The Main Characters That Only I Know

Episode 432

Oello was confident that, having lived for so long, he would hardly ever be surprised.

He had existed since the beginning of the universe, and unlike the other sedentary rulers in tales, he was the only one to roam the entire cosmos, making him the ultimate troubleshooter who had seen and experienced it all.

His range of experiences with the unknown was vast, and because of that, he was quick to accept mysteries when he encountered them.

He had privately praised himself a few times for this quality.

"…Unbelievable. An army of this scale?"

Even Oello, unfazed by most things, instinctively reacted in shock at the current sight.

Gathered here were the monsters of the Mythic War, known to have fought the first generation Divine Spirits during the ancient mythological era.

"A total of 32 mythic-grade Bookworms, 351 high-grade Bookworms, and approximately 30,000 mid- and low-grade Bookworms."

Every Bookworm remaining in the Mixed Dimension—or rather, hidden throughout the universe—had gathered here in one place.

Their numbers and strength far exceeded even a grand army.

Though they had lost a significant portion of their original might and standing, no longer possessing the power they held in their prime after the Usurpers stripped them of their roles.

But the very trait of the Bookworms—devouring stories—alone made them dangerous beyond measure.

Understanding this, all but the mythic-grade Bookworms hovered in the air, waiting.

"They all intend to join this great war."

"…Where on earth did you manage to gather so many?"

"Though their reasoning has faded and they have fallen from grace, these are the Divine Spirits of a past universe."

They were those who had been defeated by Logos or stripped of their roles by the Usurpers.

In distorted mythologies, these ancient monsters were recorded as those who resisted the main deity only to be subdued, killed, or sealed away—and they had been sharpening their blades of revenge throughout the eons.

"Their hatred has always been clear, but their enemy was far beyond their reach."

The Bookworms, scorned and reviled, would have been killed the moment they showed themselves, judged by the arbiters of the grand armies. If the Foundation intervened, they wouldn't stand a chance. �

Depleted of their former power, unwelcomed by the world, and unable to unite, the Bookworms had ultimately retreated into the depths of the world's darkness, where no one could reach them.

It was Praytion who reached out to them.

Evading Oello’s gaze and eluding Logos' hand, Praytion ventured into the world’s abyss and encountered the Bookworms.

And he united with them.

To drive a blade of revenge into Logos.

"Now, they can reach him."

To the Bookworms, Praytion was an invaluable ally, though regrettably, he too could not fully serve as their central figure.

To stand against Logos, they needed someone chosen by the Fragments of the Codex.

Only those who gathered the Fragments to form pieces, and then completed pages from those pieces, could journey to where Logos was.

Their focal point—the one who could perhaps save the world.

That was none other than Kang Yu-hyun.

"In order to confront Logos, many grand armies, sacred armies, and lords have gathered. More than half the forces in the Mixed Dimension are assembled here. And it doesn’t end there. Even the ancient Divine Spirits who lost in the previous universe have joined."

With this, all forces that could be gathered had been assembled.

While it may not be perfect, to hope for more would be greedy.

"Let’s go. To our final battle."

As if resonating with Yu-hyun's determination, the Bookworms cloaked in black mist all glared with blazing eyes.

It was finally time to execute the revenge they had been preparing for.

—

“Oh my… Just how many have gathered here?”

Alisha, a member of the Oello Troubleshooters, couldn't hide her amazement as she looked over the vast expanse of tents of all shapes and sizes spread across the wilderness.

“We are here to face the world’s crisis together. Isn’t it only natural for so many to gather?”

Celine scolded her, as if chiding her for being overly excited, though, in truth, she too was quietly astounded. To put it plainly, over half the world’s forces were gathered here.

With a force of this scale, they could probably conquer the entire world without exaggeration.

It was only unfortunate that their enemy happened to be the creator of the world, the world itself.

"Don't get too comfortable."

Celestina, Oello’s right hand and the two’s superior, promptly cut off their rising hopes.

Seeing such a large force might be reassuring, but rumor had it that the enemy was not to be underestimated either.

Several influential factions within the grand armies had allied with Logos.

And not just them—even the lords who saw no hope of victory had joined the enemy’s side, so they couldn’t take them lightly.

‘And then there’s that Foundation we saw back in Camelot.’

Endless hordes of Elohim and the devastating rays of destruction from the administrators.

Even the sheer power of the Foundation alone ensured this battle would be anything but easy.

Though various variables would inevitably emerge once the war began, Celestina assessed that they would be fortunate if they could even manage a fifty-fifty fight.

‘By the way, where is that guy?’

Celestina’s gaze roamed around the camps as she searched for Kang Yu-hyun.

She had heard he held a near-leadership role within the coalition, so she thought she would spot him easily, yet she neither saw nor sensed his presence.

Was he perhaps absent for a moment?

That thought barely crossed her mind when a murmur broke out from one side of the barracks.

“Hmm? What’s going on over there?”

“It suddenly got noisy.”

Alisha and Celine both sensed the subtle change.

Could the Foundation already be launching a surprise attack? But if that were the case, there should have been a ripple of battle energy.

“Uh? Something seems to be coming from over there.”

Alisha flew up high to check, noticing a group approaching from beyond.

Was it a group? Something about its scale seemed unusual.

Straining her eyes to examine the newcomers, Alisha tried to make out what she was seeing.

“…Huh?”

As she got close enough to make out details, a shocked gasp slipped through her lips.

At the forefront of the approaching group were none other than her boss Oello and her long-standing rival Kang Yu-hyun.

And beside them was a man she had never seen before.

That much was fine. That part she could accept.

‘But what are those things behind them?’

Alisha had encountered Bookworms a few times in her troubleshooting work and knew what they were. She even had experience eliminating mid-grade Bookworms.

Yet, even she questioned whether ‘those’ things were truly Bookworms when she saw them.

‘What kind of energy…’

Their size was beyond massive, almost transcendent. Though covered in a black shadow that resembled Bookworms, their forms were larger, and more than anything, their energy level was on an entirely different scale.

Could that possibly be a high-grade Bookworm?

No, for beings of that magnitude, even ‘high-grade' feels like an understatement.

Those creatures were actually far beyond high-grade Bookworms…

"A mythic-grade Bookworm."

"W-what?!"

Alisha let out an involuntary, silly sound at the sudden voice beside her.

She had been so focused on the scene in front of her that she hadn’t noticed Celestina and Celine approaching.

More than embarrassment at the sound she’d made, curiosity sparked at Celestina’s words.

"Mythic-grade Bookworm?"

"Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know yet. Mythic-grade Bookworms. They’re supposedly all gone now, but they were ancient monsters that fought against the first-generation Divine Spirits during the Mythic War. To be honest, this is my first time seeing one as well."

"S-so those monsters approaching us now… we have to fight them immediately…!"

"Calm down."

"Gah!"

It was Celine who had swiftly grabbed Alisha by the nape as she got riled up.

"Hey! Just grabbing my neck like that out of nowhere!"

"I thought you’d do something reckless if I didn’t."

"Do you dislike me or something?"

"Not really."

"What?"

"Both of you, stop and look over there."

Following Celestina’s gesture, soldiers and some Divine Spirits who had emerged from the military barracks were recognizing the Bookworms, initially assuming battle stances but soon lowering them.

It was common sense in the Mixed Dimension to kill Bookworms on sight.

Yet, the Divine Spirits stopped their attacks upon seeing them.

Stranger still was that even the Bookworms, who harbored hostility toward all living beings, refrained from any antagonistic acts toward the Divine Spirits.

The only possible explanation for this scene was…

"Those… are they reinforcements?"

In order to prevent the world's destruction,

They had even allied with the monsters of the world.

—

A massive makeshift hall where the highest beings of each faction had gathered.

The first-generation Divine Spirits of the Grand Army, mythic Bookworms, story kings, returnees, and even lords’ coalition enforcers.

The atmosphere among these various beings was charged with tension due to the impending war.

"Still, it’s quite a surprise."

The first to speak was Sun Wukong, known for disregarding the mood.

Nata, who had fought him before, cast a warning glare at him, but Sun Wukong ignored it and continued.

"Who would have thought they’d bring even Bookworms onto our side?"

"You’re aware they’re not really Bookworms, aren’t you?"

"Yes, I only learned about it recently."

The monsters called Bookworms in the Mixed Dimension were actually survivors from a universe that had previously perished.

Their appearance had altered so drastically, and they were rejected by this world to the point that they were transformed into strange shapes and ultimately targeted for elimination—pitiful beings, really.

"If we lose this war and somehow survive to reach the next universe, are we going to end up like that?"

At Sun Wukong's words, some Divine Spirits expressed blatant anger—not directed at him but rather toward Logos, who had brought the Divine Spirits to such a state.

"Of course, there may be those among us who feel uneasy facing the old Divine Spirits."

A few beings flinched in response to Yu-hyun’s words.

All of them were formidable beings, known as the first-generation Divine Spirits.

The usurpers who had taken the place of the previous era’s main figures.

Though they joined the coalition because they couldn’t overlook Logos’ current behavior, they found their presence here uncomfortable.

"No one can deny that."

The one who agreed was an elderly man with a long beard, dressed in a martial robe.

He had reached the pinnacle of name and causality.

Also known as the Primal Celestial Venerable.

As the main deity of the Thirty-Six Heavens of the Celestial Realm, he had sensed a familiar energy among the Bookworms.

"I, too, am not entirely oblivious to their perspective as usurpers."

In response, one of the mythic-grade Bookworms lined up behind Yu-hyun stared at the Primal Celestial Venerable.

A faint, bitter smile formed on the Primal Celestial Venerable's lips.

"Do you still resent me, Pangu?"

The Bookworm, once called Pangu, the Primal Celestial Venerable of the previous universe, shook his head at the current Primal Celestial Venerable’s question.

[I respect your choice.]

Pangu didn’t think ill of the current Primal Celestial Venerable. Although he was called a usurper, in truth, Pangu had willingly handed over his role rather than having it taken.

[I vowed to fight Logos, and you vowed to protect something precious to you.]

"If… we had fought together back then, things might have been different."

[There’s no point in dwelling on the past. What matters is now.]

From the start, Pangu had not resented the Primal Celestial Venerable.

He had respected his decision and had, in fact, relinquished his role willingly.

None of the usurpers gathered here had bad relationships with the Bookworms.

Though they were called usurpers, some like the Primal Celestial Venerable had inherited the names of past central figures rather than forcibly seizing them.

Those usurpers who opposed Logos’ atrocities were all such figures.

On the other hand, the usurpers who were resented by the Bookworms were those on the side of Logos and the Foundation, gathering forces to kill them.

With no internal divisions, their target was clear and unmistakable.

"So, do you have a plan? Just fighting without a strategy would only lead to meaningless sacrifices."

All eyes turned to Yu-hyun.

"I do have a plan. Our main target is Logos, after all."

"Can we even kill this Logos?"

"Would you refuse to fight if we couldn’t?"

Yu-hyun’s pointed question made Sun Wukong shrug playfully.

"Whether or not Logos is truly immortal, what’s important is reaching where he is."

"Do you know where that is?"

"The core of the Foundation. He told me he would be waiting for me there."

Yu-hyun spoke, holding a page from the Codex above his right hand.

With the concealment surrounding the Codex’s existence lifted from the world, all present could now see its radiant, awe-inspiring glow.

"That’s precisely why we need to retrieve this Codex."