Those Who Face the Gods (8)

I chewed my food in the middle of a wide clearing, wearing a thoroughly hollow expression, and opened my mouth.

"Is this for real?"

Beside me, Han Sooyoung was happily demolishing the cream soup and homemade toast I'd prepared. She shot me a sideways look.

"What is it this time?"

"Look, I clearly fell asleep around the afternoon of the twelfth. How does waking up from a nap delete two whole days?!"

I appealed to Han Sooyoung with the most wronged face I could muster. She frowned as if I were a genuine nuisance and kept eating.

"You said you hadn't slept properly in over ten days, right? That's why."

"Yeah, but I still slept at least two hours…?"

"Are you an idiot? You think two hours is enough to clear the fatigue from your body and brain? And two days ago you were basically a walking corpse."

"Still… still…"

"Ugh! You're so annoying. What are you even so upset about?"

"I used to see it floating around online, but experiencing it myself just doesn't feel real…"

Back in the day, the internet was full of memes and stories about weekends getting deleted. I never thought it would actually vanish like some kind of magic.

"My two days of training…"

Two days of training, a check on Seoul Dome, and the chance to mess around with the cheerful Japanese contingent — all wiped out. I shoved toast into my mouth under the weight of that devastating truth.

"Mm. This is actually good. Your cooking skill is seriously cracked."

Strawberry jam, peanut butter, a fried egg, thin-sliced ham, cheese, and cabbage on toast — surprisingly delicious. It was ordinary food, but with my cooking skill behind it, the flavor went up another notch.

Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung, still eating beside me, seemed to catch what I'd said. They both nodded.

"Definitely better than that omelet rice last time."

"Yeah, honestly, it is better than before."

I smiled at the praise — then immediately pulled a long face.

…Why the hell do I feel like I'm turning into a Milletian from Mabinogi?

DPS if I want DPS. Tank if I want tank. Support if I want support. Healer via potions. Merchant. Blacksmith via crafting. Taxi driver via flight mobility. Hotel operator on the side. Translator. And now, of all things, a chef.

I couldn't tell whether to be happy or sad about it. Something about the whole situation left me with a deeply complicated feeling.

"…If Japan had someone like Mr. Park, things would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be so much easier…"

"……Asuka, what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Asuka had been eating her toast with a blissful look when she muttered that under her breath. I stared at her, baffled.

Asuka Ren finally realized her mumbling might have been rude. She bowed her head toward me.

"Ah…! I'm sorry. As you know, ever since the world became like this, even taking a normal shower, using the bathroom, or cooking a simple meal has been inconvenient in so many ways. After experiencing Mr. Park's My Room… I just couldn't help myself…"

"Mm! It really is our pride and joy."

"Right? Life's so much more comfortable thanks to Jinwoo."

At Asuka's answer, Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja both puffed up with proud, self-satisfied looks and shrugged their shoulders. Watching them from the side, I had no idea what expression I was supposed to make.

"It certainly is convenient."

Kyrgios, who had been quietly listening to the three of them while she ate, nodded in agreement.

"Haa… Once the sixth scenario ends, everyone will go back to where they came from, right?"

"Probably."

I answered Asuka Ren's question halfheartedly, remembering how a portal would open the same way it had brought us here once the sixth scenario wrapped up.

"…Just thinking about going back to a life with no bed, no bathroom I can use in peace, and no proper showers already feels awful."

"Haha… Yeah, I can see that."

Asuka Ren's face had gone pale. She was trembling with dread. I glanced at her and played along.

She wasn't wrong. That was exactly why I was always grateful for my My Room and Shop User.

Without those two skills, I'd have been living like the Kim Dokja party in the ORV webtoon — cardboard boxes for beds, newspaper for blankets, hunting monsters every day just for water and food.

And the worst part: standing night watch every single night. Just imagining it was horrifying. Doing the same damn night watch I'd done in the military, every single day?

Thank you again, My Room. Thank you, Shop User.

Because of you two, my life — and my companions' lives — got a whole lot richer.

After finishing the meal with the four of them through various bits of conversation, Kim Dokja and I went back to training.

Time passed. Evening fell, and soon the moon and starlight began to show in the sky above.

I settled between Han Sooyoung and Asuka Ren, stopped my thrusting practice, and looked out at Kyrgios — who was staring down with open disdain at Kim Dokja, still unable to learn Electrification — and at Kim Dokja herself, still drilling her thrusts.

…Almost time to go deal with that snake bastard.

I watched Kim Dokja stop her thrusting practice, sit on the ground, and talk with Kyrgios. Then I opened the channel screen and checked the situations in Seoul Dome and the royal capital, Veronica.

…Seoul Dome at least avoided the worst of it.

Right now, Seoul Dome was slowly being toyed with by the newly appeared Salvation Church leader, Nirvana. The existing incarnations of Seoul Dome were locked in a war of nerves with the Salvation Church, and Jung Heewon had ultimately fallen to Nirvana's Thought Infection.

The only silver lining was that Lycaon and Shin Yooseung hadn't been caught by Nirvana. Cha Sangkyung, whom I'd hoped would survive, had also managed to escape and was waging a guerrilla war against the Salvation Church.

Once I had the information I needed, I flipped the channel screen over to the current situation at the royal capital, Veronica.

"—Aaaagh!"

"—You damn bastards! This is my land!"

"—Mister, save your mana."

The Japanese who had chosen Disaster were just now assaulting the royal capital of Veronica. Gong Pildu, Lee Jihye, and the little people resisting the Disasters were also coming into view.

"…Hmm."

"What? What are you looking at by yourself again?"

Han Sooyoung, sitting beside me, put a hand on my shoulder and peered at the channel screen I was watching. She frowned, pointed at it with her index finger, and spoke.

"…Hey, the channel screen's broken. It's all glitching out."

"It's not broken."

"Then what?"

"There's a setting that stops other people from seeing the screen I'm watching. I'm using that."

"What? Then turn it off. I want to see too."

"………?"

I turned my gaze and looked down at Han Sooyoung looking up at me. She stared straight back into my eyes.

…This girl has a cat-like face, and now her behavior's starting to match too.

She was acting oddly like a cat trying to get its butler's attention whenever he was doing something. I smirked and shook my head.

"It's not exactly a pleasant situation to watch."

"What is it, then?"

"I was just flipping through channel screens out of boredom to kill time. There's a war going on right now."

"…You can just casually watch something like that?"

Han Sooyoung twisted her face as if imagining the horrors ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of war in her head, then whipped her head away. Apparently that one line had killed her interest.

I turned back toward Kyrgios and Kim Dokja. Their conversation seemed to have ended; Kim Dokja stood up and threw herself back into thrusting practice, while Kyrgios watched her carefully for a moment before leaving.

It was almost time.

A few minutes after Kyrgios left, I walked over to Kim Dokja and spoke.

"Dokja. She's gone."

"Yeah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looks like it."

Kim Dokja nodded at my words and walked toward Han Sooyoung and Asuka Ren, who had been waiting nearby.

"Hey. Let's run."

Han Sooyoung blinked in confusion at Kim Dokja's words and shot to her feet along with Asuka Ren.

"What? You learned it already? From what I saw earlier, you couldn't do it at all."

"I stole it all."

Kim Dokja gave me, Han Sooyoung, and Asuka Ren a small smile, then gently closed her eyes and began to murmur something.

Crackle! Snap-snap-snap!

Fierce pale-blue lightning erupted around Kim Dokja, and her entire body transformed into lightning itself.

Kyrgios's secret ultimate technique — Electrification.

"You finally learned it."

"Technically I stole it, but whatever. Anyway, let's bounce. We've learned everything we needed to learn."

Kim Dokja turned her head toward me.

"Jinwoo, open My Room."

"Okay. Hold on a second first."

"Hm? Something you need to do?"

"Even so, leaving without a word would be rude."

I pulled out a sketchbook and a black board marker I'd bought from the general shop and started writing.

With this, I bore no responsibility. Kim Dokja would carry all of it. It had to be that way. I had no desire to get beaten by Kyrgios again.

"Heheh, done. All right, everyone into the Eva— wait, no. Into My Room."

"…You did something weird again, didn't you? Show me that."

"No, no. These are perfectly polite, mannerly sentences written by a disciple who deeply cares for his master. Come on, come on, just get into My Room! I need you inside so I can teleport with Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

"……………."

Kim Dokja glared at me with extreme suspicion, but as I pushed her back and urged her along, she finally let out a small sigh and entered My Room with Han Sooyoung and Asuka Ren.

Once the three of them were inside, I glanced around cautiously, tore the page from the sketchbook, and weighted it down with a large nearby rock so the farewell note wouldn't blow away. Preparations complete.

Ripple!

I closed my eyes, pictured the marking I'd left at the royal capital of Veronica, and activated Hiraishin no Jutsu.

I felt the now-familiar, strange sensation of spatial travel and slowly opened my eyes.

"Aaaagh!!"

"Graaagh! You insect bastards?!"

"Everyone, fire your bows! Those things are the same as us in the end!"

The moment my eyes opened, I saw the little people putting up a good fight against the Disasters, Lee Hyunsung crushing Disaster skulls from behind with raw strength, and Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yooseung drawing the Disasters' attention with insects and monsters.

And, unexpectedly, Min Jiwon was leading the little people in battle.

She was a king in Seoul Dome too, and she used to walk among large numbers of people as befits that title. Guess that's why her command is solid.

I looked over my companions and the little people fighting without flinching against the Disasters, then activated Clairvoyance to scan a wider area.

…Yamata no Orochi hasn't arrived yet.

Probably because I'd gotten here so fast thanks to Hiraishin no Jutsu.

"Dokja, Han Sooyoung, Asuka. Fight with the kids here. I'll clean these ones up before the snake shows."

The three of them, already out of My Room, nodded at my words and ran toward the inner fortress.

I watched them for a moment, then opened the general shop window and the Dokkaebi Bag.

"I'll purchase a 'violin' from the general shop, and the skill books for 'Voice Amplification' and 'Sound Wave Block' from the Dokkaebi Bag."

I used the skill books I'd bought for the strategy I'd only just thought of, pulled out the violin from the general shop, activated Flight Mobility, and released Miniaturization.

"Get lost, you ugly bastard!"

"Guek…!"

I casually kicked the face of some unlucky yokai with eight eyeballs plastered across its mug, then rose into the air above where the Disasters were running wild.

"Warning to the Constellations. Mute yourselves for a bit, or turn the volume way the hell down."

I set my hands on the violin for the first time and tried out the newly purchased skills.

The moment the skill activated, an opaque blue wave rapidly spread outward with my body at its center.

"What's this now?"

"Hey, there's someone up in the sky?"

A few Disasters who noticed it pointed at me in confusion. I smiled and activated the next skill.

"Hooo…"

As Voice Amplification activated, a dark-blue mic earpiece hooked over my ear. Confirming it, I drew in a deep breath.

"Hey, you ugly-ass looking bastards—!!"

I bellowed with the full force of every scrap of air in my lungs. Dozens of Japanese clutched their ears in agony.

"Gyaaaah!! My ears!!"

"Kyaaaaah!!"

Looking down at the idiots below me clutching their ears in pain, I cackled and continued.

"There's something that can never be left out of a war. You know what that is?"

"Tsk tsk… You've wasted your lives — no, your star-lives. The answer is 'BGM.' Or a song."

Screeeech!! Screeeeech!!

I dragged the bow across the violin strings for the first time and kept talking.

"Don't worry. I won't sing. What I'm doing now is playing the BGM a war needs."

I couldn't vouch for the BGM quality, though. I'd never touched a violin before either.

I looked down at the Disaster bastards starting to shout something up at me from below my feet, and set the bow on the strings.

"Then let's begin. This is the Sound Art I taught myself without learning it from Master."

With that, I began to move the bow across the violin strings roughly and swiftly.

Screeeeeeech!!!! Screeeeeee!!!!

"Aaaagh! S-stop!! Stoooop!!!"

"Kyaaaaaah……!!"

At the sight of the Disasters and Constellations rejoicing at my sweet performance, I moved the bow even more enthusiastically.

Screeeee↗ Screeeee→ Screeeeeeeeeee♬

"G-ghk…!"

"You son of a bitch…. That's not how you play a violin…!"

I even drifted closer to the Disasters who were bowing in my direction as they listened, offering them a little fan service.

Screeeech!! Screech!! Screeeeech!!!

"U-ugh… huuurgh…!"

For those still holding out with their ears firmly plugged, I set the violin right next to their ears and played.

Screeeeeee!!! Screech!!!! Screeeeeee!!!!

"Glurk… glurk…!"

Before long, some of them collapsed foaming at the mouth, while others simply lay down on the ground without a sound.

And then—

"You dog bastard…! That's not how you play a violin!! I'd rather take my own life than die listening to your performance!!!"

Thud!

One particularly stupid bastard even drove a blade into his own heart and killed himself.

"Tsk tsk… A fool who couldn't even recognize the true value of this sweet performance has taken his first steps toward the afterlife."

Having put more than fifty Disasters to sleep with a single performance, I deactivated Voice Amplification and Sound Wave Block and stowed the violin in My Room.

"I've gone and eliminated more useless things again. And with my sweet Sound Art, no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠less. Haa… this sinful man. Why must my talent overflow so…"

I gazed down at the damn Disaster bastards I'd taken out, then looked up at the sky with a distant expression and murmured. At some point the Constellations had turned the volume back up, and indirect messages began pouring in like mad.

"Shut up! What do any of you know? And this is the first time I've ever played a violin, okay?"

Don't try to crush my spirit, you bastards!

Furious at the audacious Constellations who had already recognized my passion and talent for the instrument and were trying to break my spirit early, I gathered the unconscious Disasters into one place and bound them to long iron rods I'd bought from the general shop.

Slash! Slash!

Then I drove the iron rods into the ground to fix the bound Disasters in place and poured oil around them.

The little people and my companions were staring down at me with expressions of pure disbelief.

"What are you doing?"

Han Sooyoung had climbed onto the fortress wall and was looking quietly down at me.

"When our snake bastard shows up, I want to show off that all his subordinates got wiped."

"…Fine, that part makes sense. But earlier, after you put up Sound Wave Block, what did you do that made them all collapse like that? From here it just looked like you were playing the violin."

"I turned on Voice Amplification and played. That was it."

"That was all?"

"Yep."

Han Sooyoung eyed me for a moment, then flinched and spoke in a rush.

"Hey, hey! Hold on, just one question. Is your instrumental skill as godawful as your singing?"

"Godawful? Where else are you going to find someone who sings as well as I do!"

"…Ugh! Cut the crap! Have you ever actually learned the violin?"

"No? This was my first time."

"……………."

"Want me to show you?"

"No. If you play that in front of me, you die and I die. Absolutely do not."

Han Sooyoung glared at me with the bristling wariness of a cat with its fur standing on end, growling. I discreetly averted my gaze.

I finally finished pouring oil around the Disasters, then pulled out the leftover Buldak sauce and sand lance fish sauce from My Room's refrigerator.

Smear.

I spread Buldak sauce under the Disasters' noses and on their lips, then poured sand lance fish sauce over their heads.

"…Oppa, what are you doing right now?"

"Hm?"

I turned toward the voice beside me. My cute little sister Lee Jihye was staring at me with a look of pure incredulity.

"Trolling."

"Trolling? Why would you…"

"Huh? Isn't it the golden rule that when you start a war and the other side loses, you troll them or teabag them?"

"…Fine. Do whatever you want, Oppa."

Lee Jihye muttered under her breath with a look of complete resignation. I tilted my head, finished applying the Buldak sauce and sand lance fish sauce, pulled out the leftover salt from My Room, and began dancing in circles around them.

"La-la-la-la-la~♪"

Splash! Splash!

Dancing around them, I started sprinkling salt on their bodies.

"Evil spirits, begone! Yokai, eat salt! You bastards' sponsors, eat salt too!"

"Mm~ If you're mad, try winning. You scrub bastards! What are you gonna do about it?"

Splash! Splash!

"You bastards who followed that Paul bastard in the fifth scenario and threw away all your probability for nothing on the Korean Peninsula — what are you gonna do by glaring at me?!"

Splash! Splash!

"Eheh~! Our scrub yokai's eyes are so piercing! Aigoo, it's so cold!"

Splash! Splash!

I kept smiling and continued to provoke them as the Japanese yokai-origin Constellations kept sending indirect messages about glaring at me and hurling curses.

Meanwhile, up on the fortress wall, Shin Yooseung had been carefully watching Park Jinwoo's behavior with Igneel perched on her head. She was scribbling something in a notebook and muttering quietly to herself. Kim Dokja stepped up beside her and began to listen.

"…You have to troll and teabag your enemies to provoke them."

"…Yooseung?"

"Yes? What is it, Dokja unni?"

Kim Dokja looked down at Shin Yooseung, who was gazing up at her with sparkling eyes. Her face hardened. Her lips trembled as she slowly opened her mouth.

"W-what did you just write in that notebook?"

"This? It's nothing special. I was writing down the things Jinwoo oppa does so I can try them later!"

"Th-that's not allowed!"

"Huh? Why not?"

Faced with Shin Yooseung's pure, direct stare, Kim Dokja flinched, whipped her head away, and strongly admonished her.

"…A-anyway, no! You don't just casually copy Jinwoo's behavior! Got it? Okay?!"

"Eeh… but it looks fun…"

"Tsk… Good children don't copy that kind of trash."

"Yeees…"

Shin Yooseung put the notebook in her pocket with a dejected look.

Kim Dokja looked down at Shin Yooseung, who had thankfully listened, and let out a deep sigh of relief. Then she turned her head and glared hard at Park Jinwoo.

…I'm going to have words with him once the scenario is over.

And so, in that moment, Park Jinwoo's fate was sealed.