WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 113: Episode 22 — Three Promises (5)

After scouring the area for a good while, I reached a conclusion about our location.

Damn it, no matter how many times I check, there’s no mistaking it. This is…

“You really don’t have to be that tense, y’know. As long as you don’t get too close, he won’t bite.”

Glancing at the jeering Kim Namwoon, I let out a small sigh.

A three-headed monster was staring this way from the gateway. Cerberus, the hell-hound you only ever see in myths. He wore an expression of sheer boredom—two heads dozing, while the last kept its eyes wide open and scanned the surroundings.

There was no room for doubt, this was the prison of Tartarus, the hell of the Underworld.

Kim Namwoon babbled on as if he were some kind of tour guide to hell.

“That one’s only a pup, a tier-4 monster at best. There are crazier beasts on the lower levels.”

He was right about it being a pup. TWSA said so, too.

The deeper you go in Tartarus, the stronger the inmates get, so the Cerberi guarding each floor grow larger the further down you descend.

Kim Namwoon snickered and asked,

“So, how does it feel to be in hell?”

Keeping an eye on his cocky attitude, I opened my mouth. You never knew when this psychopath would flip, so I had to stay on guard.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Is there anyone here besides you?”

“There’s you, old man.”

“Besides me.”

I studied the faces of the passing shades, but none were familiar—no Catastrophe of Questions Myeong Ilsang, no humanoid like Song Minwoo.

“As far as I know, no. Out of everyone on that subway car, I’m the only one who ended up here.”

Hades’ Underworld is only one of countless afterlives.

Most incarnations probably drifted to different underworlds, either sorted by their beliefs in life or just arbitrary chance. Myeong Ilsang and Song Minwoo would be no different.

Watching Namwoon’s reaction, I went on.

“Has a young woman shown up here recently?”

“Young woman?”

“White hair, uh… ponytail. Pretty cute.”

Kim Namwoon frowned for a second, then suddenly chuckled.

“Ahh, I get it now.”

Maybe he’d seen Shin Yuseong, I pricked up my ears. Kim Namwoon wagged his little finger.

“So you died trying to rescue your girl, huh?”

“…”

“Seriously, old-timers are all the same—live or die for love, blah blah. What century are you from?”

“Did you see her or not? Just answer that.”

“Of course not. Guess you won’t be meeting your beloved girlfriend, huh?”

It seemed even Shin Yuseong’s soul hadn’t come here.

She might still be stuck this side of the Acheron, but…

Either way, she’s a soul from another worldline. She’ll linger here for a bit before being expelled beyond the timeline.

My job is to seize her soul before that happens.

“What were you up to here, anyway?”

“What else? Building that thing. And now you’re gonna help.”

Dusting ash off his hands, Kim Namwoon pointed behind him.

“See that Gundam-looking thing?”

I’d already noticed it, a giant’s silhouette, armour finished in black-sheened metal, breathing slowly like a living creature, a weapon forged for the most horrific war in myth.

A colossus.

So Hades was already preparing for the Gigantomachia.

Unlike the twelve Olympians who only party and talk big, Hades really prepares. After all, while he’s a Greek constellation, he’s not one of the Olympus crowd. It was then that a bustle rose beyond the entrance.

Namwoon’s face went serious as he grabbed my shoulder.

“Come on. You’re coming with me.”

“Why?”

“Can’t you see the overseers coming? I’ve got a workspace in there, go pretend to be hammering something. Rookies need to look busy.”

I already knew as much. If this really was the Slave Forge of Tartarus, I had an idea of how things worked. So what surprised me wasn’t Tartarus itself. Namwoon pouted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I hadn’t meant to speak, but I couldn’t help it.

“You don’t feel anything when you see me?”

“What kind of feeling?”

Namwoon seemed to ponder, then a chilling grin spread across his face.

“Ahh, you’re scared of me, right?”

“…”

“Afraid I might come for revenge, yeah?”

Anyone who wasn’t scared would be abnormal. I killed the guy who ruled the novel as an even worse psychopath than Yu Junghyeok. Now he’s suddenly all friendly—if that isn’t terrifying, what is?

“Well, we’re already dead, no need to be cold to each other, right? Plus I’ve changed a lot down here. Reflected on my sins and all.”

Yeah, right. ‘Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon’ doing penance was about as believable as Junghyeok turning into a magical girl.

I knew he was lying, but as a last courtesy I activated [Lie Detection], the skill I’d gotten for moments like this.

And then—

[You have confirmed that the statement is true.]

…What?

I stared at him, speechless. Namwoon protested as if wronged.

“It’s true! Why can’t you trust people? I’m atoning here, okay? I’m even grateful you killed me, old man.”

“...Why?”

“Food arrives on time, there’s a place to sleep, no school, no nagging parents… bit hot, but this place is heaven.”

Who talks about Tartarus like that?

“Plus, when I’m bored I can build Gunpla[1]. What’s not to love?”

Calling a colossus Gunpla, seriously.

“It’s all thanks to you. Really. I mean it.”

Yep, still crazy.

[The character Kim Namwoon has developed goodwill toward you.]

Damn it, even the system message says so, I can’t deny it.

“Anyway, get over here, there’s no time to waste!”

He dragged me toward his workstation. Tools were neatly laid out, and a spare-metal ‘Gunpla’ sat half-finished.

Using metal from the Underworld for this, huh.

His chuunibyou setting really hits home.

“They’re coming. Grab a hammer.”

Almost on cue, Cerberus at the gate began to bark.

Overseers carrying clubs and whips filed into Tartarus, cloaked in pitch-black capes—Hades’ minions. They didn’t look as strong as the Judges of the Underworld, but getting caught was still bad. I stood awkwardly, pretending to hammer, while Kim Namwoon snickered beside me.

One overseer climbed onto the dais by the entrance and rasped like metal on metal.

[Attention, slaves on the first floor. An unannounced inspection will begin shortly.]

Namwoon scowled and muttered,

“Those bastards do this every damn day. If they’re bored, it’s inspection this, inspection that…”

But at the overseer’s next words, Namwoon shut up.

[An illegal intruder has appeared in the Underworld. They say someone crossed the Acheron alive.]

Shades holding hammers and saws buzzed in confusion.

The overseer went on.

[If the Great Death learns of this, horrors await you all. Therefore, this inspection will root out the impure intruder. It’s only routine, so stay where you are and remain calm.]

Damn it, things were moving faster than I thought.

I heard Kim Namwoon click his tongue.

“What idiocy. Even if some living guy got in, why would he hide in Tartarus? You come in, you never get out, right?”

“…”

“Hey, old man?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Lost in thought, my reply came a beat late. Kim Namwoon stared at me, dumbfounded.

“Just checking… they’re not talking about you, are they…?”

“They are.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Namwoon hurled his hammer and laughed in disbelief.

“Wow. I’ve been whining about my life to a living human?”

His expression hovered between anger and amusement.

I sighed and asked,

“...Is there anywhere to hide?”

“Hide? In a prison? If you’re desperate, crawl inside the Gunpla!”

I looked at the colossus. Hiding in there was an option. The problem was it was practically alive, go inside and I might be digested.

“Is that thing finished?”

“Not yet. Something’s wrong with the core, blah blah… You’re seriously thinking of hiding there?”

“No.”

“Smart call. You’d die the moment you stepped in.”

“…Didn’t you say you were going to be good?”

“I’m only nice to dead people. Shame we met while you’re still breathing. Once you die, I’ll be nice again.”

With a chop across his neck, Namwoon signaled my impending doom.

While we traded nonsense, the overseer was already close.

If the colossus were complete, I could ride it, smash Cerberus, and head straight for Hades’ palace, but that wasn’t an option.

[Your memory of the novel has improved thanks to your exclusive attribute!]

I racked my brain for TWSA’s details. Come to think of it, Yu Junghyeok visited the Underworld in a later round.

How did that lunatic handle it back then?

「“Pass this to the King of the Dead. I’m taking the colossus Pluto.”」

「“If you don’t want to die, get lost.”」

...Psycho bastard.

Reading it was fun. Living it, not so much. Standing up to Hades’ judges head-on is something only a regressor like Yu Junghyeok could do—he’s got the power and the chances. But me…

...Hold on. Why can’t I do what he did?

Changing perspective changed everything. I couldn’t act exactly like him, of course. Still, there were plenty of ways to bluff.

Why couldn’t I let the judge take me?

Because if I fail the hidden scenario, I’d become a resident of the Underworld?

Or maybe the judges, afraid of Hades, would try to annihilate me?

Stupid.

If I solved a single problem, none of that would matter.

At last, the overseer reached our station. Instead, I stepped forward.

The overseer asked,

“And you are?”

“The man you’re looking for.”

In that instant, a gleam flashed in the overseer’s eyes. Somewhere, I heard the screech of steel. My body felt as if it were freezing over, and the nape of my neck grew numb.

If I turned now, a Judge of the Underworld would probably be clutching my neck.

Fighting the chill that pierced my bones, I spoke.

“You intend to erase me, but you might want to think twice.”

I don’t have Yu Junghyeok’s brute strength. But I do have something he doesn’t.

“If you kill me now, you will lose the Gigantomachia, I can tell you that for sure.”

The overseer’s eyes wavered, and the frost eased a little. I seized the moment and glanced at the colossus.

“Tell the Father of the Rich Night this, I know how to complete that colossus.”

A dreadful silence fell. Ice crept slowly from my neck toward my chest, but I deliberately offered no resistance.

This was a test.

The cold slid from my shoulders toward my heart. I didn’t panic. Just a bit longer. And just before the chill pierced my heart, it stopped—like magic. A message popped up.

[The hidden scenario has been updated.]

Soon after, escorted by the judge, I began the ascent to Hades’ palace.

Behind Cerberus’s growling silhouette I saw Kim Namwoon receding into the distance. He stared blankly as I raised a quiet hand in farewell.

Enjoy hell, Namwoon.

Footnotes:

[1] Gundam Plastic models, Gundam Plamo, or Gunpla (ガンプラ) are model kits depicting the mecha machinery and characters of the fictional Gundam multiverse by Bandai Spirits. These kits became popular among mecha anime fans and model enthusiasts in Japan and nearby Asian countries beginning in the 1980s. Gundam modeling spread in the 1990s with North America and Europe being exposed to Gundam through anime and manga.

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