Episode 8. Representative Kim Dokja (4)

< Episode 8. Representative Kim Dokja (4) >

[Hm? You.]

RepresentativeKimDokja grabbed the back of my head and looked into my face for a long time.

There was a strange tension in the air.

Thinking about it, this wasn't my first encounter with 'RepresentativeKimDokja'. I had met him

once before at the Chungmuro Theater.

Back then, he had seen my face and even checked my name tag.

Was that all?

He gave me privileges to help me adjust to this world, and he read the entire Omniscient Reader

I had written and left comments and impressions.

I wondered.

Would 'RepresentativeKimDokja' recognize me?

[Hmm.]

Or he wouldn't recognize me as I expected.

[That's weird. How come you haven't gone back yet?]

RepresentativeKimDokja walked out of the theater, holding the back of my head like a cat

clinging to a fish from a fish tank.

So did Yoo Joonghyuk, and I don't know why the hell everyone who sees me wants to carry me

around.

By the way, he didn't recognize me after all.

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to implement the plan I'd been thinking about.

'Idea.'

As I said the name in my head, the bracelet on my wrist twitched.

I don't know exactly why, but unlike my other items, the 'Idea of Almost Anything' had been

summoned here with me.

Either way, it was a good thing for me right now.

"Wait, I don't like hanging like this."

I grabbed RepresentativeKimDokja's wrist, who gripped the back of my head while thinking. I

could feel the surface of the bracelet resonating against his hand.

['Idea' is making contact with an unknown item.]

Look at this.

I'm clearly touching his skin, but you call it an 'item'?

[Beginning target analysis.]

[Target analysis will take 5 minutes to complete.]

[Maintain contact until the end of the analysis.]

RepresentativeKimDokja was deep in thought and didn't notice the 'Idea'.

I spoke up again in a frustrated tone.

"I didn't go in there because I wanted to, I was just trying to find a way out of here."

[What did you see in there?]

"Little kids...."

[Someone has used 'Lie Detection'.]

'RepresentativeKimDokja' must be an 'outer god', and if you're an outer god, you're bound to

have [Lie Detection].

That's a good thing for me.

[The exclusive skill 'Incite Lv.4' is activated!]

"I saw some little kids watching a movie inside the theater. But it was dark, so I couldn't see

much."

[You have incited yourself.]

I immediately opened my mouth.

"What movie were the little kids watching?"

[What kind of movie was it?]

"I couldn't look closely because it was dark."

[Someone has confirmed that the statement is true.]

[Hmm....]

RepresentativeKimDokja glared at me with suspicion, then slowly loosened his grip on the back

of my head.

But I did not let go of his wrist.

[Continuing the analysis of the target.]

"Wait, what are those kids, and why are there so many of them here?"

[Do you want to know?]

I couldn't see RepresentativeKimDokja's eyes because he was wearing sunglasses. However, I

could clearly feel the life that radiated from them.

"Well, I'm not too curious."

[Good, because a story where you know the ending is boring.]

RepresentativeKimDokja nodded in satisfaction.

[Now, if you'll let go of my wrist, I need to find out why you didn't make it back.]

That's a problem.

I'm not done analyzing you yet.

"I still have one more question."

[Is that a question you can only ask while grabbing my wrist?]

Behind his sunglasses, I could see the murderous intent once again.

But this time, I didn't back down.

"Who are you?"

[Hmm? Like I said, I—]

"You're not the 'RepresentativeKimDokja' I know, because I've met him before I came here."

In reality, I had only met him once, but I had known him for a very long time.

He messaged me every day for the duration of the series.

I found 'RepresentativeKimDokja' to be a very serious and story-loving person.

But what about the 'RepresentativeKimDokja' in front of me now?

[That's a great insight. Even though our appearances should be exactly the same....]

Unexpectedly, RepresentativeKimDokja readily admitted the truth.

[You're right. The 'RepresentativeKimDokja' who brought you here is a different being. Is that

enough to answer your question?]

There were two RepresentativeKimDokjas.

Maybe more than two.

Is it a group?

If so, what does this group exist for?

[The analysis is more than 80% complete.]

[It's my turn to ask. You—]

"Why 'Kim Dokja'?"

[What?]

"If you needed to disguise yourself, you could have been Yoo Joonghyuk or someone else."

[No, this is just—]

"I thought you hated Kim Dokja?"

At my question, for the first time, RepresentativeKimDokja's complexion changed.

[Why do you think that?]

"Was it actually because you were envious of him? Is that why you took on Kim Dokja's

appearance and you're imitating him?"

RepresentativeKimDokja's face slowly hardened. It was as if a vague clue had been unraveled.

[The exclusive attribute is activated!]

For a brief moment, the clues left by RepresentativeKimDokja at the previous Banquet branched

out in my mind.

「Kim Dokja, Kim Dokja, Kim Dokja, you're really loud. Why the hell do you like him so

much?」

He harbored a grudge against Kim Dokja.

「What kind of life will those who are not chosen by Kim Dokja live?」

He sympathized with those who were not saved by Kim Dokja.

「Are you really planning to rely on here as well?」

He wanted to complete the end of the world without .

So my reasoning went like this.

"Did Kim Dokja... ruin your story?"

He is a 'character' who could not fulfill the story he wanted because of Kim Dokja.

That's why the readers of 'Omniscient Reader' have been kidnapped into this world.

「To create the story he wants.」

Who could he be.

I had a few characters in my head, but no names I was sure of.

[You... Who are you?]

A sudden momentum began to emanate from RepresentativeKimDokja's entire body.

For a moment, I felt sick.

I was digging too deep.

Tsuchuchuchuchuchut—

Intense sparks began to fly around me.

In my head, I weighed the magnitude of the sparks against my life.

How much probability would it take for him to kill me?

And how much more probability was he willing to sacrifice?

[The item analysis has been completed!]

[The item is 'Ever-changing (千變萬化)[1] Stealth Suit'.]

[The item is S-grade.]

[You must be hit at least 10 times by the user of the item to obtain the item's form.]

Just in time, the analysis of the 'Idea' has ended.

「Ever-changing Stealth Suit.」

An item of clothing that consumes a certain amount of magic to turn the user's appearance into

the desired one.

In other words, he's using the item's power to hide his true self.

'Idea.'

I immediately changed the form of the bracelet.

[The exclusive skill 'Incite Lv.4' is activated!]

'Turn into the Damaged Samyeongdang's Bamboo Stick.'

I wielded the 'Damaged Samyeongdang's Bamboo Stick' with all my might at

RepresentativeKimDokja in front of me.

The tip of his lip twisted, RepresentativeKimDokja lightly stretched out his arm and grabbed the

bamboo stick.

Of course, I didn't expect the attack to work. But it wasn't the strike I was aiming for in the first

place.

Soon, a bright light emanated from the end of the bamboo stick.

['Damaged Samyeongdang's Bamboo Stick''s hidden property is activated!]

As a damaged star relic, it was unable to produce its original power, but it had no problem

triggering the hidden property.

[The stigma 'Skeleton in the Closet' has been triggered!]

If he's wearing the 'Ever-changing Stealth Suit', he'll have no choice but to reveal his true self in

front of this stigma.

Patsuchuchut.

['Skeleton in the Closet' is affected by your status.]

[Your status does not allow you to determine the target's identity.]

Damn it, that was too much for my level.

But for the briefest of moments, I saw part of his cheek crack.

Beyond the crack, an unspoken tension pulsed. A flow of stories so dangerous as to be mind-

numbing. An ominous sensation lurking beyond.

Demon Force?

The moment I thought that, his fist stuck in my stomach.

[You must think I can't kill you.]

The feeling of my stomach being ripped open and pierced.

Even though I was a soul, my breath caught in my throat.

[In fact, you're right. I can't kill you directly. There are restrictions on that.]

My left and right arms snapped in different directions, and a painful sensation came over me as if

my legs had been amputated.

As soon as I inhaled, something hit my stomach again.

For a moment, my consciousness slipped away and came back.

[But I can give you a pain worse than death.]

He held both my arms together and pushed me back against the wall, then put his magically

formed thorns into my wrists and ankles one after another.

Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.

In an instant, five or six thorns pierced my limbs.

I activated my skill just before the pain began to spread.

[The level of the exclusive skill 'Incite' has increased!]

「I am Kim Dokja who has the [Fourth Wall].」

[Certainly... You're not like other readers. I can't believe you can endure this pain.]

He lightly lifted my chin with his long fingers, and then said with interest.

[Come to think of it, I did hear about a special guy from another Representative....]

"If I'm a special guest, you should treat me specially."

I provoked him.

I had to provoke him further, push him over the edge.

"If you're only this good, you'd already lost to Kim Dokja."

The spark that had been running through his body earlier was getting stronger and stronger. Any

moment now, he wouldn't be able to withstand the aftermath of probability.

[I'm getting more and more curious about who you are.]

But RepresentativeKimDokja was smiling subtly at me.

It looked like he was as pleased as angry.

[Suddenly, I feel very nostalgic.]

RepresentativeKimDokja's head turned slowly to an odd angle.

[Right now, you look like someone I hate more than anyone and wanted to eat at the same time.]

Pow.

I felt something dig into my stomach, and the next moment, my stomach was clutched in his

grip.

A pain that even the level 5 [Incite] couldn't handle.

Tsuchuchuchuchut.

It was then that something began to ooze from the hole in my stomach.

Sentences, shimmering with golden light.

Stories.

RepresentativeKimDokja's eyes widened.

[This is... No way? You....]

The moment he reached out for the story that had fallen to the floor.

「⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛」

The story began its storytelling.

The space around me ripped apart, and my ears rang like a storm was brewing here.

Then I heard a clear voice.

「I told you not to touch it」

RepresentativeKimDokja's expression hardened. His eyes widened and he looked me in the eyes.

Something was speaking through my mouth.

「The y are co ming」

With those words, the ceiling of the movie theater crumbled.

Within my blurry consciousness, I saw RepresentativeKimDokja look up.

Someone shouted, and something flew through the cracked ceiling.

A beautiful thread of light.

It caught me by surprise.

In my slowly fading consciousness, I heard the voice of the angry RepresentativeKimDokja.

It was probably,

「...Kim Dokja's Company!」

He seemed to say something like that.

Author's Note

Did we hear it wrong?

[1] 千變萬化: Literally 'thousand changes, ten thousand changes'.