WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 407: Episode 77: The Last Dragon (4)
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With Kyrios joining us, the first shockwave was gradually neutralized.
Then, as several Constellations who joined after Kyrios began lending their Plausibility, the Constellations' Plausibility surpassed the Apocalypse Dragon's shockwave for the first time.
[Woooooooh!]
Thor and Dionysus, blackened by the electric wave, let out half-crazed cries. Dionysus must have drunk an incredible amount of wine, because only his face was red against his charred body.
[The booze is going down so smoothly!]
[I wonder what Olympus wine tastes like. Let me have some too!]
By the time the aftermath of the first shockwave died down, the two Constellations were completely drunk.
Kyrios looked at them with disdain and asked,
[Disciple, are those two your companions as well?]
"They're strangers."
[The first phase has ended.]
[Congratulations. You have safely endured the first shockwave of First Tail Swipe!]
We did it. We had endured the first shockwave of that damned First Tail Swipe.
I turned around.
"Everyone..."
I couldn't continue.
Charred corpses from the electric wave formed rivers throughout the devastated battlefield. Some had been swept away by the electricity we couldn't stop, while others had seen their Incarnation bodies burst just from enduring the nearby aftermath.
Well over five hundred Constellations had gathered here, yet half or fewer remained after that clash. Their deaths seemed unreal.
Could I really say we had endured it?
That was only the first one. What would the second and third be like?
When I raised my head, I saw messages from the stars flashing as though they were lighting up the night sky.
[The overwhelming majority of Constellations are horrified by the Scenario's difficulty!]
[Many Constellations protest this Scenario's Plausibility to the Administration Bureau!]
[Some Constellations claim that this Scenario is impossible!]
[Many nebulae request that the Scenario be cancelled!]
Scenario cancellation, huh.
It was laughable that there were still fools dreaming of that.
[This Scenario will not be cancelled.]
[All Constellations within the Scenario area should prepare for the next phase.]
The destruction continued.
While messages from horrified Constellations kept pouring in, sponsorships still rained down from the other side of the sky.
[The Constellation Seat of Lightning is watching you.]
[The Constellation Spear That Draws the Boundary of the Sea is glaring at you.]
[The Constellation Great Mother Goddess Who Molded Humans from Clay is interested in the fable you will obtain.]
[The Constellations of the Final Scenario are watching you.]
[The Constellations of the Final Scenario are interested in your activities.]
[You have received a sponsorship of 3,000,000 coins.]
They included Zeus, the Seat of Lightning, Poseidon, the Spear That Draws the Boundary of the Sea, and Nuwa, the Great Mother Goddess Who Molded Humans from Clay, along with the other Constellations of the Final Scenario.
They hadn't participated in this Scenario, and they were the beings at the very top of the Star Stream, beings who hadn't felt threatened by this crisis in the first place.
The Final Scenario area of the Star Stream was excluded from the destruction zone of this First Tail Swipe.
For those who stood before this world's conclusion, even the ruin of their fellow Constellations was nothing more than entertainment.
[The second phase will begin in 10 minutes!]
There were ten minutes of respite. I caught my breath and looked at Kyrios.
Kyrios's Status had grown far more majestic than before.
"It seems you've gained another new realization."
[So you've grown capable of recognizing that much.]
Kyrios's grumbling tone was prickly. His face not only rivaled Junghyeok's, but his way of speaking and personality did too.
Jihye ran over and shook my shoulders.
"Ajeossi! I thought I was going to turn into electrically grilled squid!"
Of all things, you had to compare it to that...
"Grandpa Kyrios! Where's our grandmaster? Didn't she come with you?"
[The Sky-Splitting Sword Saint has business to attend to, so she will be late.]
Kyrios answered in a cold voice. He glanced at me, then turned away.
[I hurried here because I thought my disciple would be half-dead by now. Yet you seem healthier than I expected.]
I couldn't tell whether he found that disappointing or fortunate.
"If you'd arrived any later, I wouldn't have been half-dead. I'd just be dead. More importantly, we need to prepare for the second phase."
Junghyeok approached as if he had been waiting for my words.
"According to the oral tradition of “Harmageddon,” the attribute of the second shockwave is scorching heat."
The Apocalypse Dragon's tail in the distance had turned red. It seemed to be moving very slowly, but in truth, it was vibrating at an incredible speed.
Frictional heat powerful enough to twist the axis of space and time.
Yuseong clasped my blackened wrist and spoke.
"Ajeossi. In the next phase..."
Yuseong and Gilyeong. The moment I saw the determination in the children's eyes, I understood what they were going to say.
Junghyeok interrupted.
"You two can't."
The children immediately protested his cold declaration.
"Why not? We're Kim Dokja Company too!"
"What do you know, you dark bastard? I wasn't asking you!"
Even at Gilyeong's provocation, Junghyeok answered with a blank expression.
"This isn't a matter of will. It's a matter of efficiency. Neither of you has a Stigma or Skill with the flame attribute."
To cancel out the shockwave, we needed Status of the same attribute. Yuseong and Gilyeong didn't have any flame-type Skills.
Gilyeong's shoulders trembled with frustration as he shouted, "Then you can't fight either! You don't have anything like that!"
"I do."
Junghyeok curled one corner of his lips and lifted his sword.
The next moment, flame aura covered the blade of the Black Heaven Demon Blade.
[The character Yu Junghyeok is activating Blazing Flame Divine Sword Lv.???.]
"Y-you...!"
I patted the tearful Gilyeong on the shoulder.
As the original work had made clear, there were almost no attributes Junghyeok didn't possess.
Come to think of it, that bastard also had an electric attribute. Why hadn't he helped from the beginning?
Junghyeok narrowed his eyes at me.
"Have you forgotten how you whined that I shouldn't help?"
"Oh, right."
I flinched after saying that.
I hadn't even said anything. How did this bastard read my thoughts?
"I will announce the Constellations who will participate in the next phase."
Junghyeok had somehow moved to the center of the Constellations, and he began selecting them.
* * *
A calamity unlike any before had come to the Star Stream, and for the first time, the Constellations faced true death.
Under Junghyeok's command, proud Constellations were assigned to the front lines one by one.
[I heard you are a regressor. Do you know anything about this situation as well?]
"Of course."
A faint trust filled the Constellations' eyes. In a crisis, information became power. Rumors about Junghyeok that had spread among the Constellations now strengthened his control over them.
Junghyeok finished arranging their forces in an instant and stood at the center of the front line.
Watching him, Suyeong muttered, "The Supreme King really is the Supreme King."
Huiwon, who was cleaning her sword nearby, nodded.
"There's no denying that."
"It stings to admit it, but after Han Suyeong Corporation, Yu Junghyeok Company might be the name that suits our nebula best."
"Before the Representative changes, we should establish a union first."
"A union..."
Suyeong snickered as she looked at Huiwon.
The two of them were part of the vanguard for this scorching heat wave. Black Flame Dragon's [Black Flame] contained the Status of crimson flames, while Uriel's [hellfire inferno] bore the power of hellfire. The two were among the strongest forces on this front line.
"I never thought I'd end up fighting beside you."
"Same here."
Huiwon blew the remaining dust off the Sword of Judgement.
The blade was hard and matte. Suyeong had once faced that sword on the stage of Proof of Stars. Since then, she had never spoken with Huiwon alone. Partly because they had nothing in particular to say to each other, and partly because neither was talented at that sort of conversation.
Even so, Suyeong couldn't help asking Huiwon this time.
"Why are you carrying that around?"
"Oh, this?"
Huiwon looked at the enormous lump strapped to her back and smiled bitterly.
Lee Hyeongseong hung from a cross made of steel beams, bound tightly to it.
"I need to keep him like this to protect him."
"He already looks like he's died a holy death. Where did you get that cross?"
"My Patron."
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire nods with satisfaction.]
"That visual feels kind of sacrilegious. Is Uriel really an angel?"
"Well, the Demon King looks like that too."
Their gazes turned toward the rear of the formation at the same time.
Kim Dokja stood among the Constellations outside the front line. With a dark expression, he had one finger against the ground, seemingly scribbling something.
Suyeong said, "Is he writing a will?"
"Maybe. That's the face he makes right before he dies."
Huiwon gritted her teeth at the thought.
"If something like that happens again, this time I'll really..."
[First Tail Swipe has resumed!]
A great light burst from the front.
"Prepare."
At Junghyeok's signal, the Constellations gripped their weapons as one.
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire warns you!]
The scorching heat wave blazed brightly. Suyeong looked sick as dense crimson flames that burned everything, sky and earth alike, surged toward them.
"Damn it, if that Flame Dragon bastard hadn't lost..."
[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon says he underestimated that bastard far too much.]
[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon says that if he had fought with both hands from the start...]
"Shut up!"
Then the scorching heat wave swallowed the Constellations.
Rumble!
At the center of the surging scorching heat wave, Suyeong desperately activated [Black Flame]. Black Flame Dragon's Status filled her entire body, and the heat of the wave was drawn into her. Her mind went blank, and it felt as though the fables she had built up all this time were melting away.
Dokja endured something like this?
At least Huiwon was beside her.
No, not just Huiwon. Constellations who were second to none when it came to fire stood around her.
The clearest example was Agni, the Flame of Purification, receiving the flames at the front.
Aside from Veda's three Mythical gods, Agni was one of its strongest Constellations. He must have been pouring out an enormous amount of power, because his whole body had turned into flame as he endured the scorching heat wave, his eyes rolling back until only the whites showed...
"That bastard is burning!"
Crackle!
Agni's body began to crumble into ashes.
That was the turning point. Cries from Constellations rang out everywhere.
[Aaaaaaah!]
The line was being pushed back. Far faster than when they had faced the electric wave.
Constellations melted by the scorching heat wave writhed in agony, while the flames fed on them like firewood and flared even more fiercely.
They were being pushed back.
It looked as though Suyeong's eyes would cook despite the Status protecting them. The pressing heat made it hard to breathe. The scorching heat wave had already drawn close to her.
Huiwon gasped and shouted, "Uriel!"
Uriel and Black Flame Dragon's powers combined to form a temporary barrier. The scorching heat wave seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon began forcing them back bit by bit.
Suyeong and Huiwon endured with their shoulders pressed together. Black Flame Dragon and Uriel were both gradually losing strength.
Black Flame Dragon had already spent much of his power in the Dragon Festival, while Uriel couldn't receive distributed Plausibility because Eden had been half-destroyed. Her circumstances weren't much better.
[The nebula Veda is retrieving some of its Plausibility.]
[The nebula Papyrus is retrieving some of its Plausibility.]
The nebulae that had been supplying Plausibility were withdrawing one by one.
It was only natural. If they used more Plausibility than their Great Fables contained, there would be nothing left for them even if they obtained this Great Fable.
Whether they were destroyed by the Apocalypse Dragon or by Plausibility Backlash, it was all the same from the nebulae's perspective.
Suyeong bit her dry, bloodstained lips.
"Damn it, this isn't the time to worry about Dokja."
"Worry about me?"
For a moment, a refreshing sensation passed through her. Then a familiar power wrapped around both their backs.
Suyeong grumbled, "Did you finish writing your will?"
"What are you talking about?"
[The nebula Kim Dokja Company is providing Plausibility.]
In the Star Stream, Plausibility was desire. The will to never give up on a story that everyone else had abandoned. The hopes of the few who still hadn't given up on this Scenario were supporting them.
Suyeong smiled bitterly.
"You idiots. Why didn't you all just run away?"
"Where would we go?"
Jihye's Turtle Dragon advanced while firing its cannons. The armored hull of the Turtle Dragon, which incorporated future technology, intercepted the scorching heat wave in place of Huiwon and Suyeong, who were collapsing.
[The Great Fable Next City is crumbling.]
Jihye endured the flames alone, writhing in pain. No matter how powerful the Turtle Dragon was as a Fable Weapon, it wasn't a battleship built for a situation like this.
Suyeong shouted desperately, "Damn it! Someone, anyone, hurry up and help! There are plenty of bastards with fire attributes!"
No one answered from the night sky.
[The overwhelming majority of Constellations gaze at the nebula Kim Dokja Company.]
[The overwhelming majority of Constellations are evacuating from the scorching heat wave!]
[The Constellations of the Final Scenario watch the Scenario.]
The weaker Constellations were too busy fleeing in fear, while the powerful ones seemed unwilling to miss this spectacle.
"Is it really only us?"
The Turtle Dragon's outer shell melted. Junghyeok, activating Blazing Flame Divine Sword, carried the collapsed Jihye on his back.
The scorching heat wave that had burned everything around them surged forth once again. This time, it was too large to stop.
Not Uriel, Black Flame Dragon, Naval Warfare God, Kyrios, or even Junghyeok...
"Thank you for enduring this," Dokja said.
"It's all right now. I was a little confused. It's my first time doing this too."
Before Suyeong could ask what that meant, something rose from the ground behind them. It was the spot where Dokja had been crouching earlier.
A dark hexagram spread wide across the ground. Something was being summoned over it.
Rumble!
A massive body withstood the incoming scorching heat wave head-on.
Suyeong's eyes widened.
"Pluto?"
It was the Colossus Pluto. Yet it wasn't simply Pluto.
Even Pluto couldn't possibly endure that scorching heat wave alone.
Rumble!
Someone riding inside Pluto was single-handedly withstanding the scorching heat wave that even fabled-grade Constellations couldn't endure.
The moment Suyeong saw the chilling scythe in Pluto's grasp, she realized who it was.
The Fable Weapon Pluto hadn't originally belonged to Dokja.
[The Great Fable Underworld begins its story.]
Even if a story was desired by only a few, the amount of Plausibility changed depending on who those few were. The being who had appeared now was great enough to bear that Plausibility alone.
[The Constellation Father of the Rich Night has manifested in the Scenario!]
The Constellation who guarded Olympus's hottest hell.
The Mythical Constellation Hades made his Descent onto the battlefield, leading the underworld.
Footnotes:
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