WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 227: Episode 42: Asmodeus (5)

──────

"How absurd. I'm not even a Demon King yet. How could I divide shares of a Great Fable I haven't even obtained?"

"If I help you, it's possible."

Arrogant confidence filled Asmodeus's face, as if raising a single being to become a Demon King was nothing at all. I studied that face for a moment before continuing.

"...Fine. If I become a Demon King, I'll give you fable shares."

The stars in the sky flickered.

[Few Constellations are greatly disappointed by your judgment.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband looks at you with a complicated expression.]

[A constellation who likes gender-swapping wants to change your gender.]

I had expected the Constellations to react strongly.

Still, I had no choice right now. Since I didn't know what action of mine might turn Asmodeus against me, I couldn't openly act hostile toward Asmodeus. Asmodeus smiled, apparently pleased with my decision.

"You've made a wise choice. How much will you give me?"

"Thirty percent."

A hint of disappointment crossed Asmodeus's face.

"That's too little."

"Don't you think you're being too greedy?"

"Fifty percent. Sign a contract right here."

What a shameless thief. If I lost half the Great Fable's shares, I wouldn't be able to draw on its power without Asmodeus's consent.

I firmly shook my head.

"I can't sign a contract like that."

"Why not?"

The gravel around us began to float into the air. Ah, so Asmodeus was going to threaten me with force? If I could be cowed by something like this, I never would've made it this far. I looked up at the sky. Every star around us was holding its breath, demanding an explanation.

"Because I won't give shares to you alone."

Asmodeus tilted his head, apparently unable to understand what I meant.

"I'll put thirty percent of the fable's shares up as the competitive share."

"...Competitive share?"

"It means any being that helps me can receive shares. How much each one gets will depend entirely on their contribution to the fable."

Only then did the gazes glaring down at me from the sky begin to change, one by one.

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

[Few Constellations reveal their greed at your words!]

The competitive share was the last card I could play.

If I had to lure in beasts to move forward anyway, it was better to create an arena for them to fight in and give myself more room to maneuver.

Asmodeus had clearly realized my intention, and his expression had completely frozen.

"...You deceived me."

"I didn't deceive you."

The gravel floating in the air rushed toward me, or rather, toward Junghyeok. Every single stone carried a powerful Status. Before, it might have been difficult. But not now.

Because this time, I wasn't alone.

Tzzzzzzzt!

The flying stones stopped in midair as if caught by invisible hands.

[Few Constellations glare at the Demon King Demon God of Lust and Wrath.]

I had already declared that I would offer part of the Great Fable as the competitive share. Some Constellations coveting that share had no reason to simply watch Asmodeus do as he pleased. Asmodeus ground his teeth.

Tzzzzzzzt!

Even Asmodeus wouldn't want to waste Plausibility against multiple Constellations in a place like this. Besides, there was one particularly formidable Constellation on my side.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband glares at the Demon King Demon God of Lust and Wrath.]

After glaring into the air for some time, Asmodeus withdrew his power. The pile of stones, having lost what held it up, crashed to the ground all at once.

[The Demon King Demon God of Lust and Wrath is disappointed in you.]

Asmodeus spoke with a frightening expression.

"You seem to be mistaken about something. You're not the only one who can become a Demon King. You've just thrown away an important opportunity."

His tone suggested Asmodeus could side with someone else whenever he wished. Certainly, things would grow complicated if Asmodeus joined the other side now.

But I didn't back down.

"Well, I think you're the one throwing away an opportunity."

In that brief time, I thought again and again about why Asmodeus had chosen me in the first place.

Logically, Asmodeus would have been better off siding with Berkan or Meledon rather than me. I was a human and a Constellation, while Berkan and Meledon had been members of the demonic species since birth.

Yet Asmodeus had reached out to me first.

There had to be an unavoidable reason Asmodeus needed to choose me. Sure enough, his expression seemed to falter a little at my refusal.

"...How unpleasant. Is it because I'm a Demon King that you dislike me?"

To think that lofty demon would make an expression like that. Even in all of TWSA, this would be an extremely rare sight. I slowly shook my head and said,

"Whether you're a Demon King or a Constellation, that kind of thing doesn't matter. I just want my fable to become the greatest fable."

"The greatest fable?"

"If you belong to the Gourmet Association, you should understand exactly what I mean."

At the word I deliberately mentioned, Asmodeus's expression changed completely. He looked startled, yet pleased. He stared at me with an expression no human language could describe, then finally spoke more than ten seconds later.

[...A mere Candidate dares test a Demon King's cooking skills...?]

Killing intent surged in an instant, and I inhaled sharply. It felt as if the entire spacetime around us had shrunk and been caught in the Demon King's grasp. The startled Constellations emitted light, but the darkness around us had grown too dense for their power to reach.

This was the strength of a true Demon King.

If Asmodeus had gone all out from the beginning, Junghyeok and I would have been erased whether the Prisoner of the Golden Headband was here or not.

Revealing his Status now was both proof and a warning.

[The Demon King Asmodeus expresses a faint liking for you.]

A warning that Asmodeus could kill me whenever he wished.

Asmodeus smiled in the darkness.

[I like you very much. I'll withdraw for today.]

Fortunately, it seemed the situation was ending here for now. I hadn't exactly become enemies with Asmodeus, nor had the fable shares been taken from me unilaterally. I had left enough room for the situation to turn around at any time...

[Still, I should take out the trash before I go.]

The moment Asmodeus snapped his fingers, I heard an explosion near my chest. It sounded like an air-filled doll bursting. A throbbing pain spread near my heart. Yet Junghyeok's body didn't seem to have suffered any damage.

Asmodeus's Incarnation body scattered into ashes as he left behind final words.

[I can't stand seeing something like that wandering around in front of me.]

I watched Asmodeus disappear without a trace, then hurriedly reached into my clothes as a chill passed through me.

"...Uriel?"

Uriel's doll, which I pulled out too late, had already become a ragged scrap of cloth. Then I felt something connected to the limp doll snap. I looked at the message appearing through Yu Junghyeok's eyes.

[Your connection with the Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire has been temporarily severed.]

[The personal Scenario has been automatically cancelled.]

Only then did I understand how Junghyeok had come here.

For some reason, Uriel had designated a personal Scenario in the Demon Realm, and Junghyeok had accepted that Scenario to come here.

The problem was that the Scenario had just been forcibly cancelled.

Tzzzzzzzt!

Vivid sparks spread beneath my skin. I realized what was about to happen.

"Uriel! Get a hold of yourself!"

I desperately shook the doll, but there was no response from Uriel. It seemed her symbolic form had been damaged too badly, forcibly severing its connection to her true body.

"Damn it."

Cracks spread across Junghyeok's strong body.

[You have left the Main Scenario.]

I hurriedly looked around.

This wouldn't do. At this rate, Junghyeok would die.

[The Exile Penalty has begun.]

He was different from me. Junghyeok didn't have The Fourth Wall.

There was no one to protect him after he became an exile.

"Hey! Anyone will do!"

I shouted desperately at the sky. Yet Junghyeok's whole body was already breaking apart so badly that no sound came from my throat.

Crack, crack, crack.

The fractures that began in his legs spread to his neck in an instant, paralyzing his vocal cords. This penalty robbed him even of the strength to ask the Constellations in the night sky for help. It was as if the entire universe intensely wished for Junghyeok's death, determined to strip every story from him and leave him to wither away.

...Was this as far as it went?

It couldn't be.

If he died here, everything would be over.

In less than a second, the pages of TWSA flipped through my mind. Letters written across countless pages flew toward me, and I grabbed the first thing that touched my hand.

Right. There was no other way.

Something I didn't have, but Junghyeok did.

I had no choice but to ask for its help.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation looks at Yu Junghyeok's Patron constellation.]

I wanted to use a constellation's declaration, but I didn't have the strength now. All I could do was hope my story reached that being.

[The Patron constellation of the Incarnation Yu Junghyeok is looking at you.]

It felt like some enormous being was looking at me.

A gaze that felt somehow familiar, yet equally alien.

Before I could even open my mouth, though, a distant sensation swept over me.

[Exclusive Skill, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3, has been forcibly deactivated.]

* * *

A space covered in pitch-black darkness.

I had experienced something like this before.

When had it been?

Was it when I was leaving the Constellation Banquet?

【■■...】

【A way to change it...】

【...doesn't exist.】

Damn it, what the hell was that supposed to mean...

* * *

"Gasp!"

I woke where I lay, gasping as if I were vomiting amniotic fluid. My heart pounded wildly, and choking sounds leaked from my throat. My eyes were full of tears.

I was alive. Aileen had truly saved me.

But instead of relief, I was filled with urgency. I shouted toward the outside of the treatment room in a phlegmy voice.

"Aileen!"

Aileen, who had been waiting outside, rushed in. Seeing me pull out the catheter, she ran toward me with a pale face. I shook off her hand and cried out.

"Help me up, quickly. I have to go to the Gilobat industrial complex."

"What are you talking about? You just woke up-"

"There's no time, so hurry!"

Even as I shouted, dozens of thoughts crossed my mind.

Ask the Great Sage Equaling Heaven for help.

If that didn't work, call Hermes.

I hated the idea, but I might receive protection if I gave up even a portion of the fable shares. That was why I had to go to Gilobat right away. It wasn't too late yet. If I went now...

"You were unconscious for a whole week. What are you even talking about? Absolutely not! You need to rest for at least two more weeks before your body stabilizes!"

"What?"

For a moment, it felt like my heart had stopped.

Something like an auditory hallucination rang in my ears.

It sounded as if the letters of the world I had read were collapsing all at once. Letters that had lost their place flooded in and battered against me.

"...How long did you say?"

"A week. You've been unconscious for a week."

For a moment, I stared blankly at the floor before grabbing the smartphone Aileen had made for me. I hurriedly turned on the panel and checked the file.

Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse (First Revision).txt

The title hadn't changed.

A Second Revision hadn't arrived, and Junghyeok's lines were still the same.

Nothing had changed, and I had never felt such despair over that fact.

Really? Had Yu Junghyeok really died?

Footnotes:

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