[the constellation 'maritime war god' is looking sadly at the incarnations.]
Yoo Sangah looked heartbroken as she gazed at the horrified children, and Kim Dokja felt much the same. He knew that he needed them there for their power, but right now, he wished that he had been able to leave them out of this.
"This is awful," Lee Seolhwa whispered, and Jung Heewon nodded solemnly in agreement.
Kim Dokja didn't like that he had been forced to resort to this, but the Fate was powerful enough that he hadn't had a choice. The damned nebulae wouldn't hesitate to involve the kids, and now this was the situation that they were left with. Even Lee Gilyoung was beginning to tear up now while Shin Yoosung was already distraught, and Kim Dokja didn't know if there was anything else he could do to help them endure this.
Hunched over and panting heavily, Yoosung looks up when Dokja descends closer to the ground. Now that they've entered the third phase of the fight, his muscles bulk up slightly, straining slightly against his clothes but not ripping them. Calling out for everyone to stay focused, his eyes gleam bright red in the shadow of his wings as a ball of power forms in his hand.
Hyunsung immediately chucks a large piece of rubble at his back, which Dokja easily slices in half, only to reveal Heewon preparing for a strike in its wake. Before Dokja can react, Sangah grabs his ankle with her threads, making it impossible for him to dodge the cut to his arm and across his chest. Immediately, Jihye and Sooyoung take the chance to stab Dokja through the back, right at the base of his wings. Despite the blades emerging from his chest, Dokja manages a smile, commending them for their good work and telling them to keep going.
"Ahjussi, I think I take back everything I've said about training," Lee Jihye said out of nowhere, "muscles don't suit you at all."
And what the hell did she mean by that?
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is agreeing that the future incarnation 'kim dokja' looks weird.]
[the constellation 'goryeo's first sword' is unimpressed by the unearned muscles.]
Okay, so maybe it did feel a bit strange seeing his body bulk up like that, especially because his face still looked relatively normal. Or, at least, as normal as it could look as a Demon King. Still, Kim Dokja had to wonder if this was how everyone had felt when seeing Yoo Joonghyuk's face on his body way back in the fourth scenario when he had used that mask.
Of course, seeing his face on Yoo Joonghyuk's stupidly muscular body would be even stranger than this. After all, even though his muscles and form had gotten larger as a Demon King, his physique still looked pathetic next to Yoo Joonghyuk's toned musculature. Maybe Lee Jihye was right and muscles didn't work for him at all… well, it's not like he had ever intended to train all that seriously anyway—not unless he was threatened into it by the protagonist, at least—so this revelation wasn't that bad.
Han Sooyoung sighed as she watched Kim Dokja ready another attack. "Okay, seriously? A ball of red energy? How much more cliché can you get?"
He'd like to see her try and do better, miss Black Flames Empress who uses purple and black firey energy balls. Maybe she should look in a mirror or at her cringey sponsor every once in a while.
Lee Hyunsung winced as soon as he saw himself throw a giant piece of rubble at Kim Dokja. "Sorry, Dokja-ssi…"
"It's fine Hyunsung-ssi, really," Kim Dokja reassured him, but he had to gasp when Jung Heewon was perfectly in position for an attack that used the rubble as cover to allow her to get in close.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is tearing out his hair in excitement.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is nodding in approval at the coordination of the incarnations 'lee hyunsung' and 'jung heewon'.]
"Thank you for the cover, Hyunsung-ssi," Jung Heewon said with a weak smile, still clearly affected by everything going on. He smiled back at her as well as he could considering the circumstances, but it was obvious that even when she was exhausted and upset, he looked at her like she was the center of his universe.
Kim Dokja held his breath as Yoo Sangah, Lee Jihye, and Han Sooyoung all attacked him in a coordinated manner, taking advantage of his distraction. Their timing was excellent, and he hadn't even had the chance to dodge.
"We're doing well, right?" Yoo Sangah asked hesitantly, and only relaxed slightly when Kim Dokja nodded and his future self said the same thing. They were doing well, and keeping the kids out of it for the moment, but they were going to need to step up the pace if they wanted to kill him within the time limit.
However, it's at that moment that Youngran's [Eight Gates Formation], which had slightly collapsed from his explosive increase in magical power, gives way. Dropping to the floor, Youngran coughs up mouthfuls of blood. This unfortunate timing—in addition to the debuffs his teammates have endured—forces Dokja into making the decision to borrow a hand he never wanted to have to.
Distancing himself from the group, Dokja's exhausted and pained gaze meets his incarnation's tear-filled one. Gilyoung crawls forward to kneel beside her, looking at Dokja as well.
Two children join the group, standing by Jihye and Sangah, as both of them eagerly try to get Dokja's attention.
Seeing the indirect message that her sponsor is looking at her, Yoosung's tears fall faster and harder as she shakes her head violently, pleading to not have to do this. Dokja just looks at her, letting their incarnation-constellation bond convey all the emotions he can't put into words.
Yoo Mia's expression looked grim as she stared at Cho Youngran coughing up blood on the screen. "... is that ahjumma gonna be ok?"
"If I get to her in time, then maybe…" Lee Seolhwa muttered, looking slightly concerned that she was nowhere in sight. Kim Dokja, however, figured that she was likely with Yoo Joongyuk in an attempt to get him back in action. With any luck, she'd have enough mana left to help Cho Youngran afterwards. Her abilities would be useful, even when the protagonist was on the field again.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is sighing sadly.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is crying.]
"I don't want to do this, hyung," Lee Gilyoung admitted as tears began dripping down his cheeks.
Shin Yoosung just sobbed and Kim Dokja couldn't make out what she was saying between her gasped breaths.
When the two children appeared in the field with everyone else, Kim Dokja had to close his eyes. It was hard seeing everyone look so happy like that, considering what was going on. However, it was still preferable to facing the reality of what was happening outside of his imagination.
"We have no choice," Yoo Joonghyuk said suddenly, his voice grave. "We must do what needs to be done."
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is sighing.]
Lee Gilyoung looked up at Yoo Joonghyuk with blazing eyes. "You damn sooty bastard! You're not even fighting, so how could you…"
His voice suddenly went quiet and his shoulders slumped, almost as if in defeat. Shin Yoosung reached over and grabbed onto Lee Gilyoung's wrist loosely.
"Gilyoung, he's also…"
Her voice trembled and Lee Gilyoung flinched. "I know, okay?"
Other than Kim Dokja himself, everyone knew that Yoo Joonghyuk was the one with the heaviest weight to bear. They all knew that he had tried to fight Fate in his own way only to fail, and they all knew that he was the only one who could deal the final blow to end this scenario.
Shin Yoosung sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve as she glanced over at Yoo Joonghyuk sadly. "If… if this is the only way we can help ahjussi right now, then we'll listen to you this once."
[several constellations are curious to see what the children will do.]
Kim Dokja had been trying to avoid thinking about it as the moment of his death ticked ever-closer, but that was impossible now that Yoo Joonghyuk was looking at him with a deeply pained look in his eyes. This would hurt everyone, but maybe it would hurt Yoo Joonghyuk most of all.
Crying harder, Yoosung sobs and hits the ground with her fist. Her painful and bitter emotions fire back through the bond, but Dokja doesn't budge despite understanding it better than anyone else. After a moment, she takes a deep breath and shakily stands, reaching out a hand to pull Gilyoung up as well. "... I understand. Let's go, Gilyoung. We have to do it."
Opening her eyes, now a bright yellow as she activates her skill, she directs her agony into summoning. A rift—not unlike those used by the Disaster of Floods—appears behind her and the hall shakes as the Chimera dragon emerges, making its entrance more dramatic by capping it off with a loud roar and a swing of its tail that shatters part of the wall.
[some constellations nod in understanding of the feeling of their incarnation's distress.]
Lee Jihye shifted uncomfortably before glancing up at the ceiling. "...You really get feedback on our emotions? It's not on all the time… right?"
Ah, was she thinking back to times when she had been extremely distressed, both before and during this scenario? Her sponsor had definitely been aware during the theatre dungeon; after all, he wouldn't have sent Kim Dokja that scenario back then otherwise.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is reassuring his incarnation that the constellations do not feel the emotions all the time.]
[the constellation 'bald leader of the peasant's army' is explaining that usually only strong emotions are felt.]
At the very least, Lee Jihye seemed to be somewhat reassured by that, but Shin Yoosung wasn't. Kim Dokja wasn't sure exactly how this Shin Yoosung saw him since they weren't yet sponsor and incarnation, but he didn't think that the situation would be any better than the one in the future. If anything, it might be worse.
Kim Dokja was aware that both children clearly saw him as some kind of father figure, despite his own hesitance on the subject, and this bond had grown without any kind of concrete link between them. Lee Gilyoung had already been attached to him, but Shin Yoosung didn't even know him before this scenario began. Still, those kids knew more about both him and this world than their future selves did, and probably felt even more helpless to stop it as well.
"I'm sorry you have to do this," Kim Dokja told them, and he began to wonder absentmindedly if Jung Heewon was right and the words were beginning to mean less and less every time. Despite that, he hoped they were genuine enough. Those were his kids now, and he had never wanted them to have to do participate in his death. He knew it would haunt them, that it would hurt them too, but Kim Dokja also knew that he had no other options right now.
He just hoped that the kids would forgive him.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is frowning.]
"Ahjussi, you're… you're trusting us just like you're trusting everyone else, so we have to do it," Shin Yoosung said between hiccups as more tears ran down her cheeks.
Still crying, Lee Gilyoung looked up at him and sniffed loudly to try and keep himself from having to wipe his nose. "If we do good, then… you'll be proud of us, right?"
God, Kim Dokja felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He didn't even pay attention as his incarnation began summoning the Chimera dragon on the screen because he was so focused on the two crying children.
He didn't really know what he was doing, but he gathered both kids into a hug, holding them as securely as he could. They were still crying in little quiet sobs, but they melted into the embrace and didn't even elbow or pinch each other when their arms touched in the middle.
Closing his eyes and resting his chin on one of their heads, Kim Dokja whispered, "I'm already proud of you. That won't change, no matter what happens here."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is sobbing alongside the children.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is unsure of how to deal with crying kids.]
When Kim Dokja opened his eyes, he noticed Yoo Mia looking at him with a strange expression on her face. Or, maybe she was looking at the other two kids, tempted to try and help them however she could. They wouldn't be leaving his embrace anytime soon, though, so Kim Dokja just looked at her questioningly and opened his arms slightly, as though to invite her to hug Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung from the other side without having to touch him at all. Her gaze turned thoughtful for a moment before she paused and shook her head.
Ah, had he assumed wrong? Or was she just far too comfortable in her brother's lap to want to leave it right now? Well, it's not like Kim Dokja could blame her if that was the case.
Either way, he had to pay attention to the dragon that was beginning to destroy things.
"No wonder that was your last resort, Dokja-ssi…" Lee Hyunsung muttered, his eyes wide, as the massive creature practically took down a wall with a single swing of its tail.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is cheering excitedly.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is declaring that dragons are the best.]
The moment it locks eyes with Dokja, however, all that bravado disappears and it hesitates instead of attacking. Fearing the Demon King, the dragon fights Yoosung's orders, causing the girl to spit up blood. Seeing this, Dokja looks at Gilyoung kneeling beside her, and decides that he has to say something. "Gilyoung, think of this as a game."
When Gilyoung turns to helplessly look at Dokja, the man remembers the words he spoke to the boy so long ago as they wandered through the darkness of Geumho Station. The moments that passed so fast back then, yet remain as precious memories—the stories that will become the power to kill him. With a faint smile on his face, Dokja softly speaks to him, "Even if I die, I will come back. I promise."
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is smirking in the direction of the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon'.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is pointing and laughing.]
"Holy shit, is that thing scared!?" Han Sooyoung asked in bafflement as the dragon refused to attack Kim Dokja.
Yoo Joonghyuk narrowed his eyes. "It may be a powerful monster, but it still follows its own instincts."
And those instincts were telling it that Kim Dokja was dangerous. Unlike before, when it would attack on its own with only slight guiding nudges from the kids, they'd need to use a firmer hand this time.
"Yoosung-ah," Yoo Sangah gasped as the young girl began to face the repercussions of trying to handle it on her own, and Lee Seolhwa placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as she watched with a critical eye. Clearly, the doctor was adding another person to her priority list.
[some constellations are urging the incarnation 'lee gilyoung' to help.]
Lee Gilyoung shook his head as Kim Dokja tried to give him some advice. "Hyung, don't say that! This isn't a game!"
Ah, well, that might not have been the best thing to say, but it was probably all he could think of at the time between the chaos of the fight and the gradually increasing pain.
The moment that Kim Dokja began remembering the time they spent together, Lee Gilyoung broke down into sobs again. Maybe that was the bit of proof he was hoping for that would tell him that Kim Dokja truly did care about him, or maybe he was just feeling overwhelmed. Whatever the case was, Kim Dokja allowed the kid to hold him as tightly as he needed.
When Kim Dokja tried reassuring Lee Gilyoung that he'd come back even if he died, Jung Heewon turned to look at him with an exhausted expression on her face. "You've said that so much that it'd better be true. We'll sic Joonghyuk-ssi on you if you don't."
Well, he didn't particularly want the protagonist to be chasing him down like a hunting dog, because that sounded downright terrifying.
"I don't know how long it will take, but my future self is confident that I'll survive," Kim Dokja told her. "Trust me."
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is hoping that the incarnation 'kim dokja' will keep his word.]
With an agonizing scream and unbidden tears, Gilyoung activates his own [Taming] with only nine minutes remaining on the clock. Under the power of both children's [Taming] skills, the chimera dragon finally readies a magic attack, sucking in the power around it to nail Dokja with a dragon's signature breath attack.
Before attack hits Dokja, the viewpoint suddenly changes to show Seolhwa, clearly exhausted as she kneels on the ground while sweating and breathing heavily. In a weak voice, she barely manages to say that she's done her best to heal someone before collapsing to the ground in a faint. Silently, Joonghyuk gets to his feet, his strong back on full display as he prepares himself to re-enter the fight. Despite that, his expression is completely hidden from view as his coat flares, displaying the new sword that has been sheathed at his waist.
As both children began working together to control the dragon, Kim Dokja pretended not to notice the way that they had linked their trembling hands in the middle of his lap. Even though this situation was bad, it was nice to see those two getting along.
Still, that didn't mean that watching him face down yet another burst of dragonfire was pleasant for anyone, least of all those of them who had actually been there last time, and Kim Dokja had to take a deep breath just to keep himself as calm as he could. This wasn't real yet. It wouldn't hurt. It was nothing but a story.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is eagerly leaning forward in his seat.]
[many constellations are looking forward to seeing the attack power of the 'chimera dragon'.]
Then, right as the attack was about to hit its target, the scene suddenly changed.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is flabbergasted.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is throwing a tantrum.]
Despite the circumstances, Han Sooyoung couldn't help but snicker. "I can't believe that this thing just cliffhangered you getting hit."
Well, considering what was being shown on the screen now, it made perfect sense. Deep down, though, Kim Dokja was honestly relieved that he wouldn't have to relive getting burnt just yet.
Lee Seolhwa looked utterly exhausted, and he already knew that her current self was likely estimating how much mana she had left. There was only one person she could have been working on right now, and Kim Dokja knew what her hard work was leading towards.
"Oppa!" Yoo Mia exclaimed in surprise before practically flinging her arms around as much of her brother's torso as she could reach. "You're okay!"
After a moment of relief, she peeked over at Lee Seolhwa. "Um, thank you unnie…"
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is approving of the politeness of the incarnation 'yoo mia'.]
"I'm just doing my duty," Lee Seolhwa replied with a gentle smile. "Now that Joonghyuk-ssi is in good enough condition to fight again, we have a chance to complete the scenario."
They had less than ten minutes left, and his power would be necessary to finish things for good. Strangely, Kim Dokja didn't feel any dread at the thought. Instead, he felt awash with relief, secure in the knowledge that everyone would survive now that the protagonist was here to beat the odds.
Contrary to the small smile that tugged on the edges of Kim Dokja's lips, however, Yoo Joonghyuk's face looked ashen and conflicted as he stared wide-eyed at the familiar sword strapped to his waist. It looked as though he had so many things he wanted to say, and yet had the words for none of them. Kim Dokja couldn't help but notice that despite his strong back that had always seemed like a bulwark, Yoo Joonghyuk appeared almost afraid.
Perhaps his future self looked like that too, knowing that Fate was tightening its strings around the both of them and forcing them to dance as its puppets until the curtain finally fell on the life of the incarnation Kim Dokja.
If that was the case, then Kim Dokja intended to put on the best damn show the Star Stream had ever seen.