"No, wait!"
I wanted to shout that out to
But I can't make a proper sound with this body.
"Would you like to buy a cage first?"
"Do you want to stay in the Dokkaebi's Bag?"
"Wouldn't it be okay to ask Biyoo?"
"Should I get a leash too?"
"What kind of dog is this?"
I overheard the conversation of my companions while clinging to Yoo Jonghyuk's grip. Meanwhile, Yoo Jonghyuk was glaring at me with strange eyes.
[A temporary error occurs in this skill.]
[You cannot unlock level 3 of 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint'.]
The skill still did not listen. The moment when the fear rises that if I continue like this, I will really be imprisoned and not be able to go anywhere.
"Okay, everyone, stop joking around."
Yoo Sangah, with a gentle smile, held me up and stopped the crowd.
"Huh? You weren't really confining him, were you?"
Lee Seolhwa, who had just brought a cart with iron bars, tilted her head and asked.
Where on earth did she get something like that? No matter how you look at it, it looks like it's being used to confine laboratory animals.
Yoo Sangah shook her head as if she could not stop her.
Lee Gilyoung asked.
"That little guy, he's not understanding what we're saying, is he?"
"He understands."
The other party members noticed Yoo Jonghyuk's answer and surrounded me.
"Ahjussi, is that really you?"
I wanted to answer, but no voice came out.
Shin Yoosoung seemed to have noticed something in my appearance.
"I guess he can't speak."
"How about we do it this way? First of all, since you can hear what we're saying, we'll have you answer with your eyes. Every time we ask a question, you blink once if we're right, and blink twice if we're wrong. Little guy, you get it?"
It was a good idea.
"Wow, Jihye. We didn't know you could think like that?"
While Lee Gilyoung, who was instantly caught in a headlock, whined, Yoo Sangah settled the situation.
"Okay, then, shall we all calm down and ask questions? Since Dokja-ssi may be confused, ask questions one at a time. Um, shall we start with Gilyoung?"
Then Lee Gilyoung quickly escaped the headlock and approached. Lee Gilyoung looked at me with suspicious eyes and hesitantly opened his mouth.
"Dokja-hyung... is that right?"
The most important question for them.
Am I 'Kim Dokja' or not?
The depth of silence replaced their curiosity.
I blinked.
"Once… twice… huh? Three times?"
"Are you saying it's true or not?"
"Isn't it true that it can be both right and wrong?"
The group of people who were chatting about Lee Seolhwa's words turned to me, holding their breath.
I blinked as if agreeing with that.
"Once! He blinked once!"
"Are you saying what Seolhwa unnie said is correct?"
"He is a Dokja, but he is not Dokja…"
After pondering for a moment, the group members seemed to accept the meaning of the words in their own way.
"What do you mean? Isn't it hyung?"
"No, he's right…"
"Well, the only guy left like this is still him."
"Guys, calm down. You can't ask questions."
I felt strange. It was unfamiliar to me that there were people who showed such a variety of emotions just with my small reaction.
"Dokja-ssi's condition is strange."
It was then that Lee Seolhwa, who was looking at me, suddenly approached me.
There were faint sparks all around me.
[Exclusive skill 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' Lv. 3 is unstable.]
Meanwhile, the status of the story became unstable.
It was natural.
No matter how much [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] it is, it is impossible to cross worldlines.
An event that would never be possible without someone providing me with strong probability.
Perhaps soon [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] will be lifted and I will return to the 41st round.
"Oh, no, Seolhwa-ssi. Please save him!"
"He's not going to die. He'll probably return to his original world."
"Ahjussi, don't go back, stay with us a little longer. Please. You've only been there a little while."
"Shin Yoosoung."
Shin Yoosoung did not listen to Yoo Sangah's dissuasion.
Shin Yoosoung looked back at the screen and held my hand tightly.
"I know you have a place to go to, and I know those people need you. But, but we also…"
Shin Yoosoung, perhaps because her throat was so tight, could not bear to speak.
But she could be heard clearly. Because I was now the 'Demon King of Salvation', and she was my incarnation.
"We need you too."
I wanted to say something.
Can I convey my feelings by blinking my eyes violently?
No, maybe I'm glad that blinking is all I can do.
"Yoo Sangah. Let's calm down and listen to Dokja-ssi. Seolhwa-ssi, how much time do we have left?"
"It's five minutes at most."
"Shin Yoosoung, is there anything you want to ask Dokja-ssi?"
At those words, everyone took a step back.
Everyone had a question on their face, but they were willing to give up their questions for Shin Yoosoung.
Shin Yoosoung asked me as if she were understanding the feelings of those people.
"Ahjussi... why did you come here?"
A question I cannot answer.
Yoo Sangah lightly hugged the child's shoulder. On behalf of the trembling Shin Yoosoung, Yoo Sangah kindly changed her question.
"Did you miss us by any chance?"
Shin Yoosoung, who had lowered her head, looked up at me.
Perhaps that was the real question Shin Yoosoung really wanted to ask.
I looked at the face of
「 Let's think that Kim Dokja is here now. 」
Shin Yoosoung, Lee Gilyoung, Yoo Sangah, Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa, Yoo Jonghyuk… And even Han Sooyoung, who is not here.
I wanted to see their faces forever. I wanted to remember.
I blinked slowly, as if taking a picture.
"Ah."
Shin Yoosoung's eyes filled with tears. Lee Gilyoung slowly lowered his head, and Lee Jihye turned her head away and muttered something unintelligible. Lee Seolhwa examined me with a light sigh. Yoo Jonghyuk still looked at me with incomprehensible eyes.
Yoo Sangah said with a bitter smile.
"Thank you."
I blinked twice, indicating that I did not deserve to hear such words.
Slowly, Yoo Sangah's face got closer.
When her breath reached my ear, she whispered in a voice that only I could hear.
"I know. Dokja-ssi is not the 'Kim Dokja' we remember."
As expected, Yoo Sangah knew.
"Still, we think Dokja-ssi is Dokja-ssi. No one can deny that."
The person who still calls me 'Kim Dokja' even though I don't even know how much percentage I have left.
Yoo Sangah's face slowly moved away. In a very clear voice she opened her mouth.
"If it's okay with you, Dokja-ssi, you can stay here."
For a moment I thought I heard wrong.
"We will provide the probability. As you can see, we are quite strong. Even so, we are all people who cleared the 'last scenario'."
A stir arose deep within my heart.
"Stay here. We'll do something for the 41st round."
What would happen if I really stayed here?
As she said, if only we could solve the 41st round with their help.
"That's right, Dokja-ssi. We can help! All I have to do is possess myself! Lee Gilyoung isn't much help either, but he accessed that place as a constellation and—"
"If you want, I will go and fight for you."
Their stories spoke to me.
[The story 'Kim Dokja Company' begins its storytelling.]
As the story began, I could clearly feel the white space between the lines supporting the sentences.
The abyss of
I once again realized what they had lost to come here.
There were not many members of
Still, they didn't blame me.
They were just telling me that it would be okay as long as I stayed on the line they made.
[The story 'Heir to the Eternal Name' frowns.]
What is so important about writing 'my story'?
What Han Sooyoung said may be wrong. Maybe I'm not qualified to talk about the 41st round.
Above all, the 41st round was the officially 'ended' story. No matter how hard I struggle, I cannot change the story.
Maybe staying here would be a better choice than wasting time on such useless things.
To spend the rest of my life serving those who find comfort in my presence—
「 "Where is that guy?" 」
When I looked up, a video was playing on the screen.
「 "Find that guy's carriage." 」
Yoo Jonghyuk was speaking in the 41st round.
「 "If we are to see the end of the 'Recycling Center', we definitely need him." 」
If I give up here, what will happen to Yoo Jonghyuk?
"Ahjussi?"
Even while I was here, Yoo Jonghyuk of the 41st round was fighting. He was running toward the end of a fleeting story that would ultimately fail.
[The story 'Heir to the Eternal Name' grins.]
Seeing Yoo Jonghyuk like that, I finally understood Kim Dokja.
[The synchronization rate with your sponsor increases significantly.]
Kim Dokja, who did not stay in the 1,863rd round was finally convinced of his return to his own world.
"Yes? Ahjussi. Please stay here with me. Will you stay? Yes?"
I looked the child in the eyes. But nothing was seen. Because Shin Yoosoung's small hands were covering my eyes.
"No. Don't answer."
The hand that created the pitch-black darkness was trembling. Yoo Jonghyuk's voice was heard beyond the darkness.
"Listen carefully, Kim Dokja."
Yoo Jonghyuk was speaking in a voice that did not show the slightest agitation.
"No matter what story you want, we will make it the ending we want. And you can't stop it."
Yoo Jonghyuk's turned back was seen between the child's fingers.
It is said that he fought with Odin.
Perhaps he was the one who protected the Demon King of Salvation and me beyond the 'Void Curtain'.
"Dokja-ssi."
Tsutsu, the air shook with sparks. The feeling that gently surrounded me was fading away.
[The signal of 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' becomes weaker.]
[Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint is finally about to be released.]
Shin Yoosoung burst into tears once again, and Lee Gilyoung turned back. Lee Jihye took a step closer and held onto my arm.
Yoo Sangah said.
"Thank you for coming."
While listening to Yoo Sangah's voice, I thought about Kim Dokja.
"We're okay. So, you, Dokja-ssi, must definitely survive to the end."
But Kim Dokja was not there, and the only thing here was the helpless, blinking agent of the Demon King of Salvation.
The air swirled along with people's voices.
The world of
I felt confident again.
「 Kim Dokja would have wanted to return to his companions more than anyone else. 」
Still, why didn't he come here?
Why did he have to leave the people he loved the most?
Then, a voice came from my fading consciousness.
[Do you really want to know?]
I could feel it instinctively.
[Even if the truth could destroy you forever?]
I know the owner of this voice.