WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 185: Episode 35: 73rd Demon King (2)

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The Allies reacted fiercely to Junghyeok's one-sided announcement.

"No, how can you decide that all by yourself?"

After Junghyeok had delivered his announcement and left, Huiwon stiffened her expression and imitated his voice.

"We leave in three days. Raise your rankings by then."

Jihye burst into laughter.

"That was exactly like him! Do it again!"

"You should try doing that while he's here."

"...Would you do it if it were Dokja?"

"No."

Huiwon was still fuming. I tried to soothe her.

"Still, our chances of survival will be higher if we follow Junghyeok's plan this time."

"Whose side are you on, Dokja?"

I shrugged and smiled. Only then did the Allies who had frozen at Junghyeok's forcefulness begin offering awkward smiles one by one. Gilyeong and Yuseong pressed themselves against either side of me, while Hyeongseong nodded with a slightly gloomy face.

"Congratulations on resurrecting. I've seen it happen several times already, but I still can't get used to it."

"I think I'd be sad if you did get used to it. First, shall we sort things out?"

Junghyeok's unilateral announcement had gone as follows.

- We will divide into two teams, my team and Kim Dokja's team. Each team will have four members.

- Lee Hyeongseong, Pildu Gong, Lee Jihye, and Lee Seolhwa will join my team.

- Jeong Huiwon, Shin Yuseong, Lee Gilyeong, and Yu Sangah will form Kim Dokja's team.

In the end, the roster was much the same as the core group that had participated in the clear so far. He meant for us to enter the tenth Scenario the same way we had fought until now. Maybe he was considering me, or maybe it was simply more convenient for him. Considering that bastard's personality, the latter was more likely.

No one seemed particularly dissatisfied with the roster itself, but one person looked dejected.

"I wanted to be on Dokja's team too..."

"We're going together anyway, so it won't matter much which team you're on."

"...Yes."

It looked like that bastard had worked Hyeongseong mercilessly already. I patted Hyeongseong's shoulder, then turned to the Allies.

The first person I met eyes with was Sangah. Maybe because it had been so long, simply meeting her eyes made me feel shy. As I stood there for a moment, Huiwon poked my side.

"What is it? Are you thinking about garter belts and China Dresses again?"

"...Are we still talking about that?"

"I'm going to make it an anniversary and celebrate it every year. Kim Dokja's Secret Taste Day. Everyone will wear garter belts and China Dresses that day..."

"...Please stop teasing me."

Jihye immediately raised her hand.

"I think that's a great idea!"

"You stop it too."

"Still, that garter belt had more defense than I expected."

"What? No, Hyeongseong."

Hyeongseong replied in all seriousness as I recoiled.

"I have a hypothesis that the more revealing a piece of equipment is, the higher its defense. It may not be a bad idea for all of us to wear them and verify it. Even the functional T-shirts introduced during my time in the military-"

I was about to advise him not to apply his military spirit in such a strange direction when Uriel's message sounded from the air.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire says that the constellation who made the garter belt was also a man.]

That was a joke, right? Damn it. And a Constellation?

[The constellation Queen of the Darkest Spring says with a smile that she will invite him over sometime.]

Come to think of it, Persephone was responsible for this entire situation. If I ever went to the underworld again, I would make sure to take this up with her.

"That's enough joking around... More importantly, what are everyone's rankings? You all know you need to be in the top ten to make the roster, right?"

Huiwon answered first.

"I'm fourth. Grandma Lee Boksun handed her ranking over to me."

"Yuseong and I are eighth and ninth, Dokja. Of course I'm eighth!"

"I'm fifth. Pildu Gong has stepped away for a moment to raise his ranking. Han Suyeong has as well."

Come to think of it, Suyeong was here too. Sangah seemed to read my thoughts and asked me.

"Han Suyeong isn't on the roster. Are you going to leave her behind?"

"No, I have to take her. Suyeong will be quite helpful."

"...I see."

Sangah gave a weak smile when Suyeong came up. The Allies still didn't know Suyeong was the First Apostle. Whenever Suyeong was mentioned, Sangah would have to feel as if she were lying, so it was only natural for her to feel uncomfortable. I had to bring it up someday, but I didn't know whether I would get the chance.

"Only ten people can go up. How are you going to bring Suyeong with us?"

"Only ten people can go in principle, but there is a Hidden Piece. There's an item you can obtain in Dark Castle called the Sixman Card. If we use it, someone who isn't part of a team can participate in the next Scenario."

"That damn Hidden Piece again. Don't you have anything else you can tell us? We should at least know what is waiting in the next Scenario that has you making such a fuss. You and Junghyeok always know everything by yourselves. Honestly, I think you two are similarly high-handed."

"It makes me deeply uncomfortable to be compared to someone like that."

Huiwon smiled.

"Then tell us. Show us that Dokja is different from Junghyeok."

When I looked around, the Allies were gazing at me with shining eyes, like grandchildren waiting for their grandmother to tell them an old folktale. If I were a storyteller, I might have opened with something plausible like, "Once upon a time, there was a hero." But I was Kim Dokja, not Author Kim.

"Have any of you heard of an existence called a demon king?"

Demon King.

At the sudden word, the Allies looked at one another.

"Like, the king of demons? Something like that?"

"I know. They show up in anime all the time."

I nodded at Gilyeong.

"Right. It's similar to that."

It was somewhat different according to the settings of TWSA, but there was no point explaining it all here.

"The tenth Scenario is one where we fight that demon king."

Hyeongseong nodded thoughtfully.

"Dokkaebis, Returnees, tentacled monsters... It wouldn't be strange for something like a demon king to appear around now."

"But isn't a demon king insanely strong? Even that demon marquis was that powerful... How strong is one compared to that?"

I thought for a moment before answering.

"They're Constellation-level."

There was a term in TWSA for demon kings.

Constellations who had not ascended. In other words, demon kings were Constellations that had remained in the present world.

Jihye's face went pale as she pressed me.

"How are we supposed to kill something like that? Can you and master kill it by yourselves again?"

"We'll all kill it this time. Junghyeok and I only defeated a deity through pure luck. We won't get that lucky twice."

"Damn it, can't I just not go up?"

"Don't worry. It's true that demon kings are as strong as Constellations, but the one on the floor above isn't truly Constellation-level."

"Then what is it?"

I hesitated for a moment. Was it all right to reveal this much information at once?

This information wasn't only about demon kings. It also included information about the Constellations of the Star Stream. As I was considering telling them through [Group Chat]...

[I'll explain that.]

A voice came from the air, as if it understood my predicament.

[It's been a long time, everyone. Ha, it was so frustrating not being able to speak all this time... Haha, is everyone preparing well for the Scenario?]

It was Bihyeong.

* * *

There were seventy-two beings recognized as demon kings in the Star Stream.

Like Constellations, they possessed modifiers and ruled different regions of the Demon Realm. They couldn't compare to nebulae, but they were still powerhouses leading their own factions.

They mocked Constellations obsessed with the honor of the stars and remained on the land even the dokkaebis had abandoned. Perhaps that was why their relationship with the Constellations was poor. In particular, demon kings and Constellations of the absolute good alignment were practically sworn enemies. This Dark Castle Scenario had been created to reflect the hatred of those Constellations.

Incarnations fighting, demon kings dying.

In short, it was a Scenario made to give the Constellations a satisfying release.

"Ah, I told you I'm not going!"

For three days, I searched for Suyeong, who had been hiding deep in the outskirts of Dark Castle. She had hidden so well that I might never have found her if not for the Rope of Restraint and Life Detection I had purchased from the Dokkaebi Compendium.

Suyeong cried out as she struggled.

"I'm not fighting anymore! I'm just going to stay here, and when you clear the Scenario, I'll leave Dark Castle!"

"You have to come too."

"I don't want to fight a demon king!"

"The 73rd Demon King is an improvised one. You know that too."

As mentioned earlier, only seventy-two beings in the Star Stream were acknowledged as demon kings. Yet this Scenario was titled "73rd Demon King." That meant the one on the floor above wasn't an official demon king.

"Of course, since it's still a demon king, it'll be one of the strongest enemies we've faced so far. But it isn't as strong as fabled-grade Constellations. It's worth fighting."

"The difficulty might have changed. How many times has the difficulty changed because I was with you?"

"The dokkaebis can't change the difficulty of a Main Scenario however they like. That falls under the Star Stream's jurisdiction."

"You think only dokkaebis are dangerous? Did you already forget what happened three days ago?"

No wonder Suyeong wanted nothing to do with it. She knew the original story, so she had even more reason to recoil.

"If we keep progressing through the Scenarios like this, all your Allies will die soon. You know the nebulae are all targeting you right now, don't you?"

"I know. That's why I'm preparing too."

"Preparing? Is that enough? Do you know exactly what will happen in the next Scenario?"

We had arrived at the camp by then, and I silently looked toward the Allies. They were training in formations, each taking a position. They had imagined a hypothetical enemy and were practicing linked skills as they changed their formation.

"Gilyeong and Yuseong, move to the rear! Sangah, step forward, and I'll take the position behind you!"

"Got it!"

It was calm teamwork unlike anything they had shown before. The Allies used their Attributes to inflict stacked damage, and they poured down fire from afar by using the enemy's attack range against it. Suyeong watched them closely before opening her mouth.

"Don't tell me... You analyzed the demon king's patterns?"

I nodded.

"Yes."

"How much?"

"Almost all of them."

It wasn't impossible. I had the TWSA files, and the database of Junghyeok fighting the 73rd Demon King had accumulated considerably. On top of that, Junghyeok had fought the 73rd Demon King in his second round too. With practical experience and thorough theoretical knowledge combined, a complete clear strategy for the next Scenario wasn't impossible.

Suyeong looked genuinely appalled.

"You're really insane."

Footnotes:

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