WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 97: What Matters Is an Unbreakable Heart

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Rosena had been subdued and imprisoned by Bluebeard.

She was locked in a prison meant for holding criminals. It was only meant to hold a few people temporarily, so Rosena was the only one inside now.

Though she had a six-person cell all to herself, it was far from comfortable.

Rosena was the strongest warrior in Red Anvil Mine. She had Mana built up over many years and muscles like steel. Of course, ordinary iron bars could not hold her.

That was why the dwarves had used special restraints.

Her hands had been bound behind her back. The restraints were made of specially refined White Steel, so they would not break no matter how much force she used.

Forced into an uncomfortable position, Rosena had refused food and water for days.

To eat the meals the guards gave her, she would have to lower her head like a dog. She had refused to do that.

Flies buzzed over the rotting food.

Rosena sat with her head bowed, quiet as though she were asleep.

Boom!

The thunderous sound of an explosion reached even where Rosena was imprisoned.

"W-what was that?"

"Water's coming from the ceiling...!"

She heard the flustered guards.

They, too, were people bewitched by fire. Watching them wander around in confusion even now, they looked as though their souls had left their bodies.

Rosena rose and looked outside through the bars.

Water really was pouring down from the ceiling.

Then a white snake fell amid the torrent.

Its body suddenly grew enormous.

Crash!

What a magnificent landing.

"Hahaha!"

Rosena burst out laughing without meaning to.

She had thought there was no hope left. Staring at that orange flame had made her feel as though she, too, would lose her mind.

Yet now water was pouring into these depths.

Rosena's eyes flashed.

With her hands bound behind her back, she plucked out one of her hairs.

Then, using her index finger and thumb, she began twisting it. Her movements were as precise as spinning thread on a wheel.

Rosena's hair had always been thick and strong. Once she twisted it tightly, it became as stiff as wire.

Using only her thumb and middle finger, she pushed the hair into the keyhole of her restraints.

That was right. She was trying to unlock them through sheer dexterity.

It should have been impossible, but Rosena was the Meister of Accessories.

That meant her hands were the most delicate in all of Red Anvil Mine.

Click!

As if it were a lie, the restraints fell away.

The guards saw it too.

"Ugh! Stay where you are!"

"Don't come any closer!"

But why would she listen?

Rather than discard the White Steel restraints, Rosena gripped them like a hook. She caught them around the iron bars, then...

Screeeech!

She bent the bars like taffy and stepped out through the gap.

The guards could neither run nor even think of resisting.

"Hehe."

Rosena gave the trembling dwarves an order.

"Are there any hammers or axes here?"

"Y-yes."

"Bring them."

"Uh..."

Rosena drew in a deep breath and shouted.

"NOW!"

It was hardly strange that the fire-bewitched dwarves briefly came to their senses at her lion's roar.

* * *

It felt like riding a flume ride.

That was what it was like, being carried along in the raging underground current.

Then came the dizzying fall.

Old Man Helmut's calculations had been precise. Directly below us were the deepest level's door and the dwarves.

*「You use Giantification Lv. 1.」

I had to control my Mana carefully.

If I enlarged myself too much like I had in the Shadow Forest, I wouldn't be able to handle my own body. The bigger I became, the more my durability seemed to drop.

I grew to about nine meters long.

Then I fell right onto Bluebeard's subordinates.

Craaaash!

I didn't know what happened to the dwarves beneath me!

They flew away like bowling pins.

A perfect strike.

What I hadn't accounted for was the impact of the fall.

I hoped my scream sounded like a roar.

"Saaak!"

It hurt!

It hurt so much.

Still, I couldn't stay still. I hurriedly moved, shoving the dwarves away.

"C-close the door!"

Even in that situation, Bluebeard gave the right order.

Water was still pouring fiercely through the wide-open ceiling. Drawn by gravity, it flowed straight into the stairs leading to the deepest level.

Following Bluebeard's command, the dwarves tried to close the door to the deepest level.

I couldn't let that happen.

*「You use Beam Lv. 2.」

"Aaah!"

The dwarf trying to pull the chain on the pulley screamed and let go.

Having lost their balance, the dwarf fell over and was swept down the stairs helplessly.

That was one reason I had used Giantification.

The pouring water had risen to the short dwarves' thighs. With the current moving so fast, there was no way they could walk properly.

Normally, I would have been swept away too, but now that I was enlarged, I could move more freely than anyone else.

The dwarves had somehow repaired the pulley I had broken before, but...

Crack!

This time, I broke it just by throwing my body against it.

With the water flowing, it was impossible to close the door to the deepest level.

'Dunkel! Manjin!'

As though they had been waiting, they came running over.

Let's go!

Dunkel and Manjin climbed onto my body.

Before jumping down, I had put everything I had on me into Subspace. The only thing they could hold on to was the Crown on my head.

With a roar, I leaped into the stairs leading down.

"Y-you bastard!"

But Bluebeard jumped onto me as well.

The bastard clung to me, shamelessly grabbing and tearing at my body.

Ack!

Several scales were ripped up.

Normally, bare hands could never damage my Scales, but Giantification must have weakened their durability.

Blood seeped from where the scales had been torn away.

Water poured down the stairs.

I slid down with it.

"Die!"

Clinging to me, Bluebeard pulled out an axe.

He raised his arm, about to bring it down.

I thrashed and swung my tail.

The part of my body Bluebeard clung to rose into the air and struck the ceiling.

Bluebeard hit the top of his head and dropped his axe.

"Kuagh!"

Even so, he stubbornly clung to my body.

He was even trying to crawl little by little toward my head.

"D-Dunkel!"

Manjin cried out in panic, while Dunkel calmly threw whatever he had attached to himself at Bluebeard.

A hand hammer spun through the air, striking Bluebeard across the face.

Bluebeard's nose bled heavily, but he held on.

No matter how many lemons we fed that guy, he would never come to his senses.

Seeing that, Manjin and Dunkel threw every bit of junk they had.

Still, Bluebeard did not budge and kept crawling toward my head.

We were sliding down the stairs at the speed of a water slide, so that was impressive.

In the end, Dunkel and Manjin even took off their shoes and threw them.

"Ugh!"

Manjin's work boot fortunately smacked Bluebeard's fingers.

Once he let go with one hand, Bluebeard could not hold on any longer.

He crashed to the floor.

Dunkel and Manjin grinned brightly.

But it was too soon to celebrate.

"Saaak!"

I warned them there was a rock ahead.

Of course, they did not understand what I meant until I hit it.

Craaaash!

My head did not split open.

Instead, my body flipped through the air like a car in a traffic accident.

Dunkel and Manjin also lost their grip and flew away.

The momentum of being swept down kept me rolling across the floor.

With the water rushing so quickly, stopping was not easy.

Strangely, the cold underground water was warm.

The geothermal heat here must have been no joke.

The lava lake was right ahead.

Sssssss!

An enormous amount of steam was blasting out in front of me.

'Gasp!'

I struck the ground with Tail Strike.

That was not enough, so I sank my teeth into the ground as well.

Grrrkkk!

Barely, I managed to stop just before falling into the lava lake.

What about Dunkel and Manjin?

I couldn't see them.

They must have survived somehow!

I only ran into one unwelcome dwarf.

"Aaaah!"

Bluebeard's head was cracked and bleeding.

He roared in rage.

Water was constantly pouring into the lava lake.

It was so hot that, despite the tremendous amount of water pouring in, orange flames still flashed all the way over here.

Still, no matter how strong the fire was, it had to go out if enough water was poured onto it.

There were elemental advantages, as Pokémon had proven.

'Come at me, Bluebeard!'

Even after the fire went out, Bluebeard did not return to his senses.

No, perhaps he had already gone too deeply mad.

"Y-you...! A mere snake! A lowly creature!"

He raged as though breathing fire...

No, flames were actually pouring from Bluebeard's mouth.

His eyes, which had been black like buttonholes, burned fiercely too.

-The Fire Demon senses a threat and is struggling desperately.

Even without Pelerian's explanation, that seemed to be the case.

Flames spewed from every hole in Bluebeard's face.

They soon spread to his beard and hair.

Calling him Bluebeard no longer seemed fitting. He should have been called Redbeard now.

"Die!"

‘You die!’

I charged at Bluebeard as he rushed toward me.

Bluebeard of the flaming fists threw a blazing punch.

With my enormous body, I could not dodge it.

But if I canceled Giantification, it was easy.

Whoosh!

Bluebeard's fist cut through empty air.

*「You use Heart-Eating Leap Lv. 3.」

As my body became lighter, I became faster too.

I literally shot forward like an arrow.

To eat Bluebeard's heart.

Crunch!

But my teeth nearly broke instead.

The cowardly Bluebeard had been wearing dwarven chainmail beneath his clothes.

Bluebeard tried to grab my body with his burning hand.

I did not want handprints left on my body, so I quickly slipped toward his side.

I had a secret weapon for close combat like this.

*「You use Heavenly Thunder Decree Lv. 1.」

-You fool.

'Oh, right!'

We were underground!

Just as I was about to curse my own stupid judgment...

Crackle!

The sound effect was laughably weak compared to the usual crack of lightning.

Still, blue electricity shocked both Bluebeard and me at the same time.

And since my Lightning Resistance was higher, I recovered first.

Crunch!

I managed to bite his ankle.

Bluebeard screamed.

Yeah.

I think I'm stronger than Bluebeard after all.

* * *

Sssssss!

An immense amount of steam rose.

The water pouring into the lava lake vaporized at once, billowing upward in thick clouds.

The humidity became abnormally high, and steam well over one hundred degrees filled the air.

Dunkel immediately understood how dangerous this situation was.

If that immense amount of steam filled the mine, everyone would die.

It was obvious. The moment they inhaled, their lungs would be cooked.

They had already predicted that pouring water into the lava lake would produce a huge amount of steam.

Normally, though, there would have been no reason to worry.

Ventilation systems were essential in mines. Dwarven mines, which dug far deeper than human mines, had especially impressive ventilation facilities.

If they had been properly maintained, the steam should have escaped through vents leading directly to the surface.

But there was no sign of that happening.

Instead, the entire space began filling with steam.

"At this rate, everyone will die."

Knowing that, Dunkel made his decision.

Manjin sensed something ominous from him.

"Dunkel, what are you thinking?"

"You help the snake."

"Dunkeeel!"

Manjin screamed until his throat tore.

Dunkel had leaped into the scorching steam.

His flesh reddened as though it were being cooked in an instant.

It hurt terribly.

But he could not even breathe.

Holding his breath, Dunkel climbed the stairs built into the wall as fast as he could.

That was where the ventilation shafts and their equipment were.

As expected, they had not been properly maintained, and rust covered them everywhere.

That could never have happened if the dwarves had not been bewitched by fire.

'The valve, I need the valve!'

Fortunately, there was a large valve that could force the ventilation shaft open.

His breath was already at its limit, but he had no choice but to run.

When Dunkel reached out to turn the valve, he nearly screamed.

It was incredibly hot.

Still, Dunkel gritted his teeth and grabbed it again.

Even if the skin tore off his palms, he had to turn the valve.

He strained until the veins stood out on his arms, but the valve would not turn.

Screech, squeak.

‘If only I had exercised more.’

Tears came to his eyes, whether from regret or because the steam was so thick.

That was when a thick hand settled over the valve.

Dunkel turned his head.

Rosena had appeared.

She grinned, then put strength into the hand gripping the valve.

Screeeech!

The stubborn valve began to turn.

Then the enormous ventilation fan activated.

Whoooooom!

The steam that had filled the air was sucked upward.

At last, the environment became breathable.

Rosena smacked Dunkel on the back.

His burned back throbbed painfully.

"Well done."

Her voice was completely hoarse.

She seemed to have inhaled some steam herself.

"Y-yes, th-thank you."

Why were tears streaming down his face?

Dunkel could not help but dislike how small-hearted he was.

Only then did he has enough room to look below.

What about the snake?

What about the lava lake where the demon was said to be hiding?

And what had happened to his father, no, Bluebeard?

The lava lake, endlessly licked by orange flames, had finally gone dark.

Steam still rose, but he could see water pooled there.

Yet one flame still remained.

Rosena muttered.

"Zenzero..."

Bluebeard's body was on fire.

The snake stood a short distance away from him.

The burning Bluebeard staggered, staggered toward the lava lake.

Then, as though it were a lie, he threw himself beneath its surface.

* * *

*「You have extinguished the demon's fire.」

*「You have defeated Paimon's Fire Demon.」

I got it.

*「Your level has increased.」

*「Your level has increased.」

*「Your level has increased.」

...

Definitely!

*「You have acquired the achievement ‘Demon Slayer.’」

Footnotes:

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