Three Promises (2)

The two executive dokkaebis glanced at each other. How long did this last? Then the two dokkaebis burst out laughing at the same time.

[Kuk. Kuhahahat!]

[Interesting. Don’t tell me…]

The smart executives seemed to have noticed something. Paul watched the scene with a puzzled expression.

[I will allow a solo meeting with the dokkaebi Paul.]

[The free solo time is 20 minutes.]

The executives of the bureau agreed to my request like it was interesting. I figured they would do this.

Originally, the executives didn’t like streamers. They were closer to the ‘subscribers’ than the ‘streamers.’ The moment they spoke, a transparent dome formed around me and Paul. The original ‘solo meeting right’ was a space for constellations and dokkaebis to secretly meet.

[The solo meeting with the intermediate dokkaebi Paul has begun.]

However, the usage could be changed according to the user. I saw Bihyung talking to the executives outside the dome.

Paul was trapped with me and revealed his hostility. “Why did you want to see me? Do you want to deal some medicine to those up there?”

His body was still affected by the executive dokkaebi’s Redemption Code. As long as the code existed, Paul wouldn’t be able to use his own power as well as the authority of a dokkaebi. In other words, the person in front of me was completely helpless.

“Don’t bluff. I know your current situation.”

Paul winced and withdrew to the edge of the dome. Yet there was still a smile on his face. “Haha, I see. I know what you are thinking. Do you want to get revenge for that slave?”

“…”

“How funny. Don’t you know it is a superficial human desire? Yes, you can try it once. I don’t know how you found about the solo meeting rights but this is a place where we can’t hurt each other. No matter how hard you try…!”

I ran to him and punched him as hard as I could. Blue blood emerged from his nose and the person who couldn’t grasp the situation screamed and belatedly collapsed. I told him, “I can’t kill you but I can beat you to a pulp.”

“Keooook! You dare…!”

“Yes, now your true nature is emerging. I don’t want to hear those disgusting honorifics.”

“Heok, kuheok…”

“Is this the first time you are feeling pain? You must’ve never been beaten up like this after living as a dokkaebi.”

“K-Kuhut! Kuhuhut…” Paul was still smiling despite his blood dripping down. “You made a mistake just now. There are special rules in place to prevent people like you from exploiting the solo meeting rights.”

Then the system message arrived like it had been waiting.

[You have injured the dokkaebi in the solo meeting space.]

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

These dokkaebi, they were really great. They prepared a penalty in case the constellations tried anything. It was a coins penalty. However, I was aware of the penalty and just shrugged.

Paul laughed as he wiped off his blood. “Foolish human. You are bringing destruction on yourself with your anger. Yes, try to hit me as many times as you like. The coins you have at the moment…”

“How much coins do you think I have?” Paul fell silent. “Isn’t it strange? How could I become a platinum member when I am an incarnation?”

I grinned at his shaky eyes. “I have a lot of coins. I made a lot of money thanks to you.”

My fists descended towards the pale Paul. The damn scenarios I experienced so far passed through my head.

[Coins Possessed: 205,902 C]

I remembered Shin Yoosung’s dying appearance. These were among the things I told her:

–That dokkaebi, I’ll beat you to death.

This was the first promise I would keep.

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

Once again, my fist moved and his nose was broken. I didn’t say that it was someone’s share. In the first place, this couldn’t be anyone’s share.

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

“Kuaaak! A-An insignificant human dares…!”

Peeeok-!

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

“Y-You won’t be safe if you do this to me…!”

Peeeok-!

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

“I’ll kill you! I will surely kill you…!”

Peeeok-!

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

“W-Wait a minute! Wait! Stop…”

His frightened body curled up and I stopped my fists for the first time. For a moment, hope filled his eyes.

“Y-Yes. You thought well There is nothing about doing this here…”

I watched him hurriedly speaking with honorifics and asked, “Did you stop?”

“What?”

“When Yoosung asked you to stop, did you?”

I quietly looked down at him. He didn’t say anything and just looked at the ground. Then he raised head and stared at the sky. He felt resentment for the ones who made him like this.

“This doesn’t mean anything! Your dead companion won’t come back to life!”

My dead colleagues wouldn’t come back to life. He was right.

“It means something.” However, I raised my fist to the trembling guy. “So what if she is dead. Shin Yoosung would’ve done this as well.”

Peeeok-!

Paul’s fangs protruded as he rolled across the ground.

“Lee Hyunsung would’ve done so as well. Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung also.”

My fist slammed into his belly.

“Maybe… that bastard Yoo Jonghyuk…”

My companions outside the dome were looking this way.

Shin Yoosung was forming fists with red eyes. Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung were shouting something. Lee Hyunsung’s eyes were red as he made a serious expression and Yoo Sangah was staring at me with wide eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk was the last one I looked at before glancing back at Paul.

“I-I am outside the scenario! You can’t earn coins by doing this! It won’t benefit you!”

Coins…

Yes, only the dokkaebis would think like this. Some stories would become coins. Some stories wouldn’t become coins.

“Maybe that is true.”

None of the constellations had made a bounty scenario, nor was there a sub-scenario. However, this behaviour was meaningful. Nobody was making me do this.

“I’m not intending to get any benefits from this.”

“W-What?”

Since the fall of the world, coins had become the principle behind every human’s actions. They moved if the constellations gave coins and didn’t move if there were no coins. Still, humans often moved regardless of whether there were coins or not.

“You don’t know it but humans are animals that seek for the meaning of life through these things.”

“W-What…kuoock!”

I raised my fist and started beating him again.

Peeeok-!

The subsequent punches crushed his face, ribs and joints. I didn’t have to control my power because there was no fear of him dying. One blow was the best blow. Every time bones broke, something exploded inside of me.

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

In fact, I knew.

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

I knew very well. No matter how hard I beat him up, it wouldn’t give me any comfort over Shin Yoosung’s death. The dead Shin Yoosung would never see this sight yet I still moved my fists. I hit and hit him again.

Peeeok-!

It was just like Yoo Jonghyuk. He kept repeated his regressions until the last moment, even if no one knew his cause.

[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]

Then the message of a constellation was heard.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is excited about the unseen development.]

[500 coins have been sponsored.]

I stopped punching for a moment and stared up at the sky. Even this was a story to the constellations.

“It isn’t an act this time.”

[You have returned the 500 sponsored coins to the constellation.]

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is very embarrassed.]

Think of it as a free service. Now things would be good for me.

[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is interested in your actions.]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is thrilled with your actions.]

I started punching again. There were only the sounds of the dokkaebi’s skin bursting and intermittent groaning.

The constellations silently watched what I was doing. No one gave me any coins but I could feel them watching me. Sometimes, this alone was sufficient.

“U-Uhhh… I was wrong. S-Spare me! P-Please! Please!” Paul couldn’t endure it anymore and dragged his body to the edge of the dome.

The wall of the dome made a faint sound but the executives didn’t respond. Rather, they were pleased with my actions. Maybe they would be saying something like this:

「 That coin making bastard. 」

「 Damn streamer scum. 」

The executive dokkaebis didn’t like streamers. The executives who evolved from constellations were good at fighting but had no talent in leading the scenarios.

Shortly after, Paul’s body became completely ragged. I grabbed at his bloody neck. At this point, I asked what I really wanted to know. “Where is Shin Yoosung’s soul right now?”

***

Dead souls that were part of the scenario couldn’t escape from the confines of the contract, even in death. It would’ve been different if the contract itself had been destroyed.

The intermediate dokkaebi Paul opened his mouth after he was hit a few more times.

[T…That. I also don’t know. You borrowed the power of an archangel and… our contract was destroyed…]

Indeed, it was like this. The dokkaebis had been handed the ‘disaster Shin Yoosung’ by a great demon. In the course of the transfer, the strings of the contract were created using the great demon’s power.

Then Uriel’s Hell Flames Ignition had burned those strings. In other words, Shin Yoosung’s soul was now floating around the world.

[Y-You. Absolutely, can’t, regain, companion… Her soul, soon, the labyrinth…]

Paul finally collapsed.

[The ‘Dokkaebi Solo Meeting Rights’ has ended.]

The transparent dome disappeared and the executives whistled.

[Oh, you are in terrible shape even before the disciplinary hearing.]

They glanced at me before moving away with delighted smiles. I watched Bihyung hurriedly chase after them and asked,

‘Did you get back the money?’

-Of course. But didn’t you use too many coins?

‘I still have a lot left.’

I hit Paul exactly 124 times.

[Coins Possessed: 143,902 C]

Bihyung sighed as he glanced at me.

–I won’t be able to communicate with you after entering the bureau. I will keep the channel open so don’t get into trouble in the meantime. Please.

I watched Bihyung and thought it was good. Without him, no one would argue with him from now on.

[The scenario error will delay further compensation settlement.]

The administrator of the main scenario had completely left the scene and the scenario development was likely to be stagnant for a bit. It should only be a day or two but that was enough time.

I looked up at the dokkaebis disappearing into the portal and recalled the last conversation I had with Shin Yoosung.

–Don’t worry. You won’t die.

–What do you mean?

–I can help you resurrect. I’ve resurrected twice so it isn’t as bad as you think.

In fact, I tried to avoid using this method until the end. After all, according to the design, she must ‘die once.’ There was also no guarantee that she could revive again.

–I don’t know how long it will take. If you just wait and don’t give up, I will surely revive you.

If Shin Yoosung’s soul had fallen in to the labyrinth of the world, it was almost impossible to revive her again. However, that wasn’t necessarily the case. She would surely survive if I could regain her soul. The problem was ‘how’ to find her soul.

I suddenly looked back at Yoo Sangah. “Yoo Sangah-ssi.”

“Yes.”

Shin Yoosung’s soul might enter a new world line but in the all, all souls escaped from this world through the ‘Underworld.’

I remembered some constellations related to the afterlife. All of them were in a place I didn’t dare touch or were beyond my reach. Still, there was one person that I could talk to.

“Can you call the Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth here?”

Yoo Sangah hesitated for a moment before nodding. After a while, faint sparks appeared around her. It wasn’t the previous method of directly descending due to the increased probability consumption but it was certain that Ariadne nestled inside her.

I opened my mouth. “Olympus. I want to do business with you.”

The sparks bouncing around the area were rough. Well, our last encounter wasn’t great. This time, I had to make concessions. I took a deep breath before getting to the point.

“Let me meet with the King of Hell.”

Now it was time to keep the second promise.