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It was the 73rd Demon King scenario. As the group entered the chamber, they all collectively paused in mild astonishment– the demon king, the 73rd Demon King, the one they were meant to kill in order to beat the scenario, was already dead. Damn those constellations, was it them? Their stupid prophecy about Kim Dokja being killed by 'the one he loves most'? Immediately, Yoo Joonghyuk rushes forward ahead whilst everyone stands there, still not yet recovered from their shock, and grabs the crystal.
He wouldn't let Kim Dokja get to it first, he knew the man would try to. But he wouldn't let his companion die like that, sacrificing himself yet again to protect the others, and him. He just couldn't. He won't let it happen again. It hurt every time he saw the shorter guy die or get injured. It was stupid. This was the apocalypse, people got hurt all the time, hell, their other companions got injured constantly, yet for some reason whenever Dokja was hurt, he felt as if he himself was also hurt. Preposterous. Why would he feel hurt at Kim Dokja getting hurt? Hell, he's even hit him before. In fact, when they first met, Yoo Joonghyuk dropped him into that Ichthyosaur sea commander’s opening maw, risking the man's very life.
Pushing aside his meddlesome thoughts, he begins the transformation into the new demon king their group would have to fight.
"YOO JOONGHYUK!"
Turning his head mid-transformation, Yoo Joonghyuk sees Kim Dokja yelling out his name, only to get cut off by a mix of their group's skills snatching away the gemstone.
"Gilyoung. Hand it over."
The young boy who thought of Dokja as his father figure hesitates, only giving in and handing over the dimly glowing purple stone over to the man.
"Kim Dokja." Yoo Joonghyuk's voice was intimidating, more intimidating than every other time he's called out Dokja's name. Normally, the man's voice was at the very least somewhat gentler than it was now. Right now it was downright a command for him to drop the 73rd Demon King stone.
Yet Kim Dokja didn't let go of the stone, even as Yoo Joonhyuk, his companion, began to fight him for it. The two pulled swords at each other, clashing against one another, power almost equal without the use of their skills.
Eventually, in the power struggle and use of skills, the battle concluded, neither of them more than lightly injured (seeing as Kim Dokja really didn’t want to injure the companions he needed to kill him and Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t want to kill Dokja). Kim Dokja won. He had the 73rd Demon King’s gemstone, and Yoo Joonghyuk was pushed far enough away, and Yoo Sangah could hold him back for at least long enough to allow for him to become the demon king.
Fighting against Sangah’s glowing, golden strings, Yoo Joonghyuk fought and fought and fought to try and pry away the stone from Kim Dokja. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t lose someone he loved again. No. He needs to get the stone away from Dokja, even if he ends up dying. He’ll just regress anyway, then, he’ll meet him again, right? Right? Eventually pushing past Yoo Sangah’s Ariadne's Web stigma, breaking the strings, and rushing towards Kim Dokja. Reaching for the stone.
It was too late.
Kim Dokja..had already transformed into the 73rd Demon King.
[The precious jade has chosen a new candidate to become the 73rd demon king.]
[The new '73rd Demon King' is elected.]
The entire Kim Dokja’s Company simply stared on, the children; Lee Jihye, Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung, all teared up. All of them had grown fond of them, even Jihye, as adamant as she initially was against him.
Yoo Sangah. Jung Heewon. Lee Hyunsung. Yoosung, Gilyoung. Jihye. Even Han Sooyoung all expressed their refusals to kill him. They didn’t want to.
Yet, despite this, despite knowing how much it’ll hurt them, how much it’ll hurt the kids, Kim Dokja ordered them to kill him.
After the rough battle finally ended, Yoo Joonghyuk stabbed his sword into Kim Dokja’s heart, and, without realizing it, shed a tear.
“It was a great story, wasn't it? Let's meet again, Yoo Joonghyuk." Kim Dokja whispered, his voice raspy as he coughed up blood, collapsing into Joonghyuk’s arms.
Yoo Joonghyuk knelt on the ground right where he was, carefully holding Kim Dokja in his arms, shielding him. Shielding him from what? He didn’t know. But he failed to protect him, he at least could hold onto his still warm body and ensure it wasn’t desecrated in any way.
“You fool..”
Joonghyuk only held that squid he held oh so dearly in his arms, silently, as tears began to fall. No one else dared approach. Not even the children who oh so badly wanted to hug their father goodbye, even if they knew he was going to return at most a few months later. It was simply a scene too shocking. Yoo Joonghyuk. Crying. Over a corpse. Kim Dokja’s corpse.
It’s alright. Kim Dokja will return. He always does after all.
Yoo Joonghyuk repeated those in his mind like a mantra, he had to, he had to believe them. Kim Dokja was, well, his everything in this turn. No, Kim Dokja was his everything so far. Even his wife. Even his kid. No one from his previous rounds did he care about this much, and as much as he hated to admit it, Yoo Joonghyuk loved Kim Dokja.
Why was it, that only now, when Kim Dokja was lying dead in his arms, that he realized it? He loved him. Yoo Joonghyuk loved Kim Dokja. And yet, it was too late.
No. Joonghyuk reminded himself. Kim Dokja would return. He always did.
Eventually, Lee Jihye managed to pull Yoo Joonghyuk away from Dokja long enough for everyone else to crowd around and mourn his most recent death.
They decided to hold a funeral again, it would help them all mourn better over Kim Dokja’s sacrificial death this scenario. To help Yoo Joonghyuk mourn Dokja’s sacrifice.
They all knew he’d return. In one week, maybe. Two, or even three. They could wait a month too. Or three. They’ll even wait half a year.
And yet, by a year after Kim Dokja’s 73rd Demon King scenario sacrifice, after going through many many more scenarios without him, Kim Dokja never returned. And they felt like he never would. Yoo Joonghyuk had, once again, lost the person he loved. No, this time, he lost the one person, the one man, he truly ever loved.