WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 146: Episode 28 — The Strongest Sacrificial Lamb (4)

[Oh my, the match is going to be decided faster than I thought?]

Watching the bloody battle between Yu Junghyeok and Nirvana, the dokkaebis in the air giggled to themselves.

[I thought at least a third of them would die, if not half...]

[This is getting boring.]

No fewer than three mid-grade dokkaebis floated in the air, tapping their clubs as they looked down at the stadium. With the dokkaebis' appearance, the incarnations outside the stadium froze in place. The incarnations had learned by now that terrible things happened whenever dokkaebis gathered.

[At this rate, there's no point in giving them 'hints,' is there?]

[Can't be helped. Let's reveal them a bit earlier.]

As the dokkaebis spoke, rankings of the incarnations began to flood across the billboard in the air.

+

Currently, Seoul Dome's eighth strongest incarnation is Moonlit Priestess Yu Sangah.

Currently, Seoul Dome's seventh strongest incarnation is Armament Lord Gong Pildu.

Currently, Seoul Dome's sixth strongest incarnation is Judge of Evil Jeong Huiwon.

+

The moment three rankings were revealed at once, people's reactions were nothing short of explosive.

"Who's Yu Sangah? Moonlit Priestess?"

"So Gong Pildu-ssi was seventh!"

Huiwon was also looking up at the billboard floating in the air.

"Oh my, I was sixth?"

"I'm only tenth... Tsk. Unni, want to finish off this bastard and have a go with me?"

Lee Jihye asked, stomping hard on the bound Neutral King Jeon Ildo lying on the ground. Huiwon placed her foot on top of his as well and said,

"Sorry, but I can't do that. My patron constellation likes you."

"Me? Why?"

Huiwon didn't answer and pointed her sword at Ildo instead.

"Hey there, Jeon Ildo-ssi, who didn't even make the top 10?"

Ildo's body trembled at the sharp blade.

"How did you break free from Thought Infection?"

"Don't ask me questions. If you don't release your stigma right now, I'll kill you."

"Even if you kill me, my stigma won't be released."

With those final words, Ildo passed out. Sensing that things were about to get troublesome, Huiwon gave the back of his head one more whack before looking for Kim Dokja.

"Dokja-ssi?"

But Dokja was nowhere to be seen nearby.

+

Currently, Seoul Dome's fifth strongest incarnation is Pure Steel Lee Hyeonseong.

+

Hyeonseong and Pildu, who were in the midst of a fierce battle with monsters on the outer edges of the dome, also heard that message. Pildu frowned and asked,

"What the hell is 'Pure Steel'?"

"I-I'm not really sure either."

Hyeonseong pretended not to know and used Great Mountain Crush on the Tier-5 monsters charging at him. Now that Steel Transformation was possible for him, even minor catastrophe-level monsters weren't his match anymore.

Thud thud thud thud!

But there were more monsters than expected, and the battle lines were being pushed back little by little. Hyeonseong gritted his teeth as he protected the Armed Zone and held the line.

'Dokja-ssi. This is going well, right?'

He half-expected Dokja might answer again, but there was no response from him this time.

+

Currently, Seoul Dome's fourth strongest incarnation is Black Flame Empress Han Suyeong.

+

At the same moment, Suyeong was also looking up at the billboard in the air, grinning to herself.

"...I really am fourth?"

Suyeong looked down at Dokja lying on the ground, bleeding. She had stabbed him just enough not to kill him in one blow as he'd asked, but the bleeding was severe enough that it looked certain he'd die soon.

Suyeong crouched down, pinching and stretching the cheek of the bleeding Dokja.

"Kim Dokja. Are you really going to die like this? Just to make me third place?"

With an uneasy expression, Suyeong quietly stared down at Dokja's face.

"Now that I look at you like this, you're not too bad-looking."

But of course, Dokja didn't respond. She had stabbed him because he'd asked her to, but now that she actually had, she was worried whether Dokja might really die.

He doesn't even have an avatar... Surely not, right?

"Why am I worrying about this guy..."

Suyeong's complaining trailed off. The sleeping Dokja's lips were twisted in pain. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but honestly, she felt like she already knew without asking.

Dokja must be having a hard time, too.

Before the apocalypse began, he had been an ordinary person just like her.

And now, that person had thrown himself onto the stage that determined the world's fate and was moving the protagonists around. Because he had never shown it, Suyeong had momentarily forgotten that he, too, was just an ordinary human.

She reached out her finger and pulled up the corners of Dokja's mouth. It created an odd face with his eyes scrunched up, but his mouth smiling.

Suyeong giggled.

"This is really weird."

Just then, a massive shockwave burst from inside the dome. At last, the fight between Junghyeok and Nirvana was reaching its climax.

[Haha, only the top three remain! Everyone's curious who they are, right? Just wait! The rankings will be revealed soon!]

[The constellation Secretive Plotter hides his racing heart.]

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband clenches his fur.]

[The constellation Bald Army General scratches his head in curiosity.]

Hearing the flood of messages from the constellations, Junghyeok brought his sword down and down again.

Krakakakakak!

The sword strike that pierced through the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara made a skin-crawling sound, and from deep within the muscles came something like the noise of malfunctioning machinery. Junghyeok could feel his own body collapsing bit by bit.

The side effects of Gigantification. It was the price for harboring power he couldn't handle. When he had received this power from the ancient colossus long ago, the colossus had warned him.

"Until all your stats reach three digits, never use that technique."

But the colossus must have already anticipated it when passing down the skill. That Junghyeok wouldn't heed his warning. The path he had to walk was the path of carnage, an impossible path, and even using every means available, he didn't know if he could make it through. What made it so despairing was that the end of that path still couldn't even be gauged.

Junghyeok squeezed out all the mana in his body and poured down sword strikes. The mana that exploded along the blade toward the ground formed waves and crashed down on Nirvana.

"The secret of Sky Splitter Swordsmanship lies in explosion. Don't hide yourself. Expand, bloom in full, overflow. Do not allow the sky to remain above you."

Those were the words of his teacher who had taught him Sky Splitter Swordsmanship, the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint. In the mid-to-late scenarios of the second round, the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint had died fighting alone against the Returnee Alliance, receiving a combined attack from the Blood Demon and the Heavenly Demon. At that time, Junghyeok had seen a thick sky that even the Sky-Splitting style couldn't break through. There were definitely such skies in this world.

"Yu Junghyeoooook!"

But at least Nirvana wasn't one of those skies.

The reincarnator Nirvana was strong. They would become even stronger in the future. But they weren't yet as strong as the Heavenly Demon or Blood Demon, or like the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint or the Paradoxical White Flash.

So they could be killed.

Junghyeok released his mana once more, crushing Nirvana's entire body. Nirvana's Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara, which had withstood the colossus's sword, crumbled into rags. The burning flesh tore away piece by piece. The hastily inherited skill had reached its limits.

"Kuaaaaat!"

Nirvana's body sank deep into the ground, and a massive shockwave burst from within.

Junghyeok was certain of victory. The damage was sufficient. Nirvana seemed to have one more trick up their sleeve, but with this much damage, it was a fight they couldn't overturn, no matter what they tried.

'They must have been forced to inherit close-combat skills because they were conscious of Kim Dokja.'

Junghyeok gathered his remaining mana and prepared his final strike. It was to deliver the finishing blow the moment Nirvana emerged from the pit. But then, a warning sounded in his head.

[The exclusive skill Advanced Mental Barrier Lv.3 has reached its limit.]

[The exclusive skill Thought Vaccine Lv.1 is being eroded.]

...That couldn't be. Thought Vaccine was a counter skill against Nirvana's Thought Infection and Eternal Prison. So why?

'No way.'

The worst assumption crossed his mind. Now that he thought about it, this life's Nirvana was still weaker than the last life's Nirvana.

What if Nirvana hadn't inherited close-combat skills?

What if, despite the variable called Kim Dokja, their goal had been only one thing from the start?

'Damn it, is it 108 Kleshas[1]?'

[The exclusive skill Advanced Mental Barrier Lv.3 is collapsing.]

[108 afflictions begin to gnaw at your mind.]

The moment he realized it, his vision went black. His five senses began to run wild. He should have noticed something was wrong when his thoughts ran rampant, unlike usual. Nirvana emerged from the pit, smiling.

"Yu Junghyeok! Only I can understand you!"

He could tell that Nirvana had been enduring for this moment alone. Behind Nirvana, 108 giant prayer beads shone brightly.

"Now stop resisting and become one with me."

Whoosh, along with the rising light, Junghyeok felt the fragments of afflictions digging into his mind. If he faced this skill head-on and collapsed, he couldn’t guarantee his next regression.

'Barely here.'

He had to regress now. Junghyeok exerted his last ounce of control over his body to bring the blade of Sky Shaking Supreme Sword to his own throat.

「Don't fool yourself into thinking the next round will be better if you abandon this one.」

But why, at this moment, did that bastard's words come to mind?

「This round you're trying to abandon might be 'the only round' where you can see the end of the world as a 'human being.'」

In his devastated state of mind, for the first time, Junghyeok thought of a certain name.

And his vision gradually darkened.

"That bastard sure thinks fast."

Was it an illusion? He heard a familiar voice.

"Take a break for a bit."

Even while resisting the fact that he was reassured by that voice, Junghyeok closed his eyes in peace.

When he slowly opened his eyes, he felt overflowing power.

The height of his vision had changed slightly, and the sensation of well-fitted combat muscles covering his entire body made him feel good. Adequately secreted adrenaline. Confidence that he could accomplish anything was brimming within him.

[First-Person Protagonist's Viewpoint has been activated!]

Crazy. So this was the 'real' First-Person Protagonist's Viewpoint.

This was exactly the sensation that Junghyeok normally felt.

How could he not feel strong like this?

"...How did you break free from 108 Kleshas?"

In the distance, he could see Nirvana's flustered expression.

He glanced outside the stadium. The fact that he had possessed Junghyeok meant Suyeong had handled things properly. According to the plan, he had about five minutes left until his breath was completely cut off.

Nirvana glared fiercely and cast the skill at him again.

[The character Nirvana Moebius has activated the skill 108 Kleshas Lv.2!]

108 Kleshas. Originally, it was a skill for self-torturing one's mind to elevate one's level of enlightenment. But when used on others, this skill caused terrible mental confusion. Especially when used on a 'regressor' like Junghyeok, its effects were even more terrifying than Thought Infection or Eternal Prison.

Of course, that was only if he were 'Yu Junghyeok.'

[The Fourth Wall has completely nullified the effects of 108 Kleshas!]

Sorry, but I'm not just any ordinary 'Yu Junghyeok' right now.

"This feeling... Who are you?"

As expected of a reincarnator, quick on the uptake.

He quickly ran forward and slammed his fist into their nose.

"Kuaaaak!"

Nirvana flew through the air like a paper doll.

A regressor's body really was something. To have this kind of speed and destructive power without even using Electrification. With their physical strength exhausted, Nirvana couldn't even defend against it and flew through the air. He didn't give them any opening and chased after for an additional strike.

Pow!

It was a very satisfying sensation. But Nirvana still looked like they could endure it. That made sense. Both pain and death would be familiar to them. He struck their face again and said,

"It's ridiculous that you've experienced 'death' dozens of times and yet can't truly know 'death.'"

Death becomes death precisely because it happens only once.

"The one who can't live in the 'present' more than anyone else goes around preaching about the 'present.' Talk about a contradiction."

Because there is no after-death, paradoxically, humanity's 'present' becomes precious. That's why Nirvana knows neither 'death' nor the 'present.'

"How do you know about me... Kehuk!"

"I know well. I know why you're trying to become one with Yu Junghyeok, why you're expanding the Salvation Sect, and what you're ultimately trying to reach through all this."

Because he was fully aware of it all, he had to stop them now. Nirvana staggered back. Still, being a reincarnator, they seemed to quickly regain their composure. Nirvana ground their teeth and shouted.

"Foolish sentient being! I don't know who you are, but this is pointless. Even if you kill me, Yu Junghyeok dies. No one can stop the scenario from heading toward destruction. The world's tragedy will repeat. I will reincarnate, and Yu Junghyeok will regress! And we will ultimately become one!"

Yes, that would be a reincarnator's way of thinking. But…

"You really think so?"

At that moment, a message appeared on the billboard.

+

Currently, Seoul Dome's third strongest incarnation is Supreme King Yu Junghyeok.

+

What timing. Nirvana's expression became strange.

"Third? Yu Junghyeok?"

He nodded and smiled.

"Yu Junghyeok will never go to the 'next round.'"

"What?"

"No matter what happens, Yu Junghyeok will live. The one who dies will be you, or me."

"Don't be ridiculous! I am the strongest incarnation, Nirvana Moebius. To a mere sentient being...!"

+

Currently, Seoul Dome's second strongest incarnation is Salvation Sect Leader Nirvana.

+

Damn. He didn't expect them to announce up to second place this quickly.

Looking up at the air, the dokkaebis were giggling. They must have judged that the match was already decided. Nirvana's pupils were shaking.

"That makes no sense... That can't be...?"

"Nirvana, you said you wanted to live in the 'present,' right?"

"No way... You are...?"

As if encountering an impossible Zen koan[2], Nirvana's body trembled.

Toward that Nirvana, he quietly opened his mouth.

"I'll teach you what 'death' is."

Footnotes:

[1] Kleshas are seen as afflictions or poisons that distort our minds and perceptions, causing suffering. In Buddhist and Yogic philosophy, understanding and then overcoming such afflictions would help people embrace their true nature and break free from suffering. According to the Yoga Sutras, the five kleshas are avidya (ignorance), asmita (egoism), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death). The number 108 is specifically symbolic in different ways, including how it references 108 temptations on the path to Nirvana.

[2] Used in Zen Buddhism, a koan is usually a question, a story, or a statement that is paradoxical in nature. A famous example is the question, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” There is thought to be no literal way to answer, but some interpret it not as a sound but a state of stillness. Koans were meant to help foster enlightenment and provoke deep thought that goes beyond what we typically understand.

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