Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 493

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 493: Episode 94: Beginning of the End (1)

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That smug smile. She wanted to hurl every cruel word she could think of at him. She wanted to tell him she'd kill him if he ever pulled something like this again. She had meant to do what she always did, but...

"Han Suyeong."

She couldn't.

When she lowered her head, she saw Kim Dokja's ankle. The combat suit Mass Production Maker had made for him was in tatters. Dokja's entire body, after becoming an Outer God King and fighting the Constellations, was covered in wounds. It wouldn't have been strange if he collapsed right then.

"Are you okay?"

Even now, Dokja was worried about her. Suyeong had no idea how to deal with the feelings rising inside her.

[The Constellation Father of the Rich Night is looking at you.]

[The Constellation Queen of the Darkest Spring is satisfied with your answer.]

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God nods.]

...

The gazes of the shining stars in the sky. Even as she heard the surging Indirect Messages, a chill still ran down Suyeong's spine. The channel that had gone dark only moments ago remained vivid before her eyes.

「If she had made even the slightest mistake.」

The Constellations might not have helped. Plausibility might not have flowed as she expected. Her companions might not have held out.

What she had borne until just now wasn't a draft she could revise.

The pressure that everything they had built would collapse if she took even one wrong step.

Dokja had always carried out Scenarios while feeling this way.

Dokja supported Suyeong as she staggered. She was about to brush his hand away, but sighed instead.

"Don't ever make me do something like this again."

"It was something only you could do."

Suyeong bit down hard on her lip at those words.

"You know what readers want better than anyone."

「What was the 'end' Kim Dokja wanted?」

In that desperate situation, with every world standing against them, that was the question Suyeong had thought about.

And perhaps she had finally reached its answer.

"Is this the end you had in mind?"

"It's the beginning of that end."

People ran past them across the battlefield. They had been Outer Gods only moments before, but now they had faces and names of their own.

【Push forward! All of you!】

【You damned dog Constellations!】

Some faces looked familiar, while others were strangers. One resembled Kim Namwoon, and another had a face like Jihye's. Yet they weren't Namwoon or Jihye. They were only extras from stories that had already ended.

「Every one of them was fighting to change the ending of this worldline.」

From the 0th round to the 1,863rd round. Everyone from the abandoned worldlines had gathered there.

【Go! Everyone!】

Watching their advance, Suyeong's heart swelled, too. Every one of them had gathered to defy their predetermined ending, and they stood with Kim Dokja Company.

[All members of the nebula Kim Dokja Company have become Enemies of Stories!]

Her companions staggered toward them from behind. They, too, could finally see Dokja's world.

[The fable Predictive Plagiarism shares its understanding with all members of the nebula Kim Dokja Company!]

[The fable Savior of the Star shares its thoughts with all members of the nebula Kim Dokja Company.]

Every fable was speaking with the others.

Her companions looked around in stunned silence. They, too, must have seen the horrifying masks worn by the Outer Gods melting away.

Suyeong looked over each of them, then suddenly realized something.

One person was still missing.

"Where the hell did that bastard go?"

Now that she thought about it, it was strange.

The one who burned with more rage toward the Constellations than anyone else. The one who had fought harder than anyone among them hadn't been seen on the battlefield for a while.

Then Dokja spoke.

"Over there."

"What?"

Suyeong hurriedly looked around.

Boom!

A thunderous blast erupted ahead, spreading a thick cloud of dust.

The Constellations from Asgard were crushing the Outer Gods.

[Disgusting creatures.]

Every time the Constellations crossed the battlefield, dozens of Nameless Ones died. Before, it would have looked like monsters dying. Now, it looked like the deaths of distinct human beings.

Nameless Ones with missing arms, severed legs, and spilling entrails.

It was a one-sided battle. Most of the Outer Gods who had come at Dokja's call were low-grade entities. There were occasionally high-grade ones, but they had already fallen under the concentrated attacks of Mythical Constellations. Their current strength couldn't stop the Constellations' full force.

Still, something was strange.

「Despite the overwhelming difference in strength, they had held out until now.」

Looking closely, there was something at the very front of the Outer Gods' line.

Tzztztztztzt!

Dark-blue sword strikes swept across the battlefield. A golden afterimage remained along every path the sword took.

[Kuaaaah!]

The head of a Constellation who had been trampling the Outer Gods flew off. Then another, then a third. A jet-black figure swung a sword again and again, showered not in blood but in spurting fables.

"That...!"

They already knew there was one exceptionally powerful Outer God fighting at the front. At first, Suyeong had only thought, 'I guess powerful bastards show up because it's the Final Scenario.'

An Outer God swung a sharp tail, cutting down Constellations like sheets of paper.

But when she looked closely, it wasn't a tail. It was a pitch-black sword.

[The Attribute Steel-Blooded Monarch has activated!]

Constellation corpses were piled up like a mountain. At its peak stood a throne of blood. The throne's owner was looking down on every star in the world.

"That swordsmanship... You are Yu Junghyeok."

Anna Croft gritted her teeth and unleashed Sword Aura.

Anna Croft, America's strongest Incarnation, who was said never to lose in tactical battles.

"I am the strongest on the continent."

Next, Peihu's long spear stained the air with blood-red aura.

Peihu, a master of one-on-one combat and China's strongest Incarnation.

"This is our first time fighting directly. But I'll win."

Finally, Rannvir Khan's palm moved. Like Kali's dancing hands, it left dazzling afterimages before unleashing over a hundred waves of force.

Boom!

Another thunderous blast shook the battlefield. Even beyond it, the fables continued telling their stories.

[The fable Companions in Life and Death continues its story.]

[Some fables are being shared through the special effect of Companions in Life and Death.]

[The fable Eternal Hellscape continues its story.]

Amid flashing blades and Constellations and Outer Gods lying with their bellies split open, Suyeong remembered an old question people liked to ask.

Who was the strongest Incarnation in the world?

[Kill that bastard first! If we kill him, we can break through!]

Now Suyeong could answer with certainty.

There was no room for debate.

「The strongest Incarnation in the world was Yu Junghyeok.」

Constellations who had thrown away all pride rushed at him. Even with his shoulder split open and his thigh torn apart, Junghyeok stood at the front, his face unshaken as he held back the mass of Constellations pouring toward him.

It was a fight only possible because Junghyeok had recovered some of his past memories.

Yet there was something Suyeong couldn't understand.

[Incarnation Yu Junghyeok is currently an Enemy of Stories.]

"How did that bastard get there first...?"

How had Junghyeok joined Dokja before Suyeong and the others?

With Mythical Constellations joining the battle, Junghyeok's front line was being pushed back. As he came closer, the murky chaos surrounding him became clearer. It was the power of chaos visible in the Outer Gods.

「Yu Junghyeok had once become one with Secretive Plotter.」

Only then did she understand.

Why Junghyeok had been able to take Dokja's side before anyone else.

Suyeong burst out in frustration.

"You bastards, without even telling me..."

「Yu Junghyeok understood Kim Dokja's intentions, too.」

Deep hatred sometimes touched deep understanding.

「This tragedy could only work if the characters deceived each other.」

Junghyeok had hated the Constellations more than anyone, so he could read Dokja's intentions. That was why he acted without hesitation.

「Only then could he hide from the Constellations that this was a 'story'.」

Tzztztzt!

Junghyeok, who had retreated close to them, sheathed his sword and spoke.

"We can't hold out any longer."

Junghyeok turned around with an indifferent expression, his eyes meeting Suyeong's.

He spoke first.

"You're late."

"Shut up."

The three stood side by side. Junghyeok's Black Heaven Demon Blade let out a fierce cry, while Dokja's black wings spread wide as though protecting them both.

Suyeong opened and closed the hand charged with [Black Flame].

"I don't know why it feels like it's been so long."

Their companions came running up behind them.

"Dokja-ssi! Suyeong-ssi!"

"Hyung!"

Lee Hyeongseong knelt and protected the others with his shield, while Huiwon, standing beside him, aimed her sword at their enemies. The Chimera Dragon carrying Shin Yuseong and Lee Gilyeong roared. Yu Sangah's Lotus Pedestal spun as it surrounded the group. Jihye's warship guarded the sky above them.

"Load!"

Cannons at the end of the warship gathered power. Pildu Gong, who had built a fortress atop the ship, aimed his artillery toward the ground as if telling them to leave it to him.

[Every star of the nebula Kim Dokja Company shines brightly!]

Amid the sparks, Biyoo glowed like a blue sun, drenched in sweat as she received the coins pouring toward Kim Dokja Company.

Brightly shining Plausibility protected them.

Dokja addressed the companions silently standing at his side.

"Thank you, everyone."

At those words, everyone's expressions wavered faintly.

Huiwon bit down hard on her lip, while Hyeongseong wiped his glistening eyes.

Suyeong understood it too.

「Kim Dokja had never planned to sacrifice himself from the beginning.」

He must have thought and thought.

At the end of this world, he had searched for a way for everyone to be happy.

He knew the wounds his companions would suffer if he sacrificed himself alone. He had foreseen the destruction they would face if they all fought together.

That was why Dokja chose this Scenario.

A Scenario that changed the Scenario. A Scenario that didn't follow the predetermined ending. A Scenario where everyone could reach the end together.

Suyeong thought it would be fine if this story ended here.

Every emotion contained in the fables reached her vividly. Only now did she feel she understood what Dokja thought, what he wanted. Only after reaching the end of everything had Dokja opened his heart.

「That was why Han Suyeong thought this couldn't be the end.」

"Save that kind of talk for later."

Jang Hayoung spoke.

"Fight without worrying. I won't let anyone die."

Lee Seolhwa finished.

"They're coming!"

The Constellations began advancing again.

[Their numbers have only increased a little! Don't panic!]

[They're nothing but a small nebula!]

In the upheaval of the Scenario, a story that didn't know where it was headed flowed onward.

Suyeong simply threw a punch.

[Black Flame] extended from her palm and pierced the crowns of the Incarnations' heads. Junghyeok's [Sky Splitter Sword Art] blocked the Constellations' sword strikes, while Jang Hayoung's [Sky-Splitting Collapse Fist] shot down the Fable Weapons closing in from both sides.

[Hour of Judgement has activated!]

Huiwon's [hellfire inferno] burned the stars rushing at them from the front. Hyeongseong's steel shield blocked the hidden weapons cutting through the air.

"Everyone, duck!"

Jihye's Turtle Ship, its charge complete, opened fire. A dazzling explosion swept away the enemies ahead.

"Bring down that ship first!"

Incarnations who had been waiting for an opportunity leaped into the air at once. Pildu Gong's turrets roared.

"Kuaaaah!"

[Pathetic fools!]

A few Constellations stepped on the falling Incarnations and flew higher. Once they rose above the Turtle Ship, they fired their gathered Mana toward it.

[Die...!]

Before it could finish speaking, a Constellation's Incarnation body was torn in half. The Chimera Dragon roared and ripped apart the Constellation's torso with its massive jaws.

"Hyung! Behind you!"

Gilyeong's locusts blocked the approaching Constellations.

The group moved forward little by little. Like the years they had walked together, they advanced little by little along a road untouched by starlight.

Suyeong thought that to every other star, they must have looked like monsters trying to destroy the world. But she didn't care. If anything, that sounded more exciting.

"Kim Dokja! Destroy the Ark!"

Beyond the Constellations gathered like clouds, she saw the Ark they protected. Even now, Constellations poured out from the front of the broken Ark. They were stars that had slept within it to leave this worldline.

[An Enemy of Stories is approaching the Ark.]

[The Enemy of Stories will destroy every fable in the world!]

They had to destroy that Ark to stop more Constellations from entering.

"Hurry!"

[The Scenario is undergoing upheaval due to a clash of Plausibility!]

[The Star Stream has begun revising the conditions of the Final Scenario.]

Constellations stood in front of the Ark.

[The Constellation One Responsible for the Cycle of the Universe has intervened in the battlefield!]

[The Constellation Smoking Mirror has intervened in the Scenario!]

[The Constellation Master of Thunder and War has intervened in the Scenario!]

They were Mythical Constellations who had watched the situation unfold until now. They had to defeat them to reach the Ark.

Kim Dokja Company's members were each strong enough on their own, but their combined force was outmatched.

[The Constellation Spear That Draws the Boundary of the Sea is enraged!]

When Poseidon and Zeus, who had been slaughtering the Nameless Ones ahead, joined the battle, the group found themselves surrounded in a circle.

Rumble.

Junghyeok ground out a name as he watched a spear return through the sea of corpses.

"Poseidon."

Not even Kim Dokja Company could handle all of them.

The Great Dokkaebis still looked relaxed.

It was frustrating. Even with Plausibility brimming like this, why couldn't they overcome them?

Suyeong shouted.

"Hey! When are the Constellations on our side getting here?"

Those who had promised to come hadn't arrived. Uriel, her Patron, the underworld couple, and...

Dokja asked, "Do they have to be Constellations?"

"What?"

Dokja grinned. It was the smile Suyeong hated.

"Constellations aren't the only ones who can come to this battlefield anymore. Thanks to someone, we've got the Plausibility for it."

At that moment, a chill ran down Suyeong's neck. The enormous amount of Plausibility that had been poured into Kim Dokja Company was draining away all at once. Something that could only be summoned by using this much Plausibility was making its Descent.

「A being feared by every Constellation.」

Flames scraped along the ground.

A sun that had burned fables from countless ages rose in the east.

「The Living Flame, with a brightness no star dared rival.」

From the opposite side of the screaming, burning stars, a deep blue sea surged forward.

Waves from the west. The Sunken Island was rising.

「The Owner of the Sunken Island, Calamity of the western world.」

[Kuaaaah!]

Constellations swept up in the waves were dismantled into heaps of fables in an instant.

Then the northern sky darkened completely, and Constellations fell from it like rain.

「The Great Lord of the Abyss, ruler of the northern universe.」

The Outer God King laughed, smashing stars' heads like a rampaging child.