The Demon King of Salvation—the first Kim Dokja—hurriedly patched up the hole-riddled library and shouted.

「(Kids! Block that over there! Hurry!)」

At the Demon King of Salvation’s order, the little Kim Dokjas scurried around. When a few of them covered the broken frame of the library with newspaper, the fables that had been thrashing about quieted down.

After the series of incidents the Youngest went through in the Terror Order, the [Fourth Wall]’s composition had become extremely unstable.

It was probably because this [Fourth Wall] itself wasn’t a complete form.

Frowning, the first Kim Dokja flipped through the newspaper on the table.

「(Damn it. At this rate—)」

Honestly, what was happening in the library was nothing compared to what the Youngest was dealing with.

The [Fourth Wall] shook once more, and a new sentence formed on the newspaper.

「Kugugugugugu!」

On the blank page, the battle between Kim Dokja and Kim Dokja continued.

The first Kim Dokja—having confirmed “that guy” facing the second Kim Dokja, the King of Terror—bit down hard on his lip.

‘So that guy actually showed up.’

He knew that sometimes the guy would come to meet the Youngest by borrowing the form of a dream, but he never expected such blatant interference.

It was probably only possible because that place was the “snowfield”.

The snowfield was a place that received the least influence from the <Star Stream>’s plausibility.

Even so, because of the fables the two Kim Dokjas were spewing out, the entire snowfield was choked with sparks.

That was when the Youngest’s thoughts surfaced on the newspaper.

「Wait—maybe that guy could work too?」

Looks like the Youngest was planning to stop this fight. At the judgment that was so like the Youngest, the first nodded and thought.

If it were me, who would I call?

Since the [Unidentified Wall] had the restriction that it couldn’t send messages to other worldlines, the options were limited in the end.

‘The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, or Uriel?’

The problem was whether he could “summon” them to the “snowfield”. No matter how strong a constellation was, even if the Youngest asked for help, the beings he could summon into the “snowfield” were limited.

The first Kim Dokja immediately turned on his smartphone and made a call.

「(Damn it, is the third brat on a plane again?)」

As expected, the third Kim Dokja didn’t pick up.

And it didn’t seem like he could ask for help from Yoo Joonghyuk of another worldline, or <Kim Dokja Company>, either.

In the case of <Kim Dokja Company>, they didn’t even have a way to enter this snowfield……

No.

Did it really have to be only beings who could come to the “snowfield” to stop this situation?

A bad premonition rose in his mind.

「(Wait. Youngest, don’t tell me.)」

No way. No matter how crazy the Youngest was, he wouldn’t attempt something like that. If he screwed up, the entire Terror Order could get blown away in one go—

「(No, right? Hey! You bastard!)」

The next moment, the blank page where the Youngest’s story was being narrated began to tear, slowly.

*

I told Jang Hayoung the name I’d thought of and asked if she could send a message. Jang Hayoung answered.

[Hm. Officially, I’m hearing that person isn’t a being affiliated with the <Star Stream>?]

“Then I can’t?”

[The message can go through. This is my first time seeing a case like this. That’s interesting.]

Then it wasn’t hopeless.

The problem was whether I could persuade “that being”.

[What should I send? For reference, I can only send exactly one sentence.]

“Can you send an item with it too?”

As far as I knew, the [Unidentified Wall] had a function that could exchange skills or items.

[What is it?]

“This.”

Jang Hayoung looked down at what I handed her, then nodded.

[If it’s this, I can transmit it. The message?]

After I took a light breath and relayed the message, Jang Hayoung tilted her head and asked back.

[You’re really sending it like that?]

“Yes.”

[This is the first weird message I’ve seen since ‘grow, hair hair’…… Alright, I sent it.]

The message was transmitted. The message that flew through the wall would cross this “snowfield” and be delivered to the man drifting through far-off space.

How would he react after opening it? Honestly, I couldn’t predict it. He was the kind of man you couldn’t get a read on.

10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds…… 1 minute.

Time passed, and no reply came.

Seeing my expression, Jang Hayoung asked.

[Are you anxious?]

“I am.”

Jang Hayoung stared at me for a moment, then said.

[Kim Dokja was always anxious too.]

“Was he? He’s a bit different from the Kim Dokja I know.”

I thought about Kim Dokja from the main story. The Kim Dokja I remembered was always a calm man.

Then Jang Hayoung smiled.

[People who try too hard to hide it, it shows even more.]

Kim Dokja as a human being, not recorded in the main story. Maybe Jang Hayoung had read Kim Dokja’s wall.

[Seeing you brings back a lot from back then.]

“Well, I’m Kim Dokja too.”

[You’re trying hard to think that way, right?]

“Does the [Unidentified Wall] have a function for rattling off other people’s inner thoughts too?”

[A perfect Kim Dokja way of talking.]

“I worked at it.”

[That’s what I find so strange. You’re already Kim Dokja, but you’re trying to become Kim Dokja.]

I gave a hollow smile. A question I’d been wanting to ask suddenly came to mind.

“What kind of Kim Dokja was the King of Terror?”

[A guy who understood sadness.]

Jang Hayoung continued, looking up at Asmodeus’s seal floating in the air.

[Even if he didn’t say anything, if you stood next to him, you felt like you were being understood. I liked that feeling, so I stayed by his side for a long time.]

“Aren’t you disappointed?”

[I am. But it can’t be helped. He told me. If something like this happens, never interfere.]

Not getting involved in Kim Dokja’s fight.

That was probably the promise between the “King of Terror” and the “warrior”.

It hit me again.

The King of Terror, and the Kim Dokja of the snowfield. How serious both of them were about this fight.

No matter who became the final Kim Dokja, they intended to fill the ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) blank space of this story purely with a “war of Kim Dokjas”.

And what about me?

“I’m a coward.”

[Why?]

“Because I’m trying to borrow the power of another being in the fight between Kim Dokjas.”

I imagined the Kim Dokja of the snowfield and the King of Terror locked in a fierce battle inside the seal.

To be honest, after witnessing their true power, I’d been overwhelmed the whole time.

After passing through the time stratum of the 40th round, I thought I’d gotten pretty strong. At least in this snowfield, I believed I could measure up against anyone I faced.

But the moment I actually saw the two of them, that confidence vanished like it had been washed away.

The sensation of seeing beings far more “complete” as Kim Dokja than I was.

If you only compared the number of “Kim Dokja fragments,” there probably wasn’t a huge difference between me and the “King of Terror,” and yet our degree of completion was drastically different.

A kind of noble blue that only a being who understood their own fables better than anyone else could emit. A “difference in noble blue” that could only be described that way existed between them and me.

[Is that a bad thing?]

At Jang Hayoung’s question, I snapped out of my thoughts.

[Asking for help was always Kim Dokja’s specialty.]

“Thanks for the comfort.”

[That’s not comfort. It’s just a fact. And do you think becoming a coward is something easy?]

Jang Hayoung continued without any change in expression.

[Only people who know what’s precious to them can become cowards. Kim Dokja knew that well. If it was for his companions, that guy could become a con artist in this <Star Stream> again and again.]

“…….”

[Just like you are now.]

I gave a bitter smile.

“That’s assuming my con actually succeeds.”

Still, no reply came through the [Unidentified Wall].

From far away, with a crackle— sound, I could see Asmodeus’s [Silver Screen Seal] breaking apart.

【Kuhhhhh—】

Asmodeus’s painful scream. At last, all five minutes Asmodeus promised had passed.

At this rate, the plan would fail.

But I still had one more card.

[You have successfully interpreted ■■-grade terror, ‘Sophist of Evil’.]
[Would you like to collect the delayed reward?]

I still hadn’t received the reward for clearing the time stratum, ‘Sophist of Evil’.

I didn’t know what I’d get from this reward, but if I used it, the odds would at least rise a little.

Clutching “Unbreakable Faith” tightly, I repeated my breathing. Even if I died here, even if I couldn’t stop them, I’d do as much as I could. Like Kim Dokja.

[Wait.]

At that moment, Jang Hayoung stopped me.

[Something came.]

I could feel it too. From beyond that sky, some strange presence was approaching.

A massive noble blue tearing through the entire distant space as it flew in.

For that instant, the Kim Dokja of the snowfield, the King of Terror, and Asmodeus—all of them had no choice but to look up at the sky with the same expression.

As if something had just occurred to him, Asmodeus looked down at me and shouted.

【What the hell did you call—!】

Looking at Asmodeus’s face turned deathly pale, I recalled the name of the man I’d summoned.

If something like that was flying in, it meant my message had arrived properly.

For reference, the message I sent him was as follows.

*

—I will send you back, by regression, to the past you wanted to return to.

When he first received that message, Jaehwan thought, so there’s a lunatic in this universe too.

It was obvious who the lunatic was.

“From the way it’s written, it’s that bastard, isn’t it.”

No doubt it was that pale bastard—the one who gets called “Teacher Jaehwan”—sending this message.

“Sending this kind of bullshit… Looks like you want to die.”

Jaehwan, the Monarch Slayer.

Anyone who knew even a little about him knew this: the word he hated most was “regression”.

Because of that damned “regression,” he lost his comrades, lost his friend, and had to continue the journey of climbing the horrific 《Nightmare Tower》 alone.

And now someone dared to offer him “I’ll make you regress”.

Regardless of whether that offer was even possible, it wasn’t something anyone could do unless they had guts spilling out of their belly.

Jaehwan began to put strength into the sword he drew from his waist.

“Looks like you’re hiding in some weird place.”

As an awakener, his special ability manifested.

「Doubt」 and 「Understanding」.

The path the message had flown along was read clearly across his retinas.

“You thought I wouldn’t be able to find you if you hid?”

In Jaehwan’s swordplay, an enormous force of stabbing began to condense.

Enough power to tear a whole world apart.

Across his entire body, sparks burst and spilled like fireworks.

[The Bureau has detected your dangerous behavior!]

At the same time, a net of pure-white sparks spread out around him. As if to restrain his actions, someone was placing a plausibility restriction on him.

A dazzling pillar of light began descending from the sky.

[Grand Dokkaebi ‘Harong’ has descended upon the region!]
[Grand Dokkaebi ‘Horong’ has descended upon the region!]
[Grand Dokkaebi ‘Noksu’ has descended upon the region!]
[Grand Dokkaebi ‘Onsae’ has descended upon the region!]
[Grand Dokkaebi ‘Haesol’ has descended upon the region!]

As many as five Grand Dokkaebis manifested in the scenario to stop him.

Grand Dokkaebis.

Executive-grade dokkaebis in the Bureau who could wield the strongest power, second only to the “Dokkaebi King,” the king of stories.

Even within the long history of the <Star Stream>, it was rare for as many as five to appear at once.

Jaehwan quickly realized who they were.

“The ‘Cultivators’ of this worldline, huh.”

Then a Grand Dokkaebi replied.

[‘Monarch Slayer’. You must not intervene in the affairs of the <Star Stream>.]

As Grand Dokkaebi ‘Noksu’ spoke, Grand Dokkaebi ‘Onsae’ beside him nodded as well.

[No one can violate the laws of plausibility.]

The last to speak was Grand Dokkaebi ‘Haesol’.

[This is not the world you have lived in. Spirit power and world power. It is not 《Fantastic Beast》, ruled by settings and components.]

“…….”

[Do you truly not know what becomes of those who interfere in incidents of other dimensions?]

“I don’t know what kind of crap you’re talking about, but……”

Jaehwan glared at the Grand Dokkaebis encircling him.

In his eyes, the awakener’s special ability manifested once again.

「Doubt」 and 「Understanding」.

Through that power, he read the fables of the “Bureau” behind the Grand Dokkaebis, and noticed the existence of the “Dokkaebi King” controlling it.

And he read this vast <Star Stream> universe that the Dokkaebi King served.

And at the end of that universe was……

With a tzzzt sound, his power shut off. Even for him, there was something at the “end” of this world that he couldn’t fully read.

Jaehwan gave a short laugh.

“This is fun.”

All of a sudden, he found himself wondering how that pale bastard would navigate this universe.

Jaehwan focused strength into his right hand holding the sword once again.

Grand Dokkaebi Noksu warned him.

[Wait—if you don’t stop right now—!]

Jaehwan thought.

This was probably all that pale bastard’s scheme. It didn’t feel great to fall into that trap, but even so, this time, Jaehwan decided he’d let himself be fooled.

Because of the item that came flying along with the message.

Jaehwan quietly looked down at a single dumpling in his left hand, then took a big bite.

The moment he ate that dumpling, a longing surged up.

‘No way. That bastard saying “I’ll make you regress” means…….’

Names surfaced in his mind. Cheongheo. Carlton. Ryunard. The names of people who liked him, who were gone now.

As if shaking off the thoughts, Jaehwan shook his head back and forth.

‘No way.’

And with all his strength, he swung his sword forward.

From Jaehwan’s swordplay, a wave of ruin that tore through space-time surged out.