The Main Characters That Only I Know

Although I had boldly declared I’d handle it, Yoo Young-min still had no clue how to proceed.

Telling me to shoot at something moving at the speed of light with a pistol?

Even if the gun I was using wasn’t an ordinary one, hitting a being moving at the speed of light was out of the question.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s without weaknesses.’

Ahura Mazda has two forms: his usual form and the form he takes when he becomes light.

In his usual form, he attacks using his wings of light, unleashing relentless bombardments of light.

On the other hand, while in light form, he can't attack but can move at the speed of light.

Each form has distinct functions for either attacking or moving, and when he's in light form, he's literally untouchable due to his speed.

However, even in that state, there was a vulnerability.

‘When he transforms into light, his perception significantly diminishes.’

I inferred this from the time it took him to track down me and Mephisto, despite teleporting a great distance away.

If Ahura Mazda could perceive accurately while moving at the speed of light, he would have pursued us here and launched a follow-up attack immediately.

The fact that he didn’t meant one thing.

‘He couldn’t do it. Even Ahura Mazda couldn’t fully control his own speed.’

After all, speed is relative. No matter how exceptional his senses are, if his body moves at the speed of light, even a first-generation divine spirit wouldn’t be able to keep up with it.

That’s why Ahura Mazda deliberately lowers his awareness while in his light form.

‘He must rely almost entirely on instinctual judgment in that state. If I’m to strike, it’ll have to be then.’

I finally understood why Mephisto told me to shoot at the light.

In his usual form, Ahura Mazda remains wary of the trump card we’ve prepared. No matter how many bullets I have, I wouldn’t be able to land a hit on him in that state.

The only time I’d be able to shoot Ahura Mazda is when he’s in his light form, when his perception is reduced to the point he can’t even counter or evade.

Both options are so overwhelmingly difficult that it’s impossible to compare which would be harder.

‘But how do I even read the movements of light?’

Even with perception far beyond human capability, reading the speed of light is impossible for me. I can barely dodge lightning, so light would be even more out of reach.

“He’s coming.”

Fast.

At Mephisto's warning, a pillar of light poured down upon us from the attack-ready Ahura Mazda.

This time, we didn’t evade through teleportation. Mephisto created a distortion field in front of us to defend against it.

Defense was Mephisto’s role. My role was the opposite.

I squinted my eyes, focusing on reading Ahura Mazda’s movements.

‘See it. Where he’s going, where he’ll appear.’

I didn’t try to process it consciously. I just watched.

Clearing away thoughts, doubts, and fears.

I pushed my concentration to the limit, focusing solely on seeing the enemy’s movements.

Boom!

Distorted pillars of light exploded around us. Mephisto spread his distortion field to defend as best as he could, but it wasn’t perfect.

Shards from the ground and fragments of shattered light left small wounds on me.

Blood ran down my cheek, but my eyes never wavered from Ahura Mazda.

A state of extreme focus born from a life-threatening situation and the weight of what I had to accomplish.

‘Hm?’

Ahura Mazda, noticing my unusual focus, halted his bombardment.

‘Is he planning something?’

That stance. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t ordinary. Perhaps he was waiting for me to overextend my attack, aiming for a counter.

‘In that case, I’ll just have to stall for time.’

There’s no way he could maintain that focus for long. At most, it would last a minute. In the meantime, I could maintain my light form and keep them spinning in circles.

Ahura Mazda retracted his wings of light, wrapping them around his body. He began moving as if sucked into some distant point.

He deliberately lowered his awareness, knowing that continuously perceiving his own extreme speed drained his strength.

Flash!

In the blink of an eye, a massive prison of light appeared around us, created by Ahura Mazda’s movements.

Seeing this, Mephisto instinctively realized something.

This was our only chance.

Even if he signaled to the focused Yoo Young-min, he didn’t believe he would hear or respond. He had to trust he would pull the trigger.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed.

Simultaneously, the surrounding trails of light disappeared.

“What…is this…?”

Ahura Mazda lay sprawled on the ground, staring at his chest in disbelief.

A black hole pierced through the center of his chest.

Mephisto turned to Yoo Young-min, eyes wide.

‘He actually hit it?’

Did he really read Ahura Mazda’s speed?

He had said he would try, but to actually succeed?

“I… I, defeated…by a mere human…”

Just as Ahura Mazda tried to vent his fury, blood dripping from his mouth, the bullet lodged in his chest activated.

The bullet Mephisto had given Yoo Young-min, infused with his own power.

It fulfilled its purpose within its target's body.

Buzz!

The black bullet disintegrated into dust, rotating with terrifying speed. Before long, it became a small black hole, sucking in everything around it.

“This…this can’t be!”

In the black hole that twisted even time and space, not even light could escape.

Ahura Mazda’s entire body twisted and shattered as he was sucked into the black hole created from within his chest.

Once the black hole’s power faded, only a deeply carved crater remained.

“Huh?”

Yoo Young-min snapped out of his trance.

“W-what happened?”

I could remember seeing something. I wasn’t sure what, but it was a completely blank space, like a pure white void. It was as though my hand moved on its own.

“We did it.”

“Huh?”

“We hit Ahura Mazda, who was moving at the speed of light.”

“My god.”

Yoo Young-min stared blankly at the spot where Ahura Mazda had vanished, unable to believe what he’d done.

“Get a grip. The fight isn’t over yet.”

“Oh, yes!”

We had only taken down a single first-generation divine spirit. The war was far from over.

* * *

[They’re holding out better than I expected.]

Logos, observing the battlefield from the heart of the Foundation, felt a strange sensation.

He had thought the despair he’d unleashed was more than enough. Five more fortresses had been added to the Foundation’s stronghold. Even now, the Foundation’s massive artillery barrages and the Elohim’s spears were raining down.

In mere instants, countless lives continued to vanish.

Yet, they kept fighting, refusing to give in.

Why?

[Could they actually be counting on him?]

The one who had been swallowed up inside the depths of the Codex, Kang Yu-hyun?

Ridiculous. Did they truly believe Kang Yu-hyun would save them, that he would actually protect the world?

[If they die while clinging to their ignorant hope, so be it.]

Since I’ve gotten to witness a world so distinct, I may as well observe their final struggles as a show of courtesy from a creator.

In the end, even this was merely a step toward creating the ultimate story.

Amid these repetitive and tedious tasks, a bit of amusement was offered.

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

[Submerged in that book, you can’t see this sight. That’s unfortunate for you.]

But it didn’t matter.

As he merged with the Codex, he would become fuel for the ultimate story.

So, may you have pleasant dreams.

* * *

My body felt heavy.

Neither my hands nor feet would move as I wanted them to.

What on earth has happened to me?

Where am I right now?

I…

“Where is this…?”

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was a world full of darkness.

Had I fallen deep into the abyss? I lifted my head to look upward, but no exit was in sight. In fact, there was hardly any light here.

The only light came from something glowing around me.

‘The stories I possess are breaking down, emitting light.’

Suddenly, something shot out from the darkness and grabbed my hand.

“…!”

I quickly shook my hand free, light spilling out and pushing the darkness away. I gasped, staring at my left hand.

‘My story… is being devoured.’

No, it wasn’t just my story. The darkness here even swallowed the light.

A chill ran down my spine. I immediately unleashed the energy of the Seven Demonic Black Sky Divine Art, sweeping through the surrounding area.

The technique was supposed to shatter this entire space with a powerful current.

‘Devoured?’

The darkness had swallowed even my attack. It seemed to have grown even stronger by consuming it.

I felt the terror of impending death.

Should I use an even stronger technique? Or try something else?

‘No. Stay calm.’

In times like these, it’s essential to stay composed. The darkness is undoubtedly dangerous. Seeing it grow stronger by consuming my techniques, it’s clear that it feeds on stories.

The reason this darkness couldn’t approach me immediately was…

‘The light?’

The light emanating from me. More accurately, the light produced as my story burned. The darkness seemed hesitant to approach, as if it feared that light.

The problem was that I couldn’t sustain this light for long. Ever since I arrived here, my story had been depleting at an alarming rate. Most of the stories I had received from other divine spirits had already been used against Logos.

‘How much time do I have left? What’s happening outside right now? Is everyone safe?’

Even as I tried to calm myself, a sense of urgency grew. I had failed to bring down Logos.

Meanwhile, the people fighting outside must still be dying. Maybe even the people precious to me, one by one…

No.

Everyone was desperately hoping that I would defeat Logos. They had entrusted all their stories to me and joined this war. With the weight of their wishes on my back, I had vowed to see this through.

And I had promised to return.

“Damn it!”

Had I failed?

After coming all this way, was I going to fail?

No, no. It’s not over yet. I’m still alive, so there must be a chance left.

For now, I had to focus on escaping this place.

‘There must be an exit somewhere here.’

There had to be an exit. There had to be. Because I promised. I promised to return.

I…

Slink.

The darkness approached. It consumed the light. Desperately, I burned my stories, creating fire, then light.

“Damn it. Get away from me!”

Even when I lit a fire, the flames were swallowed. Even when I shone light, the darkness would momentarily recede only to consume the light and approach again. The darkness seemed endless.

I created light, fled as far as I could, but the darkness pursued relentlessly. This went beyond mere persistence. They were like my shadow, clinging to me, never letting go.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

This was a dark deception. And I was prey that had fallen into it.

Everything was being taken away.

Even the light was consumed.

And my willpower was eroding.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t come all this way just to die in a place like this.”

The light was weakening. I was running out of stories to burn.

Fear crept in.

This darkness was swallowing even my emotions. I resisted, clenching my teeth, denying it, but the darkness wouldn’t fade.

The more I tried to suppress my anxiety, the more anxious I became.

The more I tried to hold onto hope, the more it gnawed at my hope.

Suddenly, even my thoughts began to falter.

Could it be that a mere human like me was foolish to challenge something so vast?

Wouldn’t it have been better to simply live within the confines given to me and go along with the flow of the world?

“I… I…”

Why did I come all this way?

My feet, which had been moving tirelessly, finally halted. I stopped running, trying to escape the darkness.

‘I’m exhausted.’

Fear washed over me. Cruelly, the darkness didn’t consume fear.

Eventually, the light disappeared. I could no longer create light. The stories I carried, my history, my very existence…

They were all gone.

I couldn’t even see the trembling tips of my fingers.

My body,

my flesh,

was being consumed by darkness.

‘It really is the end now.’

The darkness was cold. It held the harshness of the primal void, devoid of both light and warmth.

As the space around me dissolved, my sense of time vanished.

Was I about to die?

I even wondered if that might be preferable.

I slumped to the ground, crouched down. I no longer had the strength to stand. Or rather, did I even still have a body left to rise again?

I had come far enough. This should be enough.

‘So, maybe now… I can finally close my eyes and rest.’

Just as my thoughts reached that point and I began to surrender myself to the darkness…

“You fool. What are you giving up for already?”

A sharp voice resounded in front of me, where I had hung my head.

Who?

I lifted my head.