Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Web Novel KR)

The Rat that Spreads Plague.

Not only in Ways of Survival, but even in the Annihilation Method setting notes, this constellation wasn’t supposed to appear this early.
Yet here it was, suddenly contracting with three incarnations and ordering them to ambush the Shadow Drapery.
That rat was, one hundred percent, a “reader.”

I wanted to use [Reader Comment List], but unfortunately it couldn’t be activated on a formless being.
Unless I could possess the incarnation, of course…
“Hey, you guys. Let’s not fight.”

I waved my hand toward the Ratmen glaring at me and slowly edged backward.
Now that even Literature Girl 64 was poisoned, it was three against one.
No matter how I looked at it, my odds weren’t good.

But who was I?
In Yoo Joonghyuk’s words, in the 40th regression, I was called the “One Who Deceived the Stars.”
“Misread Alliance comrades. I am not your enemy.”
I was the great villain rumored among the constellations as the Malicious Sophist.

[Exclusive skill, ‘Incite Lv.3,’ has been activated!]
“Just by looking, you seem like villains yourselves. And it just so happens, I’m a villain too.”
Saying that, I edged closer toward Killer King, who was collapsed on the ground.

“So let’s negotiate. Is this guy the one you want?”
I grabbed Killer King by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him up. Literature Girl 64, crouched nearby, looked at me with despair-filled eyes.
I smiled lightly at her, then turned back toward the Ratmen.

One of them spoke.
“We don’t negotiate.”
“Stay out of it, vermin. I wasn’t talking to you — I’m talking to your constellation.”

At my cold words, the Ratman scowled.
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ gazes at you with interest.]
I grinned and began to speak.

“You saw the fight earlier, so you know — I can hold my own. If I fight seriously, your incarnations won’t walk away unharmed. If you lose three incarnations this early, wouldn’t that be a big blow to you, Constellation?”
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ glares at you.]
“So why fight? What you want is this guy. I don’t particularly want to get my hands bloody either. Let’s both win here. Give what should be given, take what should be taken.”

[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ says the 7 Apostles’ Assembly can’t be trusted.]
“I’m not from the 7 Apostles’ Assembly.”
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ is using ‘Lie Detection.’]
[Your statement has been confirmed as true.]
Now even rats were using that skill.

Well, a rat was still a constellation after all.
“I’ll hand over Killer King. In return, you give me the Random Item Box you got.”
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ says the box cannot be given.]

“Then in that case, I’ll take everything else in this place except that box.”
The constellation seemed to hesitate.
The Ratmen squeaked among themselves.

—What should we do?
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ tells them to wait a little longer.]
I slowly drifted toward the wall and kept talking.

“There’s no need to overthink. Look, you’ve chosen a rough road yourself. In a world like this, we’ll need to cooperate if we want to survive. If villains squabble amongst themselves, we’ll all just end up dead.”
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ asks who the hell you are.]
Tzzzzzt.

Sparks ran faintly across my body — the constellation was trying to unleash its dignity to intimidate me.
But the Rat that Spreads Plague wasn’t particularly strong. Not this early in the story, bound by plausibility restrictions.
“How disappointing. Do you really not know who I am? Seems you haven’t read the novel properly.”

I took another step.
Sensing something wrong, the rat gave a warning.
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ tells you to stop.]
Could I pull this off? I didn’t know.

“But let me put it this way — I’m the worst villain in Ways of Survival.”
With those words, I yanked out the Dark Flame embedded nearby.
A gray torch, sucking in black ether and blazing to life — as it lit up the surroundings, my shadow flickered ominously.

“The one who burns enemies in Hellfire.”
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ orders its incarnations to kill you immediately.]
The Ratmen all raised their blowpipes and fired poisoned darts.

I used Killer King as a shield.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
His eyes flew open as his body convulsed. Given the circumstances, I had no choice.

I’ll save you later, reader. Just bear with it for now.
Holding Killer King in front of me, I charged the Ratmen. Caught off guard, they flinched back.
I hurled the Dark Flame with all my strength. Spinning in midair, it sailed past them and rolled behind the Shadow Drapery.

From the extinguished torch, black smoke billowed upward.
Black ether was spilling out.
—Be careful!

From the thickly spreading ether, something began to stir.
「There was still a ‘boss monster’ here that had not yet died.」
In the original story, Kim Dokja never delivered the final blow to that monster. Killing it outright brought the curse of a Demon King.

[The ruler of the ‘Shadow Drapery’ absorbs the black ether!]
Even Killer King, who had read nearly ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ a hundred times, hadn’t forgotten that part.
[7th-grade demon species, ‘Dark Watchman,’ has been resurrected!]

The magic power of the black ether pouring out of the Dark Flame revived the dying Dark Watchman.
With squealing shrieks from the Ratmen, multiple tentacles burst from the monster’s body.
They barely dodged the lashing tendrils.

But—
SHHHHHH!
From beneath the floor, more tentacles surged up. The Ratmen screamed as they were impaled through their stomachs, thrashing helplessly.

“Kallidhu.”
At the monster’s word, something writhed and burrowed into the Ratmen’s bodies.
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ is enraged!]
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ increases synchronization with its incarnations!]

Realizing the situation too late, the constellation itself tried to intervene.
But that was a mistake.
Tzzzzzt!

[7th-grade demon species, ‘Dark Watchman,’ senses the presence of the constellation.]
[7th-grade demon species, ‘Dark Watchman,’ offers a prayer to its master.]
RUMMMMMMBLE.
The entire Shadow Drapery shook like an earthquake.

[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ is flustered.]
Someone was watching this space.
A being on a completely different level from the Rat.

Cold sweat dripped down my spine.
[The constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband,’ frowns at the appearance of a Demon King.]
The lord of the 32nd Demon Realm.

[The constellation, ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos,’ hardens his expression.]
[The constellation, ‘Primordial Bull,’ flashes its eyes.]
The Demon King of Wrath and Lust.
Demon King Asmodeus.

[The Demon King, ‘Wrath and Lust,’ gazes upon the ‘Rat that Spreads Plague.’]
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ suffers a fatal blow!]
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague,’ trembles in fear!]
[The constellation, ‘Rat that Spreads Plague’ has exited the channel.]
With a single glance, a Demon King erased a great-level constellation.

[The Demon King, ‘Wrath and Lust,’ gazes at you curiously.]
From beyond the abyss, the Demon King was watching me.
[Exclusive skill, ‘Incite Lv.3,’ activates violently!]

「I am Kim Dokja, the one who holds the ‘Fourth Wall.’」
I did not avert my gaze, and met the Demon King’s eyes.
[The Demon King, ‘Wrath and Lust,’ takes an interest in you.]
[The Demon King, ‘Wrath and Lust,’ remembers your name.]

With that last message, the gaze vanished. Only the Dark Watchman and I remained.
Panting, I glared at it.
“Are you going to fight?”

The Dark Watchman stared at me, then muttered something.
[You understand the settings of this language.]
[Translating the language of the Demon species.]
—You who come from ■’s ■■. The King watches over you.

…What?
Leaving those words behind, the monster disappeared into the Shadow Drapery with the Ratmen.
[7th-grade demon species, ‘Dark Watchman,’ has vanished from the ‘Mole Cricket Treasure Vault.’]

[You have defeated the ‘Dark Watchman!’]
[Sub Scenario ‘Defeat the Watchman’ has been completed.]
[You have successfully pillaged another’s Sub Scenario!]
[You have gained 8,000 Coins.]
[The constellation, ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos,’ admires your courage in facing a Demon King.]
[You have received an additional 1,000 Coins in sponsorship.]

I had been ready to fight the Dark Watchman if necessary, but thankfully it hadn’t come to that.
So this kind of development was possible too.
Behind me, Uncle Dansoo and Gyeong Sein were coughing as they staggered upright.

“Inho-ssi? Ah! What is all this…”
Judging by the exaggerated tone, they’d already been awake but pretended to be unconscious, watching how things would unfold.
I smiled bitterly and pointed at the collapsed Killer King and Literature Girl 64.

“First, let’s save these people.”
***
According to the Annihilation Method notes, there were two known antidotes to Poison Mist.

Use Elain Monkey Lungs, or feed someone the Sap of Elain Forest and put them to sleep.
But in this case, even those might not be enough for Killer King and Literature Girl 64.
Especially Killer King — he’d taken too many poisoned darts because of me, and his condition was dire.

“Khhrgh… khhgh.”
His face ashen, foam at his lips, Killer King was on the verge of death.
But I couldn’t just let a reader who had gone through ninety-nine readings die like this.

I took out the Poison Rhino Horn Fragment I’d hidden, grinding it down into powder.
Uncle Dansoo asked,
“What’s that?”

“I picked it up when I met Yoo Joonghyuk.”
If only my ligaments hadn’t been wrecked back then, I could’ve harvested a bigger piece. But with one arm useless, I’d managed just this fragment.
Luckily, it was enough now.

Mixing the powder with water, I poured it into Killer King and Literature Girl 64’s mouths.
After a short while, their complexions brightened noticeably.
「The horn of a Poison Rhino has detoxifying effects against Poison Mist.」

It was something I had written only into the Annihilation Method setting, never used in the main story. I never thought I’d see it actually come into play.
“Everyone else, take a little too. It’ll help with the Poison Mist.”
“How did you even know that?”

“I tested it right after I got the horn fragment.”
“As expected of you, Inho-ssi…!”
As Uncle Dansoo and Gyeong Sein drank the remaining water, I quickly told them what had just happened.

I deliberately left out the part about Killer King trying to kill us. No need to stir up hostility right now.
“A reader possessed by a constellation? And you’re saying they were members of the Misread Alliance?”
At the name, Gyeong Sein looked like he was about to choke in shock.

“You fought the Misread Alliance?”
“Yes. But they were… strange.”
Not just Killer King. The one possessed by the plague rat looked truly unhinged. No matter how much someone transmigrated into a novel, could a person who lived in reality just a few days ago suddenly become a murderer?

Pale-faced, Gyeong Sein muttered,
“If it’s the Misread Alliance, it’s possible. Damn it… why did we have to cross them from the very start…”
I was a little confused.

“Weren’t they just a community group?”
“The Misread Alliance isn’t just some community.”
Eh? Then what?

The answer came from Killer King, who had regained consciousness.
“The Misread Alliance is the name of an illegal distribution site.”