana burst out from the black beast’s entire body. The power gathered in its forepaw poured toward the knights like a barrage of shells.

[Heaven-Sundering Collapse Fist].

Screams and groans echoed from everywhere.

When the dense haze of dust cleared, the devastation of the battlefield was laid bare. Across the capitol, knights lay sprawled like broken dolls, their limbs torn apart.

“H-How can—”

Even Elliot had a small hole through his abdomen and was vomiting blood.

Even the powerful Knights of the Round Table hadn’t been able to suppress Yu Joonghyuk.

Inside my head, I heard Kim Dokja clicking his tongue.

—You can’t win that. It’s better to retreat. Even if Feihu and Ranbir Khan were both here, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Hearing even Kim Dokja say that, a faint guilt crept over me. Perhaps all of this was my fault.

「“You stop it.”」

Maybe Yu Joonghyuk had already known he would end up like this, and that was why he’d tried to bring me along.

「“I don’t know the reason, but if I receive that memory, I will stop moving.”」

I clenched my fist, biting my lip.

‘I still have a way.’

Yu Joonghyuk’s mind had wavered because of the ‘Kim Dokja Fragment.’

Then what if I could shake his head again—strike him with an even stronger memory?

‘Backer-nature, sir. Possess me again.’

Unfortunately, that wasn’t something I could do on my own.

—No.

‘Why not?’

—The cooldown’s not over. And there aren’t enough coins to pay for plausibility.

‘I’ll provide the coins. How long’s the cooldown?’

—Ten minutes.

My mind went blank. Ten minutes was enough for all of Washington to be razed and every incarnation here wiped out.

I turned to Anna. There was no choice. We’d have to retreat now and wait for another chance—

“Cheon Inho.”

But Anna’s eyes looked strange. Her ‘Eye of the Archdemon’ was spinning, sparking with a sinister glow.

I realized what was happening.

“Do you see the future?”

“He’s coming.”

Anna’s voice trembled with confusion.

Before I could even ask who was coming, I saw a portal swirling in the distance.

Hadn’t all the incarnations who could come already arrived?

Whoever it was wouldn’t change anything. Even if Feihu and Ranbir Khan showed up, they couldn’t stop this.

And then, through the portal, a massive animal’s forepaw appeared.

Kugugugu—

Incarnations riding on a beast resembling an elephant.

Indian incarnations? Could it be Ranbir Khan himself?

Then laughter echoed from somewhere.

The instant I saw the incarnation at the center of the formation, a realization flashed through my mind.

“Hahaha! Yu ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Joonghyuk! I’ve come!”

Why had I forgotten that existence?

I remembered the ‘seventh scenario’ of the third round.

In the original third round, Seoul had been occupied by a certain cult.

Since I hadn’t heard anything this time, I’d thought maybe the scenario had changed and that cult had vanished.

That had been naïve.

—Ah, perhaps.

He was the only incarnation who had defeated the ‘Conqueror’ in the third round.

A beautiful figure spreading her arms wide like a blooming lotus spoke toward Yu Joonghyuk.

“What a splendid form, Yu Joonghyuk.”

The Guru of Salvation, Nirvana Möbius, had arrived on the battlefield.

“But why have you become one with another being instead of with me?”

And perhaps, just slightly, she sounded angry.