WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS
Translator/Editor: Ryuu
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 86: Episode 17 - SSS-grade Talent (5)
The Prince of the Imyuntar, Lycaon, bowed respectfully to me before turning to face Antinus. It was truly reassuring to have an inhuman ally.
“Antinus.”
“Lycaon…?”
“What is the meaning of this?”
The Queen of Parasites laughed.
“Have you forgotten your mission? Why are you fighting the humans of this world?”
“Keek, mission? Did we ever have such a thing?”
Her mocking tone caused Lycaon’s expression to harden.
“We are Guides. Our purpose is to show the inhabitants of other worlds the proper path to survive incoming catastrophes.”
“Have you already been deceived by the dokkaebis? Snap out of it, Lycaon.”
“You’re the one who needs to wake up, Antinus.”
Lycaon’s voice grew sharper and more heated.
“Have you forgotten the sacrifices of the warriors of Chronos? Have you already dismissed the moment when the five ruling species were annihilated? Our duty is to prevent catastrophes here. To cooperate with the lifeforms of this world, to protect this invaded planet, and to rebuild the civilization of Chronos! That is our sacred mission!”
The restoration of Chronos’ civilization.
Antinus stopped laughing.
“That’s impossible. This planet is destined for destruction. That is the fate of the ‘scenario.’”
“No, this time it’s different.”
Lycaon cast a brief glance at me.
“My Master defeated a Lesser Catastrophe before the calamity could even begin. He holds our tribe’s talisman as proof. Perhaps he can prevent this world’s destruction.”
“That so-called Lesser Catastrophe was just an inferior version. We could have handled it ourselves.”
“This is only the fifth scenario! No other planet has managed to defeat a Lesser Catastrophe before it even started. Think carefully, Antinus. There is still hope for this planet!”
Antinus’ compound eyes blinked slowly, and she let out a rasping insect cry. Her voice was soaked with bitterness.
“Don’t be a hypocrite. You claim to be here to stop catastrophes? If you truly intended to help these people, why didn’t you object when Earth was designated as the catastrophe’s target?”
“That’s…”
Suyeong quietly approached me while eavesdropping on their conversation.
“What are they even talking about?”
It seemed Suyeong didn’t know the detailed backstory of this scenario either. In previous rounds like the third or fourth, the Guides never engaged in such deep conversations. However, now wasn’t the time to explain.
Antinus continued.
“Lycaon. You’re just like me. We came to this planet for revenge! To repay those who inflicted catastrophe on us with an equal catastrophe of our own!”
“If you do that, you’ll die too. The plausibility of the Star Stream won’t forgive a Guide’s selfish actions.”
“The ‘Antinus’ you know already died alongside the Parasites in our homeland.”
“…There’s no reasoning with you, is there?”
Lycaon bared his fangs, his presence exuding raw hostility.
“Then this conversation ends here.”
“Keek! Lycaon! You pitiful wolf of the Imyuntar! Have you forgotten the history of Chronos? Wolves have never once triumphed over insects!”
Thus began the battle between the Prince of Wolves and the Queen of Parasites.
When Lycaon roared, the flow of the surrounding air shifted. Some winds moved faster, others slower, and some grew more powerful.
“I am not the same ‘Imyuntar’ you remember!”
The winds around him scattered, beginning to press against Antinus’ aura. Lycaon’s Way of the Wind had evolved to a new level.
“Keek. Interesting! Let me see just how far your ‘way’ has grown!”
Antinus was the first to move.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Her tail collided with the air barriers created by the Way of the Wind, sending sparks and rending sounds into the atmosphere. Both Han Su-yeong and I stood transfixed, gazing skyward at the clash.
This was a battle between Tier-5 inhuman species.
It transcended physical advantages or species traits—a duel of beings from another realm. Antinus, moving with lightning speed, closed the distance to Lycaon in an instant.
Slash!
Her tail, transformed into a massive stinger, lunged forward. It was a single strike, but one that could have decided the battle.
Yet at the critical moment, Antinus’ movements slowed, as though some repelling force hindered her tail’s advance.
“Keek?”
Conversely, Lycaon’s movements quickened, his instantaneous acceleration nullifying her attack. Her stinger harmlessly sliced through empty air.
[The Tier-5 Monarch-Level Insectoid Parasite Antinus has activated the skill Accelerating Wings Lv.8.]
Antinus’ wings unfurled, and her vibrating body vanished.
S-grade mobility skill, Accelerating Wings.
By flapping her wings hundreds or thousands of times per second, she seemed to teleport, surrounding Lycaon from all sides. Her arms, now shaped like scythes, slashed toward Lycaon’s back with terrifying precision.
[The Tier-5 Monarch-Level Insectoid Parasite Antinus activates Mantis Break Lv.8.]
As her scythes tore through the air, the resulting sound of rupture was deafening. The attack was so fast that not even Lycaon seemed capable of dodging it.
And yet, he did.
At the decisive moment, Antinus’ attack slowed again, while Lycaon’s movements sped up. His narrowly evading her strikes only served to infuriate her more.
Sangah, awestruck, asked, “What kind of skill is that? Is it ‘Instant Acceleration’?”
“No, it’s the ‘Way of the Wind.’”
The Way of the Wind was the Imyuntar tribe’s secret technique. It looked as though their relative speeds were being altered, but in reality, it was Lycaon’s power controlling the flow of all surrounding air.
“Keek! Damn wind…!”
Antinus had realized it too. Every path she tried to take was caught in the wind, while Lycaon flowed effortlessly with it.
By avoiding Antinus’ Mantis Break and disrupting her Accelerating Wings, Lycaon turned the wind into both a shield and a weapon.
This was why I needed that skill.
If I mastered the Way of the Wind, I could temporarily replace many of the skills I currently lacked. Lycaon roared.
“Queen of Parasites! Kneel before the might of the wind!”
The wolf of the wind struck. His sharp claws, carried by the wind, shredded Antinus’ wings, and a gale-empowered kick landed squarely in her abdomen. His relentless strikes, amplified by the wind, began to break through her hardened carapace.
“Gyaaaah!”
Antinus, with half her wings gone, fell from the sky.
If not for the insight I had given him, Lycaon wouldn’t have been able to defeat Antinus. What I thought would be a favor turned out to be a decisive advantage.
Crack!
The signs of plausibility backlash grew stronger on Antinus’ body.
“Keek! This isn’t over.”
Even with her ruined wings, Antinus attempted to rise again.
―Kim Dokja! Finish her! Quickly!
Before Yu Junghyeok’s voice even reached me, I was already rushing toward Antinus.
[Blade of Faith has been activated!]
There was a risk I could be caught in the plausibility backlash, but that was irrelevant now.
Her body surged with all the power she had left as she lunged toward the Catastrophe Meteorite.
“My world, my people, my children…”
Antinus’ remaining magic poured into the meteorite. Lycaon charged to intercept her, while I swung the Blade of Faith, its flames roaring as it sliced through the air.
The flaming blade severed Antinus’ neck mid-air.
A twisted smile lingered on her insectoid face.
…Did I manage to stop her?
Turning my gaze, I saw Lycaon looking at me, his face pale with despair.
“Grr… Master, I am sorry…”
And then everything fell silent.
A blinding light exploded from the Catastrophe Meteorite, followed by an immense wave of heat that engulfed me. One of the meteorite’s fragments struck my head, sending a wave of dizziness and pain coursing through my body. Through my blurred vision, I could see Lycaon’s form being flung backward by the blast.
Guides were never meant to withstand the power of a catastrophe. Just as a history already lost to failure cannot be rewritten.
[You have failed to clear the scenario.]
[The Catastrophe of Questions has descended upon your world.]
The balance of the world was collapsing. My vision went dark, my ears filled with the sound of destruction as the rubble of broken buildings buried me. Struggling to remain conscious, I barely registered Junghyeok’s voice ringing in my ears.
―Kim Dokja! Snap out of it! Move!
―…I’m awake.
―If you act now, you might still stop the catastrophe!
I knew it was impossible. Without the Way of the Wind, facing the Catastrophe of Questions now was like committing suicide. It seemed more reasonable to consider an alternative route than to charge blindly.
But as if Junghyeok could read my mind, he spoke.
―Are you really that weak?
―What?
―Was everything you told me a lie?
His words made me instinctively rise to my feet.
This bastard…
―You lectured me not to give up on the world. Was that all empty talk? And now you’re cowering before a mere catastrophe?
A hollow laugh escaped me. Of all people, Junghyeok had the nerve to say that to me. The sheer embarrassment was enough to kill me on the spot.
―Of course not, you bastard. I was just thinking.
Damn it. Junghyeok was right. As the reader, how could I speak of “impossibility” so soon? It was far too early to give up. I clawed my way out of the wreckage and sprinted forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The eight-meter-tall Catastrophe Meteorite had split in two. Something had clearly hatched from within, but I couldn’t see the catastrophe itself. Quickly scanning the area, I came up empty.
“What the hell is going on…?”
Suyeong approached, visibly uneasy.
Sangah was nowhere to be seen, and a faint voice caught my attention.
“This place…”
A boy stood about ten paces away. He looked like a high school student, his body completely bare. The boy muttered to himself as he surveyed the surroundings with a disbelieving expression.
“This place… could it be?”
Hearing his murmurs, I thought, I have to kill him now. But my body wouldn’t move.
[The Catastrophe of Questions has been weakened due to its premature hatching.]
[As a penalty for premature hatching, you cannot attack the Catastrophe of Questions for three minutes.]
Damn it. The penalty wasn’t on the catastrophe, it was on us. Those dokkaebis really messed this up.
The boy casually walked over to a woman lying on the ground, one of Poison Beauty’s former subordinates. Looking down at the disheveled woman, he spoke with an innocent tone.
“A person! Hey, are you okay?”
“Uh… ugh… who…?”
“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”
No. She couldn’t answer. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
“Where am I? And what year is it?”
“W-why are you asking that all of a sudden…”
“Don’t answer with a question. Just tell me. What year is it?”
Compelled by the strange energy emanating from the boy, the woman began to answer.
“This… this is Seoul, and… the year is…”
The moment her words fell, a system message rang out.
[The first question has been answered.]
[The first seal of the returnee Myeong Ilsang has been lifted.]
“Ha… hahaha… hahaha!”
“W-why are you…”
Laughing maniacally, the boy looked at the confused woman and spoke.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve suffered? Of course you don’t.”
“W-what?”
“You’ve never lived for 100 years, have you? In a place with no other humans, where I was the only one left… do you even know if there are other dimensions besides this one?”
“Other… dimensions?”
“Disgusting bugs, werewolves, humanoid freaks… Here, I’ll give you a question. Want to try and answer?”
The terrified woman opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. The boy grinned.
“Which species do you think tastes the best? Bugs, wolves, or birds?”
“What… what are you even asking…”
“Oh, fine. Which of their meat tastes the best?”
The boy’s laugh was unnerving, a chilling sound that echoed in the air.
“Just answer, will you? It’s not that hard.”
The woman couldn’t respond.
“P-please… spare me…”
With a sickening crunch, her head was severed. As the boy looked around with a wide grin, he spoke.
“Now, this is where things get interesting, right? Let’s see… an S-grade incarnation? Maybe I’ll crush some arrogant coalitions too. But first…”
[The premature hatching penalty has been lifted.]
[The force restraining your movements has disappeared.]
Shit. I was too late. As I prepared to shout, the boy disappeared in a blur, reappearing near another helpless target.
“Wow, you’re pretty, miss.”
I cursed internally.
―Sangah! Get away from him!
Sangah raised her dagger, her expression wary as she asked.
“…Who are you?”
The boy smirked.
“Curious?”
His hand darted forward at a speed too fast to see, gripping Sangah’s jaw.
“Want me to tell you?”
One of the five calamities that destroyed Chronos, the Catastrophe of Questions, was a 'Returnee' who had been transported to another world and then returned to Earth.
Footnotes:
[1]
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