WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 138: Episode 26 — Scenario Destroyer (6)

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For a moment, I doubted my ears.

......What did this bastard just say?

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire has appeared belatedly and is looking around.]

[The constellation Secretive Plotter has been giggling as he explains what happened earlier.]

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is appalled.]

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire desperately prays for that same line to be recited just one more time.]

Nirvana asked again, as if they couldn't believe it.

"What did you just say......"

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire likes this love triangle.]

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire has sponsored 2,000 coins.]

Love triangle, my ass. Looking at Nirvana's face as it went pale, I realized something had gone wrong.

I was in the middle of putting together a perfectly good plan, damn it.

"Hey, what kind of bullshit is that? We're not Companions."

I tried to deny it belatedly, but Yu Junghyeok answered with an expressionless face.

"I wasn't speaking with you specifically in mind."

But whatever Yu Junghyeok had intended, the situation was already getting worse. Nirvana's lips trembled as they burst out in a shaking voice.

"Why not me......"

A chilling killing intent poured from Nirvana's entire body, and a giant mandala rose behind them. I reflexively took a few steps back. I really didn't know why everyone around Yu Junghyeok got so worked up over not being acknowledged as a Companion.

"Why, why did you become one with someone else instead of me!"

Light burst from Nirvana's mandala. I hurriedly whispered to Junghyeok.

"Hey, just say you like them too. Hurry."

"No."

"Why not? Just shut your eyes and do it this once......"

At my whisper, Nirvana exploded in fury.

"Don't whisper in front of me!"

Then Junghyeok also raised his voice.

"I'm not interested in men!"

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire coughs up blood.]

[You have received a sponsorship of 2,000 coins.]

Nirvana looked like they were about to cough up blood too.

"I'm not a man!"

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is flustered.]

"Of course, I'm not a woman either!"

Ruuumble!

What a complete mess. Looking at the waves of Mana growing stronger along with Nirvana's agitation, I snapped irritably.

"What the hell are you doing? They said they like you. You could make use of them somehow later......"

"That one is dangerous."

Damn it, that cursed pride.

By my estimate, Nirvana's combat power right now was at least on par with Yu Junghyeok's. If all the Salvation Sect followers joined in too, there was no guaranteeing our odds.

"Wait a second!"

In the end, I stepped forward and spoke. A Reincarnator was a card that could be useful in what was to come. There was no need to oppose them already.

"It seems there's been some misunderstanding. Why don't you speak with me instead?"

[The character Nirvana Moebius has lost their reason.]

"We have no intention of becoming hostile to the Salvation Sect. He's just bad at expressing himself......"

I even patted Yu Junghyeok on the shoulder on purpose, putting on a show.

"In fact, we were just considering joining under you, Sect Leader. Forget the future and live from the present onward. What a great saying. Junghyeok, don't you think so too?"

Of course, I didn't agree with that doctrine for even a second. In the world of the Star Stream, if you threw away the future and enjoyed the present, you just ended up dying in the present. And even if it meant being a little less happy, I wanted to live longer.

"......Is that true? Answer me, Yu Junghyeok!"

Maybe my acting had worked, because Nirvana's momentum slowly began to ease. But Yu Junghyeok didn't help.

"Nonsense."

"No, wait......!"

I shouted, but it was already too late. Nirvana ground their teeth.

"I knew it. Then fall into hell together!"

At the same moment Nirvana made their move, I activated [Bookmark].

[The Bookmark skill is currently being updated.]

[An old bookmark is being replaced with a new bookmark.]

[5 minutes remain until bookmark replacement is complete.]

What? Of all times, now? In that span, Nirvana had already closed to within three steps of me. They were moving so fast it was as if they were using [Way of the Wind].

......No, that really was [Way of the Wind], wasn't it?

Only then did I remember that one of Nirvana's previous lives had belonged to Chronos's imyuntar race.

"Move."

Yu Junghyeok stepped in front of me. The mandala coiled around Nirvana's fist crashed into Yu Junghyeok's 'Sky Shaking Supreme Sword,' and a roar like a building collapsing exploded through the air. Nirvana said,

"What touching friendship. You put your Companion first, is that it?"

"Kim Dokja, get back! This bastard is......!"

"Too bad."

But Nirvana's words were faster. No, not just their words, their actions too.

"Your Companion is going to die."

The moment Nirvana chanted something, Yu Junghyeok's body, locked blade to blade with them, stiffened like a stone statue.

[The character Nirvana Moebius has used the Stigma eternal nightmare Lv.8.]

I knew that skill too. It was the most lethal technique possible against Yu Junghyeok.

Crackle, crackle.

Sparks jumped from Yu Junghyeok's frozen body. Like a broken tin robot, his neck creaked as it slowly turned toward me. He was looking at me, but those weren't eyes that were seeing me.

Ru......n......

Yu Junghyeok was probably trapped right now in a prison made from the worst trauma he had ever created. A prison of memories where only a single nightmare played over and over again. It was a higher-order mental-type skill than even the technique used by Simulation, the boss I had once encountered in the Cinema Dungeon.

"Come here, insolent living being."

Skill enough to exploit Yu Junghyeok's weakness, on top of top-tier mental-type skills. It was an unbelievable level of craftsmanship. No matter how much of a Reincarnator they were, Plausibility still affected them. It should have been impossible to have this much combat power at this point.

I stared at Nirvana's lean muscles.

"I shall personally usher you into nirvana."

Could it be they had abandoned close-combat skills entirely and invested everything into mental-type skills and acceleration-type skills? If so, then it made sense. The current Nirvana was the perfect counter to Yu Junghyeok, whose mental energy was basically that of a sunfish.

But how had they managed to raise their skills so perfectly to match him?

Unless someone had given them the information......

"Run away!"

The ones who stepped in to block the approaching Nirvana were Min Jiwon and the Hwarang. Even against someone strong enough to overpower Yu Junghyeok, she didn't retreat.

"Hurry! If even you go down, there's no hope left for Seoul!"

"King of Beauty."

Looking at Min Jiwon, Nirvana smiled in satisfaction.

"You ran quite well last time, and now it seems you've finally been moved by my ideology!"

Apparently the two of them had met before.

"To charge in even knowing you'll die means you've realized something. Excellent, excellent. The present alone is everything to humanity!"

"Hurry! You can't handle this alone! Yu Sangah-ssi, Jeong Huiwon-ssi, everyone......!"

Before King of Beauty could finish, Nirvana moved. More than a dozen Hwarang rushed at Nirvana, but it was never a fight they could win to begin with.

Nirvana casually moved their hand and touched the foreheads of the charging Hwarang. The instant they were touched, the Hwarang collapsed on the spot. Their [thought infection] had activated.

"Ugh, ugh...... uaaah!"

The fallen Hwarang began clawing at their own bodies in agony.

"The mortal world is hell!"

With that fierce cry, Salvation Sect followers came pouring in from the rear.

"Die for the present!"

"Today is the only place we have to live!"

Reciting maxims like threats, the followers charged at me and the Hwarang. While I unleashed killing blows on the Salvation Sect followers, Nirvana had already placed a hand on King of Beauty's forehead.

"Don't worry, King of Beauty. I like beautiful creatures."

"Ugh, ughhh......"

"So I won't kill you."

[The character Nirvana Moebius is activating thought infection Lv.9!]

A white aura stretched out from Nirvana and began to bind King of Beauty. Strands of aura like tentacles pierced through her head.

"Accept your 'present.'"

"No! No......!"

Through those strands, King of Beauty's hidden desires came pouring out in thick waves. Nirvana sneered at those desires.

"While your Companions are dying all around you, you want to go to a luxury spa? Foolish living being."

"N-no. I......"

"You still want to enjoy a glamorous life. You want attention from many people, like when you were an actress, and you want to be adored by them. That's why you became a king."

Nirvana laughed loudly, as if this were all immensely entertaining.

"Accept your desires. Acknowledge the fact that even while your Companions are dying, you're thinking pathetic thoughts like that. That is the human called you. If you deny those desires, then you become nothing."

King of Beauty's eyes gradually turned cloudy. A skill that violently forced a person to accept their own desires and anchored that person's time solely in the "present."

That was the process by which someone became a Salvation Sect follower.

Damn it, [Bookmark] still isn't......

[The update to Bookmark has been completed!]

Got it!

[Due to the update, Bookmark's efficiency has increased by 20%.]

I activated [Bookmark].

[Exclusive Skill, Way of the Wind Lv.9, has activated!]

I stepped on the wind and shot through the air like an arrow. Maybe because [Bookmark]'s efficiency had risen, even the level of [Way of the Wind] had gone up. Good. With this, I might actually have a chance. I immediately unleashed Blade of Faith at the startled Nirvana.

Slash! Nirvana barely dodged my blade, but their front robes were ripped wide open as they were sent flying back. I helped Min Jiwon up.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, ah......"

"Don't feel guilty for no reason. In a world like this, longing for the most peaceful moment you ever had is completely normal. I want to sprawl in my room and read fantasy novels too."

Nirvana, who had been driven back into the distance, changed direction and flew toward me again. I could see the vivid light of a mandala gathering in their grasp. I swung Blade of Faith.

Sparks flew, and pain shot through my hand, but it was more manageable than I'd expected. Reincarnator Nirvana possessed an [inheritance] skill similar to Yu Junghyeok's [transmission]. It let them inherit skills from the lives they had lived before.

Just as I'd thought, in this life they seemed to have focused on training mental-type skills and acceleration-type skills rather than close-combat ones.

"How can you use [Way of the Wind]? Don't tell me......"

Catching my upward swing, Nirvana frowned and asked,

"Are you the one Neutral mentioned?"

"I'm kind of famous, you know?"

"Insolent bastard!"

Nirvana's palm and Blade of Faith clashed once more. The colliding mandala traced a strange shape, then released white auras in rapid succession.

[The character Nirvana Moebius is activating thought infection Lv.9!]

I knew you'd do that.

"Live in the present! Accept your desires!"

The white aura erupting from Nirvana's body burrowed straight into me. But I didn't avoid it.

"Humans aren't slaves to desire. We're animals that fight against it."

[Exclusive Skill, The Fourth Wall, is currently active.]

Tsssss!

The white aura digging into me melted away in an instant.

Sorry, but your ideology will never work on me. Because my "present" isn't here.

[The effect of The Fourth Wall has completely neutralized the effect of thought infection.]

I dropped into a fighting stance and charged at the appalled Nirvana.

Footnotes:

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