WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 77: Episode 16 - The Fifth Scenario (1)

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Song Minwoo's blood dripped down and soaked the floor. The feeling in my bloodied fists was dull. Minwoo only coughed up bloody foam now and then, without opening his eyes or saying a word. It was as if his broken body had given up on healing itself.

Han Suyeong muttered,

"What a scary bastard...... You beat a werewolf to death with your bare hands?"

The nearby werewolves had already either fled or just lost their heads at Han Suyeong's hands. Looking down at Song Minwoo, I said,

"He's not dead yet."

Even looking at him now, [The Fourth Wall] didn't waver. My trauma probably wasn't resolved, but at least I'd developed some resistance to the memories of the past.

[The Constellation The One who Overcame the Trials a Little Too Late is sending encouragement at the sight of you.]

[The Constellation The One who Overcame the Trials a Little Too Late wishes to bestow its Stigma upon you.]

It was giving me a Stigma? Seriously?

This Bounty Scenario hadn't even been a request from a single Constellation, so receiving a Stigma as a reward was genuinely unexpected. Of course, I was grateful.

[You have acquired the Stigma Self-Justification.]

[The Constellation The One who Overcame the Trials a Little Too Late smiles with satisfaction at you for inheriting its Stigma.]

[You will now possess a defense mechanism that will not yield to any trauma.]

I blanked out for a moment in sheer disbelief.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is clutching his stomach and laughing.]

Self-Justification? What kind of thing was this, that it even came with Hanja attached? Who was this supposed to be making fun of?

Han Suyeong asked,

"Hey, aren't you going to kill him?"

"Huh?"

"That guy."

I looked at Song Minwoo, sprawled limply on the floor.

Should I kill him? He was an inhuman species anyway, so there was no burden to killing him.

[The sponsor of werewolf Song Minwoo is glaring at you.]

If I killed him, the Constellations in Bihyeong's channel would probably like it too.

[A considerable number of Constellations desire your revenge.]

I looked down at Song Minwoo for a moment, then slowly turned away.

"Let's go."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

[Some Constellations are disappointed by your hypocrisy.]

[A considerable number of Constellations express doubt about your judgment.]

[The Constellation Secretive Plotter is watching your judgment.]

"You're really not going to kill him? That bastard's probably carrying quite a few coins too."

"Yeah."

"Then can I kill him?"

"Do it if you want. But you'll regret it."

"Regret it?"

I just shrugged and walked past her. Straight toward the direction the werewolf pack had come charging from.

At the end of this way, there was probably their home base. And if my guess was right, the meteorite that had helped mutate them into werewolves would be there too. To prepare for the Catastrophe Scenario, I had to gather the meteorites no matter what.

Han Suyeong, following a little behind me, kept glancing at me like she was sizing me up.

Then I thought I heard the number of footsteps suddenly increase, and the next moment, all the sounds moved away behind us at once. Exactly in Song Minwoo's direction.

Avatar...... Right. Han Suyeong, if it was you, of course you'd do that.

I let her greed have its way. It was repayment for her turning a blind eye to my hypocrisy. Then, a moment later.

"Urk! What the hell is this?!"

Han Suyeong convulsed and let out a horrible scream. I could guess what kind of message had appeared in her head. Probably something like this.

[By killing the Tier-6 inhuman species werewolf Song Minwoo, the Demon King Architect of Discord has noticed the killer's existence.]

[The Demon King Architect of Discord will remember the Incarnation who dealt the final blow to his subordinate.]

[The Demon King Architect of Discord will put the Incarnation who dealt the final blow to his subordinate on the wanted list.]

[Final blow dealt by: Han Suyeong.]

Han Suyeong looked at me with a dazed expression, and I gave her a broad grin all the same.

"I told you you'd regret it."

Song Minwoo was a subordinate of Andras, the Architect of Discord, one of the 72 Demon Kings.

* * *

The Star Stream's powerhouses weren't limited to Constellations.

Some of them refused to become the Subscribers in the sky and still wandered through the Scenarios while keeping their physical bodies. One of those absolute powerhouses was the Demon King.

"You're seriously a piece of shit."

Just as Constellations create Incarnations, Demon Kings gather their own Subordinates. Usually, they choose fallen Incarnations who took the path of inhuman species or demonic species.

Andras, the Architect of Discord, was a Demon King who belonged to the lower ranks of the caste among the 72 Demon Kings.

One of his symbols was the wolf.

The reason Song Minwoo had possessed such an outstanding [Physical Regeneration] ability was Andras's protection.

Han Suyeong stammered,

"How, how could you do this to me......"

"Don't worry. I know someone who got cursed by a Demon King just like you did, and they didn't die right away."

"You call that comforting?"

Come to think of it, Han Myeongoh had also been cursed by the Demon King, the Demon God of Lust and Wrath...... I wondered what had happened to him by now. Was he still alive?

"Look on the bright side. Architect of Discord isn't all that high-ranking a Demon King. If you make an enemy of a Demon King, you can gain the favor of the absolute good alignment, so you'll probably get more sponsorships too. There are upsides."

"I don't care about those archangel bastards, okay? Besides, the Patron I'm going to choose doesn't get along with angels!"

What, were you planning to choose a Demon King too?

I almost asked that out loud, but something about what she said made me shut my mouth again.

......What had she just said?

"The Patron you're going to choose doesn't get along with angels?"

Maybe she noticed my stare, because Han Suyeong covered her mouth.

"Don't tell me you still don't have a Patron?"

It wasn't impossible. I didn't have a Patron either.

In truth, more than half the people who had barely survived the first Scenario probably didn't have a Patron. More precisely, I should say they had no options to choose from.

Still, it was unexpected information that a powerhouse like Han Suyeong still didn't have a Patron.

"It's not that I couldn't choose one. I didn't choose one. Isn't it weirder to pick right from the start? You only get to choose once."

"Well, that's true."

If you could put off <patron selection>, it was better to delay it. There were plenty of good Constellations out there, and depending on how you performed in the Scenarios, you could literally end up with the junker gone and the Benz arriving.

The <patron selection> event was held once right after the first Scenario ended, and after that, it was conducted regularly right before Catastrophe Scenarios occurred.

Since the fifth Scenario was a Catastrophe Scenario, Han Suyeong would probably be able to participate in the upcoming second round of <patron selection>.

Feigning indifference, I asked,

"So who are you planning to choose? Do you already have a Constellation in mind?"

Han Suyeong put on a smug expression at my question.

"You'd be shocked if you knew. One already showed interest in me."

"Who is it?"

Could it be Great Sage, Heaven's Equal?

"Ever heard of Abyssal Black Flame Dragon?"

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is examining your reaction.]

I hesitated for a moment, then answered,

"Oh, right. You thought it through well. That's a good Patron."

In the original work, the one who had volunteered to become Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon's Patron was that very Abyssal Black Flame Dragon. Delusional Demon was one of the supporting characters who competed with Steel Sword Emperor for the title of strongest, so it really wasn't a bad choice.

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is looking at you with disappointed eyes.]

But that bastard said it wasn't interested in me anymore......

Han Suyeong's eyebrows twitched at my indifferent tone.

"Something about the way you're saying that is pissing me off. Who's your Patron that you're acting so arrogant?"

"No, I'm just jealous."

"Really?"

"Really."

[The character Han Suyeong is activating Lie Detection Lv.1.]

[The character Han Suyeong has confirmed that statement to be false.]

"You wanna die, seriously?"

Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, no less. I could only hope she really got that Patron. The two of them would suit each other perfectly.

[One Constellation that likes harems is rooting for the chemistry between you and Han Suyeong.]

[You have been sponsored 500 coins.]

Han Suyeong's face crumpled, as if she'd heard the same message I had.

"What the hell is this now......"

Unfortunately, that harem-loving Constellation's wish would never come true. Han Suyeong and I would only be together for the next ten days. We were cooperating for the moment, but the fact that she was a dangerous enemy hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Looks like we're here."

A little later, we arrived at what seemed to be the werewolves' home base.

Near Bangbae Station, the smell of blood drifted through the tightly packed forest of buildings. It sounded like a battle was already underway, because from far off I could hear the howls of werewolves mixed with human screams. Han Suyeong said,

"Looks like we're a little late. Seems like someone got here before us?"

Everyone had apparently moved somewhere else, because there were no sentries in sight.

When we went a little farther in, a farm on a much larger scale than the one Assistant Manager Yoon had set up came into view.

Coin farms were the exclusive domain of ruined worlds.

I was going to see scenes like this until I was sick of them.

Maybe the coin harvest was already over, because there wasn't a single living person left inside the iron cages.

Han Suyeong, who had been walking ahead, suddenly pinched her nose.

"Ugh, what the hell is that?"

Once we passed the cages and headed toward the werewolves' living Area, an even more horrifying sight awaited us. Severed human thighs hung from rubber bands. Body parts whose purpose was all too obvious, like pork hanging in a butcher shop.

[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall is offsetting your mental shock.]

I'd only ever read scenes like this in text. It was my first time seeing one in person.

There was a fixed way for an ordinary human to evolve into an inhuman species. Cannibalism. In other words, devouring one's own kind.

Han Suyeong cursed.

"These animal bastards......"

Most inhuman species evolve by accident. Usually, the people who fail the 'Find Food' Sub Scenario end up taking this path, and once they start down the road of the inhuman, nobody can stop them. Once their species changes, they no longer feel guilty about killing humans.

"So you do get angry when you see something like this."

"Obviously. If you can look at this and feel nothing, can you even call yourself a person?"

"That's what the other prophets said. They said all you think about is ruling the world with the information you know."

"Who said that?"

Han Suyeong snorted and added,

"That's about as ridiculous as the time I got accused of plagiarism."

"......"

"Rule the world? Sure, that'd be nice. But first, my goal is to stop the apocalypse. Why do you think I gathered apostles in the first place?"

"Those apostles of yours were all trash."

"They were trash to begin with! How is that my fault?!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

We instinctively held our breath. Gunshots burst out from ahead. I could hear flesh exploding like fruit pulp.

Strange. The military should already have been annihilated.

We rounded the buildings and ran toward the source of the sound.

Even if some of the military had survived, fighting werewolves with guns would be absurd. But the scene that unfolded before our eyes soon made that absurdity real.

A mountain of werewolf corpses was piled up before us.

Every corpse hit by bullets had turned pitch-black. Han Suyeong and I spoke almost at the same time.

"......attribute bullets."

"They loaded bullets with holy power......?"

I could see people in the distance aiming guns our way.

They were all armed with modern rifles, and strangely enough, every last one of them was wearing prison uniforms.

Han Suyeong tensed and grabbed my collar.

"Hey, remember when I told you there was someone like you over by Seodaemun Prison?"

"Yeah."

"That's that person's group."

Where Han Suyeong pointed, there was a masked figure. Long hair hung down through the gaps in the mask. A trench coat was thrown over a sky-blue prison uniform.

"That's the leader. Looking at the growth rate and the way that person's been moving, they're definitely a dropout, but I can't get any information on them at all."

I see. So those were the people Han Suyeong had told me about from Seodaemun Prison...... But then why hadn't a force that big shown up during the battle for the throne?

Han Suyeong looked at the heap of werewolf bodies and spoke.

"They're Wanderers too. Pretty powerful Wanderers...... and just now, they became the strongest Wanderers I know."

From the other side, a woman holding a gun started walking straight toward us. It wasn't the leader Han Suyeong had pointed out.

I drew Unbreakable Faith, and Han Suyeong prepared [Avatar]. It was then that the woman's gun barrel shifted. I flinched and lowered my body, but her muzzle was aimed not at us, but at the mountain of werewolf corpses.

Dududududu!

The corpses struck by the burst of bullets collapsed. Then something hidden beneath them was revealed.

"What's that?"

A glowing stone roughly two meters wide and two meters tall. One of the meteorites we'd been searching for in order to stop the Catastrophe.

[Yellow Meteorite] was there.

Just as I thought, that meteorite seemed to be the source of the power the werewolves possessed. The woman who had been looking at the meteorite with us slowly turned toward me and opened her mouth.

"Kim Dokja?"

Footnotes:

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