[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is reminding the incarnations to be careful.]
Kim Dokja exhaled shakily, hoping that they'd make it in time. Even with Asuka Ren on their side, that wouldn't mean much if they couldn't escape the forest before night fell completely, or if Kim Dokja got miniaturized and then caught by their pursuers.
"C'mon hyung…" Lee Gilyoung muttered as he stared at the screen intently. "You can do it!"
Well, he was certainly trying.
With 30 seconds left on the clock, some of the Japanese incarnations emerge from the brush and throw shuriken at the fleeing incarnations once more. Dokja rushes forward, dodging the projectiles and maneuvering around the living forest to the best of his ability as his timer finally ticks down to zero. Finally gaining the third penalty, [Miniaturization], Dokja mentally curses before he tells everyone to get away from him. At the last second, he places those in his hands down before rapidly shrinking in a crackle of probability. Dokja pants from the pain as Yoosung checks on him, thanking the fact that the coat shrunk as well. He then looks up and calls out Asuka's name.
She looks mildly concerned, asking how he knows her name. Dokja explains that Michio talked about her, and asks her to lead his party to Veronica Castle. She looks surprised and asks how he knows about the locations in Peace Land, but Dokja tells her that he has no time to explain and that he has to stop their pursuers.
"Holy shit, 30 seconds?" Han Sooyoung breathed, looking far more stressed than she had earlier. "You're not gonna make it."
Fuck, she was right. Kim Dokja bit his tongue and tried to keep himself from reacting too much in order to avoid alarming the kids who were looking increasingly nervous.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is fretting over the safety of the incarnations.]
[a few constellations think that the incarnations are cute when they are small.]
Kim Dokja winced when his timer ran out and he began shrinking too. At the very least, he had made sure everyone was off of him when he started taking the penalty. Also, he had to sigh in relief when his clothes shrank along with him—he had been unfortunately exposed enough already, thank you very much.
"What are you going to do now?" Jung Heewon asked worriedly, frowning as she did. Though she had volunteered to stay back, it did seem like she was regretting that decision.
Kim Dokja looked down as he tried to figure out his most likely next move. Now that he had also been miniaturized, they wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of outrunning the Japanese incarnations. To make matters worse, their skills wouldn't be anywhere near as effective, and their stats had been decreased as well.
Although… Kim Dokja glanced down at the kids for a moment. Now that might work.
"I think we're going to have to hitch a ride," he said, smiling at them. "Tamers are still tamers, even if they're small."
The two kids perked up instantly.
"Maybe we can all ride on a wolf like a bus!" Shin Yoosung exclaimed eagerly. "I can probably call one, ahjussi!"
Lee Gilyoung scowled at her. "No, it makes more sense to find bugs that fly!"
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' insists that fighting would be more cool.]
Yeah, not happening.
Yoo Sangah's eyes widened when Kim Dokja instructed Asuka Ren to lead them away. "Right, she's the only one who can navigate. Is this 'Veronica Castle' a safe place?"
"Safe enough for now, so it'll have to do," Kim Dokja replied. It was at least somewhere they could stop and regroup.
"Um, maybe this is a stupid question," Jung Heewon said after a moment, "but you're the only one in the group with a translation skill because Sangah-ssi isn't there. How is Asuka Ren-ssi going to tell everyone how to get to the castle?"
Kim Dokja was silent for a moment as everyone except for the kids looked at him in exasperation.
Uh… okay, so maybe there was another slight miscalculation there, but he had faith that it would be fine in the end.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is astounded by the foolishness of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is surprised by the decision of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
"Why are you not going too, you fool?" Yoo Joonghyuk hissed, looking rather upset about that idea. Kim Dokja just held up his hands placatingly and glanced away, trying to avoid the death glare currently trained on him.
"Joonghyuk-ah, someone has to buy the rest enough time to escape, so…"
Yoo Joonghyuk only looked angrier at that. "And who said that it had to be you?"
Uh…
"Me?" Kim Dokja replied weakly. "Trust me on this, okay? I'll be fine. I definitely have a plan."
Though Yoo Joonghyuk didn't look even remotely convinced, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back with one final glare.
Hyunsung tries to argue that they can't just leave him, but Dokja tells him that they have to go in order to survive—he has his own way to escape if he's alone. As he finishes his sentence, the man with the oni mask steps over a root and points his now enormous looking blade at them. In a threatening voice, the man states that he'll trample them like bugs. At that statement, Gilyoung looks ready to fight and Dokja grimaces, noting how the height difference really makes the most trivial of adversaries seem like monsters.
With a call of Gilyoung's name, the boy summons a variety of bugs which can fly, allowing the team to climb onto their back. As Dokja tells them that he'll see them later, the insects start flying away and Yoosung calls out for him to hold on. Suddenly, a dagger comes stabbing down towards Dokja, only giving him an instant to get out of the way. With the force of the debris from where it pierces the ground, Dokja braces himself and determines that even a graze from the blade will result in death.
"I really don't like this plan, Dokja-ssi…" Lee Hyunsung admitted, glancing between Kim Dokja—who was still awkwardly looking away from the protagonist—and Yoo Joonghyuk—who still looked like he was being forced to eat something that had been burnt.
Lee Jihye nodded vehemently. "I agree with Hyunsung-oppa; this is probably a stupid plan, ahjussi."
Seriously?
"You can't do stupid stuff anymore without my oppa around to save you in case it goes wrong," Yoo Mia scolded him all of a sudden, and Kim Dokja felt awkwardly chastised by her words. Still, his track record wasn't that bad, was it?
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is emphatically declaring that the incarnation 'yoo mia' is correct.]
As their enemy came up behind them, Kim Dokja narrowed his eyes and focused back on the screen. Then, the Japanese incarnation declared that he'd squash them like bugs, and Kim Dokja had to immediately wrap an arm around Lee Gilyoung's waist to keep the child from angrily lunging at the screen.
"Gilyoung-ah, you can't fight him here or in the future," Kim Dokja reminded him, but that didn't make his glaring abate whatsoever.
At the very least, he seemed to relax slightly only after he saw that he was right about their ride of choice, and instead turned towards Shin Yoosung to gloat.
"See? Bugs are super cool! You can even fly!"
"So what? They're not cute at all!" she protested. Still, despite their bickering, they seemed anxious due to the situation happening in front of them, especially when Shin Yoosung yelled at Kim Dokja while she was getting flown away.
[several constellations gasp in surprise.]
"That was close," Lee Seolhwa muttered in horror when Kim Dokja just barely dodged a vicious stab. "Please pay attention, Dokja-ssi."
Okay, maybe he let his guard down just a little bit there, but that didn't mean that he deserved most people looking at him with varying degrees of disappointment on their faces.
The oni masked man tells the others to chase those who flew away, stating that he'll take care of Dokja. Dokja swiftly activates [Shikigami] again despite his exhaustion, not letting them go after his friends. Sparkles gather around Dokja as he gains a blessing from 'Onmyoji of Paradoxes'.
[Your consideration in caring for your companions is truly commendable.] Dokja realizes that the constellation is speaking with his true voice, and Dokja asks Seimei to continue to help him. [I have something to request of you.]
Dokja pauses.
What is with this ominous feeling again…
[For the sake of the incarnations of Japan… kill the 'Serpent'.]
Dokja's eyes widen as he looks at the ghostly image of the Onmyoji before his expression turns blank as he prepares to scam yet another constellation. Even though Dokja already has to kill the serpent anyway, he states that it's not a fair trade for him and asks Seimei to replenish his mana in exchange for accepting this request. Instantly, his mana is somewhat recovered, and Dokja feels bad for a moment that the constellation is incurring great losses in order to interfere on behalf of an incarnation that has nothing to do with him.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is concerned about the incarnations who are pursuing the rest of the group.]
"Shit," Jung Heewon hissed as Kim Dokja strained to keep them all immobilized to the best of his ability. "You're not going to be able to hold them."
That was true. Fuck, that was true, and Kim Dokja genuinely didn't know what this plan of his was, despite his claims otherwise.
Thankfully, his shoulders relaxed a bit when the constellation spoke to him, and requested for his assistance. Of course, Kim Dokja had no idea what Seimei would request, but he could hope that it wouldn't be anything too far out there.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is surprised.]
"Wait," Lee Hyunsung said in confusion, "that constellation also wants you to kill the serpent?"
Huh. Well, that was convenient.
"Ah shit, you get a two-for-one deal? That's not fair, dammit," Han Sooyoung griped, but even Kim Dokja was aware enough to notice that she looked relieved.
Yoo Sangah looked amused, hiding her smile behind a hand, when Kim Dokja extorted the constellation for a bit of mana replenishment. "You really find a way to take advantage of every situation, don't you, Dokja-ssi?"
"It's a talent," Kim Dokja replied matter-of-factly, and he pretended not to see Yoo Joonghyuk sighing in exasperation out of the corner of his eye.
Dokja states that it makes no sense for Japan to have fallen this much when they have Izumi as King. Seimei seems to lament that Izumi was an exceptional incarnation. In response, Dokja asks why they let the 'Serpent' run rampant and become the 'King of Disasters', stating that Izumi's sponsor should have been the 'Snake Cutter'.
I originally intended to complete my 'Serpent Hunting' mission with the help of Izumi.
Anxious, Dokja thinks about his three current plans and how they're falling apart—Izumi is missing, Boksoon has used up her powers, and the
Sounding confused, Seimei responds that the 'Snake Cutter' isn't Izumi's sponsor, catching Dokja off guard. Unfortunately, probability doesn't allow for Seimei to state who his sponsor actually is.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is curious about what happened to the incarnation 'izumi hiroki'.]
"Why is that constellation talking like he's dead?" Yoo Mia wondered anxiously. "He's not, right?"
Well, they had no way of being certain, but it wasn't a good sign that Seimei was talking about him like that.
"It's unlikely that he's dead, but he might be in trouble," Lee Seolhwa said, recalling what Kim Dokja had mentioned before.
Exactly, but still… how long had he been out of commission for the serpent to sweep in and take over?
[many constellations are eager to know more about the plan of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is praising the incarnation 'kim dokja' for his resourcefulness.]
"Wait… serpent… Snake Cutter…" Lee Jihye muttered, looking like her brain was about to overheat if she thought about it too much harder than she already was. "You wanted to do more stage transformation stuff, right ahjussi?"
Kim Dokja nodded, wincing as his plan A (and B, and C) were brought up on the screen and subsequently destroyed. One great plan and two passable backup plans, gone in an instant.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is sighing and shaking his head.]
Hey, he couldn't help circumstances out of his control.
Then, Kim Dokja froze after Seimei declared that Izumi's sponsor wasn't 'Snake Cutter'. No, that couldn't be right—
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is gasping in surprise.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is tearing out his hair in excitement.]
"What…?" Kim Dokja whispered, his eyes going wide in horror. "His sponsor is different in this round?"
Fuck, that wasn't good. In that case, he might not even be able to get the items he needed.
This was a disaster already, and Kim Dokja felt like he was spiraling even though it technically wasn't his plans going down the drain. Maybe his future self could salvage this somehow, but the fact that Seimei couldn't even tell him who Izumi's actual sponsor was this time around was a bad sign.
He had a sinking feeling about this, and he hoped to every god that existed that he would be proven wrong.
In the 30 seconds left of the
Huh?
The whirring of machine guns disturb the forest as turrets materialize all around Dokja. A message pops up, stating that Pildu has activated his [Armed Fortress] and Dokja gets a notification that he has trespassed onto a [Private Property]. From a knot in the tree, Pildu's frowning face can be made out through the darkness.
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes narrowed even further. "You had no plan."
…
Kim Dokja looked away even more awkwardly, realizing that the protagonist was likely correct, and the fact that what he just said was definitely a statement and not a question-disguised-as-a-statement made it all the more terrifying. Fuck, had he really sent everyone else off while not having a plan past 'immobilize them and run like hell'?
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is disappointed in the lie of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Lee Hyunsung buried his face in his hands. "We shouldn't have left… Dokja-ssi, we could have fought together…"
"No, I wanted to make sure you were all safe," Kim Dokja said, carefully avoiding looking at Yoo Joonghyuk as he did. The man clearly wasn't pleased that he was getting ignored, but the last thing Kim Dokja wanted was for Lee Hyunsung to beat himself up over this.
Han Sooyoung groaned as she watched Kim Dokja back up against the tree. "And now you're backing yourself into a corner. Good going, asshole."
Thank you, he was trying.
Absolute worst case, he still had [King of no Killing], so everything would be fine.
[the constellation 'defense master' is jumping up from his seat in exhilaration.]
[many constellations are baffled by the current events.]
"No way," Jung Heewon gasped as the turrets materialized around Kim Dokja. "You just got rescued by Gong Pildu!?"
Well fuck, it seemed like it. Kim Dokja's jaw dropped, and he absently thought that maybe he should try to be a bit nicer to the guy after they got back.
Yoo Sangah sighed in relief. "I'm so glad he's alright."
"And I never thought I'd be so happy to see a balding head in my life!" Lee Jihye cheered, and Kim Dokja was suddenly very glad that the man himself wasn't in the room with them. There's no way he'd just let a comment like that go.
[the constellation 'defense master' is incredibly proud of his incarnation.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is very excited for a bloodbath.]