WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 218: Episode 41: Real Revolutionary (2)

──────

"......Why aren't you saying anything?"

Surely, there had to be good constellations in this world.

The constellations I had read about through TWSA, or the ones I had come to reassess, even if only a little, after TWSA became reality. But no matter how they seemed, it didn't change the fact that their essence was that of Constellations.

Perhaps my expression gave me away, because Jang Hayoung looked worried.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Then is something bothering you?"

For some reason, I didn't want to talk about it, so I lightly shook my head. Hayoung looked me straight in the eye.

"I like listening to people talk."

Those familiar words made me snort with laughter.

I studied Hayoung's face again. Pale skin, a high nose, softly curved eyebrows, and clear, deep eyes...

Something like a faint sense of guilt slowly knotted in my chest.

- I think someone who likes stories would be good.

- Junghyeok is already an accomplished guy, so this one should have tasted enough of reality's bitterness...

- Junghyeok doesn't listen to people very well. So what if this one were good at listening to others?

The result of the comments I had once scribbled was standing before me. Someone born with eyes that could see the stars of this world, and ears that could hear their stories.

Maybe it was guilt. Before I knew it, the first words left my mouth.

"There were people I thought were bad."

"People?"

"Most of them were rotten. Some bullied others or talked behind their backs, and some even did truly horrible things."

Hayoung listened quietly before asking, "Sounds like you really hated them."

"...I thought I did, but I'm not sure anymore."

Maybe I had spoken my true feelings without thinking.

"Some were better than I expected, and some acted differently from what I knew about them."

Countless passages from TWSA drifted through my mind.

"I can't tell which side is really them anymore. Which side is real, and how much of it is fake."

Even with my uncertain words, Hayoung quietly listened. After a while, they seemed to think it over carefully before asking, "I don't think I fully understand what's bothering you... So you want to know more about those people?"

"What?"

"They seemed like bad people, but maybe some of them are actually good. That's what you're hoping for, isn't it?"

Did it sound that romantic? I gave a bitter smile and rubbed my brow. Maybe Hayoung was right. It was a brutal simplification, but it was also the most accurate description of my concern.

Hayoung nodded.

"Then you have no choice but to talk to them. Keep talking to them, and maybe you'll find out whether they're good people or not."

"Talking won't help."

"Why not?"

Faced with Hayoung's childishly pure expression, I hesitated for a moment before saying something strange.

"It's just... I think everyone has a huge wall."

The words were already out. A huge wall? That was something fifteen-year-old Kim Dokja, who had obsessively read TWSA, would say. But what I overlooked was that...

"A wall?"

The one listening to me was also fifteen, at least on the surface.

"That's an interesting thing to say. Go on."

With a sigh, I decided to become fifteen-year-old Black Flame Dragon for a moment.

"You and I are talking like this, but... you know too, don't you? The stories we can share are only a small part of ourselves."

I had said it because I didn't want to talk more about the constellations, but it wasn't something I had made up carelessly.

[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]

「Kim Dokja thought. Maybe reality and novels were all the same.」

「If it was something he still couldn't understand after reading for so long.」

「Perhaps it was something he would never understand.」

It felt as though the world around me was gradually drifting away. Incarnations talking to each other. Meaningless Indirect Messages flying through the air. My surroundings slowly warped, and I had the illusion that everything was turning into letters. Perhaps this was also a sight shown by [The Fourth Wall].

Countless letters flowed past, while words that struck the wall lost their strength and rolled across the ground. Words that couldn't become fables. It was then that I realized the small lips in front of me were earnestly saying something.

"...Maybe people can't endure without walls like that."

"What?"

"If you told someone everything and they didn't understand you, it would be really sad. Everyone has walls, and communication is impossible... It's an obvious thought."

Hayoung's eyes wandered through the empty air. I couldn't tell what they were looking at. Still, for some reason, I felt like I knew the view they saw.

[The Unidentified Wall glances at The Fourth Wall.]

Hayoung smiled quietly and added, "Still, you should try to tell them something. After all, there's someone on the other side of that wall."

"What can you say when there's a wall between you?"

"You can write on the wall."

That shameless answer took the strength out of me.

"Smear shit on it or piss on it, just leave something on the wall. Something the other person can recognize."

I held back the urge to ask if shit or piss wouldn't only make the relationship worse and asked instead, "What's the point?"

"There's no particular point."

"Then?"

"The important thing is that you left something behind."

"The other person won't know what happens on this side of the wall anyway."

"At least the wall has changed."

For a moment, I was speechless. Hayoung spoke in a firm but warm voice.

"Then maybe someone will read it someday."

I quietly looked at Hayoung.

Hayoung had been born into this world because of my desire. They had been born because of me, yet lived a life that had nothing to do with mine.

And now, they were here, talking to me face-to-face.

I felt strangely desperate, but I steadied myself and spoke. In that brief moment, I thought about the wall Hayoung had mentioned.

"There's something I'm curious about."

"...Yeah?"

"Did you give advice like this to constellations too?"

"Uh? Well..."

Judging by their hesitation, that was the answer. Somehow, I could understand why constellations had opened their hearts to Hayoung.

The most exalted beings in the universe, and yet lonely ones.

People who had just as much to say as they had stories they wanted to watch.

Just as Hayoung had done for me, they had probably listened to the constellations too.

[The constellation Nouveau Riche Snake Boss looks around for the insolent Incarnation!]

Hayoung and I looked up at the sky at the same time.

Thanks to Biyoo disrupting the channel, Nouveau Riche Snake Boss wouldn't be able to find where I was for a while. Of course, it wouldn't last long.

Hayoung asked anxiously, "...Do you think that bastard plans to stay here?"

"Probably."

He had been humiliated in the channel, so he was probably itching for revenge.

After thinking for a moment, I finally made my decision. Hayoung was right. If there was a wall, I needed to write something on it. Even if it changed the story that had originally been written there...

I didn't want to be someone who only read anymore.

"Jang Hayoung, can you contact someone for me?"

Come to think of it, that was how I had acted all along. To see the ending I wanted, I had created new stories. If I thought about it, I had already been gleefully scribbling something down.

I still didn't know who would read it.

"Who?"

I didn't know whether this Constellation would accept my offer.

But now that I had opened a channel... If they would only help, the remaining Revolutionary Scenario would end without trouble.

Then a message suddenly rang out in the air.

[The Fifth Night has arrived.]

An ominous flute sounded. Instinctively, I turned toward the industrial complex. People were screaming amid the rising flames.

With a hardened expression, I spoke to Aileen and Mark, who were scattered nearby.

"Gather all the industrial citizens."

* * *

The duke had been cornered. The fact that the fourth Night had passed without incident made that clear. I had kidnapped the collection slaves and cut off the Factory's operating power, so unless the duke had lost all sense of self-preservation, he wouldn't make any rash moves for a while.

Yet that duke had led the nobles here, to this Night, on his own.

「Kim Dokja thought. What exactly is he planning?」

The appearance of new constellations had made me uneasy. On top of that, I still hadn't called the constellations who might take my side.

「Forget it. Let's think positively. This might be an opportunity instead.」

Right. There was no need to lose heart. I was now a full-fledged Constellation too.

I had done well so far, so there wouldn't be any problem.

"Jang Hayoung, take care of the Executioners! Don't fight the other nobles under any circumstances!"

"Got it!"

Using [Way of the Wind], I raced through the air and reached the street where the largest flames burned. Soon, I spotted a demonic species standing atop a broken bell tower. At almost the same moment, the demonic species noticed me.

"Are you the Revolutionary?"

A long-haired demonic species wreathed in red flames.

The heat rising from his body stung my face. The force of his blazing flames was immense. Looking at the yellow fire melting into shape, I got a rough idea. There was only one bastard in the 73rd Demon Realm who used this kind of fable.

"Marquis Omoboros."

One of the strongest demonic species in the 73rd Demon Realm, second only to the dukes. Before becoming a Constellation, I would have hesitated to fight him.

But Omoboros's expression was strange.

"Not Omoboros. Ombros."

Ah, I had gotten his name wrong. But even I, Kim Dokja, couldn't memorize every extra's name. Perhaps wounded in his pride, Omoboros kept muttering.

"You know who I am, yet you don't run. I thought you had a long life ahead of you, but you're dumber than I expected."

"If I thought I'd lose, I would've run away. Omboporos."

"I said Ombros...!"

Instead of answering, I drew up the Mana within my body.

Last time, I had fought by using the status of a Constellation. But those had been weak opponents, and against someone like Omboporos, merely unleashing my status wouldn't create an opening.

This time, it would be a direct battle.

[Bookmark Number Five, Kyrios Lordgrime, has activated!]

[Exclusive Skill, Miniaturization Lv.3, has activated!]

[Exclusive Skill, Electrification Lv.11(+1), has activated!]

Yellow flames exploded from Omoboros's clenched fist.

It was his signature fable, Brilliant Explosion. One of the strongest explosive techniques in the 73rd Demon Realm. It was powerful, but not especially difficult to avoid. Since its explosions covered a large area, its points of impact were spread out.

"You rat bastard...!"

[The constellation Nail-Eating Rat is disgusted by the words of the demonic species Ombros.]

Perhaps Omoboros had realized that ordinary Brilliant Explosions couldn't deal with my shrunken body, because he changed tactics. The flames rising from both his hands rapidly contracted, then began taking the shape of small spheres. It seemed he planned to reduce their surface area and overwhelm me with force...

It was a good strategy, but he had chosen the wrong opponent. He should have used it on an ordinary Incarnation.

"Just die already!"

As I watched the Brilliant Explosion shoot toward me like a bullet, I thrust out my fist without hesitation.

The white-blue strike, packed with all my Mana, punched deeply through the center of the Brilliant Explosion. My ears rang for a moment, and fragments caught in the blast scattered through the air in a spectacular display.

Rumble!

The flames that had swept over the area were completely blown away and extinguished. The only thing filling every direction was white-blue lightning charged with power. I thought I heard a drawn-out groan, then my vision flashed white.

[The constellation Nouveau Riche Snake Boss is astonished by your power.]

Omboporos was nowhere to be seen where the white-blue lightning had swept through. Maybe he had been thrown far away... Or perhaps he was dead.

The industrial complex had been horribly destroyed. A few industrial citizens who had witnessed my power dropped to their knees as though terrified.

"My god..."

At this point, even I couldn't accurately gauge how well I could fight now. If I properly returned to a Scenario, wouldn't I be able to defeat most constellations one-on-one?

[You have used power beyond what your Incarnation body can endure.]

[Your Incarnation body has suffered significant damage!]

...Damn it, here we go again.

Still, it was fine. My time living in this tattered Incarnation body would end soon.

"Whoaaaaa!"

Perhaps encouraged by the situation, the industrial citizens around me rose one by one and let out a unified cheer.

"Revolutionary! Revolutionary!"

[New constellations are entering the channel!]

It was the sound of more constellations entering the channel.

It felt different from when I had grown Bihyeong's channel.

Probably because I thought of this as my channel.

I stepped to the front and began cutting down the approaching nobles without restraint.

"Whoaaaaa!"

By coming out without the Factory, the duke had brought about the end of this Scenario himself. Amid the waves of enraged industrial citizens, the nobles' forces were gradually ground down.

After some time passed, the Factory's main gate finally came into view. An industrial citizen at the front shouted,

"The revolution is right in front of us! Just a little farther and...!"

The next moment, an earthquake shook the depths of the ground. Startled industrial citizens screamed and fell to the ground. Something rose before my eyes. The enormous building that had slept quietly like an old beast was rising to its feet.

Bwoooooo.

An engine roar like that of a steam locomotive. Black smoke filling the sky and a horn loud enough to tear eardrums apart. My heart dropped.

...The Factory was operating? How?

But there was no time to think. Before I could prepare myself, something like a huge fist struck me. I smashed through several buildings and was buried beneath collapsed steel beams. My consciousness cut out for a moment before returning.

[Your Incarnation body's fables have been critically damaged!]

[Consume new fables or enter the Main Scenario!]

Blood poured from my Incarnation body, and the fables throughout my body shook unevenly.

Damn it, my mind had been too cluttered, and I had let my guard down. To make such a mistake... But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn't understand.

How had the Factory started operating?

[The constellation Nouveau Riche Snake Boss is delighted by your appearance.]

[The constellation Nail-Eating Rat enjoys your trial.]

[A few constellations want you to struggle in even greater pain.]

Damn it.

I had finally opened a channel, yet not one Constellation was on my side.

As I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up, I heard a familiar name.

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband watches you closely while clutching his hair.]

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried