WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 102: Lords of All Creation

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"You're... a far kinder person than I expected."

Lieutenant General Ebon's remark came out of nowhere. Its intent was unclear, and since Ebon was not only far from beautiful but was not even a woman, the immortal paid him no heed.

"Keep that to yourself. A compliment from a man doesn't do much for me."

"Right. Yes. Of course."

Lieutenant General Ebon nodded to himself, muttering under his breath. Since he kept saying incomprehensible things, the immortal lost interest in him as well.

"I'll be on my way to stop that fight..."

"Ah. You can't do that. No, you can't."

It happened then.

Without warning, Lieutenant General Ebon thrust out a hand. Claws that had appeared on his hands at some point gleamed coldly as they aimed for the immortal's back.

Just as those beast-like claws were about to tear through his body.

"Hah! Not a chance!"

Sensing the killing intent, the immortal immediately twisted his body and raised the right arm he was so proud of to block Ebon's attack...

...Forgetting that his right hand was still missing.

"Ah! My right hand!"

The claws pierced straight through the immortal's body without resistance. Blades shaped like talons tore through his insides as they drove relentlessly forward.

Pierced by six blades because of a moment's carelessness, the immortal cried out in agony.

"Urgh! A blunder! I've gotten so used to not having a right arm that I forgot!"

"This alone would be fatal. But the opponent is an immortal. He won't die anyway..."

Lieutenant General Ebon muttered coldly.

"I'll only make sure you can't interfere, my kind friend."

As he spoke, Lieutenant General Ebon drew up power from within.

The mana he wrung from his body glowed blue. Dozens of slashes layered with aura force mutilated the immortal's body. His shoulders, thighs, chest, and sides were carved with dozens of bloody lines in rapid succession.

For a brief moment, the immortal's body hung suspended in the air. His mouth moved as though he were trying to say something, but no words came out.

Then his body exploded, bursting in every direction. A storm of flesh filled the corridor.

It was a merciless yet efficient attack. With his entire body torn apart like that, even an immortal would need half a day to regenerate.

"Ah... Aaaah! Rashy!"

Watching the immortal explode before her eyes was too cruel a sight for Callis. Overwhelmed by panic, she screamed.

Lieutenant General Ebon addressed her firmly.

"Have you grown attached to him? Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. He's an immortal, isn't he? He'll revive eventually."

"B-but... This... He was helping us."

Lieutenant General Ebon did not even listen to the rest of Callis's words. Instead, he folded his fingers one by one, checking whether he had forgotten anything.

"Good. The troublemaker has been removed using the King of Cats, and the immortal has just been dealt with. The Progenitor doesn't seem interested in us either. That leaves..."

As he drew out the last word, the lieutenant general's gaze slowly turned toward me.

Our eyes met awkwardly.

The lieutenant general spoke.

"By the way, do people often say you have a faint presence? Or were you using some sort of stealth technique? I nearly failed to notice you altogether."

What a shame.

I had been reading everyone's thoughts and hiding in their blind spots as much as possible to avoid drawing attention. Maybe because he came from a secret society, the lieutenant general was more meticulous than I had expected.

Folding fingers is cheating. Fight fairly with nothing but your memory!

So I'd been caught red-handed. What should I do? Could I talk my way out of this?

"Necessity is the mother of discovery. If you didn't notice my presence, doesn't that mean there was no need to notice it? I'm just an ordinary laborer. If you let me go, everyone can have a happy..."

"Sorry, but I can't do that."

'A laborer... Just a lucky ordinary person who survived. If the lieutenant colonel had died, perhaps, but now there is no need for a guide. There is no reason to leave a witness alive.'

Killing intent swelled.

It was the unwavering killing intent of a general, one of the military state's strongest forces, directed at me.

Just as no one could block starlight, I had no ability to block his attack. I might have managed against Skywarbler, but these claws had clear weight behind them. Even if I blocked them with my strength, they would pierce straight through me.

If I had been the person I was when I first fell into the Abyss, I would have died without being able to do a thing.

"Blame your misfortune."

But I had dependable backing. More dependable than an ordinary country. No, backing that was a country in itself.

Just before I could call Tyr, Callis shouted first.

"You mustn't attack him, Lieutenant General Ebon!"

Lieutenant General Ebon did not even consider retracting his claws.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I've told you time and again to put aside your sentimental attachment. For the great cause..."

"No. That's not it. He is under the Progenitor's protection."

"The Progenitor?"

[That is correct.]

At that moment, shadows cast by the light all formed voices at once. A thin, high voice flowed from the long shadows, while deep voices came from the broad, thick shadows.

The chorus of darkness shook the entire space before gradually converging into a single voice.

[He is under my protection, and his heart is my heart.]

Three black knights rose from my shadow and stood in front of me. Three swords forged from darkness pointed sharply forward.

[I declare this. From anyone who harms him, I shall collect a debt of blood.]

The energy was so powerful that it made my entire body shiver.

Just as no one would burn with competitive spirit before a natural disaster, an ordinary person would not even dare think of defying it and would bow their head.

Yet... even that primordial darkness was not enough to frighten a general.

Lieutenant General Ebon spoke with clear surprise in his voice.

"It seems the laborer didn't simply survive. Did you win over the Progenitor?"

"Haha. You could call it a desperate struggle to survive."

"That is a rather large-scale struggle. Then naturally, you must receive treatment befitting that achievement!"

With those words, Lieutenant General Ebon swiftly swung his claws. Savage talons like those of a beast tore through the darkness.

The black knight lasted exactly two exchanges. The weapon made of gathered darkness shattered after colliding with the blue edge in one clash, and the second claw that followed moments later brought down the black knight.

The other two black knights attacked Lieutenant General Ebon, but the colonel, who had approached unnoticed, stepped in front of one of them.

"How dare you attack the lieutenant general!"

Boom.

The colonel planted both feet firmly and struck the black knight again and again with both fists. Under a rain of punches, the black knight's entire body repeatedly scattered and reformed.

A straight punch filled with blue energy landed squarely on the black knight's face. The black knight staggered, then dissolved into smoke.

By then, Lieutenant General Ebon had cut apart the last one as well, and now faced me with nothing in his way.

...Thinking about it now, weren't these black knights really too weak? Their insignificance had been welcome when fighting Tyr, but now they were terribly unreliable.

The lieutenant general gave me a gentle smile.

"But we need a hostage as well, don't we? Please cooperate."

It was a kind yet coldly calculated smile, much like the one he had worn when looking at the still-living Callis.

I understood now.

That smile appeared whenever he saw someone useful. It was the smile of a merchant who had stumbled upon an unexpected windfall, pleased but coolly calculating the gains and losses at the same time.

Apparently, I had become someone useful to him.

It didn't make me particularly happy.

"Rest assured, Progenitor. For our own safety, I promise his safety. Not a hair on his head will be harmed... provided you don't interfere with us, Progenitor."

[You bastards... You will keep that promise.]

The shadows bubbled as if in warning. Lieutenant General Ebon bowed in the direction the voice had come from, then crooked a finger at the colonel waiting behind him.

"Colonel. Bring the rope. We need to tie him up."

"Yes, understood!"

The bear-like colonel took a rope from a leather bag. It was a special rope made by the military state, one that would neither burn nor be easily cut by blades. After pulling it with both hands to check its strength, the colonel nodded and approached me.

The colonel smiled coldly.

I greeted the colonel by bringing my arms together and eagerly holding them out so I could be tied up easily.

"Here! Tie me up quickly!"

"...What are you doing?"

"Actively cooperating with the military state! You were going to tie me up anyway! Let's get this over with quickly! So we can restore the peaceful Tantalus of old!"

The colonel looked suspicious, but that did not change what needed to be done. Eyeing me warily, the colonel tightly bound my wrists, then pulled the rope with bear-like strength.

It was tied so damned tightly that my fingers hurt.

That was restraint fitting of the military state.

Lieutenant General Ebon spoke.

"You are cheerful even in a situation like this, laborer."

"That's exactly why I have to be cheerful. What good would it do to furrow my brow and act solemn in the Abyss? It would only add another stroke to the gloom."

"Did you act this way when you won over the Progenitor, too?"

"I'd like to say that's a trade secret... but honestly, even I don't know. Maybe because she'd lived alone for twelve hundred years like a lonely old woman, I stayed by her side and chattered so she wouldn't be lonely. She opened her heart completely and looked ready to give me anything I wanted and... Ack!"

A shadow over there threw a tin can at me.

My head was suddenly struck, and I tried to rub the back of it, only to remember my arms were tied. All I could do was groan.

Lieutenant General Ebon watched me and the shadows with interest.

'I should remember this. It may prove useful later.'

Taking his eyes off me, the lieutenant general spoke to Callis.

"Now, Lieutenant Colonel. Lead us to the King of Dogs. Everything must be ready by the time the 'path' opens in thirty minutes."

"Yes, understood. Follow me."

Callis took the lead and guided the way.

Just as Lieutenant General Ebon was about to leisurely follow behind her, something caught his eye.

A small blade fragment lay on the floor.

Narrowing his eyes, Lieutenant General Ebon studied the bloodstained fragment closely.

The thin, sharp blade created by the suicide packet in the escape-from-this-world bundle.

After looking at it for a brief moment, Lieutenant General Ebon glanced at the wound on Callis's right hand, gave a quiet snort, and walked out.

Footnotes:

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