The noise of the battlefield died down for a moment at my cry. The struggle between Giant Soldier Heracles and Giant Soldier Pluto. Even the constellations in the channel seemed nervous at the summoning of the weapon.
[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is wondering what your weapon is!]
[Many constellations are curious about ‘Steel Sword’!]
My empty hand still wasn’t filled.
…Why didn’t it come? I looked back and reflexively activated Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. It was to grasp the situation of the battlefield. Then I heard the thoughts of characters with a high level of understanding.
「 Steel Sword? I seem to have heard that somewhere before. 」
「 A person who uses the sword… 」
…What?
「 Kim Dok ja is an i diot. 」
The Fourth Wall’s mocking words were heard in my head. I belatedly noticed. Lee Hyunsung’s nickname was still ‘Pure Steel.’
「 Steel Sword… nice name. It was called by Dokja-ssi. He must be a great person. 」
Lee Hyunsung was looking this way while fighting Jason. I shouted towards Lee Hyunsung, [Hyunsung-ssi! Come quickly!]
“Huh? You were talking about me?”
“Hurry, you idiot! I’ll cover this place!”
Han Sooyoung shouted and Lee Hyunsung gave up his showdown with Jason. The stigma Great Mountain Push was triggered and Jason flew backwards.
…No, use it earlier if he had that power.
I didn’t know how much stronger Lee Hyunsung had become in the last three years but he was more useful than expected.
“However, I’m not Steel Sword…”
[You will be called that from today.]
“W-What should I do?”
I quickly grabbed and swung Lee Hyunsung.
“Kuaaaaaack!”
Ares regrouped and swung Heracles’ Bat. It was a tremendous blow that combined Giant Soldier Heracles’ story mixed with Ares’ story. It was a destructive force that could crush Nemea’s lion in one blow.
I swung Lee Hyunsung at Ares.
“Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi! It isn’t possible!”
[It’s fine! Trust yourself!]
Along with the sound of waves, particles of water turned into fog. In the fog, Lee Hyunsung slowly faced the bat.
[Look, you can do it.]
“Uh, uhhh, uweeeoh…”
Steel was growing all over Lee Hyunsung’s body. It grew, grew and grew again. He soon became a sword.
Ares was noticeably baffled. If Yoo Jonghyuk was here, he definitely would’ve said:
「 “This is the reason why Lee Hyunsung got the nickname of Steel Sword.” 」
Steel Sword. The reason he was called Steel Sword wasn’t because he could control a sword well.
[The character ‘Lee Hyunsung’ has used the stigma ‘Steel Transformation Lv. 10.’]
Steel Transformation. It was the stigma of a constellation from a distant place in the universe.
As the stories piled up, it became harder than any metal and had the advantage of being capable of regenerating if broken. Lee Hyunsung was no different from a living ‘strongest sword.’
[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is frowning at your cruelty.]
Perhaps it was because this was his first time being a sword but Lee Hyunsung was still in an insecure state. I deliberately spoke in order to inspire Lee Hyunsung’s morale. [Hyunsung-ssi, do you see the shield that Heracles’ is holding?]
“Ye… y-yes, what is that?”
[It is the original version of ‘Heracles Shield’ that I gave you before.]
In the past, I had given the replica version of Heracles’ Shield to Lee Hyunsung. It was the shield that Lee Hyunsung kept cleaning.
[I’ll give it to you, Hyunsung-ssi.]
“…Really?”
[Of course.]
Lee Hyunsung completely adapted and integrated himself into the hand of the giant soldier. It was a perfect grip like a handshake.
I started running. A large amount of probability was consumed as I once again clashed with Ares in Heracles.
[The Star Stream is paying attention to you!]
[The bureau is doubting your probability!]
[Overusing this probability will endanger your body!]
Steel Sword and Heracles’ Bat firmly collided. Ares was surprised by the force and took one step back.
[…Damn crazy!]
We struck, struck and struck each other again. Part of Heracles’ Bat flew away as debris and Lee Hyunsung’s Steel Transformation had cracks all over it.
We were desperate because it couldn’t be a long-lasting battle. Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, me as well.
[The giant story ‘Demon World’s Spring’ is continuing.]
There wasn’t the Stage Transformation like when we fought Surya but this story was protecting us.
A stage where Lee Hyunsung and I were together. Kim Namwoon, who was once an enemy, was now part of the story.
「 The most despicable soul in the world, a man born from steel. 」
Finally, the blade of the Steel Sword cut at Heracles’ right shoulder.
Ares growled out, [Why are you trying so hard? Olympus has always been merciful to you!]
[Merciful? Is that why you placed the fate on me?]
[Just because of that small that?]
[…It is small?]
[You survived it anyway! You should be thankful about successfully passing the trial!]
That wasn’t my only enmity.
[My colleague is dying because of you guys.]
[Colleague?]
The sword and the club hit each other again as Ares seemed to remember something.
[The incarnation who used to the the singularity watcher.]
[It isn’t an incarnation but ‘Yoo Sangah.’]
[We didn’t make the incarnation do that. She brought that misery onto herself.] Ares laughed.
[The mortal tried to access Olympus’ database. It is natural to suffer.]
I shouted through gritted teeth, [It is you who gave her that strength. You brought about such a situation.]
[God is watching. Everything is a human choice.]
[Do you think you can use ‘choice’ for a predetermined cause?]
Ares laughed. [This is the scenario.]
Cold anger settled deep in my chest. Yes, this was a constellation. They had a desire for stimulating scenarios and enjoyed the fall of incarnations. They made ‘good and evil’ on purpose. A god waiting merrily for humans to break the taboo.
Sparks that I couldn’t afford started to appear around Pluto’s body. A brilliant magic power storm occurred around the junction of bat and steel.
Ares exclaimed, [This crazy bastard…!]
「 Kim Dokja was angry. 」
「 Apart from that anger, Kim Dokja’s sense of reasoning was still as cold as ever. 」
In fact, it was almost impossible to defeat Ares in a frontal showdown but now the story was different.
「 Kim Dokja thought. 」
This was the ‘sea’ where Ares couldn’t exert enough power. It was a sub scenario where he couldn’t release all his status. Crucially, Ares’ Heracles was an early model of the giant soldier.
Heracles’ Bat broken Pluto’s left arm and at the same time, the Steel Sword penetrated Heracles’ waist.
Ares hurriedly cried out, [If you do this, you really will turn all of Olympus into an enemy…!]
[Ask anyone to come.]
However, they wouldn’t come. The 12 Gods were all cowards.
[Zeus, Poseidon or anyone else.]
Heracles was pushed back by the White Pure Star Energy. Even to the end, Ares didn’t fully release his status. Not all narrative-grade constellations were like Surya.
It had been a while since the real Gigantomachia. The 12 Gods had forgotten their lives. The same was true for Ares, a fierce warrior.
He seemed more courageous than anyone else but he was actually more cautious about his life than anyone else. He flaunted his bravery in Gigantomachia but now he was a constellation who feared the aftermath of opening his status in the scenario.
Ares shouted angrily, [Aren’t you afraid of probability?]
[I’m not afraid.]
Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, me as well. There was no such thing as fear. It was because we had been living through the aftermath the whole time. Rather, it took courage to be weak.
Along with the bubbling sea foam, I thrust the steel sword into Heracles’ cockpit.
[You have knocked down Giant Soldier Heracles!]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The star relic ‘Heracles’ Bat (Damaged)’ has been acquired.]
[The star relic ‘Heracles’ Shield (Damaged)’ has been acquired.]
[The star relic ‘Heracles’ Spear (Damaged)’ has been acquired.]
Then a tremendous explosion occurred.
“Kim Namwoon!”
I emerged from Pluto’s cockpit at the moment of the explosion. Pluto had exceeded the limits of probability and was breaking down.
[This dog…!] Kim Namwoon sounded happy.
After a while, Pluto’s body couldn’t withstand the probability storm and collapsed. It was the result of taking the probability on my behalf.
Fortunately, the power supply seemed safe. It was just that more fighting would be difficult.
In the haze of the smoke, I saw Ares who escaped from the cockpit like me. Ares was wounded all over his body and he was roaring furiously.
The game hadn’t ended yet. Heracles was a type of protective sphere. The moment Ares opened his status, I would have to deal with him head on. Still, it didn’t matter. In the first place, my purpose was to make him fall from Heracles.
“Yoo Sangah-ssi told me something about you.”
As Ares had mentioned, Yoo Sangah used Hermes’ system to investigate all types of future information. Among them were things about Olympus.
“I heard you were once hit by Heracles’ spear.”
Yoo Sangah had told me that Ares fought Heracles and was stabbed in the thigh with his spear.
-If ‘fake’ can be ‘real’, can I make this story real? If the weapon could be obtained…
Ares’ eyes were shaken as he glared at me angrily.
“I was curious. Heracles is the creature you have created. Then is this myth real or fake?”
Ares rushed towards me as I kept speaking.
“How much power can a fake story exert in the Star Stream? Aren’t you curious?”
[The story fragment in Heracles’ Spear is responding to you!]
[The story ‘Natural Enemy in War’ has begun.]
The story started talking.
「 With one penetration, the spear neutralized the god of war. 」
I held the spear with all my strength. It was such a heavy spear that I wondered if I could throw it by myself.
Ares was now in sight. I should throw it properly. If it fails, I would die here. At this moment, the weight of the spear lightened. Someone was also holding onto the spear from behind me.
It wasn’t Lee Hyunsung but there was no need to think. Only one incarnation in all of Ways of Survival could take on the weight of this spear lightly. In the first place, this incarnation was an ally.
“Kim Dokja, there is only one chance.”
It was an eternal ‘once.’ A ‘once’ made with the countless failures of the regressor.
“It has always been ‘once’ for me.”
Thus, this one chance couldn’t fail. We threw the spear at the same time.
TL: Rainbow Turtle
