WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 165: Episode 32: Kim Dokja's Love (2)

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For a moment, I wondered if I'd heard wrong, so I even cleaned out my ears. But the message didn't change.

[A great Fate wants you dead.]

What was this? Confused, I slammed on the brakes. Han Suyeong let out a small scream as the sudden stop threw her forward.

"......What? I was just getting into it!"

"Be quiet for a second."

I listened again. This time, a message window appeared before my eyes as well as the voice.

[A great Fate wants you dead.]

That made three times. I swallowed without realizing it.

Fuck. Had a "Fate message" ever come through three times in the original work?

Yu Junghyeok of the 71st round had experienced something like that. Back then, his name had been written in the King of the Underworld's Book of Death. Damn it, what was about to happen?

Suyeong pressed me for an answer.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Someone read my Fate."

"......Fate?"

Fate. In TWSA, it was as frightening a word as Plausibility.

Strictly speaking, it was also a power that used Plausibility in a broad sense. Still, there was a reason it was distinguished from ordinary Plausibility. Fate was a power Constellations wielded using their accumulated Plausibility cost.

"Uh, wait. I think I know about this somehow......"

"It was probably mentioned briefly near the beginning of the original work."

"Fate...... Isn't it similar to future vision?"

"They're similar in some ways, but they're different."

In truth, they were very different. Reading Fate wasn't simply reading information from the future. If anything, it was far more dangerous.

"If future vision only lets you glimpse a predictable future, Fate is a power that forces that predictable future. To put it simply..."

I glanced at the Ferrari's accelerator and continued.

"Let's say I step on the accelerator right now. If I use future vision to look one second ahead, I'd be driving, right?"

"......Well, probably."

"But if I know that future information, I could avoid stepping on the accelerator no matter what."

"That could happen."

"But Fate is different. If someone reads the Fate that says, 'Kim Dokja steps on the accelerator,' then that Fate gains coercive force until it is revoked or fulfilled. In other words..."

"You're bound to step on the accelerator."

When I nodded, Suyeong spoke as if something didn't add up.

"But that's strange."

"What is?"

"It doesn't fit Plausibility. If what you're saying is true, Fate has enough power to interfere with a Scenario. Who could possibly force something like that?"

"......Who do you think?"

This Scenario was, in principle, free from dokkaebi interference. That meant there was only one group that could interfere. Suyeong understood immediately.

"Even a Constellation couldn't do that alone..."

"That's the problem. They're not alone."

"What?"

"Only great nebulae can read Fate."

The moment I said it, an explosion erupted ahead of us.

Rumble!

Something was approaching at an incredible speed. It was on a completely different level from the pathetic monsters we had fought so far. Suyeong's face went pale.

"Kim Dokja, what exactly did that Fate message say?"

"That I'm going to die."

"Goddammit, you should've told me that first! I knew things were going too well..."

Suyeong was cursing as she tried to get out of the car when a figure emerged from the smoke ahead. I reflexively gripped Unbreakable Faith, but the man spoke first.

"Kim Dokja. I have something to tell you."

I had never seen him before. Yet the aura radiating from his entire body felt familiar.

Instinctively, I knew he wasn't an enemy.

"You are..."

The pungent scent of wine. At that moment, I realized whose Incarnation he was.

"Did you come to tell me I'm going to die?"

The Incarnation of Dionysus, reeking of alcohol, smiled at me with the whites of his eyes showing.

"Oh, you knew?"

I had a good impression of Dionysus. When I was heading to the Constellation Banquet, he had fought to protect me. But under these circumstances, things were different.

"Was it your side that read my Fate?"

"Well, Olympus did read your Fate. But if you're asking whether I'm one of them, then no."

"What does that mean?"

Dionysus's Incarnation only smiled. Then a thought crossed my mind.

"Did Olympus split apart?"

"As expected, you're smart."

Events were unfolding faster than they had in the original work. Olympus had been destined to fracture, but that wasn't supposed to happen until after the Tenth Scenario had ended.

"It isn't just Olympus. There are Constellations targeting you. Very powerful ones."

I knew. Otherwise, something like Fate couldn't have run rampant.

"Why are they targeting me?"

"Those powerful bastards are secretly cowards. They're afraid of your influence."

"I'm only a novice Constellation."

"Normally, you would be. But this Scenario that began on Earth is very special. Some Constellations believe this is the Scenario we have waited for all this time. Ah, don't make that face. I wasn't saying it so you'd understand."

I wanted to tell him that this was simply how my face looked, but Dionysus continued without giving me a chance.

"Anyway, all you need to know is that this Scenario is extremely important to us. Then you appeared in that important Scenario."

"I don't know what it is, but I'm an obstacle."

"Yes. You can't help but be one. Compared to other Constellations, you're affected far less by Plausibility. You even possess overwhelming growth potential and strength compared to other Incarnations. That's why some nebulae believe they must either recruit you or eliminate you."

"......Why are you telling me this?"

I was curious. Why was Dionysus telling these things to me, someone who wasn't even his Incarnation? But his answer was truly unexpected.

"Because I like your story."

Dionysus smiled faintly and added,

"A few Constellations and I believe you are someone who can reach ■■."

* * *

Jeong Huiwon and her allies spent the entire day investigating Paradise's Underground Prison. Since there was no way for many people to infiltrate at once, they decided to split up and look for an opening. Huiwon chose the direct approach.

'Blend in and enter.'

By late afternoon, new criminals had been detained. Uriel sponsored Huiwon with the Hermit's Cloak, and she followed the guards when the Underground Prison opened. Unable to sense her presence, the guards opened the entrances leading underground one after another. The prison was far deeper than she had expected, and the darkness of the underground passage was darker still.

How far down were they going? It was a depth she couldn't understand. Even if they were criminals, did they need to be held somewhere this deep? It would be inconvenient even for the people transporting them...

As the thought crossed her mind, the guards all stopped at once. Strangely, tension filled every one of their faces.

"Move them only that far! Then pull out immediately!"

Soon, a thick iron door appeared. Beyond it was an entrance sealed with iron bars. Layer upon layer of bars. It was a prison with defenses excessive for confining humans.

"Everyone, get in!"

As if they had set foot somewhere they shouldn't enter, the guards hurriedly moved the prisoners. They shoved the prisoners inside like luggage, quickly locked the doors, and began withdrawing toward the surface.

"Aaaagh!"

"Please save us!"

"Ugh, uhh...... Where are we?"

The prisoners staggered around and looked at their surroundings. Dim lamps were lit, but the area was extremely dark. If Huiwon hadn't possessed the [Night Vision] skill, she would have lost her way in the darkness long ago. Among the screaming prisoners, she calmly surveyed the area.

'This is a prison?'

No matter where she looked, there were no food distribution facilities for prisoners, not even a toilet. The surroundings resembled a natural cave, and there were no walls or bars separating prison blocks. More than that, she couldn't sense the presence of any prisoners already confined there.

"F-food? Where's the food? What is this place?"

"What are we supposed to do in here by ourselves?"

"Hello! Is anyone there?"

The terrified prisoners shouted, but no answer came. Instead, something like faint crying could be heard from beyond the darkness. Huiwon slowly drew the Sword of Judgement.

Hummm.

From the moment she had entered this place, the sword had been crying out more fiercely. A chilling sensation brushed the back of her neck, and Huiwon shouted sharply.

"Everyone, run!"

Glittering monster eyes appeared all at once in the darkness.

"A-aaagh!"

"Help me! Aaargh!"

Strange creatures resembling leopards tore into people's limbs at random. Arms and legs ripped apart like toys flew into the air with sprays of blood.

Her original plan had been to stay hidden, rescue the woman from Geumho Station, and leave. Now, the situation had changed. Huiwon blinked slowly. [Demon Slaying] had reached Level 10. A crimson aura burned in her eyes before wrapping around her entire body.

Slash!

[Swordsmanship] drew a perfect line. The leopards' bodies split apart like sheets of paper. The excited leopards rushed at her next, but her successive sword strikes traced beautiful curves as they bisected the charging monsters.

In this place teeming with demons, Huiwon's power had reached its peak.

"I-I don't know who you are, but thank you..."

The people groping through the darkness thanked her. Huiwon had no emotional room to accept their gratitude. The faces of the sprawled leopards at her feet caught her eye.

'What are these things?'

When she bent down to inspect them, the leopards had human faces. It felt as if one or two parts of her mind had gone numb. Huiwon straightened up reflexively and ran into the darkness.

After running for some time, she reached an enormous cavern whose size she couldn't accurately estimate. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a cavern. That was because countless monsters filled it.

Grrrrr...

Was this what a demonic realm in the human world looked like? There were Grade 5 species, Grade 4 species, Grade 3 species, and creatures whose grades she couldn't identify.

"This is Paradise..."

She couldn't find the woman from Geumho Station. Of course she couldn't.

The woman had either already been eaten by these things...

Graaaargh!

Or become one of them.

The monsters had sensed the presence of humans and were growing excited. Most were hybrids of demonic species and other beast species. Some took the form of Monarch-Level Insects, while others had the forms of nonhuman species. Some even had shapes she had seen outside. Behind her, she heard prisoners staggering closer.

"Don't come!"

Before her warning could reach them, the ground shook and the monsters' festival began. Monsters flooded out from tunnels stretching like an anthill. Huiwon bit her lip and activated [hellfire inferno].

'I shouldn't have come alone.'

No, would it have mattered if she had come with others? Even if Lee Hyeongseong or the other kids had been with her, could they have fought against this many monsters?

Maybe it was fortunate that she had come alone.

"Aaaaargh!"

Amid the people's screams, Huiwon swung the Sword of Judgement filled with [hellfire inferno]. As the blazing heat of the Archangel filled the cavern, the startled demonic species retreated with cries.

But she didn't know how long the standoff could last. Several monsters that had been gauging the fire's heat were about to boldly charge forward.

"You've come, Incarnation of the Archangel."

The monsters that had not feared the flames let out weak whimpers and backed away. When she turned, Reinheit, Lord of Paradise, stood there.

"Have you decided to become the guard captain after all?"

"......You can still say that after seeing this?"

Huiwon gritted her teeth.

"You're a liar. Paradise? A place free from the horrors of the Scenario? You made this kind of place, and you can still call it that?"

Pointing the Sword of Judgement at Reinheit, Huiwon thought,

Dokja had been right. There was no such thing as Paradise in this world.

Humans had no choice but to continue the Scenarios.

"If you want to kill me, you may."

"I will, even if you don't give me permission."

Of course she would. Even if she had to borrow the power of her Patron, she would end this terrible nightmare.

[Exclusive Skill, Hour of Judgement, has activated!]

[Constellations of the absolute good alignment agonize over your request.]

Footnotes:

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