WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 132: Episode 25 — Those Who Confront a God (5)

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Yu Junghyeok, who had been glaring at me, said,

"With your skill, it's impossible."

Messages came pouring through the air.

[Constellations who hate humans are revealing their hostility.]

[Constellations who love violence and slaughter are going wild.]

[Constellations who hate humans are wishing for your death.]

I looked at the Incarnations on the Calamities' side. Some of their Patron constellations were ones I knew: the Tokyo Dome Constellations who were monsters of fable, who had entered Bihyeong's channel during the Fifth Scenario and driven someone I knew to their death.

"I made a promise. So I have to be the one to kill that bastard."

"A promise?"

The first promise had been to beat the dokkaebi half to death, and the second had been to bring Shin Yuseong of the forty-first round back to life. And the third, final promise. That was...

"I promised I'd take revenge on the Constellations who killed that kid."

Junghyeok would probably understand from that sentence alone. Maybe he was the only one in the world who could understand those words.

"That isn't enough to make me yield."

"...This bastard really doesn't understand a damn thing."

The moment we finished speaking, we both sprang away. The place where we had been standing collapsed with a thunderous crash, and a giant serpent's maw poured out pitch-black darkness.

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads is greatly enraged!]

It was a truly bone-chilling presence. This wasn't even its true body, only the Constellation's "shadow." And even that had only obtained a mere handful of Plausibility and revealed no more than that much of its strength, yet it was already this overwhelming.

This was the dignity of a fabled-grade Constellation.

Anyone in their right mind would never have fought an opponent like this.

「Yamata no Orochi. In Japan, a being interpreted as a fiend from ancient mythology. At this point in time, there is only one way to deal with it.」

Looking at the sword in Junghyeok's hand, I said,

"Totsuka no Tsurugi. You actually managed to find it."

In the original story's third round, Junghyeok never got his hands on that sword. Which probably meant that, in this round, Junghyeok had grown that much stronger.

"...So you knew this sword."

"I know it. It's famous."

Totsuka no Tsurugi. It was the sword the ancient Japanese god susanoo had used when he cut down Yamata no Orochi.

Which meant that, in a fable from the distant past, Yamata no Orochi had already been defeated once. Just as Gyebaek had, and just as A Millennia-Old Hundred-legged Monster had, a history of "defeat" created a fatal weakness in a being of fable.

Grrroooaaar!

All eight heads howled at once, spilling out blood-red shrieks.

[Inso... lent... ver... min.]

Crazy... It could even use a constellation's declaration?

[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has activated strongly!]

With a single phrase, the entire area was devastated.

More than half the small people who heard that voice died with their insides bursting apart, and Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyeong also collapsed, coughing up blood. Even among the Calamities, some bled from all seven orifices after hearing that voice.

Of course, I had the Wall, and Junghyeok had a high-level Mental Barrier, so we could endure it. I opened my mouth in provocation.

"You don't even seem able to talk properly, so why don't you just keep your mouth shut?"

Fortunately, it didn't use a second constellation's declaration. Using a constellation's declaration when sufficient Plausibility wasn't allowed would waste a tremendous amount of Plausibility. Instead, its rage turned into action.

When all eight heads spewed scorching flames at once, the ground around us blazed like a furnace. We quickly ran along the walls of the inner fortress. Junghyeok moved first.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated Gigantification Lv.2!]

As expected, that skill had been passed down too.

I had figured he'd have learned it by now. Junghyeok's body swelled in midair as he leaped. Gigantification was a technique that temporarily detonated the latent potential inside the body and imitated the strength of a giant.

For a short time, Junghyeok would possess even greater strength than before he had been made one of the small people. The problem was that the skill only lasted five minutes.

Totsuka no Tsurugi was overlaid with the bright blue Mana of sky splitter. Junghyeok, kicking off the wall as he ran, was plainly hurrying. The sky splitter, having reached the full realm of Sword Aura, poured out Aether Blades without pause.

Sky Splitter Sword Art.

Ultimate Technique.

Sky-Splitting Mad Emperor Art.

The flash that shot from the tip of Junghyeok's sword split into dozens of branches and completely shredded one of the serpent heads. Gruesome black blood spurted from the wound carved by Totsuka no Tsurugi, and one of the eight heads began to rot away.

The only sword capable of killing Yamata no Orochi.

That sword was, by its very existence, an item that was almost the embodiment of Stage Transformation.

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads lets out a howl.]

He had cut off one neck, but Yamata no Orochi was still going strong.

To kill it, all eight heads had to be severed.

Without hesitation, Junghyeok leaped toward the second head. The battle was so dazzling that there wasn't even room for me to interfere. The prowess with which Junghyeok zigzagged past the blood-red tails and heads, cutting through neck after neck, was astonishing.

The protagonist wasn't called the protagonist for nothing. Even a guy like that died hundreds of times in TWSA. This world felt horrifying all over again.

"Kim Dokja! Are you planning to do nothing but watch? Didn't you say earlier that you'd be the one to kill it?"

Junghyeok had destroyed three heads in an instant and was shouting between ragged breaths. Bastard, you're starting to wear out, aren't you? I, who had been quietly stepping back, grinned and answered.

"Ah, I meant I'd take the last hit."

"You...!"

I calmly conserved my Constitution and waited. It wasn't time yet.

Junghyeok, on the other hand, had grown impatient and unleashed a terrifying amount of Sword Aura all at once as he attacked the remaining heads. But in the process of cutting down the fourth head, his [Gigantification] was finally deactivated.

Kraaaah!

The remaining heads of Yamata no Orochi each spewed flames and venom. Junghyeok dodged them with nimble movements, but he couldn't avoid the tail that came flying in after them.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated tiger god aura Lv.9!]

Even though only the tip had grazed him, Junghyeok's body punched straight through the fortress wall and crashed into the inner fortress. Then, from the middle of a monstrous cloud of dust, Junghyeok burst back out, coughing blood.

"Kim Dokja! You should've helped me sooner..."

"I'm doing it now."

"You idiot! You can't handle it alone! Pull back now and later..."

"You've done enough. Now stand there and watch."

[The Training Iron Bracelets have been removed.]

The moment the remaining four serpent heads turned toward me, the bracelets fastened around my arms and legs dropped to the ground all at once. Almost at the same moment, I snatched up the fallen Totsuka no Tsurugi and ran toward Orochi.

[Bookmark 5 has been activated.]

[Active duration: 3 minutes.]

[Although your understanding of that character is considerable, that character's level is too high, so only part of the skill will be activated.]

That's fine. Even part of it is enough.

[This skill can only be used by small people.]

[Your current physical composition is similar to that character's physical composition.]

All I needed was one skill anyway.

[That character's level is too high to fully reproduce the skill level.]

[The level of the activated skill has been forcibly adjusted.]

[The Exclusive Skill Electrification Lv.10 has been activated.]

「The scale of perception determines the Status of existence. Thus, even in the smallest thing, one may behold a distant universe.」

The lines Kyrios had left behind in TWSA flashed through my mind. The flow of Mana around me changed. Mana became particles, and those particles began to resonate with one another. The trembling grew rougher and rougher.

「Therefore, the beginning is a single point. The smallest thing is the greatest.」

Something seemed to explode in the deepest part of my mind. Perhaps it was something like the first sound of the Big Bang. When I opened my eyes, my body was covered in white-blue lightning. It felt as though my very existence had become a single bolt of lightning.

Ferocious power writhed inside me. It felt as though I could do anything. If I tried to pierce the sky, I would pierce the sky. If I tried to split the sea, I would split the sea. And if I tried to cut off a neck...

That neck would fall. Without fail.

When I took the first step, a thunderous roar rang out. When I took the second, the serpent's neck was right in front of me. When I took the third, space screamed at the white-blue lightning. And when I finally took the fourth...

I had already passed straight through Orochi, leaving behind a fearsome aftershock.

My feet crackling with lightning trembled, and blood poured from my nose and mouth.

My whole body reeled as though I had been electrocuted. When I turned around, the three severed snake necks were falling helplessly to the ground. I chugged Mana recovery potions like a madman and forced my shaking hand steady.

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads is appalled by your combat strength!]

Orochi, who had been reduced to a single remaining head in an instant, writhed in pain.

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads is calling the Scenario's fairness into question!]

Even as I staggered, I laughed.

"...Who's complaining to who about fairness right now?"

The duration of [Electrification] was three minutes, but with my current body, I had no confidence I could take more than three more steps.

Which meant I had to kill it within those next three steps.

Sparks flew through the air, and once again that damned voice rang out.

[Well, well. Someone of high Status is suffering quite a humiliation.]

I had been expecting that voice sooner or later. The mid-grade dokkaebi Ganul floated in the air, looking down at us.

[...This is a problem. I can't exactly leave things alone like this.]

Despite the way he spoke, he didn't seem particularly eager to interfere.

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads howls in rage.]

[Hm, no, throwing a tantrum won't work this time. I understand how you feel, but you've already used up all the Plausibility allowed in this Scenario. Those people won't lend you any more power.]

Yamata no Orochi's resentful roar covered the whole of peace land. For Yamata no Orochi, a fabled-grade Constellation, it was the first humiliation it had ever experienced.

To become a spectacle for someone else.

And this time, it was the victim of that spectacle.

Gwaaaah!

Was it because of rage? Even with only one head left, Orochi's power was instead continuing to rise.

"Protect the king!"

The Calamities who had suddenly recovered their senses came charging toward us. The power of the Absolute Throne had activated. In my head, I heard the message of the dokkaebi Yeonggi.

―D-Dokja-sir. The channel is about to burst. I'll block the Indirect Messages for a moment!

Now that I was even using Kyrios's power, every kind of Constellation must have gathered to watch me.

"Stop them!"

Our companions, having come to their senses as well, rushed in to block the Calamities. Lee Hyeongseong, covered in blood, took the lead, while the small people and Pildu Gong's bombardment supported him.

Meanwhile, Yamata no Orochi was preparing a final reversal.

[No, wait! Excuse me, Constellation! What exactly are you...!]

Ominous currents were crackling across the whole body of Izumi, Yamata no Orochi's Incarnation. It was a sign of Plausibility Backlash. The flustered dokkaebi shouted.

[H-hey! Have you lost your mind? Administration Bureau! This is an emergency!]

I could tell what the Sovereign of Eight Heads, Yamata no Orochi, was after. It had obtained Izumi's body through an unfair contract with its Incarnation and was trying to expand its own fable through him. Most likely, its objective was to revive the Hundred Demon World.

Rumbblee!

The dokkaebi belatedly used system control authority, but sadly, it was already too late.

The Great Hole opened high in the sky. I realized Orochi had crossed the line. To think it would even borrow the Plausibility permitted to the Absolute Throne.

"Ah, ah...!"

Everyone stared up at the sky and held their breath.

[Someone has interfered with the Scenario system.]

Beyond the Great Hole writhed an ominous existence.

Chaos. Disorder. Void. Something that was the source of all such fear.

That being was lending Plausibility to Yamata no Orochi.

Crackle!

Now that Plausibility that should never have been allowed had been granted, the shadow of the one remaining serpent head began to grow larger still. Larger, and larger again. Beyond the fortress, until it seemed it would cover the entire planet.

[A meas... uring sword... like that...!]

Incarnation and small person alike, every being that had collapsed to the ground groaned and coughed blood from all seven orifices. The terrible gap in Status pressed down on my body like weight. My knees were being forced toward the ground.

Everything was heading for the worst.

[A mere... hu... man... dares... def... y... a gre... at star...!]

I understood it instinctively. Even with [Electrification], I couldn't beat that thing. At my level, it was an enemy I couldn't defeat even if I died and came back to life. Even so, I smiled.

"You just made the worst mistake of your life."

The principle of the Star Stream was balance. If someone destroyed Plausibility, then someone else gained Plausibility. Which meant the scales would now be set right.

Rrrrumble!

From far away, I felt a fearsome presence rushing toward us at incredible speed. Not Yamata no Orochi, and not A Mysterious Ruler beyond the Great Hole. Yet no one here could ignore that lofty being.

[Since when has an Outer God been allowed to interfere with the Scenario?]

The absolute being born on this planet.

[Do not meddle in the affairs of my planet. Not if you do not wish to stand against me where my fable began.]

Paradoxical White Purity, Kyrios Lordgrime.

[Withdraw! Aberration of another realm!]

Lightning shot skyward from Kyrios's sword strike. A terrifying force that did not give an inch even to a fabled-grade Constellation. Kyrios's lightning, now revealing the power of his true body, shattered the tip of the tentacle and forcibly closed the mouth of the Great Hole. Deprived of Plausibility, Orochi's power began to plummet.

[G... ah... ah...! You...!]

I didn't miss that opening and drew up my Mana. Totsuka no Tsurugi, flooded with every last scrap of Mana in my body, let out a white-blue cry. In my [Electrification] state, I had three steps left. Within those three steps, I had to decide the battle.

Yamata no Orochi's shadow began to spew pitch-black darkness like an illusion. It too knew it would all be decided in this single strike. I bit hard on my lip and concentrated. If this failed...

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads frowns!]

That was when faint sparks flickered up from within the darkness. It wasn't interference from another Constellation or intervention from a dokkaebi. Someone was resisting Orochi's power. In Orochi's pitch-black shadow, a human face floated up, pale and white. I recognized at once who it was.

[The Constellation Sovereign of Eight Heads rages at its own Incarnation...!]

Yamata no Orochi's Incarnation, Izumi Hiroki. He, who was defying his Patron by staking his entire life on it, was speaking to me.

「Please end this.」

A face that had finally reached its own conclusion after being tormented for so long.

「Please. Those distant stars... all of them.」

I nodded. Izumi knew. Yamata no Orochi would never let him go. If I didn't kill Izumi here, his soul would never escape being a puppet. I tightened my grip on the hilt.

To save one life, I kill another.

My selfish sword moved, and something rolled across the ground.

[You have killed one of your own kind.]

[The title The King of No Killing has been revoked.]

Yamata no Orochi's constellation flickered after taking a grave blow.

With a hideous scream, the Constellation's shadow began to scatter away as ash.

[You have achieved an unbelievable achievement.]

[You are the first to hunt the King of Calamities in the Scenario!]

[The estimated grade of the King of Calamities that has descended into this Scenario cannot be measured!]

[You have achieved a fable that does not exist.]

[Because an impossible Scenario has been completed, all dokkaebis in Seoul Dome and Tokyo Dome are entering an emergency countermeasure meeting.]

[You have met the Clear Conditions for the Main Scenario!]

I looked up at the sky glittering with constellations and thought,

You would never know what it feels like for someone who ran so hard and so desperately, only to barely reach the starting line.

[Congratulations! Star Stream has acknowledged your Status.]

[You have achieved a total of four fables.]

The end of the Sixth Scenario.

At last, I had reached the starting line of the ending I wanted.

[Now you must build the final fable to become a Constellation.]

Footnotes:

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