783 chapter - Qualification of a Demon King (5)
783 chapter - Qualification of a Demon King (5)
The voice she had searched for so desperately.
In that instant, the tips of her fingers began to tremble.
What was going on.
Why was Go Jangwon’s voice coming from this guy.
「“D-do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me.”」
Listening to that voice, Gu Seonah gripped the hilt of her sword.
No doubt about it. This guy had killed Go Jangwon and absorbed him. Otherwise, there was no way a tale like this would be heard—
「“A good dad? How am I supposed to do that. I’m not even married yet, and I don’t have any kids……”」
After hesitating, Gu Seonah let go of the sword hilt.
Just a little more, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to listen just a little more.
[Tale, ‘Recorder of Things That Will Disappear’ continues its story.]
Gu Seonah listened and listened to the story. She wanted to hear even one more sentence. She wanted to know the truth.
What had happened to Go Jangwon. What had happened to him.
【You’ve finally succeeded.】
Startled, Gu Seonah turned her head back, and in the rainforest where rain was falling here and there, a swaying puppet was standing.
Gu Seonah recognized who he was right away.
“Asmodeus.”
From the incarnation body of the Demon King whose true name had been called, ts-ts-ts, sparks flew up.
“How did you get here?”
【Have you forgotten? I also belong to the ‘Gourmet Association’.】
Without loosening her tension, Gu Seonah glared at Asmodeus.
“What do you want.”
Asmodeus formed an inscrutable smile, then spoke.
【Kill Kim Dokja.】
“I was going to anyway.”
【However, you must not take his soul.】
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
【You are not a vessel that can contain his soul. You’re not protagonist material. You actually know that yourself, don’t you?】
Asmodeus let out a very theatrical sigh.
Gu Seonah glared at Asmodeus for a moment, then slowly got to her feet.
“This guy is mine.”
Looking down at the collapsed Kim Dokja, Gu Seonah thought.
This guy possessed memories related to ‘Go Jangwon’. Until she read all those memories, until she found out what had happened, she could not allow anyone to take his soul-body.
【Ah. That’s right. You were searching for another ‘reader’.】
Asmodeus laughed with his mouth half-covered, as if he already knew everything.
【But it seems you’re under a bit of a misconception. The soul you were looking for is not included in him.】
“How would you know that?”
【If you want to know the truth, kill him. And offer me his soul.】
Gu Seonah bit her lip.
「“R-reader!”」
The tale still ringing in real time in her ears.
Clenching her fists tight, Gu Seonah spoke.
“No. There’s still more I have to hear from this guy. So—”
【Heh heh, Kim Dokja fragments, honestly—】
Again, the sound ts-ts-ts rang out in the empty air. And Asmodeus’s incarnation body began to be wrapped in sparks.
【You’re going to regret this. Right now, ‘they’ are on their way.】
They?
Before Gu Seonah could ask again, Asmodeus’s incarnation body thinned.
【I could block them for you, but right now, it’s more fun to just watch.】
No sooner had Asmodeus’s incarnation body disappeared than she saw nearby grass rustling. The ones who emerged through the forest were faces she knew too.
[Found you.]
Incarnations grinning grotesquely at her were standing there.
Class B students. The incarnation terminals of <Twelve Zodiac>.
The Rat That Calls Forth Plague. And the Snake That Cuts Off Its Tail.
She knew the owners of those incarnation bodies as well. They had once been constellations belonging to the Misreader Alliance, but now they were guys whose egos had been eaten by their tales.
After their personalities changed, they’d maintained a decent relationship with her.
So why was it.
The moment she saw them, a cold sensation raced up her spine.
Something was different.
[Constellation, ‘Rat Who Calls Forth Plague’ is looking at you.]
[Constellation, ‘Snake Who Cuts Off Its Tail’ is looking at you.]
A fist flew in and slammed into her stomach in an instant. She couldn’t breathe properly. With a kuhk, blood burst out. From her ruptured organs, terrible pain surged in.
[You seem a lot weaker than we expected.]
It felt like her neck could snap at any moment in the grip holding her.
‘There’s no way.’
The ‘Snake Who Cuts Off Its Tail’ and ‘Rat Who Calls Forth Plague’ she knew were constellations that had already grown as weak as they could get.
After repeatedly forcing unreasonable fights against Cheon Inho, they had taken the Backlash of Plausibility and lost most of their tales; they were now so broken that they could barely carry out scenarios properly.
So where was this strength coming from.
[We went out of our way to spend expensive coins and even buy epithets.]
They bought epithets?
[We’ll have no face to show the higher-ups.]
Her heart dropped.
Under the principles of the ‘Recycling Center’, there were largely two types of constellations who could intervene in this battlefield.
One, constellations belonging to <Twelve Zodiac>.
And two, constellations of the ‘Gourmet Association’ sponsoring this scenario.
But there was one more way for other constellations to intervene in this world.
「If someone purchased the epithets of fallen <Twelve Zodiac> constellations?」
If those buyers were constellations of ‘Great Nebulae’.
Sweat trickled down her spine.
If that was so, then the ‘Recycling Center’ was no longer safe.
[Ah, the one we were looking for is over there.]
[You mean that pale one?]
If she opened her tale again and used 「Owner of the Twelve Zodiac」, could she defeat these guys.
She was not confident.
Gu Seonah no longer had much magic power left. The reason was that in the previous battle, she had wrung her tales out to their limit.
[Then what about this one?]
[Just kill her.]
The Rat Who Calls Forth Plague drew out long claws and swung its weapon toward Gu Seonah.
A blow she could neither dodge nor block.
The moment she tightly shut her eyes, something dull crashed into them.
[Huk?]
Staggering from a powerful body slam, the constellation dropped Gu Seonah.
When she lifted her head, a sturdily built man was standing in front of her, blocking them.
“Run.”
It was Lee Hyunsung, who had been unconscious until just a moment ago.
“Hurry.”
Looking closely, it wasn’t just Lee Hyunsung.
Standing beside Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon jutted out his lips and spoke.
“Now this is getting fun.”
She also saw Lee Jihye, who had drawn her longsword.
“You, grab that ahjussi and run. If ahjussi dies, Master will be pissed.”
It was strange. The [Daily Corpse] and [Hypnotic Agitation] she had used on the characters had been completely destroyed.
They no longer had any reason to protect her.
And yet.
“Please.”
Shin Yuseung held out her small hand and helped Gu Seonah up.
“Please save ahjussi.”
*
It was a terrible dream.
A dream where Kim Dokja and Kim Dokja aimed their swords at each other. A dream where I had no idea why such a thing had happened, or why it had to happen.
At the center of that dream, I drifted aimlessly.
The grating sound of blade clashing against blade. The sound of something being torn.
Feeling the vivid pain contained in that sound, I groaned.
Why did they have to fight. Why did such a universe have to exist.
「Youngest.」
Why did we have to be born as ‘Kim Dokja’.
My back was damp. As I steadied my breathing and opened my eyes, I saw the dim ceiling of a cave.
When I raised my stiff body, I saw someone building a fire at the cave entrance.
“Ms. Seonah.”
She looked just like me, but with slightly softer lines, and she gave a weak smile.
“What is going on here?”
“Well, as you can see.”
Gu Seonah’s appearance was a mess.
There were many new wounds on her. Her side had been ripped open in a long gash, and a chunk of flesh had been torn clean off her thigh.
What bothered me most was her blood vessels, which had turned a dark red.
“What happened to you.”
“It’d be a long story if I explained.”
Gu Seonah closed her mouth for a moment as if to gather her thoughts, then began to speak.
“It looks like constellations of Great Nebulae bought <Twelve Zodiac> epithets and came in.”
“No way—”
“It means this place is no longer safe either.”
“Did you save me?”
“……”
“Why? Wasn’t your goal to absorb me?”
Instead of answering, Gu Seonah lowered her head with a bitter smile. It seemed to mean she didn’t want to answer.
“And what were those memories you showed me.”
“What memories.”
“The ones with Kim Dokja in them……”
“Ah, those.”
Gu Seonah picked up a tree branch lying on the cave floor and flicked it into the fire as she spoke.
“I don’t really know either. They’re not my memories. I got them from someone.”
With her brow deeply furrowed, Gu Seonah let out a groan.
I quickly hurried over to her and checked her pulse. There was murky energy flowing along her tale meridians.
Blood vessels ruined by ‘Plague’.
The tales flowing along her meridians were in a state of such severe destruction that it was impossible to repair them.
“Ms. Seonah.”
As if fully aware of her own condition, Gu Seonah spoke.
“It’s fine. They’re wounds that can’t be healed even if I take a ‘Daehwandan’.”
“You don’t know that yet. There’s also the ‘Spirit of the Ellaine Forest’—”
“I know. I’ve read it eight times too. I’m telling you, it won’t work. There’s no way.”
Looking exhausted, Gu Seonah shook off my hand and leaned her body against the cave wall.
Watching her go cold in real time, I didn’t know what I was supposed to say.
Seeing me like that, Gu Seonah spoke as if it was funny.
“What are you so worried about? I was trying to kill you until just a moment ago.”
“That was because of a misunderstanding—”
“Misunderstanding……”
It seemed the Forest of Demons had entered a bit of a lull. The clamor of weapons echoing from all sides had grown faint, and I could no longer hear anyone screaming.
It might mean there were hardly any students left now.
“Do you happen to know someone named ‘Go Jangwon’?”
I thought for a moment, then shook my head.
“Is he a possessed reader?”
“Yeah.”
I tried to think about a reader named Go Jangwon.
But I couldn’t recall any particular memory.
“I read a little from your memories. He was, you know, wearing some kind of military outfit.”
Some kind of military outfit.
“Could you be talking about Warrant Officer Jeong Munho, sir?”
“Jeong Munho?”
“He was the one who possessed Jung Heewon’s father.”
Gu Seonah’s eyes went wide.
“I see. So that guy was Jung Heewon’s dad. No wonder he was so……”
Muttering “Jung Heewon” and “dad” several times, Gu Seonah coughed, looking oddly delighted.
“That bastard hasn’t even done his military service yet, but here he’s a soldier. Tell me more.”
I told her about Warrant Officer Jeong Munho as I knew him.
Gu Seonah listened to my story while holding even her breathing in check. I wondered if Kim Dokja had worn ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) that expression when he read ‘Annihilation Law’.
“That guy was in the Cultivation Faction? Ha, that coward.”
Warrant Officer Jeong Munho, who had become a lackey of the Cultivation Faction.
“And he got beaten up here too?”
Warrant Officer Jeong Munho, who had eventually joined our side but got beaten like a dog by a Cultivation Faction expert in the first round of the sparring match.
“How was he in the end?”
Warrant Officer Jeong Munho, who had thrown himself to save his son, Jung Eunho.
A man who had willingly sacrificed himself to protect a character’s story.
「“Well done, Heewon.”」
I had only now learned his name.
“So that’s how it was.”
His name was ‘Go Jangwon’.
“At the end the Black Hand took his soul, right?”
I nodded.
She seemed to know who that ‘Black Hand’ was.
Once again, she spat up blood, and along with the pitch-black blood, tales began to flow out from all over Gu Seonah’s body.
“They’re here.”
“Ms. Seonah.”
I knew it too. I had already been sensing ominous movements from outside the cave.
There were two of them in number. Both possessed an energy that surpassed that of high-rank demonfolk. They might be the constellations of those ‘Great Nebulae’ Gu Seonah had mentioned.
I hurriedly slung Gu Seonah onto my back and started running.
How far could we get.
Should I use [Wind’s Path].
If I called Yu Joonghyuk or Jung Heewon, would they be able to arrive in time.
“You know what you have to do, right?”
Gu Seonah spoke.
“If you do nothing again, my soul will be stolen just like Jangwon’s was.”
“I told you. I have no intention of absorbing you—”
“Have you ever thought about it? It might not really matter whether we’re Kim Dokja or not. In the end, the primordial universe must have started from a single point.”
“What are you suddenly—”
“We’re just going back to that point. There’s nothing to be afraid of, nothing to fear.”
An arrow from somewhere grazed my calf, and I fell flat on the ground.
[Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name’ clicks its tongue.]
Gu Seonah reached out and grabbed my hand. The memories of her slowly dying self began to flow into me.
「“Youngin, what are you watching?”」
In those memories, a man was asking her.
「“A novel.”
“Is it fun?”」
“Is it fun?”」
The two of them faced each other and laughed.
「“What’s it about?”
“It’s a story where the protagonist keeps dying.”」
“It’s a story where the protagonist keeps dying.”」
If everything was born from a single point, could Go Jangwon and Gu Seonah meet again at the period of this story.
The sound of footsteps. The stars hunting us were approaching.
“I only have one request.”
The power of her soul that flowed in filled my entire body.
“Kill the one who stole Go Jangwon’s soul.”
The back that carried her slowly grew lighter. When I looked back, her body had already scattered and was gone.
All that was left in the place where she had been was a single holy sword. Raybringer.
[You have acquired a very large ‘Kim Dokja fragment’!]
[Your remaining lifespan increases dramatically!]
[A massive amount of ‘loss’ is recorded!]
Clutching Raybringer in my hand, I rose to my feet.
I saw two constellations charging through the undergrowth.
[We’ve finally found you.]
The Rat Who Calls Forth Plague and the Snake Who Cuts Off Its Tail.
Strictly speaking, they were the ones wearing those masks.
Judging from the tales I felt, they seemed to be guys from <Olympus> or <Asgard>. They were holding incarnations under their arms. Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, Lee Jihye, and even Shin Yuseung.
[Today’s haul is going to be big.]
That alone was enough to guess how strong these stars were.
Hero-grade constellations skilled at close combat.
They were cleaners suitable for ‘Great Nebulae’ to dispatch to the Recycling Center.
[Constellations of the ‘Gourmet Association’ regret your impending end.]
[Constellations of <Twelve Zodiac> savor your impending end.]
Previously, they would have been enemies too much for me to handle.
But.
[Your ‘grade’ temporarily exceeds the scenario’s restriction standard!]
[The Administration Bureau is greatly flustered by the grade you now contain!]
[Exclusive skill, ‘Agitation’ awakens!]
The tale inside me was speaking.
[Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name’ laughs maniacally.]
The moment had finally come for me to inherit ‘that power’.
With demonic energy flowing out from my entire body, a small horn burst out through my head.
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation (Acting)’ reveals his true grade.]
Noticing that the situation was going in a very bad direction, the two constellations threw aside the characters and charged.
One used fists. The other, a sword.
Even when their weapons had drawn so close they were right in front of my nose, I was not looking at them.
What I was looking at was far beyond the sky.
Two stars hiding between distant galaxies, wearing <Twelve Zodiac> shells.
[Constellation, ‘Brothers of the Undying’ feels your gaze!]
[Constellation, ‘Forgotten Monster Hunter’ is shocked by your gaze!]
The two stars that took my gaze flared violently.
I gave them a command.
[Explode.]
From far beyond the universe, I heard the sound of stars bursting.