Chapter 367: 367

This was a part of an ancient memory .

– Scribe, for how long am I supposed to repeat this war? A war that doesn’t have any victors… .

The times when he threw that question out, or how many times he asked it – he couldn’t recall them .

– Michael, there’s no need to ponder too deeply about this .

The Metatron of his memories would always return the exact same smile . For several hundreds of years, or maybe even for thousands of years .

Metatron continued to carry that grin from the far side of time that Michael couldn’t even remember anymore .

– Please, focus on hating the ‘Evil’ in front of your eyes, instead . That is your ‘scenario’ .

‘… . My scenario .

Just how long have I been hunting down the demons?’

Michael, for a long time now, could no longer remember his birth .

[The power of ‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ is going berserk . ]

His memories were always incorrect, incomplete . All he could remember were the final words of the Demon Kings dying at his hands .

– How lamentable, oh, the pitiful disciple of . Do you really need to go this far?

That was from the master of the 21st Demon World .

– Uwahahahahat!! You are now the same as us! Finally, Metatron has gone mad!!

And that was from the master of the 9th Demon World .

– Which ‘number’ Michael are you?

And finally, from the lips of the master of the 4th Demon World .

Past the faces of the Demon Kings with names he’d forgotten, he could see the dead Archangels, his comrades, that fought alongside him .

– Michael, you must regain yourself . Please… . This, this is wrong .

An Angel and a Demon, that’s what he was .

Faces breaking down like debris scattered away in tens of thousands of puzzle pieces, before gathering back together to create one giant form .

‘Good’ and ‘Evil’, in conflict against each other for eternity itself . And Metatron’s face, the one who had managed to endure all those years, continued to carry the exact same smile for thousands of years .

– You need to be careful about one thing . When using this power, you must never… .

[The power of ‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ is going berserk!]

All of his memories were swept away in one go; Michael was enveloped in horrifying pain akin to his head being ripped to tiny shreds .

Aaaaaaaaah-!!!!

All ‘Good’ in the world cried out in sorrow . From the blades of grass to trees; from small insects to every type of ‘Good’ living in Creation fell into a state of sorrow and cried out in grief .

[You have directed a fatal attack at an opponent on the side of Absolute Good!]

[Fable, ‘Evil that destroys Evil’, is roaring out in bitter sadness!]

[You have broken the taboo!]

[You have been handed a terrible penalty!]

A grey-coloured angel covered in blood was smiling at Michael .

*

The moment I bit into the [Fruit of Good and Evil], the view of the world changed .

[You have consumed a forbidden ‘Star Relic Fruit’ . ]

[You are currently a ‘Demon King’ . ]

[The power of ‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ has whispered the secret of the ‘Absolute Good’ to you . ]

As the ginormous storm of magical energy raged around me, my ears were inundated by the continuous stream of messages .

[You have experienced all facets of ‘Good and Evil’!]

[You have achieved an impossible accomplishment!]

[You have acquired the Possibility of a brand new Fable!]

[ is stunned by your accomplishment . ]

[ is pondering what your second Modifier should be . ]

I felt the sensations of being a Constellation, the one I couldn’t feel for a long time after becoming a Demon King, once more .

[‘Demon King Transformation’ has been cancelled . ]

[ has completely restored your constellation . ]

I saw a beautifully sparkling star high up within the pitch-black sky above . That was my star .

[‘Angel Transformation’ is activating . ]

My body began to glow brightly after receiving the starlight . The feathered wings dyed in black morphed into pure white ones, and the demon’s horns growing on top of my head withered away . Warm, pure energy filled up the entirety of my Incarnation Body .

Unfortunately, I wasn’t permitted enough time to relaxedly enjoy the ‘Status of an Angel’ . The [Judgement Field] had shrunk down around me and had begun crushing my body .

Kwa-dudududuk!!

My new wings were crushed and folded as I felt this horrifying pain . My arms and legs, that couldn’t endure against the pressure of the compacting space, got crushed helplessly .

[Great Fable, ‘Torch that swallowed the Myth’, is protecting you . ]

[Great Fable, ‘Demon World’s Spring’, is protecting you . ]

I was able to barely hold on against that enormous pressure, powerful enough to almost crush me in an instant, with the aid of my Great Fables .

[‘The 4th Wall’ is protecting your mental state!]

[Probability of 2nd generation is weakening the ability of ‘the 4th Wall’!]

It felt like several bolts of lightning were going off in my head . I thought that I’d blackout at any given moment, and my vision darkened before reverting back a few times, too .

However, I endured . I simply had to . So that I could grasp that one and only chance soon to be coming my way .

「As the price for being strong against ‘Evil’, the ‘King of Corrupted Angels’ possesses one weakness . 」

The power of the [Judgement Field] crushing and wringing my body was gradually weakening . The only weakness of this frightening monster capable of destroying all ‘Absolute Evil’, was… .

「The ‘King of Corrupted Angels’ cannot attack an opponent leaning towards the ‘Good’ spectrum . 」

If he broke this rule and attacked ‘Good’, then… .

Craaaaack!!

The absolute Stigma [Judgement Field], capable of crushing a Demon King to death, began splintering into pieces . Like a moth escaping from its cocoon, I destroyed this barrier and spread out my wings .

Michael squatted down on the ground and grasped his head with both of his hands while screaming at the top of his lungs .

[Demon King, ‘King of Corrupted Angels’, is writhing in great pain!]

This was my only chance .

“Anna Croft!!”

As soon as my words resounded out in this forest, a blonde woman ran towards the rear of Michael . Her eye was now dyed in that crimson hue . She had seen something through [Precognition] and was now in full sprint while unleashing all of her Status .

Meanwhile, I gathered my remaining strength into my two legs and dashed forward as if I was falling over . Now, normally, killing Michael with only this much combined firepower was impossible, even if he had been rendered defenceless like right now .

However, the story would be different while we were on this island .

[Character, ‘Anna Croft’, has activated ‘Physical Sword Aura Lv . 9’!]

As if we had a prior agreement, she unleashed several strands of powerful energy from the tip of her shortsword like clockwork . I unsheathed [Unbreakable Faith] with my tattered right arm .

[Fragment of a Fable, ‘Right Arm of a Pitiful Sword Master’, has activated!]

I had no clue that a Fable acquired through the special attribute of [Lamarck’s Giraffe] once upon a time would come in handy like this . (ED: Lamarck’s Kirin → Lamarck’s Giraffe . TIL this is a real thing . )

[Probability of 2nd generation has reinforced your aptitude!]

The explosive magical energy of [Purest Sword Force] extended by over ten-plus metres from the tip of [Unbreakable Faith] . (TL: “White Pure Star Energy” → “Purest Sword Force”)

I managed to barely hold the sword level as it sunk about half-way into the left side of Michael’s neck . Almost at the same time, Anna Croft’s shortsword sliced into the right of his neck .

A fountain of blood shot up into the air and Michael’s severed head flew up .

[You have killed the 176th Incarnation Body of ‘King of the Corrupted Angels’ . ]

[You have acquired a Myth-grade Fable . ]

[ is stunned by your accomplishment!]

[You have brought the ‘Fake Revelation’ to reality . ]

[You have achieved an unbelievable accomplishment!]

[You have acquired an ungradable Fable . ]

[You have acquired the Fable, ‘Architect of Revelation’!]

As the stream of messages cascaded down, my barely-maintained consciousness finally let go and scattered away .

*

When I reopened my eyes, I found myself all alone within a white space . A single sentence was floating up in the empty air .

「The being who consumed the ‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ will face the truth he had been avoiding . 」

‘… . Where am I?’

Before I had a chance to ask that, images suddenly popped up on the left-hand sidewall . Those were scenes from ‘Ways of Survival’ .

It depicted Yu Joong-Hyeok and his companions clearing out various scenarios . That was the world of ‘Ways of Survival’ where I didn’t exist . The companions who didn’t buckle under all sorts of hardships and continued to defeat their enemies . . . existed there .

[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ speaks to you . ‘That story was your life, wasn’t it?’]

I nodded my head . Indeed, that story was my life . I grew up while reading those events .

[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ speaks to you . ‘However, this is also definitely your life, too . ‘]

The right-hand sidewall rippled and a new screen appeared there . It now showed a boy, around 15 years old . He was looking at a computer monitor while inputting something with the keyboard .

– What will happen to Joong-Hyeok next? Is he going to die again?

This was back when Yu Joong-Hyeok was going through his 164th turn . I was in the 3rd year of middle school, and in love with Yi Ji-Hye back then . And I was busy typing a comment . (TL: Lee Jihye → Yi Ji-Hye)

– Argh… . Really . . . I’d like to stop chomping on the sweet potatoes now, please . (TL: Sweet potatoes = Korean slang for being frustrated/stifled)

And then, when Yu Joong-Hyeok was going through his 488th turn . I was in the 2nd year of high school, around the same age as Kim Nam-Woon; again, I was typing a comment within the screen .

…

… .

… . . .

As Yu Joong-Hyeok went through more and more regressions, I too, grew older and older . While reading about his deaths, my beard began sprouting . I graduated from high school while spectating on his sacrifices .

And again, as I read his story… .

– Wouldn’t it be fine for him to just die during this turn, instead?

… . Wait, did I ever write a comment like that before?

– The story is going down the drain, so maybe it’s time to go back? ㄱㄱ

Now, it was Yu Joong-Hyeok’s 662th turn .

I was a university student by then, still typing away on a keyboard .

– Joong-Hyeok is going to die again, yes?

The words I committed to record were in full display here . All those words that I spat out under the excuse of being hurt by life and exhausted by living itself, they were coming back inside my brain .

– Please, can you skip the earlier scenarios? It’s getting repetitive .

… . I couldn’t say anything, not anymore .

[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ speaks to you . ‘That is the total worth of the story you told as if it was your entire life . ‘]

The tips of my fingers began trembling .

On the left wall, Yu Joong-Hyeok and his battles; and on the right wall, there was me, staring at Yu Joong-Hyeok . And right in the middle wall, the scenes of me glaring at the stars in the sky played out .

「”Enjoy the show while you can . The fee for your entertainment shall become your lives in the end . “」

[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ speaks to you . ‘Do you really have the qualification to tell ■■?’]

My own words continued to float up above the screen .

「”Yu Joong-Hyeok, I know the ‘future you don’t know’ . “」

「”Hey, Joong-Hyeok, we can save this world . You know this, right?”」

「”I’ll finish your story in your stead . “」

My voice, sounding so brazen and with not a speck of hesitation in it .

[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ speaks to you . ‘You, who have deceived the entire world by relying on the story only you know, and lived until now… . Do you possess the right to be saved?]

From some place deep in my chest, I thought I heard something break . The whole world seemed to be shaking in my eyes .

[‘The 4th Wall’ is glaring at the ‘Fruit of Good and Evil’!]

[‘Fruit of Good and Evil’ is startled and is shrinking back . ]

Tch-chuchuchuchut!!

A storm of Probability swept up my surroundings . As I stumbled and faltered about, someone’s voice cried out to me .

「( . . . . . Dok-Ja-ssi! You need to move, now! Michael is still . . . . !)」

*

After I opened my eyes again, I found myself leaning against a cavern wall .

” . . . . I was going to abandon you if you didn’t wake up in the next minute or so . “

A blonde woman was looking down at me . Bandages were tightly wrapped around my belly and chest areas, and there were some crushed herbs applied to my thigh that had suffered a penetration wound .

Warm liquid then flowed into my mouth . It tasted bitter, acrid .

I quickly regained my wits and after discovering the identity of the liquid, nearly got scared out of them again . Because . . . Anna Croft had cut her palm open to feed me her own blood .

“What the hell are you . . . . ?!”

She used her other hand to calm me down and explained herself without a hint of fluster .

“I possess the attribute [Elixir Maker] . My blood possesses the same medicinal effects as all the elixirs I’ve consumed so far . “

” . . . . But, drinking a lot of this blood will place me under your control . “

“That happens only when your Status is lower than mine . “

She stemmed the blood flow from her palm and turned her head away .

It was nighttime already . I couldn’t sense any presence or movements . I sucked in several slow but deep breaths and asked her .

“What happened to Michael?”

” . . . . . He’s dead . No, I’m not sure whether to call him dead or not . . . . “

“By any chance, did his Incarnation Body get enshrouded in a blackish fog?”

” . . . . How did you know that?”

I wish I could explain to her, but this crippling pain assaulting my head prevented me from easily recalling the contents of ‘Ways of Survival’ . I was pretty sure that Michael wasn’t dead . To be more specific, he did die, but would revive again .

There were ‘two moons’ up in the sky outside the cavern, the symbol of Fables from the 2nd generation . I must’ve drank a fair amount of her blood, because under the pale blue light, Anna Croft’s complexion was just as pale and wane .

“Why didn’t you abandon me and leave?”

“I thought that, by saving you, I’d earn a Fable like [Prophet who Pays her Debt] or some such . “

She probably knew very well that such a Fable wouldn’t get created so easily . Suddenly, I was overcome with this sense of rejection to this whole idea in my head . The Anna Croft I knew was not like this . The woman I knew was definitely a cold-blooded type of a person who, for the sake of her cause, would not hesitate to sacrifice even her most precious comrade .

That was supposed to be the case, but… .

“You should be able to move again in a few hours . “

However, was the information I know of her, everything there was to know about Anna Croft?

「Anna Croft is an Incarnation of ‘Absolute Good’ . 」

… . I couldn’t be sure why I was thinking up such things . Maybe, it was possible that I began thinking about lots more things after consuming the [Fruit of Good and Evil] .

I spoke as if I was sighing . “We should part ways around here . You must’ve collected all the words necessary for your Modifier target, after all . “

“It doesn’t matter to me, but will you be fine?”

“Not sure who should be worried about who here . Even if you don’t look after me, let me assure you, I won’t die . These injuries weren’t severe enough to kill me . “

“No, if you were left alone, you would have been dead . “

Not ‘could have died’, but ‘dead’, straight up . And I knew the precise moments when Anna Croft would say something like that .

“But, you shouldn’t have been able to see my future?”

” . . . . Until recently, yes, I couldn’t . “

[Exclusive skill, ‘Lie Detection Lv . 7’, has activated!]

[You have confirmed that the applicable assertion is the truth . ]

“Starting from yesterday onwards, I could see little bits of your future . Some ‘things’ past an indistinct, faint wall . . . . “

… . She could see my future?

“What did you see?”

” . . . . It’ll be better if you don’t know . “

“Just say it . “

Anna Croft’s [Eye of the Great Demon] again emitted a crimson light . She then spat out a soft sigh before slowly opening her lips .

“Twelve hours from now, you will die at the hands of the ‘Conquering King’, Yu Joong-Hyeok . “

Fin .