Ch.64Chapter 64 – To Save You (3)

While Azazel was looking into my eyes to see the future, I carefully considered the information Wolfram had shared.

There was an unexpected contradiction in Shub-Niggurath’s attitude.

‘Even though she knows that Seol-hwa and I are the co-creators of the novel, she deliberately twisted our relationship to make us meet again.’

First, what Shub-Niggurath originally wanted was to see the ‘endings’ of discontinued novels.

For that, a confrontation between the final boss and the protagonists would be necessary, but now that I’ve changed their lives, that’s become impossible.

‘…And so, she said she wanted to see Seol-hwa and me kill each other.’

Even if she possessed Seol-hwa’s body wanting to see former lovers kill each other, would an Outer God truly want the novel to end this way?

It’s common for readers to leave 5,700-character comments or criticism when they don’t like the direction of an author’s writing, but…

‘Why did the Outer God resurrect Seol-hwa? And why didn’t she completely erase her consciousness, allowing her to resist?’

Despite being an Outer God, she didn’t kill us but rather provoked us to elicit reactions.

At the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, she could have changed the prize to prevent me from obtaining the 10,000-Year Ultimate Blood Treasure.

After killing Wolfram, she could have revived his corpse to move like her pawn.

She could have easily killed the protagonists’ families and framed me for it.

‘…Does she have some other scheme?’

Honestly, I hoped Shub-Niggurath had a different intention. After all, she had once been a precious reader who followed my novel to the end.

Writing is like fighting with oneself. In such a painful act, readers are the only sanctuary.

As I was deeply contemplating what I might be missing,

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry…”

Azazel suddenly began repeating the same words while staring into empty space. She rolled back her eyes and even started bleeding from her nose.

“Snap out of it, Azazel…!”

I called her name, trying to bring her back to her senses. But she continued trembling as if in a frenzy.

“Verdandi, quickly cover Azazel with the Holy Armor!”

“Yes, sir…!”

I implemented the contingency plan I had prepared. The armor, which provides invincible defense to its wearer, should be immune to the Outer God’s mental attacks.

Clang—!

With the sound of vibrating metal, Verdandi’s Holy Armor covered Azazel’s body. Only then did color return to her face, and she seemed to regain consciousness.

“Huh, huhk…”

Azazel took a rough breath, gripped my hand tightly, and trembled. It must have been a terrifying experience for her.

Azazel’s future visions are experienced as vividly as if she were actually there. That’s why she sometimes confuses reality with her visions.

Kang Si-woo was a prime example—he built up a one-sided love fantasy without realizing he was falling for the wrong man.

“Are you alright? Maybe you should sit down and rest…”

I said, watching Azazel stagger as she wiped the blood from her nose. Her legs were already starting to buckle, making it look dangerous for her to even stand.

But,

“No, I’m fine… Thanks to you holding my hand, I didn’t pass out this time.”

Azazel shook her head as if she hadn’t given up yet.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard. All the tentacles on your back have been severed!”

Azazel was now staring at me resolutely, trying to see the future again. Whether out of stubbornness or determination to try once more, I closed my eyes tightly and tried to stop her.

“I got a hint. What Shub-Niggurath wants to see is the ‘new ending’ that you’ve hidden, brother…!”

Then Azazel revealed what she had seen in her vision. A scene where Shub-Niggurath brought her own body to manifest in this world, in a barren wasteland.

“…What?”

“This place will be destroyed. Without a trace. We didn’t even have hope of winning.”

Azazel continued, gasping for breath. She said that even if we fought at the Ice Dragon Fate Sect, we wouldn’t stand a chance.

“We won’t know until we try!”

“Everyone will die! We need to find another way! To save everyone here!”

While Verdandi pounded her chest with her hand as if to say there was nothing to worry about, Azazel screamed at her with tears in her voice.

“Shub-Niggurath has killed the Demon King and stolen his power…! Now even my future visions won’t work anymore!”

The Demon King—the being that Verdandi, as the Hero, was supposed to defeat—had been preemptively killed by the Outer God who stole his power.

Originally, I had planned him as a fake boss to appear in the middle, but why did she kill him and take his power?

“Calm down, Azazel. Shub-Niggurath won’t kill us all.”

“Huh, huuuk…”

I stroked Azazel’s head to calm her down. Whatever Shub-Niggurath was thinking, we would be the ones to win in the end.

After all, it’s the author, not the reader, who should determine the direction of the work and move it forward.

“If she truly wants to see a new ending, then I’ll simply show her one.”

I clenched my fist with determination. I was resolved to create a happy ending where everyone would be happy with the current material and setting.

***

“There, it’s all done. So, do you really plan to fight that strange god?”

First, we repaired the training ground that had been ruined by Wolfram’s magic, and I had Kim Hyul, Bi-wol, Sieg-hardt, and Verdandi face each other.

Azazel seemed to have pushed herself too hard, so I had her rest in her chamber. It wasn’t right for her to train in her current physical condition.

“Of course. We have no other choice.”

“Hmm… I guess I need to get the Philosopher’s Stone back too, so that’s the only way!”

Wolfram said, supporting the back of his head with his hand. He had tried to find the Philosopher’s Stone in the hidden cave, but it seemed Bing-seol-hwa had stolen it.

“Now, let me explain the martial arts you all need to master.”

I imagined a library in my mind. A place containing all the settings and materials for every work I had conceived. Organizing memories this way made them hard to forget.

‘In Bi-wol’s case, she needs to perfectly master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, and for Kim Hyul, he needs to learn the mysteries of the Six Harmonies Fist.’

They needed to reach a level comparable to the latter part of the original “Diamond Fist King,” but since I hadn’t entered the Transformation Realm yet, I couldn’t raise their level.

‘…So, we struggle as much as we can.’

Then, we needed to minimize our weaknesses. Whatever I knew, Seol-hwa would know too.

“Bi-wol, while performing the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, you’ll point out the flaws in your opponent’s Six Harmonies Fist stance.”

“Me? I absolutely trust your words, Master, but… what if they betray us?”

Bi-wol showed signs of lingering concern. After all, we had met as enemies at the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament just days ago.

It seemed unreasonable to expect immediate trust. We had tried to kill each other, after all.

But,

“You can trust this master.”

The characters in my novel were moving according to their own beliefs and thoughts. Except for Kang Si-woo, that is.

From the beginning, he had been coerced by Bing-seol-hwa’s threats with his family held hostage, and he had shown his willingness to rescue Wolfram and join my side.

“This world is warmer than you think. Even if you crossed swords yesterday, tomorrow you might need to fight back-to-back.”

I stroked Bi-wol’s head and spoke slowly. Even if I were to die tomorrow, she would have to continue living in this world.

“Then, should we fight too?”

“It does feel a bit awkward.”

Verdandi raised her hand to express her opinion while looking at me. Sieg-hardt shook his head, saying he didn’t want to fight.

“No, Sieg-hardt should focus on training his ability to create swords.”

For Sieg-hardt to turn time and space into swords, he needed to perceive them with his body and make painstaking efforts.

It required endless practice to understand the countless flows of time and his place within them.

“In Verdandi’s case, it would be better to spar with me to learn the weaknesses of the Holy Armor.”

“The weaknesses of the Holy Armor…?”

“Yes, originally the Holy Armor is summoned by yourself or appears when your life is in danger…”

Crack—!

I created an ice sword in my hand and recited the weaknesses of the Holy Armor to Verdandi.

“…If you die from a strike you didn’t notice, the Holy Armor won’t activate.”

Placing it against Verdandi’s neck, I gave her advice. This was content from the original work where the protagonist failed to defeat the final boss.

“If we keep this in mind, we might be able to win.”

“Why are you so confident?”

Verdandi asked, unable to understand why I was predicting victory. It was an attitude that completely denied Azazel’s future vision.

“Well, since she stole the Demon King’s power, wouldn’t the Hero’s Holy Sword be effective?”

I smiled at everyone and explained Shub-Niggurath’s mistake. Perhaps Seol-hwa had struggled and deceived the Outer God.

Since the Demon King and the Hero are opposites like black and white, we might be able to inflict damage on the seemingly invulnerable Outer God.