Beyond the Eternity

My real aim was the witch worshipped by the black apostles. With her agents defeated, she would surely be forced to make an appearance.

And just in time.

[The agents of the goddess has been killed for the first time.]

[The constellation, Witch of the Night has noticed the deaths of her agents.]

[The Witch of the Night has put a terrible curse on the person who had killed her agents!]

[You have received the 'Curse of the Night'.]

Kukukung!

My body shook tremendously. It felt like my heart had been grabbed by the unseen giant of a giant.

This was the Witch's curse.

[Starting now, you'll feel pain constantly until you die.]

[If you try to fight it, the pain will increase and your heart will be crushed.]

"Ack!"

I gulped back a scream. The curse of a witch was the most terrible thing apart from corruption. Despite being mentally prepared, It was almost impossible to fight against the pain.

But I couldnt help it since receiving the curse was part of the process of clearing the Fifth Fable.

[Personal skill, Black Box has activated.]

[The Black Box has partially reduced the effect of the 'curse'.]

Fortunately, the mysterious wall weakened the witch's curse, though it couldn't completely nullify its effects. Still, it was better than nothing.

"W-what? He killed the executioners!"

"Wait... he's using magic!"

"Impossible! How can someone who hasn't gone through the baptism ceremony wield the magic of the Gods?!"

"H-he's a monster!"

The surviving black apostles screamed in terror and fled.

The Executioners were absolute figure within the cult, and now all of them were dead.

It was pure irony.

The people who sacrificed others for their own selfishness ran away to preserve their own lives.

If It was before, I would've definitely laughed, but I needed to end this quickly. These people would definitely not leave this place alive.

"Hey now, this isn't very nice. Why are you all running? Are your lives so valuable that you'd escape after causing so much misfortune?"

The fleeing cultists did not listen to my words, but that was expected.

I took out the last item from my pocket and crushed it inside my palm.

[A black curtain has emerged from the 'Nether Orb'.]

The black orb was crushed and darkness covered the entire place.

That darkness gathered and formed an impenetrable ward. The black apostles banged on that wall and screamed as they couldn't escape the large space.

With all exits blocked, they were nothing more than cattle awaiting slaughter. All that remained was to eliminate them one by one, yet my body remained frozen in place.

The reason wasn't because of the curse or some supernatural phenomenon.

[Personal skill, Black Box has activated.]

[The Black Box has cleansed all unnecessary emotions.]

Instead, an unnatural indifference emerged and smothered all the anger accumulated within me.

I frowned. This skill... It wouldn't even allow me to express anger?

Who would ever want their emotions—the very thing that made them human—suppressed?

I couldn't understand this wall. It tries to devour me in my sleep, yet it also suppresses my emotions.

What exactly was the 𝕺𝖒𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖂𝖆𝖑𝖑? It was a mystery I couldn't wrap my head around.

...

Thinking about it, why was I even angry in the first place?

My anger flared because someone I knew was harmed, and I wanted to eliminate the cultists who had nailed her to a stake. It was justified anger.

But what about the other players?

What about those who had been tortured and already lost their lives?

Killing all the cultists for the sake of a single character would be an act of blind rage. Not only would I struggle to track them down if they chose to hide, but I also had to consider the looming threat of the witch's curse affecting my body.

Perhaps the skill must had sensed that and cleansed all that unreasonable rage.

In the end, rage was not the answer.

As the narrator, I needed to create a good story that both the actors and the audience would enjoy.

Reflecting on it, the conditions of the Sub Fable didn't prohibit other players from killing the cultists. In fact, I was certain that Athena would be pleased with such an outcome.

I leaped towards where the prisoners were kept and freed them one by one by shooting off the chains that bind them.

"You guys can come out now."

"You mean we can go?"

"That's right. Don't you want to return home?"

"W-we can go home? What about those giants?"

"I made sure to kill all of them, so there's no need to worry."

The players' eyes widened at the prospect of freedom, and color gradually returned to their once lifeless faces.

"W-we can really live?"

"Yes."

"Thank goodness. Thank you. Thank you very much!"

Bottled-up emotions flowed from the players' eyes as they realized they were not going to die after all. They seemed as though they had been saved by some miracle.

Was there any feeling better than freedom? However,

"By the way, would it be okay to just leave like this? Those guys are still alive, you know."

I pointed at the cultists and the survivors' relaxed expressions became stiff in an instant.

It was obvious that they were afraid. But how long would they be afraid?

"Those cultists are the very same people who imprisoned you and intended to sacrifice you for some twisted ritual. Do you really want to end up trapped in a place like that again? I'm sure all of you already know what you have to do, right?"

Stories.

They were created by those who wanted to be remembered. Just like how the Gods created their own stories, these people deserved the right to shape their own stories.

Crack!

In that moment, their eyes transformed, as if the last thread of reason they had clung to had finally snapped.

What emerged afterwards was...

"Akkkkk!"

"Those fucking bastards!!"

"I'll kill them for locking me in this damn place!"

... Madness.

The players immediately picked up fallen weapons and went after the cultists trying to escape. Experience exclusive tales on m v|l e'-NovelBin.net

"H-Hey! The prisoners!"

"Stop them!"

The black apostles tried to block the players, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the number difference. The players began to raise their weapons one by one and blood crossed the air.

"Ack!"

"Die! Die! Die!"

"This is for locking me up in that damn prison, you bastards!"

"Acckk!"

"Ahhhh!"

Before long, the execution ground that wa sonce stained with the blood of players, echoed with the dying screams and desperate moans of the black apostles.

Vengeance can be an act of Justice, even if it was cruel.

Either way, the players will kill all the black apostles and I'll complete the conditions of the Sub Fable.

... No, I can't complete the Fable with just these people's death. I also need to kill the master, but that person is a rather trick opponent so it will cause me some trouble if I approach him alone.

The Black Sorcerer.

That person was likely deeper within the underground labyrinth, but with the information from Song of Nightmares, I should be able to track him down.

The odds of defeating that person were only around 30 percent at best, so I'd need to bring someone else along to even the odds.

At that moment, a stream of indirect messages appeared.

[A few constellations are looking at the scene with a satisfied expression.]

[The constellation, Architect of Destruction is satisfied.]

[The constellation, Great Sage, Equal Heaven nods his head.]

[The constellation, Judge of War and Wisdom is pleased with the justice.]

[You have received 25,000 coins from donations.]

There was no time for satisfaction.

Turning around, I headed towards the stake where Angelica was nailed and freed her at once. I slowly placed her on the ground and checked her heartbeat.

Fortunately,

Thump! Thump!

Her heart was still beating. I realised a sigh of relief and immediately feed her some elven forest essences.

Aside from blood loss, she seemed free from major injuries, though I couldn't be sure about internal bleeding. It was hard to tell, but the medicine should help stabilize her condition.

Puok! Puoookkkk!

Majority of the black apostles had been killed off by the players, but that didn't mean there was zero casualties on the players' end.

Even so, It was clear that the players had the advantage.

"Hmm..."

I noticed two people trying to escape. They were so unnoticeable that they almost seemed like a ghost.

It was the Western man and the African woman I met prior before I was captured. But I couldn't see the other players including Asians.

I frowned. It doesn't take a genius to piece one and two together.

Bang—

The revolvor was fired and those people jumped to avoid the bullet. In fact, they were not my aim, since I was aiming for the ground.

Startled, both of them tried their heads this way and glared at me.

"What the hell, man?!"

"You almost hit us!"

I ignored their panicked cries and asked. "Where are you going? Don't you want to stay and lend a hand?"

"Why the hell would we do that? Why would we stay behind in a situation like this?"

"I suppose you're right. By the way, what happened to the players? I don't see them anywhere."

Their expressions stiffened from my question. It was an expression that record of guilt. Looking at their faces, I decided to push them further.

"The executioner's decision to leave you alive suggests that the others must have faced the same fate as you. However, I don't see them around, nor do I believe they were among those executed. Could something have happened to them?"

"What are you trying to say? You think we did something?"

"Now that's funny. Did I ever say that you were responsible for anything?"

"T-That..."

"Yes. We were ones that did it." Says the woman with a dull voice.

"Damnit! What the hell is wrong with you!"

The man screamed at the woman for exposing the truth. Noticing my cold gaze, the man spoke hurriedly. "They forced us into it! We didn't want to do it, and we didn't have a choice. If we didnt kill them, we would have died! It was a difficult scenario for us too!"

Just as I thought, they'd been forced to kill others to survive. Something similar happened in Song of Nightmares. In such a scenario, It would wrong to blame them for trying to survive.

Indeed, everyone was just trying to survive.

Trival things like morals were completely thrown out the window a long time ago.

"You don't have to worry. I understand the situation."

"Really?"

"Yes. But did they tell you something else?"

"Eh?"

"If I remembered correctly, the cultists only spared people if they become one of their own. You must have received a similar offer. Yes?"

"W-what? How did you..."

The man turned pale and darted his eyes left and right as if searching for an escape route. Before he could even run, I raised the revolver and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

A flash exploded from the barrel and pierced through the head of the man like a laser.

Kuack!

[You have killed a dark apostle.]

[You have received 500 coins as compensation.]

A system message appeared and classified him as a dark apostle.

This was precise reason why Soo Jinyoung failed the Sub Fable issued by the goddess of wisdom and warfare.

The black apostles were not the only enemy, but also the players who turned into a black apostle.

"!!"

The woman who had witnessed the man's death turned pale, and subconsciously stepped back as I turned to face her.

I couldn't tell what expression I was wearing, but the woman looked at me as if I were the Demon King.

"No hard feelings, right?"

It truly couldn't be helped.

I aimed the revolver and slowly squeezed the trigger once more.