WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: ChaoticRain
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 137: Episode 26 — Scenario Destroyer (5)
At Junghyeok's words, I asked reflexively.
"Do you know those guys?"
"One of them."
Junghyeok knew about the Salvation Sect? Had these people appeared in the second round as well? I couldn't recall. Still, I knew the Salvation Sect well enough myself. According to the original work, the Salvation Sect was a group that had completely cast off the religious clichés associated with the word salvation.
"There is no salvation in the afterlife."
That was how the first sermon of the Salvation Sect began.
"What matters is the story of now, and what we must liberate is 'today.'"
At first glance, their doctrine seemed perfectly harmless. Value the present, not the past or future. It was something I'd heard plenty of times, even before the world ended.
The Salvation Sect group muttered incomprehensible words as they approached us. The elephants that bellowed roughly were all a Tier-7 Monster species called the Desert Thorn Elephant. Apparently, one of the Salvation Sect members possessed the Taming skill.
"Oh, ohhh..."
"It's the Salvation Sect!"
The Salvation Sect, which shouldn't have appeared until much later, had already shown up. That meant someone was interfering with the future I knew.
And it had to be an extremely powerful being at that.
A voice came from inside the palanquin atop the lead elephant.
"Young incarnations, come to the Salvation Sect. We will liberate you from the scenarios."
The Salvation Sect followers at the front spread their arms wide toward the incarnations. One of the hesitant incarnations stepped forward.
"...What do you mean by liberation?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. We will grant you freedom from being violated by the scenarios."
The words themselves were vague, but the terms he used were perfectly suited to catching an incarnation's interest. Liberation, freedom. Words that could only sound sweet to incarnations who had been forcibly thrown into this place.
"Can I become strong if I join the Salvation Sect?"
While some incarnations had already been swayed, others were cautious. These were people who trusted tangible force over vague promises of salvation.
"Strength..."
The shadow inside the palanquin on the elephant moved. Perhaps due to some mystical quality in the voice, I couldn't easily guess their age or gender.
"What do you believe strength is?"
"Having strong skills, or possessing better items than others... Isn't that what you're talking about?"
"Strong skills and good items... Do you mean things like this?"
Mana slowly extending from the palanquin took the form of a giant palm.
Mana materialization. That technique, which only well-trained regressors could use, was being executed by a mere scenario incarnation.
[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband displays hostility toward the palm.]
The giant palm, overwhelming just to look at, fell toward the man while covering the sky.
"A-aaahhh!"
Everyone screamed at the overwhelming display of mana. But the moment the palm covered the incarnations, along with a tremendous wind, the palm's form vanished. Instead, only a warm and gentle current remained, enveloping the incarnations.
"You pursue ephemeral things. Strength and weakness are both illusions created by stories."
The curtain of the palanquin was drawn back, revealing the owner of the voice. Like a brilliant sun rising, the being radiated light from their entire body. Like a descending deity, the light landed gently on the ground.
Only then did I realize. I had hoped it wouldn't be, but that 'Salvation Sect Leader' I knew had already entered the scenario. The incarnation who had been shouting about strength hesitated, but still spoke up.
"What nonsense... So, can I become strong if I follow you or not?!"
Within a benevolent smile, the Salvation Sect Leader said,
"Foolish one. You fail to recognize the truth before your eyes. Such things have no meaning."
"N-no meaning?"
"Poor sentient being trapped in a pile of time. You are being deceived by the scenario right now."
Tap, the Salvation Sect Leader's hand touched the incarnation's forehead.
"Tell me. Who incited you toward 'strength'? Why do you so desperately want to become strong?"
As if entranced, the man opened his mouth.
"That's... I-I have to become strong... to survive..."
"What does it mean to survive?"
"Surviving means... just staying alive! So I get stronger again, and survive again..."
Like a broken record with halted thoughts. But perhaps that was the most honest answer.
"Is that your life?"
"What...?"
"If you must live all day to become strong, then where is your 'life'?"
The incarnation's body trembled as if he had realized something he shouldn't have known. The man's lips moved desperately, trying to find an answer.
"That's, that is..."
"..."
"Huh...?"
Something flowed from the man's eyes. As if unable to believe it, he stared blankly at his tears falling to the ground. When humans encounter incomprehensible emotions, they forcibly try to make them fit. Everyone watched the scene in exaltation, as if hoping someone would resolve the situation.
When the Salvation Sect Leader slowly approached and wiped away the man's tears, several people let out sighs.
"That is the trap of stories."
Looking up at the void, I could see the dokkaebis listening with interest. The Salvation Sect Leader spoke.
"Don't let yourself be devoured by the scenarios."
That single declaration drove itself like a wedge into every incarnation's heart.
"Don't be deceived by the salvation of an afterlife that may someday come."
All the incarnations who had entered the new scenario looked at him as if mesmerized. Whether they understood those words or not, it had now become a resonance seeping into everyone's hearts.
"Salvation is right here, right now, and this is where you should be."
Living in the present and protecting the now. Not being consumed by the future and reclaiming human dignity.
"Fight right here and now! Leave yourself behind as a new story! That is the only path to liberation from these 'scenarios'!"
It was a beautiful ideology to hear. It would have been, if it weren't the 'Salvation Sect Leader' saying it. I turned to look at Junghyeok.
"Junghyeok."
As it happened, Junghyeok was in the middle of drawing his sword. A savage hostility spread across his face.
"That grandiose bullshit method of raising suicide squads hasn't changed."
At Junghyeok's words, the Salvation Sect Leader turned to look this way. The moment our eyes met, Junghyeok continued.
"You'd better stop this nonsense and get lost, Salvation Sect Leader."
"...You are?"
In an instant, a vast pressure engulfed the surroundings, and before I knew it, the Salvation Sect Leader had floated into the air and started flying toward us. Their exotic, fluttering ghagra billowed like a celestial robe. The Salvation Sect Leader spoke.
"Junghyeok?"
For some reason, a pure white smile spread across the Salvation Sect Leader's beautiful face.
"Junghyeok! Do you know how long I've been searching for you?"
A warning rang in my head, far stronger than when I’d met any incarnation before. According to the original work, this figure wasn't supposed to appear until much later. Therefore, I was in a situation where I had made no preparations whatsoever regarding them.
I immediately activated Character Profile.
[The exclusive skill Character Profile has been activated!]
[There is too much information about this figure. The Character Profile will be modified to a Character Profile Summary.]
Then a message I had never seen before appeared.
[There is still too much information about this figure. The Character Summary Profile will attempt to summarize once more.]
[Information summarization has failed.]
[This character’s related information cannot be summarized in a summary profile.]
It was ridiculous. The information couldn't be summarized? I thought for a moment, then changed the settings to view only the figure's 'first attribute.'
[Profile settings have been changed.]
+
<Character Summary Profile>
Name: Nirvana Moebius
Exclusive attribute: Reincarnator (Legendary)
+
The moment I confirmed the information, goosebumps rose on my skin. Damn it, so it really was this bastard. The third method of surviving in a ruined world. The figure before my eyes was the third method itself.
Reincarnator Nirvana. Human, yet not human.
"Junghyeok!"
A voice crying out in joy. Watching the approaching bastard, the palm gripping my sword hilt grew slippery. This bastard's way of thinking was different from ordinary humans. No matter how much I had read TWSA, there were limits to how I could use them. So then, how should I...
Nirvana spread their arms wide and shouted with a bright smile.
"Yu Junghyeok! Become one with me!"
In that moment, I got a sense of how I could use them.
Nirvana clearly remembered the moment they first opened their eyes in 'this world.' Amusingly enough, Nirvana was a water beetle at the time.
'...'
And the moment they opened their eyes, Nirvana was eaten to death by a frog. In the next life, Nirvana was born as a frog.
'This won't be an easy life.'
In that life, Nirvana was eaten to death by a rattlesnake. In the next life, Nirvana became a rattlesnake.
'At least I can eat frogs now.'
In that life, Nirvana was eaten to death by an anaconda. In the next life, Nirvana was born as an anaconda.
'I'll devour all the snakes.'
In that life, Nirvana evolved into a powerful monster species. And not long after, they faced a crisis. They were hunted by incarnations. Incarnations blinded by rewards tried to harm them, and Nirvana suffered grave injuries. Facing death, Nirvana hid in the forest to escape the hunters.
However, they eventually caught the eye of one man.
"...You're injured."
For some reason, the man didn't harm them despite seeing them. The man tended to their wounds and then released them into the forest. Nirvana couldn't understand that kindness, but instead remembered the man's touch for a long time.
And in the next life, Nirvana was born as a human.
[The constellation Mandala's Protector watches over your life.]
They realized that someone was observing their life. It was only later that they learned this was a great being called a Patron.
From that point on, Nirvana continued to be born as a human. They became an excellent farmer, or a farm owner who led farmers. They became a common soldier, or a Sword Master respected by soldiers. They became a slave, or sometimes a noble who commanded slaves.
They went through countless deaths and lived countless lives.
They went through countless scenarios.
And they realized that only they were a special existence in this universe.
'Only I reincarnate with all my memories.'
That fact made them terribly lonely. Because they were lonely, they enjoyed life all the more earnestly. As if they would never live again. They lived as if this 'one time' was everything, and taught others the way they lived.
And they always came back to life alone.
Then one day, a message came to them.
[You have been caught in the great wheel of time.]
[Your reincarnation circuit is subject to the wheel of time.]
[Mandala's Protector pities your fate.]
[You have participated in the scenario of Planetary System 8612.]
Nirvana came face-to-face with one man.
'Yu Junghyeok.'
Nirvana learned of the first existence who repeated life like themselves. Though the method was different, like themselves, he was a being bound to the wheel of eternity.
'You are the same as me.'
Just that alone gave Nirvana a kind of ecstatic salvation. The only being in this vast universe who could understand them.
'I failed in the last life. But this time is different.'
The Salvation Sect Leader approached Junghyeok and shouted.
"Yu Junghyeok!"
Watching Junghyeok back away as if disgusted, Nirvana smiled deeply. From the day they were caught in the great wheel and bound within Junghyeok's 'time,' Nirvana had waited solely for this day.
"Yu Junghyeok! Become one with me!"
"Cut the crap and get lost. Before I kill you."
Even at Junghyeok's prickly attitude, Nirvana smiled. Now even that surliness felt endearing.
'You pretend to hate me, but I know you want me more than anyone. You need my power!'
Last time they had failed by being considerate of him, but this time would be different. Nirvana continued to shout.
"I will help you. Have you forgotten the failure of your last life? Only I can be your true companion! In the wheel of eternity, the only one who can understand you..."
"I don't need someone like you."
"What?"
To Nirvana, who asked back in a dazed voice, Junghyeok glanced to his side and continued speaking again.
"I already have a companion."
Footnotes:
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