Chapter 508

⸢A man named Yu Jung-Hyeok was there . ⸥

From the 0th turn all the way to 1863rd .

The history compiled by Yu Jung-Hyeok overlapped with the ends of his coat and whipped about wildly . As if to speak up for his Fable, his words floated up on the [Final Wall] .

⸢”I will never forget . Not even one thing . “⸥

[Fable, ‘Comrade of Life and Death’s’ special effect is currently in activation!]

The Fables of the 3rd turn’s Yu Jung-Hyeok and the Secretive Plotter’s were resonating together .

Terrifyingly-resplendent powers of Chaos extended out from the tip of the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] buried deeply in the wall . The entire wall seemed to grow restless from the disorderly aura of Chaos .

That was obvious, though; his story should be occupying the most important part of this wall, after all .

The protagonist of the ⸢Three Ways to Survive a Destroyed World⸥, Yu Jung-Hyeok . This whole world couldn’t even have gotten started without him in the first place .

The Dokkaebi King spoke up as if to ridicule him .

[Oh, the puppet of the Most Ancient Dream . Your film is truly lengthy and extensive . ]

He sounded as if he already had predicted this appearance .

[No one could have accompanied you in your boring and unwieldy story . Even if it was the ‘Most Ancient Dream’ . ]

Tsu-chuchuchut!

Yu Jung-Hyeok slowly blinked, and the [Sage’s Eye] was unleashed along with a radiant golden light . His eye glowed brightly as if it had absorbed every starlight existing in this world .

The owner of that eye spoke up .

[[Have I come too early this time as well?]]

The moment I heard the Secretive Plotter, I recalled a certain memory I saw through the [Disconnected Film Theory] . A memory from the 1863rd turn when he encountered the ‘Dokkaebi King’ .

⸢[Oh, dear unfortunate puppet . You have arrived too early . You can’t complete this universe . ]⸥

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ tilted his head as that memory was transmitted to him in real-time and muttered out . [Is that what happened? I see, the me of the different world-line told you such a thing . ]

[[Your manner of speech is different from the one I met . ]]

[Just like how your regression turns aren’t the same, I too am different . ]

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ shrugged his shoulders as if he found something rather amusing . Then, he yanked out Yu Jung-Hyeok’s [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] and threw it back . The latter caught the flying sword with his bare hand .

Only the sword scar remained on the [Final Wall] like a cursor . Soon, though, the scar was gradually forced close, and sentences appeared on the wall’s surface .

⸢However, all these world-lines existed for the sake of treading the same path . ⸥

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ addressed Yu Jung-Hyeok while sounding immensely proud of this story . [The completion of the great, noble world is at hand . You shall be able to fulfil your long-cherished wish now . ]

I knew very well what Yu Jung-Hyeok’s wish was .

[Great Fable, ‘Pilgrim of the Lonely Apocalypse’, has begun its storytelling!]

And that was to be freed from the chains of this horrifying curse . The 1863rd turn’s Yu Jung-Hyeok only lived on for that very purpose .

⸢However, his aim wasn’t only that . ⸥

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ turned his head to look at me . The meaning behind that stare was rather obvious – he was telling me not to forget the deal I made with him .

⸢”I shall kill the culprit of all these worlds . “⸥

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ read that sentence floating above the [Final Wall] and muttered out . [Kill, is it . . . How amusing . Do you still believe such a thing is possible?]

[[Of course, it is . And to make it possible . . . . ]]

A pair of swords were now held in his hands .

The pitch-black blade of the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] was now joined by the chillingly-pale blade of [Heaven Shaking Sword] .

[[… . You, bastard, need to disappear first . ]]

Along with a loud ‘Ka-boom!’, sparks began pounding the entire Wall as if to break it down . An explosion of light occurred right afterwards, revealing two figures locked in combat mid-air .

I saw the sturdy barrier-like wall of the Fable surrounding the ‘Dokkaebi King’ . He was an existence that used the oldest stories in this world as weapons .

[Great Fable, ‘First Messiah’, has begun its storytelling!]

The Fable in possession of the master of Nebula was now streaming out from his fingertips .

Sentences tightly coagulating scattered sacred light around . The light from a great Constellation was now raining down on all the creations on the ground . There was no doubt that anything touched by that Status would melt away without a trace .

“Dok-Ja-ssi!!”

Yi Hyeon-Seong freaked out and hurriedly ran towards where I was . Forged steel extending from his body spread out to protect me and the companions . However, I simply shook my head .

“There is no need, Hyeon-Seong-ssi . “

“Pardon?”

Instead of a reply, I simply pointed to the front .

Even as the pulsing migraine continued to assault me, I didn’t stop looking at the view unfolding before my eyes .

Other stars were right . I too, might be nothing more than a mere Constellation . Maybe, I endured over a dozen-plus years to witness this spectacle .

[Exclusive attribute, ‘Terror of the Stars’, is activating!]

The brilliant radiance of the Dokkaebi King was splitting apart . A man wearing a black coat was using two swords to defend against the light of messiah capable of ending all evil in this world .

Tsu-zuzuzuzu . . . . !

The Fables on the Wall melted down as the light touched them .

The ‘Secretive Plotter’, no, Yu Jung-Hyeok, was walking forward step by step while scything past that light . Sweat drops formed and dripped down from the end of his chin, and the edges of [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] and [Heaven Shaking Sword] grew increasingly dull from the light, yet he didn’t back away, not even once .

This caused the Dokkaebi King’s expression to shift gradually .

[As expected . How about this, then?]

[Great Fable, ‘First Evil’, has begun its storytelling!]

The First Evil . That was the Fable of ‘Baal’, the great Demon King who had ascended to heaven . It was the absolute power that no Good in this world could ever dare to oppose .

Now carrying the entirety of the Demon World on its back, the Dokkaebi King dropped a pitch-black bolt of lightning on Yu Jung-Hyeok . It was the thunderclap from the corrupted heaven that no Archangel could withstand .

Yi Seol-Hwa cried out in the distance . “Jung-Hyeok-ssi!!”

Yu Jung-Hyeok didn’t avoid the incoming lightning bolt . No, he instead raised his sword up like a lightning rod and faced the attack head-on . That wasn’t the end, however .

[The ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ is activating!]

Through the Stage Transformation, souls of Demon Kings were being revived . There were some that died by our hands, while some were killed off by the Apocalypse Dragon . All Demon Kings had been summoned to the battlefield once more by the ‘First Evil’, and they were now howling towards Yu Jung-Hyeok and me .

Gu-waaaaaah!!

The weapons thrown by the Demon Kings were enveloped in the malevolent magical energy, creating a purple-coloured storm of lightning . It was so powerful that not even a Myth-grade Constellation would be able to withstand it .

As the lightning flooded in, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s pale face was illuminated like an evil apparition . He remained utterly calm even as the ominous storm of Status raged on .

Just like someone who had been waiting for this very moment for a long time .

[[They are all bastards that I’ve killed before . ]]

[Exclusive attribute, ‘Demon King Slayer’, is activating!]

Yu Jung-Hyeok leapt into the air and marched forward while deflecting the incoming weapons . Everywhere his swords drew arcs, Fables of evil crumbled down .

Like a monster born only to destroy, he swung his swords again and again . Every single one of his sword strikes contained the resentment of the worlds he had lived in .

Tsu-chuchuchuchut!

A huge rift was opening up in the corrupted skies of the Demon World .

The martial prowess powerful enough to dissolve the ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ all by himself; the monster created by was now working towards destroying itself .

Guwaaaaahk!

The blade of [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] cut off the head of the revived ‘Black-mane lion’ Marbas, while the [Heaven Shaking Sword]’s trajectory pierced past the heart of the ‘Merciless hunter going against heaven’s will’, Barbatos .

No Demon King could announce themselves as a king in front of this man .

The Dokkaebi King growled and shouted out as if he too had finally acknowledged the threat . [You arrogant puppet . . . . ! You are not the protagonist of this world-line!]

At the same time, the surrounding terrain began changing again .

[Great Fable, ‘Star Stream Game System’, has begun its storytelling!]

[The ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ is activating!]

The Wall’s appearance was changing as if pixels were breaking apart .

Yu Jung-Hyeok’s figure seemingly grew smaller and smaller . The path he needed to tread became a maze, as if he was now trapped within the ‘maze of Daedalus’ . Even a monster with a large mouth chasing after him could be seen, too . [Automated turrets] suddenly popping from here and there began firing at him, while the ground his feet landed on morphed into a deep quagmire .

It was as if he had entered a video game .

⸢Yu Jung-Hyeok was laughing . ⸥

[Exclusive attribute, ‘Ruler of Games’, is activating!]

He overcame the exceedingly-simple traps and flung himself forward like an arrow . He tore the approaching monster’s head off, then proceeded to utterly destroy the maze’s walls .

As if he already knew the method of clearing this world, he didn’t even permit a single attack to land on him .

[Applicable ‘stage’ cannot deal with the target’s Status!]

The maze collapsed, and Yu Jung-Hyeok was already standing right before the Dokkaebi King . The latter’s eyes were now dyed in the colours of fluster .

[[Is that all?]]

It was only obvious why the ‘Secretive Plotter’ would win against the ‘Dokkaebi King’, however .

His whole life existed solely to fight and win against . He must’ve killed the Dokkaebi King in a similar manner during the portion of the original I didn’t get to read .

The latter was hastily retreating, his eyes now shifting towards me .

⸢What is Yu Jung-Hyeok’s weakness?⸥

The moment I read that sentence floating above the [Final Wall], the back of my neck grew icy-cold .

The sights of a different world-line were projected onto the Dokkaebi King’s irises . Memories not from this world, but another world-line was currently entering him .

He stopped looking at me as if he had found the right answer, and with a chilling smile, shifted his gaze back to Yu Jung-Hyeok .

[Oh, dear puppet . Is your mind as sharp as your sword, I wonder?]

[The ‘King of Stories’ is forcibly reproducing your Fable!]

[The ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ is activating temporarily!]

[The similarity of the surrounding terrain is greatly enhancing the level of stage’s reproduction!]

Corpses of Demon Kings were strewn about everywhere . Yu Jung-Hyeok and his devastated expression standing on top of dead Constellations and Demon Kings, was now slowly taking in the surroundings .

⸢The final world he used to live in was now unfolding in this place . ⸥

There was no way he didn’t recognise this ‘world’ . It was none other the ‘Secretive Plotter’ himself who had sent me to that place, after all .

⸢The 1863rd regression turn . The last world of the ‘Ways of Survival’ . ⸥

The Dokkaebi King approached Yu Jung-Hyeok like an encroaching shadow as the latter dazedly looked up at the sky . No, he was no longer the ‘Dokkaebi King’ . With every step he took, his face and his silhouette changed .

⸢The pale cheeks; two eyes gleaming like stars, were now looking at him . ⸥

The white coat perfectly matching mine was dancing in the wind .

[Do you remember it? Back in the 33rd regression turn . What Yi Ji-Hye said after clearing the 40th scenario?]

A voice exactly the same as mine was now speaking up .

Sparks danced in the air as Yu Jung-Hyeok’s body froze up stiffly .

The Dokkaebi King easily reached out and grabbed hold of Yu Jung-Hyeok’s collars before continuing on .

[Now, remember . You weren’t always unhappy, right? In all the regression turns, there were always moments of happiness, even if they didn’t last long . ]

Both the [Heaven Shaking Sword] and the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] trembled powerfully . And in the midst of the tremor, they drooped powerlessly .

⸢The regression depression . ⸥

That was the only weakness of Yu Jung-Hyeok, who had repeatedly regressed for a very long time .

[In the 173rd turn . You managed to protect Earth for a pretty long time . You got to see Yi Ji-Hye receive her high school diploma, and you even got to see Yi Seol-Hwa smile with another’s child in her arms . ]

The light in Yu Jung-Hyeok’s eyes was wavering .

⸢It wasn’t despair that could defeat Yu Jung-Hyeok . ⸥

⸢Small feather-like memories settled down inside his head one by one . ⸥

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ was using the exact same method I relied on back then .

⸢The breathing got harder, and the lungs were getting tighter . ⸥

⸢A man drowning in water would sink even deeper under the surface from the weight of a mere feather . ⸥

I couldn’t afford to idly watch on anymore . I shouted at Yu Jung-Hyeok, telling him to wake up, and not to fall for such an illusion .

However, my voice couldn’t reach them as if a non-conductive barrier was set up between us . And the ‘Dokkaebi King’ was smiling away, perhaps to mock this entire story .

[Yu Jung-Hyeok, have you protected all that you wanted to protect?]

Slowly, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s knees sank down .

I roused the Status of Fables . I needed to undo that ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ right now, But, how should I . . .

Grab .

There was a hand still tightly clutching mine . It was Han Su-Yeong .

“That’s not a battle you can interfere in . “

“But, if he’s left alone . . . . !”

” . . . . Even a star that can’t be seen still emits light . You said that, right?”

… . A star that can’t be seen?

Her words made me look back at Yu Jung-Hyeok once more .

His gaze being lowered had come to a stop . Blinding sparks were completely enveloping him .

Tsu-chuchuchuchu . . . .

Something was waking up his fading consciousness .

[Great Fable, ‘Ones that Remember the Apocalypse’, has begun its storytelling!]

That was a Fable I wasn’t aware of .

As the sparks lessened gradually, several silhouettes revealed themselves . Now that I took a closer look, Yu Jung-Hyeok wasn’t alone . No, four others were standing beside him .

A tall man, a young man with blonde hair, a girl with a ponytail, and finally . . .

[[He couldn’t protect anyone . That’s why he now stands in this place . ]]

… . An Archangel with blindingly-pure wings .

Astonishment quickly dyed the Dokkaebi King’s expression .

The Fable from the destroyed 999th turn was now burning brightly like the conflagration of end times on the edges of the Archangel’s blade .

[[Because he believes there are still things left to protect . ]]

Fin .