Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 701

Chapter 701

Christina pressed her lips together and went on.

“I had to act decisively,” she stated. “Far too many were lost before we even reached the fifth scenario.”

How had she even made it to the fifth scenario?

Yet, the apostles who were aware of how this story concluded understood that if the scenarios continued on this path, everything would spiral into catastrophe.

Achieving the final scenario’s resolution was an impossibility in this world line without Kim Dokja.

No matter how flawlessly they completed the earlier scenarios, they would ultimately be stopped before the ‘Final Wall’.

And so, they made a gamble during the fifth scenario.

Using the ‘Disaster Summoning Rights’ to call forth the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

Even if it was deemed insane, it was a choice I couldn’t criticize.

“What was your plan if it failed?”

“That…”

“And even if it had worked, you’d still have a problem on your hands.”

Had the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ been summoned as a disaster, something truly catastrophic could have occurred.

Still, I couldn’t fault the readers’ hearts for seeking out Kim Dokja in their most desperate hour.

Perhaps it was because I, too, had once done something similar.

「 «I will sign a contract behind the scenes.» 」

Just as one might search for a deity, anyone who knows the name Kim Dokja is compelled to seek him.

This is likely true for every reader who found themselves in this world.

I looked down at Anna Croft, who was sleeping soundly on Christina’s lap, and asked.

“She was [Hypnotized], so Anna is unaware of the full details.”

“Yes…”

Anna Croft is the most cautious character in ‘Ways of Survival’.

She would never suddenly agree to summoning a being she had never encountered—the ‘Demon King of Salvation’—as a disaster.

In the end, Christina and the other apostles hypnotized Anna and carried out the summoning in secret.

The price was the ‘Washington Dome’ being transformed into a demon realm.

“Initially, we intended to do everything in our power to halt it. We assembled all the apostles across America and marched on the Washington Dome. That was several weeks ago.”

They could never openly admit that Washington was destroyed because of their decision.

In an attempt to atone for their mistake, the apostles launched an assault on the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

“You failed.”

“…Yes.”

“Is that why you brought me here?”

“I am ashamed.”

Christina must have realized the moment she confirmed my sponsor.

The ‘Demon King of Salvation’ they were searching for was already in this world line, and perhaps that was why their ‘summoning’ had failed.

“Does a ‘Demon King of Salvation’ truly exist in this world? Is there a ‘Kim Dokja’ that we know?”

Is there a ‘Kim Dokja’ they recognize in this world?

I considered it for a moment before answering.

“There is a friend here who is far more real than that ‘Demon King of Salvation’ over there. What exactly is that ‘Demon King of Salvation’?”

“I don’t know. What is certain is that he wasn’t the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ from our story. And…”

“And?”

“The Demon King grew more powerful every time the apostles challenged him.”

He grew stronger with each visit from the apostles?

A theory came to mind, but I wasn’t certain of it yet.

However, there was one person who could confirm these suspicions.

‘Kim-ssi.’

He said he was going to exchange coins, but where did he go?

Just then, a soft chime signaled the reconnection of ‘Midday Tryst’.

‘No, where did you go? Why are you only getting back now?’

—Youngest, I have a serious problem.

‘A serious problem happened here, too.’

I started to explain the incredible events that had occurred in his absence.

But then,

—I think my modifier has been stolen.

It seemed something major had happened on his end as well.

Everything in the <Star Stream> is a ‘story’, a ‘tale’.

However, because the idea of a ‘tale’ is so abstract, a practical currency was created to process it.

This is the origin of the ‘coin’ we know.

—Constellations spend coins just by breathing.

‘Do constellations need to breathe?’

—It means coins are consumed simply by existing.

‘I know, but I didn’t realize maintaining a modifier cost coins.’

Since Kim Dokja had never mentioned it, I had never given it a thought.

I never imagined it cost coins just to use a modifier. Was that why constellations were always so fixated on earning them?

‘But are you saying your constellation modifier was taken?’

—Not the constellation modifier.

‘Then what?’

—I also hold a Demon King modifier.

According to Kim Dokja, constellations who suddenly arrived from other ‘world lines’ like him had to pay additional fees to use the <Star Stream> system.

Since Kim Dokja was both a ‘constellation’ and a Demon King, the cost of maintaining his modifiers was doubled.

‘How could you maintain the constellation modifier but not the Demon King one?’

Now I understood why he was so obsessed with ‘coins’…

—I was planning to trade some of the story fragments and monster parts I obtained this time to buy the modifier back… but the management bureau had already auctioned off my Demon King modifier.

Suddenly, the pieces began to fall into place.

I briefly summarized for Kim Dokja the events that had unfolded in the United States.

Upon hearing about the apostles of the American continent and the ‘right to summon disaster’, Kim Dokja let out a sigh.

—Ah, that spam message from the administration. Something about a disaster, blah blah blah.

It appeared he hadn’t even read the management bureau’s message.

‘Then the Demon King of Salvation currently in Washington…’

—He is probably the new ‘Demon King of Salvation’ recruited by the Management Bureau.

‘The one who bought the Demon King title.’

In other words, the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ in Washington was a counterfeit, a ‘Demon King of Salvation’ in name only.

‘Is he even a ‘Demon King’?’

—He won’t be at the level of a true Demon King. They have too much pride to steal and use another’s modifier. He is likely a demon seeking to use this chance to ascend to the throne.

Regardless of his identity, for now, I had to go to Washington.

I had Christina wake Anna and explain what was needed. Anna Croft seemed thoroughly startled, but she quickly composed herself and accepted the situation.

“I am furious, but there’s no helping it now. I will deal with this formally later, Christina.”

“I’m sorry, Anna.”

“Swear an [Oath of Existence]. Vow you will never [Hypnotize] me again.”

“I swear.”

Anna did not press Christina further. Perhaps she knew that punishing her now wouldn’t change their circumstances.

Anna had her artisans bring the finished ‘4th grade Earth Dragon’ equipment.

“You’ve been a trouble. Cheon Inho, let’s depart immediately.”

Once preparations were complete, we immediately opened a portal to the ‘Washington Dome’.

As things progressed, my own confusion grew.

Were my companions still safe?

What had become of Yoo Jonghyuk, who faced a marquis-level demon?

Just how powerful was the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ in the Washington Dome?

The moment I tried to organize my tangled thoughts and stepped into the portal,

[Someone has killed the ruler of ‘Washington East’.]

A message echoed.

The ‘demon’ had no name.

[You are a 7th grade demon species ‘Dark Sentinel’.]

Like most of his kind, he existed merely as a part of a scenario crafted by dokkaebis. His purpose was to kill the incarnations who came to the ‘Treasure Storehouse of the Earth River Lord’ and offer their souls to the demon kings.

The demon had no complaints. Just as gopher rats never question their need to breathe, he never once questioned his work of breathing black ether and hoarding treasures.

It all began when he killed some humans hiding in his ‘treasure warehouse’.

「 «It is the Keeper of Darkness!» 」
「 «It’s true. It’s just like the novel.» 」

He dealt with the incarnations as he always did. Attacking with his tentacles.

But surprisingly, the duo skillfully parried his assault.

「 «Through! Kim Dokja’s method works! Push on!» 」
「 «If you attack the left ankle, the upper right tentacle moves!» 」

Not only did the humans know his attack patterns,但他们也用他对之脆弱的带有’神圣属性’的武器。

He screamed each time a tentacle was severed.

「 «It’s over! Finish it!» 」

In retrospect, had he been an ordinary ‘Dark Sentinel’, he would have surely fallen to that duo.

But the duo was unlucky.

The time he had lived as a ‘Dark Sentinel’ was slightly longer than others, and that granted him a little more battle wisdom.

He pretended to be weak and stumbled. When the humans pressed their attack with renewed vigor, he did not miss the opening and unleashed a wave of pitch-black darkness.

「 «What? This pattern wasn’t described before!» 」
「 «The novel didn’t include every detail! Damn it, retreat!» 」

One of the duo escaped, but the other was caught in his tentacles and couldn’t break free.

「 «Save me! Please save me!» 」

A plea he had heard countless times.

The demon, indifferent to human tears, swiftly pierced the man’s heart with a tentacle. The crying man bled out and died.

「 It’s boring. 」

The moment that thought surfaced, he was startled by it.

「 What is ‘boredom’? 」

A feeling he had never experienced.

He suddenly looked down at the tip of his tentacle. There was a small doll statue emitting a faint light.

An item he had never seen before in his existence as a demon.

As if possessed, he reached for the doll with his tentacle, and a flood of emotions he had never felt washed over him.

A precious, sorrowful, and deeply nostalgic feeling. Followed by an overwhelming hunger.

He could not resist the desire and finally swallowed the doll.

«What is ‘I’?»

That was how the demon first recognized his own existence.

«I am the ‘keeper of darkness’.»

No.

That wasn’t quite right.

«I am an ‘extra’.»

Even though he didn’t fully grasp the meaning of ‘extra’, he felt the nuance of the word.

He wanted to understand. What was this feeling?

[You have evolved into a 5th grade demon species, ‘Dark Seeker’.]

He began participating in the scenario, hunting in earnest. He learned to fight from the humans who came to hunt him. He no longer fought like a mere ‘Dark Sentinel’.

He used weapons and wore equipment taken from humans.

「 «Oh my god! It’s a 5th grade demon!» 」
「 «There is no proper information on the Dark Seeker—» 」
「 «Run! Everyone run!» 」

Just like that, one, two, three… he killed again and again.

And on rare occasions, he could take something from particularly strong humans.

[‘Kim Dokja’s Fragment’ has been acquired.]

He didn’t comprehend the message, but he understood one thing.

The more of these ‘fragments’ he acquired, the stronger he became.

He began hunting humans at an accelerating pace. He grew familiar with human habits and learned their ways.

He set traps for humans searching for hidden items and even disguised himself as a weaker monster species.

How many fragments had he consumed that way?

By the time he became aware of himself again, he had already become a demon noble.

[You have evolved into a ‘Demon Noble’.]

And then, that ‘being’ came to see him.

[Wow, this is my first time seeing a devil like you.]

A group the public called the ‘Administrative Bureau’.

[Don’t you want to have a ‘name’?]

The dokkaebi from the management bureau asked, and he nodded.

[If you give me all your Coins, I will give you a ‘name’.]

He willingly paid with all the coins he had collected from killing incarnations.

[From now on, you are the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.]

And so, he became the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

When he heard it, it felt like a name that suited him perfectly. The stories boiling within him seemed to say so.

「 Collect the fragments. 」
「 Become the one and only ‘Kim Dokja’. 」

A sense of elation welled up from the depths of his soul.

He would become the ‘Demon King’ of this world. He would cease to be an ‘extra’ and become a ‘being’ who yearns for the true ◾️◾️.

However, as if to mock his ambition,

«You’ve just ascended to the rank of marquis.»

The real hero of this story came to find him.