Night of the Prophets (5)

We pushed open the platform entrance of Anguk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Station, where the Prophets attending the Night of the Prophets had gathered, and stepped inside.

"If I'd known it would turn out like this, I would've read the Book of Revelation a little harder…."

"Hey, at least reading a bit of it is why you're still alive. Cheer up, Number 887."

"Long time no see! Number 998!"

"You been well, Number 67?"

"When's He supposed to get here?"

"Who knows? Number 9 and Number 1089 said they'd bring Him, so He should be along soon."

Once we climbed onto the Anguk Station platform, the scene that met us was dozens of Prophets chattering away, each saying whatever they felt like.

Noisier than a flea market… Still, it looks like a place where people actually live, so it's kind of nice to see.

In what should have been a silent Anguk Station, Prophets were exchanging greetings, complaints, and worries, and for a moment it almost looked like ordinary life before the world ended.

"Looks like nobody's occupied this place?"

As soon as she stepped onto the platform, Kim Dokja, who had been carefully scanning the surroundings, asked Lee Seongguk.

"It's an agreement among the Prophets. Meeting at a station someone already holds would be too dangerous. Think of it as a kind of DMZ."

Just then, a Prophet with brown skin and permed hair looked our way from a distance. He glanced at Jung Minseob, then called out with a bright, welcoming face.

"Hey~ Number 1,089!"

"Oh, Number 763!"

Jung Minseob waved back just as cheerfully.

"How've you been? You look good."

"Good? I'm dying because of the Tyrant King."

"I told you not to push into the Dobong-gu area. Why don't you ever listen…."

"…Anyway."

The Prophet called Number 763 cut Jung Minseob off mid-sentence, looked us over one by one as we stood behind him, and stopped on Kim Dokja.

"H-hey… is that person…?"

"Oh, you recognize her? Yeah. That's her."

Jung Minseob nodded. Number 763's face went from shock to pure awe; he bent at a full ninety degrees and greeted Kim Dokja in a booming voice.

"It is a true honor to meet you, Yoo Joonghyuk-nim!"

His voice rang across the Anguk Station platform. Instant silence fell, and every Prophet's gaze snapped toward us.

"Huk— is that really her?"

"She's way prettier than I imagined…."

"………."

Kim Dokja looked around at the sudden wall of stares, clearly flustered.

The Prophets stared blankly for a beat, then rushed her all at once and started introducing themselves.

"Yoo Joonghyuk-nim! I'm Number 998!"

"I'm Number 1,055!"

"It's such an honor to finally meet you!"

"Yoo Joonghyuk-nim! I'm Number 562! I've been a huge fan of yours for so long!"

With the Prophets swarming Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seongguk, Jung Minseob, and I naturally ended up a little apart from her.

"Looks like a bunch of ajummas losing their minds over a department-store bargain sale."

"…Yeah, it kind of does."

Jung Heewon answered me.

…But why are these guys so weak?

Using the Cold Observation skill I'd gotten as a reward from the Theater Dungeon, I looked over the Prophets crowding around Kim Dokja. Their average stats seemed to sit somewhere in the mid-to-late teens.

…Their clothes are shabby, their weapons aren't anything special, and they don't look like they're packing good skills either.

In a word: fodder. Pure fodder.

Most of them had dropped out of Ways of Survival in the early chapters. A few might have read as far as chapters 20–40, but they were a tiny minority, and even those didn't have impressive stats or skills.

Jung Minseob is supposed to be one of the better ones among the non-Apostle Prophets… What a pathetic bunch.

Look at them. They were nothing more than parasites clinging to Kim Dokja—who was only pretending to be Yoo Joonghyuk—trying to win her favor so they could freeload.

They had survived because they read Ways of Survival, but all they ever did was snatch a few early hidden items and hog every scrap of advantage their shallow future knowledge could give them. Not one of them had the guts to actually clear the scenarios alongside the protagonist and her party.

Haaa……. Yeah. Looks like I really do have to kill them all here.

Except Lee Seongguk and Jung Minseob, of course. Once the Lesser Dragon started wrecking the place, I would quietly farm the Prophets for coins.

My original plan had been to keep a few of the more useful-looking ones around as temporary underlings. These guys weren't worth it. Better to kill them and harvest the coins.

The only ones who look even remotely useful are the Apostles here. And those ones I definitely have to kill….

I didn't know the other Apostles' faces, so I settled for glaring at the man known as the Fifth Apostle—the only one whose face I recognized. He was already walking up to Kim Dokja and speaking to her.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Number 1,168."

A handsome man with a warm impression introduced himself to Kim Dokja as Number 1,168.

He's an Apostle, so he's got to be loaded with coins, right…?

Maybe it was because I'd just spent a fortune of 44,000 coins raising my total stats by 80, but that Apostle was starting to look like a walking pile of coins.

Unaware that I was already converting him into currency in my head, the Fifth Apostle continued.

"Forgive me for asking, but… is this truly your third regression, Yoo Joonghyuk-nim?"

"It is."

"Ahh, as I thought…."

At Kim Dokja's answer, several Prophets' faces darkened. I could understand how they felt. Ways of Survival was a novel where the regressor Yoo Joonghyuk suffered through every possible hardship across more than 1,800 regressions. And this was only the third turn….

If I didn't know Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, I'd be disappointed too….

Then the area around our party suddenly grew noisy. I turned my head and saw a few female Prophets approaching Lee Hyunsung.

"Lee Hyunsung-nim! Are you the Steel Sword Emperor Lee Hyunsung?"

"Oh my god, look at those muscles!"

Surrounded by women, Lee Hyunsung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flushed red and waved his hands frantically.

"Yes?! W-why are you all doing this? I'm not any kind of steel emperor!"

Next, a male Prophet approached Jung Heewon.

"Um, are you by any chance Maritime Admiral Lee Jihye-ni—"

"No."

"Ah. Yes, ma'am."

"Why am I not famous yet…?"

Jung Heewon answered the man coldly, then looked faintly disappointed that her own reputation hadn't caught up.

"Excuse me…."

"Hm?"

Someone spoke to me, so I turned toward the voice.

"Are you… Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon-nim, by any chance?"

"Wow… this really is the protagonist's party. Every single member is either ridiculously handsome or insanely pretty…."

A few cute-looking female Prophets blushed as they asked if I was Kim Namwoon. I smiled and answered them.

"I'm not the 'Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon' you mentioned, but I recently joined Yoo Joonghyuk-nim's party. The name's Park Jinwoo."

"Huh? Park… Jinwoo…? I've never heard that name in the Book of Revelation…."

"But if he got into Yoo Joonghyuk-nim's party, he has to be someone amazing, right?"

"Or maybe he's someone who joins her party in a different regression?"

The female Prophets put their heads together and whispered, shooting me sidelong glances.

After watching the Prophets create an atmosphere as chaotic as a flea market for a while, Kim Dokja asked Number 763,

"Where's the 'weapon'?"

"Pardon?"

"The 'weapon' you people hid. Let's check that first."

"Ah, about that."

Number 763 walked over to a large object covered by a cloth in the center of the platform, pulled the cloth away, and revealed a massive stone to Kim Dokja.

Kim Dokja stared at it, then flinched.

"That… is that a 'meteorite'?"

"Haha, yes. The current Yoo Joonghyuk-nim may not know this yet, but according to the 'Revelation,' a powerful 'weapon' is sealed inside."

"A powerful weapon?"

"Yes! We expect something on the level of a top-grade holy relic."

Kim Dokja's eyes trembled. Cold sweat beaded on her face as her expression hardened.

"Meteorites need incubation time. You shouldn't be able to use it yet."

Number 763, who hadn't noticed her face, smiled proudly and explained helpfully.

"Haha, no need to worry about that. We've been taking turns supplying it with mana. It should hatch by tonight at the latest. We've been preparing for days…."

Kim Dokja didn't seem to hear a word. She just stared blankly at the dull red meteorite in front of her.

I get how she feels. She never expected the so-called Prophets to be trolls who would wake up a disaster.

Meteorites were the main event of the Fifth Main Scenario.

Depending on color, brightness, size, and type, they held either rewards or dangers. The murky red one sitting in front of us was a meteorite that contained a disaster.

According to Kim Dokja's comments in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, the meteorites that produced holy relics were "bright red." There were other colors as well.

For example, the "yellow" meteorite that held Lycaon, the "green" one from which Yoo Sangah obtained an S-rank item, and finally the "blue" meteorite some anonymous user once mentioned on the ORV community boards.

Unfortunately, there was zero information on the blue one.

According to the community, the blue meteorite was a tragic one-off that appeared only once in the original novel and was never mentioned again. Still, I vaguely remembered a speculative comment guessing that if you ever got a blue one, you might obtain a skill from it.

While I was briefly reviewing meteorite lore in my head, Kim Dokja turned to Number 763 with a frantic expression.

"Who gave you that information?"

"Pardon?"

"Who brought that meteorite here?!"

At her shout, Number 763 looked flustered.

"Ah, th-that… it was someone called Number 1,124…."

"Where is he?"

"Uh… he doesn't seem to have arrived yet."

Kim Dokja's face went deadly serious.

"…We have to get out of here."

"What?"

Kuuuuuuuuuung!!

A violent tremor began, as if something enormous were stirring inside the red meteorite.

"…………."

At last…. Dragon meat… no, my savings account… ahem! The moment to face a Western dragon with my own two eyes had finally arrived.

While I stared at the red meteorite with shining eyes, Kim Dokja watched it warily and began backing away step by step.

"W-what is this sudden shaking?!"

"Ooooh, is it finally…?!"

The Prophets gathered in Anguk Station had no idea what was inside that meteorite. Half of them looked panicked by the sudden vibration; the other half stared at it with eyes full of expectation.

Kim Dokja looked at our party and shouted,

"Everyone, run!"

"Huh? Run? What do you mean…."

Kim Dokja bolted for the platform entrance at the head of the group, and the rest of the party followed in confusion.

Everyone except me.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪ Now it's time for us to say goodbye~♩"

I sang cheerfully. The Prophets around me stared blankly at the guy casually belting out a song, but I ignored them completely, drew HK416 and Barisada, and wrapped Gleipnir around my waist.

"Preparations complete!"

Behind me I could hear Kim Dokja talking with the party, and then a group chat window popped up in front of my eyes.

At Kim Dokja's words the party looked around, then spotted me still standing exactly where they had left me.

I quietly fixed my gaze on the red meteorite shuddering and vibrating at the center of the platform.

A few Prophets were still standing near it with completely casual expressions. The sight was so frustrating I decided to give them a small warning.

"Hey, you idiots next to the meteorite. You might want to get away from there right now."

"You talking to us?"

One of the Prophets waiting near the red meteorite scowled.

"Yeah, you morons. You think a normal meteorite spits out an item with this much shaking? If you value your lives, back off."

"Ha. Who the hell are you to lecture us?"

"I warned you."

Blinded by the false information that a holy-relic-tier item was inside, the Prophets ignored my warning and stayed put. And then—

the red meteorite slowly began to crack.

Jjeojeojeojeok!!

Once the cracks in the red meteorite passed a certain point, a main scenario message flew into view.

"Huh? What's this? Why is a main ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scenario suddenly…."

One stupid Prophet who still hadn't grasped the seriousness of the situation pressed his face right up against the cracked red meteorite.

Paaat!

A large fissure split the surface, and a flood of crimson light poured out.

Kudangtang!

Half of the Prophet's face vanished without a trace under that red light. The body that had lost half its head toppled like a puppet with its strings cut, then rolled across the floor with a noisy clatter.

"Kyaaaaak!"

"Uwaaak!"

"W-what the hell is this?!"

"Idiots. I told you to get away."

I sneered at the fools who only now started screaming as they stared at the Prophet who had lost his head in an instant.

Ulkeok! Ulkeok!

"Hwaaaaak!!"

"Uwaaaaak! H-hot! My body's on fire!!"

Red lava gushed out through the cracks in the meteorite's surface. Prophets unlucky enough to get splashed on the face or body screamed at the top of their lungs.

Jjeojeok.

Then a massive crack split the meteorite, and something could be seen forcing its way out from the inside.

Kwajik! Kwajik!!

"W-what is this? Where's the 'holy relic'?!"

Kwajik! Hwoong!

"Keueoeok…?!"

"Keuheuk…!"

The thing that emerged from the meteorite—no, the egg—immediately swung its long tail at the surrounding Prophets. Bodies struck cleanly by the tail burst open as easily as balloons.

Krrrrrk!

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!"

I laughed from the bottom of my heart at the dragon that had finally revealed itself. Then I slowly walked toward the Lesser Dragon.

"Finally… finally…! Finally! Finally!! Finally!!!"

I laughed. Because my dream had finally come true.

I laughed. Because I could finally check an item off my bucket list.

I laughed. Because I could finally take in the dragon I had longed for with my own two eyes.

I raised my weapons. Because of the thrill of finally being able to kill a dragon.

Drool ran from my mouth. Because I could finally eat dragon meat.

"Enchant, Cold. Apply it to Barisada, Gleipnir, and HK416. And fire-attribute enchantment on my clothes."

With that, preparations were perfect.

"Gleipnir."

Charrreuk!

The Gleipnir wrapped around my waist shot upward at my will and buried itself in the ceiling.

Satisfied, I gave it an additional command.

Shorten the length.

Charrreuk!

Centered on the chain driven into the ceiling, Gleipnir's length began to shrink. My body was automatically yanked upward at high speed.

Tak!

I planted my feet against the ceiling, completed a successful landing(?), and looked down at the Lesser Dragon from above. Glaring at it, I tightened my grip on Barisada, pushed off hard with the feet stuck to the ceiling, and launched myself straight at the creature.

Hwiieeek!

"Hahaha! This feels amazing! It's like I've become a Survey Corps soldier from Attack on Tita■!"

My body shot toward the Lesser Dragon at high speed. The wind rushing past me felt incredible.

"Oh, already there!"

With Strength 40, kicking off the ceiling and diving at it, I reached its face in a mere two seconds.

Krrrk…!?

The creature flinched in surprise as I suddenly appeared right in front of its face.

I smiled down at it, reversed my grip on Barisada, and said,

"Hello, meat."

Putting every ounce of strength into the reverse-gripped Barisada, I drove it straight into the creature's nostril.

Kwajik!

"Here's Johnny!"

Kwooooooooaaaar—!!!

The creature that had just been ambushed in the nose let out a tremendous scream.