WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 697: Episode 24: Expert (7)

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An hour after Inho Cheon lost consciousness, Yu Junghyeok arrived in Las Vegas.

The companions who came with him were as follows.

Steel Sword Emperor Lee Hyeongseong.

Naval Commander Lee Jihye.

Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon.

Medicine Sage Lee Seolhwa.

As he looked them over again, Junghyeok thought to himself.

‘Four in total. Five if I include Shin Yuseong, who hasn't joined yet.’

They were the Incarnations who had remained by his side throughout dozens of rounds.

Each of them had a flaw.

Hyeongseong could be too foolish, Jihye was too simple-minded, Namwoon was insane, and Seolhwa often became Poison Beauty. Yuseong was weak-hearted.

Over his repeated rounds, he had replaced his main members or formed new parties several times.

Yet in the end, these five were always the ones left. They alone stayed by Junghyeok's side until the very end.

"Ugh, it's my first time in America. Have you been here before, Seolhwa-unnie?"

Seolhwa answered Jihye's question with a faint smile.

"When I was young."

"Hehe. This body knows America well. Are you curious, Jihye?"

"No."

"I've only ever been deployed to the Middle East, so I'm nervous too."

"Hyeongseong-ssi, you're always nervous."

The group was livelier than they had been in the previous round.

The reason was obvious.

It was likely because of the anomaly that had appeared in this round. The Incarnation who was the reason Shin Yuseong hadn't joined him, and the one Junghyeok was most wary of.

That was to say...

"Impressive. Is that the Status of the Five Heavenly Emperors who protect the Supreme King?"

Junghyeok frowned as he thought. Come to think of it, there were others among the companions who had come with them. He simply hadn't considered them companions.

"Five Heavenly Emperors? Was that our nickname?"

"I came up with it."

"Don't corrupt Revelation."

Behind the two bickering young men, a beautiful woman let out a soft sigh.

Junghyeok knew who they were.

Kang Ilhun, whose manner of speaking was irritating but who was presumed to be an Archangel's Incarnation.

Yehyeonwoo, the practical leader of the Chungmuro group and Pildu Gong's partner.

Lee Seyeon, armed with formidable close-combat skills and S-grade or higher items.

All of them were Incarnations who had risen as powerful newcomers in this round.

Junghyeok had never told anyone, but he knew one thing they had in common.

‘They're all evildoers.’

Their names remained in his hazy memories of previous rounds.

They had been petty thieves, party traitors, or raiders.

Those small-time villains were now boldly stepping to the forefront of the Main Scenario and leading the Incarnations.

More precisely, it wasn't just them.

"Uncle Dansu, why are you sighing like that?"

Another man and woman followed behind them.

Junghyeok knew their names as well.

"I'm still worried about Inho-ssi. I should've stayed behind too."

Gyeongsein, a sub-tank not as sturdy as Hyeongseong but second only to him, and Lee Dansu, whose combat skills weren't exceptional but who reminded Yu Junghyeok of Selena Kim, the King of No Killing from the previous round.

As he remembered it, those two had also caused minor conflicts with Incarnations in certain rounds.

‘A coincidence? Or...’

Even if it was a coincidence, there was nothing particularly strange about it.

Across the countless rounds he had lived through, every human being, including Junghyeok himself, had become an evildoer at least once.

What Junghyeok had learned from that was that humans were nothing more than empty vessels.

Every human became a completely different being depending on what kind of fable they faced and what kind of story they lived.

He knew that was the truth.

Even so, there was one man for whom Junghyeok found it difficult to accept that truth.

‘Inho Cheon.’

Without a single exception, every Inho Cheon in every round had been an evildoer. Whether a minor evil or a Great Evil, he had become a villain and blocked Junghyeok's path.

As if that were his absolute duty.

Yet Inho Cheon in this round hadn't become an evildoer yet.

Junghyeok found that fact deeply strange.

"What are you thinking about?"

Yu Mia, who was walking beside him, tightly gripped his left hand. Junghyeok didn't shake her off as he answered.

"Nothing."

"You're thinking about that squinty-eyed man."

"He's dangerous."

"That man looks like a con artist."

"That's right."

"But from what people say, he seems like a good man."

‘A kind con artist.’

Junghyeok was surprised that young Yu Mia knew such an expression, then wondered if he should correct the contradiction in it.

Still, he couldn't think of anything to say in response.

Instead, Junghyeok decided to recall his memories of the previous round. How terrible that bastard had been, how dangerous it was to trust him...

[Binding of Truth controls your memories.]

Binding of Truth.

One of the Three Fable Imprints he had engraved.

In exchange for giving him great power, that imprint sealed away some of his memories.

It bothered him a little that these particular memories had been sealed away, but Junghyeok didn't pay it much mind.

After all, the memories crucial to clearing this round were held by another being, not him.

"It's been a while, Supreme King Yu Junghyeok."

Across from the casino hotel stood the person who possessed the memories he needed.

Zarathustra's Representative and his old nemesis.

"Anna Croft."

* * *

While heading to the Washington Dome, Junghyeok tried his best not to meet Anna Croft's eyes.

[Binding of Emotion stirs.]

He struggled to contain the murderous intent surging within him.

He wanted to bring Inho Cheon along in case something like this happened.

But it was too late to turn back now.

"Prophet. There are memories I need. Use [past vision]."

"I've used up all my uses for today."

[You are using Lie Detection.]

[Lie Detection has confirmed that statement to be true.]

Anna Croft's expression hardened at the skill messages.

"Supreme King, do you have so little trust in me?"

"I'd rather trust a kind con artist than trust you."

"Who's the kind con artist?"

"Don't ask pointless questions."

"You're the one who brought it up..."

"I'll tell you in advance. My Patience isn't very deep in this round."

Instead of answering, Anna Croft glared at him with displeased eyes.

At that moment, Junghyeok felt the urge to pull out his spear and bring it down on her head.

All the tragedies Anna Croft had caused throughout the past dozens of rounds came flooding back all at once.

[Exclusive Skill, Three Endurances Lv.5, is active.]

[The influence of Binding temporarily weakens due to Three Endurances.]

But he had to endure it.

At least until he brought down every star in this world, she was useful.

The moment he confirmed the situation there, though, Junghyeok began to doubt Anna Croft's usefulness.

"Why has the Scenario become such a mess?"

At only the fifth Scenario, the entire Washington Dome had been invaded.

The surviving Incarnations numbered only around 5 percent of the dome's total population.

It had never happened in any previous round.

"An unexpected situation arose."

"That always happens."

"There was a plan, too."

"Plans you can't carry out are worthless. If you can't give me an acceptable answer, you'll die here."

At his threat, Anna Croft let out a deep sigh. It was an oddly dispirited sigh, one he had never seen from her in any round.

"Junghyeok. Have you ever heard of a group called the Apostles?"

Junghyeok nodded.

"I see... It seems they were in Korea as well."

Judging from how she spoke, Washington's downfall was related to the Apostles.

"Did Korea fail to kill its Calamity as well?"

"Korea has me."

"Of course. I only asked in case."

Junghyeok recalled Korea's fifth Scenario.

A Calamity different from the one in his memories had appeared, and the way to kill it had also differed somewhat from the previous round. Still, the Scenario itself had progressed smoothly enough.

"It wasn't smooth on our side."

"I have a rough idea of what happened."

Junghyeok had also heard a little about the Apostles.

Beings who knew the world's future.

"That's what happens when you rely too much on something like [future vision]. You should know there is no such thing as a predetermined future."

"The future was written. Until they appeared, that is."

Anna Croft had cleared Scenarios by reading the future and preparing for it.

Then, the variable known as the Apostles entered this round and ruined every one of her plans.

"If you help me just this once, I'll definitely repay the debt, Supreme King."

"I hope you remain useful until I collect it."

The moment they entered the portal, the scenery around them rippled and changed.

Junghyeok had his companions wait for a moment, then climbed a nearby high-rise building to survey the area.

It wasn't his first visit to the Washington Dome.

But it was the first time he had seen a sight like this.

It looked as if the entire city had been buried beneath pitch-black ash.

There wasn't a single living Incarnation in sight.

The high-rise buildings that had formed the skyline were all ruins, and fog thick enough to block even starlight covered the sky.

Pitch-black roots that resembled upside-down trees had sprouted from the rooftops.

Without hesitation, Junghyeok tore off the roots.

Black Aether surged from the torn roots.

Dark roots that spewed demonic energy.

There was no mistaking it.

‘The Demon Realm.’

He didn't know which Demon Realm it was, but the Washington Dome had been invaded by the Demon Realm.

Junghyeok landed lightly on the ground and asked Anna.

"Have you secured the earth dragon species parts?"

"I'm trying."

Purification was essential to fight in an invaded Demon Realm. Otherwise, they would be cursed.

[The Washington Dome is currently being eroded by the Demon Realm.]

[Regional Curse has activated!]

[Mental energy is slightly decreased in this area!]

[Overall abilities are partially decreased in this area!]

Judging from the extent of the invasion, it wasn't beyond saving yet.

But if the Scenario continued while Washington remained like this, the city would truly become part of the Demon Realm.

As time passed, the Demon Realm's territory would expand, and eventually all of Earth would fall under a demon king's rule.

He had to prevent that at all costs.

"Which demon king's servant is it?"

A demon king couldn't descend directly into the Washington Dome when it was only at the seventh Scenario.

That meant the master of this dome was likely a subordinate of a certain demon king.

"It was a demon king I'd never heard of."

"You'd never heard of one?"

Junghyeok knew the True names of every demon king ruling the 72 Demon Realms.

The prophet before him would be the same.

If a demon king with an unfamiliar name had appeared despite that, the implication was clear.

"According to what Christina confirmed..."

A new demon king had appeared in this round's Demon Realm.

"The servants called their master the Demon King of Salvation."

Footnotes:

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