Beyond the Eternity

There was the Sea Serpent, relentlessly trying to devour us, and on top of that, the Constellations had unleashed the Deus Ex Machina against me.

What kind of development was this?

It was definitely unpleasant.

.net

[Time Remaining — 4: 55]

Those damn constellations. They reduced the duration of the Phantom Bridge by half the original time.

Were they trying to create an interesting story with this?

Just then, Angelica shouted something at me.

"Jakga! Look out!"

At her shout, I instinctively lunged forward as something flew past me, narrowly missing its mark. A Sea Serpent had attempted to swallow me whole, but instead crashed into the Phantom Bridge, sending a violent tremor through its structure.

Ku ku ku!

The Sea Serpents had encircled us from every direction, and in that moment, pressing on with the fight felt like a dangerous gamble.

Did I make a mistake?

Perhaps using this method wasn't the best choice. Traveling on land with a group of survivors would have been far from ideal—it would have only hindered our progress.

But aren't we in this mess because I tried to take a shortcut?

"Tck!"

I gritted my teeth. This situation was definitely not my fault. The true culprits were the constellations, who sought to create a tragic story.

「 T@K∆ @#∆@%@%@%@%@ 」

The survivors were glued in place like statues, inflicted with fear. I shouted at them in irritation.

"Dammit! Don't slow down, you lots! If you have any movement skills, use them now! If you don't, find someone to carry you to the other side!"

My brain moved quickly.

The bridge spanned over a thousand meters, with the phantom bridge now replacing the broken bridge. Crossing such a distance in five minutes, while defending against the hungry Sea Serpents was impossible. But these people were not normal humans, but players of the Fables. Even if they were low level, they were still different from the average human bound by limitations.

But would the Sea Serpents simply allow them to escape?

Fighting under the current circumstances was no longer impossible. We would lose the territory advantage once the phantom bridge disappears.

Angelica and I could manage on our own, but the other survivors didn't seem strong enough to handle grade 7 Nightmares, and protecting all of them would be almost impossible.

"Kreeeekk!"

The Sea Serpents suddenly realized what was happening and lunged toward the survivors without hesitation.

At this rate, wouldn't everyone be killed?

Then?

"Let's use a different strategy."

I summoned the system interface, navigated to the Exclusive Shop, and opened the skill catalog section.

[You have purchased the skill 'Taunt'.]

[Total spent: 10,000 coins.]

Taunt.

A skill commonly used by tankers and berserkers to provoke or draw the attention of their enemies, which was exactly what I needed in this moment.

Considering the circumstances, It was the perfect opportunity to employ such a tactic.

[The newly purchased skill, 'Taunt' has been activated.]

"This way, you overgrown bastards!"

Hiiissssss!

The Sea Serpents turned their predatory gazes from the fleeing survivors to me. Provoked by my challenge, they bared their fangs and swung their massive heads towards my direction.

I was truly in quite a predicament.

"Jakga!"

"Ahjussi!"

Angelica, Yoo Rin, and Yoo Jinsung started heading toward me, but I stopped them, shouting, "Stay back! Keep moving forward!"

"But—"

"No arguments! I'll take care of things on this end!"

The Sea Serpents closed in, each one a wall of scales and fangs, thrashing with terrifying power. They seemed almost eager, as if my taunt had ignited a fury in them. I steeled myself and shifted my posture into a defensive stance.

One of the Serpents lunged forward, with its jaws snapping inches from my face. I ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding its razor-sharp teeth.

Another one emerged from somewhere and swung its massive tail, aiming to knock me off the bridge. I leapt back just in time and felt the force of the strike as it whizzed past me.

I needed to buy time for the survivors, even if it meant putting myself directly in the line of fire.

Infront of me, Angelica, Yoo Rin, and Yoo Jinsung hesitated, clearly torn between rushing to my aid and rushing ahead. I spared them a quick glance, and motioned for them to move forward.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Just get to the other side!"

They hesitated at first, with Angelica looking like she was about to jump in, but she quickly regained her composure and pulled the twins along, urging the other survivors toward the opposite side.

I was genuinely grateful. Now, I could finally go all out.

[You have invested 30,000 Coins into your stats.]

[Constitution Lv. 1 –> Constitution Lv. 20]

[Strength Lv. 1 –> Strength Lv. 20]

[Dexterity Lv. 1 –> Dexterity Lv. 20]

[Magic Power Lv. 1 –> Magic Power Lv. 30]

[Your overall stats has drastically increased.]

Increasing my overall stats was necessary, even if they would reset upon death. Fortunately, I'd reached a point where 30,000 coins wasn't much for me.

Ku ku ku!

The Han River below swirled uncontrollably as the Sea Serpents moved and continued their assault. A few lunged at me, but I dodged them with ease, while others fell under the shots of my magic gun, Ivory, and my revolver, Castor.

[ « Ivory and Castor » ]

When did I even find the time to name both of my handguns?

It was something that happened out of a whim. It wasn't rare for people to get inspiration when their lives were on the line. Or that was the case for me.

Maybe I was taking the situation a bit too lightly. Fortunately, the Sea Serpents' attack patterns were predictable, and the unstable Phantom Bridge had stabilized due to the probability error caused by the gods' interference.

You could call it an equivalent exchange of sorts.

Kreeee!

A Sea Serpent reared back and prepared for another strike. The moment where I braced for the impact, a brillant idea sparked inside my head. If I could reach the edge of the bridge, maybe I could turn the battlefield to my advantage.

I began moving closer to the edge while dodging and shooting down the Sea Serpents.

It was a gamble, but right now, it was the best shot I had.

With a final taunt, I skidded to a stop at the edge, and turned to face the massive creatures looming over me. I shouted, digging in my heels. "Come on, you oversized snakes! Let's see what you're really made of!"

Kwajijik! – Krack!

As they lunged, I dodged to the side, watching with a fierce grin as a group of Sea Serpents collided, with their combined momentum sending them crashing over the edge and into the dark waters below.

"?!"

The remaining Serpents were momentarily stunned by the loss of their companions. I seized the opportunity by activating a skill and sprint towards the opposite end of the bridge where the rest of the survivors were waiting for me.

[The skill, 'Sprint Lv. 10' has activated.]

The velocity surged suddenly, and I closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the remaining Serpents starting to recover, with their furious eyes locking onto me once more.

It was truly a pity that they had squandered their chance.

[The Timer has elapsed.]

[The Deux Ex Machina 'Phantom Bridge' has come to an end.]

The moment I set foot on solid ground, the Phantom Bridge flickered like a fading star before vanishing completely. Gradually, the turbulent waters of the Han River began to settle. The Sea Serpents lingered for a moment, before retreating into the depths, biding their time until their next victim appeared.

The survivors let out a collective sigh of relief. Nobody had to die today.

[Some constellations are disappointed.]

[Some constellations are pleased with your performance.]

[You have received 2,000 coins from donations.]

Damn Constellations. I hope you had a good show.

As I straightened up and brushed the dust off my coat, Angelica and the twins approached. I gave them a grin and asked, "How did I do?"

"That was reckless! You could have died."

"I mean, I won't stay dead, even if I do die, you know."

"You...!"

Angelica shot me a look, as if she was on the verge of getting upset. I quickly jumped in to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Hey now, don't look at me like that. I was just joking."

"It was not a good joke."

"Anyway, we're all here, safe and sound, aren't we? So everything worked out in the end."

Although I spoke those words with good intentions, Angelica still looked displeased. Even knowing I could return from death, witnessing someone she cares about die repeatedly would still leave her with lasting emotional scars.

Either way, It was a bad experience for both parties.

Yoo Rin muttered. "By the way, Ahjussi..."

"...Yes?"

"Where do we go from here?"

Honestly, that was a good question.

I glanced at the remaining survivors. Somehow, we had managed to enter Seongdong-gu, but now the real challenge was figuring out where to search—and dealing with our missing party members.

Why had I even wanted to enter Seongdong-gu in the first place?

For all I knew, they might not even be in Seongdong-gu but in a completely different district. Still, I had this nagging feeling that coming here was the right decision—especially since I had the mysterious Black Box in my possession.

I couldn't be wrong.

The moment those train of thoughts crossed my mind...

"?!"

Sensing something approaching, I turned and narrowed my eyes toward a dark alleyway.

Step! Step!

Someone—or something—was approaching, moving so silently that the survivors hadn't even noticed.

Step! Step!

The sounds of footsteps became more apparent. At this point, the survivors noticed and looked at the alley.

Step!

Finally, a red, human-shaped shadow emerged, prompting everyone to shift into defensive stances.

As I raised Ivory and Castor, I realized that the shadowy figure looked oddly familiar for some reason.

Wait, wasn't that...

"... Jung Yunhee?"

"... Jakga-ssi?"

I let out a sigh of relief as the tense atmosphere dissipated. Fortunately, my intuition had been spot on, and I had managed to locate one of the missing party members.

But... why was Jung Yunhee drenched in blood from head to toe?

* * *

"I see. That explains the blood."

"Yeah, that's about the gist of it, but I couldn't find the Mother. It's probably hiding somewhere else."

Jung Yunhee gave me a quick rundown of what had happened as she led us onward. After being teleported to Seongdong-gu, she had reunited with Kim Hyunwoo, and together, they fought off the humans infected by parasites.

The reason she was covered in blood was that she had relentlessly hunted down each parasitic human who managed to escape, one by one.

If they had managed to escape, they would have infected others and eventually returned to the Mother.

It was fortunate she had eliminated them all. Her instincts were truly impressive. She wasn't a demon slayer for show.

I glanced back at the survivors trailing behind me, whose eyes were fixed on Jung Yunhee with wary suspicion.

It was natural.

Anyone would be suspicious if they saw someone entirely covered in blood, wouldn't they?

I let out a wry laugh.

Jung Yunhee was the type who never cared about her appearance, so she probably hadn't even noticed the wary glances she was getting. Or maybe she had noticed, but simply didn't care.

The twins exchanged a glance, then raised an eyebrow at Jung Yunhee before turning back to me. "Hyung, who is she?"

"She's someone I know."

"Someone you know?" They both tilted their heads in unison, confused.

"She's one of the people I've been searching for."

"Oh, one of the companions Angelica mentioned?"

"She told you about them? I shouldn't be surprised. But yes, she's one of the people who's been with us since the start of the Fables."

"I see. She seems... interesting. Is she strong?" Jinsung asked, eyeing Jung Yunhee's back.

"I suppose you can say that."

"Stronger than you?"

"Maybe. I'm not exactly that strong."

"Now that's a blatant lie!" Yoo Rin shouted, incredulously.

Ignoring my conversation with the twins, Angelica, who had been walking beside me in silence, suddenly turned to Jung Yunhee and asked a question.

"Have you been able to locate the others?"

"They're not in Seongdong-gu, but somehow, Kim Hyunwoo managed to track down their locations."

"He tracked them down?"

Jung Yunhee nodded. "Yes, he must have used some kind of tracking skill. Lee Suhye is in the North with a Japanese woman named Kagura, and Lee Jongho is to the West with someone... What was his name again?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, as if trying to recall the name of that person, but it was clear she wasn't going to remember it anytime soon.

That was another one of Jung Yunhee's quirks. she only bothered to remember the names of people she deemed important. Those she disliked? Their names never seemed to stick.

A bad habit of sorts. She was really a unique character. It would be dangerous if she became a video-game character.

I sighed and asked. "Is his name Jung Donghyun?"

"Ah... Yes! I think his name was something like that."

"Good grief. It's important to remember people's names, you know."

"Do you remember the name of every ant that crosses your path?"

"I suppose you have a point."

Talking to Jung Yunhee about things like this was nearly pointless. At least she bothered to remember the names of the party members.

As expected of Jung Yunhee and Kim Hyunwoo, they made a great duo. One excelled at gathering information and creating constrcts, while the other was a close-quarters combat expert with deadly assassination skills.

By the way, I wondered where Park Joonhyuk disappeared to. He must have gone to find the King of Outcasts or so she called herself.

Didn't he mention that person was related to him?

Was she his mother or his sister? From her posture, though, she seemed quite youthful, so she was probably his sister.

What would Park Joonhyuk's relative look like? Actually, never mind, let's forget about that image.

Step! Step!

Jung Yunhee led us into a building that resembled a safehouse of sorts. It seemed strong enough to protect against outside attacks. I recognized the design as one of Kim Hyunwoo's creations.

As we moved deeper inside, there was sight of multiple people taking refuge. Were they the survivors of Seongdong-gu?

I looked at the indifferent Jung Yunhee and asked, "Where is Kim Hyunwoo?"

"He's upstairs. Come on, I'll show you the way."

"Before that, were you able to find that person?"

"Yes, I found her before spreading the things you gave me."

"I see. So the fireworks at that time..."

"That was me."

Unlike the rest of the group during the Throne Wars, I assigned Jung Yunhee with two tasks.

The first was to distribute several items throughout Seoul, which she did using the fireworks. The second was to locate someone.

Without knocking, Jung Yunhee opened the door as soon as we reached the top floor. Inside, I was met with the sight of a familiar face.

"Kim Hyunwoo?"

"Jakga-nim! Angelica-nim!"

Kim Hyunwoo greeted from where he was sitting.

Jung Yunhee asked. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your relationship with that girl?"

Sitting on the couch opposite Kim Hyunwoo was an unfamiliar girl, eating something. From her appearance to her hair texture and skin, she bore a striking resemblance to that person.

Kagura's sister,

Miyuki Kuroi.