WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 341: Episode 64: The Road That Isn’t a Road (1)

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Immediately after Olympus's Gigantomachia collapsed, the restrictions placed on the giants vanished. They would now be freed from the ancient fable and reborn as participants in a new Scenario.

[I have no intention of repeating our predecessors' battle. Do you agree?]

[I agree.]

That was how Briareus, the giants' leader, and Dionysus, the Twelve Seats' temporary representative, reached a dramatic settlement just before the end of the 60th Scenario.

[The Star Stream has recognized Collapse of Myth.]

[A new fable is blooming in the 60th Scenario.]

They could have kept fighting if they wanted to.

But Olympus's forces had been greatly weakened by Gigantomachia. Many heroes and giants had died, Poseidon's whereabouts were unknown, and the silent King of the Underworld had announced his successor.

In that situation, conflict between the remaining Twelve Seats and giants would only endanger the nebula's survival.

The fall of Olympus, one of the great nebulae.

At the center of that unbelievable story was a small nebula.

[Many Constellations are chanting the name of Kim Dokja Company!]

The story that had begun with a small Constellation's struggle was finally bringing a Great Fable to an end.

Yet the members of that nebula were too busy calling someone's name to savor what lingered after a Great Fable's end.

"Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!"

"Hyung! Don't mess with us! Where are you hiding?"

Huiwon, Hyeongseong, Jihye, Yuseong, and Gilyeong.

They searched for Kim Dokja on the small island the giants had created. Some called out anxiously, while others wore expressions full of disbelief.

Amid everyone's confusion, only one man remained calm. He stared up at the sky with a blank expression.

Han Suyeong watched him closely before asking, "Yu Junghyeok, you know something, don't you?"

"..."

"Answer me. The kids are worried."

Junghyeok slowly turned toward Suyeong. Having caught on to something, the others gathered behind her.

"What is it, Master? Do you know something?"

"Nothing happened to Dokja-ssi again, right?"

Junghyeok stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"Kim Dokja probably returned to Earth."

"What? He left us behind?"

Jihye, who had realized something a moment later, parted her lips slightly.

"Ah... Could it be?"

Come to think of it, Gigantomachia hadn't been their real objective. Taking part in Gigantomachia had only been part of the process.

While everyone else was swept up in the excitement of victory, Dokja alone had been thinking about the true purpose behind all this.

Huiwon let out a relieved breath, then smiled bitterly.

"Still, we should give him a hard time for running off by himself."

"Let's get back too!"

Then a system message appeared.

[Leaving the area is restricted for one hour to stabilize the Scenario.]

Seolhwa's eyes widened in surprise.

"How did Dokja-ssi even get out?"

"He probably used a special method."

"A special method?"

"I don't know the details either."

Junghyeok answered, then looked back up at the sky.

Snow was still falling through the empty air. Snow drifting in the clear summer weather. On Earth, it was like snow falling in August.

Suyeong watched the snow, then asked Junghyeok, "Kim Dokja went back first because of Sangah, right?"

There was always a reason to ask something so obvious.

Junghyeok's answer came only after the miraculously falling snow had all melted beneath the sunlight.

"We'll know when we get there."

* * *

Inside the vehicle speeding along the Dimensional Path, I took a moment to think.

When I first began planning to overturn Gigantomachia, I contacted several Constellations.

Every Constellation I had even the slightest acquaintance with must have received word from me at least once. Most of them had a special relationship with Olympus or were in no position to participate in the 60th Scenario.

I could understand. What Constellation would want to make an enemy of a great nebula like Olympus?

Still, one of them had made an unusual offer.

[I can't help with Gigantomachia. But if you fail, I can open an escape route for you. Only you can use it.]

The being who had made that offer was now sitting in the driver's seat, leisurely holding the steering wheel.

[I never thought you'd use that offer like this.]

A being who could open Scenario portals with his own Plausibility, and the owner of a Special Ferrari that could freely travel the Dimensional Path.

Mass Production Maker smiled as he spoke.

[You were never the type to ask others for help.]

"After visiting another worldline, I changed my mind a little."

I smiled and added, "Besides, I accidentally left my X-grade Ferrari behind. I haven't even finished paying it off yet. I still tear up whenever I think about it."

[Haha, the car you bought from me?]

"So from now on, I've decided not to drive my own car and get rides in other people's cars instead."

[How unfortunate for a seller. A new model came out this time, and I was thinking of giving you one for free.]

"For free?"

[I lied.]

I knew it. There was no way that sly Constellation would ever do something that cost him money.

Mass Production Maker held a thick cigar between his lips as though he were considering something. The smoke drifted toward me in the passenger seat but was sucked into the vent in front of the glove compartment before it reached me.

[I would like to make a contract with your nebula.]

"A contract?"

[You know what you've done this time, don't you?]

I knew. There was no way I couldn't.

[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth flows through your story veins!]

Because even now, the result of what I had done flowed through the veins of my entire body.

"Holy Flame That Devoured Myth."

This wasn't "One Who Erases God's Fingerprints" or "One Who Closes the Gate of Myth," which were what I had originally wanted. Still, its essence was similar.

A fable gained by standing against a great nebula and overturning a myth. This fable would serve as a counter against the great nebulae I would fight in the future.

[Many Constellations learned of Kim Dokja Company through this incident.]

"That figures."

[Some of them are even insisting that your nebula should be counted among the Twelve Great Nebulae.]

The Twelve Great Nebulae. It still didn't feel real that we had reached a position where we might hear such talk.

The twelve nebulae that ruled the Star Stream were divided into three strong, four middle, and five weak groups. Olympus, which had moved back and forth between the three strong and four middle, had suffered a great blow this time. Naturally, someone would try to fill that empty spot.

"There are a lot of impatient stars."

[Gossips are always like that.]

"And Mass Production Maker wants to seize that chance and make a contract with our nebula."

[Exactly.]

Mass Production Maker answered without the slightest hesitation.

[I am considering leaving the advertisement for our new product to your nebula. What do you think?]

"I'd be happy to. I'll ask the others in the nebula as well."

[Good. The Incarnation I would personally like to appear in it is...]

As I listened to Mass Production Maker, I stared at the scenery passing beyond the Ferrari's windows. Countless seasons of stories flowed through the landscape, from spring to summer, then autumn.

"It's fast."

Without thinking, I said the words and gripped the bottle of Star Relic Nectar inside my jacket.

I had reached this point faster than in any round of the original story. But that speed was only relative. I didn't know whether it was fast enough.

Mass Production Maker laughed heartily.

[This new model is a bit fast. You'll understand when you drive it yourself, but the ride is...]

"We're taking too long for this speed. You're not taking a detour on purpose because of the contract, are you?"

[Hm, what are you talking about? We're taking the fastest route. Look, we're already at the final intersection.]

As Mass Production Maker said, three portals on the other side of the pitch-black Dimensional Path emitted white light.

Though I hadn't asked, he added as if explaining.

[One leads to Earth, and another leads to my Nexus of the Constellations.]

"What's the last one?"

[A road that looks like a road.]

Mass Production Maker gave a meaningful smile.

The portal gave off a far darker, more sinister air than the others.

[Do you know what lies at the end of that one?]

Of course, I didn't.

Even TWSA didn't explain every portal on the Dimensional Path. In other words, that portal was a path that didn't exist in TWSA.

"What's there?"

[Nothing. It's simply a dead end.]

The answer came as though it were obvious.

Before I could continue, Mass Production Maker spoke again.

[That is how some paths end. Because they look different from other paths, or seem like paths no one has walked before, people walk them, only to find they were never paths at all.]

The Ferrari accelerated past the sinister portal. The sparkling navigation display showed the route to Earth. The portal we had just passed was marked as "No Road."

[Such paths usually end somewhere ambiguous. And those who choose to walk them must live believing that it is the end.]

"What are you trying to say?"

[Please choose your path well.]

Mass Production Maker had already put out his cigar. He smiled his usual gentlemanly smile.

[At times, what seemed like a path may not have been one.]

Then the dimensional scenery changed. The moment I caught a glimpse of the blue planet, I had already landed on the ground.

Mass Production Maker said, [We've arrived. It seems you came to the right place this time.]

* * *

Needless to say, the moment I arrived in Seoul, I headed to the Factory. Specifically, the ward where the patients had been admitted.

The instant I stepped into the ward, a voice almost like a constellation's declaration came from somewhere.

[You have come.]

It sounded like a constellation's declaration, but it wasn't one.

A voice carrying a Transcendent's dignity. Blue-white Mana crackling in the air.

Apparently, every master wanted to look impressive before his disciple.

"This unworthy disciple greets you."

[There is no time. I will accept your greeting later. Go.]

Perhaps due to the aftermath of the Returnee War, Kyrios was wrapped head to toe in bandages.

"The Blood Demon and the Heavenly Demon..."

[I killed them. Stop talking and go.]

I marveled at that calm declaration. He had faced the Blood Demon and Heavenly Demon alone, enemies even the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint of the previous life hadn't been able to handle, and he had survived. Even I couldn't fully grasp how powerful my master had become in this round.

Aileen came running toward me after spotting me from afar. She was the only Fable Expert guarding the Factory. If it hadn't been for her, two or three of my companions would already have died.

I waved the bottle of Star Relic Nectar I took from my jacket and shouted, "I brought the Star Relic Nectar."

"There's something I didn't get to tell you..."

"I know the situation."

Two hospital rooms glowing red were visible in the distance.

One belonged to Yu Sangah, and the other...

"How is my mother?"

"Her symptoms are almost the same as Sangah-ssi's."

"How severe are they?"

"They are no less severe. If anything, they are worse..."

I knew my mother had been overexerting herself.

Stigmas that foresaw the future placed a great burden on their user. The burden must have been much heavier for Sangah, who had made an ambiguous contract with a nebula, and for my mother, whose Patron had lost nearly all their power.

Aileen took the Star Relic Nectar from me and spoke in a dark voice.

"I don't think this will be enough."

"That's why I brought two bottles. They're different types, too."

There wasn't just one bottle of Star Relic Nectar that I had brought. Along with Soma, Surya's Star Relic Nectar that I had originally been meant to receive, I had also seized Nectar from Dionysus.

Color returned to Aileen's face for an instant when she received the two bottles.

"Medical staff!"

At her signal, the physicians rushed toward the two hospital rooms. Someone brushed past me, and the side Poseidon had struck throbbed violently. My vision blurred for a moment before returning.

Maybe I should get treatment too. Then again, it would be stranger if I were fine after taking a hit from a Mythical-grade Constellation.

I forced myself to regulate my breathing to hide the pain. Perhaps because my consciousness was unstable, the doors to the hospital rooms where the physicians entered looked exactly like the portal entrances Mass Production Maker had shown me.

[Are you all right?]

Kyrios flew through the air and asked me. I answered, "I'm fine." More accurately, I might have answered, or I might have lost consciousness for a moment.

When I came to, I was lying on a chair in the ward.

Aileen stood before me.

I endured the pain and rose from my seat.

"How are the two of them?"

I asked while forcing my fading consciousness into focus. But Aileen's expression was grave.

"It isn't enough."

"It isn't enough? What isn't?"

"Their conditions worsened much faster than we expected. I think we will barely be able to treat one person even if we use both bottles of Star Relic Nectar."

I couldn't understand what she was saying. At that moment, Aileen's words sounded like something from a distant alien world, or the nonsense of an Outer God.

"What do you mean?"

"Demon King of Salvation-nim."

It had been a long time since Aileen had called me by my modifier. And she only called me that when she needed my orders.

The two hospital rooms stood wide open like portals waiting for me.

"Only one person can be saved."

Footnotes:

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