Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 660

“Sir! Wake up! Sir!”

Shin Yooseung shook Cheon Inho’s fallen body. No matter how she shook him, he didn’t respond.

[Incarnation ‘Cheon Inho’ has entered Madness Lv. 5.]

His body had grown to twice its former size.

Dark red veins bulged across his closed eyes and skin.

Holding back her ragged breath, Shin Yooseung thought—

Is he dead?

No. He wasn’t dead. His heart was still beating; he was still breathing.

He just wouldn’t wake up.

“He’s alive. Don’t panic.”

At Killer King’s words, Shin Yooseung narrowed her eyes. The golden light in them flashed violently.

“Yooseung.”

It was Literature Girl 64 who placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. Inho’s not dead. He won’t die.”

She repeated the same words again and again, as if to steady Shin Yooseung. When she finally saw Yooseung’s breathing calm a little, Literature Girl 64 glanced toward Killer King.

He stepped forward and hauled the sitting man—Lee Dansoo—back to his feet.

“You all right?”

Lee Dansoo staggered upright.

Maybe the release from madness had brought him back; his face looked sane again.

Guilt shadowed his expression as he looked around.

“How’s Inho?”

“He’s alive. For now.”

From Cheon Inho’s motionless body, black smoke was pouring out in constant waves.

Lee Dansoo couldn’t see that with his blind eyes—but he understood what needed to be done.

“We have to divide Inho’s Star Jewels now. No one can stay sane with more than two.”

He spoke from experience. But Killer King shook his head.

“There’s no time. And no way to do it.”

To divide the Jewels, Inho had to wake up. But he was unconscious.

And even if he woke, who could say it would work in this condition?

Killer King counted the enemies encircling them. About thirty incarnations from the Alliance remained.

Among them were some he recognized.

Assassination King Hwang Hyeonchan.Fighting King Kim Baekho.Timid King Yoon Giyoung.

Either members of the Seven Kings of Seoul or contenders for the title—powerful kings, all of them.

He’d never seen the Assassination King before, but the other two had indeed appeared as Seoul’s kings in the main story.

The difference now was that they too seemed to be possessed by other souls.

“Illegal readers everywhere.”

Killer King’s taunt drew no reaction.

The Alliance kings were arguing over telepathic transmission about Inho’s state.

—Why hasn’t he turned into a monster?—Maybe his mental strength’s abnormally high.—Who is he, anyway?—Constellations call him Cheon Inho.—The agitator from Geumho Station?—Never heard of him. Was he that strong?

The three kings glared toward Killer King.

—Our enemy’s the Second Apostle. Can we handle him?—His vessel’s Kang Ilhoon. Useless as a host, but the archangel Yophiel is backing him. And that woman beside him holds Baekcheong Aura.—There’s a kid who looks like Shin Yooseung too. This’ll be messy.—Should we summon the Tyrant?—If we did, we could hunt them without losses—but it’s not worth it. The Fourfold Calamity Sword is already guaranteed to appear. We just have to steal it.

Killer King, who had stayed silent, finally spoke.

“Bored now. Done whispering?”

The three kings flinched and turned to him.

He grinned in the dark.

“Telepathy seals words with magic, right? A master like me can crack that compression.”

Of course, it was a lie. Killer King wasn’t some martial-arts grandmaster, nor did he have such an ability.

But he didn’t need to hear them—his Deduction skill had told him enough.

“Things won’t go the way you think. Kim Dokja’s strong.”

“Kim Dokja?”

“This man is Kim Dokja.”

He pointed straight at Cheon Inho.

Reactions varied.

Shin Yooseung’s golden eyes flickered again; Lee Dansoo tilted his head; Literature Girl 64 rubbed her forehead like she’d seen this coming.

The Alliance kings looked bewildered.

“That guy? Kim Dokja? But Kim Dokja doesn’t squint.”

Killer King shook his head in disdain.

“Anyone can squint if they narrow their eyes.”

“And he’s blond?”

“You must’ve missed when Kim Dokja went blond in Kaigenix and Journey to the West. Guess you never read that far.”

His smooth nonsense left the kings glancing uneasily at one another.

The Timid King finally snapped back.

“Say what you want. You’re finished. A human in Madness Lv. 5 always turns into a monster. That blind fool took forever to gather Stardust because he wouldn’t kill, but this one’s different. He’ll slaughter everyone around him—including you.”

“Kim Dokja’s a pacifist. Did you forget?”

“A… pacifist?”

“And he’s got the Fourth Wall. He doesn’t lose to something as trivial as Madness.”

Killer King looked at Inho with absolute conviction.

“The Fourth Wall is invincible. The man who has it is a god. tls123 was actually Han Sooyoung, and Yoo Joonghyuk’s the strongest.”

“What are you even—”

“Point is, there are deeper secrets here than you can comprehend.”

He kept talking, nonstop, trading glances with Literature Girl 64.

Buy time.

They were only five.

One of them—Cheon Inho—couldn’t fight.

Their enemies numbered over thirty, with three kings.

If they clashed now, even victory would come at a brutal cost.

[The dungeon will soon be engulfed in flames.][Search for a Safe Zone.]

At least time was on their side.

Once the Safe Zones activated, the labyrinth would burn and rearrange.

Realizing too late what his plan was, the kings’ faces hardened.

—Damn it. He’s stalling.

[Rearrangement begins in 5 minutes.]

Five minutes left. The kings had to choose: risk battle now, or find safety.

[A Safe Zone has activated.]

Their hesitation ended quickly.

A huge Safe Zone appeared nearby—large enough for both sides.

“Everyone, into the Safe Zone!”

There were two zones in total, each big enough to hold one faction.

Literature Girl 64 and Shin Yooseung supported Lee Dansoo into theirs. Killer King dragged Cheon Inho into the other.

Strictly speaking, Inho didn’t need a Safe Zone after acquiring the Star Jewels, but it was the safer choice.

At least this way, they wouldn’t be scattered by the rearrangement.

The Assassination King watched him and asked,

“So he really is Kim Dokja?”

“That’s right.”

“Hard to believe a lunatic like you.”

He shook his head in disgust.

“Kim Dokja or not, you’ll end up feeding him the Jewels anyway.”

“What?”

“Because that’s the only way you’re all going to survive.”

Before Killer King could ask what he meant, fire swept through the entire dungeon.

[Safe Zone activated.][Rearrangement begins.]

Flames devoured everything around them.

When the blaze faded like a mirage, the kings and the Alliance forces were gone.

“They ran.”

Why? Why choose escape instead of pursuit?

Leaving the dungeon meant losing all the Stardust they carried.

Indeed, heaps of Stardust littered the ground where they’d stood.

Killer King turned to Cheon Inho’s body.

He still hadn’t transformed.

If he woke now, seized Lee Dansoo’s Star Jewels, and picked up all this fallen Stardust—he’d have all seven Jewels.

Killer King and Literature Girl 64 exchanged looks, then moved at once to collect the Stardust, hoping to prevent disaster.

[Incarnation ‘Kang Ilhoon’ has acquired 1 ‘Star Jewel’.]

The Dust Man in the air droned, and the final Jewel formed.

Seven Star Jewels—complete.

Now the question was how to summon the Fourfold Calamity Sword.

A bad feeling rippled through Killer King’s mind.

Whether he’s Kim Dokja or not, you’ll end up feeding him the Jewels.

His Deduction activated.

The Alliance’s plan had been to gather all seven in one place and summon the sword.

But there was a flaw.

How did they plan to kill the incarnation who obtained it?

“Yerin.”

When had it begun?

In the place where Stardust had been piled high, a red meteor had fallen.

“Run.”

Literature Girl 64 instinctively backed away, watching her brother’s face.

Even when facing a class-six creature, Killer King never flinched—yet now sweat beaded on his neck.

“It’s a Calamity.”

Light poured from the red meteor, swallowing the labyrinth whole.

***

When I came to, I was sinking into a cold, black sea.

I tried to retrace my memories.

I’d been facing Mr. Dansoo, using Incitement.

That much I remembered.

So why was I drowning?

Was this even an actual ocean?

I stared downward.

Depth without end.

A gaping abyss yawning below me.

Instinct told me—

Don’t go there.

Go there, and I’d never return.

Yet even knowing that, Lee Hakhyun felt a strange curiosity.

A pull toward peace. Toward letting everything go.

Maybe the truth I’d been chasing was down there—the secret of this world, the ending of every story.

My limbs slowed.

Maybe it’s fine.

If I go there…

Hadn’t I done enough to be forgiven for quitting?

So maybe now—

What happens to the other readers?

The thought snapped me awake.

I flung my left hand upward. Even knowing there was nothing there, I reached, flailing like someone trying to grasp anything.

Something brushed my fingertips.

I knew that feeling.

Suddenly I could breathe.

It was the sensation of placing my hand on a keyboard—of letters trembling alive beneath my touch.

[Exclusive Skill ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ activated!]

I clenched the sentence tight.

And the sentence spoke.

Gyeong Sein thought.

Gyeong Sein—the second reader I’d met.ID alsdn0905. Read count 1.8 times.Favorite character: Jung Heewon.

Between the tangled letters, I almost saw her face.

When we parted at Chungmuro, she’d gone with Lee Hyunsung.

Is Inho okay?

So you’re thinking of me right now.

A lump rose in my throat, and strength welled inside.

I couldn’t give up.

Readers were still out there.

Stories I hadn’t finished telling them.

Gripping the line, I reached again—

This time I caught another, rougher thread of text.

Gu Seon-ah thought: I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.

Gu Seon-ah—the reader from the Theater Dungeon.ID strawberry1137. Read count 8.

Gu Seon-ah thought: I’ve lost too much blood.“That bastard Kim Kyung-sik… why’d you have to die there?”

She was in trouble—stumbling through the labyrinth, bleeding out.

Kim Kyung-sik, her partner, was dead.

Another reader gone somewhere I couldn’t reach.

“Damn False Readers…”

Her voice was fading.

I wanted to help—to tell her not to die, to stay awake—but no sound came.

“I can’t die here.”

Her breathing slowed. Her view wobbled with each step.

“Ko Jang-won must be possessed somewhere. I can’t die till I find him. Never…”

With that, she sank to the ground.

Footsteps rushed closer.

She dragged up her iron rod, but her strength was gone.

Voices shouted urgently.

Not enemies, thank god.

“…are you… okay?”

I didn’t know who it was, but something about that voice filled me with longing.

I reached for the next line.

Ye Hyun-woo thought:I can’t stay on the sidelines anymore. I’m entering the dungeon with Fildu.

Ye Hyun-woo. Read count 50.

“Pathetic fool. Snap out of it. Kim Dokja would handle this.”

Killer King. Read count 100.

Still the same.

“Wake up.”

Literature Girl 64. Read count 12.8.

Line after line, I listened to the readers’ voices.

I was supposed to tell their story—yet now they were telling me theirs.

And among them was one I’d never heard before.

Dad.

Goosebumps pricked my skin.

I grabbed that sentence instantly.

But it gave me no sound.

No image beyond the words.

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint didn’t activate. Maybe because all the readers I’d seen so far were ones I’d met before.

Dad.

Then, faintly, a vision formed.

Impossible.

The skill only triggered on characters I knew—and only if they were thinking of me.

Which meant—

If I’d somehow met Mr. Dansoo’s daughter without realizing it… and if she was thinking of me now—

Impossible.

Yet only one hypothesis could make the impossible real.

[Exclusive Skill ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ surges into full activation!]

Dad.

At last, I saw the voice’s owner.

A dim, shadowed scene—familiar darkness.

I’d been there before.

It was a theater.

Rows of tiny Kim Dokjas sat together watching a screen—blank-faced, drowsy, babbling.

And among them was the one I sought.

ID rlaerhwk37.

Why was she here?

Dad.

Why did this have to happen at all?

The little Kim Dokjas just kept staring at the screen,as if that alone was their reason to exist.

And in front of them stood Lee Dansoo—bleeding from both eyes.

Lee Dansoo.ID wldbsdldkQk80. Read count 1.

Through the flames consuming her father, the child—No Jiyoon—reached out her hand.

Please, save my dad, Kim Dokja.