The Constellations' explanation was more logical than I had expected.
The reason there wasn't a bounty on me was, ironically, because I was too strong.
I had shown everyone that I could tear apart monster-types with my bare hands without feeling a trace of fatigue, branding the Incarnations of Chungmuro Station with the certainty that they could never defeat me.
The only ones with any real chance were Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk.
Just those two...
Dokja: I'm her older brother.
Joonghyuk: No one can even tell where she's gone.
So in the end, they simply gave up on placing a bounty altogether.
"Tch. What a shame."
[Many Constellations shake their heads at your remark.]
—Ding!
[All 'Green Zone's within the station have been destroyed, causing the main Scenario system to malfunction.]
[The difficulty is automatically adjusted to match the remaining Scenario schedule.]
[The Scenario details have been updated!]
<Main Scenario #3 - Emergency Defense Battle>
Category: Main
Difficulty: B-
Clear Conditions: All 'Green Zone's within the station have been destroyed, causing the monsters scheduled to appear over the remaining days to emerge all at once. Survive against the overflowing monsters for the remaining time.
Duration: 8 hours
Reward: 1,000 Coins
Failure: Death
[The Emergency Defense Battle has begun!]
"Krrroooar!!!"
"W-What is that?!"
The familiar cries of monsters and the screams of people carried all the way here.
[Oppa, get ready!]
[Yeah.]
"Hup!"
Once you hit your thirties, your whole body really does start feeling stiff.
—Boom!
—Craaack
—Crack-crack-crack!!
Did they break the stairs on the other side?
"W-Why are you here...?"
"Move, now...!"
Well, of course they wouldn't all head for the staircase where Dokja was.
The only difference was that they knew what I'd done, so they couldn't recklessly rush in.
[Oppa, do it.]
"Ah, I thought my neck was going to snap from waiting."
"...What?"
"Move. If you don't, you're really going to get hurt."
"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me...!!"
—KWA-BOOM!!!
"Aaaah! No!"
"W-What the hell are you doing?!"
[Now start heading back.]
Dokja's order to return.
But just going back like this would be kind of boring, wouldn't it?
[Many Constellations express unease at your smile.]
"Judge, you said you're watching Dokja too, right?"
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' nods.]
"Good. Then keep watching Dokja's channel for a bit, and when things get dangerous, call me over."
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' nods.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is curious about your thoughts.]
That Plotter bastard really kept asking about my plans, as if trying to live up to the name 'Secretive Plotter.'
Though what I was about to do hardly deserved to be called a plan.
"What else? I'm laying the groundwork for a dramatic entrance."
***
"Huaaah...! Damn it! Damn iiiit...!"
"Just die already, you bastards...!"
[The character 'Gong Pildu's 'Private Property' level has increased!]
[The character 'Gong Pildu's 'Armed Zone' level has increased!]
[The character 'Gong Pildu' has acquired the skill 'Barrier Wall'.]
An hour had passed since the battle began.
That much growth in such a short span of time... Gong Pildu's Sponsor must have been in a real hurry.
The problem was how long that kind of extreme "support" could last...
And why hadn't Oppa shown up yet?
At this point, he should have arrived long ago.
"Hahaha! Look at that old man. He aged ten years in one hour!"
This brat was the same one who'd been screaming at me earlier about how we had to save people...
"But isn't that mister coming?"
"That's what I'm saying. Though it's funny how you're looking after everyone except Yoo Joonghyuk."
"It's just... well..."
What was with that reaction?
"Did something happen between you two?"
"It's just that... what he said actually helped more than I expected."
What exactly had Oppa said to make even Lee Jihye say something like that?
I just hoped that feeling wouldn't turn into affection.
"Dokja, let me introduce you. This is my friend, ■■■."
"Hi~! So you're Dokja!! I've heard so much about you from Dokyun."
Just like that bitch back then.
"I... like you."
"Sorry."
"Why? Is it because of your little sister?"
"..."
"I see... But you can't spend your whole life clinging to your sister, can you? If you were with me—!"
—Click
"Oppa."
"Oh, Dokja."
"I had a scary dream. Sleep with me."
Did Oppa know that wasn't a coincidence?
"At your age? Well... sure."
I wish Oppa had seen the look on that bitch's face back then.
"You're insane! Both you and your sister!! You're both completely insane!!!"
—Crrrk!
"A-Ajumma?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you chewing your nails like that?!"
Had I been?
Thinking about that bitch beside Oppa had put me in a foul mood.
What happened to her after that again?
Did she transfer schools?
I could only hope Lee Jihye wouldn't do something as stupid as that bitch did.
If it came to that, I didn't know what I might become either.
"But isn't it kind of quiet?"
"Now that you mention it..."
At some point, the sounds of the monsters attacking and the turrets firing had vanished.
Why had everything gone still? Why were the monsters just standing there?
More precisely, once the monsters stopped attacking, Gong Pildu had finally gotten a moment to breathe.
Then why had the monsters stopped?
"Kiiieeeek!"
"Grrrrr...!!"
Then I realized all the monsters were staring in one direction.
And that they were trembling in fear.
What could possibly frighten them like that?
—Step
—Step
Footsteps echoed out of the darkness.
That was the staircase where Oppa had been.
Which meant those footsteps were...
"Well, this is one hell of a mess."
"Oppa!"
"Sorry. I got here a little late."
Oppa appeared casually from behind the monsters.
The monsters were afraid of him.
Well, after the way he'd brutally torn them apart last night, that made sense.
"Now this is what you call a dramatic entrance."
"You came late on purpose for the sake of a dramatic entrance?"
"Something like that."
Not just Gong Pildu, but even Lee Jihye was staring at us strangely.
Oppa stood behind the horde of monsters.
I stood behind the humans.
The contrast was obvious.
"Move."
And yet despite that contrast, the distance between us drew endlessly closer.
The monsters could do nothing but watch as Oppa simply walked past them.
It was the same for Gong Pildu's group.
I hadn't expected it to feel this good, having everyone's eyes fixed on me and on Oppa as he came toward me.
Because they were all watching him ignore the monsters, ignore everyone else, and come only to me.
In Oppa's gaze, there was only me.
—Snap!
Once he'd come close enough, Oppa snapped his fingers.
"Kwoooaaaar!!"
As if they'd made a promise, the monsters began attacking again.
—Ratatatatatat!
—Boom!
—KWA-BOOM!!
The siege resumed.
Before I knew it, Oppa had come all the way to stand in front of me.
"What's the next plan?"
"For now, let's rest a little. We'll have to use our bodies again soon enough."
Just as I thought, Oppa couldn't do without me.
And I couldn't do without Oppa either.
The two of us are one.
Like a pair of winged birds.
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