WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 696: Episode 24: Expert (6)
──────
Why was Kim Dokja, the neighborhood hyung, angry?
The first word that came to mind was ‘companion.’
He had seen the end of the Scenarios alongside Yu Junghyeok in the third round.
Seeing Junghyeok of the forty-first round might have reminded the neighborhood hyung of those days. Even knowing that Junghyeok of this worldline wasn't the ‘Junghyeok’ he remembered, he had still been shaken by Junghyeok's crisis.
「Was that really the reason?」
It was a rather romantic reason, but honestly, it didn't convince me.
The neighborhood hyung I had observed so far had something deeply twisted about him.
I didn't know whether all the separated Kim Dokjas were like that, or whether only the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ was, but...
「He resembles Kim Dokja from the early days of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.」
Kim Dokja, who liked TWSA.
Kim Dokja, who thought Junghyeok was a psychopath and kept a strange distance from the characters.
Kim Dokja, the Scenario expert.
If my assumption was right, this was why Dokja was angry.
「He doesn't like this ‘story’ right now.」
Sparks danced lightly in the air. Even though this was a Possession through [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], the Status of his emotions shone blue.
Anna Croft's startled pupils shook.
[Arch-Demon's Eyeball.]
The moment I saw Anna's eyes blaze red, I wondered if I should step in.
If things continued like this...
[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has activated!]
[The activation of Arch-Demon's Eyeball has been cancelled by the effect of The Fourth Wall.]
Anna would die before I could even confirm whether Junghyeok was alive.
“Urgh!”
Crackle!
Blood vessels burst in Anna's eyes. Clutching one eye, Anna staggered back.
“How did you...?”
“I'll ask one more time.”
Dokja's hand slowly moved toward his sword hilt.
“Yu Junghyeok is currently...”
The lights around us flickered as if there had been a blackout. Then, as though the Factory's power had been shut off, the light vanished from Dokja's eyes.
I quickly realized what had happened.
[The Exclusive Skill Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint has been deactivated.]
“Ah, I forgot about the duration.”
‘Patron-nim?’
“I'll go exchange some coins. Wait a little.”
‘Kim Dokja-ssi! Dokja! You bastard!’
Dokja didn't answer.
What was I supposed to do if he disappeared like that?
One by one, Zarathustra's forces gathered around Anna. Killing intent hung over the tense Incarnations' faces, while Selena Kim watched the standoff with an uneasy expression.
And my body stood there, unconscious.
‘Damn it.’
It was amazing that my unconscious body was even standing upright.
Did Dokja have a fable called "Balance Artist" or something?
To make matters worse, my half-lidded eyes hid the fact that I had fainted.
“What... are you?”
Anna glared at me and continued.
“You definitely didn't feel like this before. Are you really Inho Cheon? Back then too...”
“...”
“Are you going to keep silent?”
Even in response to Anna's question, my body remained completely still and silent.
Perhaps she took it as an answer, because Anna's expression hardened.
Since my unconscious body still gripped the sword hilt, I looked as though I was deciding whether to kill the Incarnations in front of me.
Anna spoke again in a resolute voice.
“I don't know what you're thinking, but this is Zarathustra. If you try to destroy this place...”
“Anna!”
Selena, whose face had been growing paler by the second, finally stepped in.
“You can't fight Inho Cheon-ssi. He's not a bad person.”
“Selena?”
“H-he... treated me to a Korean drink. It was delicious.”
“What are you talking about?”
Selena anxiously looked around before turning to me.
I wondered why she was so tense, then realized she had good reason to be.
“I-Inho Cheon-ssi is a Demon King.”
Damn it.
“A Demon King?”
“Well, Christina...”
A stir spread through the hall, and a few people screamed and collapsed. They had heard only one word, ‘Demon King,’ yet those who fell into panic backed away from me.
Normally, this would have been impossible.
Incarnations who had progressed only to the seventh Scenario shouldn't have known what a demon king was.
But they were different.
「“I faced a demon king's symbolic form when it appeared too.”」
I had some idea why.
Still, no matter what they had gone through, I wasn't a demon king.
My Patron was a demon king, but either way, I wasn't.
Someone as smart as Anna would naturally know that.
In terms of Plausibility, it was impossible for me to be a ‘Demon King’ at this point.
Yet...
“So you've chosen ‘that path’ again this round.”
The Prophet suddenly began spouting nonsense.
“Everyone, withdraw. Effective immediately, we will abandon Zarathustra's temporary headquarters.”
The hall descended into chaos. People ran out of the hotel screaming.
“Selena Kim. Issue a Level 1 alert. I'll buy us time somehow. While I do, you...”
I couldn't wait any longer for Dokja to return. But what could I do after being thrown out of my body?
‘No.’
Come to think of it, there was a way to move my body even while unconscious.
It was a method I had used before.
[The Exclusive Skill Incitement Lv.10 has been activated.]
It was applying [Incitement] to my unconscious self.
「Inho Cheon released his grip on the sword hilt.」
Fortunately, my body obeyed.
When I let go of the sword hilt, Anna, who had been directing the others, hesitated.
Still, this wasn't enough.
Could a more specific Incitement work too?
There was only one way to find out.
「Inho Cheon opened his mouth.」
The next moment, a voice miraculously flowed from my unconscious body.
“To panic over the mere word ‘Demon King.’ It seems Zarathustra's reputation only goes this far.”
Anna stared at me with an unbelieving expression.
My half-lidded eyes seemed to smile, and my lips wore their characteristic slyness.
Anna asked, “Inho Cheon. Don't tell me... you've regained your memories?”
* * *
This wasn't the first time I had encountered Anna Croft.
At the start of the Scenarios, I had already met Anna through the Illusion Prison.
「Who are you? You're not Inho Cheon.」
Come to think of it, Anna had suspected me back then too. Was she so quick to catch on because she was a Prophet?
Anna, seated in a chair in the reception room, glared at me and spoke again.
“One Who Deceived the Stars. Is it really you? Answer me clearly.”
One Who Deceived the Stars.
It sounded grand even hearing it again. Just what had Inho Cheon of the fortieth round done to earn a name like that?
“Does it matter so much who I am?”
Anna frowned at my sly smile.
“How did you regain your memories? Junghyeok couldn't possibly have shared his fable with you...”
I had received a Fable Fragment, but it wasn't that fable.
I answered honestly.
“I'm not the ‘Inho Cheon’ you remember. All my memories were reset along with Junghyeok's [Regression].”
“That...”
“The same goes for you, doesn't it? You're not Anna Croft from the previous round. You're a new ‘Anna Croft’ who inherited the previous round's memories through [past vision].”
“The fact that you're spouting such plausible sophistry proves it really is you.”
Anna shook her head as though she had a headache, then drained the tea on the table in one gulp.
Selena watched from afar with worried eyes.
I waved at her to reassure her.
“What is this talk about a ‘Demon King’ anyway? Why do Selena and Christina think you're a demon king? Don't tell me you made a contract with one?”
My Patron was a demon king, but whether my Patron was truly a Demon King was a little ambiguous.
“Did you choose ‘that path’ again, like in the previous round?”
That path?
“Do you have any intention of having a conversation right now?”
The conversation seemed destined to go wrong from the start, so I decided to lighten the mood a little.
“Calm down, and think of me as the ‘new Inho Cheon’ from now on.”
“The new Inho Cheon?”
“Not every evildoer starts out as an evildoer. You know that, right?”
“You are an evildoer.”
“When you brand people like that from the start, the world's evildoers can't reform.”
“What...?”
“Think of me as a newborn from now on. Depending on your choice, this newborn could grow into a brutal murderer or a kind-hearted swindler.”
“You aren't a newborn.”
I considered using Incitement to make myself a ‘newborn,’ but said this instead.
“Still, Junghyeok must have thought that every time he looked at me.”
“...”
“Should I kill this guy, or let him live? Which choice will help this world's future more? If I make the wrong choice, how much tragedy will happen in this world?”
I looked at the northern streets of Las Vegas beyond the window.
It was a desolate city ravaged by disaster species.
Anna abruptly rose and drew the curtains over the window.
I spoke to her.
“Simply knowing a future can become a sin. If that's the case, I'd rather live as a newborn who knows nothing.”
“Why did you come here?”
Anna spoke without looking back at me.
“If you've regained your memories, you could live however you want again. Are you planning to make this round a complete mess too...”
“Junghyeok called me here.”
“How long are you going to keep telling such shameless lies...”
[The character Anna Croft is activating Lie Detection Lv.7.]
[Lie Detection has confirmed that your statement is true.]
Anna's expression turned strange.
“You came because the Supreme King called you?”
“Yes.”
[Lie Detection has confirmed that your statement is true.]
“Why?”
“Because we're on the same side.”
[Lie Detection has confirmed that your statement is true.]
“You joined the Supreme King's side?”
Anna's lips trembled as I shamelessly nodded.
“Now that your curiosity is satisfied, I'll ask my question. There must have been other Koreans besides Junghyeok. What happened to them?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“They're my companions.”
[Lie Detection has confirmed that your statement is true.]
“Companions?”
Anna now looked as though she was about to lose her mind.
“You're worried about companions?”
“Of course I'm worried.”
“Why would you, Inho Cheon...”
Anna's face twisted with rage and sorrow. She looked almost insane.
“I can't trust you. I can't understand the Supreme King at all. After what happened, how could he possibly use you?”
“I don't think you're one to say that.”
Anna's eyes widened slightly at my words.
“So you obtained the memories of the ‘previous round’ after all.”
I gave up on denying it and decided to play along with Anna's misunderstanding.
After gathering her thoughts for a moment, Anna spoke.
“The Supreme King is still safe. So are your companions.”
“Are they safe?”
“For now.”
I nodded, somewhat relieved.
“Are they in the Washington Dome right now?”
Anna nodded with a devastated expression.
“Yes.”
Just as I thought. I immediately checked the Scenario log.
+
<Main Scenario #7 - ???>
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Move to the Scenario area.
Time Limit: ???
Reward: ???
Failure: ???
+
I had thought something was strange ever since I checked the seventh Scenario.
Even after arriving in Las Vegas, I received a message telling me to move to the ‘Scenario area.’ That meant the true stage of the seventh Scenario wasn't Las Vegas.
“The seventh Scenario is taking place in Washington.”
“What Calamity is it?”
“...It seems you already know everything.”
“Did you fail the fifth Scenario?”
“I don't want to admit it, but yes.”
Just as expected, America had failed to hunt the final Calamity of the fifth Scenario.
And the price was losing the Washington Dome.
Having judged that the American Incarnations couldn't hunt the Calamity on their own, the Administration Bureau must have manipulated the Plausibility of the Star Stream to pique the Constellations' interest.
As a result, the Disaster Scenario had been extended into the seventh Scenario and transformed into a global Scenario.
[New Incarnations have entered the seventh Scenario area!]
By now, Incarnations from all around the world were probably entering America's Scenario.
If things went wrong, a world war could break out in Washington.
“How pathetic. You have [future vision], yet you couldn't even deal with a single Calamity properly?”
My disappointment, at least, was genuine.
I never expected Anna Croft to fail the fifth Scenario.
Especially in a forty-first round where every character had surpassed my expectations.
“It irritates me to hear that from you, but this worldline was different somehow. Things I couldn't know even with my [future vision] kept happening.”
Things that couldn't be known even with [future vision].
In the main story of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, those things usually happened when Dokja intervened in a Scenario.
But Dokja in this round was a Constellation, and he hadn't intervened in the story before making a contract with me.
Then a hypothesis suddenly came to mind.
Why hadn't I thought of that?
Come to think of it, there were people in this world who could change its future even if they weren't Dokja.
“Inho Cheon. Have you ever heard of a group called the Apostles?”
There were ‘readers’ on this continent who had read Dokja's story.
Footnotes:
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