WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 130: Episode 25 — Those Who Confront a God (3)

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Most Incarnations think the strongest beings in the Star Stream are Constellations.

Those who look down on the world from the summit of all stories. But as I've said before, Constellations aren't the only ones who can stand against Constellations. There are demon kings who could have obtained the status of a Constellation yet rejected that path and rose to the pinnacle of demonkind, and there are also dragons who reign from birth at the peak of monsterkind.

Then what about humans? Can humans who walk neither the path of demonkind nor the path of the inhuman truly reach a status where they can stand against Constellations?

The answer to that question was right before my eyes.

[Interesting. One who gave up their own existence for another planet.]

It seemed Kyrios had seen through even my identity with a single glance. Looking at Asuka Ren collapsed beside me, he said,

[For the sake of your courage, I'll overlook it once. Take your Companion and get out.]

Returnees. Those born with special talents who, under the blessing of the Star Stream, had transcended humanity. Even among them, Kyrios Lordgrime was a special existence.

One of the Returnees who had obtained such overwhelming power that he reached a status great enough not to be dragged in by the gravity of the Scenarios created by the dokkaebis.

In all of TWSA, there weren't even ten Returnees like that.

"I have something to say."

In that instant, the bizarre rock formations all around us trembled at once. A transcendent existence was pressing its presence down on me. An existence on the level of a Constellation could destroy a mortal simply by existing.

[Do you think you're in a position to speak to me?]

I was startled by how much moisture my body could hold. My back was drenched in sweat in an instant.

[You dare address me, the Paradoxical White Purity?]

He was strong. So strong that the fact a mortal, and a small person at that, could be this powerful made my skin crawl.

[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has activated!]

But I had a wall. No matter how terrifying the being beyond it was, as long as he couldn't cross that wall, he wouldn't be able to harm me.

[The character Kyrios Lordgrime is showing curiosity toward you.]

At that point, Kyrios seemed to notice something strange.

[...Interesting. Are you under the protection of some other high-ranking being?]

Before he could take an interest in the wrong thing, I spoke.

"Kyrios. This world needs your help."

Kyrios's expression shifted strangely.

[Is that why you came looking for me?]

"Yes."

[That little one said the same thing too...]

Then that "little one" answered.

[The small constellation of a small planet looks at Kyrios Lordgrime with tears in its eyes.]

[The small constellation of a small planet has sponsored Kyrios Lordgrime with 10 coins.]

Kyrios frowned as if annoyed.

[I don't need it.]

[The small constellation of a small planet is deeply shocked.]

A few raindrops like baby piss dripped from the sky.

[...Every world has its time of destruction, and every story has a moment when it ends. This planet's time is now.]

Kyrios's eyes, fixed on the distance, held no emotion.

But I knew. Even if a being grew numb to everything in the world, no one could escape the chains of the story they had built.

"Then why did you come back here? You're someone who left peace land long ago."

[Something called me.]

Kyrios's eyes and mine both turned toward the fallen Asuka Ren. I thought I knew what kind of sensation Kyrios was feeling.

"Don't deceive yourself. You came back here to protect your homeland, didn't you?"

[I have no good memories of this place. This is...]

"Because this is the place that made you be born 'weak,' isn't it?"

For the first time, Kyrios's gaze wavered.

"Because it's the damned mother planet that gifted you with a cursed body?"

[You'd do well not to keep flapping your mouth. I'll say it one last time. Get out. There won't be a third...]

"Are you afraid?"

[What?]

"I asked if you're afraid. You came back here, and now you're afraid of those Constellations ravaging your world, afraid of that vile snake. I'm asking if you're afrai..."

Kugugugugugu!

The pressure crushing my whole body nearly made my eyes pop out.

[If you want to die, I'll kill you.]

Even while gasping for breath, I didn't stop speaking.

"Don't lie about why you came here."

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is displeased with Kyrios Lordgrime's conduct.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire rebukes Kyrios Lordgrime's sense of justice.]

[The Constellation Scribe of heaven severely condemns Kyrios Lordgrime's interference in the Scenario.]

At the indirect messages rising one after another, Kyrios's force slackened for a moment.

[Strange bastards are following behind you. The Monkey King and even an archangel? How odd. Those prideful fools...]

Spitting out the blood pooled on my lips, I spoke again.

"Focus on what I'm saying. Didn't you come to witness this planet's end?"

[I can't help this planet.]

Blue sparks crackled from his body. Plausibility backlash. It was the effect of him killing the two Wind Shadow Squadron members earlier. Since he wasn't a being summoned by the needs of the Scenario, he was bound by powerful Plausibility restrictions, even if not quite to the same extent as the Constellations in the sky.

Clenching the sparks leaping over his hand, Kyrios said,

[If I bear the Plausibility and make the first move, all it will do is hasten this planet's destruction.]

I understood what he meant. To beings on the level of Constellations, Plausibility was like a scale. If one side changed the flow of the story without valid grounds, the laws of the Star Stream would forcibly move to balance that scale.

[If I interfere in the Scenario, the other Constellations watching the Scenario will also gain the Plausibility to move. So all I can do is... bear witness to my homeland's end.]

I remembered. This was the true side of the Kyrios Lordgrime I knew. The one who left his homeland, overcame countless trials, and returned, only to become too strong to save the very homeland he had come back to.

That was Kyrios Lordgrime, the Paradoxical White Purity.

"You don't need to act directly."

If I had intended to back down here, I never would've come to meet Kyrios in the first place.

"By now, your Secret art should be demanding a Disciple fable from you, shouldn't it?"

Even Kyrios, calm as he was, looked flustered this time.

"Take me as your Disciple. I'll become your proxy and drive out the catastrophes of peace land."

But the surprise lasted only a moment.

[...I don't take outsiders as Disciples. And you don't have the qualifications to inherit my power.]

That stung my pride a little. If the one standing here had been Yu Junghyeok instead of me, would Kyrios have accepted him as a Disciple without hesitation?

"Then would this not be enough?"

I picked up a branch from nearby.

Kiiiiing!

The Mana of [White Pure Star Energy] was drawn out whole, and a blue surge of power shimmered at the tip of my blade. The might was still lacking, but it was enough to show the attainment.

Kyrios's eyes slowly filled with shock. The hidden skill I had bought first, right after the second Scenario ended. White Pure Star Energy was none other than Kyrios Lordgrime's signature Ultimate Technique.

"Allow me to greet you again. Kim Dokja, an outer Disciple of the White Purity Sect, pays respects to an elder of the sect."

Kyrios made his decision a full two hours later. Releasing the White Flash aura blazing around his entire body, he finally opened his mouth in a human voice.

"The White Purity Sect should have perished after I left. I didn't know there were still disciples left."

He made me stand there for two hours just to say that.

They say the strong of the Star Stream live within their own "personal time" to preserve their sense of self through the long ages. Maybe that saying was true.

"Fine. I'll take you as my Disciple."

Kyrios didn't ask how I had learned [White Pure Star Energy], or how I knew his hidden history.

And then the training began.

* * *

"...Kyrios Lordgrime was a Martial World Returnee. Despite the inborn limitation of being a small person, he paired that with unmatched effort, and succeeded in transcending his own race by mastering martial arts without the help of the system.

"Many legends remain from the days he advanced into the First Martial World and ruled there as an absolute master. There was the time he killed every Demonic Cultist taller than himself, or the time he cut off the alliance leader's manhood for making fun of his height. Most famous of all was his connection to the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint..."

"...Your smartphone shrank too?"

At Han Suyeong's voice as she approached, I switched off my smartphone and stood up.

"I left it in the subspace coat, and it ended up like this."

"Damn it, you really do hoard all the good stuff for yourself."

Still grumbling, Han Suyeong had successfully shaken off the Wind Shadow Squadron and joined us. According to her, playing dead had worked yet again, and since I'd fallen for it myself once before, I figured that made sense.

"I never imagined someone from peace land was one of the strongest in the First Martial World."

"It was never settled who the strongest was, but he's the closest to it. Looks like you already knew that, though?"

"His name comes up in the early part too. Though this is my first time seeing him in person."

"It's my first time too. Stay nearby with Ren for now."

Under Kyrios's instruction, I was learning his martial arts within the formation laid across the bizarre rock formation zone.

My goal was to master Kyrios's secret Ultimate Technique within two weeks and return to Veronica Castle. If events followed the original story, that was around when the Sovereign of Eight Heads would start moving to trample the entire royal castle.

Of course, things weren't about to work out so easily. On the very first day he began teaching me, this was what Kyrios ordered me to do.

"Put these on."

What Kyrios tossed me were bracelets and anklets made of iron from peace land. Thinking I'd hit the jackpot, I eagerly put them on. Then,

[Training Iron Bracelets have bound your body.]

Damn it. It suddenly felt like all my physical stats had dropped back to 1. My entire body felt heavy, like I'd come down with a brutal fever. Seeing my expression, Kyrios added,

"That's the lightest weight. In that state, repeat what I taught you earlier a million times."

"...A million times?"

"Yes, a million times. You watched properly, didn't you?"

I had watched. Kyrios stood before me in a neat posture, then thrust his sword straight into empty air. It was a basic thrusting stance.

"But why that...?"

"All White Flash martial arts begin here. Opening the smallest point. From a single point, compressed and restrained to the extreme, the universe begins."

"...I see."

I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Creatures born large, like you, wouldn't understand the meaning of smallness."

That made something suddenly come to mind. According to the setting in TWSA, Kyrios had a complex about his height.

"Humans aren't exactly that big either."

"Exactly. That's what I'm saying. In the end, from the perspective of the universe, all beings are less than specks of dust. So calling small people small is wrong. Humans and small people alike are nothing but dust."

It felt like he was rationalizing his own "smallness" on a cosmic scale.

"But big dust and small dust are different, aren't they?"

"What matters isn't the size of the dust, but the size of the universe. Even a being no more than a speck can possess a different status depending on how vast a world it perceives. No, if anything, the smaller it is, the closer it is to the origin of the universe, so it's actually in a better position to understand the essence."

It sounded profound enough, so I nodded along for the moment.

"Aha."

"Do you understand?"

"But what does that have to do with thrusting?"

Kyrios looked at me with contempt and said,

"...This is why bastards born big are useless. Just keep thrusting."

Leaving those words behind, Kyrios vanished.

He was probably disappointed in me. Fair enough. My trashy talent had already been proven well enough back when I learned [Way of the Wind]. If I tried to learn martial arts properly, there was no telling whether it would take two weeks or a few decades.

Kyrios's abuse continued after that. For reference, this was the compliment I heard on the third day.

"Do it properly. If you were born weak, then shouldn't you at least make a proper effort?"

Was this the fifth day? Anyway.

"This is why those born in big bodies..."

Kyrios's hatred of big people was practically ready to pierce the heavens, and the line I remembered most came a week into training.

"You should've been born a bug instead. A cockroach would probably learn better than you."

"If such a cockroach exists, I'd like to take it as my master."

"Do you want to die?"

And finally, on the evening of the second week, I collapsed after around a thousand thrusts.

"You..."

I still hadn't learned the skill. Greatly disappointed in my talent, Kyrios looked down at me with a pitiful gaze.

"I truly wonder how you managed to learn [White Pure Star Energy]."

"I worked hard reading the manual, and somehow I learned it."

It wasn't a lie, since I had worked hard reading TWSA. I expected another round of insults as usual, but instead, Kyrios's expression turned strange.

"You're all talk... With a body that weak, you'll be torn to pieces and sent flying in no time."

"That's a pretty brutal way to show concern."

"I'm worried you'll stain the honor of White Flash."

Kyrios really was bad at being honest. He'd always been like that in TWSA.

[Your understanding of the character Kyrios Lordgrime has increased!]

Beyond the barren stone mountains of the bizarre rock formation zone, the sun was slowly setting. Kyrios sat cross-legged atop a stone tower a little taller than I was. I slumped beneath that tower and watched the sinking sunset.

"I'm going to die training before I ever get to fight."

"From the perspective of the universe, even that is only an instant."

"Even on a small planet, the sun looks enormous."

"That too is only a handful of dust from the perspective of the universe."

"On that dust, a lot of people died."

"..."

"From a cosmic perspective, is even that nothing more than dust?"

Kyrios didn't answer. Instead, he looked up at the distant stars. The Constellations that formed the galaxy of the Star Stream and watched this tragedy. Gazing up at them with silent eyes, Kyrios said,

"It's been a very long time since I last took a Disciple."

"With training like this, even a cockroach would run away."

"...Maybe so."

I knew what Kyrios was thinking as he looked at the stars. Kyrios's backstory was something TWSA had covered too. The smallest transcendent in this world. The one who alone could hold the stars in his eyes, Kyrios Lordgrime.

The last sect leader of the White Purity Sect, and its final survivor.

"They were all weak. Every last one of them."

All of his senior and junior fellow disciples had been swept up in the bloodbath of the First Martial World and died.

All except the strongest small person, Kyrios Lordgrime.

"The big ones were all weak. That's why you have to work several times harder. The Scenarios you'll face from here on won't even compare to the life you've lived until now..."

I knew why Kyrios was saying those words. A small person, smaller than a human. An existence that strove and strove until he learned to see the world from the perspective of the universe. A strong one who had come to challenge the exalted thrones of the stars.

"Did you know?"

"Hm?"

"People kept dying even when there were no Scenarios. Maybe for reasons much more trivial than now. They died like dust."

I didn't know why I suddenly said that. Kyrios slowly turned his head and looked at me.

"Honestly, that time was harder for me. You might think I'm lying, but that world was more unfair to me. It felt like a swamp I couldn't escape no matter how hard I struggled. So what I'm trying to say is..."

"..."

"Don't worry. I won't die."

At some point, the sun had gone down and the lonely night had risen. In the shadows cast by the dim moonlight, Kyrios stared at me for a long while before speaking.

"You're a strange one."

"I am a bit strange."

"...You still have 82,000 times to go."

Damn it. The man really didn't know how to go easy on me.

Grumbling, I looked back up at the stone tower, only to find no sign of Kyrios. It looked like he'd stepped out to get some air. I slowly steadied my breathing, got to my feet, and brushed the dust off myself. After confirming that Kyrios's presence had completely vanished, I went to find Asuka Ren and Han Suyeong, who had been waiting nearby.

"Hey, let's run."

"What? You learned everything? You couldn't do any of it earlier."

"I stole it all."

I quietly closed my eyes and murmured something. In the next moment, intense White Flash lightning burst around me and energy began to boil up.

Kyrios's secret Ultimate Technique, [Electrification].

"Huh? What's that? You definitely couldn't do that earlier..."

"I told you. I stole it."

[Kyrios Lordgrime has been added to Bookmark 5.]

This had been my goal from the very beginning. To put the strongest Returnee, Kyrios, into my [Bookmark], and raise my understanding of him as high as possible.

To begin with, Kyrios had never intended to properly teach a dullard like me.

Strong people like Kyrios weren't so easy that a few honeyed words would make them hand over their true Ultimate Technique.

"So we need to run. Fast."

"Damn it, fine."

Still grumbling, Han Suyeong finished getting ready while supporting Asuka Ren. We ran and ran through the stone mountains at night. Before long, I could see dawn breaking in the distance. The warmth of early morning was beginning to color the world around us.

In peace land, the seasons changed once every two weeks.

It had definitely been winter when the training started, but before I knew it, spring had arrived.

That was when Asuka Ren's complexion turned pale. Suddenly clutching her heart, she let out a pained groan.

"What? Are you okay?"

A light peal of thunder rolled in from afar. Thick dark clouds were gathering across the brightening dawn. From beyond the bizarre rock formation zone, I could feel a damp and sinister demonic aura.

"...The Sovereign of Eight Heads has started moving. He's calling the catastrophes to the Absolute Throne."

I had figured it was about time.

Spring, when the creatures that had gone into hibernation began to wake one by one.

At last, the season of snake hunting had arrived.

Footnotes:

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