WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 414: Episode 78: The story's turning point (6)

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The Apocalypse Dragon and Indescribable Distance clashed.

As calamities collided, stars fell, and the spectacle of destruction was broadcast throughout the Star Stream.

[The end of this Island is approaching.]

Mandala's Protector was watching the scene through a panel as well.

As the Island of Reincarnators began to break apart, static gradually spread across his Incarnation body.

Yu Sangah in the tank spoke to Mandala's Protector.

"You already knew, didn't you?"

[Why do you think so?]

Sangah's soul silently gave off light. Her Incarnation body still hadn't opened its eyes.

"Because the you I saw in the Library..."

[Save that story for later. There are those listening.]

The moment he finished speaking, a heavy tremor shook the entire temple. Ominous, murky air pressed down on the surrounding area.

Grrrr...

A sound like a beast's growl echoed nearby.

Something wriggled in the shadows cast by the corners of the space around them.

Sangah's soul form trembled uneasily. As more bubbles rose inside the tank, Shakyamuni stepped forward.

[Hounds of Tindalos. It seems you have come looking for the wrong prey.]

Shakyamuni lightly recited a chant, and the prowling shadows vanished in an instant, like wild beasts leaving to seek other prey.

Only after the shadows had completely disappeared did Sangah manage to speak.

"That was..."

[Child. The door to the Final Scenario is now close.]

Shakyamuni's voice was heavy.

Rumble...

The prayer beads around his neck radiated heat as they rose into the air all at once.

Knowing what he intended to do, Sangah asked, "Won't I be able to come back to life?"

[Why do you think so?]

"Because you'll die when this Island ends. Then I won't be able to resurrect either."

[Child, we made a deal. You grant my request, and this body grants yours. Thus, the balance of this world is preserved.]

Shakyamuni continued with a benevolent smile.

[Therefore, you will reincarnate safely. You will not be able to act immediately, as you have yet to properly inherit the karma of your Incarnation body, but your role in the Final Scenario is very important. So...]

Sangah wanted to ask what that meant. Before she could, however, her consciousness began to fade.

[For now, rest awhile.]

Once Sangah's soul had fallen asleep, Shakyamuni removed her Incarnation body from the tank and began teleporting it elsewhere.

Rumble...

The temple shook once more.

At some point, the panel screen had changed. It showed two men with identical faces facing each other, one in a black coat and the other in a white coat.

[At last, you move. You who stand at the end of the carriage.]

After watching the scene for a while, Shakyamuni spoke regretfully.

[Then it is time for this side to prepare as well.]

* * *

How?

Yu Junghyeok hated those words. As a regressor, they were the words he heard most often.

The variations were always predictable, ranging from "How did you know?" to "How the hell could you...?" Junghyeok had grown so tired of hearing them that he had often killed the person who would say them first.

Yet now, Junghyeok was saying,

"How?"

those words himself, even though he knew it would invite his opponent's ridicule.

Tssssss...

There was a face he knew well within the raging storm of Plausibility. It was a face that couldn't be here, a being that shouldn't be here.

[The chaos score in this area is rapidly increasing!]

[A problem has occurred with the Scenario's balance!]

Though staggering, Junghyeok tried to understand the situation.

Countless hypotheses raced through him, like a broken clock racing to make up all its lost time at once.

「That bastard had to be Kim Dokja.」

「But he wasn't Kim Dokja.」

「1,863.」

「But how? How could something like this...」

...

【You should know I hate those words.】

As if he had read Junghyeok's thoughts, the being before him answered.

Junghyeok looked at that face once more.

The Infinite Dimensional Void Coat gleamed white amid bright sparks.

Where empty darkness should have been, there were pupils the same size as his own. It wasn't only the eyes. The nose, mouth, jawline, and build were all nearly identical, as if he were looking into a mirror.

The only difference was the large scar across the being's cheek.

Junghyeok blurted, "You aren't me."

【That's right. I am not you.】

Eyes filled with pitch-black darkness looked down at Kim Dokja, who hung from Secretive Plotter's waist.

[The Constellation Secretive Plotter is gazing at the Constellation Demon King of Salvation.]

The message landed like a finishing shot, and Junghyeok's body trembled.

He couldn't believe it.

"Secretive Plotter..."

The being before him was truly Secretive Plotter?

The Secretive Plotter who had sent Kim Dokja to the 1,863rd round, who had thrown Junghyeok into confusion by revealing Dokja's secret, who had sent countless Indirect Messages... was another Yu Junghyeok?

A distant explosion rang out, and Junghyeok bit his lip.

He could think about that later.

"Hand Dokja over."

His opponent was Secretive Plotter, an Outer God born from chaos.

Considering the pattern of that bastard's unpredictable actions, that form could easily be a fake...

【You have survived this long with such a dull brain.】

"Shut up and hand Dokja over. Otherwise..."

【Otherwise?】

The Status emanating from the being directly before him made Junghyeok feel faint.

He knew Secretive Plotter was strong. But he had never imagined he would be this strong. Junghyeok could now fight even Indra, a fabled-grade Constellation of the highest Status, and even inflict a serious wound.

But this being before him...

【What can you do?】

What the hell was this?

Junghyeok steadied his trembling legs and drew a ragged breath.

Ever since Secretive Plotter had appeared, even Indescribable Distance's split bodies that had been suppressing the area seemed to be cautiously edging away.

「This is impossible.」

He was furious at the absurdity of the Scenario and felt hatred toward the Star Stream for allowing such impossible Plausibility.

The moment he reached that thought, his mind cleared.

「Considering everything Secretive Plotter has done until now, it is impossible for him to manifest here.」

Secretive Plotter was different from Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Uriel, and Black Flame Dragon.

He was an Outer God, a being who required an enormous amount of Plausibility for a Descent.

Tssss...!

In fact, Secretive Plotter's entire body was being swallowed by an intense Plausibility Backlash as time passed. No being could be free from Plausibility Backlash.

Then it wasn't entirely hopeless.

「If I were Kim Dokja.」

As if he had become Dokja, Junghyeok asked in a calm tone, "I don't understand. You stayed still until now, so why intervene all of a sudden?"

【Because the time has come.】

"The time has come?"

A roar erupted beyond the void with that question. The battle between the Apocalypse Dragon and Indescribable Distance had reached its peak.

A colossal distortion field formed throughout the surrounding space amid the terrifying explosions.

As he watched an entire galaxy being crushed, Junghyeok truly felt that the Star Stream was being destroyed. With Plausibility like that, it would no longer be strange for anything to appear.

Secretive Plotter had been waiting for this moment all along.

Rumble!

Great Holes were opening overhead. It was the first time so many Great Holes had opened at once.

The holes of calamity, each capable of destroying a planet on its own.

Countless tentacles emerged through those distant holes.

【Ooooooooh!】

【■■■...■■■■■■】

【Great Plot!】

【The rise of the vanished Islands shall begin...!】

...

Grotesque cries rang out everywhere, constellations' declarations that sullied mind and body with foul energy merely by being heard.

Responding to those declarations, Secretive Plotter, who had snatched Dokja, slowly began to rise. He was moving directly toward the Great Holes.

Junghyeok's expression hardened.

"Wait!"

Without any certainty, Junghyeok stepped into Secretive Plotter's path. He had only blocked the way, yet blood ran from his nose. His vision shook, and the hand gripping his sword trembled.

Even so, Junghyeok said, "You can't go."

Secretive Plotter looked at him.

【Do not make foolish choices. Regression does not always guarantee an intact next life.】

Junghyeok understood exactly what that meant.

One life did not end with that life. Past lives always remained as curses in the next round.

Gripping the hilt of his sword hard enough to crush it, Junghyeok said, "I won't go to the next round."

【Is that so?】

The next moment, Junghyeok felt as if his entire body were being crushed. There was no sign, no warning. With only the movement of Secretive Plotter's gaze, Junghyeok's whole body shrank as if caught in a press.

Junghyeok spat blood and shouted, "Don't underestimate me!"

[The Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm begins its story!]

[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth begins its story!]

As the power of the Great Fables wrapped around his body, the force of the Status suppressing him faltered for an instant.

Kim Dokja was unconscious now, which meant Junghyeok was the Greatest Storyteller of the Great Fables held by Kim Dokja Company.

Junghyeok seized that instant, and his Black Heaven Demon Blade moved.

The Black Heaven Demon Blade, charged with all his Mana, carried the conclusion of splitting the sky.

The blade that had shattered the sky and cut down stars now moved to cut down his other self.

It was a pure surprise attack, without any technique.

Yet the blade stopped with a sharp metallic screech. Something metallic had caught his sword.

Junghyeok's pupils widened.

The Splitting the Sky Sword.

The blade that had broken long ago in the third round was held in Secretive Plotter's hand.

【You cannot defeat me.】

The two swords clashed again, and a violent gale laced with sparks surged outward.

Blood poured from Junghyeok's nose and mouth. Simply crossing swords made it feel as if his soul were falling beyond a distant universe. His right arm broke and his ribs shattered in a single clash.

Without showing his terrible pain, Junghyeok kept drawing out more strength.

At least he wasn't dead. That meant it was worth trying.

As expected, Secretive Plotter's state became more unstable with time. The sparks afflicting his existence grew more intense, and the fables sustaining his coat and Incarnation body were scattering apart, as though fables that could never fuse had been mixed together.

「He is definitely overextending himself. I just need to stall for time.」

On top of that, Secretive Plotter had looked as though something had been bothering him for some time. It didn't show on his face, but Junghyeok could feel it.

Secretive Plotter's Status was wary of something.

In other words, he couldn't remain here at ease.

【Stalling for time... That doesn't suit you. Did you learn it from Dokja?】

Junghyeok didn't answer.

The fact that Secretive Plotter was talking more was proof that he was anxious too.

【You are only in the third round. Therefore, your current goal should have nothing to do with Dokja. Why are you so obsessed with him?】

"That's what I want to ask you."

【I need Dokja to achieve my goal.】

"Then I suppose my answer is the same."

For an instant, a faint glimmer of emotion passed through Secretive Plotter's eyes. He seemed to understand what Junghyeok was thinking.

【You will not succeed. The Final Scenario of this round will take a form even Dokja does not know.】

"If that bastard were alone, that would be true."

【How laughable. You know nothing, and you're only in the third round.】

"I'm in the third round, but..."

Fables were flowing from Junghyeok's entire body.

"At least I have lived through a third round that you don't know."

The fables he had newly acquired in the third round had become part of Junghyeok and flowed through him. Some sentences flowed mournfully, while others flowed with endless elegance and beauty.

They were fables that had not existed in his previous lives, and perhaps would not exist in the lives to come.

Secretive Plotter quietly examined those fables, then spoke.

【No. It is a life I know as well. Puppet of the Oldest Dream.】

Footnotes:

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