As they were moving toward the rocky terrain while riding the Black Cloud, Han Sooyoung asked Kim Dokja.
"So, what's the plan? Are you planning to find the 'Calamity King'?"
"Since the scenario has come to this, if we don't kill him, it won't end."
Asuka Ren, who heard Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja's conversation, was startled and hastily interrupted.
"Are you saying you know who the 'Calamity King' is?"
"That's something you should tell us from now on."
She flinched.
Asuka Ren looked at Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung's expressions, then bowed her head slightly with a troubled look.
At Asuka Ren's frustrating behavior, Kim Dokja snorted softly and spoke to her.
"Why did the 'King of White Light', Izumi Hiroki, become the 'Calamity King'?"
"You... how did you...?"
"It's not important how I know. We don't have time to argue about that now."
...
At Kim Dokja's words, Asuka Ren let out a small sigh. Then she nodded slightly and opened her mouth with a gloomy expression.
"...Izumi became like that all because of me."
Asuka Ren opened her mouth while recalling the moment when she first entered with Japan's first wave of incarnations, before she became an incarnation herself.
"When we first wave incarnations came to this Peace Land, I checked the scenario content and opposed them, trying to stop them. If we kill incarnations as calamities here, it would be repeating what the calamities did to us on Earth."
"But it seems the others didn't listen to you?"
"Yes... especially Yamamoto, who had kept me in a cage, was the first to kill the incarnations."
Kim Dokja looked at her and said after hearing Asuka Ren's words.
"So, it was you who wrote 'Do not kill incarnations' in the dimensional message."
"And the leader sent a message with the exact opposite content."
Han Sooyoung looked back at Asuka Ren with an exasperated expression after hearing her words.
"So, you killed your comrades? What amazing sense of justice. You're really weird. Isn't it obvious that your comrades are more precious than incarnations?"
"That..."
At Han Sooyoung's rebuke, Asuka Ren bowed her head as if she had nothing to say, and Kim Dokja, seeing that, asked Asuka Ren.
"If Izumi had used the 'Absolute Throne', there shouldn't have been any conflict."
"...For those who had already become 'calamities', the power of the 'Absolute Throne' didn't work well."
Asuka Ren made a pained expression just from recalling it, but endured and continued.
"Other people, realizing that the power of the Absolute Throne used by Izumi didn't work on those who became calamities by killing incarnations, thoroughly slaughtered the incarnations. Because in this sixth scenario, there are only two factions."
"Incarnations and calamities, right?"
Asuka Ren nodded at my words. And Asuka Ren bowed her head with an even gloomier expression, as if recalling the past.
"...So, Izumi killed incarnations to control the calamities."
"...That's right. To control the Japanese who became calamities, Izumi killed incarnations and became a calamity."
"Then what happened after that? Seeing that you're still alive, it seems the throne's command worked."
"The command was activated. But..."
Asuka Ren trembled as if frightened just from recalling that time, hugged her shoulders, and said.
"When Izumi became a calamity, sudden abnormal symptoms appeared in him. Suddenly, Izumi staggered, his eyes turned red, and he shouted at his comrades who hadn't become calamities yet to run away from him. And... and then, an eight-headed snake's head burst out from his body and destroyed everything around."
...
Kim Dokja, who heard Asuka Ren's explanation, looked at Asuka Ren, who was trembling even more severely than before, with a greatly surprised expression.
Asuka Ren, terrified, shouted at us with a trembling voice.
"There's no way to kill him. If we know who the constellation behind him is—."
"The constellation 'Lord of Eight Heads'... its true name is the monster from Japanese mythology, said to have eight tails and heads, often depicted as a giant snake, imugi, or dragon... Yamata no Orochi."
A loud rumble!!!
As if responding to the true name I called, sparks rained down from afar.
"Moreover, the 'Lord of Eight Heads' is a guy who makes soul contracts with incarnations. In exchange for lending powerful strength from the beginning, he gradually takes away control of the incarnation's body... It seems things have blown up in this scenario."
As Kim Dokja's additional explanation followed, Han Sooyoung looked at me and said.
"Then let's go catch him right away. He probably has the 'Absolute Throne' too. If we catch him, the game's over. If we tell him to fight, we'll catch him quickly."
"We can't catch him right now. The scenario difficulty has become much harder than I expected, and even if Kang Yuseong fights him one-on-one alone, the outcome won't be decided quickly. Because right now, as a calamity, he's receiving additional probability. So, we need some preparation."
Kim Dokja turned his head and stared intently at one place, as if looking beyond the forest, and continued.
"The reason we're going to the rocky terrain now is because there's someone else to meet."
"Someone to meet? What... Yoo Joonghyuk?"
"Someone stronger than Yoo Joonghyuk."
"What? There's someone stronger than him?"
"There is. A strong person from Peace Land."
Han Sooyoung, who heard Kim Dokja's words, opened her mouth with an incredulous expression.
"From Peace Land? Are you kidding now?"
Han Sooyoung glared at Kim Dokja and continued with an excited tone.
"Don't you know how weak the kids here are? There's not even a third-rate swordsman, let alone a swordmaster! Moreover, the only magic they can use is barely lighting a fire on a stove."
Han Sooyoung raised her voice with an aggrieved expression and an impassioned tone.
"It's not even some first-generation fantasy novel... It's like someone maliciously gathered only weaklings. No, I don't understand at all. Why did those dokkaebi bastards, who love stimulation, make such a world their stage? Do they even have any intention of earning coins?"
While listening to Han Sooyoung's words, Kim Dokja, who had been subtly checking someone's reaction, quietly turned his head and opened his mouth.
"Calm down. This worldview wasn't created by dokkaebi."
"What?"
Han Sooyoung calmed her excited demeanor a bit after hearing Kim Dokja's words. Then she turned her head toward where Kim Dokja was looking.
There was Asuka Ren, with her face bright red, bowing her head deeply, and tears welling up in her eyes.
Under the gaze of me, Kim Dokja, and Han Sooyoung, Asuka Ren hesitated with a helpless expression, then bowed her head to us and slowly opened her mouth.
"...I'm sorry."
At Kim Dokja's words and gaze, and Asuka Ren's apology, Han Sooyoung said with a greatly surprised face, as if realizing belatedly.
"...Wait, don't tell me...?"
As if Han Sooyoung's guess was correct, Asuka Ren slowly nodded her head and let tears fall drop by drop.
"...'Peace Land' is a manga I drew."
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