WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 668: Episode 21: Kim Dokja (4)
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We immediately left the dungeon. Now that I had obtained the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword, there was no reason to remain in the Star Labyrinth.
[You have escaped the Star Labyrinth.]
Outside the labyrinth was a collapsed waiting room. Had the battle outside changed the surrounding terrain?
I probably wouldn't even need to use the Myriad Transformations Stealth Suit. Clearing away a few piles of rubble should open a path outside. We didn't have much time, so I got to work right away. Then I spoke up casually.
"Editor."
"Yes."
"That was the Golden Headband earlier, wasn't it?"
Ji Eunyu dug through the rubble beside me and answered just as casually.
"It's my Patron's power."
"Then your Patron isn't the Lady of the Sleeping Brocade."
Eunyu had used the Golden Headband's spell to suppress my Berserk Stage. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have even been able to attempt summoning the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword.
Still, there was no way a Constellation at the Lady of the Sleeping Brocade's level could perform such a miracle.
[The Constellation God of Wine and Ecstasy looks at the Incarnation Min Jiwon with interest.]
[The Constellation Long-Nosed Liar asks whether the Golden Headband means it is that Constellation.]
[The Constellation Reclining Dragon strokes their chin.]
[A few Constellations are shocked by the Golden Headband's power!]
[A few Constellations request a Plausibility review from the Administration Bureau!]
The Golden Headband was a constellation artifact.
[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband picks his ear.]
More precisely, it was the constellation artifact of the Prisoner of the Golden Headband, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
Was Eunyu's Patron the Great Sage Equaling Heaven? Or was it Shakyamuni or Tripitaka, who had placed that Golden Headband on him?
If not...
"There's a price, isn't there?"
Eunyu's pupils shook briefly at my question.
I'd expected it. This wasn't an authority that could be wielded as early as the fourth Scenario. It was a miracle powerful enough to negate one of an early Scenario's core conditions.
Even if her Patron was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, it wouldn't have been easy.
Eunyu nodded a moment later.
"I can't participate in this Scenario as a king."
As expected. Her Patron had probably negotiated with the Administration Bureau on the condition that their Incarnation wouldn't obtain a king's fable.
After clearing away the museum's last remains, I saw Gwanghwamun in the distance. Dark red clouds swirled across the blackened sky.
It was a sign of the Great Hole.
"Go quickly."
I nodded.
Maybe it was already too late. Junghyeok might have already sat on the Absolute Throne, and this world's destruction might have already been decided.
Even so, I had to see it with my own eyes. At least, that was my duty now.
"I'll be back."
After glancing at Eunyu, I ran toward the square.
* * *
Eunyu watched Yi Hakhyeon's retreating back.
If she could have stopped him, she would have.
This wasn't a serial. It was real. This was a world where, if he died there, he would truly die.
Yet just as she hadn't been able to prevent Hakhyeon's series from failing, she couldn't stop him this time either.
Eunyu tried to recall the face of the Yi Hakhyeon she knew. For some reason, his face wouldn't come clearly to mind, but she clearly remembered what kind of person he was.
‘Someone who loves stories.’
Many people loved stories.
Still, Hakhyeon had been special even among them. He had been that way from the moment they met. Wherever he was, he was always writing sentences.
As if he feared every blank space in this world.
Blood surged up her throat. Eunyu bent over slightly and spat it out as a message rang in her mind.
[You have used an authority that exceeds your limits.]
As expected, using the Golden Headband this early was too much.
She couldn't have even attempted it if it hadn't been for her Patron.
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon looks concerned.]
Eunyu could feel her Patron watching her from the sky.
Lotus Blooming under the Moon.
Her Patron had been a prominent character in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. The person who had protected Dokja from closer than anyone else.
In a sense, a being who understood the human Dokja better than anyone else.
"Moonlight Sage Emperor."
A faint spark crackled through the air, and her Patron answered.
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon says it isn't too late even now.]
It wasn't too late.
Eunyu knew that Hakhyeon's "it isn't too late" and her Patron's "it isn't too late" had completely different meanings.
"Do you think the Writer is wrong? Do you still think we shouldn't change this story?"
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon says right and wrong aren't important.]
Right and wrong weren't important.
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon says all stories simply flow toward their conclusions.]
"Do all of you start talking like Constellations when you become one?"
Her Patron didn't answer.
Eunyu looked bitterly into the empty air before adding, "The Writer probably knows too. That you're my Patron."
Hakhyeon wasn't a fool.
The moment he witnessed the Golden Headband's authority, he had probably realized everything. There were only a handful of beings in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint who could perform such a miracle.
"What do you want?"
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon answers, conclusion.]
"You just want to get your Dokja back."
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon remains silent.]
"What will happen to this world if the conclusion you want becomes reality? Will it be destroyed as planned?"
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon hesitates to answer.]
Eunyu didn't press further. It was probably something her Patron couldn't answer.
Perhaps that wasn't what she truly wanted to know, either.
"Are the Writer and I... one of those fragments?"
Hakhyeon's back had already become distant. His rain-soaked white coat swayed.
Eunyu thought the coat suited him. At the same time, she wished he weren't wearing it.
Her Patron didn't answer for a long time.
An explosion boomed in the distance. It sounded like the battle had begun again.
At last, Hakhyeon disappeared from view. Only then did her Patron speak.
[The Constellation Lotus Blooming under the Moon says this story's conclusion has been decided, but no one knows this story's conclusion.]
It was a strange thing to say.
"It sounds just like the first line of a novel I know."
For some reason, Eunyu found those strange words familiar.
"There are ways to survive in a ruined world. I've forgotten some of them now."
After hesitating briefly, Eunyu continued. It was a sentence she had read and reread while editing one story for so long.
"But one thing is certain. You, who are reading this, will survive."
Eunyu prayed that sentence was true.
* * *
Rain poured from the sky above Gwanghwamun. It mixed with blood and dyed the ground red. A man's face was reflected in a pool of blood.
Seeing that unfamiliar face, Killer King swallowed a groan.
‘How could this happen?’
Everything had gone according to plan.
The Final King's Qualifications had unfolded just as he expected, as had the Scenario's contents.
+
3. 「Therefore, the one king must be one who stands tall alone without anyone's help.」
- A king who can challenge the Absolute Throne must prove their strength with their body alone.
+
[From now on, all kings can no longer receive support from their Patrons.]
[From now on, the attack and defense of all items are limited.]
[From now on, all special options of skills, Stigmas, and items are sealed.]
[From now on, all kings' total stats have been changed to 10/10/10/10/10.]
[Final King's Qualifications will continue until only one person remains.]
Final King's Qualifications was a bare-bones fight where equipment, skills, and Stigmas couldn't be used.
Everyone had to defeat every other king with only their body, their total stats all set to 10/10/10/10/10.
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God watches the situation with a sigh.]
[The Constellation Bald Army General congratulates the new owner of the throne.]
[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon demands to know if that even makes sense.]
[Many Constellations are shocked by the result of the Final Qualifications.]
From the moment of his Possession, Killer King had steadily prepared for this trial.
The key to Final King's Qualifications was gathering as many coins as possible.
Dokja of the main story had used coins on this battlefield to temporarily raise his total stats to their limit, then defeated Junghyeok with that strength.
[You have consumed a total of 83,000 coins.]
Killer King had done the same.
He had even gathered more coins than Dokja of the main story and spent them without hesitation.
It was capital that would disappear once the Scenario ended, but he didn't care. Stopping Junghyeok mattered more.
He raised his total stats to their limit and struck Yu Junghyeok with a punch backed by Strength that exceeded 100.
His plan worked.
"It seems you've gathered coins."
Until Junghyeok blocked his punch.
"Where did you get information like that?"
Was it simply because his stats were high?
No. His stats were certainly high, but the Junghyeok before him was somehow different.
There was a gentleness that controlled strength. An unprecedented energy spread from Junghyeok's palm. It wasn't a skill or a Stigma, yet it was the source of all such powers.
A chill ran down Killer King's spine too late.
‘There was no restriction against using fables.’
But he had realized it too late.
His vision went dark, and his cheek slammed into the ground.
He couldn't understand what had happened.
When he opened his eyes with a dry heave, he saw Lee Dansu, the King of No Killing, sprawled on the ground alongside Pildu Gong, the Bald King.
He could also see the King of Assassins, who had given up long ago and hidden among the crowd.
A belated groan escaped him.
[The Incarnation Yu Junghyeok has passed all trials of the Absolute Throne.]
It was over.
Killer King blankly raised his head and watched Junghyeok walk away.
They had lost.
As Junghyeok took a step, the crowd retreated like a receding wave.
Some were so overwhelmed by his presence that they fell to their knees.
"S-Supreme King..."
Someone called out his nickname.
"The Supreme King! The Supreme King is the winner!"
"The Korean Peninsula's only king!"
The murmurs soon became cheers. Some feared him, while others envied him.
Yet everyone revered him.
Overwhelming martial strength, enough to subdue every king alone.
Watching Junghyeok, Killer King thought,
‘I am not Junghyeok.’
He staggered to his feet, bracing himself against the ground.
He knew he couldn't fight him. He could feel the difference in their Status. Even if every possessed reader joined forces, it would be impossible to stop that Junghyeok.
Even so, Killer King made a promise.
‘I am Cha Seongu.’
He would stop this world's destruction.
Junghyeok's steps didn't hesitate. Fewer than thirty steps remained between him and the Absolute Throne.
"Brother!"
When had she escaped the dungeon?
Having recovered somewhat from her internal injuries, Cha Yerín ran forward as Mana surged from her entire body.
[The Incarnation Yi Seyeon has activated Fighting Action Mode!]
Fighting Action Mode.
Killer King looked at the controller that had appeared before him.
‘There is no other way.’
They had to stop Junghyeok somehow. This skill was the strongest cooperative technique the siblings could perform together.
It was a finishing move that could inflict fatal injuries even on a Tier-5 poison dragon.
In theory, it could even contend with Junghyeok.
Then why did he have such a terrible feeling?
"A game?"
The moment Killer King heard Junghyeok mutter, he felt as though cold water had been poured over him.
Why had he forgotten?
"Yerín!"
Clutching the controller, he ran forward.
This battle could never be won.
Their opponent was the Supreme King himself.
And the Supreme King's former occupation was...
[The Incarnation Yu Junghyeok's attribute has activated!]
Kwaaaang!
Yerín's body crumpled as she activated the command.
Killer King barely caught his younger sister as she flew back, vomiting blood.
She coughed up blood in ragged gasps.
He saw the trace of the [hundred-step godly fists] that had grazed her waist.
It was a strike that had precisely predicted the preparatory movement before her finishing move. In that short moment, Junghyeok had seen through Fighting Action Mode's weakness.
"Do you want to die?"
Killer King slowly looked around.
No one had died yet.
That fact reassured him and drove him into despair at the same time.
The Supreme King had been holding back against them this entire time.
They couldn't win.
His body was surrendering before his mind could.
Until now, Killer King had believed he knew Junghyeok well. He had read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint a hundred times and believed he understood him more accurately than even the author who wrote this story.
Yet the moment Killer King met Junghyeok's eyes, he felt as if he were facing a book whose thickness he couldn't begin to measure.
The lives they had lived were far too different.
No one could stop him.
No one could understand him.
No one in this world could...
"That's far enough."
A quiet, grumbling voice spoke.
"Fuck. I never wanted to do this Scenario again."
Someone stood in Junghyeok's path.
A blue combat suit made from elastic material.
In her right hand was the Blade of Faith, pouring out brilliant white light.
"Aren't you tired too?"
The person standing there wasn't Dokja. Yet in some ways, this person understood the world better than even Dokja did.
Killer King, Yerín, and Lee Dansu.
Everyone there stared blankly at the same face.
It was a face they had never seen before.
Yet it was also a face they had no choice but to recognize.
The person who had summoned the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword before anyone else in the main story. The person who had called herself a Demon Emperor, beyond a king.
"Junghyeok."
The author of this world.
"Can't we stop telling stories like this already?"
Han Suyeong.
Footnotes:
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