World of Zero: Yoo Joonghyuk's POV:
[Chapter 184: Ep. 35 - The 73rd Demon King, III]
"It's finally starting.." Kim Namwoon whispered
"Can you shut the fuck up?!" Lee Jihye whisper-yelled back
["Don't you think the next scenario will still be tough?" Han Sooyoung asked me.
"..."
The 73rd demon king was strong but there would be no problems if we were thoroughly prepared. Maybe this was the easiest of all the scenarios I had done so far.]
"There will probably be a big plot twist, because there is no easy scenario."
After thinking for a moment i agreed with Jung Heewon's comment,
there is no easy scenario even if you have information that is accurate.
Even if the 'Demon King of Salvation' gave me information of the future we still had a hard time because of variables appearing.
[Shortly afterwards, the people training gathered near me.
"Have you finished raising your rankings?"
It was Jung Heewon who answered my question. "We are all in the top 10. In fact, Jihye and Pildu-ssi were close but they automatically upgraded this morning."
"Automatically?"
There was only one reason for such an upgrade. It was when a top ranker was killed.]
"That's strange.." Lee Seolhwa commented
"But what if it was just the demon king who killed them?"
"That's possible but we can't take the possibility that they were killed by other means."
I said in response to Lee Jihye's question.
"That's true.."
[Han Sooyoung already had an ominous expression. "A top 10 ranker suddenly died? Something is strange... Hey, I'm really not going..."
"You came, Kim Dokja. Are you also going to take that woman?"
Han Sooyoung hid behind me at Yoo Joonghyuk's sudden appearance. ]
"Orabeoni! Look, you appeared!"
[She was still scared of Yoo Joonghyuk. I nodded as Yoo Joonghyuk stared at Han Sooyoung and pulled out the Six-man Card]
"Well who wouldn't be scared of him.."
I heard someone whisper in the front seat (*it was kdj)
[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.]
I then heard someone writing and i turned to see Lee Hyunsung taking notes
[Han Sooyoung was astonished by the rising messages. "W-What is this? Hey! Why am I on his team?"
"Now, let's get ready to leave."
At my words, the party members moved into their teams.
The first to gather was Yoo Joonghyuk's team. They were Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seolhwa, Lee Jihye and Gong Pildu. In addition, there was the complaining Han Sooyoung.
The unusual mixture of old ■■■■ from the ■■■ and new ■■■■ gave me a wonderful feeling. It was a luxury that only a ■■■■ of ■■■ ■ ■■■■■ could enjoy.]
■■■■? Why is there a lot of information censored? This man knows something that is very important.
"Hey.. that boxes also appeared in my wiki.." Lee Jihye admitted
"Didn't that constellation said that information censored will be eventually revealed?"
Lee Seolhwa commented.
"Oh yeah!"
[My team followed suit. Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. There was a free atmosphere compared to the military discipline of Yoo Joonghyuk's team.
I looked at the members one by one.
"...Why are you looking at us like that?"
"Just... It is a new feeling..."
I smiled at Jung Heewon's scolding. I felt pained and sad at the people who followed me well all the way here. I felt like my heart had grown since I talked with the ■■■■■■ ■■■■.
"Hmm, that ahjussi is very suspicious.."
Yoo Mia mumbled while clinging into my arm
"I can agree, alot of his dialouges are censored."
Lee Seolhwa then added
[It might be because I was more prepared for this scenario. I was now afraid to lose them.]
"That's quite sweet." Jung Heewon uttered
"I quite like his character! I hope nothing bad happens to him and our other versions."
Lee Hyunsung smiled
*Sorry for the next chapters..
["Oh, shouldn't we be a group of six as well?"
The team members followed my gaze. There was a line of dolls a few steps away.
"Don't stay over there and come here."
We had obtained two Six-man Cards. Han Sooyoung went to Yoo Joonghyuk's team and my team also needed a sixth person. To be exact, it was a sixth woman.
"...Sookyung-ssi also wanted to go with you."
"It is more helpful for you to go with me."
Jeon Woochi's incarnation, Cho Youngran looked at me with complicated eyes. I asked my mother to include her as a member of the team. Jeon Woochi's stigma was quite useful for emergency situations.]
"Oh! She can be very useful in future scenarios! We should look for her after we finished here."
"That's a great idea Seolhwa-ssi!" Lee Hyunsung agreed
"Let's just hope she's not dead yet.." Lee Jihye mumbled jokingly but with a hint of sadness remembering the first scenario.
["Did you talk to Sookyung-ssi?"
I replied, "A little bit."
Due to the aftereffects of escaping from the ■■■■■■ ■■■■, my mother wasn't in a position to participate in the scenario. ]
Escaping what? That's weird.. is there a future scenario that involves us escaping something?
[Unlike me, who knew the whole ■■■■, my mother had a desperate struggle. She paid an unreasonable price to constellations many times, was captured on purpose to steal the memories of the reincarnator Nirvana and even contracted with the nebulae to keep me safe.]
"Wow, that's a loving mother right there" Kim Namwoon joked
I felt a tinge of envy towards this Kim Dokja guy, how lucky was he to have a loving mother? I tried everything to find my parents but nothing appeared, as if i just appeared as an adult already..
"THERE'S REINCARNATORS HERE?!" Kim Namwoon yelled
"Dude. There are literally gods from famous mythology watching us and using us for entertainment, of course there's a constellation who can make an incarnation a reincarnator!"
Lee Jihye snapped back.
"Oh."
[Despite knowing all of this, I couldn't find anything to say to my mother. Perhaps because it wasn't yet time.
Once the scenarios were finished safely, perhaps then we could share the real story. My mother probably knew it as well because she didn't say much this time. She just stared at me for a long time before saying:
–I believe in your choice.
I didn't know why but I felt strange when I heard this. Perhaps my mother read something from me, just like I read her through the ■■■■■■ ■■■■.
"Depart."
We started to move. The target was the altar located in the centre of the Abyss Plains. Just like the first floor of Dark Castle, we could move to the next floor using the altar.
We started the boring walk and Jung Heewon opened her mouth. "It bothers me that the nebulae are so quiet."]
"That is true, if the nebulae would be so quiet that means they're planning something"
Lee Seolhwa muttered.
"That's true.." Lee Hyunsung said
Jung Heewon then added, "like the saying 'The calm before the storm' right?"
[In fact, I hadn't heard the nebulae's messages since two days ago. I didn't know if they were hiding something or perhaps they had consumed too much probability. I glanced at Yoo Sangah and asked, "Have you been in contact with Olympus?"]
"Woah, that unnie is in contact with Olympus? THE Olympus?"
Lee Jihye exclaimed,
I wouldn't blame her as Olympus is known to be very prideful so i didn't expect they would be in contact with an incarnation just from the 10th scenario.
["...Not since three days ago."
As I heard last time, the constellations of Olympus were currently split. The outsiders of Olympus, like Dionysus and Persephone, were the ones who approached Yoo Sangah. Perhaps three days ago, there was a struggle inside Olympus.]
"I wonder what happened.." Lee Hyunsung mumbled
[My expression was uneasy and Yoo Sangah spoke in a concerned voice. "Dokja-ssi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?"
"...I am trying to be okay."
I glanced at Yoo Sangah. She was such a good person that I would feel sorry if I kept watching her. She learnt about my fate first and I heard that she ran around in order to save me.]
"Huh? Is something gonna happen to that ahjussi?" Lee Jihye uttered confused.
[It wasn't strange for Yoo Sangah. She was the first person to come forward if something was wrong. In the first scenario, she stood up first to save the grandmother. Yoo Sangah would act exactly the same if someone else was in my position.
"Can we win? We've managed so far but this time..."
"Don't worry." I tried to reassure Yoo Sangah. "I won't die. You know."
Yoo Sangah was the first to see my fate and she must know that it hadn't disappeared.]
"What the heck is happening,." Kim Namwoon whispered
"Can't they give us a little context on what that lady found out?!"
[I was wondering what else I could say to reassure her when I heard Yoo Joonghyuk's voice. "We're here."
There was a gigantic building reminiscent of the ancient Parthenon. The party members noticeably stiffened and I called people one by one.
"Gilyoung. Yoosung. Do it as we practiced earlier. Don't call the chimera dragon until I give the signal. Do you understand?"]
"Wah! A chimera dragon? The me of that world tamed that?!"
Shin Yoosung excitedly exclaimed, "if the time comes i'll also let you tame that"
"Thank you Yoo Joonghyuk-oppa!"
[The role of these children was the most important thing before the attack on the demon king. The chimera dragon tamed by the children would play a key role in this attack.
"Yoo Sangah-ssi, please protect Jung Heewon-ssi from being hurt. This time, the main damage dealer will be Jung Heewon. Are you familiar with how to fight?"
"I remember."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked this way when he finished preparing and I pulled the team members over to him. A waist-height alter soon appeared. Yoo Joonghyuk and I placed our hands on the palm marks on the altar at the same time.
[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]
[Are you sure you want to enter the scenario?]
We all nodded at the same time. There were dazzling rays of light and our bodies were transferred to the next floor. The place we were transferred to was a cramped passage.]
"Oooh, this is gonna be interesting...." Kim Namwoon mumbled obviously excited
But i do agree, i wonder what will happen. Almost all of my companions were at the edge of their seat
[You have entered the new main scenario area.]
[Main Scenario #10 ― '73rd Demon King' has started!]
As expected, it was the same development as the original ■■■■. Once we followed this passage, we would reach the hall where the 73rd demon king was waiting.]
"Bro, why is there alot of censored information?" A random incarnation asked
["Prepare the formations."
We moved carefully along the passage. The difficulty depended on how much damage was inflicted with the first surprise attack. If we could get as close as possible and deal a large amount of damage, we might be able to finish it without using all the formations we practiced.
However, as I moved along the passage, a worrisome feeling filled my mind.
...Why was it so quiet? Shouldn't I feel the demon king's aura at this point?]
Hmm, i agree with that ugly ahjussi"
"Me too, master!"
[Then a system message emerged.
[An error has occurred in the scenario.]
"Hyung, this is...?"]
"Oooh" Kim Namwoon annoyingly said
[The surprised Lee Gilyoung reflexively opened his mouth and I placed my finger against his lips. The party members lowered their voices.
"Dokja-ssi, this is different from the story..."
"T-There are dead people here...!"]
"C-can it be the top rankers..?" Shin Yoosung stuttered
[The one who spoke was Lee Hyunsung, who had been searching in the front. We moved as stealthily as possible and gathered near Lee Hyunsung.
Surprisingly, there were bodies that looked like they just died. Yoo Joonghyuk touched them and powerful sparks popped out. "It is evidence of a probability storm."
I didn't know what they had done but if the sparks were still here after their deaths, their sponsors must've done something huge. The incarnations had used a lot of force and the sponsors behind them must've suffered a huge blow.
Who the hell had done this?
Then Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth. "The incarnations of Vedas and Papyrus."]
"Huh, can it be..?"
["What?"
"I've met them wandering around Dark Castle. They were in contact with me."
"...How did those guys come here? A terminal of the nebulae would have sufficient rankings but they wouldn't have the right to participate in the scenario."
"It looks like there was another Six-man Card."
One question was resolved. The sudden rise in Lee Jihye and Gong Pildu's ranking was because of the rankers killed here.]
"I guess that answers our previous question.." Kim Namwoon admitted
I had an ominous hunch. Were the nebulae quiet because they used up all their probability here? It meant...?
"Huh? What does it mean.." Lee Jihye asked,
I didn't answer because i was too focused on the screen.
[We reflexively looked at each other and Yoo Joonghyuk started running towards the hall, forgetting the formation. If I was right, now wasn't the time to worry about the formations.
The moment we arrived in the hall, we witnessed a shocking sight.
[Constellations, what the hell are you doing?]
Dozens of dokkaebis floated in the air in the centre of the hall.]
"If the dokkaebis gathered there that means something bad happened.."
"Well if a dokkaebi was anywhere there will be something that'll happen."
[It is difficult if you do such arbitrary things. Aren't you looking down on the Star Stream? Using Deus X Machina in this place?]
The words weren't directed towards us but we were obviously meant to here. Bihyung looked awkward as he met my gaze.
This jerk, what the hell...]
Does he know that dokkaebi?
[I know you are worried about the incarnations but the scenario won't be over just because you interfere. Some of you have received a blow that nearly destroyed you. Why the hell did you do this? Just look at the probability. All the lower constellations have collapsed...]
"Why would they interfere..? What the heck.." Jung Heewon uttered confused
[There was a strange smile on the face of the representative dokkaebi. He smiled like he knew this would happen from the beginning.
Wait a minute. What did that bastard just say?
"Kim Dokja."
I looked in the direction that Yoo Joonghyuk was pointing. The centre of the hall. There was a broken throne that should've originally contained the 73rd demon king. In addition, the fearsome demon king that we should've met...
[The 73rd demon king is dead.]
He was lying dead on the ground, his chest torn apart.]
"WHAT?!" Dozens of people exclaimed especially in the front.
["W-What is this? He's dead?"
After Han Sooyoung's words, the other members belatedly opened their mouths.
"The demon king is already dead?"
"Then what will happen to the scenario?"
"...Maybe it has already ended?"
My head was too complicated that I couldn't hear the voices of the people. The unqualified incarnations challenged the scenario, received the probability storm and killed the demon king with the support of the nebulae.
At first, the scenario seemed to be resolved. However, the main scenarios of the Star Stream weren't so simple.]
"T-then what will happen..?" I heard someone say in the front, probably Shin Yoosung's counterpart
[The Star Stream has corrected the balance of this scenario.]
The scenarios where transcendent existences excessively intervened were forcibly corrected by the Star Stream.
There was a strong sense of deja vu in my head.
It wasn't the 73rd Demon King scenario but a similar thing happened in ■■■ ■ ■■■■■. The scenario was ruined by the rioting of constellations and the Star Stream restored the main scenario.
Then what would happen?]
"How does he know that?!" Lee Jihye spoke
[The Star Stream has corrected the broken probability.]
I looked at the dead demon king.
The Star Stream liked the natural flow of stories and it couldn't revive dead existences. A time reversal or resurrection would undermine the probability of the scenario even more.
[The main scenario contents have been updated!]
The 73rd demon king was dead. However, a 73rd demon king was still needed. It was because we had to hunt him in order to proceed with the scenario.]
"Does that mean..?" Lee Seolhwa whispered
[The Star Stream was originally set to fix these contradictions. There was a shining precious jade in the spot where the demon king had died.
I reflexively muttered, "Hey, this..."]
"Oh shit." Jung Heewon said realizing what was about to happen
[By the way, I couldn't feel any signs around me. There was an eerie feeling creeping down my spine.
Time seemed to flow very slowly. I looked around and Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't there.
"Yoo Joonghyuk!"
By the time I moved, Yoo Joonghyuk had already reached the jade. His expression as he looked at me was something I had never seen before. Yoo Joonghyuk was looking at me with eyes that had never been present in ■■■ ■ ■■■■■.]
"IN WHAT GODDAMNIT?!"
I glared at Kim Namwoon,
and Kim Namwoon immediately covered his mouth and sat back down.
"Wait, what will happen if someone touched that jade?"
Lee Jihye asked, but no one could answer her.
["Kim Dokja. Be sure to keep your promise."
Then the system messages rose.
[The candidate for the '73rd Demon King has been found.]
[The new '73rd Demon King' is elected.]
"What the fuck"
"Huh?"
"What."
Silence, then on the front...
"YOO JOONGHYUK!"
"YOO JOONGHYUK YOU FUCKING BASTARD?!"
"Y-Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi..?"
"HEY YOU SUNFISH BASTARD WHAT WAS THAT?!"
All of my companions were all confused, even me.
Why would i do that? is this man important to me?
"Y-Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi, you.. wouldn't right..?" Lee Hyunsung stuttered,
my companions all looked at me with teary eyes and i sighed and promised i wouldn't.
[The constellation 'Guardian of Imaginations' says that the wiki will be next and to quickly pi-]
"NO YOU DAMN CONSTELLATION! SHOW US THE NEXT CHAPTER!"
"WE WANNA KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN!"
"YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE US ON A CLIFFHANGER YOU FUCKING CONSTELLATION!!"
[The constellation 'Guardian of Imaginations' quickly agrees and says to calm down as the Incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk' will be fine]
"How can we trust you?! What if it's false?!" A woman with a bob exclaimed
[The constellation 'Guardian of Imaginations' says to trust them and they will play the next chapter]
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