"Brother!!!"
My brother had been run through by Yoo Joonghyuk's sword.
Why was he being pushed back this badly?
He was someone who had fought Yoo Joonghyuk several times before.
Had Yoo Joonghyuk grown that much stronger since then?!
Or was it because he wasn't used to handling the axe?
"Brother!!!"
"Hyung!!!"
"Mister!!!"
"Mr. Dokyun!!!"
For some reason, my brother had grabbed the sword—which was cloaked in Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship—with his bare hand, causing even more blood to pour out.
Everyone around us was terrified for him.
Every single one of them had been helped by him at some point.
That went without saying for me, and Gilyoung, in particular, was frantic, caring for him as if my brother were his own flesh and blood.
Jung Heewon had been rescued alongside me, and Lee Jihye had received his emotional support.
That was why, even though the only way to end this nightmare was to kill the Theater Owner, our eyes were naturally drawn to my brother.
What the hell is he counting on?
...Ah!
He could use the Dokkaebi's bag with me, couldn't he?!
I had seen my brother use the bag before.
Was he trusting the healing potions in the Dokkaebi Shop?
[So don't worry about me and run!!]
The timing was cruelly perfect.
It felt as if my heart were being ripped out of my chest.
I wanted to sprint to his side this very instant.
To think that the best way to help my brother was to stop fighting beside him...
"...Ms. Heewon. Gilyoung, Jihye! The Theater Owner comes first!"
My body was moving, but my mind remained fixed on my brother.
He wouldn't be able to hold out long in that state.
"Aaaaargh!"
I bit my lip at the sound of my brother's scream.
I hated myself—caught in a place where I could neither hate Yoo Joonghyuk nor love her.
Slash!
And just like that, the battle resumed.
The Theater Owner didn't even bother to counterattack, as if mocking me—mocking all of us.
Over there, a far more desperate struggle must be unfolding, right?
Thud.
Then I heard the one sound I never wanted to hear.
The sound of my brother collapsing.
He hadn't been struck by an attack.
He had simply lost too much blood.
Which meant he could still be saved.
[Exclusive Skill, 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' Stage 2 is activated.]
***
【What?】
I had definitely collapsed just moments ago while fighting Yoo Joonghyuk.
But when I opened my eyes, I saw a vast field spread out before me, meticulously tended like a royal garden.
Something felt strange.
My body felt oddly weightless, as if I were floating.
Was this what it felt like to be in space?
I'd never experienced zero gravity, so if I had to describe the closest sensation... it was perhaps most like being underwater.
[A support will someday no longer be needed.]
It was the voice I had heard before.
[This is an unchanging truth known by all.]
A support.
Was that thing in the center of the distant field the "support"?
Though rather than a support, it looked more like a giant tree...
[But not yet.]
[There are still those who need you.]
[There are those who have come to lean against you, their support, and find rest.]
[What will you do?]
[You may flee into an honorable death.]
[Or, as a sturdy support fated to be discarded, you may preserve your pitiful life.]
[The choice is yours.]
The choice was mine, huh...
【What a stupid question.】
There are countless foolish things in this world.
There's a reason the Darwin Awards exist.
And among them, the most idiotic thing of all is this:
Asking a question when you already know the answer.
This wasn't some considerate gesture of asking for my opinion.
【It's just a cheap trick to force a confirmation of your own will.】
【You know your stuff.】
【Who are you...?】
That wasn't a tree.
It was a person.
Had the will of the support taken on a human form?
The face looked familiar, yet I couldn't quite grasp who it was.
It felt as if a thick fog had settled over my mind.
Unpleasant.
【I'll just say it isn't time for you to know yet. But I will tell you one thing... I am one who was saved by you.】
Saved by me?
Was it some reader from the future?
Or someone erased from my memories?
And such a person was my attribute?
【You seem to be overthinking.】
【Of course I am.】
I had never saved anyone.
Aside from saving Dokja, I hadn't even begun to save lives until after the world fell.
And yet, this person claimed to be saved by me?
【I'd like to talk more, but it's time for you to leave. Before you go, let me give you one piece of advice.】
【What?】
【Sacrifice is not something you do while hoping for something in return.】
【What does that mea—!】
Before I could finish, the bodiless voice cut in.
【Before you go, answer me in your own words.】
【...I will survive. Even if I am a tree that will eventually be felled.】
This time, the voice listened until the end.
Then, I felt something seize me and yank me backward.
【That's what I wanted to hear. Goodbye, O—!】
The voice faded away.
It was strange.
It was definitely a voice I had never heard before... and yet, within it, I could feel a profound sense of both joy and sorrow.
[The roots of the support coil around your body.]
[The support is still needed by them.]
['Support Raised with an Abandoned Dream' forcibly raises you back to your feet.]
.
.
.
Whooom.
I felt as though I had stayed in that field for an eternity... but when I came to my senses, not even a few seconds had passed.
And I could move my body.
Clang!
I blocked Yoo Joonghyuk's sword with my axe.
Yoo Joonghyuk's expression twisted.
It was a mixture of bewilderment that I could still move, and fury that I continued to obstruct her.
"You know the thing about me? I'm selfish as hell."
As I returned from that field, various thoughts flashed through my mind.
Thinking I could defeat Yoo Joonghyuk simply because I had acquired a weapon had been pure arrogance.
I had been lacking in every possible way; there was no way a single strong weapon would suddenly grant me victory.
This world was like a game.
But unlike a game, weapons didn't come with built-in skills.
In Yoo Joonghyuk's countless regressions, had she never faced an enemy who used an axe like I did?
Of course she had.
And those enemies were likely far more skilled with an axe than I ever was.
I had judged Yoo Joonghyuk based on the shallow information I possessed and tried to crush her with brute force.
Was that all?
No.
Shift.
I saw my companions fighting the Simulation.
Despite having allies, why had I insisted on stepping forward alone all this time?
I hadn't realized it.
No, it would be more accurate to say I had been in denial.
Dokja had the information.
Jung Heewon had the powerful skills.
Yoo Sangah had the backing of a giant nebula.
Lee Hyunsung was a crucial ally from the original story.
In contrast, what was I?
Just a moron with a bit of strength.
I didn't have information on Dokja's level.
I didn't have skills as devastating as Jung Heewon's.
I didn't have a mysterious benefactor helping me from the shadows like Yoo Sangah.
I didn't know how high my ceiling was, unlike Lee Hyunsung.
Eventually, I would be left behind.
Dokja might one day disappear from my side.
Consumed by this vague anxiety, I had tried to prove myself.
Not to anyone else, but to myself.
Even after Yoo Joonghyuk had gone so far as to suggest we work together.
That anxiety had bred impatience, and that impatience had stunted my own growth.
I suppose it's true that people realize the most when they are pushed to the brink of death.
Fine. I'll admit it.
And I will struggle.
Just to survive in this godforsaken world.
Shing.
Follow the trajectory of the blade.
Clang!
Don't just mindlessly push with strength.
If it's Yoo Joonghyuk, she'll find a way to deflect any simple attack.
Rattle!
Don't let your guard down just because you've seen the attack before.
You never know what follow-up is coming.
Boom!
And trust.
Trust my companions.
Trust my one and only precious family.
Whoosh!
"Now! Kim Dokja!!"
Unlike before, I threw my body aside to create an opening.
And Dokja, who had been positioned behind me, leaped out in front of Yoo Joonghyuk.
Their blades collided head-on.
Clang!
The sword of a Regressor, exhausted by repeated lives, clashed with the sword of the Reader who had witnessed those lives.
Kak!
Boom!!
As Yoo Joonghyuk leaped back to create distance from Dokja, I immediately swung my axe at her.
This wasn't my fight alone.
It was our fight.
So it didn't matter if I fought dirty.
Honor is a luxury we can't afford.
"We should've done this from the start."
"You've always been too stubborn, Brother."
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at us with hollow, unfocused eyes.
"I'll block."
"And I'll find the opening."
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is worried that a joint attack between those who have never coordinated will only result in them hindering each other.]
"Did you see that? It says we've never coordinated!"
"We don't need to coordinate, Brother. We've known each other our whole lives; why would we need to practice?"
Tap tap!
Yoo Joonghyuk charged at us.
"Bring it!"
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