WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 416: Episode 79: Secretive Plotter (1)

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Two days had passed since the Great war of Angels and Demons ended.

The nightmare-filled Island of Reincarnators was no longer in sight, and the Constellations were leaving the Ark to find their own places in the Nexus of the Constellations.

―This stop is Olympus.

Those who rose at the announcement were Constellations of Olympus. Dionysus, standing as their Representative, looked at Huiwon and spoke.

[Sorry to leave first.]

"It's okay."

[Don't worry too much. He's not just any Constellation. It's him. He'll definitely be alive.]

Dionysus patted Huiwon's shoulder, then led the Constellations away beyond the dark dimension.

Huiwon silently waited until every Constellation had gone, then stepped down from the Ark's prow. As soon as she descended the stairs, she saw someone waiting for her. It was Suyeong.

"What about Dionysus?"

"He left."

"And Cheok Junkyung and the underworld?"

"They'll probably leave in a little while."

"What about Uriel?"

Suyeong continued asking, and Huiwon continued answering.

Most of it was trivial information. Hades and Persephone. Uriel. Cheok Junkyung's residence. Who was leaving and who was staying. And who would be with them. Some of it was information they both already knew. But it didn't matter who knew what right now.

"Hayoung's completely exhausted, so the teachers are helping restore her circulation."

"What about Jihye?"

"She's repairing the broken warship at the rear."

"And Hyeongseong?"

One asked, and one answered. They repeated that as they walked through the Ark's corridor. If they didn't, they wouldn't be able to keep their sanity.

"What about the kids?"

"The kids..."

Before Huiwon could continue, the children's voices came from inside one of the cabins.

―We should make a contract with darkness right away and avenge hyung...

―Avenge him? Mister is definitely alive. I can feel it.

―I know that too! If it's Dokja hyung, he'll definitely...!

―Get a grip. This is the time to make a sound plan.

As though they had agreed on it, Huiwon and Suyeong stopped and listened to the children. Until yesterday, they had lost their senses and wailed in grief. But now, the children visible beyond the cabin window...

"They seem okay."

After a beat, Suyeong asked Huiwon, "What about you?"

Huiwon didn't answer. Her gaze slowly fell. Instead of looking at Huiwon, Suyeong looked where Huiwon was looking.

Huiwon opened her mouth.

"He asked me to save him."

"..."

"He asked me, specifically, to save him."

Her fist clenched tight. Even without looking at each other, there was something they could share. It felt as if dry rain were falling somewhere.

Suyeong quietly listened to that sound before speaking.

"There'll be a lot to do when we get back."

"I know."

Huiwon rubbed her face with her sleeve and gave a weak smile.

"We have to go to Seoul first, right?"

"Of course."

"There'll definitely be bastards targeting Seoul now that Dokja-ssi is gone. We'll have to restore order when we get there, too."

"Who's going to tell Lee Sukyeong?"

"That..."

They fell silent and stared into empty space for a moment. Suyeong spoke first.

"Yu Sangah should've been here at a time like this."

"I miss Sangah-ssi."

They had lost too much.

When they turned their heads, the scenery of the dark dimension passed beyond the cabin window. Stars glittered across a distant galaxy.

The universe doesn't suddenly end just because one star disappears.

Because there are countless stars in the universe, light still exists.

But to those living on a certain planet, that star had been all the light they knew.

Suyeong deliberately looked away from Huiwon's reflection in the window.

Huiwon muttered, "What happened to Dokja-ssi?"

Suyeong didn't answer and walked ahead. Before long, they reached the room at the end of the corridor. When she carefully opened the door and entered, Junghyeok was lying there, wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

Suyeong rummaged inside her coat, took out a Lemon Candy, and said, "We'll find out when this bastard wakes up."

* * *

It happened when I was deeply engrossed in reading TWSA.

As usual, I was satisfied after finishing my daily work and began scrolling down when I noticed something written in the [Author's Note] section.

―What do you think, Reader-nim?

I'd forgotten what the question was about. It might have been about the plot, or perhaps a clue in the story. What had I answered back then?

Before I could remember, my younger self's fingers pressed the keyboard.

―Hmm. A twist that simple is a little...

―You thought so too?

As I looked into the memory, I was surprised all over again. Something like this had happened? I remembered TWSA so well, so why had I completely forgotten memories like this?

Thinking back, the writer of TWSA had spoken to me from time to time.

I'd also sometimes spoken to the author through comments. Usually, I sent encouragement or asked questions about the next installment, but sometimes, I raised objections.

It was probably shortly after Junghyeok had passed his 600th round.

No matter how much I thought about the novel after reading it, I couldn't understand it, so I finally questioned the author in a comment.

―Author-nim. Isn't this a typo? Junghyeok smiled "brightly"?

tls123 answered.

―After regressing around 600 times, anyone would become like that.

It sounded plausible enough that I had nothing to say back. I think that was the first time I seriously considered how many times Junghyeok had regressed.

Six hundred regressions. What could life mean to someone who had lived through that kind of existence again and again?

「Kim Dok ja, get a gr ip」

With a throbbing sensation in my head, my consciousness slowly returned. My entire body was stiff, and severe pain ran through every part of my Incarnation body. When I barely opened my eyes, faint rays of light stabbed into my retinas.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

"It appears you're awake."

Speak of the devil.

I snickered and turned toward the voice.

Something was strange.

"Are you Kim Dokja?"

When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by countless Yu Junghyeoks.

* * *

It took me another ten minutes or so to fully regain my senses.

After briefly losing consciousness again, I tried to figure out what had happened to me before opening my eyes. First, I needed to organize the situation.

One, the Great war of Angels and Demons was over.

That much seemed certain.

The messages remaining in my log were proof enough.

[You have acquired the Great Fable Season of Light and Darkness!]

[Your third Great Fable has completed its turning point!]

[The third condition of the Hidden Scenario, A Single Fable, has been fulfilled!]

[The final fable awaits you.]

[The entire Star Stream is abuzz over your achievement!]

[Many nebulae in the Star Stream are watching your nebula!]

[An overwhelming majority of Constellations, your fable...]

I had finally completed the turning point of "A Single Fable."

Enormous fable energy churned within me.

The Great Fable "Season of Light and Darkness."

It was a Great Fable I had never heard of before. Naturally, the original story had never had The Nameless Mist collide with the Apocalypse Dragon.

This would probably mark the beginning of an upheaval across the entire worldline.

The flow of destruction had accelerated, so the flow of the Scenarios as a whole would have no choice but to accelerate as well.

Two, someone had rescued me.

This was where the problem began. Who had saved me?

"There's no point pretending to be unconscious."

For the record, the last thing I saw had been Junghyeok coming to save me. So perhaps it was only natural that Junghyeok's face was in front of me.

The problem was...

"It seems you're as stupid as you look."

"Just as I'd heard."

Why were there several of those Junghyeoks?

There were even...

I stared blankly at the five or six tiny Junghyeoks on the bed. They were clearly Junghyeok, but all of them had oversized heads and were about as tall as Kyrios.

Was this a dream?

It had to be a dream. The stress that bastard had caused me must have piled up so much that my brain had created this terrible delusion.

When I repeatedly slapped my cheeks, the tiny Junghyeoks spoke.

"It seems he thinks this is a dream. How foolish."

"It seems he needs time to grasp the situation."

"He's troublesome. Do we really have to wait for him?"

I ignored them and looked around the room.

It was a large circular room. The table, chairs, ornaments, even the bed I was sitting on, were all round.

Where the hell was this?

I thought hard, but nothing came to mind. I should've remembered a place this unique, but I had no recollection of reading about it in TWSA.

Wondering if this was a new Scenario area, I called up the Scenario Window. To make matters worse, this message appeared.

[The Scenario system of the Star Stream is currently undergoing maintenance.]

In the end, there was nothing I could learn in my current state.

"It seems you've roughly grasped the situation."

"I'll ask again. Are you Kim Dokja?"

A fierce-eyed tiny Junghyeok asked. Looking closely, every tiny Junghyeok had a different number plate attached to his chest. The one who had just asked me had [999] written on his.

I decided to answer for now.

"That's right. I'm Kim Dokja."

The Junghyeoks looked at one another and nodded at the same time.

These bastards were tiny, yet they acted exactly like the real Junghyeok.

"It seems the right one was brought."

Even their voices were the same.

I had no idea what was going on, but by now, I had no choice but to accept it.

This wasn't a dream. Through some unknown whim of Plausibility, I had arrived in a fantasy kingdom inhabited by tiny Junghyeoks.

"Who are you?"

I decided to ask. If they truly were Junghyeok, there was no way they would answer my question straightforwardly. Still, I had to ask.

One of the tiny Junghyeoks muttered, "Pathetic. Can't you tell just by looking?"

Of course.

If I had to end up somewhere like this, I wished I had come to a world inhabited by kind tiny Yu Sangahs. As I considered how to provoke these bastards into answering me, Junghyeok with [888] on his chest unexpectedly spoke.

"Your brain is too stupid to understand even if you think about it all day, so I'll tell you. We are part of the Great Plot."

The Great Plot? Don't tell me...

A chilling sensation crossed my mind.

Perhaps taking my silence for something else, Junghyeok with [777] on his chest spoke with a sneer.

"Your pathetic intelligence could never understand."

Yes, they were Junghyeok. These guys were definitely Junghyeok.

"If you've regained your senses, move. There is someone waiting for you."

"Who's waiting for me?"

"You'll know when you get there."

I rose unsteadily and followed him. The round door opened, revealing a large corridor. Tiny Junghyeok [999] led the way, and I followed him. The other tiny Junghyeoks toddled after me.

"Where are we?" I asked.

The Junghyeok following behind me said, "eun gui ei soup."

"What are you talking about?"

"It means Forest of Ngai. You're a prophet, yet you don't even know that?"

Why did you say it like it was a foreign language?

Tiny Junghyeok [666] glared at me as though I were hopeless, then sharply turned his head away. Suddenly, I wondered if those numbers represented Junghyeok's regression rounds.

What had happened in Junghyeok's 666th round? Had that been the round where he traveled with Abyssal Black Flame Dragon?

A silver forest came into view through the corridor windows.

Forest of Ngai. It sounded like a place I had heard of somewhere. But I didn't think it had appeared in TWSA...

That was when a group approached from the other side of the corridor.

【Is that the one Secretive Plotter brought here?】

Could that really be described as walking?

My body prickled, and I gripped the hilt of Unbreakable Faith without realizing it.

A group of Outer Gods was approaching from the opposite direction.

They gave off an aura far more ominous than any Constellation's. Monsters with horse heads, their bodies covered in disgusting tentacles. The tentacles stretching into the air tilted briefly, then slowly began creeping toward me.

It was clearly not a friendly movement.

Unexpectedly, tiny Junghyeok [999] stepped in front of the tentacles.

"He's our guest. Don't touch him without permission."

【There's nothing wrong with talking to him.】

"I didn't give permission."

Tiny Junghyeok [999] spoke as he drew a miniature Splitting the Sky Sword from his back. Then tiny Junghyeok [888], tiny Junghyeok [777], and tiny Junghyeok [666] did the same. Every one of them drew a sword from his back or waist.

Could these guys fight?

They looked like figurines no matter how I looked at them.

The other side seemed to be thinking the same thing, because they began showing persistent hostility toward us.

【How dare you! Just because you are followers of the Great Plot...】

At the moment the tentacles and tiny Junghyeoks were about to clash, a sound echoed from somewhere in the forest.

Thud.

The Outer Gods whose tentacles had been writhing all collapsed to the ground. Only the horse-headed one that had shown hostility toward me remained standing.

【■■■...!】

Thud.

Then even the horse-headed one drove its face into the ground. This wasn't a simple seismic wave.

Someone was terrifying them with overwhelming Status.

【Uuugh...】

The groaning Outer Gods moved aside all at once. At the end of the path, the entrance to a massive hall appeared. It was an open hall, with countless tree vines growing through the gaps in its broad circular ceiling.

I entered the hall with the tiny Junghyeoks.

A thin ray of sunlight shone on an ancient throne in the center of the hall.

No one had told me, but I knew.

That being was the king of this forest.

I even knew him.

A scarred face emerged from the shadows in the faint sunlight. A white coat just like mine.

The being I believed I would never see again sat there.

【It's been a long time, Kim Dokja.】

Footnotes:

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