The Fall of the False Protagonist
I wrapped things up, and Kang Hyeok came charging in.
His fist shot right up to my face.
I leaned back, dodging the attack.
Then, with a backflip, I slammed my foot into his jaw.
'Fuck... feels like he's wearing steel or something.'
He grumbled in frustration as he prepped his next strike.
Gram glowed brightly.
He was gearing up for the technique he'd shown me when I first arrived in this dimension.
Kang Hyeok seemed to catch on too.
"Think you can dodge it mid-air—?!"
I unleashed Golden Slash straight at him.
A perfect one-way street with no escape.
"Dodge this and I'll call you big bro!"
I thought it was flawless... but.
Boom—!
Kang Hyeok stepped on thin air to evade it.
"Uh... well..."
He grinned after dodging, but he looked strained, like there was backlash.
"So, does that make you my little bro now?"
He sneered as he descended from atop the building.
"Fine, whatever, little bro it is."
I answered and leaped forward at the same time.
Thanks to Gram's enhancements, jumping two or three stories was a breeze.
We locked eyes up close again.
"Your bro's gonna send you to a nice place, big bro!"
Kang Hyeok swung his fist; I slashed with my sword.
The brawl kicked off.
Neither of us backed down, trading blows relentlessly.
Gram's duration should've ended ages ago.
But I was still swinging it around.
'Training's paying off!'
Dates with Choi Rin...? Did sparring sessions at the training grounds count as dates?
Anyway, practicing with her had helped fix my mana premature ejaculation weakness, at least somewhat.
And that fix was...
Whoosh—!
Scraaaape—!
Summoning Gram only at the moment of impact.
I couldn't get the body buffs that way, but it let me keep its attack power going way longer.
Tough to master the timing, though. I hadn't perfected it yet—still screwing up occasionally.
Swoooosh—! Thwack—!
The slugfest dragged on endlessly.
Kang Hyeok wouldn't retreat a step, like it was a pride thing.
He might've thought that, but I wasn't fighting for pride.
I had a plan, so I kept the melee going.
"Huff... huff..." "Haa... huff..."
Kang Hyeok pulled back, creating some distance for a breather.
Our wounds were about even.
But his were starting to heal slowly.
"Heh... hehehe... hahahaha!"
He burst into mad laughter,
"This is the difference between an extra and the protagonist!"
he taunted, showing off the arm that was regenerating.
"A worthless extra like you could train your whole life and never beat me!"
I'd wondered why a cool-headed guy like him was dragging out the brawl.
Did he have some plan? I'd stayed cautious.
But the answer was simple.
'He's drunk on power.'
High on his own strength, he'd lost his cool edge.
Kang Hyeok shook out his hand and strolled toward me slowly.
Trying to build dread, I guess... but.
"There's a way for an extra to beat the protagonist."
I called out as he approached.
"Huh?"
He let out a scoffing laugh.
Probably thought I'd lost it.
"It's simple! Summon the heroine!"
Before he got close, I called Cream.
"Wha— you...?"
She appeared with a smile, but her face hardened the second she saw me.
And right away, she cast her heal.
True to her Saintess title, my wounds closed at blinding speed.
Kang Hyeok stared in shock.
"Impressive regen? One snap from her and we're done."
I smirked and swung Gram at him again.
He'd regained his composure and tried to go for Cream instead, but my checks kept him away.
"Damn it—! Get lost!"
He switched targets back to me.
Sword and fist clashed once more.
Our wounds piled up again.
"Sig!"
One snap from Cream, and I was healed instantly.
"Hah... haa..."
In the end, Kang Hyeok dropped to his knees first.
"Needing a woman's help—aren't you ashamed?"
"Nah! Not ashamed at all?"
He was probably baiting me for an opening.
But coming from a world that preached gender equality, it didn't faze me one bit.
'Time to finish this.'
I needed to kill Kang Hyeok quick and get to Choi Rin.
One more swing with Gram, and it was over.
Right as I reared back for the final blow.
"What a mess you've made of things... protagonist."
A low voice.
Chills ran down my spine the instant I heard it.
I whipped around toward the voice from behind.
An old man hovered in the sky.
White hair, withered muscles.
But something immense lurked within him.
'Grating... huh.'
A whole different level of it.
"Hoo—"
I took a deep breath to shake off the fear.
Cream snapped out of her own terror too.
"Sig, we gotta run."
I wanted to. No chance against that guy.
But I couldn't abandon the unconscious Choi Rin floating behind the old man.
"Demon King—!"
Kang Hyeok staggered to his feet.
"Rin's okay, right?"
He dragged his feet toward her.
"Of course. Perfectly fine."
The Demon King and Kang Hyeok chatted casually.
Listening in, I pieced it together: the Demon King had awakened him.
"Don't forget our deal?"
"Yeah, you become the villain, and I hand over Choi Rin. I haven't forgotten."
The old man flicked his arm, and Choi Rin floated toward Kang Hyeok in sync.
'Can't let that happen!'
Time for my trump card, like the holy sword Gram.
'Brynhildr—!'
I summoned her.
The Demon King sensed it and attacked.
Bang—!
Cream's holy barrier blocked it.
It shattered in one hit, but that was enough.
Brynhildr appeared.
Our eyes met after so long.
"Oh? Honey?"
She glanced around, sizing up the situation.
Before she could fully grasp it, the Demon King struck.
But she blocked it effortlessly.
"You... give off the same vibe as the Demon King?"
She meant the one from Zeke's dimension, probably.
"Still got some restrictions holding you back, huh."
Brynhildr leveled her spear at him.
"Scram if you don't wanna die."
Her threat.
I figured the Demon King would fight.
"Hah, ridiculous."
But he lost the will to battle.
His presence vanished in a blink.
Now he just looked like a normal... no, frail old man.
'He dialed back the Grating?'
How many women would I have to conquer to reach that level...?
Moments ago, I'd felt death breathing down my neck. Now I was itching for a go.
The Demon King turned away.
"Getting cockblocked by some weirdo who's neither protagonist nor Demon King."
He left those odd words behind and vanished.
'Neither protagonist nor Demon King, huh.'
I'd wondered where Kang Hyeok got that from.
But he'd spilled the answer himself.
"Cream, heal her up, please."
Choi Rin lay collapsed on the ground.
"Got it. You gonna tell me what the hell happened later?"
Treatment began on her serious wounds.
"Nice seeing you after so long... ♡ But time's short, right?"
Brynhildr was sharp as ever.
"Yeah, heading back soon."
"Mmm~ ♡"
She flew over, grabbed my face,
"Mwah ♡ Slurp ♡"
and ravaged my mouth.
"Ahhn ♡ So delicious as always ♡"
After her taste test, she despawned.
Cream had watched the whole thing.
Her face twisted in fury.
"So? Spill it! What the hell was that? And that witch Brynhildr too."
The second Choi Rin's healing finished, Cream grilled me.
'Option 1? Nah. 2? 3?'
I racked my brain for the excuses I'd prepped for when she'd inevitably catch me.
Settled on Option 1.
"Truth is..."
A subtle mix of fact and fiction.
I spun the tale of wandering dimensions, saving women doomed to despair.
"Hmmm, fine, for now. We'll talk it out calmly later."
Cream vanished too, and the Demon King hound incident wrapped up.
****
The Demon King had shown, but the chaos died down quick.
In this dimension, city destruction was just another Tuesday.
Everyone got back to work, so repairs flew.
"So... that bastard Hyeok turned villain?"
"Yeah."
Kang Hyeok was now locked in the villain prison Tartarus.
Choi Rin shot up from her hospital bed, stunned by the full story.
"Gotta go see him."
She was tough anyway, and with Saintess Cream's healing, she was good as new in under a day.
She hopped out of bed and headed straight for Tartarus.
As Korea's top hero, she got access easy.
She waited for Kang Hyeok to come out.
There he was in the visitation room.
Visible through the glass.
The second he spotted me with Choi Rin, he lunged—but the barrier stopped him.
Tartarus was built with special powers to suppress superhuman DNA, turning him into a regular joe.
"Why'd you do it?"
Choi Rin asked the raging Kang Hyeok.
"'Cause I'm the protagonist."
He was fully in the Demon King's pocket.
"Protagonist?"
"Yeah, protagonist. I'm this world's protagonist. And Rin, you're my heroine."
His eyes were totally mad as he said it.
He reached out.
Kang Hyeok stroked Choi Rin's face through the glass.
"I'm not your woman."
She shut him down cold.
"I'm our maknae's woman."
She came to me and kissed me.
Not a peck.
A deep French kiss, tongue and all.
Kang Hyeok smashed his fist on the glass in rage.
"How could you! How could you do this to me?!"
"I still had a bit of fondness left as a friend, but..."
She pulled back and looked at him.
"Let's cut ties for good."
With those final words, she left Tartarus.
'That's the end.'
I sensed the request complete.
Back in Korea, I prepped for one last night with Choi Rin and Kang Nabi.