Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 128

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 128: Episode 25 — Those Who Confront a God (1)

──────

After arriving at Castle Veronica, the Allies rested for a full day.

Then, as soon as morning came the next day, I got up first, informed the Allies of my plan, and stood at the entrance to the castle. Lee Hyeongseong asked,

"Surely you aren't planning to leave by yourself?"

"Not by myself. I'm going with those two."

When I pointed to Han Suyeong and Asuka Ren, Lee Jihye grumbled,

"What are we supposed to do if you go off like that, ajussi?"

"Hyeongseong-ssi and you will defend Castle Veronica. You checked that the Scenario was updated, right?"

"Protect Castle Veronica until the Scenario period ends?"

"Right. That's your mission."

"But......"

"If I tell you to do it, do it."

"......Okay."

I turned straight to Hyeongseong.

"Pildu Gong is here, but it will be hard to stop the incoming Calamities with [Armament Fortress] alone. I'm sorry it seems like I'm just leaving everything to you......"

"Guard duty is my specialty, so please don't worry."

His solid assurance did make me feel better, but I knew it wouldn't be easy. At a glance, it might look like I had given them the easier job, but in truth, in this Scenario, staying behind would be much harder than coming with me.

"If any first-wave entrants or 'the serpent' show up, do not fight them head-on under any circumstances. Even if you have to abandon Veronica, you need to run. Can you promise me that?"

"I promise."

Their mission was to protect this fortress until I returned. I earnestly emphasized my instructions to Gilyeong and Yuseong as well.

"Secure as many insects and monsters as possible. Your mission is to buy time."

Gilyeong and Yuseong nodded.

"If you head into the northern forest, there are a lot of beast species unique to peace land. Go whenever you have time and tame as many monsters as you can."

"Yes, hyung."

"Okay, ajussi."

A large number of monsters would help close the gap in strength against the Calamities, even if only a little. And in the process, the kids' proficiency would increase quite a bit too.

I left Castle Veronica right away. Looking back at the Allies seeing us off, Suyeong said,

"So where are we going?"

"The eastern rocky zone."

At that, Asuka cut in.

"Japan already occupies that zone."

"I know."

I looked straight at Asuka.

A short bob with soft curls. Bold, clean-cut features, as if some comic artist had drawn them with meticulous care. More than simple beauty, her face carried something like a warrior's integrity.

"That's why I brought you."

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't. I just want repayment for saving your life."

"......I see."

Speaking this way would make it easier to earn her goodwill. And sure enough, Asuka looked deep in thought about something. Once she'd finished thinking it over, she would probably start telling me what she knew.

For a while, we thoroughly searched the area near the plains as we moved toward the rocky zone.

It was a trip that should take two days, but if we pushed ourselves, we could reach it within one. Suyeong asked,

"So what's the plan?"

I shrugged and looked up into empty air. Just as I had received a Scenario, Suyeong had probably received one too. So she would know what I was looking at.

* Renowned Catastrophes Discovered So Far (1/2)

- King of Calamities, ??????

- Catastrophe that Dreams of Usurping, Yamamoto Hajime (A Millennia-Old Hundred-legged Monster).

[Find the King of Calamities or collect new clues.]

"You planning to find the King of Calamities?"

As expected, Suyeong was quick to catch on.

"Now that the Scenario has turned out like this, it won't end unless we kill him."

"Hmm, so you're planning to kill the boss from the start and end it? I like the ambition."

That was when Asuka cut in.

"......Are you saying that you already know who the King of Calamities is?"

"That's what you'll have to tell me now."

Asuka only lowered her eyes slightly and didn't answer. She was probably weighing all sorts of things in her head. Whether or not she could trust us. And if she did talk, where she ought to begin.

But I didn't have much patience. If she had no intention of speaking, then I had no choice but to force it out of her instead.

"Why did Izumi Hiroki, the Hundred Demon King, become the King of Calamities?"

At my question, the startled Asuka only opened and closed her mouth for quite a while, unable to find the words.

[You have deduced the King of Calamities on your own.]

[Some Constellations have sponsored you 500 Coins for your astonishing powers of deduction.]

Izumi Hiroki, the Hundred Demon King.

In later rounds, he had been one of Yu Junghyeok's supporters and a capable King on Japan's side. A man who cleared the early Scenarios with excellent results and unified Tokyo Dome by claiming the Absolute Throne.

And yet that man chose to become a Calamity.

That was something that had never happened in the early developments of TWSA.

"How could you possibly kno..."

"How I know isn't what matters. We don't have time to be worrying about that right now."

Asuka, who had been sighing, finally seemed to make up her mind and spoke.

"......Izumi ended up like that because of me. Because I refused to fight the little people."

"You're the one who wrote, 'Don't kill the little people,' in the interdimensional carrier pigeon."

Asuka nodded.

"As you know, killing the little people here would just be repeating exactly what was done to us on Earth."

"Not everyone would have agreed with that."

"Leader opposed it first. So he sent a carrier pigeon saying the exact opposite. He wanted to clear this Scenario from the Calamity side."

Asuka hesitated briefly, then added,

"To be precise, most of the Allies wanted that too."

Of course they did. There was an easy way to clear the Scenario and obtain the reward. And all it cost was a very small amount of guilt. If they chose the Calamity camp, this Scenario would be easier than any Scenario we had experienced on Earth. Suyeong said mockingly,

"So you killed your companions? That's one impressive sense of justice."

Asuka didn't say a word, but the outcome was clear. She had fought her companions to protect the little people. And she became one of the little people.

"You're seriously strange. Even if they became Calamities, shouldn't your companions matter more to you than the little people? They're closer to being human."

"That is......"

I knew why she had acted that way, but I didn't press her about it. There was something else I needed to know first.

"If Izumi used the Absolute Throne, there shouldn't have been any conflict."

"The power of the Absolute Throne didn't work very well on those who had already become Calamities."

At that instant, I realized something. At least in this Scenario, concepts like 'Korea' or 'Japan' had no meaning. There were only two camps here: the little people and the Calamities. And to control one of those camps, the only option was to become that camp's King.

"Izumi killed a little person."

"......That's right."

And so Izumi Hiroki made his choice.

「"I will become the King of Calamities."」

To save Asuka and his companions, and at the same time control the companions who had become Calamities, the Hundred Demon King made himself into a Calamity of this world.

"Izumi must have disliked using the Absolute Throne, but he made a major decision."

"You seem to know an awful lot about him."

"I've heard a few things. More importantly, what happened after that? Since you're still alive, it seems like the throne's command worked."

"The command took effect. But......"

Asuka held her shoulders in both hands and trembled. Whatever she was thinking, her lips trembled intermittently. It didn't look like she could explain it properly, so I activated my skill.

[You have activated Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 2!]

[Your understanding is insufficient, so you can only read fragments of thought.]

「"I-Izumi-ssi? What's wrong?!"」

Demonic energy overflowing from Izumi's entire body. The moment the power of the Absolute Throne was unleashed, his eyes slowly rolled back. Eight long necks tore through his back and shot toward the dark sky. Izumi foamed at the mouth as he screamed.

「"Run! Everyone, get away from me..."」

The fragment of memory ended there. Izumi slipped into the shadows after turning everything within dozens of meters into ruins. That was the last image of Izumi that Asuka had seen. And surprisingly, that image resembled something I had been searching for all along. Asuka continued in a trembling voice.

"There's no way to kill him. If you knew which Patron constellation had made a contract with him..."

"Sovereign of Eight Heads."

Asuka jolted in shock and trembled as if convulsing.

That made sense. As one of the first-wave entrants, she knew what kind of being the Sovereign of Eight Heads was.

Sovereign of Eight Heads. Its abbreviated form was 'the serpent.'

"It seems you've heard the modifier somewhere, but he is......"

"I know the True name too. Isn't it Yamata no Orochi?"

The moment I said it, the sky darkened and thunder rolled in the distance. For a second, I thought maybe that bastard had just heard me. A Constellation's True name carried that much power.

"Orochi? Isn't that the name of a monster from Japanese mythology?"

"That's right."

"That's one hell of a strong Patron constellation."

Suyeong glanced at Asuka, then whispered,

"But was that bastard's original Patron constellation really that?"

I shook my head. In the original third round, Izumi Hiroki's Patron constellation had been 'One Who Slays the Serpent.' The strategy I had built was based on that assumption too. But instead, the Patron constellation that should have been 'One Who Slays the Serpent' had become 'the serpent.'

"This is getting troublesome."

Japan's strongest Incarnation had become the serpent incarnate, not just any ordinary Incarnation. That meant there was a strong chance this King of Calamities would rank among the strongest in all of Yu Junghyeok's rounds. On top of that, unlike the other rounds, we could no longer count on help from 'One Who Slays the Serpent' either.

"The Sovereign of Eight Heads is a bastard that makes soul contracts with Incarnations. In exchange for lending out immense power from the start, he gradually steals control of the Incarnation's body...... It seems something has gone wrong in this Scenario."

After hearing me, Asuka was now just standing there with her mouth hanging open. It was no wonder she was shocked. An Incarnation from another country knew more about her own country's situation than she did. Suyeong said with a snicker,

"This is why you need to be careful with Patron constellation contracts."

Well, coming from someone who had been aiming for the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, that didn't really sound convincing.

"Let's go catch him right away. That guy's got the Absolute Throne too, right? If we take him down, the game's over."

"We can't take him down right now. The Scenario's difficulty went way beyond what I expected, so we need some preparation first. We're going to the rocky zone because there's someone else I need to meet there."

"Someone you need to meet? What...... Yu Junghyeok?"

"Someone even stronger than Yu Junghyeok."

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried