Chapter 509 — Have you protected all that you were supposed to protect (1)

⸢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.