WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?
[Translator – Aren]
◈ Chapter 363 Even though The Right Eye Cannot See (4)
“Uwagh! Agh!”
Deathbringer rolled across the snow to avoid the black mist seeping through the crack. He forced his frozen legs to move through sheer will.
His body feeling like it was falling apart was just in his head, but if his head actually went rolling off, that wouldn’t be in his head anymore. That was how he managed to move. Clumps of snow stuck to his clothes, falling off whenever he moved.
“C-Can’t this blade at least work on you, you crazy bastards?!”
-Huuuuuaah!
“Ugh!!”
Strictly speaking, it wasn't completely ineffective. It staggered them a little, but what good was that if he couldn’t kill them? And it wasn’t like there was only one enemy after him.
“Shit!”
They had no eyes, so smoke bombs were useless, and no respiratory system, so poison powder was worthless too.
The one consolation was that they weren’t particularly fast, so if he ran with everything he had, he could shake them off…but even that meant little once there were enough of them to surround him. As long as he couldn’t get rid of them, their encirclement would be complete sooner or later.
“Goddammit!”
The moment he reached that conclusion, Deathbringer found himself in a very difficult position. It was the same helplessness he always felt, now mixed with irritation, sadness, and frustration.
Everyone else is handling all the dangerous things, and I can’t even do this one thing? Damn it, I can't even manage something as simple as delivering an item?!
『You’re the only one here fast enough to reach the Dragon.』
The Mister decided to place his trust even in someone like me……!
『I’m counting on you.』
Deathbringer gritted his teeth and threw himself into another forward roll. Black mist poured down like a waterfall behind his body as he leaped as far and low as he could.
Splash!
The substance with water-like properties spread in every direction the moment it struck the ground. The difference from actual water was that instead of soaking into the snow, it rose back into the air.
And if he had to add one more thing, the black mist, which had been larger than an ordinary one, split back into three.
“Haah.”
Deathbringer let out a sigh without realizing it as he watched. Seriously, now they can merge too? Behind that sigh was the bitter realization that this ability had made up for their lack of speed.
Shaakh!
But not completely.
Clinging to that one fact, Deathbringer swung his blade. Afraid he might lose it with even the slightest mistake, he had tied it to himself with a cord, and now both blade and arm tore through the air together. It was less swordsmanship than a reckless attack, wildly swinging an extension of his arm.
Huooooh.
Still, if the ends justified the means, then making even one of the mist creatures lunging at him recoil was enough. Deathbringer swung his cloak and stirred up a gust of wind.
The mist, which had no mass and therefore couldn’t be struck normally, was also easily blown away. It scattered backward with a whoosh. By the time it gathered itself together again, he would already have put more than ten steps between them.
“Where the hell is this Dragon supposed to be……”
But one problem only led to another. The moment he cleared one crisis, another was there to greet him. Six mist creatures had crawled out from somewhere and now stood ahead of him, effectively surrounding him.
“Damn it……!”
How do I get past those? He still hadn’t tested what would happen if he made direct contact with one or passed straight through it. Was this finally the time for him to take that gamble?
Fwoosh!
Just as Deathbringer’s thoughts began leaning toward taking the risk, something burst out from beneath the snow. It was white, but noticeably more distinct in color than the snow itself.
Chomp!
If he had to describe its texture, it was probably bone. But could there even be a living creature made entirely of bone? More importantly, why was that thing helping him?
While Deathbringer’s instincts moved to give him an answer, the shark-like creature darted wildly across the snow, savagely chomping through the mist creatures. It made all the time he’d spent worrying about how to break through them feel ridiculous.
In an instant, the path he needed to take was open.
“Ah!”
Whatever that thing was, this wasn’t the time to stand around watching.
Snapping back to his senses half a beat late, Deathbringer cautiously began moving his legs. He was being careful in case the bone shark decided to turn its attention toward him.
Crunch!
Hwuoooooh!
But the bone shark focused solely on the mist, letting him slip away with ease. Apparently it had dealt with everything ahead as well, because nothing remained on the path he needed to follow.
"What the hell is even going on……?”
He still had no idea what the bone shark was, but if it was helping him, that was good enough for him.
Deathbringer hurried across another black river. The vicious cold seeped all the way into his bones, but he somehow endured it. He was so out of breath that the edges of his vision began to break apart, flickering white.
"Ah!”
Then just as his body was screaming that it had truly reached its limit, a mound finally came into view at the end of the black river, a hole gaping in it like the open mouth of a stingray.
There! Deathbringer realized it instinctively. That’s where I need to go.
He somehow pushed strength back into his collapsing legs. His body had turned purple all the way to his ears, and he was moving across the snow at a pace that could no longer really be called running. Clack, clack, clack. The cold had seeped all the way into his brain, making his teeth chatter uncontrollably.
“Please…….”
There’s not much farther to go. So please, just let me make it there.
Deathbringer forced his dimming eyes wide-open and put one foot in front of the other. But whether the mound was farther away than he’d thought, or his brain invaded by the cold had simply fooled him, it refused to get any closer. It felt like he was walking in place.
“Why……?”
I’m almost there. It really feels like I’m almost there.
He closed his eyes as the world tilted. By the time he managed to lift his heavy eyelids again, the whole world was lying on its side.
Ah. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve told them to send Inquisitor Daniel instead. In a world where even the breath leaving his mouth froze, Deathbringer’s fingers trembled. The fingers in his vision were clearly moving, but he couldn’t feel a thing.
His pale face twisted.
“Just a little…farther……”
Why couldn’t he use Arcane Power? Why hadn’t God granted him even a little Divine Power? If the answer was simply that he lacked faith, then fine, he had nothing to say to that, but still.
He was trying this hard for the sake of the world.
“Damn it……”
Tears welled up from the misery rising up inside of him. Even those froze almost instantly, stabbing at his eyes and making him feel even worse.
The frozen tears were painfully sharp, like shards of an awl. They were horribly disgusting, just as his tears would be if they ever reached the Adventurer.
“I don’t want to stop here.”
But how was he supposed to stop himself from crying? He knew he could only live by cutting away his own flesh, but what was he supposed to do when the pain scared him too much to bring himself to wield the scalpel?
“I don’t want it to end here……”
He didn’t want to part ways. He didn’t want to call this the end.
Call it unreasonable or childish whining, but he couldn’t help the way his heart was being eaten away by the desire to remain connected, even by the thinnest thread, by the wish that this wouldn’t be the end. Everyone wanted to put off a definite ending for as long as possible because they hated the thought of it becoming real, right?
“Goddammit—!”
I’m jealous of the ironwall. I’m jealous of Inquisitor Daniel. Honestly, I’m jealous of everyone who gets to stand beside them. Because how can they be so strong? How did they ever become that strong?
No matter how hard I try and try, I’m still weak.
“Until the very end……!”
Deathbringer forced his trembling legs back under him. The skin torn by the frozen tears bled in tiny drops, but he felt no pain. This place was far too cold for something so minor to register.
“I don’t want to disappoint him until the very end!”
Clack, clack, clack. The snow that swallowed sound stole his tears and blood in place of his shout. He didn’t care. Those were things he could give away as freely as needed. His legs shoved aside those petty thieves and carried him forward.
Fwoosh!
“W-woah!”
Then the snow beneath his feet suddenly bulged and shifted before something burst out. It was the bone shark that had been mercilessly tearing apart the mist creatures.
“Waagh!”
But it hadn’t appeared to stop him.
Just as Deathbringer lost his balance from its sudden appearance and began to fall, the bone shark’s flat back caught him and immediately started swimming across the snowfield. The sharply protruding fin on its back made for quite the good handle.
“Wh-what the hell?!”
F-Fast!! Deathbringer’s already pale face went even paler as he instinctively clung to the fin. In some way, that might not have been the smartest decision.
Apparently deciding he wouldn’t fall off even if it sped up, the bone shark accelerated even further.
“Uwaaagh!”
The bone shark swam through the snow like water and reached the mound in an instant. Only then did he realize just how far away the mound had actually been. Up close, what he’d thought was a hill was closer to a proper mountain.
Naturally, the hole inside of it was enormous too.
“Huff, huff.”
I would’ve died 100% if I’d walked here. Deathbringer reflexively opened his mouth as the entrance drew closer. “Peh, peh!” He had to close it immediately when snow kicked up by the shark flew into his mouth.
“Th-thanks.”
Anway, he’d made it here alive thanks to the bone shark. The moment they reached the hole, Deathbringer climbed off as the shark slowed down. Crunch! Without even waiting for him to finish thanking it, the shark disappeared back beneath the snow.
“What even was that……”
Maybe that Noble Dragon or whatever sent it? He convinced himself with that plausible hypothesis and squeezed himself into the hole. The air seeping out from inside was warmer than outside, making things a little more bearable.
“Ouch…….”
Correction. This wasn’t pleasant at all. As his frozen body began to thaw, all the pain that had been delayed came rushing in at once. His hands and feet tingled, and his head spun.
“C-could’ve taken me all the way inside……”
If it was because the shark had no eyes, then there was nothing he could do about it, but it was still a shame. Deathbringer shivered violently as he pushed himself farther inside, one step at a time. Eventually, his legs were so drained that they didn’t even have enough strength to support him, so he had to practically crawl.
His body, little more than dead weight now, wriggled like a worm as he entered the hollow farther inside.
“Ah…….”
And there, at the end, Deathbringer saw it.
A gigantic dragon, its milky-white body tethered to the surrounding walls in every direction, black blood streaming from around its heart as it slept.
The being they had come searching for so they could return its heart.
* * *
It wasn’t until my Arcane Power had fallen below half that I finally admitted it. This wasn’t going to work. Even Flash Strike’s firepower wasn’t enough to stop that thing.
“…I don’t think we can keep this up.”
I didn’t want to admit Wrath was right, but I really didn’t think this was going to work. The mobs just kept multiplying, and none of our attempts to stop the beast’s true body were making the slightest difference. There was no denying it anymore.
“Wizard, do you have any ideas?”
And that thing only had its head out right now. Yet it was already tormenting us this badly with its tentacles.
What happens if its whole body gets out? How are we supposed to deal with that? We probably can’t, right?
"Even with all your knowledge, is this really the best we can do?”
Using logic that had no real basis but also wasn’t particularly easy to argue against, I predicted our future and urgently pressed Aerotelk. At this point, I couldn't care less about their identity. If they really were the person I knew, things would get pretty awkward, but that awkwardness mattered a hell of a lot less than my life.
"....It isn’t as though there’s absolutely no way to land a proper hit on it.”
"I won’t blame you for only mentioning it now. What is it?”
"It’s......."
Even now, I knocked aside and cut down incoming attacks as I waited for Aerotelk’s answer. I didn’t press them any further because I understood they weren’t staying quiet because they didn’t want to talk. They were too busy fending off attacks themselves.
"To do it, you’ll have to use that precious Arcane Power of yours to draw the magic circle I tell you to. Perfectly. Not even the slightest error.”
"All I have to do is draw that magic circle?”
"Yes. Normally, it would require an incantation and calculations from whoever draws it…but there’s no chance in hell you can do that, so I’ll include those in the magic circle too.”
"Then there’s no problem. I’ll do it.”
"...Then form this point on, I’ll draw the formation on the snow. Watch me and copy it exactly.”
Wait, uh…is this magic circle so big it has to be drawn on the ground? It’s not small?
"...I’ll try.”
Can I actually do this? No, before that, is it even possible to draw a magic circle while knocking aside every attack flying at us and dodging all the summoned cosmic specks?
I swallowed hard as I watched Aerotelk drive their sword into the ground. I knew this was our only option, but damn, this raid was hardcore. I felt like I might actually cry.
"Adventurer!!”
No. We still had hope.
"I’m here! I’ll join the fight!”
"I’m sorry I’m late!”
Our jumbo-sized kimchi dumpling and its deliveryman are here!!
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