Chapter 717

Bullets erupted from an unseen source, showering down upon him. The unexpected intervention from the cargo’s commission forced his incarnation to evacuate.

“What sort of fool—!”

Simultaneously, a volley of fire more than double the initial charge poured out. These were no ordinary rounds.

Every single enchanted bullet was saturated with dense, concentrated magical energy.

As multiple incarnations fell under the assault, the furious constellations turned their gaze toward the origin of the gunfire.

“Those wretched incarnations—”

The figures disguised as refugees continued their relentless shooting.

“Do not stop firing.”

A man stood at the heart of the refugee line.

Jacob Martinez.

Las Vegas’s proclaimed ‘King of the North’.

The great-grade constellations, moving at a breathtaking pace, swiftly shattered the refugee ranks and charged directly at Martinez.

The instant Martinez’s eyes snapped open, the great-grade constellations surrounding him severed Martinez’s arms and torso.

“Hahaha! Imbecile!”

Severed limbs and blood sprayed through the air.

[The character ‘Jacob Martinez’ activates ‘Cutting Magic Lv.7’!]

Martinez, swiftly reattaching his severed limbs, glanced backward and spoke.

“We must not delay. Our enemy is <Olympus>.”

“I am aware.”

“Proceed. The North has now repaid its debt.”

The woman gave a single nod and gathered up the collapsing Demon King of Salvation. Her body shuddered as she felt him beginning to fade from existence.

“Remain still.”

The Demon King of Salvation looked up at the woman. A pale, luminous hue that seemed to glow even amidst the battlefield.

It was not the face he recalled.

“I believed you were Yoo Sangah.”

Ji Eunyu let out a hearty laugh.

“I am her incarnation.”

The incarnation of Yoo Sangah. Perhaps that was why her presence felt so strangely familiar.

“It is perilous here. If you came to rescue the youngest, you are in the wrong location. The youngest is over there—”

“They are still negotiating with the ‘recycling center’.”

The negotiations were still ongoing?

Then the circumstances were dire.

A situation where <Olympus> had resurrected Ares by igniting a colossal fire. If the youngest was not sent up immediately—

“Is that all you wish to say?”

Ji Eunyu spoke while running, cradling the Demon King of Salvation.

“There is something I must tell you first.”

An incarnation who mirrored Yoo Sangah not only in aura but also in her manner of speech.

Ji Eunyu continued with a soft sigh.

“I was instructed to watch over you, as it was feared you might attempt something like this.”

“…”

“She wished to use the Golden Headband herself, but she also asked me to tell you she regrets being unable to.”

Golden Headband.

The Demon King of Salvation spoke without thinking.

“I am not the Kim Dokja that Yoo Sangah seeks.”

As he said this, he thought of the third child. The third child held the core memories associated with the ‘Headband’.

“Just as I am not Yoo Sangah.”

Within the rapidly blurring scenery, the Demon King of Salvation felt his stories fracturing and dispersing.

[The story ‘Demon King of Salvation’ continues its narrative haltingly.]

Ji Eunyu’s arm tightened around him, holding fast to the scattering fragments.

“You are the Kim Dokja she is searching for.”

Her touch was profoundly warm.

“I have read more of your stories than anyone. I swear it to you.”

Was it because the woman relating this tale so strongly resembled Yoo Sangah?

The Demon King of Salvation slowly began to speak.

“How is Yoo Sangah?”

“Is she well?”

“Tell her I am sorry.”

“You must tell her yourself.”

“You claim to be Yoo Sangah’s incarnation.”

“You heard that I am not Yoo Sangah.”

“For now, let us pretend you are Yoo Sangah. Therefore—”

The Demon King of Salvation knew.

Yoo Sangah could not come here.

Whether due to the ‘scale of probability’ or the constraints of the ‘Void Veil’, she would be unable to arrive before his death.

His words would likely never reach Yoo Sangah properly.

“Thank you, Yoo Sangah. So much.”

But they would at least persist as a story.

And one day, Yoo Sangah would read the story he left upon this wall.

The Demon King of Salvation found that sufficient.

“Truly, thank you.”

His scenario had now concluded.

The protagonist and the characters of this story had changed.

“I do not know what you are thanking me for.”

Yet, the story pressed on.

“I will demand an answer, so you must survive until then.”

Was it because an unfinished story still remained?

The Demon King of Salvation blinked slowly and asked.

“Was that what Yoo Sangah said just now?”

“That was what I said.”

“You are merely Yoo Sangah’s incarnation.”

“I have merely chosen to become Yoo Sangah.”

Ji Eunyu replied, pushing off the ground with all her strength as she ran.

“I cannot be certain, but Yoo Sangah would undoubtedly have said that.”

The sounds of detonation behind them were gradually growing distant.

The forces of the northern king had been wiped out.

“I learned of you from my youngest.”

Editor Ji Eunyu.

Within his youngest’s memories, she was a figure of considerable importance.

She was the first to read and refine the stories his youngest wrote. Perhaps, without her, the ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ penned by his youngest would never have been realized.

「 “Writer, look. Kim Dokja’s dialogue here feels slightly off.” 」

“I believe this line suits him.”

“No! Observe, he was not a character who spoke in this manner previously—”

“Is that not the character gaining depth?”

“This is not depth, it is inconsistency.”」

A sudden thought crossed his mind.

If he and Yoo Sangah had been reborn in another world, might they have been like this?

「 Does Kim Dokja not sometimes wish to be someone else? 」

A world free of scenarios and constellations. A world where all these tragedies were merely figments of imagination within lines of text.

His youngest had come from such a world.

“You remained here to save the youngest?”

Ji Eunyu offered no reply.

“You resemble the youngest’s Yoo Sangah.”

“I am not Yoo Sangah. Cease speaking. Your story is scattering.”

“I will die regardless. Less than a minute remains.”

Ji Eunyu’s footsteps halted.

Great-grade constellations concealed along the front lines began to reveal themselves one by one. Additional great-grade constellations dispatched from <Olympus> emerged, accompanied by their incarnations.

“Deactivate [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint] and flee! Now.”

“No. I have placed binding restrictions upon it.”

This was different from the standard [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint].

The Demon King of Salvation had staked his life to eliminate the incarnations of great-grade constellations and destroy the incarnation of Ares, a narrative-grade constellation.

“This [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint] cannot be canceled by its user.”

Meaning, it would vanish only when this incarnation body dissipated.

“What were you thinking? You are the one they are hunting.”

“I know.”

“Then why—”

Why had he undertaken such a hopeless action?

The Demon King of Salvation himself did not fully understand.

Perhaps he had believed his stage was not yet finished.

Perhaps he had longed to recapture the days when he hunted constellations as the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

When he witnessed the story of his youngest fighting so desperately alone, his blood had boiled unbidden, and he may have wished to prove that he, too, was a ‘Kim Dokja’.

The borrowed ‘Thoughts’ from his youngest hummed and wept.

“The Demon King of Salvation I know never perishes.”

“…”

“You understand he is someone who survives against all odds, correct?”

Great-grade constellations closed in from every direction.

There was no path left for retreat.

No escape existed unless the ‘star ladder’ descended.

But what star would dare lower the ‘star ladder’ in defiance of the ‘giant nebula’?

“Therefore, please save him.”

As Ji Eunyu spoke these words, her eyes briefly found Cheon Inho in the distance.

“I beg of you, save Kim Dokja.”

The Demon King of Salvation listened to these words, his mind blank. Perhaps he had come all this way precisely to hear them.

[The story ‘Demon King of Salvation’ desires to continue its storytelling.]

Stumbling from Ji Eunyu’s embrace, the Demon King of Salvation spoke.

“Very well.”

Beyond the encircling great-grade incarnations, a figure of terrifying presence advanced.

“De—mon—King—of—Sal—va—tion”

It was the resurrected incarnation of Ares.

*Tsutsutsu!*

Ares marched forward, enduring aftereffects that pushed far beyond the limits of probability.

Even if he detonated every last shred of his remaining stories, defeating him was impossible.

Thunder once again split the night sky. The Demon King of Salvation thought of Yoo Jonghyuk.

Likely, neither Yoo Jonghyuk nor Kim Dokja Company would arrive. The giant nebulae would be obstructing them, sacrificing their own grand narratives.

Not only them, but no one else in this world could intervene in this scenario now dominated by the giant nebulae.

「 Save for a single location. 」

The Demon King of Salvation lifted his head.

“Are you present?”

They were the collective governing this very ‘world’.

Those who command the scenario within the torrent of the <Star Stream> and steer the world toward the ◼️◼️ of all things.

“Bihyung.”

Sparks crackled in the air at the Demon King of Salvation’s call. And,

—Are you certain?

Bihyung, a dokkaebi of the ‘Management Bureau’, responded.

“Yes.”

The Demon King of Salvation knew. Bihyung was likely not the sole listener now.

The great dokkaebis of this world line—perhaps even the dokkaebi king beyond—were also attending to his story.

And he suspected they already knew what he intended to say.

—The cost will be immense.

He knew. It would likely be a fate more cruel than death.

“It is of no consequence.”

Even so, he needed to see his youngest again.

When they met, he had to convey all he had left unsaid.

What manner of person was the ‘real Kim Dokja’?

Where was the Han Sooyoung he had been seeking?

How could the readers from other world lines be returned home?

Who was the one responsible for their deaths?

And—

「 Why does this ‘world’ exist? 」

The constellations, sensing the shift, surged toward him.

“That fool! Halt him—!”

Observing their approach, the Demon King of Salvation grinned.

「 You shall receive nothing. 」

The Demon King of Salvation proclaimed.

“I consecrate myself to the <Star Stream>.”

The world answered his declaration.

[The <Star Stream> accepts your offering.]

[The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is enshrined within the ‘Star Stream’.]

“Cease this! You fool!”

For a constellation to seal itself within the ‘Star Stream’ was to willingly become a subject for a scenario.

[The mayor of ‘Jeonsang City’ wishes to assimilate the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ into his scenario.]

[The host of ‘Ragnarok’ wishes to assimilate the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ into his scenario.]

[The owner of the ‘Fallen ruins’ wishes to assimilate the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ into his scenario.]

[The creator of the ‘Holy Demon War’ wishes to assimilate the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ into his scenario.]

…

[The director of the ‘Recycling Center’ wishes to assimilate the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ into his scenario.]

He did not know how or in which scenario he would be utilized. But by offering himself, he had earned the right to demand recompense.

“I claim the granting authority of the ‘Star Ladder’.”

[The ‘Administrative Bureau’ approves your payment.]

Ares reached the Demon King of Salvation and swung his spear.

In that fleeting moment, a brilliant beam of light manifested, and the incarnation of the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ vanished.

“No!”

Simultaneously, a radiant ladder began to descend from the void.

「 Star Ladder. 」

An opportunity to ascend to heaven, granted to the selected incarnations in exchange for the constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

Anna Croft and Selena Kim climbed the ladder, aiding the fallen Cheon Inho and Yoo Jonghyuk. Ji Eunyu also grasped the ladder alongside Martinez.

The ladder, bearing all the destined incarnations, began its rise into the sky.

*Coo coo coo coo!*

Ares erupted in a berserk fury.

“I refuse to accept this!”

Ares’s enraged form reached out toward the star ladder.

“Stop them! Prevent his incarnation from using the star ladder! Find a way to make him fall!”

Great-grade constellations, including the gatekeeper of Thebes, launched a belated assault on the ladder.

However, a translucent curtain erupted with sparks, barring their interference.

“How dare you—”

In that instant, Ares felt the scales of the scenario achieve an impossible equilibrium.

It was inconceivable.

Unless a being capable of balancing the scales against a narrative-grade constellation existed—

[Desist, Ares.]

Every constellation, including Ares, and their incarnations froze at the mantra imbued with overwhelming authority.

Ares lifted his head, staring skyward in disbelief.

At the apex of the star ladder leading to the ‘recycling center’ were beings with pristine white wings unfurled.

Unlike <Olympus> and <Asgard>, who had participated in the scenario, these stars were the sole representatives of the three giant nebulae who had remained silent.

“Eden!”

[The constellation ‘Lilies Blooming on Water Ice’ reveals their presence!]

A formation of constellations barred the path to the recycling center.

[The scenario has concluded. Withdraw to your own contexts without further compromising probability.]

“How dare you, how can you—”

Ares could not comprehend. Why was <Eden> involving itself now?

Especially at this precise moment.

Gritting his teeth, Ares directed his fury at the presence standing beyond the archangels.

“Center Director! I know you conceal yourself there!”

There was no need to battle <Eden>.

Ultimately, the ‘Star Ladder’ did not fall under <Eden>’s jurisdiction.

“Rescind the Star Ladder! The ‘Demon King of Salvation’ belongs to us!”

[No. He now belongs to the ‘Star Stream’.]

A hollow laugh echoed as the center director’s voice emanated from the archangel’s shadow.

[<Olympus>. Have you forgotten the Nebula Agreement? You may not interfere with the ‘Recycling Center’ scenario.]

“Asgard has declared [Fate]. Three [Fate] messages were sent to him! He cannot evade them! He—”

[The fate bestowed upon him was to ‘perish within a beloved story’.]

As the final incarnation completed the ascent, the ‘star ladder’ began to dissolve. The portal to the recycling center slowly sealed.

The center director offered a final remark, his voice carrying a peculiar smile as he observed the devastated Washington Dome.

[It would seem that story is not to be found here.]

“Wait! Hold! You—”

[‘Star Ladder’ has vanished.]

[All scenarios within the ‘Washington Dome’ area have ended.]

[The scales of the scenario have been unbalanced.]

[The equilibrium of probability has been lost.]

Ares and the abandoned great-grade constellations exchanged hurried, alarmed glances.

Abnormal sparks raged across all of Washington.

“All forces, withdraw—”

[A potential storm begins to rage!]

The ensuing cataclysm erased everything within Washington.