NOVEL NEXT chapter 596 - Unutterable Words (3)
The timing was almost too perfect.
[Log in to the platform now to check the new episode of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.]
Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d ever received an update message like this.
I wanted to open my phone, but there was no chance—because just ten meters ahead, humans and monsters were locked in a bloodbath.
“What the hell—”
Ye Hyunwoo’s eyes widened at Jung Heewon’s battle.
“Wait, didn’t Cheon Inho originally get killed by Jung Heewon? And that’s when she awakened as the Judge of Destruction?”
“That’s right.”
“Then how did she awaken now?”
“It’s a long story. For now, just watch.”
Drenched in blue ichor, Jung Heewon had already severed over a third of the centipede’s legs.
The Judge of Destruction.
That trait, which unleashed explosive power against monsters, resonated through her swordsmanship.
Skegegegeck!
With every swing, five or six centipede legs went flying.
Her blade slipped just beyond its line of sight, striking only its limbs—fast, precise swordsmanship.
Gyeong Sein swung his shield and shouted,
“Waaaa! Heewon-unnie, you’re the best!”
Even Lee Jihye, lounging on the stairs, was staring blankly at the fight.
“Damn, that unnie’s insane…”
A Grade-7 monster species. And not just that, a large-type.
Yet here was Jung Heewon, facing it alone—something only Yoo Joonghyuk had ever done.
So deeply focused was she that her inner voice rang in my ears.
「I will not lose.」
What stood before her was a monster.
But in truth, the enemy she faced wasn’t a monster.
「Next time, for sure.」
Jung Heewon was fighting an imagined opponent. Someone who wielded the sword better than anyone she knew.
Swinging her blade over and over, imagining his.
「I have to be faster.」
She knew.
Yoo Joonghyuk’s sword was the crystallization of countless masters’ time and effort.
She couldn’t yet follow its trajectory.
But she could glimpse where that trajectory led.
A sword forged to shatter the sky of this world, to cast down the stars.
The Sky-Breaking Sword Path.
[Skill proficiency of character ‘Jung Heewon’ is rising rapidly!]
Feeding on bitter defeat, her blade was blossoming. Already, a faint blue aura was clinging to her weapon.
Gangqigong.
No mistake. Still faint, but it was the martial qi wielded by the masters of Murim.
[Constellation, the ‘Sea God of War,’ is astonished by Incarnation Jung Heewon’s talent.]
[Constellation, ‘Goryeo’s First Sword,’ has entered the channel.]
[Constellation, ‘Goryeo’s First Sword,’ watches Incarnation Jung Heewon with keen interest.]
Without any teacher, without learning a top-tier skill, she had touched this art by her own insight alone.
Even in the main story, Jung Heewon had possessed extraordinary talent.
Could this regression’s Jung Heewon reach Yoo Joonghyuk’s realm?
[Your free daily “Comment Ticket” will soon expire!]
Earlier they advertised a new episode; now they were threatening me about expiring tickets.
[You currently hold 6 “Comment Tickets.”]
[“Comment Tickets” can stack for up to two days; any not used in that time will disappear.]
My head spun. Checking the clock, I saw it was nearly midnight. Each ticket cost 3,000 coins if bought.
“Frontline troops except Jung Heewon, pull back a bit! We’ll push the line with concentrated fire!”
With Jung Heewon and the giant centipede locked in combat, the mole crickets and Grolls nearby had lost cohesion.
Ye Hyunwoo seized the chance and ordered the barrage.
Dududududu!
For a moment, the chaos cleared.
It was enough time to sneak a look.
I fell back with the others, opened my phone, and pulled up the platform app.
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Episode 9. Unutterable Words (3) +[24]
Episode 9. Unutterable Words (2) +[21]
Episode 9. Unutterable Words (1) +[32]
……
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In just the short time I hadn’t checked, dozens of episodes had gone up. A quick glance showed over forty new ones.
How had it advanced so fast already? I hadn’t even cleared the Emergency Defense Battle yet.
And I still hadn’t figured out who was writing this.
“Rear guard, check your equipment! We redeploy in five minutes!”
No time. I decided to check the comments of the latest episode. Maybe there’d be useful information.
[One “Comment Ticket” has been used.]
[Regardless of order, one comment from this episode will be revealed at random.]
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―O
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……
Even if it’s free, this always pisses me off.
Fortunately, I still had five tickets left.
[One “Comment Ticket” has been used.]
+
―U
+
Single-letter comments should be banned by law.
[One “Comment Ticket” has been used.]
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―Yu
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Yu?
I used another ticket.
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―Jung
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If the next comment said “Hyuk,” I might actually want to die.
Just as I was about to use my fifth ticket—
[A new feature has been added!]
A notification popped up.
[By paying an additional 1,000 coins, you may view the most upvoted comment.]
1,000 coins.
Expensive, but… a popular comment was more likely to hold useful info.
[One “Comment Ticket” has been used.]
[1,000 coins consumed.]
[Revealing the most upvoted comment.]
The comment appeared:
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―Looks like Yoo Joonghyuk’s about to get stuck on the Sunfish Route again
Upvotes 236 / Downvotes 5
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Sunfish—a nickname for Yoo Joonghyuk, who died and regressed at the slightest thing.
My mind churned.
Did this mean he was going to die?
No, impossible.
The Yoo Joonghyuk I knew in the 41st regression was closer to a bastard than a sunfish.
In the distance, Jung Heewon severed the centipede’s remaining legs and prepared the finishing blow.
“Ready to redeploy in one minute!”
Five minutes were already almost up.
I hesitated, then burned the last ticket.
[All “Comment Tickets” have been consumed.]
[1,000 coins consumed.]
[Revealing the second most upvoted comment.]
And then—
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―Forget Yoo Joonghyuk, looks like Cheon Inho’s the one about to die
Upvotes 189 / Downvotes 3
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A sudden unease made me glance around.
Gong Pildu was still firing steadily. The mole cricket line was fully pushed back.
Jung Heewon had felled the giant centipede, and I could see her leaping across the corpses toward us.
No strange signs. Time wasn’t freezing, the world wasn’t turning monochrome.
So then—
―――!
The platform floor exploded before my eyes. I was hurled into the air, shards ripping into my flesh.
Ears ringing, I spat dust and staggered upright, vision still blurred.
The man who had been fighting mole crickets moments ago was split in half at the waist, his body ripped apart.
Terrified civilians crawled backward on their hands, shrieking.
With a single blast, the barricade was gone.
Mole crickets surged through, tearing Incarnations limb from limb.
“Help! Somebody help meee!”
Through the dust, I saw Gong Pildu’s shattered turrets. His vaunted [Private Property] and [Armed Zone] were annihilated.
Ye Hyunwoo clutched the bloodied, fallen Gong Pildu, shaking him.
“Ahjussi! Ahjussi!”
What the hell had just happened?
Everything had been going so well. There hadn’t even been a warning from ‘□□.’
So why—
Kugugugugu—
Through the settling dust, a new monster emerged.
[The ‘Emergency Defense Battle’ has entered a new phase.]
[Additional Grade-7 monster species are appearing!]
A Giant Centipede.
Even bigger than the one Jung Heewon had slain. She reached out, shouting,
“Inho-ssi!”
Another explosion boomed from underground.
[Additional Grade-7 monster species are appearing!]
The tail of a monster burst from the ground, slamming directly into Jung Heewon.
I barely caught her body as it was flung back.
“Heewon-ssi.”
She exhaled in pain. Her [Hour of Judgment] had just ended, leaving her back badly injured.
Nearby, a middle-aged man crawling on the floor °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° screamed,
“E-everyone run!”
He stomped over my fallen phone.
On the cracked screen, the platform app was still open.