Chapter 480: 480
Pah-su-sut .
The traces of a Fable stained the [Unbreakable Faith] . Thick smoke arose from this burning Fable .
What used to be someone's history was now scattering away as ashes .
Kim Nam-Woon's blood-soaked white hair strands were hooked on the edge of the sword .
⸢This was Kim Dok-Ja's choice . ⸥
I watched his hair scatter away within this ash-grey smoke and opened my mouth . "When I was young, I really hated you . "
When I was still absorbed in reading the 'Ways of Survival', Kim Nam-Woon was the only character that I couldn't sympathise with . If every person appearing in that novel was my hyung, my father, my dongsaeng, and my noona, then . . . .
… . Then, the character 'Kim Nam-Woon' was the cautionary tale for me .
"Your so-called justice had no dignity, and your killings were indiscriminate . "
The 18-year-old boy adapted to this abnormal world faster than anyone else . He was the Incarnation who wielded his knife with reckless abandon and sheer arrogance, while throwing himself fully to the darkness .
Unhesitantly carrying out acts of evil, while spewing out one corny line after another . Such traits were so vividly drawn out and my younger self could unabashedly hate this guy as a result .
⸢The evil fashioned just so that one could hate and detest it without holding back . ⸥
That was Kim Nam-Woon .
"You are a villain . It's the same story back then and even now . "
I muttered out as if I was talking to myself . Fables staining the blade dripped down like blood .
⸢Kim Dok-Ja, now an adult, was looking at Kim Nam-Woon once more . ⸥
Just like how the characters from the 'Ways of Survival' changed inside the scenarios, the person reading that story, me, also changed too .
I was now old enough to figure out why he had to become a villain .
⸢Perhaps it was Kim Dok-Ja's fault that Kim Nam-Woon had to become a villain . ⸥
… . Because, I read the 'Ways of Survival' back then .
Because, I offered my opinions to the author, and just like how Constellations would do, I evaluated and judged him .
- Dear Author-nim, does Kim Nam-Woon have to become the comrade again this time?
Because, I believed that he was merely a 'character' the author had created, not a living, breathing person .
When I thought about it, the reason why I hated Kim Nam-Woon was pretty simple in nature .
"Yu Jung-Hyeok always took you in as his comrade . "
Out of everyone from the 'Ways of Survival', Kim Nam-Woon most closely resembled me .
"Even though he knew that you are an evil bastard, even though he knew that you did evil things . . . Even then, he took you in . "
If I was him, how would I have turned out?
Cheongil High School second-year Kim Nam-Woon .
A regular high school student living under the stress of the studying and at odds with his parents .
What would happen if such a high schooler was thrust all alone in an extreme environment where he couldn't survive without taking the life of another, and no one was there to protect him?
"At first, I thought that Yu Jung-Hyeok was thinking of practical benefits . Because, you as an Incarnation held a high potential, that's why . But when I thought some more about it, there were other people with just as much potential as you . Even then, Yu Jung-Hyeok always accepted you as his comrade every single regression turn . "
If it was me, would I have been able to make a different choice?
While repeating the 1st turn, the 2nd, then the 3rd . . . . then even the 999th, would I have survived by making a different choice than the 'Kim Nam-Woon' from that time?
" . . . . When I think about it again now, maybe it was not Yu Jung-Hyeok chasing after practical benefits, but me . "
From when I started reading the 'Ways of Survival', Yu Jung-Hyeok's age remained '28' years old . He was an adult back then, and even now, too . Maybe he had already known the truth – that life was an accumulation of one's choices, that those countless choices piled up to eventually become a Fable worth a single person .
That no one was designed to be 'evil' from his birth .
Just as how the 1st turn was different from the 2nd, the 998th turn was also different from the 999th . And that might be the real reason why he repeated his regressions after all this time .
The blade stopped mid-air .
The [Unbreakable Faith] had faintly dug into the dazed Kim Nam-Woon's carotid artery and stopped right there .
I spoke in a half-sighing tone of voice . "That doesn't mean you can be forgiven for what you've done, though . What I wanted to say to you, though, was . . . . "
[[Kim Nam-Woon!!]]
An incredible surge of Status rushed in from behind me . Someone was running towards this side like a tank while breaking past the vicious barrage of shelling .
It was the 999th turn's Yi Ji-Hye .
All because Kim Nam-Woon found himself in danger, she abandoned her 'island', broke past the shelling, and was hurriedly approaching here – even at the cost of her entire figure turning into tatters by facing <kim dok-ja="" company="">'s attacks directly .
"You're blessed, aren't you . You even have a 'comrade' who worries about you to that extent . "
The word 'comrade' caused Kim Nam-Woon's empty eyes to tremble .
It wasn't just Yi Ji-Hye rushing towards this place, either . I thought that my back was growing hot, which was followed by the threatening sensation encroaching upon the nape of my neck .
It was the [Flames of Retribution] .
[[What are you scheming now?]]
The 999th turn's Uriel, who had been engaged in a battle against Yu Jung-Hyeok only a second ago, was standing right behind me even before I had noticed it . I slowly shifted my head towards her .
She must've escaped from the battle in a great hurry, because her pure-white wings were all torn to shreds, with deep wounds visible all over her figure . Just a casual glance told me that she was grievously injured .
She had disregarded all of her resentment and hatred, even her desire to win, and chose to fly over here all because of the danger to Kim Nam-Woon's life .
There were some things that wouldn't change even after becoming an Outer God .
Comrades willing to risk their lives for the sake of just 'one person' – because they were such people, they got to see the end of the 999th turn without Yu Jung-Hyeok's presence .
"My scheme, is it . That's what I want to ask you . "
Along with a soft landing noise, Yu Jung-Hyeok appeared behind the 999th turn's Uriel . His [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] was aiming at her neck .
The emotions in his eyes were clearly complicated . His expressions seemed to be criticising me, but at the same time, also sympathising with my choice, too . Maybe it was both . His eyes seemed to imply that, now that things had turned out this way, I should do what I wanted here .
I was going to do that without someone giving me his permission, anyway .
"You and other 'Outer God Kings' could have easily destroyed Earth if you really wanted to . "
My words caused the eyes of the 999th turn's Uriel to faintly tremble .
[The 'Great Apocalypse Scenario' is currently in progress!]
We weren't talking about any other scenario, but the 'Great Apocalypse' taking place within the 98th scenario . A scenario that not even the Constellations of the distant skies dared to participate in, out of fear of their complete, eternal destruction .
At a bare minimum, the descending 'Outer Gods' in this scenario wielded absolute power to easily scorn every single Constellation .
⸢With just a flick of one hand, every island on the Pacific Ocean was annihilated . ⸥
I could still vividly remember that sentence from the original novel . These 'Kings' could even summon an asteroid from the outer space and have it collide with the planet if they wanted to . They were existences that, after descending to this world as calamities, could drag in much larger Probability and use it at will .
"Why haven't you done that from the beginning?"
And all of my plans began from this very question: why didn't they try to destroy Earth right out of the gate, so to speak?
The 999th turn's Uriel didn't say anything for the longest time .
[[… . That is . . . ]]
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