WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 68: 11. St. Yansk University and the Chamber of Secrets (11)

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[Correct.]

At the voice that seemed to lick across her mind, Elphihara finally faced the truth.

What she had believed were treasures were the dry bones of human corpses, and the miraculous elixir she had thought was a precious relic was a sword piercing the statue's chest.

"Ugh... Urgh...!"

She covered her mouth and staggered back. The moment she saw the statue, shock twisted through her guts.

Her heart pounded. Her hands and feet trembled as she unconsciously stepped forward. She wanted to hold it. To grab it. To pull it out and possess it.

A temptation unlike anything she had ever felt, a terrible desire hidden beneath a veil of deception, was crushing her heart.

But she couldn't do that.

She was an elf. The noblest race beneath the heavens. To surrender to the wicked temptation planted atop human remains was too pathetic. Far too pathetic.

She was a mage. Of all occupations in the world, mages were meant to be the most rational. To be consumed by emotion and act on impulse was a mage's disgrace.

So, so...

[I have many names, but you may call me Salvation. I know the wish you harbor. Wish as you should, and it shall be granted.]

No. You aren't my god.

Elphihara took a step forward without realizing it, then froze with a start when bones crunched beneath her foot.

[Draw it. Then you shall receive it. I say this, and you shall gain that for which you have prayed all your life. Raise your hand and draw it.]

There was divine power in the statue's voice. The kind no mortal soul could ever dare resist.

Wasn't this inevitable? Wasn't resistance itself meaningless against something like that?

Elphihara couldn't tell whether this was resignation after yielding to temptation, or whether that temptation itself was whispering in her own voice.

As she took another step forward, a cold voice pierced her ear.

Yes, her ear.

"Your words are a lie."

Cold, cooling her fevered mind.

Low and chilling. Growling like a fierce beast bristling with menace.

It stood in contrast to the statue's soft, sweet voice. Unlike the sound in her head, it came clearly to her ear.

And because of that, it felt real. A human voice...

The voice of a mortal cutting through the boundary between myth and fantasy. It imprinted itself on her all the more clearly, bringing reassurance...

"You were sealed by human hands."

Its dry tone calmly stated that humans had already defeated it long ago.

[Listen to me!!]

"No."

Divine power visible to the naked eye darkened the surrounding area.

The sword embedded in the statue's chest rattled as if trying to pull itself free.

Yet the hand gripping its hilt moved heavily, slowly, despite the divine power tangled around it like chains. With firm conviction, it peeled back one finger at a time.

[Stop, stop!! You cannot kill me! I am your god!!]

Unmoved by the statue's scream. Unmoved by the terrible temptation that could be felt just by looking at it.

How could he do that? If she had been in his place, she would probably have given up.

Most of the surging malice was crashing directly into him, and only a single thread of divine power flowed from beyond his broad back. Yet she was already suffering this much.

As Elphihara trembled, a low voice reached her, and her shaking gradually stopped.

"I've met people who believed themselves to be gods."

Crunch. Crack.

The sound of rock breaking rang out as divine power began scattering wildly in every direction.

She couldn't see past the man's back, but some things could be known without seeing them.

He was killing a god.

"They died."

There was no excitement or passion in his dry voice. No honor or accomplishment over the great deed he was carrying out.

He simply whispered it as calmly as though recounting something he had experienced in the past.

Crunch!!

With his powerful grip, he crushed the statue's head.

"Ah..."

Divine power burst from within the seal. A presence so intense that it warped the world poured over the hill of remains.

With every fragment of the old god came the scream of an immortal, mingling agony and shrieks of despair.

It was the lament of a blasphemer, enough to deafen anyone who heard it and taint their soul.

Elphihara barely managed to open her mouth and cry out in a broken voice.

"Get... get away!! Run! That thing... that thing...!"

How was she supposed to explain it? How could she convince him to retreat...?

If he stayed there, no, if he remained in this room, he would be afflicted by that thing's curse.

Elphihara forced her eyes open against the raging wind and finally chose the most fitting word.

Something even a human mind could understand...!

"That thing's going to explode!!"

"Mm."

Ivan's gaze reached Elphihara. He nodded once, then vanished from her sight in an instant.

"Eek...?!"

"Bringing you was the right choice."

Ivan suddenly appeared before Elphihara, wrapped an arm around her waist, and turned his back.

Just as he was about to leave the room, a rattling swish reached her ear.

"Mm."

Ivan came to an abrupt halt. Chains were wrapped around his ankles. When she turned her head, black divine power seeping from the shattered statue had coiled around him.

"How large is the blast radius?"

"I-it's just an expression... More precisely, the concept is reversing..."

"Summarize."

"I don't know! But judging by the seal's structure... considering the range of that thing's authority... It's definitely within this room...!"

"Close the door and wait."

Eek...?!

Elphihara felt a violent sensation of weightlessness as her warped vision spun.

A loud crash and the stinging pain in her backside snapped her back to her senses. She had been thrown outside the room and sent sprawling across the floor.

"W-what about you?! I said it's dangerous!"

"I'm fine."

Her body flinched at the low voice.

With an overwhelming sense of familiarity, she looked up at Ivan with trembling eyes.

His indifferent face looked as though nothing had happened. Only the shape of his eyes still resembled the way he had looked twelve years ago...

"I expected phase two."

Ivan was a sensible man, so naturally he understood how boss battles worked.

At most, five phases. At minimum, two.

If phase one had been a gimmick, phase two would probably be a straight fight. Fortunately, he was confident in that department.

"N-no, what are you talking about...?"

Ivan didn't answer. He turned away.

Bang.

The door shut in front of her.

Just as when she had first faced it, she couldn't sense a single trace of mana or divine power from it.

Forcing her limp legs to move, she crawled toward the door. She brushed her fingertips over the tightly sealed gap for a moment.

Then she hugged her knees, lowered her head, and sniffled.

Human lives were far too short.

That human, too, would vanish in an instant.

Yet his soul was as upright and unchanging as an elf's, despite his short life...

"Come back..."

Elphihara closed her eyes, sniffling.

* * *

Ivan turned around and climbed the hill of remains once more.

[You alone, you...]

"I'll show you what I can do."

[You are nothing but...]

"One human. You're right."

There was no more temptation. Only rage with nowhere to go.

Within the malice overflowing from the destroyed statue's head, only one emotion burned.

Slowly, the black darkness seeping from the statue took shape. The form of a giant with five heads.

Ivan walked straight up to the statue.

This thing had been sealed for the past two thousand years.

Two thousand years ago, it had been defeated by human hands.

During that time, it had struggled however it could, laying traps and trying to widen the cracks in its seal.

Naturally, its power could not be what it had been at its peak.

Fortunately, Ivan's strength was still at its peak.

And there was one more thing to add.

"For someone who tempted others with happiness, you look awfully ugly at the end. Aren't you happy now?"

[You...!!]

"Let's finish this quickly. I have a lot to do."

Ivan gripped the sword that had been embedded in the statue's chest again.

He felt no more temptation.

Which meant the sword was no longer serving as that thing's seal.

And one more thing.

If it had once been a catalyst used to seal that thing, then it was a weapon capable of harming its true form.

Every boss battle had a gimmick. Any person from twenty-first-century Earth would know that much common sense.

Shing.

The undecorated iron sword slid smoothly out of the marble statue's chest with a piercing ring, without a hint of resistance.

Ivan lightly shook his wrist to test its balance, then raised it upright.

A well-made weapon. If it had been a catalyst used to seal an evil god, was it equipment for a mage or a warrior?

Once he returned above ground, who would use it most efficiently?

He turned that question over in his mind.

* * *

Elphihara had been sitting with her back against the door. When it opened smoothly and soundlessly, she lost her balance and collapsed.

"Eek!?"

"Were you sleeping?"

Warm body heat pressed against her back. When she raised her head with trembling eyes, the man stood there with the same expression he had worn when they first entered that room.

"A-are you all right...?"

"I'm fine."

Ivan lifted Elphihara and supported her as he began walking.

Half held in his arms, Elphihara spoke.

"What, what happened in there...?"

"Nothing happened."

"Uh... Huh... That can't be right."

"It was."

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't."

"All right."

"Wow, seriously. Humans...!! I only lose out by worrying about you!"

Ivan ignored Elphihara's shout. By then, he had reached the end of the ruins and looked up.

Deep underground, where the waves of mana had cleared away, a small cluster of light could be seen far above.

"Can you use a float spell?"

"Of course I can."

"Bringing you was the right choice after all."

"....."

Elphihara lowered her head in Ivan's arms and fidgeted with her lips, then tilted her head.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

Why was he so... warm...? No, this felt like...?

She cautiously placed a hand on his chest, then recoiled in shock.

"Why is your body burning up?! What did you do in there?!"

"Mm."

"Not 'mm'! This is driving me crazy! I understand that your conversational skills might be a little lacking because you're human, but...!"

"I'm fine."

"Aaah!! Stop saying that! What do you mean, you're fine?! Did you make a bet over whether your insides would burst first or mine would?!"

Elphihara shouted and completed her spell.

Their bodies slowly floated upward.

Ivan gave the ruins one last look, then raised his gaze again.

The underground waterway was close. There would be Elizaveta's soldiers at its entrance, and even if there weren't, the route from the waterway to the university was a straight line.

They had reached an area where safety was assured.

"You did well."

"...You did more. I didn't really do anything."

"No. You fulfilled your role."

Finding the seal and interpreting the ancient language. That was all. He had never expected more than that.

So she had done exactly what she needed to do.

Everything else, such as keeping this kid safe, killing the sealed being, assessing and handling the situation, and scouting, had been his responsibility.

Ivan slowly closed his eyes as his vision darkened.

At his words, Elphihara lowered her head again, fidgeted with her lips, and finally spoke.

"Um, about twelve years ago. Back then, you know. That time..."

"..."

"You do... remember, right? Back then, I..."

"..."

"Hello?"

When Elphihara raised her head, Ivan had his eyes closed.

Listening to his steady breathing, she raised a hand and stroked his cheek.

"I'm sorry I couldn't thank you back then. Thank you, for that and for today."

After reaching the underground waterway, she did not dispel the float spell on Ivan. Still held in his arms, she slowly drifted across the waterway with him.

"You worked hard. Sleep well."

* * *

Ivan opened his eyes, clutching his head.

His consciousness surfaced through a throbbing headache.

It felt like a hangover after a night of drinking. Yet surprisingly for this era, Ivan was someone who barely drank at all. Therefore, he had no reason to experience a hangover.

He pushed back the soft velvet blanket and sat up in bed.

"What...?"

A velvet blanket? A bed?

Ivan's thoughts rapidly sank.

A floor covered in red carpet. A bed rippling softly beneath a velvet blanket.

And at its end, the silhouette of someone lying turned away from him.

A woman.

"Mm."

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Footnotes:

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