Beyond the Eternity

Once I entered the room, I decided it was time to wake the party members. Lee Dokho was still unconscious on the couch, and Kagura remained slumped in her chair.

The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the constellation messages.

[A few Constellations are watching you with curiousity.]

[Constellation 'Architect of Destruction' is eager for your next move.]

[Constellation 'Mother of Dragons' is yawning for violence.]

Look at these guys. Why were they so impatient? For some reason, they reminded me of people who watched K-Pop Drama.

This was really a story to them, huh?

I discarded those useless thoughts and moved to Kagura first. I shook her shoulders and called out.

"Hey, Kagura. Walk up. Hey, wake up."

"Hmmmmm... I don't need more rice."

"Eh?"

Well, I tried waking her up. But Kagura continued to mumble nonsense under her breath. She must be dreaming about something good. At this rate, wasn't it meaningless to wake her up?

I sighed. "You've done enough already. Just rest for now."

She only stirred slightly. I decided to let her rest and Lee Dokho was still unconsious so there was nothing to do at the moment.

I moved to my previous position and sat down on the couch. There was still two hours before the Fourth Trial started for real. What can I do in such a situation?

'Status Window.'

Ding!

Upon that mental command, a system interface appeared infront of me.

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[Personal Information]

Name: Kim Jakga

Age: 25

Personal Attritudes: ■■

Exclusive Skills: Endless One ■■, Omniscient Wall ■■, Dimensional Transmission ■■, Blood Demon Sword Energy Lv. 2, Marksmanship Lv. 5, Purifying Sword Energy Lv. 10, Magic Bullets Lv. 6, Eagle Eye Lv. 4, Incite Lv.

3, Sound Sensitivity Lv. 3, Weapon Mastery Lv. 2....

Divine Protection: Monster Hunting

Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 30, Strength Lv. 30, Agility Lv. 30, Magic Power Lv. 30

Summary: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

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My status window was pretty much the same except for the addition of two skills. Namely, Dimensional Transmission and Sound Sensitivity.

Apart from those two, everything else remained the same especially my concealed information.

... Well, I shouldn't be too concerned about that since I will learn about it later. In the meantime, I have to prepare for the next trial that's about to begin.

If everything flowed according to what's written in the novel, then the next trial will be becoming the Master of the Holy Grail which would be placed in Gwanghwamun. Of course, I already know the location of the Holy Grail. But the same can be said for that 'bastard' as well. More importantly, the other king candidates would also know where the Holy Grail would be located because of the Revelations.

In the end, the same person had made the situation more difficult than it originally should. But I can't do anything about that so it was useless to even complain.

—Since the king candidates know the location of the Holy Grail, It's natural that they would head to Gwanghwamun as soon as possible. But I don't think the situation should be that difficult. Even if they decide to go there, they won't know the exact position of the Holy Grail.

They would naturally go to the Gyeongbokgung Palace since that was what was revealed in the Revelations that the Devil spread around.

—And that that bastard Park Joonhyuk wouldn't be able to go there as well even if he wanted to. Even someone like him wouldn't have been able to escape the explosion without a scratch. In that case, he would probably wait for the king candidates to kill each other before he heads to the true location of the Holy Grail.

But it would be problematic if the system announces the location of the Holy Grail.

This worldline was different from the novel's storyline. There has been too many alternations in the plot and the mysterious workings of <Fate> did not help the current scenario.

From what I gathered from Soo Jinyoung's story, the trials of the new world she enters would be different from the previous world. Certainly, that has always been the case in the Song of Nightmares and this ruined world was born from the story of Song of Nightmares. With that in mind, It's safe to say that the <System> might announce the location of the Holy Grail to create more chaos.

Wouldn't any plan I cook up be meaningless if the actual location of the Holy Grail was announced from the get-go?

Fortunately, the Devil Park Joonhyuk would be in the same position as well. But that was not the only problem. There's also the matter about the monsters roaming around Seoul too. Naturally, just because they weren't the main focus, didn't mean they won't be involved.

As I pondered about the my next move, I realised just how ridiculous my current situation was.

"Sigh... At this point, should I just start counting sheep?"

I sighed and leaned back against the couch. It was useless to think about all the possibilities since no amount of planning could deal with all the variables. But one thing was certain though.

The Fourth Trial will be a bloodbath.

Just as I was lost in thought, a sharp ping echoed in my mind.

[Urgent Notification: The Fourth Trial will be updated in one hour.]

[Players that haven't met the required points will be killed.]

It's an hour already? Was it because I was lost in thought?

"Damn it."

As I muttered under my breath, I heard the sound of a groan.

I turned my head and noticed Lee Dokho slowly opening his eyes. He hadn't fully regained his senses and he groaned again as he tried to move.

"Ahhh! What the hell? My body is arching all over."

"Oh, you're finally awake, sleeping beauty."

His eyes slowly opened. "Ah, deputy-nim. Um, what happened? Where exactly are we?"

"It seems we're inside an apartment complex. By the way, make sure to thank Kagura when she wakes up. She's the one that carried us all the way here."

Lee Dokho blinked a couple of times and shifted his gaze towards where Kagura was resting.

"I guess you're right. What's the current situation?"

"We only have an hour before the trial ends."

"Only an hour?! We were out for that long!"

Lee Dokho's expression darkened.

"Fortunately, we already have enough points to pass the trial. But that's not the problem. The problem is the updated Fourth Trial itself."

"If I remembered correctly, It's the scenario where the king candidates will go after the Holy Grail, is that right?"

"Yes. I'm worried about the Holy Grail location. If it's announced by the system, we will be in a different position but I'm hoping that's not the case. However, It's also possible for such a scenario to occur. And there's also monsters to worry about too. Tch!"

I clicked my tongue.

Lee Dokho scratched the back of his head as he processed the reality of the situation. "Tch, so it's all riding on the Holy Grail now, huh?"

"Yeah. Basically, we're being forced into a corner. The monsters, the king candidates and that Devil guy.... we're being thrown into a battlefield where only victor is allowed. The worst part is that we're being watched like it's some grand spectacle."

The constellation messages popped up again, almost on cue.

[Constellation 'Architect of Destruction' is getting impatient.]

[Constellation 'Mother of Dragons' is licking her lips.]

Beings that only cared about the violence and the chaos. That has always been the case for the Constellations. From their perspective, we were just pieces of a much larger game board.

"I hate this." Lee Dokho gritted his canines as if he was upset. "Being toyed with like this. It's disgusting."

"I know."

I felt the same way so I can relate with him. Having someone watch your every move was more disturbing than it seemed on the surface.

Maybe this was how the characters felt when the readers read them. But what about when the author wrote their sentence?

"Mmmm..."

I was pulled from my reverie once I heard a soft moan. Kagura stirred on her chair and stretched her arms while yawning. Soon, she opened his eyes.

"Hmm, you guys were awake?"

"It hasn't been long since we woke up." I answered and then asked, "By the way, did you have a nice sleep?"

"Yes, I guess. It's difficult to sleep considering our current circumstances and my body is still stiff in some places."

"Well, that's good to hear but get ready. We will be leaving this place right now."

Kagura looked surprised. "Did something come up?"

"I guess you can say that. We only have an hour left before the trial ends."

"And what happens when the trial ends? Isn't there a break? Surely, we won't have to fight again."

A break? What the hell was that?

"Unfortunately, reality can be disappointing. Get ready quickly, we will be leaving in five minutes."

"Okay."

Kagura wore her jacket and hung her sheathed Japanese sword in a leather holster like a pistol while Lee Dokho simply wore his defensive suit over his bandaged injuries.

There was no need to carry anything on me while I had the [Dimensional Storage Ring] so I just silently waited for them.

Once those two were ready, the three of us moved out of the room and made our way down the staircase.

Before long, we walked out of the empty apartment complex and into the desolate streets of Seoul.

Well, what am I supposed to say?

The city was in ruins, the ruined road strained with blood, and the sky deep crimson. Such an absurd scene that could only exist in a fastasy has now become a reality. The foul smell that lingered in the air made it rather difficult to breathe. This was not the first time I had smelt that foul smell but it was difficult to get used to it.

...Huh? What's that?

I swept my gaze around and immediately noticed something odd. There was this strange mass of flesh that had formed and spread across the wall of several buildings like a fungus.

It seemed to move? No, it was no illusion. It pulsed faintly as if it was alive and veins of crimson light coursed through the grotesque surface.

Of course, this was not the first time I had seen such a thing, but it wasn't noticeable unless you looked close enough. Now it has gotten to a point where it was impossible to ignore.

Damn, so the corruption has already reached this point.

"What the hell is that thing?"

Kagura was the first to speak out and swung her head here and there.

I asked. "Did you see those things when you carried us here?"

"No. Those things were definitely not here when I came here."

"Are you sure? You might have been in a hurry so you wouldn't have noticed."

"Yeah right. Do you think I would miss something important like that? If I noticed, I wouldn't have entered this apartment complex to begin with."

I frowned. Even if she was in a hurry to find a safe location, those things were Impossible to miss especially when she's running from danger. Therefore, those mass of flesh must have formed when we were inside the apartment complex.

"In any case, let's get moving."

As we kept moving through the streets, the pulsing flesh clinging to the sides of the buildings like an infection spreading through the veins of the city.

Naturally, I already knew what was spreading those mass of flesh. But I didn't think It would spread this fast.

Every step we took seemed to amplify the unsettling squelching sounds that filled the otherwise dead silence. I heard Lee Dokho grunting behind me. His wounds hasn't fully healed and I was in the same position as well, but the pain was somewhat easier to endure.

The crimson sky loomed above us like a bad omen. It felt like we were walking through the remains of a world that was no longer alive, yet not entirely dead either.

"We're heading toward Gwanghwamun, right?" Kagura asked, breaking my train of thought.

I nodded. "That's where the Holy Grail should be."

"Should be? Lee Dokho raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound too confident about that."

"I'm confident enough."

Of course, I said so confidently enough, my heart was still filled with doubt.

The <System> had a way of twisting things, and with how much this world had diverged from the original story, there was no guarantee everything would play out the way I remembered. But what choice did we have, really?

Kagura suddenly became more alert.

"We have company in the front."

There was something moving in the front? I had a bad hunch and saw multiple silhouettes moving about. Even from here, it was clear those 'things' weren't ordinary people.

Lee Dokho muttered. "Is that... what I think it is?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

As I looked at the entities moving infront of us, I thought that we were really unfortunate or was it just my misfortune.

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