WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 837: Episode 43: Transcendence Alliance (6)
──────
* * *
Inho Cheon of the fortieth round.
His epithets were "Devilish Sophist" and "One Who Deceived the Stars."
I did not know why he had earned those names. All I knew was a tiny fraction of information about him.
That he had been a scrub in the third round, yet a formidable villain in the fortieth.
That, for a brief time, he had nearly become Yu Junghyeok's companion.
That he had fought Junghyeok in a decisive battle before the end of the fortieth round.
And that perhaps, even after Junghyeok regressed, he had survived and continued through the Scenarios.
「"I am the Devilish Sophist and the One Who Deceived the Stars."」
Memories buzzed in my head.
The memories I had experienced through light sleep quietly rose to the surface.
「"In my next life, I'd like to live comfortably too, riding the regressor bus."」
I had briefly experienced the fortieth round Inho Cheon lived through on the Fear Realm's Rush-Hour Subway.
Calling it an "experience" was an understatement. I had practically lived in the fortieth round for a full three months.
There, I had become Inho Cheon and endured for three months alongside Junghyeok, who was being hunted by the Blood Cult.
「"Help me in this round."」
Why had the Second Kim Dokja wanted to see Inho Cheon's story?
"Inho Cheon."
Why, of all those countless "characters," had I possessed Inho Cheon?
"Inho Cheon?"
I carefully called his name.
The unlit room was dark and bleak. It felt completely abandoned, as though no one had lived there for a long time.
When I took another step, the whole room trembled lightly, like an old beast groaning. Light flooded in, revealing a room of roughly one hundred square meters.
The first thing that caught my eye was the collection of masks hanging on the walls.
"Aah."
Fortuitous Encounter-hyung, perched on my shoulders, made a strange sound. When I set him down, he stood before the display of masks and began hopping in place.
"Aah."
Did he want to touch a mask?
"Aah."
"Want me to take one out?"
"Aah."
"Don't cry like Biyoo."
With a sigh, I picked up a mask and handed it to him.
The mask he chose was shaped like a small weasel. He must have liked it quite a bit, because he put it on, beamed, and scampered around the room.
I followed after him, slowly examining the masks. Some were unlike anything I had ever seen, while others looked familiar.
There were masks resembling the Twelve Zodiacs, and masks resembling Constellations.
One resembled Dionysus of Olympus, while another called Hades of the underworld to mind.
Still another resembled Surya of Veda.
Inho Cheon's epithet suddenly came to mind. One Who Deceived the Stars.
Perhaps these masks were all people Inho Cheon had disguised himself as with [Incitement].
As I looked through them with that thought in mind, the room felt even emptier.
Like I had, Inho Cheon must have always needed to hide himself with [Incitement].
If Kim Anna had heard me, Kim Anna would have scolded me, saying, "Are you sympathizing with the greatest evildoer under heaven now?" Still, I could not stop the thought from surfacing.
Maybe I, too, had been born to be a villain.
Inho Cheon had become others with [Incitement] and lived by controlling people. What ending had he wanted to see in the end?
After looking through the entire room, we stopped before a small glass display case. Inside was a red coat.
It was the very coat Inho Cheon had worn in his final battle with Junghyeok.
"Aah."
"What?"
"Aah."
"You want me to take it out?"
"Aah!"
"You want me to wear it? Now?"
Fortuitous Encounter-hyung kept pestering me, so I reluctantly took the coat out. When I slipped my arms into its sleeves and draped it over myself, it settled around me as naturally as if it had always been mine.
[You have equipped the item Infinite Dimensional Void Coat.]
It was an Infinite Dimensional Void Coat like Dokja's and Junghyeok's.
But once I put it on, I realized something.
This coat had not originally been red.
A deep scent of blood came from it. Here and there, white fabric remained beneath the bloodstains hiding it.
There was no doubt. This coat had originally been white.
Then Fortuitous Encounter-hyung grabbed my hand. Startled, I turned around and saw him pointing at the full-length mirror beside us.
"Aah."
"Can you stop that already...?"
The mirror reflected Fortuitous Encounter-hyung and me.
A small Kim Dokja and a large Kim Dokja.
Holding hands, we almost looked like a father and son.
That was when the mirror rippled.
Still holding Fortuitous Encounter-hyung's hand, I instinctively gripped the hilt of Unbreakable Faith.
The next moment, my reflection's face distorted and changed into a familiar one.
It was a face I knew well.
The very face I had first seen after possessing someone in this world, reflected in the subway's screen door.
【You've changed a lot.】
Just hearing the voice gave me goosebumps. Instinctively, I had to determine whether he was using [Incitement].
Fortunately, I could not sense any trace of [Incitement].
【Excellent judgment.】
"..."
【Before using [Incitement], you must always check. Ask yourself whether you are already under [Incitement].】
"Do you really have to greet me like this?"
Inho Cheon in the mirror smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Quit joking around and come out already. Talking like that from inside a mirror is creepy."
【I cannot leave this place.】
"Why not?"
【Because there is already something occupying my body.】
I see. He could not come out because I was occupying his body.
Then I suddenly remembered Asmodeus's words.
「"Keep your wits about you, Kim Dokja. If you do not want him to take every bit of history you have built."」
Could this bastard take my body whenever he wanted?
As if he had read my thoughts, Inho Cheon spoke.
【It seems you have heard unpleasant things from an unpleasant demon. Do not worry. I have no intention of taking your body right now.】
"That makes it sound like you intend to take it someday."
【That depends on you.】
I grinned and shot back.
"You think that kind of threat will work on me? This is already my body. It's filled with fables I built myself. No matter how much of a Recorder of Fear you are, you cannot steal another person's fables that easily. The Star Stream's Plausibility would never allow it."
I said that, but I was uneasy.
It was because of something Cheongheo, the God of Despair, had once said.
「"They can rewrite this world."」
If the Recorders of Fear truly had that ability, then despite the Plausibility Backlash, it might be possible for him to take my body.
Inho Cheon neither confirmed nor denied my words. He only wore an ominous smile and said,
【You look terribly anxious, Kim Dokja.】
Dammit. Had he boiled Dokja alive and eaten him somewhere?
I answered with a deliberately calm expression.
"Why did you call me? Do you also want the interpretation of the Natural Disaster-grade Fear I have?"
The other three Recorders of Fear had all called me for a reason.
Lycaon had called me to warn me, Flying Fox to obtain my interpretation, and Asmodeus seemed to have called me just because he wanted to screw me over.
Then why had Inho Cheon called me?
"If you want this interpretation, I am willing to make a deal with you."
I had my own reason for coming here.
「To obtain the power of the fortieth round Inho Cheon.」
I still remembered the scene I had witnessed through Anna Croft's [past vision].
In a world where every star had fallen, Inho Cheon had matched the powerful Junghyeok before the world's end.
He and I used the same body, and we had grown strong through the same skill.
In other words, the fortieth round Inho Cheon was a sort of peak this body could reach.
If I could gain that power quickly, then honestly, no matter who the enemies waiting before me were, I would have a fighting chance.
But Inho Cheon looked strangely indifferent.
【That interpretation certainly has some interesting aspects, but honestly, I have little interest in it.】
Apparently, not every Recorder of Fear wanted my interpretation. Still, it was one of the answers I had anticipated, so I was not flustered.
"Then we can trade something else. I will help you complete a single sentence. In return..."
【I do not need help.】
"What?"
【I have already completed a single sentence.】
Even I could not help being startled this time.
I wanted to know what single sentence he had completed.
At the same time, I did not want to know.
【I can guess why you came here. You want the Time Stratum I possess, correct?】
For now, I nodded.
【You already possess an Entry Ticket to that Time Stratum.】
Something came to mind.
When I had visited the fortieth round through the Rush-Hour Subway, I had received a message. It said I had earned the right to view the Devilish Sophist's ending.
Could that message have been a form of permission?
Then Inho Cheon's next words were strange.
【Because we have already made a deal, have we not?】
"What?"
【You do not remember anything. Well, that is only natural.】
"What do you mean by that?"
【Kim Dokja.】
Inho Cheon's eyes shone darkly, like an abyss.
【Do you truly want to know?】
I felt as though I had once been asked a similar question.
【Do you truly wonder why you are here, why it is you of all people, and why this entire story came to be?】
"I..."
【You do not need to know every story in order to reach the ending.】
Inho Cheon continued in a voice whose intent I could not read.
【Was it not painful enough just to learn who you are?】
Come to think of it, I had realized my origin as the 49% Kim Dokja because of the Inho Cheon before me.
【When necessary, simply wear a mask. Continually incite yourself, and incite others. Deceive the world. Then...】
"To deceive the world well, you first need to know the world well."
Inho Cheon fell silent.
"And damn it, I am you right now."
【...】
"If I want to grow as strong as you, I need to know exactly who you are too."
For a moment, we looked at each other.
I could not define the emotion that appeared in his eyes.
Anger, hatred, despair, sorrow. No word could describe what he felt.
And so,
【If you truly believe that.】
At that moment, Inho Cheon looked like a Fear to me.
【Then write it again from now on.】
"What?"
【At the end of the story you will rewrite lie all the answers you seek.】
Then a message appeared.
[Recorder of Fear, Devilish Sophist's turn will end shortly.]
I cried out urgently.
"Wait. Explain it properly! What am I supposed to rewrite?"
【Until the rewriting is complete, I shall look after this adorable friend.】
"What?"
When had it happened?
Fortuitous Encounter-hyung, who had been tightly holding my hand, was gone.
"You bastard..."
The reflection of Inho Cheon and Fortuitous Encounter-hyung, whose hand he held, began to blur.
【Ah, one last piece of advice.】
I hurriedly reached for the mirror. But a fierce spark threw me back.
【Do not trade the interpretation you have newly obtained with the other Recorders.】
Those were Inho Cheon's final words.
The sparks disappeared, and I was left alone in the mirror.
I wore a red coat, looking somehow like an awkward imitation of Dokja.
[Recorder of Fear, Devilish Sophist's turn has ended.]
The scenery around me changed like rippling water, and before I knew it, I had returned to the Room of Time Strata.
A great deal of time seemed to have passed. The Transcendents who had been waiting for me were all gone.
Somehow, it felt hollow.
"Dammit."
I had not accomplished anything properly.
I had failed to meet Han Suyeong, which had been my objective when I entered, and I had learned almost nothing about the Second Kim Dokja.
Of course, I had heard several meaningful things about the Recorders of Fear and secured the right to use the Time Stratum, but... something was missing.
What would Dokja have done?
If I had been the real Kim Dokja, I would surely have gotten a better result than this. With his persuasive words, he would have shaken down Flying Fox and Asmodeus for items, and he would not have let Inho Cheon take Fortuitous Encounter-hyung from him.
But I could not do that.
Should I go in and meet the Recorders again right now...?
Bzzz.
That was when the smartphone inside my coat vibrated.
Thinking it might be the First, I turned on the screen, but there were no messages.
Instead,
[A Fear Realm Guide Even Squid and Sunfish Can Understand has been updated.]
The Fear Realm Guide had been updated.
Come to think of it, this guide updated in real time.
[The Founder of the Absolute Throne category has been updated.]
Founder of the Absolute Throne.
As it happened, the update concerned the Outer God I had hunted.
I opened the guide and searched for the relevant entry.
Then,
+
* Parts of this document have been modified by SVRP.
SVRP. PW ???
Natural Disaster-grade Fear, Founder of the Absolute Throne
+
Most of the record was information I already knew.
An ancient Natural Disaster-grade Outer God. The Outer God that had created the Absolute Throne, and an outlaw of the Scenarios...
But at the bottom, after I had scrolled for a while, there was a strange link.
+
[Record Hidden]
+
Record Hidden?
Without thinking, I tapped the link, and the record opened.
I read it blankly. It felt so unreal that I closed the window, then opened it again.
It was content that did not suit the guide at all.
And yet, the record was clearly written there, waiting for someone to read it.
I read the record aloud.
+
You did well.
+
It did not say who had written the record.
Still, I knew exactly who had.
I read those three syllables over and over.
Then I slowly rose to my feet.
Once more, I thought that this story had not yet ended.
Because she, I, and countless Kim Dokjas still had not given up on this story.
But then,
"Disciple!"
The people running toward me from afar seemed to think differently.
The Transcendents at the front ran with faces as though they had already given something up.
I gave Cheok Junkyung a light bow.
"Did you meet the Recorders?"
"Yes. But did something happen?"
Before Cheok Junkyung could answer, Cheongheo, the God of Despair, cut in.
"What on earth did you talk about with the Recorders?"
Only after hearing Cheongheo's distraught question did I realize something.
I looked around the empty air again and again.
Since when had it been gone?
"The end has begun."
The countdown above my head had disappeared.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
