‘Annihilation Method’ also featured <Twelve Zodiac> from time to time, and in the story Yu Joonghyuk had clashed with them on several occasions.

The representative case was the ‘137th round’.

But to talk about what happened in the 137th round, I first had to mention the 136th round.

It was something any reader who had aspirations of becoming the second Killer King and had succeeded in ‘rereading’ the novel at least twice would know, but in the 136th round Yu Joonghyuk fought and defeated none other than an Otherworldly Divinity: the ‘One Who Eats Dreams’.

「“I have become stronger.”」

To be precise, he didn’t properly fight; he was one-sidedly beaten to a pulp, then Yu Joonghyuk’s mental illness erupted—and that mental illness managed to infect an Otherworldly Divinity, allowing him to win by sheer luck.

Still, a victory was a victory.

The tale remained.

[The tale, ‘One Who Killed an Otherworldly Divinity’, begins its story.]

And that became the beginning of the troublesome 137th round.

[Constellation, ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’, glares at incarnation Yu Joonghyuk.]

[Constellation, ‘Rat Who Brings Plague’, says if he wants to fight, he should attend the ‘Twelve Zodiac Martial Ball’.]

On any other day, it was a provocation he would not have answered. But Yu Joonghyuk in the 137th round had defeated a colossal Otherworldly Divinity, the ‘One Who Eats Dreams’, and—as Han Sooyoung put it—his guts were hanging outside his stomach. He already rarely avoided picking fights, but this time he avoided them even less.

As a result, Yu Joonghyuk fell into a trap at the ‘Twelve Zodiac Martial Ball’, was beaten senseless, and died.

What the dying Yu Joonghyuk saw last was a rabbit stealing his liver and a rat devouring his nails.

Whether the ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’ lived on pretending to be Yu Joonghyuk afterwards or not was unknown, but one lesson was certain.

「“Even a great-personage constellation is still a constellation.”」

The final lesson left by the Yu Joonghyuk of the 137th round, whose liver and nails were ripped off.

「“So if you face the true body of a constellation, run no matter what.”」

It was advice that applied perfectly to me right now.

[Constellation, ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’, looks into you.]

A pitch-black shadow covered District 13.

From one end of the shadow, the outline of a tiger slowly appeared as though its shell were peeling off.

A height reminiscent of a high mountain.

Two red eyes hanging like ornaments at the mountain’s peak watched me.

Eyes like someone meticulously checking whether the product they ordered had arrived intact, examining carefully for stains or scratches.

After a suffocating silence, the ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ smiled as though satisfied.

[So you have finally come.]

The moment I heard the voice, my insides churned violently.

Yu Joonghyuk had been right.

Even a great-personage constellation was still a constellation. A being that had built a grand tale and become a star hanging in that sky.

And this was the true voice of a great-personage constellation. An echo that would have exploded the head of any ordinary person the instant they heard it.

The only reason my companions and I were unharmed was because the tales we had built so far were not insignificant.

“Dokja-ssi, what is that—”

As Gyeong Sein opened her mouth, Ye Hyeonwoo raised a finger to his lips, as if to say not to interrupt recklessly.

Seeing us like that, the ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ curved its mouth into a strange smile, as if finding us adorable.

[My little rice-flour remnant, you have grown quite a bit.]

It was an unpleasant expression.

[Now you might at least be a small rice-cake slice.]

Was that a joke from the days of “The Sun and the Moon”?

Only then did my frozen companions begin regaining their composure one by one.

It seemed the newly appeared <Twelve Zodiac> constellation did not harbor hostility toward us.

That much made sense—because the moment it appeared, the bear beastfolk also stopped moving.

[I have waited long for you.]

I gauged the mood and threw out a line.

“For someone who waited, you have been rather unresponsive lately.”

Quite some time had passed since we entered the ‘Recycling Center’. During that time I placed first in the ‘Twelve Zodiac Race’, cleared 「Three Little Pigs」, and even defeated the pig constellation brothers.

And yet, during all of that, the ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ had never once cheered me on.

Even though this was the home ground of <Twelve Zodiac>.

Personally, I had believed we had something of a connection, so I felt a bit disappointed.

Most of all, it had provided me with a ‘demon-species core’ early on, and I had hoped to thank it if possible—

[Little rice-cake slice. Why did you choose District 13?]

A tone that suggested jokes would not land here at all.

Come to think of it, I had only ever communicated with this one through ‘indirect messages’, so I had no way of knowing its true personality.

The ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ did not wait for my answer and instead nodded to itself before continuing.

[Well, it doesn’t matter. A district can be changed.]

“You’re… changing the district?”

[I no longer have time to waste on children’s games.]

The Tiger lazily waved its hand toward the air as though annoyed.

A towering portal in the sky swirled with a brilliant light.

[Come with me. I will become your patron.]

A tone truly befitting a constellation, and an offer equally constellation-like.

I opened my mouth, tense.

“I already have a backer constellation.”

Even if he was in critical condition and uncontactable, and even if he didn’t help much even when he wasn’t uncontactable—he was still undeniably my backer constellation.

So I couldn’t betray him over something like this. I had no intention of betraying him now or ever.

[Your synchronization rate with your backer constellation increases.]

The Tiger twitched its lips as though finding that fact extremely displeasing.

[That does not matter. I do not wish to be your ‘backer constellation’, but your ‘patron’.]

“What do you mean?”

[You will become my representative in the next ‘Twelve Zodiac Scenario’.]

Representative in the next scenario.

Whatever that meant, one thing was clear: the ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ was looking for an incarnation who would act as its representative in the next scenario.

If that was the situation, the knife handle was effectively in my hand.

“I’m sorry, but I have a scenario I must clear in District 13.”

[If you come with me, you need not concern yourself with such miscellaneous scenarios.]

With a low humming sound, a system message echoed in the air.

[Constellation, ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’, activates the authority of the Twelve Zodiac.]

[Constellation, ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’, allows the chosen representative to skip the lower scenarios of the ‘Recycling Center’.]

A bad premonition swept over me.

Wait. Skip the scenarios I’ve been clearing so far?

Just as the Tiger’s enormous right hand flashed with radiant light—

[No, no, no, no, no.]

A timid incantation sounded from behind. Faint and weak—unbelievable that it came from another constellation.

[Y-y-you must not go……!]

The Rat Who Eats Nails.

The Tiger’s gaze shifted slowly from me. The rat, which had peeked its head out behind my back, hurriedly lowered it. I could feel its trembling travel directly through my back.

The ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ parted its lips slightly. Half of its true body was shrouded in shadow, and its gleaming white fangs flashed.

[So the little rat was hiding in a place like this.]

A murderous incantation. My breathing grew heavy as though my heart had been bitten.

[I should have killed you earlier. This place shall be your grave.]

“Hold on.”

I stepped in front of the ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’ to shield him. The Tiger’s eyebrows bent sharply.

[Little rice-cake slice. What are you doing.]

The atmosphere was growing increasingly violent. Feeling the tale slowly boil, I swallowed hard.

Honestly, this was not a situation where a mere incarnation like me should intervene. The ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’ was also one of the <Twelve Zodiac>.

More than that— in the main story, the Rat was one of the constellations that harassed Kim Dokja and died.

But if my memory was correct, at least in this round, the ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’ was not a bad one.

「[Constellation, ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’, sponsors you 100 coins.]」

This one had supported me from the very beginning.

「[Constellation, ‘Rat Who Eats Nails’, agrees with incarnation Jeong Heewon’s will.]」

It helped Jeong Heewon awaken and lent a hand when plausibility was lacking.

And most importantly, it had information I needed regarding ‘Reader’s Alliance of Five Poisons’.

“Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes. You aren’t thinking of revealing your dignity here, are you.”

At this point, I had at least some reason to take a small gamble.

“You aren’t unaware of who is present here.”

With my glance as a signal, my loyal guardian—the First Wolf, Lycaon Isparang—appeared.

【Stand down, Twelve Zodiac.】

Just one incantation from him brought silence over the entire area. Even though because of our contract he could not exert his true power and only swayed weakly like a wind puppet, an Otherworldly Divinity was still an Otherworldly Divinity.

Ssssss……

Honestly, even receiving help through an incantation like this moved me greatly. The act of uttering such an incantation itself placed a heavy plausibility burden on Lycaon in his current state.

[Constellation, ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’, stares at the ‘Lost Guide’.]

As expected, the Tiger seemed bothered by Lycaon’s presence.

Lycaon had already subdued the symbolic body of the pig constellation. The Tiger would not want to take an unnecessary risk either.

At least as far as I knew, every one of <Twelve Zodiac> were cowards.

But there was something I didn’t know.

For instance, in Episode 137 of ‘Annihilation Method’, Yu Joonghyuk had said this:

「When their opponent ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) is ‘weak’, the <Twelve Zodiac> become terrifyingly persistent predators.」

[Do you take me for a fool?]

Shockingly, the Tiger did not seem the least bit shaken by Lycaon’s presence.

[If that thing were able to use its strength, it would have helped you when the bears arrived.]

A direct hit.

[For an Otherworldly Divinity to exist in a lower scenario like this, it must have entered a contract with absurd terms. I already know that it cannot move.]

To think it had even guessed the nature of the ‘Otherworldly Covenant’ I had formed.

[Your cleverness has been sufficiently proven, so I hope you stop playing now.]

I was honestly surprised.

This wasn’t the ‘Lying Dragon’. Was this truly the ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’?

In a cornered position with no retreat, I kept calm and answered.

“Even if Lycaon cannot fight, the same applies to you. If you were to use your true body’s strength here, you would bring a plausibility backlash upon yourself. If I block you here—”

[My actions are entirely plausible. I already told you, did I not?]

A ringing exploded in my skull. I could hear the tale echoing in real time.

「If you give me a rice cake, I won’t eat you.」

Only now did I begin to understand the meaning of this ‘tale’.

[I have merely come to receive my ‘rice cake’.]

With his declaration, a system message appeared.

[You have formed a contract with the ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’.]

[As the price for the contract, you received a ‘demon-species core’.]

[As repayment for the ‘demon-species core’, you must attend the ‘Twelve Zodiac Martial Ball’.]

I never imagined that the promise from back then had been transformed into a ‘contract’.

Perhaps this was exactly the Tiger’s ability.

It gave me an item I desperately needed, but in exchange placed a condition that seemed relatively cheap.

To hide the fact it was a ‘contract’.

[Do you understand now, little rice-cake slice.]

Now I had no choice but to attend the ‘Twelve Zodiac Martial Ball’.

Becoming its representative so suddenly was somewhat displeasing, but honestly, it wasn’t something I couldn’t do.

The problem was this:

If I left, could the remaining members of my party clear the scenario on their own?