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•Is your sword faster or my tongue faster?•

Summary:
“Is your sword faster or my tongue faster?”

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Takes place in and expands the brief timeskip in Chapter 59 (Episode 12-First Person Protagonist’s POV) of the Novel.

Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk work out their stalemate in an empty bathroom where Yoo Joonghyuk puts his Prophecy to the test.

「If you can hear me… then you must know what you’re doing.」

「Prophet.」

「 What am I going to do next?」

“There is no such thing as anything free in the world. What are your conditions?”

As expected, the regressor was quick to notice. I said with a smile, “it is simple. Let me know just one thing. My condition is that simple.” 

“What is it?”

“That guy you just stepped on, what is his attribute? One would be the ‘Last One to Get Off.’ What is the other one?”

After a while, Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth. 

“Not here.” 

“Hm?” Was it that much of a secret? Kim Dokja looked around at the Changmuro survivors staring at them fearfully amidst the debris, including an irate Gong Pildu. On the train tracks, the bodies of the remaining apostles still lay scattered like fallen dolls. The avatar’s headless body remained where it was, ominous and whole despite the smashed clay-like head barely a few feet away. Could there be an eavesdropping skill still attached to it? 

“Alright,” Kim Dokja said, finally. It wasn’t like he could use Character List on a corpse. “Let’s go up.” He pointed towards the half-destroyed stairs and gently untangled himself from Lee Gilyoung’s grip around his waist.

Entering the same restroom as Yoo Joonghyuk felt a bit strange, like seeing a coworker at your local grocery. With everything else going on, it wasn’t like the author had ever detailed the protagonist needing to relieve himself. At most, there had been a few descriptions of taking a bath, usually as a prerequisite for other things. 

Thinking absently of a scene wherein Yoo Joonghyuk had bathed outdoors and attracted some unruly women, Kim Dokja nearly bumped into the Protagonist’s back. 

He caught his hand on one of the stalls, just in time, his nose a scant inch from the man’s impressive shoulderblades. 

The toilets were clean- it looked like there was still running water. Kim Dokja leaned a hip against the sink and folded his arms. 

“Safe enough?” 

Yoo Joonghyuk faced him, his lips pulled into a familiar scowl. Then, without warning, his hand struck out, grabbing Kim Dokja by the throat. 

Kim Dokja kicked out immediately, catching Yoo Joonghyuk squarely in the chest. The man grunted, barely stumbling back a pace, but his hand remained cranked around Kim Dokja’s neck, wringing the air from his lungs. He slammed Kim Dokja into the nearby wall, shouldering into his arm to keep him from reaching for Unbreakable Faith. 

“Bas---gh!” Kim Dokja coughed, his vision blurring as he struggled, bringing his knee up and meeting nothing but solid muscle. Yoo Joonghyuk’s hand was a steel vise and he stared at Kim Dokja as though he wanted nothing more than to take him apart. The blue light in his eyes seemed to burn like hellfire, leading souls to damnation.

“Looks like your tongue’s only this much.” 

In hindsight, he should’ve been more cautious. While he’d been prepared for Yoo Joonghyuk to do something, he hadn’t thought the man would go so far as to isolate him first. It was almost cowardly.