As We Fall - Joongdok Rewrite | chapter 188

Main Scenario 10 - The Demon King

Yoo Joonghyuk warily drew his hands reflexively to the hilt of his sword as his companions inched forwards. With a quick glance, everyone's faces, despite being hidden by the dark shadows of the Dark Castle, were filled with unsettled cautiousness, as if an aboding and ominous creature were to unexpectedly onslaught them all.

"And so... just like this!" Jung Heewon had screamed out moments before, as everyone practiced the Demon King slaughter maneuver they'd been choreographing and rehearsing over and over, perfecting it to where no mistakes were made. As Kim Dokja said, his companions couldn't afford to make a mistake, or else they'd all die to the wrath of the Demon King of the 10th scenario.

And as Yoo Joonghyuk watched them passionately practice this sword-dance, he stood off to the side, leaning against a wall and staring at Kim Dokja devising his plan.

...Was he the only one who felt this foreboding feeling? Had Kim Dokja not recognised the flaws in his plans?

Kim Dokja always had a plan. Needless to say, the amount of times those plans involved his death just wasn't right. Yoo Joonghyuk hated attending his funerals. Not because he cared, but because of how utterly inconvenient it was for his companions to halt their path to moving forward, just to mourn the fake death of Kim Dokja, who'd resurrect in a week's time.

They continued moving through the Castle, weapons in hands. But quickly, his companions came to a stop. An eerie sensation washed over their heads as they finally stepped through the hall, to be met with a deep crystal cavern; a stage of rocks and forbidden crystals.

"...Huh?" Lee Gilyoung muttered, holding his hammer defensively above his shoulder. "Where's the Demon King?"

His companions glanced around and peered through the depths of the pitch black cave, before a ray of light flashed with bright, messy sparks in the air.

Yoo Joonghyuk was the first to notice. With a tense brow, he unsheathed the Splitting the Sky Sword and directed the tip to the faltering glow set in the center of the stage, meters away from the entrance.

A golden, royal and mighty throne, cracked and broken like a shattered bone. Within the cold chills and empty silence of the cave, there was another presence to be bestowed. Dry blood splatters coldly decorated the arms of the chair and pooled at the back, and when Yoo Joonghyuk brought his gaze down, he saw the wretched Demon King. The lifeless body of a red-skinned humanoid beast, with vile black horns and coated with an elegant white gown. Deeply saturated in the deathly red blood that pooled out from his chest, torn and ripped apart.

A system message echoed in the air, with the automated, electronic voice of the Dokkaebi AI announcement that made his muscles tense.

[The 73rd Demon King is dead.]

Han Sooyoung's face paled. "W-what? He's dead?"

Yoo Joonghyuk tightened his grip on his sword, clenching his jaw tighter than the time he heard about that idiot Kim Dokja's first death.

The Star Stream was an endless cycle of tragedy, tormentation, and sacrifice. Yoo Joonghyuk's endless regressions was a pure example of that, but even through all of this, he had begun to think that maybe things would work out this time. With the introduction of a variable he'd never met until now- that fool, Kim Dokja, maybe he'd finally see the end of the scenarios with his companions.

The Star Stream was unpredictable, but Yoo Joonghyuk, a victim of the Star Stream's unpredictability, began to recognise the tragic and predictable fall of events within Probability.

And he knew that someone had to die today.

Yoo Joonghyuk thought back to a conversation he had with his companion just hours earlier.