Chapter Text
Dokja stared in disbelief at the catastrophe about to hatch. He’d rushed all the way here to stop it and this stupid sunfish had expedited the hatching because it was his third run and he knew nothing. Shin Yoosung would not be his ally in this run!
Except-
Dokja’s disbelief turned to horror at the sight of the blue screen.
[ The Catastrophe of Blood is preparing to hatch.]
Except this wasn’t even Shin Yoosung.
Did this idiot not even realize that Floods and Blood were different*!? Had his ending in the second round rattled his memory or something!?
No, even worse-
What the hell was he supposed to do in this situation!?
The Catastrophe of Blood had only shown up three times in the novel out of 999 lives! And each and every time Joonghyuk was slaughtered along with all of Korea. Even the other Catastrophes fell to this monster’s rampage across Earth.
He was also the first piece of hard proof that Yoo Junghyuk was not turning back time when he ‘Regressed’, but instead stepping into other timelines where his starting point was always the train. The regression depression had hit him hard in the next few regressions and Yoo Joonghyuk had hardly even made it to the Catastrophe Scenarios in those rounds.
Even more important than that… This monster wasn’t supposed to show up until the 16th run! This was like the Theater Dungeon all over again!
If there was one thing that might give them even a glimmer of hope-
“Seolhwa! You need to run! Take Joonghyuk and- Urk!”
Pressure points-! He thought with panic starting to stir.
Abruptly, his calm returned followed by the appearance of [Exclusive Skill ‘Fourth Wall’ has been activated].
“Joonghyuk, listen to me,” he gritted out, trying to force his limbs to move. “This isn’t Shin Yoosung! The Catastrophe of Blood is- Eurgh!”
He struggled to get his throat under control as he coughed through his closing throat. The pressure points had partially paralyzed his vocal cords and time was growing short. If that thing hatched-
Then, of course, just to make this whole thing worse, that same mid-level Dokkaebi showed up and forced the hatching.
[ The Catastrophe of Blood is Awakening]
Sweat dripped down his neck and the hair on his body rose, hearing the ominous cracking of the hatching Catastrophe. He tried to choke out Seolhwa's name, but it was drowned out by the petals of the meteorite groaning and unfurling. A black smoke soon poured out of it, the inside completely obscured even as an aura of bloodlust choked Dokja even further.
[The ‘Fourth Wall’ is shaking]
What was this ridiculous feeling? And it was even affecting his skill? How strong this aura must feel to everyone else-!
It was just as described in Three Ways to Survive and Dokja had never wanted to see this. Had never expected to see this. Was lost on how to handle this if he couldn’t even speak.
Everyone might actually die here, he thought as the blue scenario screen popped up in front of him.
[MAIN SCENARIO #5
Catastrophe of Blood
Category: Main
Difficulty: SSS-???
Clear Condition: Defeat the Catastrophe of Blood- Luo Binghe
Time Limit: -
Rewards: 100,000 Coins, ???, ???
Penalty for Failure: Destruction of Korea]
He choked on a disbelieving laugh at the ridiculous screen. Not even the destruction of Seoul, but Korea just as TWSA had written. His body started shivering, pain pinging up and down his spine as he fought against the paralysis to turn his head to Joonghyuk who looked beyond shocked.
[The ‘Fourth Wall’ is shaking]
“Run,” he choked out, even as he collapsed onto his belly. If they ran at least they could have time to regroup and the people who had followed after Dokja, who had made it past Hyunsung and Jihye, could be used as sacrifices.
Dokja himself could try using his future knowledge if he could just speak, but he hardly knew anything about this man! The first run- Joonghyuk had died immediately. The second run- they had gotten him to speak, but Luo Binghe did not come with an auto-translate like the guides did. The most Joonghyuk had been able to work out was that it was some sort of ancient Chinese dialect before his friends had died and he killed himself. The third run- Seolhwa had gotten a lucky hit in and, mercy of mercies, poison was effective against this unstoppable monster. It had given them time to rally, but had done little in the end; because as fast as Seolhwa could produce them, Luo Binghe became immune to them.
The panicked words of the men who had followed him, made Dokja drag his head up to watch the figure slowly stumbling from the black mist. Naked as a newborn (and impressively well-endowed, which was not something he needed to know) Luo Binghe stood to his full- intimidating- height that even beat Jooghyuk by a few centimeters. His black starry eyes fluttered open and slowly slid across the clearing, taking in everything.
Suddenly, the mist swirled around him like a vortex, entirely covering his form. Dokja gritted his teeth as Joonghyuk kneeled next to him and grabbed his jacket to drag him up.
“Kim Dokja,” the protagonist growled. “What is happening?”
He’d love to answer that. He really would. If only he hadn’t been paralyzed !
And his Fourth Wall skill was still flashing ‘shaking’ signs at him.
Everything about this scenario was set to Nightmare Mode as Joonghyuk might have said.
“Use poison,” he choked out with the last bit of strength he could eek out.
Luo Binghe’s rich tenor rang out across the clearing, clear as a bell despite the black still obscuring his figure. His words were entirely incomprehensible.
Kim Dokja needed more information immediately. He knew of only one way to possibly get it, or they were all going to die here.
[The Exclusive Skill ‘Character Profile’ has activated]
The blue screen popped up next to the vortex just as the black smoke dispersed leaving behind a now clothed half-demon . The hanfu was intricate with what looked like several layers of black and red, each embroidered with a mix of silver and gold patterns that he could hardly make out in the dying light still available. Black curly hair was pulled into an intricate braided style that was held together by a startling simple silver hair pin that Dokja only noticed because of the incongruent with the rest of Luo Binghe’s outfit. In contrast with his dark colors, the pin had a dangling white jade piece carved in a simple twist.
[<Character Profile>
Name: Luo Binghe
Age: ???
Supporting Constellation: {???}
Personal Attribute: Demon Emperor {Legendary}, Half-Heavenly Demon {Mythical}, Devoted {Rare}
Personal Skills:
{Blood Gu lv. ???}
{Actor lv. 49}
{Dream Manipulation lv. ???}
{Assimilation lv. ???}
{Extreme Adaptability lv. ???}
{Cultivation lv. ???}
{Qing Jing Sword Style lv. 23}
{Qi Manipulation lv. ???}
{Berserk lv. 15}
{List of skills has been abridged.}
Stigma: {???}
Overall Stats: {Stamina lv. ???}{Currently lv. 45} , {Strength lv. ???}{Currently lv. 40}, {Agility lv. ???}{Currently lv. 26}, {Mana lv. ???}{Currently lv. 34}
Overall Evaluation: The Catastrophe of Blood with the potential to destroy entire universes. All stats are sealed due to Scenario Penalty. Stats will slowly rise alongside anger points. Once all seals are released, the full power of the Catastrophe will awaken. Learn to communicate with him or die.]
Dokja stared blankly at the screen, utterly flabbergasted at all the question marks on basically everything. More importantly-
His eyes latched onto the last sentence of the evaluation, brain sparking with a sudden idea. Interpreter was a skill that wasn’t necessary until later scenarios in most cases. Here, it looked like it would be crucial to possibly stopping the actual demon , Luo Binghe.
A new plan bloomed before him and he renewed his struggles in getting his limbs to cooperate.
“Seolhwa,” Joonghyuk barked, jolting the woman into action as she skirted closer to them.
Luo Binghe frowned at them all, speaking again. This time, Dokja caught a word that he knew from the few translated Chinese web novels he read in his spare time.
‘Shizun.’
He tucked away the piece of information as he finally got his legs to twitch up underneath him so his weight wasn’t held up entirely by the back of his jacket.
When there was no response besides frightened stares and raised weapons, a blue box appeared next to Luo Binghe's head, numbers slowly ticking up for every second passed.
[Anger Points: 1,567]
[Anger Points: 1,579]
[Anger Points: 1,591]
Wait. Why is it going up so quickly!?
[Anger Points: 1,603]
[Anger Points: 1,615]
This was extremely unfair!! Apparently, the Constellations agreed as his peripheral was flooded by comments.
[Constellation Secretive Plotter is horrified]
[Constellation Secretive Plotter is questioning the plausibility of the Scenario]
[Constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire is worried]
[Constellation Bald Army General is biting his nails]
[Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is tearing his hair out]
[Constellation Naval Warfare God is watching anxiously]
[Anger Points: 1,627]
[Anger Points: 1,639]
[Anger Points: 1,751]
Seolhwa crouched by him, quickly jabbing the back of Dokja’s neck to reverse his paralysis. He coughed, finding it much easier to breathe now as he finally held up his own weight. Jooghyuk immediately pulled his hand away, eyes never leaving the threat in front of them.
[Anger Points: 1,763]
[Anger Points: 1,775]
“Ugh…” He rubbed his throat, thinking over what he wanted to say. “This guy is ridiculously powerful. And nothing we can do to him will stick for long. Poison will be the best bet to slow him down until I can get the necessary person for my plan.”
“Why isn’t Yoosung here?” Joonghyuk muttered, fingers clenching on the hilt of his sword.
Kim Dokja had absolutely no desire to explain the other timelines to this bastard sunfish. He completely ignored the question, instead laying out his plan as the anger points ticked ever higher. Luo Binghe did not sit and wait for them, either. He prowled close to the panicking people that definitely shouldn’t be here, and spoke again, tone harsher and angry. They reacted by attacking and immediately getting torn to pieces by the new shiny black claws on the demon’s hand.
Dokja winced as the dark eyes turned to them.
“Trust me or we’re going to die here,” he snapped.
[Anger Points: 2,327]
Yoo Junghyuk clicked his tongue, but dropped his hand and- extremely reluctantly- dropped into a bow. Seolhwa held her breath, hands shaking as she dug through her medicine pouch, before also bowing once she had what she needed. Dokja bowed as well, much more deeply than Jooghyu, and prayed to the Starstream that this would work.
Two black boots stopped on the ground in front of them.
Claws dug lightly into the skin of his throat as Luo Binghe tilted Dokja’s head up.
The anger points had stopped ticking up and the demon tilted his head, eyes roving over Kim Dokja’s face. This close he could see the irises bleeding red from the very center, the color pooling out like blood spilt on black marble. Dokja had to resist the urge to swallow with nerves, intimately aware of the fact that he was closely courting death. He had enough Karma points to come back, but who knows what would happen in the meantime, especially when there was a chance his skill would be delayed again due to ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’.
The other large hand came up and Dokja tensed-
It clenched just in front of his face as if grabbing something.
[The ‘Fourth Wall’ is struggling!]
What?
Luo Binghe’s hand pulled away and Dokja felt something stretch. It wasn’t a physical sensation, worryingly enough. He wasn’t quite sure how to explain it, but it was quite unpleasant.
[The ‘Fourth Wall’ is struggling!]
Dokja grunted at the sharp pain just behind his eyes. Just in front of him, something was coalescing in Luo Binghe’s hand, strings of black that looked like… words?
“Kim Dokja,” Yoo Jooghyuk snarled, straightening instantly to draw his sword. Instantly, the hand under his chin was gone and the protagonist was sent flying back into the trees. Dokja couldn’t pull his eyes away from the words in front of him to check on the sunfish even if he’d tried.
Luo Binghe tugged further, eyes filled with a naked curiosity, and Dokja dropped to his knees, attention still riveted on the words becoming clearer by the second. He recognized some of them as they flashed by- strings of paragraphs turning into a swirling knot in the demon’s hand.
“Dokja,” came the distant voice of Seolhwa alongside the sensation of a hand on his shoulder that he barely felt.
[The ‘Fourth Wall’ is-!]
Dokja fell like a puppet with his strings cut while Luo Binghe reeled back, clutching his wrist. A needle was sticking out of it, he noted with a remote sense of interest. He felt as far away as the stars in that moment, watching on with a sense of detachment as Luo Binghe’s lips moved with words he couldn’t understand. It was quiet here, all noise drowned out by the distinct sound of a train-
[The ‘Fourth Wall’ is nullifying your shock and pain]
Reality snapped back into place as his skill blared in his face.
Luo Binghe snarled- a deep sound that resonated from his chest- and Dokja scrambled to stand as he watched a pop-up announcing that he’d been poisoned and paralyzed. With his heart in his throat, he grabbed Seolhwa’s hand and fled.
[Anger Points: 3,263]