NOVEL NEXT Chapter 168
Chara-rang!
———————————————————
[Mission Objective]
1 – Graduate from Claris Academy without being retained or expelled. (Achieved)
2 – Prevent the Caeran ending. (Achieved)
———————————————————
Failure: The timeline may collapse, and you could be trapped in the eternal flow of time.
———————————————————
[Mission Clear]
[At last, the Demon King appears…]
What is the Demon King?
The final boss?
Despair itself?
An overwhelming presence?
Having only fought Demon Kings in games, I really don’t know.
Whether the actual Demon King here is the one from [Hwanseangyongsa] or an original from [Hwanseangaka]…
…
…
Knock. Knock.
From the ends of my hair, drops of water fall one by one.
The world I encountered after closing the status window…
was dark.
The whole world was dark as if the sun was blocked.
The atmosphere in Sellafi Hall had changed.
Alien and sticky.
“…”
Thud.
I put down what I was holding,
Thud.
And descended to the first floor of Sellafi Hall.
!!!!!!!!!!
And the answer to what the Demon King could be…
was right in front of me.
Knock. Knock.
Falling drops of blood.
Disheveled hair without life.
“Yeah! I’ll always be in Sellafi Hall…!”
Weakly drooping hands.
“P-please hurry.”
Blood. And blood.
Under the sofa, a pool of blood, seemingly belonging to someone, welcomed me.
“Aria, Yeriel…?”
My head couldn’t keep up with the current situation.
There’s an instinct in humans.
An instinct that something is terribly… wrong.
Where did it go wrong?
As I walked toward the sofa, driven by instinct…
Pschh!
“Huh?”
A hot and numb… shock continued from my back.
Looking down, something sharp and blurry pierced through my heart.
“Gah.”
I can’t… breathe.
My body…
is being sucked into a deep abyss.
…
…
…
Ding.
!?
With the sound of the status window, I opened my eyes.
The whole world was red.
And I was tied to a crucifix.
[How’s that?]
An unidentified shadow spoke to me.
“Cough!”
Only now could I breathe.
Yeah, that was just a dream.
Thinking it was a dream brought a strange sense of relief compared to the current situation.
[The kind of ending humans like. Was it called the Ninja Massacre Ending?]
“Cough cup…?”
[Well, it’s not like the ninja personally showed up because you overslept… but…]
Let’s think clearly.
The Ninja Massacre Ending is a meme from Korea.
And knowing that means…
[Please share your thoughts, dear reader?]
No need to guess anymore.
It referred to me as…
‘Reader’.
“…So the Demon King is the author, you.”
[Correct!]
Well, it was a predictable story.
The final boss turned out to be the author.
[I pondered a lot about how to end it. Should I let you enjoy it first and then break it at the crucial moment…?]
“…?”
[But you keep crawling if I give you time. What am I supposed to do?]
“Explain it so I can understand.”
In response to my answer, it took a big sigh, scratched its forehead a few times, and continued.
[First of all, dear reader, you’ve been causing more chaos than I thought.]
“…”
[Where should I start…?]
It crossed its legs in the chair,
Ding.
!?
With a snap of its fingers, it was right in front of me.
[Firstly, as you said, I am the author. Well, originally, I’m the Demon King, but.]
“…?”
[Secondly, [Hwanseangyongsa] and [Hwanseangaka], I created them all.]
That was somewhat shocking.
The fundamentally overflowing game [Hwanseangyongsa], and the fanfic work [Hwanseangaka], are authored by the same person?
[Thirdly, it’s a shameful story, but I lose to Caeran Hiss in the future.]
“What?”
[That guy, it doesn’t make sense. He can copy everything he sees. How can that be?]
Is that something you should be saying?
Or is Caeran Hiss… not the author’s character?
[He’s an outlier among humans… Anyway, at the moment I was supposed to die at his hands, I barely managed to reincarnate with the power of the Demon King. Then I temporarily hid in another dimension. That’s where you lived.]
It continued speaking.
[But I can’t run for my life forever, right? I have my family too. So I created the game [Hwanseangyongsa].]
“…?”
[Yes. In contrast to what you thought, the game [Hwanseangyongsa] is the fake story I created. And the fanfic [Hwanseangaka] is the real reality we face.]
“…So what you mean is… this isn’t the world you created, but a real different dimension?”
[That’s right! It’s nice that you understand quickly. Just this… though.]
Out of fear of the future where I die at Caeran’s hands, he created a game in another dimension.
What an unwanted fact.
“What was the purpose of that bullshit?”
[…]
As I scoffed, it seemed the author was momentarily stung and hesitated.
[Well, it’s because of those two girls.]
“!”
Seeing my reaction, it seemed to have seized the opportunity to speak confidently.
[So I killed them. How’s that? Is this what you wanted?]
“…”
[Hahaha! Now, your expression is worth seeing! But don’t worry… If I kill them so easily, you won’t have reason to listen to me. Humans tend to cling to hope. Kahak. Huh!!]
It panted heavily, then forced itself to calm down and spoke again.
[…Get out of my world. Then, I’ll leave those two girls alive.]
Stay calm.
It’s still insisting that I leave peacefully.
That means, killing me, a being from another dimension, is a complicated choice for either a timeline or a problem concerning itself.
———————————————————
[Mission Objective]
1 – Graduate from Claris Academy without being retained or expelled. (Achieved)
2 – Prevent the Caeran ending. (Achieved)
———————————————————
Failure: The timeline may collapse, and you could be trapped in the eternal flow of time.
———————————————————
Simultaneously, I understood why the first condition of the missions looked this way.
After reincarnating, the one who gave me the power to catch Caeran needed time to recover by sealing himself.
It must have been for about four years during the academy’s graduation period, hoping I would quietly attend the academy and stay out of trouble.
However, yesterday, I touched Belial, who is among the top-tier Great Demons.
To prepare for my bug play inflation possibly reaching this point, he used Belial’s will as a safety net to escape his seal.
Having comprehended all of this, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“So in a nutshell, you’re really weakened right now?”
[Yeah, yeah, yeah… you piece of garbage reader. But I can still kill off at least one puny reader and restore the timeline, so maybe it’s best for you to give up those futile thoughts?]
His words were true.
Ding.
[Warning]
[Cannot use ‘Copy’ on the target]
The author was your character.
Since I received the power of a gamer, it seems I can’t use specific abilities like ‘Copy’ on him.
Instead, if the author leaves me alone, it seems I grow stronger every time, while he loses his power.
Basically, it’s like the relationship between the stamina of a content creator and the twisted relationship of a consumer draining it.
[Hehe… I can see your face showing understanding? Right now you can’t defeat me. So tell me with those trashy eyes.]
“…”
[Before you turn your loved heroine into a rag, get the hell out of here.]
“…Right now?”
When I asked once more, he started laughing madly.
[You think I’d let you go, considering I don’t know what you might do? Don’t test my patience. This is your last chance. Get lost now!!]
“Fine. Just loosen my binds.”
I willingly agreed.
[Ha, don’t do anything foolish, okay?]
Rustle.
As he loosened my eyes while glaring, I closed my eyes and pressed the game exit button.
Ahhh…
In front of me, yawning widely,
[10 seconds until… Logout]
A familiar status window began popping up.
At this moment, the author, no, the Demon King, began to smile.
[Thanks a lot. You made a good choice… I’ll erase all your memories… so don’t worry?]
[6 seconds until… Logout]
…
…
…
[Ah, Aria Bluebell… Yeriel Artina, right? Hehe… hahahahaha!!!]
What a true Demon.
Slurp.
He started licking his lips as if savoring the moment.
[4 seconds until… Logout]
Phew.
I reluctantly opened my right eye and said a word to him.
“Thanks.”
[Hehe?]
“Because you’re not Korean, but an absolute evil.]
[What?]
“I’m saying, if you possess me again, I’ll kill you first.”
With the answer of the laughing author…
[0 seconds until… Logout]
My physical body was obliterated in an instant.
…
…
…
*
-…!!!
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in Korea. In my office apartment.