Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Protagonist and the Final Boss (1)
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As I descended the mountain range with my disciples, I began to ponder the inscription carved into my back.
"I believe this world should end properly, just as in the 'original story'. Do-hyun."
First, there was the person who called me not Bing Yeon, but 'Do-hyun'.
The name I used before being dragged into this world—only a handful of people knew it.
Even if someone had scribbled it as a prank, they couldn't possibly know this place was a world from a novel.
"Someone who loved your writing more than anything."
Second, they referred to themselves as 'someone' who adored my writing, hiding their identity as if begging to be recognized.
'Could it be the work of an Outer God?'
I caught my breath as the thought spilled out involuntarily. Two people immediately came to mind.
One was my loyal reader who'd followed my unfinished works to the end. The enigmatic figure who, claiming to show their sincerity, had possessed me into Bing Yeon's body.
Azazel had said I was possessed by an Outer God as well, so perhaps I really had been marked by some misguided deity.
'An Outer God as a web novel reader...? Honestly, that doesn't add up.'
I immediately started scrutinizing the plausibility. Thinking backward to see if it could even be possible—it was an occupational hazard I'd picked up after becoming a writer.
An Outer God could plausibly drag me into this world and know my real name.
I ruffled my hair and squeezed my eyes shut.
Would a god-like being ruling the outer cosmos really cause all this over a mere mortal's abandoned creative work?
"Can you tell who wrote it? Azazel?"
"This distinctive pattern... it can only be the mark of Shub-Niggurath."
Azazel let out a long sigh, then dry-heaved slightly as she uttered the Outer God's name.
Shub-Niggurath.
Known as the Mother of the Black Goats, famed for her uniquely depraved and promiscuous acts of reproduction—acts that had spawned legions of followers among her offspring, or so I knew.
I'd delved deep into the Cthulhu Mythos to flesh out Azazel Blackheart's backstory, given my prior interest.
But why would such an Outer God leave a mark on my body?
As I organized my thoughts, Azazel noticed something off and raised her voice at the end of her question.
"Why refer to herself as 'someone', though? If it's truly the Great Mother, she wouldn't need to play these riddles..."
"Exactly. The mark is unmistakably Shub-Niggurath's, so 'someone' is unnecessary."
I nodded at Azazel's doubt. Shub-Niggurath wasn't some obscure Outer God like in Azazel's case.
Among the Outer Gods infamous for corrupting, crushing, and driving mortals mad, she was one of the most famous, appearing frequently in fiction.
Someone desperate to be recognized like this, leaving such a mark... besides my devoted reader, there was one other possibility.
"Can you describe what the handwriting looks like?"
"It's round and small. Neat, not crude—feminine, I'd say?"
Yeo Seol-hwa.
The girl who'd promised marriage when we grew up, only to end her life by jumping from a hospital rooftop after a car accident left her paralyzed.
My first love, my girlfriend—now just a memory and faded photos.
"Can I see it myself?"
I remembered the handwriting from Azazel's dream. Everyone had always called it cute.
"If there's someone here who can use magic..."
"I know a little! Master!"
Verdandi raised her hand with a bright smile. The genres of my novels fell into three main categories, each with their final bosses wielding different powers.
Biwol: qi and martial arts.
Verdandi: mana and magic.
Azazel: divine power and Outer God authorities.
Wuxia, fantasy, and game possession stories, respectively.
My foray into different genres had stemmed from Seol-hwa's suggestion, not mine.
"Do-hyun, want me to tell you why your writing isn't improving?"
Her advice from back then.
Seol-hwa adored the drama Complete Life, tied to the game of Go—even reciting lines into adulthood.
"Your writing is too bound by rules and conventions."
That's why I'd thought of Go during my sword debate with Biwol. She'd once told me life was like microorganisms struggling to survive.
"Of course, you need to study structure and research the market, but..."
This was when I'd abandoned my original style to mimic established works in hopes of debuting.
I'd faced repeated failures, my confidence shattered, wondering what was wrong.
More precisely, writing terrified me.
Hatred from others, failing my own expectations—it filled me with self-loathing.
"After long deliberation, you make bad moves. Honestly, I preferred your early writing."
In those moments, Seol-hwa supported me with her words. Hers had the power to move hearts.
"To me, the unchanging truth is this: writing must be fun. Including happy endings for everyone."
Her core philosophy. Life had enough misery and sadness.
At least in fiction, everyone deserved happiness—a principle I still followed.
That's why I'd taken the final bosses as disciples, giving them happy endings.
"What you need now is to break the mold. Something radical."
Like abandoning dead Go stones instead of rescuing them—skipping remakes of failed works for something new.
"Is that too abstract? In game terms, your experience bar is absurdly huge now. You've outgrown beginner phase; growth has slowed."
To improve, I needed entirely new experiences, as she'd said.
"So, write a lot. Try a different genre! Experience trumps theory."
And this was the result.
Wuxia web novel, Diamond Fist King's Heavenly Demon, Biwol.
Fantasy web novel, Must Kill the Hero's Hero, Verdandi.
Game possession web novel, Possessed into an Idle Game's Saintess, Azazel.
They were like daughters Seol-hwa and I had created together.
"...It's definitely Seol-hwa's handwriting."
The small, cute letters etched into the snow matched perfectly. With Verdandi and Azazel's help, I'd transcribed the words from my back.
"Someone you know, Master?"
"Too well, that's the problem."
Bitter acid burned its way up my throat.
Her final image: spine paralysis turning her body to stone, piece by piece.
While I was in the military, she'd lost all hope and jumped from the hospital roof.
"Azazel, can you scry the future?"
"...Why should I? If it's tied to Shub-Niggurath, it'll just be despair and darkness."
Azazel kept her eyes down, avoiding the future. When I tried to meet her gaze, she turned away.
"I'm begging you. There's something I must confirm."
"......"
Azazel fell silent. Her visions weren't perfect; they shifted with actions.
She'd let go of her crush on Kang Si-woo and become my disciple.
"Just this once. Never again. This is all for Si-woo."
With a deep sigh, she touched her forehead and met my eyes. Iridescent lights danced in her rainbow hues.
"...Thank you."
I nodded gratefully. If Seol-hwa had truly marked me, foresight might reveal something.
If an Outer God could pull a living person from reality into a novel world,
reviving the dead wasn't impossible. Outer Gods defied understanding.
"......Huh?"
"What's wrong, Azazel?"
She stared into my eyes intently, then groaned in pain, as if something had gone terribly wrong.
"The future's different now. It's like someone's hidden it."
"Shub-Niggurath's trickery...?"
I couldn't hide my disappointment, sighing deeply. Some major shift had altered the timeline in that instant.
That's when it happened.
"Then just look a bit further—"
Beep—
A chilling, mechanical tone—like a halted heartbeat—scraped between my ears and hers.
"Ah, aaaaah..."
A dull thud, and blood streamed from Azazel's eyes. As if she'd glimpsed the forbidden.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to peek please forgive me just spare my life please please please...!"
"Azazel! Snap out of it!"
Clasping her hands in prayer, she wailed—to Outer Gods or the Lord above, indistinguishable in her screams and sobs.
'Damn it, what went wrong?'
I'd thought peeking at futures with Biwol or Verdandi would be safe. Seol-hwa cherished her characters.
No way she'd attack like this.
'Unless...?'
A flash of insight narrowed my brows instinctively.
This world's 'original story' ended with the protagonist slaying all final bosses. I'd projected my grim past onto them through writing.
"Do-hyun, readers and writers see differently. No matter how tough it is for the author, readers just want the end."
"Excuses about my pain won't keep readers. Gotta stay diligent."
A fleeting memory. Seol-hwa wouldn't harm Azazel, like her own daughter.
But,
'What if Seol-hwa was possessed too, suffering something awful?'
Like Azazel, if an Outer God infested her body?
Outer Gods transcended human reason. Her Morigadian was amicable by chance.
They'd given me a death sentence personally—no guarantee they spared Seol-hwa's body.
If,
just if Seol-hwa lived in this world,
"Verdandi, purify her with your holy sword—now!"
"Yes!"
I prayed desperately it wasn't what I feared.
"Perfect. Everyone's here. Nearly late thanks to some annoying business."
Bing Seol-hwa clapped her hands after closing her eyes briefly, grinning at the group like she was having the time of her life.
"......"
The black-haired man with bandaged fists was Kim Huhl, protagonist of Diamond Fist King.
"Wait, we really have to kill someone?"
The blue-haired man scratching his head in disbelief was Zekehardt, protagonist of Must Kill the Hero.
"Yeah, but the Azazel I knew couldn't be that evil..."
The man holding a smartphone and rubbing his chin was Kang Si-woo, protagonist of Possessed into an Idle Game.
"Yes, that's what our dear 'devoted reader' desires."
To these protagonists, Bing Seol-hwa smiled chillingly, arms spread wide toward the sky.
As if worshiping the gods above.