WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 449: Episode 85: The Final Wall (1)
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[The 95th Main Scenario has ended!]
After the Scenario ended, Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Outer Gods gathered at the heart of the Tongtian River for a feast.
[The Great Fable Journey to the West is freeing the extras from their status.]
The Outer Gods who had become slaves to the Scenario under the oppression of the Administration Bureau and Emperor were being freed.
【Ooooooooooh】
【MonkeyKingMonkeyKingMonkeyKing】
Some of them had followed Secretive Plotter before joining the Scenario late. As Secretive Plotter's Status weakened, they naturally shifted to Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the newly ascended Outer God.
[Reward distribution has begun!]
The Incarnations' mouths fell open as though they might split as they watched the rewards for the 95th Scenario descend from the sky.
Their joy didn't last long.
Their gazes soon turned toward the group of Incarnations receiving even greater rewards.
"Wow, that's..."
"Damn it. I should've entered that fable room too."
They were Kim Dokja Company's allies.
Along with individual rewards worth a full million Coins each, some had even acquired constellation artifacts from Emperor.
Everything was being distributed according to procedure, so no one could object.
[The nebula Emperor protests to the Administration Bureau about the fairness of the Scenario!]
No, there was. It was Emperor, the host of the Scenario.
The rewards for the large-scale Scenario they had painstakingly prepared had gone entirely to a small nebula, so they couldn't help feeling wronged.
[Star Stream has dismissed Emperor's protest.]
Some of Emperor's Constellations, unable to contain their fury, were about to unleash their Status when unexpected beings stopped them.
"Please stop. We lost."
Peihu, Emperor's strongest Incarnation.
"What would the Mythical Constellations think if they saw us like this?"
Emperor's Mythical Constellations hadn't participated in this "Journey to the West" Scenario. They would be watching all of this from the Final Scenario.
"Act in a way that won't disgrace your own honor."
At the Incarnation's firm words, Emperor's Constellations belatedly lowered their heads, their faces red.
From a distance, Huiwon and Jihye watched the scene.
"That's unexpected."
"It is."
Most of the influential figures from the great nebulae they had encountered until now had refused to acknowledge their defeat. This time was different.
Perhaps noticing them watching, Peihu approached with an awkward smile.
"Incarnation Jeong Huiwon."
Huiwon tensed and gripped the Steel Sword.
Peihu was one of the strongest opponents she had ever faced.
Peihu spoke gently.
"This match was truly impressive."
"Ah, yes."
"If the opportunity arises, I would very much like to invite you to China for a meal."
Looking closer, Huiwon saw that Peihu's ears were faintly red.
Jihye exclaimed via [Telepathy].
―Wow. Even with the world ending, people like this still exist.
Huiwon stared blankly at Peihu. Peihu couldn't meet her eyes and hesitated.
Jihye poked Huiwon in the side.
―Unni, what are you doing? He's still the best of all the men we've seen so far. His face is nowhere near as good as my master's, but...
"I'm sorry, but..."
Huiwon replied with the courtesy of a martial arts master.
"I've already pledged to spend my life with my sword."
"So have I."
"Pardon?"
"I will certainly invite you to China, so that we may share a profound sword dance through the night."
Huiwon found herself feeling slightly put off as Peihu went on at length, eyes burning with passion. When she looked beside her, even Jihye, who had been cheering with shining eyes, was shaking her head.
It would be a relief if all this were just a needless worry, but if it wasn't, trouble might arise.
Tss, tss...
She heard the sound of her Patron stirring, unable to bear it any longer.
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire...]
'That's enough, Uriel. Stay still.'
If Uriel stepped in here for no reason, the embers of the dying war might burst into flames again. Huiwon wanted to challenge Peihu one-on-one and crush Peihu immediately, but the surrounding Constellations were watching...
"I'm sorry, but I already―"
Before she could finish, the Steel Sword in her hand trembled. It was the Steel Sword that Lee Hyeongseong had transformed into.
Huiwon felt oddly resentful.
Why did this sword have to be a sword that couldn't speak?
"What is this? Move!"
Han Suyeong came to Huiwon's rescue. No one knew when she had entered the Scenario, but she shoved Peihu aside and looked around.
"Where's Kim Dokja?"
Kim Dokja?
Huiwon looked back at the Incarnation body of the man she had been carrying on her back.
Peihu looked displeased at Suyeong's interruption.
As Huiwon looked between Peihu and Dokja's Incarnation body, an excellent idea came to her.
"My liege!"
As if recalling Capture the Flag, Huiwon embraced Dokja and cried out in a passionate voice.
"My liege! Are you all right?"
Dokja's pale Incarnation body swayed limply in Huiwon's arms.
"My king!"
Everyone was looking at Huiwon.
Jihye's mouth hung open, Suyeong wore a baffled expression, and Peihu...
"Ah..."
Only then did Peihu seem to understand everything.
"I see, Incarnation Jeong Huiwon. So that was it?"
Peihu's gaze swept over Huiwon, Suyeong, and Jihye before settling on Dokja's face.
Peihu subtly bit his lip.
Like an ill-fated extra envying the chosen protagonist, Peihu slowly lowered his head and turned away.
Jihye sent Huiwon a message over [Telepathy].
―That's enough, unni. He's gone now. I think he got the wrong idea, and an unpleasant one at that.
Huiwon didn't stop.
"My liege! Wake up! My liege! If you don't wake up, I'll kill you!"
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Dokja's left cheek began to swell from Huiwon's slaps.
Suyeong looked down at Huiwon with a look of disdain.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting revenge."
Suyeong nodded as if she understood, then grabbed Dokja by the collar and shook him in Huiwon's place.
"Hey."
"..."
"I said I'd make you a new modifier. But you couldn't even wait and got a new modifier already?"
"..."
"Did you hear the narration I wrote? The final stage direction? What did you think? You can be honest, you bastard. It moved you, right?"
Dokja still didn't answer.
Frowning, Suyeong slapped his other cheek, which hadn't swollen yet.
Smack! Smack!
Shin Yuseong, unable to watch any longer, ran over with a pale face.
"What are you all doing?"
"Don't worry. He's still breathing. He's not dead."
Despite the commotion, Dokja didn't wake up.
Then the allies began to disagree.
"He's definitely not waking up on purpose. He knows what he's done."
"Then maybe we should inflict unbearable pain on him..."
"Aren't you all being too cruel?"
Five minutes passed, then ten, and there was still no sign of consciousness. The allies' expressions began to grow serious.
"What is this?"
In the end, they found someone who could explain the situation. It was Yu Junghyeok, unconscious right beside Dokja.
"Hey, Yu Junghyeok! Wake up! Why isn't that bastard Kim Dokja waking up?"
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Junghyeok's firm cheeks didn't swell as easily as Dokja's.
After a while, Junghyeok barely cracked his eyes open.
"I am Yu Junghyeok..."
"Damn it, what's wrong with this guy now?"
Like someone out of his mind, Junghyeok only repeated the same words.
Yu Sangah, who had appeared belatedly, stopped Suyeong.
"Stop pestering Junghyeok-ssi. His memories must be muddled because of the fable, so he won't be in his right mind."
"Sangah unni!"
The allies, finally able to celebrate their reunion, gathered around Sangah.
A different kind of dignity radiated from Sangah, who had safely reincarnated.
Suyeong snickered as she watched the scene.
"I heard you were Shakyamuni's descendant, but you're not bald?"
"Religions are pretty trendy these days."
"It's good to have you back. You're a little late, though."
"It wasn't easy arriving right when you were about to cause trouble."
"The troublemaker isn't me. It's him."
Sangah shrugged and reached out toward the unconscious Dokja. The Golden Headband around his head shone with a brilliant golden light.
Huiwon nodded in satisfaction.
"You did a good job putting it on him. He won't be able to run away now."
"Unfortunately, I think he already has."
"What?"
"His soul form hasn't returned."
A faint, thin line extended from the Golden Headband on Dokja's head toward the sky. A line leading somewhere.
Sangah gauged where the line led and said,
"Don't worry. He can't have gone far. It doesn't look like he left of his own will, either."
He hadn't left of his own will. The meaning was clear.
Suyeong hurriedly looked around.
"Where did Secretive Plotter go?"
* * *
The scenery of the dimensional passage rushed past me.
It had all happened in an instant.
The moment I deactivated [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], something grabbed my soul form. When I regained my senses, I was crossing through a portal with Secretive Plotter. Normally, that would have been impossible, but this time was different.
[You have failed to keep your Existence Oath.]
[Your soul form has been temporarily bound by the contract of the Existence Oath.]
[Your contractor has ownership of your soul form for 24 hours.]
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched the messages float in the air.
―I didn't know [Oath of Existence] could be used like this.
I had sworn not to reveal my identity while contacting Kim Dokja Company during the Scenario.
It was the only oath I hadn't properly kept in this Scenario.
Since the Scenario's contents had changed midway through, I thought there was room for dispute. Apparently, Star Stream had determined that I broke the oath.
―Are you going to kill me?
Sparks still crackled all over Secretive Plotter's body, though he had taken the form of a boy.
I could feel countless Yu Junghyeoks within his fable watching me. It wasn't a hostile fable. It was obvious he didn't intend to kill me. As Junghyeok had said earlier, if Secretive Plotter had wanted to kill me, he had already had several chances.
Before long, the portal closed. We had arrived somewhere familiar to me. A forest covered in dense darkness.
It was Yingai Forest, Secretive Plotter's residence.
【Enter.】
With those words, my soul form was sucked away somewhere.
I blinked and found I could move my eyes. Yet I had neither arms nor legs. Wondering what I had become, I looked around and saw my reflection in the glass on the wall.
I had become a small Murim Dumpling.
It seemed to be the symbolic form used by [999].
"How does it feel to be a dumpling?"
Little Yu Junghyeoks who had appeared at some unknown point came running over and kicked me as they beat me up. Since they were only little Yu Junghyeoks, it didn't hurt much.
I curled up so my dumpling skin wouldn't burst and shouted,
―I don't know what you're trying to do, but you can't stop me. After 24 hours, I'll return to my Incarnation body anyway. If you want to kill me, you should do it now.
Of course, I didn't truly want him to kill me.
I asked Secretive Plotter, who sat on the throne.
―Secretive Plotter. What is your goal? Why are you keeping me alive?
The little Yu Junghyeoks stopped moving at my question.
Secretive Plotter looked down at me.
The strongest Outer God and Constellation I knew, the strongest Yu Junghyeok of them all.
―I know that if you'd fought at full strength, you could've defeated us.
Even if Junghyeok, who had recovered the memories of the 1,864th round, and I had joined forces, it would have been impossible to surpass Secretive Plotter in the pure Status of fables. He was the sum of all history from the 0th round to the 1,863rd round. He was Yu Junghyeok, who had endured ages beyond even that.
And yet, Secretive Plotter chose defeat instead of killing us.
"Because you are needed."
The voice came from [41], who had been listening to the conversation.
"Because you're the human who possesses the final fragment of the Final Wall."
Footnotes:
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