Chapter 759

759 Episode 32 Monkey King (6)
“No, hold on!”

I desperately wanted to shout that out to <Kim Dokja Company> as they closed in on me with such intense energy.

But in this form, I was incapable of producing any coherent sound.

«Should we get a cage to start with?»

«Maybe the Dokkaebi’s Bag would be better?»

«Could we ask Biyoo about it?»

«What about a leash?»

«Just what kind of dog is this, anyway?»

I listened to my companions’ discussion while dangling from Yoo Jonghyuk’s grip. All the while, Yoo Jonghyuk himself was staring at me with an inscrutable expression.

[A temporary error is occurring with this skill.]

[You are unable to unlock level 3 of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’.]

The skill was still malfunctioning. A deep fear began to set in that if this continued, I would genuinely be locked up with no way to escape.

«Alright, everyone, that’s enough joking.»

Yoo Sangah, wearing a soft smile, lifted me up and intervened.

«Hm? Weren’t we actually going to confine him?»

Lee Seolhwa, who had just wheeled in a cart fitted with metal bars, tilted her head and asked.

Where in the world had she found something like that? It looked unmistakably like equipment for restraining lab animals.

Yoo Sangah shook her head as if she was at a loss.

Lee Gilyoung piped up.

«That little thing, it doesn’t understand what we’re saying, right?»

«It does.»

Hearing Yoo Jonghyuk’s reply, the other party members focused their attention on me.

«Ahjussi, is that really you?»

I tried to answer, but my voice failed me.

Shin Yoosoung seemed to pick up on my struggle.

«It looks like he can’t talk.»

«Let’s try this. If you can hear us, answer with your eyes. Blink once for yes, and twice for no. Do you understand, little guy?»

It was a solid suggestion.

«Wow, Jihye. I didn’t know you had that in you?»

As Lee Gilyoung yelped, caught in an instant headlock, Yoo Sangah settled everyone down.

«Okay, let’s all calm down and ask questions one by time. Dokja-ssi might be disoriented. Gilyoung, why don’t you start?»

Lee Gilyoung quickly squirmed free and stepped closer. He looked at me with a wary expression and hesitantly spoke.

«Is that really… Dokja-hyung?»

That was the crucial question for all of them.

Was I ‘Kim Dokja’ or not?

A heavy silence fell, thick with their anticipation.

I blinked.
«Once… twice… huh? Three times?»

«Is that a yes or a no?»

«Could it be that it’s both yes and no?»

The group murmured at Lee Seolhwa’s words, then turned back to me, holding their breath.

I blinked once, agreeing.
«Once! He blinked once!»

«So what Noona said is correct?»

«He is Dokja, but he’s not our Dokja…»

After a moment of contemplation, the group seemed to interpret the meaning in their own way.

«What does that mean? Isn’t it him?»

«No, it makes sense…»

«Well, the only one who’d end up like this is still him.»

«Everyone, quiet. Let him answer the questions.»

It felt strange. I was unaccustomed to people displaying such a spectrum of emotions based on my tiny reactions.

«Dokja-ssi’s condition seems unusual.»

Lee Seolhwa, who had been observing me, suddenly stepped forward.

Faint sparks were crackling around my body.

[Exclusive skill ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ Lv. 3 is unstable.]

Simultaneously, the status of the story was becoming volatile.

This was to be expected.

Even with [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint], crossing worldlines was supposed to be impossible.

This was an event that couldn’t happen without someone supplying a tremendous amount of probability.

Soon, [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint] would deactivate, and I would be returned to the 41st round.

«Oh, no, Seolhwa-ssi! Please help him!»

«He isn’t dying. He will most likely just return to his original world.»

«Ahjussi, don’t go back. Stay with us a little longer. Please. You just got here.»

«Shin Yoosoung.»

Shin Yoosoung ignored Yoo Sangah’s attempt to calm her.

She looked at the screen, then grabbed my hand tightly.

«I know you have somewhere else to be, and I know those people need you. But, but we also…»

Shin Yoosoung’s voice caught in her throat, and she couldn’t finish.

But her message was clear. Because I was now the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, and she was my incarnation.

«We need you, too.»

I wanted to say something.
Could I convey everything I felt by blinking frantically?

Perhaps it was better that blinking was all I could manage.

«Yoo Sangah. Let’s be calm and listen to Dokja-ssi. Seolhwa-ssi, how much time is left?»

«Five minutes, at most.»

«Shin Yoosoung, is there anything you want to ask Dokja-ssi?»

At that, everyone else took a step back.

They all had their own questions, but they were willing to yield their turn for Shin Yoosoung.

Understanding their gesture, Shin Yoosoung asked me.

«Ahjussi… why did you come here?»

It was a question I couldn’t answer.

Yoo Sangah gently placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She rephrased the question kindly for the trembling Shin Yoosoung.

«Did you, perhaps, miss us?»

Shin Yoosoung, who had been looking down, lifted her gaze to me.

That was likely the true question she had wanted to ask all along.

I looked at the faces of <Kim Dokja Company>.

「 Let’s just believe that Kim Dokja is here right now. 」

Shin Yoosoung, Lee Gilyoung, Yoo Sangah, Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa, Yoo Jonghyuk… and even Han Sooyoung, who wasn’t present.

I wanted to see their faces forever. I wanted to remember them.

I blinked slowly, committing the sight to memory.

«Ah.»

Tears welled up in Shin Yoosoung’s eyes. Lee Gilyoung slowly bowed his head, and Lee Jihye turned away, mumbling something under her breath. Lee Seolhwa looked me over with a soft sigh. Yoo Jonghyuk continued to watch me with that same unreadable gaze.

Yoo Sangah gave a bittersweet smile.

«Thank you.»

I blinked twice, signaling that I didn’t deserve their thanks.

Slowly, Yoo Sangah leaned in closer.

When her breath was near my ear, she whispered so only I could hear.

«I know. You are not the ‘Kim Dokja’ we remember.»

As expected, Yoo Sangah had realized.

«Even so, to us, you are still Dokja-ssi. No one can take that away.»

She was the one who still called me ‘Kim Dokja’, even when I didn’t know how much of the original remained.

Yoo Sangah’s face slowly withdrew. In a clear, firm voice, she spoke.

«If it is what you wish, Dokja-ssi, you can remain here with us.»

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

«We will provide the probability. As you can see, we are quite powerful now. We are all survivors of the ‘final scenario’.»

A powerful emotion stirred deep within me.

«Stay. We will find a way to handle the 41st round.»

What would happen if I truly stayed?
As she said, if we could resolve the 41st round with their assistance…

«That’s right, Dokja-ssi! We can help! I can just possess my other self! Lee Gilyoung isn’t much use, but he accessed that place as a constellation and—»

«If you need it, I will go and fight for you.»

Their stories reached out to me.

[The story ‘Kim Dokja Company’ begins its storytelling.]

As the story unfolded, I could feel the immense weight of the white space between the lines, the foundation supporting every word.

It was the profound depth of <Kim Dokja Company>, something never shown to outsiders.

I was reminded once more of everything they had sacrificed to reach this place.

Not all members of <Kim Dokja Company> were here.

Yet, none of them blamed me.

They were simply telling me it would be alright to remain within the world they had built.

[The story ‘Heir to the Eternal Name’ frowns.]

What was so important about writing ‘my story’?

Perhaps Han Sooyoung was wrong. Maybe I had no right to speak about the 41st round.

After all, the 41st round was the story that had officially ‘ended’. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t rewrite it.

Maybe staying here was the wiser choice than wasting time on a futile effort.

To live out the rest of my days with those who found solace in my presence—

「 «Where is he?» 」

I looked up. A video was playing on the screen.

「 «Find his carriage.» 」

It was Yoo Jonghyuk, speaking in the 41st round.

「 «We absolutely need him if we are to see the end of the ‘Recycling Center’.» 」

If I gave up here, what would become of that Yoo Jonghyuk?

«Ahjussi?»

Even while I was here, the Yoo Jonghyuk of the 41st round was fighting. He was rushing toward the conclusion of a fleeting story that was destined to fail.

[The story ‘Heir to the Eternal Name’ grins.]

Watching that Yoo Jonghyuk, I finally understood the real Kim Dokja.

[The synchronization rate with your sponsor increases significantly.]

I understood why Kim Dokja, who had not stayed in the 1,863rd round, had been so resolved to return to his own world.

«Right? Ahjussi. Please stay here with me. You’ll stay, won’t you? Yes?»

I met the child’s gaze. But I couldn’t see anything. Shin Yoosoung’s small hands were covering my eyes.

«No. Don’t answer.»

The hands creating this complete darkness were shaking. From beyond the darkness, I heard Yoo Jonghyuk’s voice.

«Listen well, Kim Dokja.»

Yoo Jonghyuk spoke without a trace of emotion in his tone.

«No matter what story you desire, we will forge the ending we choose. And you cannot prevent it.»

Through the gaps in the child’s fingers, I saw Yoo Jonghyuk’s turned back.

He was the one who had fought Odin.

He was likely the one who had protected both the Demon King of Salvation and me from beyond the ‘Void Curtain’.

«Dokja-ssi.»

The air sizzled with sparks. The sensation gently enveloping me began to fade.

[The signal of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ is weakening.]

[Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is about to be released.]

Shin Yoosoung began to cry again, and Lee Gilyoung turned his back. Lee Jihye stepped forward and held onto my arm.

Yoo Sangah spoke.

«Thank you for visiting us.»

Hearing her voice, I thought about the real Kim Dokja.

«We will be fine. So, you, Dokja-ssi, must make sure you survive until the very end.»

But Kim Dokja wasn’t here. The only thing here was the helpless, blinking agent of the Demon King of Salvation.

The air twisted, mingling with the voices of the people around me.

The world of <Kim Dokja Company> was dissolving.

I felt a certainty once more.

「 Kim Dokja would have wanted to return to his companions more than anything. 」

So then, why hadn’t he come here?

Why did he have to leave behind the people he loved most?

Then, a voice echoed through my fading consciousness.

【Do you truly wish to know?】

I recognized the owner of this voice instinctively.

【Even if the truth has the power to shatter you completely?】