Chapter 744

Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter:

744 Episode 30 Zodiac (6)
The potential for a nebula.

I read the message repeatedly, feeling the deep, resonant thump of my heart. Even without a single incarnation achieving constellation status, the ‘potential for a nebula’ existed.

Was this also an effect of the newly developing narrative?
From a distance, I could hear the group celebrating.

“They’re saying a new story is growing?”
“This can’t be real—”
“It was worth including a panda every time we fixed a story fragment.”
“Was it really because of that?”

This was a story that neither I nor Han Sooyoung could have authored. It was a tale absent from ‘Ways of Survival’ and ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’, one that could only be born from those who had read them. That story was now slowly unfurling before us.

「 People who wished to see the story of a very ‘big house’. 」

I felt a sure sense of destiny. One day, I would transcribe their stories. The emotions and the scenery of this moment would be sketched out in raw sentences. I tightened my grip on ‘Unbreakable Faith’.

«Yoo Jonghyuk, protect the brick house.»

For the story that would someday be written, I had to wield my sword now. We had to protect this moment.

When I slowly blinked, all other sounds vanished from my ears, replaced solely by the voices of stories conversing.

[Exclusive attribute effect activates!]

Some stories were familiar, others were not. There were unsettling tales, and there were sorrowful ones.

「 I hate pandas 」
「 I want to be like a panda too 」
「 All we need to do is defeat the southern group and take their stories. 」
「 Truthfully, I don’t want to do that. 」

And there was a story circulating about bears. A narrative that fanned the flames of the bears’ desires.

[Story fragment ‘Fanning’ continues its storytelling.]

「 Fanning. 」

This was the essence of the story fragment driving the bear beastmen. Someone had to have used this fragment to stoke the bears’ greed and lead them here. I examined how the story fragments had been disseminated.

While the constellation ‘A Bear That Saves One’s Life if One Pretends to be Dead’ and the other bear beastmen were all influenced by this ‘story fragment’—

「 There was one bear who remained unaffected by this ‘story fragment’. 」

The moment our eyes met, he turned and fled.

[The item ‘Sylphid’s Leap Boots’ activates!]
[The item’s performance is halved due to the scenario effect.]

Halved was enough.

[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ opens its eyes!]
[The constellation ‘Reclining Dragon’ admires your judgment!]

Fortunately, he wasn’t particularly fast.

It was a dead end. Without a second thought, I swung ‘Unbreakable Faith’ at him. With a soft pop, the bear’s form shifted, revealing a ‘rat’ the size of a small child.

[The constellation ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ is looking at you!]

「 The zodiac. 」

It was confirmed. He was a ‘rat’, one of the Chinese zodiac animals, a member of the ‘characters’. I tensed, my grip on the sword hilt tightening.

If this was truly a member of the <Zodiac>, it had to be a constellation of at least great-grade level. The ‘Bear That Will Come Back to Life if You Pretend to be Dead’ in the clearing was also a constellation, but not a proper great-grade. The <Zodiac> was different.

A true ‘great-grade constellation’ would be a formidable opponent for me in my current state. A flood of thoughts rushed through my mind. I had suspected the <Zodiac> was involved, but I never imagined one would be here in person.

Should I retreat? Or should I commit everything to an attack before it could reveal its full power? Could I use stories? Should I employ the Kim Dokja’s story from 「Heir of the Eternal Name」?

Or—

[Wait, please—]

Unexpectedly, the rat was the first to speak.

[Don’t hurt me! I didn’t come here to fight!]

«What?»

Something felt off. The use of divine language and indirect messages, along with the aura I sensed, confirmed it was a constellation. But its status was barely at this level? If a true ‘great-grade constellation’ had unleashed its power, the scenario should have shattered from the probability backlash. Yet, there were no signs of that around us.

«Don’t lie.»

[It-it’s the truth!]

I watched him, buying time. The incarnation of the ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ was a small, diminutive rodent. No matter how I sharpened my senses, I could barely detect any combat power. At this level, it was practically below that of a symbolic body.

What was his goal? Why had he appeared here in such a weakened incarnation? I narrowed my eyes. The scream of a brown bear echoed from behind me; the group had finally begun corralling the bears.

«Your people did this,» I said, gesturing toward the fallen bears. «You used story fragments to manipulate the bears. Are you going to keep playing dumb?»

[Well, that might be true! But I didn’t give the order! I swear!]

[The constellation ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ shouts that it is being truthful!]

The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ was strangely fearful. I glared at him. «You didn’t do it?» The rat nodded fervently.

«Then why are you here?»

[I told you! I just wanted to see you for myself—]

«Be direct.»

I took a step closer, aiming ‘Unbreakable Faith’. The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ hissed and quickly continued.

[Alright, fine, I came to propose an alliance. You all are planning to ascend to the next ‘floor’, correct?]

«An alliance?»

The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’’s eyes darted side to side.

[You intend to fight the Zodiac. Isn’t that right?]

«You are part of the Chinese Zodiac.»

[That’s accurate, but I’m different. So, I…]

A strange suspicion dawned on me then. Nail-Eating Rat. Now that I thought about it, this constellation was one that had been observing us from the very beginning. It had even appeared in my ‘behind the scenes selection’. This meant the creature had been watching the story of me and my companions for a very long time.

Which meant.

«You—»

Pieces of a puzzle slowly connected in my mind. There were several constellations whose behavior patterns clearly deviated from what I knew in ‘Ways of Survival’ or ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’, ones I had been suspicious of from the start. The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ was among them.

Seeming to find a sliver of hope in my tone, the ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ shook its head earnestly.

[Yes, that’s right. I am like you. Me too.]

The creature, with its eyes tightly shut as if it had resolved itself, began to speak.

[I am a reader, just like you—]

«I found you, Kim Dokja.»

A voice that ran cold blood through my veins. The Killer King stood there, covered in bear blood, aiming a bowgun charged with black magical energy.

«Step aside. I’ll kill that rat.»

[Heeeeek!]

The terrified rat scurried to hide behind me. I spoke up, stopping the Killer King.

«Wait, Killer King-ssi. This is—»

«The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’. He is from the zodiac.»

«I know, but he—»

«Possessed people like us.»

As if he already knew everything, the Killer King did not lower his weapon. A palpable anger radiated from his entire being.

«This creature is part of the ‘Misreading Association’.»

The Misreading Association?

«Have you forgotten what happened at the Edge of Darkness already?»

I hadn’t forgotten. Of course I remembered. The place where I first met the Killer King siblings. There, we fought the incarnations sent by the constellations of the Misreading Association. The one who had sent those incarnations back then was also a ‘rat’.

[Oh, no. I am not a tyrant! Truly!]

«It’s a lie. They know we can’t use [Lie Detection] here, so they’re trying to deceive us.»

[But it’s not! This is so unfair!]

«I witnessed you exchanging indirect messages with the Misreading Association constellations in the past.»

At the Killer King’s words, the ‘Nail-Eating Rat’’s eyes darted around again.

[Oh, that. I did speak with them a little! But I swear, I’m not part of the Misreading Association!]

«Questions are pointless. Die.»

[Eeeeeek!]

Just as I considered intervening, the pale-faced ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ crouched down and shrieked.

[Dammit! It’s all ruined! The ‘Misreading Association’ you know is already finished!]

For the first time, the Killer King halted.

«What does that mean?»

[That group doesn’t exist anymore! So, stop targeting us!]

Now that he mentioned it, the constellations aligned with the ‘Misreading Association’ had been completely absent lately. The Killer King, after staring at the creature for a long moment, slowly lowered his bowgun.

«Explain.»

The highly agitated ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ started muttering things like «This is exactly why I didn’t want to come,» then began crying out.

[This is so unjust. I haven’t actually done anything! I wasn’t the one who mobilized the beastmen! I, I just wanted you to know, how much I—]

It was then that a heavy *thump*, a vibration, echoed from somewhere.

[How much, how much, ah, ah, ugh—]

The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’, which had been licking its lips, suddenly began violently chewing on its own fingernails.

[Oh, it’s coming. It’s here. He’s arriving. That one is coming.]

What?

[Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow.]

The ‘Nail-Eating Rat’’s eyes rolled back, and it collapsed.

The Killer King checked its pulse.

«It’s not dead. But—»

«Something’s wrong.»

The clashing of weapons that had filled the clearing had ceased entirely. The prisoners’ shouts and screams had disappeared. The Killer King and I ran back toward the open space.

The prisoners who had been brandishing weapons at each other were still there. But now, they had all laid their weapons on the ground, their heads bowed to the earth, their palms turned upward in a gesture of worship, as if venerating a god. Even the ‘Bear That Saves One’s Life if One Pretends to be Dead’ was lying quietly on the ground, perfectly still.

It was a disturbingly eerie sight.

«Kim Dokja.»

The Killer King’s voice trembled. He was looking at the sky, pointing a finger. High above, a swirling portal was visible. The gateway to the upper floor was open.

It was the same type of portal that had appeared in 「The Three Little Pigs」. Back then, the symbolic bodies of the pig constellations had emerged from it. So what was happening now?

I heard someone approaching from behind.

【Student.】

Lycaon, who had maintained a small incarnation in the lotus position, had returned to his original form.

【Run. Now.】

And then, a story began to be told from somewhere.

「 …»I won’t eat you.» 」

A voice from an immensely ancient tale.

「 …delicious. 」

A chill gripped my heart. I had encountered numerous constellations by now. I had battled an Outer God and even seen ‘Ares’, a narrative-grade constellation. So, somewhere deep down, I thought I was no longer afraid of entities like the Chinese Zodiac.

However.

「 Give me a piece of rice cake. 」

The moment I saw the shadow of an enormous constellation, easily a hundred meters tall, I cursed my own lack of imagination. The distant shadow blotted out the ground, and within it, glowing crimson eyes looked down upon us.

Was that truly a <Zodiac>?

「 I won’t eat you. 」

Its stripes burned like flame. A story heard in intermittent fragments. I realized who this was.

A shadowy pressure slowly raised its head toward me. Violent sparks exploded in the air, cold sweat beaded on the nape of my neck. I felt my heart constrict, and blood trickled from my nose.

I knew it instinctively.

「 That is God. 」

A great-grade constellation had descended in a form terrifyingly close to its true body. But how? How was it possible for that constellation to come here, to a place where even the pig constellations could only manifest as symbols? It was impossible without a sufficient probability cost.

「 Probability justification. 」

I raised my head, biting my lip. The creature’s eyes were right before me.

«The Tiger That Eats Rice Cakes…»

Only then did I understand. The reason it was able to come here.

«Do you want to take me to the ‘Zodiac Ball’?»

It was because of me.