Chapter 461: Episode 87 – The Heart of Steel (3)
“If you really require a power source, then why don’t we exchange Fables? We can supply you with Fables that can serve as useful replacements.”
[I told you to go back.]
As I thought, something was off here. If it was simply about using Yi Hyeon-Seong as a power source, then there shouldn’t be a reason to say no to my offer.
“I’m sorry, but we must take his soul back with us. The Final Scenario will soon begin. Meaning, this is no time for us to worry about your well-being.”
[Fable, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, has begun its storytelling!]
I unleashed my Status, causing the ‘Master of Steel’ to speak in a bit of a fluster. [You dare to oppose me inside <Oz>??]
Accompanied by a ‘Tsu-chuchuchut!’ noise, sparks exploded inside the audience chamber. The ‘Master of Steel’ was a Fable-grade Constellation, but when in <Oz>, his Status would....
[I’ve been generous by receiving you lot, yet you.....!]
....Be almost on the same level as a Myth-grade Constellation.
Ku-dudududu!!
The whole planet seemingly writhed about violently like a heart repeating the actions of contracting and relaxing.
Han Su-Yeong stared at me with a pale complexion.
– Are you insane, Kim Dok-Ja?! Why are you trying to fight insi.....
I began unleashing the Fables next.
[Great Fable, ‘Demon World’s Spring’, has begun its storytelling!]
[Great Fable, ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’, has begun its storytelling!]
The main Great Fables started their storytelling and the audience chamber quaked as if it’d collapse at any given moment.
I stepped across the violently-rocking floor and walked forward. The ‘Master of Steel’ shouted out. [Step back! If you don’t, I shall....!]
Yup, thought as much.
There were plenty of opportunities to subdue me, yet this ‘Master of Steel’ only issued warnings repeatedly without actually doing anything.
It was like dealing with the Cowardly Lion.
I walked straight through the mask and advanced forward to reach the rear-most wall of the audience chamber. The ‘Master of Steel’ was shouting something at me, but I ignored it all and simply punched the wall, hard.
In the next moment, the silver mask floating around like a hologram disappeared.
“Listen here, monkey.”
And I could see a monkey through the wide-open hole in the wall, shivering away in pure fear.
“Where is the real ‘Master of Steel’?”
*
A short while later, we managed to get some useful info from the monkey.
Han Su-Yeong spoke first. “Okay, so. The ‘Master of Steel’ isn’t here.”
[I-if you do this, the ‘Master of Steel’ will.....]
“Switch off the true voice, now. It doesn’t even sound like a proper true voice, anyway.”
“....probably forgive you,” said the now-dejected monkey.
It was likely that this monkey was a henchman of the real ‘Master of Steel’. I wasn’t sure why, but this little guy was acting like a Constellation in this place for some reason.
“Hang on, was it you who sent all those indirect messages until now, then?”
“Y-yes, that’s right. However, I was accurately conveying the Master of Steel-nim’s intentions.”
“You were ‘conveying’ his intentions?”
My question prompted the monkey’s gaze to shift towards a corner of the audience chamber. That was where we could see an altar with a Steelsword stabbed into its surface to resemble a cross.
I took an especially closer look at the exterior of the sword.
“Now normally, I can hear the Master’s intentions through that altar. But lately, messages from him have stopped arriving, and....”
I reached out to the Steelsword. I felt a certain flinching jolt when I touched it. I had experienced a sensation like this one before.
Although very faint, it was the same sensation I felt back when I came in contact with a different world-line.
Which meant that the ‘Master of Steel’ was an existence from another world-line.
....But, that was not possible. As far as I knew, the ‘Master of Steel’ was Tin Woodman from the ⸢Wizard of Oz⸥.... Could it be that someone else had appropriated that Constellation Modifier?
While I was stewing inside my thoughts, Han Su-Yeong asked the monkey. “Does the wretched state of your planet have something to do with that?”
“....Well, some part of it, yes. But neglecting maintenance also contributed to the issue, as well. Every Fable is bound to stagnate, after all. It has been a really long time since magic has disappeared from <Oz>, you see. Do you actually know how old the Fable of this place is?”
“Don’t know.”
“Tourists don’t come to <Oz> anymore. It’s already been over three years since the last time the monthly average visitor numbers reached double digits.”
The monkey’s eyes were dyed in the light of vague reminiscence. As if he was recalling the glory days of yore or something.
“Once upon a time, <Oz> was the number one theme park in the <Star Stream>.....”
Jeong Hui-Won frowned deeply. “I don’t want to hear about stuff like that. So, are you going to return Hyeon-Seong-ssi’s soul or not??”
“W-well, that is a bit....”
“Why not?!”
“The whole reason why we managed to maintain double-digit attendance numbers is due to ‘Yi Hyeon-Seong’, that’s why.”
“What are you talking about?”
The monkey hesitated greatly before answering her. “Have you heard the news that lately, the powers of all Great Fables are in decline?”
“Powers of the Great Fables are declining....?”
“It’s not just <Oz>. Many Fables that constitute Great Fables have all entered the path of stagnation similar to <Oz>’s situation.”
“But, why?”
“A certain Fable that has appeared in recent times has begun eating into the percentages of other Fables, you see.”
The monkey raised its head and with eyes full of resentment, began glaring at me.
“I’m talking about you people’s Fable.”
*
In conclusion, we did get something out from the visit to the Emerald Castle. The monkey told us this:
– You can take Yi Hyeon-Seong away. In return, please help us with advertising <Oz>.
We asked how we could do that, and he replied like this.
– You’ll find out when you get to where Yi Hyeon-Seong currently is.
And that was the reason why us, this trio, were standing in this particular place. At some distance away, we could see a Ferris wheel that no longer functioned as well as an ancient, decrepit carousel. It was the stereotypical sight of a run-down, bankrupt theme park.
<<There is no Wizard in Oz>>
It seemed that was the name of this theme park. In a way, it sounded rather cool.
My problem was with what was written below it.
<<However, we have Yi Hyeon-Seong>>
– Yi Hyeon-Seong ‘Memory Experience Centre’ now open!
– Find Yi Hyeon-Seong’s soul hidden somewhere in the Experience Centre to win a cool, pre-selected prize.
....What the hell was the meaning of this?
We headed to the ticket booth to find a list of prices waiting for us.
* Entrance ticket 4000 Coins
* Free Pass (50% discount) 3000 Coins
This was basically telling us to buy the free pass.
The ticket booth employee asked us.
– How many?
“Three.”
– 3000 Coins per Incarnation. 60000 for a Constellation.
....Did I hear him wrong just now?
I became dazed after being on the receiving end of such cruel discrimination for the first time in my life. But then, Jeong Hui-Won suddenly extended her hand in my direction. “This counts as company expenses, right? We’re on the clock, after all.”
“.....Of course.”
“Give me one for Incarnation.”
She unhesitantly swiped with the company expenses card and entered the ‘Memory Experience Centre’ right away. I remained dazed, while Han Su-Yeong stepped past me.
“Excuse me, one more Incar....”
“Hang on.”
“What is it now?”
“There is a special discount category.”
I pointed at the small notice attached next to the price list.
* Constellation X Incarnation Couple Discount Coupon, now available!
* This is a special couple’s discount coupon designed for those Sponsors visiting along with their Incarnations! Make beautiful new memories with your Incarnation and enjoy sweet, relaxing time together!
Han Su-Yeong finished reading the notice and turned to look at me. I nodded my head. Which prompted her to ask a question.
“Have you finally lost it?”
“Even if we have enough Coins, I don’t have enough to spend in this place.”
She glared at me with seething eyes, and as if calculating something in her head, she counted with her fingers for a bit, and finally alternated her gaze between the price list and me.
Eventually, she sighed grandly and asked. “Fine. What will you give me in return?”
*
“....What are you two doing??”
Jeong Hui-Won discovered Han Su-Yeong and I, and said that in dismay. But, that was understandable. Because... both of us were sporting an identical pair of wolf-ear headbands right now.
[Applicable item can’t be taken off while inside the ‘Memory Experience Centre’.]
[Please show off the close bond you share with your Incarnation to other Constellations!]
Han Su-Yeong replied to her in a shameless voice. “I’m working part-time in the dating industry.”
“Let’s search for Hyeon-Seong-ssi first, shall we?”
According to the monkey, Yi Hyeon-Seong’s soul should be wandering around somewhere in this ‘Memory Experience Centre’. Not sure why he was roaming around in this place, but...
We had a little bit of time on our hands, so we walked around the ‘Memory Experience Centre’ with calm minds. I was wondering what exactly this place was, and we soon got to find out.
[Yi Hyeon-Seong, born as a healthy and big baby weighing in at 5.4 kg!]
[Yi Hyeon-Seong, five years old – rescues a friend from bullies!]
This was where we would get to ‘experience’ his life.
[Only those holding the ‘Free Pass’ can enter.]
[The chamber’s experience will begin once you enter. Will you enter?]
“Does this mean we will get to experience the feelings of a newborn? Who the heck would want to pay money to experience something like that??”
This theme park seemed to be similar in nature to a generalised amusement park. We could enter individual ‘Experience Centres’ to experience Yi Hyeon-Seong’s life through either his eyes or someone near him.
Jeong Hui-Won spoke up. “I guess we really have become famous lately. Someone even came up with a thing like this, too.”
“....I’m kinda curious about that one over there.”
We became totally entranced and studied the various parts of Yi Hyeon-Seong’s life. It felt as if I had really become a Constellation.... Hang on, I really was a Constellation, wasn’t I?
[Yi Hyeon-Seong, 17 years old – fails in his quest for his first love!]
Jeong Hui-Won stared at this particular ‘centre’ without saying anything.
So, I naturally had to ask. “....Are you planning to go in?”
“No.”
We continued to search for Yi Hyeon-Seong. His soul gave off a unique Fable reaction. And we could definitely sense that particular reaction nearby, but....
[Yi Hyeon-Seong, encountering the Judge that destroys evil!]
After walking about for a while, we discovered several ‘Experience Centres’ related to the <Kim Dok-Ja Company>.
[Pure Steel Yi Hyeon-Seong! With Judge that destroys evil, he.....]
Jeong Hui-Won’s steps gradually gained pace. We diligently followed after her. However, we still couldn’t sense Yi Hyeon-Seong’s presence. We looked through a row of the Experience Centres and turned around to leave, but found someone unexpected behind us. It wasn’t the guy we were looking for, though.
“Uh? Ahjussi?”
It was Yi Ji-Hye wearing a fox-ear headband.
“....And why are you here?”
Yi Ji-Hye provided a short explanation after I asked her.
The first part of the tale was about Yu Jung-Hyeok, Yu Sang-Ah, the kids, and her heading to the blacksmith only to be told that the supply of Fable metal had run out.
The second part was about how they walked around disappointed only to coincidentally discover this place.
And finally, the last part regarding how they just couldn’t win against the kids pestering them so they bought a family discount to enter.... Eh? Family discount?
“What are you fools doing here?”
I looked back and sure enough, Yu Jung-Hyeok and his fox ears were standing there. He alternated his gaze between me and Han Su-Yeong before throwing out a question. “Have you regained Yi Hyeon-Seong’s soul yet?”
“We came here to find it. Besides, what are you doing here instead of searching for the Fable metal?”
“The blacksmith was temporarily closed. Apparently, their supply of Fable metal had run out.”
I could guess why something like that had happened. Perhaps it was related to the weakening of <Oz>’s Great Fable.
I saw Yu Sang-Ah waving her hand from afar. I also spotted Shin Yu-Seung and Yi Gil-Yeong wearing headbands that reminded me of a dragonfly’s wings.
“Eonni! Let’s go inside that one next! That one!”
“Oh my, that one’s for over 18s, you know.”
Somehow, the whole gang had assembled once more.
I figured this was for the best. Since it had come to this, searching for Yi Hyeon-Seong together could save us from further trouble.
It was then that Jeong Hui-Won’s voice came from a bit of distance away. “Everyone, please come over here!”
We hurriedly went over to her side. And that’s where we discovered a certain Experience Centre with an especially high number of warning signs posted outside compared to the others we’ve seen so far.
* This Experience Centre can only be entered by persons older than 18 years of age.
* After experiencing the possession, you might suffer from mental anguish due to the severe, harsh treatment.
* Caution should be exercised if South Korean male Incarnations wish to use this centre.
I looked up at the title card for the ‘Memory Experience Centre’ and spoke to the others. “....Looks like we found him.”
There was no doubt about it. The dull-and-slow-moving Fable unique to Yi Hyeon-Seong could definitely be felt from this particular Experience Centre.
He was inside this thing.
I reconfirmed the name of this Experience Centre one more time.
[I lost a shell by mistake.]
<Episode 87. The Heart of Steel (3)> Fin.