WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 219: Episode 41: Real Revolutionary (3)

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...What?

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband carefully examines your face.]

Wait. Great Sage Equaling Heaven really came?

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband narrows his eyes at your clothes.]

A strange sense of comfort came from that gaze I hadn't felt in a long time. It was truly odd, finding peace of mind simply because someone was watching me.

"Prisoner of the Golden Headband."

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband looks at you.]

Great Sage Equaling Heaven still seemed uncertain. It was as if he couldn't tell for sure whether I was Kim Dokja. Maybe it was because I had covered my face with a fable. After thinking for a moment, I decided to reassure him.

"It's me."

For an instant, silence hung in the air. It was the kind of silence that made it feel as though the sky had drawn in a sharp breath. A moment later, messages erupted.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is shocked by your identity!]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband asks how you could possibly be alive.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband wonders why you are in a place like this.]

Messages flew only toward me, as if they covered the sky.

「Great Sage Equaling Heaven. A neutral Constellation belonging to neither the absolute evil alignment nor the absolute good alignment. Mischievous, yet indifferent in his own way, and unable to easily form ties with other Constellations due to his naturally rebellious nature...」

That was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven I knew from TWSA.

By the end of the story, he had fought countless Constellations and amassed unbelievable Mythical fables. He was unquestionably one of the strongest Constellations in TWSA. Even so, he had died alone without forming a deep bond with anyone until the very end.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband...]

Listening to Great Sage Equaling Heaven's messages, I slowly closed and opened my eyes.

It was important to trust the information I knew. But...

"Great Sage Equaling Heaven."

Tzzzt.

"...I'm glad to see you again."

Great Sage Equaling Heaven said nothing for a long while. Even though I had become a Constellation like him, he was still someone I couldn't see or touch. Yet at that moment, I felt as if he were standing right in front of me.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband moves his lips for a long time.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband repeatedly grabs and releases his hair.]

The next moment, something fluttered down from the air.

What I caught without thinking was none other than a strand of Great Sage Equaling Heaven's hair.

A quiet laugh slipped out. This was probably how Great Sage Equaling Heaven showed that he trusted someone.

[Your understanding of the character Prisoner of the Golden Headband has slightly increased.]

I spoke to Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

"It's a secret that I'm here. You know that, right?"

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband nods.]

He was more tight-lipped than he seemed, so he'd keep the secret.

"By the way, how did you get here..."

Before I could finish, one side of the ruined building tilted and someone burst in. Jang Hayoung appeared through the falling dust. Fortunately, they seemed unharmed.

"Yu Junghyeok! Are you okay?"

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband makes a puzzled expression.]

Come to think of it, I was still using Junghyeok's name. It was about time I told Hayoung my real name too, but...

For now, I asked about the situation outside.

"How is it out there?"

"Not good."

Just from the sounds coming in, I could tell what was happening. An earthquake shook the entire industrial complex. Hayoung's expression darkened further at the groans of industrial citizens coming from all around us.

"They're tearing apart the industrial complex while looking for you."

It would have been strange if the industrial complex weren't already in ruins. If the duke had activated the Factory at this point, there was no way to stop it. Still, I couldn't give up now.

"What happened to the Executioners?"

"There's only one left. They kept running away..."

Demonic species blood stained Hayoung's cheek beneath the aura of a Fighter. Even so, taking down two in that short time was an impressive achievement.

"Take care of the last one too. Then we can deal with the duke..."

Sparks flickered across the surface of my face.

My knees suddenly gave out.

"Hey! You..."

Hayoung rushed over and grabbed my shoulder.

Crack.

My skin split apart.

[Damaged fables are collapsing.]

[The Exile Penalty has resumed.]

[Your Incarnation body's durability is at a dangerous level!]

...This damn Incarnation body fell apart at the slightest thing. Maybe the nickname Sunfish suited me better than Junghyeok now.

"Biyoo."

Baat!

Biyoo appeared in the air the moment I called her and wiggled her fingers.

Then a Scenario message appeared.

[A new Sub Scenario has arrived!]

+

<Sub Scenario - Story Repair>

Category: Sub

Difficulty: D

Clear Conditions: Restore the durability of your damaged Incarnation body above a certain level.

Time Limit: None

Compensation: None

Failure: ―

+

This was the Scenario I had asked Biyoo to prepare in advance for a situation like this.

Normally, it would've been impossible to privately use a Sub Scenario. It certainly wouldn't have been allowed through an official channel of the Administration Bureau.

[The Exile Penalty is mitigated by Sub Scenario activity.]

Thanks to the Scenario Biyoo had created, the pain in my Incarnation body eased considerably.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is interested in how you use Scenarios.]

[You have received a sponsorship of 800 coins.]

Normally, other Constellations would've criticized me, but there was no compensation this time, so no one picked a fight. In any case, I was an exile right now. I had to keep receiving Scenarios. Until I entered the Main Scenario, this was the only way to endure.

[The collapse of your Incarnation body has been delayed due to acquiring a Sub Scenario.]

After finally catching my breath, I met Biyoo's worried eyes as she looked down at me from the air. I deliberately smiled at her.

I'm fine, so don't worry.

Biyoo gave a small nod, then vanished into the air again. She had to manage the Scenarios throughout the industrial complex, so she was probably overwhelmed as well.

Once the sparks around my body had calmed down a little, Hayoung asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"I can hold on. Where's Aileen?"

"With Mark. She's probably evacuating the industrial citizens."

It was a wise choice.

Once the Factory had activated, the industrial citizens couldn't possibly stand against it on their own. Unless the Real Revolutionary hiding somewhere appeared...

I staggered outside and saw a sky blackened by dust. Fallen nobles and the corpses of industrial citizens lay everywhere.

"...Is this really how it ends?"

Hayoung bit their lip as they looked at the shadow of the Factory moving in the distance. The transformed Factory resembled a giant, an old giant spewing smoke from the chimney on its head. Its hand rummaged between nearby buildings and pulled something out.

"Arghhh!"

A dying noble writhed in the Factory's grasp. Looking closely, he seemed to be the marquis who had fought me earlier.

"Duke! Duuuke!"

The screaming marquis was crushed into the Factory's gaping fuel chamber.

A grinding sound like gears being torn apart filled the air. Violent flames rose from the Factory's engine as if it were satisfied. Only then did I understand how the duke had activated the Factory. Hayoung spoke in a horrified voice.

"The duke is using his own subordinates as fuel... How could he do something like that?"

"It means the duke doesn't care about the industrial complex anymore."

"...Why? It's their industrial complex."

Instead of answering, I used 「Lamarck's Giraffe」. I needed to temporarily repair the Fable Fragments and restore my Incarnation body.

「Kim Dokja thought. That bastard has decided to become a Demon King.」

A huge voice burst from the Factory's raised voice box, as if it were challenging the night sky.

[Look, Constellations! This is exactly what you wanted!]

The duke had completely immersed themself in the story they were creating. No matter how old they became or how long they lived, perhaps all beings were only children before a story.

As the duke ran wild, more Constellations gradually gathered in Biyoo's channel.

[Few Constellations find the actions of the Duke of Seisvitz interesting.]

Maybe I had once looked like that too. The thought made me reflect on myself.

「“It's easy to draw the attention of Constellations. But making a good Scenario is difficult.”」

The Dokkaebi King of TWSA had said that once.

I thought he was right. Yet I also found myself thinking this.

What exactly was a good Scenario? Did such a thing even exist?

"If we leave it like that...!"

"Wait a little."

I stopped Hayoung and watched the Factory's movements.

Fable Weapons, including the Factory, produced abnormal power that existing Plausibility couldn't permit. In other words, if they were misused in a mediocre Scenario, they were perfect for destroying themselves.

Tzzzt!

Just as I thought. Sparks were bursting from the Factory's joints as it operated recklessly. I explained it to Hayoung, who looked startled.

"It's probably short on persuasiveness. It can't keep going for long by grinding up a few nobles like that."

Persuasiveness, the Factory's fuel, was created by pouring in countless Fable Fragments. All Fable Weapons consumed persuasiveness to operate and temporarily overcame Plausibility. Put simply, that Factory was in a state similar to my current Incarnation body.

So if it kept moving like that, it would soon suffer a backlash...

Tzzzt!

Yet contrary to my expectations, the Factory's movements didn't slow.

[The Constellation Nouveau Riche Snake Boss looks at the Duke of Seisvitz with satisfied eyes.]

[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat delights in the Duke of Seisvitz's destruction.]

[Few Constellations willingly pay Plausibility.]

...Damn it. There were bastards paying Plausibility.

[Where is the Revolutionary hiding!]

Another massive earthquake rang out, and the industrial citizens screamed in terror. I had been leaning against a building for a moment, but slowly pushed myself upright and started walking forward. Hayoung grabbed my arm in alarm.

"You'll die if you go now! Can't you see that thing?"

I measured the durability of my Incarnation body.

「Do I have enough power left to defeat that bastard?」

I didn't know.

「Could I defeat that bastard if I used Electrification or Way of the Wind?」

I didn't know that either.

"Jang Hayoung, kill the last Executioner. I'll handle the rest somehow."

Hayoung stammered at my words.

"Why, why go that far? We can run away! You're not even the Real Revolutionary!"

"I hate stories like that."

"What?"

"It's too obvious."

I ran toward the Factory. The deserted streets of the industrial complex spread out before me. Even after all this, most industrial citizens were still shut inside their homes, holding their breath. Watching them, I remembered Yu Junghyeok's 111th round.

「The Revolutionary never appeared until the industrial complex's Last Night arrived.」

...Yes. I had expected it to turn out this way.

「Still, I hoped it would become a slightly different story.」

Industrial citizens leaning against walls and bleeding reached out toward me from time to time.

"Rev-revolutionary..."

What was revolution worth? What was any of this worth, that so many people had to die?

Why did a Scenario like this have to exist?

[The Constellation Nouveau Riche Snake Boss glares at you.]

[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat shouts at you.]

[The Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames wants your destruction.]

Constellations poured messages at me. Biyoo, who had no choice but to send me those messages, was gritting her teeth in the air.

I waved to show her I was fine.

Honestly, I hadn't been fine earlier. But now, I really was.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband looks at you.]

At least I had one ally now.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband wants you to smash that damn pile of scrap.]

I launched myself into the air.

Footnotes:

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