Beyond the Eternity

Despite their shouts, it was a lost cause. Driven by raw fear, the crowd ignored the officers\' commands, pressing and shoving in a frenzy to reach the gates. The entrance had become a chaotic crush of bodies, each one fighting for survival.

In this storm of desperation, control was nearly impossible.

As we forced our way through the frantic crowd, strange cries sounded from those who had fallen, only to be trampled by the swarm. We pushed forward without a glance, focused solely on reaching our destination.

Once we penetrated the inner defenses, we were met with a dismal sight. Everywhere, people stood in silent despair, and the soldiers stationed on every corner trembled with fear.

It wasn\'t surprising, considering the circumstances. The city\'s defenders were vastly outnumbered, and the residents were gripped by terror. Morale among the defenders had plummeted to an all-time low, and the situation seemed utterly hopeless, with no apparent silver linings. It appeared as though they had already resigned themselves to their fate.

What could they really do in such a situation?

Angelica\'s face darkened. "This... this is terrible."

"Don\'t worry," I said, trying to reassure her. "Similar scenes will occur on earth. You\'ll get the hang of it. At least, that\'s if we manage to survive."

"Hey, don\'t say something depressing like that. We\'ll survive for sure."

Despite her confident tone, Angell\'s voice carried a hint of desperation, as if she were trying to convince herself that survival was still a possibility. Her silent despair was understandable. I, too, wasn\'t entirely sure we would survive to see the end of this story.

Lee Suhye broke in. "Jakga-ssi, why are you so sure reinforcements will come?"

"Because I know they will arrive," I replied with a shrug.

"How do you know that? Can we even trust this man? He\'s completely insane. How can he bet our lives on such an unsure possibility?"

Insane, huh?

I can\'t blame her. Anyone in their right mind would question me, especially given the incomplete information I had provided. From Lee Suhye\'s point of view, my plan must have seemed like a reckless, suicidal tactic. However, it was the only path that offered any hope of survival.

Angelica intervened, "Don\'t worry, Jakga is someone we can trust with our lives."

"How can you say that?" Lee Suhye retorted. "Did you hear him? Are you really willing to risk everything on his wild guess?"

"It\'s because of the god behind him. If he says reinforcements will arrive, then reinforcements will arrive. That\'s how we survived for this long."

"Oh, I see. I think I get it now."

Thank you, Angelica, I thought. That should keep Lee Suhye\'s questions in check, at least for now.

Turning to our objective, I considered what lay ahead. Originally, the library dungeon should have been discovered by Sung Jaewon, not Soo Jinyoung. In fact, Jinyoung was never meant to know about it.

Wait... I just realised something.

Which turn was this Sung Jaewon?

Wait… which turn was this for Song Jaewon? Third?

No, it should\'ve been the ninth turn for Song Jaewon since this was also Soo Jinyoung\'s ninth life. My memories felt fragmented, blurred, possibly because of the accident. Recalling certain events was difficult, as though pieces of the past had scattered like dust.

Even so, I was sure that the story was changing, flowing in different directions. This shift...

Perhaps my actions had triggered these changes. But there was no need to panic; not everything would change. Some constants would remain, like this small narrative we were currently caught in.

According to the plot of this narrative, the city\'s destruction was as a result of the lack of reinforcements, caused by the monsters destroying the eastern bridge. Song Jaewon resolved the story by preventing the bridge\'s destruction, enabling the arrival of reinforcements to fight the monsters. If we follow his footsteps, we should be able to complete the story without any casualties on our end.

Step! Step!

Before long, the eastern gate came into view. Adjacent to the gate was a massive winch, responsible for the gate\'s opening and closing.

I said, "I\'ll operate the winch. Block anyone that tries to approach."

"Okay."

I approached the winch and used my strength to pull the rope. With a creak, the gate began to swing open, its movements slow and laborious.

A soldier standing on the wall noticed and shouted, "W-What? What the hell! The gate is opening!"

"Did the monsters break through?" another soldier asked in alarm.

"No! Someone is opening the gate!" the first soldier replied. "Stop him right away!"

The soldiers began approaching with hurried steps. I had anticipated this. The same thing happened when Song Jaewon tried to cross here. Reasoning with the soldiers who had fallen into despair was out of the question. They were too afraid to make rational decisions.

I turned to Jung Yunhee and Angelica. "Block those soldiers, but don\'t kill them!"

"Roger!"

Jung Yunhee and Angelica moved swiftly, intercepting the soldiers and forcefully repelling them. The soldiers, upon being hit, collapsed to the ground, trembling like worms. This was the result when ordinary people tried to fight the player blessed by the <System>

A man in heavy armor, exuding the aura of a commander, shouted at the top of his lungs, "What is this madness? Why are you people opening the gate? Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"Sorry, but we have to open the gate," I replied.

"You\'re out of your mind! Stop them! Don\'t let them open the gate at any cost!"

The hollow cries of the creatures beyond the wall added to the tension, making the soldiers more aggressive.

"Lee Suhye," I called out.

"I know. I\'ll deal with it."

Bang, bang—

Lee Suhye raised her gun and fired several rounds at the ground, causing the soldiers to back away in a panic. Outside the wall, countless crimson eyes flickered ominously, waiting in anticipation.

At that moment, the soldiers rushed towards us without hesitation, disregarding their own well-being.

These bastards were really going this far?

Kuku!

"Ack!"

Jung Yunhee delivered a powerful palm strike to an approaching soldier, sending him crashing into those behind. As a member of that \'Clan\', her martial arts skills were exceptional.

On the other hand,

"Kwak!"

"Damnit! Why is she too strong!"

"I\'m sorry," Angelica apologized as she struck down the soldiers approaching, continuing her apology with every blow.

It was then...

Thud!

Something flashed past the party members and leaped towards me as I was opening the gate.

"You shall die!"

The commander descended and swung his sword towards the top of my head. It would be difficult to defend, but fortunately, Jung Yunhee was one step faster.

Hiyap!

With a swift strike to the back of his neck, the commanding soldier joined the ranks of the fallen.

I gave the rope one final pull, and the gate opened wide, revealing the path ahead.

At that moment, dozens of monsters poured towards the gate all at once, as if they had been waiting for this moment. The identity of those monsters was finally revealed.

Kyarr!

Tall humanoid figures with black skin, muscular bodies, huge fangs, and eyes with a crimson glow—intermediate grade 8 ogre species.

Now was the time.

I retrieved several mini explosives from dimensional storage ring and hurled them.

Kwang, crack, boom!

Explosions erupted outside the gate, sweeping away the contaminated monsters. Bodies of those directly hit were hurled dozens of meters into the air above the wall and landed somewhere.

Lee Suhye surveyed the scene and remarked, "It\'s incredible how something so small can cause such destruction."

In the aftermath of the destruction, flames continued to smolder, flickering ominously.

"Did it get all of them?" Angelica asked.

"No, the explosives will only slow them down at best. It won\'t be enough to kill all of them."

Ogres were known for their tremendous physical strength and endurance in Song of Nightmares. Sure, most of them infront would be wiped. But It wouldn\'t be enough to stop them completely.

Beyond the flickering flames, countless crimson eyes observed us from a distance.

Kya! Kya!

Eyes that once sparkled with intelligence and life were now hollow and wild with madness. Indeed, that was the fate of the \'Corrupted ones.\'

Creak, creak!

The gate behind us began closing. One of the guards had regained consciousness and was closing the gate. With this, our only escape route was now sealed. The rest of the party members noticed this and frowned.

It worked as planned.

It would have been good if we could have used the strength of the soliders, but that would be pushing my luck.

Jung Yunhee opened her mouth and asked, "Hyung, are you sure this plan will work?"

"Honestly, I don\'t know. In fact, the plan might fail and every one of us will die horribly."

Upon hearing my words, the expressions of the party members darkened further. Lee Suhye was the first to react.

"I knew it! This guy\'s insane!"

"If you\'re looking for someone to blame, blame the bastard that got all of us trapped here in the first place."

"That..."

Lee Suhye tried to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth.

Speaking of which, I wondered which floor that bastard must have reached. He must really be enjoying himself.

In any case, I\'ll make sure to deal with him later.

I drew my sword with one hand and my handgun with the other, gripping the sword firmly in my right hand and the gun in my left.

It would be a huge party.

"Get ready to fight."

"Yes."

We quickly arranged ourselves in a battle formation. I stood at the forefront, with Jung Yunhee to my right, Angell to my left, and Lee Suhye at the rear.

The flickering flames created a barrier in front of us, the only line of defense separating us from the horde of corrupted monsters.

Once the enemy crossed that line, the dance of death would commence.

Survival was uncertain, with only a 20 percent chance of making it out alive. We had no powers like regression or reincarnation, so death would mark the end of our stories.

Despite the odds, we had no choice but to press on. This was not a decision we made, but one imposed upon us by the Fate.

I looked at my companions one by one and spoke one final time.

"Everyone, let\'s make a good story together."

The battle began as the enemy penetrated the wall of flames and roared out.