WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 438: Episode 82: Outer Gods (7)

──────

At that moment, Gilyeong's lips moved soundlessly.

Tears rapidly welled up in the child's clear eyes.

"Y-you..."

After patting Gilyeong's head, I drew in the nearby debris.

(Sun Wukong used a wind technique toward the rear.)

[The Exclusive Skill Way of the Wind Lv.10 has activated!]

With a fierce gust, the raft of debris carrying me shot forward.

I heard Gilyeong's voice behind me, but it was swallowed by the wind.

[Someone in Kim Dokja Company suspects your identity.]

[The Hunchback King glares at you!]

The Nine Luminaries Star Lords had noticed my movement and were relentlessly pursuing me.

A few of them flew ahead of me instead of chasing after me.

In the distance, I could vaguely make out the location of the scriptures. A single book radiating a beautiful glow sat atop a small island shrouded in mysterious mist.

Before I knew it, the Nine Luminaries Star Lords and the Constellations of the nebula Emperor had blocked the way ahead.

I let out a quiet sigh.

[Outer God Transformation progress: 98.3%]

[The damage to your Incarnation body is severe.]

There was only one way left.

At that moment, Yu Junghyeok [999], who had remained silent on my shoulder until then, spoke.

"You're doing something stupid. Do you want to become an Outer God?"

I grinned.

‘Are you scared?’

"If you push yourself any further, you'll really become an Outer God. Then you'll fail the Scenario too."

I opened the Scenario window and checked the objective.

+

<Hidden Scenario - Proof of Promise>

Category: Hidden

Difficulty: ???

Clear Conditions: Make an Outer God appear in one of the major Great Fables of the Star Stream. However, it must not appear as an Outer God, as it did before.

Time Limit: 100 days

Reward: The trust of an Outer God, ???

Failure: Lose all memories and transform into an Outer God.

While carrying out this Scenario, you must not contact Kim Dokja Company and reveal your identity. If you violate this condition, your transformation into an Outer God* will accelerate.

* Warning! Your identity is currently at risk of exposure.

The deterioration of your Incarnation body is accelerating your Outer God Transformation.*

+

As expected, even after reading it again, my guess was right.

‘Becoming an Outer God doesn't mean I've failed the Scenario. Becoming an Outer God is the penalty for failure, not a condition for failure.’

"That's no different..."

‘It is different. I'll become an Outer God before I fail the Scenario.’

The Hidden Scenario I received from the Hunchback King had a time limit of 100 days.

In other words, I only had to complete the task within that period.

The problem was the part about Outer God Transformation.

‘I'm rapidly transforming into an Outer God not because I failed the Scenario, but because my Incarnation body's condition is bad. Which means...’

"So even if you become an Outer God, you won't fail the Scenario."

‘That's right.’

I nodded and stared ahead. [999] seemed to have finally understood my goal.

[The Outer God's current share in this fable is 12.171%.]

[To complete the Scenario, you must secure the Outer God's share at 30% or higher.]

Even if I obtained the scriptures and claimed the Great Fable, I wouldn't be able to fill the Outer God's share at this rate.

But what if I became an Outer God?

[Your role in the current fable is Sun Wukong.]

[Your current share in the fable is 22.51%.]

If an Outer God took on the role of Sun Wukong, the strongest monster of fable.

If that allowed me to fill the remaining share.

"Why are you going this far?"

‘Why do you ask?’

"Even if you leave Secretive Plotter and the Outer Gods alone, you have nothing to lose."

Nothing to lose.

"Don't tell me you pity Secretive Plotter. He doesn't need sympathy from the likes of you."

‘Probably not. He's Junghyeok too, after all.’

"Junghyeok? Don't make me laugh. He isn't the Junghyeok you know. He's already become something completely different."

I didn't answer.

As I watched the Constellations of the nebula Emperor rushing toward me, [999] continued.

"You don't know what becoming an Outer God means. Once you become one, you'll rapidly lose the memories of the life you've lived. Even Secretive Plotter couldn't endure without making terminals like us..."

So that was why there were so many little Junghyeoks.

I nodded lightly and replied.

‘I know the cost.’

"Then why the hell...!"

‘Because this is the only way.’

I smiled quietly as I spoke.

When I slowly blinked, the figures of the Outer Gods flashed past in the brief darkness.

【Aaaaaaahhhhhh】

【Save mesave mesave mesave me】

【Memoriesmemoriesmemoriesmemoriesmemories】

Outer Gods.

Beings born from the countless worldlines where Junghyeok had failed.

Traces of the world that had kept me alive, the world I loved so much.

‘After seeing that, how could I choose anything else?’

Even now, their voices were this clear in my ears.

Kwoooaaah.

The barrage shattered the raft I was riding.

I stepped on the scattered debris as footholds and ran across the river.

[Way of the Wind is accelerating further.]

[Way of the Wind has evolved as your speed reached its limit.]

I ran faster and faster until I was eventually able to run across the river without any debris beneath me.

[You have attained the realm of Treading on Duckweed to Cross Water.]

[The damage to your Incarnation body has worsened due to the excessive use of Status!]

[Outer God Transformation progress: 98.6%]

My heart was beating in an ominous rhythm.

[Outer God Transformation progress: 98.7%]

It was the sound of me becoming something other than myself.

[999] said something to me, but I couldn't hear his voice amid the explosions erupting across the river.

Instead, I heard a voice from within me.

「Kim Dok ja」

[The Fourth Wall] was speaking.

「Th is is cra zy」

It seemed it had been watching everything too.

Of course it had.

「You'l l for get ev ery thing」

「Kim Dokja wi ll no long er be Kim Dok ja」

[The Fourth Wall] was right.

[Outer God Transformation progress: 99.1%]

If I became an Outer God, I would lose every memory I had accumulated until now.

「Kim Dokja was afraid.」

It was horrifying just to imagine.

「All the memories he had accumulated disappearing.」

I looked at the sentences floating on the wall and spoke.

‘It's okay. You remember everything.’

「Wha t?」

‘You record all of me, so I'll never truly forget.’

Normally, I would never take a risk like this.

After all, I'd never want to experience something as terrifying as losing every memory.

[The Fourth Wall is greatly shaken!]

But I had [The Fourth Wall]. I didn't even know how I had acquired it, but it was a wall that had recorded everything since the very moment this story began.

I recalled the scenes within the wall. The Library filled with lonely, cozy darkness, and the librarians who treasured it. It held the noble stories of TWSA, containing every round of Junghyeok...

And the insignificant life of 'Kim Dokja' was written there too.

「Even now, that Library was recording everything about Kim Dokja.」

「From Kim Dokja's breathing to his appearance, his laughter, and the way he spoke.」

「The foods Kim Dokja liked and disliked. The songs he sometimes hummed. The expressions Kim Dokja made when he was sad or happy. The habit of muttering to himself when he lacked confidence, and the self-mockery that followed.」

「The habit of tilting his head when he thought of the children. The tremor that came when he closed his eyes and thought of his mother. The smile he wore when speaking to Yu Sangah. The curve of his eyebrows and the mischievous wrinkle at the corner of his mouth when teasing Han Suyeong. The guilt he felt when thinking of Lee Hyeongseong. And...」

「Even the look in his eyes when he recalled the stories he loved.」

That was why I could say it.

‘I can just read it all again from the beginning.’

「Bu t」

‘From the moment the subway arrived to now, here in Journey to the West. I can read it all again.’

A bullet of light fired from afar struck near my feet.

The explosion of light swept me away, and I fell into the river. Flailing, I grabbed onto a piece of debris nearby.

[The damage to your Incarnation body is severe!]

[Outer God Transformation progress: 99.3%]

I got up and ran again.

There was really only a little left.

‘Reading is what I love most in the world.’

I was struggling for breath.

[Outer God Transformation progress: 99.4%]

It already felt as though my memories were beginning to scatter.

A spear fired by one of the Nine Luminaries Star Lords grazed my shoulder. Even that pain no longer felt like mine.

Then, I remembered a post I had made on a community site long ago.

"I'm buying eyes that haven't read TWSA yet."

I had said that because I was so sad that the story I loved was nearing its end. A faint laugh escaped me.

‘Being able to forget a story this fun and read it again is a blessing for me instead.’

「Kim Dok ja is stu pid」

[The Fourth Wall] shouted as though it was upset.

「I won 't te ll you an ything」

Even if it said that, I knew it would help me.

「I can not for give you for for get ting」

Amid the pouring barrage, my skin peeled away, and pain that felt as though my back were breaking surged through me.

[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has activated powerfully!]

[The Fourth Wall] was blocking that pain.

I swung my fist at the charging Nine Luminaries Star Lords. My fist stung as if I had struck solid steel, but I didn't retreat.

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

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

……

[The setting of Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong has activated.]

[Your fighting spirit is decreasing due to the Retirement Penalty.]

[You cannot use your full strength due to the Retirement Penalty.]

Come to think of it, I had forgotten about that damn setting.

The power of the fables surrounding my body was rapidly draining away.

[Stop him!]

[Don't let him reach the scriptures!]

The ruins holding the scriptures were right before me.

A granite island. A treasure that had weathered the passage of time.

The answer Sanzang and the others had obtained after a fourteen-year journey.

[Many audience members are watching your fable.]

[The judge Prisoner of the Golden Headband watches your choice.]

[The judge Handsome Monkey King anticipates your answer.]

[The judge Bimawen watches your fable.]

[The judge Heir of Shakyamuni is watching you.]

Every being who had been with me was watching this moment.

[Outer God Transformation progress: 99.7%]

The Nine Luminaries Star Lords desperately blocked my path.

Peihu's Sanzang was frantically running toward the scriptures.

If I delayed any longer, more Constellations from the nebula Emperor would gather, and I wouldn't be able to obtain the scriptures.

[Votes: 50,412]

[The current ranking of this fable room is 1st.]

I looked up into the air.

[The Scenario Master is watching you.]

For some reason, I had a feeling.

She might know.

Who I was. Why I hadn't revealed my identity to my allies.

I had a vague feeling she knew everything and had been pretending not to.

Then the Scenario Master's voice came through.

(...Fuck.)

I grinned as I heard that voice.

A narration began as the Constellations rushed toward me.

(Sun Wukong looked at his enemies.)

(They were enemies he had fought in a previous life too.)

[Outer God Transformation progress: 99.8%]

(A tiresome war.)

(He had retired, and he had vowed never to fight again. But)

I blinked as I listened to the narration, which sounded like a carefully written letter.

Yeah, I had a feeling you'd already know how this story had to end.

(Ancient power rose from his slowly clenched fist.)

[Your Retirement Penalty has been completely lifted.]

(Equaling Heaven. The power to command the storm clouds and lightning of the sky.)

[Bookmark No. 5 has been activated!]

[The Exclusive Skill Electrification Lv.23(+13) has been activated!]

[Your Status has overcome the penalty of your physical condition.]

White-blue aura.

[Electrification]'s lightning tore through the sky and destroyed the stars of the Nine Luminaries Star Lords.

(He was called Salvation because he had saved many with that fist, and he was called Demon King because he had killed many living beings with it.)

Black wings tore through my shoulders as they grew.

(Thus, he was the Demon King of Salvation.)

(All of it was a memory from long ago.)

When I turned my gaze, I saw the corpses of Outer Gods staining the Tongtian River.

(The days when he ruled at the pinnacle of the monsters of fable.)

(He ruled the monsters of fable, fought, and was defeated.)

(A long journey changed him, and he attained enlightenment to become a bodhisattva.)

They had all died as consumables for this Scenario.

(And this was the result of that enlightenment.)

The Golden Headband around my head hurt. Enduring the pain, I moved forward.

The Constellations of the nebula Emperor that had descended charged at me.

[Stop him!]

[He must never obtain the scriptures...!]

(For all the monsters of fable who had died)

(He decided to become the Demon King of Salvation once more.)

[The Demon King Demon King of Salvation has revealed his Status.]

With a dazzling explosion, the Constellations before me scattered.

Beyond that light, a single book lay before me.

I reached for the scriptures.

[Outer God Transformation progress: 99.9%]

[Your existence is evolving into an Outer God.]

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried