WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 46: Shame
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Of course, sleep would not come.
Could they have parted some other way? The thought circled in Yuri’s head before fading away. No matter what Yuri thought, Elena was the one who had declared the end of their relationship.
It was true that Yuri was not Yuri, and it was true that he had begun with a lie and kept lying ever since. Elena could not help feeling betrayed by that, and Yuri had no excuse.
That was simply how it ended. Yuri wanted to cling to and hold on to this relationship, twisted from its very foundation, but he could not bring himself to do so.
“...”
What was he supposed to do now? He could no longer return to Rutlan.
Fortunately, there was nothing in Rutlan that he absolutely had to retrieve. He had packed the immediate necessities, such as a change of clothes, in his backpack for the journey, along with all his martial arts manuals.
The only things left in the room where Yuri had lived for half a year were the letters he had exchanged with Elena, brought from Oldor, and the diary.
“Ah.”
The moment he remembered the diary, Yuri sprang upright.
There was nothing particularly remarkable written in it. It contained only the negative emotions the deceased Yuri had felt.
Among them were the deceased Yuri’s feelings of inferiority toward Elena. Feelings of inferiority toward Elena, who had been recognized by Heavenly Thunder Orca and favored as a mage of the Dersia Mage Tower. Whenever a letter arrived for her, the deceased Yuri poured his feelings of inferiority and other emotions he could not put into his replies into his diary.
Honestly, Yuri did not want Elena to see it. But going back to ask Elena to burn the diary would be ridiculous, and Yuri had no right to ask that of her now.
Whatever its contents, it was a diary left behind by the real Yuri. A keepsake from Elena’s true childhood friend.
“Haah.”
Yuri let out a long sigh and lay back down.
Part of him wanted to sneak into the mansion and retrieve the diary, but he was not confident he could infiltrate an estate protected by so many spells. If he were caught, Elena might truly come to despise him.
‘She’ll handle it herself.’
It bothered him, and he worried about Elena, but Yuri’s own circumstances were more urgent.
‘Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art...’
The Blood Fiend’s mutter before he croaked.
Yuri did not know whether Haryeong had really failed to hear it, but the name Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art left him deeply confused.
For one thing, no skill called Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art existed in the game.
The game could not continue after killing the final boss, the Heavenly Demon. Once the Heavenly Demon was killed, the character was deleted and the game returned to the title screen.
Nor could Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art be obtained through another route. Killing NPCs connected to the Demonic Cult, grinding in related fields, or completing quests would not give him Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art.
There might have been an undiscovered event, but honestly, that possibility was extremely unlikely.
‘If it’s Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, then it must be the Heavenly Demon’s martial art.’
But Yuri had never met the Heavenly Demon. The martial art he had learned was the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, and the person who had taught it to him was Fell Saint Lorelia, a priestess of the Goddess of Order.
‘Is Lorelia the Heavenly Demon...?’
That could not be true. It would not be an exaggeration to call the Heavenly Demon the most famous of the Revered Masters. Everyone in this world knew that he was a man. Besides, the Heavenly Demon and the Fell Saint were plainly listed as separate people among the Revered Masters.
‘Lorelia must be connected to the Heavenly Demon somehow. Could she be from the Demonic Cult?’
Yuri had suspected beforehand that the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil was a demonic art, but he had never imagined it might be Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art.
‘Still, it’s not like just anyone would recognize it.’
The Blood Fiend was an expert who had ranked among the Demonic Cult’s Seven Evils ten years ago. Even that old man only recognized Yuri’s inner power when the inner power Yuri had implanted in him with Sacred Flame Release burst his chest.
Still, Yuri could not let down his guard completely. He should use Sacred Flame Release only when it was absolutely necessary. It was not a martial art meant for frequent use in the first place. It consumed a great deal of inner power because it was meant to kill in a single blow, and failure would put Yuri in danger.
Thinking about it again, Yuri had been lucky in his fight against the Blood Fiend.
“...”
Yuri stared blankly out the window.
What was he supposed to do now? The thought came to him again.
What if he went to the Demonic Cult? Since he had learned Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, perhaps he would receive decent treatment if he went there.
‘As if.’
He did not even know exactly what relationship Lorelia had with the Heavenly Demon. They would probably just kick him around for being a newcomer who had rolled in.
The Demonic Cult was a place where strength was law. Learning Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, or any powerful martial art, would not guarantee good treatment. Instead, the place would likely be crawling with bastards like the Blood Fiend, who would try to capture Yuri alive and pry the martial art out of him.
‘The Righteous Heavenly Alliance... The Black Dragon Society...’
Joining the Righteous Heavenly Alliance after learning Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art would be little different from suicide. If he had to choose, the Black Dragon Society was more appealing.
But choosing one among the hundreds of underworld martial sects was difficult in itself.
In truth, he did not necessarily need to go through a sect. A Black Dragon Society fortress stood at the center of Amyang, and anyone with sufficient skill could join the Black Dragon Society directly.
‘Fourth tier...’
Considering his age, that was extremely high. If he went to the Black Dragon Society as he was, they would likely treat him well as a promising young talent.
Still, he was not particularly drawn to it. The Black Dragon Society was unknown territory to Yuri, and no matter how he looked at it, Yuri was an unknown.
A more fundamental question came to him.
‘How strong am I?’
He had killed the Blood Fiend. Strictly speaking, he had not killed him alone, and the old man had not been in perfect condition. The Blood Fiend had also let his guard down, so Yuri could call himself lucky.
Even taking that into account, Yuri was objectively strong. He was fourth tier, but he could use ganggi, and he would likely gain the upper hand easily against a martial artist of the same tier.
‘Is that really true?’
Yuri’s fatal weakness was his lack of experience.
As the night wore on, Yuri reached a conclusion.
He would become a wanderer.
He did not know how long he would remain one, but he would become a drifter with no ties to any place.
He thought it suited someone who had not been born in this world and had nowhere to return to.
Like most wanderers, he would travel the world first. Living that way would naturally give him the experience he needed.
He could also travel around seeking martial duels, like the Fist Wolf, who had ultimately never become Yuri’s master.
He would gain experience and build his strength.
Then he would kill the Evil God, the source of this entire disaster.
He would return this world, where chaos now held sway, to how it had once been and awaken the Goddess of Order, who had fallen into a long sleep.
They said the Goddess of Order would grant one wish to whoever killed the Evil God. Yuri had never thought specifically about what wish he would make, but after going through this, the shape of one began to form in his mind.
‘Something good for me and everyone else.’
He could not make a simple wish like, “Please bring the deceased Yuri back to life.” If he made that wish, would Lee Su-hyeok, who was now alive in this body, disappear instead?
What about reincarnating the deceased Yuri? Would that not make everyone happy?
‘His age... Is that the problem?’
If Yuri was reincarnated too late, Elena would become an old woman. Was there another way besides reincarnation?
With those thoughts continuing through his mind, Yuri tried to coax sleep that would not come.
When he opened his eyes, it was morning.
He waited for a while, but no one came to his room.
He went down to the first floor and ate a simple breakfast. When he asked while paying, he learned that Elena and Haryeong had already left the inn the night before.
“Should I say that’s just like you?”
Once Elena made up her mind, she acted quickly.
Yuri muttered with a bitter smile.
His wrist could not have healed after only one night’s sleep. He could stay in town a little longer and wait for the injury to recover, but he did not want to.
He was only trying to ignore it, but idly wasting time here was painful for Yuri too. He had only spent a few days here, yet too many memories came to mind whenever he stayed.
He did not want to remain in this town because he kept thinking of Elena acting smug as though she were familiar with a place she had never visited, and Haryeong making pointless jokes in a serious tone, both of whom were no longer beside him.
The Adventurer’s Guild bracelet he had yet to return was still on his wrist. He could not take it with him, so after finishing his preparations to leave, he visited the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Your companion who left earlier asked us to give you something.”
The receptionist stopped Yuri just as he was about to leave after receiving his reward.
“...”
What Yuri received was a small bag worn across the back. It was a magic bag that was smaller than Yuri’s large backpack but had more storage space.
It was the bag Elena had carried beneath her robe. Yuri hesitated before accepting it.
He sat in an empty chair and opened the bag.
There was no letter, but it contained various things. Bandages for wrapping wounds, several kinds of medicine, quite a lot of money, and a book.
The burn ointment caught his eye first.
Then the book.
It was the book Elena had always carried around and written in during their journey to Logos.
Yuri opened it with trembling hands.
<Heinderga Magic Formula.>
The moment Yuri saw the title written on the first page, he unconsciously bit down on his lip as he tried to calm himself. The book contained the three original magic formulas Elena had submitted for the Dersia Mage Tower’s two quarterly evaluations.
1. Chain Lightning.
2. Exploding Thunder Orb.
3. Piercing Flash of Lightning.
A few days earlier, when they had first entered Logos to hunt monsters, Elena had fried every monster that appeared nearby. Yuri could still hear her boasting as she combed through hair ruined by static.
‘It’s called Chain Lightning. What do you think?’
Yuri stared down at the book for a long time before murmuring in a weak voice.
“You should have resented me more.”
The kindness Elena had left him until the very end made Yuri’s chest feel heavy.
* * *
“You could have stayed a few more days.”
Haryeong sat in the driver’s seat and glanced back as she spoke.
As expected, no answer came.
Elena had been like this since yesterday. In the middle of the night, Elena had declared that they were leaving the village, then forcibly dragged Haryeong to the driver’s seat.
Haryeong had complained several times that this was unfair treatment, but Elena had kept her mouth shut the entire time.
Before leaving, Elena had left the backpack she had been using with the Adventurer’s Guild. Haryeong did not know exactly what was inside, but she could guess without looking.
Things meant for Yuri, the transmigrator.
‘Why cut him off if she was going to be so shaken?’
She could have gotten angry, shouted at him, and pushed him away.
Haryeong thought it, but it was not something she should say aloud. She had complained about this and that, but she was worried about Elena too.
Ordinarily, Haryeong’s escort contract should be terminated the moment they returned to Rutlan.
It was not because she disliked being unexpectedly placed in a situation where her life was at risk. Haryeong had contracted with Elena as an escort. As such, she had the duty to protect Elena in any situation.
But in this incident, Haryeong had failed to protect her. The outcome had been good, but they would not even have reached that outcome without Yuri.
The contract should be terminated due to the escort’s lack of ability. Ordinarily, that was what should happen, but Haryeong felt that it should not.
She worried about what might happen if she left that unstable young lady alone.
‘If a former escort target committed suicide, Salhomun’s reputation would suffer.’
Elena probably would not go as far as suicide, but no one could know what people might do. Haryeong took White Fang from her waist, examined it from every angle, and smacked her lips.
‘Perhaps both sides need time.’
There was a saying that the ground hardened after rain.
Whether the ground would truly harden or become a complete quagmire was impossible to know, but Haryeong hoped it would harden.
When they met again someday, she hoped the transmigrator would be a stronger and more steadfast person than when she had seen him yesterday.
‘A transmigrator...’
Haryeong had never imagined that Yuri, that man, could be a transmigrator. She had never known the original Yuri, so she lacked a basis for comparison, but at least the Yuri she had seen did not display the typical traits of a transmigrator.
‘Talent for mana. That is not something you can hide even if you want to...’
But Yuri had succeeded in hiding it.
Looking at the inner power he had shown in yesterday’s fight, Yuri had clearly been concealing his inner power from the beginning. That was not an amount of inner power someone could accumulate merely by taking an Azure Heaven Pill.
‘He did not just fool me. He fooled everyone. How?’
He had fooled the sixth-tier Fist Wolf, as well as Heavenly Thunder and the Moonlit Reveller, who were certainly seventh tier or higher. Haryeong did not know the exact method, but she found it remarkable.
‘Heavenly Thunder...’
Haryeong thought of the master of the Dersia Mage Tower. Heavenly Thunder herself had first held Yuri’s wrist and confirmed that he had no inner power or talent related to it. Later, Heavenly Thunder had even called Yuri aside for an interview.
Had Heavenly Thunder really not known Yuri was a transmigrator? Had there not been at least some suspicion?
Elena had not been as blindly devoted to magic as before ever since Yuri came to the mansion.
It seemed Heavenly Thunder had been concerned about that and called Yuri in. After the interview, Elena had focused on magic again.
With this incident, the person who could be called the greatest variable in the growth of the young mage Elena Heinderga had disappeared completely.
Because of that absence, Elena was now in turmoil. Where would those tangled emotions go?
Toward Yuri, the transmigrator? Toward her former powerless self? Toward the Evil God that had brought transmigrators into this world? Few things were as effective as emotion at fostering intense focus.
Heavenly Thunder, who had lived as a mage for decades, would be able to skillfully steer the young mage’s outpouring emotions.
‘Perhaps Heavenly Thunder might even be pleased with the young lady’s current state.’
What Elena needed now was a goal that would keep her from being consumed by those emotions.
‘Just how did he fool Heavenly Thunder’s eyes? Is that the spiritual ability of Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art? Nothing is known about that martial art.’
Yesterday, Haryeong had lied to Yuri.
She had heard the Blood Fiend’s dying mutter too.
She felt no guilt over lying. Yuri, the transmigrator, had been the one to tell countless lies first.
She had no intention of telling anyone else about Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art, so this much was a very moral lie.
“Hmm.”
White Fang, which she had been stroking in her hand, trembled faintly.
It seemed Yuri was finally moving.
A mischievous curve appeared on Haryeong’s expressionless face.
Footnotes:
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