Chapter 227 — Asmodeus (6)

My hands were trembling but I took a deep breath and regained my composure. No. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn’t be dead. Above all, the message that caught my attention was evidence.

[You are currently waiting for the next main scenario.]

Based on common sense, Yoo Jonghyuk shouldn’t be given the exile penalty. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk would’ve entered a new scenario like me.

There might be variations for individual scenarios but he became a duke as soon as I became a duke. It meant that like me, Yoo Jonghyuk was a ‘demon king candidate.’

[There is currently a delay in the compensation due to an error in the Star Stream system.]

However, there was this one message. It was very rare to acquire a story or achievement through ‘impersonation’ in the Star Stream. This time, Yoo Jonghyuk and I impersonated each other and made achievements in each other’s name.

What if the main scenario of the Star Stream was twisted because of this? I entered the main scenario safely but what if Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t enter? Was that why the exile penalty began?

“Are you okay?”

“...Do you have a glass of water?”

Aileen stared at me with disbelieving eyes for a moment. “Don’t pull out the catheter again while I’m gone.”

Aileen left the room and I calmly reexamined the situation. I had to be composed. It wasn’t clear whether Yoo Jonghyuk had died or not. It was likely that he had been killed by the start of the exile penalty just prior to the release of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, but absolute certainty was a taboo in the Star Stream. I needed to first confirm Yoo Jonghyuk’s life or death properly.

“Biyoo.”

Biyoo had expanded the channel to the Gilobat side. If Biyoo helped, I might be able to see the area using the eyes of a constellation.

“Biyoo. Do you hear me?”

Did something happen? There was no response from Biyoo. I couldn’t even hear the messages from other constellations. I felt uneasy for a moment. What happened to Biyoo while I was away?

...Huh? I listened quietly and could hear Biyoo breathing near me. Biyoo’s transparent body was lying on my chest, fast asleep.

I sighed with relief. I would’ve been devastated if something happened to Biyoo.

“...I’m sorry.” I stroked Biyoo’s head. According to Ways of Survival, a dokkaebi must sleep for at least half a day when it was just born. I was sleeping so it wasn’t strange for Biyoo to have fallen asleep.

It was a situation where Biyoo had exhausted her strength due to overworking.

I decided to use the second method.

[The exclusive skill, ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ has been activated!]

Then my temples started throbbing.

[The skill is cancelled due to accumulated damage.]

...Damn, this didn’t work either. It seemed that I suffered a huge blow when my link with Yoo Jonghyuk was severed.

In the end, I picked up the smartphone again. It was the first time I felt so helpless. I didn’t know if Yoo Jonghyuk was dead or not and the only thing I could do was read the novel.

No, don’t think like this. Kim Dokja, please wake up. You’ve survived so far thanks to this novel.

I bit my lips and opened Ways of Survival again. Everything came from this story. Thus, the answer would be in the story.

[The attribute effect has increased ‘speed reading’!]

I read the book with wide eyes, not missing a single word or sentence.

「 ‘At that time, we shouldn’t have pretended to support the Demon King Asmodeus.’」

It was hard to see it as Yoo Jonghyuk and I pretending to support Asmodeus this time. I might’ve deceived him but in the end, there was a nuance that he would still cooperate with us. I couldn’t be sure that Yoo Jonghyuk was dead with this sentence alone.

The 13th round.

The 134h round.

...

Yoo Jonghyuk’s regressions continued. It took longer than before but his spirit was gradually worn down by the continuous regressions.

「 ‘It is hard.’ 」

The 18th round.

「 ‘I want to quit now.’ 」

The 21st round.

「 ‘Dammit, dammit, dammit!’ 」

...

I read about Yoo Jonghyuk’s despair and also felt my heart burning. As time went by, Yoo Jonghyuk returned to his original pessimistic form. A regressor who survived every regression using the principles of only thinking about himself.

「 ‘I can’t change anything.’ 」

He went back, went back and went back again. In the second half of the novel, there was no big difference with the Ways of Survival that I read before. Apart from the first half that I influenced, Yoo Jonghyuk made similar mistakes and regained similar tendencies.

「 ‘Damn, a few more times...’ 」

I spent several months with Yoo Jonghyuk but I was only able to have this much influence on the novel. I wanted to reach out to the frustrated Yoo Jonghyuk but Yoo Jonghyuk was in a place I couldn’t reach. The 25th, 26th, 27th rounds... Yoo Jonghyuk constantly repeated the regressions and I had to stop reading.

It was painful to read. The original Ways of Survival was a story like this. How did I read all 3,149 chapters?

Due to my irregular breathing, Biyoo attached to my chest was moving uncomfortably.

I remembered the page number before scrolling down to the bottom. It might be burdensome to follow this story right now but there was something I had to check first.

Did Yoo Jonghyuk reach the proper ending in the first revision? Did the author write the epilogue?

The screen hitched badly while I was scrolling due to the poor performance of the smartphone. How long did I scroll down? I finally reached the spot where the original ending should be. However, I only found a huge void.

「 Current being edited. ㅠㅠ 」

There was a one line message. I was swept away by two different emotions.

“...Haha.”

The emoticon that followed the word ‘edited’ angered me but some of the possibilities that came from the message made me excited. This story could still be changed. There was a way even if Yoo Jonghyuk was dead. Somehow I had to bring him back to this regression.

I scrolled through with a determined feeling. Then the sentences that were written in the section before the ending caught my attention.

「 Before the end of the scenario, Yoo Jonghyuk recalled countless memories of his death. 」

「 ‘In the third round, I almost died the first time I met Asmodeus.’ 」

I had too many thoughts.

...Eh? Wait. This was currently the third round...

There was a knock on the door and I raised my head to see Mark. He saw that I was awake and waved. “R-Revolutionary! You woke up? It is fortunate.”

“What is going on?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that someone came to see you.”

I was busy and wanted to tell him to come back later when Mark continued speaking. “The owner of the industrial complex is looking for you.”

“Huh?”

“The owner of the industrial complex has come to visit you.”

What did he mean? Wasn’t I the owner of the industrial complex?

“Get out of the way.”

The next moment, someone pushed past Mark and entered the room. It was a presence that changed the atmosphere just by standing there.

I stared blankly at the man with my mouth gaping open. Yoo Jonghyuk, who I thought was dead, was standing in front of me.

***

It took me a bit more time to come to my senses. Aileen, who came back, glanced at us and disappeared after arranging the table while the blankly standing Mark also avoided this place. Once the surroundings became quiet, I opened my mouth first. “When did you come here?”

“Two days ago.”

I was ashamed of myself for freaking out in the last 10 minutes. The man I had been worried about was walking around the same industrial complex while I had all sorts of delusions about his death.

“...How did you survive? It was a situation where you couldn’t survive.”

“I received a bit of help.”

“From who? Was it your sponsor?”

“That guy has never helped me once.”

I asked for his help but I didn’t think he would actually help. From the beginning to the end of Ways of Survival, all he did was make Yoo Jonghyuk regress. Yoo Jonghyuk’s wounds had healed and he looked quite healthy.

“A constellation helped me.”

“A constellation? Who?”

“You don’t need to know the details.”

“What did you give in exchange? None of them would help for nothing.”

“I just received a slight penalty.”

“Penalty?”

“Until the Demon World scenario is over, I will disappear for 10 minutes a day.”

“Disappear? What does this mean?”

“Something like that. In any case, I have now entered the main scenario and the scenario error has been resolved. There is no need to worry about it.”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression while speaking seemed like he had solved something. It was somewhat troubling. I had fallen asleep for a week and Yoo Jonghyuk survived with the help of someone unrelated to me. Then he came here to finish become the ruler of the industrial complex.

“...”

Perhaps it was because it was rare to talk to Yoo Jonghyuk like this. An awkward silence filled the treatment room. Yoo Jonghyuk stared blankly down at the table while drinking tea.

I wanted to ask why he came here. I wanted to ask what he would do in the future. However, completely different words emerged from my mouth.

“The others... are they doing well?”

In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk couldn’t know. He was a person who only filled his head with the scenarios. Such a person wouldn’t care about what other people were doing. I deliberately wanted to nag at him. Please don’t live your life alone. If he lived like that, he could never reach the end of the scenario. I meant to give this speech. By the way...

“Lee Hyunsung went to the army.” Yoo Jonghyuk started talking. “Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye are training new incarnations. They are strengthening their power in preparing for the future disaster scenarios.”

“...Eh?”

“Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung are in contact with government officials.”

“The two of them are together?”

It was the first time I saw Yoo Jonghyuk saying so many words. Maybe this was why I fell into his story.

“Gong Pildu is buying land in Seongnam to build a huge castle. He seems to really think he is a king.”

“Haha, that ahjussi is really...”

“The two children are doing well. They seem to throw a coin every time they are bored.”

I was fascinated as Yoo Jonghyuk continued to speak in a blunt voice. Some stories were easy to understand while others took a bit more time. Nevertheless, they were all stories of someone I knew. The people I liked were living stories in a place where I didn’t exist.

As I listened, I felt somewhat sweet, sad and nostalgic. “Everybody is busy living.”

I felt a strange loneliness at the end of the story. I see. Everyone was living well.

[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is shaking.]

I realized that I was an ‘outsider’ of this story.

「 The 25th regression Yoo Jonghyuk said, ‘I can’t change anything.’ 」

Without me, people were still continuing the scenarios. Just like Yoo Jonghyuk repeated the regressions. The 4th, 5th, 6th rounds... it led to an endless story where I could be easily forgotten. Meanwhile, people would move towards the ending. It was natural. It might be natural but I felt pained at the reminder.

I bit my lips and tried to say something. I’m glad. The words didn’t emerge from my mouth. Then I heard Yoo Jonghyuk’s voice. “In addition, everyone is telling your story.”

I slowly raised my head at the words. Yoo Jonghyuk’s face was still expressionless. “They say it a lot. Your story.”

I smiled slightly while covering my eyes with both hands. I didn’t appear so on the surface but I wanted to say that I was smiling. In the small darkness created with both hands, Yoo Jonghyuk’s voice was heard again as he drank tea.

“Let’s go back to Earth, Kim Dokja.”