"What's so funny, ahjussi?" Yoo Mia demanded, scrunching up her nose as she scowled at him.
All Kim Dokja could do was let out another peal of laughter, and the mere fact that everyone was looking extra confused just made it funnier.
"You'll see," he managed to wheeze, and for a moment, he thought he saw Yoo Joonghyuk roll his eyes. That was so weird, but he seemed to be somewhat amused regardless, and that was honestly not something Kim Dokja was expecting either.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' thinks that the incarnation 'kim dokja' is going insane.]
"Maybe he's finally lost it," Han Sooyoung muttered. "I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, to be honest."
Hey!
At least everyone else seemed to be a bit more relaxed, even though they were confused. In particular, Yoo Sangah's expression softened, and she looked relieved that he was enjoying himself. That was probably a good thing, and Kim Dokja found himself relieved as well that the tension from before had completely evaporated.
Still, he refused to look back at her to see what she was feeling. He didn't care, and he didn't want to know—not when he had just started feeling better.
'All these people are so tiny!" Yoosung exclaims as she points to the charging army with utter shock. Dokja nonchalantly states that this must be what the people of this world are like. Yoosung slowly backs away from the 'rapidly' approaching army on their tiny horses and mutters that she'd feel bad for hurting them due to their size.
As the scenario details refresh, they hear the screams of the soldiers as they announce that more disasters have appeared on a different side of the battlefield. The soldier's well-ordered ranks devolve into chaos as they frantically call for a retreat. Glancing over, Dokja sees two foreign incarnations arrive as they begin stomping on the tiny people and swinging at them with an axe.
To the sound of the tiny soldiers' agonizing screams, Dokja pulls Yoosung behind a tree and kneels while covering her mouth, positioned over her protectively. The two incarnations who were wreaking havoc let out a snort as one of them calls the scenario a joke.
[many constellations are flabbergasted.]
"Huh!?" Lee Jihye exclaimed as she whipped around to look at Kim Dokja. "Wait, was I onto something with the Att█ck on Tit█n thing!? I was, wasn't I?"
Wiping away the tear from his eye from laughing too hard, Kim Dokja nodded in amusement. "More accurate than you'd think."
She looked absolutely stunned for a moment, in a way that was somewhat reminiscent of the cat transcendence meme, then a bright grin spread across her face. "So that means I'm a genius now, right?"
Uh… no, it just meant that she made a lucky guess.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is scratching his head in confusion.]
"They're so small…" Yoo Sangah muttered, covering her mouth with her hand.
Suddenly, Lee Hyunsung frowned. "Two more disasters…? I don't like the sound of that…"
Kim Dokja's smile instantly dropped off his face, finally reminded of the reality of this scenario. It was brutal and horrific, no matter which side you were on, and it was a true test of an incarnation's morality.
[several constellations are thrilled by the bloody scene.]
"Oh my god," Lee Seolhwa gasped in horror, going pale at the sight of the tiny people getting absolutely annihilated by the two incarnations. "This is sickening."
Shin Yoosung trembled and Kim Dokja held onto her a bit tighter. She looked just as horrified as her on-screen counterpart, and the poor girl was clearly struggling with what she was seeing. Kim Dokja truly wished she wouldn't have to, but this was the world they lived in now. Scenes like this would only get more common, and he didn't know if it would be better or worse for her to get as desensitized to violence as Lee Gilyoung.
A third individual approaches them and tells them not to kill the residents of this world without thinking, asking them to remember what Izumi told them. The man is thin and wears half-rimmed glasses, brown cargo pants, and what appears to be a white t-shirt under an unbuttoned dress shirt. He has a blue band on his arm, and he's carrying what is likely a katana. The larger of the two incarnations—named Amano—huffs and tells the man, Michio, not to go on about Izumi as they lost contact with him and the first group long ago.
Michio gulps and looks down as the two tell him not to get hung up on morals and remember what the scenario details tell them. Behind the tree, Yoosung asks Dokja what the scenario really is, and what they have to do. After hearing this, Dokja looks down at her with an unreadable expression.
This was the reason Yoo Joonghyuk didn't choose to take Shin Yoosung along. In truth, I had known about this from the start.
Dokja muses that Joonghyuk is probably more humane than he is as he explains, "Earth isn't the only place where the Star Stream carries out scenarios. This scenario involves the residents of the other worlds too."
"At least this guy seems to have some sense," Jung Heewon sighed, though she still sounded tense. "I don't think they're going to listen to him, though."
Yeah… this guy—Michio, apparently—didn't seem to be overly confident, and he was very clearly standing against them. It was interesting to note that Izumi had instructed them not to kill the people of Peace Land, but evidently, no one was listening.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is watching the current events with curiosity.]
As soon as the incarnations admitted that they lost contact with the first group, Yoo Joonghyuk's brows immediately furrowed. He looked concerned, and Kim Dokja had to bite the inside of his cheek as well. The fact that they had lost contact entirely wasn't good, and he had no idea why that would be the case.
Izumi couldn't have been killed—of that, Kim Dokja was at least certain. There was only one person in all of Peace Land who could kill the master of an Absolute Throne, and he was too restricted by the scenario's probability limitations to be able to interfere. Something else had to have happened.
"They have the updated scenario?" Lee Gilyoung wondered, frowning. "I don't like them, hyung."
Kim Dokja nodded, and he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath when he heard his own thoughts about Yoo Joonghyuk's choice.
"So you knew," Yoo Joonghyuk muttered, frowning a bit deeper.
How could he not? In the regressions where she had accompanied him, he had tried to leave Shin Yoosung behind with Yoo Mia as much as possible. Maybe it made Kim Dokja a bad person for exposing her to this, but she hadn't chosen to stay behind when she had the opportunity. Shin Yoosung could have decided to stay with Yoo Sangah, and let Jung Heewon go in her stead, but she had chosen to come along.
"It's fine, ahjussi," she said quietly, making him glance over at her. "Don't worry about me."
This kid… she was determined, wasn't she?
[constellations who like children are saddened by the current events.]
As Dokja finishes explaining, the revised window appears, telling them to complete a genocide against the dominant species of 'Peace Land' within 40 days. As the Japanese incarnations start their carnage once more, Yoosung covers her mouth as she is unable to look away, her eyes wide in horror. Limbs and blood fly through the air, making arcs through the sky before landing on the ground of the one-sided battlefield.
In the sixth scenario, we are no longer tasked with stopping disasters. Here, we've become…
A bloody soldier crashes into the ground near Dokja's hand. Blood quickly pools beneath him as he struggles to hold his head up and speak, pleading for mercy from the almighty disaster. To the tiny people of Peace Land, these giants are both gods and disasters, something to be both feared and revered all at once. Everything goes silent and the battlefield behind becomes blurry as the man shakily lifts his hand, placing it onto Dokja's finger. As he does so, he seems to be filled with a strange joy—like he has touched a god and received salvation.
…the disasters that have to wipe out this world.
[many constellations are curious about the world of 'peace land'.]
"It's so strange to think that this scenario involves other worlds, but the portal makes more sense now," Yoo Sangah admitted, looking somewhat anxious. Then, the scenario details appeared on the screen, and she gasped in horror.
Jung Heewon nearly growled at the screen. "What the fuck is that kind of scenario?"
Yoo Mia grabbed tightly onto her brother's sleeve, looking pale. "That's horrible. This is horrible."
It was, but this was what they were required to do.
She turned to Yoo Joonghyuk desperately, clinging to him. "Oppa, you can't! There has to be something you can do, right?"
He stayed silent, and Yoo Mia's lip wobbled as she stared at him. "Please oppa…"
Yoo Joonghyuk sighed. "There is a way."
She brightened up, but Kim Dokja understood why Yoo Joonghyuk was hesitating to explain further. If even a single one of them didn't end up on that same path, then they would likely end up having to fight each other.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is concerned for the incarnation 'shin yoosung'.]
Lee Seolhwa clenched her hands tightly as she spoke quietly, "Dokja-ssi, this scenario…"
Ah, so she had recognized it for what it was.
"That's right," Kim Dokja admitted quietly, "this is their version of the fifth scenario, and now we're on the other side."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is furious at the injustice.]
"He's so small…" Lee Jihye muttered as she stared at the tiny soldier, sounding distant as she struggled to process what was happening. "Ahjussi, you have to save him, right?"
He couldn't. At least, not yet.
Probability shocks Dokja as he's reminded to fulfil his role as a disaster, and by the time he looks back down at the soldier, he's already passed on. He looks back up at the battlefield, away from the face of the deceased tiny person that looks identical to those of the humans they know from Earth. Yoosung quietly asks if this scenario was also set up by 'those guys'. Dokja looks in the direction she's facing and notices a small furry and clothed figure flying over the field.
The intermediate dokkaebi, 'Ganul'
A close up appears of the more feminine dokkaebi, who looks quite dashing in her blouse and slacks, as she calls the Japanese incarnations of the third batch quite hot-headed. She wishes them luck while Amano calls it a piece of cake. The red head—Maruyama—asks what he's going to do, and he states that he'll follow the Overlord. This catches Dokja's attention.
'Overlord'. It was the nickname for a certain powerful character in TWSA.
[a few constellations hope to see the incarnation 'kim dokja' follow the scenario.]
No way in hell. He had his plan, and he was going to follow it, even if it might take some careful maneuvering to accomplish.
"Fuck," Han Sooyoung cursed, clicking her tongue. "Those shitty fucking dokkaebi and their stupid-ass fucking scenarios…"
Kim Dokja couldn't even fault her for swearing so much; this scenario truly was twisted and awful.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is mourning the incarnations of the world of 'peace land'.]
All of a sudden, Shin Yoosung muffled a laugh, and Kim Dokja looked down at her in confusion.
"Yoosung-ah?"
She shook her head before trying to get her expression back under control. "It's okay, ahjussi. I just saw the girl dokkaebi and remembered the thing from earlier. About the eggs."
Oh, right, that. Now that Kim Dokja thought about it, Ganul was probably the only female dokkaebi he recalled seeing in TWSA…
Did the Star Stream Bureau just have a bunch of empty eggs sitting around until someone decided to create a new dokkaebi? Fuck, now he was overthinking this.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is surprised that those incarnations are in the third batch.]
Kim Dokja had to muffle another laugh. Was the Secretive Plotter implying that he was so unimpressed with them that he didn't expect them to be strong enough to be in even the third batch?
Still, Kim Dokja's eyes narrowed when he heard the title they were using. The Overlord…? That didn't sound right.
Dokja thinks that he should have a good grasp of Japan's situation, but is confused since the Overlord shouldn't be the strongest person in Japan. Michio speaks up again, reminding them of Japan's King, Izumi. Although he speaks firmly, he sweats nervously as he faces them.
The strongest incarnation in Japan, as well as the master of their Absolute Throne—Izumi Hiroki.
An image of the man from the videos shown in the plaza appears in front of a paper painted background covered in traditional Japanese patterns. He stands in a model-like pose, showing off his naginata, and his hair seems to flutter in an unseen breeze.
Dokja, still eavesdropping, wonders why the two would join another group when Izumi is still alive. Unfortunately, just as they're about to mention some information relating to Izumi, some constellations interrupt since they want to see ten little people trampled in a single step. Amano enthusiastically stops talking and dashes off to complete the request.
"Wait, so the Overlord isn't Izumi?" Jung Heewon asked, looking confused. "Here I would have thought that a 'King' would be egocentric enough to use a title like that…"
No, the 'Overlord' was someone else completely, and that wasn't a good sign. Why were things so different, and what had happened to Izumi?
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' thinks that the title of 'overlord' sounds cool.]
Of course he would.
Izumi appeared on the screen, and Kim Dokja nodded approvingly. Truly befitting Japan's strongest incarnation, but something was wrong.
He hadn't noticed it earlier, but why was Izumi using a naginata? Considering who his sponsor was, he should be using a sword to make the best use of the stigma he was given. Why would he give up that advantage to use a naginata, of all things?
"Okay, he looks kind of cool," Lee Gilyoung admitted before pausing for a second and allowing a sly grin to creep onto his face. "Definitely cooler than the sooty bastard."
Gilyoung-ah… that's just objectively not true.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is frowning deeply.]
"That's right…" Lee Seolhwa muttered, holding her hand to her chin as she thought. "The master of the Absolute Throne should have control over the incarnations of that nation, right? How are they able to disobey him?"
That was a good question, and it was one that Kim Dokja frighteningly didn't have an instant answer for. Something was weird with this scenario, and he didn't like it at all.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is annoyed at the constellations who interrupted.]
Michio calls out for him to stop since they've already killed more than enough, citing that neither Izumi nor Ren will overlook this. He runs in front of them, prompting Amano to tell him to move since he's annoying the constellations. In response, Michio draws his sword, standing in front of the soldiers protectively as they retreat. The two incarnations mock him, asking if he's really going to protect the ants.
Dokja's eyes widen as he watches Michio put himself at risk to save the little people, wondering who he is as he activates [Character List]. For the first time, a pop up informs him that there is very little significant information on him, and so his profile is automatically converted to a summary from the lack of information.
[Name: Michio Shoji
Constellation Sponsor: None (one constellation is currently interested in this incarnation.)
Personal Attribute: Coward with a sense of Justice (Rare)
Overall Stats: Stamina lvl. 25, Strength lvl. 24, Agility lvl. 31, Mana lvl. 23
Overall Evaluation: the average stat level of this character is so pathetic, that even the fact that he survived until now feels unlikely.]
Lee Hyunsung looked like a confused puppy as he tilted his head to the side. "We know who Izumi is, but… who's Ren?"
Ren…
Kim Dokja's eyes widened. Wait, that had to be her, right? It was good to have confirmation that she was already in the scenario, and he knew that he'd have to make sure he found her at some point. After all, in Peace Land, Asuka Ren would be an invaluable ally.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is praising the incarnation 'michio' for his bravery.]
Kim Dokja's gaze softened somewhat. "He has guts, that's for sure."
Standing up to incarnations from your own country, especially while stuck in a scenario like this, was incredibly risky. Considering the penalty he was toeing the line of getting, Kim Dokja wouldn't be shocked if he couldn't do much more than physically put himself in between them and the tiny residents of this world.
"Well damn, he doesn't have a sponsor either?" Han Sooyoung whistled. "How the fuck did he survive this long?"
[a few constellations ponder the question of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
"Wow, he really is pathetic," Lee Jihye observed bluntly. Though Kim Dokja didn't particularly want to agree… yeah. It was exceptionally surprising that he was even selected to take part in this scenario in the first place, all things considered. Japan wasn't that desperate for participants, were they?
Dokja narrows in on his attribute, realizing that it's related to justice—similar to Hyunsung's—but he just pities the man for the rest of it with a deadpan expression, calling his survival a miracle. He looks back out to the field where Michio is shaking as he stands facing the other two, who just remind him that neither Ren nor Izumi are around to save him. Michio doesn't speak, instead he just grits his teeth and narrows his eyes behind his glasses.
Yoosung gasps and calls out to Dokja about something happening to Michio. Before their eyes, probability strikes him, causing his grip on his sword to loosen and his eyes to widen dramatically as his expression goes blank. It's like all his motivation has been sucked out of him in a single instant.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is glad to see that the incarnation 'michio shoji' is just.]
"Like mine?" Lee Hyunsung asked, pointing at himself with wide eyes.
Jung Heewon grinned and slapped Lee Hyunsung on the shoulder, maybe a bit harder than necessary. "Hey, that just means he's probably a great guy like you!"
He brightened up instantly, flushing and looking genuinely happy at the compliment. "I hope that we can work with him in the future, then!"
That would be nice, but… Kim Dokja narrowed his eyes, and he could tell that Yoo Joonghyuk was also paying far more attention than before.
The way that they worded that statement… it was suspicious. On the surface, it would seem like the two Japanese incarnations were just saying that Ren and Izumi weren't in the area to help him, but something about that felt wrong. Their tones were a bit too mocking, a bit too smug.
"Izumi isn't dead," Yoo Joonghyuk stated with confidence. "They wouldn't be able to overpower him if they tried."
Kim Dokja frowned further. Izumi might not be dead, but that didn't mean that nothing had happened somehow.
[several constellations nod in agreement with the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
"Wait, what's happening to him?" Yoo Sangah asked nervously upon seeing him freeze out of nowhere.
Lee Gilyoung tapped his fingers on his thigh in an anxious rhythm as he stared at the screen. "It's not because of his [Coward] attribute, right?"
No, that wouldn't cause this kind of reaction. Kim Dokja clenched his jaw, coming to a realization that he really didn't like. It was that simple…?
Michio Shoji was already being hit by the scenario penalty, just for interfering. That wasn't a good sign at all.