[several constellations are looking forward to a fight.]
Kim Dokja wanted to sigh in exasperation. He appreciated the other man's attempt at a last stand so he could escape, but he honestly wasn't sure it would amount to much. His stats were just so pitiful that he wouldn't stand a chance.
A notification declares that Michio has forfeited his own rights to being a 'disaster' right as he gets kicked hard in the chest and flies back a bit from the force. Dokja looks towards the tied members of his group and nods subtly, which they return seriously as he mentally remarks that Michio has given him some time. Still, Dokja only has 16 minutes before his time is up.
Dokja addresses the man in the oni mask once more, asking why they're making an enemy of Dokja's group since the scenario wasn't meant for the countries to fight one another. The man scoffs and asks if Dokja is asking out of ignorance, citing that their companions started it by attacking them first.
Dokja asks the group if that's true, and Hyunsung states that they did fight to protect the locals. When Dokja informs the man that they didn't attack first, the man scoffs again and tells Dokja not to put on an act. According to him, a man and a woman from their side attacked first. Dokja's eyes widen in realization as he suddenly has a terrible realization.
"And he's down for the count already," Jung Heewon deadpanned. "What was the point of that?"
Honestly, Kim Dokja didn't know either.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is laughing at the misfortune of the incarnation 'michio shoji'.]
"Be careful ahjussi, your time is running out," Shin Yoosung said worriedly as she glanced up at him.
Sixteen minutes, huh? That wouldn't be much time, but if he had to make it work, then Kim Dokja would do the best he could.
When Kim Dokja asked why they were trying to attack, Lee Hyunsung nodded along. "Are they mad that we turned small, and that's why they're attacking anyone from our group now?"
That didn't seem quite right… if that were the case, they'd probably have just killed everyone instead of holding them hostage.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is narrowing his eyes suspiciously.]
Wait, they were attacked first!?
"I wouldn't have done that, Dokja-ssi!" Lee Hyunsung exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock and horror.
Kim Dokja shook his head. "It's not you I'm worried about."
Why would he be worrying about Lee Hyunsung, the man who had specifically hoped that they would get to work together with the foreign incarnations to clear the scenario? No, there was absolutely no chance for it to be him.
However…
Kim Dokja glanced over at Yoo Joonghyuk for a moment.
He really wouldn't put it past the protagonist to have gotten pissed off for some reason and attacked in what might have seemed like an unprovoked assault. Apparently it was a man and a woman, and Yoo Joonghyuk had entered the scenario with Lee Seolhwa.
"Joonghyuk-ah, you wouldn't…"
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at him sharply, a frown of displeasure on his lips. He was looking at Kim Dokja like he was an idiot, and while that shouldn't have been attractive in any way, somehow it was. For some reason, that look of disdain looked so right on his face. Kim Dokja found himself swallowing and glancing away when the regressor didn't even deign to answer.
"Nevermind then."
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is snickering at the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
"Wait a moment," Yoo Sangah muttered, glancing around the room. "I'm certain Dokja-ssi would have warned us not to act too hostile to the other incarnations, and Joonghyuk-ssi is already aware of it from his past lives."
Well, yes. He wouldn't have left something that important out of his pre-scenario pep talk. What was she getting at? Everyone should have known that—
Wait, no.
Almost simultaneously, all the adults turned to look at Han Sooyoung.
Not everyone.
A man and a woman?
The image of Sooyoung and Pildu arguing from the screen in the Underworld snaps to his mind as he guesses it could have been them. Funny enough, their eyes have been covered by black bars, which makes it look like footage that's been censored to protect a criminal's identity.
Back in the present, Michio closes his arms around his tiny naked body, thankfully shaded so nothing private can be seen, as some of the Japanese incarnations loom over him. In the background, Dokja asks what the two people looked like, but doesn't get an answer from the annoyed man.
Dokja activates [Bookmark] and uses [Way of the Wind] in order to blow everyone, including his allies, around. As a result, he's able to skillfully catch the small people who were blown into the air. He places Gilyoung into his pocket with Yoosung and holds the old lady while telling the others to hold onto his shoulders. As Dokja picks up Michio from the ground, who very conveniently has a blue handkerchief tied around his waist all of a sudden, the two children squabble over who gets the pocket.
Lee Jihye snickered and looked over at Han Sooyoung with a teasing grin. "Ahjumma really decided to cause problems and leave ahjussi to clean up the mess, huh?"
Han Sooyoung, for her part, sputtered and glared right back. "What the fuck!?"
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is scoffing at the words of the incarnation 'lee jihye'.]
"Right, we can't even get in contact with either of you," Kim Dokja sighed, burying his face in his hands. Who knew how much trouble the two of them had caused before the rest of the Korean contingent had even arrived?
[the constellation 'defense master' is urging the incarnation 'kim dokja' to find his incarnation immediately.]
Hey, he had more important priorities right now, thanks. Like not dying.
"Oh, he's small now too," Yoo Mia observed as soon as the tiny Michio Shoji appeared on the screen. Kim Dokja sighed again, knowing that this guy wouldn't be any more help.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is praising the incarnation 'kim dokja' for rescuing the hostages.]
Everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief upon seeing that Kim Dokja had saved them.
"You can act freely now," Yoo Joonghyuk said firmly, narrowing his eyes once again. "Don't waste your time fighting."
"Wasn't planning on it," Kim Dokja muttered in return. He wasn't a sunfish who would choose fight over flight most of the time, damn it!
Lee Gilyoung, however, pouted. "Hyung, did you really have to put me in the same pocket as her?"
"Yeah, that was my pocket!" Shin Yoosung whined with large, teary eyes. "Couldn't he have gone in another one?"
Kim Dokja sighed and patted their heads. "I only have so many pockets, you know."
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is reminding the incarnations 'shin yoosung' and 'lee gilyoung' to share.]
Though both kids pouted and glared at each other, they at least grumbled under their breaths and relented.
[a constellation who likes children is glad for the censorship of the incarnation 'michio shoji'.]
Kim Dokja stared at the screen for a moment. Where had that handkerchief come from all of a sudden? Was this another situation like Myung Ilsang's pants?
As Dokja rushes away, Michio starts to say that Dokja could have left him behind after waking up, leading to Dokja telling him to shut up. As he runs, the first penalty for fighting fellow 'disasters' hits him, causing his stat levels to drop and for him to shrink slightly. As he continues to run, he notices how the coat has shrunk along with him, and is not surprised due to it being SSS-Grade.
Dokja gets a donation of 2,000 coins from foreign constellations who wish to see a fight, which Dokja isn't too pleased about since they're currently being chased by a horde of Japanese incarnations. He takes the time to side-eye Jihye on his shoulder and ask her how they were defeated so easily. She glumly responds that there wasn't an ocean or river nearby. Switching his gaze to Hyunsung, he doesn't ask anything, guessing that he got the penalty for protecting the little people since it's so obvious that he would do such a thing.
"Insects should be treated with care. No insect should have to die pointlessly." Gilyoung declares. Yoosung states that the little people aren't insects, and he shoots back that they're no different from them since anything small enough can be considered an insect. As they argue about this, Dokja deadpans as he realizes how it ended up this way and worries for Gilyoung's future, fearing that he'll become a psychopath.
Lee Seolhwa's eyes widened, and then she shook her head in exasperation. "He's trying to protest getting rescued as well? There's no need to be so selfless."
"I agree," Yoo Sangah said with a small smile that she shot in Kim Dokja's direction. "Dokja-ssi truly is a good person. You didn't have to save Michio Shoji-ssi, but you did anyway."
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is pleased by the good deed of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Kim Dokja almost wanted to laugh. He wasn't doing it because he was 'good'; he was doing it because he still needed the man to lead him to the serpent. Nothing more, nothing less.
Still, there were more important issues at hand, like narrowing his eyes and clicking his tongue as he also began to shrink. At least his coat was shrinking with him, which meant that—unlike everyone else—he wouldn't end up completely naked when he eventually ended up tiny.
When Lee Jihye heard her own explanation for why they had been defeated, she let out a long-suffering groan before turning to look at Yoo Joonghyuk pitifully. "Master, I promise I tried my best… please don't be disappointed in me."
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is consoling his incarnation.]
"It's fine," Yoo Joonghyuk responded. She began to brighten back up, but he wasn't finished talking. "We will be working on your skills separate from your stigma to prevent this from happening again."
Lee Jihye's shoulders drooped for a moment, but she took a deep breath and glared at the screen with a determined gaze. "Alright. I'm going to train ten times harder than ahjussi!"
Hey, don't go dragging him into this!
Jung Heewon snickered and elbowed Lee Hyunsung teasingly. "I love that he doesn't even need to ask why you're tiny. Of course you'd protect them."
Lee Hyunsung's face went beet red, and he looked incredibly flustered as he smiled and stared down at his lap. "Ah, is that so?"
[the constellation 'master of steel' approves of protecting the weak.]
As for the kids… Kim Dokja shot a concerned glance down at Lee Gilyoung, who was adamantly nodding along with his future self's words. He genuinely didn't know what he could even say. Comparing people to insects…? That was both absolutely wild and worrisome on so many accounts.
[the eyes of a constellation who likes grasshoppers are gleaming at the words of the incarnation 'lee gilyoung'.]
The Japanese incarnations chasing them yell out that Dokja is headed to where their esteemed Overlord is located, catching his attention.
In the original third regression that followed the novel, the 'Overlord' wasn't the leader of the Japanese forces. However, looking back at the situation, it seems that the original leader Izumi has been spirited away, and the 'Overlord' proceeded to seize control of the main Japanese forces…
As Dokja narrates, a long coiling red snake slithers across the screen while a figure shrouded in shadows stands back to back with Izumi.
Using the chat box, Hyunsung apologises for being penalized so early. Dokja tells him that he did well and that saving lives was worth it. Hyunsung changes the topic and asks if the leader of the people chasing them is the 'serpent' that Dokja is searching for, which Dokja thinks is likely the case.
In many of Yoo Joonghyuk's early regressions, the serpent's incarnation was the Overlord.
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes narrowed further as he looked at the screen in concern, likely recalling this scenario in his previous lives. Of course, the 'Overlord' had been a threat then, too, but Yoo Joonghyuk had either avoided him or bulldozed right over him in most of his regressions.
"Honestly, I think the bigger worry is where Izumi went…" Lee Hyunsung admitted, and Kim Dokja had to agree. Something was weird about Japan in this regression, and he had no idea why that would be the case.
[a few constellations are curious about the whereabouts of the incarnation 'izumi hiroshi'.]
"Wait, you think that the serpent is this overlord guy?" Yoo Mia asked, looking over at Kim Dokja curiously.
"That's right," Kim Dokja confirmed, thankful that his future self was also on the same page. "There were a few situations where another incarnation's sponsor might be different between regressions, but most of the time it was consistent."
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is smiling mysteriously.]
At the very least, Lee Hyunsung seemed like a happy dog upon being told that he had made the right decision. It was good that someone was having a relatively good time right now, after all.
Dokja guesses that he's likely the 'incarnation of the serpent', unless there has been a major deviation. As Gilyoung encourages him to hurry, Dokja gets annoyed about obtaining not only a penalty, but also the debuff from the [Phantom Encampment]. Prisoner 406, the only one of the shrunken crew to still have her original outfit, asks Dokja if she's too heavy. Dokja replies that it's heavy, causing her to chuckle and smile serenely up at him.
The old lady's body weight is still the same, after all. The lynchpin of our entire plan is this old lady, Prisoner 406.
Noticing something, Dokja stops in his tracks as he approaches a man sitting on a stump. With the view focusing on the man's black and gold armband, he states that the forest sure seems noisy today. As he pulls a small bone out of his disgusting mouth, his face is revealed. One of his eyes is clearly blinded and bearing a large scar, and he seems to be middle-aged. Asking what the ruckus is, the man lets the blood drip from his hand into a golden cage on his lap, full of small skeletons. As he looks at them, he realizes that Dokja is Korean.
"Wait, are you going to try and fight that guy right now, even with the penalties?" Han Sooyoung asked in a baffled tone. "Are you fucking stupid?"
Kim Dokja shot her a sideways glance. "Do I have a choice?"
She rolled her eyes. "You could always go find the protagonist bastard and bat your fucking eyelashes at him or some other shit, I don't know."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is shrieking at the idea.]
[a few constellations are interested in the idea of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Yeah, no, not happening. Kim Dokja didn't want to die.
"Hyung?" Lee Gilyoung asked, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. Kim Dokja leaned in a bit closer to see what he wanted.
"Why does the granny have small clothes when none of us do?"
Oh. Kim Dokja's eyes widened as he looked at the screen. She did.
From behind them, she chuckled. "I see what your plan is now, Dokja-yah."
While the others just looked confused by her words, Kim Dokja's mind was whirling.
Wait, the old lady was heavy, and she had her original clothes… fuck, why didn't he realize that before? Of course she would figure that out, damn it. Kim Dokja clenched his hands into fists, feeling extremely conflicted. He'd had to ask her for two favours, hadn't he?
[several constellations are wondering about the plan.]
"Oh shit," Jung Heewon cursed as soon as Kim Dokja approached the strange and unnerving man. "I do not like that guy."
Lee Seolhwa paled upon seeing the bone in his mouth, and then gasped in horror when the cage full of skeletons was revealed. "Oh god."
Fuck. Kim Dokja did not like the look of that, and he instinctively held the kids closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the muscle on Yoo Joonghyuk's neck standing out even more prominently from how tense his jaw was. The protagonist had gone so far as to pull Yoo Mia into his lap for the moment, carefully holding onto her as though she were actually in danger.
His sister, naturally, had no qualms with this at all and curled further into his hold. It made sense—Kim Dokja was sure that very few places could feel safer than within the protection of the protagonist's arms.
[the constellations of the absolute good alignment are aghast.]
[the fur of the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is standing on end.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is cackling.]
As Dokja guesses that this man is the 'Overlord', Michio calls out for Asuka from his hand upon seeing that she has survived. Inside the cage surrounded by bones, the redheaded woman slowly calls out Michio's name before rushing to the bars and asking how he got there, shock and worry visible in her expression.
Dokja closes his eyes and gathers his thoughts, thinking this is a nice two for one deal where he can hunt the 'serpent' and save Asuka at the same time. Behind him, his pursuers have all stopped and are now observing the situation. Opening his eyes, Dokja activates [Character List]
[Name: Yamamoto Hajime
Age: 64
Constellation Sponsor: A Million-Year-Old Creature with a Hundred Legs
Personal Attribute: Cold-Blooded Strategist (Heroic), Corpse Devourer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Veteran of a Hundred Wars lvl. 7, Advanced Weapons Mastery lvl. 4, Japanese Kendo lvl. 8, Focus of Mind lvl. 3, Crowd Control lvl. 4….
Stigma: Phantom Encampment lvl. 7, Aura Focus lvl. 5
Overall Stats: Stamina lvl. 60 (+10), Strength lvl. 60 (+10), Agility lvl. 60 (+10), Mana lvl. 60 (+10)
Overall Evaluation: This is the boss who leads one of the main groups of incarnations in Japan, Yamamoto Hajime. He can cast 'Phantom Encampment', a powerful debuff against all human opponents. In order to not become a sworn enemy of the Yōkai, it is recommended to avoid any confrontation with him.]
Dokja's eyes waver in shock as he stares at the profile in front of him.
…Eh?
Kim Dokja's eyes widened instantly at the sound of Michio Shoji's voice. Asuka?
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is praying for the safety of the incarnation 'asuka ren'.]
"Shit, he's got her in a cage?" Han Sooyoung snarled, and Jung Heewon looked downright furious as well.
Hell, if that man were here, Kim Dokja had no doubts that his head would have already been rolling on the floor.
Yoo Sangah bit her lip, but nodded along with Kim Dokja's thoughts. It was true—being able to get rid of the serpent before the full penalty set in, along with rescuing Asuka Ren, would be the ideal situation.
And then the Overlord's profile appeared, and Kim Dokja instantly looked confused. No, that couldn't be right…
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is surprised by the current events.]
"Corpse devourer!?" Shin Yoosung yelped, going as white as a sheet of paper. "He ate people!?"
Unfortunately, that was probably what that bone had been earlier. It was sickening to even think about.
[some constellations are curious about the taste.]
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is deeply offended by the incarnation 'yamamoto hajime'.]
"Don't worry," Kim Dokja said quietly, "I won't let him hurt you."
He just hoped that his voice wasn't wavering.
On the [Character Summary], the name of the man's Constellation Sponsor is highlighted.
What the hell is going on? This guy's sponsor…
Dokja wonders if there's something wrong with this regression, and as he does so, Yamamoto speaks again, stating that Dokja isn't ordinary since he is able to withstand the [Phantom Encampment]. An image of a painted serpent, its jaws wide open as it prepares to strike, appears behind Yamamoto and adds to his intimidating image.
Unfazed, Dokja narrows his eyes in anger. "Where is the 'Serpent'?"
This guy isn't the incarnation of the 'Serpent'.
"But snakes don't have legs," Lee Jihye muttered in confusion when the screen highlighted the Overlord's sponsor. "What is up with that modifier?"
Fuck.
"That's because his sponsor isn't the serpent," Kim Dokja said in a horrified tone.
Yoo Sangah's expression fell as her eyes widened in shock. "He isn't the one you're looking for either?"
All Kim Dokja could do was shake his head and grit his teeth.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is giggling in amusement.]
"You should flee, now that you know he's not your target," Yoo Joonghyuk told him firmly, shooting him a look that might have been one of concern.
He could, technically. Kim Dokja only had so many minutes left before he was also left relatively helpless, but… he looked at the screen and eyed the cage.
"I need to rescue Asuka Ren first," he replied firmly. "She'll be crucial to this scenario."
[many constellations are wondering about the abilities of the incarnation 'asuka ren'.]
Yamamoto looks surprised as Dokja continues, stating that he isn't the 'Serpent'.
'A Million-Year-Old Creature with a Hundred Legs'... While the name is an imposing mouthful, all it really means…
The serpentine creature behind Yamamoto changes, many legs appearing from the elongated body as its scales become an exoskeleton. Dokja stands firm as the image of the creature surrounds him, looking as though it's slowly closing in around him in the form of a trap.
"You're a 'centipede'."
…Is that it's a 'Million-Year-old Centipede'.
"A hundred legs," Lee Gilyoung said before completely brightening and looking at Kim Dokja with excitement in his eyes. "Hyung, is it a bug!?"
Thankfully, the screen chose to answer that question in his stead, displaying a gigantic creature with many wriggling legs.
[several constellations are disgusted.]
Lee Gilyoung let out a laugh of pure joy, even as others in the group looked incredibly unnerved. "I was right! He's a centipede!"
Yoo Mia, in particular, looked sickened by it, and Shin Yoosung wasn't far behind. Both of them were staring at the boy with extreme judgement, and Kim Dokja honestly couldn't fault them for it either.
[many constellations are excited to see what will happen next.]