Beyond the Eternity

[Your have been infected by gamma radiation.]

[Your have been infected by an unknown substance.]

[You have been inflicted by a negative alignment.]

Soo Jinyoung frowned at those messages and raised her oddly stiff fist.

Her right hand, the very one she had used to strike the Disaster of Storms, was now slowly crumbling away and dissolving into fragments of dust little by little.

A never-experienced-before pain coursed through her right hand. But what was more disturbing was the eerie sensation of her cells being disintegrated, atom by atom, by some unseen and unexplainable force. It was as if she was being ripped apart from the inside out.

A temporary contact yet she was damaged to this extent.

Even so...

I heard the Disaster of Storms was the most dangerous among the Disasters but there was no mention of anything about this. Did he manage to attack me when my fist touched his face?

Soo Jinyoung who had experienced the strange phenomenon merely felt displeasure.

It seems she was attacked by an unknown power of sorts. But she had no information about said power which was the cause of her displeasure.

Hmm... Soo Jinyoung turned her head and saw someone looking at her face. She began to size him up and down.

The young man appeared to be in his early twenties, his lean frame showing a hint of muscle beneath his clothes. His white hair hung loosely over his shoulders like an unkempt mop, and his skin was pale, almost ghostly. If she hadn't known better, she might have mistaken him for a villain.

Everything about him seemed to fit the image and his all black attire only solidified the impression, as though he had intentionally dressed to look the part.

She recalled that some actors (players) would dress up and portray themselves as villains to entertain the audience (constellations). Perhaps this man was one of them.

"Hmmmmm..." Park Joonhyuk slightly tilted his head to the side. "Hey now, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Who are you?"

"Huh? Are you seriously asking that or are you trying to feign ignorance?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Still playing dumb, huh? You can drop the act already. I know you were awake this entire time. You may have fooled Kim Jakga but you can't fool me. I'm too cunning to fall for such petty tricks. By the way, I'm rather curious.

Why did you decide to come out now though? Were you waiting for the perfect moment to make your move? Or was it something else?"

Soo Jinyoung remained quiet.

He was partially correct. She had regained consciousness a while ago but had been unable to move. The reason she arrived on the battlefield late was because she'd expended most of her magic power healing herself, forcing her to stay behind to recover what little strength remained.

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore."

Park Joonhyuk shrugged dismissively, as if it was of no consequence, then casually gestured toward the shattered wall where the Disaster had broken through.

"Since you're here, I assume you already know the situation. But I'll give you a quick rundown anyway. That bastard is the Disaster of Storms. He can generate and control antimatter at will, so keeping your distance is crucial. But that's not the only danger. When antimatter collides with regular matter, it triggers explosions that release gamma radiation.

You'll need to watch out for both. If you have any recovery skills, I suggest you use them while fighting."

"As I mentioned earlier, it's crucial to maintain your distance. Antimatter will completely erase you from existence if it touches you. If you have no desire to descend into hell, you'd be wise to heed my advice. His primary method of attack comes from the black wings he generates from antimatter.

He can ignite anything using those wings—solids, liquids, gases, even the tiniest dust particles— and can change their shape, so stay alert and keep your guard up at all times."

"I've got nothing in my arsenal that can deal with antimatter, so I'm leaving him to you. I've shared everything I've figured out from my observations, so make sure to us this information properly. But don't get any delusions of being the main character here and get yourself killed—you're not that important. Just stay grounded and buy me enough time.

I'm working on something that'll take him down in one shot. As such, I'll be taking this girl with me since she will be the deciding factor in this Fable."

Before he left though, he glanced at Soo Jinyoung and said. "Also, make sure not to die. That's the most important. It would be troublesome if you suddenly got yourself killed."

Soo Jinyoung was undoubtedly the protagonist of Song of Nightmares, which had become the reality of the world. However, she was notoriously reckless—constantly finding herself on the brink of death in one scenario or another. Hence, that was why she was called the 'Infinite Reincarnator'.

Knowing that, Park Joonhyuk addressed her in such a manner that would destory any form of delusion and leave no room for arrogance.

Once he was done with his sentence, Park Joonhyuk turned around with Angelica on his back to leave.

"....."

Soo Jinyoung blinked.

He didn't give her a chance to respond before turning to walk away. But she couldn't let him leave just yet—there was something she needed to ask.

"Wait..."

"What is it?"

"Where is Kim Jakga?"

Park Joonhyuk stopped moving. He hesitated for a moment before responding without turning back.

"He's dead."

"What?"

He didn't answer her question and continued moving along that road, leaving Soo Jinyoung behind.

Soo Jinyoung was stunned. Kim Jakga is dead?

Before she could even process such a reality or recover from the shock said news had bought...

"That hurts, you know."

A demon-like voice was heard.

Completely unharmed, Keikoku Amane walked out of the shop while stratching the back of his head.

Under the crimson sky, his form seemed to be one with the darkness. There was a strange atmosphere as if the entire environment was being sucked in a giant organ that belonged to the unavoidably disaster.

The brown-haired disaster smiled.

"Even so, are you fucking crazy? How could you punch me without regard for your own hand?! I don't know If It's just bravery or just foolishness, but I'm honestly impressed. Even the people before you were rather careful. I've met a lot of people but it's rather to find crazy people like you!"

Says the boy excitedly.

"...."

Soo Jinyoung narrowed her eyes.

It was clear he was stalling with a pointless conversation, but that didn't concern her. What truly bothered her were the system messages flashing relentlessly before her eyes.

[The thirty-first seal of the Disaster has been released.]

[The thirty-second seal of the Disaster has been released.]

[The thirty-third seal of the Disaster has been released.]

[The thirty-fourth seal of the Disaster has been released.]

[....]

The seals were being released without the disaster doing anyway? How is that possible?

Soo Jinyoung thought It was strange as she looked at those messages. At the same time, she was trying to make sense of what was happening.

Ah, that was it, right? Her mind eventually reached the answer.

The answer was radiation. If antimatter could release massive waves of radiation upon exploding, any living organism nearby would be affected—not just humans, but also monsters whose bodies couldn't withstand such exposure.

This meant the penalty imposed on the Disaster extended beyond humans alone. Perhaps even other living organisms such as insects would be affected.

Even after fully understanding the severity of the situation, Soo Jinyoung's expression remained indifferent. The cause wasn't overconfidence, but the fact that most of her emotions had been sealed away after countless 'regenerations'.

It was done to protect her fragile sense of identity. Without it, her 'ego' would likely have been destroyed.

"Hm, hm, hm... Aren't you going to say something or attack? Why are you just standing there like that? Are you some kind of watchtower? C'mon, C'mon. Surely, your personality is a bit more than just silentce and watching?!"

Keikoku Amane attempted to provoke a reaction from his opponent, but all he received in return was a cold, silent stare.

Soo Jinyoung unsheathed her sword and simply observed him from a distance.

Obviously, It was clear she was not in a mood of a conservation especially not with him.

"Tch."

Keikoku twisted the corners of his lips, losing all his excitement in an instant. It was like he was chewing on a piece of gum that had lost its sweetness.

"Damn, this is getting old. Why is it so hard to have a decent conversation for once?" he muttered with a sense of perpetual misfortune. "People either try to kill me or completely ignore me the moment I speak. Even villains have feelings, you know. Don't you realize the audience enjoys when the hero and villain exchange their thoughts before a fight?"

"....."

"Silence, huh? I guess we should get this over with since It's clear that you're not interested in a conservation."

The hand, that had stratched the back of his head, clenched and unclenched.

It was a trivial action that would typically go unnoticed.

However, to Soo Jinyoung, this seemingly irrelevant gesture felt like a declaration of war.

[Antimatter Lv. 10 has activated.]

[Pheonix Flames Lv. 9 has activated.]

Thud!

Soo Jinyoung and Keikoku Amane kicked the gravel underneath their feet and launched towards each other.

The sword of salvation and the left hand of poison.

The distance between them was less than 10 metres.

The most unavoidable confrontation began exactly 9: 00 PM under the watch of the gods.

* * *

Park Joonhyuk finally reached a distance far away from the battlefield—namely, Gangdong-gu. He removed Angelica from his back and gently placed her on the cold ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Loud crashes echoed through the air and the world shook. It seemed like the very Earth itself was shaking from the impact collision.

Park Joonhyuk turned his head towards the direction where the noise came from with a blank expression.

So it finally began, huh?

It was a battle that occurred even in Song of Nightmares so it was inevitable. The only difference was that Soo Jinyoung fought the Disaster of Storms together with the regressor and the battle itself occurred much later in the story.

However, said battle was taking place before the Fifth Fable.

He was worried, rightfully so. The only reason both protagonists defeated the disaster was because they worked together. However, Soo Jinyoung was on her own this time around.

Of course, with her recovery skill, she could put up a fight. But it was only a matter of time before she hit her limit and got wiped out.

Considering the limitations of the Pheonix Flame, she will hit her limit before she makes her tenth move. If I can heal this woman before that happens, I would be able to prevent another tragedy.

While thinking so, Joonhyuk opened the system panel and clicked on the 'Shop' Icon.

Since he was an Exclusive member of the world channel, he had access to the Exclusive Shop just as Kim Jakga. But if he upgraded his membership to platinum, he would receive additional perks beyond his current access, such as a private chatbox with a constellation of his choice, without needing to become their Incarnation and so forth.

However, It was not cheap. To upgrade his membership to platinum, he would need to pay 500,000 coins.

Of course, there was no way he would possess such an absurd amount of coins while he was just in the Fifth Fable.

He scrolled through the endless catalogue of items and purchased the items he needed.

[Intermediate Mana Recovery Potion has been purchased.]

[Intermediate Recovery Potion has been purchased.]

[You have spent a total of 80,000 coins]

"Uuuugghhh.."

Park Joonhyuk immediately raised a depressed cry like he was attacked.

A whopping 80,000 coins. 40,000 coins for the Magic Recovery Potion and 40,000 coins for the Recovery Potion.

Certainly, without a doubt, 100,000 coins was a large amount of coins. Most constellations won't spread that much on donations and he was planning on saving those coins too.

Spending that many coins in one go felt like a knife twisting in his heart.

"Fuck. Kim Jakga, you bastard! Who said you could die on your own?! I'm definitely coming to the afterlife to slap your cheek after this!"

Park Joonhyuk opened Angelica's and poured the contents of the Magic Potions inside her mouth.

While doing so, he silently swore to himself that, no matter what, he'd slap Kim Jakga across the face-even if it meant chasing him into the afterlife to do it.