WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 136: Javert’s Iron and Justice (3)
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“Are you Student Viktor?”
“...Pfft.”
Javert’s question sounded almost like she was speaking to herself.
I merely let out a short laugh.
I neither confirmed nor denied it.
It was a response deliberately crafted to be interpreted either way.
“Who knows... I wonder.”
Javert suspected that the intruder before her was me.
But she still wasn’t certain.
She hadn’t gotten a proper look at my face.
My build, manner of speaking, voice, everything about me was entirely different from the boy named Viktor.
“Why? Do you hope I’m not that student?”
“Answer the question.”
All she had to support her suspicion were the hunches and suspicions she had accumulated over a long time.
Her mind was probably a mess right now.
I made a show of fluttering the edge of my robe.
Her green eyes were calm, but a faint tremor clearly lingered within them.
“Well... are you going to keep standing there? I’m starting to think it’s time I ran.”
“I will not permit it. You will not take a single step beyond Floor 80.”
“Oho, and who decided that?”
“This isn’t about what I want. It’s principle.”
“You really do obey that damned principle well.”
Whoooosh-!
The lights surrounding us swirled more fiercely.
Before I knew it, she had lowered herself as though she were about to launch forward, one fist aimed at me.
“By the way, I still haven’t heard your answer.”
“I will not permit any further conversation.”
“What will you do if I’m one of your students? Will you kill me without asking questions then, too?”
“Nothing changes. Whoever you are, there can be no exceptions when enforcing principle.”
“What a dreadful educator.”
“I will resume the execution.”
Kwang-!
She kicked off the ground, and the delayed roar echoed across the floor.
Her flying red hair moved too fast to follow.
A white flash drove into my abdomen.
I had to defend on instinct before I could even process it.
I barely raised the spine of my dagger and narrowly blocked her fist.
“Urgh...!”
Tooong-!
A terrifying burst of sound scraped against my eardrums.
The recoil sent me flying backward.
Tap-.
Javert caught up with me even then.
Light flashed within her unnervingly lifeless pupils.
Amid the scattered radiance, searing heat rushed toward my shoulder.
-Droit Style Martial Arts Fourth Form-
‘Extinction’
A smooth barrage of strikes that flowed like water.
As I steadied myself, I signaled to the princess in my mind.
‘Now.’
[Understood!]
Red gathered at my fingertips.
A moment later, a torrent of crimson blood surged out and obscured my vision.
It opened a brutal maw, as though it would swallow the pure white light whole.
-Blandir Style Bloodcraft Tenth Form-
‘Bloodstorm’
Light and blood collided in midair.
The light illuminated the blood. The blood covered the light. At their center, a dark crimson sun briefly rose.
For a moment, they seemed evenly matched, but in the end, the flash of light broke through.
Puk-!
The blood-red technique was violently torn apart.
That was how overwhelming her sheer violence was.
Though Carmilla could only shake her head in disbelief, she continued blocking Javert’s path.
[Urgh... As expected, I can’t win in a contest of strength!]
-Blandir Style Bloodcraft Ninth Form-
‘Blood Spear’
Kwaang-!
Fragments of shattered Vital Blood scattered everywhere.
A crimson spear collided with her fist.
A small scratch appeared on Javert’s cheek.
Seizing that moment, I leaped toward her instead.
“Hup...!”
I swung my dagger in a surprise attack.
I hid a pocket watch in my other hand.
Click-.
The moment I pressed the button, the world slowed for an instant.
The silver blade cut through time and rushed forward.
Krrrk-!
The dagger grazed one of the insignias on her uniform before missing.
Javert had twisted at the waist with insane reflexes.
Only a faint scratch remained on the badge over her chest.
I quickly stepped back.
‘Damn it, what kind of combat sense is that...!’
Kuuung-!
Her counterattack followed, striking my dagger.
I was forced far backward.
‘Even with the crown, I can barely hold out?’
I could only shake my head in disbelief.
Of course, I couldn’t fight at full strength right now.
I couldn’t use the step bug, and Lua was unavailable too.
‘Anything that might identify the intruder as me.’
I had to avoid anything too distinctive.
I couldn’t let Javert become certain yet.
I needed to shake her up a little more.
I had to make her waver.
Make her sink into deep thought and question everything.
“I have something I want to ask.”
“I will not permit it.”
“Why does the academy want to kill me? Isn’t it a good thing if I conquer Purgatory?”
“You violated the rules. You will simply receive the punishment appropriate for that.”
“What do you think? Am I really someone who deserves to be executed?”
I questioned her.
How long could she maintain that expressionless face?
“Don’t you intend to judge for yourself? Will you keep relying solely on principle?”
“Principles exist for what is right. A judgment based on principle is several times more accurate than an individual’s delusions.”
“Ha ha! So you believe everything in the world can be explained by principles? You truly believe that’s righteousness? Without giving any thought to the comedies and tragedies that arise outside the rules? What you’re talking about is nothing but oppression backed by dogmatism.”
“Questions are unnecessary. Humans need only follow principle.”
“Why? Don’t you know even those principles are flawed notions of righteousness created by humans?”
“At the very least, principles and rules are consistent.”
“You mean they’re merciless regardless of who they target.”
Spear and shield.
The spear pressed forward relentlessly, while the shield had no intention of breaking.
The clash between convictions was that intense.
I swung my dagger and deflected a flash of light.
Kiiing-!
‘But.’
I noticed something.
A change in Javert.
It was subtle, but my eyes didn’t miss it.
It had started the moment she began suspecting that the intruder before her was Viktor.
-Are you Student Viktor?
The purpose behind her attacks had changed.
At the first clash, she had clearly attacked as if she intended to incinerate me in a single blow.
Her movements had seemed wholly focused on execution.
But now, her killing intent had weakened slightly.
Her attacks were still fierce, but their paths were gradually avoiding my vital points.
‘Rather than my vital points... it’s like she’s targeting this robe.’
Javert was trying to remove my robe while pretending otherwise.
It seemed the intruder’s identity was bothering her.
That was why her killing intent had faded without her realizing it.
“Ha.”
I sneered.
My bitter words pierced her to the core.
“Your punches have been pretty weak for a while now. Are you hesitating?”
“Is that a provocation?”
“No... Your movements just seem strangely unfocused. At first, weren’t you ready to burn me to ash without even giving me time to talk? Now, you aren’t even aiming for my vital points. You seem more concerned with tearing off my robe.”
“I am only trying to confirm your identity.”
“Why? Will anything change once you confirm it?”
“I need to report your identi...”
“You’re going to kill me anyway.”
“...”
“If you want to see my face, wouldn’t it be easier to turn me into a corpse first and check afterward?”
“...”
Her lips pressed together for a moment.
Instead, a slightly more powerful fist struck my dagger.
My vision continued to flash meaninglessly.
Tung! Krrrk... Chaeng!
“Why?”
“...”
“Why do you want to confirm it?”
“...”
“Could there be someone under this robe who shouldn’t be here?”
Kwaaaang-!
An even louder blast of air shook the floor.
If not for the crown, the attack would have broken my arm.
Tremble-.
I gripped the shaking dagger tightly.
Beyond it, I looked into green eyes that shook even more.
“You should kill me.”
I whispered.
“You’re going to kill me anyway, aren’t you? No matter who is under this robe.”
A student.
A professor.
An old person.
A child.
Someone precious.
Or even yourself.
“That’s your justice.”
She carried out executions without hesitation.
According to the conviction she had cultivated, Javert was someone who had to do so.
“Do you hope I’m not your student?”
“...”
Her lips didn’t part any further.
Her movements grew unsteady as well.
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
‘That should be enough for now.’
I seemed to have shaken her enough.
I spun the dagger in my hand several times.
Whirr-.
The silver blade rotated smoothly.
I gave the red-haired woman a nod.
“Unfortunately, it’s about time for me to head back.”
“...I will not permit it. You cannot escape.”
“I decide that.”
“Go ahead and try.”
Javert took a position as though to block the entrance to the floor.
But my escape route wasn’t that way.
Ding-!
[Mid-Range Teleportation Inscription]
-Category: Spellcraft Hybrid Weapon
-Rank:B+
-Status:Pristine
-Description: A dagger once used in spellcraft rituals. If it leaves a blade mark on an inanimate object within 3 km, the user may teleport to that location whenever desired. The effect will not be canceled unless the blade mark is damaged, and it can be used three times.
It was the dagger I had been using throughout the battle.
I had received it after taking first place in a game of tag during the school trip.
Tap, tap-.
I touched the tip of the dagger.
A bluish haze immediately wrapped around me.
Javert realized what was happening too late and rushed toward me.
“Wait...!”
Of course, it was already too late.
Beyond my flickering vision, I calmly waved a hand.
“See you next time.”
Crackle-.
My view shifted as the teleport activated.
A blue window appeared before my eyes.
My destination was the bedroom in my dorm room, where I had left a blade mark.
Ding-!
[The item ‘Mid-Range Teleportation Inscription’ has been activated.]
[Remaining uses: 2/3]
And so.
I successfully escaped Purgatory Floor 80.
* * *
The next day.
Morning arrived, with even last night’s disturbance scattered away like a dream.
I woke up as usual.
“Ahem.”
After washing up and getting dressed, I left the dorm as though nothing had happened.
It was the day I was supposed to work in Javert’s office.
As her personal teaching assistant, I had to help with various paperwork.
I fiddled with the mask covering my face and walked with light steps toward the research building.
“Looks like she isn’t here yet.”
The office was empty.
So I sat down first and started on the paperwork.
Exactly thirty minutes later, Javert opened the office door and strode inside.
“Ah, Chief Investigator!”
I waved with a bright smile.
“The weather is especially nice tod...”
“Student Viktor.”
“Ghk.”
Clunk-!
Naturally, she grabbed me by the collar.
Javert shoved me against the wall, pinned me firmly against it, and looked up at me.
“So it was you? The man from yesterday.”
Her green eyes trembled.
Within them, there was only the masked boy.
Footnotes:
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