Anna Croft’s expression hardened instantly and she sneakily pulled out her shortsword behind her back. “….’Conquering King’.”
Completely disregarding her, Yu Joong-Hyeok spoke while taking large strides to approach us. “You two seem to be getting along nicely. Do you feel a sense of camaraderie from the fact that you both know about the future?”
“….But, you also know the information about the future, don’t you?”
“What I’ve experienced isn’t the future.”
Kugugugugu-!!
“It’s simply the ‘things that had happened’. It’s the past.”
Things that had happened, he said.
Yu Joong-Hyeok had to live through the story that I read while welcoming thousands of deaths in the process. As if to respond to all those years he had spent, the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] held in his hand began to cry out viciously.
Anna Croft snuck a glance in my direction.
I replied to her. “You should go. This guy came to see me, not you.”
“I pray that I’ll get to hear your end goal through your own words next time we meet.”
Leaving behind those words, she vanished through the portal without a trace. For sure, she had no reason to stay behind. She had paid her debt more than enough by assisting me this far, after all.
Yu Joong-Hyeok didn’t try to stop her from leaving. If it was any other times, he’d doggedly pursue her and cut her head off, but not today.
“Yu Joong-Hyeok,” I called out to him.
But, he didn’t look at me. No, he simply stared at the empty, open mouth of the portal.
So, I called out to him one more time. “Please, at least listen to what I have to say. You used to call me your comrade, once upon a time, didn’t you?”
He shifted his gaze towards me and slowly unsheathed his sword.
“That was in the past.”
The icy-cold rage permeating within his voice wasn’t something that I could readily unpack.
[Unique skill, the ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ has been activated!]
And so, I took yet another step into the curse of omniscience.
[Your degree of understanding on the applicable individual is lacking!]
Unfortunately, Yu Joong-Hyeok’s inner thoughts didn’t permit my spying attempt, as if to assert that the person in front of my eyes was no longer the same guy that I knew all this time.
“I can already guess what you want to talk to me about. It’s probably about that book of yours.”
“…..”
“Through that book, you peeked into my life, and used me as your entertainment. Is there anything else I should know?”
I couldn’t mouth any excuses. Because those were all truths. What I did was no different from what other Constellations had been doing.
“I….”
I knew that. I definitely did. But….
But, was the sense of betrayal everything he felt?
[Your degree of understanding on the applicable individual is increasing gradually bit by bit.]
Yu Joong-Hyeok was waiting for me, as if he was the judge searching for that yet-undiscovered opportunity to frame me even further.
Too bad, I had no idea what to say here.
His emotions flooded into my head and filled it up to full in no time through the ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’. All the texts that I knew were steadily being overwritten by the words completely foreign to me.
The words that I should be saying, words that I wanted to say, they were all being buried under the blackened waves of emotions crashing in.
And then, his sword moved.
Even at that moment, it still didn’t feel real to me. Indeed, it felt far too surreal that he’d forget about all those times we survived together and try to kill me right here.
[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ is influencing your emotions!]
[‘The 4th Wall’ is shaking around violently!]
The moment I saw the blade flying in right in front of my nose, a guilty conscience, as well as a sense of unfairness, welled up in my heart.
[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ is dragging out your dark emotions to the fore!]
I did my best in my own way. After these scenarios got underway, I really tried my best. In my own way, I did my best to put what I read to practice.
I never once thought about hurting Yu Joong-Hyeok or any of my companions. All I ever thought about was these scenarios – what should I do to minimise the harm? What should I do so that we could safely reach the true end of everything?
That was all I did. Nothing more. Yet…
Just what made things to go so wrong like this?
Claaaang!!
Along with the explosive grinding noise, blue sparks danced in the air.
“Why are you standing around dazed like that, you dumbass?!”
Han Su-Yeong was standing next to me now.
*
It was no coincidence that Han Su-Yeong arrived on the ‘Middle Island No.3’.
While progressing through the ‘Small Island’s’ scenario, she had a certain dream. And it was about a man wearing a white coat dying at the hands of another man wearing a black coat.
It was the same rubbish dream she had already a while ago, so she even muttered to herself, ‘It’s that stupid dream again,’ while dreaming it. Because, a dream would remain just that, a dream, and would never come to reality.
….Just like a novel could never become reality, that was.
– Looks like the me of the 3rd turn is a bit of a moron, isn’t she. I showed her the same image several times already, yet she doesn’t seem to get it….
‘What the heck was that?!’
Han Su-Yeong in the dream nearly jumped up in fright and shifted her gaze towards the voice. A woman wearing a black coat was standing there. This mysterious person possessed a similar physique to her. And as if someone deliberately erased her face, there were no distinguishing features at all.
That blank face continued to speak.
– Looks like this regression will end up as a failure if this keeps up, huh….
Han Su-Yeong felt this instinctive fear and took a couple of steps back. Unfortunately, she was still inside her own dream, and no person alive could run away from their dreams.
– You see, me, I like throwing a wrench in someone else’s schemes.
The moment this woman of the dream extended her hand, strange, unexplainable information flooded into Han Su-Yeong’s head.
[Ability of ‘Predictive Plagiarism’ is being awoken inside you!]
And that was how Han Su-Yeong woke up from her sleep. Unknown information swam inside her head, and her consciousness moved on its own volition to sort through her new-found knowledge base.
A short while later, this one sentence formed in her head.
– Yu Joong-Hyeok will head towards the ‘Middle Island No.3’.
She had no clue why such a sentence popped up in her mind. Even then, she decided to heed it. She didn’t know what that unidentifiable dream was all about, or who that faceless woman within it was, but regardless, the thought of ‘I must do so’ rang clearly in her head.
And that was how she reached this very location, this very moment.
“Get out of my way. I have no business with you.”
Yu Joong-Hyeok was glaring at her with a pair of frightening eyes. Meanwhile, Kim Dok-Ja was staring at her with a dazed expression on his face.
Han Su-Yeong slowly sucked in her breath. She still didn’t know what the dream was trying to show her. However, at least right in this moment, she knew what her role was.
Han Su-Yeong chuckled in her usual slimy manner and spoke up.
“I knew that you’d cause a problem sooner or later. There’s no way the ‘Yu Joong-Hyeok’ I know would change like that.”
“If you don’t move out the way, then I….”
“What, you want to kill me, too? And what would you gain by doing that? Is this the compensation for all those times you’ve been deceived?”
Yu Joong-Hyeok didn’t reply. Instead, his sword skill seemed to be forgotten for a moment there. His blade sliced down from the air and Han Su-Yeong defended against the attack with a smirk.
“….You and Kim Dok-Ja are exactly the same when it comes to not listening to other people, you know.”
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’, is roaring out in rage!]
The power of [Black Flames] permeating within her entire figure clashed against his sword swing.
The weight behind Yu Joong-Hyeok’s sword strike after being boosted by the 2nd generation’s power was quite heavy. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as she unleashed all of her strength.
He was indeed strong. However, it wasn’t as if she was fooling around doing nothing up until now.
[Fable, ‘Disciple of the Legendary Swordmaster’, is shining brightly!]
That was the Fable she barely managed to earn by scraping and clawing her way through the scenario before coming here. The strength of a Swordmaster swirled around her figure and explosively rose up within her.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!!
In other places, it may not work, but if it was this place, then….
“When a person is saying something to you…”
The strengthened [Black Flame] rushed towards Yu Joong-Hyeok through the gaps of the dancing dark-blue sparks.
“….You! Should! Listen!”
The barrage of the strengthened flames rained down in sync with her words. Yu Joong-Hyeok’s eyes shook around, hard, at the unexpectedly robust resistance put up by her. She didn’t miss that opening and loudly yelled out.
“All Kim Dok-Ja did was read a novel! A stupidly long and boring novel!”
Seeing Yu Joong-Hyeok get pushed back bit by bit, she thought that she could pull this off. This was not a tough dilemma to solve. This misunderstanding only came about because of people’s words. That was why she believed that more words could resolve it once and for all.
“So, just talk to him, will ya! Speak to each other without holding back! Just like how everyone else does!”
The flames of [Black Flame] remained persistent and stuck on to Yu Joong-Hyeok’s blade. He coldly spoke as he shook off the darkish flames. “You don’t know anything.”
“No, I know already,” growled Han Su-Yeong, after hearing his words that cold-heartedly excluded her. “What are you so pissed off about? About Kim Dok-Ja approaching you while knowing everything about you? But, aren’t you the same? Just like him, you acquired info for yourself and have deceived everyone else until now, haven’t you?”
Perhaps those words became the seed, because rage began filling up Yu Joong-Hyeok’s eyes next. Their swords clashed in the air once more.
“Of course, I know that you were being sincere. I know that you did those things to save people, to reach an even better world…. But what about Kim Dok-Ja, then?”
“…..”
“Tell me, just which idiot would throw his life away because a character from a story is about to die??”
She saw Yu Joong-Hyeok’s blade freeze up for a moment there and continued to pour out her words.
“Did you forget what Kim Dok-Ja has done until now? Just because he read that boring-ass novel a bit, you wish to pretend everything we experienced during your 3rd regression didn’t happen?”
Yu Joong-Hyeok’s Status was shrinking back now. Han Su-Yeong could feel it – that she was almost there. Just one more push, and this unnecessary fight would come to an end.
“Calm down and think rationally about this.”
Unfortunately, Han Su-Yeong took a wrong step at the final hurdle.
“You are not that kind of a character.”
“….A character, is it?”
Yu Joong-Hyeok’s expression was changing back. He wasn’t asking a question just now. She belatedly realised her mistake, but it was far too late to take back what she said by then.
“You’re the same as him.”
Enormous waves of magical energy spread out from the contact point of the two locked blades. Han Su-Yeong’s sword issued a cry of pain. The force behind [Black Flames] was now being pushed back one-sidedly.
[Fable, ‘Torch that swallowed the Myth’, is roaring out!]
The [Great Fable] Yu Joong-Hyeok had acquired was now going on a rampage.
“I saw what you did during the 1863rd regression.”
“1863rd regression? What the hell are you….??”
It was at that moment a certain something popped up in Han Su-Yeong’s mind.
– In the 1863rd world-line of ‘Ways of Survival’…. Ah, right. You were there, too. I couldn’t tell which one of you was the real body, though.
For sure, Kim Dok-Ja said something like that in the past.
‘Can it be?’
Information in her head began consolidating; apparently, she existed within the 1863rd turn. And in that place, she was living in a different regression. In that case, the person she saw in her dream was….
Just as Han Su-Yeong reached her answer, a momentary opening was created. Yu Joong-Hyeok’s blade didn’t miss that chance.
*
Why couldn’t I move?
How come I didn’t fight alongside Han Su-Yeong?
While watching her speak for my stead, why couldn’t I voice my own thoughts with her?
“You… suck at telling your own story, that’s why.”
I pulled the fallen Han Su-Yeong in as she looked up at me. Blood flowed out like a river from her waist. It was so vividly red that it all came across as far too unreal to my eyes.
She was bleeding, yet she was still talking to me. “Kim Dok-Ja. I know the end you’ve been wishing for.”
She formed a smile as playful as ever. As if to wipe the blood on my cheek, she rubbed my face while murmuring back to me. “What a pitiful guy you are….”
I frantically tried to stem her bleeding while pulling out my recovery items. Her internal injuries were too severe. She had been wounded far too mercilessly.
Her innards were completely destroyed by the 2nd generation’s sword force.
I could save her. If only I had a little more time, if I could just find a proper healer and get her healed, then….
….But, would I be allowed to do that?
Her hand touching my cheek fell away lifelessly.
I called out Han Su-Yeong’s name. Over and over again. However, she didn’t wake up. What I heard was Yu Joong-Hyeok’s voice, instead.
“Stand up, Kim Dok-Ja.”
I couldn’t sense any guilt, no shaken emotions within that voice.
It was at that moment something inside me snapped.
I slowly stood up from my spot.
[Yu Joong-Hyeok.]
Fables were boiling over inside my head.
– There are some Fables that are simply too big and are difficult to read properly. If your mind isn’t centred right, you will end up getting swept away by the Fable, instead.
Yu Ho-Seong told me that. I was aware of the dangers as well. The greater the Fable, the larger the burden I had to carry.
That was why I sought to make comrades. And we worked together to create history, to create our own Fables. All for the sake of reaching a different conclusion than that of Yu Joong-Hyeok’s from the original storyline. That wish was what brought us this far.
And the end result of that wish was this.
Did I need to keep reading this story, then?
[Great Fable, ‘Demon World’s Spring’, has begun its storytelling.]
I’ve imagined the final goal where every one of us would be there together. I truly believed that such a story was definitely achievable.
[Great Fable, ‘Torch that swallowed the Myth’, has begun its storytelling.]
However, if that was impossible, then….
If all the histories that I’ve created so far were completely useless, then….
[‘Demon King Transformation’ has been activated.]
….Then, the end I’ve been dreaming about no longer held any meaning.
[I shall kill you, Yu Joong-Hyeok.]
< Episode 70: A story that can’t be shared (1) > Fin.
