WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈
Chapter 31: Requiem for a Traitor # 2
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“I’m willing to take an Appraisal Insect Pellet and prove my innocence. What about you?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Gottwald.
His handsome face cycled through several shades of red.
“You want me to swallow poison that might leave lasting effects? Why should an innocent man like me take that kind of risk?!”
Flash.
Sir Gottwald pointed his sword at me.
“Who else would steal it but that bastard?!”
Shing.
Felix drew the sword at his waist.
But his blade was aimed at Sir Gottwald.
“Senior, please take the pellet.”
“You bastard, Felix. You’re saying you trust him over me?”
“You know your attitude right now is suspicious.”
No one said it aloud, but everyone wanted the same thing.
Gottwald gritted his teeth.
“...Fine. Shaman, give me the pellet.”
Swish.
Gottwald held out his hand.
As the shaman offered him the pellet, I suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Wait...”
But Gottwald was faster.
He grabbed the shaman’s wrist, pulled the shaman in front of himself as a shield, and put his sword to the shaman’s throat.
“Don’t move, you bastards!”
I knew he would do this.
Still, the shaman was no easy opponent either.
“That’s what I should be saying, Sir Gottwald.”
“My... body...”
Gottwald’s expression stiffened.
His gaze slowly fell downward.
The base of the shaman’s staff was pinning down Gottwald’s shadow.
“《Shadow Binding》.”
“You... When did you...?”
The shaman held down Gottwald’s shadow and slipped free from his grasp.
Then the shaman calmly asked,
“Sir Gottwald, where did you put the Bloodstone? That is not something to be handled carelessly.”
“Hehehe... It has already left my hands.”
“What? Wait... That means...”
Crack.
It sounded like bones twisting.
When I looked over, Gottwald’s leg had taken a step back.
The shadow pinned by the shaman also moved back a step.
Gottwald was freed from the binding.
“You endured the pain of twisting your bones?!”
Flash.
Something flashed before my eyes.
Shhk.
By the time I came to my senses, the hand that had held the shaman’s staff was rolling across the floor, spraying blood.
Gottwald had definitely cut it off!
I had not even seen his sword move!
“Ghhh!”
“Shaman!”
I was worried for no reason.
The person who was going to buy my jewels at a high price could not get hurt!
But the shaman clutched their wrist and shouted at us instead.
“This isn’t important! Go to the four corners! You must protect my shamanic totems! The Bloodstone can destroy the shamanic totems...”
“Shut up!”
Flash.
The sword flashed again.
Clang!
But this time, a sharp metallic sound prevented bloodshed.
Krrrk.
Sword met sword.
“Felix, do you think you can stop me?”
“This is the perfect chance to test my new sword, you thieving bastard.”
Was I finally going to see a bloody duel between knights?
Even in this situation, I felt a little excited.
Then Hermit grabbed my side.
“Newbie! This isn’t the time for this!”
“Why? What is it?”
“The shaman told us to protect the totems! The missing Bloodstone is probably meant to destroy them!”
Hammer shouted as though angry.
“Explain it simply enough for Yore to understand too!”
“If all the shamanic totems are destroyed, this fortress might collapse! Their side effects will flow back into each other and resonate!”
That was it!
That was what Nihil-Raz had said!
“I can track the totems! We just need to go wherever my stomach feels especially sick!”
We followed Hermit.
Hermit left the tent, looked around, then pointed at the tall spires rising from the fortress.
“East, west, south, north! Four guardian totems at the cardinal directions! Split up and find them! I’ll take the east, Hammer takes the west, and Newbie, you take the south!”
# # #
“Is this it?”
The tall southern spire.
Since the building was tall, it was easy to find.
I was worried the guards at the southern spire would not let me in easily.
I had never had an easy time with entry procedures in my life.
But all the guards at the southern spire were dead on the ground.
It looked like each of them had been stabbed once in the chest with something sharp. Holes went straight through their bodies.
“How much resentment did they have to die with their eyes wide open?”
Rummage, rummage.
I closed the guards’ eyes, then searched their pockets and took their coins.
Clink.
“Hehe. I should take payment for closing their eyes.”
I climbed over the bodies and went up the spire.
At the top, I found a woman facing a massive wooden guardian totem.
She had pointed ears and wore fitted leather clothes.
A long, needle-like sword hung at her waist.
‘Fuck, an Erdari!’
Hostility and murderous intent boiled up inside me.
A suffocating rage took hold of me.
But?
‘She hasn’t noticed me yet!’
I slowly approached the Erdari without making a sound.
Step by step.
“You thought I wouldn’t notice if you came that carefully?”
But just before I came within reach, the Erdari reacted.
My stealth had been discovered?!
“Mine is the best nose among us. Salinor, is that you?”
Oh?
She mistook me for someone else!
Maybe this Salinor smelled nice like I did?
“Come help me. For something made by the Rendo, this is more elaborate than I expected. Even with the Bloodstone, it’s not easy to destroy.”
I held my breath and moved closer.
Then I reached over her shoulder and placed a shuriken against the Erdari’s throat.
“Ugh, what?”
Stab.
The shuriken pierced her throat about as deep as a finger joint.
The Erdari trembled.
Then she turned and saw my face.
Her expression was truly something.
“...A Rendo?!”
“Hehe. Is this your first time seeing a human, you demon bitch?”
What could she do with a blade at her throat?
Even a level 15 knight would hurt if hit in the balls.
Even a demon woman would die if stabbed in the throat.
‘So what do I do now?’
Should I just get rid of her?
That would be good for world peace.
“...”
But something was strange.
The Erdari were butchers who captured and killed humans.
Even with a blade at her throat, she should at least put up some resistance.
“...”
But this Erdari was extremely obedient.
She was even glancing at me cautiously.
I remembered something a Thief had once told me.
“Did I ever tell you how I find a noble young lady hiding among maids?”
When a blade had been held to their throats, the other maids had made a fuss, cried, and screamed.
But one maid had instead grown calmer.
“That girl was the noble young lady.”
“Hehehe. The more someone has to lose, the less recklessly they act.”
This one was the same.
She had a lot to lose.
“You’re someone important among the Erdari, right?”
“...”
Then I had a good idea.
Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will win every battle.
I could capture her and use her to get all kinds of information!
Rope!
With one hand, I skillfully pulled out the rope I had received while exploring the cave from the Black Bundle.
I was supposed to return it to the Lieutenant General, but it was sturdy and tough, so I kept it.
Squeeze!
I tied up the Erdari tightly with one hand.
Only after she was completely tied up did she finally speak.
“Rendo, nothing will change even if you capture me. The other totems should already be destroyed.”
“That’s none of your business.”
I put her into the 「Black Bundle」.
Swoosh.
Even with a whole person inside, the bundle remained small.
What an amazing item!
But at that moment.
Crack, crack.
I heard something like glass breaking.
At the same time, Hermit came up onto the southern spire’s roof.
“Whew, there are no Erdari here!”
“There was one.”
“...Huh? Anyway, there were tons of Erdari on my side, so I just ran. I was afraid I’d get caught and killed.”
There had been Erdari at the totem Hermit went to as well.
That meant there were probably Erdari on Hammer’s side too.
Crack.
The sound of breaking glass came again.
Hermit looked up at the sky with a deep frown.
“The sorcery covering the fortress is breaking apart. I don’t know what will happen, but...”
Crackle! Rumble!
At last, the fortress shook with a sound like thunder.
Then someone down below shouted.
“The pit is overflowing!”
“The night is spilling out!”
“Run!”
When I looked over the railing, black mist poured out from the underground pit beneath the fortress.
Long ago, there had been a flood that caused the sewers in the slums to overflow.
It looked exactly like that.
“I get it! The fortress’s sorcery was a technique that suppressed the night within the Abyss! The fortress was like a lid over the Abyss!”
“If the night is overflowing... does that mean what’s down there is coming out too?”
Giant spiders burst out all around the fortress.
“Kieeek!”
“Argh!”
“Save me!”
The fortress became a living hell in an instant.
From far away, Hammer waved at us.
“Damn it, there were five Erdari, so I couldn’t do anything!”
There seemed to have been plenty of Erdari on Hammer’s side too.
There had only been one on mine.
I had gotten lucky with the draw.
Anyway.
True to being a veteran, Hammer made a quick decision.
“This place is done for! Get Felix and get out of here!”
When we headed to the tent where Felix was, he was kneeling on one knee, blood pouring from all over his body.
And Gottwald stood in front of him, smiling without a single wound.
“This is the difference between level 15, the limit of humanity, and level 16, the realm of superhumans. How amazing could I become at level 17 or 18?”
“So that’s why you joined hands with demons?”
“Yes, I’ll become an Erdari too. They say those bastards don’t even need to use Ether to level up.”
He wanted to become an Erdari?
Traitorous bastard!
Gottwald waved at someone.
“Perfect timing. They’re coming.”
Nearly ten Erdari approached.
“Hey! Just as promised, I stole the Bloodstone and got you into the fortress! So I can become an Erdari like you now... Huh?”
Whiz, thud.
An arrow lodged in the center of Gottwald’s forehead.
It was so fast that even I did not notice it.
“Uh...”
Gottwald collapsed.
An Erdari carrying a massive bow walked over, pulled out the arrow embedded in his forehead, and flicked away the remains.
“Idiot. A soulless Rendo could never become a Shando.”
That traitorous bastard who joined hands with demons.
Good riddance!
‘Now the real problem is us.’
There were plenty of Erdari in front of us and plenty of spiders behind us.
“What should we do with this one?”
“He’s almost dead.”
“He has a lot of sacrifice marks on his body.”
The Erdari had even surrounded Felix.
We could not save him.
I was worried whether we could even get out of here ourselves.
“What about those ones?”
“We should get rid of them all.”
“Give me the mage. I want to dissect her brain.”
“That boy smells strange.”
Squeeze!
At that moment, Hammer gripped their weapon.
“...It seems this is our grave. Still, I’ll somehow get you out alive.”
“Hammer, is that really true?”
“To be honest, I don’t know either. We’ll find out when we try.”
I could feel Hammer’s sincere desire to protect us.
Enough to bring tears to my eyes.
But at that moment, I thought we might all survive.
Because I had a card.
If it was a gamble, it was worth trying.
“Don’t lay a hand on the one over there! Unless you want your precious young lady to suffer!”
A brief silence followed.
The Erdari looked at one another.
“Precious young lady? What does that mean?”
“...Nineveh is not here.”
“...”
The air froze instantly.
Author’s Note
August 28...!!!
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