WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 26: Pelerian of the Lamp

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Zain was dazed.

"Hey, what's with that look on your face?"

"......Pardon?"

"This bastard's completely out of it."

The senior knight who said that gave Zain a firm pat on the back.

The words were rough, but the knight's expression was not.

Within the Iron Lion Knights, Zain occupied the position of something like the youngest member. It was customary for Gunter's attendant knights to be young squires who had not been in the order long.

Zain was the same.

Still an inexperienced brat, but one full of spirit.

No wonder the senior knights found Zain endearing.

"Seriously, you don't look well. You've gone pale. Are you okay?"

Zain had been wounded by the Chimera.

The senior knight assumed that was why.

"Sir Kyle."

Zain's voice was dark.

"May I ask you one question?"

"No, you may not."

Kyle's tone was playful, but his eyes were cold.

"Don't ask."

"......"

"Are you an Iron Lion Knight?"

"What kind of obvious question is that?"

"Then don't forget the precepts."

Bravery, obedience, diligence. The Iron Lion's three precepts.

Zain could not ask the question.

'Why have all the Iron Lion Knights, who should be in the capital, gathered in Greylim?'

That was what Zain truly wanted to ask.

Just as they were about to depart for Akam Basin, Zain learned that Gunter had brought the entire order.

That did not happen unless there was a war.

Surely the Iron Lion Knights were not heading into the Great Forest on an expedition hunt.

What was Gunter thinking?

For some reason, Zain had a bad feeling about it.

So Zain followed the expedition.

No monster at the entrance to the Great Forest could stop the Iron Lion Knights' advance.

At last, they arrived where the Chimera and the elf were.

The terrifying Chimera was lying there, dead in a miserable state.

An elf stood before it.

Zain's unease had grown stronger from the moment Gunter began confronting the elf.

A knight's duty ended with defeating the Chimera. Was there really a need to seize its corpse?

Especially when their opponent was a Golden Leaf Investigator of the elves, someone they could not carelessly make an enemy of.

Yet Gunter chose to confront the elf no matter what.

Why?

"You're evil."

That was how the elf judged Gunter.

Probably only soldiers from enemy nations called Gunter evil.

Yet Gunter did not look offended. He smiled instead.

Then the duel began.

Yes, it deserved to be called a duel.

Aura gathered around the short sword collided with the Aura surrounding the halberd.

Kkaaaaaang!

A deafening roar burst forth.

The shock wave was visible.

The grass around Gunter and the elf flattened all at once.

The wind pressure was savage.

The Iron Lion Knights knew how strong Gunter was.

That was why they were stunned by the elf's martial skill.

Iris held her ground.

Unable to bear the full force carried by the halberd, she did everything she could to redirect it.

Then she launched a sharp attack.

Her broadsword scraped along the halberd's shaft and went for Gunter's neck.

Instead of dodging, Gunter responded by lifting his left shoulder.

The sword struck the lion ornament on his shoulder.

Kagagagang!

It was a single collision, yet a rapid series of metallic booms rang out.

Sparks flew fiercely from the armor.

The lion ornament was completely destroyed.

His shoulder must have been throbbing, but Gunter smiled.

"Can you dodge this too?"

Then he held his halberd horizontally.

It was a stance that seemed wide open.

Perhaps because of the elf's keen instincts, Iris could not rush in carelessly.

Gunter's halberd swept sideways.

It did not seem particularly fast compared to his previous attacks.

But that was only an illusion.

The same move that had severed Medusa Serpent's neck unfolded.

The halberd traced a perfect arc.

Then the space beyond that arc began to split apart.

Moon-Cleaving Slash.

Gunther of Steel's unique skill.

The sound followed afterward.

Kkaaaaaang!

The broadsword, refined with elven techniques, shattered into pieces.

Iris did not die.

Instead, a thin line of red blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

"Oh. You endured it."

But Iris had lost her weapon and suffered internal injuries.

When she spread her hand wide, earth surged up and bound Gunter's entire body.

It was the harmony of the spirits Iris commanded.

Gunter broke free from even that.

When he stamped his foot, a thunderous boom erupted and a cloud of dust rose up.

Gunter charged through the dust and swung his halberd once more.

Iris was too busy dodging.

She drew a dagger, but there was no way she could face a halberd with something like that.

She had been driven completely onto the defensive.

Her life looked as precarious as a leaf in a storm.

* * *

Damn it, the dust was blocking my view.

I struggled to get a clear look at Gunter's status window.

To use Billy's Horn, I had to see my opponent's status window.

But those two were fighting while moving absurdly fast.

Gunter was incredibly strong.

The elf was strong too. Medusa Mom had died in one hit, yet she had endured this long. That alone was impressive.

I wondered if I should borrow the elf's skill instead.

──────────────

【Elf Lv. ???】

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I could not see the elf's status window at all.

Gunter looked stronger, so I had no idea why.

Then borrowing Gunter's skill was my best option.

If Surpassing Horn and Billy's Horn had enough synergy, it might work.

Focus once more......

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【Hero Gunter Lv. ???】......

──────────────

- No!

Damn it.

Pelerian kept making noise beside me, making it hard to concentrate.

- How dare a human attack a Golden Leaf Investigator!

True to his elf supremacist nature, Pelerian seemed unable to tolerate Gunter attacking the elf.

It looked like she was about to die at any moment, but what did he expect me to do about it?

- Snake! Save that elf.

'Excuse me?'

- Go save the elf from the human!

Pelerian looked as though he were making the most natural demand in the world.

It was so absurd that I was speechless.

'How exactly?'

Me? He wanted me to go between them and stop them?

Before asking why, the question was how.

Pelerian seemed to know that too.

- Um, just...... get between them. Well, if you persuade them properly, even foolish humans may understand their sins.

'You crazy bastard.'

- What did you say?!

Was he senile? The nerve of him.

I decided to ignore Pelerian. He raged beside me, but I pretended not to hear him.

Then he changed his strategy.

- I, the Heaven-Defier mage, swear on all my Magical Essence and soul. If you save that elf, I will grant you a wish.

'......'

It seemed he had shifted from commanding me to persuading me.

- A mage's oath can never be broken. And the wishes this Heaven-Defier can grant are limitless. This is an opportunity a tiny creature like you will never receive again!

'Yeah, can't hear you.'

Heaven-Defier mage or not, oath or wish or whatever, there was nothing I could do in the first place.

I did not understand why he was suddenly acting like this.

Come to think of it, he was a lunatic who had been willing to sacrifice elves for his experiments.

Yet he wanted to save that elf?

Did they know each other?

- I will grant you two wishes instead of one. This is my final offer.

Either way, it had nothing to do with me.

Please give up, old man.

- Three! I will grant you three! This is really my limit!

Mental Strength 20 helped with things like this too.

No matter how much he screeched beside me, if I braced myself and got a grip, I could keep concentrating.

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【Hero Gunter Lv. ???】

【Traits】

[Hero]......

【Skills】

[Valarian Halberd Technique Lv. 50], [Commanding the Vanguard Lv. 10], [???]......

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Focus.

Focus.

I had already decided which skill to borrow.

I could not tell what they did from their unusual names, but they all looked incredible.

They had to be on a completely different level from any skill I had.

First, I used Surpassing Horn.

One horn grew hot.

*「With Surpassing Horn Lv. 1, you surpass the limits of the skill 'Billy's Horn Lv. 4.'」

*「'Billy's Horn Lv. 4' temporarily becomes 'Billy's Horn Lv. 10.'」

Billy's Horn had reached Level 10.

Right, now Billy's Horn.

Heat gathered in my other horn as well.

Hup!

*「With 'Billy's Horn Lv. 10,' you borrow the skill 'Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 10.'」

*「You failed to borrow Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 10.」

It failed.

My mana drained away in an instant.

I had only used two skills.

It felt like I could only try one more time.

I concentrated even harder.

My head grew hot.

At last, blood trickled from my nose.

I licked up the nosebleed as it dripped down.

Gunter drove the elf back.

Wounds had begun appearing on her body too.

If she took a proper hit, she would die.

Then Gunter's halberd flashed brightly.

He was clearly about to finish her.

I intended to finish this too.

My mana drained away in a rush.

*「Success.」

Ah, it worked!

*「You have temporarily acquired 'Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 0.'」

Huh? Level 0?

Was the skill's rank too high?

I was not given time to figure that out.

Gunter did not finish the elf.

Instead, he turned toward me.

Only afterward did I realize he had drawn a short spear from his waist and thrown it.

Swoosh!

The short spear tore through the air over my head.

It passed at the height of a standing person's torso.

Kwang!

The short spear pierced through the massive tree behind me.

Gunter shouted something.

Then the Iron Lion Knights, who had been watching, all began running in my direction.

Crap, did he notice that I had borrowed his skill?

None of the other monsters had ever noticed.

My act of borrowing Gunter's skill led to an unexpected result.

The elf, who had been pushed onto the defensive by Gunter, found an opening.

She pulled something from her clothes and tore it apart.

Then she vanished from the spot like a ghost.

Was it something like a Teleportation Scroll?

- Oh! It worked! You saved her!

Pelerian shouted in delight.

Oh, that counted?

- Snake! What method did you use?!

I did not want to answer him, but he seemed to think I had saved her, so I could play along.

And I supposed I really had saved her.

'You'll really grant my wish, right?'

- Hmm......!

'First, get me out of here. Safely!'

Knights in heavy plate armor were rushing at me as fast as galloping horses.

A tiny snake like me would be trampled to death in an instant.

Honestly, I had not expected much from Pelerian's wish anyway.

- Fine. Your first wish has been accepted.

Pelerian muttered some complicated words.

Magical Essence gathered around his translucent body.

He looked as reliable as a genie in a lamp.

- Is east fine?

'Anywhere!'

- Emergency Escape!

Pung!

Then I was launched into the air.

Like a fighter jet cockpit ejecting in an emergency, I shot into the sky while tearing through the air.

It was far scarier than when I had borrowed Flight.

The knights gathered where I had been looked like a swarm of ants.

I had sworn I would never fly again!

* * *

"Hmm."

Gunter let out a low sound.

The elf had escaped.

Did she possess a Magic Tool capable of teleportation?

Even the Magic Tower did not have such an item. As expected, the elves had many things hidden away.

"Commander, will this be all right?"

Kyle, the knight who had remained beside him, asked.

They had attacked a Golden Leaf Investigator but failed to kill her, allowing her to escape.

He was asking whether there would be consequences.

"They are already a declining race. There is no need to worry."

But Gunter answered decisively.

If Gunter said so, then that was that.

Kyle fell silent.

"And we have secured the Chimera."

To think Pelerian's legacy had remained near Greylim.

After returning with the Iron Lion Knights, Gunter had heard about the Chimera from Zain.

It appeared that Greylim Territory had searched for Pelerian's traces several times.

They had even hidden it from the royal capital.

What better fortune could there be?

The Chimera's corpse would become the "justification" for what Gunter had to do next.

'......Evil, was it.'

That was how the elf had judged Gunter.

'Yes, perhaps I am.'

If an evil person was someone who used any means necessary to achieve their goal, then Gunter might already be evil.

And then.

'That sensation from before...'

Something had been watching Gunter.

And it had done "something."

Magic, sorcery, a curse, he did not know what it was......

Before he knew it, he had thrown the short spear.

The knights who had run in that direction returned with awkward expressions.

They had found no trace of anything.

"Enough. Take the Chimera and return to Greylim."

"Yes!!"

Gunter turned around.

There was much to do.

He had no time to concern himself with trivial matters.

Footnotes:

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