A man nudges one of the others as they sit by the raging bonfire, pointing out the three new people who have entered. They get up and walk over to Dokja's group as they start asking who their King is, wondering if it's Dokja or Sangah. As they talk, Dokja notices that the others are slowly moving towards them while drawing their weapons. Clearly, these guys might just be a distraction to let the others ambush them.
[some constellations appreciate the trickery of the incarnations.]
[several constellations scoff at the cowardly actions of the incarnations.]
Yoo Mia stared at the men on the screen blankly before scoffing. "They couldn't be more obvious if they tried."
Yeah, they hadn't exactly been subtle, to say the least. Keeping them distracted, trying to sniff out which adult was the King… classic.
"The truly desperate will try anything," Yoo Joonghyuk said firmly, glancing down at his sister. "No matter how small the odds."
That was true, and Kim Dokja knew that in this kind of world, that was absolutely the case for these people. Their King had been killed, so they felt directionless and like they had nothing else to aim for other than the 'Absolute Throne'.
When the men ask why he won't answer, Dokja responds by swiftly cutting off their arms. One of the men gives up all pretenses and yells for the attackers to kill Dokja's group. Dokja swiftly increases the running tally of severed arms with ease, turning and slashing his sword to get the blood off at the end. As the fallen incarnations look up at him from where they lie on the floor, the angle makes Dokja look protagonist-adjacent.
Suddenly, there's a thud that captures Dokja's attention, and it's a mixture of a sickening thud of bone against a hard object and something fleshy being smushed. Sangah and a few of the men who are still conscious behind her watch in horror as Gilyoung expressionlessly smashes a man's head in with his hammer.
Sangah, still horrified, tries to stop Gilyoung and says that she'll do it instead. Gilyoung says he doesn't mind doing it, and he looks completely unbothered by the fact that he just committed murder. Sangah, however, seems to win out in the end as the next few die to her blade instead. Dokja asks if she'll be alright, looking at her face which has changed colours a few times in disgust and horror.
Gilyoung, seemingly thinking he's done something wrong, looks down and says he'll try to do better as Sangah pats his head, but the hand holding her sword shakes almost unnoticeably. As he watches this scene, Dokja mentally remarks that things will continue this way.
Kim Dokja let out a long-suffering sigh, cringing at himself. Now he looked like he was trying too hard.
"That looked so cool, ahjussi!" Shin Yoosung exclaimed excitedly. "You got rid of them without killing them so easily!"
Well… maybe it wouldn't hurt to think it was a bit cool.
"And then I killed them for you, hyung!" Lee Gilyoung said with equal amounts of enthusiasm. "I did good, right?"
[a constellation who likes grasshoppers smiles at the incarnation 'lee gilyoung' approvingly.]
Should this be something he should praise the kid for? Kim Dokja thought about it for a second before impulse got the best of him and he patted Lee Gilyoung's head while smiling. The boy beamed in return, and Kim Dokja felt like he had made the correct choice.
"As I said before," Han Sooyoung drawled, shooting Lee Gilyoung an extremely disturbed expression, "kids are fucking terrifying."
Yoo Sangah looked a bit disappointed in herself for not being able to do more, but Kim Dokja knew that there wasn't much he could say to her right now. Deep down, she knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid killing anymore, and also that Lee Gilyoung was ultimately coping much better than she was.
The three are brought out of their own little world when someone begins clapping. A man with black hair tied back into a ponytail walks towards them, his hands raised in surrender, as he compliments the speed with which they dispatched the Chungjeongno group. He also offhandedly remarks that those men had already lost their King, which is considerably important information.
He continues speaking, stating that most Kings have already entered the dungeon. Since Dokja has only just arrived, the man jokingly calls him late and mentions that the last King who passed through here turned the entire place upside down. As he says this, the scene pans across the bodies and blood that cover the ground, as well as the few survivors huddled by the wall.
Dokja asks who it was, and a familiar figure is shown laughing on the screen as the man states that it was the Tyrant King, calling him the strongest and the one most likely to claim the throne.
Han Sooyoung stiffened up slightly and clenched her jaw as her avatar walked into frame. While Kim Dokja had never explicitly mentioned that she was the First Apostle out loud while they had been in that dungeon, that didn't mean that Yoo Sangah or Jung Heewon would feel even remotely okay about what had happened there.
"That many Kings went in already?" Jung Heewon asked curiously. "The Tyrant King really lives up to his name…"
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' grins at the bloody scene.]
It had been an absolute massacre, and Kim Dokja was honestly glad that they had arrived late. While he was fairly strong, there was definitely no way he would be able to survive against the Tyrant King without using up some of his coins.
Yoo Sangah sighed. "And to think that he didn't even make it to the final selection…"
Normally he would, of course, but Yoo Joonghyuk had made sure he didn't this time—intentionally or not.
Kim Dokja glanced over at her with a slight smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Strength alone isn't enough to make it as a King, after all."
[several constellations who are kings agree with the words of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
"But here's what I think. The Tyrant King may be strong, but I don't think he can become the ruler of the Absolute Throne," the man states, citing that the Tyrant King doesn't have any ability to handle people. In other words, he's a terrible leader and doesn't care about anyone other than himself.
Dokja thinks that this man is too into the roleplay when he continues to say that his King is so much better at understanding people and that many follow him for that reason. He gestures towards the door as he states that he's certain his King will be the future master of the 'Absolute Throne'.
Dokja quickly realizes that this man is here to play the role of a 'recruiter' when the man proposes that they work together, trying to use the threat of the Tyrant King taking the throne as a reason to have an alliance. Dokja remembers that an Anti-Tyrant King alliance was formed multiple times in TWSA, but that never happened in the third regression.
The man continues his fervent pitch, declaring that they'll be attacking the Tyrant King soon. He even says that Dokja can speak with his King before making a decision, and only a moment later, he pauses and glances over his shoulder as he realizes that his King is returning. A heavy-looking door opens and many people rush forward to praise the King as both Sangah and Dokja look over in surprise. Dokja's eyes go wide and his jaw drops as he takes in the scene before him.
"A terrible leader is right," Lee Hyunsung scoffed with a frown, and Kim Dokja had to do a double-take. Lee Hyunsung, the sweet himbo of a man, was insulting someone?
Jung Heewon glanced over at him curiously. "Are you okay?"
Lee Hyunsung sighed, and nodded his head. "I just had a few superiors in the military like that… none of them made for good leaders at all."
Ah, so that's what it was.
[the constellation 'master of steel' reassures his incarnation.]
"Also," Jung Heewon laughed, "I'd say that he's not far enough into his roleplay, isn't that right—"
Oh no.
"—My Lord?"
And there it was. Kim Dokja sighed and hung his head as he glanced over at her with a defeated look in his eyes.
"Heewon-ssi… please don't."
Han Sooyoung just rolled her eyes, as though she wasn't the one getting insulted here.
[a constellation who enjoys the theatre believes that all the acting could be better.]
Yoo Joonghyuk narrowed his eyes. "Yet another thing that wasn't supposed to happen in this regression…"
He was probably (correctly) assuming that the prophets had a hand in this as well. Of course, it was actually all just Han Sooyoung's avatars instead of multiple different people, but Kim Dokja supposed that still qualified.
[several constellations are confused by the reaction of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
"Was whatever you saw really that shocking, ahjussi?" Lee Jihye asked in confusion.
Well… unexpected was probably the better word.
The man by the door gets a reveal, starting by showing his staff, then his eye patch, before giving a full body view of a bald man in monk's robes. People bow down to him as Sangah can't help but feel shocked that his sponsor even influenced his hairstyle.
[Name Cha Sangkyung
Age: 26
Constellation Sponsor: One-Eyed Maitreya
Personal Attributes: Pseudo Cult-Leader (Heroic), Maitreya King (Heroic)
Exclusive Skills: Weapons Training lvl. 5, Mental Barrier lvl. 3, Eloquence lvl. 3, Skillful Deception lvl. 3, False Prayer lvl. 1…
Stigma: Maitreya Pure Land lvl. 2, Accuse as the Devil lvl. 2, Accuse as the Devil lvl. 3
Overall Stats: Stamina lvl. 28, Strength lvl. 26, Agility lvl. 28, Mana lvl. 25
Overall Evaluation: No one is exempt before his 'eye' that sees all. Be careful not to cough in front of him. ]
Dokja shakes Sangkyung's hand while thinking what a shame it is that Heewon isn't here, since she still seems to believe that his sponsor is the One-Eyed Maitreya. In flowery words, Sangkyung asks permission to use his 'eye' to look at Dokja, and Dokja just tells him to go ahead. With a grunt and an oddly squished expression, Sangkyung activates [Accuse as the Devil lvl. 2].
"Oh my god, he really couldn't be your sponsor," Jung Heewon gasped. "Whoops."
[the constellation 'one-eyed maitreya' is chuckling at the incarnation 'jung heewon'.]
Suddenly, Lee Jihye narrowed her eyes at Cha Sangkyung's profile in confusion. "Master, can you see stuff like attributes when you use your one eye skill thing?"
Yoo Joonghyuk raised a brow at her awful description of [Eye of the Sage] before replying. "I can."
"Right, right, so I have to know, did ahjumma have a cult leader attribute too?"
"Excuse me, what the fuck?" Han Sooyoung blurted out as she spun to face Lee Jihye with an incredulous expression. "Of course I don't!"
Lee Gilyoung looked up at her impassively. "Well you should."
Before she could protest it and once again spout nonsense about how it wasn't a cult, Yoo Sangah smiled menacingly. "I agree, Gilyoung-ah. She should have that."
Jung Heewon just laughed out loud, wholeheartedly agreeing with the other two, but Lee Hyunsung just smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is laughing at the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
'Accuse as the Devil' is a Stigma of Gung Ye. It is a skill that lets a user see another person's nature and estimated degree of threat, but not their status window. For example, if the person is good-hearted or if they are a traitor with ill intent, a message will pop up.
Images of Lee Hyunsung with the label [A Pushover Devil} and Myungoh with [A Backstabbing Devil] appear. It finally pops over to Dokja with a ding as [A Devil who should not be messed with] appears.
"A D-Devil!" Sangkyung shrieks as he jumps back in an over dramatic fashion.
He quickly stops his followers from being on guard by stating that he saw something wrong, all while sweating profusely. Dokja thinks that Sangkyung listening to Gung Ye is the right idea, realizing that the constellation doesn't want to fight him.
Lee Hyunsung's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "A pushover…?"
Well… Kim Dokja couldn't say that it would be entirely inaccurate.
"I don't know what it would actually say," Kim Dokja told him placatingly. "You're not that much of a pushover, Hyunsung-ssi."
"That's right," Jung Heewon said as she nudged him with a smile. "It's only sometimes."
Lee Hyunsung wilted further to the point where it was genuinely sad to watch.
Heewon-ssi, that's not helping.
"Ahjussi, why is yours so impressive then?" Lee Jihye asked with a grin. "Is the constellation actually afraid of you?"
[the constellation 'one-eyed maitreya' is looking away innocently.]
Kim Dokja couldn't be certain, but at the time, he had assumed that Gung Ye simply didn't want his incarnation taking on a guy who had a ridiculous amount of coins, or who he'd seen doing things earlier in the scenario through the stream. Now, though, with those hypotheses about [The Fourth Wall] and what that might imply… it was completely possible that it was a very real analysis.
Kim Dokja just laughed it off. "Don't mind me, really. I'd be curious about what kind of 'Devil' our dear Joonghyuk-ah is, though."
Han Sooyoung shot him a disgusted and judgmental look, and Jung Heewon just grinned. What…?
[the eyes of the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' are gleaming in interest.]
Wait, fuck, no—
"I knew you liked Master," Lee Jihye exclaimed as Kim Dokja once again wanted to beat himself up for speaking without thinking. He was teasing. Teasing!
Yoo Joonghyuk just stared at him, impassive and intense as always. What was up with him?
"Give it a rest, Jihye," Kim Dokja sighed in exhaustion.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is agreeing with the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' reiterates that the incarnation 'kim dokja' could do better.]
Okay, that was not helping, and it was a step too far. Yoo Joonghyuk was the best, and this constellation clearly just had shit taste.
The man who they had previously been taking to states that he was surprised for a second there. As Sangkyung talks about their plan, Dokja realises that the man they met first sounded a bit disappointed that he wasn't labeled a devil. The man introduces himself as Han Sooyoung, Sangkyung's assistant.
Dokja wonders if the man has a sponsor like Wang Jeon as he tries to activate [Character Profile], but Sooyoung isn't registered.
… What?
Dokja is shocked for a moment, but when Sooyoung asks him if something's wrong, Dokja just smiles semi-menacingly and states that he thought he had seen a Devil for a moment. Sooyoung also gives a shadowed smile in response. The two then clearly fake laugh with each other before they're interrupted by another group running towards their arriving King.
Jung Heewon froze and stared at the screen for a moment before speaking in a whisper. "Han Sooyoung?"
The author grimaced as she glanced over at Jung Heewon, and then at Yoo Sangah, who looked like she was about to blow. "Yeah. No point in hiding that shit now, I guess."
Lee Gilyoung frowned. "But that was another guy?"
Han Sooyoung sighed and slumped over. "I can adjust the appearance of my avatars at will, so technically they are all me, in a way."
Clenching her fists, Yoo Sangah glared at her viciously. "I can't believe you. Not only did you attack Chungmuro and cause Dokja-ssi to literally die, but you kept trying to get us killed even here?"
"His death was his own fault," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "And of course I tried to screw him over—we were rival Kings, what do you expect?"
Han Sooyoung sat up straight and stared directly into Yoo Sangah's eyes before the other woman had the chance to respond. "You need to fucking grow up—this is the apocalypse. People are going to do shitty things in order to survive, and you know it. Hell, I don't know if you picked up on it, but that asshole was planning on getting all the prophets killed that night too. I just happened to beat him to it."
She wasn't wrong, but Kim Dokja had to wince. Did she really have to be so harsh?
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is hoping that there will not be a fight.]
"I know that!" Yoo Sangah yelled, glancing down and trying to still her shaking hands, but her eyes were blazing as she looked back up at Han Sooyoung. "I know it. But just because you choose to be a shitty person doesn't mean that I have to do the same thing!"
Han Sooyoung narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "You'll figure it out eventually. Being too soft will just get you killed."
"Let's just calm down a bit, please?" Kim Dokja pleaded, looking anxiously between the two women, hoping to cut them off before they could blow up on each other again. "It's in the past now."
Jung Heewon glanced over at him with a raised brow. "Frankly, we don't care. I'm pissed as hell too, but Sangah-ssi probably needs to get her anger out more than me right now. I got my catharsis in Geumho station, so it's her turn."
Her smile turned frightening. "But trust me, if she does anything to threaten any of us, I don't think that Sangah-ssi would care if I had to be the one to pass judgment instead."
That wasn't a good thing! Kim Dokja was trying to prevent a murder, thank you very much.
Thankfully, Yoo Sangah huffed and looked away from Han Sooyoung, who just sighed and looked back at the screen. She seemed almost disappointed somehow, but he wasn't exactly sure why. Unless… could it be that she had actually been trying to fix things earlier?
Sooyoung introduces the other Kings who arrive as the 'Prudent King' Yoon Kiyoung, the 'Fighter King' Kim Baekho, and the 'Earth Dragon King' Gu Taesung. All of the men are wearing what appears to be budget half-completed cosplays.
Taesung cheerfully calls out to Sangkyung, only to be called an 'Earthworm Devil' in return. Sangah guesses that Taesung's constellation is Gyeon Hwon, the King of Hubaekje who was born as the son of an Earth Dragon, and she mentions that others would call him the son of an Earthworm as mockery. Dokja is once again surprised and impressed by her knowledge, considering she was able to accurately deduce his constellation from a single hint.
Just as Yoo Sangah said, he's the 'Earth Dragon King', Gu Taesung—one of the 7 Kings of Seoul. He's one of the few noteworthy people in this group.
Sangah continues to realize that many people have historical rulers as their constellations.
Yoo Mia glanced over at the seething women before looking back at the screen. "Their costumes really suck."
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is laughing at the dumb costumes.]
Yoo Mia frowned and looked somewhat upset that the chuuni dragon agreed with her, but there wasn't much she could do about it.
"That was a really impressive deduction, Sangah-ssi," Kim Dokja said, hoping to raise her mood a bit.
She didn't even smile as she shrugged her shoulders. "It was nothing, Dokja-ssi."
Hm. That might be an issue, and Kim Dokja had no idea how to fix her incredibly uncharacteristic behaviour, since letting her fight it out with Han Sooyoung was not an option they could afford to test right now.
I'm pretty sure other countries are in the same situation as well, not just the Seoul Dome.
A chaotic scene of battle in front of Tokyo tower suddenly appears on the screen.
In Japan right now, the main historical constellations of the Sengoku period, including Oda Nobunaga, should be competing with each other through their incarnations.
The scene changes to show a man in medieval armour attacking a man in a suit. The backdrop of a damaged London bridge and a bright red phone booth nearby help determine the setting.
And in England, constellations like Richard the Lionheart or Henry VIII should be figuring out who they want to side with. As mentioned earlier, the 'Fourth Scenario' is an event created for each country's historical-grade constellations, after all.
[several constellations wish they could have seen those other scenarios too.]
Honestly, Kim Dokja agreed with them for once. Since TWSA was so focused on Yoo Joonghyuk, none of those other Domes' fourth main scenarios had been talked about in the story. Instead, it had barely been mentioned as a throwaway comment once, and Kim Dokja had spent weeks researching various famous historical figures from other countries to imagine just how those fights might have gone down.
"Whoa," Shin Yoosung breathed in awe. "I wish I could have gone on vacation before the apocalypse."
Suddenly, she turned to Kim Dokja with hopeful eyes.
"Ahjussi, do you think that we'll all be able to go on vacation together if we make it to the end of the scenarios?"
Kim Dokja didn't know, but he wanted to wish it could happen. That sounded nice, even if realistically speaking, there wouldn't be much of the world left to visit.
"You know what, Yoosung-ah? I hope so."
"Yay, vacation!" Lee Gilyoung cheered as he and Shin Yoosung started eagerly discussing where they should go and what they should do. Apparently, Jeju Island was on their list, but why stop there when they had the whole world to explore?
"Hey," Yoo Mia said suddenly as she fiddled with her fingers and actually left the safety of her brother's vicinity to scoot over closer to Kim Dokja and the other kids. "I'm coming too, okay?"
The other two kids glanced over at her for a moment, as though they were analyzing her critically, before Shin Yoosung smiled widely. "Yeah! We gotta come up with the best ideas!"
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is touched by the cute sight.]
Persephone was right. This was… nice.
Taesung begins to announce their plan, speaking of the losses they have already faced. Dokja quickly realizes that it seems like the Tyrant King swept through and swiped the Star Jewels from the two Kings he killed.
An image of each King in the room and their Star Jewel is shown before the Tyrant King is shown tossing three into the air before catching them with a smile. Dokja narrates and explains that as long as they deal with the third door, the
Taesung lifts his sword as he yells out encouraging words, riling up the crowd as they prepare to charge in and acquire the last Star Jewel. Dokja sadly wonders how these people were the same that were voting in a democratic country not even a month ago. Sooyoung gets excited, stating that this is something right out of a wuxia novel.
He goes on to explain the common trope of following a mysterious treasure map to a remote location and finding a super powerful weapon after Dokja asks about it. Dokja says that it's a common cliché of the genre, causing Sooyoung to remark that Dokja must have read a few wuxia novels before.
"Actually, I read quite a lot," Dokja says with a smile. "I don't know if you know, but there's a certain story development that appears often in such clichés. It's the one where they find out the truth and go 'the treasure map was a fake!' The warriors who came after the treasure fall into a trap, and the one who planned it quietly gets his way."
"Right out of a novel," Jung Heewon sighed, shooting a judgmental look at the author. "You really weren't trying to hide, were you?"
Han Sooyoung glanced over and sighed as well. "I didn't expect him to outmaneuver me."
Well, it sucked to be her. Kim Dokja had way more material to work with in the first place, after all. It felt almost unfair, but he also didn't particularly care that much.
Yoo Joonghyuk shot Kim Dokja a slightly curious look. "You've read lots of genres."
Was that meant to be a question?
"I have," Kim Dokja confirmed. "All sorts, really. I've probably read everything at least once."
Han Sooyoung's brow raised as an evil smile crept across her face. Kim Dokja had a really bad feeling about that expression…
"Even omegave—"
"Except for that!" Kim Dokja yelped, his face burning red.
He did not want to let her finish that sentence, thank you. The last thing he wanted was to have to field questions from the kids about what that meant, because there were not very many appropriate ways of explaining that genre.
Unfortunately, the look of epiphany on Lee Jihye's face told him that she absolutely knew what that was (what the actual fuck had she been reading!?), and Kim Dokja dreaded the questions he'd inevitably get from her later.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is extremely curious.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is wondering why the incarnation 'kim dokja' is so flustered.]
No reason, shut up.
It's not like he had enjoyed it or anything. He had only read it because the guy on the cover resembled how he imagined Yoo Joonghyuk looked, and not for any other reasons, okay? Sure, the protagonist was cool and handsome, just like Yoo Joonghyuk, and his muscles were quite impressive, also like Yoo Joonghyuk… but the genre was weird and he didn't understand any of it or why the character was acting in a very non-Yoo Joonghyuk manner at times.
Setting aside the fact that the protagonist was not Yoo Joonghyuk and therefore not as good, there were plenty of other issues too. Honestly, Kim Dokja was certain that the real Yoo Joonghyuk would have out-alpha'd that guy any day just by showing up because it wasn't just about being intimidating and domineering, dammit! Why couldn't people understand that the real appeal was protectiveness and dedication from someone who could easily be extremely dangerous—like a tough guy having a soft spot only for the love interest, and then becoming extremely caring and protective and not creepy. They should be trying to emulate how Yoo Joonghyuk acted in the few flashback scenes to his marriage with Lee Seolhwa, and not speedrunning stockholm syndrome with a biting kink for extra flavour!
In fact, Kim Dokja had noped out of that one real fast as soon as the first smut scene started because not only was the story surprisingly a BL (okay, so he hadn't read the summary before starting it, and that was on him, but no one could blame him when he had seen the nearly perfect Yoo Joonghyuk design in the artwork—even if the real Yoo Joonghyuk looked a hundred times better), but he also just couldn't handle seeing someone who looked like Yoo Joonghyuk getting together with someone who didn't resemble Lee Seolhwa. It was just… just wrong! That was definitely all it was! It made him feel funny and uncomfortable, dammit!
Sooyoung's smile pauses slightly before talking about their current situation, asking if it has a possibility of turning into such a cliché as well. Dokja states that it's a possibility, but that he'd be disappointed if it did since he believes that the trope is overused. This makes Sooyoung flinch before he tries to defend the cliché while Dokja feels that he hit a nerve.
"If an author uses a cliché just because it caters to what people like, then I believe that the author should be ashamed to call themselves an author," Dokja continues as Sooyoung's eyes go wide. "Well…since we're not in a novel, it's not like an author who'd make this situation play out exists."
Sooyoung pauses before asking what Dokja would do if there really was an author who would make it play out this way, even asking Dokja what he would do if he was an author. Dokja states that as a reader, true to his name, he hasn't thought about it. Sooyoung states that writing clichés to satisfy an audience would definitely grow on Dokja over time, and that he wouldn't be any different.
This makes Dokja grin evilly as he turns to confront Sooyoung with wide eyes.
"What's gotten into you?" Dokja asks casually "You sure sound like an author. I'm not saying that clichés are bad; what I'm saying is that they should at least be written in a way that isn't plagiarism."
Kim Dokja sat awkwardly, glancing over at Han Sooyoung. "Um… sorry about the plagiarism thing."
This was even more awkward now, since he couldn't even tease her about it. No wonder she was so pissed all the time.
"It's fine, whatever," she huffed with a frown. "Hearing you apologize makes me want to throw up, so stop it."
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' agrees that apologies suck.]
That definitely was not what she meant, but whatever.
"You really were just talking circles around each other there, weren't you?" Jung Heewon sighed. "Makes sense since you didn't want anyone who didn't know about the novel to realize what you were saying."
Yeah, at least it had worked to lure her out, even if he had been proven wrong later.
Sooyoung freezes comically as soon as the word 'plagiarism' was spoken, repeating it shakily. Dokja just reaffirms what he said with extra emphasis. Clearly ticked off, Sooyoung says that many stories are similar with differences in the details, and that wouldn't be considered plagiarism. Dokja smiles and cheerfully says that he would write it differently. When Sooyoung asks how, Dokja's hand begins drawing his sword from its sheath.
"For example," Dokja says before slicing off Sooyoung's head in a single slash. "The mastermind will be revealed at one point anyway, so why bother hiding it pathetically?"
People scream as Sooyoung's 2nd severed head falls to the floor. After a moment, the bodiless head turns to look at him and laughs, "How interesting, Kim Dokja."
"That was a good strike," Yoo Joonghyuk said, and Kim Dokja felt his heart skip a beat even as Han Sooyoung scowled at the both of them. It felt really nice to get that kind of compliment, especially because the protagonist usually just griped about how his posture was wrong, or how he sucked at holding a sword.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is clasping her hands eagerly.]
"I can't believe I got decapitated twice," Han Sooyoung groaned. "You're both assholes."
Kim Dokja just grinned in return while Yoo Joonghyuk looked at her with some degree of suspicion. Clearly, he didn't trust her whatsoever, but he seemed to be tolerating her, for whatever reason.
"You didn't die, so what's the problem?"
Her scowl deepened. "You're fucking up my memories—oh who am I kidding, you won't give a damn anyway. Forget it."
What was that about her memories…? What did that have to do with anything? Well, if she didn't want to elaborate right now, that was fine. Kim Dokja had better things to worry about, after all.
Like that knowing look Lee Jihye was shooting him.
Goddammit.