WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 152: Salmun 4
──────
Dersia Mage Tower, Rutlan.
Though she had a home of her own, Lacey had recently been living at the Mage Tower. The spell formula she had been engrossed in was nearly complete, and her research materials and facilities were all at the tower.
Lacey Yuzha’s mornings began with a cup of strong black coffee and a newspaper delivered at dawn, read while sitting in a chair bathed in the warm, fresh morning sunlight.
“Cough! Cough! Hack!”
This morning, just as it was about to begin the same way, Lacey accidentally sprayed out her coffee.
It was not because the coffee was too hot or too bitter. Even as she suffered from swallowing it wrong, Lacey stared wide-eyed at the newspaper.
Bodies believed to be Cloud Dragon and Sword Dragon discovered in the Rift of Kang Yu. The Sect of Earth states that it is not certain, but the Three Heroes definitely entered the Rift and never came back out...
“W-What is this?”
Lacey shot to her feet. Only a few weeks ago, she had communicated with Yuri, that man. He had died in Gangyu?
Of course, they were only “believed” to be the bodies, and it was supposedly not certain. But the article was too shocking.
‘That man died?’
Yuri.
A man who clearly knew he was a Transmigrator, yet refused to admit it and pretended not to know with almost absurd stubbornness. A man who might, just might, be that hateful UrMumSpammer.
‘Really? In Gangyu, of all places?’
She could not believe that he had died in Gangyu. The Rift was certainly dangerous, but the man she had seen was not someone who would die in a place like Gangyu.
He had survived fighting the Evil God’s Saint. Had he died fighting mere Rift monsters?
‘And he was not even alone. He was with Sword Dragon?’
Wait, then what about Dark Blossom? Lacey hurriedly checked the newspaper again at the name that came to mind too late. The bodies believed to be Cloud Dragon and Sword Dragon consisted only of body parts, while not even a piece of Dark Blossom had been found.
Given the location, it was thought likely that monsters had eaten her.
There was also speculation that, since the Three Heroes were too strong to die in Gangyu, perhaps there had been internal strife...
“Internal strife?”
Lacey let out a hollow laugh. One never knew what could happen between people, but the three she remembered were not the sort to sincerely try to kill one another over infighting...
‘It says they are only believed to be dead. It could just be a mistake. There is no way that man died in Gangyu...’
There had to be at least a small possibility, or such speculation would not have made the news. Lacey stamped her feet anxiously.
She would not call them close friends, but they had spoken a few times, and they had risked their lives together in Alderan.
More precisely, Lacey had unilaterally entrusted her life to Yuri.
And if Yuri, that man, was UrMumSpammer...
‘I haven’t even gotten my revenge yet...!’
There were too many connections between them for her heart to settle. She did not believe he could be dead, yet the mere possibility made it feel as if her chest were being scraped by a blade.
“...Wait.”
Lacey’s face went pale. This was not the time for this. Someone else would be affected by this newspaper article more than anyone. Lacey hurriedly threw on a robe and ran from her room.
On the top floor, which she rushed up to without permission, Mage Tower Master Orca Dersia wore an exceedingly rare expression.
Put crudely, she looked like she had eaten shit.
Since Orca usually wore an easygoing or sly smile, that expression looked especially strange on her.
“Tower Master?”
Orca was reading the newspaper with that unfamiliar expression. Only then did Lacey understand why Orca looked that way. They had both thought the same thing.
“...Hm.”
After rereading the newspaper several times with that shit-eating expression, Orca crumpled it in both hands and tossed it behind her. She looked at Lacey and forced a smile onto her still-stiff face.
“We’re fucked.”
It was far too vulgar a thing for a great mage and Mage Tower Master respected by countless mages to say, but no words better described Orca’s present situation.
Elena Heinderga was staying at the Ascard Family estate.
Thunder Prison was a magical learning device jointly created by Orca and Alfreon. As long as its subject could endure it and had sufficient drive, it could induce revolutionary growth.
There were various risks, and it could involve immense pain, but as expected, Elena had taken a liking to Thunder Prison.
Of course, liking it did not make the risks disappear. Elena was staying at the Ascard estate so they could respond if anything went wrong.
Thunder Prison forcibly attuned Soul Power to magic. It made one experience and understand magic first, forcibly developing the soul in the process.
Thunder Prison itself had safety measures, but there were still risks, including pain accumulating in the mind, an unstable mind running wild, and unforeseen side effects.
The days immediately after leaving Thunder Prison were especially dangerous.
That was why Elena spent each day in the underground workshop of the Ascard Family estate, balancing the mismatch between her body and Soul Power, taking stabilizers, and living in a protected room equipped with safeguards against rampages.
She was not imprisoned. Elena herself acknowledged the risks, and if they observed her for about two days and determined that she was stable, she would be free to go outside.
She could ask for anything she wanted.
Asking for reading material like newspapers during the few days she spent in the protected room was nothing unusual.
“Good thing you came before I had to contact you.”
When they reached the estate, Alfreon greeted Orca and Lacey with a creased expression.
Lacey had visited the Ascard estate before, but this was her first time in its underground workshop. She swallowed as she looked around the underground space, which was too vast to gauge.
“What happened?”
“As you can see.”
Clicking their tongue, Alfreon raised their cane. A nearby door swung wide open and connected to the workshop they wished to enter.
Thunder Prison floated in the center of a pure white space, but Lacey could not spare it a glance.
Her eyes were fixed not on the black cube, but on the room beside it, separated by a transparent glass wall.
No sound could be heard. Beyond the clear glass wall, there was only gold.
It was light, but perhaps because of the glass wall, it did not hurt her eyes even when she looked directly at it. It simply looked as though a mass of color were boiling and shifting.
‘Lightning?’
Enormous bolts of lightning kept bursting within the glass wall. Only then did Lacey realize that Elena stood at the center of that lightning.
The color was so intense that Elena could not be seen at a glance, but when Lacey focused, she could see Elena crouched at its heart, clutching her head.
“She won’t listen no matter what I say.”
Alfreon clicked their tongue and shook their head. Orca, still glaring at the glass wall with that shit-eating expression, spoke.
“The newspaper says Estor Orsia’s body was found as well. Is that true?”
“No.”
Alfreon immediately denied it.
“As soon as I heard the news, I contacted the Orsia Family. Fortunately, I was told that the Orsia heir is safe.”
“What happened?”
“It seems the head of the Dang Family took the family head’s younger sister and tried to kill Cloud Dragon and Estor.”
Orca let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.
“They did something insane. So Cloud Dragon is safe too?”
“They both nearly died, but they are safe.”
At those words, Lacey let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, that man had not died. She had naturally believed he would not, that there had merely been some mistake. Still, hearing it stated so firmly put her at ease.
“...Then why is she like that?”
Orca’s expression had eased a little, but she soon frowned again as she looked toward the glass wall.
If Yuri had truly died, Orca would have been in serious trouble.
Yuri was the reason Elena was driving herself mad over magic. Yuri was also the source of the motivation that allowed Elena to endure the painful Thunder Prison.
If Yuri died, Elena could redirect her goal toward killing the Evil God and making a wish to the Goddess of Order. But then Elena would become too extreme, and there was a high chance she would grow so unstable that balancing her would become impossible.
Fortunately, Yuri had not died. He had nearly died, but he was alive. She would not listen even when spoken to? Clicking her tongue, Orca approached the glass wall, and Lacey cautiously followed behind her.
Up close, Lacey could feel just how intense the lightning inside the glass wall was. The wall, made from a material Alfreon had personally created, was shaking.
Lacey swallowed at that power. She and Elena were equal in tier, but Lacey keenly felt the difference in their strength.
Leaving aside their understanding and depth of magic, if they tried to kill each other, Lacey was not confident that she could withstand that lightning.
“Elena.”
Orca placed a hand against the glass wall and spoke. The raging gold abruptly stopped and was drawn into the center.
Elena was suddenly standing right in front of the glass wall. With cloudy, bloodshot blue eyes, she glared at Orca and spoke.
“Please let me out.”
Lacey looked at Orca in disbelief.
“Is she being confined?”
“When her condition is unstable, there is no helping it. It would be a problem if lightning started erupting in the middle of the city.”
“That is... true, but...”
It was a valid point. Unable to say more, Lacey worried her lips and looked at Elena. Even though Lacey stood right before her, Elena did not look at her or acknowledge her presence.
“Yuri is all right. You heard it from Alfreon, so why are you acting like this?”
“I want to see for myself.”
Elena answered immediately, without hesitation.
“Yuri nearly died. This time too, he nearly died. And Haryeong... was kidnapped by the Dang Family too.”
Gold flickered in her bloodshot eyes. Orca stared at them for a moment before speaking.
“You want to see for yourself? How?”
She swallowed the sigh rising to her throat.
For Orca, the ideal situation for raising her disciple was for Yuri, the object of Elena’s obsession, to remain at an appropriate distance where he seemed within reach but could not be reached.
Distance in tier, distance in emotion, and physical distance. In such conditions, Elena could pour all her obsession and emotion into magic.
From that perspective, Yuri going to the Eastern Continent across the Central Sea had been a great boon for Orca as well.
“And there is no need to see for yourself. An unconfirmed false rumor spread, that is all. Yuri is fine. The Sword Emperor has guaranteed that he is safe. As for Haryeong being kidnapped, the Sword Emperor has stepped in to resolve that. So...”
The words were useless.
Orca saw her disciple’s face and became certain. Nothing she said would matter to Elena now. The obsession and madness that Orca had taken note of were manifesting in a form she did not want.
“I cannot send you alone.”
In the end, Orca let out a short sigh.
“The attunement induced by Thunder Prison has not stabilized. If you move alone while in such an emotional state, the imbalance between your soul and consciousness might make your body explode.”
Lacey could only catch her breath at those words. An imbalance between the soul and consciousness. That alone was enough to understand how Elena had trained in magic over the past year.
Lacey glared at Orca openly, unable to hide her contempt. Orca ignored the look and answered.
“So I will go with you.”
“...All right. Are we going by Thunder God’s Mirage?”
“Even I cannot cross the distance to the Eastern Continent over the Central Sea using Thunder God’s Mirage. We will leave as soon as preparations are complete, so calm your emotions and consciousness for now.”
Elena said nothing more and nodded. She steadied her breathing, then dropped heavily to the floor.
Orca watched Elena for a moment before turning and leaving the room.
“Prepare an airship.”
“Are you really going to the Eastern Continent?”
“If I don’t, she’ll break beyond repair.”
“What about restraints?”
“They aren’t necessary... No, they will be necessary. I’ll balance her, but the more safeguards there are, the better. Do you know where the Dang Family is?”
“I do.”
“If the Dang Family is destroyed, will that trouble the Ascard Family?”
“We have dealt and traded with them for quite some time, but after they attacked the Pride, they are not worth discussing.”
Alfreon answered without hesitation and waved their cane. Space split apart, and a small box fell into Alfreon’s hand.
“Give this box to Estor.”
“What is it?”
“It is the artificial spiritual elixir used by the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds, which Estor asked me to verify.”
Orca accepted the box without asking more.
Alfreon left to prepare the airship, leaving only Orca and Lacey.
“It seems I’ll be crossing the Central Sea for the first time in decades. Well... I haven’t rested at all lately, so perhaps I should think of it as taking a trip. The Dersia Mage Tower will manage itself even without me.”
“...”
“Are you disappointed that you can’t come? Would you like to come along?”
Orca’s voice reached Lacey, who was staring at the closed door. Orca unbuttoned her shirt, her expression holding the familiar ease Lacey knew.
“...Did you force magic into her?”
“I helped her understand it efficiently.”
As if she had expected the question, Orca smiled and answered.
“How is that any different from making Elena into an incarnation of you, Lady Orca?”
“You are deeply mistaken. Even if she inherits all my magic, her consciousness remains Elena’s own. That is why I spoke of the danger of imbalance.”
“This method limits magic’s potential, Elena’s Mental Image...! It makes her walk only a predetermined path...”
“She can reach the end of the magic I pursue.”
Orca’s voice did not waver.
“I do not intend to say that the magic I pursue is absolute truth. Do you think I do not know that magic is limitless? The more one knows of magic, the less one can be arrogant about it.”
“...”
“You and Elena seek different things. You enjoy the process of learning and understanding magic so much that you want to see the end with your own magic. But Elena does not. That child does not enjoy magic the way you do. To Elena, magic has only been a means to prove her own excellence and worth.”
“That is...!”
“I do not think that approach is wrong. Is only enjoyment pure? Greed, ostentation, and madness can be pure too.”
Orca’s smile remained intact.
“What Elena wants now is power. That is why I proposed this method, and Elena was satisfied. As you said, this method limits Elena’s Mental Image. But once she walks a set path and gets on track, Elena may open new paths herself. Can this be called a problem, or wrong?”
Orca whispered to Lacey, who could not offer a rebuttal.
“That is the arrogance of youth. Of course, I do not dislike your arrogance and stubbornness. That is why I keep you close. Lacey Yuzha, I find your attitude toward magic lovely and endearing. It is a purity that comes from having talent. So you only need to carry your own will through.”
“...I...”
“But if you wish to force that method on others, you must at least be able to prove that your way is unquestionably right. That is still beyond you.”
Lacey bit down on her lip and lowered her gaze. Orca placed a hand on Lacey’s hunched shoulder.
“I hope you will continue loving magic as you always have. You too have ultimately learned Dersia magic, and one day you will reach the same realm as I have. I look forward to the day when your magic becomes a wonderful stimulus for Elena. And one day, it will be recorded for future generations in the Akashic Records that you and I create.”
“...I do not understand you, Lady Orca.”
“Am I such a difficult person? I am simply a mage. One full of pride in the path I have walked. One who once despaired at magic’s limitless nature. I am an ordinary mage who uses all those experiences for the sake of her disciples.”
Orca chuckled and whispered in Lacey’s ear.
“But I hope that neither you nor Elena become ordinary mages.”
Leaving those words behind, Orca removed her hand from Lacey’s shoulder. She stood before the door to Elena’s room and looked back at Lacey.
“It seems you will not be coming to the Eastern Continent, so I can leave the Dersia Mage Tower in your hands without worry.”
“Why ask me? You could ask the senior elders.”
“They have no talent beyond shutting themselves away to research, so you are more reliable.”
Orca chuckled, opened the door, and entered. Lacey stared at the closed door, then let out a long sigh and roughly scratched her head.
Honestly, she did not know. Orca was not wrong. If anything, she was entirely right. That was why Lacey felt even more uneasy...
‘Still, if Elena meets Yuri, that man, in person... she’ll be better than she is now.’
Lacey took comfort in that thought.
* * *
“...What did you just say?”
At a small inn in the middle of the road, Biyeon, who had been struggling to eat thin noodles beneath her mask, shot to her feet. Adjusting her mask, she strode toward the wastrels drinking in broad daylight at the table behind her.
“Say that again...!”
A woman wearing a pure white, faceless mask had suddenly approached them.
What was more, the companion seated across from her wore lavish black ceremonial robes embroidered in gold, with a horned ghost costume head pulled over their head...
The wastrels were not known for their gentle tempers, but even they could tell that this bizarre group, which looked like some theater troupe, was not actually a theater troupe. Their presence was anything but ordinary.
“W-What are you talking about...?”
“Cloud Dragon! What happened to Cloud Dragon?”
Biyeon snapped, eyes wide behind her mask.
“Ah... Cloud Dragon? Well, you see, they say Cloud Dragon and Sword Dragon died in Gangyu.”
“They died...?!”
“Y-Yes, though it is not certain. They say body parts believed to be Cloud Dragon and Sword Dragon were found in the Rift of Kang Yu.”
At those words, Biyeon felt all strength leave her legs.
She had left Sinjeong to fight Cloud Dragon, and now Cloud Dragon was dead? Not knowing what to do, Biyeon abruptly turned to look at Black Ghost.
“...What?”
Recently, Black Ghost had seemed strangely cheerful.
Until they left Sinjeong, she had complained about having to serve and guard the Young Cult Leader as soon as she returned from the Extreme Demon Fortress, where she had been shut in for three years. Yet now that they had left Sinjeong, she seemed happy. She laughed idly at every opportunity and drank heavily at every meal.
“W-Where, where did you say?”
If Cloud Dragon had truly died, there was no choice but to return to Sinjeong. Perhaps because of that, Black Ghost rose abruptly in great alarm.
“Gangyu?”
Black Ghost’s voice rose sharply.
“Cloud Dragon and Sword Dragon died in the Rift of Kang Yu...?!”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
