Kim Dokja did not survive his encounter with the outer god.
It would have been a surprise if he had.
Yoo Joonghyuk leaned against a tree and watched the wooden box in the center of the small clearing. The coffin was redundant, really. He could have stopped Kim Dokja's party from putting the man in there, but they were entitled to whatever feelings made them do it, even if it was only morbid amusement. Besides, it was better than leaving his dismembered, crumbling body into sight. The kids didn't need to see that. The coffin offered more of a barrier than a simple sheet would have.
The first day after the battle had been spent handling the fallout. They had established a new camp away from the devastated Paradise, counted the dead and taken care of the injured. The Wanderers were beside themselves with worry over the state of their King; they had agreed to cooperate. Jung Heewon and Yoo Sangah had accepted their surrender with relief. But Yoo Joonghyuk didn't trust them.
The party was out training now. They would come back at nightfall. In the meantime, Yoo Joonghyuk watched over his companion.
There was the sound of a shuffle through the woods. Yoo Joonghyuk slid his eyes to the side. Lee Sookyung appeared between the trees. She was leaning heavily on one of her subordinates.
If that subordinate had been Cho Youngran, he would have cut them both down before they could take another step.
The Wanderer helped Lee Sookyung to sit on a nearby fallen trunk. She sent Yoo Joonghyuk a wary glance, then retreated the way she had come.
For a long while, there was silence. Two people stared at a coffin, standing on opposite sides of a clearing like they had stood on opposite sides of a battlefield two days before. The air was heavy with the thoughts they didn't disclose.
"What do you want from that child?" Lee Sookyung eventually said.
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at her with contempt. As far as he was concerned, he didn't owe her an answer.
Lee Sookyung lowered her head. A little story dust rained down from her cheek. Her body was very unstable since she had come back from being swallowed by the Devourer of Dreams. It was a miracle she was even still here. An incarnation like her shouldn't have been able to resist her stories being eaten and digested.
Yoo Joonghyuk wished he knew what Kim Dokja had done in there. How had he killed an outer god without any of the tools or probability that would become available later in the scenarios? Did Lee Sookyung know how?
He wouldn't ask. She was as twisted as her son. She wouldn't provide information for free, and he wouldn't be able to trust her words.
Lee Sookyung gave a bittersweet smile.
"My son allows you to protect him."
'Unlike me,' was the subtext. Yoo Joonghyuk wanted to scoff.
"I don't protect him. I fight by his side."
"Oh, is that why you're standing here?"
Yoo Joonghyuk's glare was a vicious thing. Lee Sookyung looked darkly amused.
"That child's taste really is something," she said.
"Did you come here to prattle on?"
"Dokja knows how to deal with the prophecy."
Yoo Joonghyuk's expression darkened.
"Did he tell you that?" he said.
"In a way."
He narrowed his eyes at the evasive reply, but didn't bother pushing. It didn't matter if she was lying. One way or another, Kim Dokja would devise a plan to deal with the prophecy. The question was what it would cost them. Or more accurately, what it would cost him.
Lee Sookyung stood up.
"You know who will be the carrier of the prophecy?" she told more than she asked.
Yoo Joonghyuk stayed impassive.
"There is no guarantee."
She shook her head.
"No, it's rather certain. If I know my child at all…"
"Do you think you know Kim Dokja?"
She stopped. An empty smile appeared on her lips. Turning, she gracefully exited the conversational dead end.
"I will not bar Dokja's way any longer. I won't prevent you from going to the next scenario. Me and those of my troops who are among the top rankers will forfeit our spots without a fight if you want them."
Yoo Joonghyuk watched her slowly shuffle away.
The skin between his shoulder blades itched. It wasn't the first time in the past two days that he had had that impression, but he had dismissed it as hyperconsciousness on his part. This time, though, it felt a bit heavier.
"Kim Dokja."
To the fool's credit, the answer was immediate.
[The constellation who doesn't yet have a name is looking at you.]
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't breathe out in relief.
"Will it really be three days this time?" he said in disdain. "I don't think you know how to count to three."
[The constellation who doesn't yet have a name says last time was an unknown exception.]
An "unknown exception". Is that what he called disappearing for a week because the outer gods at the constellation banquet had done who knows what?
Yoo Joonghyuk dismissed him with a turn of his head.
"Fine."
The prickle faded.
When the sun started fading behind the trees, the party wandered back in groups of ones and twos. Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung, Lee Jihye, Yoo Sangah. They were tired and dirty, but it was a good weariness. They were all antsy, and channeling those feelings into training allowed them to feel useful. There was a notion, floating unsaid, that Kim Dokja wouldn't have needed to die again if they had been stronger.
Like the previous night, they set up camp around the coffin clearing. Lee Jihye came back with the monster Yoo Joonghyuk had sent her to hunt for dinner.
"You really stayed here all day, Master?" she said, amazed, as he shed his coat and rolled up his sleeves to gut and skin her game. "I thought you would go to find hidden pieces."
"The only hidden pieces left in the Dark Castle are worthless," he said.
"Oh. So you're waiting for Ahjussi? You're a bit close these days, huh?"
He narrowed his eyes at her teasing tone.
"I mean, you know," she said slyly, "according to that item, it looks like Ahjussi likes you a lot…"
"Lee Jihye."
The coldness of his voice stopped her short. He didn't look up from his task. She dropped down to sit next to him.
After a long moment, she said:
"Do you think it will be okay? The prophecy."
He didn't answer her.
Yoo Joonghyuk took out his stove and his premium cooking set. The rack of spices and cookware was the only non-essential item he always allowed himself to buy from the Dokkaebi Bag. Eating well was important for a healthy body.
Soon, the clearing filled with a mouth-watering smell. The others kept glancing this way with badly hidden hope.
[The constellation who doesn't yet have a name feels sorry for his companions.]
Yoo Joonghyuk suspended his work. He hadn't noticed Kim Dokja's gaze this time. The others exclaimed at the message window, though they didn't look too surprised. Kim Dokja must have interacted with them in this way before.
"Are you bored, Dokja-ssi?" Yoo Sangah said kindly.
"Are you hungry?" Jung Heewon added. "Hey, Yoo Joonghyuk, you should cook more! Let's find out if your cooking smells good enough to resurrect the dead!"
There was laughter around the group, especially when Lee Gilyoung was discovered cracking open the coffin's lid and trying to wave the scent of roasting meat inside. Shin Yoosung smacked his hand away with a scowl.
Yoo Joonghyuk watched them. Would these people be so merry if Kim Dokja's loss ever became permanent?
He knew the answer.
He left unnoticed, leaving most of the cooked meat free for the taking.
He moved like a ghost through the forest. When he reached the tree line, he sat with his back to a trunk and his dinner on his lap. His eyes searched the night sky. He searched for a long time. He was searching inside too, in a place that he hadn't had cause to reach in years.
To most incarnations, contacting their sponsor was effortless. Sponsors watched their incarnations closely, and even when it wasn't the case, there was a bond there. As immaterial as it was, it allowed a resonance that couldn't be easily brushed off.
In his first regression, Yoo Joonghyuk had tried using that bond to figure out the identity of his sponsor. But the constellation never answered, and each tentative felt like sending a paper plane into a vast and unknown void. The sensation was off-putting enough that he had given up on establishing contact. If the entity wanted to snub him, that was fine by him. It made it easier to ignore that he had one of those hated constellations looking over his shoulder.
This round was a bit different. Seeing Kim Dokja become a constellation, seeing powerful beings such as Uriel, Cheok Jungyeong, Persephone or Sun Wukong come freely to the man's help, he found himself wondering again. What kind of constellation was his sponsor? Why give him such a powerful stigma and keep their silence afterward?
Something flickered in the dark.
[The constellation '???' is looking at his incarnation.]
Yoo Joonghyuk's heart jumped in his chest.
It had worked? Why? What was different from the last time he had tried this? Was the entity just curious to have him reach out after so long?
He needed to focus. He had a goal this time.
'Sponsor. I have to ask you something.'
The night stayed silent.
'What happens to the world after I regress? Will this world line disappear if I die?'
[The constellation '???' says he has little interest in a world without his ■■■.]
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned. His very first message from his sponsor and it was censored. What could he have said that wasn't the word "incarnation"?
'Does that mean you don't know?' he insisted.
How could he not know? It was his stigma.
It took a while for the reply to come. Finally:
[The constellation '???' says little interest doesn't mean none.]
[The constellation '???' says sad stories have their places too.]
'What does that mean?'
[The constellation '???' says stories will continue in this world after your death.]
As if he was either bored or tired from such a short conversation, the sensation of his sponsor's presence winked out right after that message. But Yoo Joonghyuk had his answer.
The coffin lid fell onto the grass.
"Ooh! The rumor is real!"
"He really resurrected!"
Yoo Joonghyuk whirled around and glared at the incarnations milling about just beyond the trees. The story of the strongest incarnation of Seoul and the savior of Paradise who always came back from the dead was reaching unreasonable heights among the survivors. Someone must have heard that Kim Dokja was supposed to wake that day, because they had been lingering around since dawn. They scattered when faced with Yoo Joonghyuk's temper.
"Finally! Ahjussi, you're back," Lee Jihye said, taking the opportunity to leave Yoo Joonghyuk's side.
He was going to need to have words with her. He had kept her with him today because it had come to his attention that she spent more time whining about the children's progress than focusing on her own, but her enthusiasm had dried up when he had refused to teach her new techniques. She needed to grow her foundation more before she was ready, but evidently, repeating core exercises had lost its shine for her. That was unacceptable.
Lee Jihye jogged up to the casket where Kim Dokja sat, looking rueful.
"Please don't put me in a coffin next time," the man sighed.
"Then don't let there be a next time," Yoo Joonghyuk retorted sharply.
Lee Jihye glanced between the two of them with an expression that was probably far less subtle than she was shooting for.
"I'll bring everyone else!" she said with a bright smile.
Yoo Joonghyuk let her skip out of the clearing. He ignored the notifications of indirect messages from constellations. Kim Dokja got up and stepped out of the casket.
"How have you been, Yoo Joonghyuk?"
Yoo Joonghyuk stayed silent. His look said everything he thought of such an asinine question.
"Geez, alright," Kim Dokja said, unimpressed. "Straight to business, then. Are you ranked first?"
"Are you talking about the Dark Castle rankings? Of course I'm first. The situation is different from the Seoul rankings."
He still didn't understand how this guy could have scored over him. The grading criteria of the eighth scenario had to be broken.
"So bitter," Kim Dokja said. "Is it really that hard for you to let someone else be first for once? Should I give you some Ellain Forest Essence for that burn you're still nursing?"
"Kim Dokja," he growled, hackles rising.
The fool didn't laugh at him out loud, but he might as well have. His dark eyes were dancing.
"In any case, I'm ranked second," Kim Dokja said. "What say you the two of us team up for the next scenario?"
"Obviously."
"What?" he said, blinking.
"Why am I wasting my time waiting here otherwise?" Yoo Joonghyuk said impatiently.
"That… well."
Kim Dokja looked away and switched his weight from one leg to the other. Maybe he was reminded of the last message Yoo Joonghyuk had sent him through Midday Tryst.
Yoo Joonghyuk watched him for a moment. The fool quickly started to speak strategy, as if eager to dispel an awkwardness he was the only one to feel. Yoo Joonghyuk knew what he had said. He didn't regret it.
"Kim Dokja," he said, cutting through the verbal merry-go-round.
"Huh?"
Yoo Joonghyuk sighed to himself. Not matter how much he looked, he couldn't figure out what made Kim Dokja so different. In a world where people had begun to seem like cardboard cutouts to him, Kim Dokja had brought back color and depth. How was it possible for a man so adamant about appearing as drab and one-dimensional as a black-and-white photograph?
How could Yoo Joonghyuk have put so many of his hopes on a man he knew so little about?
"Is your final goal to reach the end of the scenarios?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"My goal?" Kim Dokja said, startled. "Well, I guess so."
"Can you promise not to give up on that goal, no matter what?"
Kim Dokja frowned.
"Of course I won't give up. Why are you asking?"
"It's nothing."
Voices came through the trees. Kim Dokja's companions were hurrying back.
"Hey, you…" Kim Dokja said, his eyes narrowed.
"You should talk to your mother," Yoo Joonghyuk interrupted.
He watched with little surprise as shutters slammed closed on Kim Dokja's eyes.
"She has at least three rankers," he added. "She has agreed to cooperate with us."
"I see."
"I'll come with you."
The ice melted enough for the corner of Kim Dokja's lips to lift.
"That's okay, Yoo Joonghyuk. I guess it's time she and I have an honest conversation. She won't try anything else."
Kim Dokja cast his eyes to his approaching companions.
"… But thanks."
Yoo Joonghyuk grunted in acknowledgment.
The next three days were spent raising the team's rankings and training for the fight ahead. Yoo Joonghyuk knew to expect anything from Kim Dokja, yet he still found himself shocked at how much knowledge the man had of the 73rd demon king's fighting patterns. Yoo Joonghyuk was the one with the first-hand experience, but Kim Dokja spoke of it like someone who had read an online guide for a video game boss. His prophet abilities could be weirdly relatable at times. Between the two of them, it was possible to devise an appropriate training regimen for the group.
Now that Yoo Joonghyuk had made his decision, he felt lighter. He didn't know what awaited them in the tenth scenario, but he would be ready.
He indulged himself more than he usually did during those few days. Mia came back with Lee Seolhwa, and to her great delight, he spent time with his sister every time he wasn't on the field. He let Kim Dokja "trick" him into cooking for the party. Most importantly, he lingered around Kim Dokja himself.
He worried that Kim Dokja would notice his behavior. But maybe he shouldn't have. For as much as the man thought he knew Yoo Joonghyuk, he never seemed to cotton in on the way his own person influenced others. His only reaction to Yoo Joonghyuk starting so many conversations was a roll of his eyes.
"You're such a nitpicker, Yoo Joonghyuk. The plan is fine, you'll see."
… Maybe Yoo Joonghyuk could have come up with other topics to discuss. But after all this time, he still had no idea how to talk to Kim Dokja. All he knew was that after this scenario, he might never get another occasion to do it.
On the third day, Kim Dokja vanished. Yoo Joonghyuk tried not to let it sour his mood. Judging by Mia's pout, he failed.
So when the day of the departure dawned and Kim Dokja sauntered to the meeting spot with a familiar figure reluctantly trailing behind him, he didn't bother holding back his glare.
"Kim Dokja. Are you going to take that woman?"
Han Sooyoung hovered behind Kim Dokja. She looked wary, but less afraid of Yoo Joonghyuk than usual. He should have cut off her tongue when she dared to mock him during the Affection Reader incident.
Kim Dokja opened his mouth. Before he could answer, Yoo Joonghyuk took his Six-man Card out.
[The incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk' has used the Six-man Card.]
[The incarnation 'Han Sooyoung' has become a special participant of the scenario.]
[The incarnation 'Han Sooyoung' has joined incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk''s team.]
Han Sooyoung's eyes widened.
"W-what? Hey! Why am I on his team?"
Kim Dokja gave a slightly bemused smile, but when faced with Yoo Joonghyuk's defiant glare, declined to comment. He turned to the rest of their gathered companions.
"Has everyone finished raising their rankings?"
Yoo Joonghyuk watched Han Sooyoung with dark satisfaction. She looked unimpressed. She made to say something. Yoo Joonghyuk's threatening aura thickened. She turned away.
"Damn," she muttered to herself. "Do I look like the other woman to you?"
"We are all in the top 10," Jung Heewon said to Kim Dokja. "In fact, Jihye and Pildu-ssi were close but they automatically upgraded this morning."
"Automatically?"
Kim Dokja frowned and looked at Yoo Joonghyuk. He met his eyes. Yes, it was suspicious that two unknown top rankers had suddenly died and opened the spots. But there was nothing for it now. Whatever was going on, they would doubtless figure it out soon.
Kim Dokja sighed.
"All right, well… Is everyone ready?"
Kim Dokja used his own Six-man Card on Cho Youngran. Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't thrilled, but he could see the logic in using the Wanderer's skills.
"Come back soon, Oppa," Yoo Mia said, patting his leg, before slipping like an eel between the many incarnations who had assembled to see them off.
Yoo Joonghyuk watched her vanish with a pang. He knew that, should anything happen to him, Lee Seolhwa would take care of her. Kim Dokja would also keep an eye out, even if he claimed otherwise. She would be fine.
Lee Sookyung stood in their audience, motionless among the cheers. Her eyes were not on her son, but on Yoo Joonghyuk. He ignored her. As they started their long walk toward the altar at the center of the plains, Kim Dokja didn't turn back to look at her either. Yoo Joonghyuk knew that they had talked, but the air between mother and son was still brittle.
The weather was good and the monsters and demons avoided such a high concentration of rankers. On top of this, the party was confident about the upcoming fight. Thus spirits were high, and the walk more pleasant than it would have been otherwise. Yoo Joonghyuk pretended that he couldn't hear the children play-fighting behind him so he wouldn't have to scold them for wasting their energy.
He didn't often have cause to regret his quick progress through the scenarios, but the sight of the altar on the horizon made his steps falter. He could have lived with one more hour of this. With the comfortable conversations, with Shin Yoosung's laughter in his ears, with the look on Lee Hyunsung's face as he talked to a woman he had never met in other turns.
"Nearly there," Kim Dokja said, and swept past Yoo Joonghyuk down the hill.
Soon, they reached the waist-high shrine. Last-minute preparations were made, reminders of their strategy exchanged. When everything was ready, Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk stood side by side and placed their hands on the altar.
[The scenario challengers have been confirmed.]
[Scenario Challenger: 1st in Dark Castle, Yoo Joonghyuk.]
[Scenario Challenger: 2nd in Dark Castle, Kim Dokja.]
[Total Number of People Admitted: 12 people]
Blinding light filled their eyes. When they could see again, a dark corridor had appeared around them.
[You have entered the new main scenario area.]
[Main Scenario #10 ― '73rd Demon King' has started!]
Yoo Joonghyuk exchanged a look with Kim Dokja. Without a word, the companions arranged themselves in the planned formations.
They set off down the hall. There was no more laughter or squabbling now. They had to be quiet to take the demon king by surprise.
They found the bodies first.
Yoo Joonghyuk crouched by the two corpses. When he touched them, sparks burned his fingers.
"Signs of a probability storm," he said, shaking his hand like he was flicking water off.
"What happened to these guys?" Han Sooyoung said, hushed. "Who are they, even?"
"This one is an incarnation from Vedas, this one is from Papyrus," Yoo Joonghyuk said, pointing to them in turn.
"Huh? How the hell do you know?"
"I've met them in the castle before."
Needless to say, the meeting had been less than friendly. At least on Yoo Joonghyuk's part; the fools had tried to negotiate. Constellations still thought they could buy his loyalty away from Kim Dokja.
He should have killed the men right then and there. He glared at the message window floating over the bodies.
[An error has occurred in the scenario.]
So this was the nebulae's play. Yoo Joonghyuk didn't bother waiting for anyone else as he took off running for the main hall. He heard the group follow on his heels.
The corridor opened up into a vast room. In the center of it, a throne stood broken. The massive body of the demon king lay at its feet, his chest torn apart.
Bitterness coated Yoo Joonghyuk's tongue. He ignored the dozen of dokkaebis pretending to look scandalized overhead.
[It is difficult, dear constellations. Using Deus X Machina in such a place… Really, to think you would spend so much probability… Look, some of you have even collapsed!]
Their mournful sighs couldn't hide the glee in their eyes. Yoo Joonghyuk closed his ears to their existence. The dokkaebis were only petty rats, the Star Stream's jesters and slaves. They would perish one day, when he tore the Star Stream apart, and he would content himself with that.
The constellations, however. He would rip their still beating hearts from their chests.
[The Star Stream is working to correct the broken probability.]
Yoo Joonghyuk stepped into the room, eyes on the demon king's corpse. He couldn't find it in himself to be surprised. He had hoped that this scenario would go according to plan, but had known better than to expect it.
The prophecy was meant to be fulfilled before the Dark Castle disappeared. The nebulae had already gone so far as to create that fate. They would do anything to see it realized.
[The Star Stream has corrected the balance of this scenario.]
But this time, they had overreached. They had used every last drop of probability they still had available. Whatever happened from now on, they would be powerless to influence it.
[The main scenario contents have been updated!]
Main Scenario #10
[73rd Demon King]
Category: Main
Difficulty: SS+
Clear Conditions: You can choose one of two ways. Take possession of the throne and become the 73rd demon king, or kill the newly born 73rd demon king. The scenario can only be cleared by choosing one of these two methods and there is no other way to proceed.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 200,000 coins, ???
Failure: Death and expulsion from the scenario.
What a ridiculous set of clear conditions. Who had ever heard of the Star Stream wagging its finger at players like they were disobedient children? If there were only two ways, it didn't need to be said twice.
But maybe that last sentence was welcome, if only for how long it captured the dazed attention of everyone in the party. By the time Kim Dokja's eyes snapped up, round with instinctive alarm, Yoo Joonghyuk had already reached the body of the demon king.
"Yoo Joonghyuk?"
Yoo Joonghyuk bent at the waist. His hand closed around the shining jade token. He turned to his companion.
Kim Dokja looked good like this. He made a fine sight when surrounded by the party they had raised together. Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung, Lee Seolhwa… some of them were Yoo Joonghyuk's own past colleagues. He didn't mind ceding them to Kim Dokja. But the others, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung, Jung Heewon, even Gong Pildu and that despicable Han Sooyoung… those were new.
It felt fitting. From now on, Kim Dokja would go forward supported with a mix of the old and the new. Maybe he would carry memories of Yoo Joonghyuk with him until he reached the end of the scenarios.
[The story 'Life and Death Companions' continues its storytelling.]
Yes. This story would also support Kim Dokja until the end. He liked the thought of that.
The smile on his face felt nearly alien. In a way, the last moments before regression were the most freeing. There was no point in keeping any part of his scarred heart locked away when everything was set to end. But, how strange. He hadn't known that there was so much fondness left in him until it pooled in his eyes and his lips.
"Kim Dokja. Be sure to keep your promise."
The jade warmed against his palm.
[The candidate for the '73rd Demon King' has been found.]
[The new '73rd Demon King' is elected.]
Realization filled Kim Dokja's expression. As a thick aura coalesced around Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja ran toward him.
"What nonsense are you saying? You son of a bitch, stop!"
It was always interesting to hear the kind of vocabulary that Kim Dokja flung at him on the rare occasion when he forgot to be wary of Yoo Joonghyuk's temper.
[The selected person is evolving into a demon king!]
Maybe he had been too intent on Kim Dokja's reaction. The jade was snatched from him by golden threads.
Yoo Joonghyuk stiffened, bewildered.
[The succession of the demon king is canceled.]
"Dokja-ssi!"
Yoo Sangah reeled her threads in. Suddenly livid, Yoo Joonghyuk released an overwhelming burst of killing intent.
"Don't interrupt!" he shouted.
This was hard enough without interlopers. He may trust these people with Kim Dokja's future, but if he had to, he would hurt them to save him today. His transcendent status exploded outward. Kim Dokja just barely managed to cover Yoo Sangah with Way of the Wind.
"Yoo Sangah-ssi! Hold it well! Never use it!"
"Yes!"
The rest of the party unfroze from their shock. Han Sooyoung was the first to rush at him, hurling abuse. Yoo Joonghyuk swatted her without pulling his strength, unsurprised when she collided with the wall and dissolved. Her clones fitted her: it was the skill of a coward.
"Master! What's wrong with you?"
"Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi!"
Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon he showed more mercy. They still went flying. Kim Dokja moved in front of the others and stopped them before they made their case worse.
Yoo Joonghyuk glared at him.
"Get out of the way, Kim Dokja. I will be the demon king."
"What nonsense is this? Why all of a sudden?"
"Don't pretend to be stupid. There is only one way to clear this scenario."
What "two ways"? The Star Stream's sense of humor was perverse as always. It was out of the question to sacrifice the entire team so that one person alone could move forward. That was Yoo Joonghyuk's answer, and he knew it was the same for Kim Dokja.
There was something unusual in Kim Dokja's eyes. Was it distress? Maybe neither of them looked quite like themselves today.
"You want to sacrifice yourself?" Kim Dokja said. "Didn't I say to talk to me before you thought about regression?"
Yoo Joonghyuk shrugged, unconcerned.
"You mean our deal? Then I relieve you of your oath."
The blue flames of the Oath of Existence flared around Kim Dokja's chest, only to immediately extinguish. Now the fool would be able to read his thoughts to his heart's content, for whatever good it would do him.
Kim Dokja looked ill. Maybe it had hit him how serious Yoo Joonghyuk was.
"You don't need to do this," he rushed to say. "You are a regressor but you don't have multiple lives. My ability…"
"Your ability won't work here," Yoo Joonghyuk cut in. "You have seen the scenario penalty, Kim Dokja."
Kim Dokja glanced at the scenario window.
"Yoo Joonghyuk…"
"You don't need to worry," Yoo Joonghyuk added. He found that his voice had gone softer than he intended. "This world won't disappear when I die."
"What?" Kim Dokja said, his eyes widening.
"I already asked my sponsor. This world will continue after my regression. You will be able to reach the end of the scenarios."
'If it's you, I know you can do it, Kim Dokja,' he thought.
"I will entrust this future to you."
'Keep saving one person at a time, like you saved me.'
"The one who can save the world… it may be you, not me."
'When that happens, I hope we can meet again.'
"So you must live."
Kim Dokja's lips formed his name soundlessly. His eyes had disappeared behind his bangs. His Adam's apple worked three times in a row.
There wasn't any time left to persuade him.
"Get out of the way," Yoo Joonghyuk said, not unkindly, and activated Giant Body Transformation.
In the space of a few heartbeats, he towered over the company. His huge hand swept Kim Dokja aside. He advanced on the frozen Yoo Sangah. The party rallied for one last desperate defense.
"Please stop!"
"Everyone stop him! Block Yoo Joonghyuk!"
"You son of a bitch, you're playing right into the hands of the nebulae!" Han Sooyoung raged.
But she was wrong. Even once Yoo Joonghyuk became the demon king, he wouldn't kill Kim Dokja. The Star Stream would force him to attack the party, true, but he was different from the 41st turn Shin Yoosung. His soul wasn't owned by the Star Stream. All it would be able to do was puppeteer his body. It couldn't force him to use his transcendence, his skills, or even more importantly, the sword he had hidden in his coat's subspace pocket. The Star Stream would default to the original demon king's fighting patterns, and the team was fully prepared to deal with those.
Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn't kill Kim Dokja today. And there was nothing the nebulae could do about that anymore.
With a rush of petty triumph, he snatched the jade from Yoo Sangah's hands. The aura of the demon king transformation engulfed him once more, pushing everyone else away.
A streak of pale blue light rushed at him. Yoo Joonghyuk's Sky Shaker sword blocked the attack.
"Kim Dokja," he growled.
The fool had used that Miniaturization skill of his. It should have been ridiculous, a doll-sized person attacking a giant, but height meant nothing in high-level martial arts. Kim Dokja's Electrification tore through Yoo Joonghyuk's limbs even as he unleashed Breaking the Sky in return. He gritted his teeth against the pain. The ether storm was blinding.
"Kim Dokja, think about it. This is the best path…"
"No," Kim Dokja cut him off. "It's too difficult."
"There is no risk," Yoo Joonghyuk insisted. "I will regress and start again from the beginning. You can reach the ending you want with these companions…"
"This isn't part of the ending I want!" Kim Dokja shouted.
His sudden flare of temper took Yoo Joonghyuk aback. Unbreakable Faith flashed. He parried the minuscule but powerful blade on autopilot.
His throat felt tight.
Midday Tryst
[Yoo Joonghyuk] I won't let you die.
[Kim Dokja] I won't let you regress.
So this was it. The first moment when they perfectly understood each other had to be something like this.
Yoo Joonghyuk had gambled that Kim Dokja would let him go once he knew that Yoo Joonghyuk's death wouldn't threaten his world.
He had lost that bet.
He selfishly couldn't bring himself to regret it. Even if it tore at his heart faster than it warmed it.
Their eyes met over their crossed swords.
There was nothing for it now. They both fought for the same thing. That's why neither of them could give in. Kim Dokja's eyes reflected that knowledge too.
Kim Dokja's lips parted.
"Turn off Miniaturization."
His body started to grow. Impossibly, the radiance of Electrification grew with it. Probability sparks tore through Kim Dokja's limbs, but he pushed through with gritted teeth.
"Kim Dokja…!" Yoo Joonghyuk said in shock.
Kim Dokja returned to his original size. As if a match had been released in a gas tank, Electrification's magical power exploded outward. Yoo Joonghyuk was thrown back with such force that the whole room shook when he met the wall.
Giant Body Transformation turned off. He fell to the floor, coughing blood.
His head rang like the inside of a church bell. He pried his eyelids open. The world spun. An indistinct white shape was walking away.
'No.'
It neared another shape holding something green and glowing.
'No. Don't let him.'
A burst of overwhelming energy washed through the room. Window messages popped up in front of Yoo Joonghyuk. His vision swam too much for him to be able to read them, even if his eyes had been dry. But he could guess what they said.
[A new candidate for the '73rd Demon King' has been found.]
[The new '73rd Demon King' is elected.]
[The Main Scenario #10 ― '73rd Demon King' has started!]
As if he was underwater, he heard Lee Seolhwa's voice call out to him. She was running to his side. He closed his eyes. A single tear traced a clear path in the blood on his face.
At first glance, Kim Dokja was an unassuming person. He looked like a perfectly average Korean salaryman, neither ugly nor beautiful, thin but not alarmingly so, amiable and polite in a way that was designed to slide into the background.
Maybe that was why it was so hard to remember that he was a constellation now.
The more mana Lee Seolhwa poured into Yoo Joonghyuk, the more of the fight he could watch. Even as Kim Dokja convinced one party member after another to attack him, none of his new power faltered. Jung Heewon poured all the strength of Hell Fire and Judgment Time on him, two skills meant to annihilate demons, and Kim Dokja kept fighting even through the horrific burns. His frown said that even he had not accounted for such resistance on his part.
His huge black wings lifted whirlwinds of dust with each of their beats. He moved like a puppet on strings. It was far more sickening than when Yoo Joonghyuk had pictured that fate for himself.
[The remaining scenario time is 5 minutes.]
"Damn, I'm out of mana!" Jung Heewon seethed.
The glow of Lee Seolhwa's skill faded. She slumped against the wall, panting. Yoo Joonghyuk slowly rose to his feet.
"Kim Dokja."
Kim Dokja brightened at his sight.
"Yoo Joonghyuk! It's about time you entered the fray."
He sounded almost cheery. Yoo Joonghyuk's hand tightened convulsively around his sword.
"Don't make that expression," Kim Dokja said, softening. "It ended up like this, so we should finish it properly. Don't you think?"
Yes. It was his fault. If he had been stronger, he could have stopped this.
Midday Tryst
[Yoo Joonghyuk] You said I wasn't the person you loved most.
It was a useless protest, the complaint of a child. He had known from the start that Kim Dokja's words on this meant nothing.
Kim Dokja's features shifted.
Midday Tryst
[Kim Dokja] Yes, you're not. That's why you don't need to worry...
"Don't lie to me!" Yoo Joonghyuk shouted.
He had been sitting here the whole fight, listening to Kim Dokja spouting lie after lie to convince his companions to attack him. The Sky Shaker sword clattered to the ground. Yoo Joonghyuk dug his hand into his coat's inner pocket. The Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds shone in the light as he drew it out, inch by inch.
"Don't you dare," he said, his glare fierce and, he knew, his eyes red. "Not to me."
Kim Dokja faltered. For a split second, he carried his aching heart right there on his sleeve.
Then the fool once again turned away from a truth he didn't want to face. He glanced at Shin Yoosung. The girl's eyes widened. She shook her head furiously. Heedless of her wishes, a dazzling light appeared around her.
[The stigma 'Sacrificial Will' Lv.1 has been activated!]
[The master of the stigma risks his life for others.]
[The attack power of the party is greatly increased in proportion to the desperation of their lives.]
Sacrificial Will. Of all the stigmas.
There was a roar growing in his chest. Yoo Joonghyuk let it out even as he rushed forward. The party members, energized by the stigma of the crying girl, were right on his heels.
[The remaining scenario time is 4 minutes.]
Their last assault finally succeeded in bringing the demon king to his knees. His wings drooped, only to slap open when Yoo Joonghyuk's sword lodged itself between his ribs.
The noise that Kim Dokja let out felt like it was his heart that was pierced.
[The effect of the 'Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds' has destroyed all remaining extra lives of the attribute 'Eight Lives'.]
Kim Dokja slumped against him. Yoo Joonghyuk held him close. He willed his hands not to shake. He wanted to commit this warmth to memory, for all the days he would now have to live without.
"Kim Dokja," he whispered.
One eye peeked at him from the face buried in his chest. Impossibly, Kim Dokja was smiling.
"It was a really great story," he panted. "Isn't that right?"
'The constellation '???' says sad stories have their places too.'
Damn them. Damn them both. Yoo Joonghyuk had never wanted this story.
He truly was shaking now. Kim Dokja's smile faded.
Midday Tryst
[Yoo Joonghyuk] Come back.
"Yoo Joonghyuk…"
Midday Tryst
[Yoo Joonghyuk] You have to come back.
It was alright, wasn't it? He could be weak in that place where only his companion could hear him. If this stupid item could have one last use, let it be this.
Kim Dokja ducked his face away. His throat bobbed.
Midday Tryst
[Kim Dokja] If I can...
[Kim Dokja] ... I'll come back to you, Yoo Joonghyuk.
Kim Dokja's body started crumbling down. A hole appeared in the air behind him.
[The main scenario has ended.]
"Kim Dokja!" Yoo Joonghyuk found himself shouting. "No! Kim Dokja!!"
His hands scrabbled to keep him here, in his arms. But he turned to dust and slid between his fingers.
Kim Dokja closed his eyes and disappeared from his world.
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at the collapsed Dark Castle.
It was a nice day in Seoul. Incarnations nearby were jubilant, overjoyed by the system notification that they could now leave the city. He saw none of it. His mind was still in a stone room with a broken throne.
"What happened to Dokja-ahjussi?"
The rest of the party stood dazed behind him.
"Anyone, does anyone know?" Lee Jihye insisted. "Master! How is Dokja-ahjussi?"
He showed no sign that he had heard her.
It had been a long time since Yoo Joonghyuk had been in a place where he saw no path forward that he wanted to take. If a world got too wretched, regression had always been an option.
But it wasn't, this time, was it?
One day, he might have to find out whether this world line had been an exception. Whether it was true that Kim Dokja had only existed here.
He was too afraid to try it now.
Huge hands closed around his shoulders.
"Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi, please say something! Please!"
He stared into Lee Hyunsung's pleading eyes. Behind the man, the other party members stood looking at him. Expectant. Hopeful.
They were waiting for him to tell them about Kim Dokja's latest insane plan.
He opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come.
One person alone was turned away.
"Leave him alone!" Han Sooyoung shouted suddenly.
Everyone turned to her. Her shoulders bowed to her ears.
"Leave him alone, damn it," she choked out.
Her unexpected kindness was the last straw. Yoo Joonghyuk's throat closed entirely. He whirled around and stormed away.
The wind was cool on his wet cheeks. He was on his own again.