Jang Hayoung started talking in earnest with the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon and laughed with pleasure. I watched Jang Hayoung and slightly scolded him,
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just funny to talk to this kid.”
Jang Hayoung was a strange guy who treated a high ranking constellation as a friend but the even more ridiculous thing was that the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon had sent a reply.
This jerk only cared about Han Sooyoung so why was he responding to the wrong message?
Then as if to defend the black dragon, Jang Hayoung shook his head. “I don’t think he is a bad guy like you think.”
“What nonsense is this? Did you fall for him?”
“He is more gentle when speaking than you think.”
“Gentle? A bastard who replied to a 15 year old schoolgirl is gentle?”
I wondered if I should explain the nasty context when Jang Hayoung replied, “He replied because I am 15 years old.”
“What? He replied because you are 15 years old? What a complete trash.”
I knew that the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon was cruel and tasteless but I didn’t know he had such preferences. I was suddenly a bit worried for Han Sooyoung.
“Why are you so agitated? He is just happy to have a friend. He says he is 15 years old.”
“What bullshit! I don’t know how old he is but is there a 15 year old constellation?”
At this moment, a setting suddenly rose in my mind.
「The constellations living in the eternal Star Stream are accustomed to confining themselves in certain frameworks to protect their sense of self. A representative example is age. They tend to transfer themselves to a specific age and think they are that age. 」
…Don’t tell me? Even so, wasn’t 15 years old too much? Really?
Then a scream was heard from inside the meeting room. It was Han Myungoh. I turned and spoke to the startled Jang Hayoung.
“I have to go talk to him. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I know. What should I ask?”
“Just let him go. In any case, he isn’t a warrior. I’d rather you talk to someone else. Don’t you have the list I gave you earlier? Try them again.”
Jang Hayoung nodded. I was uneasy after seeing his excited expression but I thought it would be okay. This was originally his ability.
The awakening of the Unidentified Wall was a bit faster than the original novel but this was the best for now. The industrial complex’s revolution was impossible without the help of the wall.
I opened the door to the meeting room. Han Myungoh had just woken up and was covered in sweat.
“Why did I faint?”
I quietly closed the door of the meeting room and replied, “You fainted after remembering the pain of childbirth.”
Sweat was flowing down Han Myungoh’s face like he had a nightmare.
“That’s it?”
“Asmodeus probably cursed you as well.”
“That son of a bitch…”
Han Myungoh expressed his hatred for the demon king more directly than before. It was originally a dangerous thing but now he had left Asmodeus’ sight thanks to the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
I pulled out the chair again and sat back down.
“Listen again. What child did you give birth to and why did you receive Asmodeus’ favour?”
“…I first have to explain why I had a child.”
“I have a rough idea. Is it due to the dark keeper that we fought before?”
Right before we split apart, Han Myungoh had been affected by the parasitic tentacles of the dark keeper. Usually, such a thing didn’t necessarily mean the conception of a demon species but it happened directly with Han Myungoh
“That isn’t the case. It isn’t because of the dark keeper that I had the child.”
“Then…”
“It is because of the curse.”
Asmodeus’ curse dealt the final blow to Han Myungoh who was infected by the dark keeper. Asmodeus’ curse consumed probability to realize the ‘most terrible thing’ that the target thought of. In other words…
“I understand. By the way, is that possible? A man’s body giving birth…”
“Don’t ask about that part.”
I lightly nodded. It was the minimum courtesy for the elder who had an unbelievable experience. We were silent for a moment. It suddenly felt weird that I was talking to Han Myungoh like this.
「 Kim Dokja thought: It is a strange feeling. 」
Before the destruction came, Han Myungoh was a person who made life hard for ‘office worker’ Kim Dokja. He was one of the top-ranked bosses to be avoided. Certainly, there were days like that. It was a time when I felt bitter over the 3,000 convenience store bento and when I had to count every bit of my monthly salary.
Now those days were gone. Kim Dokja and Han Myungoh were no longer an office worker and department head. Instead, they were talking about a ‘demon king.’
“Kim Dok… no, Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi. Do you know what it’s like to be a father?”
I was a bit baffled by Han Myungoh’s sudden words. “I don’t know.”
“I learnt.”
In fact, it was hard to say if Han Myungoh should be called a mother or a father but I decided to move on because this wasn’t the important thing. Han Myungoh had a serious expression.
“It was painful.”
The words sounded much more painful than any of Han Myungoh’s previous statements.
“I was also happy.”
I looked at Han Myungoh with surprise. At this moment, I realized the identity of my strange feeling. Maybe I didn’t want to admit it. Everybody changed. Whether they were good or evil, a child or an adult.
“She is a very pretty daughter.”
“I would love to see her once. Is she in the Demon World?”
“Now she isn’t with me.” His expression darkened and I got a hunch.
“Then…?”
“It is a long story. Will you help?”
“Tell me first. I would like to hear your story.”
Han Myungoh hadn’t come directly into the household of the demon king. In a place that I didn’t know, Han Myungoh’s story had continued. He took his daughter and broke through the scenario alone.
Capture the flag.
The war of kings.
The five disasters.
I couldn’t believe such a story had happened in places I couldn’t see. I couldn’t believe that Han Myungoh could show such devotion to someone. On the other hand, I had to admit it.
I was no longer the old Kim Dokja. The man in front of me wasn’t the old Han Myungoh. I didn’t know if the birth of his child was the trigger. The only thing that was clear was that Han Myungoh had changed.
“It was tough.”
“Yes, it was hard. I almost died many times. At the end, I fell into a crisis I couldn’t escape from.”
He was finally driven to the brink at a time when the Dark Castle scenario hadn’t officially started yet. Han Myungoh was surrounded by demons and demon nobles and realized he could no longer defend his child.
Then he prayed for the first time in his life. He prayed for someone to protect his child. If this child lived, he would do anything. To his surprise, a presence answered his prayers.
-A beautiful child.
“It was Asmodeus.”
“…Did the demon king steal your child?”
I felt bad because of the terrible things I imagined. Asmodeus was the Demon King of Rage and Lust. It was obvious what would happen if a child entered his hands. However, Han Myungoh’s expression was calm.
“She is safe. After all, she is a child born from Asmodeus’ curse. And… the demon king isn’t in a situation where he can touch my daughter.”
“What does that mean?”
“The demon king has made my daughter his ‘incarnation body’.”
I seemed to know what happened.
It might be a whim but the demon king Asmodeus made Han Myungoh’s child one of his incarnation bodies. As one of the child’s parents, Han Myungoh was given a demon noble title.
“…That’s how I became a demon.”
After hearing this, I felt that Han Myungoh’s life was very difficult. His life might be considered successfully because he got a title but it might be considered a failure because his child was taken…
Han Myungoh’s eyes were sombre as he opened his mouth again.
“I want to save my daughter.”
For a moment, I thought I heard wrong. What did he want?
“I won’t speak long words. Help me. I won’t forget your grace if you help me this once.”
What was this situation all of a sudden?
He filmed a life theatre all by himself and now he wanted me to help him?
“You’ve been watching me for a long time and should know well. I am a human who is a coward. However, this is something I can’t concede on.”
“…”
“Last night was out of my expectations. I was scared but I actually didn’t hurt anyone. The executioners were excited by the appearance of the guardian and did what they wanted.”
Han Myungoh swore the Oath of Existence and couldn’t lie to me. Then this wasn’t a lie. I decided to respond rationally. “I’m sorry but I have no plans to fight Asmodeus.”
This would become complicated if one of the 72 demon kings were lost. It would attract foreign forces when the revolution hadn’t even begun yet.
Han Myungoh’s next reaction was surprising. “You don’t have to fight Asmodeus. You just have to continue doing what you are doing. Start a revolution and kill the duke. I will help you.”
“…Aren’t you on the duke’s side?”
“Originally that was the case. Now that things have become like this, I think it will be okay to help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Asmodeus didn’t want me to help the duke. He had a suggestion for me. If I made the story he wanted, he would return my daughter. That’s why I attached myself to Duke Syswitz.”
This part wasn’t in the original novel. It was no wonder. From the beginning, Han Myungoh wasn’t present in the novel.
I struggled for a moment before asking, “What story does the demon king want?”
“The king of the 73rd Demon Realm.”
Han Myungoh slowly raised his head and stared at me. Han Myungoh’s eyes were exactly the same as the interviewer on the day I joined Mino Soft.
“The demon king… he told me to make the ’73rd Demon King’ with my own hands.”
***
Yoo Jonghyuk was starting at the night sky with indifferent eyes.
The sky with different constellations from Earth was visible. Yoo Jonghyuk’s body leaning against the Heaven Shaking Sword looked thinner than usual as he counted the stars. His body was covered with blood and his face was wounded. There was a second grade monster that had just been defeated lying in front of him.
“…The 15th scenario is finished.”
Planet Lugratia.
Yoo Jonghyuk came here through a ‘personal scenario’ from one of the constellations of this world.
Originally, he would’ve proceeded with Earth’s scenarios. However, he had strong colleagues this regression and decided to leave the scenarios to them. The situation was growing faster than his previous regression. It was right for him to stockpile his power when he could. This current power wouldn’t be enough if he entered the scenarios in the 20s.
‘I need to be stronger.’
That’s why Yoo Jonghyuk replaced the main scenario with ‘personal scenarios’ since the 11th main scenario. He also picked the hardest personal scenarios with the most rewards. Sometimes he even challenged personal scenarios that were too reckless for him.
Fight, fight and fight again.
As always, he trained and overworked his body and spirit. He thought it would fill a bit of the sense of loss that he couldn’t understand. Strangely, the more he fought, the greater the emptiness became.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is looking at you sadly.]
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned and glared at the sky.
Demon-like Judge of Fire. Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t know why this constellation came so often recently. It was a constellation he had little contact with in the past.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is asking why you aren’t looking for Kim Dokja.]
“Kim Dokja is dead.”
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is shaking her head while holding back tears.]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t understand why a constellation was dwelling so much on the death of a single incarnation.
The thing he didn’t understand was the next message.
[Your notoriety is spreading in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
‘Again?’
The message was unforgettable.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t know why his notoriety was rising in a distant place like the 73rd Demon Realm. At first, he thought Kim Dokja was alive and impersonating him. However, even if Kim Dokja was alive, there was no reason for him to do this…
‘…Wait. Perhaps Kim Dokja is alive and in danger?
Maybe Kim Dokja was alive. Maybe he lived alone in the horizon of the story without any scenarios and beyond that damn fate.
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Thus, he survived. Maybe he was asking for help. That guy, who always moved ahead by himself, was in danger and asking for help for the first time.
There was no way to ask for help in the absence of a channel so…
Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression became complicated as he stared up at the sky.
‘The 73rd Demon Realm…’
TL: Rainbow Turtle