Master of the Throne (4)

Several minutes had already passed, yet I left my companions sprawled across the floor without so much as a reaction and stepped out of My Room.

To eliminate the remaining six kings—everyone except the Maitreya King.

"Sorry? But don't hold it against me."

I should have killed them the moment I took the star gems, but I had been so thrilled about obtaining the Sainchamsageom that I completely forgot and ran off to show it to my companions instead.

Thud!

"…Guh!"

Eliminating them was ridiculously easy. They still hadn't recovered from the aftereffects of my song.

Then, suddenly, my mood soured. I scowled and muttered under my breath.

"I know I'm tone-deaf too…"

I ignored the coin message from wiping out the six kings and stared blankly into empty air.

"And this is after I improved… fucking hell…"

How many times had I slipped into the coin karaoke alone, desperate to fix my hopeless tone-deafness?

I was twenty-six years old. I had practiced singing in coin karaoke rooms at least a hundred times. And I was still tone-deaf.

"Why the hell did the gods curse me with singing ability this wretched…"

With a gloomy expression, I quietly looked up at the ceiling of the Chamber of the Big Dipper.

That was when a system message blocked my vision.

"Huh?"

I stared at the floating message with a blank face.

Consecutively achieved Impossible Achievements? Wait… does that mean two Stories?

……Fuck?

I crumpled my face at the name of my new Story. Then the next message made me grind my teeth.

"You son of a bitch! Who the hell are you mocking?!"

Furious at the system messages that felt like pure mockery, I hurled the Barisada I was holding with all my strength toward the ground.

Thud!

"……Keuhk?!"

"Ah……."

And then, through pure rotten luck, some random guy happened to be standing there. The Barisada punched straight through his chest and killed him on the spot.

"……Ahem, ahem!!"

I cleared my throat with an awkward face, yanked the Barisada out of the guy's chest, and hung it back at my waist. Then I put a good twenty paces between myself and the man I had just accidentally murdered.

"…Fuck. Does this mean escaping tone-deafness is permanently impossible now?"

I sank into depression.

Ding!

"What now…"

Convinced that freedom from tone-deafness was forever out of reach, I was zoning out with a gloomy face when another message arrived.

"………………."

Fuck it. I'm going Black. I'm getting revenge.

I had sung in the Chamber of the Big Dipper and sworn I wouldn't sing near the Absolute Throne. Well, now I was going to sing there too.

I was going to sing so hard I'd rupture the eardrums of every Constellation watching the Seoul Dome, every Dokkaebi, and every Incarnation diligently clearing scenarios.

"………I'll burst all your eardrums together, nice and fair."

I quietly activated Shop User and entered the Dokkaebi Bag.

I smiled wickedly. Preparations complete.

This was not my fault. This was entirely the fault of the system messages that mocked me—no, the Star Stream's fault. The Star Stream that made me look like a complete fool.

"Yeah. This is absolutely not my fault. So let's all die together, nice and fair."

I kept repeating it like a mantra, brainwashing myself that none of this was my responsibility.

That was when the man lying next to me finally seemed to regain consciousness. He slowly sat up, muttering something.

"Ugh, ugh… what the hell was that horrific noise earlier…"

"Shut your mouth!"

Thwack!

"Keuhk…!"

I smashed the back of the man's head for insulting my singing. He face-planted into the ground and blacked out again.

Whether he stayed unconscious or not, I glared at him, seething.

"You fucking bastard! I will never forgive anyone who insults my singing ability!"

Only I am allowed to trash my own singing!!

About ten minutes by feel, other Incarnations were starting to come to and push themselves up off the floor.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I generated the door to My Room and stepped inside.

"Ugh… Park Jinwoo, you crazy tone-deaf bastard……."

"……My head hurts so much."

"…That was noise I never want to hear twice."

The moment I entered My Room, I saw Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Han Sooyoung slowly getting up, clutching their heads.

I immediately stepped back outside. Ideally they would have forgotten I was the one who sang, but Kim Dokja had outright named me, so that miracle clearly wasn't happening.

"……Time to bounce."

I had already gotten everything I needed, and I had rescued my companions. I was ready to leave the Chamber of the Big Dipper without a single regret.

That is, if it weren't for the strange noise coming from the ceiling.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

"Huh?"

I looked up at the ceiling of the Chamber of the Big Dipper at the grotesque sound. My face went pale.

"Fuck…! She's here! She's already here?!"

I knew instinctively. The noise from the ceiling was Yoo Joonghyuk.

But she was way too early. Why had she arrived this fast? The intermediate Dokkaebi hadn't even announced the second king's qualification yet!

While I was panicking at the thunderous noise from above, bright yellow sparks began crackling in empty midair.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

An intermediate Dokkaebi appeared at the center of the sparks.

He revealed himself and stared at me in complete silence. I averted my eyes from his gaze.

Bihyung had mentioned that several Bureau Dokkaebis had fainted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from my song. That meant the intermediate Dokkaebi floating up there had heard it too.

The intermediate Dokkaebi glared at me for a long time, then took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and spoke in a weary voice.

Ding!

After displaying the second qualification condition, the intermediate Dokkaebi continued.

"……Huh?"

Something was off. In the webtoon, the remaining kings at this point were clearly fourteen. I had just killed six. So why were there still twelve left?

……Weird. This many survived?

Ah—was it because the Tyrant King was gone? Originally, two nameless kings died at the Tyrant King's hands. That was how the 'Anti-Tyrant Alliance' formed.

But those were only the two that were revealed. Other kings might have died to him as well. Without the Tyrant King around, maybe that was why so many were still alive.

"That would explain why so many kings are still left…"

"Huh?"

And then the number of kings began to drop.

Yoo Joonghyuk had started killing kings.

"Oh no…"

This was not the time to worry about how many kings were left. My own life was the more urgent problem.

The moment Yoo Joonghyuk spotted me, she would come straight for me.

I frantically generated My Room and tried to dive inside. Right then, someone burst out of My Room and slammed hard into me.

Thud!

"Oof?!"

"Ack?!"

I landed hard on my ass thanks to the person who suddenly shot out of My Room. Blood that had been on the floor smeared all over my pants.

Grab!

"Park Jinwoo…!!"

I was staring down at my favorite pants, now stained with blood and wearing a depressed expression, when the person who had crashed into me seized me by the collar.

It was Kim Dokja.

"Uh, Dokja? What are you doing?!"

"What? What am I doing? Are you seriously asking because you don't know?!"

Kim Dokja shook me hard, her face twisted with pure rage.

"What the hell was that insane pig-slaughtering noise?! Everyone in the room collapsed because of you!"

"P-pig-slaughtering noise…? That's unfair!"

"Unfair my ass!!"

Kim Dokja's complete demolition of my singing ability left a deep wound in my fragile heart. I was sad. Extremely sad.

Tears welled in my eyes at the Constellations' messages. I cried out in anguish.

"Ah, will no one ever recognize my singing ability?!"

"Who the hell would recognize a tone-deaf freak like you?! I've never seen anything like it in my life. You're the first bastard I've ever met who knocks people out with a song!!"

Th-this wasn't the time. I needed to bolt into My Room right now…!

I grabbed both of Kim Dokja's hands that were still clutching my collar and said,

"D-Dokja! This really isn't the time…!"

"Huh?"

Why was the remaining king count at six? I stared blankly at the message tracking remaining kings, then shifted my gaze to Kim Dokja's waist.

Two black flags hung at her hip. Startled, I looked through the doorway of My Room. Inside, Han Sooyoung was glaring at Kim Dokja and seething.

Ah, so she stole Han Sooyoung's flag just like in the webtoon?

For a second I thought Kim Dokja had killed Han Sooyoung and come out. Or maybe Min Jiwon or the Neutral King had died.

Crrrrrack!

An ominous sound came from the ceiling. Yoo Joonghyuk was smashing through it.

"Ah, we're fucked…"

I looked up at the ceiling with a look of pure resignation. Then, as if she had finished demolishing it, the ceiling collapsed and chunks of stone rained toward the floor.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

Tap.

A woman leapt down through the hole in the ceiling.

She landed safely, locked her eyes precisely on the direction where Kim Dokja and I stood, and stared at us with an expression beyond description.

"Kim Dokja… Park Jinwoo…"

She began striding toward us.

"You two are dead…"

Rumble-rumble-rumble!!

A black aura swirled around her body. At the same time every hair on my body stood on end, and I realized the truth.

If I didn't run right now, I was actually going to die.

"Dokja!"

"Hey, Joonghyuk! Time-out for a second!"

Huh?

I had called Kim Dokja's name to get her to let go of my collar, but she suddenly called out Yoo Joonghyuk's name instead.

"…What."

"Wait, you're actually responding?"

And Yoo Joonghyuk actually answered her. I looked back and forth between Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk in shock.

Yoo Joonghyuk should have believed Kim Dokja was the one who kidnapped her little sister. Yet she was answering her. Had becoming a woman softened her personality a little?

"I wasn't the one who ordered your sister's kidnapping!"

"What the hell are you talking about…? Speak clearly, or I'll kill you right now."

At Yoo Joonghyuk's murderous words, Kim Dokja pointed at me with a desperate face.

"Park Jinwoo here used my name to kidnap your little sister!!"

"…………Fuck?"

What did I just hear?

I stared blankly at Kim Dokja with a hollow expression. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

But Kim Dokja didn't care what I did. She kept her eyes carefully on Yoo Joonghyuk and continued.

"…So leave me out of it. You two settle this yourselves."

Kim Dokja slowly released my collar and began backing away.

"……………."

"……………."

The moment Kim Dokja withdrew, an awkward silence stretched between Yoo Joonghyuk and me. We stared at each other for a moment.

"…Doesn't matter. I'll kill you first, Park Jinwoo."

"W-wait a second?!"

Yoo Joonghyuk charged at me. Her speed was incomparable to any other Incarnation.

Her stats are almost on the same level as mine right now?! As expected of a regressor… her growth rate is insane.

I hastily crossed Barisada and the Sainchamsageom into an X to brace for her attack.

Boom!

A heavy blow completely at odds with her delicate frame made my arms tremble violently. The current overall stat cap was 40, so with my 43 I should have been stronger than her—

But in front of a regressor, a three-point difference meant almost nothing.

I urgently called out to her.

"W-wait! Goddess! Joonghyuk?! Joonghyuk-ah?! Just a second! Let's solve this with words?! I was completely wrong!!"

"I will definitely kill you here."

"Don't be like that, just talk for a second! Please? I'm begging you like this?!"

Even with my desperate plea, she silently swung her sword at me.

Whoosh!

"Waaah?!"

I desperately leaned back and barely dodged the slash aimed at my upper body. But that wasn't the end.

A continuous barrage targeting my arms, neck, shoulders, calves, abdomen, and chest sent chills down my spine.

"……I'm actually gonna die. Gleipnir, Samryunhwan."

The slightest opening or moment of carelessness would cost me my head, so I dropped the joking attitude and faced her properly.

Clatter-clatter!

Vmmm!

My reliable weapons answered my call and appeared at once.

I barely managed to evade Yoo Joonghyuk's continuous strikes, and then Gleipnir and Samryunhwan began slowly pressuring her.

"……Gleipnir and Samryunhwan, is it?"

"…………."

Yoo Joonghyuk easily dodged Gleipnir trying to bind her and the circular blades of Samryunhwan, muttering under her breath.

Watching her move with fluid grace and effortlessly evade the coordinated attacks of both weapons, cold sweat ran down my back.

"Joonghyuk, I wasn't the one who kidnapped your sister. That was Dokja's doing?! I honestly don't know anything about it!"

"I know."

"Huh…? Then why are you coming after me…"

"You really don't know?"

"…………."

Her murderous glare left me speechless. The truth was, I did know. I knew exactly why she was reacting this viciously.

"B-but! Thanks to me you got to rest comfortably in a bed, right?! Let's call it even with that! Okay?!"

"You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dare put me in that state and then say we call it even? Are you joking with me right now?"

Crrrack!

Yoo Joonghyuk's sword became wreathed in blue energy. She had activated Heaven-Breaking Energy.

"………?!"

Damn it….

The pressure radiating from her body intensified the moment she used Heaven-Breaking Energy.

Desperate to talk down a thoroughly enraged Yoo Joonghyuk, I played my last card.

"M-Murim Dumplings!"

"………?"

The moment I mentioned the 'Murim Dumplings' she had eaten with such relish last time, her movements stopped. She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"I-if you stop here, I'll buy you ten Murim Dumplings! Okay? Okay? Okay?!"

"…………."

She looked at me like I was an idiot. Then her eyelids twitched, and her expression grew even colder.

"Eh, why?! Why are you even more pissed?!"

"……Come to think of it, you. On the theater rooftop, you dared treat me like a dog. And you even fed me dumplings laced with sleeping pills."

"Ah………."

I made a face of pure resignation. It was completely over now.

They say karma always comes back around.

I really hate that saying.

"I will definitely kill you, Park Jinwoo."

Yoo Joonghyuk strode toward me again with that murderous look on her face.

"Joonghyuk, can I leave a last will?"

"A last will is a luxury for the likes of you."

Stalling for time didn't work. Bribing her with food didn't work. Talking my way out didn't work. Overpowering her with force was something I couldn't even dream of. So was there truly no way out?

No. There was still one method left. The only way to escape this hellish moment.

I put strength into my legs and activated Agile Footwork.

From here on, speed was everything.

"Joonghyuk, I'm sorry. Forgive me just once."

"Shut up."

I had to time this perfectly. The slightest mistake meant certain death.

Tap!

Yoo Joonghyuk charged at me again. The moment I saw her coming, I spun around without a single hesitation and started running.

"You bastard! Are you running away?!"

"Of course I'm running! How the hell am I supposed to beat a monster woman like you?!"

"Don't you dare run, Park Jinwoo!!"

"Gyaaaaaah?! Somebody save me!!"

The moment I fled, Yoo Joonghyuk chased after me with murder in her eyes.

Everything was going according to plan. Just a little closer. Just a little more…!

"Eh, huh? Park Jinwoo?"

Kim Dokja had been enjoying the sight of me under mortal threat from Yoo Joonghyuk. When I suddenly started sprinting straight toward her, her face filled with panic.

I pulled my black flag from my coat and shoved it into Kim Dokja's hand.

"Dokja, PASS! I'm really sorry!! But you started it first?!"

"Y-you crazy… Hey! Park Jinwoo!!"

Kim Dokja's enraged shouting rang out behind me, but I kept running without a shred of hesitation. Even after handing her my flag, the intermediate Dokkaebi still hadn't appeared.

Crackle-crackle!

At last, the intermediate Dokkaebi reappeared in midair.

The system message I had been waiting and waiting for finally appeared. I stopped running and looked back.

"Park Jinwoo…!!"

"Joonghyuk, bye!"

Trapped inside a yellow circle, Yoo Joonghyuk roared my name with a furious face. I waved goodbye and saw her off.

"Ah, I survived another day! I really thought I was going to die this time."

I shed tears of pure gratitude at the fact that I had dodged Yoo Joonghyuk's blade and lived to see another day. But this was no time to stand around.

Click.

I gripped the Megaphone (Dome Channel) I had bought earlier and started sprinting toward Gwanghwamun.

"How could I possibly miss the live broadcast of the five kings' battle at Gwanghwamun!"

I ran until my feet sweated, determined to provide live commentary on the five kings' battle for the Absolute Throne.