Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 497

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 497: Episode 95: When the Heavens Part (1)

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[The broadcast from channel BY-9158 is currently suspended.]

The Constellations in the channel couldn't pinpoint our location. Maybe Biyoo had done it on her own, or perhaps something had gone wrong during our transfer into the Ark. Either way, it worked in our favor while we were on the run.

It would have been even better if the person in front of us weren't here.

"Anna Croft."

I watched the Prophet's blond hair flutter in the wind.

I sensed additional presences near the dense forest. They were likely Zarathustra, her personal unit.

Suyeong frowned.

―Is she a stone or a pebble? Why doesn't it work on her?

I didn't answer. I couldn't explain everything that had happened on the Island of Reincarnators right now.

Instead of waiting for an answer, Suyeong gripped my hand tightly. With her other hand, she glared at Anna and pointed a finger at her, a fierce flame of [Black Flame] flickering at its tip.

"Move, or die."

Their gazes collided in midair.

A blue ghostly aura rose in Suyeong's pupils as she activated [Predictive Plagiarism], while red light flickered in the eyes of Anna, who possessed the Arch-Demon's Eyeball. Faint sparks flew as the gazes of two people who could read the future met.

After maintaining that balance for a moment, Anna spoke.

"Kim Dokja, you want to get out of this level, don't you?"

Suyeong hardened her expression and growled.

"Hey, are you ignoring me?"

"I can help you."

"You were charging at us, saying you'd kill us, just a moment ago."

At Suyeong's words, I sensed the surrounding Constellations. Some were tearing apart the terrain indiscriminately as they searched for us.

We couldn't buy much time.

"I had no choice. If I'd taken your side there, we would've been swept away first."

"Is it different now?"

"Are you going to keep stalling like this? You're the ones in a hurry, not me."

"Do we have any reason to trust you?"

"Have you ever been the type to believe someone just because they gave you a reason?"

In any other situation, I would have gladly accepted this help. But Anna had made a direct contract with an entire nebula.

"You're an Incarnation of the nebula Asgard."

[The Great Fables of the nebula Asgard are awakening from their long sleep!]

And this level happened to be the cabin where Asgard's Constellations resided.

Anna nodded readily.

"That's right. I'm their Incarnation. Doesn't that make this even stranger? I'm looking at you right now, so why aren't they rushing over?"

I could see the Constellations wandering nearby, too. They seemed unable to hear our conversation. She appeared to have blocked their attention somehow.

"What are you thinking?"

I met Anna's deep gaze.

[The Exclusive Skill Reading Comprehension has activated!]

「Anna Croft is an Incarnation who values a practical cause more than anyone else.」

In a sense, Anna pursued what was most right in this world. If Yu Junghyeok's cause had been forged from anger and hatred, Anna's cause had been forged from justice.

The survival of the absolute majority.

Her goal was to preserve the Las Vegas where she was born, the United States, and eventually all of Earth from this Scenario's hell.

「But America was destroyed in this worldline.」

Her hometown had vanished on the day the Great Apocalypse began. Now, only the few members of Zarathustra who followed her remained.

Even so, Anna's expression wasn't dark. If anything, it was filled with fervor. She looked like someone who had finally drawn close to the world she desired.

Feeling the gentle vibrations echo through the entire ship, I spoke.

"You intend to take control of this Ark."

Suyeong, who seemed to have reached the same conclusion at nearly the same time, let out a low groan.

Anna smiled.

"I like that you're quick to understand."

"Driving out the Constellations and taking the Ark won't be easy."

"This is humanity's final chance."

Anna's plan was simple.

The Final Ark was a massive Fable Weapon that transported the seeds of fables to another worldline.

If she could defeat the Constellations and gain control of the Ark, she could transport humanity to a new worldline. There, everything could begin again.

"I can't leave a single Constellation alive. Even if that Constellation is you."

Hearing those words, I recalled an old passage from TWSA.

「Anna Croft's ■■ is Perfect Night.」

A world of darkness where not a trace of starlight shone.

Anna wanted humanity to become free again within that darkness.

If it was the world she dreamed of, all my Allies could survive as well.

Feeling a little lonely, I spoke.

"Then this is a temporary alliance. We'll travel together only until we reach the Ark's core."

"Until then, I'll lend you the power of my [future vision]."

Suyeong sent me a message.

―I've been checking with Lie Detection, and she isn't lying. It doesn't look like she's activated Poker Face either.

I nodded.

"Fine. I accept the alliance."

* * *

I traced the fables Bihyeong had left behind and read the surrounding terrain.

「Beyond the forest zone. The exit near the branches that reach the sky.」

As I followed Anna, I realized that the place we stood wasn't a plain, but one level of a tree.

―They did a pretty good job recreating the worldview.

Suyeong muttered, sounding impressed.

Seeing Asgard's intricately recreated worldview, I could feel just how long the Final Ark had been in preparation.

This couldn't be all of the cosmic tree Yggdrasil. At most, it was a sample.

Even so, the tree was vast enough. Asgard's Constellations would likely continue enjoying their privileged status in the next worldline based on this fable.

Anna watched those Constellations in silence before turning away to focus on scouting ahead.

Watching her, Suyeong asked,

―But will she be okay? Betraying her nebula won't come cheap.

Before I could answer, Anna spoke first.

"My circumstances are none of your concern."

"What, you can eavesdrop on this too?"

"You'd been quiet for so long that I only assumed you were having a tryst."

"Looks like you have someone backing you up?"

For the first time, Anna's expression stiffened.

"What do you mean?"

"I just don't see how a mere Incarnation can block the sight of an entire nebula."

Suyeong was right. No Incarnation could accomplish something like that.

I quietly stared at the space behind Anna.

[The concentration of the Exclusive Skill Reading Comprehension has increased!]

There was one possibility.

An aura of chaos softly blurred behind her.

Beyond it, I thought I caught sight of red eyes resembling Anna's. There were only two species in this world capable of interfering with the channels watched by Constellations.

That was when a thunderbolt fell from the sky. The ground split apart, and the weather around us shifted ominously, signaling an approaching storm.

[The Constellation One-Eyed Father slowly blinks his one eye.]

Tzzzt!

Anna's face was turning pale.

Even Ra, the Creator God we had fought in the ninety-eighth Scenario, hadn't possessed such overwhelming force. It was a Status immeasurably far beyond even Thor, whom I had seen earlier.

The strongest being in this worldview had just awakened from sleep.

"Odin!"

We started running.

No matter how much Kim Dokja Company had grown, confronting Odin, a Mythical Constellation, on Asgard's land would be foolish.

[The Constellation One-Eyed Father looks upon his world.]

A terrifying gaze swept across the world. Before long, I felt something staring directly at us.

"This way! Hurry!"

A tree trunk leading to Yggdrasil's upper levels appeared in the direction Anna pointed. We ran along it. At nearly the same time, the branches beneath us lost their strength and began to collapse.

"Faster!"

I ran with all my strength, manipulating the wind.

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

Strengthened by the influence of the Great Fables I had gathered, Way of the Wind gave my Allies greater speed. I wanted to activate [Demon King Transformation] and spread my wings if possible, but the wing injured just before the transfer was still recovering slowly.

Rumble!

Something was chasing us from behind.

[The Constellation God of Harp and Horn hears their father's command.]

[The Constellation Goddess of Love and Cats obeys their father's command.]

[The Constellation One Who Lost an Arm to the Wolf of Destruction howls!]

[The Constellation Guardian of the Great-Horned Bridge has noticed someone's presence!]

"We're almost there!"

Anna turned and stretched both hands behind her. The scenery around us changed, and visibility across the entire area vanished. It was [Illusion Barrier], Anna's specialty.

The Constellations, suddenly plunged into darkness, cried out in alarm.

Tzzzt!

Anna's eyes became bloodshot, then blood began flowing from her mouth and ears. It was the price of directly resisting her own nebula. Even so, she didn't yield and shouted.

"Iris! Selena! Take your Companions and go!"

The two people running ahead of us led Zarathustra toward the end of the branch.

"Run! It's right ahead!"

Anna, vomiting blood, was already collapsing onto one knee. She couldn't possibly run alone.

"Han Suyeong."

Before I could finish, Suyeong scooped Anna up and ran. Soon, we reached the end of the branch. A mysterious bridge glowing with rainbow light stood there.

「Bifrost, the rainbow bridge leading to another level.」

The fantastical bridge of myth lay before us. Selena, Iris, and their group had already crossed more than halfway.

I activated [Electrification], intending to use its momentum to cross in a single leap.

Then...

Craaaash!

A flash of light streaked through the air, and Bifrost was cleanly severed at its center.

A gigantic spear that had split the sky was being drawn back.

I immediately recognized it.

Gungnir, the weapon of Odin, the God King.

He had decided to eliminate us by cutting off the bridge to another world himself.

I bit my lip as I looked at the Constellations chasing us from behind.

If we fought Odin here, we would certainly lose. In the end, the only answer was to cross the bridge.

But the gap was far too wide, and a storm created by Odin raged between us. Even if I activated [Way of the Wind] or [Electrification] at full power, there was no guarantee I could make it across.

Suyeong shouted impatiently.

"Hurry! Don't you have a way?"

Leaning on Suyeong, Anna swayed as she vomited blood and spoke.

"My future vision isn't perfect either... But this time... I saw it clearly. The four of us... crossing this bridge..."

Four people?

I wanted to ask, but Anna had lost too much blood. She soon fell silent.

At that moment, a scene came to mind.

「Kim Dokja thought. 'Will that work?'」

But there was no other choice. When I looked up at the sky, Indirect Messages from Constellations bewildered by the channel's upheaval poured in.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire wants to see the channel screen!]

[The Constellation King Heungmu complains about the channel suddenly going dark!]

[The Constellation Bald Army General searches for the vanished Kim Dokja!]

"Biyoo! Turn on the screen!"

"What? Are you crazy?"

If I opened the channel now, every Constellation inside the Ark would notice my location.

But this was only possible if I opened the channel.

[The broadcast from channel BY-9158 has been restored to normal.]

[Many Constellations are startled by the screen before them!]

[Some Constellations realize your crisis and are shocked!]

[Some Constellations feel a sense of deja vu from this situation.]

I knew exactly what the Constellations meant by deja vu.

「Once, they had crossed a broken bridge together.」

Deus Ex Machina, which had activated on the broken Dongho Bridge.

[The absolute majority of Constellations remember the situation from that time!]

[The Great Fables of the nebula Kim Dokja Company move!]

Plausibility trembled together with the Constellations' gazes.

[Stage Transformation has activated!]

[Deus Ex Machina has occurred!]

The very bridge the Constellations had laid down for us then was being recreated before my eyes.

[Deus Ex Machina – Even-Number Bridge]

Description: A bridge of light created through a Constellation's blessing. Only an even number of people can cross this bridge. If an odd number of people attempt to cross, the bridge will immediately disappear.

Even-Number Bridge. It had been a long time since I'd heard that name.

"Han Suyeong! Take Anna and run!"

"What?"

"Hurry!"

I activated [Way of the Wind] on Suyeong, forcing her across the bridge.

―Hey! Damn it, whatever!

Watching Suyeong's back grow distant, I turned around.

The Constellations who had escaped Anna's [Illusion Barrier] were emerging one by one.

I released my Status toward them and thought,

「Only an even number of people can cross the Even-Number Bridge.」

From afar, Suyeong's voice and Odin's furious roar alternated.

Then I drew Unbreakable Faith.