WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 617: Episode 13: King (1)

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「“Even a ‘kingless world’ still needs a throne. So people will know a king once existed there.”」

- Mass Production Maker

* * *

Exactly three days had passed since the Theater Dungeon incident.

Over those three days, one name swept through Chungmuro Station.

「“Kim Dokja!”」

Some people only tilted their heads when they heard the name, but others couldn't hide their joy.

「“Is it true? Is Kim Dokja really here?”」

「“He's alive. We're going to survive now.”」

Of course, not everyone who remembered his name was happy.

「“Is he really Kim Dokja? Won't getting involved with him just put us in more danger?”」

「“What would change if Kim Dokja showed up now? Honestly, we know everything Kim Dokja knows.”」

Some doubted the truth behind the rumor, while others dismissed it as nothing important.

Still, anyone who remembered Dokja would have thought of him, then looked up at the sky for a moment.

「And Lee Hakhyun thought that was enough.」

On the rooftop of the Theater Dungeon, I let out a quiet sigh and looked up. The sun was already beginning to set.

How many times had Dokja looked at that sky before all the Scenarios ended?

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is watching you.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is watching you.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is watching you.]

What had Dokja been thinking until the very end as the stars disappeared from the sky one by one?

"Inho-ssi."

When I turned around, Gyeong Se-in and Dansu were waiting for me. I nodded and asked,

"Is the dungeon cleanup finished?"

"Yes. I don't think there are any people left inside."

Right after the Theater Dungeon ended, we sorted through the items we had obtained and moved the injured readers beneath the theater. Gyeong Se-in added,

"There aren't any posters left, either, and it looks like the dungeon errors have mostly been resolved."

Perhaps because of the Plausibility Backlash that had occurred on the theater rooftop, a few people had been unable to escape the films even after the dungeon was cleared.

Fortunately, Gyeong Se-in, Dansu, some other readers, and I had worked together. After days of fighting, we succeeded in rescuing everyone trapped in the dungeon.

"How is the Second Apostle?"

"Fortunately, Killer King ate some Ellain Forest Essence and fell asleep."

Killer King's condition seemed good, too. As I breathed a sigh of relief, Gyeong Se-in asked,

"Are you all right, Inho-ssi? You used more than ten Ellain Forest Essences this time..."

Ellain Forest Essence cost 500 coins each. It hadn't been a small expense even for me, but I didn't regret spending it to save the readers.

Expenses like these would return as sponsorships anyway.

"I'm fine. Are either of you hurt?"

"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine."

Gyeong Se-in flexed a small bicep.

Uncle Dansu asked, "Are you all right, my friend?"

"Me? Well... I didn't really do anything."

Officially, people knew I had passed out in a corner of the rooftop garden and then regained consciousness.

That was only officially, though. Unofficially, it had gone like this.

「For a brief moment, I became Dokja.」

I didn't know why I had done such a thing.

At that moment, though, I couldn't have done anything else. Anyone in my place would likely have done the same.

There were people thrown into a collapsing world, and there was someone they had been waiting for.

And I alone knew this world's secret.

I had no choice but to lie.

I wanted them not to give up on life. I wanted them to keep enduring these hellish Scenarios with me.

I wouldn't say I did it for anyone in particular. I needed the readers, and I wanted them to keep living.

That was all.

"Did you find anything on the rooftop? I heard that battle happened here."

At present, people around Chungmuro Station believed Dokja, Yu Junghyeok, Jeong Huiwon, and the Cinema Master had fought in the Theater Dungeon.

"Yes, well... there was nothing unusual."

That was fortunate for me. Explaining, one by one, how I had met Han Suyeong here and fought her would have been a headache.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire asks what on earth happened.]

[The Constellation Tiger Who Eats Rice Cake asks whether anyone secured footage.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon demands to know what the dokkaebi was doing.]

It seemed even the Constellations hadn't grasped the situation properly, perhaps due to the Plausibility Backlash that had swept across the rooftop. Honestly, I felt a little disappointed that no one had seen that incredible battle.

After all, it had been a clash with none other than Suyeong.

[A Constellation who has not yet revealed their modifier smiles faintly.]

Then again, perhaps someone had seen it.

"Do you think Dokja was really here? Did you see him too, Inho-ssi?"

I unconsciously looked back at the place where I had fought Suyeong.

Even thinking about it again made me dizzy.

I had lost to her sword, and my heart had been pierced. I clearly remembered that much.

When I came to again, I was lying on the rooftop with my wounds healed. Even the puncture wound had completely healed.

Suyeong had probably brought me back to life.

Why had she healed me?

And where had she gone?

"Inho-ssi?"

I felt the two of them looking at me from behind.

Wouldn't it be all right to be honest with these people?

Dokja hadn't been here. The one who had been here was only...

"Yes, I saw him too."

I grinned as I turned to face them.

"Dokja was definitely here."

Honesty isn't always good. Sometimes, we have to get through life with lies. Maybe that is why we read stories.

Perhaps I understood, at least a little, why Suyeong had brought me back to life.

"Let's go down."

With a hand on each of their shoulders, I began walking.

I looked back one last time at the place where I had stood.

I wished it had really been you who stood there.

* * *

Two blue eyes appeared in the pitch-black darkness of space.

【Th ey have co me.】

Beginning with him, other eyes appeared throughout the universe.

Red and blue eyes, each engraved with a different fable. The majesty surging from beyond the void dwelled within every gaze.

All the eyes were looking at one world.

The worldline they had watched for so long.

The forgotten forty-first worldline, and the last blank that the Final Wall had permitted to be amended.

【The on es who have seen the Old est Dre am.】

Thunder rumbled from the far reaches of the universe. Thunder of thought, echoing where no medium existed.

The Nameless Ones howled in pain, while enraged Outer Gods conveyed their hateful fury.

The Outer Gods, who spoke for everything abandoned by the world, were speaking.

【Kim Dok ja Com pany.】

The moment the name was spoken, the universe shook as though it were being remade.

The Outer Gods turned their gazes toward Earth. The distant Status of the fables within those gazes swallowed the surrounding galaxy as it writhed.

【Please calm yourselves. It is not yet time for you to act.】

With that voice, someone stood in their way.

A being in a pure white coat endured the Outer Gods' Status in Earth's stead.

【Do you intend to ruin the Final Chapter?】

It was the Kim Dokja Representative.

The Outer Gods, having confirmed his appearance, uttered their constellation's declarations at once.

【You promised.】

【Kim Dokja Company must not be here.】

The Representative shook his head.

【I am the one who called Kim Dokja Company here.】

As if unable to understand those words, storms of fables swept through the universe once again.

Even amid the suffocating sparks, the Representative continued calmly.

【This story can only be completed if they are here. Have you forgotten? As long as they exist, the universe you desire will never arrive.】

For the first time, the Outer Gods' momentum faltered at his words.

【They will all die here, along with the Oldest Dream they loved.】

The Representative smiled sweetly as he placated the old Outer Gods.

【So please wait just a little longer. The Final Chapter for you will soon be prepared.】

The Outer Gods' wide-open eyes trembled faintly, then their heavy eyelids began to close one by one. The surging storms of fables gradually settled.

As the final eye closed, a voice as deep as the abyss echoed out.

【The sto ry that could not be writ ten will watch y ou.】

* * *

The moment I arrived at Chungmuro Station, messages appeared before me.

[The Main Scenario #3 - Emergency Defense has ended.]

[You have acquired 2,000 coins as a reward!]

I had completely forgotten about Emergency Defense. The third Scenario had been close to ending early due to the deadly poisonous fog I had spread.

[You have made a decisive contribution to Emergency Defense!]

[You have acquired an additional 2,000 coins as a reward!]

[Your first fable related to the relevant Scenario is budding.]

My first fable.

I had seen the message before, but it made me tense all over again.

What one obtained as a birth fable in this world was incredibly important.

Dokja's first fable had been "King of a Kingless World."

What would my first fable be?

When I checked the message log, it was full of messages I hadn't read.

[The Main Scenario is being delayed due to the Plausibility Backlash.]

[The fourth Main Scenario will be announced in one hour.]

[There are currently 48 unread messages in your log.]

There were messages about the Scenario delay, along with Indirect Messages from various Constellations.

The effects of the Plausibility Backlash that had swept through the rooftop garden seemed to have been enormous. It had delayed the Main Scenario itself...

At this rate, even the Administration Bureau would have something to say. No, not just the Administration Bureau...

[The nebula Tamra is taking notice of you.]

I smiled bitterly to myself.

I wasn't sure whether I should be happy or anxious that such a message had already arrived.

"Wow, Inho-ssi. Right now..."

Gyeong Se-in spoke in surprise. It seemed the nebula message log was visible to everyone.

"I guess you really are different because you made it to the final floor. Uncle and I couldn't get that far..."

"How far did you say you got?"

"The seventh floor."

The seventh floor was an amazing result, too. Reaching it meant they had almost climbed all the way up.

Wait. If they had made it to the seventh floor...

"Did you enter that film, by any chance?"

Knowing which film I meant, Gyeong Se-in nodded as if they had been waiting for the question.

"Keuuuu! You should've seen it too, Inho-ssi! A storm blew in! Battleships were summoned! Load! Fire!"

Kwakakakakwang!

Tukwakakakakak.

What a way to describe the legendary Battle of Myeongnyang...

Gyeong Se-in's vocabulary aside, I was honestly a little jealous that they had seen it firsthand.

"It couldn't have been easy to persuade Jihye."

"Oh, that? Uncle and I did our best to encourage her. You know, like Dokja did."

"You did that?"

As far as I remembered, Dokja hadn't encouraged Jihye. Didn't he awaken her through an extremely dangerous method instead?

Perhaps noticing my look, Gyeong Se-in smiled shyly and glanced at Uncle Dansu.

"Hehe, to be exact, I didn't do it. Uncle did... What I said didn't really get through to her."

I could vaguely imagine what had happened.

Perhaps Uncle Dansu had thought of his daughter, Jiyoon, when he saw Jihye.

"I didn't say anything special. I just stayed by her side until her heart healed."

"Come on, you did say something."

"Well..."

As Uncle Dansu trailed off awkwardly, Gyeong Se-in cleared their throat and spoke in a solemn voice.

"It's all right to live."

Uncle Dansu's face turned pale, and he hurriedly added,

"Anyone could have said that."

Anyone could have said that.

Yet some people live their whole lives without hearing those words, even once.

Maybe Jihye had been like that, too.

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God shows favor toward the Incarnation Dansu.]

I had a feeling Uncle Dansu's role would be quite important in this worldline.

That was when a small, strange creature came running toward us with a faint bark from afar.

We reflexively drew our swords, then recognized what it was and brightened.

"Ah, Max."

It was Max, the Ground Rat I had saved during Emergency Defense not long ago.

Having apparently grown close to humans over the past three days, Max ran circles around us with its tongue hanging out.

[The Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames nods at the Ground Rat's Loyalty.]

As I carefully stroked its head, I spotted a boy waving to us from the ticket gates.

"You're all here."

Ye Hyeonu, the Seventh Apostle, had been waiting for us.

"Has the dungeon cleanup finished?"

"Yes, it's finished."

"We just finished up here as well. All the injured people have been moved downstairs."

Ye Hyeonu looked between me and my Allies for a moment before speaking.

"Inho-ssi, could we talk for a moment...?"

After asking the others to excuse me, I followed Ye Hyeonu.

The place they headed to was unexpected. The simple symbol indicating gender felt strangely unfamiliar. Once again, I viscerally realized that the civilization I had known had been destroyed.

"I didn't think we'd still be able to use the restroom."

"Yeah. There is electricity, and the water runs too. When I'm here, it feels like nothing has happened yet."

A restroom in a ruined world.

I didn't need to go, so I stood blankly in front of the mirror over the sink for a while.

All I could see was Inho Cheon's face, its narrowed eyes feigning composure.

The more I looked at this face, the more it seemed decent enough.

Standing beside me, Ye Hyeonu washed their hands and asked,

"Do you think the Constellations watch restrooms too?"

"Who knows."

A restroom.

A place to take care of one's business away from other people's eyes, wash one's hands, and groom oneself.

[The Constellation Tiger Who Eats Rice Cake says they are a Constellation who knows proper etiquette.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon says he doesn't watch that sort of thing.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire warns everyone to leave the channel.]

Humanity probably no longer had such privacy.

I was reminded again of what the characters in this world had to endure.

There were no longer any stories that belonged to only one person.

"I heard Dokja appeared."

Their voice was as casual as the sound of turning off the sink faucet.

I answered a beat late.

"Ah, yes."

"I heard he suddenly appeared on the dungeon rooftop and issued instructions to the people there. Thanks to those instructions, quite a lot of readers survived."

"Yes, I heard that too."

"Isn't it strange?"

"What is?"

The expression on the boy's face in the mirror suddenly felt as unfamiliar as the restroom's simple gender symbol.

For a moment, I wondered how much I really knew about Ye Hyeonu.

I didn't know what kind of person they had been. Whether they were a man or woman, how old they were, what they had done before coming here.

No, perhaps none of that information mattered.

"I heard that none of the Theater Dungeon survivors saw Dokja go up to the rooftop."

I recalled, one by one, the tragedies that had taken place in the Theater Dungeon.

I remembered the readers pointing swords at one another, and the Odokhyeop members who killed people without hesitation.

Before entering the Theater Dungeon, I had trusted Ye Hyeonu, the Seventh Apostle, to some degree.

"Dokja suddenly appeared, as though he had literally fallen from the sky. Do you know what is even more surprising?"

What about now?

Was Ye Hyeonu still someone I could trust?

Ye Hyeonu lightly shook the water from their hands and looked into the mirror.

"Even the Constellations in that sky don't know exactly what happened on the rooftop."

A chill ran through me.

How did Ye Hyeonu, an ordinary Incarnation, already know the Constellations' opinions?

"Inho-ssi."

Ye Hyeonu's eyes looked at me through the mirror.

At that moment, I sensed several people inside the restroom stalls.

The instant I called for Thought in my mind, Ye Hyeonu asked me,

"Could you be Kim Dokja?"

Footnotes:

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