WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 365: Episode 68: Words That Can’t Be Heard (4)
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Damn it. I hadn't wanted to run into that bastard.
Watching waves of Mana surge like a storm, I quickly hid behind a mountain of corpses.
Not long afterward, I heard the voices of a group fleeing in panic.
[That mad monster...!]
[Aaaah!]
Constellations who had been brutally trampled died with their final cries. Fables poured out among the scattered corpse fragments, and the blood spilled by Incarnations dyed the ground bright red.
[Run! Hurry!]
Behind them came the butcher responsible for this horrific sight.
A rippling purple aura rose beyond the towering mountain of corpses.
I stared at it, unable even to breathe.
[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth growls.]
[The Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm cowers.]
Someone with such immense Status that even my fables were affected.
[The fable Flame That Destroys Demons begins its story!]
"Flame That Destroys Demons." One of the fables that displayed the greatest power against evil-aligned Constellations.
I knew the owner of that fable well.
「Platinum blond hair flowing in waves, purple eyes, and brilliant Archangel wings spread behind his back.」
Among Eden's Archangels, he was the only one openly hostile toward me.
[The Constellation Savior of Corruption carries out the judgment of salvation.]
The Savior of Corruption, Archangel Michael.
A being who, like me, possessed a modifier meaning "salvation."
Rumble!
The Savior's Sword held by Archangel Michael split the world apart. Purple mist scattered from the blade, then transformed into flames that began burning the entire atmosphere. In an instant, the flames crossed the sky and reached the fleeing Constellations.
[Aaaah!]
Five or six fleeing Constellations collapsed screaming.
Their fables turned to ash and scattered in the purple flames.
Only silver modifier necklaces remained where the dead Constellations had stood.
Michael flew through the air and inspected the fallen necklaces.
[It isn't here this time either.]
He looked as though he were searching for something.
Michael looked around, an odd light shining from his eyes.
[It seems there's a little rat here...]
Would I have any chance of winning if I fought Michael here?
I'd grown much stronger after learning Fable Control, but I still wasn't confident I could fight him.
Michael was Eden's strongest combat angel, a being nearly on the level of a Mythical-grade Constellation. If he revealed all the power of his true body, he probably wouldn't lose even to Poseidon, whom I'd fought during Gigantomachia. No matter how much information I knew about him through TWSA...
Whoooosh.
A silver glow rose in Michael's eyes.
[Archangel's Eye.]
One of an Archangel's unique skills, used to detect demonic energy. It seemed he could use the skill now that Second-generation Plausibility had been lifted.
His eyes, burning like dokkaebi flames, searched the area. His gaze slowly turned toward me.
My heart began beating faster.
Should I run?
At that moment, the stone the residents had given me wriggled inside my clothes.
[The fable Stone and Me begins its story.]
Then something unexpected happened.
[Due to the fable's effect, your presence becomes similar to that of a stone.]
[The demonic energy you emit blends into the surrounding nature.]
Michael casually swept his gaze over the mountain of corpses where I was hiding. Soon, he looked away and muttered.
[Was I mistaken?]
Michael complained in a rough voice as he rose into the air.
[That Scribe gave such a pointless order...]
His wings spread wide. Michael's figure vanished into the distance in an instant.
Only after his presence had completely disappeared did I rise, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead.
[The fable Stone and Me begs you to praise it.]
"You did well. Thanks."
[The fable Stone and Me giggles.]
I hadn't expected this fable to help in this way.
A fable that made my presence resemble that of a stone.
It didn't feel great, but it might prove useful in the future.
I looked around at the ruined surroundings.
[There are currently 224 survivors on Middle Island 3.]
Thirty-eight people had been slaughtered in that short time. Most were Historical-grade Constellations or Incarnations, but there were fabled-grade Constellations among the victims too.
The scene looked as though a disaster had swept through it. This was an Archangel's true power.
High-ranking demon kings probably possessed this much power as well.
「(That was close. If it came down to it, I was thinking of releasing a Revelation.)」
'You were watching?'
「(Yes, it was my break time.)」
Hearing Yu Sangah's clear voice gave me some strength.
No matter how powerful the enemies I had to fight were, I had several hidden cards of my own.
「(But the condition of the corpses is a little strange.)」
I nodded as I looked down at the sprawled corpses. Their modifier necklaces were strange. Most had disappeared, or part of their modifiers had been damaged.
Sangah asked,
「(If the necklaces disappeared, I can understand that their owners were hunted as targets. But what does it mean when only part of a modifier is missing?)」
[Ancient □□□]
[Old □□□]
[□ and □□□'s □□]
Letters were missing from parts of several modifiers. It was as if someone had deliberately stolen only those letters.
'Some people are using loopholes.'
「(Loopholes?)」
'Do you remember this Scenario's Clear Conditions?'
「(Seize the target's modifier necklace, right?)」
'That's right. But you don't actually have to hunt your target. What matters is obtaining a [modifier necklace].'
Sangah spoke in a startled voice.
「(Ah, don't tell me...)」
The moment I nodded, a message rang out through the air.
[Modifier syllables can be collected in this area.]
[You can craft new necklaces using the syllables you have collected.]
'There are people stealing the modifiers of other Constellations and making their target's modifier necklace.'
A modifier was a combination of letters.
For instance, even my modifier, [Demon King of Salvation], was made up of five syllables: [gu], [won], [ui], [ma], and [wang]. In other words, even without taking my necklace, someone could make the same necklace if they somehow obtained all five syllables.
「(Why would the Administration Bureau permit such a loophole?)」
'Because making them take a necklace from a designated target slows down the Scenario's progress. The target might have already dropped out of the Scenario. That would make things complicated.'
Constellations hated slow pacing. They preferred fast developments and satisfying payoffs.
「(Then all these people were sacrificed over a single letter.)」
I nodded.
The powerful Constellations had probably slaughtered Constellations of lower Status to assemble their target's modifiers. It would be faster than searching for a fleeing target.
Rather than mourning the dead, I searched through the modifier necklaces rolling around like corn with missing kernels.
Sangah didn't say anything.
[You have acquired the modifier syllable ui.]
There were barely any useful letters left. Most were common particles. The letters people needed had probably already been collected by other Constellations as crafting materials.
I searched through the pile of corpses Michael had swept through and found several usable items.
It seemed a Constellation like Michael discarded any item that wasn't a constellation artifact. He really operated on a different scale. Still...
"Why don't you come out now? Michael is already far away."
My voice spread quietly through the empty ruins. I couldn't sense anyone's presence, so I spoke again.
"Come out while I'm asking nicely."
There was someone else hiding among the corpses besides me. Their presence was perfectly concealed, but I was certain because I'd clearly seen them hide earlier.
With a rustling sound, part of the pile of corpses collapsed and someone rose. An Incarnation who had somehow avoided Archangel's Eye stood there.
"...Demon King of Salvation."
A blond woman covered in wounds glared at me. Blood flowed constantly from the torn wounds on her arm and abdomen. Her injuries looked severe even at a glance.
I looked at her and said, "Looks like things aren't going very well for you, Anna Croft."
* * *
I remembered the moment Anna Croft first appeared in TWSA.
The Prophet of Asgard.
With the ability to freely use [future vision] and [past vision], she was a character who possessed a counter skill against Yu Junghyeok, the regressor. That was why she appeared as one of Junghyeok's main rivals in the latter half of TWSA.
That was how the original story should have gone.
A woman willing to accept any sacrifice for the greater good. One of the strongest Incarnations, and the person who would someday become the owner of Zarathustra, feared even by Constellations.
Yet that person was now slumped helplessly before me.
I crushed a [Greater Restoration Pill] I'd purchased beforehand and put it in her mouth.
About thirty minutes later, Anna opened her eyes.
The instant she saw me, Anna practically had a fit as she sprang to her feet.
"Sit down. Your injuries are still severe."
After confirming that her hands and feet weren't bound, Anna stepped back warily.
"Why did you save me?"
"Because I have a few questions."
"Why do you think I'll answer them?"
Her voice growled like a wild beast. She looked quite different from the calm Prophet I knew.
"Why did you join the Great war of Angels and Demons?"
"To obtain a Great Fable, obviously. Is there another reason?"
"You should be preparing for another Great Fable Scenario. Aren't you?"
Anna bit her lip tightly at my question.
According to the original story, Anna Croft shouldn't have participated in the Great war of Angels and Demons. She was supposed to participate in Ragnarok, another Great Fable Scenario.
"That's..."
Anna Croft's eyes wavered. That was answer enough.
"Your nebula abandoned you."
"That's none of your business."
She ground the words out through clenched teeth.
I could easily understand the anger in those words.
I'd clashed with Anna Croft several times, and because of that, the future she was meant to live had changed.
At the Gourmet Association and during Gigantomachia, she hadn't achieved anything notable. As her failures accumulated, the nebula Asgard threw her alone into the Great war of Angels and Demons after deciding she had lost her usefulness.
Was it because of me?
The future I'd changed hadn't affected only Junghyeok and his Allies.
I spoke to Anna Croft, who looked at me with undisguised contempt.
"What if you obtain a Mythical fable here?"
"What did you say?"
"Wouldn't Asgard reevaluate you then?"
A Mythical fable. Anna's eyes wavered at those words.
"What are you talking about?"
"I can help you."
"What's your scheme this time?"
"I don't have a scheme. I want you and Zarathustra to thrive. That's all."
[The character Anna Croft has activated Lie Detection Lv. 8.]
[The character Anna Croft has confirmed that your statement is true.]
Anna's startled expression quickly recovered. Her eyes were those of the calm Prophet I remembered.
"What's the condition?"
It was nice that Prophets got straight to the point.
"Lend me your ability."
Anna Croft probably had no idea how fortunate I considered it that she was the first person I'd met on Middle Island.
* * *
In the Island's highlands, Asmodeus stood atop a towering old tree, stroking his chin as he looked at the modifier necklace he had obtained.
[□han's Hunter]
Asmodeus's target modifier had originally been [Hunter of Resentment]. But other competitors had hunted his target first, so Asmodeus ended up with a ragged necklace that read [□□'s Hunt□].
'I've found [han] and [kkun], and now I only need [won]...'
The problem was that there were barely any Constellations left on this Island who had the syllable [won] in their modifiers.
'I'm paying for joining too late because I was looking after my followers.'
From the top of the tree, Asmodeus surveyed the Island and searched for the remaining Constellations.
Explosions rang out from the northern forest. At that scale, it was obvious who the culprit was. Another "cleanup" had begun.
It might be fun to get involved over there, but...
Then a familiar voice reached Asmodeus's ears.
"According to [future vision], that man is nearby."
"Is that so?"
The instant he heard that voice, Asmodeus's expression brightened.
Asmodeus leaped from the tree and landed before the owner of the voice at tremendous speed.
A man in a white coat and a platinum blond woman.
Asmodeus smiled.
[Demon King of Salvation, it seems we were fated to meet after all.]
Demon King of Salvation. The syllable [won] he sought was part of that modifier, and its owner stood before him.
Yet the man didn't look surprised at all.
"I didn't come here to fight, Asmodeus."
[That isn't for you to decide. Because...]
"You need the syllable [won], don't you?"
[...!]
"Killing me to get [won] is one option. But I have a far more interesting proposal. Want to hear it?"
Asmodeus looked blank for a moment before opening his mouth.
[The fact that you're making me an offer is amusing enough, but you called it interesting too. I want to hear it right away.]
Asmodeus's voice boiled with excitement and madness. He wore the expression of someone weighing the delicious prey before him against prey that might be even more delicious.
Asmodeus continued.
[But if this proposal isn't interesting, you...]
"I'm not the only one on this Island who has the syllable [won]."
Another owner of [won].
Asmodeus's expression changed.
[Don't tell me...]
"If you joined the Great war of Angels and Demons, you should take it more seriously. Don't you think?"
At that moment, Kim Dokja was smiling like a true demon king in Asmodeus's eyes.
"Are you interested in an Archangel Hunt?"
Footnotes:
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