WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 625: Episode 14: Master of the Throne (4)
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The old fables strangling Suyeong's throat chattered.
The sentences you write end here.
You are no longer the Writer of this story.
Did you think you could reach the conclusion after forgetting us?
[It seems you can finally hear those words.]
These "fables from another world" were all sentences she had once written.
Forgotten sentences.
Fragments of fables forged from promises she hadn't kept.
Like chicks searching for their mother, the forgotten fables burrowed into her throat.
Suyeong unleashed her Mana.
If she couldn't use a Great Fable, escaping by any means was her top priority.
Fortunately, she had one skill suited for this.
The Writer's specialty.
She had survived because of this skill when she took an unexpected blow while trying to stop Dokja and Junghyeok's fight.
But then...
[Hmm, are you planning to use Avatar?]
One of the Watchdogs of Hell slowly rose, then transformed into a human form.
Covered from head to toe in a black robe, the Watchdog pulled a sword from within its robes.
Suyeong recognized the item at once.
Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword.
The constellations engraved on the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword blazed brightly. The Watchdog had manifested the sword's authority through his own fable.
The moment the sword cut through the air, pain seized Suyeong as if her mind had been split in two.
'It's been severed.'
Her link to the dummy [Avatar], which she had maintained all this time, had been cut.
The authority of the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword. The power that severed a constellation's connection had cut the connection between her and [Avatar].
Escape through [Avatar]'s Memory Transfer was now impossible.
If she died here, she would truly die.
[You will die here.]
For the first time, cold sweat formed on Suyeong's forehead.
He was strong, meticulous, and cunning.
If this had happened shortly after she entered the 41st round, she wouldn't have been overwhelmed so badly.
But she had already used too many fables.
[If you hadn't met him, if you hadn't wasted your fables to bring him back to life... Do you regret it?]
Suyeong's lips moved soundlessly.
[You couldn't have turned away from him. He is in this world because of all of you. The conclusion you wished to see ultimately ruined every story.]
The power of fables exploded from Suyeong's entire body.
She couldn't use a Great Fable. That didn't mean she couldn't use fables at all.
[The fable False Savior begins its story.]
Blood streamed from the corner of Suyeong's mouth. As strength slowly returned to her arms, she tore apart the fables' hands gripping her throat.
Fables scattered from her breath, and every muscle in her body ached as if it had been wrung out.
Even as her consciousness blurred, Suyeong focused on the enemy before her.
"You..."
The demonic energy writhing in the darkness felt familiar.
An enemy capable of driving her, caught off guard, into such a desperate situation.
The ability to command demonic species.
A divinity that knew her and shared fables with Kim Dokja Company.
There weren't many beings in the entire universe who fit that description.
"I heard you were dead. How did you get here?"
[Do you finally recognize me?]
The Watchdog of Hell's appearance began to change in the darkness.
[I certainly was dead. Within the story you wrote, that is.]
The dog's snout slowly shortened, and a pale human face emerged.
[Do you think you know every story?]
Smiling white as he removed his robe, he bore a resemblance to Dokja.
[My new name is Kim Dokja Representative. Isn't it interesting? There was no being like me in the story you wrote.]
Suyeong grabbed Unbreakable Faith from the ground.
Giiing.
The sword, filled with fables, shone brilliantly.
"I didn't write something like that because I didn't need it."
Suyeong's sword strikes poured toward the charging dogs.
"I'll kill you again."
She had a feeling.
No matter what it took, she couldn't let the bastard before her live. Even if all her fables were exhausted here, she had to kill him.
For Dokja, if no one else.
[You can't do that in your current state.]
Suyeong didn't answer and swung her sword.
Skrrash!
Dazzling white light, filled with long-held conviction, lit up the darkness.
Before the demonic species' necks could regenerate, second and third strikes followed.
She severed their arms and shattered their legs. She burned the fragments rolling across the ground with [Black Flame] so they couldn't regenerate.
Suyeong advanced, thoroughly taking down the demonic species one by one.
Dogs kept appearing from somewhere.
Persistent, tenacious demonic dogs.
As if they had trained their entire lives solely to hunt her, the dogs bit down on her arms and legs in time with her movements.
Even so, Suyeong was optimistic about the situation.
Using the power of fables put her in danger, but the other side was sacrificing considerable Plausibility as well. The Star Stream wouldn't permit the abuse of summoning authority on that scale in an early Scenario.
This was a game of chicken over Plausibility, and Suyeong was confident in that kind of fight.
If she held on a little longer, the other side would run out of strength too.
Yet no matter how many charging dogs she beheaded, there was no sign of Plausibility Backlash from him.
Why?
Rumbleee!
Only then did she notice the Great Hole flickering in the sky.
A sign of the Fifth Scenario.
The moment Suyeong saw sparks flashing near the Great Hole, chills ran down her spine.
The Mysterious Rulers beyond the hole were sharing the Plausibility burden of this battle.
'Why?'
Why were the Outer Gods helping that bastard?
At that moment, a hypothesis crossed her mind.
「What if Kim Dokja Company wasn't the only one that crossed over from another worldline?」
Tzzzt!
The balance of her body, which had barely held on, collapsed. As the power of her fables was cut off, Plausibility Backlash began to eat away at her Incarnation body.
Suyeong looked up at the sky resentfully.
Even if the Outer Gods helped him, it was only possible with this world's permission.
Everything was possible because the stars had tacitly allowed it.
The Star Stream of the 41st round had agreed to exclude her, an Irregular who had intruded into the Scenario.
"...Damn Star Stream."
Suyeong's weakened arm dropped, and Unbreakable Faith's light went out.
'Is this as far as I go?'
Suyeong didn't like plots where everything flowed along a predetermined course. Stories without surprises were obvious and lazy.
Readers quickly noticed when she was taking shortcuts.
「Even so, Suyeong couldn't think of a sentence that could break through this situation.」
With that, Suyeong sensed that her role was over.
Perhaps Dokja, somewhere beyond that sky, was no longer curious about the stories she wrote.
Even in this world...
「"What you're trying to do isn't to end the story. It's to give up."」
There was already another Writer.
Still, the thought that the conclusion was right before her left her with regret.
There might still be sentences she could write.
There were surely words she hadn't said to him yet.
"Really, this is a world where it's far too hard to be happy."
Her knees slowly gave way.
At the final moment, Suyeong moved her trembling hand and took something from her robes.
A Lemon Candy rested in her small hand.
Fables flowed within the little candy.
Very old fables. Old, nostalgic sentences beloved by a single reader.
Suyeong stared at the candy for a long time, then lowered her head heavily, as if all her strength had run out.
The Kim Dokja Representative smiled wryly as he watched her.
[An excellent final sentence, Han Suyeong.]
A black claw burst from the darkness and moved toward unconscious Suyeong's throat.
「What does a Writer with no more stories to write ultimately become?」
At that moment, a single star twinkled beyond the sky.
Dazzling light illuminated the alley, and the Representative frowned as he looked up.
[Moonlight Sage Emperor. Have you come to interfere with me again?]
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight glares at Kim Dokja Representative.]
[Come if you wish to intervene. But this time will be different.]
Even beneath the terrifying starlight swirling in the sky, the Representative didn't waver.
[Do you think you can manifest here in person when you don't even possess a proper Incarnation body?]
The next moment, the entire alley was bathed in brilliant light.
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight blooms white.]
Startled, the Representative looked around.
That couldn't be possible.
Even the Moonlight Sage Emperor... there was no way she could defy the Star Stream's laws and manifest in an early Scenario...
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight smiles faintly.]
An arrow flew in from somewhere with a sharp whistle and grazed his cheek.
The Tier-7 demonic species guarding his side screamed and crouched down.
"Fire!"
A shout came from the other end of the alley. Incarnations dressed as government troops fired arrows into the alley.
"Kill the demon bastards!"
The Representative frowned and waved a hand. The rain of arrows flying toward him vanished in an instant.
[Foolish...]
When had that happened?
Suyeong's figure, which had clearly been in the middle of the alley until moments ago, was gone.
The sound of wires came from somewhere. A figure carrying unconscious Suyeong on her back was already fleeing into the distance.
"Fire! Keep firing!"
Listening to the Incarnations' shouts, the Representative smiled bitterly.
[Honestly.]
Deflecting the incoming arrows wasn't difficult. But he couldn't attack the Incarnations either.
The Great Hole in the sky was slowly shrinking, and signs of Plausibility Backlash were spreading through his body.
It was only natural.
He was a lofty Outer God. There was no way attacking Suyeong, an Irregular from another worldline, and dealing with Incarnations in an early Scenario could carry equal Plausibility burdens.
The Representative stared at the twinkling star in the sky for a moment before speaking.
[Kim Dokja Company. How long do you think a story where no one dies can last?]
With that final question, his figure vanished into the darkness.
"He ran away!"
The Incarnations' rain of arrows soon stopped.
"It's an item! It's the hide of a demonic species!"
The Incarnations who found the dead demonic species' corpses cheered.
A while later, the figure running with Suyeong on her back stopped on a rooftop.
"It's safe now."
It was a soft, gentle voice. Suyeong, who had regained consciousness, groaned and lifted her eyelids.
Through her dim vision, she saw her surroundings.
In the moonlit night, she saw a small Incarnation holding her.
"Yu Sangah?"
No. She had a similar bearing, but she was definitely different from Sangah.
Still, the face seemed vaguely familiar. More than anything, a person with looks like that should have been impossible to forget.
Who was it? It felt like she should remember...
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight tells Incarnation Han Suyeong that she may rest now.]
Suyeong blankly glanced at the sky before slowly closing her eyes. The star in the sky twinkled once more.
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight expresses gratitude for the help.]
The Incarnation carrying Suyeong said, "We have to help each other survive. By the way... This is surprising. I never thought this person actually existed."
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight asks if she knows her.]
"I don't know if I can say that. It's a little complicated."
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight asks if she can take care of her.]
"Of course."
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight looks at Han Suyeong with pity.]
The Incarnation nodded as though she agreed.
"All Writers are alike."
She poked the sleeping Suyeong's cheek curiously, then said, "They don't write the manuscript they're supposed to write, waste their energy on nonsense, and make a complete mess of their health..."
[The Constellation Lotus Blossoming Under the Moonlight asks how she knows that so well.]
The Incarnation looked down at Suyeong's exhausted face and smiled mischievously.
"The writer I'm in charge of was like that too."
Footnotes:
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