Chapter 724

Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter:

724 Episode 28 House (2)
In the end, my companions had seen through my disguise.

Who were these people?

They were monsters who had read the main story at least once, some up to a hundred times.

Even if others were fooled, they could never fail to recognize me just because I was wearing a mask.

Even the often-oblivious Kyung Sein whispered to me.

“Do you have a reason for saying you’re ‘Kim Dokja’?”

The 7th Apostle Ye Hyunwoo was wide-eyed, baffled by my statement, while Literature Girl 64 Cha Yerin stared at me in utter confusion.

Dansu ahjussi looked genuinely concerned that I might have lost my mind, and finally, the Killer King—

“Yes, Kim Dokja. Have you come to see me?”

Now that I considered it, he had always called me by that name.

I ignored his comment and pressed on.

“The event scenario is about to begin, so we should start preparing for it.”

“Ah, you don’t actually need to worry about that.”

“What? Why not?”

“This scenario is safe as long as you remain inside the house.”

Safe if we stay home?

“This same event has occurred a few times already, and we were always fine as long as we stayed indoors.”

[Event scenario will begin soon.]

[The specified ‘event scenario’ is ‘The Three Little Pigs’.]

I studied the scenario message flashing before my eyes.

Something was wrong.

If the story of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ was the one I knew, then this ‘house’ was definitely not a safe place.

“By the way, Inho… I mean, Dokja-ssi. How did you get here?”

“The same way all of you did.”

“Ah, as expected of Dokja-ssi…”

“It seems you’ve endured many hardships.”

“Don’t even mention it.”

I listened as Kyung Sein gave me a brief account of their experiences so far.

The group that had come here from Washington via the ‘Star Ladder’ had been forced into the ‘Recycling Center’ scenario early on.

As we had heard, the Killer King, Ye Hyunwoo, and Cha Yerin had each placed in the ‘Zodiac Race’ and selected ‘Zone 13’.

Naturally, I had expected that from them.

If you ranked the incarnations from the Korean Peninsula, these individuals would undoubtedly be in the top ten.

Dansu ahjussi and Kyung Sein explained that while they hadn’t taken first place, they had also chosen ‘Zone 13’ from the available options.

“When I arrived in Zone 13, I thought it was all over. Wow, the hidden piece I’d only heard rumors about. This is the protagonist’s route!”

The main character’s path.

Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk would have made the identical choice.

Dansu ahjussi shook his head with a dull expression.

“This is hell.”

In truth, the entire group appeared to be in poor condition.

Not only was Kyung Sein dressed in shabby clothes and Lee Dansu covered in soot, but even Cha Yerin looked like a beggar, and Ye Hyunwoo was lying on the floor like a lethargic invalid.

Kyung Sein shook her head as she spoke.

“A lot of this is because we’re starving. We haven’t eaten properly in days.”

“Can’t you buy some food?”

“I have no money.”

“Can’t you earn some?”

“You know the currency here is ‘recycled coins’, right?”

I nodded.

“Then you must already understand. The coins we collected before are worthless here.”

“Yes, but even so—”

“Ah, you just arrived, so you don’t know the full picture. This place never even appeared in the novel.”

Right. This was a location that did not feature in ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’.

Yes, but… did these people not realize that ‘recycled coins’ were bottle caps?

There was no way they could be unaware of something that even the young Yoo Jonghyuk knew.

“We’ve been here for a month already. Consider us your seniors here, so ask us anything.”

“You’ve been here for a full month?”

“To be precise, a month and a week!”

One month.

This implied that time within the ‘Recycling Center’ moved at a different rate than the ‘scenarios’ on Earth.

This was advantageous for me.

The enemies I would eventually face were giant nebulae targeting the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

To fight them, I needed to build up my strength for as long as possible.

“But what’s the situation outside? What happened to Yoo Jonghyuk?”

Everyone here had entered Washington alongside Yoo Jonghyuk. They were bound to be curious about recent events.

“Yoo Jonghyuk is safe.”

“Did he defeat the Demon Marquis? I heard that was an enemy even Yoo Jonghyuk would struggle against—”

The demon marquis.

As I suspected, the group seemed unaware of what had transpired at the Washington Dome.

They must have ascended the ‘star ladder’ before Yoo Jonghyuk transformed into the ‘black beast’.

If they knew everything that had happened, they would be in shock.

…Now that I thought about it, these people didn’t even know I had contracted with the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure where to even begin explaining.

“No, that’s strange. How does it make sense for a ‘Demon Marquis’ to appear in the seventh scenario?”

It doesn’t make sense.

“Who on earth could clear that scenario?”

I was startled.

“I wonder if the Demon King of Salvation might have—”

The Demon King of Salvation has awakened.

“If things keep going this way, the major nebulae will soon arrive and destroy the entire scenario!”

What? Did you actually know everything that happened?

“Anyway, Yoo Jonghyuk must come. There’s no way to resolve this scenario without the Supreme King.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell the hopeful Kyung Sein that the child beside me was, in fact, Yoo Jonghyuk.

“However.”

A distinctive way to end a speech.

It was Cha Yerin who spoke next.

“That.”

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

“Little.”

“Kid?”

“Who.”

Why was Yerin speaking like this all of a sudden? Her speech patterns were always unusual, but never to this extent.

The Killer King, leaning against the window, translated for her.

“She is asking who that child is.”

The group’s attention shifted to the little Yoo Jonghyuk.

“Ah, him.”

I considered saying I had found him along the way, but the little Yoo Jonghyuk spoke up first, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“I am—”

Little Yoo Jonghyuk looked over my companions, then finally glanced up at me, frowned, and gave his answer.

“According to this person, my name is ‘Yoo Jonghyuk’.”

It was a bizarre introduction, but it was the most suitable answer for Yoo Jonghyuk in his current state.

My companions looked at me as if waiting for an explanation for this joke.

I let out a soft sigh and began to talk.

I summarized the events that had occurred.

Starting with my contract alongside the ‘Demon King of Salvation’—

“No, who did you contract with?”

“The Demon King of Salvation.”

“Who?”

“The Demon King of Salvation.”

“He was truly— present?”

Seeing Kyung Sein’s expression, which suggested she might faint, I thought that if I had known she would react so positively, I should have told her sooner.

“Yes.”

With my confirmation, the mood in the house became almost celebratory. Kyung Sein and Lee Dansu, who had been leaning on the table, embraced each other; Ye Hyunwoo, who had been lying down, sat up; and Cha Yerin, seated at the table, had tears welling in her eyes.

Everyone was overjoyed except for the Killer King, who muttered, “Then which one is the real Kim Dokja?”

To these happy people,

“Well, then the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say he was dead.

Strictly speaking, declaring him ‘dead’ was somewhat ambiguous.

“He is temporarily unavailable.”

“But he is the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, correct? The same ‘Demon King of Salvation’ we know?”

“That.”

My companions held their breath, their eyes fixed on me.

“His personality might be a bit difficult, but he is the Demon King of Salvation.”

Once again, the group erupted into cheers.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, it’s the truth.”

I slowly began laying the groundwork to temper my companions’ excitement.

“But he may not be able to communicate for a while. You shouldn’t set your expectations too high—”

“What does that mean?”

How should I phrase this?

These were all people who carried fragments of Kim Dokja. They were the ones who had waited for him in this world more fervently than anyone else.

How could I break the truth to people like this?

“By any chance… did he die after saving you again?”

I hesitated for a moment before responding.

“That is…”

When I didn’t answer immediately, Kyung Sein and Lee Dansu, who had been embracing, separated. Cha Yerin’s tears now held a different meaning, and Ye Hyunwoo lay back down.

Only the Killer King muttered, “Kim Dokja is back to being just one.”

“What do we do! What do we do! What do we do!”

“Hey, please calm down.”

“It’s all over now!”

Kyung Sein shrieked.

“We can’t use our skills, and we can’t activate our Stigmas! We can’t even receive support from our sponsors here! We have no stories left, and now even Kim Dokja—”

Kyung Sein’s spirit shattered completely upon hearing the news about the Demon King of Salvation, and she stumbled.

I quickly added, covering little Yoo Jonghyuk’s ears with my hands.

“It’s alright. I will do everything I can.”

“Well, of course… I’m relieved you’re here, but—”

Kyung Sein looked utterly lost.

Even so, it couldn’t be helped. The ‘Demon King of Salvation’ was no longer with us.

However, since the Demon King of Salvation had acknowledged me as the youngest, I had to assume the role of ‘Kim Dokja’ in his absence.

“Even though he’s become a child, Yoo Jonghyuk is here too.”

“So why did Yoo Jonghyuk turn into a child?”

“Let me explain it again…”

While the group was in disarray, the Killer King, with his arms crossed, addressed little Yoo Jonghyuk.

“You are not Yoo Jonghyuk.”

Little Yoo Jonghyuk then looked up at me, a confused expression on his face.

“Am I not Yoo Jonghyuk?”

“You can ignore anything he says.”

I seriously want to resign from being Kim Dokja.

[The ‘event scenario’ is currently in progress.]

As the scenario message echoed again, the sound of a distant explosion reached us.

I quickly scanned the house. The window frames looked ready to crumble at a touch, and the support pillars were awkwardly positioned. No matter how you looked at it, it was a flimsily built wooden structure.

“Let’s discuss the details later. Are you absolutely sure it’s safe like this?”

“Hey, it’s fine. It’s a sturdy house.”

“It’s okay. We’ve already experienced this same scenario several times.”

Kyung Sein and Dansu ahjussi replied with optimism.

I stared blankly at the two of them and asked.

“What is that behind you?”

“Oh, this? Isn’t it cute?”

A squirrel’s tail had sprouted from the base of Kyung Sein’s spine.

It wasn’t just Kyung Sein.

Upon closer inspection, something was on Dansu ahjussi’s back as well.

It was a thick shell, resembling that of a turtle.

Ye Hyunwoo had panda ears protruding from his head, and Cha Yerin… Honestly, it was hard to tell. But from her manner of speaking and movement, it was clear something had changed.

The only one who remained completely unchanged was the Killer King.

Next, I heard the Killer King’s [telepathic sound] in my ear.

—These fools have already failed.

The Killer King was the only ‘incarnation wearing a mask’ among them.

A mask. It’s a mask.

For reference, the following sentence appears in ‘Ways of Survival’ concerning masks:

「 Only humans wear the mask of ‘another creature’ than themselves. 」

Only humans.

A cold chill ran down my spine.