WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 137: The Demonic Crystal Snake
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Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear a hundred battles.
They also say that a lion, king of beasts, gives its all even when hunting a single rabbit.
I was not a lion, but I was no different.
Obern Grimoire.
That handsome, cool-headed blond man was actually far more clumsy than he looked.
Even after learning that, I continued to observe him patiently.
The more I thought about it, the better the situation seemed.
There was no way I could freely control a flawless young genius professor, cold-hearted and gifted in magic.
When I shared that honest thought with Pelerian...
-Even I feel awkward saying this myself, but am I not exactly the image that foolish human wished to create for himself...?
Pelerian asked so seriously that I was taken aback.
-Even under the false identity I used in my youth, I was a distinguished member of the Imperial Academic Society, and I earned a mage's qualifications after only five years of study. Am I not precisely the model that human imitated?
‘Ah...’
-And yet you treat me so carelessly without a shred of fear. I don't understand why someone like that makes you uncomfortable.
I had nothing to say.
The problem was that I had far too much to say, but could not bring myself to say it.
If I spoke honestly, Pelerian might be hurt. That was the problem with this snake's heart being so warm and soft.
‘Anyway, this is actually fortunate.’
From what I had observed of Obern Grimoire, he was remarkably good at acting.
If he had gone into acting instead of becoming a mage or scholar, he could have been a great success. Why had he needlessly chosen the path of magic?
Whether they joined the Magic Tower or entered academia like Obern, mages were essentially scholars and researchers.
Of course, their dispositions determined how they lived. Obern must have been the ambitious type.
Perhaps he could not help it.
He was the child of a fallen noble family.
His eldest brother had become addicted to gambling and been beaten to death by thugs.
His older sister had luckily married well, but cut off contact with her birth family after it fell.
The family had lost its territory long ago, but its spending habits were not so easily reduced.
Obern's mother had collapsed with tuberculosis, while his father lived soaked in alcohol.
Naturally, the couple's hopes had settled on their bright youngest child, Obern.
Even as a child, intelligence shone in Obern's eyes.
He was called a genius wherever he went.
Perhaps he had already learned how to package himself back then.
Or perhaps he really had possessed a fragment of genius at the time.
‘For one thing, he talks to himself a lot!’
When alone, Obern often muttered to himself.
Most of it was regretful stuff like, “Ah, I shouldn't have done that then.”
It made me feel oddly close to him.
“I shouldn't have gone abroad then...”
Obern had gone to study in the Empire before he was even old enough to grow a beard.
His genius seemed to have faded around then.
After that, he built a tower of stones out of bluster and deceit.
He took stones from the bottom and stacked them on top. He stole other people's achievements and claimed them as his own.
His false legend had been built on his natural looks, eloquence, and air of confidence.
After running like that for so long, he had reached a point of no return.
If even one thing was exposed, his entire tower of stones would collapse.
At best, he would go to prison. At worst, an influential person who felt humiliated might have his head cut off.
Fearing that, Obern Grimoire had practically fled back to the kingdom.
A professorship at Emerald School was his hope.
Even if Obern's academic ability was somewhat lacking, it should still be enough to teach young students.
At least, that was probably what he thought.
But how could a life built on lies be smooth?
Obern looked perfect on the outside, but he was rotting within.
That young fraud was being consumed by anxiety.
He had nightmares every day and drank every night to calm himself.
I watched him for a long time, waiting for an opening.
As a terrifying snake.
I would bite that pitiful fraud in the heart and inject my venom.
Several days passed as I remained in the darkness.
It was the night of the twenty-ninth day since my evolution began.
One day before its completion.
‘Become my slave!’
I seized my chance.
* * *
Obern held a glass whiskey tumbler in his hand.
Inside was an amber liquid.
It somehow looked like expensive whiskey, but it was actually cheap rum that cost only a few coins.
It had been aged with oak chips to draw out color and fragrance, cheap liquor that stung like a blade when drunk.
Obern drank it.
Music and laughter from the floor below faintly brushed his ears.
‘Yes, if I can just get the professorship...’
But he was not confident.
What if Headmaster Valanyar attended?
That extraordinary person would see through Obern's mask at once.
Then it would be over. He would fall in an instant.
His rising anxiety made his hands shake.
Without realizing it, he dropped the glass.
It should have shattered with a Crash.
The cheap whiskey should have soaked into the carpet.
But it did not.
The glass stopped just before hitting the floor.
It hung there, tilted as it was.
Was he hallucinating because he had drunk too much?
Obern thought so for a moment.
Then the glass floated back up and returned to the table.
That was when his spine could not help but grow cold.
The pen on the table floated up, then moved on its own and wrote on a notebook.
「Poor, oh poor Grimoire.」
He snapped fully awake.
If this was not a hallucination, then someone was clearly communicating with Obern in writing.
「Run as much as you like. You will be disgraced, and everything will be exposed. Death pursues you. Run to the end, Grimoire.」
His breathing grew rough.
Obern inhaled very slowly.
It was instinctive acting, an attempt to hide that his breathing had fallen apart.
Was someone writing with magic?
Perhaps they were watching him. Perhaps he was being listened to as well.
Obern opened his mouth.
“You are a bold one. Who do you think you are threatening, you lowly thing?”
His voice did not tremble in the slightest.
It was exactly the icy, arrogant tone of the genius Obern, cold enough to frost over.
Whenever he spoke like that, no one failed to grow tense inside.
But who would have thought...
Whooshhh!
The window trembled, and wind blew wildly through the room.
It sounded almost like laughter.
The entire room seemed to be mocking Obern's performance.
「Hahaha, you are like a frightened bird, Grimoire. But only humans can be deceived by your acting. I prophesy this. Until the day you die, you will keep deceiving others, only to have your head cut off in misery.」
Normally, Obern would have calmly continued his act.
He was the sort of person who had maintained his mask even before the Court Count and the Imperial royal family.
But not now.
Someone knew Obern's secret.
There should have been no one in this kingdom who could know such a thing.
Could it be something other than a person? Was it a demon, then?
Had a demon that saw through and mocked his deceit and lies appeared before him?
Obern barely held back his trembling and asked.
“...Who are you?”
「That which crawls in darkness. That which is white and black. The progenitor of sorcery. That which defies the heavens.」
Ah.
He forcibly clenched his shaking hand.
Maybe someone was using magic to toy with him.
That was the rational conclusion.
The pen moved on its own.
Was it a Living Object spell?
Was someone holding the pen and moving it with Transparent Hand? No, surely it could not be such an ordinary, simple spell.
Or perhaps they were controlling it from afar with telekinesis... In that case, there might be a magical device hidden in this room that could see and hear. Maybe they had concealed an insect or mouse as a familiar.
Obern's thoughts spun wildly.
There was only one certain response he could make right now.
Block magic.
Yes, he had an artifact capable of that much.
Since he lacked confidence in his own abilities, Obern was obsessed with artifacts.
He twisted a cubic object he took from his pocket, and it split into four pieces.
Obern scattered the pieces into the four corners of the room.
Rattle...
It was a barrier that blocked mana interference.
It would not last long, but no one outside would be able to use observation magic through the barrier, command a familiar, or cast a Living Object spell.
But...
Scratch, scratch.
The pen moved as if mocking Obern.
「Then I will see you in hell, Obern Grimoire.」
“You, who are you? Are you a demon?”
The pen lost its strength and fell with a Tap.
No answer came.
Obern was terrified.
The only things in the room were himself and the taxidermied crystal snake he had received recently.
After gulping down the remaining cheap rum in the bottle, Obern pulled the blanket over himself and trembled.
He shook like that until he eventually fell asleep.
When he woke, staggering beneath a hangover that felt like it would split his head open, yesterday's note still remained on the table.
「Then I will see you in hell, Obern Grimoire.」
Demonically bad handwriting.
It had not been a dream.
Obern felt an urge to run away.
But where?
There was nowhere for him to run, neither in the Empire nor the kingdom.
His interview was tomorrow.
There were things he needed to prepare today.
He needed to buy magical reagents.
Obern hurriedly dressed himself.
He soon looked neat again, but could not hide the shadows beneath his eyes.
They actually suited him, giving him a decadent air.
He hastily packed his belongings and left the hotel room.
Then he went down to the lobby and said he wished to check out.
“Um, was there perhaps any problem during your stay...?”
“...Hmph.”
All he could do was glare at the lobby employee who asked.
Carrying a suitcase packed with his things, he walked without any destination in mind.
His funds were short, so he had no choice but to go to an inn.
This time, he made sure no one could follow him.
He slipped into the crowd and headed toward the river.
He stopped at an inn that operated a tavern on the first floor.
The moment he entered, he demanded,
“A single room, a corner room. If the room beside it is empty, I'll pay for that one as well.”
“Uh...”
The inn's barmaid stood there with her mouth open.
It was understandable. A noble-looking handsome man unlike any she had seen in her life had come to a place like this.
“No rooms?”
“N-no, we have rooms!”
He entered a room, shoved his luggage inside, and came back out.
This time, he searched the window and ceiling, setting up magical defenses in advance.
No one would be able to eavesdrop from outside or use magic remotely.
He staggered out of the inn.
Now, he just needed to go to a shop selling magical reagents... He needed to buy things for tomorrow first...
Thud.
Someone bumped into Obern.
He was nearly as tall as the tall Obern himself.
A man with brown hair, a confident smile, and slightly drooping eyes.
“Obern?”
“...”
“Well, if it isn't Obern Grimoire!”
What were the odds of meeting a former classmate from his time studying in the Empire in front of a shop selling magical reagents?
“Hey, you bastard... So the rumors were true.”
“...Covent?”
“Covent? Hahaha.”
And what were the odds that the classmate was one of the few people who knew of Obern's bluster and secrets?
“You should call me Mr. Covent. Did you forget because it's been so long?”
“...”
“When I heard you had suddenly become a full member of the Imperial Academic Society, I was shocked. Hahaha, how did you do it? Bribery?”
Instead of answering, Obern asked what troubled him.
“...What do you mean, the rumors were true?”
“Trying to make your voice deep, you bastard...”
Covent said,
“I heard you applied for a professorship at Emerald School. I applied this time too.”
“...”
“How wonderful. It's so good to see you.”
That message came to mind.
「Then I will see you in hell, Obern Grimoire.」
Truly, Obern felt as though he had fallen into hell overnight.
“Let us catch up over a drink! Heh heh.”
Covent put an arm around Obern's shoulders.
Obern staggered as he was practically dragged away.
* * *
The thirtieth day of evolution.
About ten minutes remained until it was complete.
Before, when they looked through the translucent crystal, they said a bright red lump could be seen wriggling inside.
That was no longer the case.
According to Pelerian's description, blood still covered it, but the body had been completed.
──────────────
【Little Prince Serpent Lv. 1】
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While my evolution was being completed, I used Magical Essence to evolve several skills as well.
I had grown stronger.
Now, all I had to do was break the crystal and emerge.
‘A truly demonic snake.’
-Yes, yes.
‘How was that acting?’
-Can writing words even be called acting?
What was wrong with it?
Even a sword debate counted as a sparring match.
Besides, they said imagination was the best graphics engine.
Thanks to my all-out performance last night, Obern Grimoire seemed completely frightened.
I had brought Malphas’s Parchment with me.
I planned to use it to make a contract with Obern Grimoire.
‘I shook him up already, so negotiations should be easier now, right?’
I had used what I had learned about Obern over several days to unsettle him.
He seemed to fear me, so he would not underestimate me just because my body was small.
-This is not enough. To truly make him a slave, you must shatter his mind and reason entirely.
‘Now that I think about it, going as far as making him a slave is a little...’
-What weakness!
‘Uh, anyway, why hasn't he come back yet?’
I said it to change the subject, but it really did bother me.
It was already the dead of night, and outside the window was dark. It was even raining.
Rumble.
It was a harsh night, complete with thunder.
Was he staying out overnight or something? Making a snake worry like this.
Cra-a-ack!
At that very moment, the door flew open along with a thunderclap.
That startled me.
Of course, the one who returned was Obern.
He apparently had no umbrella, because he was soaked from head to toe.
He walked into the room with Squelch, squelch sounds.
He shut the door with a Click, then dropped to his knees.
“Are you still watching me now, demon...?”
What was this? Was it acting time again?
Still kneeling, he clutched his head and bent forward.
Then he began to sob.
“Have I fallen into hell, just as you said?”
Looking closer, something was strange.
Pelerian told me.
-Blood. There is blood on his hands.
‘Gasp!’
Obern had returned with blood on his hands.
He did not appear wounded, so was it someone else's blood?
“I killed him. Yes, I killed Covent.”
He muttered through tears.
Covent? Who was that...?
“I had no choice but to kill him!”
Cra-a-ack!
Thunder roared.
Pelerian chuckled.
-I don't know what happened, but...
His voice was rather sinister.
-This is it. The moment when he has no choice but to sell his soul to a demon has arrived!
Five seconds remained until my evolution was complete.
Four, three, two, one.
I lifted the pen with Transparent Hand.
Crack.
At the same time, cracks spread through the crystal fragments covering my body.
The demonic serpent descends.
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