WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 98: This Is an Opportunity, to Leave a Deep Impression on the Snake
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Just as a river flowed onward, the world never stopped.
While tragedy struck at the eastern edge of the continent, a princess was born at its southern edge.
Likewise, while Red Anvil Mine suffered through the birth pangs of the Fire Demon, Martein Territory was racing to restore itself amid the chaos.
The Tiger Marquis's death cast a vast shadow over the marquisate.
Gerard Martein had become a Hero through martial strength, but his heroism had not been forged through strength alone. As an influential figure in the Noble Council, he also held a solid political position.
If not for the unprecedented disaster of the Monster Wave from the Great Forest.
If not for the royal family's secret plan to keep the capital from falling.
That Hero might not have died.
Marquis Gerard's death had been a huge blow, but Martein's history and strength remained.
Make Martein Great Again!
The problem was that every direct relative of Martein had died except for Lania, the girl from Greylim Territory.
-It was truly unfortunate. Their banner of never retreating from battle had planted the seeds of this misfortune.-
It was only natural that a power struggle would begin between the marquis's wife's faction and Gerard Martein's siblings, the collateral branch.
Lania Greylim, a girl with a cruel fate.
The girl who had now become Lania Martein.
Her expression was anything but bright.
“Phew...”
The one who sighed as he watched Lania was none other than Oliver.
He had taken shelter in Greylim Territory, but he had never expected things to turn out like this. After safely escorting Lania to Martein Territory, he had planned to quietly disappear.
But seeing her circumstances, he could not bring himself to do that.
She had lost her mother, her maternal grandfather, and the hometown where she had lived all her life.
Her father, the viscount, had fortunately been released, but restoring his ruined territory would likely consume the rest of his life.
The Martein marquisate was currently vacant, and the marchioness was governing the territory as acting marquis.
She claimed that Lania, as Marquis Martein's direct blood relative, was the rightful heir.
Opposing her were Gerard Martein's siblings.
They had originally been collateral relatives who would not have dared covet the marquisate, but they had gathered at the lord's castle under the pretext of restoring the territory. Backed by powerful, elderly retainers, they snarled at the marchioness.
“Poor young lady.”
It was Zain who muttered that.
Though he went by the name Zarein here.
“Zarein, you're the one I feel sorrier for.”
“Why?”
“You could have become an official knight of a famous knightly order, but now you're stuck here playing bodyguard for an immature young lady. You'll probably never use your real name again. If they find out you're alive, they might issue an execution order.”
Oliver and Zain...
In a way, they had grown closer.
They remained by Lania's side, volunteering as her guards. It was because Lania, who had no one left she knew besides Oliver and Zain, had pleaded with them.
Zain, no, Zarein, did not get angry.
Instead, he spoke with a calm expression.
“Well, maybe things worked out for the best.”
“What?”
“It's true that I wanted to become a knight since I was young. But... that wasn't a place where I could become the kind of knight I wanted to be.”
The Iron Lion Knights' three precepts.
Courage, obedience, and Relentless Growth.
He had broken the precept of obedience, so Zain was little different from an expelled knight now.
Even so, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.
“You've got it easy.”
Oliver clicked his tongue.
Standing by in the garden, he glanced through the window at Lania.
She was currently listening to a lecture from a professor invited from the capital.
It should have been a private lesson, but at her uncle and aunt's insistence, their children were attending as well.
Lania was being subtly looked down on by those little brats.
“Things should get better once she enters the academy. I'll stay here until then.”
That was what Oliver said.
Lania had decided to enter School Emerald, the royal academy.
“By then, I'll have done everything I need to do.”
“Do you have something to do after you leave?”
“...”
Oliver did not answer.
Zarein also looked at Lania with concern.
Lania was pinching her thigh to keep herself awake.
“Here's an interesting fact.”
The person invited to give the lecture was Professor Million, an authority on religious history.
Making religious history interesting was no easy feat.
Lania was not curious in the slightest, but she forced herself to look interested.
“Do you know which has the longer history, your family or the Knights of Light?”
The Knights of Light were a knightly order belonging to Martein Territory.
Naturally, it seemed more likely that House Martein's history was longer, but Professor Million would not ask such an obvious question.
'The Knights of Light, probably.'
As Lania thought that, her cousin Hermit, who was sitting beside her, shot his hand into the air.
“Me!”
“Oh, Young Master Hermit. Go ahead.”
“The Knights of Light!”
“Oh! Correct!”
Lania was unimpressed.
For some reason, though, Hermit turned toward Lania with a smug expression.
She wanted to ask what he expected her to do about it, but held herself back.
“Then can you tell us why?”
“W-why?”
Hermit could not answer.
Professor Million smiled as though they understood.
“The Knights of Light originally began as demon hunters. The Church of Light was once the church that fought demons most actively, and House Martein's history began when the captain of that era was knighted.”
It was ancient history that even the members of House Martein did not properly know.
Only then did Lania become a little interested.
“At the time, the first Martein, who led the demon hunters, slew a plague demon that had wiped out a village. He was knighted for that achievement, but he died in battle several days later.”
He killed a demon, so why?
“It is believed that he forgot an old saying among demon hunters. Even after burning a demon to death, one must burn its ashes again...”
Lania had once been very interested in monsters and hunting.
She was interested in demons as well.
“That plague demon was a servant of Asmodeus. The demon noble avenged their servant's death.”
“How?”
Lania was the one who asked.
“All the corpses that had died from the plague demon's disease rose again. Whether you would call it necromancy or zombies... Since you are all Martein nobles, you may one day have to face demons yourselves.”
The one who became marquis would also become the commander of the Knights of Light.
The expressions of those attending the class changed in different ways.
Professor Million looked around at the children with interest, then spoke directly to Lania.
“So remember this. When you kill a demon with a master, be even more cautious about what comes afterward.”
An expert in religious history was also, in other words, an expert in demonology.
“A demon noble may become enraged.”
The professor's voice rang ominously.
* * *
A moment of silence for the deceased Bluebeard.
Still, he was not really someone worth mourning!
I only found that out after the situation had settled down.
When I sprayed a potion over Dunkel's scraped-up palms, Rosena came over and suddenly apologized.
“I'm sorry, Dunkel.”
“...What?”
Amazingly, Dunkel was Bluebeard's son.
That meant he was sort of like a prince.
The fact that he carried Bluebeard's blood had been hidden, but Rosena had a reason for suddenly apologizing.
“About how I never thought well of you.”
“Ah... Well, it's not like you ever did anything to me.”
“Children are more perceptive than adults think. You knew I didn't like you, didn't you?”
“...Everyone was like that anyway.”
“Your mother wasn't a dwarf from Red Anvil Mine. She was a dwarf from outside.”
“...”
It seemed Dunkel had known that much already.
“When Bluebeard returned from traveling outside, he brought you with him. He said you were his child. That was why I left Zenzero.”
That was shocking.
Bluebeard really had been an incredible bastard in more ways than one.
“And then he abandoned you. I should have pitied you, at least. I think I hated you too.”
“Haha...”
Dunkel gave a bitter smile.
That smiling face seemed to make Rosena's heart ache even more.
Rosena suddenly pulled Dunkel into a hug.
“I don't have a son, but I'd like to think of you as one.”
Dunkel stood still, completely unsure what to do.
How nice.
As I patted Dunkel's calf, Rosena suddenly pulled me into a hug too.
“You come here too. Do you want to be my child as well?”
“Hiss.”
Ugh, no thanks.
I'll pass on having a dwarf mom, with a beard and terrifying strength.
The plan to drown the Fire Demon by pouring in water had succeeded.
Bluebeard had jumped into that pit of boiling water while on fire and died.
I had also heard the message saying Bluebeard had been defeated, so it was certain.
Still, perhaps because he had thrown himself in, I did not receive as much Magical Essence as expected.
Or maybe it was because he had already sold his soul to the demon or something.
Anyway, I had just gained a new achievement.
It was none other than ‘Demon Slayer.’
From Guard Captain Slayer to Hero Slayer, and now Demon Slayer.
My achievements were becoming more and more impressive.
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【Demon Slayer】
You have slain a demon for the first time.
You gain resistance to mental attacks when facing demons.
You are not easily corrupted by demonic energy.
You gain favor with the Celestial Race.
You draw the attention of demons.
──────────────
Unfortunately, those benefits were a little disappointing for me.
I was immune to mental attacks anyway.
And that last line bothered me a little...
-Hmm, Paimon, Paimon...
Pelerian kept muttering.
He seemed terribly hurt in his pride ever since his magic on Bluebeard had been broken.
Maybe my trust in Pelerian had cracked a little as well.
-Snake.
That was probably why Pelerian wanted to restore his prestige.
'What is it?'
-Those who can accept risks receive greater rewards.
'Why are you suddenly saying that?'
It seemed like all I had left to do was make the meteoric iron sword, but Pelerian was saying ominous things.
-If that Fire Demon was truly Paimon's servant, there will be repercussions. Paimon is a demon noble who interferes in the mortal world more often than most.
'Then... Wait!'
I moved closer to what had once been the lava lake.
The water had definitely stopped boiling.
It had gradually been cooling, but suddenly it began bubbling again.
“Hissss!”
I warned the dwarves who were resting.
But events moved even faster than I expected.
「The King of the West, Paimon, sets his sights on the Demon Slayer.」
Uh, me?
I felt as though something was watching me.
Then a creeping chill...
「You are immune to mental attacks due to the trait ‘Relentless Growth.’」
It came and went.
Instead, the water pooled below vaporized in an instant.
Then something made of flames rose up.
“Uh, uhhhh!”
It was a monster like a lizard sculpted from fire.
The horrifying part was that its head looked just like Bluebeard's face.
It even had a long horn on its forehead.
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【Paimon's Fire Lizard Lv. 140】
【Traits】
[Madness], [Limited Lifespan]
──────────────
After Kibaemi, this was the second creature with the Limited Lifespan trait.
The thing climbed the cliff at incredible speed.
The dwarves, now back to their senses, screamed.
Thankfully, no one became bewitched by fire again, but even without that, it was a terrifying monster.
“What kind of insane bullshit is this now?!”
Rosena shouted and hurled her warhammer.
It had enough force to shatter the creature's skull.
Thud!
The warhammer buried itself deep in the lizard's temple.
But its skull did not crack open and spill brains.
It did not even seem hurt.
Instead, the hammer lodged in its head slowly melted, leaving only the handle to fall away.
The thing was giving off tremendous heat.
I rushed toward Dunkel.
Even without me saying anything, Dunkel had figured out what he needed to do.
He spun and threw a bucket made from Celestium.
Clang!
It wrapped once around the Fire Lizard's horn and caught.
The dwarves and I quickly grabbed onto the chain.
As expected, the heat-resistant Celestium chain did not melt.
“Aaah!”
The problem was that the Fire Lizard was stronger than expected.
The dwarves holding the chain were dragged along with it.
In the end, most of them let go.
“Chase it! We're all chasing it!”
With Rosena leading the way, everyone chased after the lizard.
And naturally, I was holding tightly onto the chain by myself.
What weak dwarves.
How was I supposed to catch that Fire Lizard?
As I considered several options, Pelerian spoke.
-Let it go. Let it go for now! Let it get outside first.
'Is that okay?'
-If we touch it now, we'll only increase the damage here. If that thing starts rampaging in this enclosed place, we're finished!
That did make sense.
-Let it go for now. Trust me!
Pelerian spoke firmly.
The Fire Lizard began frantically climbing through the mine, seemingly trying to get outside.
But it did not do so quietly.
Dwarves screamed as they fled.
The Fire Lizard spat flames everywhere as it passed.
The fire was so fierce that the mine's buildings and equipment melted in an instant.
'What about that?'
-Some sacrifice is necessary for a greater cause.
Hmm, true enough.
At last, it reached the collapsed entrance of the mine.
The Fire Lizard opened its mouth.
Fwoooooosh!
A pillar of flame burst from its mouth and blasted open the mine entrance.
Bright sunlight streamed in.
The moment the Fire Lizard rushed outside.
I felt a sense of déjà vu.
This was following a similar pattern to when Kibaemi kidnapped me.
-Now!
And one experience like that had been enough.
「You use Giantification Lv. 1.」
As big and heavy as possible.
As huge as Father.
Bigger than that stupid Fire Lizard.
I gripped the blasted-open mine entrance and held my ground.
The Celestium chain pulled taut, yanking on the creature's horn.
Clang!
The Fire Lizard's head snapped sideways and slammed into the ground.
-Demons' servants must be faced beneath the sun.
The lizard that resembled Bluebeard roared at me.
Footnotes:
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