< Episode 26. The Scenario Destroyer (1) >
[You have obtained 200,000 coins as an achievement reward.]
[Rewards are currently being discussed, centered around the major contributors.]
After Izumi, the incarnation of Yamata no Orochi, was slain, the Japanese faction immediately surrendered. With the collapse of the [Absolute Throne], all the forces that had been restraining them were released, and members of the anti-Calamity faction who had been lying low began to emerge one after another.
"Thank you. So you are Kim Dokja."
I recognized his face. Just as I had gone looking for Asuka Ren, Yoo Joonghyuk had also sought out a representative from the Japanese side. I nodded in greeting.
"Kizuki Hiroshi."
"You know me?"
"You possessed the hidden scenario of the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi."
"Oh? So you heard it from Yoo Joonghyuk, I see."
Of course, I hadn't heard anything.
I simply knew because I had read the original story.
As far as I remembered, this man carried a later-generation backer related to the myth of Susanoo and Yamata no Orochi.
"To think you would actually kill the 'Eight-Headed Lord'… thanks to you, many things have been resolved. I will surely repay this debt."
Kizuki gathered the remaining Japanese players, led away the fallen Calamities, and disappeared.
The Japanese who had chosen the side of the Calamities had made clever use of the fact that even if the scenario failed, they would not die.
He couldn't compare to Izumi, the incarnation of Yamata no Orochi, but Kizuki was still a powerful and cunning incarnation. If it was him, he would be able to keep the incarnations under control for the time being even after returning to the Tokyo Dome.
[A Constellation born from the nostrils of sea and storm reveals its modifier.]
[Constellation, 'The One Who Slays the Serpent,' shows great favor toward you.]
The Constellation 'The One Who Slays the Serpent' was Susanoo, the original owner of the SSS-grade item Totsuka-no-Tsurugi.
I glanced at the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi I had returned to Yoo Joonghyuk.
Most of the blade was badly damaged.
According to legend, it had broken when it slew Yamata no Orochi, so it wasn't surprising.
The moment Yoo Joonghyuk shot me a glare as if asking what I was staring at, the party members who had fallen asleep after consuming the [Vital Essence of the Elain Forest] began to wake up one by one.
"Man, I really thought I was going to die this time."
Even after waking, Lee Jihye held her forehead and shook her head for quite a while.
That was probably from directly hearing Yamata no Orochi's true words.
"No, seriously, what was that? Just hearing a few words and I ended up like this…"
"It didn't even feel like this when my commanding officer made a surprise visit during my commissioned officer days…"
At the voice coming from behind, Lee Hyunsung's expression froze instantly.
"You look like you've been doing well, Lee Hyunsung."
"Y-Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi."
"I told you to follow my group. Why didn't you listen?"
"Th-That's…"
Lee Hyunsung trembled as he glanced toward me.
It was a look begging me to do something, but there was nothing I could possibly do.
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him for a moment, then turned his back and walked away.
"Mister."
When I looked down, Shin Yoosung was tugging on my collar. After gazing up at me like she was sulking, she suddenly buried her face into my stomach.
I gently patted her back.
"It was tough, right? You did well. You really held on."
I wanted to say something better, but that was all I could manage.
Shin Yoosung shook her head in my arms.
"Hyung, it wasn't that hard for me."
Lee Gilyoung suddenly shoved his way in and squeezed into my arms as well. Even though they bickered constantly, the two kids seemed to have grown quite close. Kids really do understand each other best. It felt worth leaving them together.
"You're very popular with children."
I turned to look at the speaker.
If I remembered right, his name was Guillemiam.
"There will be a royal banquet this evening. The inner castle is nearly destroyed, so it will be modest… but if you don't mind, we would like to invite all of you."
I looked up at the empty air.
[Time remaining until scenario end: 27 days]
[Due to the Calamity faction's intention to abandon the scenario, the Sixth Scenario is scheduled to end early.]
It seemed it would take some time because of the Calamities scattered throughout the area, but once Hiroshi finished sweeping through [Peace Land], the scenario would automatically end.
A banquet…
So, eating and drinking?
Ah—if that was the case…
"All right. I'll attend."
"You seem to really enjoy alcohol."
"Well… these days, it's hard to come by."
With Guillemiam's help, I brought out a large quantity of distilled liquor that remained in the royal storehouse. Alcohol in [Peace Land] had an extremely low alcohol content, so I needed a large volume to make what I wanted.
[Constellation, 'The One Who Slays the Serpent,' shows interest in your brewing method.]
I poured the liquor into a massive vat the size of a person, then tossed in all the ingredients I had on hand and began stirring.
[The Eighth Head of the 'Eight-Headed Lord']
[The Seventh Tail of the 'Eight-Headed Lord']
They were components obtained from subduing Yamata no Orochi. Since it wasn't the true body, they were more like fragments than proper parts—but they still contained the power of a Constellation of myth-grade.
Only one person realized what I was trying to do.
"You know about that 'Hidden Piece.'"
"Why do you think they call me a prophet? Hand over your sword."
Yoo Joonghyuk, already knowing what I was about to do, handed it over without resistance.
I tossed the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi I'd received from him into the liquor.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be done originally, but it was a workaround of sorts.
Kuuurrrrr—
The Totsuka-no-Tsurugi began to bubble as it dissolved into the alcohol.
[Two myths assign meaning to your actions.]
[The myths of the Constellation 'Eight-Headed Lord' and the Constellation 'The One Who Slays the Serpent' combine.]
[Due to an incorrect transmission, part of the myth is damaged.]
It was a bit of a shame that part of it was damaged, but it couldn't be helped.
[The myth, 'Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi,' manifests!]
According to legend, the [Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi] was the sword that emerged from the tail of the drunken Yamata no Orochi.
But it could also be obtained through a workaround.
All that mattered was that the sword got soaked in alcohol.
Lee Jihye asked suspiciously,
"Why would you drop a sword into such precious liquor?"
"Just wait."
A moment later, a mysterious aura spread from the entire vat. Then, a blade radiating pure white light rose through the blue surface of the alcohol.
[Divine Relic, 'Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword,' has appeared!]
Just as expected.
There wasn't a single thing wrong in Ways of Survival.
Yoo Joonghyuk immediately reached out.
"This is mine."
"Hey! We fought it together!"
"I killed it."
Normally I would've argued back, but this time, the look in Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes was serious.
That damn bastard…
Of course, the relic itself wasn't my true goal—but having a divine relic snatched away right in front of me still stung.
I couldn't exactly fight him over it, so just as I reluctantly let go—
[Divine Relic, 'Grass-Cutting Sword,' has appeared!]
Another sword rose up from the vat.
…Huh?
The contents of Ways of Survival flashed rapidly through my mind.
"Names give birth to myths, and myths in turn recreate reality.
In the world of
In other words, the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi was never just 'one sword.'"
I understood immediately.
There were five name-transmissions of Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.
Which meant this blade was one of the remaining four—those that were mentioned but never appeared in Ways of Survival.
I quickly grabbed the sword.
"Then this one's mine. No complaints, right?"
"That…"
Yoo Joonghyuk narrowed his eyes and stared at me for a moment before turning away.
"Do whatever you want."
I finally let out a breath of relief.
The grip of the blade fit snugly in my hand—it felt right.
The second sword of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi series: the Grass-Cutting Sword.
With the power of dragon-slaying contained within it, even the dragon race I'd encounter in the future wouldn't be so frightening anymore.
Watching the scene, Lee Jihye pouted.
"Wow. You guys are really petty over a single sword…"
She poked at the vat of liquor I'd brewed and added playfully,
"If you're done, can I try some? The smell's insane."
"You—minors really shouldn't—"
But it wasn't just Lee Jihye.
People had already gathered densely around the vat of golden liquor.
They must have been desperate for a drink.
Honestly, just smelling it was enough to make you feel drunk…
"Go ahead. Try it."
The moment I gave permission, people began gulping it down like mad.
"Woooah! How can it taste like this?!"
"It's liquor from the heavens!"
The crowd, growing more and more intoxicated, downed the golden liquor while shouting in amazement. It was alcohol fermented using a Constellation's remains—of course it tasted incredible. In fact, drinking it also granted a slight but real stat increase.
"Aren't you drinking?"
I asked Yoo Joonghyuk as I wandered over. Looking closely, he was—surprisingly—cooking.
Skewers of meat and vegetables, roughly chopped and grilled.
Since it was an outdoor party, the Small Folk had piled plenty of ingredients nearby. Still… Yoo Joonghyuk cooking?
He replied coldly,
"I don't eat food made by others."
"Why, afraid it's poisoned?"
"It tastes bad."
"And how good could your cooking possibly—"
I said that as I quickly took a bite of the skewer he was making.
But then—
…What the hell?
Lee Seolhwa, who had been helping Yoo Joonghyuk, smiled and asked,
"It's good, right?"
"…Yes."
Damn it.
It was delicious.
Truly delicious.
No—this was the best thing I'd ever eaten in my life.
What even was this skewer?
The corner of Yoo Joonghyuk's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
Damn it.
No matter how much of a regressor he was, how was this guy even good at cooking?
Grumbling internally, I quietly slipped away—when suddenly, I heard something like the sound of an instrument.
A calm yet dignified melody.
Turning toward the sound, I saw a doll standing atop the fortress.
As handsome as Yoo Joonghyuk—
No, the smallest and most beautiful man in the world.
Kyrios Rodgraim was there.
He sat on the railing, gazing at the distant sky as he played the viola.
Softly—yet at times, sorrowfully.
A faraway, wistful longing.
The people who had been laughing and shouting gradually fell silent, one by one, listening to the music. The exaggerated excitement slowly cooled.
First, someone's eyes reddened.
Then the person beside them burst into tears.
As if infected, before long all of the Small Folk were crying.
People who had missed their chance to cry—who had done nothing but run forward—were now shedding tears at last.
The residents of [Peace Land] were also beings trapped within a scenario.
This music was a requiem for their unfortunate homeland.
Listening to the melody, I drank a little.
When I looked beside me, Asuka Ren had approached.
She hadn't joined the Japanese group.
"Ms. Ren, have you seen Han Sooyoung?"
"Ah… well, after I told her about a few settings, she suddenly said she had somewhere to go and—"
I see. No wonder I hadn't spotted her.
Typical of her—she must have gone off to look for another hidden piece already.
The gentle sound of the viola echoed through the ruins of the shattered fortress, and I looked at Asuka Ren's flushed face.
Someone who has finally reached the end of a long dream probably looks like that.
For some reason, I felt like I could ask her now.
"How do you feel?"
"…Strange."
She hesitated for a moment, then continued.
"I keep thinking… that I shouldn't have given up."
I understood immediately what she meant.
After fidgeting with her lips for a long while, she brushed away the thin film of moisture in her eyes and asked,
"Do you think someone ever imagined scenes like this while reading my manga?"
"I'm sure they did."
Asuka Ren smiled sadly and stared at her hands for a long time.
Judging by her reddened cheeks, she was quite drunk.
"Lately, I've even been thinking… maybe I, too, am part of a world someone else drew…"
I paused briefly before replying.
"Maybe this has become a world where that kind of thing doesn't matter anymore."
"…What?"
"There's something I never got to finish asking you last time."
She looked confused, so I explained a little more. Then Asuka Ren said,
"Oh—right after my series ended, I suddenly got an email. Someone said they wanted to borrow a bit of my world's settings…"
That caught me off guard.
There was nothing like this in Ways of Survival.
"Borrow your settings?"
"Yes. I didn't think much of it at the time, so I replied that they could do whatever they wanted. But when I think about it now… not long after that, all of this happened…"
"Do you remember any details? For example, the email address?"
"As soon as I replied, all the related emails were suddenly deleted. So I don't remember the exact address…"
"I see."
Perhaps sensing something in my voice, Asuka Ren hesitated, then added,
"…I'm not sure, but I think the email address started with a 't'."
A 't'?
For a moment, my mind went blank. Then, reflexively, I asked,
"Could the ID have been… 'tls123'?"
< Episode 26. Scenario Destroyer (1) >
End