At those words, the goblins of the Executive Division turned to each other again.
For a while, they just looked at one another. Then, simultaneously, two of them burst out laughing.
"Heh… hahaha!"
"Interesting… Could it be…?"
The sharp-eyed executors seemed to have noticed something.
Far off, Paul stared at us with a bewildered expression.
[You are permitted a private audience with Prisoner Goblin 'Paul.']
[The duration of the private audience is 20 minutes.]
As if some entertaining spectacle had appeared, the Executive Division obediently allowed my request.
I expected no less from them.
The Executive Division inherently dislikes other streamers.
By nature, they are closer to being 'subscribers' than 'storytellers.'
Before I could finish speaking, a small transparent dome materialized around Paul and me.
Originally, a "private audience" was a space for secret contact between a Celestial and a goblin.
[Private audience with Middle-Rank Goblin 'Paul' has begun.]
But the purpose of a space can always be changed depending on the user.
Outside the dome, I could see Bi-hyung speaking to the executors.
Inside, Paul, now trapped with me, gritted his teeth and revealed his hostility.
"Why did you want to see me? Planning to curse me or something?"
His body still flickered with the [Restraint Code] imposed by the executor goblins. As long as that code remained, Paul could not use either goblin authority or his own power.
In other words, the Paul before me was completely powerless.
"Don't bluff. You know full well the situation you're in."
Paul hesitated, stepping back to the edge of the dome. Yet a contemptuous smile lingered on his lips.
"Haha… I see. I think I know what petty thoughts you're entertaining. Wanting revenge for that slave, perhaps?"
"..."
"Pathetic. Did you think I wouldn't understand a trivial human desire? Fine, let's see what you can do. I don't know how you discovered this 'private audience,' but this place is one where neither of us can kill the other. No matter how much you struggle…!"
I charged at him without hesitation, smashing my fist into his face with all my strength.
Blue veins burst from his nose, and the confused Paul screamed belatedly, collapsing to the ground. I said:
"I may not be able to kill you, but I can hit you."
"Ugh! How dare you…!"
"Yeah, now your true nature comes out. I didn't want to hear that disgusting politeness any longer anyway."
"Kugh… Guhh…!"
"Feeling pain like this for the first time, huh? You've lived as a goblin, but never taken a hit like this."
"Kh… Khuh… Khuhuh…"
Even bleeding, Paul was still laughing.
"Yes, you've made a mistake. In this space, there are special rules in place precisely to prevent abuses of the 'private audience' like yours."
Just as if on cue, a message appeared:
[You have inflicted injury upon a goblin within the 'private audience' space.]
[500 Coins have been deducted as a penalty.]
Goblins… they are truly insufferable creatures.
They even prepared this penalty in case the Celestials, enraged, decided to intervene. Even if coin penalties pile up, it's still tolerable.
Knowing the penalty in advance, I simply shrugged.
Paul wiped the blood from his face and laughed.
"Foolish human. You invite your own destruction through anger. Fine, hit me as much as you want. With the coins possessed by a mere manifestation like you…"
"How many do you think I have?"
Paul immediately fell silent.
"Isn't it strange? How could a mere manifestation like me become a 'Platinum Member'?"
I looked into his wavering eyes and smiled.
"I have plenty of coins. Thanks to you, I've earned a fortune."
I quietly twisted my fist toward Paul, who was turning pale.
The endless cursed scenarios flashed through my mind.
[Coins in possession: 205,902C]
I recalled the last moments of the dying Shin Yu-seung.
For reference, one of the things I had said to her was:
―That goblin bastard… I'll beat him to death.
This would be the first promise I would keep.
Wham!
[500 Coins have been deducted as a penalty.]
The second punch shattered his nasal bone.
I didn't think about who deserved it or any such thing.
Wham!
It could never be anyone else's share anyway.
[500 Coins have been deducted as a penalty.]
"Ugh! Y-You insignificant human… How dare you…!"
Wham!
[500 Coins have been deducted as a penalty.]
"Y-You think you can get away with doing this to me…!"
Wham!
[500 Coins have been deducted as a penalty.]
"I'll kill you! I will… I'll definitely kill you…!"
Boooom!
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
"W-wait! Just a second! Stop—!"
The moment the terrified bastard curled up defensively, I stopped my fist for the first time. For an instant, hope flickered in his eyes.
"Y-yes. Good thinking. Doing something like this here won't do you any good at all—"
Watching him hurriedly switch to polite speech, I asked,
"Did you stop?"
"What…?"
"When Yoo-seung told you to stop—did you stop?"
I looked down at him quietly. He said nothing.
Instead, he looked at me once, then at the ground, and finally up at the sky—as if the object of his resentment, the cause of his misery, might be there.
"Th-this has no meaning! No matter what you do, your dead companion won't come back to life!"
Dead companions don't come back to life.That part was true.
But—
"It has meaning."
I raised my fist again toward the trembling creature.
"If I had died, Shin Yoo-seung would've done the same."
Boooom!
Flesh splattered violently, and one of his fangs flew out, clattering across the ground.
"Lee Hyunsung would have. Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung too."
My fist slammed into his abdomen, rupturing his insides.
"And probably… Yoo Jung-hyuk too…"
Outside the dome, my companions were watching.
Shin Yoo-seung clenched her fist with reddened eyes. Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung were shouting something. Lee Hyunsung stared with a solemn expression, his eyes wet, and Yoo Sangah bit her lip hard as she watched me.
After glancing at Yoo Jung-hyuk one last time, I turned my gaze back to Baul.
"I-I'm an existence outside the scenario! You can't earn coins by doing this! There's no benefit for you at all!"
Coins…
Right. Goblins like you can only think that way.
Some stories become coins.Some stories don't.
"Maybe so."
No Celestial had posted a bounty scenario. No sub-scenario had ordered me to deal with him.
That was exactly why this action mattered.
No one told me to do this.
"I'm doing it because it brings no benefit."
"W-what…?"
Since the beginning of the world's collapse, coins had become the guiding principle behind every human action.
People moved because Celestials paid them.They didn't move if there were no coins.
But sometimes, humans act regardless of that.
"You might not know this, but humans are the kind of creatures who find meaning in things like this."
"W-what are you—aaaargh!"
I raised my fist again and began pounding him mercilessly.
Boooom!
Each blow shattered his face, his ribs, his joints—one by one, methodically.
Since I didn't have to worry about killing him, there was no restraint.
Every strike was optimal.
Each time his skin split and his bones crushed, something deep inside me burst as well.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
I knew.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
I knew better than anyone that no matter how much I beat him, this would never truly comfort Shin Yoo-seung's death.
The Shin Yoo-seung who died would never see this.
But still, I kept moving my fists.
Beating him.And beating him again.
Boooom!
Just like Yoo Jung-hyuk.
Just as he had repeated regression after regression, even when no one understood his cause, all the way to the end.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
Then, messages from the Celestials echoed through the air.
[Celestial, 'Prisoner of Gingoa,' is thrilled by a development he has never seen before.]
[You have received a donation of 500 coins.]
I paused and looked up at the sky.
Even this kind of story became a scenario to the Celestials.
"This isn't an act this time."
[The 500 donated coins have been returned.]
[Celestial, 'Prisoner of Gingoa,' is greatly flustered.]
Think of it as a service.
Right now, nothing else mattered.
[Celestial, 'Secretive Schemer,' shows interest in your actions.]
[Celestial, 'Demonic Punisher of Fire,' is deeply moved by your actions.]
I resumed punching.
Only the sound of goblin flesh bursting and intermittent groans echoed around us.
The Celestials silently watched what I was doing.
No one gave me coins—but I could feel their gaze on me.
And sometimes, that alone is enough.
"U-ugh… I was wrong. P-please spare me! I—I beg you! Please!"
Unable to endure any longer, Baal dragged his battered body across the edge of the dome.
The dome walls reverberated hollowly, but the Executive Division didn't respond.
If anything, they seemed almost pleased with my antics.
No doubt, they were probably thinking:
「So even this kind of thing can earn coins.」「Damn those streamer brats.」
The Executive Division dokkaebi didn't like streamers. The executors, who had evolved from abnormal beings into dokkaebi, were excellent fighters but lacked the talent to drive a scenario.
It wasn't long before Baal's body was completely in tatters. I grabbed the bloodied creature by the scruff of its neck.
By now, it was about time to ask what I wanted.
"Where is Shin Yoo-seung's soul right now?"
In a scenario, the souls of the dead normally cannot escape the chains of their contracts even after death.
But if the contract itself has been destroyed, that's a different matter.
The mid-tier dokkaebi Baal spoke only after taking dozens more blows.
[Th-that… I-I don't know either… It's just… because you borrowed the Archangels' power… our contract with her… it… it's been nullified…]
As I thought.
The dokkaebi had handed Shin Yoo-seung, the "Beast Lord," to the demons, and during the transfer, the contract chains were maintained by the demons' power.
And all those chains had been burned away by Uriel's [Hellfire of Gehenna].
In other words, Shin Yoo-seung's soul was now adrift in the world, free from its anchor.
[Y-you… you can never retrieve your ally… her soul… will soon be lost in the maze of the worldlines…]
With that, Baal collapsed.
['Dokkaebi Private Audience' has ended.]
The transparent dome vanished, and the Executive Division, who had been probing, whistled in amusement.
[Looks like it suffered a terrible fate before any disciplinary measures could even be taken.]
They glanced at me briefly, smiled, and departed. Watching Bi-hyung hastily follow them, I asked:
'Did you give them the hush money?'
―Of course. But didn't you spend too many coins?
'Still plenty left.'
Baal had been hit exactly 124 times before losing consciousness.
[Coins held: 143,902C]
Bi-hyung sighed and gave me a glance.
―Once I enter the Management Bureau, communication will be impossible for a while. I'll leave the channel open, so don't cause trouble while I'm gone. Please.
Watching Bi-hyung plead like that, I thought to myself that this was perfect. Without him around, no one could interfere with what I was about to do.
[Due to a scenario error, additional reward distribution is delayed.]
With the main scenario administrator completely absent, the scenario's progression would stall for a bit. A day or two at most, but that was more than enough time for me.
I looked at the dokkaebi disappearing through the portal and recalled my last conversation with Shin Yoo-seung.
―Don't worry. You won't die.―What do you mean?―I'll help you resurrect. I've done it twice before, and it's doable.
Honestly, I had been reluctant to use this method until the very end.
According to the plan, she had to die at least once.
And there was no guarantee she could come back to life.
―I don't know how long it will take. But if you wait, if you don't give up, I will definitely bring you back.
If Shin Yoo-seung's soul fell into the "Maze of Worldlines," it would become nearly impossible to revive her.
But it wasn't too late yet.
As long as I could retrieve her soul, she could be brought back to life.
The problem was… how to find that soul.
I looked at Yoo Sang-ah.
"Yoo Sang-ah.""Yes?"
Even if Shin Yoo-seung's soul came from another worldline, all souls eventually pass through the afterlife to leave this world.
I thought of several Seongjwas connected to the afterlife.
But all of them were either in places I dared not approach or were too exalted to be reached by my current level.
Except for one I could try to deal with.
"Could you summon the 'Lover of the Abandoned Maze'?"
Yoo Sang-ah hesitated briefly, then nodded.
Moments later, faint sparks flickered around her.
Due to the previous expenditure of plausibility, this wasn't a direct manifestation, but it was clear that Ariadne had faintly imbued Yoo Sang-ah.
I spoke.
"Olympus. I want to make a deal with you."
The sparks around us grew wilder.
Understandable, given our last meeting hadn't gone well.
But this time, I had to make the concession.
I drew a short breath and immediately got to the point.
"Let me meet your King of the Underworld."
Now, it was time to fulfill the second promise.
< Episode 22. Three Promises (2) > End