WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 307: Episode 58: Nexus of the Constellations (1)

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Over the past three years, many things had changed for Jeong Huiwon.

"Jeong Huiwon, leader of the Chungcheong Alliance!"

"The age of the Supreme King is over! Judge of Evil is the strongest Incarnation!"

She had a fan club now, and people in every kind of media tried to turn her life into articles and stories to sell. Every Incarnation who wielded a sword admired her. Some Constellations even tried to recruit her into their nebulae.

Of course, it was pointless. Huiwon was the Incarnation of an exceptionally famous Constellation in the Star Stream.

The problem was that her famous Patron had not appeared before her for three whole years.

"I thought my Patron was dead."

Her Patron had vanished without a trace after the incident three years ago. That was why Huiwon had no choice but to work harder than the other Incarnations. She trained until she bled, pushed day after day by Transcendents like the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint and Kyrios.

She trained so she wouldn't fall behind her Allies and would never have to sacrifice someone again.

"If that had really happened, I would've felt a little less wronged."

Huiwon had truly become strong.

Then, the Patron who had disappeared appeared before her once more.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire remains silent.]

Huiwon sighed.

"And what are you saying to me now?"

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire giggles.]

Huiwon didn't laugh.

She only quietly placed a hand on the grip of her sword.

[The Incarnation Jeong Huiwon is preparing to activate Hour of Judgement against her Patron!]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is startled!]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire says that Hour of Judgement can only be activated against evildoers.]

Huiwon replied.

"I know."

Indirect Messages poured down from the air.

[Some Constellations of the absolute good alignment have agreed to Jeong Huiwon's request!]

[The Constellation Protector of Youth and Travel agrees to the request.]

[The Constellation Friend of Justice and Harmony agrees to the request.]

[The Constellation Master of the Ark agrees to the request.]

Tzzzzzzzt!

[Some Constellations of the absolute good alignment have opposed the request!]

[The skill activation has been canceled by 1 opposing vote!]

Huiwon narrowed her eyes and glared into the air.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire avoids her Incarnation's gaze.]

Huiwon took her hand off her sword and sighed again. Her Patron's emotions came through to her exactly as they were.

Sorrow and joy. Regret and guilt.

In truth, Huiwon knew why Uriel had been forced to remain confined for the past three years. After what had happened during the Demon King Selection, it was a wonder Eden's punishment had stopped at confinement.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire says she is sorry.]

Still, Huiwon couldn't help feeling hurt. Especially when the Patron who appeared after three years had this to say...

"If you want to see Dokja-ssi, why don't you go see him yourself? You know perfectly well he's at the top of the fortress."

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire says she still cannot summon her symbolic form because her probation period has not ended.]

After thinking it over, Huiwon hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"All right. But don't do anything strange."

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is overjoyed!]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire asks if Kim Dokja is really imprisoned.]

"...Why are you so happy?"

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire asks if Kim Dokja has really become a squid.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire...]

"I'm heading there now, so see for yourself."

Not long after, Huiwon reached the top of the fortress where Dokja was confined.

[This is a zone where the Heavenly Emperor Barrier has been installed.]

[The Incarnation Jeong Huiwon is authorized to enter.]

When the door opened, she saw the inside of a luxurious room. They called it confinement, but it rivaled the suite of any five-star hotel. A table was covered with extravagant finger foods that could be eaten whenever he got hungry, and a skill that aided restful sleep was always active on the king-sized bed. Several fantasy novels said to have been published in the world before the apocalypse were stacked on a small bedside table.

Come to think of it, had Dokja said he liked fantasy novels? Huiwon picked one up to take a look.

『The World After the Fall』...

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire screams!]

When Huiwon turned her head, she saw Dokja sitting in a soft rocking chair. A catheter for supplying Fable Packs was inserted into the arm exposed beneath his rolled-up sleeve.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire looks at the Demon King of Salvation.]

The pack was filled with sedatives made by Lee Seolhwa.

As Huiwon approached, she found Dokja slumped in the chair. Under her quiet gaze, he groggily opened his eyes.

"...Huiwon-ssi?"

Huiwon bit her lip without realizing it. Dokja's unguarded face, exhausted from those difficult times. A part of her heart ached.

"What is this place..."

There had been so many things she wanted to say when she saw Dokja again. She wanted to get angry, to pour out her resentment, to demand to know why he had done such a thing.

Yet for some reason, the moment she saw his face like this, all those emotions vanished like melting snow. Huiwon couldn't tell whether they were her emotions or her Patron's.

She adjusted the amount of sedative flowing through the catheter.

"There's someone... no, an angel who wants to see Dokja-ssi."

A pure white light flowed from Huiwon's hand. It was the warm light of an Archangel, like the light at the beginning of creation.

Huiwon lifted Dokja and laid him on the bed. Before long, he fell asleep with soft, steady breaths. Her hand, covered in white radiance, brushed back his hair several times.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire looks at the Demon King of Salvation.]

Some feelings had more value because they could not be conveyed through words. Huiwon had never been able to understand Uriel's camaraderie, but now, she thought she understood her heart a little.

* * *

I had a long dream. It was a somewhat strange dream.

"Vitals are good."

"The Fable Pack is being administered steadily."

I heard the voices of Lee Seolhwa and Aileen like auditory hallucinations.

"Hyung... mmm..."

Sometimes, I saw Gilyeong's and Yuseong's faces as they clung to my waist.

"Uoooooh! Dokja-ssi!"

Sometimes, I heard Hyeongseong crying out like a monster.

And...

For an instant, I thought I saw my mother's face.

If this was a dream, I thought, then I didn't want to wake up.

"Hey, he's trying to wake up! Administer the sedative, quickly!"

Hearing Suyeong's faint voice, I let out a small laugh. You could say this dream was a play performed for me alone.

Just as TWSA had been for me.

「In truth, Kim Dokja could have woken up whenever he wanted, but he did not get up.」

So I willingly decided to become the audience of that play.

「For the first time since the apocalypse began, Kim Dokja slept peacefully.」

It was the first time I had felt that way. My heart had always been restless. The belief that someone could protect me. The fact that there were people who believed in what I believed.

"Rest well, Dokja-ssi."

...Right. There was still some time before the forty-sixth Scenario.

The moment I relaxed, a deep sleep washed over me.

* * *

Gilyeong, held by the nape of his neck, shouted.

"Ah, noona! Do I really have to come too? I want to stay with Dokja-hyung longer!"

"You've been with him long enough."

"Yuseong stayed with him for eight hours! I only got six!"

Jihye flicked Gilyeong on the forehead as he pouted.

"Their aerial power is a nuisance. You and Yuseong are the only ones who can deal with it. Besides, we've put Dokja ahjussi soundly to sleep, so you can see him whenever you want."

"But..."

"Unni, we're almost there."

At Yuseong's words, the Chimera Dragon began to descend sharply. Below them stood the buildings of the Gyeonggi Alliance.

The reason they, who had been assigned to deal with the Busan Alliance, had come here was simple.

"They said they built some kind of kingdom, and it was true."

The citizens being treated like slaves cried out in agony.

Jihye's lips twitched as she said,

"Let's smash it all to pieces."

As Jihye drew her sword, Gilyeong stepped forward and said,

"Hey, Yuseong. I'll handle this, so stay back."

"Shut up. You couldn't even recognize Dokja ahjussi."

"...Go, Titano-MK II!"

Grrrrroooar!

At Gilyeong's command, a squad of Monarch-Level Insects clad in sturdy armor flew through the sky. There were five Tier 4 Monarch-Level Insects in all.

"Enemy attack!"

As buildings were sliced apart by the scythes of enormous mantises, Jihye asked, "Didn't Titano die?"

"That was just Titano. This is Titano-MK II."

"What's the difference..."

Kwoooong!

An explosion erupted in the heart of the enemy lines. It wasn't where Titano had attacked. The high-rise buildings forming the core of the Gyeonggi Alliance collapsed, causing a tremendous shockwave. Airships floating in the sky were struck by Sword Aura falling like lightning and crashed down.

Jihye spoke in disbelief, "He told us to handle it ourselves..."

After a violent storm swept through, only ruins remained.

One man slaughtered the Alliance's lackeys as they fled in panic.

Yu Junghyeok.

"W-wait! Stop! Stop, Supreme King!"

A man who appeared to be an executive of the Gyeonggi Alliance shouted in a panic.

"You'll be in trouble if you kill me now! We have hostages!"

At the word hostages, Junghyeok's sword hesitated for the first time. Thinking it had worked, the man continued shouting.

"They say the reason the Moonlight Sage Emperor hasn't left the top floor of the fortress is because her illness has grown serious?"

Jihye and Yuseong turned to look at each other in alarm.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"Moonlight Sage Emperor means Sangah-unni, doesn't it?"

The man continued.

"Ha ha, it took a long time to break through the walls of the Demon Realm, but we finally did it!"

"What nonsense is that?"

"Our Alliance's elite infiltration team has entered the fortress you all left behind! In other words, the Moonlight Sage Emperor's life is in our hands. It was quite difficult to break through the barrier, but your Companion's life is now in our gras-"

"You broke through the barrier?"

For the first time, a crack appeared in Junghyeok's expression. The same expression soon appeared on the faces of the other Allies. Yuseong said, "There isn't any barrier around Sangah-unni's room."

"Then what that lunatic means is..."

At the same time, the Allies turned toward Seoul.

* * *

At that moment, ten infiltrators who had entered through a high-altitude drop were inside the industrial complex's fortress. They were all elite members of the Gyeonggi Alliance's infiltration team.

"This is the place."

"Yes, it is."

"Spell formula dismantling team, begin."

At their leader's command, the members in charge of dismantling the spell formula rushed forward. One of them asked, "The Black Flame Demon Emperor isn't here, is she? Our guys got cut down in droves back then."

The Black Flame Empress had only recently become known as the Black Flame Demon Emperor, and the Moonlit Priestess as the Moonlight Sage Emperor. Both title changes stemmed from the Seongnam Massacre a year ago.

"The Black Flame Demon Emperor is away. The Moonlight Sage Emperor is inside."

"Will we be all right on our own?"

"Rumor says she's seriously ill. If that woman is alone, there won't be a problem."

A moment later, the spell formula blocking the door was dismantled.

"Dismantling complete!"

"Already? That was faster than I expected."

"Well, the Heavenly Emperor Barrier may be difficult to break through from the inside, but it's easy from the outside."

"Ridiculous. What kind of barrier is that?"

"Exactly. It's truly stupid..."

Leaving the snickering infiltration team member behind, the leader opened the door.

"Let's see what the great Moonlight Sage Emperor is capable of. Everyone, prepare to infiltrate."

The moment the leader placed a hand on the doorknob, an unexpected message invaded their ears.

[The Constellation Assassin of the Black Wilderness sends out a warning!]

[The Constellation Hunter of the Black Moon is shocked!]

[The Constellation Knight of the Frozen Heart convulses.]

They were all their Patrons.

"What? My Patron suddenly..."

"Did you hear it too, leader?"

Their curiosity did not last long. Beyond the door was an overwhelming feast of Status. An incomprehensible aura they had never encountered before bound their entire bodies.

"W-what is this?"

Every member of the infiltration team froze before a Status on an entirely different level.

It was impossible.

"I was finally getting some proper rest, but I guess this is just my lot in life."

Through the door as it creaked open, a man in a white coat stepped out. The smiling man rested a cold palm on the infiltration leader's shoulder.

"Thank you for letting me out, everyone."

Footnotes:

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