Extra Nobody

The day before the Mock Dungeon Trial.

“The Co-Author is dead.”

“…Is that so?”

“Hyon Hyung, you said that you read a novel with me as its protagonist, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then is it possible that you are inside a novel, and you are its protagonist?”

“…”

“Hyon Hyung, I am scared.”

“Me too…”

***

I don’t know. I don’t really care. I know what I know, and if Will is so flimsy that it can be easily controlled by others, then fuck it. The conversation that time plays on my mind in rewind. After that, I narrate to him the best I can a portion of his story— the incidents, the things he already knows, and the powers he will get.

I dread sharing with him the sad things though. After so much conversation, he asks me if we can unite the main cast perhaps in this story so that we can reduce as much tragedy as possible. I agreed.

Now, I have a way to unite us. It is unexpected, but my feelings should go through them if I use Yoenha well. If there is really a way to save her no matter how slim the chance, they should be able to get their wits together.

“I’d like to really move on discussing the Devil’s Seed, but first, Hajin… I ask that you give me permission to have full disclosure among our members. From henceforth, I plan on uniting the main cast with every fiber of my being. I will also like Rachel to stay as a third party to stand witness. I trust Rachel’s kindness… and I believe in her.”

Hajin seems surprised by my severe tone. No longer is there any playfulness in my tone of voice. He gives time to think to come up with a decision.

The others are similarly surprised by the change in atmosphere. I don’t pay them any heed as I only wait for Hajin. “Me? Witness?” Rachel’s surprise. “I don’t understand. But main cast?” Nayun’s confusion.

“You will unite us, huh? Aren’t we united already?” And Suho’s doubts.

We must shed all of these barriers, and must not keep others out of the loop. We need a united front, where we move forward as one. We need a system where we will be able to move as if we are one true organism.

Hajin grasps Nayun’s hand just beside him. “We aren’t as united as every individual of us might think… We have secrets. We have a past we don’t want to tell the others. We are not really a team, but merely a collection of individuals who shared the same goals.”

I sense Hajin’s eyes move away from Nayun and lands his gaze to mine. Nayun has become more agitated by the audible tapping of her shoes, and Suho seems to have become quieter.

“Rachel, please witness this… This confession unlike any other before…” I smile at Rachel standing just beside me. “And I pray that you will keep watching us on moving forward from here. If you decide to act as a witness, then you will never be able to find a way out anymore…”

Rachel simply nods at my subtle threat.

“Hyon Hyung, you have my permission… Whether this fails or succeeds… I thank you…” A bitter, yet relieved smile decorates his face.

“Hmmm… Then I will begin with me and Kim Hajin.” I will tell them only the honest truth, yet in my own bias, I decide to butter it with more flowery words. “We are not from this Planet Earth. Please think of us as people who have crossed this world from another world. It is also another Planet Earth, but unlike this world, the world where we come from has no magic power, dungeons, and monsters. My claim that I am a clairvoyant is not entirely a lie as I do know of the future. In the same sense, Kim Hajin also knows the future. The only difference between us is that the future I know is more updated than him.”

The person who is most shocked by this revelation is Kim Suho. I see Rachel from my peripheral vision having a look of disbelief the same way Nayun does.

“Are the two of you… really transmigrators? But what is it that you said to me Hyon Hyung that you came from Akatrina? How do you know of Akatrina then?” Kim Suho raises his question, with a look of betrayal.

“I always thought you are a regressor,” Nayun adds to Hajin whose hand remains over hers, fingers interlocked together. She doesn't really know how to tell Hajin not to be so clingy.

“That is where it gets complicated,” I continue with my explanation. “Kim Hajin’s knowledge of the future comes from his knowing that he is the author of the novel by the title of The Returnee Hero where its protagonist goes by the name of Kim Suho. That Suho is you, Kim Suho.”

“This is a lot to take in…” Suho expresses his fear with a few words. “Are you like... God, Hajin?”

I understand his fear. I don’t know what it means in my past life to fear God. Why do we have to fear him if he loves us all? Now, I guess I have some insight into this mystery.

“No,” Hajin succinctly answers, with conviction clear in his eyes. “At least I believe that I am not.”

“So I am,” I opine, bringing the flow of conversation back to me. “While Hajin has come from a world where he is the Author of this world, I came from a world where I am a reader of a novel… where Kim Hajin here is the protagonist.”

“What does that mean?” There is shuddering anger in Nayun’s voice. Considering all that Nayun has to go through, if there is really someone behind her sadness, tragedy, and pain, then it is only right for her to be angry.

However, none of this anger is directed at Hajin as Kim Hajin is as much a victim as her. She should know now where I am coming from. I have my suspicions about the nature of my coming into this world. Perhaps, I am just another toy, a replacement for Hajin, and maybe it is the same for Nayun.

“I am sorry, Suho for lying to you about my Akatrina origins. I am desperate at that time. I am pretty sure Nayun will kill me if I don’t manage to get you on my side.”

“…” Suho’s silence is not comforting.

But Nayun’s blushing in shame somehow soothes my heart. I cannot still forgive her for almost sending me to my early death. But then, the awkward unwieldy atmosphere is broken by Suho’s raucous laugh.

“Ha ha ha ha~!” His laughter is like a child, finding the situation too funny. “I knew you were lying.” He reveals to me. “I am just waiting for you to show your true colors, and if I judge them black then I will have to apprehend you.”

I feel a chill on my spine by the way he is casually addressing me.

“How do you know?” I ask out of curiosity.

“I had my suspicions when you dissed Prihi, the last legitimate royalty of Akatrina. If you really are a commoner, then you will not even find the courage to smear dirt to royalty no matter how terrible life has become back then.”

Kim Suho continues his tale, not finding the slightest deterrence to himself revealing his story. “I am also a transmigrator like them. I come from a world called Akatrina which resembles medieval Earth except that world has a strong dependence on magical technology, and has a system of government of mostly monarchy.”

“That is just…” as unbelievable as her own tale. Nayun realizes how small she is, how small her trust in people is after regressing and hoping to change things for the better. Hajin and Suho must feel the same, and then there is Hyung now too. “What happened to that world?”

“It got destroyed by a Devil by the name of Morax.” Kim Suho replies with complicated sadness in his eyes. “But that is all a done deal now. After Akatrina ended, I suddenly found myself reincarnated as a person of this world. This time, I am going to fight with everything I have. I have a world that I must protect now, and I have no plans of leaving it…”

Nayun feels hurt by his sincere words. It is as if he is reprimanding her. Kim Suho is the type of person who will not regress by his own choice.

“And I…” Comes with her small voice is a lingering fear. Hajin puts more weight into his palm to hers, giving her little strength. “And I am a regressor.” She cries flatly, losing the little strength she barely gathers on voicing this out to everyone.

All eyes turn on her.

“I lived this life once already... Of course, it is nothing like this…” This confession is less impactful than the one she expresses to Hajin, more open, yet freer, and also less vulnerable to the hurt as Hajin is beside her now, offering her the support she desperately needs. “So what is your plan now Hyon Hyung? You had us fessing up our secrets for what?”

Yes. Now that the boundaries have been broken down with their pain and hurt, it is time I direct it at a target. “I suspect… our enemy is God… or something of equal existence.”

This time, all eyes turn to Hajin.

“What? This is the first time I am hearing this, Hyung?”

“Calm down, Hajin… I don’t mean you… I mean the Co-Author.”

“…”

It looks like my assumption is getting through Hajin.

Nayun voices everyone's question. “What is this Co-Author that you speak of?”

Kim Hajin answers Nayun’s question within a heartbeat. “It is basically a higher existence responsible for sending me to this world.”

“And I suspect…” I mutter in a tense voice. “That this existence is responsible for every change that I and Hajin are not able to predict. It has sent a message to Hajin that it has died due to some circumstance. But I suspect, he has descended, and we are already fighting him or her whether who that may be. At first, we humans didn’t even entertain the thoughts of Devils coming to this world but you guys should know better.”

Yes, this is what we need— an enemy— one so much more formidable than any Devil there is. There is no significant evidence that will provide us guarantee that a God out there is really screwing with us, and we must fight it.

Still, the fact, I am able to move their hearts should be enough spark for us to move on to the more lofty goals I have in mind. My brain churns with ideas as I come up with a rough road map in my head.

“Now that we have fought a Devil’s Seed’s host firsthand, everyone should know how difficult they are as an enemy. There will be tougher enemies in the future. We cannot remain a club inside Cube. We must expand our activities outside, and save more people from tragedy so that something like what happened to Yoenha will not happen again.”

It is time. The most difficult part of my persuasion begins here.

“What about Yoenha?” Rachel worriedly asks, realizing the gravity in my voice.

“Please, Ms. Rachel. Don’t speak again as you are merely just an observer.” I request of her sternly. “To summarize, the Devil’s Seed as we know is a method for Devils to descend into this world. Yun Hyuk has become it, and so is Seungyeon. They have completely fallen to the Devil’s bewitchment, thus we can no longer save them, but that is not the same for Yoenha. We can still save her.”

“But we are in a half-half vote…” Hajin tells me as a matter of fact.

I grin. “And that is why I brought Rachel.”

There is a short silence in the room. “Does Rachel really get a vote?” “You are a cheating bastard…” “Good job Hyon!” Nayun’s smile is creepy. This is the first time I hear Kim Suho curse. Hajin gives me a rare compliment.

“Fine,” Nayun places her fingers on her chin in deep contemplation. “I also want to help Yoenha, but if we are not willing to make the sacrifice, then it will be the end for us. I only keep on making mistakes again and again… I don’t simply fear failure in itself, but its consequences.”

I really hate it when Nayun is so eloquent.

“I also feel the same…” Suho speaks with dread in his eyes, as deciding to sacrifice Yoenha for the greater good must be tearing him apart a lot inside him. “But what choice do we have?”

“This!? What is this?” Rachel shouts in an outburst. “Why are you deciding the life and death of a classmate so flippantly?” She is angry more than she will ever be. “I don’t know about this talks about Devils and Devil’s Seed, but what is this?” Tears threaten to pour from her eyes, but she holds them through sheer will.

Hajin calmly tells her. “It is not flippant, Rachel-ssi… We are seriously deciding on something that involves the life and death of the whole planet. I will explain it in an easy way that you will understand. If the Devil manages to descend into this world through Yoenha’s body, then we are all done for. Planet Earth is not equipped to fight the Devil Realm’s Transformation!”

“I saw it for myself,” Suho adds with a sad gaze.

“And I too have witnessed it…” Nayun recalls that terrible memory when the Gate of Hell appeared on Earth. “The size of invasion Earth has to face in the future is so immense… we only barely won. If a Devil manages to take a foothold in this world so much earlier, then we are as good as dead. We have no choice.”

Ignorance makes Rachel’s legs go weak. She feels weak for a different reason other than not being strong, thus sending her into a spiral of perplexity.

“There is actually a choice.” I seize the opportunity at that moment which can only come through because of Rachel’s kindness. “We kill the Devil itself, then it will no longer descend to this world. Cube has gathered a sizable amount of data from Seungyeon already and has concluded that it will take five more years until Yoenha's Devil Seed fully wakes up. If Sungyeon’s Devil’s Seed manages to reunite with the one inside Yoenha, then we are fucked… because that will be theoretically an instant summon or something similar. But now, we have earned a respite all thanks to sacrificing Yun Hyuk and Seungyeon. They are the only sacrifice we need.”

I explain to them the alternate in hard cold logic as if slaying a Devil is just a chore that can be completed at any time.

“How do we reach a Devil?” Suho is doubtful, but he is more inclined on fighting the Devil rather than kill Yoenha now… if it is possible. Hajin is similarly doubtful, but he deigns to wait and see first.

Nayun seems to have an idea. “It is possible… They live in the Transcendent Plane, and I have been there when Seungyeon forcefully possessed my body… We should be able to reach them…”

She excitedly grips the table that a few cracks spread from it. Even the few snacks in front of her are not spared as they scatter. However, she calms herself shortly after. “This will be impossible for us with the time frame given. If we can get a Transdimensional Merchant’s assistance, we might gain information on how to get to the Transcendent Plane. Five years is not enough!”

“What do you mean?” Suho doesn’t know what Nayun means as he lacks context. So is Rachel.

Hajin satisfies Suho’s curiosity a bit. “I will explain later. Just think that in the future, there will be outer space merchants visiting Earth who can offer all kinds of services to us, earthlings…”

This is why it is necessary I break the barriers between us. It is so that we can bounce off the ideas with each other.

“No. We don't need them. In the next three years, we should aim to slay a Devil. That should be our goal!” I boast to them. I feel my shoulder gaining a few widths and my height gaining a few centimeters. “Chae Nayun, I know the fucker who placed the Devil’s Seed on your Brother! Before saving Yoenha, we will save your brother first!”

This way, we can confirm if killing the Devil can save the Devil’s Seed’s host, and at the same time, even contribute more good to society. “The culprit is the former Seat of White of the Chameleon Troupe! He is the one who placed the Devil’s Seed in your brother! I don’t remember his name, but we can start with him.”

Nayun’s breathing stops for a moment as it jogs her memory while recalling a particular character, a heinous monster under human skin that is so repulsive Nayun has long cleansed him in her memories. “He is… Baal's, the Devil King’s, worshipper…”

A short silence ensues.

But Nayun breaks the silence immediately.

Nayun continues mouthing off an explanation about Baal. “Among the Seventy-Two Devils, Baal is their King, the top! And this Baal’s Worshipper we are talking about is a real menace, but the knowledge he possesses about Devils will be very valuable for us! He must know a way for us to travel to the Transcendent Plane.”

Hajin offers his own opinion on the matter. “I don’t really know about this Seat of White… If I really wrote about a character like that, I will remember it… I begin to distrust my own memories as the Author of this world… If we are going to steal knowledge about Devils, then we might as well look around the Thirteen Evils as they might provide us a clue. Even if we need to tear them limb for limb, we must get the information we need.”

Suho nods affirmatively at Hajin’s words. “If we have to flip the Djinn Society then so be it. If we must cleanse this world of their filth, and then we shall…”

I remain silent. I fear that I might be unleashing something more dangerous than Devils to this world. Anyhow, my friends are good kids, and they should mean no harm to the normal populace, right? There really is a dreadful aura in the air as I realize how much Rachel is trembling.

I sigh.

“While we are it, we must take priority on improving ourselves. It is immensely difficult to kill the Devil’s Seed already, so imagine if it is a Devil.” I try to reign their enthusiasm.

“I killed plenty of them in the Great Devil War…” Nayun just has to be reasonable in these times. This annoys me. “Also, Suho and Hajin gave very fatal blows to Baal. While at it, they are also mowing lots of Devils. Hajin is especially good at killing them en masse.”

“I know that too…” I glumly reply. “But we are fighting a Devil in its own territory this time, and to add, we will be fighting it in three years’ time. We desperately need some God Slaying weapons.”

Everyone is on the same page. We have a goal. We no longer have any secrets from each other. We are going to save Yoenha. I fear the day the little hope in my heart gets extinguished, but what is hope now will still be hope tomorrow.

While hope yesterday may become despair today, I have decided that I will desperately fight for my beliefs to the bitter end. I feel like a protagonist now, and a part of the main cast.

“Now, the next important discussion we must have after the Devil’s Seed fiasco is the… aftermath…” There is a lot for us to do, and what we may lack in time, we can compensate with providence.

“President Kim Hajin, this vice president of yours has worked hard, and now will be relying on you… Any god-slaying weapons on your Book of Truth you could share with us? Also, you don’t mind handling the aftermath for us, do you?”

Thankfully, we have providence on our side in the form of Kim Hajin.

***

On the surface level of Cube far from the meeting of the Devil Hunter’s Club members is a white-haired teenage boy raising quite a ruckus. There are dirt, blood, and ash on his face retelling the battle he has to go through. Several bloodied and hardened Cube cadets follow behind him. They just recently escaped the Mock Dungeon with every survivor accounted for.

“I said, there is still one Djinn on the loose! He is fairly strong! He goes by the name Hyon Hyung! He has brown hair, he is about my height, and he uses dual daggers! Please catch him! He is the mastermind behind this! He has confessed to me himself!”

“Please calm down sir… we will try our best to locate this Djinn…” The newly arrived High-Rank Hero tries to calm Shin Jonghak down.

Alfir I tried my best to write a 2nd chapter for today! I packed it with about 3500 words, so forgive me for not uploading anything tomorrow. Yikes. And Thank you for your understanding!