WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 91: Spell of Destruction (Illustration)
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Bluebeard and his close attendants emerged from the deepest level.
They were the Red Anvil's elite, four Meisters and five powerful smiths among them.
They unwound the white cloth wrapped around their bodies.
Even the temperature in these deep levels was stifling, yet after coming up from the deepest level, it felt almost cool.
The cloth was soaked through.
They made cooling water by mixing cooling stone powder into cool groundwater, then soaked white cloth in it and wrapped it around their bodies.
It couldn't have been good for them, but they couldn't work in the deepest level without it.
The dwarves who entered the deepest level were the Red Anvil's elite.
Warriors among warriors, whose Heat Resistance had risen as high as it could from long exposure to scorching heat, worked alongside Bluebeard.
Even with all their precautions, their faces and skin had been reddened as though cooked.
Bluebeard.
True to his name, the ruler's beard was a striking blue.
Rosena had once loved it, saying it was the color of the sea.
It was amusing, considering none of them had ever seen the sea.
But perhaps because the years had passed.
Or perhaps because he had spent too long exposed to such intense fire.
His beard was no longer the blue it used to be.
It was scorched and curled, with only a faint bluish-black tint remaining.
“Fuuuh…”
Bluebeard let out a deep breath, then finally noticed the commotion.
“What is it?”
“A snake... was looking for you, my lord.”
A young dwarf explained.
“A snake?” Bluebeard muttered as he walked out, and there really was one.
Astonishingly, the snake could speak the common tongue.
A notebook floated in the air, and a pen moved over it to communicate.
Even Bluebeard, who had witnessed countless mysteries, had never seen such a spectacle.
What the snake said was even more surprising.
“Pelerian?”
It was a name he had not heard in an incredibly long time.
Yes, he had made a contract with that Fairy Mage.
Pelerian had been infamous even then, but Bluebeard had been unable to refuse the payment the mage offered.
“A contract violation…”
Only the old dwarves knew the full story of that contract.
The younger ones looked as though they had no idea what the snake was talking about.
The notebook floating in the air flipped pages on its own, then wrote a line.
‘Where is my meteoric iron sword?’
“...Ah, you mean the Celestium sword.”
The Relic Room.
When humans discovered Pelerian's Dungeon, Bluebeard and the dwarves had stepped forward to dismantle it.
In exchange, they had secretly taken the most precious items hidden in the Relic Room.
It couldn't be helped.
Celestium.
They needed that metal, with its absurdly high heat resistance, to mine the Heart of the Mountain.
“This…”
The thing made from it now hung at Bluebeard's waist.
“Are you looking for this?”
A chain and a bucket.
Filthy objects covered in sticky black stains.
That was what had become of the Celestium sword that once boasted such beauty.
My scales darkened completely.
“Kik, kik…”
I roared in fury.
“Kisaaaaaak!”
* * *
Keeeeek!
May divine punishment strike that insane dwarf who turned a sword into a bucket.
I wondered what a dwarf's heart tasted like.
The last shred of reason in me barely held me back.
Right. I just needed to get it back.
I would demand it from that dwarf again.
Melt down that miserable bucket and chain, then make me a proper sword and return it.
As calmly and rationally as possible, I made my demand.
‘Hand over my meteoric iron sword right now! You thieves!’
The dwarves panicked.
Bluebeard neither looked surprised nor tried to avoid the situation.
“Could Heaven-Defier still be alive?”
‘That is none of your concern. I am Pelerian's lawful representative!’
I spoke confidently, just as Pelerian had explained.
‘You are a contract violator. You broke the contract however you pleased and stole the items? Weren't you afraid of the consequences?’
“...It seems to be true.”
Yes, it was true.
“I am sorry. I apologize. Though this is not something that can be settled with a single apology, I cannot return the Celestium.”
‘Then pay the price for violating the contract.’
Bluebeard's death sentence had been handed down.
I was about to speak the contract-violation keyword.
One word that could cast Bluebeard into a state worse than death.
“Not right now. Once the work is finished, I can return it immediately. I will personally make you the finest sword with the best materials.”
‘...?’
“You must be wondering why I went so far as to violate the contract just to reclaim the Celestium.”
No, I wasn't curious at all.
So die already.
“Once you know the reason, even Heaven-Defier will understand. It is the true Heart of the Mountain!”
-Wait.
Pelerian stopped me.
Why?
-Once you speak the keyword, there is no taking it back. Besides, I am curious. Whether that dwarf truly found the Heart of the Mountain. Let us hear him out for now.
Pelerian spoke as though soothing me, which was unusual.
The mage's curiosity.
That was definitely what had been provoked.
“Would you like to see what we are doing with this Celestium?”
Bluebeard made the offer in a dry tone.
I thought about it for a moment.
Then I decided.
‘You'd better not try anything funny.’
“You will understand once you see it. Why I took the Celestium despite violating the contract.”
Bluebeard bought himself a little time.
Yet he didn't look happy about it.
He only shouted with an exhausted face.
“We are entering the deepest level again! Prepare yourselves.”
“My lord, it is dangerous. You only just came out...”
“Prepare the cooling water and cloth.”
His other subordinates tried to stop him, but Bluebeard did not listen.
In the end, dwarves who would return to the deepest level with him gathered.
“Bring Jeremiah.”
Jeremiah was the Meister I was supposed to have met instead of Rosena.
So Jeremiah had been in these deep levels.
Then I saw the dwarf who appeared and was startled.
‘He looks like a complete corpse.’
Every dwarf I had met so far had looked sturdy.
Even Helmut, the old man who raised pigs with Dunkel, had looked strong enough despite his age.
But not this old man called a Meister.
Jeremiah was painfully thin, with sparse hair and beard.
Jeremiah coughed blood.
Anyone could see that the old Meister was on the verge of death.
When I discreetly backed away, another dwarf approached me.
“Stay still.”
Huh?
Then they began wrapping soaked white cloth around me.
I tried to escape in disgust, but it felt so cool that I stayed put.
“The deepest level is extremely hot, so you will need this.”
I see.
They said it was cloth soaked in cooling water.
I had been ready for battle, so that took a little wind out of my sails.
“Open the door!”
Bluebeard shouted.
The dwarves pulled the pulley chains and opened the iron door to the deepest level.
A tremendous blast of heat rushed out.
Aah!
*「Heat Resistance proficiency increases sharply.」
*「Heat Resistance Lv. 12 becomes Heat Resistance Lv. 13.」
My Heat Resistance had leveled up again.
Without the cloth soaked in cooling water, this would have been much harder.
If it was this hot for me, would that old man Jeremiah be all right?
Yet even while being supported, Jeremiah stubbornly descended the stairs to the deepest level.
-The Heart of the Mountain. Does it really exist?
‘What even is that?’
-It is something like a dwarf legend.
Thud.
The iron door closed.
Together with Bluebeard, I entered the deepest part of Calea Mountain.
‘This situation is kind of funny.’
-What do you mean?
‘It just feels like a coincidence.’
After all, I was the Heart-Eating Snake.
* * *
[On the Underground Dwarves Seeking the Heart of the Mountain.]
Do you know the animal called a beaver?
Surprisingly, despite being mere animals, they spend their lives building dams.
They weave together branches to build dams in rivers. No one makes them do it, it is simply instinct.
There probably is no lengthy reason why those animals build dams.
Underground dwarves digging into the earth are much the same.
They wish to mine precious minerals and refine them into even greater objects.
The author believes that the behavioral drive of dwarves who dig ever deeper into the ground is not all that different from that of beavers.
In that sense, the “Heart of the Mountain” resembles a beaver's “perfect dam.”
Dwarves dig deep into the earth, claiming they will find the Heart of the Mountain.
At times, they encounter vast lava fields far underground.
Dwarves believe perfect, pure fire lies within those lava fields.
They sometimes call it Fire Essence, the essence of flame.
Legend says that with it, they can melt and refine every metal in the world, then harden and cool it to create the finest metal.
But there is room for debate over whether it truly exists.
If the Heart of the Mountain really exists, why are there no objects made from it?
Perhaps the Heart of the Mountain is only a legend of dwarves enchanted by fire.
Once dwarves are enchanted by fire, they dig deeper and deeper into the lava fields.
In the end, they burn and sicken from the heat, agitating the lava veins until the entire mine is swallowed by flames. That must be the miserable end of a mine enchanted by fire...
* * *
“It is not mere lava.”
Bluebeard spoke.
His throat had cracked from the hot, dry air.
“I am not an idiot. I would not mistake lava for the Heart of the Mountain.”
Pelerian made me ask, and that was the answer I got.
“The purest fire lies in the lake of lava below. If we dig deeper, we will surely excavate the Heart of the Mountain.”
What did they plan to do after finding the Heart of the Mountain?
When I asked, Bluebeard gave me a look as though he couldn't understand why I was asking.
“We can do anything with it. We will return to the surface with it. A kingdom of dwarves will be born.”
Come to think of it, dwarves had no kingdom either.
Elves at least had the Great Forest and the World Tree as their stronghold, but dwarves lived scattered throughout the world.
“We will bring the Heart of the Mountain to the surface and build a massive furnace. Dwarves from across the continent will gather, to see the Primordial Forge.”
So they weren't digging simply because they enjoyed digging.
Bluebeard had ambitions too.
There was another person with king delusions here, even though Nanaruk already wanted to establish a Goblin kingdom.
“I have no intention of becoming king. I will mine the Heart of the Mountain, then step down. That is my calling.”
If that was true, he didn't have king delusions.
Though he might change his mind when the time came.
Eventually, I reached the center of the deepest level.
Cliffs formed a circle like a huge well, and a lake of lava lay far below.
“The Heart of the Mountain is in there.”
It was incredibly hot.
*「Heat Resistance proficiency increases sharply.」
Even the cloth wrapped around me was growing hot.
Simply being near it made me feel that my life was in danger.
“This is why we need Celestium. Most metals melt the instant they are lowered down there.”
Bluebeard said he had made chains and buckets from Celestium, and hammers and other tools from what remained.
“I will show you how we collect a portion of the Fire Essence. You too must see the potential held by the Heart of the Mountain.”
After having his subordinates hold the chain, Bluebeard threw the bucket down below.
The bucket fell over the lake of lava.
Naturally, it floated rather than sank.
How were they supposed to scoop up the Heart of the Mountain?
Still, that lake of lava looked like ordinary lava.
Just as I thought that, Bluebeard spoke as if he had read my mind.
“Look closely. That is only lava. The Heart of the Mountain is inside it.”
There was something ominous in his voice.
I grew a little wary, worried he might shove me over the edge.
“You must watch carefully. It will only be for a moment.”
“Saak.”
I get it, so don't come any closer.
Pelerian stood beside me and cautiously looked down as well.
-What could possibly be down there?
I could not see anything, so I turned back toward Bluebeard.
He was holding the old dwarf Jeremiah in his arms.
What was he doing?
“You have worked hard, Jeremiah.”
“This old and sick body. I am glad it can be used this way. Cough.”
Blood sprayed from Jeremiah's mouth, but Bluebeard did not care.
“Shall I help you?”
“If you would…”
Jeremiah walked forward step by step and stood at the cliff's edge.
Then something unbelievable happened.
Without hesitation, Bluebeard pushed the sick dwarf over.
The fall was not long.
Without even a splash, the dwarf's body was swallowed by the red-hot lava.
Sssizzle!
Smoke rose from that spot.
‘Wh-What are you doing?!’
I screamed in shock.
But the dwarves did not.
They approached the edge and looked down as though waiting for something rare to appear.
Fwoooosh!
Orange flames surged from the surface of the lava lake.
It was clearly something different from lava.
It was as if a monster from hell were flicking its tongue.
The light pouring out reflected in the dwarves' eyes.
No one spoke.
They only watched the dance of flames with entranced expressions.
Bluebeard finally broke the silence.
“Isn't it... beautiful?”
There was a tremor of tears in his voice.
“Look at that fire. It is the purest flame in the world…”
Beautiful...?
Not at all.
It wasn't beautiful in the slightest. To me, it only looked like fire.
-They are insane. It is Fire Enchantment, all right.
Pelerian clicked their tongue.
Bluebeard, who had seemed normal until now, truly looked mad.
I finally understood what Fire Enchantment was.
-But it is a beautiful flame, certainly...
Pelerian's voice sounded a little strange too.
They watched the continuing dance of flames with a dazed expression.
What was beautiful about it?
No matter how closely I looked, I could not understand that impression.
Then I heard a message I had heard several times before.
*「You are immune to mental attacks due to the trait ‘Indomitable.’」
Ah.
Aha.
Now I understood.
‘That is a wicked fire.’
The dwarves were not enchanted by fire because they were dwarves.
Something beneath that lake of lava was a flame with genuine danger behind it.
“Saak!”
-Gah, you startled me! Wh-what is it?
The negotiations were over.
They had plotted to enchant me with fire too.
Hand over my meteoric iron sword right now.
Bluebeard clicked his tongue.
“To see that beauty with your own eyes and still fail to understand it. You are no more than a lowly creature.”
A lowly creature.
Those were the words I hated most.
“Catch that snake and throw it down below!”
Bluebeard revealed his true colors.
Without delay, I took out my notebook and pen to write the keyword.
Sssizzle!
But the pen's ink bubbled and burned away.
The notebook yellowed, then finally caught fire.
“Get it!”
A dwarf lunged at me in that instant.
It didn't matter if the pen and paper were gone.
I could use another pen and sheet of paper.
“Urk!”
I tied up the charging dwarf's ankle and sent them tumbling.
Over the fallen dwarf's backside, I took out Ashira and swung it.
Scratch, sssizzle, scratch!
“Aaargh!”
The dwarf screamed from the searing pain.
Letters were carved into their buttocks.
Bluebeard read those letters too.
What an idiot. It would not have worked if he had kept his eyes closed.
“Urk!”
Bluebeard's body went rigid.
A rune word of punishment that demanded the price for violating a contract.
I cried it out once more in my heart.
‘Varus!’
Footnotes:
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