WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 495: Interlude, One Step Forward (3)

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The blackened sky rippled.

It was like the change that came when a pebble was thrown onto a still lake. In a way, it even looked as though someone were skipping stones across the water. The difference was that there were far too many of them.

Thump, thump, thuuump...

It would look exactly like this if hundreds of people stood in a line along a lakeshore and skipped stones at once. Najin watched the ripples filling the sky. Hundreds of ripples covered the sky.

Every one of them was a sign of magic.

The instant he sensed danger, Najin's eyes became bloodshot. Future Sight had activated on reflex. Yet the ability that had always helped him became a hindrance now.

There was too much to see.

Every ripple was magic.

Well over several hundred spells.

Trying to read the path of every single one overwhelmed even a Transcendent's mind. Enduring the pounding headache, Najin drew his sword in one rough motion. He gripped Excalibur and took his stance.

Boom.

He stamped his foot. Breath leaked through his clenched teeth like steam. With every sense sharpened to its limit, Najin focused.

'It's coming.'

The sky flashed.

Dark crimson light flickered within the ripples overhead, then in an instant, the spells were complete. Hundreds of spells scattering light at once, it was a sight worthy of being called a divine miracle.

"Merlin!"

At Najin's shout, Merlin snapped her fingers. The sight had overwhelmed her for a moment, but she was a Mage as well. As circles spun wildly behind her back, Najin clenched his teeth.

Flash.

A single burst of light.

Thunder crashed. Dark crimson lightning came first, followed by a long, earth-shaking thunderclap.

And thunder always brought rain and wind.

Shhhhhhhhh...

Rain began to fall.

Was that all? Was the spell simply making it rain? Compared to the grand warning, the magic that followed did not seem especially dangerous...

Najin thought that for only a moment, until he saw what happened when the raindrops struck the ground.

Tap.

The instant a raindrop touched the earth, the ground burst apart. Some patches rotted away. Others crumbled into tiny pieces.

Every single raindrop was magic.

A spell that forced the end upon everything it touched.

"...Ha."

A hollow laugh escaped him.

But he had no time to be overwhelmed.

The battle had only begun.

2.

A fierce storm began to rage.

This was only the beginning.

Just as Merlin could make it rain or turn the ground into a lake as soon as a battle began, this was only the stage where Mages created an environment favorable to themselves before the real fight. It was no more than laying the groundwork.

Even so, it was more than dangerous enough.

'They contain the Witch's mystique.'

Those raindrops carried the Witch's mystique. The mystique of the end, the power that declared an end to all things, dwelled within them. Najin swung his sword to create a blast of wind and scatter the drops, but a single stray stream of rain splashed against his body.

Sizzle...

A large chunk of mana was stripped away at once. The starlight surrounding Najin's body bubbled and melted.

If he took the rain head-on, his mana would be rapidly worn down. He could fight through it if he planned on ending things quickly, but Najin knew better.

This would be a long battle.

"It feels awful to have my Territory stolen from me."

Najin was not fighting alone.

"Raindrops? In front of me?"

Merlin lightly tapped Najin's back.

Cold spread outward from his body. The falling raindrops froze in midair. They would not remain frozen forever, but they could buy at least one second.

They exchanged a brief glance.

Then Najin kicked off the ground and began to run. At the same time, Merlin lightly tapped the earth with the tip of her foot.

It was magic that freed them from gravity.

The reason for using it was simple.

'Merlin.'

'Yes, I'm listening.'

With one hand, Merlin gripped the Blue Knot connected between her body and Najin's wrist. It was the point linking them together. A Sacred Object made by the fairy Merlin, designed so that if one pulled the other, they could instantly close the distance between them.

Through the knot, Merlin supplied Najin with mana. She protected his body and used whatever magic the situation required. In return, Najin adjusted Merlin's position by pulling or swinging the knot.

The Mage did not remain fixed in one place.

Knight and Mage moved as one.

They even shared their thoughts, so Merlin and Najin moved like a single body. Skimming across the ground, Najin kept his distance from Merlin. The instant the raindrops striking his body froze, he swung his sword and shattered them.

'The target is...'

Najin's gaze remained fixed on the distant tower.

The tower that touched the sky. It looked like a staircase built for someone to climb to the sky. It had to be the path leading to the Witch.

The target was clear.

The path he needed to take was clear as well.

The problem was that the path would be unbearably harsh. Both Najin and Merlin knew this was only a warning. They knew the real battle was about to begin.

Clap.

Then they heard it.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

Applause. No, more precisely, the sound of hands coming together.

Najin turned his gaze toward the source.

'The statues.'

Those statues again. The grotesque statues filling the wilderness. They brought their hands together, as if praying to the sky.

The instant the sound rang out.

『First, plague shall cover this land.』

A black flower bloomed on Najin's arm.

At once, the future unfolded before his eyes. The flower put down roots in his body. It drained every bit of his life, then bloomed in full splendor.

The instant he saw that future, Najin seized the black flower.

Rrrrip!

When he tore out the flower trying to root itself in his arm, blood and flesh splattered.

『Second, the greatest war shall break out.』

The sound of a war horn rang out. Drums followed, then shouts and screams.

Najin saw kings who had become one with the towers, screaming as they called for war.

Whenever the towers flashed, a rain of arrows poured toward him. Catapults fired from somewhere beyond sight, along with spearheads and attacks in their most primitive forms.

『Third, you shall neither eat nor drink.』

Horrific thirst and hunger crashed over him.

His vision swayed. He almost stumbled for a moment, but Najin tensed his legs and endured.

『Fourth, dreadful death shall come.』

A beam of light fell toward the ground.

It came down for Najin's head like a guillotine. The streak of light, like a farmer's scythe, swung down to harvest his neck.

Slice.

But Najin's neck was not what split in two.

The beam of light was.

Najin had swung his sword and severed it. He let out a short breath and narrowed his eyes.

So she intended to use everything she had.

Plague, War, Famine, Death.

The Authorities that had originally belonged to the Witch had returned to her. The Heralds of Destruction Najin had once defeated now rushed at him with nothing left but their Authorities.

"Ha."

Najin sneered.

He was not weak enough to lose to enemies he had already defeated once.

He uprooted Plague.

He defeated War.

He overcame Famine's hunger and thirst.

He fought Death head-on.

Using those methods, Najin resisted the Authorities. Tricks like these could not stop him. Ten defeats could never equal even one victory, so Najin shook off everything trying to catch his feet and kept moving.

Najin's judgment was correct.

Petty tricks like these could not block his path. They could not make him stop.

But they could slow him down.

That was enough.

Clap.

The sound came again.

This time, Najin did not need to turn toward the statues.

All of them had turned their heads toward him.

The moment his eyes met theirs, Najin held his breath.

Only then did he realize.

They were not statues.

Every one of them was human.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap...

Their act of bringing their hands together was prayer. Prayer was the act of asking a god for a wish. And gods answered human wishes. If that process were condensed into an instant, it became something almost identical to magic.

Their prayers were the Witch's magic.

Applause echoed in Najin's ears. Every time the statues clapped, a spell was completed. The sound of hands striking together overlapped again and again, rising from hundreds to thousands, then tens of thousands.

『The end.』

The statues prayed.

『An end to everything.』

Raindrops had fallen to the ground. Najin had only cut down the drops that came near him, leaving the rest to collect on the earth.

The gathered raindrops became pools, and they remained there without vanishing.

Deep pools, abysses.

Red eyes opened within them.

The Witch's eyes were no longer only in the sky. Her eyes glowed crimson from the abysses rooted in the earth as well.

Then, clap.

In time with the applause, the abysses exploded.

Kwoooooong!

A tremendous blast shook the ground. The pooled raindrops scattered with the roar. Those droplets flew toward Najin like awls.

The flying raindrops, the earth rocked by the shockwave of the explosions, and...

Screeeeeech!

A ripping sound tore through Najin's ears.

More than one spell had been completed. One spell created noise and numbed Najin's hearing. Another burst with light and blinded him. Yet another shook the ground and threw off his balance.

Hearing. Sight. Sensation. Breathing. Balance.

Everything was thrown off, little by little.

None of it mattered much on its own. He only needed to endure. But when all of it piled up at once, Najin's slowed steps finally came to a stop.

"Najin!"

Merlin's urgent voice reached him.

But Najin could not react. More precisely, he could not react to everything. If he cut down one attack, he had no choice but to take another.

Crunch.

Najin swung his sword and split apart the oncoming rain and explosions, but he could not split all of them. A shockwave from the explosion lashed his body.

Raindrops sharpened like awls pierced through him.

『Pray.』

Clap.

『Bow your head before God.』

Clap, clap, clap...

3.

"Go on, pray."

"What's praying?"

"It means putting your hands together and making a wish."

"If it's a wish, who do we ask?"

"You ask the Great One."

The mother smiled as she stroked the child's head. It was still difficult for the child to understand, so the child tilted their head and looked around.

Ascension Land.

Countless towers stood across the wilderness known by that name, and countless people held their hands together in their own ways. Their peoples, races, ages, and genders were all different.

But they all had one thing in common.

They were praying.

Everyone was offering prayers.

The child turned toward where those prayers were directed.

A beautiful woman stood there.

With her black hair falling loose down her back, she stepped onto the staircase leading to the sky. Even the child knew who she was.

The ruler of Avalon, the most beautiful nation.

The King of Avalon, the most beautiful fairy.

A great king who had appeared one day and brought a full stop to a war that had dragged on for so long it seemed it would never end. The kindest, gentlest, and most beautiful being.

As the child looked upon the most perfect being in the world, they unconsciously brought their hands together.

It felt like the only thing to do.

When people stood before a truly great being, they naturally joined their hands and bowed their heads.

"Today is such a joyful day."

The child's mother cried out, overcome with emotion.

"Our king is finally ascending to the sky. Who else but her could ascend to the sky? She is the one who will become the master of the Sky Throne. Our king, who will bring peace and safety to all the world..."

It was not only the mother.

Everyone was moved.

"Peace upon this land."

"Tranquility upon this land."

"Blessings upon the land ruined by war."

All people prayed to the king ascending to the sky. They bowed their heads.

Today would become the most beautiful day.

Everyone believed it without doubt. Humans exhausted beyond measure by war prayed for peace.

But that was the story of those who had survived.

Tap.

Those who had not survived had no tomorrow.

Tap.

Someone turned at the sound of approaching footsteps.

There stood the ugliest being in the world.

The stench of blood filled the air. The smell of burning flesh and rotting corpses stabbed at their nose.

The woman was covered in soot.

Her entire body was covered in scars.

Half her face was ruined by burns.

She looked as though every ugly thing in the world had been gathered together and given form. The woman walked between those bowing their heads.

"A Witch."

Someone spoke in terror.

"A Witch, it's a Witch! Why is a Witch here?!"

There was a woman called a Witch.

She was always where corpses rotted. Her footprints were always found where flames spread. She was always where tragedy occurred.

That was why people called her a Witch.

No one knew the Witch's name.

No one here, except one person.

Except the King of Avalon stepping onto the staircase toward the sky.

Footnotes:

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