Killer King, who killed a charging bear, took a deep breath and said.
"This reminds me of the Demon World. Something similar happened there too."
I smiled bitterly.
Certainly, something similar happened in the demon world in the main story. The crowd, incited by the duke's henchmen, harassed Kim Dokja like they are doing now.
"You sound like you were there at the scene."
"If you read a story a hundred times, it becomes no different from what you actually experienced."
"Then you must know that something is strange about the current situation."
I saw bears looting houses. Even though we killed quite a few bears, there were still a lot of them. In fact, the number seemed to have increased even more than before.
"There is no way the bears would attack at this time."
"Why do you think so? It's enough for those who are hungry for stories—"
"No matter how greedy you are, it won't be more precious than your life. The rumor that we have an 'Outer God' would have spread throughout Zone 13."
Of course, according to the contract with me, Lycaon cannot intervene in the battle in any way. However, the
There was no way the northern bears would have hastily invaded this place, knowing of Lycaon's existence.
"That means—"
"Plundering the stories is only in name. Their real goal is probably to cause as many casualties as possible in Zone 13."
Among the casualties, there must have been prisoners who supported us or had feelings for us. When they die, our approval ratings naturally drop.
Killer King's eyes narrowed.
"Did these guys receive orders from the Chinese Zodiac?"
"Maybe so."
The
It was reasonable to think so.
"Then can I kill that leader?"
I saw a brown bear displaying its mighty strength from afar—'a bear that will come back to life if One pretends to be dead.'
"I'm not sure. If he wasn't the one who planned this invasion, killing him won't end the fight."
I narrowed my eyes and stared into space.
Bear beastmen are beings who are swayed by other people's stories because they do not have 'their own stories'. If so, there must also be a story that led them here.
If only we could find the source of the story—
"It takes time."
"How much."
"Five minutes is enough."
"No problem."
Killer King answered confidently, but everyone knew that he could never be sure.
It's different from when he faced the wolves in 「The Three Little Pigs」.
Although the brown bear was a discarded constellation, it still had some of the power of a constellation, and its subordinate bear beastmen numbered in the hundreds.
On the other hand, our beastmen are only herbivores with weak fighting power.
"Kaaaaak!"
The fleeing southern prisoners hurriedly hid in the 'brick house', but the brick house did not function properly as it did in 'The Three Little Pigs'.
"Are the wolves really not able to destroy houses like this?"
"You idiots."
Bears are not affected by 「The Three Little Pigs」. Their physique was also much better than that of a wolf.
Moreover, crucially—
[The story 'A group who covet the throne of the Overthrown ' continues its storytelling.]
The power of the 'brown bear's story' was formidable. It's usually a story about hyenas, but I never thought a brown bear would have it.
「 The group that covets the throne of the Overthrown is a story in which the group becomes more powerful as the number increases. 」
Perhaps because of the power of the story, the bears that had fallen were getting back up and attacking.
"We're being pushed back!"
The southern prisoners who were fighting began to run away one by one.
As the battle line suddenly collapsed, the crane owner also screamed.
"Don't run away! Fight back!"
Once the battle line was broken, it could not be recovered and began to fall back to ruin. It's The moment when even the crane owner lost his fighting spirit.
"Aaaah! Not even one of them can pass by!"
Kyung Sein let out a loud cry and jumped up like a flying squirrel. [Way of the Wind] crushed the charging bears.
It was Cha Yerin who exploded the heads of the fallen bears.
Cha Yerin is more skilled at [Way of the Wind] than anyone else in the group.
She was decapitating the heads of all the bears with her kicks.
At that time, a bear hiding under the corpses of his colleagues took advantage and aimed at Cha Yerin's side.
The person who stopped him was Dansu ahjussi who came running like a tank.
With a loud bang, the bear with its torn body flew through the air.
"When we were all gathered together in the brick house, I felt like I was with my family…"
The speed is unbelievably fast for a turtle.
Dansu ahjussi grinned at me.
"I feel angry for the first time in a while."
At the forefront of the group was a man wearing a pitch-black coat.
"Don't let anyone die. I won't allow it."
Killer King added without looking back.
"Same goes for you, Kim Dokja."
[Way of the Wind created small storms throughout the battlefield.]
Until a few days ago, even dealing with the wolf harvesters was difficult for the group.
They were now pushing back bear beastmen that were several times their size.
Truly incredible growth.
The battle lines that had been pushed back quickly recovered, and even the brown bears began to retreat, unable to withstand wave after wave of attacks from the party. It got to the point where I thought maybe we could just push on like this.
[Gaaaa— you guys!]
The brown bear, hit by Killer King's bowgun in succession, roared in anger.
[Catch those guys first! Take away their masks!]
The bears, ignoring the attack, immediately blocked the group's escape route and rushed towards them.
I urgently shouted to my companions.
"Avoid everyone!"
We must not lose our mask here. If the mask is taken away, 'humanization' occurs again and the person is excluded from the scenario. Power is taken away.
[The 'Mask' exists to cover something.]
As if reading my thoughts, the brown bear spoke.
[Stagnation, weakness, neglect. Or the truth. The will to cover up a weak mind soon becomes a 'mask'.]
A brown bear wearing a half-mask looked at me and smiled evilly.
[Wearing a mask means hiding behind one's own deficiencies. You guys who wear masks without knowing that—]
The brown bear's eyes, which burst into flames, gave off a dazzling light.
[Rather, it is begging for attacks on its weak points.]
The first to suffer was Kyung Sein.
A mask is an item made up of stories.
The mask of Kyung Sein, who was attacked by the bear beastmen, cracked, and the story of the mask began to flow.
「 Kyung Sein wanted to become strong. 」
Kyung Sein 'mask' is a squirrel.
「 He grew his small body and trained his muscles. He felt like if he did that, others wouldn't look down on him. 」
I remembered the muscular man wearing the [Judge Heewon] name tag.
「 But can you really say that you have become stronger because of that? 」
It seemed like Kyung Sein was shouting something as she stretched out her hand towards me.
The rushing bear trampled on Kyung Sein's hand/.
The sound of something being torn apart.
"Sein-ssi!"
The first to jump among the bears was Dansu ahjussi. Dansu ahjussi, who charged like a cannon, curled up with his body holding Kyung Sein.
A story flowed from the broken mask of the man named Lee Dansu.
「 I want to live a long time. 」
The mask of Dansu ahjussi is 'turtle'.
「 I want to live even a little longer. 」
The image of Dansu ahjussi wearing a patient gown came to mind.
The moment I finally couldn't bear it anymore and was about to run towards them, someone grabbed my shoulder.
"I'll go."
It was Cha Yerin.
"Yerin-ssi."
"I'll look for a story about controlling bears."
Cha Yerin used [Way of the Wind] like an acrobat to break through the path and approach Kyung Sein and Lee Dansu.
A huge shadow appeared behind Cha Yerin.
"Yerin-ssi!"
The brown bear's huge front paw hit Cha Yerin's back. However, Cha Yerin, who crouched down with good timing, created a 'snail house' and blocked the blow.
[Like this shell—]
As the brown bear with bright eyes continued to hit the snail house, the corner of the house broke and fell.
「 I need a place to go back to. 」
Cha Yerin's 'mask' is a snail.
「 We also need a home. 」
Her stories, which she had grown up with in an orphanage with her brother, were being cruelly crushed by the bear's paw.
It was Ye Hyunwoo who blocked that front step.
The brown bear growled.
[How dare you eat bamboo.]
The weight of the brown bear's front paw collided with Ye Hyunwoo's fist.
Ye Hyunwoo, who was exhausted, was easily pushed aside due to his physical strength. With the sound of air bursting, Ye Hyunwoo's body rolled around on the floor.
The brown bear spoke while trampling Ye Hyunwoo's chest.
[Kill it.]
The bears that rushed in bit Ye Hyunwu's entire body.
A story flowed from Ye Hyunwoo's torn panda mask.
「 You must live faithfully. 」
Ye Hyunwoo was always sincere.
「 Only in this way can we survive. 」
For a moment, I thought I knew why his mask was 'panda'.
「 Only then can we avoid extinction. 」
He was more planned and systematic than anyone else, but maybe he actually wanted to rely on someone.
「 Actually, I don't want to do anything. 」
Peacefully, quietly eating bamboo like a panda that can only live in a zoo.
"Is he going to lie down so pitifully?"
[Tsk—]
The shadow that flew in in an instant blew away the brown bear that was trampling Ye Hyunwoo.
"Pacheonbungken!"
The startled brown bear backed away in horror.
[What-]
"Jujakshinbo! Pacheon kendo! Pacheon yuseonggyeol!"
Killer King, who arbitrarily used Yoo Jonghyuk's technical names, was pushing the brown bear with [Way of the Wind].
"Meteor Cham!"
[Wolf bastard—!]
The brown bear roared and hit Killer King on the head.
"Psst," a story flowed from the broken Killer King's mask.
「 I am a lone wolf. 」
The brown bear laughed as if it was dumbfounded by the story that was being told.
[Foolish wolf, stop back. All your colleagues are finished.]
"My colleagues."
Killer King said, wiping the blood from his lips.
"They will barely die like this."
[Your companions have already become beasts. And you too—]
The huge brown bear's fist moved rapidly. Before he could stop it, Killer King's mask began to break apart.
「 I will become a beast. 」
Losing one's mask means becoming a prisoner.
The moment I finally couldn't stand it anymore and took a step forward, Killer King shouted.
"Don't come, Kim Dokja! This is our story!"
I stopped walking.
"Don't make us feel horrible anymore!"
[You idiot.]
The brown bear laughed. The bear's fists hitting Killer King's face became faster and faster.
Hit it down, get it down. Hit it, hit it again.
Killer King's wolf mask was disastrously broken. Nevertheless, Killer King did not kneel in the end.
I clenched my fists and felt the strange omens of a story rising around me.
I can't explain it well, but I had a feeling.
My companions will be fine.
The stories they had accumulated so far said so.
「 "Hyunwoo, how much longer are you going to practice [Way of the Wind]?" 」
「 "Just one more hour!" 」
「 "Okay, then I have two hours!" 」
「 "I've already been there for three hours." 」
The sound of wind blowing from somewhere.
「 The group is now ready to take off their 'mask'. 」
What is the purpose of masks?
The 'mask' in Zone 13 is an item that prevents the incarnation from 'being transformed into a beast'.
However, according to the 'Ways of Survival', that was not the only meaning of the existence of 'masks'.
「 The 'mask' exists for the moment when the face hidden beneath the 'mask' is revealed. 」
Killer King's face was revealed through the broken mask. Killer King, with his lips burst, grabbed the brown bear's fist.
"Wearing a mask means."
It's been a while since I saw Killer King — Cha Sungwoo's bare face, his lips smiling wryly.
"It means you want to hide something."
The mighty brown bear retreated.
[How… You! The mask would have been broken—]
"Why don't I become a beast?"
When a person sheds a mask and becomes an animal, it is a type of immune response used by a person with exposed weaknesses to protect themselves.
Nevertheless, Killer King did not become a beast.
That means—
"Because I realized that the world is full of people weaker than me."
[What nonsense—]
"There is no need to hide my weaknesses in front of those who are weaker than me!"
"Stupid, that's not it."
Ye Hyunwoo woke up before he knew it and was standing next to Killer King. His mask was also broken.
The stories of the broken mask were being absorbed into his face.
"I learned that weakness can also be a 'story'."
"You could say that."
Suddenly, Cha Yerin walked out between the broken snail houses.
"You're both wrong."
She, standing to the left of Killer King, had also taken off her mask.
"It's because I gained comrades who will protect each other's weakest parts."
Kyung Sein, standing on the mountain of fallen bears, shouted.
"You all speak well! Now that the mask is broken, I can see much better!"
With the mask gone, Kyung Sein's expression looked much refreshed.
The man standing next to him also added a word.
"It's like we are masks for each other."
The colleagues who had lost their masks stood tall like a breakwater and faced the waves of bears.
Seeing them like that made my heart pound too.
[An incarnation who realized the meaning of 'mask' has appeared in Zone 13!]
They have now proudly become the pillars of this world.
"I'm sure everyone hasn't forgotten why we are here."
The group nodded one by one at Killer King's words.
There was a group of people there, facing the stars with their backs to me.
Killer King said.
"I protect Kim Dokja."
I once again realize what my companions were fighting for.
「 The Three Little Pigs, The Fox and the Crane, and again, The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg. 」
While they re-enacted and re-enacted other stories, this was actually the story they wanted to re-create more than anything else.
[Your story resonates.]
What kind of face do I have?
Will my mask have a matching expression even if I am among them?
I thought of the person who should have seen this scene for me.
Let's remember this scene for him. Let's talk about it when we meet again someday.
There are people who have their own stories because of you.
"Kim Dokja."
Someone came and stood next to me. He, too, had lost his mask on his face. He also overcame the constraints of the mask.
It was natural.
Because he was someone who believed in his own story more than anyone else in this world.
"You guys."
The protagonist of this world.
A regressor who lost his memories and became a boy.
The eyes of the boy, who had grown a little taller in a short period of time, were watching the scene in front of him.
How does this scene appear through the eyes of a regressor who has gone through the same scenario over and over again?
"It seems like there's something you want to protect."
I opened my mouth for a moment and then slowly nodded.
"Yes. Just like you did."
I saw the back of the group moving forward.
There are countless universes and even more planets.
One of those ephemeral planets.
Born in the same era, choosing one story out of many, reading it and liking it over and over again.
If such a thing is truly possible, the surprise certainly cannot be explained by words such as coincidence or miracle.
Because it cannot be explained, it finally becomes a story.
A story that fascinates the stars, sets the night sky on fire, and ultimately changes the universe.
[A new story begins to sprout in your group.]
The constellations of this world call the story a tale.
[The possibility of a nebula germinates in your group.]