[Your ■■ is getting nearer.]
[你的■在靠近。]
The system message whispered in my ear. It had been repeating itself over and over again for the past few days.
系统信息在我耳边低语。在过去的几天里，这种情况一次又一次地发生。
"It seems that it won't be long now."
“看来不会太久了。”
"Yes."
“是的。”
My mother and I were sitting face to face over a table, drinking tea together. We were watching the display panel installed in the [Industrial Complex]'s reception room.
我和妈妈面对面坐在一张桌子上，一起喝茶。我们观看了安装在(工业综合体)接待室的显示屏。
- The American continent, annihilated! What's the next target for these Outer Gods?
年的今天，美洲大陆被毁灭了!这些外界诸神的下一个目标是什么？
- Emergency evacuation order issued in North-East Asia!
-东北亚发出紧急疏散令！
- Nebulas have abandoned Earth. "There is no place left to run."
-星云已经抛弃了地球。“没有地方可以跑了。”
The last place the news program showed was the Korean Peninsula. Refugees streaming in from all over the world ensured that the whole peninsula was bucking raucously even now.
新闻节目最后播出的地方是朝鲜半岛。来自世界各地的难民潮确保了整个朝鲜半岛即使现在也是喧闹不已。
I was well aware of what they were hoping for by coming here.
我很清楚他们来这里的目的。
[Next Great Apocalypse scenario location is 'North-East Asia'.] [6 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes remaining until the start of the Great Apocalypse scenario.]
[下一个大灾难场景的地点是‘东北亚’][距离大灾变开始还有6天8小时24分钟]
My mother inside the panel was making an announcement in my stead as the representative of the [Industrial Complex].
我母亲在小组里代替我作为[工业联合体]的代表发表了一项声明。
- The [Industrial Complex] won't stop accepting new citizens. However…
-[工业联合体]不会停止接受新公民。然而..。
My mother smiled bitterly and spoke. "It's quite embarrassing to watch, isn't it."
我母亲苦笑着说:“看起来很尴尬，不是吗?”
"But, it suits you well. You're like the President, actually."
“但是，这很适合你。实际上，你就像总统一样。”
In all honesty, it was fine to think of my mother as the current master of the [Industrial Complex], not me. The citizens of this place would rather listen to her more than me, at any rate.
老实说，认为我母亲是(工业联合体)现在的主人，而不是我，这很好。无论如何，这个地方的市民宁愿听她的，也不愿听我的。
"You should show your face to Seoul's residents at least once before leaving, son. Even a simple greeting from you will become a great source of strength to them."
“孩子，在离开之前，你应该至少在首尔的居民面前露一次脸。即使是一句简单的问候也会成为他们力量的源泉。”
For sure, I could hear the reporters using megaphones to shout their questions from outside the [Industrial Complex].
可以肯定的是，我可以听到记者们在工业园区外用扩音器大声提问。
- Demon King of Salvation-nim!! Is it true that you have returned?
-救世魔王-尼姆!!你真的回来了吗？
- Demon King of Salvation-nim! Please tell us your plan to stop the Apocalypse!
-救世魔王-尼姆!请告诉我们你阻止天启的计划！
….My plan, is it.
我的计划是不是。
I smiled bitterly just like my mother. "If that's the duty of the mascot, then well."
我苦笑着，就像我的母亲。“如果这是吉祥物的责任，那么好吧。”
We quietly sipped the tea.
我们静静地啜饮茶水。
The skies were dark and gloomy. So gloomy, in fact, it'd not be strange to see a thunderbolt fall from the sky out of the blue and shatter the Peninsula in half.
天空又黑又阴沉。如此阴郁，事实上，看到一声霹雳从天而降，把半岛一分为二，并不奇怪。
"It's so peacefully, isn't it?"
“真是太平静了，不是吗?”
"I guess so, mother."
“我想是的，妈妈。”
Even so, we said those things.
即便如此，我们还是说了那些话。
The tea leaf inside the cup gently trembled. To think, I'd enjoy such a leisurely tea time. This would be the first time in our 30-something years of relationship as a mother and son.
茶杯里的茶叶轻轻地颤抖着。想想看，我会享受这样一个悠闲的下午茶时间。这将是我们30多年的母子关系中的第一次。
The event I so wanted to experience only came knocking on my doorstep as the apocalypse of everything approached us.
这个我非常想体验的事件只是在世界末日来临的时候才来到我的门口。
My mother, she didn't ask me anything. Not a thing about what I would do from now on, what I would gain at the end of this story, nothing. I knew that was how she operated, though.
我妈妈什么都没问。从现在开始我不会做什么，也不会在故事的结尾得到什么，什么都不会。但我知道她就是这么做的。
"Well, I'll be on my way now."
“好了，我要走了。”
"The Heavenly Wind God was searching for you. Before you embark, please do make sure to speak to him first."
“天风神一直在找你，在你上船之前，一定要先和他说话。”
….Pungbaek? Why was he looking for me this time?
...Pungbaek?这次他为什么要找我？
I couldn't help but recall that unpleasant incident back in the Great War of Saints and Demons. Was he thinking of doing something uncouth again just before the Final Scenario? I lightly nodded my head and exited the room.
我情不自禁地想起了在圣魔大战中发生的那件不愉快的事情。他是不是想在最后一幕之前再做一些粗鲁的事情？我轻轻地点了点头，然后离开了房间。
There was someone waiting for me there.
有人在那里等我。
[And here we are. You somehow managed to get this far, Kim Dok-Ja.]
[现在我们到了这里。你不知怎么搞到了这一步，KimDok-Ja]
It was none other than Bihyung, looking so much better than before after becoming a Great Dokkaebi. The long coat fashioned out of a white tiger's fur really suited him well.
这不是别人，正是比亨，成为伟大的多卡比之后，看起来比以前好多了。用白虎皮做成的长大衣确实很适合他。
I spoke in a sarcastic tone of voice. "You were actually waiting for me?"
我用讽刺的语气说:“你真的在等我吗?”
[The reunion of you and your mother is a pretty popular Fable among your subscribers. So, I just couldn't bear to interrupt the flow.]
你和你母亲的重逢在你的订阅者中是一个相当受欢迎的寓言。所以，我实在不忍心打断这一切。]
Bihyung shrugged his shoulders and spoke up.
比亨耸了耸肩，大声说道。
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire', is dabbing her eyes away.] [Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', is grumbling while handing over a handkerchief.]
[星座，‘魔鬼般的火焰审判者’，正在把她的眼睛擦开。][星座“黑色深渊火龙”一边递给我一块手帕，一边发着牢骚。]
This damn guy, sending that out as another broadcast.
这个该死的家伙，把这个作为另一个广播发出去。
[And so. The Final Scenario is literally just around the corner.]
[就这样，最后的情景真的就要到来了]
"I know."
“我知道。”
[How reliable you are. I'm sure you already know this, but the Final Scenario is…..]
(你是多么的可靠。我相信你已经知道这一点，但是最后的结局是......)
"Bihyung."
“ Bihyung”
My quiet call stopped the Dokkaebi from talking anymore. He stared at me.
我的安静的叫声让多卡比再也不能说话了，他盯着我。
"Why did you select us?"
“你为什么选择我们?”
A faint ripple spread within Bihyung's eyes.
一道微弱的涟漪在比亨的眼中蔓延开来。
I already knew what was written on the scenario window that popped up before his eyes.
我已经知道在他眼前弹出的情节窗口上写的是什么。
+
<Main Scenario #98 - Candidate Ballot>
主要情况#98-候选人抽签
Type: Main
类型:主要
Difficulty: ?
难度:?？
Clear condition: Please choose the final candidate for the 'One Single Fable'.
明确条件:请选择最终候选人的’一个单一寓言’。
Time limit: -
时限:-
Reward: ?
奖励:？
Failure: Death
失败:死亡
+
<Star Stream>'s scenarios didn't only apply to Constellations and Incarnations, but to the storytellers like Dokkaebies, too. And the 'Candidate Ballot' that would decide the end of all scenarios was an incredibly important scenario for all Dokkaebis. It was a scenario where they had to bet their own existence.
星流的场景不仅适用于星座和化身，也适用于像多卡比这样的讲故事者。对于所有多卡比斯来说，决定所有场景结局的“候选人投票”是一个极其重要的场景。在这种情况下，他们不得不赌上自己的存在。
And in such a scenario, Bihyung had chosen us.
在这种情况下，必亨选择了我们。
[Great Dokkaebi 'Bihyung' has currently cast his vote with <Kim Dok-Ja Company>.]
[伟大的Dokkaebi‘Bihyung’目前已经投票给kimdok-ja公司]
When I first met this guy, he was no bigger than a soccer ball.
当我第一次见到这个家伙的时候，他还没有足球那么大。
He was a true Dokkaebi who indiscriminately massacred people for the sake of increasing the number of subscribers in the channel, and he mass-produced horrifying scenarios on the fly.
他是一个真正的多卡比，为了增加频道的订阅用户而不加选择地屠杀人们，而且他在飞行中大量制作可怕的场景。
That very Dokkaebi who grew up by devouring the Fables we created had eventually morphed into a human-like being. He was as tall as a human, he wore clothes like a human, and he was making expressions of a human, too.
那个在吞噬我们创造的寓言中长大的多卡比，最终变成了一个像人一样的存在。他和人类一样高，他穿着人类的衣服，他也在做人类的表情。
That very Dokkaebi, he was looking at me on a similar eye level as he spoke up. [Sign the contract with me. I shall make you the next Dokkaebi King.]
就是那个多卡比，他说话的时候用同样的眼光看着我。和我签合同吧。我会让你成为下一个多卡比国王
"…?"
"...?"
[That's what you said to me inside that fish-dragon's mouth.]
[这就是你在鱼龙嘴里对我说的话]
Indeed, I did say something like that in the past. "Hang on, could it be that you selected us while believing in that rubbish? There are very low odds of us winning, you know."
事实上，我过去确实说过类似的话。“等等，难道是你在相信那些垃圾的同时选择了我们？你知道，我们赢的可能性很小。”
[It's not like that anymore. I see that you still have no idea how big of a deal what you did was.]
现在不是那样了。我知道你仍然不知道你所做的事情有多么重要
Bihyung shifted his gaze outside the window.
比亨把目光移到了窗外。
The plaza of the [Industrial Complex] was filled with the Constellations that fought with us in the battle against Papyrus.
工业园区的广场上布满了与我们并肩作战对抗Papyrus的星座。
The Black Flame Dragon got subdued by Uriel and was currently acting as her cushion. Persephone and Hades were quietly sipping tea on a prepared table. The Great Sage, meanwhile, had borrowed a pipe-like cigarette from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and was busy puffing away.
黑色火焰龙被乌列征服，目前担任她的缓冲。珀尔塞福涅和哈迪斯正在一张准备好的桌子上静静地品茶。与此同时，大圣从断天剑圣那里借来一支烟斗似的香烟，正忙着抽烟。
They were watching the Star Stream broadcasts unfolding in real-time.
他们正在实时观看星流广播。
- A brand new list naming '12 Nebulas' are making rounds among the gossipers of <Star Stream>… - A portion of Fable-grade Constellations estimate that <Kim Dok-Ja Company> could very well be the 3rd strongest….
-一份新的名单命名为“12个星云”正在星流的传闻中流传......-一部分寓言级星座估计金道佳公司很可能是第三强.....。
….Third strongest, was it. It seemed that the ripples from the last battle were larger than I thought. I was thankful for the generous assessment, but it was still too early to let our guard down. Because the war for the Candidate Ballot hadn't ended yet.
...第三强壮，是吗。上次战斗的涟漪似乎比我想象的要大。我很感激这个慷慨的评价，但现在放松警惕还为时过早。因为争取候选人选票的战争还没有结束。
However, Bihyung's thoughts seemed to be a bit different from mine.
然而，Bihyung的想法似乎和我的有点不同。
[I think it'll be fine for a little while. It's been two days since you defeated <Papyrus>. Did any other Nebula request <Kim Dok-Ja Company> for inter-Nebula warfare since then?]
我想一会儿就好了。你打败papyrus已经两天了。从那时起，有没有其他星云请求金道子公司进行星云间战争?]
"….No. No one."
“没有，没有人。”
[A Nebula that achieves a big win during the Candidate Ballot battles will enjoy much higher odds of being selected as the 'One Single Fable'.]
[在候选人选票大战中取得巨大胜利的星云将享有更高的几率被选为“单一寓言”]
Just like how one battle helped up climb up to the 'third strongest' position, other Nebulas could also participate in the inter-Nebula warfare and alter the rankings. So, messages of declarations of war or announcements of one soon to take place should be raining down on us by now.
就像一场战役帮助星云爬上了“第三强”的位置，其他星云也可以参与星云间的战争，改变排名。因此，宣战或宣布即将发生战争的信息现在应该像雨点一样落在我们身上。
However, forget about a declaration, not a single Nebula tried to provoke us. The planet Earth was surprisingly peaceful.
然而，忘记一个宣言，没有一个星云试图激怒我们。地球是惊人的和平。
"But, why? It's not as if our Fable is that shocking, now was it?"
“但是，为什么呢?我们的《寓言》好像没那么令人震惊，不是吗?”
[That's because you're going to be annihilated even if they leave you alone. That's why.]
(那是因为即使他们不管你，你也会被彻底消灭，这就是原因。)
I felt my heart cool down in an instant. I could see the footage playing on the Constellations' panels.
我的心瞬间凉了下来，我可以看到星座面板上播放的画面。
[Constellations know that you simply can't forsake Earth.]
[星座知道你不能放弃地球。]
Separate from the 'Candidate Ballot battles', Earth had entered the Great Apocalypse sequence. The North American continent was already no more, and next up was North-east Asia.
与“候选人选票战”不同，地球已经进入了大灾难的序列。北美大陆已经不复存在，接下来是东北亚。
Back in the original story's Final Scenario, Outer Gods and the rulers of other worlds also began invading this world.
回到原始故事的最后情节，外界诸神和其他世界的统治者也开始入侵这个世界。
[The ascension of the forgotten islands are still ongoing!] ⸢At the end of the world-line, the corrosion of the forgotten beings will begin.⸥
[被遗忘的岛屿仍在继续上升!]在世界线的尽头，被遗忘的生命的腐蚀将开始。
According to the original storyline, Nebulas and I should've been fighting together here. But now, they had made a different decision. They gave up on Earth, and to eliminate <Kim Dok-Ja Company>. That was the decision made by the Nebulas facing the 'Final Scenario'.
根据原来的故事情节，我和尼布拉斯应该在这里并肩作战。但是现在，他们做了一个不同的决定。他们放弃了在地球上，并消灭了金道子公司。这是星云面对“最终情景”所做的决定。
"Those sons of bitches…."
“那些狗娘养的......”
[A portion of Nebulas are mocking your decision.]
[一部分星云在嘲笑你的决定]
You could say that this was the worst possible situation.
你可以说这是最糟糕的情况。
To make matters worse, the Outer Gods flooding into this world were different from the ones that I knew of from the original storyline.
更糟糕的是，涌入这个世界的外界诸神与我从原始故事情节中了解到的不同。
I recalled Uriel from the 999th regression turn I met in the N'Gai's Forest some time ago.
我回想起乌列尔，从第999次回归转折，我遇到了n’gai的森林一段时间以前。
⸢Once the Great Apocalypse scenario begins, the attacks from the Kings will commence.⸥
一旦《大启示录》的情节开始，国王的攻击就会开始
If my predictions were correct, then the Kings showing up for the Great Apocalypse soon to get underway should be the existences that witnessed the 'Conclusion' during the 999th regression turn. And <Kim Dok-Ja Company> needed to fight against them.
如果我的预测是正确的，那么国王们出现在即将到来的大灾难中，应该就是在999回归转折中见证了“结论”的存在。金道子公司需要与他们作战。
"Who summoned the Kings? Was it your people from the Bureau?"
“谁召唤了国王?是你局里的人吗?”
[I can't reveal any information to you. Except that….] Bihyung formed an expression showing his firm resolve and finished what he wanted to say. [Until the moment I breathe my last, I shall tell my story with you.]
我不能向你透露任何信息。除了......]比亨形成了一个表情，表示他坚定的决心，并说完了他想说的话。[直到我咽下最后一口气的那一刻，我将和你一起讲述我的故事。]
*
"If you don't wish to participate, it's fine to leave now."
“如果你不想参加，现在就可以离开。”
Funnily enough, this was the first thing I said to my companions.
有趣的是，这是我对同伴们说的第一句话。
"The next scenario is incomparably horrifying than any other battles we've been through so far. It's not too late. If any of you wish to leave the Nebula, then….."
“下一种情况比我们迄今经历过的任何战争都要恐怖得多。现在还不晚。如果你们有人想离开星云，那么......”
A couple of them began yawning as if they were listening to a boring Sunday mass. But, that was obvious. These people right before my eyes had survived dozens of life-threatening events together to get this far. To them, there was no difference to dying in this or that event. If they want to leave, they would've done so already. I too knew this.
他们中的一些人开始打哈欠，好像在听一个无聊的星期天弥撒。但是，这是显而易见的。就在我眼前的这些人一起经历了数十次危及生命的事件才走到今天。对他们来说，在这个或那个事件中死亡没有什么区别。如果他们想离开，他们早就离开了。我也知道这一点。
