WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 833: Episode 43: Transcendence Alliance (2)
──────
Cheok Junkyung's Incarnation body was bolstered by the Stage Transformation buff, and the battle gradually became evenly matched. The fact that the battle was evenly matched itself seemed to be a tremendous shock to the Outer God.
【O O O O O O O】
For one moment, a mere Constellation possessed martial prowess equal to an Outer God's. Perhaps that alone was enough to unsettle the Founder of the Absolute Throne, who had reigned over the void for thousands of years.
[Fable Heir to an Eternal Name mocks the Outer God.]
Perhaps it sensed something ominous in my fable, because it even staggered backward on its enormous body.
【공 ■ 의 ■ 왕 …… ?】
But in the end, both it and I knew. There was nowhere left to retreat in this battle. Whoever fled would certainly die.
The moment it let out its final roar, we collided once more. Its sword cut my skin, and my sword tore through its bones.
Amid the flurry of sword strikes that scattered bone and flesh, I was Cheok Junkyung and Goryeo's Top Swordsman.
The Outer God's movements became strange in the next moment. An ominous Status was gathering throughout its body.
Instinctively, I realized that the next exchange would decide the end of this battle.
【U O O O O O O O】
Watching its swirling Status, I prepared my final technique as well.
[Exclusive Skill Incitement Lv. 10 has activated!]
The strongest technique I could perform with Cheok Junkyung's body.
It was not a technique the current Cheok Junkyung was originally permitted to use, but perhaps I could manage a little. Perhaps I could at least imitate it.
"I..."
My right arm swelled as if it would burst with immense power.
Pages from the main story turned in my mind.
I recalled the strongest Cheok Junkyung I knew. The way he held a sword. The way he looked upon the world.
Then I recalled his worst nemesis, standing at the end of his gaze.
"The one who cut down Indescribable Distance..."
An enemy far more dreadful, powerful, and terrible than the being before me now.
"I am Cheok Junkyung!"
In the end, Cheok Junkyung had created a technique to cut it down.
Fourth Form.
Four Swords Severing the Void.
Perhaps my proficiency was woefully lacking. Along with the sensation of my grip being torn apart, an immense weakness swept over my entire body. It felt as though every fable within the Incarnation body was being wrung dry.
With a scream, I swung my sword. Space tore apart before me, and my vision turned white.
[Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Stage 3 has been forcibly terminated!]
The soul within Cheok Junkyung's Incarnation body could not withstand the shock and was flung out.
When I returned to my own Incarnation body, it felt as though someone had struck my head with a hammer. I was dizzy, and breathing was difficult. For some reason, my legs would not move. When I staggered upright, I saw that everything below my knees was gone.
[Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has activated!]
Had I been caught in the aftermath?
It had been that kind of collision. Cheok Junkyung's greatest secret technique had clashed with an Outer God, after all.
Through the settling dust, I saw Cheok Junkyung's exhausted Incarnation body collapse. It seemed to have suffered tremendous damage.
What had happened to the Outer God?
【K K K K K】
An unpleasant laugh came from somewhere. Through the swirling dust storm, I saw the Outer God's silhouette standing unsteadily.
It seemed the final blow had not been enough.
Still, it had suffered fatal damage as well, and its massive frame had shrunk drastically. Its enormous body, which had filled the sky, was now about the size of an adult man.
【Y o u r h i s t o r y c a n n o t】
There was still an opportunity, since Stage Transformation had not ended yet.
But it seemed that it knew that, too.
【k i l l m e】
Perhaps that clever Outer God had foreseen this moment. That was why it had destroyed the legs of the Incarnation body I would return to beforehand.
【j u s t l i k e t h e n】
Only ten steps. If I could walk ten steps and drive my sword into its heart... But I had no strength left to do that.
[Stage Transformation has ended.]
Even Stage Transformation, my last hope, disappeared.
Watching it approach one step at a time, I thought and thought.
It was strange.
Even facing a threat to my life, I did not feel tense.
Perhaps it was because...
―Youngest.
There was a Kim Dokja inside me.
"Yes."
Or perhaps I had become that much like Kim Dokja.
―Let's use that.
I nodded and looked around.
「This Time Stratum is a page from the TWSA I know.」
The scenery of ruined Seoul. Collapsed buildings. A place where civilization had once existed.
As it happened, I had a Fear that I could use in an environment like this.
[Fable Fragment Remote Signal Controller begins telling a story.]
[Disaster-grade Fear, Alien Traffic Light, is being reinterpreted.]
For a moment, the being crossing the road toward me hesitated. It must have instinctively realized that something was wrong.
"You noticed?"
The moment it looked around in confusion from the middle of the four-lane road, I grinned.
"Don't jaywalk, asshole."
[Disaster-grade Fear, Alien Traffic Light, has activated.]
Along with a red traffic light glowing in the distance, something invisible came rushing in and battered its entire body.
Normally, it would not have been fazed by such an impact. But things were different now. Its body, having been struck by Four Swords Severing the Void, was already little more than rags.
With a terrible scream, thunderous explosions erupted one after another before me. I saw broken fables leave long skid marks across the ground.
The Founder of the Absolute Throne, horrifyingly breaking apart in real time, reached out toward me.
【A A A A A A A】
The Outer God's cause of death was a traffic accident.
It was an absurdly futile end for an Outer God that had ruled over an entire world.
[You have defeated Natural Disaster-grade Fear, Founder of the Absolute Throne!]
I saw its extinguished fables scatter into the void.
Old fables were being freed from it. I blankly watched the fables rising into the sky like snow falling in reverse.
[All Fears in the Fear Realm are astonished by your feat.]
Forgotten fables. Fables in the process of being forgotten.
Unread words that had turned into Fears in the spaces between sentences gleamed through the air as though dancing.
This world was full of fables.
At that moment, I thought I understood a little why Second Kim Dokja remained in this Fear Realm.
[It will take time to provide interpretation proposals and distribute rewards.]
[The Time Stratum's objective has been completed!]
[You have acquired a new fable!]
As the scenery of the stratum collapsed, my consciousness blurred. I must have shed too many fables.
[The Recorders of Fear are interested in your interpretation.]
Messages from the Recorders reached me through my fading consciousness.
[Recorder of Fear Fox Who Commands the Heavens is interested in your interpretation.]
[Recorder of Fear Prince of Wolves is interested in your interpretation.]
[Recorder of Fear Demon King of the Cinema is interested in your interpretation.]
......
[Recorder of Fear Architect of the False Finale is interested in your interpretation.]
* * *
I woke up a week later.
How did I know that as soon as I opened my eyes?
[Remaining time: 21 days 2 hours.]
The countdown floating in the air told me.
The moment I saw the numbers, countless emotions crossed my mind.
There were only twenty-one days left until the end.
And...
「I defeated the Founder of the Absolute Throne.」
When I pulled back the blanket, both severed legs were attached again. Was this the power of the Fear Ward? Or had I been healed by another special Fear? I did not know. Seeing both my legs properly attached only made me less certain.
Had I really defeated the Founder of the Absolute Throne?
That terrifying Outer God?
[You have acquired a new fable.]
The flashing message in the air proved that what I had done had truly happened.
I had certainly killed an Outer God, even if I borrowed Cheok Junkyung's Incarnation body and used the trick of Stage Transformation.
And this was the sweet reward for that courage.
With trembling hands, I reached toward the fable message.
The fable might be less famous because no Constellations had witnessed it, but I should still have gained an enormous fable.
Then...
[Fable Heir to an Eternal Name has devoured the new fable.]
I wondered if I had seen something wrong, so I checked the message again and again.
[Fable Heir to an Eternal Name lets out a small burp.]
[Fable Heir to an Eternal Name asks why you are glaring at it.]
No, what the hell?
[Fable Heir to an Eternal Name declares that it is sleepy and will sleep for a while.]
I was dumbfounded. This bastard ate the new fable I had just gained?
"You bastard! Spit it out! Spit it out!"
But Eternity gave no response.
Come to think of it, I had forgotten to feed it for quite a while. I had not gained any new Kim Dokja Fragments for some time, nor had I found any fables worth giving it.
Since I had borrowed so much of its power this time, perhaps it had taken the fable as payment.
And naturally, failing to gain a new fable did not mean I had only lost something. After all, 「Heir to an Eternal Name」 was also my fable.
In other words, I had failed to gain a new fable, but my existing fable had become stronger.
The moment I slowly rose and looked into the ward's mirror, I could tell.
My Status had risen.
Before, I could barely contend with a Historical Constellation. Now, the Status flowing from my entire body was clearly nearing that of a fabled-grade Constellation.
Only now could I properly use the power of the Demon King of Salvation.
I still did not have a powerful Incarnation body, so it would be difficult to use the power of a fabled-grade Constellation recklessly. Still, the fact that I had reached a complete Status made me strangely excited.
That was when the hospital room door opened.
[It seems you have gained some enlightenment.]
"Master."
Cheok Junkyung and Anna Croft had arrived.
* * *
For a full ten minutes, I listened to Anna Croft tell me what had happened in the meantime. In short, it was simple.
The Transcendents of the Transcendence Alliance had been deeply shocked after seeing the battle I fought.
Some lower-ranking Transcendents had even been inspired by my battle and returned to the Time Stratum to train.
"That isn't something you can summarize so simply. Do you know how shocked everyone was?"
"Ah, enough. It wasn't something I did alone."
It was a strategy I could not have attempted without Cheok Junkyung in the first place.
I glanced back at Cheok Junkyung. He probably had many questions.
What was the technique called Four Swords Severing the Void that I had used? How could I enter his Incarnation body?
But he did not ask anything. I did not know whether that was his nature or consideration for me, but either way, I welcomed it.
[Ahem. Did you all hear about my disciple's accomplishments?]
Maybe he was just a doting master.
Cheok Junkyung spent some time tormenting the people in the neighboring wards. Only when the Transcendents, tired of hearing him boast about his disciple, began quietly slipping away did he turn to me.
[Will you go meet the Recorders?]
Had the time finally come?
[The Recorders are very interested in the Fear you interpreted this time. You may receive a better reward than expected. You are the first to defeat that madman.]
"A reward?"
[What? Don't tell me you entered the stratum without knowing anything?]
My purpose was only to meet the Recorders of Fear, not to take something from them.
But after hearing the explanation, it seemed that interpretations of Fear were treated as quite valuable in this Fear Realm.
[Transcendents who obtain unique interpretations can trade with the Recorders and enter Hidden Time Stratums.]
Hidden Time Stratums.
[Ordinary Time Stratums make it difficult even to raise your Transcendence Form by one stage, and the training time is long. But the Time Stratums they possess are a little different. Some let you skip several stages of Transcendence Form, while others drastically reduce the time it takes to leap to a higher realm. And depending on the stratum you choose...]
Cheok Junkyung looked at me thoughtfully for a moment before continuing.
[You may become a Demon King, an angel, or even an Outer God.]
Such a thing was possible simply by experiencing a special Time Stratum?
I was surprised, but I did not show it.
Power gained quickly always had a price. Even if it was a Time Stratum belonging to the Recorders of Fear, there was no guarantee it would be an exception to that rule.
Soon, we followed Cheok Junkyung toward the Recorder's Room.
"Why are you coming along, Ms. Kim Anna?"
"I decided to meet the Recorders this time as well."
"You defeated a Natural Disaster-grade Fear too?"
Honestly, I was surprised. I thought highly of Anna Croft's potential, but had she already interpreted a Natural Disaster-grade Fear?
Anna answered with a somewhat dispirited expression.
"Not to your extent, but I obtained one unique interpretation of Fear in my own way."
It seemed Anna Croft had resolved quite a few Fears during the week I was unconscious. One of them was not Natural Disaster-grade, but it was a Disaster-grade interpretation noteworthy enough to catch the Recorders' attention.
"Ms. Kim Anna."
"Yes?"
"I think you must have been good at office work."
"What do you mean by that?"
"And I'm sure you spoke Spanish well, too."
"Is that another one of those strange jokes from before?"
As we passed through the ward streets, I could feel nearby Transcendents whispering while looking at me. I had only recently joined the Transcendence Alliance, and already I was receiving attention like this. It was burdensome.
I hid behind Ms. Kim Anna and followed Cheok Junkyung.
Before long, we arrived at a small door in the Time Stratum room. Various pictographic symbols, each resembling a star, moon, sun, bird, wolf, and more, were drawn on the black-painted door.
"Do we open this door?"
[Yes. If you think of the Recorder you want to meet and open the door, you can enter their dwelling.]
I recalled the messages I had heard right before losing consciousness.
The messages from the Recorders of Fear who wanted to meet me.
[A total of four Recorders of Fear currently wish to make contact with you.]
Perhaps worried about me, Cheok Junkyung added one more thing.
[Remember this, my disciple. You may trade with only one Recorder.]
I could meet only one Recorder.
I checked the list of Recorders of Fear I could choose from.
My choice was already made.
Footnotes:
Dokja calling Anna Croft “Ms. Kim Anna” is a deliberately odd recurring joke in the original, followed by similarly nonsensical remarks about office work and Spanish.
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