WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 173: Episode 33: Re-reading (2)

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"Those bastards... They've forgotten me again."

A small fortress stood proudly atop the desolate plain. It was closer in size to a small country house than a fortress, but it was still a defensive tower armed to the teeth. Needless to say, it was Pildu Gong's [Armament Fortress].

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

Pildu Gong fired shells at the beasts approaching the fortress. For several weeks after entering Dark Castle, he had barely survived in a hellish beast zone. The beasts came at him without warning or pause. If not for the coins Kim Dokja had supported him with earlier, his Mana would have run dry long ago, and he would have withered away.

[The constellation Defence Master is excited by the defense game.]

If he hadn't had that perverted constellation as his Patron, things wouldn't have gotten this bad.

"Damnnnn it!"

His Dark Castle ranking had risen sharply from slaughtering beasts indiscriminately, but both his mental energy and Mana had reached their limits.

"Is this as far as I go...?"

Pildu Gong wore a hollow expression as he watched the outer walls of Armament Fortress crumble beneath the beasts' claws. Then a golden slash flew in from afar.

Rumble!

A powerful storm of Aether split the entire plain in two. Pildu Gong widened his eyes, wondering if it was Dokja, but he first saw a face just as unpleasant as that bastard's.

"...Yu Junghyeok?"

A massive dragon flew through the storm. People Pildu Gong knew were waving from atop it. Strength slowly left Pildu Gong's body, and the fortress began to collapse. Junghyeok rushed over like the wind and hoisted the fallen Pildu Gong onto his back.

'I've overused the power of a Transcendent. I need to conserve my strength for a while.'

Junghyeok looked at the right arm that had unleashed the golden slash. The back of the hand that had gripped his sword was swollen red.

Even though it wasn't power drawn from a Patron, the strength of a Transcendent was still affected by Plausibility. The situation would improve as the limits were gradually lifted, but the Plausibility allowed in the ninth scenario was insufficient to fully use a Transcendent's strength.

'I've recovered Pildu Gong as well. Lee Seolhwa should be raising her ranking in the western plains...'

Junghyeok reviewed his plan in his head. Things were proceeding more smoothly than in any Scenario so far.

'Now Dokja is the only one left.'

Junghyeok looked toward the northern plains.

'The Fate of the Star Stream won't be that lax. What will you do, Dokja?'

* * *

"Don't worry. There's a way out."

"That woman isn't the only problem. There are a lot of dangerous bastards here. They even use Gimun Formations, so how are you going to deal with them?"

"Just because it's a Gimun Formation doesn't mean there's no way to break it."

Han Suyeong and I were following Jo Yeongran, Jeon Woochi's incarnation, through the Gimun Formation. She wasn't walking but floating through the air, so she really did seem to be Jeon Woochi's incarnation.

Jeon Woochi. Alongside Hong Gildong, he ranked among Korea's strongest Historical-grade constellations. Suyeong, who had been watching my reaction, spoke again.

"But wasn't the King of Wanderers killed by a Reincarnator?"

"She's not someone who would die that easily."

"Come to think of it, you said you knew the King. Be specific. What exactly is your relationship?"

Her tone sounded almost like an interrogation, and I let out a small sigh.

"The most complicated relationship in the world."

"That sounds pathetic. An ex-girlfriend?"

"My mother."

"What? Really?"

Suyeong stammered, flustered in a way that was unlike her. Yeongran must have heard our conversation, because she turned back with a stiff expression.

"Step exactly where I step. If you step anywhere else, you'll immediately lose your way."

So that was how it worked. Like all Gimun Formations, this formation would cause us to lose our way if we didn't follow the exact life gate. I asked in a slightly dissatisfied tone.

"Can't we just dismantle the formation and go?"

"That would be difficult. I don't know what you might do."

"That's funny. Your side killed me, yet your side is afraid of me."

"I knew you had a resurrection ability."

"Does that mean you can kill me without warning?"

"I'm sorry about that. But I didn't move to kill you. The attack was aimed at that woman, but she used you as a shield."

...What?

When I turned around, Suyeong was whistling and pretending not to notice. I considered smacking the grinning Suyeong on the forehead, then held back. I could interrogate her later. If I didn't have Eight Lives, I really... No, did I only have six left now?

"Why are you helping my mother?"

Yeongran hesitated at my sudden question.

"Honestly, I don't understand why an incarnation of your level follows another King. If you inherited the Stigma of a constellation like Joseon's Greatest Sorcerer, you could be aiming for the position of King yourself right now."

"...How did you know my Patron?"

"If a constellation in Korea has a Gimun Formation, it's obvious."

Jeon Woochi wasn't fabled-grade, but he had many advantages in the early Scenarios because using his power consumed little Plausibility. On top of that, his accumulated fame and fables were overwhelming compared to other constellations of the same rank, so he could be promoted to fabled-grade depending on the Scenario's progress.

For similar reasons, Junghyeok had often recruited Jeon Woochi as a Companion to clear the early Scenarios.

"I'm not fit to be a King."

"Does my mother have something on you?"

Yeongran looked like she was about to say something, then closed her mouth again.

"Be honest. I might be able to help."

"..."

"You're being deceived by her."

If I could make Jeon Woochi my ally, he would become a tremendous asset.

Of course, I didn't expect much.

"She saved my daughter."

As expected.

"A debt for saving a life... I suppose that's enough to earn your loyalty."

Yeongran's eyebrows twitched at my words.

"That sounded sarcastic."

"Because I think that 'rescue' was very deliberate."

"...Deliberate?"

"Don't you think my mother is strange?"

"In what way?"

"She's adapted to this world far too well, and she knows a great deal of information that shouldn't be known at this point."

Suyeong looked at me as if I were ridiculous, apparently realizing what I was going to say. Yeongran answered.

"What are you trying to say?"

"How about I put it this way? My mother knew which constellation you would obtain."

"..."

"She probably saved your daughter from the beginning because she intended to use you."

Jo Yeongran... My memory wasn't exact, but I thought there had once been a woman with a similar name who became Jeon Woochi's incarnation. A character who lost her daughter, became Jeon Woochi's incarnation, and resolved to take revenge on the world.

I didn't know when I had told my mother that story. But if she remembered the information she had heard, it wouldn't be strange for her to decide to use Jo Yeongran.

Then unexpected words came from Yeongran's mouth.

"You're misunderstanding her."

"Misunderstanding?"

Yeongran looked steadily at me. Her eyes held unpleasant sympathy, the kind of look I hated most.

"Lee Sukyeong isn't as bad a person as you think."

"No one knows her better than I do."

"Children are always the ones who know their parents least. And we're here."

When I looked ahead, I saw something like a front door. Yeongran spoke to Suyeong.

"You can't go in. Stay with me."

"Tch. It looks like Mother doesn't like her friends visiting. Have a good trip."

I nodded and reached for the front door. Beyond this door was probably the most dangerous enemy in this Scenario. Yeongran spoke.

"Press the bell there."

Ding-dong.

For some reason, the old-fashioned bell stirred my memories. It was the kind of bell I felt I had heard a very long time ago. My mother's voice came from inside the door.

"Come in."

When I opened the door and entered, the familiar entrance of a home appeared before me. Several pairs of shoes were neatly arranged there. There were small shoes that seemed to belong to a child as well. The sense of familiarity grew stronger. The interior wasn't unfamiliar. The modest decorations weren't overly fancy or old-fashioned, but they also weren't chosen by someone with no sense of style.

When I entered the living room, a room of familiar shape appeared. A wall clock and television I had forgotten about. A sofa whose texture I felt I could recognize without sitting on it. Even the table's position was familiar.

[The Fourth Wall shakes.]

Really... What a disgusting sense of taste. My mother sat on the living room sofa, looking exactly as she did in my memories, as if nothing in the world had happened.

"It took you a long time. I've been waiting."

"It might've been better if I'd stayed dead."

"I'm glad you look healthy."

"I just came back to life after dying."

My mother had probably chosen this place on purpose. The conversation from now on would decide the remaining Scenarios.

"I heard Nirvana killed you. How were you alive?"

"Calling your mother 'you' is something that only happens in comics. You're twenty-eight, are you still in your rebellious phase?"

She remained perfectly calm. If anything, there was an amused smile around my mother's eyes. I deliberately lowered my voice and pressed her.

"Answer my question."

"Deceiving someone like that is nothing. I have plenty of information about the future too."

I had expected it. Still, she had deceived Nirvana. Even though she was my mother, I couldn't properly grasp the extent of her capabilities. Perhaps the greatest threat to me now wasn't Junghyeok or the constellations, but this person.

"You were alive, yet you didn't even come to my funeral."

"I thought it would hurt too much."

"So you had your subordinates kill me one more time?"

My mother avoided my gaze as she continued.

"You've gathered many good Companions. They didn't even know you would come back to life, and they all cried their eyes out..."

She really was my mother. I took a short, deep breath. I could never let my guard down when speaking to her.

"Why did you kill me?"

My mother gave a faint laugh.

"Incarnation Kim Dokja will die at the hands of the being he loves most."

"...How did you know that?"

"Yu Sangah told me. She begged me to save you."

It seemed Sangah had come to see my mother too.

"Come to think of it, you came with another young lady this time. Honestly, your mother likes Yu Sangah better."

"Stop worrying about pointless things. More importantly, I understand even less after hearing that. Why did you kill me after being asked to save me?"

"Either way, it seems the prophecy came true thanks to me. Isn't that right?"

"What?"

My thoughts suddenly became complicated. So now...

My mother said with a smile.

"Kim Dokja will die at the hands of the being he loves most. It only happened as the prophecy said."

It was ridiculous for the person I hated more than anyone to say something like that.

Even so, the moment I heard those words, I felt deeply unsettled. I clearly hated my mother. She was one of the people who had ruined my life. Yet... What was this complicated feeling?

"You must have thought that if you killed me, you would become the person I loved most. Then you failed completely."

Fate had clearly said I would die at the hands of a being I loved. If so, my fate should have been fulfilled by my previous death.

"The Fate message is still appearing."

It was true. The tiresome message had started ringing in my ears again a while ago.

[A great Fate wants your certain death.]

It even had an added explanation. A "certain death." Oedipus King, who appeared in my dream, was right. This fable couldn't be avoided with Eight Lives.

"At the very least, you aren't someone I love."

Footnotes:

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