The Eccentric Eagle's Story
“Rules are so strict.”
Quick Eagle accepted my forced retort with ease, his expression still carrying that trace of wisdom. Thanks to that, I ended up looking like the odd one out.
—Pathetic
—Aunty...
—Pope Gyojumma
Viewers were jeering without mercy. Still, I managed to keep a composed face and press on with the debate.
The sponsor voice cut in right before I could reply.
Menor-nim donated 3,000 won
“Huh? Pope, you’re pretending to be the villain to bring in the guest on purpose, right? No offense.”
It sounded like it was meant to poke at me, but it didn’t sting enough to bother me. I just smiled and let it slide.
Next, we moved back to the debate.
“All right, everyone, tell us about the final boss you faced in your world. I’ll start.”
I poured out everything I knew about the Demon King — how terrifying he was, the tragic fate of the ancient hero party member who turned into a demon because of a curse, his overwhelming strength, his surprisingly honorable personality, and that legendary aura of a demigod.
No lies, just the details that would stick with the audience. But it wasn’t easy. The Demon King was insanely powerful, yet he spent his life in a corner and couldn’t really show off that strength.
“That’s it.”
I managed to wrap up the story, but the chat reactions stayed lukewarm.
—Pope Gyojumma is really working hard
—Nothing special about it
—Power is a one-trick deal lol
—Is the Demon King not a woman? Why?
I tried not to let any of it bother me, but I couldn’t ignore the donation alerts either. Soon the owner of the familiar nickname jumped in.
havant-nim donated 1,000 won
“The Demon King barely had any plot importance in the story. The strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, Hagh, was the real final boss.”
It was a comment from Hainah, who seemed to know every single setting of the Apolis Tales series. I had told the kids to behave, yet here she was watching the broadcast.
I furrowed my brows for a second before smoothing them out again. Meanwhile, the silent Eagle joined the conversation.
“All right, my turn.”
Quick Eagle gently placed the half-eaten apple on the table and continued.
“The evil dragon Hecatrite used to be the elder of the dragon clan. Wise, clever, and peaceful, with excellent magic skills and the special ability to see all possible futures.”
A kind and powerful dragon who could look into the future — it made perfect sense for what happened next.
“Then one day he suddenly fell to darkness.”
Corruption. The most common reason (and excuse) for villains to appear.
“Why?”
“I saw a future where the world was destroyed.”
His voice grew dark. Quick Eagle closed his eyes for a moment, as if remembering something, then spoke again.
“At the time, Hecatrite could foresee millions of futures at once. Every single one ended with the world being destroyed — except one.”
“...So that one was the future where he fell to darkness?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s impossible...”
A sigh slipped out before I realized I was even speaking.
I hadn’t meant to get so caught up in the story. The habit from my life as Pope had stuck with me.
I tried to picture the next event and furrowed my brow.
“The only way to save the world’s peace was to embrace darkness. Cruel. That’s a fate too heavy for ordinary people to bear.”
“Right? But the evil dragon was an extraordinary being. He was willing to shoulder every sin in the world for the sake of all other people.”
“A saint... dragon. It’s a shame.”
“So.”
Quick Eagle smiled bitterly and idly tapped the table.
His story of the evil dragon’s fall continued toward its end.
“In the end, Hecatrite entered the cave where he had sealed away all the malice in the world and became the evil dragon. But before going in, he made preparations.”
“What kind of preparations?”
“He scattered magical artifacts called Artifacts across the world so that he could destroy himself with them.”
I nodded, growing uneasy.
...Not so simple after all.
The righteous heart that would sacrifice himself for the world, combined with the wisdom to think about what would come after. The evil dragon wasn’t the kind of final boss you could dismiss as a simple fallen villain.
Everyone else in the chat seemed to agree.
—I’m so jealous of the evil dragon
—This is way beyond the setting
—This is the final boss lol
—But in the drama...
While I was looking through the chat, one thing caught my eye.
“Actually, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“You mentioned that the drama version had many changes, right? Did the evil dragon version have any?”
“Um...”
It felt like he had been hit in a weak spot. Quick Eagle’s usual flow of speech stopped for a second, and his expression tightened slightly.
“There’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“A different actor played the role during the drama.”
“Really?”
A completely unexpected, down-to-earth reason popped up.
“The evil dragon’s actor started as a white man, but he was replaced after clashing with the production team. He was switched to a black female actress. One of the many PC changes in the drama version.”
“...”
Changing actors mid-drama is common, but switching race and gender? No wonder he was cursed.
“Is that unbelievable? The really unbelievable part is that this event actually happened in our world.”
“How is that possible?”
“A different parallel-world evil dragon came over and killed our version.”
“...”
Suddenly I felt a strange emotional pull.
It wasn’t just the absurdity. There was something deeper — more sentimental, more real.
“This is interesting.”
I put the debate aside and smiled, lost in old memories.
“Actually, I met an existence from a parallel world too.”
Oh Pil-seong, the director who had worked on Apolis Tales, would have been shocked if he heard this.
Just remembering it still gave me a strange feeling. All the events back then had been the turning point of my second life.
“Did you have multiple final bosses? I became friends with several different ‘Clityia Ellukes’.”
“Really?”
Quick Eagle’s eyes widened in surprise. He leaned a little closer to me.
“You had your race and gender changed too?”
“No, it wasn’t that. It’s just that the experiences were different, so everyone had slightly different personalities.”
“That’s weird...”
His genuine interest made the corners of my mouth lift.
Finally, I had broken Quick Eagle’s relaxed pace. The conversation had turned back to me.
I felt a quiet sense of satisfaction, but Quick Eagle grinned.
“That said, I should deduct one point. You’re supposed to be talking about the final boss, not your own story.”
“...”
Of course, he was an unusual friend.
***
After the evil dragon Hecatrite’s fall story ended, the debate resumed.
I spoke seriously about the Demon King’s strength.
“Balfour had the ability to split the earth in two with his bare hands. He was an owner of overwhelming power that the hero party couldn’t approach without thorough preparation.”
I recalled the memories of facing the Demon King and made the claim, but counterarguments flew in right away.
“Then the Demon King was a martial artist?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh my.”
Quick Eagle shook his head with a big gesture.
“Why?”
“My friend, martial artists are just people from the Stone Age who somehow flew into the future and stayed alive.”
“...”
Was the statement too harsh? The Demon King really fought with too little technique.
He could only punch and kick — no fancy tricks, just raw skill. Yet he had killed countless hero parties over a long period of time. Without Liam, my companions and I would have been dead too.
Therefore, as a martial artist, he deserved even higher praise.
“Even fighting with bare hands and being strong... that’s terrifying.”
“My friend, Hecatrite was a master of magic. In the time it took the Demon King to swing one punch, she could unleash thousands of undead flame storms and lightning bombs.”
“...”
Clearly the evil dragon fought in a far more spectacular style than the Demon King.
The Demon King wouldn’t have been overwhelmed, but from a normal person’s perspective, his style looked comparatively weak.
—The evil dragon just won, though
—Even in the setting, the opponent wouldn’t stand a chance
—In the drama version, he got nerfed a bit
—But he’s still strong
—If the two of them fight, the Demon King gets a one-minute cut lol
Everyone seemed to believe the evil dragon had the advantage. The fight was already decided.
Honestly, I was starting to worry.
What method could prove that the Demon King was an unbeatable strong opponent?
...There’s only one way.
Soon a good idea popped into my head. I lightly tapped the table to refresh the mood and deliberately made an exaggerated pained expression.
“It’s too much. Honestly, I can’t do it. How can you judge who’s stronger with words?”
“True, but... there’s no other way.”
“There is.”
Direct comparison was difficult, but indirect comparison was possible.
“The Pope Clityia Elluke who defeated the Demon King, and the hero Quick Eagle who suppressed the evil dragon — let’s have a friendly duel. One of us will quickly prove who the stronger final boss is.”
“...”
Quick Eagle stared at me for a moment, then leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“You only tried to stop me once, and now you’re asking me to fight again?”
I was surprised enough to lightly pat his massive shoulder. Then I smiled kindly.
“Last time I suddenly wanted to hit and get blocked, so I stopped you. And if I take a little time, I can create a space where neither of us gets hurt for a friendly duel. How about it?”
“Well...”
Since he had already been suppressed by me, Quick Eagle hesitated and didn’t immediately accept.
There was a good magic spell for this kind of situation.
“Quick Eagle-nim, are you... afraid?”
The provocation worked immediately.
“...Yeah, let’s do it!”
Of course, a man couldn’t resist.