WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 19: Lapis Lazuli

──────

Booom!!

The Chimera was caught in the explosion and sent flying.

“It’s strong, but that’s a far cry from martial arts.”

“Martial arts, my ass. All that matters is being good at killing monsters.”

The finishing blow came from a small bomb Elia threw.

“I’ll put an end to the Evil God’s Abyss in my lifetime, no matter what it takes.”

While Elia and Ran spoke, Aren sheathed his sword.

“Aren, are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. Just a few scratches. Besides…”

Aren’s gaze shifted toward the boss room’s door.

“The boss is still waiting.”

The battle hadn’t been as difficult as expected. Elia and Ran were strong, and Aren had done his part as well.

Whenever a dangerous attack came their way, Mine healed them at just the right moments, so no one had suffered any serious injuries.

Now, only the boss remained.

“Let’s go in if everyone’s ready.”

When they opened the door and stepped inside, every party member couldn’t help but marvel at the ruined temple.

Except for Aren.

At the center of the temple, before a bonfire, crouched an armored figure that resembled a knight.

An indescribable light, unlike anything he had ever seen, poured from it.

‘Is that... ash-gray?’

The color was so murky it felt closer to darkness than light, yet the sheer amount surpassed anything Aren had ever seen.

“That must be the boss.”

“Obviously. There’s nothing else here.”

“Saint, please prepare your healing...”

Mine, however, seemed unable to speak properly, as though she had fallen into a panic.

“Ah... ah...”

“Saint? What’s wrong?”

“I’m, I’m sorry... because of me... I...”

Just as Ran tried to check on Mine, the armored knight rose with a creak.

“Ran, Aren! I’ll go first!”

Right after Elia pulled the safety pin from a bomb...

Boom!!

The armored knight vanished from before the bonfire.

“What...?”

The next instant, an ash-gray trail swept past Elia’s eyes.

Slash!

Elia’s body split diagonally.

A quiet voice came from the armored knight, low enough that only Elia could hear it.

“...”

“What the hell... are you talking...”

Before Elia could finish speaking, Elia vanished like an illusion, bomb in hand.

[Group 6: Elia Work Eliminated]

“Elia!”

When Aren turned his head, he saw the armored knight standing with its sword lowered, looking down at Elia.

It looked like a forgotten noble knight offering a prayer over Elia’s death.

“That... was a funeral ritual? Could it be...”

Before Mine could finish, the armored knight’s second slash pierced her chest.

“...”

“...I see... It’s... okay...”

Strangely enough, Mine looked peaceful as she collapsed with those cryptic words.

[Group 6: Mine Rose Eliminated]

Two people had fallen in an instant.

Even then, the armored knight held its sword upright and bowed its head as though praying.

“What the hell is this?!”

Just as Ran tried to rise, Aren’s vision was dyed ash-gray.

‘Too fast! I can’t even follow its movements...!’

A sword descended straight toward his head.

‘Damn it... if it’s come to this...!’

Aren had one final way to block that strike.

A last resort he never wanted to use.

『You already know. That’s the only way to turn this situation around.』

‘No... Never again...!’

Still, Aren desperately ignored the seductive voice echoing through his mind.

Then the armored knight spoke.

“There’s no need to be afraid. It’s your power anyway.”

‘My power...?’

Craaaash!!

With a deafening blast, Aren’s consciousness faded.

[Group 6: Aren Bright Eliminated]

⁎⁎⁎

Aren possessed a special power called the Celestial Extremity God.

It was the power of the seven chief gods, opposed to the Evil God. It was why he could become the final disciple to inherit the Ultimate Divine Sword, and it would be his greatest weapon for defeating the Evil God someday.

Yet in the original story, Aren avoided using that power because it had once run wild and injured his master and family.

Even when the perfect chance came, he’d go, “No! I can’t use this power!” and create countless frustrating scenes.

The same thing had happened just now. If he’d used the Celestial Extremity God from the beginning, he never would have been hit by Instant Kill.

Watching him pull that same frustrating routine was driving me up the wall, so I briefly dropped the boss act and gave him some advice.

He was going to use it constantly later anyway, so what was the problem with using it now?

I’d decided to live for myself too, but I couldn’t deny that the better the protagonist did, the greater the chance of defeating the Evil God became.

In the end, Aren hadn’t used the Celestial Extremity God and had fallen to Instant Kill.

‘Was I sticking my nose where it didn’t belong?’

I looked around.

Elia’s combat power had always been low, so I expected Instant Kill to activate. Mine had no combat sense either, so I expected the same from her.

Still, after stabbing Mine, I remembered she had a trauma trigger.

In the past, she had entered an Evil God Dungeon with her guards and accidentally opened the boss room. All of her guards had been massacred by monsters.

The armor I wore was the same design as the armor those guards had worn around ten years ago.

Seeing it must have brought back her trauma, leaving her unable to react properly.

“I apologize for failing to consider the Saint’s feelings.”

“...I see... It’s... okay...”

It felt like I was repaying kindness with spite, and the guilt weighed on me.

‘I’ll apologize to her properly later.’

After sending the three of them away with Instant Kill, I finally turned toward the one person Instant Kill could never activate against.

“Why do you cut people down and then offer a prayer?”

I didn’t know that either.

Ran Pen.

In a world full of swordsmen, she was one of the few martial artist characters who fought with gauntlets.

Among the early playable characters, her ability to clear ordinary monsters was unmatched.

“If you won’t answer...”

Thud!

Ran stomped her foot and took her stance.

It was the opening form of Fist King’s Five Forms. Any Arts used from that stance had an enormously expanded range.

That was why I always brought Ran along in content where many ordinary monsters appeared at once.

Of course, a wide range meant weaker firepower against a single target.

Just like Eugene, she posed no threat to me at all.

‘After all, Cecilia is my opponent.’

A blue gem appeared above my head.

My turn.

After using Chrono Dive, I carved a weak point into Ran’s side with Carving Sword.

[Weak!]

“Urgh!”

Normally, I could have followed it with Ashen Light and Break to finish the battle.

But...

“Heaven-Crushing Fist!”

Thoom!!

The punch sent me flying backward in an instant, and I came to a stop before the bonfire.

The section of armor that had taken the blow was crushed like a dented can, with smoke rising through the gaps.

“...”

When I raised my head, the blue gem above me flickered and disappeared. A red gem soon appeared above Ran’s head.

‘Oh, that’s how it works?’

Ran’s Abyss Core, [Avenger], had a Unique Ability that immediately counterattacked whenever its user was hit.

It was similar to my Just Guard, except it could only activate after taking a hit.

I had suspected it, and it turned out I was right.

The moment Ran was attacked during my turn, she counterattacked, and my remaining turn vanished.

‘If I’m attacked during my turn, the turn is lost.’

I learned something new.

Ran’s turn.

She threw a punch without changing her stance.

A purple wave spread from her hand.

Wavebreaker. A top-tier mob-gathering Art that sucked in every ordinary monster nearby before blowing them apart all at once.

Gathering around thirty monsters with that and blowing them up was ridiculously satisfying.

‘But can I Just Guard something like those waves?’

Boom!!

‘...I can. It’s hard, though.’

Confirmed.

The purple wave struck the exact spot Heaven-Crushing Fist had hit.

As Ran’s fist buried itself in my abdomen, part of the dented armor burst apart, and agonizing pain surged through my stomach.

But that was as far as it went.

Now that I understood Avenger’s mechanism, there was no reason to drag this out any longer.

My turn.

“Damn...!!”

I immediately drove Ashen Light into Ran and finished her.

“...Do you understand? The Blade of Ruidel, Valhilar.”

I finished her with that parting line.

[Group 6: Ran Pen Eliminated]

“Phew.”

I lowered my sword and let out a ragged breath.

Instant Kill still required me to use my body, so my stamina was starting to run out.

The consecutive battles against Eugene and Ran had been especially rough.

I had even taken a solid hit from Ran.

Still, I had no choice.

It wasn’t just because I wanted to roleplay as a boss and fight the examinees.

I did this to experience the effects of the special cores for myself.

Of course, I knew every core’s functions.

The problem was that I had no way of knowing how they would apply in turn-based combat.

For example, Eugene’s Aegis had never been able to negate weak-point damage, and Ran’s Avenger had never interrupted an opponent’s turn with a counterattack.

The Academy of the End didn’t even have turns in the first place.

I’d vaguely expected it after Renee suddenly awakened, but Aegis and Avenger had special functions added that applied only to me.

To draw those functions out as much as possible, I had to become a threatening boss that forced my opponents to use their abilities.

‘Though I didn’t expect Instant Kill to activate on the other three.’

Suffer now, and suffer less later. That had been my survival rule ever since I fell into this world.

If something went wrong later because I failed to investigate in advance and got myself brutally killed, I’d be far more upset than I was by the pain I suffered now.

That was why my upcoming showdown with Cecilia was so important.

Cecilia’s Abyss Core, [Lapis Lazuli], had the ability to add an ice attribute to her attacks.

No matter how I thought about it, though, there was a high chance that ability would apply to me in some completely fucking awful way.

So I sat before the bonfire again and waited for Group 10, Cecilia’s group, to enter.

Whether it was good luck or bad, no one from Groups 7, 8, or 9 reached the boss room.

Thanks to that, I could recover from the injuries Ran gave me and catch my breath.

Then, Group 10’s entry finally began.

‘It should take at least two hours to get here... but since it’s Cecilia, let’s say one hour.’

Just as I thought I could loosen up in the meantime...

[Group 10: Brennon Thorwick Eliminated]

[Group 10: Edella Linford Eliminated]

[Group 10: Gareth Mordel Eliminated]

“?”

They had just started. How had three people already been eliminated?

Although it was based on the Beast Dungeon, they should all have basic combat ability. Were they really getting cut down by ordinary monsters?

That wasn’t the end of it.

[Group 10: Corbit Hellan Eliminated]

....................

............

......

...

The examinees were being eliminated far too quickly for it to be monsters.

I was almost certain. No, one hundred percent certain.

‘There’s one crazy bastard in there.’

When the number surpassed thirty, one final name appeared, enough to make my expression beneath the helmet turn sour.

[Group 10: Cecilia Ren Eliminated]

“What the fuck?”

No, what was this?

Cecilia had been one of the strongest candidates to take first place in this exam. Even if she lost to me, she would have taken first place.

And she had been eliminated?

Who eliminated her?

“Oh my. Isn’t that Sir Halibal?”

At that moment, a familiar yet utterly unwelcome voice echoed from the door.

“Ah, just as I thought. Sir Halibal was the boss of this dungeon. I’ve done something awful to Cecil.”

I knew who it was without turning around.

‘A variable.’

In the original story, Cecilia really had been a bitch to the point that she was known as the “cold ice princess.”

Yet I had never once gotten that feeling from this world’s Cecilia.

As I thought about why, the same idea occasionally came to mind. Maybe saving Senia was the first event that shattered the original story.

According to the original plot, Senia would have died to the Human-Faced Spider.

Then Cecilia would have lost not only her nursemaid, but her older sister as well, and would have spent many years without them.

The chill of that hellish time would have been enough to freeze her heart solid.

But I had saved Senia.

And Cecilia had formed a connection with me.

As a result, instead of a cold ice princess, Cecilia had become a tsundere unable to be honest about her feelings.

That left one question.

Senia Ren.

What the hell was her deal?

I knew nothing about her. She had already been dead before the game began in the original story.

“How did Lady Senia know I was Halibal?”

“Ahaha, we often met while I was with Cecil.”

Senia said with a bright smile.

“Over time, I naturally memorized all of Sir Halibal’s habits.”

Was that really something you could call natural?

Common sense really is dead.

“The angle at which your right arm twitched as soon as you heard my voice was unmistakably Sir Halibal.”

“...You don’t have to call me sir.”

“Should I not? Then I’ll call you Halibal.”

It was obvious, but I asked just in case.

“Did you eliminate every examinee?”

“Yes.”

“Lady Cecilia too?”

“Of course. There was no one in our group who could face Cecilia except me.”

Senia answered far too calmly.

She had cut Cecilia down.

The expression on her face was exactly like the one she had worn when peeling an apple for me, enough to send chills down my spine.

“Why did you do that? You could have passed without going that far.”

“Because I decided to.”

That confirmed it.

‘She was crazy.’

I had thought Senia was the kind young lady and Cecilia was the one with a rotten personality, but it turned out Senia was the crazy one.

Duke Ren had clearly raised his children wrong.

“But I’m so glad Halibal happened to be here.”

“I’m extremely confused, myself.”

“Ahaha, actually, I wanted to be in the same group as Halibal for this exam.”

“Were you going to eliminate me too?”

“Rather than that...”

Senia’s clear eyes turned toward my chest.

“I was going to take Renee back.”

“Why?”

“Somehow... I thought that if I had Renee, Cecil might only look at me...”

In other words, she seemed to believe that if she held Renee, Cecilia would challenge her to get Renee back.

Grinding Cecilia into dust to achieve that seemed completely backwards, though.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t hand this over.”

“No. I decided that I would take Renee from Halibal.”

“If deciding something meant it would always happen, I wouldn’t have anything else to wish for.”

Instead of answering, she drew the sword at her waist.

“Then I have no choice. I’ll defeat the boss as planned and finish this exam.”

A blade with a blue glow.

Azure Night, the sword Cecilia had used in the original story.

‘Was that originally Senia’s sword?’

At that moment, ice crystals began blooming beneath her feet.

It seemed Azure Night wasn’t the only thing Senia possessed.

“Lapis Lazuli.”

Fucking great.

Footnotes:

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