Chapter 84
The Harsh World (1)
Everyone returned downstairs after the hidden scenario and the main scenario had ended.
When they arrived, it became clear that a large number of people were still alive.
Jung Pildu was moving hurriedly among them, anxiously asking about Kim Dokja's whereabouts.
The moment Kim Dokja's group appeared before everyone,
a new window emerged before their eyes.
{Sub Scenario – Electing the Representative}
Jung Pildu rushed forward immediately,
reaching his hand toward the flag.
It was clear he intended to pull it—
for the moment he obtained it, he would become the leader,
and everyone would move under his command—
But…
"Stop."
Kim Dokja's voice was calm,
yet it cut through everything.
Jung Pildu froze in place.
He couldn't move a single step.
All of that…
was due to the contract made between him and Kim Dokja.
Kim Dokja stepped forward steadily,
grasped the flag without any resistance,
then turned toward the crowd.
"You have two choices."
Silence fell.
"The first:
Stay here,
and follow my orders without disobedience."
"The second:
Leave immediately.
I won't chase anyone,
and I won't harm anyone."
"Choose…
carefully and wisely."
Kim Dokja looked at the thirty people before him.
After a brief hesitation—
ten people left.
Twenty remained.
They chose to become Kim Dokja's followers.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he began examining the flag's properties and benefits.
Suddenly—
a large red window appeared before everyone.
{The Fourth Main Scenario is Active
Struggle for the Flag
Each station possesses a flag
Protect your flag, and steal others' flags
Flags can be combined to increase authority
Next Objective: Changsin Station
Time Limit: 12 days
Reward: 2000 coins
Failure: ????}
While everyone was trying to comprehend the new scenario,
the sound of motorcycles roared through the area.
Arthur tightened his grip on his sword,
automatically stepping forward beside Kim Dokja.
The motorcycles stopped,
and six people stepped down.
"Don't worry,
we're not here to fight."
The man who seemed to be their leader spoke.
"Then why are you here?"
Kim Dokja asked calmly.
"We came…
with an offer."
"Speak."
Thoughts raced through both Arthur and Kim Dokja's minds.
"We want an alliance."
After a long discussion,
Kim Dokja returned to his group to hear their opinions.
The first to speak was Jung Heewon.
"I don't trust them.
No matter the circumstances… I can't trust them."
"Why not?"
Yoo Sangah said gently.
"Maybe there are still good people out there."
Lee Hyunsung nodded in agreement.
Arthur exhaled slowly,
his voice cold and decisive:
"The world has gone to hell,
literally and metaphorically.
And you're thinking about making friends with strangers?
Are you naïve… or what?
There's no doubt they're waiting for the nearest chance to deceive us.
I'm with Jung Heewon.
I don't trust them at all."
Then he looked at Kim Dokja.
"But the decision…
is yours."
Kim Dokja thought for a moment,
then returned to the strangers.
"I'll agree to the alliance."
Then he added calmly:
"But not before I meet
the representative of your station."
The strangers agreed.
Kim Dokja, Arthur, Jung Heewon, and Yoo Sangah got on the motorcycles.
They moved for only a few seconds—
Then Arthur felt something.
It wasn't just one person…
but several people watching them from ahead.
Arthur suddenly gestured with his hand,
jumping off the motorcycle at the same moment.
At that exact timing,
Yoo Sangah activated her skill,
golden threads shot out,
grabbing her companions
and striking the motorcycles forcefully.
Everyone remained suspended in the air by Yoo Sangah's threads,
while Arthur alone…
hung in the void.
"What are you doing?!"
one of the strangers shouted angrily.
"If you want to ambush us,
you should improve your stealth first."
Everyone prepared for battle.
But Arthur noticed something else.
There…
someone attacking their station had made a sound. Everyone heard it faintly, but Arthur's heightened senses heard it as if it were happening right beside him.
He turned in midair,
pressed the air beneath his foot,
and shot forward like an arrow toward Chungmuro Station.
Jung Pildu had activated the Armed Zone,
but the number of attackers was large.
He was struck by a surprise attack,
and was in real danger.
Arthur smiled beneath his white mask.
And charged.
He was like a white demon.
His sword moved without mercy,
cutting down humans one after another.
He killed…
then killed…
until his white mask turned deep red from the sheer amount of blood.
Then he noticed a man
wearing a red flag on his head.
Arthur rushed toward him,
delivering a single precise strike—
The representative's head rolled across the ground.
The battle ended.
None of his companions survived.
Kim Dokja returned, looking around him,
then froze at the sight.
A complete massacre.
Arthur approached,
and threw something toward Kim Dokja.
He caught it quickly.
"It's yours, my friend."
It was the flag.
Arthur smiled,
then sat aside, calmly cleaning his sword and mask.
Kim Dokja took the flag
and merged it with his white one—
It turned red.
{Members of the second group await your judgment}
The message appeared before Kim Dokja.
He sighed,
then walked toward the motorcycle rider—
who was bound.
He began interrogating him,
but the man's body started trembling violently,
he almost bit his own tongue and died—
if not for Yoo Sangah's intervention under Kim Dokja's command.
Kim Dokja sighed as he looked at the prisoner.
After that,
he occupied the enemy's station,
and it became part of his domain.
At that moment—
a hidden scenario appeared
before Kim Dokja's eyes alone.
{Hidden Scenario – The King's Path}
When everyone returned to Chungmuro Station,
they saw the full aftermath of the massacre.
Arthur was sitting alone,
leaning against the wall.
Yi Shun approached quietly,
and sat beside him without a word.
Yoo Sangah noticed that,
walked past everyone…
and headed toward Arthur.
Kim Dokja understood what was happening without needing to be told. He saw Yoo Sangah's hesitant steps, and her gaze fixed on Arthur sitting alone, and knew the confrontation was inevitable. He followed her, and Lee Gilyoung, Jung Heewon, and Lee Hyunsung followed in heavy silence.
They stopped at a short distance. Arthur was leaning against the wall, his white mask beside him, his sword resting on the ground, while Yi Shun sat next to him without moving, like a small shadow guarding him.
Kim Dokja stepped forward and said deliberately calmly:
"Yi Shun, can you step away for a few minutes? I want to speak with Arthur."
Arthur slowly raised his gaze toward Yi Shun. The boy was sitting there, waiting, unmoving, not objecting, as if he knew nothing but obedience. Arthur gave a faint smile, devoid of any real warmth.
"You can go with Lee Gilyoung, Yi Shun."
Yi Shun's face immediately brightened, and he stood up to leave with Lee Gilyoung, leaving behind a silence heavier than his presence.
Yoo Sangah stood directly before Arthur. She hesitated for a moment, then said in a quiet but clear voice:
"Arthur… I don't understand you. I don't know why you've become like this, but… why did you kill them all?"
Arthur lifted his head slightly, staring at her with disturbingly calm eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… why didn't you leave anyone alive? Why did you kill everyone?"
Arthur tilted his head slightly, then asked in a tone free of provocation, yet sharp in meaning:
"And why do you want to save everyone?"
Yoo Sangah froze in place. The question seemed obvious to her; kindness, compassion, saving people… weren't these reasons enough?
Arthur sighed deeply, then said:
"Listen, Yoo Sangah.
We are no longer living in the same world. This world is over. It has become a world filled with death, destruction, and blood. Do you really think you can survive without staining your hands with blood?
You won't succeed… and you won't survive this way."
Yoo Sangah clenched her fists and said with determination laced with pain:
"I'm not saying I'll save everyone, but why didn't you just injure them? Or seriously wound them? Why did you have to kill them?
They are… innocent people, dragged into this bitter reality just like us.
They didn't do this out of evil, but because they want to live. They just… want to survive."
Arthur looked at her for a long moment, then said heavily:
"They want to live… yes.
And does that mean I should offer my life in exchange for theirs?"
Yoo Sangah faltered.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the entire world has been dragged into an endless spiral of scenarios. There is time, there is failure, and there are consequences for failure.
The last time we failed a scenario, a large number of coins were deducted.
And these people, if they don't have coins… they will die. Simply."
He paused, then continued in a lower voice:
"They are participants in the scenario just like us.
Imagine how they feel when they fail, then are led to their deaths by those damned Dokkaebi.
I am not a demon, Yoo Sangah.
Nor am I a saint.
I am just… me. Arthur. Nothing more, nothing less."
He lifted his gaze to her again and added:
"I did what I did to survive, not for pleasure.
And if you expect me to just injure them, forget it.
They would have died anyway.
I was just… kind enough to send them off quickly."
He finished his words and let out a deep breath.
Silence fell. No one spoke.
What Arthur said was nothing but the bitter truth, one that both he and Kim Dokja knew well, but people like Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung still tried to impose goodness upon a world that had long since died.
Arthur stood up and turned away. He had said enough, and did not want to tear apart what remained of his relationship with the group.
But Yoo Sangah's voice reached him, low and trembling:
"You… you're just a demon who knows no good at all."
Arthur's steps stopped.
He turned back very slowly, looking at her with a gaze devoid of anger, yet heavier than any scream.
"Do you know, Yoo Sangah?
The fiercest battle a person fights in their life…
is to realize their true self,
in a world that forces them to be like everyone else."
He paused, then said in a dark, quiet voice:
"I'm just a human trying to find my identity in this miserable, damned world.
And if accepting that is difficult for you… then so be it."
He looked at Yi Shun from afar and gave him a faint smile, then turned to Kim Dokja. He approached him and whispered words in his ear that no one heard, then walked away without looking back.
Arthur left Chungmuro Station.
He left the group.
He returned to his solitude once more.
Always alone… always in pain.
Living alone, fighting alone, and every companion he makes—he ends up hurting them.
And so, the Demon of the Sky, Arthur Narin, moved on,
setting out alone once again… in a world that no longer showed mercy to anyone.
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