Chapter 441: Episode 83 – Dok-Ja’s Incarnation (3)
[Exclusive skill, ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ 3rd stage, is currently active!]
My consciousness grew dim. The first thing I heard within this pitch-black darkness was the paragraphs coming to me from beyond [The 4th Wall].
⸢In that moment, Yi Ji-Hye looked at the battlefield.⸥
Yi Ji-Hye’s battlefield was there, alongside dozens of ships seemingly blanketing the whole of Tongtian River.
Incarnations of <Emperor> prepared to fire the cannons, while Historical Figure-grade Constellations were in charge of the command.
⸢”Open fire!”⸥
<Emperor>’s battleships surrounding the [Turtle Dragon] commenced firing simultaneously.
Yi Ji-Hye advanced forward while brushing past the wreckages of other destroyed vessels. Some attacks she let them land her ship, while some others, she dodged.
⸢”Load the cannons.”⸥
It was like watching an orchestra. Her ability to command the fleet, that had surely reached the realm of a naval god, allowed her to move the [Turtle Dragon] and the Ghost Fleet as she saw fit.
⸢”Fire.”⸥
Naval Admiral Yi Ji-Hye’s fleet opened fire. The Ghost Fleet had rearranged their formation according to her command and they soon repeated the accurate hit-and-run tactic, and the enemy fleet tasted destruction in the blink of an eye.
⸢”How can something this unbelievable be....?!”⸥
Her ability to overcome the difference of overwhelming numbers – this was the moment that the true worth of the ‘Naval Admiral’, one of the strongest Incarnations in the ‘Ways of Survival’, announced itself to the world.
⸢[Constellation, ‘Maritime War God’, is proud of his Incarnation.]⸥
Yi Ji-Hye actually surpassed her Sponsor in the latter half of the original story. Maybe, I might get to see that spectacle unfold during this regression turn.
⸢”We’re changing our tactic!”⸥
Perhaps they realised that things weren’t going so well, as <Emperor>’s fleet suddenly began charging at her. An armoured battleship was taking the lead. It seemed that they had chosen to engage her in a close-quarter melee since they lost out in the long-range firefight. Unfortunately for them, though, there was something that they didn’t know.
⸢”....Argh, I created this technique so that I could give Dok-Ja ahjussi a good one later on, but this....”⸥
The thing was, the Naval Admiral Yi Ji-Hye was also very handy in close-quarter battles, too.
Seeing her crouched posture getting ready to draw her sword, I could just about guess what she was thinking of doing here.
⸢Instant Kill (瞬殺).⸥
I could see that she had mastered one of the best anti-personnel combat skills in ‘Ways of Survival’.
Kwa-aaaahh!
As the loud explosions burst out from the side of the ship, Yi Ji-Hye began her close-quarter combat. She cut, sliced, and then, cut some more. A sword demon’s blade cut through the waves of water and reaped the head of the enemy commander.
And how much longer did she continue to cut after that? In the middle of the Tongtian’s battlefield, now dyed crimson by the spreading Fables, Yi Ji-Hye lay on her back utterly fatigued, having dealt with all of her enemies.
She stared at the darkening sky and asked softly as if she was talking to me.
⸢.....Ahjussi. You’re okay, right?⸥
I wanted to tell her that I was fine, but my lips didn’t want to part.
[Your current level of proficiency for ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ is very high.]
[It’s now possible to split the POV.]
[Character Jeong Hui-Won’s viewpoint has been added to the ‘3rd Person POV’.]
The second person I saw was Jeong Hui-Won.
⸢”Get! Out! Of! My! Way!!”⸥
She was in the midst of chasing Fei Hu down. Yi Hyeon-Seong’s blade, as she held him tightly, was busy shooting out the licks of flames belonging to [Hellfire]. Everywhere she passed by, ashes danced in the air.
I could more or less figure out what happened here. To think that ‘Fei Hu’ gave up on the fight first.... Maybe the strongest Incarnation in Korea was Jeong Hui-Won, after all.
[Character Jang Ha-Yeong’s viewpoint has been added to the ‘3rd Person POV’.]
Jang Ha-Yeong, still wearing the fake beard, was running on the river, Han Myeong-Oh stuck under her arm. The end of her gaze was fixed on Yi Gil-Yeong, currently engaged in a bitter battle against the Lords of the Nine Stars.
⸢”Hey, kid! Step aside!”⸥
The Lords of the Nine Stars were a part of <Emperor>’s elite forces. Jang Ha-Yeong got ready to unleash the power of [Breaking the Sky Force Punch] at them.
However, Yi Gil-Yeong shook his head and shouted back.
⸢”Please don’t interfere, Ha-Yeong-ee hyung. I’m more than enough for this!”⸥
He looked at the distant centre of the battlefield and gritted his teeth.
⸢”.....I can’t lose to Shin Yu-Seung.”⸥
Yi Gil-Yeong’s voice, darkness seemingly overflowing from it, was tinged with an ominous undertone. And in the following moment, a yellow-coloured storm exploded out from the boy’s entire body.
No, hang on a sec. Could that be.....??
Before I could come to any sort of conclusion, the scene changed.
[Character Yu Jung-Hyeok’s viewpoint has been added to the ‘3rd Person POV’.]
Next up was Yu Jung-Hyeok, currently facing off against the 28 Mansions Constellations by himself.
⸢”No matter how strong he is, in the end, he’s still an Incarnation from a weak little Nebula!”⸥
⸢”You think a lone bastard like yourself can deal with actual stars?”⸥
Even though they were acting tough, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s hand was currently holding a couple of severed heads belonging to dead stars. His coat had turned into a tattered rag from the concerted attacks of the 28 Mansions, and there was a noticeable wound on his arm, but beside that, he was completely fine.
⸢If you’re talking about ‘Constellations’, then I’ve cut down plenty of your kind already.”⸥
Blood trickled down his forehead. His hair stained by the Constellations’ Fables danced about, and like some kind of an evil monster, Yu Jung-Hyeok raised his head up.
⸢”And that is why all of you will fall today.”⸥
And the screen changed for the final time.
⸢”Ahjussi.”⸥
It was my own Incarnation.
⸢”Please, please listen to my voice!”⸥
Her figure trembled as if she was sobbing.
Next up, I saw my hand, held tightly in hers. That limp, powerless hand couldn’t even hold hers at all. Her words cut off intermittently, and the things I need to say to her and the things I need to hear from her all disappeared in between the flitting words.
[Fable, ‘Saviour of a Star’, is continuing on with its storytelling.]
I... wanted to move. I wanted to wipe her tears away. I wanted to kneel down and hug her, before telling her that, her wishes were...
....Also mine, too.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut.
Memories were crumbling away.
Letters floated around the surroundings. I sensed myself scatter away inside this darkness. I heard a voice calling out to me from beyond the empty abyss.
I saw something resembling a violently-whipping [Great Hole] in the distance. Slowly, very slowly, my soul was being sucked in there.
[Ti me to ke ep yo ur pr omi se]
I was scared.
If I were to forget all of these..... These emotions, where would they go to, then? And from where and to how far would [The 4th Wall] remember my story?
[Ba-aht, baaaht!]
Biyu suddenly appeared and grabbed hold of my soul being sucked out. She did everything in her power to pull back at that clump of soul.
[Ba-aaaht!]
I could only look on at her confused, flustered struggling.
I, too, didn’t want to go there.
[Co me to th e si de of th e Gr ea t Pl ot ter]
That was, if only I could.
[Are you really planning to go there?]
Along with the noise of “Tsuchuchuchu!” the flow of the surrounding atmosphere changed. The letters stopped scattering away, and the suction force pulling at my soul disappeared.
Someone was using his own Status to forcibly suppress my extinguishment.
[This Master Sun is asking you.]
I looked back, and discovered a rather familiar Constellation standing there. His platinum-blonde hair gently danced in the air, and his headband was emitting a soft glow.
“....Great Sage.”
Indeed, it was the Great Sage Heaven’s Equal, a mischievous smile etched on his lips. However, he wasn’t alone this time.
⸢The re are too ma ny Sun Wu kongs here⸥
[Oh, so that’s the ‘Fragment of the Final Wall’ that I heard about? What a noisy bastard.]
[Hmm.... What an interesting visualised world this is.]
One was a handsome monkey kitted out in a cowboy get-up, while the other monkey had this languid expression on his face, his hand stuck under the tiger-striped thong and busy scratching away at something....
I immediately recognised who they were.
“....Are you Bimawen and Meihouwang?”
Before any reply could come to me, voices resounded out from the air above.
[Ki ng of mo nk ey s]
[Ar e yo u pl an ni ng to in te rf er e wi th us]
[Urgh, shut up. We’re busy talking here.]
Meihouwang got irritated and unleashed his power, causing the ripples from the ‘Outer Gods’ to instantly disappear. That was truly a gob-smacking Status.
[Demon King of Salvation, we came here to ask you about something.]
The one who said that was not the Great Sage, Meihouwang, nor was it Bimawen.
Someone I had never seen before was there. He had an exotic countenance, a face oozing with this mysterious aura preventing anyone from identifying his gender. Short, neatly-trimmed black hair, and an elegant Buddhist robe on his frame.
And judging by the fact that he was also carrying a Ruyi Jingu Bang, he too was definitely Sun Wukong. The odd thing was, though, I couldn’t see the usual constrictive headband on his head.
⸢To Kim Dok-Ja’s knowledge, there was only one ‘Sun Wukong’ like that in the world.⸥
“Douzhanshengfo (Victorious Fighting Buddha).”
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
Thin sparks exploded in the air as if to react to what I said.
Douzhanshengfo asked me with an expressionless face. [I’ve been watching your story from the beginning.]
“....My apologies for that.”
[It was a Fable with a meaning. Even out of all those numerous times when the ‘Journey to the West’ repeated itself, there never had been a Fable that focused itself on the pain of the dying Yogoes.]
Meihouwang, listening to him talk on the side muttered, “Here comes the sermon-loving idiot”. Completely disregarding him, Douzhangshengfo continued on.
[However, their pain is their preordained destiny. Not everyone can become protagonists, after all.]
“Why do you think so?”
[You speak as if all Yogoes are victims, but not all of them are wrongly thrust into their positions. Some among them had never worked hard once in their lives, while some carry evil intentions and choose to hurt others. Therefore, it is quite obvious that they will never become the main characters.]
“You’re correct. However, just like what you’ve implied, some of them are not guilty of anything. No, make that quite a lot of them.”
[And that is why countless Fables exist in this world. Great Fables aren’t the only good Fables. Those who are nothing more than small, insignificant beings inside a Great Fable can still become the main character of a different Fable.]
He was right.
Indeed, as right as it can be. However....
“....That is only applicable when they are allowed to participate in Fables.”
There were some creatures in this world that were excluded from entering even those Fables. Beings that were simply spent as expendables in various Fables while not even receiving a single percent of shares.
[AhAhAhAhAhAh]
[ComeComeComeComeComeCome]
“Fables should be permitted to even those who have failed.”
The ones that had forgotten about themselves weren’t even allowed to enjoy the opportunities of the scenarios. The <Star Stream> gagged them, and made sure that their words would become incomprehensible to others.
[....Is that what you truly believe?]
Douzhanshengfo asked, his unreadable eyes still locked on me. No, more correctly, he was looking at the power of Chaos rising out from my body.
[And you wish to sacrifice your whole being and become an ‘Outer God’?]
“....That’s correct.”
The Great Sage was yawning with a bored face during my answer and once he was done, spoke his opinion. [Are you done with your confirmation? I told you, didn’t I? This guy’s really like that.]
[....Indeed.]
[Seriously, man. Convincing the dear ol’ Buddha-nim is the hardest thing ever.]
I had no clue what these guys were talking about.
Four Sun Wukongs glanced at me while yapping among themselves.
[Okay, so. Who’s going to do it, then?]
[I shall do it. I had lost most of my memories after I was granted the Buddhahood, after all.]
[....Well, I guess you being a fakey monk can be helpful in situations like this one.]
Right in the next moment, bright light rose up all around me, causing my scattering memories to come back. And as the Probability’s sparks exploded, my body glowed brightly too, as if I was being electrocuted.
[Someone is dealing with the penalty of ‘Outer God Transformation’ in your stead.]
....Wha?
[Demon King of Salvation, you’re wrong about one thing.] said Douzhanshengfo, as he unleashed the power of Chaos. [Becoming a ‘Yogoe’ will not help you in understanding them. You simply do not have the qualifications to represent them.]
He was right once more.
I couldn’t possibly have known anything about the ‘Outer Gods’ suffering pain and agony as the Yogoes from the ‘Journey to the West’. Because, I was just another actor playing Sun Wukong.
Meihouwang sniggered and remarked sarcastically. [You should know your place.]
Bimawen quickly added something else. [Your ‘main topic’ is not in this place.]
The last person to speak up was the Great Sage. [Leave the matters of Yogoes to other Yogoes. And you, you should live your own Fable.]
Only then did I finally figure out what was going on here.
[Great Fable, ‘Journey to the West’, has begun its storytelling for you.]
But, why? Why were they doing this for me?
The Great Sage smirked and replied. [Because we like your Fable. That’s all.]
I thought I could hear the loud roars of the upper-rank Outer Gods coming from afar. At the same time, I sensed the power of the Outer Gods strengthening gradually.
[HeisHeisHeisHeisHeis]
[OursOursOursOursOurs]
[My bad, but we can’t give him to you.]
[NoNoNoNoNoNo]
[KingiscomingKingiscomingKingiscomingKingiscoming]
The [Great Hole] continued to churn angrily within the darkness.
Something was trying to descend to this world.
It was the king of all these ‘Outer Gods’.
[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, is glaring at the ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’.]
That message brought out a bright smile on the Great Sage’s face.
[Right, I wanted to have a go at you sometime, didn’t I?]
Four Sun Wukongs stood all around me.
[So, who’ll be the main this time?]
[Of course, it’ll be me, the Great Sage.]
[And thus the dumbass Sun Wukong is born.]
[Hey, you. Don’t flip your finger like that. You think this is a fusion fantasy?]
In the following moment, Sun Wukongs around me grasped each other’s hands.
[Oh, <Star Stream>! We will be accepting the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ as our fifth self!]
<Episode 83. Dok-Ja’s Incarnation (3)> Fin.