Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 726

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 726: Episode 28: Home (4)

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It wasn't simply a Constellation's Incarnation with a high synchronization rate. That was the Constellation's own incarnation body.

Why was something like that here?

The nightmare of the Washington Dome came back to me. The memory of being chased by Constellations alongside the Demon King of Salvation.

I'd fled all the way here to avoid them, only to encounter a Constellation here too.

[The fable Heir to an Eternal Name regards you as pathetic.]

No. This wasn't the time to be intimidated.

[The fable Recorder of Things That Will Disappear tells you to snap out of it.]

Come to think of it, when had my fables started expressing their opinions to me?

[The fable Persistent Martial Arts Master says you can do it if you just persist.]

Right. No matter who my opponent was, I hadn't gathered such insignificant fables either.

More than anything, my Patron was the Demon King of Salvation.

As I took several slow breaths and observed the Constellation's incarnation body, I noticed the fables that comprised it.

[The effect of your Exclusive Attribute has activated!]

Maybe my eye for detail had improved, because simply concentrating let me read the Fable Fragments my opponent possessed.

「One Who Likes Red Riding Hood」

「One Who Gathers Wind Well」

「One Who Hates Brick Houses」

...

I could see old, sickly Fable Fragments.

[The fables comprising this incarnation body are severely worn.]

Dokja had said it.

There was no Scenario that couldn't be cleared.

[During the Event Scenario, the Wolf cannot be killed by other animals.]

I recalled Dokja's Revolutionary Scenario.

The Wolf before me had a role similar to the Executioner in the Demon Realm. It occupied a position that entered a kind of invincible state while the Scenario was in progress.

If this Scenario followed the same structure, we could somehow endure the Wolf's phase, Night, then target it during the day, when its weakness was exposed.

That was, if it hadn't been a Constellation.

[Young wolf. Do you want to die?]

At the Constellation's declaration, Killer King faltered and stepped back.

Even a weakened Constellation had an indescribable gap in Status compared to ordinary Incarnations.

Killer King must have known that too. That was why, instead of trying to clear the Scenario, he had chosen to protect his Allies and barely keep them alive.

Unlike the Demon Realm, this Scenario didn't even have a Revolutionary.

There was no way to kill that Wolf, whether it was Night or day.

That was the conclusion Killer King had reached.

[This incarnation body can only be killed through the rules of the Event Scenario.]

I recalled the contents of "The Three Little Pigs."

According to the fairy tale, we needed a Brick House to deal with the Wolf in the end.

But this world didn't even have bricks.

[You should know this if you chose the Wolf too. Weak animals are eaten. It isn't something sad or painful. It is simply the providence of the story.]

"You got a hippopotamus foreleg."

[I won't say it twice. Offer one of the livestock you raise. Then I'll obediently leave for today.]

Killer King finally bared his teeth. He pulled out his crossbow, stepped back, and aimed it at the wolves.

"Or I could just kill every last one of you here."

The wolves at the front frowned.

In this Event Scenario, Wolves couldn't be killed by other animals.

That meant they could be killed by fellow Wolves.

Even with a Constellation on their side, if Killer King truly meant to fight, he could take down one or two wolves.

- Kim Dokja. You're there, aren't you?

Killer King's [Telepathy] reached my ears.

- Run away with the others. I packed the luggage beforehand, so get out through the back door.

Killer King glanced toward where I was hiding and smiled.

- Don't worry about me. I don't die.

Honestly, I didn't think Killer King resembled Junghyeok that much. Just as Dokja, who endlessly shouted, "I am Yu Junghyeok," couldn't become Junghyeok.

The reason I was wavering now was probably because I had read TWSA right before coming here.

「"I don't die."」

Those were the words Junghyeok in TWSA always said just before dying.

I don't die.

Junghyeok always left those words behind before he died.

For Junghyeok himself, those words must have been true. He was a regressor who never truly died.

But were those words true for the people left behind after his death?

[Kill him.]

At the Constellation's command, three or four wolves rushed Killer King at once.

Wolf claws surged in from every direction, aiming for Killer King's front, back, left, and right.

[The fable fragment Successor of the Black Coat begins its story!]

When had he collected a Fable Fragment like that?

Killer King swept his coat dramatically, and the claws were cleanly knocked away.

A fierce Lion's Roar burst from Killer King's lips as he smiled coldly.

[The fable fragment One Who Resembles the Voice of the Supreme King lets out a Lion's Roar!]

For a moment, I wondered if he might imitate Regression too, but of course that was impossible.

Within moments, Killer King was struck in the back of the head. Gritting his teeth, he sent me another Telepathy.

- Kim Dokja! Hurry!

What determined a person's nature wasn't their words, but their actions. Actions filled with sincerity remained as stories, and those stories were spoken of until they became fables.

[The fable Lonely Savior begins its story haltingly.]

The fables Killer King had accumulated shone brightly.

They weren't identical to Junghyeok's, but they were no less noble.

Those fables were controlling Killer King. They were leading him toward death.

"If we leave him like that, he'll die."

Little Junghyeok was right.

If I left him alone, Killer King would die.

Just as Sergeant Major Jeong Munho at Seoul Station and Jeong Jaewoo in the Theater Dungeon had.

"Yu Junghyeok, I need a favor."

"A favor?"

Little Junghyeok looked up at me.

Meeting his suspicious gaze, I searched the Dokkaebi Compendium for an item.

This was a world where skills and Stigmas were forbidden. Item effects were also weakened, so they couldn't perform properly.

In other words, no matter what I bought from the Dokkaebi Compendium, I couldn't kill that Wolf Constellation.

But I might be able to buy us some time.

[You have spent 1,000 coins in the Dokkaebi Compendium.]

[You have acquired the item Red Riding Hood's Hood (Replica).]

I placed the item I had bought through the Dokkaebi Compendium over Little Junghyeok's head.

[The target's attention level has increased due to the item's effect!]

Startled, Little Junghyeok struggled.

The item's effect was simple.

The Incarnation wearing it became a little cuter, a little more appetizing, and more eye-catching.

Its effects were weakened here, but this should be enough for now.

"What are you doing?"

Little Junghyeok had barely pushed his head out of the hood when he sprang to his feet, and the Wolf Constellation's gaze turned toward us.

[The Constellation Wolf Who Likes Red Riding Hood has found prey!]

If that Wolf had been a normal Constellation, it wouldn't have fallen for such a simple trap.

But something about it was different.

I could be sure of it because I had already encountered several other Constellations.

Its Status was unstable for a Constellation. The fables inhabiting its incarnation body were unbalanced, and its Status wasn't whole either.

Its incarnation body was like rags, made of old Fable Fragments that hadn't received proper repairs for a long time.

More importantly, the fables comprising its incarnation body weren't limited to "The Three Little Pigs."

[The fable Wolf Coveting Red Riding Hood begins its story.]

Constellations who had lived for a long time couldn't properly distinguish their own will from the will of their fables.

As the fable began its story, the instinct of the creature consumed by that story awakened.

[Red Riding Hood.]

Its bloodshot eyes gleamed. Wagging its tail like a mad dog, it began charging toward Little Junghyeok.

I nodded solemnly at Little Junghyeok.

"Run."

"You..."

"If you don't run now, you'll die."

Little Junghyeok ground his teeth and looked back at me.

"I'll definitely kill you, Kim Dokja."

I lowered my head behind cover almost at the same time.

A fierce gale swept through, and the figures of Yu Junghyeok and the Wolf Constellation vanished together.

Rumbleee.

When I raised my head above the cover, I saw Little Junghyeok fleeing far away, with the Wolf Constellation chasing after him.

It looked as though he would be caught at any moment, but Junghyeok would be fine. It would be another matter if his Constitution had still been as low as before, but Junghyeok had recovered a fair amount by now.

I had clearly seen him climb onto my shoulder, sneak an elixir out of my pocket, and nibble it down.

He was a guy who ate eight meals a day. His condition should have completely recovered by now.

That wasn't all.

[The effect of the item White Rat Mask has activated!]

[Animal Masks do not receive this world's performance reduction effect.]

Was it because this was the world of the Twelve Zodiacs?

Masks were the only items here that retained their original performance.

With the effect of the Rat Mask that had won first place in the Twelve Zodiac Race, he wouldn't be caught for a while.

"You."

Killer King, who had knocked down every other wolf in the meantime, turned toward me.

As expected of the Second Apostle, Killer King.

Even without skills or Stigmas, he could subdue these mediocre wolves as long as they weren't Constellations.

Killer King wiped away a nosebleed, then glared at me.

"Do you know what you've done?"

"I know very well."

"The south of District 13 is the Wolves' territory. You are now..."

"An enemy of the Wolves."

Killer King stared at me as if I were unbelievable, then muttered.

"Have you really become Kim Dokja...?"

We began collecting items and Fable Fragments from the fallen wolves. A few Fable Fragments were useful, while a few were trash.

Not every story was recycled just because it entered the Recycling Center.

"It's not too late yet. If you're leaving, this is your only chance."

Killer King stood up while picking up items.

"Go to another Twelve Zodiacs Area. You haven't lost your mask yet, so you should have a way to escape. I'll somehow look after the remaining Allies."

"I don't want to."

"Kim Dokja."

A scar briefly showed on the back of Killer King's hand. It was an injury he hadn't had before.

"This is only the eighth Scenario. Do you know how many characters we knew have died on the way here?"

"..."

"Not everyone is needed to see the ending."

Killer King was right.

Not every character was necessary for this world's conclusion.

"Me too, and the Allies too, we've accepted it now. This world isn't the Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint we knew."

No one knew how many more people would die on the journey to the conclusion.

Some would live, and some would die. Some would be forgotten, and some would be remembered.

Killer King and I both knew now.

This story wouldn't end with a beautiful ending like a fairy tale.

"I need you in the ending I want."

"Being stubborn is just like Kim Dokja too. Are you really going to take on that role? You should know what that means."

I quietly looked into Killer King's eyes.

I had no choice but to admit it now. That person had truly read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint a hundred times.

He really knew what I was thinking.

That fact gave me an inexplicable sense of comfort as I opened my mouth.

"I know."

"Even though you know that..."

"I think you're mistaken about something. I need you because you're that useful."

No matter what I did, I couldn't become Kim Dokja, the Demon King of Salvation.

Just as Killer King couldn't become Yu Junghyeok, the Supreme King, no matter what he did.

Killer King stared blankly at me for a moment, then smiled brightly.

"I see. You need this body's help..."

"Yep."

Killer King's eyebrow twitched.

"Do you have some clever solution? Right now, even if you and I join forces, we can't catch that Wolf."

"That's true if you look at it logically. But isn't there something strange about this Scenario?"

"Strange?"

"It's called 'The Three Little Pigs,' but its structure is remarkably similar to a Scenario we already know. The Wolf's position too, and the fact that the Scenario starts at Night."

A game where we caught a werewolf that bit people to death every night.

We already knew a Scenario very similar to it.

"Have you ever thought about why this center is called the Recycling Center?"

Recycling. It literally meant using something that had already been used again.

Killer King thought about my question, then suddenly drew in a breath.

"No way..."

I didn't know who the manager of this Recycling Center was, or what purpose they had in designing a stage like this.

But.

"If I'm right..."

I brushed away the dirt on the ground and felt out the flow of fables around us.

Since when had it been?

One by one, Allies had gathered behind Killer King.