Cheon Inho of the 40th round.

His nicknames were “Evil Sophist” and “The One Who Deceived the Stars.”

I don’t know why he was given those nicknames. All I know is an extremely small amount of information about him.

That in the 3rd round, he was a small fry, and in the 40th round, he was an impressive villain.

That for a moment, he almost became Yoo Joonghyuk’s companion.

That on the eve of the ending of the 40th round, he fought Yoo Joonghyuk in a decisive, all-or-nothing match.

And that perhaps even after Yoo Joonghyuk regressed, he might have survived and continued the scenario.

「“I am the ‘Evil Sophist’ and ‘The One Who Deceived the Stars.’”」

Memories that rang in my head with an annoying buzz.

The memories I experienced through a light doze quietly surfaced in my head.

「“In my next life, I want to live comfortably too, riding the regressor bus.”」

On the Horror Realm’s “Subway Ride Home,” I briefly experienced the 40th round that Cheon Inho lived through.

To be honest, calling it an “experience” was just words—I lived for nearly three months in the 40th round.

There, I became Cheon Inho, and endured for a full three months together with Yoo Joonghyuk, who was being pursued by the Blood Cult.

「“Help me in this round.”」

Why did the Second Kim Dokja want to see Cheon Inho’s story?

“Cheon Inho.”

Why, out of all those “characters,” did I possess “Cheon Inho” of all people?

“Cheon Inho?”

I carefully called his name.

The lights-out room was dark and chilly. An atmosphere with no trace of life, as if it had been left abandoned for a long time.

When I moved one more step, the entire room lightly vibrated, as if an old beast was groaning. With bright light pouring in, a room of about thirty pyeong came clearly into view.

What caught my eye first was the various masks hanging on the wall.

“Aaht.”

Brother Giyeon, riding on my shoulders, made a strange sound. When I set him down on the floor as he squirmed on my shoulders, he stood in front of the display case of masks and began hopping.

“Aaht.”

Does he want to touch the masks?

“Aaht.”

“Do you want me to take it out?”

“Aaht.”

“Don’t cry like a metaphor.”

Sighing, I picked up a mask and handed it to Brother Giyeon.

The mask he chose was a small weasel-shaped mask. He must have liked it a lot, because with the mask on, he ran around the room with a big grin, pattering along.

I, too, followed behind Brother Giyeon and slowly observed the masks. Some masks were ones I’d never seen before, and some looked familiar.

There were masks that resembled the zodiac, and there were masks that resembled constellations.

There was a mask that looked like Dionysus of <Olympus>, and there was a mask that reminded me of Hades of <Underworld>.

And some masks resembled Surya of <Veda>.

Suddenly, Cheon Inho’s alias came to mind. “The One Who Deceived the Stars.”

Maybe all the masks here were a collection of the figures Cheon Inho disguised himself as with [Incitement].

As I looked at the masks with that thought, this room felt empty all over again.

Just as I had, Cheon Inho must have always had to disguise himself with [Incitement].

If Ms. Kim Anna heard, she would have snapped at me with, “Are you sympathizing with the greatest villain under heaven right now?”—but I couldn’t stop even the thoughts that suddenly rose up.

Maybe I, too, was a villain by nature. Cheon Inho, who became someone else through [Incitement], controlling people as he lived. What kind of ending did such a Cheon Inho want to see at the end?

After looking around the whole room, the place we stopped was in front of a small glass display case. Inside the display case, a red coat was displayed. It was the very coat Cheon Inho wore in his final battle with Yoo Joonghyuk.

“Aaht.”

“What.”

“Aaht.”

“You want me to take it out?”

“Aaht!”

“You want me to put it on? Right now?”

Because Brother Giyeon kept pestering me, I reluctantly took the coat out. When I slipped my arms into the sleeves and lightly draped it on, the coat wrapped around me naturally, as if it had been mine from the start.

[You have equipped the item, ‘Infinite Dimension Subspace Coat’.]

The same “Infinite Dimension Subspace Coat” as Kim Dokja’s or Yoo Joonghyuk’s.

But once I actually put it on, there was one thing I realized.

This outfit was not originally red.

A deep blood-stench coming from the coat. Here and there, white fabric that the stench had concealed remained in patches. No doubt about it. This coat was originally white.

At that moment, Brother Giyeon took my hand. When I turned back in surprise, Brother Giyeon was standing there, pointing at the full-length mirror beside us.

“Aaht.”

“Can you stop that already….”

In the mirror, Brother Giyeon and I were reflected.

A small Kim Dokja and a big Kim Dokja.

Holding hands, we almost looked like a father and son at a glance.

It was then that the mirror rippled.

Holding Brother Giyeon’s hand, I instinctively gripped the handle of “Unbreakable Faith.”

The next moment, my face in the mirror warped, then changed into a familiar face.

It was a face I knew well.

The very first face I saw when I possessed into this world—the face reflected in the subway screen door.

【You’ve changed a lot.】

Just hearing the voice gave me goosebumps. Instinctively, I had to judge whether this bastard had used [Incitement]. Fortunately, I couldn’t feel any trace of [Incitement].

【Excellent judgment.】

“…….”

【Before using [Incitement], you must always confirm it. Whether you are already being subjected to [Incitement].】

“Do you have to do a first greeting like this?”

Then Cheon Inho in the mirror smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Cut the jokes and come out of there already. It’s creepy, talking like that from inside a mirror.”

【I cannot leave here.】

“Why?”

【Because there is already an existence occupying my body.】

I see. Because I’m occupying his body, he can’t come out.

Then suddenly, Asmodeus’s words came to mind.

「Get a grip, Kim Dokja. If you don’t want to have all the ‘history’ you’ve built up taken from you by him.」

Could this bastard take my body whenever he wanted, if he made up his mind?

As if he had read my thoughts, Cheon Inho spoke.

【Sounds like you heard nasty words from a nasty demon. Don’t worry. I have no intention of taking your body right now.】

“That makes it sound like you intend to take it someday.”

【That depends on how you act.】

I grinned and snapped back.

“You think that kind of threat will work? This is already my body. It’s filled with the fables I built myself. No matter how much you’re a ‘Recorder of Horror,’ you can’t steal fables someone else built that easily. <Star Stream>’s plausibility won’t allow that.”

I said it like that, but honestly, I was anxious. Because of what Cheongheo of the Despair God said.

「“They can ‘rewrite’ this world.”」

If “Recorders of Horror” really had that kind of ability, then despite the backlash of plausibility, it might be possible for him to take my body.

Cheon Inho neither affirmed nor denied my words, only wore an ominous smile as he said this.

【You look very uneasy, Kim Dokja.】

That bastard—did he boil and eat a Kim Dokja somewhere?

Putting on a calm face, I replied.

“Why did you call me? Do you also want the interpretation of the ‘catastrophe-class horror’ I have?”

All three other “Recorders of Horror” had a purpose in calling me.

Lycaon called me to warn me, Heavenly Flying Fox called me to obtain the interpretation I had, and Asmodeus seemed to have called me just because he wanted to screw me over.

So why did Cheon Inho call me?

“If you want this ‘interpretation,’ I’m willing to trade with you.”

I also had a purpose in coming here.

「To obtain the power of Cheon «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Inho of the 40th round.」

Even now, I clearly remembered the scene I saw through Anna Croft’s [Past Vision].

In a world where all the stars had fallen, on the eve of the end of the world, Cheon Inho matched that powerful Yoo Joonghyuk.

He and I were using the same body, and we grew strong based on the same skills.

In other words, “Cheon Inho of the 40th round” was a kind of peak this body could reach.

If I could quickly gain that power, honestly, no matter who the enemies waiting in front of me were, it felt doable.

But Cheon Inho looked oddly indifferent.

【That interpretation certainly has interesting aspects, but to be honest, I have no interest.】

It seemed not every Recorder of Horror wanted my interpretation. But because it was one of the answers I expected, I didn’t panic.

“Then trade for something else. I’ll help you complete your ‘one and only sentence.’ In exchange—”

【I don’t need help.】

“What?”

【Because I already completed my ‘one and only sentence.’】

This time, even I couldn’t help but be startled. I wanted to know what his completed “one and only sentence” was. At the same time, I didn’t want to know.

【I can guess why you came here. You want the ‘time stratum’ I have, correct?】

I nodded for now.

【You already have the ticket to enter that ‘time stratum.’】

Something came to mind in that instant.

When I went to the “40th round” through the “Subway Ride Home,” I received a message. That I had obtained the qualification to view the ending of the “Evil Sophist.”

Could that message have been a kind of permission?

But the words that followed from Cheon Inho were strange.

【Because we already have a ‘trade’ between us, don’t we?】

“What?”

【You don’t remember anything. Well, that’s only natural.】

“What do you mean?”

【Kim Dokja.】

Cheon Inho’s eyes were shining darkly, like an abyss.

【Do you really want to know?】

I felt a sense of déjà vu, like I’d been asked a similar question somewhere.

【Are you truly curious about why you are here, why it had to be you, why all of these stories were born at all?】

“I—”

【In order to reach the ending, you don’t necessarily have to know every story.】

Cheon Inho continued in a voice whose intent I couldn’t read.

【Wasn’t it painful enough for you already, just knowing who you are?】

Come to think of it, the one who made me realize my origin was “49% of Kim Dokja” was Cheon Inho in front of me.

【When you need it, just put on a mask. Continually incite yourself, and incite people. Deceive the world. Then—】

“To deceive the world well, you have to know the world well first.”

Cheon Inho shut his mouth.

“And damn it, right now, I’m you.”

【…….】

“If I’m going to get as strong as you, I’ll have to know who you are well too.”

For a moment, we looked at each other.

In that instant, I couldn’t define the emotions that surfaced in his eyes.

Anger, hatred, despair, sadness. There was no word that could describe what he felt. And so,

【If you truly think that.】

In that moment, Cheon Inho looked like a single “horror” to me.

【From now on, ‘write again.’】

“What?”

【At the end of the story you will write again are all the answers you seek.】

And then a message sounded.

[The turn of the Recorder of Horror, ‘The Evil Sophist,’ will soon end.]

I shouted urgently.

“Wait. Explain exactly! What do you mean, write again?”

【Until the rewriting is complete, I’ll keep this cute friend with me.】

“What?”

Since when was it? Brother Giyeon, who had been holding my hand tightly, was gone.

“You fucking bastard—”

The image of Cheon Inho in the mirror, and Brother Giyeon holding his hand, began to blur.

【Ah, and if I may give you one last piece of advice.】

I hurriedly reached my hand toward the mirror. But a powerful spark bounced me away.

【Do not trade the newly obtained ‘interpretation’ with other recorders.】

That was Cheon Inho’s last word.

The spark vanished, and I was left alone inside the mirror.

Me, wearing a red coat, looking like I awkwardly resembled Kim Dokja.

[The turn of the Recorder of Horror, ‘The Evil Sophist,’ has ended.]

As the surrounding scenery changed like waves, I found myself back in the “room of the time stratum.”

It seemed a lot of time had passed in the meantime, because all the Transcendent Seats who had been waiting for me were gone somewhere.

Somehow, it felt empty.

“Damn it.”

There wasn’t a single thing I properly accomplished.

I didn’t even meet Han Sooyoung, who was the goal when I entered, and I also gained almost no information about the Second Kim Dokja.

Of course, I heard several meaningful pieces of information about the “Recorders of Horror,” and I secured the right to use the “time stratum,” but… something was lacking.

What would it have been like if it were Kim Dokja?

If I were a proper Kim Dokja, I would have gotten a better result than this, for sure. With plausible fast talk, I would have even squeezed items out of Heavenly Flying Fox or Asmodeus, and I wouldn’t have had Brother Giyeon taken by Cheon Inho.

But I couldn’t do that.

Should I go in and meet the recorders one more time, even now…?

Bzzzz.

That was when the smartphone inside the coat vibrated.

Thinking it was the First, I turned on the screen, but there wasn’t any contact from anywhere.

Instead.

[‘A Horror Realm Guide Even Squid and Sunfish Can Understand’ has been updated.]

An update notice for the “Horror Realm Guide.” Come to think of it, this “guide” updated in real time.

[The ‘Founder of the Absolute Throne’ entry has been updated.]

Founder of the Absolute Throne.

As it happened, the update details were about the Outer God I hunted.

I opened the guide and searched for the related entry.

And.

+

* A portion of this document has been modified by SVRP.
SVRP. PW ???
Catastrophe-class horror— Founder of the Absolute Throne

+

Most of the record itself was content I already knew. An old catastrophe-class Outer God. The Outer God who made the “Absolute Throne,” an outlaw of the scenario….

But at the end of the scroll I kept pulling down, there was a strange link.

+

[Record Hidden]

+

Record Hidden? Without thinking, I clicked the link, and the record opened.

I blankly read the record. It felt unreal, so I closed the window and opened it again.

Content that didn’t match the guide at all.

And yet, that record was clearly written there, waiting for someone to read it.

I made a sound with my mouth and read that record out loud.

+

Good job.

+

It didn’t say who wrote that record. And yet, it was obvious who wrote it.

Over and over, I repeated that three-syllable word. And then I slowly stood up. All over again, I felt like this story still wasn’t over. Because she, and I, and countless Kim Dokjas, still hadn’t given up on this story. But then.

“Disciple!”

As it happened, the ones running toward me from afar seemed to think a little differently than I did. The Transcendent Seats running in front, with faces that looked like they had already given up on something. I gave Cheok Jun-gyeong a light bow.

“Did you meet the recorders?”

“Yes. But did something happen?”

Before Cheok Jun-gyeong could answer, Cheongheo of the Despair God beside him cut in.

“You, what in the world did you talk about with the recorders?”

Only after hearing Cheongheo’s flustered words did I belatedly realize something.

I looked around the empty air again and again.

Since when was it?

“The end has begun.”

The “countdown” above my head had disappeared.