WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 508: The End, an End to Everything (8)

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The ideal nation, Avalon.

Named after the paradise from old fairy tales, it was a nation worthy of that name. At the very least, its king spared no effort to make it so.

In place of practical gain, morality.

In place of material abundance, benevolence.

Every law in Avalon revolved around people. Rather than laws meant to preserve the system, its laws existed to protect its people. The citizens were educated and taught to value beauty, and the king never hesitated to reward those whose good deeds became admired tales.

Not everyone was equal as they were in a fairy-tale utopia, but power was granted only to those prepared to take responsibility for more than others.

The nation was governed not by those who wielded power, but by those who bore it as they should. The king personally punished the corrupt, while officials who remained innocent earned honor and became objects of admiration.

"The ideal nation, Avalon."

Someone had said so.

"A dreamer's nation. It doesn't abandon practical gain entirely, but it pursues beauty over material abundance."

As was often the case with dreamers, the rulers of other nations believed Avalon would soon collapse. Just like the many nations that had proclaimed ideals before it, they expected Avalon to disappear into the pages of history.

Yet contrary to their expectations,

"......"

Avalon flourished more with each passing day.

Lucius, its king, used the stamina granted by his powerful body to the fullest as he ruled. Rather than shutting himself away in the royal castle, he traveled the country without rest and never stopped appointing talented people.

He had once been a general, a hero who had put an end to tyranny, so many people admired him. He built the nation upon admiration for heroes and invisible values such as honor and pride.

"Those who know honor and pride are beautiful."

Beauty as a virtue.

"Do not hold back your applause for the beautiful. Make the filthy recognize their own filth. If anyone tries to tempt the good into becoming filthy, I will punish them."

No matter how ideal a system was, there would always be jackals who sought to exploit it. People who saw goodness as foolishness and their own wickedness as wisdom, drunk on their sense of superiority, existed everywhere.

Lucius found them all and punished them severely.

It would have been impossible for him alone, but the Night Fairy stood at his side. With her help, as she read the possibilities of the future through countless dreams, Avalon was able to continue prospering.

"They say there is an ideal nation."

Then the rumors began to spread.

"Every citizen is kind. When floods come, they all join forces to build dikes. When the harvest is poor, they willingly share their food with their neighbors. Their neighbors never forget that help, and repay it the following year."

Rumors of a utopia.

"The powerful do not abuse their power. They neither exploit nor persecute. Whenever they walk the streets, the people applaud them, showering them with bouquets and cheers. Because they are the people's idols."

The rumors of that beautiful nation spread farther and farther. Some were exaggerated, but not by much. The spreading rumors became like a vicious plague.

"......"

Comparing oneself to others was human nature.

"Why are we..."

The people looked upon their own rulers. It was an age of war. An age full of rulers who used war as an excuse for tyranny and exploitation, a terrible age in which humans were not treated like human beings.

In such an era, Avalon's existence was alien.

The plague spread through countless nations. A plague called doubt. Avalon was prospering so beautifully, so why were they, why was their king, not beautiful?

Once that doubt began to spread, it grew beyond control.

As mentioned before, it was an age of war.

The rulers came up with an easy and simple way to deal with this plague. If the problem existed because there was something to compare themselves against, because that nation kept prospering day by day, then all they had to do was erase it.

Avalon was filled with abundant crops. There were even rumors that it had a prophet who could see the future. By comparison, its national strength was not particularly great. The only person they needed to be wary of was its king, Lucius. After all, he had once been a brilliant general who had reigned as the Continent's nightmare.

But no matter how exceptional a general he was, Lucius was only one man.

The rulers knew well how to deal with an exceptional individual. Nations began to form an alliance under a single pretext. The pretext itself was nothing special. They knew the true identity of the Night Fairy, a topic that had once been popular among the powerful.

"Morgan le Fay."

A being unlike humans.

"She is a Witch. A Witch who peeks into people's dreams controls that nation from behind the scenes. Everyone there has fallen into a delusion."

What was different had to be cast out.

"Is it not the duty of us humans, their fellow humans, to wake them from that dream?"

2.

War cries erupted. The clash of spears and swords rang out. Screams echoed, and fires began rising throughout the kingdom.

"Ah."

The inferno devoured the nation. Thick black smoke rose wherever crimson flames ran. Fire and smoke mixed together until it seemed as though a dark red light flickered across the land.

"Ah... ah..."

Morgan watched the kingdom burn. She watched beautiful things turn to ash. She watched the nation and people she had finally, only now, come to love collapse amid their screams.

"Lucius, why?"

Morgan groaned.

"Why are humans killing other humans? Did we do something wrong? Why? Why are they killing and burning their own kind?"

Her eyes wavered.

"Why?"

Her voice trembled.

"Why? Why?"

The future Morgan had seen was limited to the nation called Avalon. If no one from the outside had interfered, Avalon could have remained beautiful forever. She could not understand why everything had begun to burn.

Lucius could not answer her question.

He simply picked up his sword. Gripping the sword he had not held for many years, he headed for the battlefield. To protect his nation, and to help Morgan escape the invaders, he took up his sword once more.

"It is time to keep my promise, Morgan."

"Lucius?"

"I told you that day I would help you leave this nation. It seems that day has come."

"Don't, Lucius."

Lucius smiled.

After entrusting Morgan to the subordinates he trusted most, he headed in the opposite direction from her. He did not stop, not even at her screams and pleas.

"My name is Lucius."

He faced the vast army alone.

"Lucius Artorius Castus."

He had once been such an exceptional general that he was called the Continent's nightmare, a general who had defeated a massive army by himself. Though more than ten years had passed, many still remembered his reputation. That was why they faced Lucius without letting down their guard.

Lucius was still an exceptional warrior.

He killed countless soldiers. He cut down countless generals. Though it had been long since he last held a sword, his Sword Aura had not rusted in the slightest. Yet his body was no longer young, and in the end, he began to tire.

Whoosh!

Perhaps because Lucius's reputation was so well known, the enemy knew exactly how to deal with him. While their generals stalled him, a rain of arrows pierced his body. They wore Lucius down to death as though hunting a beast.

Thud, thud, thud.

Even with dozens of arrows lodged in his body, even as spears and blades pierced him, Lucius never stepped aside.

"Is that man a monster?"

Even those facing him were horrified, but Lucius managed to buy Morgan enough time to escape. As he closed his eyes, he thought that this was enough. He had achieved his purpose, so he could close his eyes in peace.

"Lucius!"

If the subordinates he had trusted had remained loyal to him until the end, perhaps he could have.

"...Why?"

Morgan, who should have escaped, had returned. Not on her own feet, but held by his subordinates. As despair twisted Lucius's face, a general finally cut off his head.

Thump, roll.

Lucius's head rolled all the way to Morgan's feet.

"Ah... ahhh, ahhhhhhh!"

Morgan screamed. Her lips trembled. She collapsed where she stood and held Lucius's head to her chest. With her head bowed, her shoulders shook.

"Why?"

Morgan groaned.

"Why are you taking everything from me?"

The happiness she had barely gained burned away. The dream she had finally achieved became ash. She despaired as the dream that seemed within her grasp slipped through her fingers.

"Why? Why..."

Cruelly, the world did not leave her alone in her grief. The generals jerked their chins.

"Take her away. Burn her in the square."

The kings branded Morgan a Witch. Burning the woman who bewitched humans was the pretext for this war. To fulfill that purpose, she had to be burned where everyone could see.

The soldiers tore Lucius's head from Morgan's hands. The king's head was valuable spoils as well.

"Ah... ah..."

Morgan pleaded for them to return it, but no one granted her request. She was a Witch. They felt not a shred of sympathy for something that was not human, something different from themselves.

As Morgan was dragged toward the square, she thought.

Why?

As she was tied to the wooden post set atop the pyre in the square, she thought and thought again.

Why are you taking everything from me?

Someone set the firewood alight.

Why won't you leave me alone? Did I wrong you? Did I commit a crime? I did not torment you. I did not take anything from you. I did nothing. Nothing at all.

The flames rose.

You.

Morgan's body began to burn.

Why do you burn even your fellow humans? Why won't you let beautiful things remain beautiful? Why did you betray the king who gave everything to you?

As she burned, she thought.

And yet why do you pretend to be righteous? Why do you hide behind the pretext of burning a Witch who bewitched humans? Did I look so wicked to you? Why?

Through the wavering flames, she saw the humans watching her. The soldiers clicking their tongues as if she were something horrible, the laughing generals, the jackals looting the utopia she and her companion had barely managed to build. She took them all into her eyes.

Ah.

She smiled.

If you say I am a Witch.

The fire Lucius had once extinguished flared up again. Feelings she had forgotten for so long, hatred for humans that had never truly vanished, boiled within her.

Then I will become what you wish.

Morgan burst into laughter as her body burned.

Cackle, cackle, cackle.

It was laughter that sent chills down the listener's spine. Even the generals who had been laughing and talking flinched as they looked back at Morgan. A woman bursting into laughter as her entire body burned was more than worthy of being called a Witch.

"It was you."

Then her voice rang out.

"You are the ones who made me a Witch."

Bright red flames and pitch-black smoke.

Red and black.

Within that dark red light, the Witch was born.

3.

It happened in an instant.

The moment dark red light burst forth from the center of the square, the soldiers' bodies caught fire. Screaming as flames clung to them, they rolled across the ground, but the fire would not go out. It slowly devoured their bodies.

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Urgh, argh, aaaaaaah!"

Slowly. Ever so slowly. In the most painful way possible.

"W-What is this..."

"It is a Witch! It is the Witch's doing!"

The generals' eyes widened as flames clung to their bodies as well. Unlike the soldiers, they were strong enough to endure the pain. Gritting their teeth through it, they thrust their spears and blades at the Witch.

But none of it could reach Morgan.

"S-Save me."

As his body burned, a general fell to his knees.

"Please save me. Save me. Please."

Morgan slowly tilted her head as she looked at the pleading general. Her black hair spilled over her shoulder.

"You."

Morgan smiled.

"When I pleaded like that, when I begged you to save Lucius, when I begged your fellow humans for a sip of water, did you grant any of my requests?"

They had not. Not one of them.

"Ask for something worth asking for."

The general's body melted away without retaining its shape. Morgan burned every invader. The fire of those who had burned Avalon now devoured their own bodies and turned them to ash. They were swallowed by the demon fire they had created.

Innate Magic, Execution by Fire.

The magic that first revealed itself to the world was a punishment made of flame. Morgan burned every sinner without exception. A single night was enough for every army that had attacked Avalon to burn into ash.

She did not stop there.

She personally went to visit those who had dared trample upon her dream. Burning everything in her path, she sought out the rulers who had attacked Avalon.

"A Witch! It is a Witch! Kill that bitch!"

She let them struggle and flee, then slowly caught up to them and burned the rulers to death before their people. They had to burn for an entire night in the middle of the square.

"......"

After taking her revenge, the Witch did not know where to go. Wandering without purpose, she returned to Avalon. Though a fair amount of time had passed, Avalon was still covered in ash.

Crunch.

A street where ash lay piled like snow.

Crunch.

Morgan walked barefoot down the street. Nothing remained where the fire had passed. Now she knew what she had to do. She would burn everything in this land. Every last thing, until the human race no longer remained.

"......"

Yet there was someone who stopped her steps.

Morgan saw it.

A corpse that had shielded something with its own body even as it was being roasted by the flames. Morgan knew who the corpse had been. It was a resident of Avalon, a restaurant owner who had always greeted her with a bright smile and served her food whenever she visited.

When she pushed the charred, crumbling body aside, Lucius's head lay beneath it.

The restaurant owner had tried to protect it. The soldiers had thrown the king's head into the flames as they fled, and the restaurant owner had run into the fire and embraced it. He had protected it with his own body. Thus, the king's head was preserved not by his loyal retainer, but by the owner of a small restaurant.

Morgan bit down hard on her lip.

After gathering the restaurant owner's remains, she held Lucius's head in her arms. As she walked through the streets, Morgan began to see other things.

"Ah..."

People looked at her and smiled.

"You are safe."

The survivors shed tears because Morgan had lived, and grieved over their king's death. They willingly gave Morgan their tattered clothes, took off their own shoes, and offered them to her.

They willingly gave what little they had left for the sake of another.

At the end of her walk through the ash-covered land, Morgan found what remained of Lucius's body and collected it. Looking down at him as he lay on the ground, Morgan lowered her head.

"I..."

She looked back on her life.

"I still hate you humans."

Before Lucius's corpse, she spoke to herself.

"You are filthy, vicious, and wicked. You can become cruel without end. You think only you are beautiful and noble, and you so easily persecute others."

She had seen humanity's terrible side. Seen it again and again. Whenever she recalled those scenes, fire boiled within Morgan's heart. It urged her to burn everything at once, to cast every human into a hell of flames.

"You should have killed me that day."

She touched Lucius's face.

"Why did you make me live? Why did you show me a dream like this? Why did you make me hesitate?"

Yet she had also seen it.

Human beauty.

She had come to understand that humans could be beautiful without end, that humans like Lucius existed, that there were humans who bloomed with beauty even in the most desperate circumstances.

It had begun with the forest warden, and ended with Lucius.

"......"

Humans had made her live.

Humans had also made her die.

"What should I do?"

She wanted to burn all humans. She wanted revenge against the humans who had taken everything from her. And she had the power to do so. Her talent, which had begun to bloom, was truly terrifying.

"What should I do?"

At the same time, she wanted to dream. She wanted to see what came after the dream Lucius had shown her. The utopia she had barely gained had been trampled, but if she wanted to build it again, she could.

"For now, it is limited to one nation."

Lucius had once said.

"But if beauty blooms across the entire Continent, would you not be able to love humans then?"

Humans were beings capable of seeing beauty and recognizing it as beautiful. If they lived beautifully, others would come to resemble them. Lucius believed that. That belief had been thoroughly betrayed, yet not entirely betrayed.

"......"

Morgan recalled the people she had seen on the way here.

The human who had given up their life to protect the king's body. The humans who had willingly given her their clothes and what little they had left. Images of humans who had been able to become beautiful, just as Lucius had said, passed through her mind.

Morgan thought and thought.

No answer came.

The scales would not tip to either side. She loved humans as much as she hated them, and found them beautiful as much as she despised them.

"Ah."

After contemplating for a long, long time, she reached an answer. If she could not give up either side and therefore could not choose either one, she would choose both.

"Let us divide."

She would divide herself in two.

"The self that will live in dreams."

And the other half.

"The self that will live in reality."

She was a Night Fairy. Night Fairies were beings who could live within dreams. The fairy who had originally wished to live in dreams had become a Witch in the end. She resented herself for walking out into reality.

At the same time, she was Avalon's queen.

She admired humans. She loved humans. Having come to resemble them in the end, she wished to achieve her dream not in dreams, but in reality. She dreamed of scenes she could never create in a dream, of futures beyond what she could imagine.

Both were herself.

Just as humans possessed two sides, she who had admired humans had come to resemble them and gained two sides as well.

"I only need to divide them."

That was why she decided to divide herself.

The Witch who hated humans.

The fairy who loved humans.

The two halves would each move forward in their own direction, and they would meet again at the end. There, they would make the choice she had put off in this moment.

"Yes."

And then.

"That is what happened."

Morgan le Fay, the Witch of the Abyss, opened her eyes.

4.

When she opened her closed eyes,

a man stood before her, praising the beauty of humanity. The human bleeding beside radiant Stars was beautiful indeed.

That was why all the more.

As Morgan turned over the words Najin had spoken to her, she burst into laughter.

"You said it then. That it is human nature to protect beautiful things."

Morgan sneered as she reflected on her beginning.

"No. You are wrong."

She held out her hand.

"It is your nature to envy beautiful things, resent them, and in the end drag them down and defile them."

The Witch, who had admired and loved humanity but had been forced to hate it just as much, who had ultimately been swallowed by that hatred, smiled. Her laughter almost sounded like a scream.

Black smoke and blazing red flames.

Morgan recalled her beginning, and the first magic she had created. The magic carved into the inner world of every Witch, the source of the vile Miasma borne by the Witches who would be born later. Morgan held that beginning within her.

Innate Magic, Execution by Fire.

At the heart of the Abyss, dark red flames flooded forth.

Author's Note

Nearly two chapters' worth!!!

I packed it in generously!

Footnotes:

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