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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Clang!
Drip. Drip.
Water dripped from the ends of my hair. The world I encountered after closing the status window… was dark. The whole world was dark, as if the sun had been obscured. The atmosphere of Seraphi Hall had changed. It was strange, and sticky.
“…”
Thud.
I put down what I was holding.
Tap, tap.
I went down to the first floor of Seraphi Hall.
“!!!!!!!!!”
And the answer to what a demon king was… was right in front of me.
Drip. Drip.
Droplets of blood fell. Lifeless, disheveled hair.
“Yes! I’ll always be at Seraphi Hall…!”
A slender, limp hand.
“Um… come down quickly.”
Blood. And more blood. Below the sofa, a pool of blood, seemingly belonging to someone, greeted me.
“Aria, Yeriel…?”
My mind couldn’t catch up with the situation. Humans have intuition. A gut feeling that something was terribly… wrong. Where did it all start? As I instinctively walked towards the sofa…
Stab!
“Huh?”
A hot, searing… shock came from behind. I looked down, and a sharp, blurry object had pierced my heart.
“Cough.”
I… couldn’t breathe. My body… was being sucked into a deep abyss.
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Ding.
“!”
With the sound of the status window, I opened my eyes. The whole world was red. And I was tied to a cross.
How was it?
An unidentified shadow spoke to me.
“Cough!”
I could finally breathe. Right, that was a dream just now. Thinking it was a dream brought a strange sense of relief, despite my current situation.
An ending humans like. Was it called the ninja massacre ending?
“Cough… cough…?”
Well, you overslept, so the ninja didn’t show his face in person, but…
Let’s get a grip and think. The ninja massacre ending was a meme in South Korea. And the fact that he knew that meant…
Tell me your thoughts. Reader?
There was no need for further speculation. He had called me… ‘reader.’
“…So the Demon King was you, the author.”
Correct!
Well, it was a common story. The final boss being the author.
I thought a lot about how to end it? Should I let you enjoy it for a while and then shatter it at a crucial moment…
“…?”
But you keep climbing up when I give you time. What am I supposed to do?
“Explain it so I can understand.”
At my answer, he let out a big sigh, scratched his forehead a couple of times, and continued.
First, you, the reader, have been causing more trouble than I thought.
“…”
Where should I start…
He crossed his legs in his chair, then…
Ding.
“!”
…with a flick of his finger, he was right in front of me.
First, as you said, I’m the author. Well, originally, I was the Demon King.
“…?”
Second, , and , I made them all.
It was quite shocking. The classic game and the fanfiction novel , were written by the same person?
Third, it’s embarrassing, but in the future, I lose to Kaelan Hiss.
“What?”
Well, he’s ridiculous. He copies everything he sees. Does that make sense?
‘Is this bastard one to talk?’
Or, was Kaelan Hiss… not a self-insert character created by the author?
He’s a human beyond human standards… anyway, just as I was about to be killed by him, I barely managed to regress with the power of the Demon King. And I hid myself in another dimension for a while. That’s where you were living.
He continued to speak.
But I can’t live on the run forever, can I? I have a family too. So the game I made was .
“…?”
That’s right. It’s the opposite of what you’ve been thinking. The game is the fake story I made. And the fanfic is the reality we face.
“…So you’re saying this place… isn’t a world you created, but a real, different dimension?”
Right! You catch on quick. Well, just this… at least.
To create a game in another dimension because you’re afraid of a future where you’ll be killed by Kaelan . Information I really didn’t want to know.
“What was the purpose of all that bullshit?”
…
He flinched for a moment at my sneer, as if his pride was hurt.
I needed a real hero who could kill Kaelan … no, who could permanently get rid of his copy ability.
And then he spoke again.
Regression consumes more energy than you think. Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re erasing what happened.
“So?”
The dimension you were in didn’t have a speck of magic… so I had to build my own dimension with limited magic. I needed a simulation to find a suitable person who could fulfill my wish… yes… that was .
The black shadow turned its neck grotesquely and continued to explain.
Is there any need for further explanation? The puppet I chose to agree with my story was you. It’s easy to possess someone with a strong will.
His voice started to crack with excitement.
Yesss!!! You were perfect…! To be able to handle the abilities of so skillfully… the day you got rid of Kaelan ’s copy, you, a mere creation from another dimension, looked respectable…?
To summarize his words: Kaelan Hiss wasn’t a fictional character, but a real person. And not only that, Lily, Aveline, and Melissa were also not just characters, but real people from another dimension. And this Demon King, unable to handle Kaelan , had summoned me to fight him.
He smirked and confessed to me.
Did you enjoy the I prepared? It was just a copy of the future that existed… you also sympathized with Kaelan ’s repulsiveness while reading the novel, didn’t you? That’s why you left me such a long comment. Don’t our interests align?
“My thoughts have changed.”
…What?
Spit.
I spat a mixture of blood and saliva at his form.
“You’re more disgusting. You can’t do anything on your own… you just drag in innocent people.”
He was silent for a moment at my retort.
…Right. I guess so. As expected, you are my greatest masterpiece and, at the same time, my greatest flaw.
The author’s form began to tremble.
You were a variable… the power I could grant you with my remaining magic was the initial version of … but that… to think it would lead to such a shitty result.
He gritted his teeth and glared at me. Of course, with a strange face with empty eye sockets.
From the very beginning, you dealt with Andras in a ridiculous way… all you had to do was kill Kaelan , that bastard… but you killed all the Great Demons…!!!
His voice was deafeningly loud.
I gave you rewards…! Even the game-end! I was kind enough to give it to you! It was a chance to return to your dimension peacefully… why did you have to create this situation!!
“……”
A sudden silence fell. And the author’s voice was a little calmer.
I know, it’s because of those two bitches.
“!”
As I reacted for a moment, he said, as if he had gained the upper hand.
So I killed them. How about it? Is this what you wanted?
“…”
Hahaha! Now your expression is worth seeing! But don’t worry… if I kill them so easily, you’ll have no reason to listen to me. Humans cling to hope. Cough. Haa!!
He gasped for air, then forced himself to calm down and said,
…Get lost to your world. Then, I’ll let those two live.
Let’s be calm. He was still urging me to return peacefully. That meant that the option of killing me, a being from another dimension, was difficult for him to choose, due to problems with the timeline, or himself.
At the same time, I understood why the first condition of the mission objective was what it was. After regressing, the one who had given me the power to defeat Kaelan needed time to recover by sealing himself.
Probably for about four years, the duration of the academy’s graduation. So he had wanted me to just quietly attend the academy.
But the Belial I had touched yesterday was one of the top-ranking Great Demons. In case my bug play’s inflation reached that far, he had used Belial’s will as a safety device and was released from the seal.
Having understood this clearly, I carefully opened my mouth.
“In short, you’re in a very weakened state right now, aren’t you?”
…Yes, yes, yes… you trash-like reader. But I’m still strong enough to kill one damn reader and restore the timeline, so you better get rid of those useless thoughts, okay?
It was as he said.
Ding.
‘He was the self-insert character after all.’
Since I had received the power of a gamer from him, it seemed I couldn’t use certain abilities like ‘Copy’ on him. Instead, from the author’s perspective, if he left me alone, every time I got stronger, he would lose power.
Roughly, was it a twisted relationship between a developer who created content and a consumer who consumed it?
Kekek… you look like you understand? You can’t beat me now. So let me tell you to your fucking face.
“…”
Before I turn the heroines you cherish more than your life into rags, get lost to your world.
“…Now?”
As I asked one last time, he began to laugh like a madman.
You think I’ll let you go from here, not knowing what you’ll do next? Don’t test my patience. This is your last chance. Get lost now!!
“Alright. Just untie my hands.”
I readily agreed.
Hmph, don’t try anything funny.
Rustle.
As he untied my restraints, staring into my eyes, I closed my eyes and pressed the game-end button.
Yawn.
As I yawned, covering my mouth with my hand, in front of my eyes…
10 seconds until… logout
…a familiar status window began to pop up. Only then did the author, no, the Demon King, begin to smile.
You worked ve~ry hard. You thought well… I’ll erase all your memories… so don’t worry, okay?
6 seconds until… logout
.
.
.
Ah, Aria Bluebell… Yeriel Artina, was it…? Cough… Kahahahahak!!!!
A demon, after all.
Lick.
He began to lick his lips as if savoring the taste.
4 seconds until… logout
‘Hmph.’
I had no choice but to open my right eye and say to him,
“Thank you.”
Cough, hah…?
“For not being a Korean, but an absolute evil.”
What?
“I’m saying I’ll kill you first if I get possessed again.”
With the author’s answer, as if he were saying, ‘Please do!’…
0 seconds until… logout
My body vanished in an instant.
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“……!”
When I came to my senses, I was in South Korea. My apartment.
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