[many constellations are curious about the new addition to the fight.]
A hand wearing black, fingerless gloves holds onto the end of the golden string as light brown hair flutters around. After noticing that their poisoned arrows failed, a group of people try to attack the people retreating on the ground. Before they can advance far, a string extends in front of their legs like a tripwire. Instead of tripping the incarnations, though, the string slices right through skin and bone.
Standing up, the woman wearing the black combat suit is revealed to be Sangah, and unlike before, she no longer looks like she possesses an innocent or optimistic gaze. She then leaps into the air, stepping onto winged platforms to get above the crowd before pulling out twin daggers. After looping some of the string around their handles, Sangah throws them through the crowd. Golden strings weave around the necks of the attackers, and with a swift tug on the ends of the strings in her hands, heads fly causing blood to splatter across the street.
"Unnie!?" Lee Jihye yelped, shooting a disbelieving glance over at Yoo Sangah. The woman in question seemed to be in complete shock, flinching with every splash of blood on the screen. Kim Dokja could understand—this was a level of viciousness he had never once expected or anticipated from someone like her.
Jung Heewon's jaw dropped. "Sangah-ssi? Is that really you?"
"What happened to me…?" Yoo Sangah murmured in horror, her hands trembling. Kim Dokja reached out a hand to grab onto hers, hoping to return just a bit of that comfort she had extended to him earlier. Without wasting a second, she grasped onto his hand like a vice.
[several constellations are shocked by the appearance of the incarnation 'yoo sangah'.]
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes narrowed as Yoo Sangah continued her assault on the attackers, seemingly examining her actions closely. Something in his expression looked almost vindicated, like he had found an answer he had been searching for.
"What the fuck?" Han Sooyoung muttered in surprise. "I didn't know you were capable of that."
Yoo Sangah bit her lip, and when she spoke, she sounded haunted. "I didn't either."
Just what had changed in the few days she was away?
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is enjoying the bloody scene.]
Dokja watches, astounded, as he wonders how she got so strong and if this is what it means to have talent. Joonghyuk then takes this opportunity to state that she improved because she wasn't with him, and that Dokja isn't good at raising his teammates. Dokja just retorts that she only got that strong because he helped her at the beginning, but he internally acknowledges that she did all that work herself, even if it makes him feel useless.
Dokja then calls out to her as she attacks more people with her daggers, asking her to come towards them. She looks surprised upon seeing him and tries to ask how he got there, but he tells her that they'll talk after getting out of there. Their retreat is covered by Sooyoung's avatars as Joonghyuk directs them to a high-rise building.
[Midday Tryst
Joonghyuk: By the way, you should be wary of that woman.]
Be wary?
Dokja looks at Joonghyuk before looking over his shoulder at the two women behind him, and he can't help but wonder, 'Of which one?'
"Hey, don't insult hyung, you sooty bastard," Lee Gilyoung griped. "He's awesome."
While it did sting for Kim Dokja to see how much she had improved, especially without any of his guidance, it was especially hard to swallow after being told that he was completely talentless. Then again, he should have expected this. After all, even before the apocalypse, Yoo Sangah was always more talented than him at work, so why wouldn't it still be the same now?
"At least we know that some more of us have reunited," Lee Hyunsung, ever the optimist, said with a sheepish grin. He was trying to lighten the mood, and Kim Dokja appreciated him for it. It was also nice to see Han Sooyoung cooperating with them—maybe she would fit in with the group better than expected, if she decided to officially join up with them later.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is excited to see what happens next.]
Upon seeing the protagonist's message, Kim Dokja frowned.
"Who are you talking about there?" Kim Dokja asked, and Yoo Joonghyuk glanced back over at him with a captivating gaze. He said nothing for a moment, only staring, before he lifted his eyes to look at the two women in question.
Yoo Sangah was oddly fidgety, but that was probably just because she was unused to having Yoo Joonghyuk stare at her like that. Han Sooyoung crossed her arms over her chest and looked defensive, staring right back in a misguided attempt to assert dominance.
[a few constellations argue that the incarnation 'han sooyoung' is the most suspicious.]
[some constellations believe that the incarnation 'yoo sangah' is hiding too much.]
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes narrowed, and he almost looked disappointed. "Figure it out yourself, Kim Dokja."
Well that wasn't helpful. And here he was thinking that they were getting along better. Kim Dokja could deal with Han Sooyoung's suspiciousness, but still, he couldn't help but wonder… just what was his former coworker hiding?
Inside the high-rise, the three able-bodied people pant heavily while Joonghyuk sits where he was dumped on the side. Dokja and Sangah exchange questions of if the other is alright before pausing.
It's somehow awkward.
Throughout their awkward silence, Sooyoung watches him with disappointment. Dokja then gets a look at Sangah's equipment, noting that it seems high-grade.
Sangah looks over at Joonghyuk and comments that a lot must have happened, mentioning that she ended up in Gangdong with Pildu. This surprises Dokja, especially when Sangah says that he helped her, and that she seems to be referring to him in a much more familiar way than before. She mentions that she lost him two days earlier, when he risked himself to lead the attackers away and fell into the river with them.
As Sangah sounds somber, Dokja thinks of the contract he made, not believing that someone who could have become one of the Ten Evils would die so easily.
Seeing as I signed such a contract with the 'Defense Master' and nothing has happened to me yet, he has to be alive.
"Ah…" Yoo Sangah muttered upon seeing just how awkward things were between the two of them, "it's… probably a shock for me to see you all of a sudden."
That made sense, and Kim Dokja reasoned that it was probably awkward in the same way as running into a teacher or coworker outside of the usual setting where you interacted. He had seen a very different side of Yoo Sangah there—one that she didn't even seem to be completely aware of at the moment—so it made sense that she'd feel uncomfortable.
"Unnie, your outfit looks really cool!" Shin Yoosung said with a shy smile, and thankfully the older woman smiled back.
"Thank you."
Kim Dokja might have pouted if he had any less shame. She did look very cool, but he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at seeing other people get awesome new outfits while he was still stuck with the robe, and when his future self was stuck wearing a suit he had quite literally looted off a body.
When would he get his own cool outfit, dammit?
[the constellation 'defense master' is shocked by the news about his incarnation.]
Yoo Mia's eyes widened in shock. "That old ahjussi is dead!?"
The debatability of his survival aside, Kim Dokja was baffled that Gong Pildu would ever be protective enough over someone else to willingly sacrifice himself for them. This was a man who put self-preservation over almost everything else—just how much loyalty had Yoo Sangah inspired in him during their short stint at Chungmuro together?
Lee Hyunsung looked tense until Kim Dokja mentioned that he likely wasn't dead, then sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness."
[the constellation 'defense master' is extremely relieved.]
Sangah gets teary from her relief when Dokja tells her that Pildu is likely alive, before he asks where she got her equipment from. She mentions that she found a 'Green Meteorite', which Dokja identifies as being ones that provide rare items.
Dokja buys that explanation, but Sooyoung is doubtful. She states that the equipment in combination with her newly heightened fighting ability makes no sense, demanding to know who Sangah's sponsor is and how she leveled up [Smooth Movement] and [Dagger Prowess] so quickly since that's not even possible with a growth package. Sangah's eyes widen as she asks Dokja who Sooyoung is.
"That's the First Apostle." Dokja's statement causes a series of flashbacks to the destruction of Chungmuro to appear in quick succession before it all morphs into the image of a grinning Sooyoung. Sangah jumps into a fighting position while brandishing her daggers threateningly, clearly angered by this revelation, but Dokja moves in between her and an extremely smug Sooyoung in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, telling Sangah that they're not enemies. Sangah's expression in return is one somewhere between fury and devastation.
Jung Heewon looked curious, glancing over at Kim Dokja. "There's an equipment meteorite too?"
When Kim Dokja nodded in confirmation, she snorted. "At this rate, there's going to be a meteorite with a whole buffet inside."
[many constellations are wishing they could be at a buffet right now.]
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' believes that no buffet is complete without good alcohol.]
Honestly, Kim Dokja wished for the same. At least if they were at a buffet, then they wouldn't be stuck here.
Han Sooyoung sent Yoo Sangah a sideways glance. "Future me does bring up a good point. There's no way you should have improved that fast. Just what's going on with you?"
… That was true. The packages purchased by sponsors could definitely contribute, but still… to improve that much so quickly was a bit suspicious.
Yoo Sangah glanced down at her lap anxiously. "I'm sorry, I can't answer that."
Did this have something to do with her attribute that she couldn't talk about earlier?
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is looking curiously at the incarnation 'yoo sangah'.]
Kim Dokja's attention was stolen away by his own reveal of Han Sooyoung's identity, and he sat there in shock. What was he even thinking!?
"Wow you really just came out and said it, ahjussi," Lee Jihye remarked. "And here I would have thought that you'd try to hide it."
Honestly, so had he. Considering just how badly they got along earlier, this probably wasn't going to end well. Maybe he could distract them with another common enemy—possibly Lee Seolhwa, if necessary—since apparently that would work better than he anticipated, if the situation with her was any indication.
The two women glanced at each other awkwardly, and Han Sooyoung sighed.
"Let's not let it get all stupid and tense again, 'kay? We already sorted shit out."
Wait, did they? It hadn't quite seemed that way to Kim Dokja even though the situation had been gradually improving, but then again, women were a bit of a mystery to him.
"That's fine," Yoo Sangah murmured. She didn't seem entirely okay with what they were watching, but at least she was willingly setting aside any remaining animosity.
Upon Sangah asking how they're friends already, pointing out what happened in Chungmuro, Dokja remembers that she was left in charge while he was away. Sooyoung then does nothing to help the situation by saying that she may be bad, but she can tell that Sangah is keeping secrets behind Dokja's back, pointing out that Sangah was nowhere near this strong only a few days ago. She continues to state that even with a Fable-Grade constellation as a sponsor, you can't improve that fast in such a short time, and how unlikely it would be for her to have the perfect skill to achieve this.
Dokja breaks eye contact with Sangah, as he thinks that even though his emotional side would like to deny this…
… My rational side agrees with Han Sooyoung. Seeing as she could use the 'Mana Thread', I had assumed Yoo Sangah's sponsor was 'Ariadne', the 'Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth'...
The scene shows Sangah leading them with the thread back in the ground rat's treasure trove before shifting to show the power coming off of her now, despite her obvious tension and exhaustion.
But Ariadne's fame through her myths isn't high enough to have helped Yoo Sangah grow to this extent.
Dokja thinks back to the fight from before, and realizes that her movement skill seemed to be [Hermes' Stroll], which couldn't have been used as an incarnation of Ariadne. Just as he's about to ask her about it, he's interrupted by the voice of a dokkaebi.
Yoo Sangah continued to shift uncomfortably with the pressure from Han Sooyoung's words, and Kim Dokja definitely had to wonder about it now.
[the constellation 'abandoned lover of the labyrinth' is looking at the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
It was awfully suspicious…
"Sangah-ssi, I hate to be suspicious of you, but it is a bit weird," Jung Heewon admitted quietly. "I still trust you though—you aren't the kind of person to hide things without a good reason."
"I understand," Yoo Sangah murmured. She seemed extremely downcast, and Kim Dokja wasn't sure if there was anything he could do to help.
Lee Gilyoung glanced up at her. "Don't worry about it, noona. You're still cool no matter what."
At least that seemed to help somewhat, but something else was bothering Kim Dokja now. Could Yoo Joonghyuk have really been referring to Yoo Sangah when he said to be wary? It was looking more and more likely by the second.
Thinking back to the fight, an idea began germinating in Kim Dokja's mind, and he really wasn't liking the direction it was heading. She couldn't have really…
No, she could have.
Kim Dokja's eyes widened, seeing the skills shown on the screen again. He was about 95% sure, and that would explain why she looked so anxious earlier when they were discussing sponsorships.
Had Yoo Sangah really accepted a sponsorship from an entire nebula?
Four dokkaebis appear as the lead one complains about how hasty the incarnations are, stating that they're trying to awaken disasters when there's still a week left until the scenario begins. With a ding, the Sub-Scenario 'Disaster Prevention' appears, which wants them to prevent the hatching of the disaster.
The Poison Beauty's group is shown on the screen, where many are still bowing to the disaster meteorite as a scenario panel appears for them as well. Dokja narrates that it must be the 'Disaster Defence' scenario.
This prompts Dokja to turn to the two women and tell them not to fight since they now have a two hour time limit before the 'Disaster' will hatch, asking them to postpone their fight until then. There are more important things to worry about.
Back outside, the buildings are overrun by mutant plants. The scene changes to many overrun cathedrals and churches as Dokja mentions that the base for the opposing side will be in the Cheonho sector, where all these religious buildings are located. It switches to a neat and empty street with almost no plants as Dokja says that the northern areas have the least terraforming.
The two women jump down to fight a large group of people as Dokja's voice narrates that they will be the vanguard. As they land on the cracked street, agreeing to fight side-by-side, they both look at their targets with determination in their eyes.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is curious to see what the incarnations plan to do.]
"Only two hours!?" Yoo Mia exclaimed in shock. "That's not fair!"
It definitely wasn't, but they had no choice. If the Disaster of Questions really woke up before they were ready… bad wouldn't even begin to cover it.
Lee Seolhwa winced. "I'm very sorry for this… I'll definitely try to make sure this doesn't happen."
All she had to do was stay away from the meteorites, really, so at least that would be an easy fix. Kim Dokja did always wonder if it was desperation that drove her to go to them, but maybe with this new knowledge, she could avoid that problem in the first place.
As their future versions prepared to enter the battle themselves, Han Sooyoung smirked and held out a hand towards Yoo Sangah. "So, what do you say? Ready to kick some ass together?"
Yoo Sangah stared at her outstretched hand for a moment before stifling a laugh and taking it. "Alright, fine."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is curious about a potential companionship.]
Well, Kim Dokja wouldn't argue if she transferred her bullshit to someone else for a while. Han Sooyoung could suck it up and deal, though he would feel a bit bad for Yoo Sangah.
At the very least, this was proof that the two of them could work together if it came down to it.