Chapter 422: 422

“Just what the hell happened back there?”

Bihyung hung his head low after hearing Han Su-Yeong’s words .

“You were busy talking a big game, but then, we got refused entry at the door . . . . Oii, Dokkaebi, will you say something already?”

[Well, that is . . . . . Fuu . . . . ]

In the end, the couldn’t go to the ‘Final Scenario’ and had to return to Earth . The reason? Their ‘qualification is insufficient’ .

[It seems that the Great Dokkaebis were behind this . ]

“You think everything’ll be fine after saying that? What will you do about our wasted time, dude?”

[… . I’ll compensate you with suitable rewards so please, stop grilling me . ]

While the grumbling Bihyung was rummaging through his pockets, Han Su-Yeong sighed deeply and took a look at her companions .

They had somehow returned to Earth after going through all sorts of crazy ups and downs . Predictably, none of them were themselves at the moment .

“He might have died for real this time . . . . I’m sorry, hyung . . . . I . . . I wasn’t qualified . . . . Because, I didn’t do the contract . . . . “

Yi Gil-Yeong had been muttering some indescribable things to himself while crouching over there, while Shin Yu-Seung had her eyes closed and both of her index fingers were pressed to her temples as if she was meditating or some such . Meanwhile, Yi Ji-Hye and Jeong Hui-Won had taken Yi Hyeon-Seong to Aileen at the [Industrial Complex] and had vacated the premises for the time being .

” . . . . This place hasn’t changed at all . That ahjumma didn’t even bother to clean the house, did she?”

Han Su-Yeong muttered to herself as she patted away the dust on the aged couch .

Once upon a time, she, Yu Sang-Ah, and Yi Su-Gyeong stayed together in this very house . A place where they lived together for three years during Kim Dok-Ja’s absence . . . .

Her brief reminiscence was cut short by the doorbell .

She utilised the [Black Flame] to remotely open the door and smirked to herself . ” . . . . I guess the ⸢Devil showing up when you talk about her⸥ could be a Fable as well . “

“It’s been a while, Su-Yeong-ah,” said Yi Su-Gyeong as she scanned the messy state of the house . She eventually shook her head . “You’re still the same as before . You should at least ventilate the place . “

“I’ll have you know, I’ve returned only just now . And it’s already been so many yea . . . . . “

Han Su-Yeong flinched when she got that far . She might have spent dozens of years in the ‘Isle of Reincarnators’, but that was time spent within the island itself . She couldn’t really tell exactly how long it had been on the outside .

Yi Su-Gyeong opened all the windows in the house with a simple flick of her hand and sent away all the stuffy dust outside . Her eyes remained fixed on the group sagging on the floor in the meantime .

Han Su-Yeong sneakily blocked the older woman’s view towards them and coughed to clear her throat, before asking a question . “By any chance, did Jeong Hui-Won tell you already?”

“Tell me what?”

Han Su-Yeong lightly bit her lip . She wasn’t sure how to explain this situation .

“Well, you can see that Kim Dok-Ja isn’t here . “

“Hmm, that’s true . I learned of it just now, too . “

She thought that maybe, she shouldn’t have brought it up, but it was spilt milk already . Han Su-Yeong squeezed her eyes shut and spoke . “The reason why he’s not here, it’s . . . . Me, Yu Jung-Hyeok and Jeong Hui-Won, we all wanted to save your son and tried to go with the soul’s one big hit, but . . . . “

“Please get to the main point . “

“Ng . Actually, ahjumma, your son’s gone to some place with someone . But that place is . . . . “

“Are you perchance speaking of that?”

Han Su-Yeong followed Yi Su-Gyeong’s pointing finger and turned her head . The TV mounted on the wall was playing a news footage .

The scene on the screen showed a man wearing a white coat floating in the jet-black sky, with Kim Dok-Ja dangling off that man’s arm .

– Breaking news! ‘s president kidnapped!

Han Su-Yeong’s jaw dropped to the floor as she muttered softly . ” . . . . What the heck is that?”

For some unfathomable reason, the Earth’s media had found out about that event . Yi Su-Gyeong and her rather relaxed expression stared at the screen for a little while, then she nodded her head . “That boy . He’s still so popular . “

“Ahjumma?! Don’t you get that it’s a pretty serious problem??”

“But, he looks like Yu Jung-Hyeok-gun . So, what can be a serious problem?” (TL note at the end)

“Because, that’s not the ‘Yu Jung-Hyeok’ . That’s the problem . “

Han Su-Yeong spat out a groan . But then, the TV’s screen suddenly rewound itself back and the exact same footage played out again .

– Breaking news! ‘s president kidnapped!

She looked around wondering what was going on here, only to discover the stupefied Yu Jung-Hyeok continually poking the TV remote . He rewound the footage several times and repeated it over and over again .

Han Su-Yeong asked him . ” . . . . . Hey, are you alright?”

” . . . . . “

“You won’t regress even if your rewind that, you know? Did you even forget how to go back now?”

He didn’t even pretend to hear her . His eyes burned scarily as if he wanted to engrave the appearance of the ‘Secretive Plotter’ in them . The Status of the Regressor who refused to accept his defeat oozed out from him and made the air in the living room rather stuffy and hot .

Han Su-Yeong spat out an even greater groan . “Dammit . Just who the heck distributed that footage . . . . . “

[Hum, hum . ]

She turned her head yet again to find Bihyung this time, coughing to clear his throat .

” . . . . You haven’t left yet?”

[Here’s your reward . ]

Now that she thought about it, she had forgotten all about the reward payout . She extended her hand out, and the Dokkaebi’s small hand placed 500 Coins on her palm .

“Are you messing with me??”

[Well, the thing is, the financial state of the Bureau’s Seoul branch is a bit strained lately, you see . . . . And what with all these many things that require our attention, it’s like . . . . . ]

Bihyung whistled while glancing at the other side of the sky .

The Seoul’s sky that should’ve been clear was now dyed in the ominous colours of crimson and yellow . There were Probability’s sparks lashing down like lightning bolts, as well as the pitch-black [Great Hole] swirling around viciously .

Han Su-Yeong frowned deeply and asked . “Did something happen to Seoul?”

“The skies have been like that for a while now . “

This city was no longer the location for the main scenario . But, if the apocalyptic phenomena were still persisting like that, it . . . . .

[It’s because of the Apocalypse Dragon . ]

Bihyung looked at the sky with a bitter expression, pulled out a lengthy smoking pipe from his inner pocket and mouthed it .

Perhaps she found that sight unacceptable, Han Su-Yeong snatched the pipe away and yelled at the Dokkaebi . “What are you talking about?! Why does the Apocalypse Dragon’s effect reach this far?”

[You don’t know? I thought Kim Dok-Ja would have told you already . ]

“That idiot never tells us the most important information . “

Bihyung pulled out a second smoking pipe looking rather unperturbed and spoke while lighting it up . [The revival of the Apocalypse Dragon is the first button of the great annihilation for all of us . You can think of it as the world-line now rushing towards its end with that thing wide awake . . . . This was why I told you that we need to hurry to the ‘Final Scenario’ . ]

” . . . . What will happen if we don’t get to the Final Scenario?”

[As the word implies, it’s the apocalypse . You, me, this world . ]

That composed declaration prompted the dumbfounded Han Su-Yeong to sharply shoot back . “What the heck, what is even . . . . What’s the point of this ‘Final Scenario’ when the whole world is about to be destroyed? Why did you people even create such a scenario in the first place?!”

[The great annihilation is not a scenario planned out by the Dokkaebis . It’s simply meant to be . And because the annihilation is real, the ‘Final Scenario’ has gained its purpose at last . ]

Bihyung looked up at the distant skies with an expression of remorse . He saw the movements of a group of stars, hurriedly trying to get to some place . Stars of the heavens were getting further away like shooting stars .

*

[Oh-oooooooh!]

[Ah-aaaaaah!]

The ‘Outer Gods’ unleashed their jet-black Statuses, dyeing the entirety of the N’Gai’s Forest in pure darkness .

The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks managed to extract me from the vines and quickly stood all around me . The kkoma number [999] spoke up first . “Protect Kim Dok-Ja . “

“I told all of you this before, didn’t I? I knew he would cause a problem . “

“Indeed, we should’ve killed him the first time we saw him . “

Even though they spat out some seriously scary words, all of the mini Yu Jung-Hyeoks continued to hold their [Heaven Shaking Swords] firmly and didn’t lower their guards . They sliced and cut the approaching tentacles and advanced forward little by little .

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Maybe because it was directly after witnessing something truly shocking, my entire body seemed to be wrapped in this cold air . The kkoma number [999] took off his black coat and placed it over my shoulders .

“I only remember telling you to read a book, so why did you have to provoke them?”

I wasn’t sure what I could say back to him here . [999]’s eyes trembled .

” . . . . You fool . “

[Oh-ooooooh!]

The howling Outer Gods’ true voice reverberated heavily in the sky . Insects within the forest vomited out their bodily fluids and died, while some of the Gods even began fighting among themselves, too .

[999] spoke in a grave tone of voice . “These beings have not been understood for a very long time . And you just had to get involved . “

‘Outer Gods’ were flooding into where we were .

[GivetomeGivetomeGivetomeGivetome]

[KimdokjaKimdokjaKimdokjaKimdokja]

What was even more concerning, though, was the fact that not all Outer Gods carried the same sentiments as their peers . A few of the higher-ranked ones, after sensing my presence, began to exude unfiltered animosity in my way .

[Stin ki ng Cons tel ation has lo oked down on us . ]

[Ki ll him get r id of h im . ]

[No fo rgiving e ven if y ou are Plo tter’s gue st . ]

“Step aside, members of the Shantak!”

“We will cut you down if you come closer . “

The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks all unleashed their Statuses and resisted, but the ‘Outer Gods’ didn’t back down at all . They approached closer one step at a time, and while emitting dizzying Statuses themselves, cried out in a loud roar .

[Oh, Pl otter! We can no lo nger wa it!]

[F or ho w long do we n eed to wa it? The wo rld-l ine’s end is ap pro aching!]

I knew very well what they were talking about .

The world-line’s end .

Even these guys, as expected, were fully conscious of the ‘Final Scenario’ .

[Th is wo rld mu st unde rstand us]

“Step aside!!”

The tentacles closing in grew even more ferocious . Eventually, their Statuses became simply too much for the kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks to deal with, but then . . . .

The forest parted ways, and ‘he’ made his entrance .

He walked forward while crossing the tentacles that none of us could block . Each of his steps contained the solitude of indescribable eternity as well as the entirety of the 1863rd lives he had experienced .

Once upon a time, his name was Yu Jung-Hyeok, but now, he was the ‘Secretive Plotter’ . A man who knew of every world-line’s sorrow .

Outer Gods knelt down in front of that absolute, overwhelming nobleness .

[Oh, the gr eat Pl otter . ]

However, not all of them did . There were some ‘Gods’ who didn’t want to bend their opinions even when subjected to the intense pain of their existences turning into nothingness .

[Oh, the gr eat Pl otter, we can no lo nger wa it . ]

The ones no one could ever understand were wailing in sorrow . They raged on, and they mourned . Even then, their rage and sorrow were not understood . They didn’t belong to this this world-line, and they couldn’t be understood through the existing ‘Fables’ .

One needed to work really hard to understand their rage, their sorrow and their grief .

[We wan t to be un ders tood . ]

[We w ant to bec ome Fa bles . ]

Stories that needed one to work hard to understand could never be Fables . Stories that needed one to throw oneself deeply in first couldn’t be consumed .

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ opened his lips . [You will not be understood . ]

He looked at each and every one of them with subtle gazes, studied them, and gifted them with the cruel reality .

[That is because this has labelled all of you ‘Terrors’ . Because, this world has described you all as ‘Chaos’ that destroys the order, as calamities that could never be understood . That is why . ]

It was then I finally understood why the ‘Secretive Plotter’ has chosen to side with these creatures .

⸢Why would a person who knows the end of everything repeat the same story over again?⸥

When I thought about it, the answer was a rather simple one .

⸢That’s because he didn’t like the end he witnessed . ⸥

In the original story, Yu Jung-Hyeok and Constellations defeated the ‘Outer Gods’ together . That’s how he got to the end of the scenarios, and destroyed the .

[You will never shine in the sky like the Constellations, nor can you become the main actors of this world . As long as the exists, you will all remain forever as ‘Outer Gods’ . ]

However, he didn’t find what he wanted . And now, after becoming the ‘Secretive Plotter’, Yu Jung-Hyeok was stepping up to the battlefield once more .

[Soon, the war of annihilation will commence . The end of everything will soon begin, where stars will fall, worlds will collapse, and all Fables will be extinguished . ]

I spotted the eyes of the ‘Secretive Plotter’ looking at me from afar . The [Eye of Sage] spun around within his pitch-black iris .

[Oh, the great Plotter . . . . !]

[Oh, ooooooh!]

According to the plot of the original story, these creatures would meet with defeat .

⸢For the sake of the conclusion Kim Dok-Ja wishes for, these beings simply had to be defeated . ⸥

would be destroyed, while the stars of the heavens and the solitary gods would die with no one to remember them . The defeated would die extremely sorrowful deaths, while the victors would not get to bask in their victory .

I began walking towards the ‘Secretive Plotter’ .

” . . . . Kim Dok-Ja?”

I heard [999] call out to me, but I didn’t look back . I undid the [Miniaturisation], and my eye level changed rapidly . The black coat [999] placed on my shoulders wavered along with every step I took .

[‘s Probability is now shifting!]

[Stream of the great main scenario is now dwelling in you . ]

Past the canopy of the vine-covered forest, the sea of stars of the could be seen . On one side of the sky, stars were emitting bright light, while on the other side, ominous-looking galaxies alongside the [Great Hole] were quietly flowing about .

Half of it, light, while the other half, darkness .

Soon, the final war would begin . And most likely, I would have to stand on one of the sides to witness the end of the world .

[Your second Modifier has been decided . ]

A small star flickered on the far side of the sky . I stared at it for the longest time, before slowly reverting my gaze back to the ground . The ‘Outer Gods’ were now looking at me .

I returned their gazes and finally chose the side I’d stand .

[Your second Modifier is the ‘Watcher of the Light and Darkness’ . ]

Fin .

(TL: The “-gun” bit at the end of a person’s name isn’t a literal gun . It’s exactly the same thing as Japanese “kun”, btw . Not many Koreans use it, though . At least not that I’ve seen . )