All scenarios in the have a âscenario numberâ.
From 1 to 99. The scenario number represents the scenarioâs difficulty, and it is designed to impose a level of plausibility appropriate to that difficulty.
It was like a kind of safety device meant to prevent the âtranscendent beingsâ of higher scenarios from barging into lower scenarios as they pleased.
ăThe apocalypse region has no scenario number.ă
I had forgotten that fact for quite a long time.
Even if it had no scenario number, it had crossed over from âmurim,â which was a scenario region in the 20s, so Iâd only vaguely assumed the âapocalypse regionâ would be a difficulty level befitting that.
ăBut is the difficulty of the âapocalypse regionâ really at the â20sâ level?ă
Thinking about it, it was strange.
Because the âapocalypse regionâ contained a special space called âtime strataâ.
Assignments that boasted wildly different difficulties depending on each stratum.
The âtime stratumâ I had even cleared was based on the âfinal scenarioâ of the 40th round, no less.
The final scenario.
No matter how much it was âexperiential,â a place with that kind of absurd difficulty couldnât possibly be only a â20s scenario.â
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Only when the warships of , with Zeus at their head, surged in beyond the shattered âbig houseâ did I finally realize anew that something was seriously wrong with the scenario of the âapocalypse region.â
Tsutsutsutsut.
The Backlash of Plausibility was whipping through the sky.
Normally, the moment the backlash whipped up, the stars in that sky should have been torn apart like scraps of tissue paper.
But what was being torn apart wasnât the starsâit was the Outer Gods.
ăGueuaaa a a a a a aă
Outer Gods moving around near the cliffâs strata were being mercilessly trampled under the constellationsâ boot heels.
The flash cannons fired from the warships were turning the cliffs of the âbig houseâ into a wasteland.
I hadnât seen a scene like that even in the final scenario of the 40th round. That was because, there, Cheon Inho and Yoo Joonghyuk had already crushed most of the nebulaâs main forces.
âAh, aah...â
Anna Croft staggered with a groan, and I too stood beside her and stared blankly up at the sky.
That was the true power of the âGreat Nebulae.â
ăO o o o o o o oă
The floor of the big house heaved, and the Otherworldly Divinities appeared.
A headless dragon cruising through the sky. Giant babies guarding the outskirts of the âbig houseâ.
The âDream Eaterâ also let out a roaring cry and thrust out its tentacles.
ăMak a mak a mak a mak aă
That wasnât all. There were also horrors that had already been exterminated by the captains.
For example, the âOne Who Eats Dragons,â the âDescending Darkness.â Andâ
ăKa ka ka ka ka kaă
I could even see the âFounder of the Absolute Throneâ I had killed.
Like Jang Hayoung when she first appeared as a projection, Outer Gods covered in pitch-black shadows stood at the side of the âKing of Terror.â
Outer Gods who drew their weapons for one purpose onlyâprotecting Kim Dokja.
ăP R O T E C T T H E K I N G O F T E R R O Ră
If even a single one of these Outer Gods was dropped into a scenario region, that region would be turned into a wasteland. As I realized that fact anew, hope welled up.
Maybe.
If it was the power of the âKing of Terrorâ and the horrors he ruled, it might even be possible to bring down a âGreat Nebulaâ that was throwing its full strength into this.
ăA a a a a a a aă
And.
ăO o o o o o o oă
The war began.
âHold hands! Hurry!â
Carrying Yoo Joonghyuk on my back and clutching Anna Croftâs hand, I hid my body between the pouring barrages.
[Fable, âMe and the Pebbleâ begins its story.]
Relying on a single frail fable, we watched the sight of the âbig houseâ where everything was crumbling apart.
Up until now, Iâd thought the constellations were afraid of the Outer Gods. That was why I believed that whenever Outer Gods appeared, the constellations ran away or kept silent.
But not all constellations were like that.
[Nebula, âs Great Fable begins its story!]
The constellations that formed the mainstream of the story did not fear Outer Gods.
An arrow fired by Apollo, Almighty Sun, brought down the headless dragon that had been flying through the sky, and hero-grade constellations including Achilles and Jason took down the giant babies.
[Kuahahahahat! This is fun!]
Ares, the Savage War God, riding Gigantes, laughed as he cut off the legs of the âDream Eater.â
[Fire!]
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa!
ăO o o o o o oă
The âDream Eater,â struck by the warshipâs flash cannons, twisted its body and spilled a painful cry.
Right after that, the Gigantes unit commanded by Ares began to butcher the main body of the âDream Eater.â
ăU u u u u u uă
Even if it wasnât their true bodyâs full force, this was the first time Iâd seen a great Otherworldly Divinity being treated so helplessly.
Of course, not every Outer God was only being helplessly beaten. There were Outer Gods that dove into the midst of hero-grade constellations and carried out merciless slaughter.
ăKa ka ka ka ka ka ka kaă
It was the âFounder of the Absolute Throne.â
Every time the famous swords held in its four bone-made hands drew their trajectories, the hero-grade constellations of were sliced apart like toys.
But there was a constellation who blocked its path.
With a harsh metallic sound, the constellation that exhaled a breath as hot as lava spoke.
[Iâve wanted to have this guyâs weapons.]
It was Hephaestus, the volcanic smith, swinging a massive hammer.
[Kraaaah!]
When Hephaestus stomped the ground with his huge right foot, a raging tide of fables erupted in an instant, and large and small scars formed across the whole body of the âFounder of the Absolute Throne.â
But the âFounder of the Absolute Throneâ didnât stay still either.
ăD I Eă
Just two syllables. At the lionâs roar packed into those syllables, the hero-grade constellations within dozens of meters crumpled. The incarnation bodies of the fallen hero-grade constellations were all bleeding from their ears.
Hephaestus, who had taken that lionâs roar head-on, also ground his teeth with bloodshot eyes.
[Athena! Artemis! Join in!]
Was it because he thought he couldnât do it alone? At his request for reinforcements, two of the Twelve Divine Seats joined in.
Athenaâs ăAegisă protected Hephaestus from the âFounder of the Absolute Throne,â and an arrow from Artemis, aimed at an opening, pierced the âFounder of the Absolute Throneâ in the thigh and forearm.
ăKa ka ka ka ka kaă
Against three of the Twelve Divine Seats, the âFounder of the Absolute Throneâ fought desperately. Even as its arms broke and its legs bent, it kept the dignity of a king to the very end.
[Kraaaagh! Damn Outer God bastardâ!]
In the middle of that, the âFounder of the Absolute Throne,â having even succeeded in blowing off one of Hephaestusâs arms, clacked its skull and laughed.
Maybe it was an obvious result.
The Outer Gods attacked with their lives as collateral, while the constellations were only taking cautious offensives to avoid even a single wound.
Watching the Outer Godsâ resistance, I didnât let go of the thread of hope. We just had to hold on a little longer. No matter how much it was a âGreat Nebula,â no matter if this was the âapocalypse regionâ with no scenario number, the Backlash of Plausibility wouldnât allow a sight like this forever.
But it seemed I wasnât the only one thinking that.
[Move aside.]
A true word that made it feel like my heart was dropping just from hearing it.
As Hephaestusâs shoulders trembled and he stepped aside, a gigantic trident pointed forward.
ăSince the boundary of the sea was created in the trajectory of his spear.ă
The moment goosebumps rose at the blooming fable, an enormous wave covered the area.
Clutching Anna Croft and Yoo Joonghyuk tightly, I hid behind the severed leg of the âDream Eater.â
Kwaaaaaaah!
The horrors the âKing of Terrorâ had painstakingly gathered were disappearing from the world one by one. The headless dragon, the Dream Eater, the Founder of the Absolute Throne.
The âhorrorsâ revealed under dazzling starlight were no longer horrors. They were only drifters who had been driven out of the scenario and lost a place to stand.
The âSpear That Draws the Boundary of the SeaââPoseidonâwho had recovered Traiana, declared.
[Dispose of them.]
Constellations backed by the Great Nebulaâs fables began slaughtering the fleeing âOtherworldly Divinities.â
Before a scene that rendered the imagination I possessed powerless, I just stood there trembling.
What would have to come to stop their violence?
Someone blocked the constellationsâ path in front of the Outer Gods, instead of me just thinking.
White-shining butterfly wings reflected the light pouring out from the constellations.
ăStop.ă
Zeus, having found the âKing of Terror,â aimed Astrape once more. The warships spewed light.
Kukwakwakwakwakwa!
A truly horrific bombardment. The savage assault of a Great Nebula, one that no living creature could survive. No matter if it was Kim Dokja, no matter if it was the King of Terror, it was an attack they couldnât endure.
âDamn, that hurts. Take it easy.â
But there was an existence that took that attack in his place.
Between the beams of light scattering faintly, an old man waved a hand dyed pitch-black and clicked his tongue.
âHehe, to think the dream-eater I finally raised would end up like this.â
The âDream Eaterâ collapsed on the floor cried sorrowfully. When the old man lightly patted the head of that Outer God and gave a bitter smile, the boy who appeared beside him said.
âYou can just raise it again, old man.â
âThatâs what Iâm saying, you brat. It might take a few hundred years.â
Even within a landscape like hell, those who resisted starlight. Faces that were calm, as if theyâd been through a pandemonium like this hundreds of times over, were there.
[Transcendent Alliance.]
With Poseidonâs true word, the captain-level figures of the Transcendent Alliance stood protecting the âKing of Terror.â
[Stars. From here on, we cannot allow it.]
Kyrioos of the Paradoxical White Azure.
[Iâm curiousâhow many stars have to gather before it becomes a âcluster of starsâ.]
Namgung Minyoung, the Heaven-Breaking Sword Saint.
[Hahahahahat! At last, the day has come to have a round with you bastards!]
Even Cheok Jun-gyeong, the Number One Sword of Goryeo.
But even with the appearance of the Transcendents, the expression of Zeus holding the lead did not waver. Rather, a faint smile formed at Zeusâs lips, as if he welcomed their appearance.
[The offerings to place on the scale of plausibility have increased.]
The Twelve Divine Seats under Zeus rushed at the Transcendents.
Athena and the Heaven-Breaking Sword Saint clashed, and Kyrioos and Hephaestus smashed weapons together. The Number One Sword of Goryeo Cheok Jun-gyeong and Ares, the Savage War God, let out lionâs roars and tested each otherâs monstrous strength.
When Zeus raised up the holy relic âAstrape,â the warships began their bombardment once more.
This time too, the one who blocked the bombardment was the overall commander of the Transcendent Alliance, Cheongheo of the God of Despair.
As if Cheongheo annoyed him, Zeus warned.
[Move aside. Mortal of another dimension. This is not something you should be involved in.]
âHehe, sorry, but itâs a situation where we have no choice but to be involved.â
Cheongheo continued, standing firm in front of the King of Terror.
âIf you break this âapocalypse region,â itâll become hard for us to maintain our existence too.â
After saying that, Cheongheo turned his head again and looked around.
By coincidence? His eyes were staring exactly at me, the one using ăMe and the Pebbleă.
Cheongheo gave me a light nod.
âAt least for now, I canât die for you. I just found out that a guy I really want to meet is alive.â
As if Zeus no longer felt any need for conversation, he leapt down from the lead and swung his spear directly.
Before the martial display shown by a myth-grade constellation, Cheongheo of the God of Despair bravely met it and swung his sword.
The sky of the apocalypse region flashed like a gigantic lightbulb, and unceasing lightning strikes came down toward the ground.
Even as his whole body burned pitch-black, Cheongheo of the God of Despair was bearing Zeusâs fables.
A hair-raising life-and-death fight. A battle I couldnât dare intervene in. And yet, on the other hand, I felt like I had to intervene.
Because right now, I had the Great Fable Iâd obtained in the time stratum of the 40th round.
ăI have faced âZeusâ before.ă
I know the situation is different from then. I know the difference in grade is absurdly severe.
Even so, if only I could recreate that stage once again.
âDonât think nonsense.
The one who stopped me was Cheok Jun-gyeong. While fighting against the Savage War God, Cheok Jun-gyeong was sending words to me through [Voice Transmission].
âItâs not time to use that yet. You canât handle this fight.
I shook my head. I know Iâm no help right now.
But...
âDisciple.
The moment I heard Cheok Jun-gyeongâs next voice, I realized Cheok Jun-gyeong was terribly exhausted.
And that wasnât all.
Kyrioos, the Heaven-Breaking Sword Saint, the other Transcendentsâthey were all terribly exhausted.
Maybe it was only natural.
It hadnât been long since theyâd returned with me from the time stratum of the 40th round.
I grew anxious.
What should I do? What could I do to help them?
âThereâs something you have to do.
As if heâd read my thoughts, Cheok Jun-gyeong continued.
âGo and press the âbuttonâ.
Button?
A memory surfaced in an instant.
When I first entered the apocalypse region and visited the âroom of the time stratum,â I had seen a certain âbuttonâ there.
A button at the very top of the time stratum.
The 0th-unit vice-captain Ryunad had said this about that button.
ăâPress that. Thatâs the âresetâ button for this âapocalypse regionâ.âă
The reset button of the apocalypse region.
âIf you press that button.
I saw Cheok Jun-gyeongâs sword shatter under the spear swung by the Savage War God.
With his belly skin pierced through, Cheok Jun-gyeong smiled at me and said.
âEverything that happened in the âapocalypse regionâ will become âsomething that never happenedâ.
Comments (0)
Your Reaction?
0 Responses
Join the discussion
Please sign in or create an account to post comments and join the community.
Discussion