WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 672: Episode 21: Kim Dokja (8)
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A deafening blast rang out, and thick dust rose from the ground.
"Han Suyeong!"
I ran toward the center of Gwanghwamun, where Han Suyeong had fallen. No matter how many times I called out, I heard no answer.
Rumble...
The Absolute Throne at the center of Gwanghwamun rose into the air.
【O O O O O O O O O】
A faint cry echoed from somewhere far away.
It was undoubtedly an Outer God.
Fortunately, the sound was too distant to make me cough up blood or lose consciousness. Still, the gravity of the situation was obvious.
「Something that hadn't happened during the previous Absolute Throne Scenario.」
「An Outer God had intervened.」
Had Suyeong fought something like that?
Why?
Hadn't she been trying to destroy this world all along?
"Han Suyeong!"
I shouted again, but Suyeong was still nowhere to be seen.
As the dust cleared, Yu Junghyeok's figure came into view, floating high in the distant sky. He hung limply, seemingly unconscious.
"Junghyeok!"
Red threads extending from the Absolute Throne were connected to his entire body.
The Absolute Throne rose as Junghyeok fell.
Very slowly, the distance between Junghyeok and the throne closed.
[The Throne Succession Ceremony has begun.]
The Constellation Bond was continuing.
It was the will of the Outer God, the Founder of the Absolute Throne.
"L-look at that!"
"It's Junghyeok!"
The nearby Incarnations, who had only just noticed, shouted through their coughing.
[Oh, things are getting interesting. Then shall we start bringing this Scenario to its grand finale?]
The dokkaebi Paul appeared at the worst possible moment and activated a Sub Scenario.
[A new Sub Scenario has arrived.]
+
<Sub Scenario: Throne Seizure>
Category: Sub
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: A new king will soon be born on the Korean Peninsula. Subdue the Incarnation Yu Junghyeok, who seeks to sit on the throne, and seize the Absolute Throne.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Reward: 7,000 coins
Failure: -
+
[Now, everyone. This is your last chance. Will you watch a king ascend to the throne, or will you become the usurper of his crown?]
As if the entire situation delighted him, the intermediate dokkaebi burst out laughing.
[The Constellation Bald Army General diligently polishes his head.]
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God sighs while looking at the throne.]
[The Constellation Creator of Hangul remains silent with a sorrowful expression.]
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire glares at the Outer God.]
[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon mocks everyone, asking whether there isn't a single brave bastard among them.]
The stars feared the sight, but they couldn't look away.
Even after the Scenario appeared, none of the Incarnations moved easily. It was only natural.
The one inheriting the throne was Yu Junghyeok, the Supreme King and strongest Incarnation.
There was no one who could challenge the man who had defeated every king by himself.
"Junghyeok! Wake up! If you sit there, it'll all be over!"
I shouted at Junghyeok and pushed through the crowd toward the throne.
I had to stop him. I could stop him.
It wasn't too late yet.
"Mister. That's far enough."
A slender girl holding a long sword stopped me.
"Jihye."
Junghyeok's personal guard blocked the path to the throne.
"Come on. You know you'll die if you cross this line, right?"
Kim Namwoon, the Delusional Demon.
There were also those who followed the Supreme King.
"Supreme King! Supreme King! Supreme King!"
"He's the new king of the Korean Peninsula!"
Among them, I saw a woman with disheveled white hair.
Lee Seolhwa, the Medicine Sage.
Only then did I realize it.
Junghyeok of the forty-first round had already gathered this many companions.
Without resting for even a moment, he had taken steady steps toward this world's conclusion.
"I said you can't go any farther."
When I took a step forward, Jihye half drew her sword.
It wasn't a simple threat. If I took another step, she would definitely cut me down.
Lightning struck from the sky, brightly illuminating Junghyeok as he moved closer to the throne.
Suyeong had probably fought to stop that.
The last time I met her, I had bragged.
That I was a writer of this story too.
That I would persuade her.
That I would finish the story she had written.
So what story had I written?
I looked around Gwanghwamun.
Everything was in ruins.
Dying Incarnations writhed on the ground. The stars in the sky sparkled as though they were mocking me.
I had thought I could do well.
I had believed I knew all those stories too.
[The Exclusive Skill TWSA is activating intermittently.]
Fragments of sentences from TWSA reached me now and then.
This skill was probably a memory Suyeong had given me.
A bitter laugh escaped me at my own patheticness.
Without this skill, I would have died long ago.
When I slowly took another step, Jihye drew her sword fully and pressed it against my cheek.
"If you move again, I'll have no choice but to cut you down, even if you're Mister."
While Junghyeok was building his fables, where had I been, and what had I done?
「There had definitely been many stories I wanted to tell.」
I wanted to tell stories about people who hadn't received attention in the main plot.
The lives of extras.
I wanted to write stories for those forgotten by the protagonists, those who couldn't leave behind even a single sentence.
I wanted to save Junghyeok of the forty-first round.
「Had even one of those things been done properly?」
For the first time, I keenly realized my lack of talent as a writer.
"I..."
「I couldn't change this story.」
I looked directly at Jihye's sword and took another step.
「If this was the karma I deserved for ruining the story.」
Resolve flashed sharply in Jihye's eyes.
The girl's sword rushed at me, splitting the wind.
"Jihye-ssi."
Someone grabbed Jihye's blade.
"Please let Inho-ssi go."
She was a woman, smaller than I was.
"Inho-ssi has something he needs to do."
The moment I heard that voice, a small warmth settled deep in my heart.
[The fable Recorder of Vanishing Things begins its story.]
That warmth soon became a sentence.
「A reader more fearful than anyone else was there.」
Gyeong Sein.
The second reader I had met.
The person who liked Jeong Huiwon most out of all the characters.
The person who had built up his body because he wanted to become as strong as Lee Hyeongseong.
His body was covered in wounds, proof of how much hardship he had endured.
"Sein-ssi."
Sein turned to look at me, his whole body trembling.
"Inho-ssi."
No matter how much stronger Sein had become, he was no match for Jihye physically.
Still, Sein didn't step back.
"I don't want to see this world destroyed."
Jihye's expression hardened as she looked at me listening blankly.
"You're saying you want to fight us now?"
Cold Mana boiled from the tip of her blade.
Jihye's sword, infused with blue sword aura, moved.
"You know how strong I am, don't you?"
If that hit him, even Sein couldn't avoid serious injury.
The panicked Sein hugged me and crouched down, but someone struck Jihye's sword aside.
Someone had kicked her blade away.
"What-"
Jihye stepped back while clutching her wrist.
Namwoon, who had been watching, grinned with a sinister air.
"Oh, what's this? Things are getting interesting."
「A reader who had read more novels than anyone else was there.」
Literary Girl 64.
Cha Yerín had activated [Fighting Action Mode] and knocked Jihye's sword away.
"Yerín. What's the time limit?"
"Three minutes. We have to finish this before then."
"That's enough."
「A reader who wanted to become Junghyeok more than anyone else was there.」
Cha Seongu, Killer King, held out a hand to me as I sat on the ground.
"Rise, Kim Dokja."
I took the hand he offered, even as he stayed in character amid all this, and got to my feet.
Jihye growled.
"Are you serious? Do you all want to die?"
"No one wants to die."
「A reader who wanted to see this world's conclusion without sacrificing anyone was there.」
Mister Dansu, carrying Shin Yuseong on his back, supported my shoulder as he spoke.
"Everyone came this far so that no one would die."
What was so amusing about those words?
Namwoon burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! This is fun! It's a scene you see all the time in novels!"
The Delusional Demon suddenly stopped laughing and looked at us.
The Mana of the Black Flame Dragon surged over his entire body.
"Teach me some cool lines like that too. Yeah?"
The Delusional Demon rushed forward in an instant and threw a punch, sending Yerín flying into the air.
Namwoon blocked Killer King's arrow with his forearm and laughed.
"That toy looks fun."
[Black Flame] extended from Namwoon's hand and burned Killer King's crossbow.
A bullet that flew in from somewhere saved the siblings from the sudden danger.
"Second Apostle! Get down!"
「A reader who was more rational than anyone else, yet truly more passionate than anyone else, was there too.」
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Smoke from the barrage covered the area.
Ye Hyeon-u rushed through the dust and helped the others up.
Pildu Gong covered them from behind.
Bark! Bark!
Max the Ground Rat was barking beside him.
"Break through! We can't give up the Absolute Throne!"
At Ye Hyeon-u's command, Chungmuro's forces charged with a roar.
But their opponents were Jihye and Namwoon.
Slash!
"Argh!"
People who had lost their limbs in a single blow screamed.
Yerín, Killer King, Dansu, and Sein joined the fight.
But they had already exhausted much of their Constitution breaking through the Scenario.
There was no way they could properly deal with Jihye and Namwoon.
"Inho-ssi. Run!"
I ran through the brief opening they had made.
Jihye shouted behind me.
I hurried onward, leaving that dizzying bloodlust behind.
Even after breaking through the two of them, many forces were still protecting Junghyeok.
All of them were part of the history Junghyeok had built in the forty-first round.
"Stop him."
At Seolhwa's calm order, Junghyeok's followers swung their weapons at me.
"Kill him! He's trying to assassinate the king!"
Even with [Incitement], they were too many to handle.
If I used [Incitement] to make this many people retreat, I might not have enough Mana left to destroy the Absolute Throne.
That was when a commotion rose from the left side of their forces.
"Argh! What is this?"
A group of people charged forward, breaking through the followers' formation.
"Aaaah! Inho-hyung!"
A man rammed through them like a tank, crashing into people from every direction.
On either side of him were the mother and daughter, swinging butcher knives.
"Bang Cheolsu!"
As if answering my call, Bang Cheolsu opened a path with a booming shout.
"Go onnn!"
The blades swung by the Heartless Mother and Daughter opened the way to the Absolute Throne.
「The people Yi Hakhyeon had saved were there.」
I ran down the path they had opened.
「As though they were saying his story wasn't wrong.」
People who had lived out such a clumsy story for me.
People who had willingly accepted the crude words I had written and allowed themselves to exist.
They opened the road I had to run down.
Thud.
That was when something fell into the center of that road.
A presence so overwhelming that I struggled to breathe just looking at it.
A vast shadow, as though Mount Tai itself stood before me.
"Inho-ssi. I can't allow you to go any farther."
Yu Junghyeok's strongest shield.
Lee Hyeongseong, the Steel Sword Emperor.
His huge right hand moved toward my head.
It was [Great Mountain Crush].
I instinctively drew up my Mana.
If that attack hit me, I would suffer at least serious injuries.
I quickly lowered my head and avoided his right hand.
But his left hand was waiting lower down.
[Mount Tai Shove] imbued in his shield pushed precisely toward the direction I had dodged.
It was an attack I couldn't avoid.
I opened my mouth to activate [Incitement].
Then a roar exploded before my eyes.
I rolled across the ground and looked ahead.
The first thing I saw was Hyeongseong's shocked face.
"How..."
The steel shield in Hyeongseong's hand had split in half and rolled across the ground.
Something had overpowered his [Mount Tai Shove] and shattered his shield.
At this point, the only Incarnation with that much martial strength should have been Junghyeok.
「And there was a sword that protected him.」
But in the forty-first round, there was one more Incarnation with such strength.
"See? This is what happens when you leave me behind and go off alone."
The only Incarnation in this world who wasn't afraid of Junghyeok's sword.
「The only sword that protected Kim Dokja in every worldline.」
I said her name.
"Huiwon-ssi."
"I'll ask you exactly what happened later. For now, get up. You have something to do, right?"
Jeong Huiwon, the Demonbane Judge, helped me up as she spoke.
"Do what you need to do. I'll handle that giant."
"Stop!"
Hyeongseong reached out in alarm, while Huiwon swung her sword at him.
The strongest sword and the strongest shield collided, and a deafening crash rang through the area.
Leaving their fight behind, I looked into the air.
The Absolute Throne had risen high into the sky.
Junghyeok was now only a short distance from the throne.
There was no time to hesitate.
"I'll take the Hidden Scenario reward."
[The pending Hidden Scenario reward has been granted.]
[You are the first in this Scenario to hunt a Calamity!]
[You have achieved an unbelievable achievement!]
[You have acquired 90,000 coins.]
...
[The Administration Bureau has granted you a Scenario privilege.]
[You may choose one of the following items as your reward.]
+
[Black Flame Half-Gloves]: SSS-grade
[Sylphid’s Leap Boots]: SSS-grade
[Fire Dragon Race Egg]: SS-grade
...
+
A list of reward items appeared in my mind.
I answered before I even finished reading it.
"Sylphid’s Leap Boots."
An item Kim Dokja hadn't chosen.
But it was the item I needed more than anything right now.
[You have acquired Sylphid’s Leap Boots.]
My feet felt cool, and a gentle wind wrapped around my ankles.
[You have activated the special option Leap.]
I forcefully stepped into the air.
I soared into the sky in an instant, and Junghyeok was finally right in front of me.
"Junghyeok!"
I had the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword now.
But I still wasn't ready to destroy the Absolute Throne.
I didn't have the Ganpyeongui to borrow the Constellations' power.
So I grabbed Junghyeok first.
I thought separating him from the throne had to come first.
But the instant I tightly seized his arm, the zone before me suddenly rippled.
[The Theater of the Beginning has activated.]
My vision whirled as though I were being sucked into a wall.
When I came to my senses amid the dizziness, Junghyeok and I had been thrown into an unfamiliar place.
-Junghyeok! Junghyeok!
-The era of the Supreme King begins now!
People's cheers echoed through old speakers.
When I blinked, I saw a giant screen.
The scene of Gwanghwamun filled the screen.
I stared blankly at it, then slowly turned my head.
The familiar darkness of a theater seized me.
Hundreds of seats glowed in the darkness.
Hundreds of readers occupied those seats.
【You've finally arrived.】
The little Kim Dokjas were looking at me.
Some had excited expressions, while others looked sad.
At their center, someone clapped and spoke.
【Our abandoned protagonist.】
As expected, it was someone I knew very well.
Kim Dokja Representative rose from his seat with a face full of delight.
【Let us warmly welcome the 49% Kim Dokja.】
Footnotes:
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