Shin Yoosung looked sad as she watched the events on the screen, but despite that, she seemed relieved. Maybe it was because this other version of her had been somewhat redeemed at the very end, or she was just happy to see the fight was over. Whatever the case, Kim Dokja was glad that the girl was feeling better compared to earlier.
[some constellations are sad that the fight is over.]
「... So this is how I'm going to die.」
When he hears 41st Yoosung's exhausted thoughts, [The Fourth Wall] begins shaking and Dokja grits his teeth. He knows that a 'Beast Lord' wouldn't normally die from a wound like that, but this method of beating her was only possible due to her being changed to 'Evil'. As he takes a few steps closer to her and Heewon, a pop-up states that [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] level 2 will be activated indefinitely due to increased immersion.
"I'm glad that I got to see this round. Hearing Captain's voice again made me happy," 41st Yoosung tells Dokja, a slight smile on her face that has finally returned to normal. 「It hurts, to just crumble away like this.」
"Now I can die with no regrets. Perhaps, this regression really will go differently." As she speaks, her true feelings are unknowingly betrayed by her thoughts.
「I don't want to die…」
"She sounds so tired…" Lee Seolhwa muttered regretfully, frowning as she looked at the exhausted woman on the screen. Though she was much older and much more traumatized than the child sitting next to him, Kim Dokja couldn't help but feel that Shin Yoosung truly hadn't changed that much after all. In the end, she was a girl who was thrust into a situation far beyond her.
Lee Hyunsung's eyes widened in surprise. "Dokja-ssi, you're saying that if she hadn't been forced into being 'evil', then even Heewon-ssi might not have been enough to defeat her?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Kim Dokja confirmed. "However, since she is 'evil', Uriel's stigma will keep burning until every last bit of evil has been eradicated."
"Damn, thank you Uriel," Jung Heewon whistled, surprised by just how powerful that stigma truly was.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' says that she is happy to help.]
"Huh, so that skill of yours can be on constantly?" Han Sooyoung muttered, raising a brow. "Weird that it's linked to 'immersion', however that works."
It was strange, but it made sense at the same time. Kim Dokja knew the feeling of becoming immersed in a story, and it was one that had protected and comforted him for a long time. It was the feeling of the real world falling away, leaving him surrounded by the fictional worlds on the pages. It was those moments when everything else would cease to exist, including himself. There, he could watch the story play out in the theatre of his mind, following the characters and hearing their thoughts. Sometimes when he was younger, it had felt so vivid that he had longed to reach out and press his small hands against the thin barrier of a page, pretending that he could reach through it and touch the worlds of the books he loved and escaped into.
Regardless of how it worked here, Kim Dokja was grateful for it. Shin Yoosung's thoughts, no matter how sad, deserved to be heard. All her pain, her suffering, and her frustration would live on in his mind.
Lee Jihye's lip trembled as she wiped away tears with her sleeve, trying to brush it off and pretend she wasn't affected. "Her thoughts are so sad, even though she's pretending to be okay…"
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is feeling sorry for the 'disaster of floods'.]
In the end, even she was someone who still wanted to live. She didn't deserve to die like that—as a pawn in the hands of the Star Stream—and then get tossed aside when she was no longer useful.
She then looks up at the collection of dokkaebi floating above them, snarking that it should be fine to extend the soap opera since she's dying anyways and it won't ruin the scenario quality. The intermediate dokkaebi just looks down at them, dumbfounded and clearly not expecting this outcome, as the constellations debate about letting her have her moment to have a dramatic rant.
Suddenly, Joonghyuk steps forward while holding his injured side and asks if she's leaving with a slightly forlorn look in his eyes. As Dokja looks back at him, 41st Yoosung smiles sadly while saying that she guesses so. Being the insensitive man that he is, Joonghyuk bluntly states that she didn't hate him enough, catching Dokja off guard as he mentally laments that Joonghyuk is acting like a total prick.
Joonghyuk tells 41st Yoosung that he has a question, but she just stares at the man who would become her Captain someday. Once more, her thoughts flow into Dokja's head.
「There's something I've always longed to hear from you. I wish you'd say it, even if it's just this once.」
"Yeah!" Shin Yoosung declared, looking passionate even as she struggled to keep her composure. "Please just let her talk…"
"That dokkaebi is so annoying," Lee Gilyoung said with a scowl. "If he doesn't let her say stuff, then I'll make sure Titano gets him before he dies."
Well that was slightly morbid, but Kim Dokja couldn't bring himself to care. That dokkaebi was a total asshole.
[many constellations believe that the 'disaster of floods' should be allowed to have some dramatic last words.]
[a few constellations think sad scenarios are boring.]
Oh fuck off. Kim Dokja didn't give a shit about what they thought.
Then, Kim Dokja almost facepalmed at Yoo Joonghyuk's extremely blunt declaration. For fuck's sake, why was he like that? She was dying, goddammit, why did he have to go spouting that nonsense about her not having enough hatred?
What, was he trying to cosplay It█chi or something?
"Oppa, you could have been a bit nicer there," Yoo Mia muttered as she tugged on Yoo Joonghyuk's coat. Yeah, Joonghyuk-ah, listen to your sister. Seriously, how did a literal child have more common sense than a 28-year-old man?
Yoo Joonghyuk sighed. "She doesn't expect niceties from me."
Who (other than his sister) would? Kim Dokja sure didn't—hell, any time the protagonist had been anything less than outright hostile had sent shivers down his spine and left him baffled. It certainly wasn't expected at all. Still, even if she didn't expect it, that didn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is curious to know what the 'disaster of floods' wants to hear.]
Kim Dokja was curious too. Was she hoping for an apology? Or was she hoping for any expression of care, no matter how small?
Not betraying her thoughts whatsoever, she asks him what he wants to know. When Joonghyuk just asks for the identity of the demon who helped her cross the worldlines, she smiles nostalgically as her thoughts and words match, remarking that he's never changed—not even at the end.
「That was the kind of person I admired.」
When Joonghyuk urges her to tell him, 41st Yoosung asks if he has heard of the 'Demon of the Horizon'. As the others come over to join them, she warns Joonghyuk not to fight him head on since he's died countless times trying to defeat the demon, and that he'll never be able to defeat it no matter how hard he tries.
「For so long, for such a long time…」
"You want to know who sent her here?" Yoo Sangah wondered, looking confused when he nodded and didn't elaborate further. It made sense that they were left wondering about his motives, but they didn't know the protagonist the way Kim Dokja did.
No matter how harsh he seemed on the surface, Yoo Joonghyuk truly did care. Though he couldn't change the past or her fate, he could make the choice to hunt down the being that had caused her so much suffering. This was Yoo Joonghyuk's way of apologizing, and promising to be better, even if it was never once put into words.
Han Sooyoung squinted at the screen. "What's worth admiring?"
Seriously? Had they not been watching the same thing?
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' begrudgingly admits that the fashion sense of the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' is cool.]
"Traitor," Han Sooyoung mumbled as she shot a glare at the indirect message.
Fashion sense aside (which, Kim Dokja agreed, was very cool), Yoo Joonghyuk had so many other admirable qualities! Honestly, Kim Dokja could write an entire essay on them—complete with examples and citations—but that would probably be overkill and also completely inappropriate for the current circumstances. Still, there was a reason he had stuck around for the entire novel, and Yoo Joonghyuk was responsible for most of it.
"The Demon of the Horizon…" Kim Dokja muttered, immediately putting the pieces together. "No wonder she's warning you against it. They're not the kind of creatures anyone would want to fight."
[several constellations express their distaste for the 'demons of the horizon'.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' agrees with the assessment of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Dokja starts to call out Joonghyuk's name, but he suddenly notices 41st Yoosung looking up at him with a serene smile on her face. Inside her own mind, she's so earnest in her honesty, and Dokja realizes that she doesn't want him to reveal anything.
"I will remember," Joonghyuk says like a promise, but his thoughts are filled with a profound sadness as they speak loudly in Dokja's head. 「I will avenge you.」
「Goodbye, Captain.」
「You did well.」
「I'll leave the rest to you.」
「Be at peace.」
As the two's thoughts seem to resonate—carrying an unspoken conversation—the rest of the world seems to melt away, leaving only the two of them. As they look at each other sadly, 41st Yoosung slowly continues to disintegrate as Joonghyuk's eyes and emotions are hidden by the shadows of his bangs. Dokja's eyes grow watery as he watches on in silence, already knowing the truth.
Even without any spoken words… they already understood.
"She didn't want Master to know that she really admired him?" Lee Jihye exclaimed in surprise, still seeming somewhat teary. "But why!?"
Yoo Sangah sighed and shook her head. "I think that Joonghyuk-ssi understands anyway, and she knows that. It didn't need to be said."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is extremely saddened by the current events.]
The sheer grief that came through in Yoo Joonghyuk's thoughts carved a harsh contrast with his blunt words from earlier, and the protagonist actually seemed a bit unsettled that it was so obvious. He looked away from the screen, his ears reddening slightly, but Kim Dokja could clearly see the determination shining in his eyes.
"Thank you," Shin Yoosung muttered under her breath before looking at Yoo Joonghyuk. "You'd better have ahjussi help, though."
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't say anything, but he nodded. It was hard to focus on the two of them when Kim Dokja was distracted by the thoughts running through his future self's head, though. It was strange that they were on the same wavelength only at the end, but he couldn't help but be relieved that they could get some closure, even if they couldn't truly hear each other confirm it.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is silent.]
Yoosung comes up to stand beside Dokja, looking at the woman with tears visibly gathering in her eyes as she clutches the man's coat. Noticing Yoosung's approach, 41st Yoosung turns her head and smiles kindly at the girl. 「A lovely child… I'm envious.」
Gently removing Yoosung's hand from his coat, Dokja runs forward to kneel before the disintegrating woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. Wordlessly, he activates [Sentiments of the Beast King] and looks at her with a determined gaze as he conveys something to her in a way that only a fellow beast would understand. 41st Yoosung's eyes widen and tears begin falling down her cheeks. 「...You're serious? Really? Why…」
The rest of her thoughts are cut off, no longer able to be heard as the last part of her body disappears into dust. Dokja clenches his fist and stands, looking at the particles in the wind that almost appear like snowflakes. Yoosung shakes as she asks if she's really dead, desperately asking if there's a way to change this.
"She's envious? Of me?" Shin Yoosung whispered, utterly baffled. Kim Dokja patted her head and brought her into a gentle hug.
"Of course she is, Yoosung-ah. Remember that, to her, seeing you is like looking back at herself from before she let hatred and anger overcome her."
This Shin Yoosung would hopefully get to grow up and experience a better world that the Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression never got to see. Honestly, seeing this only reinforced Kim Dokja's determination to see it all through. They would make it to the end of the scenarios and into a better world, no matter what that would take.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is looking sadly at the incarnation 'shin yoosung'.]
When Kim Dokja stepped forward and used the skill to speak to her one last time, everyone looked confused, including him. Just what was he saying?
Kim Dokja genuinely wasn't sure, but he could tell that it was something serious. Maybe he had also pledged himself to going after the Demon of the Horizon, or something equally difficult. There's no way she would have reacted that way otherwise.
"Well, I just hope those weren't sad tears," Jung Heewon said as the future Shin Yoosung scattered into dust. "Maybe whatever you said was one last comfort to her."
"I can only hope that's true," Kim Dokja admitted in a forlorn tone. Shin Yoosung didn't deserve this—neither of them did. He had no idea if they'd be able to save her this time around, but maybe he could still try. After seeing this, maybe some constellations would be more sympathetic to her plight.
Around them, Sangah cries and Hyunsung tries to console Gilyoung who has also started to tear up, but he runs over to Dokja and wipes his eyes on the jacket's sleeve. Trying to keep her cool demeanor, Jihye asks why everyone is crying since it will only make her sadder and start crying too. Joonghyuk, on the other hand, ignores everything and just watches the sky with determination.
High above them, Bihyung 'kindly' reminds the intermediate dokkaebi to end the scenario. The dokkaebi in question doesn't seem to hear him as his face contorts in rage at the drama before him. When he doesn't respond, Bihyung just states that he'll end it if the other dokkaebi won't.
As the breaking dawn of a new day illuminates the broken city and the destroyed river, the notifications announce the end of the scenario and the beginning of the reward settlement. All around the city of Seoul, incarnations finally relax, and others look on seriously. As the 'King of Wanderers' walks further into the city, Youngran appears to be looking in the direction of the island.
Lee Gilyoung's face reddened and he looked away. "Sorry, hyung."
Huh? What was he apologizing for? Oh wait, was it the jacket thing?
"I don't mind, Gilyoung-ah," Kim Dokja told him with a small laugh and a pat on his head. "Really, it's fine."
Lee Jihye sucked in a breath. "Ah, damn it, I hate that I start crying when other people do. That's so lame…"
[the constellation 'maritime war god' says that it is alright to cry if you need to.]
"Well, yeah, but I don't like the feeling!"
Kim Dokja hated it too. He hated having red and swollen eyes, and he hated the way his chest and throat would ache after. He hated the exhaustion and the dehydration, and he hated the feeling of weakness. Why couldn't he be more like Yoo Joonghyuk, who rarely cried?
"At least Bihyung is ensuring that the scenario ends," Lee Hyunsung said as he wiped away tears of his own. That was true, and they probably owed the dokkaebi just a bit of gratitude for that.
[some constellations are sad to see the end of the scenario.]
As beautiful as the sunrise was, Kim Dokja couldn't help but look down and try to swallow the lump in his throat when she appeared on the screen. Internally, he had to be glad that she hadn't been on the island to see what had happened because he didn't think he could handle watching himself run into her again right now.
He both appreciated and hated the way that everyone else tensed up the moment they realized that they were looking at her, though. The protectiveness was odd, and he wasn't used to it at all. It was a bit uncomfortable, if he was being honest—he couldn't bring himself to trust it fully, because if he did, what would he do if it eventually disappeared?
Yoosung looks enraged with tears gathering in her eyes as she looks up at the gathered dokkaebis in the sky above her. Gritting her teeth, she states that she's going to kill the dokkaebi herself. Dokja hurries to stop his murder child when something begins appearing in the sky ahead of them in a crackle of light and probability. Only a moment later, shadowed figures encased completely in brilliant silver armor arrive in Seoul, and all the dokkaebis in the air begin to look panicked as Dokja identifies these mysterious creatures as 'Dokkaebi Enforcers'.
Suddenly, the intermediate dokkaebi is bound by chains of words as he snarls, and he asks what they're doing in as polite a fashion as he can muster.
[Intermediate dokkaebi 'Paul'. Due to your violations of Star Stream regulations, you are now under immediate arrest.]
"Yoosung-ah, as much as I'd also love to rip the dokkaebi a new one, that's not going to be possible," Kim Dokja admitted with a sigh.
Shin Yoosung looked up at him innocently—too innocently, if you asked him. "But ahjussi, how do you know that it can't happen?"
"Because if it was possible, then Joonghyuk-ah would have done it in TWSA. No one hates the dokkaebis more than he does."
It was a damn shame that the protagonist had never been able to do that, because Kim Dokja knew that he would have cheered. He had never been fond of any dokkaebis throughout the novel, and they were the cause of much of Yoo Joonghyuk's suffering. It would have been cathartic if Yoo Joonghyuk had been able to kick their asses once or a hundred times.
[many constellations are shocked by the current events.]
Wait, those were—
"Are those part of the next scenario?" Lee Seolhwa asked worriedly. "We haven't had time to heal after that fight."
"No," Yoo Joonghyuk said firmly. "Those are the Bureau's enforcers."
Holy shit. Kim Dokja had never expected to see any of them, especially considering that a dokkaebi had to have fucked up really badly to get them called. Just what was going on?
Jung Heewon's eyes widened and she snapped her fingers as she had a realization. "Wait, are they like dokkaebi police, or something?"
That was pretty much it, yep.
"Wait, they're fucking arresting him," Han Sooyoung wheezed with a wide grin. "Oh, how the turn fucking tables."
[constellations who like literature are squinting at the phrase used by the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is wondering how a turn can table.]
"Sooyoung-ssi, I think you meant, 'how the tables have turned'?" Yoo Sangah asked, sounding extremely confused. Kim Dokja wanted to sigh and hang his head. Did Han Sooyoung really have to say ridiculous things like that all the time?
"No I didn't," Han Sooyoung said while she just looked even more smug. "I meant exactly what I said."
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' insists that the incarnation 'han sooyoung' is correct.]
He didn't have a fucking clue what she was talking about, did he?
Yoo Mia just scoffed. "It doesn't matter that ahjumma is talking nonsense—the stupid dokkaebi got arrested!"
"Yeah!" Lee Gilyoung cheered. "I hope he rots in jail for a million years."
Did dokkaebis even have jail…?
"A thousand million years," Shin Yoosung added with a snarl. While that probably wasn't even a number—what did he know, though, Kim Dokja wasn't going to bother doing the math—she was very justified in her hatred so he gave her a pass.
"Wait a minute," Lee Jihye said as she burst out laughing, "his name is Paul!?"
Jung Heewon couldn't restrain herself either and let out a loud guffaw. "I can't believe that's real. Paul, seriously?"
Kim Dokja was honestly baffled too. All the other dokkaebis had complicated names, and this one was just… Paul. Why was that funnier than it deserved to be?
Lee Gilyoung puffed out his chest, and then declared as loudly as he could, "Fuck Paul!"
Gilyoung-ah!? Who the fuck had taught him to swear!?
[many constellations are flabbergasted.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is laughing uproariously.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is gasping in shock.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is narrowing his eyes in the direction of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
The Secretive Plotter was probably right—when in doubt, blame it on Han Sooyoung. The woman in question just smirked and half-heartedly shrugged her shoulders. "Oops?"
Yeah. 'Oops.'