< Episode 9. Omniscient Sunfish (6) >
"What?"
"Just who… are you, exactly…?"
I was startled by the sudden change in his thoughts.
Don't tell me—did my words bring him back to his senses?
Was that even possible?
I felt a bit flustered.
After all, this plan hadn't been started with that kind of outcome in mind.
[The 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' is flustered.]
[The 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' strengthens its control over the character 'Yoo Jung-hyuk'!]
"Keuuugh…!"
Yoo Jung-hyuk's eyes grew vacant once more.
As expected. I'd allowed myself a sliver of hope, but it was impossible for him to awaken on his own. A sunfish was a sunfish for a reason. Honestly, I should be grateful he hadn't killed himself. The vivid blue ether coiling around Yoo Jung-hyuk's sword trembled violently.
[Character 'Yoo Jung-hyuk's' 'Pacheon Sword Aura' grows stronger!]
Even in the middle of all this, his inherited skills continued to grow stronger.
Thanks to the damn protagonist's talent.
Pachichichit!
My Baekcheong Sword Aura was slowly being pushed back. I couldn't tell whether it was the inherent limitation of the skill, or simply the gap in talent.
I glanced toward Lee Gil-young. Blood was trickling from the nose of Lee Gil-young, whose eyes had rolled back showing only the whites. It was about time.
"Jung-hyuk."
Once today was over, Yoo Jung-hyuk would become astonishingly stronger.
I spoke while pushing back with all my strength.
"Remember what I asked you before? If I could hit you just once."
Given the difference in innate talent, Yoo Jung-hyuk would become someone incomparably stronger than me over the next few years.
But not now.
At least, not right now.
"You definitely said it was fine back then. You remember, right?"
If I went all out right now, then at least for a single moment, I could…
['Blade of Conviction' has been activated!]
[The special option of 'Unbreakable Conviction' has been activated.]
[Ether attribute has been converted to 'Flame.']
Overwhelm this absurd monster.
Kiiiiiiing!
An ether blade.
Flame-shaped ether bloomed in midair and pierced into the opening in his defenses.
Whoooosh!
Startled by the sudden shift to pure offense, Yoo Jung-hyuk retreated several steps. Instinctively, he sensed that something was terribly wrong—but it was already too late.
[Stigma, 'Song of the Sword,' has been activated.]
The Song of the Sword.
One of the strongest combat buffs boasted by the heroic-grade Constellation, Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
[A verse left behind by Admiral Yi inhabits your sword.]
Since the verse granted was random, the increase in combat power could vary greatly, but for me right now, it was a skill I welcomed with open arms.
"Arrows were fired like rain, and cannons of every kind were discharged,"
By sheer luck, the verse that descended upon me was a line from The War Diary.
As an enormous amount of magic power drained away, the ether blazing along my sword strikes gathered together all at once. I swung it straight toward Yoo Jung-hyuk.
"The chaos was like thunder and a raging storm."
The flame ether took the shape of arrows, then began bombarding him as if a torrential rain of arrows were pouring down. Because of my insufficient magic power, it was an attack I could only maintain for a brief instant—but that would be enough.
Thudududududududu!
"Kuuuugh!"
Crimson-red scars were spreading across Yoo Jung-hyuk's entire body.
In this damned world where coins represent all value and the Constellations decide every development, Yoo Jung-hyuk is still needed.
So, just for today, I'll protect you.
Whoooosh…
Amid the flames engulfing the antechamber, Yoo Jung-hyuk's movements came to a halt. With [Fire Resistance], he wouldn't take serious damage, but it was still more than enough to leave him temporarily incapacitated. I looked toward the 'theater owner' sitting at the edge of the garden.
[The 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' is extremely wary of you.]
This was my only chance.
I immediately started running.
From afar, I could see the 'theater owner's' face harden.
But then—
[Character 'Yoo Jung-hyuk' uses 'Last Stand Lv.2'!]
Damn it—Yoo Jung-hyuk was already chasing after me.
[Last Stand]. An absurdly broken skill that allows its user to instantly recover stamina once per day, even after suffering catastrophic damage.
To think even that skill had already been inherited.
Pabababat!
No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't be faster than Yoo Jung-hyuk using [Vermilion Bird Divine Steps]. Just as I reached the theater owner, Yoo Jung-hyuk's sword blocked my path. Now there was only one card left to trust. I shouted with all my strength.
"Gil-young!"
Kuuuu-rumble!
The instant I shouted, a massive crack split open in the ceiling of the 'Sky Garden.'
The black dome surrounding the rooftop was breaking apart. Yoo Jung-hyuk charging at me, and the 'theater owner' controlling him—both of them looked up at the ceiling in shock.
Krrrrrk!
The barrier zone of a 'Hidden Scenario' breaking was something that should have been impossible under normal circumstances.
But that meant it was possible for something that wasn't normal.
From afar, Lee Gil-young was screaming, blood pouring from his nose.
"Ugh… ugh… uaaah…!"
To fight a monster, you have no choice but to call upon another monster.
GROOOOOO!
Through a crack in the shattered dome, the foreleg of a gigantic insect forced its way inside.
Crunch! Crack—crrrk!
The dome shattered like thin glass, and the rooftop split apart. The horrified 'theater owner' screamed. A monster capable of destroying the barrier of a 'Hidden Scenario'—a massive Insect King species that resembled a praying mantis.
[Grade 6 Insect King Species, Titanoptera has appeared!]
Its appearance alone sent chills down my spine. It was the same monster that had previously been fighting the 'Poison-Tooth Rhinoceroses.' Drawn here by Lee Gil-young's [Multi-Species Communication], it had arrived. Lee Gil-young was smiling.
"Heh… hehe… Titano…"
Titano? No way… It looked similar, but surely not.
GROOOOOO!
The mantis's enormous foreleg swung toward the 'theater owner.'
And Yoo Jung-hyuk stepped in front of it.
[Character 'Yoo Jung-hyuk' uses 'Protective Sword Aura Lv.4'!]
KWA—BOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion echoed as Yoo Jung-hyuk's body was driven down into the rooftop. Even so, he held his ground.
Kuuuuugugugu!
…Seriously, he was a ridiculous monster.
Facing a Grade 6 Insect King with his current stats?
And Yoo Jung-hyuk even launched a counterattack.
Gyaaaoooo!
Titanoptera screamed as it was struck by his full-powered sword slash.
Boom! Slash—crack!
Incredibly, Yoo Jung-hyuk was locked in a fierce, evenly matched battle with a Grade 6 Insect King.
It almost made me wonder if he'd been holding back when he fought me. A look of composure returned to the 'theater owner's' face. Yoo Jung-hyuk was strong. Despite the sudden turn of events, he probably thought he could still win.
But he was wrong.
You should have been watching me.
I ran toward the 'theater owner' once more. The duration of [Multi-Species Communication] wouldn't be long. I couldn't waste the time Lee Gil-young had bought with everything he had.
['Blade of Conviction' has been activated!]
The 'theater owner,' who noticed me too late, shouted something in my direction.
The Theater Owner Simulacrum.
According to the settings of Ways of Survival, this named boss—despite appearances—was a masterpiece painstakingly created by a Constellation. Now, after much time had passed, it existed only as a degraded version, serving merely as the boss of a hidden scenario, but still…
Not just anyone could break through Yoo Jung-hyuk's 'Mental Barrier.'
A being protected by a Constellation.
In other words, it was not an easy opponent.
[The 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' activates 'Simulacre'!]
A mental disturbance skill one level above the Specter's [Illusion Prison].
The surrounding space twisted, and all kinds of illusions appeared—monsters that looked closer to solid reality than mere phantoms.
Mole crickets, grolls, poison-tooth rhinoceroses, T-Rexes…
Every monster I had encountered so far charged at me. Their savage teeth tore and slashed at me, but I didn't stop. I wasn't afraid. This was all fake. It didn't exist. All of it—
Was nothing more than fiction inside a novel.
For an instant, time slowed—the moment 'Blade of Conviction' was about to reach the creature's neck.
[The 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' attempts 'Mental Erosion'!]
[Mental Erosion]. A high-tier cognitive manipulation skill—the same one that had reduced Yoo Jung-hyuk to that state.
But because I had [The Fourth Wall], I wasn't afraid.
However, the moment it invaded my mind, something unexpected happened.
[The 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' is flustered.]
A pitch-black abyss of the self.
Countless stray thoughts surged in, and the pages of Ways of Survival shook violently.
—Th-this? Th-this is…!
Countless texts were drifting through the darkness, emitting a faint glow.
They were the stories of Ways of Survival that I had read.
[Exclusive Skill, 'The Fourth Wall,' has been activated!]
I could see the expression of the 'theater owner'—who had been burrowing into my mind—changing in real time. When it saw the strings of text surrounding it, its face drained of color.
—C-co-could it be… you are… ah!
And that was its end.
Strangely, its expression was one of reverent awe.
Just as 'Blade of Conviction' was about to sever its neck, a dazzling light burst from its body. Like a ghost touched by holy radiance, or as if it were being punished for violating a taboo.
Without leaving even a trace of its existence, it was erased.
I stared down at my hand in a daze.
…What on earth just happened?
[You have defeated the 'Theater Owner Simulacrum' for the first time!]
[You have obtained 9,000 coins as a reward!]
[The clear condition for the Hidden Scenario has been fulfilled!]
[You have obtained 4,000 coins as a reward!]
Messages continued to pop up one after another. When I turned around, Yoo Jung-hyuk—freed from the theater owner's control—was collapsing where he stood. Fortunately, he was still alive. The same was true for Lee Gil-young, who had overexerted himself by forcibly maintaining [Multi-Species Communication].
"Hyung…"
I ran over and pulled Lee Gil-young into my arms. Exhausted, he let out faint, wheezing breaths against my chest.
[The barrier surrounding the 'Theater Dungeon' disappears.]
The barrier that had covered the ceiling vanished, revealing the Insect King species looking down at us. I swallowed, wondering if we should run even now—but to my surprise, it turned away first, as if it had already lost interest. Only then did relief wash over me, followed by a wave of exhaustion.
It's over.
"…Are you okay?"
Supporting each other, Jung Hui-won and Lee Ji-hye staggered over.
"I'm fine. What about you, Hui-won?"
"I'm okay. Ji-hye's safe too, thankfully."
She must have taken a serious beating from Yoo Jung-hyuk—Lee Ji-hye's lips were so swollen she couldn't even speak.
[The end time of the Third Main Scenario is approaching!]
It seemed things below were wrapping up as well.
Looking around from the rooftop, I could see daylight breaking in the distance.
If Lee Hyun-sung were here, he might have recited the "Prayer for the Fatherland" at a sight like this.
Jung Hui-won let out a groan.
"Ah… Seoul…"
Under the faint light of dawn, the city lay in ruins. Occasional explosions echoed from afar. The 'Poison Fog' was gone now. Beneath collapsed buildings lay the crushed corpses of poison-tooth rhinoceroses. I could also see people fighting each other—probably groups that had cleared their 'scenarios' before us. All of it together formed a single vast panorama, trapped inside a gigantic dome.
Break one barrier, and an even larger one appears.
Seoul was currently isolated inside a transparent dome.
Jung Hui-won spoke with a sigh.
"It's really… all gone to hell."
As obvious as it was, it was a sight I had no choice but to acknowledge again.
Looking at the collapsed buildings, I found myself wondering whether the Mino Soft office I used to work at might be somewhere among them. If Yoo Sang-ah were here, she might have felt regret. She had been someone who lived diligently. In my arms, Lee Gil-young stirred slightly.
"Are you conscious?"
Lee Gil-young gave a small nod, then pointed up at the sky.
In the distance, a meteor shower was falling.
Meteor showers were originally a harbinger of a Main Scenario.
But this time, there were more meteors than before.
Which meant that the 'Holes' would soon open.
Those meteors were probably falling all across the world.
Jung Hui-won said in awe,
"Damn it… they're beautiful…"
Jung Hui-won wouldn't know how horrific a nightmare those beautiful meteors would become for the people at their landing sites.
Now, an even greater calamity was coming.
Lee Gil-young clasped his small hands together and began murmuring something.
Jung Hui-won and Lee Ji-hye also fell silent for a moment. Perhaps they, too, were making wishes.
It was ironic. Of all beings in the universe, humans were probably the only ones who would pray to the very entities that would become the source of their nightmares.
After a while, Lee Gil-young opened his eyes and looked up at me.
"Hyung, aren't you making a wish?"
I looked down at him for a moment, then answered.
"I did make one."
"What was it?"
"Gil-young, that's not something you ask."
Jung Hui-won scolded him.
I glanced once at Jung Hui-won, then at Yoo Jung-hyuk, and finally at the ruined city of Seoul before speaking.
"I wished to see the epilogue of a certain novel."
As if asking what I meant, Lee Gil-young looked up at me.
I silently raised my gaze to the sky.
Above Seoul, faint cracks were slowly spreading.
When the sun reached its zenith, the dokkaebis would begin opening a new hell.