[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is roaring in excitement.]
That was all well and good, but Kim Dokja was a bit too preoccupied to care all that much about what the dragon thought. While he didn't particularly care for every single person in Paradise on an individual level, that didn't mean that he necessarily wanted them all to get slaughtered either.
With any luck, now that Yoo Joonghyuk was there, everything would turn out just fine.
A hazy image appears from the first regression, in which Reinheit proposes that Joonghyuk joins him in protecting Paradise together. It soon fades only for the air to fill with the giggles of children as Reinheit walks among a crowd of happy people, his hair braided and full of small flowers. However, the beauty doesn't last as the screams of the people running from the monsters drown out the atmosphere, shattering the image of the past to show the current appearance of Reinheit in his monstrous plant form.
As the vines rush out, grabbing soldiers and citizens alike, Reinheit notices that one of the men grabbed is the guard captain. In a deranged voice, Reinheit says that the captain has perfect timing since he needs nutrients. The vines begin to extract the stories from everyone they grabbed, turning the people as dry as mummies or into monsters. Suddenly, Heewon's sword alights with a holy blaze as she slices and burns the vines constricting the people nearby. Calling out to Reinheit, she asks why he's doing this when he's supposed to protect this place.
Yoo Mia perked up as soon as she saw her brother on the screen, gazing up at him curiously. "Oppa, is that from the first time you met him?"
The protagonist was silent for a moment—almost wistful, even—as he looked at that hazy memory. "... it is."
Seeing Reinheit like that, genuinely happy and not a complete maniac, might have touched someone else. Kim Dokja, however, couldn't bring himself to be overly affected. Yes, the demon had good intentions, but that didn't erase the fact that he was damning others for his own goals.
[a few constellations are looking at the current events mournfully.]
However, the peaceful scene was shattered as the vines grabbed whoever they could, extracting their stories and turning them into nothing more than fuel. It was horrific to watch, and it wasn't hard to notice that Lee Seolhwa looked almost pained.
"All these people who trusted him…" she sighed, looking down. "He's been backed into enough of a corner that he has to do whatever it takes to survive."
That was true, but it was more than just his own survival that he was aiming for. With enough nutrients, he could rebuild his Paradise. This was a scenario that he had deemed to be impossible, and so long as it remained un-cleared, more incarnations would arrive eventually.
"Burn it, unnie!" Shin Yoosung whispered nervously, carefully watching as Jung Heewon tore through every vine she could reach. With a holy blaze on her sword, she was definitely doing a decent amount of damage to him, even if he seemed like he wasn't reacting.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is cheering on her incarnation.]
Calmly, Reinheit states that was what he was doing before their group appeared and, as he overlooks the monsters killing the people he once protected, he states that Paradise has already fallen. Sighing at the people who still cling to his former image, he mutters that this is why people living off small stories can't be helped. "Since they've lived their whole lives depending on a small tree… they wouldn't be able to comprehend that the tree was a forest all along. And so, I have no choice but to restart everything."
As he speaks, the screen cuts between showing the party fighting off the vines, protecting the people, and the fruits bursting open in bloody messes to spawn new monstrosities. The moment he states his final line, a mass of vines burst forth, encircling the entire city as though to absorb it whole and stabbing into the people of Paradise.
The fable of the Demon Marquis Reinheit—the paradise maintained by devouring souls, 'Perpetual Motion'.
The vines that stab into the people pulse as they draw nutrients from their bodies until only a husk is left. Smiling, Reinheit's face cracks open to reveal another beneath it. Like an insect molting, his new body emerges from the shell of the old. While his new face looks more like his human guise, his entire body beyond his torso is now made up of writhing vines. Looking almost drunk off the gathered energy, he whispers out how nice it feels in what would be a seductive scene if it wasn't for the fact he's a literal genocidal plant monster.
"Just because you were protecting the majority doesn't mean that you weren't betraying your own vow, asshole," Han Sooyoung scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Reinheit. It was a complicated moral dilemma at its core—in his own mind, even the sacrifices were for the sake of protecting this place and the people who lived within it.
However, at this point, there was no going back. Paradise would never return to its former self, and everyone knew it.
Jung Heewon's eyes narrowed at Reinheit's words. "Restart? Like hell we're letting you get away with that!"
"Exactly," Yoo Sangah agreed with a nod. "I can't understand why he would decide to try again with the same concept if he already knows how flawed it is."
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is also wondering about the same thing.]
It was because he couldn't see any other options. After 800 years in this place, he had given up on ever moving forward, and he had refused to try and find an actual solution to the problems that would keep getting worse the longer they were ignored. The dokkaebi could never allow somewhere like Paradise to survive forever—while slice of life was a decent genre, it was a delicate one that could very easily become too boring and repetitive to be interesting to the constellations.
Kim Dokja nearly cursed under his breath. "He's seriously trying to absorb all of Paradise at once?"
That couldn't work. Reinheit was overextending himself in an attempt to get ahead as quickly as possible, but Kim Dokja was certain that it would prove to be a fatal mistake. If it worked, then he'd increase in power extremely quickly, but if it didn't…
"Come on…" Lee Jihye muttered under her breath, "I know I don't have my boats, but I can totally cut through some vines, right?"
Yoo Joonghyuk glanced over at her for a moment, staying quiet, but sighed. "Not these ones. They're entirely reinforced and controlled by his mana."
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is shocked by the skills of the demon 'reinheit von djerba'.]
Suddenly, as he absorbed more and more energy, Reinheit seemed to shed his old shell and emerge as a new and improved version of himself. He seemed completely absorbed in the power he was essentially drinking after fusing himself with the Perpetual Motion, and it was pretty disturbing.
Lee Gilyoung didn't seem fazed at all, though, and he watched oddly intently. "He's molting like an insect!"
He was, but how was that relevant…?
Kim Dokja looked down at the kid in confusion before Lee Gilyoung looked oddly pensive. "Hyung, do you think I could do that someday?"
… What?
[many constellations are flabbergasted by the question of the incarnation 'lee gilyoung'.]
"Uh… why would you want to do that in the first place, Gilyoung-ah?" Kim Dokja asked weakly, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer.
The kid shrugged. "Well, I want to know how the bugs feel when they do it. It would be cool, and maybe I could get a power-up too."
"That's gross," Shin Yoosung spat with a glare. "Stop asking stupid questions."
Kim Dokja almost laughed, she sounded like a mini Yoo Joonghyuk there.
"It's not gross!" Lee Gilyoung protested.
"Super gross," Yoo Mia confirmed with a scoff.
Admittedly, Kim Dokja thought it was gross too, but he didn't dare to say anything considering how Lee Gilyoung was already looking pretty upset.
[several constellations are very confused.]
Instead, all he could do was pat the kid's head. "I don't know if there's an actual skill for that. Plus, that guy is a plant, not an insect."
Lee Gilyoung's expression fell into a pout. "Oh. Plants are stupid anyway."
Crisis averted…?
Her steps faltering, Heewon looks at the vines in horror while thinking that there's no way to win. Suddenly, a loud crash draws her attention as a section of cut vines fall onto the ruins of a building. Beyond the dust, a coated figure stands with his sword drawn, outlined by what can only be described as a protagonist aura.
Reinheit's gaze drifts over to the protagonist, calling Joonghyuk impressive as he's managed to surpass human capabilities—a statement that has a completely different meaning to a being such as himself. Though he admits that Dokja is impressive, Reinheit sounds almost in awe as he stares at Joonghyuk and remarks that he's the real monster. With his gloved hands glowing from the heat within, Joonghyuk looks at Reinheit seriously as he tightens his grip on his sword. "Reinheit, I took you under my wing in my first round, and I beat you in my last round. This time, I will kill you."
"Don't give up, Heewon-ssi," Lee Hyunsung told her eagerly and earnestly. "I'm sure we'll find a way to succeed."
She laughed slightly, shooting him a smile. "Yeah. Dokja-ssi has confidence that we'll win, so we have to prove him right."
Only a moment later, though, a section of the vines were utterly decimated at the hands of the protagonist himself. He was here to do his narrative-demanded job—that is, to sweep in and save the day when the situation seems dire. As he walked through the dust, his billowing coat and powerful figure were unmistakable, and Kim Dokja found his heart rate speeding up.
Even though he was still a bit upset with Yoo Joonghyuk for what he had pulled with the kids earlier, that didn't mean that Kim Dokja couldn't appreciate such a cool moment.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is scoffing at the dramatics.]
"Master is just that awesome!" Lee Jihye cheered excitedly as Reinheit was unable to ignore Yoo Joonghyuk any longer. Admittedly, Kim Dokja knew that Reinheit was truly aware of what it meant for someone to be a transcendent, even if no one else other than himself and Yoo Joonghyuk really understood how it worked.
In order to do something like that, he truly had to surpass his own human limits and keep increasing his strength in a way that was true to him. While Kim Dokja agreed that Yoo Joonghyuk was a real monster, he did take some offense to the implication that he was less impressive than the protagonist. He was a constellation, dammit!
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is curious about the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
"Ugh, why do you come out here and say that kind of shit so seriously?" Han Sooyoung groaned as Yoo Joonghyuk spouted a very protagonist-esque line. "If it was me writing this garbage, then your instinctive dialogue wouldn't have been so fucking cringy."
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyebrow twitched but he seemed to be doing all he could to simply ignore Han Sooyoung for as long as possible. Kim Dokja wanted to roll his eyes too—she didn't get to talk about cringy dialogue when hers was just as bad. He had read SSSSS-Grade Infinite Regressor, and it wasn't even that good.
[a few constellations are thinking that the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' sounds very cool.]
Two levels of strength from the
Dokja's voice narrates the items and buffs that Joonghyuk has as the screen pans over the protagonist, now radiating a terrifying golden aura. Then, a booming woman's voice takes over the narration.
"The first step of transcendence is to go beyond the limits of the flesh. The second step is to train all your skills to the limit. The final step is to kick away the ladder you climbed. Forget your skills, forget your levels, and forget the stories you've collected. What's important is that you find your own 'story'. These are the minimum conditions to achieve the seat of transcendence."
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is tearing out his hair in excitement.]
Holy shit, how had the protagonist already gathered all of those items? They weren't easy to get, especially in the limited time he wasn't with the rest of the group, so he must have figured out the most efficient route to get all the items he wanted in advance. Of course, the sword was probably a bonus since he hadn't been planning to get it in Peace Land.
"Are those all rare items, Joonghyuk-ssi?" Lee Seolhwa wondered, and the protagonist nodded once.
Kim Dokja thought for a moment before recalling the sub-scenarios they were hidden within, and he sighed. That couldn't have been easy, and yet Yoo Joonghyuk seemed like it hadn't been a challenge to him whatsoever. However, considering his transcendent status… it wasn't a surprise.
Sure enough, his power began manifesting and Yoo Joonghyuk began to literally glow—something that made his sister gasp in awe.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is very entertained by the current events.]
As an unknown woman took over the narration, Yoo Joonghyuk's breath hitched and that was all Kim Dokja needed to know to identify her, even before her words would do it. That was Yoo Joonghyuk's teacher, one of the most powerful transcendents in the entire Star Stream. She and Kyrgios were both so obscenely powerful that they put Yoo Joonghyuk to shame in most of his regressions—though he did reach their level in some of the later ones.
"The steps of transcendence… That sounds very challenging," Lee Hyunsung admitted, glancing over at Yoo Joonghyuk curiously.
"It is," Yoo Joonghyuk replied bluntly. "Most people will never achieve it."
Of course not—most people didn't even know there was more to be achieved in the first place, and even then, the majority wouldn't have the willpower to do something like that.
Yoo Sangah sighed as she listened. "Find your own story… I suppose it must be easier if you have accomplished this before."
At that, however, Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed. "No."
[the constellation 'defense master' is scratching his head in confusion.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is rolling his eyes.]
"The physical training is easier," Yoo Joonghyuk said a moment later, expertly ignoring the indirect messages, "but achieving transcendence is a different story."
Kim Dokja's eyes widened as he remembered something important—something that no other person in the entire world would ever have to worry about. "You can only achieve transcendence once using any particular method."
The 81st had transcended through cooking. The 41st had trained in the spear until he surpassed his own limits. Every regression where Yoo Joonghyuk had become a transcendent, he had been forced to find a new method.
"Well, fuck, that sounds like shit," Han Sooyoung admitted, and Kim Dokja had to agree. For once, being a regressor actually had a negative impact on his long-term development to an extent. Of course, since Yoo Joonghyuk was the protagonist, he always managed to find a way around it.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is shocked.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is laughing at the misfortune of the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
Kim Dokja had recalled something strange too—in one regression, Yoo Joonghyuk hadn't been able to think of a new way to achieve transcendence, so he had simply knocked himself out. Apparently that had worked, somehow, and he had figured out a way to succeed after waking up. Could he actually be so sunfishy that merely being unconscious was inspiring?
A silhouette of a woman appears in the background before a glorious image of Joonghyuk takes over. Bent down and leaning on his sword, Joonghyuk is shirtless, his sculpted body on full display. Sweat drips down his skin, perfectly outlining every groove of his six pack. Each laboured breath flexes all his muscles divinely as he ponders on his teacher's words. Transcendence is to train beyond the limits of one's skills to become a story, surpassing the limits of one's species. Though transcendents are not constellations, their power is comparable to that of a star's after reaching the peak of mortality.
As the silhouette of Yoo Joonghyuk's teacher appeared in the background, Kim Dokja's eyes widened as he tried to take in what few details he could. She was such a mysterious yet powerful figure in TWSA, there was no way that he was going to miss out on anything.
Not even a second later, all chances of focusing went out of the window. All Kim Dokja could see was a bare chest—sweaty and toned as it heaved with the exertion of every breath—and his mind went blank. What the hell was that!?
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is demanding that the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' put his shirt back on immediately.]
Kim Dokja blinked at the indirect message that suddenly popped up in front of his eyes. Wait, that was Yoo Joonghyuk? No, who was he kidding—of course that was. How had Kim Dokja not noticed immediately? TWSA didn't exactly have many shirtless scenes except for flashbacks to his training in the First Murim, but there was no one else who could have muscles carved by the gods like that.
He could tell that the constellations were utterly losing it, and he could vaguely hear the kids and Han Sooyoung gagging in the back of his mind, but Kim Dokja couldn't tear his eyes away. The protagonist's training had truly paid off—he looked like he could probably snap someone in half without even meaning to, and Kim Dokja had a feeling that Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn't even flinch if he was punched in the gut. Hell, those abs looked so toned and firm that he wouldn't even be surprised if that person would end up hurting their hand instead!
Lee Hyunsung was the one who was supposed to have muscles made of literal steel, and yet here the protagonist was, achieving it through sheer effort.
Honestly, the more Kim Dokja looked at the protagonist's bare torso, the more annoyed he got. How was it that even though Yoo Joonghyuk should have looked like a soaked cat, he looked more like a movie star? How did the lighting manage to accentuate every goddamn muscle like he was posing for a photoshoot? Just what kind of protagonist bullshit allowed his hair to stay perfect even in that situation, huh?
Kim Dokja was so annoyed and staring so intently in irritation that he didn't even notice anyone around him looking in his direction. Ugh, this was so unfair.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is unamused by the current situation.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is gleefully squealing in delight.]
"Dokja-ssi…?" Yoo Sangah said hesitantly, even as Han Sooyoung groaned loudly and Jung Heewon was barely hiding her laughter behind her hand.
"Yes?" Fuck, had she been trying to get his attention?
She smiled awkwardly. "Um, I just… wanted to make sure you were doing alright. You were very quiet for a while there."
Shit.
"It's nothing to worry about, unnie!" Lee Jihye declared confidently. "Ahjussi was just finally getting to admire his ideal body!"
Kim Dokja felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him intently.
"I wasn't admiring anything! I was just… jealous!"
Wait, no, that wasn't what he wanted to say—
"Jealous," Han Sooyoung said bluntly, looking at him with suspicion. "Is that what we're calling it now?"
No—
[a constellation who likes handsome men is eagerly paying attention to the current events.]
[many constellations are extremely entertained.]
But his tongue was already moving, spouting only half-formed thoughts in his panic. "It's not fair that only the sunfish bastard gets to look like that—"
Lee Hyunsung hesitantly put his hand up. "Um, Dokja-ssi, Joonghyuk-ssi isn't the only one…"
"—when my strength stat is almost as high as his!"
After getting cut off, Lee Hyunsung wilted. Jung Heewon patted him on the back, and that seemed to help somewhat as he smiled at her. Kim Dokja couldn't pay attention to that, though, because Yoo Joonghyuk looked almost disappointed in him as he scoffed. "Kim Dokja, it requires actually training your body."
He knew that, dammit!
"You can't have seriously looked like that before the scenarios!" Kim Dokja protested, gesturing to the protagonist's… well, everything.
Yoo Mia raised a brow. "But he did, though."
What the fuck!?
Staring at Yoo Joonghyuk in bafflement, Kim Dokja gave him a quick once-over. "You were a gamer! There's no way."
Yoo Joonghyuk's brow twitched. "Some of us went to the gym, you fool."
Double fuck—now all he could think about was Yoo Joonghyuk at the gym. Kim Dokja hated the very idea of working out if he wasn't being forced to by a superior in the military, but what the hell even was the protagonist's workout routine? Lifting weights? Running on a treadmill? Using one of those machines where he had to pull on a cable?
[constellations who like physical training are very interested in this conversation.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is losing her mind.]
Shit, if Yoo Joonghyuk sold his workout routine, that would be like hitting the jackpot. Ugh, this was so unfair…
Jung Heewon coughed extremely obviously. "You're staring again."
He was not!
Joonghyuk had already achieved transcendence in his previous round, so it wasn't difficult to achieve it again—all he needed was time and physical training. Suddenly, the scene is slashed apart by a sword wreathed in a golden aura as Joonghyuk cuts down another set of vines. His eyes glow a brilliant gold as he demonstrates a magnificent display of the [Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship], which seems to create a sonic boom as though a fighter jet had just gone by. To truly highlight the extent of Joonghyuk's damage, the scene zooms out to show a large section of the vines around the city being blown away as monsters get torn apart without even the chance to scream.
Reinheit's eyes widen as he makes an impressed noise, declaring that the rumors of transcendence weren't false while also questioning how someone who isn't a returnee could have achieved that. Joonghyuk knows how he did it—including the time he trained in the Dark Dimension in his last round, he has been honing his skills for over 100 years. Though his body can barely handle it, he controls himself with skill to maximize the time he can spend in the transcendent state.
As Kim Dokja huffed and very pointedly looked away from Yoo Joonghyuk, he found that it didn't matter anyway because the protagonist was still being badass on the screen. Dammit.
The kids tugged on his sleeves, pouting, and Kim Dokja patted their heads both to reassure them and to try and avoid making Han Sooyoung stare at him like he was a disappointment to his entire family line. Not that it wasn't true, but whatever.
It wasn't like he'd be able to forget it with her seething constantly in his direction.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is clapping his hands in delight.]
"That's a lot of dedication, Joonghyuk-ssi!" Lee Hyunsung exclaimed, clearly in awe of just how long the protagonist had spent training. It was admirable, but it was unfortunate that it had only made him more sunfishy in the long run.
Kim Dokja wasn't sure if Yoo Joonghyuk acknowledged Lee Hyunsung's words or not because Lee Jihye was cheering too loudly to hear anything over her anyway.
Even though he was using a skill, the skill usage message did not appear in his head because his power didn't come from the system. It was all the power that the regressor Yoo Joonghyuk had accumulated on his own.
Turning his head, the protagonist notices a group of monsters approaching and draws his second sword in a stunning ark, sending the pieces of the beasts flying through the air along with other rubble.
Chastising him, Sangah reminds Joonghyuk to be more careful as others are still around. Joonghyuk just ignores her—in the first place, he's better at destroying things than saving them. Instead, he tells her that defeating Reinheit will be hard because the demon holds a legendary-grade fable. To make matters worse, he's also stronger in Paradise, possibly exceeding the strength of a grade 2 monster.
Dodging the next wave of vines, Sangah—still carrying Mia while activating two of her stigmas—asks why the demon was hiding all the monsters in the first place. When Joonghyuk describes them as Paradise's exports, she just gets more confused.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is impressed by the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
Lee Seolhwa tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means that you learned this skill through training, and not by acquiring it through the shop or a scenario?"
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "Yes."
He had trained extremely hard for such skills, and if Kim Dokja had any talent, then he might have been able to accomplish something similar while training with Kyrgios. Unfortunately, he didn't have any, so using [Bookmark] had been his best option.
Like a human war machine, Yoo Joonghyuk wrought carnage on any monsters who dared to approach him, even as Yoo Sangah worriedly reminded him to be careful.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is saddened by the thoughts of the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
Kim Dokja's expression softened. Destroying and protecting weren't mutually exclusive; just because Yoo Joonghyuk was specialized more in the destruction side of things didn't mean that he was incapable of protecting that which he wanted to save.
Besides, he couldn't pull his punches now—not when facing Reinheit within Paradise where he was at his strongest. If the protagonist didn't fight with all the strength he had, then Reinheit very well might win.
[a few constellations are curious about the monsters.]
They were exports, shipped off to be the fodder for other scenarios. While there were many monsters they didn't recognize, there were some types that Kim Dokja could pick out immediately. The Star Stream truly was a disgusting place, and Kim Dokja didn't hesitate to pull the kids closer to comfort them.
Joonghyuk's eyes narrow as two dokkaebi appear near Reinheit, lamenting that they'll need a new farm. While Joonghyuk explains that Paradise is one of many sources of the monsters in the Star Stream, the demon pleads his case to the dokkaebi, claiming that he can recreate Paradise.
Looking up at the pleading demon, Joonghyuk calculates the efficiency of [Gigantification] to defeat him before deciding against it. If he uses that skill combined with his transcendence, all of Paradise will get blown away, and he doesn't like fighting so inefficiently. Instead, he turns to Heewon and Sangah, explaining that they need to get rid of his roots. However, Joonghyuk knows that there's something entangled in the roots that not even Reinheit can control.
Though he had originally gone looking for a certain demon on the second floor to help him take down Paradise and deal with the roots, he had arrived to find the demon already dead. Because of this, Joonghyuk knows that someone is hunting the rankers, and is strong enough to kill the demon in sixth place. At first he had suspected Dokja, but he can't be certain because of all the variables in this round.
Just as Heewon explains that they won't be able to get back underground, Joonghyuk speaks up once more as the image of two children desperately covering each other's mouths overtakes the screen.
"We won't go there, I've already entrusted the role to someone."
"Like fuck you will," Jung Heewon hissed, glaring intensely at the dokkaebi and then at Reinheit. "Take your bullshit and leave!"
As much as Kim Dokja wanted for that to happen, he knew it would be futile. Paradise wasn't the only farm to begin with, and there were always others who would inevitably be desperate enough to sign a deal with the devil just to ensure their own survival by dooming others. Though the methods may differ from farm to farm, Paradise was ironically one of the more humane ones.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is looking at the demon 'reinheit von djerba' with pity and disdain.]
Lee Jihye let out a gasp. "Seriously? You could blow the whole city away? That's so cool, Master!"
God that would be so awesome to see, but maybe Yoo Sangah's mini lecture about collateral damage had gotten through to him. Also it would be inefficient, no matter how cool it was. The risk was too high—if Reinheit somehow managed to dodge or avoid getting one-shotted, then Yoo Joonghyuk might be vulnerable to a counterattack.
"The roots…?" Shin Yoosung muttered, her eyes going wide. "Is that why…?"
Kim Dokja nodded. 'Something entangled in the roots'... yeah, that was one way to put it.
[constellations who like children are frowning at the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
"Leave it to me, ahjussi!" Shin Yoosung suddenly blurted out, looking more determined than ever.
Lee Gilyoung elbowed her with a scowl. "I'm there too! Don't worry hyung, I'll do it!"
"What's down there isn't something that either of you can tame alone," Kim Dokja told them seriously. "You might be the strongest tamers in Seoul, but you'll have to work together to stand a chance."
The two kids glanced at each other for a moment before nodding and looking at him seriously. At least that was sorted out, though Kim Dokja couldn't restrain an oof as they hugged him tightly around the waist, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is feeling endeared by the children.]
Kim Dokja let out a sigh when Yoo Joonghyuk suspected that he was going around and killing rankers, though. Chances were that it wasn't him who had done that one—the demon he was thinking about wasn't related to any of the hidden pieces that he and Han Sooyoung had been after. Still, that begged the question… just who was going around and doing something like that?
For a moment, he almost glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't be certain, of course, but maybe…?
No, he couldn't let himself think like that. Speculation didn't matter, not when the kids were about to have to try and leap the tallest and most difficult hurdle yet. Kim Dokja just hoped that they were prepared to face this challenge, especially since they were the only ones who could.