WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 225: Episode 42: Asmodeus (3)
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When I asked Aileen to take me to the Gilobat Industrial Complex immediately, she answered like this.
"Even if we hurry, it'll take more than two days to reach the Gilobat Industrial Complex from here. Unless we have help from a transcendent being..."
"Isn't there a transport vehicle the delegation came in? Would it still be impossible with that?"
"Two days is assuming we use that."
Two days...
Even two hours was too long right now.
If I didn't get there within an hour at the latest, I might only be able to recover pieces of Junghyeok's corpse. I racked my brain for a way.
"Help from a transcendent being..."
The first one who came to mind was Hermes.
With that Constellation's support, a two-day journey could probably be covered in minutes. The problem was that Hermes belonged to Olympus.
"...I'd rather die than ask those bastards for help."
"What?"
I waved the startled Aileen off.
"I was just talking to myself."
Of course, it had been deliberate. Because...
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband wonders what is going on.]
[A constellation who likes gender-swapping wonders what is happening.]
[Few Constellations are curious about the information you have concealed.]
This was exactly the reaction I wanted. I deliberately ignored the Constellations' messages and started speaking to Aileen.
"Is there another way? A warp portal, maybe..."
"This is the 73rd Demon Realm. We're on the very edge of a major Demon Realm. There's no way a high-end transport device like that would be here."
"I figured as much."
"What exactly happened?"
"Someone's about to die."
"Who?"
"The person who'll become the master of this industrial complex."
As expected, my message log exploded.
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband asks what that is supposed to mean.]
[A constellation who likes gender-swapping listens closely to your story.]
...Calling it an explosion was a little generous, but there weren't many Constellations in the channel, so it couldn't be helped. Besides, I had no idea how that constellation who liked gender-swapping had found this place again.
"Prisoner of the Golden Headband. Could you help me?"
The others in the treatment room looked startled when I addressed a Constellation directly. I decided to be even more shameless.
"If it's all right, I'd like to borrow Cloud Somersault."
Cloud Somersault, one of Great Sage Equaling Heaven's constellation artifacts.
With that, I could travel directly from here to the Gilobat Industrial Complex in no time. The question was whether that finicky Great Sage Equaling Heaven would risk Plausibility to lend me the artifact. He had already wasted Plausibility because of me once...
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband asks why you need Cloud Somersault.]
I hesitated for a moment before speaking. I needed to phrase this well.
"I impersonated Yu Junghyeok. And Yu Junghyeok impersonated me... Anyway, that caused a Scenario error, and now there's a problem..."
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is annoyed.]
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband hates complicated things.]
I decided to summarize the situation in a way that matched Great Sage Equaling Heaven's patience.
"Yu Junghyeok is about to die because of me."
I thought he'd understand and help if I put it that way, but Great Sage Equaling Heaven's response was unexpected.
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband yanks out a fistful of hair in frustration.]
"Wait a moment."
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband leaves to find a comb.]
"Hello?"
There was no response from the vanished Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
[A constellation who likes gender-swapping enjoys this situation.]
[You have received a sponsorship of 100 coins.]
As I stared blankly into the air, Aileen asked, "I don't completely understand, but the person who'll become the new master of this industrial complex is in danger, right?"
"...That's right."
"Why?"
"They're about to meet a Demon King."
"Not every Demon King is cruel. If they're lucky, they might survive."
"That's true, but..."
The problem was that this Demon King happened to be Asmodeus.
In the original work, Asmodeus had always been one of Junghyeok's greatest foes whenever he crossed into another round.
Junghyeok had even died at Asmodeus's hands in a previous round.
Could Junghyeok really survive against that bastard? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't picture a good outcome.
Myeongoh, who had been watching me anxiously, asked, "What can you do if you go there in that condition?"
That was a problem too.
Even if I got there, there was no guarantee that Junghyeok and I could defeat Asmodeus together when I was already reduced to this state. Still...
"You never know until you try."
"Huh. I didn't know you were this passionate. Back when we worked at the company..."
"This isn't like back then, when I could work myself to death and still struggle to become a permanent employee."
"...Ahem."
The situation was bad, but I decided to think as optimistically as possible.
You never knew.
Maybe things would work out even if I didn't go.
Perhaps a miracle would happen, Junghyeok would have an incredible awakening, or Asmodeus would suddenly become a good person.
...Damn it, as if that would happen.
I opened my smartphone and pulled up the revised version of TWSA again. Nothing came to mind, so I had to read this and search for an answer.
"What are you doing all of a sudden?"
"Shh, be quiet. That's what he's best at."
I rapidly scrolled down, skimming through TWSA.
Around the twelfth round, a sentence caught my eye.
「Yu Junghyeok thought there were several reasons for the failure of the third round. And the most representative reason was this.」
My heart dropped.
No, think of reasons like that sooner, you goddamn bastard.
The moment I read the next sentence, my mind went completely blank. I nearly went insane.
「Back then, we shouldn't have made an enemy of Demon King Asmodeus.」
* * *
A little girl with pitch-black eyes stood before him.
She looked eight or nine years old. Her body was small, her plump cheeks had not yet lost all their baby fat, and her expressions were varied enough to remind him of a child actor. On the surface, there was nothing threatening about her.
'...That taste hasn't changed.'
But Junghyeok knew. The Great Evil inhabiting that body was no protagonist from a children's drama.
The little girl was one of the peaks among the seventy-two scattered major Demon Realms, the master of the 32nd Demon Realm that even terrifying fabled-grade Constellations avoided.
Demon God of Lust and Wrath, Asmodeus.
[Ah, you don't need to be so tense. I only came to talk.]
With that single constellation's declaration, cries of pain rose from the Incarnations in the area. At this rate, every Incarnation in the industrial complex's central district was probably vomiting blood. Under that dreadful pressure, Junghyeok held his breath and drew Mana through every part of his body.
The pressure surrounding his skin gradually lessened. Even Junghyeok, who had become a Transcendent, found it difficult to move beneath that presence. As expected, a Demon King's rank was on a different level.
Whether Asmodeus understood Junghyeok's state of mind or not, Asmodeus approached him with light steps.
[How interesting. The last time I met you through a Subordinate, you were in the Seisvitz Industrial Complex...]
The steps were clearly light, but the scene looked different through Junghyeok's eyes. Asmodeus was a being who could turn the entire area into ruins with a single step. Junghyeok tightened his grip on Splitting the Sky Sword, and veins rose in his neck.
[Not only did you move to Gilobat in that short time, you even seized the title of duke... You are truly impressive, Demon King of Salvation.]
Demon King of Salvation...
It was obvious who Asmodeus had come looking for.
'Damn Kim Dokja.'
Everything could fall apart somewhere completely unrelated. Dozens of thoughts ran through Junghyeok's mind in a single instant.
'He has an incomplete Incarnation body. Can I win?'
'No. It would be impossible.'
'Even if it's an Incarnation body, this is the Demon Realm.'
'Should I run, then?'
'That would be impossible too.'
'There's no way to shake off a Demon King who deliberately manifested an Incarnation body.'
A Demon King was never supposed to exist in this Scenario.
Even from the visible sparks, Junghyeok could tell that an enormous amount of Plausibility was being consumed in real time. There was no way to drive off an opponent who had appeared with that level of resolve.
'There's only one thing I can hope for. Stall until he exhausts his Plausibility.'
Even a Demon King could not keep an Incarnation body manifested in a lower Scenario for long. If he could stall for a little while, Asmodeus would have no choice but to return by force. The problem was that stalling through combat was impossible.
In the end, Junghyeok decided to set aside his pride for the moment.
"That's right. I'm the Demon King of Salvation. Who are you?"
[...That's strange. Was your face always this handsome? I don't think you looked like this when we last met...]
"If you came to talk, state your business."
[Hehe, I will. But before we talk, there's something bothering me.]
"What?"
Snap!
The instant Asmodeus flicked a small finger.
Crackle!
Terrifying sparks surged forth, and a small doll with one arm half torn away appeared in midair.
[As I thought.]
Junghyeok clenched his teeth. The opponent was a Demon King. It had been foolish to think something like Hermit's Cloak would be enough to keep the doll hidden.
[Why is an Archangel's symbolic form here?]
"I don't know."
[You still won't talk?]
Intense sparks surged again, and Uriel's doll twisted in pain.
[Seeing what a shabby symbolic form it is, I can roughly guess who it belongs to.]
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire glares at the Demon King Asmodeus.]
[Archangel Uriel. Is your brother Raphael well? Please tell him I haven't forgotten the debt I owe him.]
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire lets out a roar!]
[Of course, that's assuming you can return safely.]
Junghyeok's expression darkened sharply. This was the Demon Realm. Even Uriel could not oppose a Demon King in an Incarnation body with such a simplified symbolic form. Junghyeok did not hesitate to unleash his aura.
"Stop."
It would be a problem if he lost Uriel's symbolic form here. If he lost Uriel now, he might be left stranded in the Scenario. As Junghyeok's surging Mana pressure rose, wonder flickered in Asmodeus's eyes.
[Hmm? This aura is... Strong. But...]
The next moment, Asmodeus stood directly before Junghyeok.
[How dare a mere mortal imitate a star.]
A small arm shot out and grabbed Junghyeok by the jaw.
"Urgh...!"
[You aren't the Demon King of Salvation after all. Am I right?]
Junghyeok hurriedly shook off that hand and swung Splitting the Sky Sword. But the sword was caught far too easily in Asmodeus's hand.
[If I'd known you had such a pretty face, I wouldn't have left you alone in the first place.]
With those words, Splitting the Sky Sword crumpled and broke cleanly in two.
[You fear me. What a cute child.]
"Khk..."
[If you resist this much, I won't want to talk anymore.]
Pitch-black shadows gathered behind Asmodeus. Darkness so suffocating that it was hard to look at condensed in the air, taking the shape of a monstrous beast with enormous horns.
[I want to trample you.]
Blood began flowing from Junghyeok's nose.
A mighty fable powerful enough to crush even a Transcendent.
Before that distant presence, Junghyeok quietly prepared Transcendent Form, First Stage.
He had no chance of winning, but he could not give up. If he could create even a single opening, he might not be able to defeat Asmodeus, but he could perhaps gain enough time to return to the Earth Scenario. At least, that was what Junghyeok thought.
Until they exchanged their first blow.
Boom!
After taking just one attack, Junghyeok felt as if his entire body had shattered. The joints in his left arm and right leg bent the wrong way, and the Mana battering his abdomen robbed him of even the strength to stand. When he came to his senses, he was sprawled across the ground like a rag. Asmodeus lifted him up and gently placed a hand on his forehead.
[I can't believe it. A mere human possesses such noble despair.]
"You... bastard..."
[Persephone said the story called Kim Dokja would surely be the best. Hehe.]
Asmodeus quietly smacked his lips. Junghyeok glared at Asmodeus, then closed his eyes.
'Sorry, Kim Dokja.'
There was no way now. All he could do was hope for the next round.
As Junghyeok slowly closed his eyes, his clock prepared to turn back.
The second hand, the minute hand, and then the hour hand. The instant the immense clockwork tried to move in the complete opposite direction from the path it had followed until now.
「That's why I told you to think of it sooner.」
Junghyeok's clock suddenly stopped.
* * *
[Exclusive Skill, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3, has activated!]
Enormous sparks leapt around Junghyeok, and the startled Asmodeus staggered back. Junghyeok slowly blinked. Something else was awakening within him.
Of course, it was me.
[You are...?]
[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation is looking at the Demon King Demon God of Lust and Wrath.]
I glared at Asmodeus with vivid blue eyes and said,
[Do not touch my Incarnation, Asmodeus.]
Footnotes:
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