WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The World After the Fall ◈

Chapter 143: Episode 20. God of Yesterday (7)

──────

Watching Jaehwan's vote count rise at an incredible speed, the Terrorists were in a festive mood.

+

Current count: 65.11%

1st, Arteina: 435,231 votes

2nd, Jaehwan: 361,501 votes

3rd, Rene: 167,631 votes

4th, Ryunad: 54,465 votes

5th, Rayray: 10,381 votes

6th, Gale: 543 votes

7th, Pilgrim: 321 votes

+

"Whooooo!"

"I knew you'd pull it off, Naked Thrust!"

"If we unite behind him, we can win this."

Cheers erupted everywhere.

Ryunad shouted Jaehwan's name until his throat hurt. He did not know what had happened, but Jaehwan had pulled it off again.

Still, a corner of Ryunad's heart felt empty.

"That Plant is next."

"Yes!"

The voices of the Anonymous Gods came from behind him.

Ryunad clenched his fist without realizing it.

I wanted to help too.

"Ryunad."

Andersen spoke.

"You're not a god. There are things you can't do."

He knew. Yet knowing did not mean he could simply say, "I understand," and accept it.

He was Jaehwan's only Follower.

"Andersen-nim, you feel it too, don't you?"

Ryunad could not simply let this feeling, the one his only god must be feeling, pass him by.

Why was his god still so lonely, even at a moment like this?

Ryunad hurriedly looked for Jaehwan, but Jaehwan was nowhere to be seen.

That was when a new System message appeared.

[The current public opinion of the candidates will be revealed!]

"Public opinion?"

"Everyone, be careful. This isn't just public opinion..."

Before Rene could finish her warning, a flood of messages poured from the sky.

「A ■ copying Syren.」

「Stop that ■ broadcast.」

「Amazing that such a third-rate broadcast made it this far.」

「Feels good to leech off Naked Thrust?」

Rene's expression hardened first. Then the gods began to stagger.

Ryunad instantly recognized what this was.

It was a kind of Prayer Flood Wave.

「Is Rayray a stutterer?」

「They acted all high and mighty back in Yesterday, and now they're getting taught a lesson.」

The God of Flash, Rayray, hunched their narrow shoulders even further.

「You dragon-fetishist ■.」

Pilgrim, Drake's Agent, groaned.

「A mid-grade god's lackey dares come to the Seventh Floor?」

The mid-grade god Gale's face turned red.

Blatant insults and false rumors poured from the sky.

Public opinion shifted in step with them.

[‘Anonymous God 755’ asks whether that is true.]

[‘Anonymous God 548’ demands an explanation from Rene.]

"Ah, that's..."

"Wait. I never said anything like that."

Whenever they explained one thing, another accusation appeared. Some even took issue with the way they explained themselves.

「Are you getting annoyed right now?」

"No, that's not..."

「You made a little trust and now you think you're above everyone else?」

The barrage of criticism finally reached Ryunad.

「Someone like you is Naked Thrust's Follower?」

「If it were me, I'd leave on my own. Get off on this floor if you have any conscience.」

「I looked up this guy's Tower of Nightmares record. He's a total nobody.」

At first, Ryunad responded with a smile. Before long, he wanted to cover his ears.

"Hey, Ryunad, get a hold of yourself!"

Andersen flew over in a hurry, beating her wings wildly as she shouted.

"Hey. Block the messages! Tell them to stop already!"

[You want us to stop? Already?]

A voice came from somewhere.

[Does this look like something that can simply be stopped?]

Andersen immediately realized who the voice belonged to.

[Did you want to become the king of the Seventh Floor with such flimsy resolve?]

"Arteina!"

Andersen snarled.

Arteina, the God of Yesterday. The one king who lived while hearing the voices of every god among the millions gathered here.

The king's face appeared on the screen.

[What you have heard is only a tiny fraction of the messages I receive. And you already want to give up?]

Only then did the Terrorists seem to realize what they had wanted to become.

"We have to hear this every day?"

[‘Anonymous God 511’ mocks the Terrorists.]

[‘Anonymous God 675’ asks whether they wanted to become king without even that much resolve.]

Ryunad's body slowly tilted beneath the flood of messages.

All kinds of Prayers gnawed at his soul, bringing pain so intense that his head felt ready to burst.

「Release new Components. They're too expensive.」

「Your service management is terrible. Are you taking my trust and running?」

「Discount the gacha draw. Discount the gacha draw. Discount the gacha draw.」

Ryunad staggered and muttered.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

A large hand caught Ryunad before he collapsed.

The instant it touched him, the messages surging into his ears vanished completely.

"That's enough."

It was Jaehwan.

Arteina's voice rang out.

[You were the one who started this, weren't you, Naked Thrust?]

"What did I start?"

[Didn't you destroy my cocoons as you pleased? And didn't you corrupt them by filling them with strange ideas?]

"I didn't do anything. They chose to live in Today themselves."

"They chose to live in Today?"

Arteina suddenly began to chuckle.

The king's gaze on the massive screen turned toward the Anonymous Gods who had left home.

[Gods. Was the Yesterday we shared really so insignificant?]

"Shut up! You were exploiting us!"

"If you had done your job properly, we'd still be in Yesterday too!"

"Exploiting you? Me?"

Arteina tilted their head as if they had heard something truly strange.

A moment later, the screen showed Arteina working diligently. The gods receiving Yesterday's services smiled happily.

They were all the yesterdays of the gods who had now chosen to live in Today.

"That's me..."

"Who said we wanted to see that crap?"

"We're never going back!"

Arteina asked them.

[Let us live diligently in Today. It sounds nice. But everyone, did you live diligently in Yesterday?]

"You made us helpless!"

[You could have lived diligently in Yesterday as much as you wished. No one forced you to become helpless.]

As if in response, the Prayer Flood Wave poured down from the sky.

「Today becomes yesterday tomorrow too, you ■s.」

「Do they think they're the only ones who figured it out?」

[Do you truly think you can live in Today now?]WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The World After the Fall ◈

Chapter 144: Episode 20. God of Yesterday (8)

──────

That day, an overwhelming flood of messages poured in all at once, enough to bring the system of 《Little Brother》 to a momentary halt.

[The Dragon God ‘Droyan’ opens his mouth.]

[The God of Renown ‘Bergetz’ widens their eyes.]

[The God of Mortality ‘Thanatos’ feels enraptured.]

[The Red Dragon God ‘Drake’ cannot hide his shock.]

······.

The endless stream of messages went on and on.

One of them came from the God of Flames, Ignis.

“Ignis-nim, I don't think that bastard is in his right mind.”

Ignis's Agent, Caravan, muttered as if dumbfounded.

[A total of 197,412 gods have died on the Seventh Floor.]

Gods dying was not the problem. Gods died all over the place whenever a Holy War broke out.

But nearly two hundred thousand gods had died at once.

And all from a single Thrust.

Caravan muttered again.

“I knew it, but that guy really is insane.”

There were beings capable of slaughtering two hundred thousand gods, even if they were not Naked Thrust.

Yet not even the Seven Divine Thrones would casually do something like that.

Dealing with the aftermath would not be easy.

Rumble.

As the ground shook, a message appeared that Caravan had never seen before.

[The transmission of messages through 《Little Brother》 has been temporarily suspended.]

It was obvious what had happened.

An enormous number of messages had flooded Little Brother at once, enough to overload it from within.

Caravan asked as though concerned.

“God, if we leave that guy alone, he'll get himself killed.”

[So what?]

“You're a fan.”

[Who says I'm a fan?]

“You're the one who already took a portal all the way here.”

Caravan snickered and looked up at Ignis.

Having rushed here through an official portal, word would soon spread that Ignis, the God of Flames among the Seven Divine Thrones, had descended here.

Ignis grumbled.

[It's not like I can even go inside.]

“Is the Neutral Agreement really that important?”

[For now.]

Despite coming all the way here, Ignis could not enter. The recent conference had been decided against Ignis.

―There is insufficient circumstantial evidence. At this time, conflict between the Third Throne and Fifth Throne cannot be permitted.

It was not that Ignis could not understand the other Seven Divine Thrones' decision.

The last time the Seven Divine Thrones had fought, the entire northern border of the Eight Sites had vanished.

A war between the Seven Divine Thrones was a disaster in the 《Abyss》.

“Let's hang around here a little longer. We might find a reason to intervene.”

[Isn't it because you want to ogle the girls from Caspion?]

Caravan was already staring intently at the back of a female Follower some distance away.

[What are you staring at so hard? Your type?]

“No, look.”

With a weary expression, Ignis looked where Caravan pointed.

A woman clad head to toe in black was entering the tower's High Pass entrance.

[She's pretty.]

“That's not it. Look at her weapon.”

A chain scythe hung at the waist of the woman disappearing toward the tower with a single guard.

No one in this 《Abyss》 failed to recognize the owner of that chain scythe.

Ignis's voice turned cold.

[What are those 「Rift」 bastards doing here?]

* * *

“Seolha, are you really okay with this? You didn't even get the Commander's permission.”

“This isn't a situation where we can wait for permission.”

Yuseolha, Second Commander of 「Rift」, raised the collar of her black robes and quickly scanned the area. Fortunately, no one among the crowd entering through the High Pass recognized her.

“I can't contact Eunsae.”

“Jin Eunsae? They went in here?”

“On the Commander's orders.”

“They aren't at a level where they can face the Metaverse Six Gods yet.”

“That's what I'm saying. Why did the Commander send a kid here?”

Yuseolha frowned irritably.

The man asked, “When was the last contact?”

“There was a record of contact with Master Cheongheo.”

“What? That old man is still alive?”

“Yeah. That's not important right now, though...”

Standing at the entrance to the High Pass, Yuseolha glanced at the man.

“Are you really coming with me? You could get dragged into this too, Imai.”

The man shrugged.

He was short, with a katana longer than he was tall strapped to his back.

He looked unimpressive, but he was one of the few beings in this 《Abyss》 who could rival Yuseolha.

The gods of the 《Abyss》 called him this:

Third Commander of 「Rift」, Imai Kazuki.

Imai spoke.

“I heard that guy is here.”

“That guy?”

“Are you going to keep pretending not to know? I doubt you're going in just because of Eunsae.”

Yuseolha fell silent.

Yuseolha had hoped Imai would not know, but it seemed Imai had already found out.

Then again, there was probably no god in the 《Abyss》 who did not know that guy's name by now.

Imai smirked.

“Trying to recruit him again? He sounds like a strange one.”

“He'll be useful if we bring him in.”

“Is he that strong?”

Yuseolha hesitated briefly.

“He is.”

“Stronger than you?”

“Of course I'm stronger. Still, how should I put it... there's something about him that I can't understand.”

Imai's eyes widened slightly at Yuseolha's words.

The words “I can’t understand” were common enough, but they held a special meaning for Awakened Ones.

Especially when it came from Yuseolha, Second Commander of Rift.

Imai murmured with interest.

“I'm looking forward to it.”

At that moment, the nearby ground began to shake violently.

The tremors had come from the tower's upper floors.

Yuseolha's expression hardened.

“Let's hurry.”

* * *

Rumble.

After the dreadful aftermath had passed, countless messages lay piled over the ruined Seventh Floor like corpses.

[······ is shocked······.]

[······ is ■□■□■□······.]

[······ hates······.]

Most of the messages were cut off in a mess.

Naturally. Most of the gods must have died before they could even let out a final cry in the face of this calamity.

It was a catastrophe created by a single Thrust.

“W-what happened...?”

Even Rene's voice trembled.

Rayray, Pilgrim, Ryunad, Gale. Every Terrorist stared at the sight before them, doubting their own eyes.

Andersen alone did not waver.

―To some, it may be death. To others, it may be liberation. Look carefully at what was destroyed before you speak.

At those words, the gods finally looked down at the cocoons scattered across the floor.

The Thrust had seemed capable of destroying everything, but on closer inspection, not a single cocoon had actually been destroyed.

What Jaehwan had destroyed were the facilities connecting the cocoons to Yesterday.

Rayray spoke in a voice full of disbelief.

“How...?”

One by one, things stirred and crawled out from the cocoons on the ground.

They were all Agents or Dolls of the Anonymous Gods.

Since they had been struck by an attack containing the power of Destruction, some of the gods connected to Yesterday had been erased entirely.

But their Agents and Dolls had not been harmed.

“Ah... ahhh...”

Those who recognized Jaehwan reached for him with empty eyes.

They were humans who had been forced to serve as the gods' shells while the gods indulged in pleasure in Yesterday.

At least the gods had Yesterday. These people had nothing.

Like prisoners freed from a prison with no promised release, the Agents could only sob and weep endlessly.

Jaehwan extended Solitary Unbowed again.

Rumble!

All the Plants east of Jaehwan’s Ally group turned to ash beneath the dreadful storm.

[A total of 91,698 gods have died on the Seventh Floor.]

Once was not enough. He did it twice.

The Allies looked as though they could not understand what Jaehwan was doing.

Sometimes, numbers too large made the mind incapable of calculation.

Andersen spoke.

―Pull yourselves together. It was always bound to end like this.

“B-but this is too...”

―This election was a show from the beginning.

[The election has been suspended on an emergency basis.]

[By the authority of the ‘King’, emergency martial law has been declared across the Seventh Floor.]

Red emergency lights flashed at the Main Plant in the center of the Seventh Floor.

As the Plant's gates opened, an immense number of drones and guard dogs poured out.

―What happens from now on is not a show.

Ominous World Force wrapped around the entire Seventh Floor, and Jaehwan prepared another Thrust.

Rougher World Force than before coiled around Solitary Unbowed.

[You have made a foolish choice.]

With overwhelming fury, something burst in the sky.

[None of you will leave this ‘Seventh Floor’ alive.]

A pitch-black shadow spread over the ceiling of the Seventh Floor.

―Everyone, keep your wits about you.

Andersen immediately recognized what it was.

It was the vast World Force accumulated on the Seventh Floor over the past several centuries.

Sanctuary Manifestation.

「Yesterday」.

World Force unfolded from the sky like a massive umbrella, beginning to enclose the Seventh Floor in the shape of a dome.

Looking closely, it resembled a cocoon.

A cocoon large enough to completely cover the entire Seventh Floor. At this rate, they would all be swallowed inside it.

Jaehwan looked once at the Allies, gauged the distance from his position to the outer wall of the enormous cocoon and the Main Plant, then made his decision.

“Escape. Run until you're beyond the reach of that Sanctuary. If you can't, find a way down to the Sixth Floor.”

“What about you, Jaehwan-nim?”

But Jaehwan was already gone before Ryunad's question could be answered.

Solitary Unbowed was already moving as Jaehwan rushed far ahead toward the Main Plant.

「World Thrust」.

The Thrust shot straight for the heart of the Main Plant.

The Main Plant was the core of Yesterday. If it collapsed, even Arteina would have difficulty turning this around.

Rumble.

But Jaehwan's Thrust was blocked by a massive swarm of drones and guard dogs.

Jaehwan fired Thrust after Thrust at the drones and guard dogs, sparing not a trace of World Force as he crushed forward like a tank.

The Main Plant was already right before him.

Without hesitation, Jaehwan drove Solitary Unbowed into the wall of the Main Plant.

Sanctuary Manifestation.

「The World After the Fall」.

The surrounding area quickly began to change into Jaehwan's Sanctuary around Solitary Unbowed.

Arteina laughed.

[Too late.]

Arteina's cocoon was completed faster than Jaehwan's Sanctuary could spread.

“Jaehwan-nim...”

The moment Ryunad cried out, the entire landscape shook.

All five senses warped, disrupting his sense of reality.

It was the same feeling as when Jaehwan had first entered the Seventh Floor.

Jaehwan activated Doubt and Understanding at the same time, barely holding his distorted senses in balance.

When he looked up, he had been thrown onto a desolate roadside.

A few people stood nearby, frozen as though time had stopped.

Jaehwan instinctively understood.

He had been forcibly pulled into the cocoon. This space was undoubtedly Arteina's Sanctuary.

Which meant...

“Yesterday.”

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried

「They're definitely regretting it already.」

[To live in Today, you must have lived properly in Yesterday as well. Only then can you live properly tomorrow. But do you truly think there is such a thing as Today for people like you, who could not even live properly in Yesterday without me?]

「Are you really going to throw away everything you pulled from gacha draws?」

「We'll be grateful if you leave all your items behind.」

Perhaps remembering what they had left behind in Yesterday, the gods' expressions began to waver.

The Gods of Today were wavering.

[Come to your senses. For a moment, you may feel liberated, as if you have attained enlightenment. But you will soon learn what the 《Abyss》 is truly like. Have you forgotten? Driven into ruthless competition, you will eventually fall behind again.]

A few gods trembled and shouted that it was not true.

Their voices were too quiet to be properly heard.

Arteina continued.

[Exhausted by competition, you will begin to think the old days were better. You will seek comfort and long for this place again. When that time comes, you will think to yourselves: What if I had stayed in Yesterday?]

The moment Arteina finished speaking, several gods screamed and ran back toward their cocoons.

They had become afraid.

As if driving in the final nail, Arteina continued.

[You do not need to live so diligently. That is not the entirety of happiness. Please cherish your Yesterday.]

A heavy silence settled over them.

Within that silence, the gods thought. They weighed the Yesterday they had lived against the value of the Today they had chosen.

They hesitated.

Could I live in Today? Had I been intoxicated by a momentary realization and made the wrong choice?

"You're right."

The gods lingering near Jaehwan all turned to look at him.

They had come this far trusting Jaehwan alone.

They expected him to refute Arteina on their behalf.

Jaehwan's response was unexpected.

"Those who want to go back can go back. I never expected much from you anyway."

The flustered gods looked at one another.

Jaehwan continued.

"I have nothing to give you for staying by my side. I'm not your babysitter. Managing your Worldviews, gathering Followers, buying Components, that crap is all yours to deal with. If you prefer someone else doing it for you, go back."

Jaehwan knew better than anyone that there was no use telling people to live in Today a hundred times.

It had been the same when he thrust alone.

"Doing that Thrust a hundred times a day won't change anything."

"If it were me, I'd spend that time looking for good skills."

Every one of those people had been deceived by the [Stone of Regression] and fallen into a Dream Demon's dream.

Just like the Anonymous Gods now.

「Ha! Naked Thrust never admits he's wrong.」

「He goes around smashing everything while pretending to look for his friend, but he's cold as hell.」

「His friend probably got sold off to the gods and died already.」

Jaehwan ignored the words coming through the Prayer Flood Wave and looked over the remaining gods instead.

Most of those here did not know how to live in Today.

That was why he had taught them his Thrust.

So they could at least do that and try to live in Today.

"I can't do anything for those who stay here. You've only lived diligently for ten years and barely managed to fall into the illusion that you're living in Today."

The gods' belief that they were living properly was only an illusion given to them by the Today they had just escaped into from their garbage Yesterday.

Real Today was made by enduring and piling up that hellish day, every single day.

"Living tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow, as if they were Today is up to you. Of course, there are hardly any people who can do that. You're all soft, and you'll go back to living like trash. Only those who are fine with that should stay here."

At those words, several gods turned away as if they had made up their minds.

They abandoned Today and chose Yesterday again.

Others seemed to burn with even greater resolve after hearing Jaehwan's words.

Jaehwan watched them for a moment.

Few among them would remain until the end. Even those who did would have difficulty finding anything greater than what they had given up.

Jaehwan silently looked up at the sky.

Arteina was right.

The gods who stayed in Yesterday might be happier than the gods who lived in Today.

"But there is one thing I can promise."

Perhaps that was why he sought this world's end.

"To those who remain in Yesterday."

Rumble.

Arteina sensed the energy pouring from Jaehwan's entire body and sharply asked,

[What are you planning to do?]

"It's simple. Like you said, Today becomes Yesterday once tomorrow comes."

Jaehwan slowly drew Solitary Unbowed.

"You will all die in that Yesterday."

The murmurs of the Anonymous Gods mixed into the Prayer Flood Wave.

「No way.」

「That can't be true. No matter how crazy he is.」

「Try thrusting. Try thrusting.」

The power of Destruction gathered over Jaehwan's Solitary Unbowed as it slowly began to burn.

[Are you serious? You must know what will happen if you do that.]

Jaehwan did not answer Arteina.

[The Seventh Floor has continued for thousands of years. It is not a world you can control just because your feelings were hurt.]

"Then try stopping me yourself."

[That...]

"You can't."

The increasingly desperate Anonymous Gods changed their messages and pressed Arteina.

[‘Anonymous God 481’ asks if he is threatening them right now.]

[‘Anonymous God 528’ says it is all a bluff.]

[‘Anonymous God 849’ says he cannot win the election if he kills them anyway.]

[‘Anonymous God 510’ asks Arteina whether they are just going to let this happen.]

...

The gods were not the only ones trying to stop Jaehwan.

"Please stop."

Jaehwan looked at Rene as she staggered toward him.

"If you cross that line, you won't be able to come back. If you kill that many gods, you will become an enemy of the 《Abyss》."

"..."

"No, becoming an enemy isn't the important part. You can't possibly live properly after doing something like that. Not even you could bear that kind of sin."

Dark shadows hung beneath Rene's eyes as the Prayer Flood Wave tormented her in real time.

Jaehwan understood.

Rene was stopping him now because she knew what was right.

Jaehwan knew it too.

Someone would surely make a different choice from his.

There would be someone who carefully distinguished good from evil, forgave every god, and tried to save them all together.

"You must be a good god."

At the way he spoke as though he knew who Rene was, her shoulders flinched.

Jaehwan smiled faintly.

"But I didn't come this far to become someone like that."

Jaehwan's Solitary Unbowed moved.

Rene's cry, the gods' shouts, and Arteina's words mixed together.

[Don't worry. That person cannot harm you. The Seventh Floor does not permit such terrorism. As members of my State, as members of Yesterday, I will protect you no matter what...]

Then Arteina's voice disappeared.

In the next moment, everyone there understood.

Something that had never happened before was unfolding right before their eyes.

Ironically, the last to realize it were the Gods of Yesterday, who still could not believe the reality before them.

The world of the Seventh Floor began to split in a perfectly straight line along Jaehwan's sword strike.

A short while later.

A sound announced the Today that every god would never forget.

[A total of 197,412 gods

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried

Store